Greetings!
 
While we haven't talked about it, we have stayed abreast of the coronavirus situation and have constantly had your health and well being in mind. You may not be phased by Covid19 or you may be feeling worried. Either way, the virus is now in Michigan and beginning to affect our daily lives, with k thru 12  schools closing and no toilet paper anywhere to be found.

Please Note:
Nothing I am saying here is meant to be inflammatory or cause distress, my only intention is to be sure we are calmly prepared to care for each other. We want to let you know that we are taking this seriously and consider it better to be cautious in matters concerning public health and safety. We want you to know what we are doing to keep you safe and make sure you continue to have access to fresh, healthy food. 

On the farm:
We have reviewed food safety practices and expressed the importance of staying home when sick. Because we have been carefully and safely producing food for the public for a time now, we feel confident in our ability to continue to do this.  

We plan to do things a little differently at the farmers market as well:
We will have display vegetables on the table.
Customers will tell us which they want and we will collect them from behind the table (minimizing touching of vegetables).
We will bag them and then handle the cash exchange.
After every cash exchange, we will sanitize our hands. 

Things to do in general and at market:Be aware of the symptoms.

The CDC says patients with confirmed infection have reportedly had mild to severe respiratory illness with symptoms of:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

The best prevention for viruses, such as influenza, the common cold or COVID-19 is to:

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for 20 seconds. If not available, use hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or upper sleeve when coughing or sneezing.
• Avoid contact with people who are sick.
• If you are sick, stay home, and avoid contact with others.

For the future:
We are not sure how the coronavirus is going to affect the market season. What we do know is that everyone has to eat and we want to provide that food. 
In case of market cancellations or reluctance to attend markets, we are considering offering pre-ordered, pre-packed, pick-ups to customers. We are still getting the details together, so if you are interested please keep an eye out for information in future emails. 

Ann Arbor Market is closed through April 4th:
We plan to offer pre-packed pick-ups as early as next Saturday but still need a little time to prepare. Expect to receive an email as early as Tuesday regarding this. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Eastern, Royal Oak, and Stockbridge

CSA- Our Flexible Farm Membership: So what is our farm membership? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Additional Reasons you should consider signing up for our CSA or any other CSA:
To reduce the exchange of cash at market. 
To assist local food growers during an uncertain market season. 
To ensure a connection to fresh, nutritious food. 

Recipe:  Microgreens!
Back at last! Delicious tender morsels to delight every meal. Sprinkle them on eggs. Deluxe a sandwich. Infuse a smoothie. No recipe involved! Come and grab a bag or two!

Food for thought: 
After all that discussion and planning, the farm must continue. The days are still lengthening, the soil is still warming, we will still need to eat in July. And we are as busy making that happen as ever.
We did it! We got all the seeding that we intended done last week. Now on to building tunnels over the crops to protect them from the volatile vernal weather. These seeds bring me hope: Hope that we will have an increasing amount of fresh delicious food come April. 
So this week we are back to construction. We will be bending the rest of our hoops and cutting rebar and then assembling it all in the field. We will pull plastic over and tie it down and then keep a close eye and watch for green! I will try to post a picture of it when it happens!
And while we do this, we are starting more seeds in the greenhouse! In the most not hilarious way, the greenhouse is already just about halfway full. By the time we finish with seeding this week, it may be completely full (hyperbole)! I guess we will build some more shelves like last year and pack those little plants in! Hopefully the weather breaks soon and we can put them out into the field. 
And like I said at the beginning of this note, we will be getting ready to prepare the soil where all these little plants go. This means making sure the machines are in working order, creating a field layout plan and deciding where all these lives will go, and making sure we have all the materials that we will need.
All of these activities will move us towards readiness for the spring. 
Onward and farmward. 

Helen and Lizz writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

​At market this week! 

Greens: All may be limited
Kale
Head Lettuce
MicroGreens! 

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Kohlrabi!
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!

Herbs:
Parsley

Coming soon:
Pea Shoots

Birds. We all hear them! Red wing blackbirds! A reminder to get out there! Out into the wild world! Witness the reawakening! Take a deep breath and a deep sigh.

To note:

Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! 

Still couple more slots for crew this year! We are looking for people that want to join our team and grow great food. It is a hard job but it is extremely rewarding. Check out our work with us page to see if you match the description.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help balance out cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far! It is really making a difference for us!


RECIPE:  CRUSHED TURNIPS
Just like Smashed Potatoes, only without the carbs! This recipe is seriously delicious and can be prepped the night before so all you have to do is brush and bake them. I would recommend a variety of our golden and purple top turnips for some color variation. This also works  REALLY  well with our green Daikon,  simply cut into rounds before smashing.
 INGREDIENTS

• 12 small to medium turnips, peeled (~2 pints of ours, we can help you select small ones!)
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese  (or as needed)
• Chopped fresh chives (or dill, or parsley, or whatever herb your heart desires)

METHOD

1. Place peeled turnips in a pot of salted water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cook 20 to 30 minutes or until turnips can be pierced easily with a paring knife. Drain. Let cool slightly.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
3. Place the turnips on a clean kitchen towel or double layer of paper towels. Gently press each one down until it's approximately 1/2-inch high. Let them drain for 15 minutes then carefully flip them over onto a dry section of the towel or onto fresh paper towels so the other side drains and dries a bit.
4. Combine garlic, olive oil and salt and black pepper, to taste in a small bowl.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick aluminum foil. Place the flattened turnips on the lined baking sheet. Brush each turnip with a little of the olive oil and garlic combination. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each turnip, gently pressing it down.
6. Carefully and quickly flip each turnip over. Repeat with the remaining olive oil and garlic combination and cheese.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Flip each turnip and bake an additional 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh chives and serve

Recipe courtesy of  Fromachefskitchen.com
Food for thought: 
Lots to do, lots to do! With all this sun we are working on getting some seeds in the ground! 
With all this sun, some of our overwintered crops are thinking it is time to flower and produce seeds. You may see a decline in available greens in during the next month. This means get to market early if you want to get them. 
It is also why it is so so important for us to get these seeds in the ground. Here is the lists of crops that we are hoping to seed this week: Brassica greens (Arugula, Mustard, Tatsoi, Tokyo Bekana), SWEET TURNIPS, Beets, red spring Radishes, and some Carrots. They range in 'Days to Maturity' (how long it takes from seeding to harvest) quite a bit. The radishes and the greens are the fastest coming in at 28 days. Turnips take a little longer at 38 days. Beets and carrots take the longest at around 60 days. This translates to about a month, about an month and a half, and about 2 months. Now consider that these DTM are in ideal conditions. Most crops prefer warm, moist soil to start their lives. The soil of the spring is cold, like putting your feet on the bare floor first thing in the morning on a winter day. And sometimes it is sopping wet. We are hoping that the raised beds that we prepared last fall, along with the tunnels we are hoping to construct over the crops, will help with both of these factors. 
If we get these crops in the ground now, we could hope to have renewed greenery by the second week of April and some fresh roots towards the end of the month. Here to hoping it pans out! Wish us luck, dexterity and speed out there this week! 
Onward and farmward. 

Helen (email body) and Lizz (recipe and photo captions) writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 

Greens: All may be limitedBaby Chard?
Kale 
Arugula
SpinachAll manner of deliciousness:Cabbage
Carrots- (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Kohlrabi!
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.Coming soon:Parsley- 1 week out
Microgreens- 1 week out depending on how much sunshine we get!
Pea shoots-  1 week out depending on how much sunshine we get!
Your balance is: 0
This weeks MarketsSaturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.
 

 
What an exciting time it has been, in the snow on the farm. We all knew that last week was a sign of springs good faith but that we would be back to the depths for a little longer. But really winter. Really? Quite the chill in the air indeed. Because of the low temperatures we decided to hold off until this coming Saturday to turn on the greenhouse. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Friday: Stockbridge Winter Pantry Market from 5:30 pm to 7 pm at the First Presbyterian Church of Stockbridge, 101 S Center St, Stockbridge, MI 49285
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! 

Still couple more slots for crew this year! We are looking for people that want to join our team and grow great food. It is a hard job but it is extremely rewarding. Check out our work with us page to see if you match the description.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Thank you to everyone who has signed up so far! It is really making a difference for us!

RECIPE:  CLASSIC MASHED RUTABAGA
What does one even do with Rutabaga? I love to mash them. These beautiful roots are sweeter than a turnip, and mashing them really brings the flavor to your plate. Pro tip: you can save the prepared rutabaga in the freezer for up to a year! I put them in a ziplock and squeeze all the air out and flatten it so it thaws quickly.
 INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 lbs rutabaga (2 of our pints)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup butter
• Black pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Peel and chop the rutabaga into chunks
2. Put in a sauce pan and cover with water
3. Add 1 tsp salt
4. Bring the water to a rolling boil, cover and simmer for 25-30 mins (until tender) 
5. Drain them!
6. Mash with the butter, the rest of the salt and some pepper

You cant go wrong with these, you can add carrots for color, or you can sub sour cream for the butter. Basically treat them like mashed potatoes!

Food for thought: 
We are on the cusp of March. This is when changes begin picking up speed. We will start this month with a greenhouse, partially full of flats and no green in sight. By the end of them month, the greenhouse will be overflowing with healthy green transplants eager to be planted. We will have sprouted potatoes and sprouted ginger angling for spots in the earth. The daylight hours will increase and there will be more people on the farm every day. And birds too! They will come back by one, then two, then by twenty. The animals will begin waking up. They will sing and forage. The trees will guide us into spring with their bursting buds and the smell of the earth will rise to meet our noses. I can't wait for all of it.
Not that I have romanticized it at all. I mean, does it really need us too? In this business, we are aligning our posture with nature, following the cues for pace and activity. It may be hard sometimes (wet springs, dry summers, cold winters) but it is an honor to work alongside the earth. I am officially encouraging all of you to lovingly search the spaces around you for signs of spring in nature. Take one step closer to the earth that sustains us. Its awesome and complex systems that create wind, rain, heat, and cold and all the creatures that we share it with. The bats that eat the mosquitoes, the pollinator bees, wasps, moths and others that bring fruit. The complex communities of life in wetlands that filter our water.
I am also going to be taking some time to see in what ways we can improve our treatment of this fabulous, mystical orb we've all been marbled into. I invite you to do the same. 
Onward and farmward. 
Helen (email body), Jim (photo captions), and Lizz (recipe) writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 

Greens:Kale
SpinachAll manner of deliciousness:Cabbage
Carrots- (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Kohlrabi!
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.Coming soon:Parsley- 2 weeks out
Microgreens- 1 to 2 weeks out depending on how much daylight we get!
Pea shoots-  1 to 2 weeks out depending on how much daylight we get!
Your balance is: 0
This weeks MarketsSaturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
 
I can hear myself becoming a weather forecaster. But let me tell you, some nice warm weather is coming. That classic February dip above.  This Saturday, come to market to enjoy sunny skies and forty degrees! I know the plants have been loving the sunshine. And I know I have been too. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! 

Still couple more slots for crew this year! We are looking for people that want to join our team and grow great food. It is a hard job but it is extremely rewarding. Check out our work with us page to see if you match the description.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Recipe:  Garlic Roasted Radishes; Recipe compliments of Mary
Wondering what to do with all of our beautiful radishes?  Do you have a lot of garlic on hand? This is an easy Tried-and-True recipe that works well with any of our radish varieties, just pick your favorites! 
 INGREDIENTS

• 2 Pints of our radishes (watermelon is my fav) ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch thick slices
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil/avocado oil/melted butter)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced (you can also use frozen scapes ~5 of them) 
• 1/4 tsp dried chives or parsley or dill

METHOD Preheat the oven to 425
1. In a bowl, toss your sliced radished with oil, salt, and pepper until coated
2. Spread radishes out on a roasting pan, dont overcrowd
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing once. Add the minced garlic, or toss the scapes with a little oil and add them. Bake for another 5 minutes or until radishes are golden brown and cooked through. optionally serve with side of ranch for dipping/drizzling and garnish with parsley, dill or chives

Food for thought: 
We have begun pre-seeding the onions! A huge endeavor that results in 110 flats and upwards of 63000 onion plants hoping to get roots in our field this spring. That is a lot of seeding! This year we are getting a head start on it. We will get all the seeds into the flats tucked under some nutritious potting soil. Just add water and poof! Onion plant explosion! Those little seeds are going to love the sun and 40 degree weather that comes in next week. It will increase their speed of germination, add a little heat to get those reactions happening faster. 

Besides all the other seeds we will start in the coming week, the ones that will offer the most immediate gratification are the shoots and sprouts! That's right! In just a matter of weeks the pea shoots and micro greens will be back on the table. I love eating them this time of year when other greens are scarce. Who am I kidding, love eating them all year round! The microgreens are unmatchable. Just a sprinkle, or a whole bag, on a sandwich, veggie bowl, or soup, can level up my enjoyment of the meal. They really give me that dose of leafy green that I crave so much in the winter months. And don't even get me started on the pea shoots. Without any additional filler, make a fantastic salad. I just chop them up, toss them in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and devour them! So keep in mind, in a few weeks time, this greens will be available. 

In the meantime, I am rounding some office deadline bends and really hoping to get back out into the field with the rest of our hardy crew. Janet, Malcolm, and Lizz have been really holding it down, doing the majority of the harvest, dividing, washing, and packing for markets. It has allowed my mind to focus more than previous winters and I am so grateful. And even while I have this gratitude, I cannot WAIT to get outside more and I see it in the cards. Just the farmers' market applications, the organic certification paperwork, the taxes, and a few finer season plans to go!!!

Hope you head out to market this weekend to get some delicious vegetables and visit me on one of the days I am allowed out of the office! 
Helen and Jim writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 

Greens:
Arugula (?)
Head Lettuce
Spinach

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- (From our farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes - (From or farm friends at Tantre- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!

Herbs:
Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.

Coming soon:
Parsley
Large Leaf Kale
Microgreens
Pea shoots
 
This weeks Markets

Saturday: 
Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

​Snow it did! We are back to tracing tracks. I have to tell you, my looping loping kestrel trail tale is likely tall. After further consideration, those footprints in the snow are a might to large to be a kestrel. So the mystery continues! Do you have any thoughts?
Either way, today is too cold for a bird to be rampaging around. Very cold indeed. But not for long. This winter is a temperature rollercoaster! 
To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor! Eastern, and Royal Oak! HEADS UP! We are going to do a late start in Ann Arbor! We plan to be set up by 10 am. SEE YOU THERE...
 
CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!
Recipe:  Garlic Roasted Radishes; Recipe compliments of Mary
Wondering what to do with all of our beautiful radishes?  Do you have a lot of garlic on hand? This is an easy Tried-and-True recipe that works well with any of our radish varieties, just pick your favorites! 
 INGREDIENTS

• 2 Pints of our radishes (watermelon is my fav) ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch thick slices
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil/avocado oil/melted butter)
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, finely minced (you can also use frozen scapes ~5 of them) 
• 1/4 tsp dried chives or parsley or dill

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 425
1. In a bowl, toss your sliced radished with oil, salt, and pepper until coated
2. Spread radishes out on a roasting pan, dont overcrowd
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, tossing once. Add the minced garlic, or toss the scapes with a little oil and add them. Bake for another 5 minutes or until radishes are golden brown and cooked through. optionally serve with side of ranch for dipping/drizzling and garnish with parsley, dill or chives

Food for thought: 
No seeds went in the ground this week, but as you can see, we did get the greenhouse re-wrangled! Spring. When you look outside, it seems so far away. But the days are getting longer. It is light when we finish up our work for the day. It is light when we start. It is a wonderful time of year to watch to world. Even on those days, when you don't see spring on the horizon, nature knows. The amount of sun, the time that passes above certain temperatures, these are signs telling the trees, the insects, the creatures (the humans too!), signs telling life that something more hospitable is coming. I love to look for the red tinge of maple buds over the forest, the early blooming witch hazel, the spring peepers! 

And after this bitter cold moment, we will start some seeds: Early tomatoes to plant in our hoop house come April, onions, celery, celery root, and some others. I am just so ecstatic that it is finally time! Even though it is cold today, the sun is telling us that warmer times are coming and I know that along with that, a whole lot of delicious food. 

Hope you head out to market tomorrow to get some delicious vegetables! 
Helen and Jim and Lizz writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

At market this week! 
Greens:
Baby chard
Head Lettuce

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular (some from Tantre this week- at Eastern and Royal Oak only)
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Potatoes from Tantre, wonderful, neighbor, elder farm! 
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!

Herbs:
Cilantro! SOOOOO DELICIOUS! Seriously. So good.

Coming soon:
Parsley
Arugula
Large Leaf Kale
Microgreens
Pea shoots
 
This weeks MarketsSaturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
 
It was a cold week that really reminded us it was winter. It didn't start out that way though did it! Monday was glorious! I was ready to lounge in the greenhouse like it was a beach, reading a magazine, and sipping a fruity beverage. Instead, I harvested some spinach, adjusted covers, and caught up a little on some paperwork (still catching up on paper work- forever). And then down the temps went! But at least we got some snow out of the deal. Seriously, What's a Winter without the Snow?!
To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Eastern, Royal Oak, and Stockbridge! Sorry folks, no Ann Arbor this week.

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!

Recipe: Vegetable Cream Cheese Wontons!
 I got some wonton wrappers from the grocery store. I though, hmmm, this seems like a great idea. Some baked vegetable bites. And I was right! (Along with all those that have know and come before me.) As an example of how casual you can be, here is how Jim and I made ours. We really just grabbed the various, co-mingling roots from the drawer- half a cabbage, a couple carrots, some turnabaga, a gorgeous watermelon radish, some frozen peas too plus some items from the counter-onions and garlic. I sauteed all this in a tall pot with some grated ginger (from the fall harvest!), turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt. The rest was by the recipe below. Man! They were delicious. 

Vegetable Cream Cheese Wontons! Recipe from Simply Recipes 
INGREDIENTSFor the wontons:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger (from a 1-inch piece of ginger)
• 5 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (green cabbage is also ok)
• 1 large carrot, grated (about 1 1/3 cups grated)
• 3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 large egg
• 48 to 50 square wonton wrappers (we used Melissa's- they were close to the smoothies in the veggie section of the grocery) You can also make your own if you want to spend a little more family time in the kitchen.
• 4 1/2 to 5 ounces cream cheese

For the dipping sauce (optional):

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

METHOD1
Prepare the filling: Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds.
Add the cabbage and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, until it starts to wilt, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the grated carrot, peas, scallions, salt and sesame oil and cook for another minute.
Turn off the heat and dish the vegetables onto a plate to cool for 10 minutes.
2 Preheat oven to 400ºF. Position an oven rack in the center position. Brush 2 large baking sheets with oil (1 tablespoon per pan), spray with cooking spray, or line with parchment. (Wontons baked on parchment won't get quite as crispy on the bottoms.)
Lightly beat an egg for the egg wash and set aside.
3 Fold the wontons: Lay 4 wonton wrappers on a work surface. Place about a tablespoon of vegetable filling in the center of each wrapper. Place about 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese on top of the vegetables.
Using your fingers, brush the egg wash along the edges of the wonton wrappers. Lift 2 opposite corners of the wrapper and pinch them together at the top. Lift the other two corners towards the top and pinch them against the first two corners to form a pyramid. Pinch edges of the wrapper together to seal the wonton closed.
Repeat with the other three wontons. Transfer the sealed wontons onto one of the sheet pans and cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
Repeat filling and folding the wontons until you have filled a baking sheet with 24 to 25 sealed wontons. Remove the plastic wrap and brush a thin layer of oil on all of the wontons or spray with cooking spray.
4 Bake for 11 to 12 minutes, or until the edges of the wontons are a deep golden brown color.
5 While the first batch of wontons is baking, prepare a second batch of wontons using the remaining filling. Once the first batch is done baking, bake the second batch.
6 To serve: Let the wontons cool for a few minutes before serving. Whisk together the ingredients for the dipping sauce and serve with the warm wontons. These baked wontons are best consumed in the same day.

Same day best is a lie according to us! We ate the cold leftovers while standing at the counter the next night with no complaints except that there weren't more of them!

Food for thought: 
Our greens are a little slow to bounce back after that series of gray, cold days. They really need the sun to change all that energy into plant matter. That said, this week in the greens department we will have spinach, head lettuce, and baby kale, with the arugula, chard, and large leaf kale hopefully returning next week. Hopefully this gives us some time to catch up on weeding. On a sunny day like today, even with the below freezing temps, the fragrance of the earth rises to meet your nose the moment you enter the caterpillars tunnels. The plants are growing. More sun please. I have a feeling that the celestial forces will inevitably cooperate with this request.

The big project on deck right now (after the greenhouse is back in working order) is getting some more seeds in the ground. We want to keep you in vegetables allllll the way through the year. I would say our winter greens game has improved, although still has ample room for improvement. But our early spring greens game? Now that could stand to be launched into the future. Over then next two weeks we are going to assemble and seed 3 more tunnels! We are going t fill them with sweet turnips (won't it be nice to have those fresh turnip greens back?), mustard, tokyo bekana, and tatsoi, as well as some bonus lettuce! I have high hopes that in April our market offerings will be so extensive there won't be a chance they will fit on one table only. 

In other news, we used that fabulous new spinner this week to spin dry our spinach and it was awesome! It was so fast and quiet compared to our old spinner. And the loading and unloading was so streamlined. I would say the process was even enjoyable! 
Enjoy the sun today. 
Come see me tomorrow! 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Baby Kale
Head Lettuce
Spinach

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Purple top and golden roasting turnips- Excellent for roasting!
​
Coming soon:
Cilantro and Parsley
Chard
Arugula
Large Leaf Kale
Microgreens
Pea shoots
 
This weeks Markets

Saturday: 
Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

NOT THIS WEEK! The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.
Ahoy!

These gray days are drifting by. They encourage one to curl up inside with a candle and a hot drink. But time is slipping by. By the time we meet tomorrow, it will bet the first day of February, the month we start our first seedlings. There is much to be done. We are stepping out of the deep thought and into deep action. 

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and Eastern!

CSA Y'all- We accept members on a rolling basis through the season. However! This is the time that signing up to be a member of our farm has the greatest positive effect on your farmers! CSA's help share the burden of cashflow variability and seasonal unpredictability with the farmer. For us, it makes a huge difference to know that people are committed to eating our vegetables and the early investments take some of the stress out of all the early season improvements that we are making. So what is the CSA? In short, members open an account with us, receive a bonus for their commitment, and then use their accounts at market just like cash. You can find more details here. And let me say, if this is something you are considering, now is the time! We won't let you down!
Recipe:
Vegetable Fried Rice INGREDIENTS

• 1 yellow onion
• 3 large garlic clove
• 3 carrots
• 2 turnips
• 1/2 cabbage 
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups cooked brown rice
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce (at least!)
• salt (to taste)
• black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cook rice like a pro!
2. add oil to pan at lowish heat. Add garlic and onion, then throw in your vegetables (chopped to pervection!), add your spice cloud (keep your spice shakers HIGH, about 18-21 inches above the pan for maximum clouding), now crack a couple eggs in there! Add in your soy sauce and give it some time on the heat to incorporate with the vegetables.
3. Combo your rice and party pan! Following your combo, invest the flavor, add additional spice cloud as needed.
4. Eat it hot and ENJOY!

Food for thought: 
I have been wailing away on office work. Working on the new salad spinner was the first time I got out of the office for ages. But I have been working to great effect. The seed order is finally done and our field plans along with it. We selected new varieties of some (like yellow skinned watermelon!) and stuck with the tried and true for others (Hakurei sweet turnips immediately come to mind.) New crops that we are adding range from the truly experimental (artichokes anyone?) to the more predictable (leeks and watermelon).  We have increase the amounts of some things (more shallots, more of that delightful, torpedo-shaped radicchio) and changed windows of others (no more attempts at summer head lettuce until we balance out again.)

Jim has been moving repairs forward. With our fleet of market vehicles and tractors, this is not a small job! He has been proofing orders and gathering materials for the coming year. He has been connecting with our local NRCS and FSA offices to tie up some 2019 paperwork. He has been making sure we have what we need when it is go time. 

And along with all the plans and prep, we have a returning team that can make it happen. While I am in the office for a nested eternity, Lizz, Malcolm, and Janet are running the field. They are harvesting, cleaning, sorting, and packing all that we bring to market. They are weeding the field tunnels. They are cleaning cabbage. They are sanitizing the greenhouse. They are unloading supplies orders. They are total bad-assess.

I am excited imagining all that we can do together this year.  FYI, there two open slots on our dance card. If you think you love farming and you know you love using your body, this could be the job for you. Come dance with the Divider's for 2020, the clearest year yet!

Come see me tomorrow! 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:Arugula (limited)
Kale
Head Lettuce
Spinach (limited)All manner of deliciousness:Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Sweet Turnips
Purple top turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Returning soon Cilantro and Parsley 

This weeks Markets

Saturday: 
Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Roya lOak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Lake Divide Farm Newsletter:
A window into the production path of your food.

It has been cold but it seems we made it through this cavernous tunnel of cold weather. A few things have happened despite the low, low temperatures: The vegetables in the field are surviving! We are finding joy in the wilds! And the Sun! It was glorious. It was out for what felt like a whole week. 

To note:
Our markets this week:

Friday: The Stockbridge Winter Pantry Market (the fourth Friday of every month)  at the Presbyterian Church Hall on the corner of  Center and M-106 from 5 pm to 7 pm!

Saturday: Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and Eastern!

Recipe:
Winter salad! How lucky are we, to enjoy local greens and roots in the winter. This is a nice, refreshing salad. Something I have learned! If you like mega lemon flavor, anytime you juice a lemon fresh, zest it! It is worth the tiny bit of extra work. So zesty and besty!

Lettuce and Kale Salad
INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch of kale, pulled from stems and ripped into smaller pieces
• 1 box of head lettuce- chopped
• thinly slice carrots and watermelon radishes (mandolin or grated)
• Lemon (juice it and zest it!), oil, and salt for dressing (my go to!)
• Sunflower seeds (optional) You could also include any other seed, nut or dried fruit that you like

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine everything in a bowl and toss together! 
2. ENJOY!

Food for thought: 
I have really been enjoying the snow. Some of these cold days I dread going out the door. However, once bundled and outside, I always feel joyous. I love walking around and looking at all the tracks in the snow, enjoying learning more of the secret lives all around me. One of the animals that we love year-round are the kestrels. We have a pair of them now! I don't know where they rest their heads (or the tuck their heads, or close their eyes- I don't want to make any assumptions about kestrel sleep) but they hunt our fields. Most days, one can look out into the field and see one hovering 50 ft in the air, watching for prey. 
Now I always imagined that they swooped down, landing on their quarry and then rising back to the sky with their catch in claw. The snow has revealed a different story.  The wing prints, just a few bars in the snow on either side of the foot prints. And then, running! Long, looping, loping trails through the snow, as though someone was stitching a flies path to cloth. Occasionally the paths end in a firm double foot plant, accompanied by more wing prints: the take-off. And sometimes! Sometimes they end in a 4 inch diameter hole through the icy crust, surrounded by smooth snow, tamped down by over lapping foot prints. I suppose this is the sign of success, at least for the kestrel! We offer them thanks for helping balance our ecosystem. In all likelihood, this behavior is caused by the snow, and on greener days, there is less cross country running but it brought a smile to my face to picture the pigeoned toed, footballer-shouldered head down hustle of a bird sprinting around the field.
On other life in the field, our vegetables are doing great out in the cold. We had a goal to improve our winter greens game and we have! The head lettuce is sizing up just like it is supposed to. The kale is FANTASTIC, so tender and so sweet. The Arugula is buttery and flavorful. Winter spinach? Winter chard? Coming along nicely I would say! And we have a few more tricks up our sleeves. We are hoping to make these winter markets worth your trek with all this bounty. Of course there is always room to improve our winter growing and you can bet we will! 

Neither Jim nor I will personally be at the markets this weekend. We aim to have one of these shared Saturdays per month through the winter. Let's call them our honeymooners weekends. Even so, Lake Dividers will be at all Three! See Lizz in Ann Arbor, Kathryn in Royal Oak, and Shana at Eastern! We allllll love animal stories so Dish. Them. Up. If inspired, email them! 

Enjoy the beauty in the world! 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:
Arugula
Kale
Head Lettuce
Maybe Swiss Chard and spinach
Back in February! Pea Shoots and microgreens
All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Sweet Turnips
Purple top turnips- Excellent for roasting!Herbs:Returning soon Cilantro and Parsley 

This weeks Markets
Saturday: 
Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market
​
The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Snow or no, expect to see us and our fabulous produce at market tomorrow. We are really excited to see everyone and bring local goodness to the table.

To note:
Our markets this week:
Saturday: Ann Arbor, Royal Oak, and Eastern!

It is going to snow, but we will be there and we hope you will be too! Enjoy a bit of the winter wonderland with us!

Recipe:
Kohlrabi citrus salad! A friend of mine made this for second christmas dinner and we just loved it. 

Kohlrabi and Cabbage Salad with Maple Lemon Dressing- I got this recipe a friend but it orginally came from Kitchn who got it from 'The Modern Menu' by Kim Kushner.  

SERVES6 to 8

INGREDIENTS

• 4 medium bulbs kohlrabi (for us this could be one of our giant ones or 3-4 small ones)
• 3 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using a sharp knife, remove the long stems and greens from the kohlrabi. Using a peeler, trim away the thick green skin until you reach the light green to white part that is free of tough fibers. Shred on the medium holes of a box grater or in a food processor fitted with the shredder disk.
2. Combine the kohlrabi, cabbage, cherries, sunflower seeds, and dill in a large serving bowl. In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the olive oil, maple syrup, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Shake to thoroughly combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat well. Let sit for about 20 minutes before serving.

Food for thought: 
In less than a month we will be starting seeds for 2020. Let that sink in. I am. Less than a month. Honestly I am stoked! But in the meantime, we have some legwork to do. First order of business is to finish taking our seed inventory. We go through our seed fridge and count up what we have left. The germination rates of some of the seeds, like onions, dwindle after the first year. If we have large amounts of those seeds left, we do a simple germination test to see what we can expect. If the test shows a germination rate low enough, we will likely get fresh seed or increase the seeding rate to accommodate it.  Other seeds, like seeds in the cucumber family, remain viable for multiple years. For these, we just note the date and are extra careful to use the old seed first when it comes time to seed them.  
Next step, we begin adjusting our planting numbers to reflect what we think you folks at the market want. If you have come at the end of any of the market days, you may have seen us diligently accounting for what we have left at the end of the day. All this information is used now. We ask, did we regularly sell out of salad mix? Did we grow more than we could sell? Is there a crop that people asked for again and again that we just didn't have? Did we have too much cabbage in June? We adjust our field numbers and field plan and convert that into an amount of seeds. 
After this, we are ready to turn to those seductive seed catalogs (locally we love Ann Arbor Seed Company and Nature Nurture Seeds) and make our selections. This is mostly looking for the best prices and the most local source. Once deep in the dreamland of seed selection, we allow ourselves up to three impulse (thought out but.... impulsive) variety or crop selections. 
The other half to preparing to start our seeds, is cleaning and sanitizing the greenhouse. Good housekeeping ensures that our seedlings have the best start to their life and are able to take hold more quickly in the field. For this, we remove all of the greenhouse benches, spray them down, sweep out the the greenhouse, and sanitize the whole shebang with a bleach solution. We then reassemble the situation and get ready to rumble. 
Life. Food. So good. So glad that this is my job. 
In the meantime, come see us at market tomorrow in the magical wonderland. I think it is going to be great. 
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:
Arugula
Kale
Head Lettuce
Microgreens! Back in February! 
Radicchio- A delicious bitter green- the last round for the winter!
Pea Shoots-Back in February!

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Napa cabbage- The last round for the winter!
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Sweet Turnips
Purple top turnips- Excellent for roasting!
Wintersquash- Butternut Squash and pie pumpkins!

Herbs:
​Returning soon Cilantro and Parsley 

This weeks Markets

​Saturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.

Ahoy!
Hello hello. We miss you so. But while we would love to come see you as soon as possible, we are sorry to say that with the hazardous weather tomorrow, we are going to forgo our foray to the markets tomorrow. Expect us back next week! In the meantime Happy New Year! Welcome to 2020! We made it to the next circulation! We edged through the long sleep and into then new year. We have a lot of fun wintertime projects to tell you about but not yet! In the meantime, one smaller, personal dream for the season is to preserve more of our own food. I'm talking pickles, sauces, and salsas folks. 

To note:
Our markets this week: JUST STOCKBRIDGE!
Saturday: Expect our produce at the Stockbridge Winter Market tomorrow and expect us back at all our markets next Saturday. It is at the First Presbyterian Church CE Building downtown Stockbridge (just off the East side of the square), 11 am to 3 pm. Luncheon from 11-2 and live music 12 pm to 2 pm. 

Recipe:
Pickles are fantastic. I love an eclectic meal with some dipping sauces and a side of anything pickled. As I get ready for a summer of pickling the season's picks, I am going to start with some casual quick pickled root vegetables and ramp up with the season!

Quick Pickled Root Vegetables- I got this adaptable quick-pickling guide fomr the Kitchn.  

Quick pickles are also known as refrigerator pickles. They are simply vegetables that are pickled in a vinegar, water, and salt (sometimes sugar, too) solution and stored in the refrigerator. Quick pickles don’t develop the deep flavor that fermented pickles do, but they also only require a few days in the brine before they can be enjoyed. Quick pickles also do not require canning when refrigerated.Pickling is best done with super-fresh vegetables. Save the slightly bruised specimens for soups or other forms of preservation. Almost any vegetable can be pickled, and the shape you choose to pickle in is entirely up to you. For example, carrots can be peeled and sliced into matchsticks or coins. Cherry tomatoes are best preserved whole. Green vegetables, such as green beans or asparagus, can be blanched in boiling water for two to three minutes and then shocked in an ice bath to preserve their color, but this step is purely optional.

Preparing Vegetables for Pickling

• Thinly slice: cucumbers, summer squash, ginger, red onion
• Cut into spears: carrots, cucumbers
• Peel: carrots
• Blanch: green beans (optional, but helps preserve their color)

Brine BasicsFor quick pickles, a basic brine is equal parts vinegar and water, but you can adjust the ratio to your preference. Any basic vinegar is game — white vinegar, apple cider, white wine, and rice vinegar all work well. You can use these vinegars alone or in combination. Steer clear of aged or concentrated vinegars like balsamic or malt vinegar for pickling.
Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh vegetables, such as cucumbers, carrots, green beans, summer squash, or cherry tomatoes
• 2 sprigs fresh herbs, such as thyme, dill, or rosemary (optional)
• 1 to 2 teaspoons whole spices, such as black peppercorns, coriander, or mustard seeds (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried herbs or ground spices (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed or sliced (optional)
• 1 cup vinegar, such as white, apple cider, or rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 2 teaspoons pickling salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)

EQUIPMENT

• Chefs knife ofrmandolin!
• Cutting board
• 2 wide-mouth pint jars with lids
• Canning funnel (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the jars. Wash 2 wide-mouth pint jars, lids, and rings in warm, soapy water and rinse well. Set aside to dry, or dry completely by hand.
2. Prepare the vegetables. Wash and dry the vegetables. Peel the carrots. Trim the end of beans. Cut vegetables into desired shapes and sizes.
3. Add the flavorings. Divide the herbs, spices, or garlic you are using between the jars.
4. Add the vegetables. Pack the vegetables into the jars, making sure there is a 1/2 inch of space from the rim of the jar to the tops of the vegetables. Pack them in as tightly as you can without smashing.
5. Make the brine. Place the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar (if using) in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the salt and sugar. Pour the brine over the vegetables, filling each jar to within 1/2 inch of the top. You might not use all the brine.
6. Remove air bubbles. Gently tap the jars against the counter a few times to remove all the air bubbles. Top off with more brine if necessary.
7. Seal the jars. Place the lids on the jars and screw on the rings until tight.
8. Cool and refrigerate. Let the jars cool to room temperature. Store the pickles in the refrigerator. The pickles will improve with flavor as they age — try to wait at least 48 hours before cracking them open.

RECIPE NOTES
Storage: These pickles are not canned. They can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. If you process and can the jars, they can be stored at room temperature unopened.

Food for thought: 
A couple big awesome new-es from us: 
We got a box truck! It is the coolest and it can fit a lot of produce and 4 buckled in people! We are going to use it to carpool to two of our metro Detroit markets. Which leads me to our other big news:
We got into the Farmington Farmers' Market! Of course it is on Saturday... But even so, We are super-extra-stoked about it! We can't wait to meet a whole new group of locavores, commune with even more fellow farmers, and have even more overlap with some of the farmers that we already love. 

Other things on the winter docket:

• We are scheduled for our organic inspection this coming Monday. I have never had a winter inspection but I expect it to go well. I appreciate the motivation to get everything in order. 
• This coming week we have 3 working interviews scheduled! We have already hired one awesome crew member. And we have one more working interview scheduled for the beginning of February. I am not counting any chickens but if these work out, we are done hiring for the season. That being said, if you are considering applying, now is the time to put your name in the hat!
• We are ordering the materials to build three more caterpillars. With our awesome winter crew, we will get them up and planted by mid February, hopefully leading to excessive greens this coming April. 
• By the end of next week we hope to have our seed order along with our field plans completed! It's all improvements and logistics from there on out!

It is a little clipped but this recounting is mostly what is going on on the farm. On the personal front, Jim and I had a really fulfilling time visiting with family and friends over the break. We ate a lot of really good food, and while we are not fully recharged, we feel like we can see a path to that ultimate goal. 

Looking forward to seeing you again,
Helen writing for the Lake Dividers!

Good for the Earth, Good for the Farmers, Good for the People. The Trifecta of sustainability. Good for the earth: Taking care of the natural world is a important, after all, it takes care of us; Good for the farmer: We believe farmers should have livable hours and livable wages; Good for the people: We believe in food equality and bringing our produce to market at an affordable price and keeping it accessible is important to us.

• HIRING
• Looking to join our CSA or renew your membership? Find more details here. The basics? Open an account with us, get a bonus, and use your account to purchase produce with us at any of our markets. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. 
• We are accepting workshares both on the farm and at market. Please email for details. 

Fresh From the Field!

Greens:
Arugula
Kale
Radicchio- A delicious bitter green.

All manner of deliciousness:
Cabbage
Napa cabbage
Carrots- Rainbow and regular
Garlic- For me, these juicy cloves go in just about EVERYTHING!
Kohlrabi- petite treats back along with the staple economy-sized. 
Onions- All types, sweet and pungent, yellow and red!
Daikon Radish- White- Chinese type and the spiciest of the three, Purple, and green Korean daikon
Watermelon Radish
Rutabaga: Purple and Green! Lovely texture. Great roasted. Great mashed. Great in soups!
Turnabaga: As sweet as a sweet turnip but with the texture of a rutabaga!
Sweet Turnips
Purple top turnips- Excellent for roasting!
Wintersquash- Butternut Squash!

Herbs:
Cilantro and Parsley back on the menu soon!

This weeks Markets- JUST STOCKBRIDGE THIS WEEK!

Saturday: Ann Arbor, Detroit's Eastern Market, and Royal Oak Market

The Ann Arbor Market is located in the Kerrytown District at 315 Detroit St, Ann Arbor, MI. The market runs from May thru December, 7 am to 3 pm and January thru April from 8 am - 3 pm.

The Eastern Market in Detroit is located about a mile northeast of downtown. It covers about 43 acres, bounded by I-75 on the West and Gratiot Avenue on the South. It runs year round from  6am – 4pm

The Royal Oak Market is an indoor market located at 316 E Eleven Mile Rd, Royal Oak, MI 48067. It runs year round from 7am - 1pm.