Weeding Workparty 5/31, 5pm to dark

Come help get the young grass out of the fields.  We had fun last night working as the day cooled and the moon shined bright.  Snacks provided at the urban oasis. If you want to help out any other time, give a call! 503.916.9576

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May 26, Week 2 CSA Harvest

Irrigation is the theme of the farm this last week.  Most of the drip tape has been set up and watering is on! It has taken a lot more time than expected and the other farm tasks have been put on hold.  Long days allow for lots of work and I try to take it one step at  a time. We have a colorful harvest this week!

Post your recipes and anything else you want to share about how you are preparing the produce on the blog and I’ll post it.  Check out the leek broth cleanse at the end of this posting.

Radish – Champion and Shunkyo.  Julienne the long pink nutty crisp variety and throw it in your stirfry with the pac choi if you don’t prefer them raw.

Turnip – White, golden and purple.  The greens are delicious cooked up.  Use as you would mustard greens.  Throw the turnips on the BBQ whole and they melt in your mouth.

Lettuce (Head) – Salad!

Mustard – Green wave spicy variety.  Becomes more mild when sauteed.  Great with Indian spices.

Leeks – That’s it for the leeks for the season, enjoy!  The flowering head is good sauteed like the garlic scapes.

Garlic scapes

Pac Choi

Magical Leek Soup (Broth)

Serves 1 for the weekend

Ingredients

2 pounds leeks

1. Clean the leeks and rinse well to get rid of sand and soil. Cut off the ends of the dark green parts, leaving all the white parts plus a suggestion of pale green. (Reserve the extra greens for soup stock.)

2. Put the leeks in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 30 minutes. Pour off the liquid and reserve. Place the leeks in a bowl.

The juice is to be drunk (reheated or at room temperature to taste) every 2 to 3 hours, 1 cup at a time. For meals, or whenever hungry, have some of the leeks themselves, 1/2 cup at a time. Drizzle with a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season sparingly with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley if you wish.

This will be your nourishment for both days, until Sunday dinner, when you can have a small piece of meat or fish (4 to 6 ounces — don’t lose that scale yet!), with 2 vegetables, steamed with a bit of butter or olive oil, and a piece of fruit

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First CSA share

I’m excited that it’s time to distribute the harvest to the CSA crew.  I am amazed at the speed of growth the last few weeks.  The peas have grown a foot, along with numerous greens.  It continues to be a big planting time.  This last few days we’ve direct seeded summer squash plants, seeded cucumbers, winter squash, snap and soup beans, sweet potatoes and poatoes.  Most of the tomatoes are in the ground and the rest of the nightshades, peppers, eggplants, ground cherries, and tomatoillos are hardening off.   Most of th ecrops planted a few weeks ago germinated pretty well adn so have many weeds.  Oh my, many.  I’ll definitely be transplanting more thatn direct seeding on this land in the future.  There is some pest damage from the flea betttle on the mustards and so I’ve reseeded in teh greenhouse and for aresa that germinateion was spotty.  I’m so grateful for the awesome help and we have good fun in the fields and eating lunches along the creek and under the trailer awning.  Birds are singing all day long and the insects hums, “Life!”  The first month of the CSA,  most the boxes will most likely be smaller than later in the season and they are greens heavy.  Hope you enjoy!

First CSA box

Week 1, May 20:

Bok choy – The entire plant is delicious stir fried.  Goes well with ginger, soy sauce, curry, garlic and/or coconut milk.

Garlic scapes -These sweet, tender seed stalks that shoot up from the garlic this time of year are so delicious sautéed in a little olive oil until brown.  I mix them in my eggs or eat them as a side dish.  They have this adorable curl and you know they’re ready to harvest because they snap off with a light tug.  It’s important to harvest them in order for the plant to put it’s energy into making the bulb.  Come July we get to harvest the garlic bulb!

Leeks –  Great with potatoes and if you’ve got any canned tomatoes.  Here’s a good  soup recipe: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/creamy-potato-leek-soup-vegan.htm.  Replace onions with leeks and rosemary with the oregano.

Herbs (Mint, Oregano, Lemon Balm, Parsley, Bronze Fennel) –

I love to add any herb chopped fine into salads.  I’ve also been making sun tea these last few days with the mint and lemon balm.  Just stick the sprigs in water and put it in the afternoon sun to steep.   Mint mojitos for these warm afternoons are tasty too.

Radish – Sliced and serve with salt and or vinegar for snacking anytime.

Spinach – Tender spring spinach is crunchy and refreshing raw and/or sautéed.

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