CSA #5 - June 29, 2011

In the box this week:

radishes

garlic tops

Swiss Chard

Komatsuna (spinach mustard)

green onions

Still trying to coax vegetables from the ground, this week is a little light but I'm hoping to add bok choi and kale in next week's boxes -the weather forecast calls for a heat wave Fri/Sat which may make those bok choi bolt (go to seed). The snap beans are in bloom, which could mean a harvest in about two weeks. The tomatoes are setting fruit but they're still a month away. Cucumber plants are growing fast and I'll be trellising them this weekend. Basil loves this summer weather and I'm hoping to add them to deliveries within a week or two.About that spinach mustard: from http://www.savoryjapan.com/recipes/vegetables/vegetables.html

"Komatsuna no ohitashi (stir fried mustard spinach) 

Komatsuna is even healthier than spinach. The slightly bitter flavor and crunchy stalks hold up well to stir frying. Use minimal oil to quickly stir fry washed and roughly chopped komatsuna with 1 clove of garlic, salt, and red pepper to taste. As the komastuna gets hot, splash with sake and cover the skillet. This serves to quickly steam it, and to finish cooking without adding more oil. At the very end, add a few drops of sesame oil for flavor and a nice aroma. In the photo, it is served on antique imari."

CSA #4 - June 22, 2011

In the box this week:
Swiss chard
mustard greens
green onions
garlic scapes
lemon balm
lavender

Recipe ideas?
I make a savory pastry filling with the Swiss chard. Steam them until softened, add feta cheese and layer the chard/feta mixture between layers of filo dough (brush each layer with oil or butter). Bake until lightly brown. You can sautee and add the onions to the Swiss chard.

The scapes have such a short season but you can freeze this pesto: http://www.theomnivoressolution.com/the_omnivores_solution/2007/06/garlic_scape_pe.html or add them to soup, stir frys, or throw them on the grill.

Here's a link for lavender recipes:
http://www.joys-of-lavender.com/lavender-recipes.html

Lemon balm makes an excellent tea.

CSA #3 - June 15, 2011

In the box this week: cardoon, garlic scapes, mint, sorrel, green onions, baby fennel.

I promise I won't complain about the weather. . . but remembered the long-standing patch of cardoon (http://honest-food.net/2009/04/10/contemplating-cardoons/) at the top of the garden and added them to fill out the boxes this week. They're related to thistle and artichokes and were popular in Victorian days. Italians love them! They usually wilt so quickly in summer heat so today's cooler weather is a blessing. Please don't eat the leafy bits, just the stem - I've added a link above with recipes. Last year a friend blanched them in lemon water and added cheese to make an oven baked gratin. Finally got some summer crops planted. Tractors couldn't enter our flooded fields until last week and we cultivated then last night laid down plastic-covered hills with irrigation tape inside. On that I planted sweet peppers (Marconi and a few multi-colored mini bells), Pintung eggplants, a few thousand Beefsteak, Rutgers, Celebrity, and Early Girl hybrid tomatoes, Persian cucumbers. A lot more is going in over the weekend.

CSA #2 - June 8, 2011

In the box this week: asparagus, eggs, garlic scapes, green onions, mint, radishes, bronze fennel fronds.

CSA #1 - June 1, 2011

In the box this week:
radishes
sorrel
mint
green garlic
green onions
nettles


I nearly forgot! I spent so much time working around the flooded fields that I nearly forgot my first CSA delivery of 2011.
It's always a challenge filling the early vegetable boxes, not matter how well I plan. This year I started over 6 weeks ago but had about 4 recent weeks of heavy rainfall, if not every other day, every third day. That meant I couldn't go in and plant succession crops and the plants that were put in on time (kale, Swiss chard, onions, radishes, peas) all showed signs of wear. The peas didn't make it but everything else is starting to take off with receding waters and warmer days.

2011 CSA Plans

I really want to take some time to wind down from an overwhelming 2010 work schedule but it's almost time to start ordering seeds for next summer and it takes a while to go through all those seed catalogues.

My summer Wednesdays vegetable deliveries were scattered all over Chicago because so many customers begged to be included so I was delivering to the Hyde Park Art Center, workshop, the Hideout, Angel Food, and, until the Andersonville Farmers Market started in late June - three more private deliveries on the north side. That's a lot of wear and tear on my little Honda Civic (stuffed with 25 CSA boxes AND market tent/tables/displays/veggies). Parking a little car like that isn't always a problem if I can find a spot, but it's a sport coupe and getting boxes in and out of that back seat meant a lot of careful packing! Unlike Peapod or other vegetable deliveries, I'm also growing, harvesting, washing, and packing all the veggies in those boxes - and because of a limited operating budget - without staff.

That means I'm planning a more streamlined summer of 2011 and will concentrate on delivering to the Hyde Park Art Center for my "Full Season" offering that runs for 22 weeks on Wednesdays from June 8 to October 26 ($25/week = $550). That option is limited to 10 offers so that I can fill them with a good mix of seasonal veggies, herbs, and (hopefully) fruit. I know everyone wants fruit in their CSA boxes but they're so difficult to grow unless that's *all* your farm does. They're also the most labor-intensive to pick and most are so highly perishable I have to be creative in finding a way to get them to Chicago without looking worse for wear.

The growing season in Michigan really kicks in by September and runs until the first frost (@October 15?). I've been able to keep a lot of the late autumn veggies growing past the frost until mid-November with row covers - that includes kales, collards, mustard greens, peas, radishes, beets, and the like. So I've decided that the "Summer Bounty" for 2011 will be more autumnal: September 7-October 26 ($200).

Questions? Send them to videnovichfarms [at] gmail dot com.

Vegetable CSA 6/16/2010

Swiss Chard

In the box this week:
Swiss chard ("rainbow" stems)
collard greens
mustard greens (ruffled leaves)
garlic scapes
green onions
fresh lavender
cherries

Recipe ideas?
I make a savory pastry filling with the Swiss chard. Steam them until softened, add feta cheese and layer the chard/feta mixture between layers of filo dough (brush each layer with oil or butter). Bake until lightly brown.

The scapes have such a short season but you can freeze this pesto: http://www.theomnivoressolution.com/the_omnivores_solution/2007/06/garlic_scape_pe.html or add them to soup, stir frys, or throw them on the grill.

Here's a link for lavender recipes:
http://www.joys-of-lavender.com/lavender-recipes.html

Farm report: yes, nearly another inch of rain overnight. I'm waaay behind in planting some crops and the tomato/eggplant/pepper transplants are waiting for their feet to dry to continue to grow. I've had some asparagus bean losses as I put them in low ground but I think enough survived for future CSA deliveries.