Even on cold dreary days Malcolm finds the time to brighten our spirits. Here you can see him perfectly executing Lake Divide Farm's inaugural "plank"
ropesicle? Yep, it's winter.
Hoophouse 2 has been holding up well through the cold weather. Our "greenhouse-in-a-greenhouse" idea is keeping the plants alive despite no active heating. Let the Head lettuce roar forth!
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
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.
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.
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
- Combine everything in a bowl and toss together!
- 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.
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.
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