Dear CSA Member,

First, Strawberry News, then CSA list, then sappy letter:

1st:  We are cresting the strawberry wave right at this point!  If you or someone you know wants a flat or two, now is the time.  Ideally, you'd get your flat this Tuesday - Saturday.  If you haven't communicated with us regarding your flat (when you'd like it this week), please do so now.  We don't want you to be disappointed or miss out.  We have a few extra and they are $46.00 (8 quarts) so please tell people you think may want organic strawberries.  Thanks!

We grow what you call "table fruit".  That means we chose varieties that are huge on flavor, not shelf life.  We pick them when ripe, not under-ripe.  You must REFRIGERATE upon arrival to your home (if they last the car ride), then eating or putting up within 2 days of receiving them.  This Monday batch tastes phenomenal.  They got just the right amount of sun and hardly any rain, which intensifies the flavor.  We're open all day Tuesday if you want to drive on over and get a flat of these beauties!  

2nd: Quick list of what CSA shares are getting this week, a note about last week's rhubarb, and some recipes:

 

• ASPARAGUS, STRAWBERRIES, CILANTRO, GREENS MIX or SPINACH, LACEY LETTUCE HEAD or LETTUCE MIX, PRETTY PARSNIPS, GARLIC SCAPES, HAKURIE JAPANESE TURNIPS & OREGENO

• All need to be refrigerated and protected from fridge air. You may hang oregeno in a sunny spot to dry instead.  

• Note about rhubarb:  A customer called to let us know that her rhubarb looked bruised.  (Thank you for letting us know, so that we can correct the problem!)  Rhubarb needs to be picked with gloves on or it does, indeed, look bruised.  Somehow, that information didn't get transferred to that day's crew and I apologize.  The appearance of bruising does not affect taste or nutrition.  Also, Friday and Saturday shares did not get rhubarb... yet.  We substituted more strawberries as a consolation prize.  But Friday and Saturday shares will have rhubarb when it grows in again in two weeks! 

• Garlic scapes and turnips last FOREVER.  Ok, months!  I'm not kidding. :-D  Just remove greens from turnips, (eat greens soon), and store roots in loose plastic.  Scapes are heartier except for the very tip, which yellows like grass.  I store these in my crisper drawer and use them for anything I need garlic for, just minced up real fine.  I have so many new members and garlic lovers that I have to re-share my favorite garlic scape pesto recipe.  Just remember to share liberally with loved ones as you will the "heavenly" scent of this fine garlic is not easy to mask. ;-)

1 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

3 Tb.s fresh lemon or lime juice

¼ lb. garlic scapes (you have this amount in your shares this week)

½ cup olive oil

Salt to taste

Directions:  Puree scapes in olive oil in food processor until smooth.  Add cheese and juice to the mix, and puree again.  Add salt. 

• Serve on bread, crackers, pasta or slices of turnips or radishes.
• Tips:  Make and save for later by freezing portions in ice-cube tray! 
• When basil comes in, you can thaw out some cubes, puree basil into the mix, and have a wonderful basil pesto!  Just modify amounts of the garlic scape pesto to basil leaves to suit your taste.

Sliced turnips, carrots, bread & crackers all taste great with this pesto.  I also use it as a rub on whitefish or chicken!

Another mini recipe:  Turnips and their greens marry well with Thai Peanut sauce.  Simply chop them, coat them and bake them at 350 for 20 minutes.  YUM.  You can buy the sauce or make your own with natural peanut butter, fresh pressed garlic, soy sauce and water to thin out the peanut butter to the consistency you want it.

3rd, Sappy Letter:

 

Sometimes my heart swells with this big, huge, overwhelming feeling of gratefulness.  You can't possibly know how blessed we feel to be in the position we are in.  We are doing exactly what we've dreamed about.  Yes, it can be crazy hard.  It's easy to romanticize the farm-life, so I've got to be honest here.  This stuff could eat us alive if we weren't passionate about what we were doing and deeply rooted in the belief that we're not farming in vain, nor alone.  By stuff I mean: not enough rain, too much rain, frost, the weeds, the bugs, equipment failure, frozen water lines, farm debt, sick or injured animals, poor germination, sometimes sleepless nights... and the WEATHER... (did I mention the weather?)

 

Obviously, we have an unstable business.  We grow a lot of things to mitigate risk, so that if a crop fails, we have lots of others to fall back on.  Obviously that costs more in all the different types of equipment we need.  And... every year, we get schooled.  EVERY YEAR.  Four years ago, we lost 90% of our garlic.  Two years ago, 85% of our strawberries, and we're just recovering from that.  This year sugar snap and snow peas.  They hardly germinated.  (Why?  That's never happened before!)  Another problem this year?  Death in our cattle.  We've lost three cows this year due to birthing issues, and calves too, which is really sad & disappointing.

 

It's kind of like a balancing act.  Fear can creep in if we let it.  Practicing our faith and trust that we are not alone, fights it off.  Beyond the all-encompassing beauty of the land, the animals, of hard little seeds becoming rooted, taking shape and producing beautiful, nutritious food... we think of you and our whole community's support... encouraging us to keep learning, striving to be better and celebrating all the things that do go well.  (Joy, the calf we almost lost, is walking, running and climbing up and down steps!  Our hay didn't get rained on, our strawberries are fabulous, our family is healthy, our Providence Farm team is fantastic, etc, etc...)

 

We're right in the center of the life of our farm-community: the land, the animals, and the people.  We've had many words of encouragement, blessings and gifts over the years from members. And, we have, thus far, been able to pay our loans, pay a fair wage to our employees, and pay our bills each year.  That is a BIG BIG deal.  Twenty years ago, a small farm like ours was almost unheard of.  And a lot of people, too many...lost their farms.  The thought was, "Get big or get out."  You are part of the movement to bring small, diverse & thriving farms back to the rural country-side.

 

Thank you, for being part of our endeavor to farm up here in northern Michigan.

Gratefully yours,

Andrea & Ryan Romeyn

   

           Joy, our "house cow" knows how to climb up and down our front porch steps and looks through the glass.  We have a "perma-smudge" on the window!

Week 2, June 20th:

Quick recipe? lightly brush with your choice olive oil or butter, season to taste with salt and pepper, then grill, broil or bake uncovered until "tender-crisp".  Love cheese?  Add shredded Parmesan near the end to melt on top. 

My favorite home-made recipe this season?  

A skillet omelet!  Easy, filling crowd pleaser without all that pesky "folding" of the omelet.  You can literally use any vegetables according to season.  I am loving asparagus right now so...

1. I slice (on an angle) 1 pound of asparagus into approximately 1/2 inch pieces and saute in the skillet on medium heat with olive oil, adding sliced mushrooms, next and crushed garlic and sea salt to taste toward the end.   

2. When the asparagus is still firm, but can be pierced by a fork (tender crisp), and the mushrooms are browned... 

3. I whisk 8 eggs with 2/3 cup Shetlers Half-n-half and pour on top of asparagus / mushroom mixture.  (I usually add a bit more sea salt and ground pepper here, UNLESS you have already cooked bacon slices to tuck in at this time, then just pepper.)

4. I then sprinkle half a cup (or more to your taste) shredded cheese into the egg mixure.  (I love Feta or Parmesan, depending on my mood.)  

-Turn your broiler on low-broil at this point.- 

5. Now take hand-torn spinach leaves and tuck under the still wet egg & cheese mixture on top of the skillet.

The bottom of your skillet omelet should be cooked.  Time to finish it under the low broil of your oven.

Insert skillet.  Watch carefully!  About 3-5 minutes later, you have the most beautiful and delicious looking creation ever and everyone is thank, thank, thanking you for being so generous and kind.  Warm, toasted, crunchy French sour dough bread with butter and home-made jam completely optional!  

Serve as is or drizzle a balsamic reduction and add a sprig of thyme to the dish.  To make balsamic vinegar reduction: bring a cup of balsamic vinegar to a low boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, about 20-30 minutes, until it has reduced by two-thirds.  Remove and let cool.  Transfer and store up to 1 month in an air-tight container.  Allow to come to room temp before using.

Slice a baguette or crusty bread of some type.  Slather on the butter and/or mayo.  Add thin radish slices in between.  I will NOT pop a whole radish in my mouth.  I'm not that type of person, but I LOVE this.  I've been avoiding bread lately due to 1. A bread addiction, I'm sure you can't tell... and 2. The non-stop bloated feeling I carry around when I eat wheat... So the last time we did this, I sandwiched my radish slices very happily in Kerrygold cheese slices.  I'm a GENIUS (and am walking / running 4 miles a day to counteract my newfound cheese addiction.)   I hope you know I'm kidding!  

Ok so stir-fry is the obvious here.  Alone or with other veggies, bok choy is great sauteed with garlic and soy sauce over rice.  I also love it with chopped raw into salads with my homemade dressing:  Blend 1 cup real mayo with dill (fresh or dried), 1/2 lemon fresh-squeezed juice, finely chopped green onions, optional one clove crushed fresh garlic, 1/4 - 1/2 cup water to get the consistency you want, plus sea salt and pepper to taste.  Taste along the way to sea if it needs anything. At this point, I may add more lemon juice, etc...