It has been 13 Mays on the farm now, and the third week of the CSA always seems to have a stellar lineup, as the fruits and flowers start to fill the shares. It’s the time of year when strawberries, broccoli and fresh garlic hit their peak, and you realize that they all go together well.

Megan and Semra harvesting strawberries

Be sure to save some of your strawberries to make a dressing that will compliment any salad. Mayonnaise based, yogurt based, or just plain balsamic vinaigrette with diced strawberries, the varieties and variations possible show the versatility of the strawberry.

Something new this year is gai lan or Chinese broccoli. Not your average mustard flower, this broccoli variation is tender with no bitterness, but instead a nutty sweetness. We are trialing two different varieties to see how they perform here in NE Clay County.

One thing nice about gai lan is that you eat the whole thing. Just chop it up and add it to anything you like. A stir fry is the normal recipe, but you can also chop it fine and add to eggs. Let us know what you think.

To prepare gai lan, simply chop

It’s been a verdant spring. Things have really burst on the scene this year. The trick is to keep the same pace as the plants in the field. It’s the time of year when we make the really big stir fry.

For us it means to cook for four instead of two. The wok is something to be filled, so we chop up whatever we have available. Bok choi, tat soi, onions, green garlic, broccoli, gai lan; they all go well in a stir fry.

Massaged kale

Another recipe possibility this week is kale salad. Far from tough, the kale in the shares is prime for this tactile recipe. The key to it is de-stemming and chopping the kale, before massaging it with a little salt and olive oil.

The massaging action tenderizes the kale and deepens it’s color. Such a simple step to enjoying this hearty and nutritious vegetable. Once you have prepared the kale you can add whatever salad ingredients you enjoy the most or have on hand. We tossed in some craisins, toasted pumpkin seeds, and chopped green garlic, along with the juice of 1/2 a lime.

The high tunnel is ready for a feeding, so we are emptying it out to for mowing, spading and seeding with cover crop. In the photo below Jody and Megan are dismantling a portion of the end walls so that I can drive the tractor inside and prepare the soil.

Hello good members. Welcome to the 2015 CSA. Every year is different, and we are as curious as you as to how the crops will fare. So far, so good. Green is definitely the word at the farm right now.

To start the season, I don’t think I could prep you any better than your fellow member Emily Akins. Her Edible Kansas City article, Sharing: How I Found My Way to CSA is full of excellent advice (like a reverse grocery list). It hits on how to get into the rhythm of having a CSA feed you.

This week the rhythm is greens. Fresh or cooked, we feel that they are all at their best this spring. You can make greens a main dish, or work them into just about anything. Tonight’s recipe for carbonara with greens is a good example, working vegetables into your diet by adding them to an otherwise vegetable-less dish.

Carbonara with Greens
Ingredients1/2 bunch of greens
2 green onions
1 cup diced bacon, ham or salami
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
1 tsp salt

1 lb pasta, cooked
3 eggs
1 cup shredded cheese
cracked pepper

Method Trim the stems off the greens. Chop and mix with chopped salami and green onions. Add to pan with heated olive oil and sauté for 3 minutes. Add greens and cook for 2 more minutes. Add half the pasta (save the other half and make this dish again).  Mix the eggs, cheese and cracked pepper in a bowl. Toss with pasta and heat until eggs are set. Serve with garnish of green onion tops and the remaining grated cheese.

Fold greens leaves in half to easily trim stems

 

ASPARAGUS  Hooray! Fresh spears for all!

SPINACH  The last of the high tunnel crop.

HEAD LETTUCE (2)  We have an assortment to choose from:  butterheads, red leaf and romaines.

FRISSEE ENDIVE  frilly heads to go in a salad or light sautee.

HAKUREI TURNIPS  Not our best crop, but they are still pretty good.

RED RADISHES  Round ladies with a bite.

BRAISING MIX  Time to chop down the kale, chard and Asian greens in the high tunnel.  The result is a yummy bag of greens.

CHIVE FLOWERS  The flowers are the thing to eat, not their woody stalks.  A pretty fresh garnish on every dish.

NEXT WEEK:  We are dependent on the great outdoors again and 77 more members are joining us.  Lettuce, herbs, bok choy, kale and green onions.

FARM REPORT:
It is a beautiful time of year on the farm.  Everything green is responding to the nice temperatures and a good soaking rain last night. 1.6 inches fell which was a nice end to a busy several days of planting and fieldwork. 

This year, unlike years previous, we did not put hay mulch on the Spring cabbages and broccolis.  Instead, I’ve been able to use our electric tractor to cultivate and, with the help of the farm crew and our hoes, we’ve been able to take care of the weeds mechanically. 

The latest dry spell made this task possible and we were able to put in 600 cucumber and 200 squash and 550 tomato plants and 800 feet of beans. 

While the humans buzz around the fields, the canine and feline recognize the benefit of resting in the shade. 

The warm weather and recent rain has been good for growing, and the kitchen has gotten busier. So many fresh vegetables in early May is a healthy benefit of being so close to the fields. It also helps being part of a food circle that brings fresh local bread, cheese and eggs through the farm. Tonight’s recipe takes advantage of this.

View from the onion patch

Spinach Balls with Endive
These pan fried fritters are similar to Indian pakoras. It is a nice way to use spinach, or any other green or cooked vegetable. I used Companionship bread, Heartland Mill flour, and Skyview goat cheddar cheese. The endive’s fresh taste and crispy texture rounds out the recipe.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. fresh spinach
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 small onion, chopped fine
1-1/2 cups bread crumbs
2/3 cup flour
1 tbsp. dried herbs ( oregano, savory, thyme, and/or rosemary)
4 eggs
salt and pepper
chive flowers for garnish

Endive
Dressing

Method:
Steam spinach for 3 minutes, let cool, squeeze dry and chop
Combine all ingredients, form into balls
Fry in 1/4 inch oil over medium high heat until golden brown
Plate up with endive and add salad dressing and chive flowers

Hard to believe April is in its last week. The mild weather has allowed for a slow awakening for the plants with little damage from the elements. Every year is different, and this year is well paced so far.

Tender greens are a big part of the share this week, with butterhead lettuce at the top of the list. I look forward to the first one each season and have it with not much more than oil and vinegar. Coming out of the high tunnel they are quite tender.

The Asian greens fall into that category too, and are pretty perfect for a stir fry. If you have any greens from last week left make a big one and have it over a couple days. You have the vegetables, so now the question is, what type of sauce do I use?

Food.com has a good basic stir fry sauce recipe  and fortysomething.ca has a nice list of 15 different sauces. Lots of great options.

The pea shoots are a new item we are trying. They are a tender, sweet garnish. Use them on just about anything. Rinse, drain and chop, or put whole in salads.

Welcome to this year’s Fair Share Farm CSA. It is time to begin the 2015 harvest season. Fresh, local vegetables in late-April is something we are glad to be a part of. This year is starting out with lots of promise, and we are looking forward to what’s ahead.

The green’s choice this week allows for lots of options. One recipe that we think fits them all is the stinging nettle dish in our last blog. A healthy dose of fat/oil, vinegar/wine/citrus juice, salt, pepper, herbs, onions and garlic always make for a savory serving of greens. Leftovers are a great addition to omelets.

This week is the only week of the year we have eggs in the share, so it is the only week I have a recipe devoted to the egg. This dish is a part of my family heritage, the “egg in a basket.” Apparently created to make egg and toast eating easier on the high seas, I learned it from my father. It is a great breakfast option to have in your repertoire.

Egg in a Basket

Cut a hole in a slice of bread big enough to hold the yolk of an egg
Butter both sides of the bread
Add 1 teaspoon butter to hot pan, add bread

Crack egg into the hole in the bread
Once the bottom has cooked, about 2 minutes, flip the bread/egg
Cook on other side until golden brown
Serve hot with garlic chive garnish and hot sauce

Here is info and a recipe for the stinging nettles sold at the Kansas City Food Circle Eat Local and Organic Expo.

Stinging Nettles
Perhaps the earliest green of the season (before the invention of high tunnels), this European import grows wild on our farm. It is in perfect form right now, with this first shoots still in a tender stage. As a tea this medicinal vegetable is consumed as a spring tonic. Our recipe is for a delicious side-dish.

Foraging nettles

Do-it-Yourself Stinging Nettle Recipe
Be aware that handling stinging nettles without gloves can be aggravating to your skin. According to our Weeds of the Great Plains book, “the stinging hairs contain acetylcholine and histamine.” Despite this, it was used to treat rheumatism in the past, the sting serving to stimulate blood flow. Once cooked the potential for irritation is gone.

The are simple to cook, a steaming for 10 minutes is all that is needed. You can cook the nettles whole, right out of the bag or trim off the bottoms of the thicker stems first.

Fresh nettles are tender and can be cooked whole, or trimmed and chopped.

Enhancing this basic recipe is where the DIY aspect of the recipe comes into play. If you eat meat, bacon fat is a good compliment as the fat/oil to cook in. Olive, sesame, peanut and other flavorful oils are equally delicious.

A good braising liquid is another basic ingredient for cooking nettles. White wine, water, and stock are all good cooking liquids. I like to top it with some vinegar before serving.

1/5 lb stinging nettles
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. lardo
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup beer
1/2 cup water

Lardo, garlic and red onion

Chop the lardo fine, heat in frying pan with the olive oil
Sautee the onion and garlic for 2 minutes, add the nettles
Cook for 2 minutes, stirring t blend the ingredients
Add beer and water, bring to boil, turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes
Serve with garnish of fresh green onions and vinegar

This time of year is always the most anxious for us. The whole season is ahead of us…transplants to grow, an entire farm to plant, and projects galore to be completed. But they say that challenge is what helps keep a person healthy, so we are glad to have the opportunity to be in this position.

Transplants to put in the ground next week

We continue to start plants in the greenhouse. Summer crops like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant have been seeded, and the cabbage, broccoli, kale and other spring transplants have been moved outside to the cold frame to make room. They will be acclimated to the elements for about a week before being transplanted (weather permitting).

Uncovering the strawberries

Our 2015 apprentices Meghan McQueen and Semra Fetahovic start on Monday. We will ease them into the routine as their spring training begins. Welcome to the farm team and what should prove to be an exciting year.

Thanks also to the membership for attending the sign up meeting. This event is always an important part of the year; a way to reconnect, conduct some business, meet new members, and give all the opportunity to meet our partner vendors. As always the Core Group made it all happen without a hitch. Thanks to them and to St. James Church for hosting.

2015 Sign-up

New partner vendor, Companionship Bread

John and Mark dismantling the roof.

Loafing shed demolition, check.

We have cleaned out, shored up, used, upgraded, and otherwise spent a lot of time in this part of the barn. And now it is gone, ready for its next life. Yes, 2015 should prove to be unique.

And one last thing. It is always interesting to find an artifact. The men who built the loafing shed (apparently in the 1940’s) signed their work.



Signed by Keith Stein, Bill Stein and Paul ?   194?

Sorry for missing the blog last week. Vertigo took over for the second half of the day, and I learned the importance of a stable middle ear. An infection or inflammation came and went, and I am steady on my feet again.

Last week was Veteran’s Day and I had wanted to thank our vets, and my dad. He served in the Mediterranean and China theaters during WWII as part of the Navy’s “Scouts and Raiders.” Pre-SEALS they focused on reconnaissance and demolition. Life in his early 20’s.

Lt (jg) Frank “Rocky” Ruggieri

Here at the end of the season the fare is hearty. A chicken comes out of the freezer to help make a rich stock. Cooking them helps add humidity and warmth to the house. From there about any assortment of vegetables can be sautéed, before adding some of the homemade chicken broth. They say it cures the cold.

Our latest batch of sauerkraut is on sale now. Prepared and fermented at Bad Seed, it will be on sale to the general public at the Pre-Thanksgiving Market on Friday from 4-9 pm. We are looking forward to starting another batch next week for sale before the end of the year.

We have three go-to uses for kraut;

• on a grilled cheese sandwich
• with our Parker Farms brauts
• as a topping on salad

It is important to maintain a proper biology within our digestive systems, and the kraut helps. We are very symbiotic, and understanding that can help lead to healthier eating habits. We plan to offer more fermented vegetables that have been grown on the farm in the coming months and years.