Third Week in June

Hello from all of us outstanding in our field! (favorite farm quip)

Hope you enjoyed the very fresh food from the farm this week. It sure is nice to be eating crisp, flavorful, colorful local food once again. As we get into mid-June, the strawberries have faded away, spinach has flowered and is finished, and the warmer crops are imminent, like summer squash and cucumbers. We spotted the first tomato blossoms yesterday and there are even some nickel sized baby watermelons in the field. We take great care to grow healthful food for you and its evident in the flavor and how long your vegetables will keep if you don't eat them right away. Each year we test the soil to make sure that we have well mineralized soils, and our soil tests this year are excellent.

Parking at the Farm: you'll notice some lines on the gravel and grass this week--it should make access easier to have two of lines of cars up in the main parking area. Your feedback is appreciated.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest:

• Chard or Swiss Chard: sautee, oil, garlic, parmesan etc... see recipe below


• Lettuce mix: superb salad maker


• Lettuce Heads: Beautiful Cherokee or Solix red lettuce


• Kale: this nutritional powerhouse is great stir-fried with olive oil and garlic (scapes)


• Garlic Scapes: the soft neck of the garlic--wonderful garlic flavor, cooked or raw. Discard any firm portion unless you enjoy the crunchiness.


• Collards: similar to kale--highly nutritious--butter or bacon fat flavor greens superbly


• Scallions: mild green onion, use fresh or cooked


• Bok Choi: this Asian cabbage is excellent stir-fried, w/peanut butter, peanut sauce, soy sauce, garlic onion, etc...Otherwise use as a substitute for regular cabbage in cooking.

Rainbow Chard Sauteed with Mushrooms

Chard can be used in lieu of spinach, or any other green for that matter!

Strip the leaves from the stems and mince the stems separately. Rough chopped the leaves and set them aside.

Heat up some olive oil mixed with some macadamia nut oil (why not? If you have it, it adds a little bit of a nutty flavor) in a deep skillet and sautee the stems with 3 cloves of minced garlic. After a few minutes, add some thickly sliced baby portobello mushrooms. Then, toward the end, I toss in the chopped chard leaves and grate some fresh nutmeg and Parmesan cheese into it all.

--from the Intutive Cook blog: http://www.effortlesseating.com/2008/06/rainbow-chard-sauteed-with-mushrooms/

Harley Raffle: Homefields, the nonprofit founder and owner of the farm, is having a Harley Raffle fundraiser and will have a table here this weekend. Your ticket purchase supports Homefields Inc. http://www.homefields.org/. Homefields graciously invites Goodwill to operate the farm program CSA on their property and has done so for 10 years now. Tickets are 5.00.

Check out our Blog: http://www.goodwillathomefieldsfarm.blogspot.com/

Eating Seasonally--Great Cookbooks: We have some excellent cookbooks for sale at the farm.

• Our long awaited Goodwill at Homefields Farm Cookbook is a compilation of shareholder recipes and information from us. It was compiled by shareholder Virginia Brown, and Farm staff Elizabeth Swope. Available for a donation.


• The Simply in Season cookbook does an excellent job of taking you through each season--summer vegetables and how to use, winter veggies, spring recipes and fall recommendations. A staff favorite.


• Simply in Season Children's Cookbook: fun child-orient recipes and pictures.


• Farmer John Cookbook: Eccentric, eclectic, Farmer John of "The Real Dirt on Farmer John" movie, his Angelic Organics CSA is one of the best known in the country.

See you soon,

Scott

Welcome to the first harvest week!

Hello from the Farm!

Welcome to the first harvest week. This is our eleventh season of growing food and training people with disabilities in farming. The food we grow is nutritious, fresh and delicious--you'll like it.

In addition to enjoying the food, you are supporting our nonprofit program. Each week will look a bit different as we start with the spring crops and progress toward the hot weather crops in July like tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, then into the August cantaloupes and watermelons, then fall crops like squash and pumpkins, root crops like sweet potatoes into November, just to name a few. It's fun to take what's in season each week and see what culinary delights can come from it!

How does this work?

First come to the farm this week, (whichever day and time suit you best weekly)
Thurs: 3-7pm
Fri: 11-7pm
Sat: 9am-1pm
--come on up to the barn, you'll see a sign from the parking lot that says "Veggie Pickup"
--find your name on the sign in sheet and initial it
--proceed down the Half or Full share list on the wall, items and amounts are specified there, put things into your bag or box (we have bags here if needed), and then check out the Pick Your Own options each week to see if there is anything that you would like - herbs, flowers, berries etc...
--If you have a payment, please give it to Kim, Elizabeth or myself, the smiling farm staff :-)

Enjoy the farm, check out the chickens, ask us if you have any questions about how to use the veggies.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest:

• Lettuce mix: superb salad maker
• Kale: this nutritional powerhouse is great stir-fried with olive oil and garlic (scapes)
• Garlic Scapes: the soft neck of the garlic--wonderful garlic flavor, cooked or raw; discard any firm portion
• Collards: similar to kale--for either see Farmer's Breakfast recipe below
• Scallions: mild green onion, use fresh or cooked
• Bok Choi: this Asian cabbage is excellent stir-fried, w/peanut butter, peanut sauce, soy sauce, garlic onion, etc. Or use as a substitute for regular cabbage in cooking.
• Spinach: great in salad, goes well with sesame seeds and sesame oil, peanuts, cheese

Farmer’s Breakfast (a delicious way to use greens)

1T oil
6 collard leaves, chopped coarsely
1 scallion, chopped into
½ inch pieces
6 slices pepperoni, cut in fourths (optional)
1 tsp. butter
2 eggs
2 slices smoked cheddar
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Heat a skillet. When hot, add 1T oil. Toss in collard leaves, scallion, and pepperoni. Saute till scallion is tender. Push to one side of the pan and add the butter to the other side. Fry the two eggs in the butter. When done to your liking, put on two plates, top with the cooked collards, scallions and pepperoni. Lay a slice of cheese on top, tuck a tomato each on the side, and broil till golden. Serve with Tabasco Chipotle sauce, coffee and a square of dark chocolate!

--from Lorena Breneman, the farmer’s wife

Scott
Scott BrenemanFarm Manager

Our three hens, Izzy, Cricket and Cider, got a new home today. We are excited to try out the new lightweight coop in the blueberries, where there is lots of tall grass for chicken snacking. Thank you to Bob M for his good work.

Blueberries are starting to set fruit. We don't expect to see ripe blueberries until late June or early July.

Ripe strawberries are only a few weeks away!

We're looking for a few good barn owls to take residence in our new owl hostels.

Thank you to Bob M for designing and constructing the boxes.

The snow peas are just starting to latch onto their twine and will soon be climbing to new heights.