Week 2 Vegetable Share 2011

Farm News

Well, the good news is it probably won’t get much hotter than the last few days.  Whether it is 95 or 98, we won’t be able to tell and we usually don’t hit 100.   All we know is that it is quite warm and windy.  Some of the large leafed plants such as bok choy and cabbage can look very tired during the heat of the day. But there is moisture in the ground from recent rains and the plants rebound in the early evening.  Relief is coming, I hear, but let’s hope it’s not a round of dangerous storms and torrential rains.Today is delivery day but we are also working furiously to prepare beds and get more food planted.  Our greenhouse is still bursting with plants – celery (new this year), eggplant, cukes, zucchini, more basil, the second round of beets, and tomatillos.  That’s just a few items on the agenda.   Our planting has been interrupted by frequent rains.  With rain predicted this evening, we’re giving it our best shot at planting everything we can.

Happy Pigs On Pasture

On the livestock end of things, Brian went to Arthur, Illinois yesterday with the first batch of chickens – 200 meat birds for the meat shares.  The first beef of the season will go to the locker tomorrow morning with the remaining 4 later this month.  And the 13 little pigs are grazing their pasture and enjoying any vegetable trimmings, eggs from nests we find in the grass, and even a gallon of organic raw milk that went sour.  I was told they drank that gallon in about 2 minutes flat!   Laying hens are doing their job nicely and we have egg shares and extra eggs to sell to anyone interested.

It feels like we are at a full sprint right now trying to stay ahead of things. It’s always this way but we are getting good help right now and everyone is working so hard to produce really good organic food for you folks. 

In Your Box Today
 

Salad Mix  – A wonderful blend of baby green this week: red and green leaf lettuce, rainbow swiss chard, and pungent, flavorful arugula.

Spinach – This is young tender spinach from our hoophouse.  It has been growing with the protection of shade cloth for a few weeks now since the weather became warm.   But the plants have had enough of the heat and are beginning to send up flower stalks and leaf production will halt.  We’ll be pulling this planting and putting another in its place.

Green Onions – Pretty bunches of green onions this week.

Garlic  Scapes – Many of you will recognize the garlic scapes from previous years.  This unique looking vegetable is the seed head of our garlic planting.  They emerge this time of year and we remove them so the plant will put its energy into the bulb.  They have an intense fresh garlic flavor.  The entire scape is edible although the very tip where it looks like a blade of grass can be a little tough.  Use the scapes anywhere you might want garlic flavor.  We have grilled them and put them in stir fries.  And they keep for weeks in a container or bag in the refrigerator.

Fresh Parsley – The parsley is just getting started but the crop looks good so far.  Parsley can be used anywhere and a little goes a long way – this is intense parsley!  Try sprinkling a few leaves right into your salad. 

Broccoli – Our broccoli planting is struggling through the crazy spring weather and the dramatic temperature fluctuations.   Less than ideal weather conditions can bring on early heads but they are smaller than usual.  Fortunately, we have 4 varieties planted and they aren’t all sending up premature small heads.  We’ll have to wait and see which variety performs the best in adverse weather conditions.  Despite the difficulties, what is in your box today is tender and delicious.  Our girls are eating this broccoli raw and enjoying it very much. 

Garlic Scape Pesto

¾  cup garlic scapes, top bulbed part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices

1/4 cup walnuts

¾ cup olive oil

¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano

½ teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week.