Eaters' Guild

CAbbage anyone??? Well you won't be getting more this week, but after saying last week that no recipes came to mind, I realized later that you have received a fair amount of cabbage over the previous deliveries--and I did get one request for some cabbage suggestions--a good slaw dressing, or other ideas.  I went to a few cookbooks, and as you might imagine, cabbage leaves are stuffed, savory and sweet, yes sweet, flan in fact.  Cabbage is cooked slowly with various forms of poultry, pig--etc.  These are involved recipes, and some variation can be found online, in books, etc.  A SIMPLE preparation for cabbage is this:

Slice the head so you have thin ribbons.  Heat oil or ghee in a saute pan, med-high heat, add a few drops of toasted sesame oil.  Once heated, add cabbage to oil.  stir with tongs to coat the cabbage allowing it to wilt.  Once thoroughly wilted, sprinkle with tamari and serve with rice.  
Great additions to this:
thinly sliced onion--add with cabbage to hot pan
grated fresh ginger--add with cabbage to hot pan
jalapeno or other hot pepper--added with cabbage...sesame seed sprinkle
sherry or mirin--to deglaze pan

Then there is coleslaw.  Traditional creamy cole slaw dressing is called Boiled Dressing.  THere is a plethora of recipes online if you search-coleslaw boiled dressing.  Another great dressing is homemade mayo seasoned with dijon mustard (less sweet, less tangy than boiled dressing)  THis may have been a recipe earlier with kohlrabi--but I will outline it here as a reminder...

2 eggs
1-2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
nice pinch of salt
Combine above in blender--and run on med speed to combine well.  While blender is running, add:
salad oil--olive or walnut or your choice--about 1/2 -3/4 cup. (little more if needed)
by drizzling in slowly through hole in lid of blender.  Watch as you drizzle, and combination will thicken.  Once the hole in the dressing where you are pouring the oil closes up, stop the blender.  Put dressing into bowl or shallow jar, and check seasoning.  YOu may want to add celery seed powder as a nice contrast, or mustard seed whole is very nice.  I have here given you a raw egg recipe, so use good, farm fresh eggs, and refrigerate and use any left over dressing in a week, just to be on the safe side.  I hope you like this.


As far as farm update goes--we are finally into the hot season crops---Tomatoes, slicers are on for this week, as well as peppers and eggplant.  Summer squash will revisit your selection this week, as we have onions, garlic, potatoes, kale and salad mix.  On the person side of the farm, we can't say enough how dedicated and hard working our interns and hired help are this season.  We are not a big crew, but diligent, yes.  I think all three interns are here this weekend, so if you are planning on the potluck Sunday, try to meet each of them.

New addition to the farm yesterday was 2000+ strawberry plants.  Just south of us in Hartford is Krohne's plant farm offering strawberries, and asparagus.  They hold the baby plants at freezing temps to keep them dormant.  We've heard there is decent success planting them now, so we're giving it a go.  We will know how they took in the next couple weeks, and then look for berries next spring.  Very exciting.

Perhaps we'll see you Sunday, if not, we do plan to hold another CSA potluck in the fall.
BE well
LAurie, LEe and IRis

Rain and then some...
the farm had a great soaking, in particular on Monday, making for a challenging field day.  We were just able to get a cover crop of buckwheat planted, having to plant only over every other pass, seeding on the pass downhill (not a big hill), the uphill pass carried out on the road adjacent the field.  IT was just too mucky to get traction uphill otherwise.  At least we'll see good germination, as has been the case with other recent sucessional plantings of baby lettuces, mustards, turnips, etc.  Naturally, the day could be filled with clean up and maintenance around the farm, which is constantly back burnered--a  short break from the field never hurts.

Seasonal news--this is the time of year we try to eek out the time to go off farm and harvest blueberries to add a tasting to shares.  Given the pace of this season, we are unable to take the, at least, two days off farm, required to make this happen.  When I mention 'tasting' of berries, it is just that, a pint in half shares and quart in full shares. The travel plus harvest time necessary would be better used making things happen here at home.  If you wish to pick your own, closest to us is Pleasant Hill farm in Fennville with Organic Blueberry U-pick.  They pick for frozen sales, so no fresh pre-picked berries--only U-pick at $2.50/lb.  In the Holland area is the Blueberry Heritage farm, a certified og farm as well.  I don't have more details than this except a webpage (www.berry-bunch.com).  Sorry for this little absence.

**Beware of splitting tomatoes--we do plan to have tomatoes for you early in the week.  Given the wet conditions, know that fruit splits are likely, and we will do our best to give you clean fruits.  If the weather clears over the course of the week, this will be less of an issue later.  Onions are back, this time in their more adult form.  They've been pulled from the field and dry down over the next few weeks before being boxed up for storage.  You'll notice the outer skins beginning to dry--both reds and yellow.

As for recipes, nothing springs to mind.  Any veggies stumping you?  Any suggestions?  Let me know!  And, if you haven't already, mark you calendar for Aug. 30, 1 pm CSA farm potluck.
Have a great week!
Laurie, Lee and Iris

Hello from the farm....
We've just completed our 14th week of delivery.  We've made certain entry into the second half of the CSA season (we go 25 weeks), and where have we come...?  Our first glimpse of tomatoes, the cherry type, this past week.  The orange, sweet ones are a hybrid variety going by the name of 'Sungold'.  These are always a favorite.  You will find these most often in fresh markets--as opposed to stores.  Due to their thin skins and relatively high sugars they're not good shippers as they're prone to splitting.  We found this to be the case especially after the rains the end of the week last, so you may have experienced this is your box.  The other tomatoes delivered were red grape, and a plum tomato called 'juliet'.  Juliet makes a great paste/sauce and is a variety we often offer as u-pick once the tomato season is well under way, so stay tuned for this. 

We have a new farm intern.   Emma joined us this week, and you can meet her at the Wednesday South Haven Farmers' Market.  Emma is from Grand Rapids and spent the first part of the season on a start-up vegetable farm in Tennessee.  We are quite happy she's here, and as the weeks pass we hope she can still say the same.  Another place to meet Emma and the other interns, Shaun and Zach, is here at the farm for our next CSA potluck.  Date and time is Sunday, August 30 at 1 pm.  We ask that you bring food to share, your table settings--plate, tableware and beverage vessel--and if it is easy enough, bring a lawn chair.  We have water and tea available.  We will commune around the meal, and take a walk through the farm.

Field notes:  Peppers and eggplant have started fruiting.  As these become abundant, you will receive them for your share.  Cucumbers--a big disappointment this season.  THe plants aren't real healthy and fruits are sparse--adding up to crop failure more or less.  Potatoes are bountiful, and onions are due to be harvested and brought in to dry down.  This is a lovely sight, especially when we let out thoughts creep a few months ahead to cooler, non-growing months...Bulb fennel, a favorite of many, a stumper of many--hasn't shown up yet.  We had poor germination the first round, and seedling death the second try; but, the plants are in the field on the third round, and will be a later season (late September) showing, given all things go well here to then.

For now, enjoy the week.  Happy eating!
Laurie, Lee, and Iris

Hi there--
Theoretically we're in those dog days of summer....what do we have to show for it???  Well, nothing too exciting (yet) given we've been spared oppressively warm nights(--I guess we're sleeping well)--but we are seeing glimpses of sweet corn.  We will have some for the spread today (tues) in Kalamazoo, and we'll play it by ear....for the rest of the week.  We plant sweet corn in successions, and given this turns out predictably, everyone will get a tasting over the next few weeks.  Early succession ears are on the smallish side, but still very sweet--and not too buggy--or more descriptive, wormy.  Please accept our apologies in advance if some of these unsavory beasts turn up in an ear or two.  (If it helps you tolerate cutting them away, keep in mind all they have eaten in their brief lives is corn....)

The rest of the spread is something in the realm of:  cabbage, potatoes, garlic, squash, cooking greens and salad mix.  A note on the salad mix is this week we are adding purslane.  It is a pretty, succulent-like leaf; and we have some beautiful plants on the farm right now.   Just a little factoid for you, Purslane is the plant containing THE HIGHEST amount of omega-3 fatty acids.  It tastes mild, and is something new to look for in the regular old blend.

It's not news yet, but this week we will establish a date for our next farm gathering, and let you know next time around.  We aim for a Sunday in August, so sometime near the end of the month.  Below I will share our summer squash dish from dinner last night.  I kinda wing it at the stove, so you'll need to taste and adjust as you go!

Have a great week and be well
Laurie, Lee and Iris.


Indian Style Squash

4-6 Summer squash/ zucchini cut into 1/4 inch discs and halved--place in colander, sprinkle 3-4     pinches of salt and mix.  Let sit over plate or in sink for 15-30 min to release moisture from     squash.  Pat dry-ish with cheesecloth or other absorbent towel.
2 onions--sliced
1/4-1/2 cup ghee or preferred sauteing oil
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2-3 tsp tumeric
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp maple syrup
garlic, minced--to taste

Heat 1/4 c ghee or cooking oil on med-high heat.  Add onions, coriander, cumin and tumeric.  Saute a few minutes.  Add prepared squash and mix well.  Add garam masala, and salt, mix well.  Saute 10- 15 minutes, stirring reqularly.  Check and adjust seasoning.  Once squash is wilted, add lemon juice, maple syrup and garlic.  saute a few more minutes and serve.  Accompanies Dahl beautifully.