I love the way early season squash tunnels look. The contrast between the red lettuce, the yellow star shaped squash blossoms, and the dark green leaves is easy on the eyes.
Lots of rain! Lots of sun! I saw a big beautiful milk snake in one of our lower fields on Thursday. Our old dog Exie stepped right over where it was sunning. It as it slithered into the tall grass and I wondered if it was the same snake that lived in the tunnel that used to be there. I love to see the wildlife on our farm. It gives me hope that we are doing the important things right.
In this email:
- Generally important notes
- We will be at market tomorrow!
- Farm Members, if you haven't read and responded to the email we sent out last week, please do.
- You can find your most up to date balance in that email. You can use the subject line to search for it in your inbox: "LDF News: Farm Membership Update PLEASE READ AND RESPOND!"
- If you have questions or the arrangement proposed in that email doesn't work for you, please let us know that too. Let's work together!
- If you can't find the email, let me know and I will forward a copy to you.
- Ann Arbor Wednesday Farm Members- I'll include this for a few weeks until many members have seen it.
- We aren't planning on attending the Ann Arbor Wednesday market with any regularity. Please send us an email to let us know if you will be able to use your balance at the Saturday market. We will take stock and figure out how to move forward.
- Stockbridge Members: Please see the email directly to you sent Tuesday afternoon.
- I removed the staying active section of our email because I have not managed to update it in so long. Here is link to a newsletter with that section intact. I am going to make a page on our website dedicated to it.
- Fresh from the Field
- Recipe
- Market Details
- Tales from the Farm!
Fresh From the Field- Not a lot yet but soon!
Greens:
Bok Choy
Pea shoots (limited)
Spinach
Tatsoi
Tokyo Bekana
All Manner of Deliciousness
Green Garlic
Spring radishes
Purple Daikon
Purple top turnips!
Herbs
Chives
Transplants:
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Coming soon:
Kale
Sweet Turnips
Recipe: Turnips and Leeks in Miso Butter (read substitue a bunch of green garlic)
Our turnips as made it through winter storage and continue to be delicious. I've been adding them to many a dish and Wiley has been mowing them down. Another fact is that I am a sucker for anything miso. Just my luck I came across this magical combo and can't wait to try it. Maybe tonight is the night!
From: Recipe Box from The Oregonian OregonLiveIf you don't have Mirin on hand, here are some substitutes.
If you don't have Miso paste, perhaps try this braised Turnip and Leek recipe. Braised vegetables are elegantly easy and freaking delicious.
Makes 2 main-course servings or 4 side-dish servings
Description
After a full day's work, I can't imagine a more satisfying dinner in such a short time. The pungent bite of the turnips is an inspired and balanced counterpoint to savory white miso paste and soft, sweet leeks. Aromatic jasmine rice is a natural partner for this vegetarian dish. It steams in about the same time that it takes to cook the turnips, and that makes for a quick weeknight meal. The dish can be vegan if you substitute oil or vegan margarine for the butter.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 pound medium purple-topped turnips, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise into half-moons 1/4 inch thick
- 1 large leek, white and light green part only, thinly sliced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 1/4 cup mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
- Kosher or fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted (see note)
In a large sauté pan, melt the butter over medium heat and swirl to coat the pan bottom. Add the turnips and leek and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the leek is softened and the turnips are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes.
Dissolve the miso in the hot water and add it to the turnip mixture. Add the mirin and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer, cover and cook until the turnips are tender when pierced with a fork, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, season with salt, and toss in the cilantro. Garnish with the sesame seeds and serve immediately.
Note: To toast sesame seeds, heat in a dry skillet over medium heat until they start to brown. Stir occasionally. Be careful not to scorch them.
Market Details: We are at market this week
The Ann Arbor Farmers Market, Saturday with Helen and Tyler, special guest Wiley!: 7 am to 3 pm (or till sold out)
Eastern Market, shed 2, Saturday with Nicole 6 am to 2:30 pm
Royal Oak, Saturday with Jim! 7 am to 1 pm
Squash blossoms are beautiful. We grow primarily parthenocarpic varieties in our tunnels. While traditional squash plants produce both male and female flowers, our parthenocarpic varieties produce primarily female flowers and are able to produce fruit without fertilization. The seeds in the fruit produced are sterile. For our non-parthenocarpic varieties, we rely on pollinators to travel from flower to flower and do the business of making fruit. The reason we use many parthenocarpic varieties in our tunnels is because it allows the plants to produce fruit in the early and late season when there are not a lot of pollinators around. It also allows us to exclude pests without the negative effects fear of excluding pollinators. Don't worry, there's plenty around here for the good guys to eat.
Tales from the Farm:
Oh my gosh! I am finally feeling back in touch. I realized last week that I was a little rusty when I almost backed into a van in the market parking lot. And by almost I mean, I saw it in my mirror and stopped within inches. At least no one had to yell at me. And this is me, who snakes the trailer backwards, uphill, in pitch dark, through a maze of orange cones and moving obstacles! But seriously. Realizing that I am a little rusty has given me the give of compassion. Between pregnancy and some family health issues, I was out of the main throes of the farm for about a year. It's no wonder it has taken me more than a beat to get my mojo back.
When a plow sits through the winter without oil on its shares, a thin layer of rust covers their sheen with a matte red brown. But in the spring when they are drawn through the ground, the rust is quickly polished off and the soil can smoothly move across them again. I will imagine the soil, wind, and sun clearing the rust from my farming practice. Maybe it won't happen as quickly as with the rust from the plow, but there is certainly as much resolve as there is steel in the implement.
This week felt really great. We weeded the onions and most of the carrots, prepared ground, ran irrigation to a new field, cultivated all the crops that were ready for it, planted the remaining tomatoes, peppers, ginger and harvested what is available. And today isn't through yet! We still have time to plant the rest of the sweet potatoes, and prune and trellis our tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers.
Tomorrow we will go to market and see your faces, the punctuation to our work in the field. See you there!
Helen for Jim, Tyler, Wiley (honorary worker and dirt eater extraordinaire!), Boomer (bark layer), and Exie (morale officer)
Photos by Tyler Dodge!
Oh my gosh! I am finally feeling back in touch. I realized last week that I was a little rusty when I almost backed into a van in the market parking lot. And by almost I mean, I saw it in my mirror and stopped within inches. At least no one had to yell at me. And this is me, who snakes the trailer backwards, uphill, in pitch dark, through a maze of orange cones and moving obstacles! But seriously. Realizing that I am a little rusty has given me the give of compassion. Between pregnancy and some family health issues, I was out of the main throes of the farm for about a year. It's no wonder it has taken me more than a beat to get my mojo back.
When a plow sits through the winter without oil on its shares, a thin layer of rust covers their sheen with a matte red brown. But in the spring when they are drawn through the ground, the rust is quickly polished off and the soil can smoothly move across them again. I will imagine the soil, wind, and sun clearing the rust from my farming practice. Maybe it won't happen as quickly as with the rust from the plow, but there is certainly as much resolve as there is steel in the implement.
This week felt really great. We weeded the onions and most of the carrots, prepared ground, ran irrigation to a new field, cultivated all the crops that were ready for it, planted the remaining tomatoes, peppers, ginger and harvested what is available. And today isn't through yet! We still have time to plant the rest of the sweet potatoes, and prune and trellis our tunnel tomatoes and cucumbers.
Tomorrow we will go to market and see your faces, the punctuation to our work in the field. See you there!
Helen for Jim, Tyler, Wiley (honorary worker and dirt eater extraordinaire!), Boomer (bark layer), and Exie (morale officer)
Photos by Tyler Dodge!
(most of)The peas have decided to use the trellis! Thank goodness for that. One more step towards pea success 2022!
The fragrant invasive Autumn Olive is well established on our farm. Believe it or not, it was intentionally planted long before we lived here to help manage erosion. Now it offers berries to the birds and perhaps to us. I just read that a mature plant can produce 30 lbs of berries! Depending how the season goes, maybe you'll see them at market. Information about Autumn Olive: Northeast Superfoods (Information on foraging!) MSU Woody Invasives of the Great Lakes
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