CSA Newsletter

Greetings from the Garden! This week's box has lettuce and salad greens, spinach, braising greens like mizuna and radicchio, parsnips, sunchokes, turnips, asparagus, garlic chives or green onions, and sorrel.

Field notes. Ken has been a bit under the weather - very unusual for him. He has been transplanting and planting greens and some of the hot weather crops. I cleared some space in the flower bed and he has been transplanting there as well. He raises annuals from seed and plants them in the front of the bed for full season flowering. I work on the perennial flowers and perennial weeds. We work for continual bloom in garden, flower bed and field for the beneficial insects and the bees. Ken acquired two more hives from the Polk County honey queen. She is selling some hives to pay for college. She has had bees since she was eight years old - very interesting young woman.

From the Kitchen. Spinach spread! I am not an adventurous cook, but I worked out a recipe for a spinach spread to serve to my book group members on Thursday.
I blanched a huge pile of spinach, chilled in cold water, drained, squeezed out moisture, chopped. Scrubbed and chopped some sunchokes. I used The food processor to combine the above with the following - homemade mayonnaise, sour cream, salt, pepper, dry crushed chipotle, pepper sauce, lemon juice, honey, and hard cooked eggs. It was a hit. We spread on cornbread, but bread, crackers or chips would all work.

Last Tuesday while I was rinsing greens, Ken made turnips in a cream sauce with chopped green onions or chives as a topping. I have been using the tops in morning soups. Separate greens from roots and each will store better. I also cube and freeze turnips for some zip in my winter soups and stews.

New Spinach Recipe

I was hosting book group this week, and decided to serve snacks "locally grown" from the garden. I made cornbread from our corn (see masa entry), and thought I should do something with spinach. So I googled spinach dip and spinach spread and made my own revisions!

Blanch spinach, place in cold water, drain, squeeze out water. Chop. Chop some sunchokes (recipes called for canned water chestnuts). Hard boil 2 - 4 eggs. Place the above in a food processor with sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice or vinegar, a little Tabasco or hot pepper, a tiny bit of honey (I used 1/2 teaspoon), salt and pepper. Puree. check and adjust to taste. Place in small bowl, chill and serve with cornbread, bread, or crackers. Members of the book group really liked it.

For dessert we had muskmelon sorbet and ginger cookies. In summer I take the melons too soft to sell, cube and freeze for smoothies or sorbet in spring before we have any of our own fruit.

Asparagus Available

After a late spring, the asparagus has arrived! Don't wait - it is always a short season and a long wait to the next!

Asparagus is a health food that eliminates uric and oxalic acid from the body. It can be viewed as a spring cleaning and tonifying food. It contains high amount of vitamins A, B complex and C plus minerals like potassium and zinc.

Asparagus is great grilled, lightly steamed, raw, blanched and added to green and pasta, and potato salads. I often steam and top with homemade mayonnaise.

And for folks who don't eat dairy, make cream of asparagus soup with some oatmeal - its creamy texture will be sure to please!

Call or email us now to rerve some to eat fresh or freeze for winter!

Flower Bed Progress

Perennial plants bring with them perennial weeds. The flower bed is no exception. The worst weeds are creeping charlie and grass.








The first phase was to clear some space so Ken could plant annuals at the front of the border.










Now I am working my way back through the rest. The weeds will compost and become an input. Ken also suggested some other soil amendments this year. We will see how they work.






And why do I do this? Flowers. Here is the first iris of the season. Late, but well worth the wait.

Trilliums Fading

The trillium flowers opened late this year. Usually they are at peak on Mothers Day.







Then they slowly change color from white to pink.










Then they droop and disappear.



Such beautiful flowers - I love to see them come and feel sad when they go.

Pigs Update

The pigs are growing. They are now clearly individuals - one is pushy, one is curious, one is whiny, one is cheery, one is friendly - it is like the Seven Dwarfs!










They are digging in the leaves to find acorns. As I approach with feed, I always count. Sometimes it seems one or two are missing - then a section of the leaf pile moves and voila a digging pig abandons the pile and comes romping over to see what has been brought from garden or sprouter.



If you are nearby, stop in and check them out - this is how pigs were meant to live. We sell pork by the half or whole.

CSANewsletter

Greetings from the Garden! This box has parsnips, sunchokes, radishes, green onions, lettuce, salad and braising greens, spinach, asparagus, sorrel (in photo at left), chervil and the first turnips.

Field Notes. Rain and more rain, but NO hail. I was running around laying fiber and sheets over the greens in the garden once I saw we were in the storm track for quarter size hail. No one wants pre-shredded greens! We were very fortunate on that and several counts - most of the rain was a slow soft drizzle that soaked into the soil. And we did not get tornadoes or other high winds that damage plants.

Ken returned from a last minute trip to the boundary waters. He agonized about going. This is a busy time of year for him. I covered the animal chores, but all his seedlings grew, and now he will busy moving them out to garden and field. He is amazed at all the changes and garden progress in the last four days.

From the Kitchen. This week we introduce some seasonal favorites. Sorrel is a lemon flavored green that some people add to salad. I like sorrel in egg dishes or creamy or potato soups or pasta salads with homemade mayonnaise dressing. I also wilt sorrel in butter and use in place of lemon - great on fish for example.

Chervil is a French herb usually found in fine herb mixes. It is like a cross of fennel and parsley. Delicious addition to salad, dressings, eggs, creamy soups, - ad just before serving as it is delicate and loses its punch when cooked. Best fresh.

Turnips are a zesty vegetables. I cook, add butter, salt, and pepper and serve. Some people make turnips au gratin with cheese. The small white Japanese turnips are excellent sliced and salted for an hour. The salt brings out the sweetness. Just rinse before serving if salt is a concern.

Turnip greens are a wonderful addition to braising mixes. Turnip greens are packed with nutrition - vitamins A, B complex, C, and minerals - potassium, magnesium, calcium.