Winter can't stop Lizz and Janet from farming! The snow might be falling, but the greens are still growing! (Malcolm is also equally unstoppable, so much so that he was unavailable for this photo shoot)
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:
For the dipping sauce (optional):
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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