Anticipated for July 29th
- Cabbage or Kale
- Cucumbers
- Lettuce
- Scallions
- String Beans
- Summer Squash and/or Zucchini
Patience is a Virtue…
Especially if you signed up for a fruit share! No
matter how many times you call or ask, it will not speed up the
arrival of BLUEBERRIES. The DeGraffs of Grindstone Farm
anticipate that the berries they grow for your share will ripen
some time in early August.
HVF Walks & Tours
Aug 21 Summer Weeds Walk
Sept 18 Woods & Hedges Walk
Aug 28 Farm Tour
Virtual Tours
To seea glimpse of HVF Farm life tune in to the July
25th edition of the CBS Sunday Morning Show
with Charles Osgood.
For a peek at your blueberries, check out the “Crop
Pages” at www.grindstonefarm.org.
To see where your strawberries, apples, and cider come from,
visit www.thompsonfinch.com
And of course, there’s always www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org
Judith Madey is quite a remarkable woman. She is Swiss born
and when we first met her, Judith had just made the decision to
drop out of medical school, even though she was a promising
medical student. Farming was her goal. It has become her way to
life. Judith apprenticed with us for three years and married
here. Abe Madey became our dairy processing manager. Judith and
Abe are raising two wonderful sons in this community and at the
same time, Judith is pursuing her farming dream by taking
responsibility for our 60 cow dairy herd. As CSA members, you
are directly responsible for helping Judith further along in her
passion for farming. In return, she and Abe are providing you
with some excellent dairy products!
Rachel Schneider,
CSA Coordinator
Dear CSA-Members:
Now that it is CSA season, I always know that it is indeed
Wednesday because on that morning the light is on in Katy and
Seth's apartment when I walk by on my way to the barn.
Additionally, I suddenly see all the apprentices walk by the barn
before I start milking. On other days, they usually only come
through once I am about half way done. You might wonder why this
could be important enough to write about, but it just brought
again to consciousness that there is a much greater seasonality
to the plants than to the animals.
Here at Hawthorne Valley Farm, we milk the cows twice a day,
seven days a week. In summer, when they are not in the barn
getting milked, you will find them on pasture eating grass or
lying down digesting. If you could fly over the farm like a bird,
you would see that there is more than just one group of animals
out there and that that are moved from pasture to pasture on a
daily or weekly rhythm. On nice days you would also find one or
two tractors out there driving around and around in circles on
one field until all the grass is mowed. One or two days later,
this forage will be raked and baled and put away for the winter.
In winter, the cows are only out for the morning while we get the
barn cleaned and the feed ready for them to come back in.
Steffen said recently the cows were the heart of the farm.
They impose or offer a very strong rhythm, like the heart beat.
Sometimes, there seems to be no getting away from it, oftentimes
though, it is a strong, carrying pulse that I would not want to
do without.
Surprisingly to you maybe, the cows’ biggest
contribution to us is not necessarily their milk, which we all
enjoy in the yogurt and cheeses, but perhaps their manure, which
we collect and compost and return to the land. Thus they help
grow the wonderful vegetables we have been enjoying. It is quite
a precious gift. There are not many farms out there that solely
rely on animals that are part of the same farm to maintain and
increase the fertility of the soil the vegetables are grown on. I
feel lucky to be on one of them.
Judith
Summer Fritatta
|
1 Tbs. olive oil
½ cup chopped scallions
8 to 10 mushrooms, sliced
1 cup diced zucchini
½ cup minced bell pepper
¾ tsp. salt
a pinch dried thyme & oregano
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups chopped spinach
|
freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh basil
4 or 5 eggs
Optional: ¼ lb. grated or crumbled cheese
chopped tomatoes, for garnish
|
- Preheat oven to 375o F.
- Heat the oil on the stovetop in a 9-or 10- inch cast iron
skillet. Add the scallion, dried herbs, mushrooms, zucchini,
bell pepper, garlic, and half the salt. Cook, stirring over
medium heat, for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are just
tender.
- Turn the heat up and add the spinach with remaining salt and
black pepper to taste. Stir and cook for just a minute or two,
until the leaves wilt and some of the liquid evaporates. Stir in
the basil.
- Beat the eggs in a separate bowl then pour them into the pan
with the vegetables. Sprinkle in some cheese if desired. Place
the pan in a pre-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the
frittata is solid when you shake the pan. If desired, add some
extra cheese to the top, midway through baking.
- Serve cut into wedges - hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Garnish with tomatoes. Makes a tasty pita sandwich with herbed
mayonnaise.
Savoy Cabbage with Pasta
Savoy cabbage is considered by many to be the finest
cabbage available for cooking. Combined here with orecchini and
peas and seasoned with dill, it makes a delicious and colorful
meal.
1 lb.
orecchini or small shell pasta
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 pound savoy cabbage (about 1/2 medium head), cored and very
thinly sliced, with tough ribs discarded
1 cup baby peas
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
dill sprigs for garnish
In large saucepot, prepare orecchini in boiling salted water
as label directs. Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, melt margarine
or butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring
often, 5 minutes, or until tender. Add cabbage and 3/4 teaspoon
salt and cook until cabbage is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes,
stirring often. Stir in peas, chicken broth, cream, and pepper;
heat to boiling. Remove skillet from heat; stir in chopped dill.
Drain pasta; return to saucepot. Add cabbage mixture; toss well.
Garnish with dill sprigs.
from Great
Good Food: Luscious Lower-Fat Cooking
by Julee Rosso,co-author of the Silver Palate
and New Basics Cookbooks.
Sauteed Kale
It doesn’t get easier than this…
1 1/2 pounds young kale, stems and leaves coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add
the garlic and cook until soft, but not colored.
Raise heat to high, add the stock and kale and toss to
combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Remove cover and continue
to cook, stirring until all the liquid has evaporated. Season
with salt and pepper to taste and add vinegar.
from Bobby Flay for www.foodnetwork.com
Time to send in recipes!
RiverdaleCSA@aol.com.