30 Jun Tue 2009
Farm notes--CSA week 8
Hello there-
it's the usual bustling morning here at the farm. Salad mix is harvested, greens--chard and kale-- are being bunched, along with beets, and kohlrabi. Indeed, it is a pleasant morning for harvest, and perfect temps for perky produce. We made the blind introduction of kohlrabi last week, so I'll give it more attention now. IT is in the kohl crop family, ie broccoli, cabbage, kale...Interestingly enough, these are the same species of plant, Brassica oleracea, just selected for different physical characteristics--Kale-leaf, cabbage-leaf, broccoli-flower, kohlrabi-stem. Pretty cool eh? So this gives you some idea of taste, and maybe even some preparation ideas. The part of the plant intended for eating enjoyment is the enlarged part of the stem at the base, we call these heads or bulbs, which it really is neither, but for descriptive sake, it works. Generally we eat kohlrabi raw, most often we make cole(kohl)slaw, and I've put this recipe below. We've heard numerous suggestions from market goers, the most common being a light steam to the sliced bulb, topped with butter, salt and pepper. The outer layer on this bulb is thick and a little tough, but not impossible to eat, particularly when cooked. When we just slice, dip and eat, we peel this layer to get to the tender/crisp delight held inside. THe leaves of the plant are perfectly edible, but will need a good steam or boil--soups and stews are great destinations for these. The goats here particularly like them. I know there are many recipes out there for this unusual vegetable. IT has a history that goes back to grandmas garden for many, and we think it is making a comeback.
Greens--if you can handle heating the oven in summer, the kale chip recipe below is for you. IF you feel like you get plenty of greens, you will soon be saying you can't get enough. Kids love these too! This recipe works with both kale types, curly leaf and lacinato (this one is very dark green, elongated, flatter, and looks like lizard skin), and works with collards too...
We are still struggling a lot at one pick up site, a little at another. A common thread being the locations are places of business--which we don't want to say it is that there is produce theft on the rampage, but on the other hand, being a "business" this may be unsettling for some, perhaps you feel you are in the way, or have the need-to-quickly-grab-your-share-and-get-out sort of feeling. Keep in mind we are guests here, but we have full permission to use these spaces. On the same vein, we ask that you maintain the sites with some dignity and leave it neater than it was when you came, if possible. For instance, if you empty a box, or see an empty produce box, you can carefully, without tearing the box, fold it flat, and, if applicable, open the box of produce below to display the veg. for the next person. The folded box can be unobtrusively set to the side. IF you see a sign that has slipped out of place, perhaps you could put it where it belongs for the next farm member to see. For those in Benton Harbor, we are in process of seeing if there is a space out of the way of the entry we can use, perhaps this can allow members to take the time they need to read the guidelines for filling the weeks share correctly. We would also accept volunteers to 'person' the site, even if just for an hour. ALSO, we have suggested a large window of time for these sites. We've suggested that you have a 24 hour period to get your produce. Because the produce is just sitting there you could see this as an option BUT we highly encourage you to observe a much smaller window. If we would need to hire a site overseer, we would likely make pick up a 2-3 hour window. I cannot say we have had a perfect record in the first 2 or 3 hours post delivery at these sites, but we have fewer problems the earlier folks come to get shares.....Please consider this on pick up days.
For those of you who sent it, thanks for the strawberry gratitude. All but one comment was thankful and positive which is very nice given the offering of these turned out to be rather a fiasco, and a large expense to the farm...Just for the record, we've learned from this that we won't have these available for shares in future seasons.
Anyway, moving forward--were thinking there will be carrots and green onions for all shares NEXT week. Those hot days last week seemed oppressive at times, but we need more of that to keep the peppers, tomatoes, melons and summer squash, corn, all that peak season veg., growing well. If you can stand it, do your summer heat dance, and then get to the beach. There's a lot of season left, stay tuned.
Have a great week!
Laurie Lee and Iris
Kohl(rabi) slaw
4 kohlrabi--peeled and cut into matchsticks (shredded is okay, but makes a soggy slaw)
1/2 onion thinly sliced or 4 green onions, chopped white and green parts
1/2 tsp whole celery seed or 1 tsp celery seed powder
1/2 tsp salt
toss the above and make the dressing below, or use your own recipe or fav. prepared dressing
In a blender:
2 eggs
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
start the blender low and go to medium speed. Through the lid pour slowly but steadily:
olive oil--about 1 cup. as the blender is running, watch as you pour in oil and you will see the mixture begin the thicken. as the hole in the middle of the mixture closes, stop blending. Do not overblend or your homemade mayonnaise will go thin. If the mixture does not thicken maybe the 1 cup oil isn't enough, I'm guessing here on amount of oil, since I wing this one....
pour the finished dressing over tossed vegetables. Adjust seasoning--more salt if needed, pepper and/or paprika if you like...Serve immediately.
KALE CHIPS
Preheat oven to 400F
Tear kale leaves--de-stemmed or not--into 2-3 inch pieces. (I like it de-stemmed, Lee tolerates the stems in because he doesn't want to bother stemming leaves)
Place the leaves in a bowl, and toss lightly with oil.
Place leaves approximately one layer thick on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt if desired.
Bake 10 minutes in oven.
You would like these to be crisp and light, so after 10 minutes, if they are still limp, turn the leaves on the baking sheet and bake a few minutes longer.
Serve/eat immediately--ENJOY!
it's the usual bustling morning here at the farm. Salad mix is harvested, greens--chard and kale-- are being bunched, along with beets, and kohlrabi. Indeed, it is a pleasant morning for harvest, and perfect temps for perky produce. We made the blind introduction of kohlrabi last week, so I'll give it more attention now. IT is in the kohl crop family, ie broccoli, cabbage, kale...Interestingly enough, these are the same species of plant, Brassica oleracea, just selected for different physical characteristics--Kale-leaf, cabbage-leaf, broccoli-flower, kohlrabi-stem. Pretty cool eh? So this gives you some idea of taste, and maybe even some preparation ideas. The part of the plant intended for eating enjoyment is the enlarged part of the stem at the base, we call these heads or bulbs, which it really is neither, but for descriptive sake, it works. Generally we eat kohlrabi raw, most often we make cole(kohl)slaw, and I've put this recipe below. We've heard numerous suggestions from market goers, the most common being a light steam to the sliced bulb, topped with butter, salt and pepper. The outer layer on this bulb is thick and a little tough, but not impossible to eat, particularly when cooked. When we just slice, dip and eat, we peel this layer to get to the tender/crisp delight held inside. THe leaves of the plant are perfectly edible, but will need a good steam or boil--soups and stews are great destinations for these. The goats here particularly like them. I know there are many recipes out there for this unusual vegetable. IT has a history that goes back to grandmas garden for many, and we think it is making a comeback.
Greens--if you can handle heating the oven in summer, the kale chip recipe below is for you. IF you feel like you get plenty of greens, you will soon be saying you can't get enough. Kids love these too! This recipe works with both kale types, curly leaf and lacinato (this one is very dark green, elongated, flatter, and looks like lizard skin), and works with collards too...
We are still struggling a lot at one pick up site, a little at another. A common thread being the locations are places of business--which we don't want to say it is that there is produce theft on the rampage, but on the other hand, being a "business" this may be unsettling for some, perhaps you feel you are in the way, or have the need-to-quickly-grab-your-share-and-get-out sort of feeling. Keep in mind we are guests here, but we have full permission to use these spaces. On the same vein, we ask that you maintain the sites with some dignity and leave it neater than it was when you came, if possible. For instance, if you empty a box, or see an empty produce box, you can carefully, without tearing the box, fold it flat, and, if applicable, open the box of produce below to display the veg. for the next person. The folded box can be unobtrusively set to the side. IF you see a sign that has slipped out of place, perhaps you could put it where it belongs for the next farm member to see. For those in Benton Harbor, we are in process of seeing if there is a space out of the way of the entry we can use, perhaps this can allow members to take the time they need to read the guidelines for filling the weeks share correctly. We would also accept volunteers to 'person' the site, even if just for an hour. ALSO, we have suggested a large window of time for these sites. We've suggested that you have a 24 hour period to get your produce. Because the produce is just sitting there you could see this as an option BUT we highly encourage you to observe a much smaller window. If we would need to hire a site overseer, we would likely make pick up a 2-3 hour window. I cannot say we have had a perfect record in the first 2 or 3 hours post delivery at these sites, but we have fewer problems the earlier folks come to get shares.....Please consider this on pick up days.
For those of you who sent it, thanks for the strawberry gratitude. All but one comment was thankful and positive which is very nice given the offering of these turned out to be rather a fiasco, and a large expense to the farm...Just for the record, we've learned from this that we won't have these available for shares in future seasons.
Anyway, moving forward--were thinking there will be carrots and green onions for all shares NEXT week. Those hot days last week seemed oppressive at times, but we need more of that to keep the peppers, tomatoes, melons and summer squash, corn, all that peak season veg., growing well. If you can stand it, do your summer heat dance, and then get to the beach. There's a lot of season left, stay tuned.
Have a great week!
Laurie Lee and Iris
Kohl(rabi) slaw
4 kohlrabi--peeled and cut into matchsticks (shredded is okay, but makes a soggy slaw)
1/2 onion thinly sliced or 4 green onions, chopped white and green parts
1/2 tsp whole celery seed or 1 tsp celery seed powder
1/2 tsp salt
toss the above and make the dressing below, or use your own recipe or fav. prepared dressing
In a blender:
2 eggs
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt
start the blender low and go to medium speed. Through the lid pour slowly but steadily:
olive oil--about 1 cup. as the blender is running, watch as you pour in oil and you will see the mixture begin the thicken. as the hole in the middle of the mixture closes, stop blending. Do not overblend or your homemade mayonnaise will go thin. If the mixture does not thicken maybe the 1 cup oil isn't enough, I'm guessing here on amount of oil, since I wing this one....
pour the finished dressing over tossed vegetables. Adjust seasoning--more salt if needed, pepper and/or paprika if you like...Serve immediately.
KALE CHIPS
Preheat oven to 400F
Tear kale leaves--de-stemmed or not--into 2-3 inch pieces. (I like it de-stemmed, Lee tolerates the stems in because he doesn't want to bother stemming leaves)
Place the leaves in a bowl, and toss lightly with oil.
Place leaves approximately one layer thick on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt if desired.
Bake 10 minutes in oven.
You would like these to be crisp and light, so after 10 minutes, if they are still limp, turn the leaves on the baking sheet and bake a few minutes longer.
Serve/eat immediately--ENJOY!
Laurie_2
01:28 PM EDT