CSA Newsletter

salad turnips

Greetings from the Garden! This box has Romaine, red lettuce and other salad greens, braising greens, radishes, salad turnips, green onions or chives, gobo (burdock root), celery root, beets, potatoes, and asparagus.

Field Notes.  The heat has arrived.  After a slow spring, we have had some rain and heat.  Many things are catching up.  For example the asparagus was slow to start, but we are getting larger than usual harvests each time Ken picks.  If you want additional asparagus or have friends looking for asparagus, send them our way!  

Fence is similar to this poultry netting

We have been promised a new electric fence specifically to keep the bears out of the field tunnel and the strawberries there.  The wild life damage woman agrees with us that two bears walking through the bulb onion crops are a nuisance and she has ordered fence and trap before they continue to damage crops.  This is encouraging after the USDA "bear guy" told us on a phone message and in person that bear"walking through your garden" did not constitute a nuisance!  

Strawberries blooming and starting to set fruit

I was steaming last week, but have calmed down now that action is starting before we lose crops. 

Ken has been clearing the mobile high tunnel of greens and planting the heat loving crops.  He is also planting heat loving plants in the field tunnel as well.  He cleared spaces and cultivated the entire garden and transplanted seedlings into that space. As crops come out, new ones go in.

The pigs are now in a large new space south of the garden.  Their first job is to clear the area just south of the garden and then Ken will improve the fence.  Ken is considering their next move, and I will keep you posted

From the Kitchen.  Asparagus is a great side dish!  I have brought a simple meal out to Ken in the field a couple nights last week.  One night I fried up a couple pieces of bacon, and boiled some pasta.  I removed the bacon and chopped for a garnish.  I pan grilled the asparagus in the bacon fat.  For a pasta topping I sauteed green onions, added some cream cheese and removed from heat.  once the pasta was done, I drained and tossed with chopped dandelion greens - any salad or braising green would work.  Then I added some brined red peppers to the pasta and topped it with the chopped bacon.

Another night was pasta with a mushroom sauce from mushrooms we had dried last summer and green onions.  There was a side salad with wild violets as a garnish.

Home made mayonnaise is great on asparagus.  Check recipe books, but it is basically beaten egg yolk with a bit of salt, pepper, honey, and either a tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar.  Then using an electric beater, drizzle in about a cup of oil - I like olive, walnut, sesame or sunflower.  Then once the oil is incorporated, add one more tablespoon of either lemon juice or vinegar.  with our eggs, it is a bright yellow color

And with the egg whites I make macaroons for a treat for Ken

'Til Next Week, 
Judith