Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 18

  Farm Update

Hi everyone!  Hope you're doing well!  We are headed into week 18 of the CSA season, and things are really starting to wind down around the farm.  At the beginning of the CSA season, there is so much to be done, and we spend two adrenaline-fueled months trying to keep our heads above water.  Then in late July, we hit the tipping point where things settle down a little bit.  There is still a lot of work to be done, but the tempo isn't quite so intense.  And then once we get into October, it's a slow slide into late fall and winter.  Right now, we're no longer planting, barely weeding, and not really battling pests.  At this point it's mostly about harvesting, washing, packing, and delivering the vegetables, and making sure we have enough variety to finish out the season strong.  So basically, even though the days are still really full, it feels like a rest.  

It also helps that the sun doesn't come up until much later, and it goes down a lot earlier than it did in the height of summer, which naturally limits how much we can work.  And as the weather gets colder, more and more of our crops reach the end of their lives in the field.  Nature is getting ready to go to sleep for the year, and we're starting to slow down too.  Now is the time to dig into the wonderful fall comfort foods, put extra blankets on the beds, and bring in lots of firewood, because we're right on the edge of what I think of as "cozy season".   And to help you celebrate cozy season, we have two more weeks of great fall veggies for you! 

And if you're interested in signing up for next year, we've started sign-ups for the 2023 CSA season!  It's going to be pretty much the same as this year (all the same drop-offs at the same times), but the prices are going to be going up a little bit next season to $340 for a half share and $630 for a full share at the regular drop-offs.  Anyone who signs up and puts down at least a partial payment by December 31 locks in next year's share at this year's price though, so that's a good way to save a few bucks if that makes sense for you!  Either way, we would love to have you all in the CSA again next year, so just let me know if you have any questions, and here's the link to the sign-up form!

Thanks so much, and we'll see you at the drop-offs! :-)

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Sweet potatoes or a bag of small onions
• Brussels sprouts, carrots, or baby mustard greens
• Butternut squash, pie pumpkin, or other large squash
• Potatoes or arugula
• Cabbage, kale, or parsley
• Delicata squash, acorn squash, or radishes
• Onion or kohlrabi

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Sweet potatoes
• Baby mustard greens
• Pie pumpkin
• Potatoes
• Cabbage
• Acorn squash
• Kohlrabi

Share B:

• Sweet potatoes
• Carrots
• Acorn squash
• Arugula
• Parsley
• Radish
• Onion

 

Share C:

• Bag of small onions
• Brussels sprouts
• Butternut squash
• Potatoes
• Kale
• Delicata squash
• Onion

 

Recipes

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite parts of fall.  They are such a perfect fall comfort food, and there are so many ways to prepare them!  You can make everything from sweet potato fries, to sweet potato pie, to these Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potatoes!  So if you're looking to add a little kick to this naturally sweet and wonderful food, definitely give this recipe a try! :-)

Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 17

 Farm Update

Hi everyone!  The season has definitely turned fully into fall, and the farm reflects that everywhere I look.  We've harvested completely through most of our summer plantings, so a lot of the beds that used to have vibrant, growing plants, now just contain what's left of the plant after we've harvested the parts we eat.  Later this week, Fred will be tilling most of those stalks and other plant remains into the ground, where they will break down and add nutrients to the soil for next season.  After a little while, we'll also plant what's called cover crop.  Cover crop is basically a crop of plants we never intend to harvest, and whose sole purpose is to grow big and then be tilled under to add more organic matter to the soil.  The more organic matter is in the soil, the more nutrients there are for future crops to absorb as they grow, and the roots of the cover crop actually prevent nutrients from leaching out of the soil in between plantings.  Planting cover crop also promotes healthy biodiversity in the soil because it provides something for all those little bugs, worms, and helpful bacteria to eat.  And the more bugs, worms, and helpful bacteria we have, the more balanced our soil ecosystem is, and that makes it much harder for pests and plant diseases to take hold.  Not to mention, bugs and worms aerate the soil, which prevents soil compaction and allows the plant roots to grow strong and healthy.  This is important especially for root vegetables, because if the soil is too compacted, then you end up with weird shaped carrots, beets, onions, and potatoes, or a really decreased yield because they didn't have the freedom to grow the way they needed to.  But it's also important for the vegetables whose parts we eat are above the soil, because if a plant doesn't have healthy roots, then the rest of the plant can't thrive.  So basically, it all starts with healthy soil, and the best way to get healthy soil is by making sure you have lots of good organic matter.  

The other big thing going on at the farm right now is a bunch of harvesting!  We're pretty much done planting for the year, with the exception of a few plantings of overwintered greens we'll be putting in the hoophouses.  Everything that will be in the CSA shares for the rest of the year is already in the ground, which makes it feel like the massive, multi-part project that is each farm season, is almost a wrap.  There's still plenty to do to prepare the farm for winter, but for the next few weeks, the majority of the work at the farm will be harvesting for the next few weeks of the CSA, as well as the stores and restaurants for whom we provide veggies.  We still have three weeks of great produce coming your way, including all of our fall favorites! 

And if you're interested in signing up for next year, we've started sign-ups for the 2023 CSA season!  It's going to be pretty much the same as this year (all the same drop-offs at the same times), but the prices are going to be going up a little bit next season to $340 for a half share and $630 for a full share at the regular drop-offs.  Anyone who signs up and puts down at least a partial payment by December 31 locks in next year's share at this year's price though, so that's a good way to save a few bucks if that makes sense for you!  Either way, we would love to have you all in the CSA again next year, so just let me know if you have any questions, and here's the link to the sign-up form!

Thanks so much, and we'll see you at the drop-offs! :-)

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Butternut squash
• Sweet potatoes or potatoes
• Brussels sprouts, arugula, or lettuce
• Green beans or carrots
• Kale, microgreens, radishes, or cilantro
• Cabbage or Delicata squash
• Kohlrabi, onion, or pepper (could be bell peppers or Poblano peppers)

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Butternut squash
• Potatoes
• Brussels sprouts
• Carrots
• Radishes
• Cabbage
• Kohlrabi

 

Share B:

• Butternut squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Brussels sprouts
• Green beans
• Kale
• Delicata squash
• Onion

 

Share C:

• Butternut 
• Sweet potatoes
• Arugula
• Green beans
• Microgreens
• Delicata squash
• Onion

 

Recipes

It's definitely squash season!  You may remember the picture from last week's newsletter of Fred standing in front of a huge trailer of butternut squash?  Well, that was not quite half of the squash we brought in from the fields that week, so we have literally tons of it, which is enough to give everyone butternut squash for the next few weeks!  If you're thinking, "What am I going to do with all that squash?", never fear!  I have you covered with 37 Butternut Squash Recipes from Bon Appetit!  Also, kohlrabi is back!  If you don't remember from the beginning of the CSA season, kohlrabi is our little round green friend that's kind of like a mix between a cabbage and a broccoli stem.  And here again is the link for 20 Easy Kohlrabi Recipes that I shared way back in week 2, in case you're stuck for ideas.  Enjoy!

Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 16

  Farm Update

Here's Fred in front of one of the large loads of butternut squash he brought in this week!

Hi everyone!  Hope you're all doing well!  Here we are in October, which means that we are nearing the end of CSA season.  The CSA will go until the last full week of October, so the final drop-offs will be Monday October 24th through Thursday October 27th.  Although the end of the season is approaching, we still have four weeks of great veggies ahead to look forward to!

This is the time of year where nature starts slowly sliding into its winter rest.  We had our first light frost last week, which fortunately was light enough not to do much damage to most of our crops, except that it pretty much put an end to our basil.  As the weeks go on, the lower and lower temperatures will start killing our summer veggies one by one, until only the most coldhardy crops survive.  That's the point when it's time to finish up the CSA for the year, because we won't have enough variety to keep 300-ish families in high-quality veggies indefinitely.  My guess is that you guys don't want a bunch of shares of just potatoes, kale, squash, and onions, so the end of October is a natural stopping point for the CSA.  That's also the time of year when Fred and I are ready to come in out of the rain and rest our bodies and minds.  On a beautiful sunny fall day like today, its easy to imagine keeping going for longer, but once those cold rains start to fall (which is pretty much every day for the second half of October), we start thinking about sitting in front of the fire with warm cups of coffee instead of harvesting in the mud.

That said, today the sun is shining, and we still have plenty of great things coming out the fields and hoophouses!  We brought in two huge wagonloads of butternut squash this week, which are now safe and sound in one of our empty hoophouses (unheated greenhouses).  This time of year, we've usually cleared out our summer plantings from some of our seven hoophouses, but we haven't planted the kale, lettuce, and spinach we intend to overwinter in those spaces, so they're the perfect place to store large amounts of onions and squash.  When I see trailers full of squash in the hoophouses that were full of zucchini plants just a few short months ago, and were full of little baby spinach plants nestled under protective layers of plastic a few months before that, I am reminded of the cyclical nature of the farm.  Each season comes back around in its turn, and although we're starting to wind down now, it will be late spring again before we know it. 

And with that in mind, it's time to start thinking about the 2023 CSA season!  If you already know you want to sign up for next year's CSA, you can start doing so now!  Here is the sign-up form for the 2023 CSA season!  Like this year, it will be 19 weeks of delicious organic veggies at all the same drop-off locations!  The only change is that the price will be going up a little bit.  As we've all noticed, everything costs more these days, including all of our supplies and fuel we need to grow and distribute our crops.  So we're going to need to increase the share costs just a little to offset the increase in expenses.  Half shares will be going up from $330 to $340 next year, and full shares will be going up from $610 to $630.  So a half share will set you back around 53 cents extra per week, and a full share will cost an extra $1.05 each week.  Not so bad, now that I think of it.  And anyone who signs up and puts down at least a partial payment before December 31st will lock in their 2023 share at the 2022 price.  So if you know you want to sign up, you can do so any time!  And if you still want to think about it, you have until the end of December to decide if you want to get the early bird discount, and then price goes up on January 1st.  Just let me know if you have any questions about any of that!  Thanks so much, and I'll see you all at the drop-off! 

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Butternut squash
• Sweet potatoes or potatoes
• Brussels sprouts or lettuce
• Carrots or arugula
• Delicata squash or bag of onions
• Radishes, kale, cilantro, or microgreens
• Onion, bell pepper, or garlic

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Butternut squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Bag of onions
• Kale
• 2 garlic

 

Share B:

• Butternut squash
• Sweet potatoes
• Brussels sprouts
• Carrots
• Delicata squash
• Radishes
• Onion

 

Share C:

• Butternut squash
• Potatoes
• Brussels sprouts
• Arugula
• Delicata squash
• Microgreens
• Bell pepper

 

Recipes

One of my favorite things about the CSA drop-offs is that I get to hear what you all are making with your veggies!  A number of people told me last week that they had made butternut squash soup, and that sounded so delicious that naturally I decided to make some of my own this weekend!  I haven't done it yet, but this Butternut Squash Soup recipe is the one I'll be using when I do.  I like that so many of the ingredients are things we already have on hand or can easily substitute (like, I'm going to switch out the shallot in the recipe for an onion, because we have tons of those.)  And did you guys know you can make your own vegetable broth from the odds and ends that you don't eat from your veggies?  For instance, when you cut off your radish greens, potato skins, or the ends of your carrots, instead of throwing them out, you can put them in a bag in your freezer.  Then when the bag is full, just dump the whole lot into a large pot, boil for an hour, and strain out the solid stuff.  Ta-da!  It's vegetable broth!  Here's a blog post all about How to Make Vegetable Broth from the Minimalist Baker if you want more details for a fancier broth, but it really is so simple!  And now that we're definitely in soup season, might as well start saving your veggie scraps to make your own delicious organic vegetable broth!

Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 15

 Farm Update

Arugula is here!  I actually had a picture in last week's newsletter if this same bed of arugula, and look how much it's grown!  These little guys will be at the CSA drop-off this week, so get ready for some yummy salads! 

Hi everyone!  Hope you're doing well!  This is actually going to be a shorter newsletter this week, because Fred and I are actually on the road to Detroit for a much-needed day away from the farm!  But I wanted to get this out to you early so you could have plenty of time to choose your shares and/or do your menu planning, and I'll catch you next week with are more involved look at what we're up to at the farm!  Have an awesome weekend, and I'll see you at the drop-off for week 15!

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Spring mix, romaine lettuce, or arugula
• Carrots or Brussels sprouts
• Cherry tomatoes or potatoes
• Butternut squash or green beans
• Kale or delicata squash
• Microgreens, radishes, or cilantro
• Green pepper, slicing tomato, or onion

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Spring mix
• Green beans
• Delicata
• Radishes
• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Slicing tomato

 

Share B:

• Romaine lettuce
• Green beans
• Kale
• Cilantro
• Carrots
• Cherry tomatoes
• Green pepper

 

Share C:

• Romaine lettuce
• Butternut squash
• Delicata squash
• Microgreens
• Brussels sprouts
• Potatoes
• Onion

 

Recipes

I love all kinds of squash, but delicata squash is my particular favorite.  It has a delicious sweet flavor and a thin skin, which means that you don't have to peel it before you use it.  There are all sorts of great things you can do with it (like cutting it lengthwise, baking it, and covering it with butter and brown sugar), and it is also great for roasting!  Check out this great recipe for Roasted Delicata Squash for an easy and delicious side dish! 

CSA Newsletter for Week 14

 Farm Update

This recent planting of radishes and arugula is coming along nicely!  Even though they're tiny now, they'll be the right size to harvest in a few weeks.

Hi everyone!  The CSA shares are looking distinctly autumnal this week!  I was looking over the list of what will be in the shares for the upcoming week, and the plethora of root veggies (carrots, potatoes, and beets), cold-hardy greens (kale and cooking greens mix) and winter squashes and pumpkins, are a sure sign that fall is here.  And indeed, the calendar will be in agreement soon with what we are already seeing outside, because the autumnal equinox is on Thursday of this week.  That is one of two days of the year that we have an equal number of dark and light hours in the day, and it is also the official first day of fall on the calendar!

So if you're one of the many people who go crazy over fall stuff, you'll be excited about our new item this week, pie pumpkins!  What better way to celebrate the official changing of the seasons than by making a pumpkin pie, or even a DIY pumpkin spice latte?  Another thing I always get excited about is our cooking greens mix, which is a fall staple around our house.  It's a mix of kale, swiss chard, and whatever hearty leafy greens are ready around the farm.  Sometimes we have the leaves of the Brussels sprouts plant in there, or sometimes there's broccoli leaf, but it's always great in a stir-fry or just as a quick sautéed side dish with garlic and onions.  And fortunately, we still have a bunch of summer favorites in the shares this week!  There are still lots of tomatoes and peppers, and there will be odds and ends of green beans and okra in the surprise veggie category.  Some items around the farm are on their way out for the season (just as the heat and intense sun of summer seem to be), but also like the summer weather, we'll be seeing smaller amounts of many of these veggies for a while to come.  

So here we go into week 14 of the CSA!  See you all at the drop-off! :-)

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Cherry tomatoes
• Potatoes or carrots
• Surprise veggie
• Tomatoes, pie pumpkin, or delicata squash
• Fennel bulb, basil, cilantro, or microgreens
• Kale, cooking greens, parsley, or bag of small onions
• Green pepper, poblano pepper, onion, or garlic

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Carrots
• Surprise veggie
• Tomato
• Basil
• Bag of small onions
• Poblano pepper

 

Share B:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Surprise veggie
• Pie Pumpkin
• Cilantro
• Kale
• Onion

 

Share C:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Carrots
• Surprise veggie
• Delicata squash
• Microgreens
• Cooking greens mix
• Green pepper

 

Recipes

It's pumpkin season!  If you're going to be getting a pie pumpkin this week, the first step is to make it into a pumpkin puree.  Here is a fantastic tutorial on how to do that from Inspired Taste, and it also has links to their recipes for Pumpkin Pancakes, Pumpkin Pie, and Pumpkin Spice Latte from Scratch!  They also show how you can make a puree from your winter squashes as well, so definitely check this out!

And if you're wanting to try out a hearty, filling, earthy cooking greens side dish this week, here is my favorite way to cook them!  Start with some olive oil in a pan, and thinly chop a clove or two of garlic, and some onion if that's your jam.  Cook the garlic and onion until they're starting to look a little brown around the edges, and while you're waiting for that to happen, chop up your cooking greens. I generally discard my kale stems, but you can just grab the leaves and strip them off the stems pretty easily with your hands.  You can use the stems of your chard (and they look so pretty in the finished product with their pretty colors, so I definitely recommend it).  Just chop all of your greens up so that they're a size that will fit easily in your mouth once they're cooked, and throw them in your pan with the garlic and onion.  Cook them in the pan for a few minutes until they're wilted but not mushy, add salt or soy sauce to taste, and serve them warm.  Or, if you'd rather cook them in bacon grease than olive oil, they are really good that way with just some salt and pepper at the end.  Play around with what works best for you, and enjoy! :-)

Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 13

Farm Update

Hi everyone!  September is a very transitional time of year at the farm, just as it is in the rest of nature.  Even if you don't work outside most of the day, you've likely noticed that the mornings are chillier and darker than they have been, and your yard isn't as crispy as it probably was for most of the summer.  We are definitely moving into cooler weather, and that means that we are moving into our cool-weather crops at the farm.  Indeed, we have finished harvesting from some of our older plantings of lettuce and green beans (among other things), so Fred went through and mowed them down with the tractor the other day.  This allows the remaining plant matter to make its way into the ground and add nutrients to the soil for future crops that will be planted in the same space.  While some of the summer veggies are on their way out for the year, plenty of new fall fare is coming in!  We've been spending time this week cultivating some newer plantings of arugula, radishes, spring mix, spinach, and cilantro that will be making their way into the shares in a few weeks.  In general discourse, the word "cultivating" means something like, "intentionally putting in effort to support and promote a particular outcome", such as signing your child up for an activity they seem to gravitate to so they can continue to develop their skills in that arena.  But in agriculture, cultivating has a very specific meaning that is not the same as the general usage.  In farming, to cultivate means to go through with implements and take out the weeds growing between rows of crops.  There are various types of cultivators, from small ones you can manually push down a row of crops, to larger implements you attach to the back of a tractor and pull over a bed of plants.  This year, we bought a new tractor specifically designed for cultivating, and we love it!  It has allowed us to stay on top of the weeds better than we ever have in the past.  That's not to say that the farm doesn't still get overrun with weeds in June and July, but it's so much better than it was, and it reduces the number of man hours we spend on weeding, thus freeing up time to do the myriad other things that need to happen to keep the farm going.

Aside from mowing down old crops and cultivating more recent plantings, Fred is also making a big push to get in a much-needed planting of spinach before we get rained on for most of the week.  He's out there as I write this, preparing a bed for the new spinach, and then he'll actually get the seeds in the ground this evening.  As much as I am going to miss the heat and sun of summer, I do really look forward to spinach every fall, and alas, spinach doesn't do well in hot, dry summer conditions.  So even as we move out of the vibrancy and abundance of full summer, there are also some very good things about fall that we can lean into.  Like spinach, and warm soups, and cute boots, and a cozy fire on a rainy afternoon.  Although I am already feeling preemptively nostalgic for summer, there is nothing we can do to stop the year from rolling into fall, so I'm going to follow Henry David Thoreau's advice to "Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each."  Right now, I'm going to truly relish the last weeks of summer.  I am going to eat all the basil, tomatoes, and peppers that I can, sit in the sun on my deck, and really enjoy mowing my lawn for the last few times this year.  And then when that's over, it will be time to lean into spinach, cider, roasted root vegetables, and fuzzy throw blankets, and resign myself to the influence of fall.  

So that's it for this week!  See you at the drop-offs for week 13!

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Cherry tomatoes or fennel
• Potatoes or beets
• Carrots or green beans
• Tomatoes or winter squash
• Kale, bag of onions, or spaghetti squash
• Basil, parsley, cilantro, or microgreens
• Green pepper, onion, or garlic

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Beets
• Green beans
• Tomatoes
• Bag of onions
• Basil
• Green pepper

 

Share B:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Green beans
• Butternut squash
• Bag of onions
• Microgreens
• Garlic

 

Share C:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Kale
• Cilantro
• Onion

 

Recipes

Minestrone is perhaps the perfect recipe for this transitional time of year, because it uses the abundance of summer veggies we have coming out of the fields right now, and being a soup, it will also keep you warm on the chillier, rainier evenings.  This particular minestrone recipe calls for a bunch of stuff that we have in the shares this week (yay!), but the great thing about minestrone is that you can substitute many veggie ingredients for different veggies if you happen to have different things on hand.  So this recipe will carry you through the transition from summer to fall, and help you use up any veggies that might be building up in your fridge! 

Monroe Family Organics CSA Newsletter for Week 12

   Farm Update

After being pulled out of the ground, these onions were waiting to be collected into our black crates, spread out as thin as possible on an open trailer, and pulled into the hoophouse that until recently housed a planting of zucchini.  There they will stay, safe and dry, until we bring them to you at the drop-offs!

Hi everyone!  Hope you're all doing well and getting ready to enjoy a long weekend!  For us, it's still work as usual, because there are very few times when we can actually take a full day off during the CSA season.  However, we're planning to work only a half day on Saturday so we can spend some time playing in the pool with our kids, which feels like a big deal.  Then it's back out to the fields on Sunday to get ready for our early deliveries on Monday morning.  Once the delivery van and I are on the road to Ann Arbor Monday morning, Fred and the crew will start harvesting, washing, and packing up the veggies for Monday's CSA drop-off.  So just in case you missed the reminder last week, we will still be having our Alma drop-off on Monday as usual!  If you have plans and can't make it, we totally understand, and you have a few options.  You can have a friend pick up your share for you (you don't have to let me know beforehand; your friend can just initial for you on the sign-in sheet).  Or if you let me know by Sunday, I can plan on postponing your share and getting you a double share next week, or you can pick up your share at one of our other drop-offs this week.  When Monday falls on a holiday, plenty of folks opt to pick up their shares on Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant instead, so if you'd like to do that, just let me know! 

In other news, the main theme at the farm right now is harvesting, harvesting, and more harvesting!  We've been harvesting all season, but now is the time when we bring in larger amounts of storage crops, like potatoes, onions, and beets.  Fred's brother Charlie (who worked at the farm for several summers when he was in college) came up on Thursday to help us bring in the big onion harvest.  Once the onions are ready we have a limited window of time to bring them in, because if they get rained on out in the field, they can start to rot, and then we would lose a significant portion of the harvest.  So when they're ready, they're ready, and we were really glad Charlie wanted to come help.  For a lot of people who have worked for us at the farm, even when they move on (into their grownup careers like Charlie, or out of state like our friend Lindy), they still want to come back and get their hands dirty when they can.  The farm kind of gets into your soul, and you can take the person away from the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the person.  

I've definitely found that myself.  Many of you don't know that in my life before the farm and the kids, I was a high school French teacher.  It was so much fun, and I truly loved everything about it.  We always knew that eventually we would move back to one of our hometowns and start our farm (which would be mostly Fred's gig, because I was going to stay home with our kids), so when we found out we were expecting our first child, we started looking for farmland and a home in Fred's hometown of Alma and started that transition.  For the first year of the farm, I was a lot less involved in the farm operations, mostly just making the harvest lists, communicating with CSA members, and helping out at the CSA drop-offs.  Back then we had barely any infrastructure, which meant that Fred was working insanely hard and basically running himself into the ground, and I found that staying home with one baby wasn't nearly as hard as everyone had told me it would be.  It felt really lopsided, so for the second year, I took on pretty much the whole office administrative side of the farm as well as the CSA.  We also had another baby that summer, so between two babies, the CSA, and doing all the farm books, payroll, etc, I had quite a lot on my plate.  That held steady for the next few years, then one year we had a really hard time finding good employees, and there was more work than Fred could handle with the people we had available.  So I jumped in doing more field work, harvesting, washing, and packing, and it just kept going from there.  Now we have three kids, a way bigger CSA, more crops, more drop-offs, and just a lot more going on at the farm, and I can barely remember a time when I wasn't involved in day-to-day production operations.  So basically, I kind of fell into it on accident.  But now the farm is in my soul, and there's no getting me away from it.

So this Labor Day, we'll be out there doing what the name implies: laboring.  But it's the best kind of work, a true labor of love.  We do it for the love of the work itself and the food that we grow, for the love of our land, and our family, and our community that we serve.  And we are so grateful that you all come along with us on this adventure we call the farm, and use your food dollars to allow us to have this intense, crazy, full life.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  :-)

And I guess I'll end with that!  See you all at the drop-off!

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 

• Fennel Bulbs or onion
• Cherry tomatoes
• Tomatoes or winter squash
• Potatoes or beets
• Spring mix or carrots
• Kale, cabbage, or 2 green peppers
• Basil, cilantro, or microgreens

 

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Winter squash
• Potatoes
• Spring mix
• 2 green peppers
• Microgreens
• Onion

 

Share B:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Kale
• Basil
• Onion

 

Share C:

• Cherry tomatoes
• Tomatoes
• Beets
• Spring mix
• 2 green peppers
• Cilantro
• Fennel bulb

 

Recipes

I adore bell peppers chopped up on top of a salad, in a stir fry, in burritos, and a bunch of other ways.  But one of my favorite ways to make an easy breakfast that feels fancy is these Bell Pepper Eggs-in-a-Hole!  They're super simple, but they feel like something you'd have with a cappuccino at a nice brunch place.  Enjoy!