Week 1 CSA Update and other farm goings-on!
HELLO!!
It has been really exciting past couple of weeks! In addition to Devan, Carlos, and Nico we had the help of Kaitlin from Chicago and her friend Nicolas from Belgium worked with us for a couple of weeks. They pulled up in Kaitlin's 1977 GMC Motorhome. She's been traveling around the country in it working on farms. See more about her travels here! Not only did these two bring great cooking skills but they both had a lot to contribute to getting tomatoes and peppers planted, making our washing station, the electrical system in our cooler, cutting a door in the barn wall, and, of course, weeding! They were great cooks to boot! We got so much done!
Everyone having a big breakfast on Kaitlin and Nicolas's last morning. From left to right Kaitlin, Nico, Devan, Carlos, Nicolas, Jesse
Our new washing station!
That time we obliterated the window and made a doorway in the barn!
Jesse and Nico hanging out in the sheep paddock!
Before they arrived we had experienced quite a dry spell we were worried about having enough for the CSA in May but it has rained quite a bit lately and we couldn't be more pleased. We got several inches and got plenty planted in between rains. On the last morning of Kaitlin and Nicolas's visit we got to meet the first lambs of the season! Twins were born to ewe number 0561! The following day we had another set of twins and yesterday another! Twins 3 days in a row.
Lambing season is always fun and adorable.
We won't have any new WWOOFers until the end of the month but we've had one local volunteer join our ranks. Becca is from Burns, TN and loves to farm. She'll be joining us when she can on Tuesdays and Fridays for harvest. Here she is holding a lamb before we pierced it's little ear with an ear tag. This doesn't bother them too much and must be done so we can keep track of the animals.
We've got a couple of things coming up this month (which means an opportunity to see baby lambs).
May 13th (TONIGHT!) Farm House concert and potluck (these are quite frequent on our farm!) featuring Googolplexia and Matt from Bunnygrunt. $5 suggested donation for musicians. More info at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/224527324569881/
May 21st, Saturday, Richland Park Market Fest! The official opening day of the Richland Park Farmers Market! 9am-4:30pm, veggie sales all day long, food trucks, artisans, live music! Come check it out! https://www.facebook.com/events/896067330491957/
May 22, Sunday, Sugar Camp Farm Annual May Day Celebration! and Farm House Concert/ Potluck. Come out to the farm and wrap the May Pole while listening to a live band, bring a dish for the potluck, tour the farm and stay till evening to experience the musical stylings of Dan Blakeslee all the way from Connecticut to entertain us. BYOB and dish! $10 suggested donation for musicians. https://www.facebook.com/events/574732596017073/
Without further ado I give you your first CSA share!
This week's share includes purple kohlrabi, green onions, salad turnips, french breakfast radishes, head lettuce, Red Russian kale, Arugula, mint, and fresh chamomile flowers!
Here are some recipes!
PURPLE KOHLRABI
We love kohlrabi. It's crisp and juicy! And adds color to dishes. You can eat the greens sautéed or in a salad!!
For a salad: Chop kohlrabi into chunks or grate.
It can also be added to any veggie roast or sautéed with garlic.
Here are some good recipes:
Greens can be combined with kale to make a salad. Chop kohlrabi greens and kale. Massage with a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Massage until juice is released from greens. Add sliced radishes, salad turnips, and/or green onions and a tbsp olive oil.
GREEN ONIONS
What can't you do with green onions? We garnish everything with them, add them to pesto, put them on pizza, and even oven roast or grill them! Let me know if you need more ideas!
SALAD TURNIPS (Hakurei Turnips)
Are amazing! We can't get enough every year. They are slightly sweet and very juicy. You can eat them raw or cooked. We love them on a salad or sometimes just eat them whole or sliced on a plate with some salt. They can be roasted or sautéed or used to beef up any salad or spaghetti sauce. But raw is the best. You can also eat the greens. You know, turnip greens! They are super fresh and crispy right now. Sautee them with butter or olive oil and garlic. Add salt or soy sauce. Yum! You can even eat them fresh in a salad. Also they can be turned into a pesto as can any green included radish greens. Just sub the green in for the basil. and voila!
Here's a great looking recipe!
FRENCH BREAKFAST RADISHES
These are smaller radishes that are very mild in flavor. But delicious. One of my go-tos is radishes and radish greens sautéed in butter and salt. So simple but very delicious. If you are into flavored butters you could make a butter with thyme or oregano and sautee the radishes in it. Of course they brighten up any salad too. The greens can be turned into pesto. These can also be roasted.
ROXY HEAD LETTUCE
This is a beautiful butter head variety with glossy red outer leaves and a light green heart.
Pretty self explanatory. But email me if you want a good salad recipe.
RED RUSSIAN KALE
This variety of kale thrives in the south. We love it's slightly sweet flavor and big juicy leaves. There are a ton of ways to eat kale. I love a massaged kale salad (see the kohlrabi section), classic kale sautéed in garlic, olive oil and salt, or kale chips.
ARUGULA
is a slightly spicy salad green. Here is a lovely salad recipe using arugula! We also love it cooked.
FRESH CHAMOMILE FLOWERS
We love having out own chamomile for tea but it also brightens up the garden. Chamomile is a calming herb and is great to make a tea out of to drink before bed. You can dry the flowers for a slightly more potent tea but putting the fresh flowers in some just boiled water should be fresh and delicious. You can also use the flowers to infuse vodka by placing the flowers in a pint jar and pouring the vodka on top. Then make a night cap or other cocktail. See the below recipes:
MINT
Fresh mint can be made into tea, can be mottled and added to water for a nice extra hydrating infused H2O, can be added to a cocktail, used in a salad, or added to an Asian dish. Here are a couple of recipes:
Thai Larb (Crumbled tofu can be substituted for meat, fish sauce is not necessary for vegetarians, and your Roxy head lettuce can be used as well).
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow or Tuesday!!!!!
Best,
Lizzie, Jesse, Devan, Nico, Carlos, Tony, Winnie (the lovingest dog around), Stormy (who sleeps on his back, cat), the ducks (2 of them), the cows, and the sheeps.