Week of June 9

This weeks box includes:

Basil
Cilantro
Parsley
Green Garlic
Amaranth
Head Lettuce
Turnip Greens
Flowers

I'm a fan of greens with a quick steam and a slosh of balsamic vinegar. It really doesn't get much easier.

Chop some green garlic and sauté in olive oil. Add the washed greens still wet from rinsing. Cover. Add a couple teaspoons of vinegar and cover again. A couple minutes and serve to plate. Top with a fried egg and you're in business.

For a quick dish with the amaranth you can do the same. I'm a big fan of greens for breakfast, but this method alleviates that quick, "I'm starving and can't wait to cook something more complex" feeling.

Enjoy!

2014 CSA begins this week!

It's a slow start this year...

Up this week in your CSA box:

Green Garlic
Mint
Chives
Asparagus
Rhubarb
Salad Greens
2013 Dry Cannellini Beans
Side Track Tea: Tulsi. Oat, Nettle
Flowers

To prepare the beans rinse the beans first. Then soak them completely submerged in water overnight.
Boil the beans in fresh water for about an hour or until tender.

I like the beans cold with olive oil, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper on toast or over pasta.

The green garlic can be used as you would use scallions or roasted lightly then pureed in a food processor. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and you've got a great salad dressing, pasta pesto and sandwich spread. Enjoy!

Spring Equinox 2014

The chickens are not amused with Mother Nature's humor. At the Equinox we received quite the dump of snow. In the past few days the glaciers are finally receding. At long last we can safely imagine a growing season.

The goats are giving birth...so the change of seasons must be true. We have two does left to kid. Let's hope for more sun to dry up the lake of cold melt and green up the grass below.

It's CSA time!

Our CSA is off to a nice start. We have had green garlic, pea shoots, mustard greens, lots of salad and herbs to get us rolling.

Below is a step by step visual of tossin' up some pea shoots for dinner:

Amaranth is an amazing veg. We use it as a pot herb when young. Below is a quick pesto on toast. Then we use it as a colorful flair in our bouquets and finally it puts out a tiny burgundy grain seed at the end of its life. I love it. It comes up every year and I don't mind at all that it is now a weed in our field.

 

Head lettuce for sale this week.

 

 

Scapes are in. Available for a week or two starting now!

 

 

Where are all our raspberries?

The wild patch that has yielded so well the last few years is showing the effects of little rain, plant competition and poor pollination. The handful of varieties of raspberry are virtually non-existant. The black caps are missing from the vine, or shrivelled into tiny hard knobs. Many of the red berry canes bare one single fruit surrounded by shrunken or absent berries. The patch that looked so promising in May has not given much fruit, well into our usual season. I went scouting today and came back pretty dissappointed.

The blueberries seem to be equally paltry which makes me think pollination was poor as those berries were flowering at the same time...or the lack of water between then and now forced the plants to conserve.

The upside to my little story is that the timing or nourishment or any number of other factors seems to be working out for other members of the patch. The wild blackberries are just starting to turn. The bushes are prolific, the berries, abundant, as are the cultivated bushes in our backyard. Everything has been ahead of schedule and very quick to pass. The strawberries came and went before I knew it.

So as with every year we tally who did well and who did not. Thank goodness for the blackberries 2012. Knock on wood.

Scapes are Here and Peas are Coming!

My favortie part of the garlic season!

We are well into scape season. I find I get a steady stream of scapes for a good three weeks or so, given the different garlic varieties I grow. They all seem to put that flower stalk out at different times as well as become fully mature at staggered periods. This is a blessing for me, allowing me to have an extended harvest that I can keep up with. If I was faced with pulling 100 pounds of garlic at once, I would likely lose some in the process.
The successive season allows me a bit of room to account for weather...never want to harvest in the rain...and my own energy level.




Yummy pea shoots, almost as wonderful as the peas themselves!

 The snow peas are waist high and putting out lots of blossoms. The pods are about two finger knuckles long and should be ready for the next CSA share on Thursday. The snaps are taller and won't be far behind the snows. In the meantime, we've been dining on field pea shoots in our salads and stir fry. I sometimes snip a few when I'm hungry or thirsty in the field...oh what a treat!

FarmFest in Hartland this Sunday from 11am to 3pm



We've been busy cranking out our farm Tee's. Tonight we'll bake our yummy Kitchen Sink Oatmeal Cookies. Come and get em at FarmFest!

There will be horse drawn wagon rides and activities for the kids. Check out the delicious local food and farm products. The raffle always has exciting and coveted prizes. This event raises money for the Hartland Farm to School Program.


Side Track Farm Tee's



Blueberry Blossoms

Blackberry Blossoms

Silly Farm Dog

The Garlic is Kickin'!



Egyptian Walking onions



Hedda sporting her hay earring.

The poppies tell me it's Memorial Day Weekend. Our CSA starts this week and the Solstice is just around the corner. You can come chat with us at FarmFest. We'll be taking sign-ups for 2012 turkeys. We have three CSA slots to fill. Oh yes, and there will be pottery!