Wednesday, September 1, 2010

GreenMan Farm Harvest Newsletter #1

Week #1 - June 9, 2010

Welcome (back) to GreenMan Farm!
Thank you so much for supporting our small family farm! I’m looking forward to a warm, abundant summer and gentle, bountiful fall. In the weeks to come, I hope to get to know all of you as members of the farm family. I look forward to chatting with you about recipes, kvetching about the slugs, marveling at the weather. . . It’s going to be a wonderful season—thank you for sharing it with me.

-Jasper
P.S. If you have any questions or need cooking tips for any of the produce in your bag, feel free to call or email me. I have a gazillion recipes to share!


What’s In The Bag:


· Mixed Salad Greens – A blend of four different kinds of lettuce, Japanese Mizuna greens, Pac Choi, some bodacious Beet tops, and a dusting of mustard flowers. If you like a little onion flavor, pull the purple Chive blossoms apart and sprinkle on top of you salad. Yowie!
· Siberian Kale - This leafy green cousin of cabbage is a powerhouse of nutrition. You can simply toss kale with other greens and vegetables in a salad or stir-fry, or add a handful of chopped kale to your favorite soup. We frequently use it instead of lettuce in everything from sandwiches to tacos.
· Spring Onions - Immature onions can be eaten just like scallions; these are Walla Walla’s.
· Mixed Radishes – Cherry Belle, French Breakfast, Icicle, Purple Plum, Helios (yellow), Kabu, and my favorite, Shunkyo (the long fuschia ones).
· Mizuna Greens – This Japanese mustard green has a spicy, slightly bitter tang that is a great counterpoint to milder salad greens. In Japan it is rarely eaten raw; rather, it is stir fried or featured in broth-based soups. Cooking will tone down the mustardy bite.
· Orange-Sesame Salad Splash - My own concoction; this light splash is the perfect partner for fresh salad greens; not a heavy, gloppy dressing that hides the taste of the veggies. (Please return the bottle to me when empty so I can re-use it.)

Veggie Highlights:
Radishes—The first radishes of the season are a welcome accompaniment to early season greens. The radish root is 94% water and claims modest nutritional value, offering a smattering of minerals, such as potassium, phosphorous, magnesium and iron. The greens however, rank way up there with other dark green leafies, as an excellent source of vitamins A, C and the B’s. Radish greens can be cooked just like mustard greens. Radishes are believed beneficial as blood cleansers and digestive aids, as well.

· Cook to tone down the 'bite' of a pungent radish
· Steam radishes 8-12 min. (until tender but not mushy). Roll in butter, dash of salt and pepper.
· Add slices radish to veggie stir-fry.
· Try a radish sandwich: spread butter on good, crusty bread and layer with thin slices of radish and a sprinkle of salt. I add some salad greens and crumbled feta - yum!

Recipe Of The Week: Zesty Radish Spread
· 1 8-oz. Package cream cheese
· 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish
· 2 Tbsp chopped green onions
· 1/2 tsp dried dill weed
· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1 bunch radishes, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients except crackers in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours. Serve with crackers or crusty French bread. Makes about 2 cups.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Oh happy day - GreenMan Farm CSA is BACK!

After 5 years' hiatus, we are so happy to tell all our friends that we are starting up our CSA harvest share subscription again this year. It's been 5 years of change and growth; we found Hazel the wonderful Jersey cow, increased our growing area by 50%, tested many new crops and discovered some real winners(and a few losers!), and increased the integration and fertility of our little farm to a fantastic degree. Now, with the help of our great crew of apprentices, we are going to grow more fabulous food than ever before this year. It just seems like the time is right for the rebirth of the GreenMan Farm CSA.

CSA brings you into closer contact with your food sources and provides more community support for farmers. As a subscriber, you receive a weekly bag full of fresh, nutritious, delicious produce grown locally by someone you know. You can talk with us about your food, ask questions about anything, come to the farm and witness where, when and how your food is grown. This is not anonymous food- this is food that you truly KNOW.

If you'd like to know more about our plans for the 2010 CSA season, please drop us a line - I'd be happy to send you our brand new brochure. Or you can just stop by our farmstand to pick one up for yourself or to pass along to a friend.

It is going to be another wonderful season here at GreenMan Farm - I hope you will enjoy it with us. Thank you for the opportunity to provide you and your family the best food that sunshine, soil and rain (and love) can grow!

-Jasper