2017 Week 3 Newsletter
BROILERS!
Our first certified-organic, pasture raised Red Ranger chickens will be ready for processing next week. They will be available for ON FARM pick-up only on Saturday and Sunday, June 24th and 25th. The dates and location for pick-up are dictated by the regulations on our poultry license. If you are interested in reserving one of these tasty birds please fill out the reservation form on the website, send us an email, or see Paul at the Farmers' Market.
CSA Basket - Week 3
This week we have some new items making an appearance in the basket! This trend will continue as we approach the peak harvest times of full summer. Your basket this week includes the following:
Romanesco or Black Star Zucchini - the harvest in the hoop house is getting into full swing and the zucchini are getting bigger!
French Breakfast Radish - try the recipe with the nasturtium leaves and blossoms included below
Mustard Greens - a nice peppery flavor to sauté with onions and your favorite mushrooms for a side dish - finish with a dash of lemon juice
Sunflower Micro greens (aka "Sunnies") - snack on raw or add to an omelet or a salad
Flash Trout Romaine and Butter crunch Lettuce - the heads are still small but it is our first lettuce of the season
Snow Peas - try sautéing in olive oil, salt and pepper - add a dash of lemon to brighten color and flavor and sprinkle with sesame seeds
Swiss Chard - chop and toss with a vinaigrette - let it rest to tenderize the leaves - then toss with feta, walnuts, and raisins for a tasty salad
Purple Top Turnips - still small so best sliced and eaten raw - don't forget you can cook the tops, too!
Scarlet Ohno Revival Turnip - best sliced and tossed with olive oil and oven roasted - eat the tops, too!
Nasturtium Flowers and Leaves - see cheese spread idea below
Edible Flowers: Nasturtium
This Peruvian native was first introduced to Europe in the 1600s. The famous Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus noted the similarity between the plant's brilliant flowers and the gold (sometimes blood-stained -Yikes!) helmets worn by ancient Romans - called tropaea. Hence, the latin name for nasturtium, Tropaeolum.
Your CSA basket this week includes two kinds of edible flowers. The sunflower micro greens, sometimes called "sunnies", and nasturtium flowers and leaves. The sunnies can be enjoyed as a raw, tasty snack - they taste a lot like a juicy sunflower seed! Or try them in an omelet or on top of a salad for a little extra crunch. They are highly nutritious, they have all the nutrition of a sunflower seed plus a little extra from the photosynthesis.
Now - what do I do with nasturtium blossoms?!? Try this simple-to-prepare cheese spread featuring the piquant flavor of the leaves. First, coarsely grate a small bunch of radish and chop a tablespoon of the nasturtium leaves. Next, blend the grated radish and chopped leaves with a teaspoon of lemon juice into 8-ounces of softened cream cheese. Spread the mixture onto sliced french baguette and top with a nasturtium flower. So colorful and tasty, too!
Tomatoes Soon!
The tomatoes in the hoop house are setting and should start to ripen by mid-July. There are lots of tomatoes - we planted about a dozen different varieties from cherry to beefsteak and many different colors from green-striped to purple and orange.
Companion Planting
Calendula are blooming in the hoop house as well. We planted them mixed in with the cucumbers and melons to help attract pollinators and other beneficial insects. It also repels unwanted soil nematodes. So pretty - and helpful, too!
See you at the Farmers' Market!
- Your SVF Farm Team