Things are growing fast out here. The alliums are plumping up, greens are peaking, and the first fruits of the season are here. We like what we see out there right now, and are enjoying the nice harvest.

For the next several weeks it will be stir-fry season. The Asian greens are quite happy with the weather and have sized up as well as they can during spring. So this time of year we like to link you to Twenty Tips for Stir-frying by Rhonda Parkinson. Another suggestion is Stir Fry Soup from our blog five years ago.

Bok choi

Tonight at dinner we made a fried rice with egg and vegetables.  Regularly having cooked rice in the fridge, a boatload of vegetables, and fresh eggs at hand makes this a go-to meal. We cook the veggies first, add several eggs to the middle of the wok to scramble, throw in some rice, stir it together. and cook until the rice crisps up a bit. A hearty meal.

On the way to making fried rice with egg and vegetables

Our recipe above is a little ahead of the harvest curve, with some hakurei turnips and gailan, but it can be made with most any of the roots and greens you have in our share. Short on fresh ginger, we even used crystallized ginger for flavor. What doesn’t get eaten tonight is perfect for lunch.

The CSA season is here, so welcome to week 1. We have been gearing up for this day since the first seeds were planted in the greenhouse back in February. It is time to start harvesting.

We do our best to give you crops are at their peak, and the lettuce could not be better. It is only so often during the year when this salad green is so tender and crisp at the same time. In last week’s blog I recommended focusing on making some good salad dressing for the next month.

If you check out our group page, you find another suggestion, lettuce wraps. Stacy Cook revived a link to our friend Heather Hands’ blog of 2009. The butterhead leaves are especially suitable as wrappers or scoops. You can make whatever filling suits your desires.

The spring herbs are in peak form too. We moved the mint out of the field beds and into our home herb garden. The area they are thriving in has been a repository for greenhouse compost the last 10 years. The mint is the happiest we have ever seen it and the sprigs are first cuttings and fragrant. The chive flowers are at their edible best, with just a little crunch. The slight anise taste of tarragon goes well with fish, chicken, in a salad dressing, or to garnish a slaw.

One item new to our share list this year is field pea shoots. These greens are actually one of our cover crops, and we feel they represent a way to make an important connection between you and our soil.

One of the premises of our farming method is “you are what you eat, so you are what your plants eat.” We feed our vegetables field peas by growing them, turning them into the soil, and letting the life in the soil digest them and release nutrients to the plant.

When we eat pea shoots the same thing happens. Bacteria in our digestive system break the pea shoots down so our body can utilize their nutritional content. It reminds us that our life is reliant on a host of other living things to perform that most important task of eating. It also reminds us that we must treat agriculture as a biological process, and not a chemical one.

The pea shoots are a sweet green for any type of salad. We chop them and use them as an ingredient in just about any type of fresh salad we make.

Things are shifting gears here on the farm. The high tunnel season is over and the field is starting to show its stuff. We are really enjoying the fresh lettuce and other goodness in the share.

And a good lettuce deserves good accompaniments. A creamy, fresh dressing is an excellent match for the butterheads in this week’s share. Their season can be short, so we eat it as much as we can right now.

Our suggestion is to stock the fridge and cupboard with staples like plain yogurt, mayo, eggs, tahini, EV olive oil, citrus, and your favorite vinegars. If you do you can use fresh seasonings from the share like green garlic, chives, dill or cilantro to keep things local in making your dressing.

Butterhead Lettuce Heart Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing
(dressing modified from The Silver Palate Cookbook)

Ingredients1 egg yolk
½ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar or honey
1/4 cup chopped green garlic or garlic scapes
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup best-quality olive oil

Method
1. Take outer leaves off lettuce head (save them for another salad or sandwiches) until you are left with the tender heart. You may want 2 lettuce heads per salad. Wash, dry in a salad spinner, and place in salad bowl or individual bowls.
2. Combine egg yolk, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process briefly.
3. With the motor running, slowly dribble in the olive oil.
4. Taste, correct seasoning if necessary, and transfer to storage/serving container.
5. Top salad with the dressing and garnish of choice (we used roasted pumpkin seeds

In the near future we hope to see this recipe be able to include fresh strawberries. We have two patches this year and look forward to the chance to have a good harvest in late-May.

Finally, a little note on the late Rocky. Since he passed in late July we have been taking different opportunities to scatter his ashes on the farm. We reserved some for remembrance and found a beautiful receptacle in a carved Peruvian gourd. Thanks to my sister Cathy for the gift.

Hard to believe it is still April. The weather has been mild and we have finally gotten some rain. It has gotten a lot of things growing and blooming. Keeping up this time of year includes lots of harvesting.

Walking onions

Our perennial allium crops come on according to their own schedule and this week the chives and walking onions are peaking. The onions are a bit sturdier than a scallions, and can be cooked or used fresh. We also have the Bridger overwintering onion in the field and will begin pulling them too.

The chives include their blooms, which are perfect as a garnish to either fresh or cooked dishes. If you are enjoying our eggs, chives are a savory accompaniment.

Chive flowers

Hello 2016 CSA. We are happy to see the harvest start on schedule with good spring fare for the first share. Each season has its own characteristics and we are ready to see what this year brings.

Two of the items in the share –carrots and potatoes– are crops that we harvested last year and have stored in our cooler. If kept at the right temperature and humidity many vegetables can be stored for long periods of time. You need to create an environment that puts them into a comfortable state of dormancy.

This cold storage also changes the taste of the carrot, usually towards the sweeter side. This year we are planning on installing new refrigerated storage in the barn that will be used, in part, to store vegetables over the winter for spring-time enjoyment. Let us know what you think of our efforts so far.

The fresh veggies are coming on too, and a couple of the stars are also over-wintered. The spinach and gailan plants we are harvesting from were first planted last fall. They have been nurtured, watered, fertilized and protected in the high tunnel their whole life, and are reaching their spring peak right about now.

During the off-season we have been enjoying the gailan. We are working to learn as much as we can about the best ways to raise and harvest it. We will trial a few new varieties, and see what harvest methods produce the best growth. We love the flavor and texture—milder and tender than other sprouting broccoli’s, like the Italian broccoli raab.

Gailan (Chinese broccoli)

It is exceptional raw, so we regularly make a salad. You can chop it and then add whatever you want. We suggest grated carrots, some salt and pepper, garlic chives, and your favorite dressing. Simple, tasty and nutritious.

Gailan and carrot salad

Tractor repair with Spike

It is the last day of what seems to have been an endless March. This year has come to life about as early as we have ever seen. The fields are planted with potatoes, peas, onions, herbs, lettuce, carrots, beets, chard, cabbage and broccoli. A first from what our records show.

This unique situation has made us anxious, hopefully in a good way. Timing is everything with vegetable growing. The soil has felt wonderful, and things seem to be doing well.

Tom and I are joined this year by apprentices, Kimberly and Karen, along with Jody, who has returned for a third season here working part-time. Add in the CSA members and our farm team for 2016 is set.

Thanks to the Core Group for a smooth as always sign-up meeting. The cash flow that CSA brings to the farm in mid-March is another example of how timing is everything. Thanks to all new and returning members.

Big news for the CSA:  we have a new site in the crossroads to pick up your share. The partners of the soon-to-be opening, Lifted Spirits Distillery at 1732 Cherry Street, just blocks away from the old Bad Seed, have graciously allowed us to use their space for CSA distribution. We are very grateful to their willingness to house us after a long search. 

In 2004 our first CSA share went out at the Crossroads farmers market started by local food pioneer, Heather Hands and her store, Local Harvest at 18th and Wyandotte. After a short stint on 39th Street we returned to the Crossroads and resided at Bad Seed for the past eight years. We are thrilled to keep our roots in this vibrant part of KCMO. 

For those who may be hesitant about the “bar” ambiance, we will be in a back store room that has it’s own entrance, so no one will need to walk through a haze of spirits to get their produce.  But, of course, you can swing by the front of the building on your way, if you so desire.

Back on the farm, we have ambiance too.  Enjoy the roll of photos below.

Working on the deer fence

In the greenhouse

New cover crop planter-part of our SARE project

Row covering the cabbage

Home field at dusk 

Sign up

Easter egg hen