Category Archives: leeks

In the Share – Week 1 (extended season)

April 20, 2016Allis Chalmers G, broccoli, chicken coop, chickens, cultivating, irrigation, leeksFarmer Rebecca

EGGS This week only, we have enough eggs to add to the shares. Our hens have been busy fertilizing, weeding and eating bugs for us, when they aren’t sitting in the coop laying their healthy and colorful eggs. (eggs will be offered on the bulk list for the next two weeks. Egg shares start the first week of the regular season in three weeks.)

LETTUCE From the high tunnel, butterhead or red leaf varieties.

FRISEE ENDIVE Add to your lettuce for a frilly salad.

SPINACH We may be out of spinach after this week, it had a long run from its original seeding in September 2015.

GAILAN Also planted back in September, broccoli’s more slender cousin.

ARUGULA OR SWISS CHARD More greens from the high tunnel.

CARROTS From cold storage of the fall 2015 crop.

POTATOES Ditto on these.

HERB CHOICE garlic chives and/or tarragon

NEXT WEEK: Lettuce, green onions, hakurei turnips, radishes, and bok choy

FARM REPORT:

Welcome to the first week of the CSA! The harvest has begun just in time for Earth Day. Organic farming and community participation is what sustainability is all about. Thank you for caring about your Mother Earth!

The planting of the Spring crops is all but complete. The fields are full of peas, potatoes, onions, broccoli, cabbage, kale, chard, carrots, beets, spinach, leeks and loads of lettuce. Here we are last week putting the finishing touches on the leek planting.

The rain has given us a temporary break from planting work. Instead we filled our time giving the packing room and wash area a good Spring cleaning. We adhere to and train our crew in good food safety practices. This includes cleaning and sanitizing all of the crates and tools that we use for harvest. It is a big task, but well worth the effort.

Up until two days ago, the fields were very dry. Dry weather has its pros and cons. Last year during the torrential rains I told more than one person that it is much easier to bring water to the plants than to take it away.

Other pros of dry weather: it was dry enough to kill lots of weeds! Here’s me and the cultivating tractor, our Allis Chalmers G, getting things tidy.

However, there is a big con of dry weather: it was necessary to walk out irrigation tape in April, which is not always necessary but was very necessary two weeks ago. This takes time, but was totally worth it. All of our transplants look amazing after a nice drink from the pond followed by a good bath from the sky.

So, I’m sticking to my assertion that a dry year is better than a way-too-wet one. Although this week’s rain was tremendous and impossible to duplicate. Thank your Mother Earth!

In the Share – Week 30

November 20, 2013leeks, thanksgivingFarmer Rebecca

LEEKS: One of the last crops we harvest in the field. Cold-hardy and so tasty!

HAKUREI TURNIPS: These are coming out of the high tunnel. The caterpillars munched on the greens a bit, but they are still very edible.

SPINACH: More big leaves from the high tunnel spinach.

RADISHES: Baby red and pink radishes out of the tunnel. They are amazingly not spicy for a change!

BEETS: A bag of beets for your culinary adventures. I made chocolate beet cake awhile back (use a bit of shredded beets in the icing for a pretty pink chemical-free icing). Yumm!

CARROTS: More glorious orange roots, now going topless!

GOLD BALL TURNIPS OR BULB FENNEL: We hope this is a good choice for you all. Some folks would like both, but I think there are more of you who would be happy with just one or the other. If you get the fennel, see Tom’s post for a recipe from one of your fellow CSA members.

HERB CHOICE: Cilantro, dill, sage, thyme or a dried herb.

CAULIFLOWER, CABBAGE OR LETTUCE: So, don’t get your hopes up for being able to choose among these items. We have a few of each and will be doling them out by distribution point based on how quickly they need to go. Wednesday folks will get mainly cauliflower, Saturday folks will most likely only see cabbage or lettuce.

NEXT WEEK: Don’t forget! The CSA is on hiatus for the week of Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday and we will get you all one last share the first week of December: sweet potatoes, garlic, watermelon radishes, carrots, beets, greens and herbs.

FARM REPORT:

The freezing weather last week marked a turning point on the farm from the flurry of fall harvest to a retreat into winter. A few crops remain outside, some carrots and leeks that we hope to finish digging this week, but the majority of the harvest is either in cold storage, in the high tunnel, or in our collective bellies. That reminds me of a CSA farm in CA not far from where I use to live called Full Belly Farm. I always thought that was a great name because it makes you smile and maybe think a bit. CSA is kind of like that. The bounty of the harvest can make you smile, even giggle when you get that odd-shaped carrot, but it also perhaps opens a door to another way of living on our little planet. Next week we will all sit down to our family tables and give thanks. I know Tom and I will be thinking of the soil, the sun and the rain, but we will also be thinking of all of you. Thank you!!

In the Share – Week 23

October 10, 2012frost, high tunnel, leeks, outstanding in the fieldFarmer Rebecca

LEEKS (F/P) I love the way the walk-in cooler smells when it is full of leeks. It smells like buttery goodness.

LETTUCE (F/P) Tender red leaf and butterhead varieties this week.

TOMATOES (F/P) A couple of green tomatoes and a few more ripe ones.

GREEN PEPPERS (F/P) The last of the green peppers

NAPA CABBAGE (P) We are harvesting the prettiest Napa cabbage crop we have ever had: dense heads of delicate leaves.

CAULIFLOWER OR BROCCOLI (F) We planned on putting out more broccoli and cauliflower transplants this summer but as insanely hot as it was we are grateful to be able to offer a choice of the two. Partial shares will get broccoli next week.

BEETS (F) The first harvest of the fall beets, mostly a long variety called “Cylindra”

TURNIPS AND WATERMELON RADISHES (F/P) A couple of each. The watermelon radishes are good keepers. To reduce the heat of radishes slice them into rounds and peel the hot outer layer off.

HERB CHOICE (F) Arugula, dill or tarragon

NEXT WEEK: The last week of the regular 24-week season. More lettuce, herbs, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Carrots, savoy cabbage and bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:

The thermometer read 26 degrees F Sunday morning and with that the summer crops took their exit. The fields are now stripped with brown rows of dead plants. Everything does not die with the frost. We are gladdened by the resilient cabbages and broccolis that will keep growing until the hard freeze. Other crops fared just fine under a layer or two of row cover. We are just beginning to harvest the fall roots and look forward to many more warm days before winter. The high tunnel plants are growing rapidly within the protected environment.

Next Friday 10/19 we will be hosting our second Outstanding in the Field dinner at the farm and we invite you to join us. The talented folks at Justus Drugstore will once again be serving up their hand-crafted recipes to 100+ diners sitting at a long table in our fields. The chef will be using some of our produce along with other local meats, wines and cheeses. There are still seats at the table available. Go here to learn more and to purchase tickets. Last year the food was amazing and we met so many interesting people who traveled great distances to eat dinner in our farm field.

Week 1: What to Do With Your Share

May 8, 2012csa, fair share farm, leeks, lettuce, stir fry, sustainable agriculture, thousand island dressingFarmer Rebecca

Welcome to the 2012 Fair Share Farm CSA. In this section of the blog we will give you recipe ideas and other suggestions for enjoying your share to the fullest. This weekly blog will serve as a jumping off point for you to explore your possiblities. The recipes we post are all tested, and often created, right here in our kitchen. We suggeest the following supplemental sources of information each week:
Fair Share Farm Recipe Page—This website page is a compilation of some of the recipes we have recommended in the past. It was compiled several years ago, so it does not include all of our recipes. You can use the search bar or menu to find what you are looking for.

2004-2006 Fair Share Farm Newsletters—Prior to the blog we posted newsletters every week. An archive of them is on our website. You can look at newsletters from weeks with the same date as the week of your share for some probable cooking options.

This blog—As with the newsletters, you can search out what we were doing in previous years to find recipes appropriate for that week’s share. Also, you can use the search bar in the upper righthand corner to look for things.

Use the Google and the internets—The early days of CSA’s consisted of mimeographed newsletters. Today, if you have internet access, the possibilities are endless. Find something tasty? Link it in our comment section or post it on our facebook page. We would like everyone to signup.

So…on with the show. We have a great first share this year. So nice that the encores could be difficult, but that is our job after all. Just no more hail storms please.

Before our feature recipe of the week, here are a few past ones that are known favorites. New to leeks? Try an Asparagus and Leek Fritatta, or if you don’t get your asparagus until next week, try Mashed Potatoes with Leeks and Garlic.

The bok choi is perfect right now, so get the wok out and have a stir fry. Hope we don’t have to tell you what to do with the strawberries, but a nice option is presented below.

Butterhead Lettuce Wedge Salad with Strawberries and 1,000 Island Dressing
Rebecca and I saw a recipe similar to this on a cooking show this winter, and it stayed with us. The butterhead lettuce in your share is an Italian seed variety know as Regina di Maggio. They are the light green lettuces with the head in the center. The tender leaves combined with the thick dressing are a nice textural combination. Needing a knife to eat it makes it feel so civilized, like you are living at Downton Abbey.

Ingredients:
1 butterhead lettuce
Spring onion
Radishes
Strawberries

Dressing:
Combine in a bowl and blend 4 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp chili sauce or catsup, 2 tbsp chopped pepperoncinis or relish, 2 tbsp EV olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Peel the loose outer leaves away from the lettuce head and save them for salad or other use. With the root end still on, cut the lettuce head into sections (top to bottom). Keeping the root on allows you to wash and drain it without it falling apart.

To serve, cut off root and set wedges in individual bowls, cut side up. Top with chopped onions, radishes and strawberries. Top with dressing.

Welcome to the Vegetables

May 17, 2011leeks, newsletter, stir frySemra Fetahovic

Welcome one and all to the 2011 Fair Share Farm CSA. The fields are in great shape this Spring and we are hoping for a bountiful season. For those of you who don’t know, this part of the blog is written by me, Tom the Farmer. It is the spot you can go to get ideas for cooking each week’s share.

Depending on time and personal energy, you may find a recipe from a recent meal here at the farm, a list of tried and true favorites, or other suggestions for cooking up your veggies (or all of the above). You can also search the blog, or go to our website and; a) search the Recipe page or b) check out our 2004 – 2007 Newsletter archive. In all cases you will find recipes that we have tested and tasted, and that each use a large array of share items.

Since the 2005 CSA seaon we have had leeks in the first week’s share. This week’s amount is heftier than normal, since we have to dig an entire bed before they flower, and want to get them to you while they are still fresh.

Once we made leeks as staple of our shares we found that those unfamiliar with this noble allium quickly fell in love with it. Part of the reason has been our suggested recipe. If you are new to leeks be sure to try Angel Hair Paste with Leeks and Garlic Saute. Last year’s Asparagus and Leek Fritatta is also a winner. It is a good way to use the small bunch of asparagus. In future years, when our new patch is producing we plan on this item being a larger share.

Stir Fry Season
This week’s recipe is a variation on the stir fry recipe in last years Week 2 blog. I recommend reading that blog post, as it references an excellent article on the basics of stir frying. We received lots of comments last year on how stir fry’s became a delicious “go to” meal for many members.

On Saturday we had a hankering for just such a meal, especially after staring at these prime vegetables in the fields all week long. But as we pulled the ingredients together we realized that we had no ginger root in the house. We did find some candied ginger in the freezer though, and substituted it with great results.

Spring Stir Fry 2011
While suspiciously similar to last year’s recipe I hope that it serves to illustrate that for many CSA share recipes you simply use what you have.

Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1-1/2 tbsp chopped candied ginger (or ginger root)
2 green garlic (bottom half) You can also add green onions
3 to 5 radishes
1 to 2 bok choi
6 to 8 lovage leaves (optional)
Cilantro for garnish

Sauce:
You can use the sauce from last year’s recipe, or as we did, simply look in your fridge and find all of those Asian sauces that may be in there. We used a combination of oyster sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili garlic sauce and fish sauce.

Method
First step is to ready the ingredients. For the bok choi you will want to chop the stems and the leaves separate. Likewise with the radishes, chop the root and the tops separate
Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside
Heat a wok or large skillet, add the sesame oil
Add the candied ginger, stir and cook for 30 seconds
Add the radishes and green garlic, stir and cook for 2 minutes
Add the bok choi stems, cook for 1 minute
Add the greens from the bok choi, and radish, and the lovage, cook 1 minute
Add the sauce and cook for 1 more minute

Serve immediately over hot rice and garnish with cilantro if desired