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MEADOWLARK FARM SUMMER CSA NEWS 7-03-09 Dear friends, While the thermometer swings from 90 degrees down to 50, the plants are thankful at least for all of the good rain we've seen. Even though we keep up with watering the gardens with drip irrigation, there is nothing truly, like a good soaking rain. It has made our harvesting the last couple of days a bit problematic and challenging, especially in the strawberries and flowers. The strawberries aren't ever something we pick wet, but the thought of not picking didn't feel right either, so......we picked onto dish towels and then put them in front of a fan to dry. That said, you should either eat them immediately or lay them out on a towel at home and do something straight away with them. They will not last, but savor their succulence! Boxes today start plumping with veggie treats and new greens. Boxes include: washed salad greens, garlic scapes, the first baby carrots, broccoli raab(or rapini, it's a green with little broccoli shoots), broccoli for all, sugar snap peas, green curly kale, a head of lettuce, fresh dill and for premium shares parsley a beet bunch and mucho sugar snap peas. Strawberries for fruit shares. Please remember that next week we will be shifting our box day to Thursday, july 9th instead of Friday july 10th! We hope that this will not inconvenience too much and we thank you for your consideration and patience. We will be back on our regular schedule the week after.... Also, we are excited to announce the Annual Meadowlark garlic harvest event, Weds. July 15th Each year in july, we harvest our annual crop of meadowlark red garlic. We work together, bringing in one of our favorite farm crops(we grow 10's of thousands of garlic plants each year) and there are jobs for all to help out. This event evokes the memories of community work bees, barn raising and bringing in hay. We will gather at 9:00am and will be working away until the garlic is all stacked and stored in the barn. There are jobs in the shade too, so come one and all! If it is raining that day, we will reschedule, so watch the weather. If we do decide to cancel, we will post that info on our website at csafarms.org. You can also find directions to the farm there. Bring your gloves, hand pruners, a water bottle, sun hat and your smiling faces and join the meadowlark crew to bring in the garlic....Email jenny with questions at meadowlarks4@yahoo.com. Otherwise, we hope to see you then. Here is an idea for the broccoli raab, or rabe or rapini that we especially love: PAPPARDELLE WITH BROCCOLI RAAB AND PINE NUTS -4 TBL olive oil, divided in 2 -1 medium onion, chopped or try substituting minced scallion -3 galric cloves or scapes -1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed -3 oz thinly sliced pancetta or substitute salty kalamata olives instead -1 big bunch broccoli raab(like the contents of your bag, which needs washing too) -1 8.8 oz pack dried pappardelle pasta or other wide, long noodle to catch the greens -1 c. freshly grated pecorino romano cheese plus more for topping -1/2 c. toasted pine nuts -1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper -freshly chopped basil Heat 2 TBL oil in heavy large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic scapes and cook until golden brown, stirring frequently about 3 minutes. Add onions, pancetta and fennel seeds to skillet, sauté until onion is tender and pancetta begins to brown. Add crushed red pepper and then broccoli raab. Sprinkle with salt to taste and cook until tender. Meanwhile cook pasta in big pot of boiling water until just tender, but still firm to bite. Drain and reserve 1 c. cooking liquid. Add pasta to skillet with broccoli raab and stir over low heat to combine, adding reserved cooking liquid by TBL to moisten if necessary. Stir in remaining olive oil, 1 c. cheese and chopped fresh basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with pine nuts, passing cheese. Enjoy, have a great week and thank you for eating your veggies. Love, the meadowlarks Nancy's blog: farmfoodleelanau.blogspot.com
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