TOMTEN FARM

Arugula (mature)
Fennel (baby)
Beets (Chioggia and Early Wonder)
Swiss Chard
Escarole
Parsley
Scallions

We have to make this short, as we are having a very busy week. Saturday we are welcoming in Summer with our open house and farm tour. Then Sunday we are having a small group out to the farm for garlic harvesting. Having extra hands helps us get the garlic out of the ground and away from direct sunlight quickly. We will use the upstairs of the big old dairy barn for hanging all our garlic bunches, so hopefully with the help of many fans, they will dry quickly. This week was very productive. Many beds were hand weeded, hoed, cultivated, irrigated, and fed fish fertilizer. In addition to tending to the health of our crops, our fall potatoes were planted, a section of our onions was harvested and is currently curing, the pastures were mowed, and we began harvesting cucumbers, more tomatoes, and even a few padrons today. These will all be included in the share just as soon as they hit their stride. Finally on Thursday afternoon we got some rain. Although many people in Southern Virginia have had a lot of rain over the past three weeks, here in Green Bay we had been dry for two weeks straight. Trying to keep all of our crops well hydrated was becoming difficult and we were noticing some low yields with our fruiting crops, which we think is due to being dry. Now though it is raining and we welcome it.

This week’s share brings our first harvest from our new chard planting, paired with escarole, beets, and lots of fennel.  We encourage you to try a braised or roasted fennel recipe, as it is such a delicious and succulent way to eat fennel. Last week at Sub Rosa Bakery our fennel was braised and then added to their quiche, unbelievably delicious. Check out our recipes below and enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

Moroccan Beet Leaf or Swiss Chard Salad(Salade de Blettes) 

Swiss Chard and Egg Casserole

Escarole Salad with Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Sauteed Finocchio With Butter and Cheese – The Classis Italian Cookbook by Marcella Hazan
3 large Fennel or 4-5 small
5 Tbls Butter
Salt
3 Tbls Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated

Cut off and discard the tops of the fennel, cut the bulbous lower parts into vertical slices no more than ½” thick. Wash thoroughly in cold water. Put the sliced fennel and butter in a fairly broad saucepan, and add enough water barely to cover. Cook, uncovered, over medium-heat. If there is too much fennel for your pan, put in as much as it will hold, cover the pan, and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the fennel has wilted and come down in volume. Add the rest of the fennel, mix well, cover the pan, and cook for 3-4 more minutes. Uncover the pan and cook, turning the fennel  from time to time, until it is tender at the pricking of a fork, from 25-40 minutes all together. You may add as much  as 1/3 cup of warm water if necessary, but at the end the fennel must have absorbed all the liquid and should have a glossy pale-gold color. Before removing from the heat, add salt to taste and the grated cheese. Mix well and transfer to a warm platter. Serve while hot.

Napa Cabbage
Carrots
Fresh Garlic
Fresh Gray Shallots
Lettuce (iceberg, summer crisp, or deer tongue)
Braising Mix (kale, spigariello, broccoli leaf, & mustards)
Daikon Radish or Scarlett Queen Turnip
Zephyr & Alexandria Squash

It’s the time of year when allium crops need to be harvested and cured.  For the next month we will be harvesting garlic, onions, and shallots as each variety is ready. Once harvested they are laid out in warm, shady, and highly ventilated environments so they will cure very quickly, with the hopes of being storable for a good duration. There are many steps in this process and with everything farming, the weather, specifically the humidity, plays a big role in the final outcome. Our garlic, onions, and shallots make up a big crop for our farm. We have to be diligent and thorough with each step of the process so that when stored they stay disease free, delicious, and hopefully last through the fall. This week’s share includes both fresh garlic and shallots, meaning they have not been cured. The outer layers will be soft and not dried or papery. The garlic and shallots may be a bit mellower in taste and sweeter. Although they will last wonderfully for a few weeks, they will not store indefinitely, so use them and enjoy that garlic and shallot time is finally here. We get really excited this time of year, because so many storage crops begin coming on and having finished our last head of garlic 4 weeks ago, we are happy for the return. Included below are some recipes that incorporate items from this week’s share, enjoy… Brian and Autumn

Napa Cabbage and Carrots with Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce

Sweet-Vinegared Daikon and Carrots – Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

1/3 cup organic  rice vinegar
1 Tbls organic granulated sugar
1  cup julienned daikon (1 ¾” thin matchsticks)
1/3 cup julienned carrots (1 ¾” thin matchsticks)
½ tsp sea salt
Zest from 1 yuzu or ½ Meyer lemon cut into fine slivers
Heat the vinegar and sugar together in a small saucepan over low heat to melt the sugar. Cool to room temperature before using.

Keep the daikon and carrots in two separate bowls. Sprinkle the daikon with 2/3 of the salt and the carrots with the remaining salt. Massage the salt in gently and let sit for 10 minutes before squeezing out the excess water and dropping into a clean medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss the daikon and carrots with the slivered yuzu or meyer lemon zest and cooled sweet vinegat. Chill for 1 day before serving.

Napa Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds – Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

half a napa cabbage
½ Tbls fine sea salt
2 Tbls mild citrus juice (yuzu, Seville orange, Meyer lemon)
2 Tbls rapeseed oil
1 Tbls unhulled sesame seeds

Slice the cabbage crosswise into fine strands and toss lightly in a large bowl with the salt. Measure the citrus juice into a small bowl and slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify. Pour over the cabbage, mix gently to distribute the dressing. Toast the sesame seeds over medium-high heat in a dry frying pan until they are fragrant and start to pop. Toss into the salad and serve immediately.

Simmered Chicken-and-Miso Meatballs – Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Stock
1 piece Konbu
6 Tbls brown rice miso
¼ small head napa cabbage Quartered lengthwise
6 fat scallions
Meatballs
1 lb coarse-ground or hand chopped chicken thigh
2 Tbls chopped scallions (whites and green tops)
2 Tbls brown rice miso
1 Tbls finely grated ginger
1 Tbls potato starch
Cooked rice, for serving

Fill a medium-sized, heavy pot with 2 quarts (2 liters) of cold water. Drop the konbu and scallions into the water and bring to a simmer. Measure the miso into a large soup ladle and dip the ladle slightly into the simmering water to wet the miso. Whisk enough hot water into the miso so that the miso will not leave lumps when fully submerged into the simmering konbu stock.

(prepare the meatballs while you are waiting for the konbu and scallion stock to simmer.) Duno the chicken meat into a large mixing bowl and add the scallions, miso, grated ginger, and potato starch. Mix well with your hands to distribute all the aromatics. Form 10 2-inch diameter meatballs by tossing the meat between your two palms. The shape does not need to be perfectly round but it is important for the outer surface to seal. The surface should be slick and glossy. Lay the lengthwise-cut napa quarter wedge on a cutting board, remove the core with a V cut, and slice crosswise into thick strips (about ¾”). Add to the simmering stock and bring back to a simmer.

As soon as the stock begins to simmer, drop as many meatballs as can comfortably cook in your pot (they should not be crowded when they rise to the surface) and cook at a lively simmer until the meatballs pop up, about six minutes or so.  Check for doneness by gently pressing on a meatball, it should not have a lot of give, but should not be rock hard either. Spoon up two or three meatballs into a small bowl along with some  of the napa cabbage and a little broth. Serve with a bowl of rice.

Salad Mix
Scallions
Dill
Nelson Carrots
Scarlett Queen Turnip
Red Ace, Early Wonder or Chioggia Beets
Russian Kale or Southern Giant Mustard
Zephyr, Cousa, & Costata Romanesco Squash

June is a very exciting, busy, and therefore tiring month. Every week we are introducing a new crop into our harvest schedule and simultaneously transplanting more crops out into the fields plus starting seedlings for our future fall produce. This coming week we will be planting our leek starts. Right now they are about the size of pencil lead and for the next 6-8 weeks, while it is really hot, they will not grow much; but be setting down roots and getting ready jump up when the weather cools. We are also seeding a late succession of potatoes this week, with the hopes of harvesting them sometime in late September. This is our first trial of late potatoes and it will be some work keeping the Colorado potato beetles at bay while the plants are small, but if we can grow them successfully, it will be easier to cure them in the fall and store them later into the Winter. Our winter squash seedlings are just emerging in their cell flats and will be transplanted out into the fields in late June along with our last succession of summer squash. Speaking of summer squash, we are happy to include them along with the first of our summer beets into the share this week. Tomatoes, basil, potatoes, garlic, and cucumbers will all be coming soon.

This week at market, we were surprised how many people asked about whether summer squash and zucchini could be used interchangeably and it got us to thinking that most people have come to think of them as different vegetables. In actuality all are summer squashes, but there are different varieties and families with different taste and texture profiles. “Squashes can be divided into two general categories: summer squash (eaten as immature fruits before seeds harden) and winter squash (eaten only after fruit has grown to maturity). Curcubia pepo is a large and diverse species that was probably first domesticated in Mexico. It primarily consists of summer squash including crookneck (var.torticollia), straightneck (var. recticollis), scallop (var. clypeata), vegetable marrow (var.fastigata), cocozzelle (var. inoga) and zucchini (var. cylindrica), but also contains several notable winter squashes including pumpkin (var. pepo) and acorn (var. turbinata).” -Missouri Botanical GardenSummer Squash include: Cousa squash are pale-colored Zucchini varieties purportedly of Middle Eastern or West Asian descent, Pattypan squash (Scallop squash), Tromboncino or Zucchetta, unusual among summer squash as being a vining plant and a Cucurbita moschata variety, Yellow crookneck squash, Yellow summer squash, Zucchini (courgette), and immature Ridge gourd luffa is used as a summer squash in India, where it is known as turai or dodka. We grow a few different varieties: Zephyr (Yellow Straightneck), Alexandra and Magda (Cousa), and Costata Romanesco and Raven (Zucchini). Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share….Autumn and Brian

roasted beet and goat cheese toast with dill and lemon

Zucchini Salad With Raisins and Pine Nuts – The New Book of Middle Eastern Food pg.87 by Claudia Roden

The combination of raisins and pine nuts was brought by the Arabs all the way to Spain and Sicily.

1 lb Zucchini
4 Tbls Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tbls Pine Nuts
2 Tbls Black or Gold Raisins or Currants
1 clove Garlic, crushed and chopped
Salt and Pepper
2 tsp dried mint (optional)
Juice of ½ Lemon, or more

Saute the Zucchini quickly in the oil with the pine nuts, raisins, and garlic. Add salt and pepper and dried mint, if using, and cook, stirring, over moderate heat until the zucchini slices are just tender. Serve hot or cold with lemon juice squeezed over the salad.

Fried Zucchini Slice with Yogurt – The New Book of Middle Eastern Food pg.86 by Claudia Roden

For this Arab and Turkish way of serving zucchini, the vegetables may be deep fried, grilled, or broiled.

1 lb Zucchini, cut into slices lengthwise
Olive or vegetable oil
Salt
1 ½ cups plain whole-milk or thick strained greek-style Yogurt

Deep-fry the zucchini in hot oil till lightly browned, turning the slices over once, then drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt. Alternatively, brush the slices with oil and grill or broil them. Serve hot or cold with yogurt spread over each slice. Variation: The yogurt may be flavored with crushed garlic, mint, or dill.

Turnip and Orange Salad –The New Book of Middle Eastern Food pg.80 by Claudia Roden

This Salad is Tunisian. Wash 1 lb young, tender turnips and slice them very thinly. Macerate for an hour in a mixture of 3 Tbls olive oil and the juice of one bitter Seville orange or a mixture of orange and lemon juice (the dressing needs to be sharp), with a crushed clove of garlic, salt, and pepper. A pinch of ground chile is optional (aleppo pepper is amazing). Serve as it is with a few sprigs of parsley or add a chopped up orange (my favorite).

Shredded Carrot Salad –The Classic Italian Cookbook  pg.406 by Marcella Hazen

No salad takes so llittle to prepare as this excellent carrot salad. Its tart, gently bracing taste is particularly welcome after a hearty, robust meal.

5-6 medium Carrots
1 tsp Salt
6 Tbls Olive Oil
1 Tbls Lemon Juice

Peel and wash carrots, and grate them on the largest holes of a grater. When ready to serve, add salt, olive oil, and lemon juice. Toss thoroughly and serve immediately.

Carrots with Parmesan Cheese –The Classic Italian Cookbook  pg.365 by Marcella Hazen

1 bunch Carrots
2 ½ Tbls Butter
Salt to taste
1/8^th tsp Sugar
1 ½ Tbls freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Peel carrots and slice them into disks 3/8 inch thick. Put the carrots and butter in a skillet large enough to contain the carrots in a single layer and add enough water to come ¼ inch up the side of the pan. Cook over medium heat uncovered. When the liquid in the skillet is evaporated, add the salt and sugar. Continue cooking, adding 2 or 3 tablespoons of warm water as required but not too much at one time. The object is to obtain carrots that are well browned, wrinkled, and concentrated in texture and taste, which will take about 1 hour, depending on the carrots. When they begin to reach the well-browned, wrinkled stage do not add any more water, because there must be no liquid left at the end. When cooked, add the grated Parmesan, stir once or twice over heat, and then transfer to a warm platter and serve immediately.

zucchini at market

scallions

tomten farm entrance

home plot

sammy j

cukoo maran

Mesclun Salad Mix
Escarole or Lettuce (Red Romaine or Oakleaf)
Cabbage (Tendersweet or Early Jersey)
Russian Kale
Fennel
Garlic Scapes
Spring Onions (Bianca Di Maggio)
A little something extra

We had a busy week, starting with the CSA workday. Thanks to all the help last Sunday, we really got a lot accomplished and appreciate getting a chance to work with CSA members on the farm. Although we don’t often recognize it, what with our busy and hectic farming schedule, when we have visitors at the farm, working with us, we are reminded of why we chose to make farming our work and life. See we were not raised as farmers, but individuals who searched out this lifestyle. Even though it is difficult and often a struggle, it is important for us to remember the privilege we have had to make this choice and follow our dreams. We both love having space and living out in the country surrounded by plants, animals, changing seasons, and delicious food as well as the tremendous farming history on our land. In our day to day life, we are working at being better farmers and persevering through whatever difficulties arise and so it is vitally important to be reminded of our choice to farm and of all the special things we get to experience everyday.

This week’s share brings fennel, cabbage, and spring onions into the mix. The Spring onions are small cippollini onions, so they will have a sweet flavor, excellent for grilling. These are the best cabbages we have ever grown, so please enjoy them. We have been making different coleslaw variations for many a meal. Cabbage is a great keeper as well, so if you are inundated with too much produce, this will hold for a number of weeks. Fennel is such an amazing vegetable; if you shy away from its intense flavor, think about cooking it instead of eating it raw. It will be absolutely delicious. Our favorite way to eat fennel is to thinly slice the whole bulb, sauté with onion in butter, add a small amount of stock (beef, chicken, or veggie), salt, and cover. After 10 minutes uncover and cook till liquid has evaporated. This preparation can also be done as part of a pasta dish, add to the onion and fennel some capers or olives, anchovies or tuna, olive oil, chile flakes, and then toss with pasta and grate some salty hard cheese on top. You will not be disappointed. This week you are getting another larger bunch of garlic scapes and this may be it for the season, as they all came on at once. They will store in a plastic bag for at least 3 weeks, but can also be pickled using  the brine for a basic dilly bean recipe and they make amazing additions to any pickle plate. Other options for the scapes are making garlic butter (blend the scapes, mix with softened butter and a little salt, then using wax paper make the butter into a log roll, wrap in plastic wrap, freeze, and use as needed.) or garlic scape pesto (check out this website for recipes: http://www.saveur.com/article/-/Garlic-Scapes-Recipes).  Have a great week and enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

Arugula
Lettuce (Panisse, New Red Fire, or Deer Tongue)
Mustard Greens
Napa Cabbage
Hakurei Salad Turnips
Daikon Radish
Garlic Scapes
Cilantro

Our Workday is happening this weekend and we are so grateful; because we need help right now. Just this week I noticed that the grass is about my height, over 5 feet tall. As you might imagine this means weeds and more weeds. Plus all the plants want to be planted right now as the weather is great and they want to grow grow grow. After this weekend we will have the majority of our peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant in the ground, as well as our okra and some of the basil. We plant multiple successions of most of these crops, but May is when the majority of them go into the ground. Planting does not just involve putting the plant in the soil, it also means prepping the bed, adding compost and fertilizer, sometimes raking, laying drip irrigation, hooping, and covering with row cover (for protection from pests). In the case of tomatoes or cucumbers, it can also mean staking and tying. With each crop there are a few different steps and this is what takes time. So we are happy to have some extra hands helping us out along the way.

This coming week’s share brings some new crops into rotation. We are excited to have Napa Cabbage and Daikon together, in case you like making kimchi.. Also our Southern Giant Green Mustards are delicious and a little spicy. They can be excellent used minimally in a dish mixed with other things, such as a stir fry, with pasta, a quiche, or you can make a side of straight mustard greens. They have enough spice and flavor to give a dish some good flair. The garlic scapes are a super special crop with a limited season.  These tasty scapes have a texture like baby asparagus with a mild, sweet, and clean garlic flavor. Hardneck garlic sends out a scape (which would eventually turn into a seed head) right as it is beginning to bulb. By pulling the scape, the garlic shoots more of its energy into bulbing and hence gets larger.  So we pull the scape to have nice garlic heads, as well as to enjoy eating the scapes themselves, as they are truly delicious. They are an excellent mild replacement for regular garlic cloves or on their own pickled or grilled. Check out the recipes and enjoy the share…Brian and Autumn

Asian Chicken Soup with Greens from the Kitchen Garden

For the broth:

1 whole chicken

1 head garlic, peeled and smashed

2-3 scallions, cut into large pieces

½ bunch cilantro, leaves, stems and roots, washed

2 inches ginger root, cut into thick slices

1 Tbsp salt & pepper to taste

For the soup:

4 oz. cellophane rice noodles or egg noodles

½ lb greens (bok choy, mustard greens, pea shoots, spinach)

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp sweet rice cooking wine or mirin

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish

Rinse the chicken thoroughly, remove giblet bag and place in a large pot with cold water to cover by 2 inches (around 2 ½ quarts of water).  Add garlic, cilantro, scallions, ginger, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer very gently for 1 ½ hours, or until the meat falls off the bone.  Remove chicken carefully to a colander and allow it to cool.  Strain the stock and skim the fat that rises to the surface.  (If you make the stock in advance, refrigerate it overnight and remove the congealed fat the next day.  You can also use a special device for separating fat that looks like a big measuring cup with a spout that pours from the bottom).  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull off all the meat and shred it with your fingers.  Use a nice handful of the meat for the soup and save the rest for another use (Vietnamese chicken salad, perhaps?).

Meanwhile soak the rice noodles in warm tap water for 15-20 minutes, drain and set aside. If using egg noodles, cook them in boiling water until al dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.  Wash greens and cut into fairly large pieces.  Bring the stock to a boil and season with the soy sauce and wine.  Taste and adjust salt if necessary.  Add greens and chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Place a handful of noodles in each soup bowl.  Pour soup over noodles and serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Variations: This soup can easily be made into wonton soup.  Get some wonton wrappers from the store (usually sold next to the tofu).  For the filling mix together ½ lb ground pork, 2 finely chopped scallions, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp rice wine, salt & pepper.  Follow directions on the package to fill them.  Boil with the greens in the hot stock until they float.

Garlic Scapes & Eggs

1 cup chopped spring garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

4 eggs

salt & pepper

Saute the garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes or so, until soft and starting to brown. Add the cheese in an even layer and immediately crack the eggs on top. Fry the eggs over high, sprinkle with salt & pepper, then flip. The bottom should be a slightly charred mass of crispy, salty , garlicky goodness. Cook the yolks easy or hard as desired. Serves two for breakfast with toast and orange juice.

Spring Pico de Gallo

Easy to make Kimchi

Asian Inspired Mustard Greens

 Spicy Mustard Greens and Daikon Radish with Crispy Sizzling Beef  

Roasted Hakurei Turnips with Israeli Couscous Salad

Mescalin salad mix
Frisee
Escarole
Scallions
Spinach or Carrots
Spigariello or Broccoli Raab
Flat Leaf Parsley

Four and a half inches of rain in less than 48 hours, a bit extreme, but all too likely during the Spring in Virginia.  These conditions obviously affect how we farm, what we can harvest and when, what we can plant and when. We have gotten pretty used to the idea that the weather dictates most of the farm and crop cycles, all we can do is be attentive and maneuver as best we can with the given conditions. So this week it was a heat wave followed by some intense rain. What does this mean for the CSA share and all our crops? Well lots of the greens (escarole, frisee, cutting greens, spinach) are ready to be harvested and they will not wait, growing over the past week in leaps and bounds, just like the pasture and all the weeds. This coming week of cooler temperatures will be really helpful with the following successions of greens, scallions, lettuce heads, and such showing slower and more normal growth, with milder taste and texture. The root veggies love moisture, but not huge amounts, so this coming week we hope to see some big jumps in growth, as long as the large amount of rain did not make them split or blowup in size.

Back to this week’s share and loads of leafy greens. The mescalin mix and frisee will do great as the base to any salad. We especially appreciate the frisee lightly dressed with salt, lemon, and a touch of olive oil mixed with croutons, blue cheese, chevre, or feta, scallions, parsley, and a poached egg. Delicious. Escarole can be used for salad, but it is fabulous sautéed with garlic (many like to blanch quickly prior to sautéing), or added to white bean or pasta dishes.  This share has some excellent pairings for a Italian meal. Check out the recipes and produce descriptions below and enjoy the share… Brian and Autumn

Torta di Erbe – Country Egg & Greens Tart

Mediterranean Rice-Stuffed Escarole

Straciatella with Escarole (egg drop soup)

Chicken with White Beans, Escarole & Meyer Lemon

Frisee is a member of the endive/chicory family with finely curled leaves and a slightly bitter flavor. It is extremely popular in France, and is best served raw with a sharply acidic dressing to offset the bitterness. It stores well in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

Frisée Salad with Poached Eggs and Bacon

Frisee with Garlic Croutons and Lemon-Anchovy Dressing from The Kitchen Garden

Croutons:4-5 slices stale bread, 1 clove garlic, olive oil, salt & pepper

Salad: 1 head Frisee, juice of 1 lemon, 2 flat anchovy fillets, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil

Wash the frisee in cold water, discarding the tough outer leaves. Soak the washed leaves in ice water for 10 minutes. (This causes the leaves to become extra crisp.)  Drain and dry the leaves, and place in a salad bowl.  Meanwhile, to make the croutons, toast the bread in the toaster oven. (You can also dehydrate fresh bread for 20 minutes at 250 degrees if you don’t have stale.) When the bread is crisp, rub each side with the clove of garlic, and then chop or break the slices into cubes. Transfer them to a small mixing bowl and coat lightly with the oil, salt & pepper. Return them to the oven and continue to bake until the oil makes them crispy. Make the dressing by combining the lemon juice, anchovy, garlic, and oil in the food processor and blending until smooth and emulsified.

Asian Mix (mizuna, scarlett frills, red mustard)
Lettuce (romaine, deer tongue, or butterhead)
Broccoli
Carrots
Hakurei Salad Turnips or Red Radishes
Red or White Russian Kale
Scallions
Cilantro

So the heat is definitely on and although it helps certain crops grow fast, some of the spring crops get a little confused by the big jumps in temperature. Watering is key in keeping them from getting shocked or stunted from the heat.  We have been doing a better job of this, especially with our lettuce and chicory heads and cut and bunched greens. This year marks the first good spring broccoli crop we have ever had, yes it is delicious. Year by year we learn more about the Virginia spring climate and how to work with it. This broccoli is a good example and hopefully in future years we will grow it even more successfully and have more to offer. Some crops love the short spring with loads of heat, such as the nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes) and the curcubit family (zucchini, cucumbers, watermelons, etc.). Our first successions of tomatoes and squash in the field look healthy and strong and our seedlings of peppers, eggplant, melons, and cucumbers are patiently waiting in the greenhouse for their turn. So this month continues with lots of planting, so much planting.

Tomato plants in greenhouse

We are also looking forward to our first chicken processing of the season next week. Why you may ask, well we have been out of chicken for six months and its really tasty. Since we raise chickens, we really only eat what we raise and process. Anyhow its been awhile and we are excited. Our first batch of 100 Red Ranger broiler chickens have been moving on pasture since they were 3 weeks old, eating a healthy diet of local Sunrise Farms GMO-free feed, foraging for pasture bugs, and building up some muscle. We think the activity really improves their flavor and texture. If you are interested in a chicken, they will be available as of May 17th and we gladly take reservations.

Broiler at six weeks

This week’s share offers a lot of versatility with types of cuisine and different combinations of produce; but I lean towards some Asian influenced preparations. The Asian mix can be cooked or eaten raw. It makes a great simple salad with a quick dressing of rice wine vinegar, dash of sesame oil, dash of olive oil, a little grated ginger, minced scallions, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Using a mandolin or knife, thinly slice radishes or hakurei turnips, or carrots and toss with the greens. That’s it, takes just a few minutes and is absolutely refreshing. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share…. Brian and Autumn

Broccoli and Cashew Nuts – adapted from recipe in Healthy Thai Cooking by Sri Owen

1 Tbls Green Curry Paste (Mae Ploy is a great option)

2 Tbls Coconut Milk

1 tsp Soy Sauce

1 lb Broccoli cut into pieces

2 oz dry roasted Cashew Nuts

Heat the curry paste in a saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and broccoli. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure it is not burning. If necessary, add some hot water. Remove the lid, raise the heat, and continue cooking, stirring, for another 5 minutes. Add the cashew nuts to the top of the broccoli just before serving, while still hot. Goes great with a side of rice.

Three recipes from Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Young Scallions with Miso

Very thin young scallions

Organic brown rice miso

Clean the scallions. Cut off the root bottoms and any brown tapering of the tops. Peel off the tough or discolored outer layers. Spoon out a dollop of miso onto a medium sized plate. To eat, dip the scallion into the miso, scooping up about the same volume of miso to scallion. This simple dish makes a fresh before dinner appetizer and is especially good with mixed drinks or a beer.

Turnips and Turnip Leaves Pickled in Salt

8 tender turnips with leaves

2 Tbls sea salt

1 meyer lemon or 2 yuzu

2 small fresh or dried red chile peppers

1 tsp slivered ginger

Ratio: turnips:salt-10:4

Slice the tops of turnips and reserve. Cut turnips in half vertically, then crosswise into thin half rounds. Slice a couple of small handfuls of leaves into 2 by 1 ¼” pieces. Toss the turnips and leaves together in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Gently but firmly massage the salt in to distribute well, encouraging the turnips to exude a bit of their water. With a very sharp knife or vegetable peeler, shave off the outer yellow zest of the lemon, taking care to avoid the bitter white pith. Stack small slices of zest and slice into very thin strips. Slice the chiles into thin rounds. Slide the zest, chiles, and ginger into the bowl of turnips. Massage one more time and serve immediately. Variation: slice carrots into thin rounds in place of the turnips. Make sure to slice very thin as they have less water content. Add some of the carrot leaves as well.

Clams simmered in Sake with Scallions

8 cups small clams

3 cups sake

4 scallions (both white and green parts cut into a medium dice)

1 tsp salt

2 dried japones or arbol chile pepper, crumbled

1 handful roughly chopped cilantro

cooked Japanese Rice for serving

Scrub the clams in several changes of cold water. Drop the clams into a large heavy pot with a lid. Glug in enough sake to fill the pot about three-quarters the height of the clams, then sprinkle with the scallions, salt, and chile peppers. Replace the lid and cook on high heat until the clams have opened. Stir in the cilantro and cook for about 30 seconds more. Serve in bowls as an appetizer or accompanied with Japanese rice. Discard any unopened clams.

Arugula
Mescalin Mix (lettuce & chicories)
Oregano or Marjoram
Green Garlic
Broccoli Raab or Spigariello
Spinach

The farm has been full of activity this past month; planting, weeding, weeding again, tending to our ever growing broilers (ready in two weeks), and finishing projects like our seeding schedule and building packing tables for our washing area. Plus we bought a 1976 Massey Ferguson tractor and it arrived this week. Being a bit bigger than our Farmall 140, this tractor is going to simplify some of our field prep and in general make us more efficient. Overall this season is off to a great start and even the weather is mostly cooperating, except for the occasional torrential rainstorms.  At the end of this week we mowed done the last of our winter rye, crimson clover, and winter pea cover crop. In order to get the rye to die back, it has to be cut at just the right time, before it produces viable seed heads. This small section will be “resting” this year, so we will plant a summer cover crop of Sorgham Sudan Grass, that produces a ton of organic matter and aerates the soil through its big root system. Check out the before and after mowing photos below.

We are so happy May is here and our CSA season is beginning. The process of looking at our crops and coming up with combinations that work well together and inspire cooking for our members is actually quite fun. As is always the case during the springtime, our harvestable crops are mostly leafy green vegetables. So you are going to get an abundance in this week’s share. Greens for every occasion, breakfast, lunch or dinner. Everyone will get a bunch of either Broccoli Raab or its distant cousin Spigariello (Cavolo Broccolo), which is a type of broccoli that doesn’t head and has similarities to Tuscan kale. Both are loved for their complex, earthy flavors and tender greens. Everything can be used, the stalk, leaf, and even florets. Check out some of the recipe suggestions below.

We have also included Green Garlic, one of our favorite spring crops, that is usually only around for three or four weeks. The garlic plant is harvested before it bulbs so it has a sweet and mild garlic flavor. It can be used like a leek, pairing fabulously with eggs, pasta, braised or sautéed greens, or as any aromatic would be used in your favorite dish. Use it along with some of the oregano or marjoram to spice up a meal. The white part is the most tender and pungent, but please use the greens too, as it is all so delicious.  It will last for a few weeks if kept in a plastic bag in your crisper. Have a wonderful week and enjoy your share…. Brian and Autumn

Spigariello – a Botanical Mystery

Mariquita Farm Spigariello Recipes

Spicy Orecchiette with Spigariello, Green Garlic and Anchovies (3^nd recipe in post)

Broccoli Rabe: Walnut Pesto, Red Chilli Flakes, Lemon

Spinach and Green Garlic Soup

Soba with Green Garlic, Spinach, Edamame, and Crispy Tofu

Broccoli Raab

Green Garlic

Spigariello

As with every year, April has been a busy month. The month starts out looking really barren and ends looking very lush and vibrant. In the last few weeks we’ve planted our first round of tomatoes, summer squash, and potatoes. Our brassica family(broccoli, kale, arugula etc.) planting has never looked better. Last Winter we ran the laying hens through the plot where they are currently growing and I think the extra nutrients the chickens left behind is making a marked difference in their growth. Speaking of chickens at work, we just moved the laying hens off a piece of pasture we are opening up for more vegetable production. Our little 20 horse power 1960 Farmall tractor has some trouble plowing up new land so we followed the plowing with the chickens to eat the grass down and work the soil a bit. We are purchasing a larger tractor this week, which will allow us to further prepare the soil in that plot as well as with many other tasks the old Farmall can’t really handle. We feel good about the start to the 2014 season. We are a bit more on top of things this year.

The regular farmers market season starts this week for the South of the James. We have moved to the back of the market, next to Heath farm and Agriberry.

Mesclun Salad Mix
Escarole or Frisee
German Butterball Potatoes
Purple Top Turnips
Carrots or Beets
Kale
Parsley

This is the last share for 2013. What a great week to end our CSA season with such a festive and food filled holiday as Thanksgiving. We hope you will enjoy lots of great produce along with other classics for your holiday festivities. Thanks so much for joining us during this past season. We hope each of you enjoyed the bounty as much as we did. Although we are finishing up our CSA season, we are not yet done with our crops. We have grown quite a bit of produce for the Winter season and depending a bit on the weather we plan to continue bringing food to you at markets or through email orders. We will be harvesting weekly through December and then bi-monthly in January and February. We hope to have escarole, frisee, radicchio, carrots, fennel (possibly), spinach, beets, swiss chard, kale, cabbage, broccoli, turnips, winter radishes, leeks, arugula, salad mixes, and lettuce along with a few herbs.  We hope you will keep a lookout for us and our produce.

This week’s share combines lots of greens with quite a few root vegetables which can be so perfect for cold days. The last of our potatoes are being dispersed amongst the share this week. This was a really fabulous crop for us this year. The German Butterball has been a great storage variety for us and it will continue to hold, so if you still have lots of potatoes, don’t feel rushed to use these. We have included some recipes below. Please enjoy the share… Brian and Autumn

My Mother’s Chicken Escarole Soup

Wilted Escarole Salad

Bulgur with Roasted Turnips, Carrots, and Kale

Skillet Turnips and Potatoes with Bacon