For this first week of the season, we hear from our
very capable and hard working garden manager, Katy Lince, who deserves a grand thank
you for making the CSA garden a success year after year.
Rachel Schneider, CSA Coordinator
Dear
CSA Members:
Hello
from the farm and welcome to the 2004 CSA season! We have had a wonderful
steady spring here, with temperate weather in March, April and May, and fewer
of the extreme hot and cold weeks of the past few spring times. The
plants in the vegetable fields and the pastures are growing well due to our healthy
soil, the consistency of the warmth, water and air around the plants, and that
all of us as their caretakers are able to keep up with the extraordinary vim
and vigor of spring.
Our farm team
this year is absolutely fantastic. We have three new apprentices, Theresa, James and Will, and one
second year apprentice, Laura, who came to Hawthorne Valley in September of
2002. This superb team of highly motivated and capable people works well together
with great communication, and each one of them is truly interested in the care
of the cows, pastures, compost, vegetables and soil.
Theresa comes to
us with a background in art, working with teen-agers, and a real love of
getting her hands in the soil. James has a background in ecological
studies and stacking hay bales in his home town in Kentucky. Will has a
degree in forestry and a real curiosity as to how cultivated and non-cultivated
lands, fields and forests can interconnect in a big picture eco-system.
Laura is looking forward to going to graduate school this fall and studying
communities and sustainable agriculture in Latin America.
Mostly, the
apprenticeship program consists of doing the work while observing and shaping
the life around us and within us. Our apprentices have real
responsibilities in all aspects of working on our farm, and receive regular
educational sessions on different agricultural topics. Whatever our
apprentices decide to do next, they will do it well, recognizing the value of
doing physical work, eating well, feeding others well, and thinking creatively
about what we are doing individually and as a culture.
Our regular farm
staff this year consists of myself, running our vegetable gardens, Judith our
herdswoman in charge of our 60-head dairy herd, Steffen as the general farm manager
and gatherer of the hay for winter feed, Rachel the CSA member coordinator, and
our newest addition, Dan, who somehow manages to do everything. Dan has a
degree in agriculture from Cornell University and experience with working in
the Cornell Extension services, assisting and advising farmers about pasture
management. Last year he worked at Red Fire Farm, a CSA farm in western Massachusetts.
As you can see, Dan is a perfect match for Hawthorne Valley Farm, with interest
in and experience with dairy cows, vegetables and CSAs. We are lucky to
have such a well-informed and good-humored fellow on our team.
The CSA model
seems to be a good team effort all around, farmers and consumers working
together to improve the quality of our food and our food system. Thank
you, CSA members! Katy
Looking Forward to
Next Week
Anticipated for June 17th
·
Broccoli Raab
·
Lettuce
·
Peas
·
Scallions
·
Japanese Turnips
One of the
pleasures of CSA is arriving at your local pick-up site each week to see what
is in your share.
However, if
you don’t like surprises or prefer to plan your grocery shopping in advance,
each Thursday the newsletter will list what we anticipate will be harvested for
next week.
Since fruits
and vegetables insist on ripening at their own pace, on Tuesday afternoons,
check on our CSA page at www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org
to see the ACTUAL harvest.
$10
GIFT CERTIFICATES towards
our dairy & baked goods if you can sign up a new member before July 15!
Just pass the
extra brochure you received in the mail along to a friend or co-worker. Not
sure what to say? Just show off the beautiful veggies you picked up at your
site!
When they sign up, redeem
the completed gift certificate with your next order
Shades of Green
The early summer
garden is a profusion of green leaves, spurred on by the wet months that lead
up to the CSA season. While we wait for the plants that flower and fruit to
gain strength enough to produce August’s abundance of cucumbers, peppers,
zucchini, and tomatoes, take some time to explore and enjoy the greenness of this
new CSA season.
Salad Greens Count
on lettuce and lots of it in your summer share. Look for wonderfully
leafy heads like romaine, oak leaf, Boston, or red leaf lettuce, plus loose
salad mixes composed of colorful combinations of various tender baby greens. In seasons past, arugula, spinach, and
dandelion greens also made guest appearances in the CSA salad bowl.
Cooking Greens include broccoli raab, chard, collards,
kale, mustard, and the edible green tops of turnips, beets, or kohlrabi. Although
smaller leaves can often be eaten raw, the larger leaves of these more strongly
flavored greens taste best when lightly steamed or sautéed. Although the
flavors and cooking times may vary, you can usually substitute one type for
another in most recipes.
Braising Mix is a combination of many different
greens. When you receive this as tender
baby leaves, it can be eaten raw, on sandwiches or tossed into a lettuce salad
for a flavor accent. When the leaves
are larger, and therefore spicier, just prepare as cooking greens.
Caramelized Turnips
While leafing through previous season’s
newsletters, I realized it had been more than a year since I reprinted this
recipe. It’s so easy and delicious, even
first-time turnip-eaters will love it! Save the green turnip tops for another dish that calls for cooking
greens.
o Preheat the oven to 475o F.
o Rinse and dry young and tender turnips, peel
older purple-top turnips.
o Cut small turnips into halves or quarters,
larger ones in half lengthwise, then into wedges.
o Toss the turnips with a generous amount of
olive oil and salt and pepper.
o Spread them out in an even layer on a baking
sheet and roast for about 10 minutes, then toss only once (otherwise they will
break apart).
o Roast 5 minutes more or until fork tender and
nicely caramelized.
Garlic Butter Turnips
Melt 1 Tbsp butter
and 1 Tbsp oil in a sauté pan. Add 1
clove of minced garlic and cook until golden.
Mix in 5 cups thinly sliced turnips.
Sauté until browned and tender.
Season with 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley, ¼ tsp freshly chopped rosemary,
salt and pepper to taste.
Adapted from the Joy of
Gardening by Janet Ballantyne
If you have a
recipe or tip you would like to share,
please e-mail
it to Jodie Colón at RiverdaleCSA@aol.com.
Chile-Vinegar Greens
1 ½ teaspoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb cooking greens, chopped
1 cup broth
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chile paste
½
teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Heat oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and sauté for 30
seconds or until lightly browned. Add the greens, and sauté for 5 minutes or
until wilted. Add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce
heat, and cook until tender.
Yield: 4 one-cup servings
Adapted from Mike Wilson for Cooking Light, JULY
2001
www.cookinglight.com
