CSA Newsletter for Week 4- Cooking with Farmer Fred

Farm Update

Timmy examines some microgreens in
the greenhouse on Wednesday.

Hi everyone!  It was quite a hot week at the farm!  A lot of our warm season crops, such as tomatoes, are on the verge of being really plentiful!  The downside to all of this hot weather is that many of our cool season crops, like our lettuces, have really been struggling this week.  The dearth of lettuces will likely continue into next week, but the good news is that we will probably begin to have blueberries in the share this week!  They aren’t abundant enough just yet to give them to everyone, but we’ll probably have blueberries for everyone in two weeks!  With all of this hot weather, the weeds are really going crazy, and we’ve been spending a lot of time weeding!  We’ve also been moving our irrigation system around frequently to make sure everything gets watered, which takes quite a bit of time.  All in all, it’s been a pretty labor-intensive week, so we’re hoping for some rain, which will take care of some of our most intensive farm tasks.  Keep your fingers crossed! See you all next week!

What to Expect in This Week's Share

Mary harvests basil for the CSA shares earlier in the week.

If you are picking up at one of our traditional style drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland), here’s what the options will be at the different stations.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you choose two items at each station.

• Zucchini
• Potatoes
• Carrots or broccoli
• Surprise Veggie!
• Kale, chard, or fennel
• Onions, leeks, or kohlrabi
• Basil, cabbage, or microgreens

If you have a prepacked share (Midland hospital, St. Johns, Lansing, Okemos, or home delivery), here are your options.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose either share A or share B, and if you have a full share, you can choose two of them.

Share A:                               Share B:

Zucchini                               Zucchini
Potatoes                                Potatoes
Carrots                                  Broccoli
Surprise veggie                    Surprise veggie
Kale                                      Chard
Leeks                                    Onions
Basil                                     Cabbage

Cooking with Farmer Fred

Jane, Jessamine, and Timmy navigate the path through the
weeds.  This time of year, the weeds are really tall, so we have
a narrow trail that runs along the coldframes to the front field.

One of the things we especially enjoy about our face-to-face drop-offs is getting to see everyone and chat with you all each week.  We really like talking about the farm, how we grow everything, and how to use the abundance of veggies in the shares.  At the drop-offs we often get the question, “What do you do with this?”  Especially for new members getting used to eating more and different veggies, it can be a learning curve. Over the years I have learned how to cook faster, make really good dishes, and use what we have instead of going to a recipe.  We eat a lot of veggies at our house and use them for all three meals each day. Below I have listed some of the different things that I made this week, in case you’re looking for some inspiration:

Grilled Shrimp with Zucchini, Pearl Onions, Tomato, and Fennel

I take the pearl onions, zucchini, and fennel and cut it into cube(ish) pieces.  I then put olive oil in a pan, and put the veggies and thawed shrimp in a pan and over high heat, stirring occasionally with the pan covered.  I then wait until the veggies are a little soft and then transfer over to the grill, stirring occasionally until I get the amount of grilling that I prefer.  I transfer everything to a bowl and take some fresh cubed tomato and add to the mixture.  Then I add fresh lime juice, chipotle seasoning, salt, and some parmesan cheese to taste. Then mix and serve.

Sauteed Carrots or Beets

This simple recipe is a go-to for part of breakfast at our house. First, take the carrots and cut in half lengthwise, and put in a pan with salt and olive oil and cover.  I cook on high heat at first to get things cooking quickly, then after a few minutes I turn the heat back down to medium.  Wait until soft and maybe a little browned on the sides, then serve.  If I’m making this for a side dish for dinner, I often add rosemary, marigold leaf, or parsley.

For beets I do basically the same process, starting by cutting them into chunks not much wider than 1/3 of an inch.  Often I mix the carrots and beets together.

Kale and Swiss Chard

This is another very basic breakfast dish in our house.  We first fry bacon in a pan, then take the bacon out and put in some chopped kale, chard, or both together with the heat on medium low.  Keep stirring the greens constantly until they take on that darker green cooked appearance, and immediately take them out of the pan so as not turn them into mush.  Then add salt and a little brown sugar to balance the natural bitterness of the leaves.  Very simple, very quick side dish.

Fred harvests microgreens in the greenhouse on Tuesday
 for one of our restaurant customers.

Summer Veggie Plate

This 4^th of July in the afternoon around our small pool, we made an antipasto plate of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and mozerella.  Next to the plate, we had small bowls with some chopped fresh basil mix, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt that anyone could add in whatever portion they desired.  This dish really stands out if the veggies are very fresh, like we had.  This is really easy and really delicious!

Grilled Steak with Bok Choy, Zucchini, Basil Mix, and Fennel with Hoisin Sauce

I chop the zucchini, bok choy, and fennel, and put it in a pan with olive oil, and sautee this mixture until the veggies are cooked through.  Then I take the lid off toward the end.  Keep the veggies cooking a little while after taking the lid off to get rid of excess moisture form the veggies.  You want the veggies to not be dripping, except maybe some of the olive oil.  At the same time, I also grill a steak to my desired pinkness (usually rare) on the grill.  Then I put the steak on the plate and slide the veggies right up next to the steak, covering everything with hoisin and soy sauce to desired taste, and then sprinkle some chopped basil mix all over it.

For us, farming is often hard and uncertain, but one of the consistent benefits of having the farm is all the great food we get to have on a regular basis.  We hope this gives you a few ideas of things to try this week, and that you love cooking with your veggies as much as we do!