For this first week of the season, we hear from
Farmer Katy Lince, who continues to make
the CSA garden a success year after year.
Rachel Schneider, CSA Coordinator
Dear
CSA Members:
Hurray! The CSA season has begun!
Harvests
in June start us off with fresh salads, cooking greens, and Japanese turnips,
with peas and beets soon coming.
Cucumbers, zucchinis and summer squash are on the horizon; all the
vegetable plants are growing well and looking beautiful.
This
is an exciting time of year on the farm, with just about everything happening
at once:
The cows are on pasture, coming into the dairy barn only for
milking times. Calves are born on the
farm, as they are here all year round.
The sow is waiting patiently for her next litter of piglets to be
born. The hay fields are being mowed so
the fresh grass can dry and be baled up for the cows to eat in winter. In winter, when we break open a new bale of
hay to feed, the smell of the hay reminds us of summer time.
Abe, the cheesemaker, is busy making fresh cheese from our milk,
and the cheese cellar is filling up with rounds of cheese to age and
ripen. The bakery team is trying to keep
cool with all the ovens going, baking fresh bread just about every day.
Out in the vegetable fields, we keep cool with many bottles of
water to drink, a jump in the creek at the end of the day and a few jokes to
tell in the meantime. We are seeding,
transplanting, watering, weeding, and/or harvesting vegetables every day from
the beginning of March into the beginning of November.
This
farm is certainly a team effort, with our farmers, apprentices, CSA members,
plants, animals and soil all working together.
Welcome,
summer!
Katy
Looking Forward to
Next Week
Anticipated Share for June 16th
Arugula
Garlic
scapes or scallions
Lettuce
Rainbow
chard
Snap peas
Japanese turnips
Each
Thursday, we provide this list for those of you who prefer to plan your grocery
shopping to complement the items in your share.
However, since
fruits and vegetables ripen at their own pace, on Tuesday evenings we will also
post an up-to–date list of what will be in your share. Just go to our CSA page at www.hawthornevalleyfarm.org
Save the Date!
STRAWBERRY PICKING
Sunday, June 26
Join us for a morning
of strawberry picking at Thompson- Finch Farm followed by picnics, tours and
farming activities at Hawthorne Valley Farm.
For details and
directions, see next week’s newsletter.
WHAT’S A SCAPE? The curly, edible stem and seed pod of a garlic bulb. When curled like a pig’s tail, scapes are full of garlic flavor, but without the hot bite found in the cloves.
Garlic Butter Turnips
- Melt 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil in a
sauté pan.
- Add 1 clove of minced garlic or chopped scapes.
- Cook until golden.
- Mix in 5 cups thinly sliced white turnips.
- Sauté until turnips are browned and
tender.
- Season with 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley,
¼ tsp freshly chopped rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.
Adapted from
the Joy of Gardening by Janet Ballantyne
Sugar Snap Pea, Turnip, and Carrot Stir Fry
HVF turnips include the small, round Japanese
variety, which are perfect for this quick stir-fry.
2 Tbsp. mild vegetable oil
3 small white turnips, peeled and cut into ¼-inch matchsticks strips
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ¼-inch matchsticks strips
1 cup sugar snap peas, topped, tailed, and strung
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. chicken stock
1 tsp. dry sherry
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, sliced
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
Heat the oil in a wok or large deep heavy skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Add the turnips and carrots and cook, stirring, until crisply tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon. Add the snow peas and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon. Return the turnips and carrots to the wok.
Add all the remaining ingredients, except the green onions, tarragon and reserved snow peas to the wok,. Cover and cook over low heat until the carrots and turnips are just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Return the snow peas to the wok. Cover and simmer 1 minute longer. Uncover, toss to coat the vegetables. Serve the vegetables very hot, garnished with the scallions and tarragon.
6 servings. From Vegetables on the Side by Sallie Y. Williams
Chick-Peas and Chard
Serves 2
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 ½ Tbsps. olive oil
1 tomato, cut into ¼ inch dice
1 cup rinsed, canned chick peas
½ pound Chard
½ Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Remove stems from Chard and coarsely chop leaves. Stems may be reserved for another use, or coarsely chopped.
Cook onion, garlic, and stems, if using, in oil in a large non-stick skillet over moderately low heat, stirring until softened. Add tomato and chick-peas and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add chard and cook covered, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
From Gourmet Magazine
E-mail your food
ideas or requests to Jodie Colón at RiverdaleCSA@aol.com.