Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK 20
Oct. 6-12, 2013
If needed, please contact Richard Andres & Deb Lentz at 2510 Hayes Rd. Chelsea, MI 48118 e-mail: tantrefarm@hotmail.com phone: 734-475-4323 website: www.tantrefarm.com
In our newsletter, we try to give you an accurate listing of the produce in your box; however, since the newsletter is published before the harvest, we may sometimes substitute some vegetables for others. The information provided here is also published each week on our website.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
GREEN & YELLOW BEANS: You will receive a bag of one of the following: Northeaster (also known as Italian or Romano beans; huge, wide, flat, buttery, 8 inch long pods with delicious, rich, sweet flavor; they are good sources of fiber and vitamin C ) or Marvel of Venice (famous Italian heirloom bean with large, sweet, juicy, 8-9 inch long, wide, flat yellow pods) or Fortex (extra long, stringless, round, dark green pods; tender and delicious). See Week 8 for usage and storage information.
FRESH SHELLING BEANS (Tongue of Fire): You may choose these round, ivory-tanned, red-streaked Italian heirloom shelling beans, if you like. Makes a great hummus actually. To Freeze: Blanch briefly in boiling water, dunk in ice water, and pack in freezer bags. See Week 10 for storage & usage information.
BEETS: round, smooth, deep red roots with sweet flavor and medium-tall, red-veined green leaves. See Week 3 newsletter for usage and storage information.
BROCCOLI: deep emerald green, tiny buds that are clustered on top of stout, edible stems. See Week 11 newsletter for storage and usage information.
BRUSSELS CROWNS: Unfortunately the tiny, green cabbage head sprouts are not quite ready, but we have topped the plants to give you these savory, cabbage-flavored greens to try.
How to use: Boil or steam for 3-5 minutes without overcooking, so they are still bright green; toss with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, or a pat of butter..
How to store: Refrigerate for up to a week or more unwashed in a plastic bag in hydrator drawer.
GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves. See Week 6 for usage and storage information.
FRESH HERBS: In general, store herbs upright with cut stems in 1 or 2 inches of water and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or wrap in slightly dampened cloth and store in refrigerator. You may choose ONE from the following 3 Herbs: Parsley—flat, dark green leaves OR Black-stemmed Peppermint—mint-flavored green leaves are good as a hot or iced tea, OR French Sorrel–slightly tart, lemon-flavored green; kids love this! Also, if you still haven’t had your fill of BASIL, it will be still available optionally for one last chance for Pesto!
ONIONS (Red Zeppelin): medium to large, globe-shaped bulbs with deep red color and will store for six months or more under proper conditions. See Week 10 for usage and storage information.
HOT PEPPERS: You will receive Poblano (black-green chili pepper, heart-shaped fruit, lightly sweet, medium-hot flavor). See Week 12 newsletter for usage and storage information.
SWEET PEPPERS: You will receive Carmen (6 inch long, tapered fruit with a deep “carmine” red color and sweet flavor) and Red Knight Bell (big, blocky, thick-walled, red pepper with sweet flesh). See Week 16 for usage and storage information.
POTATOES: You will receive German Butterball (a round to oblong tuber with lightly netted golden skin that wraps around deep yellow flesh. Slightly mealy, this is good for everything – frying, baking, mashing, soups) and Russian Banana Fingerling (an heirloom, yellow-skinned potato with small, banana-shaped tubers; good baked, boiled, or in salads). See Week 9 for storage & usage information.
SPINACH: large, crisp, dark green leaf, which is great fresh, sautéed, steamed, braised, or added to many cooked dishes or soups.
WATERMELON RADISHES: an heirloom variety of Daikon radish, which originated in China; large, 2-4”, round radishes with unique dark magenta flesh and light green/white skin along with a remarkably sweet, delicious taste. See Week 19 for usage and storage information.
SWEET POTATOES (Beauregard Sweet Potatoes): dark red-orange skin with a vivid orange, moist, sweet flesh; high in vitamins A and C. See Week 19 for usage and storage information.
WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS and GREENS: A white salad turnip with round, smooth roots that have a sweet, fruity flavor with a crisp, tender texture. Use the greens as well, sautéed or braised. See Week 2 for usage and storage information.
WINTER SQUASH: You will receive the following: Confection Kabocha (gray, flattened, buttercup-size fruits; dry taste directly after harvest, but outstanding sweetness and texture after curing for a few weeks; good for long storage) , Delicata (small, oblong, creamy colored with long green stripes, only slightly ribbed; pale yellow, sweet flesh; edible skin; best eaten within 4 months of harvest), and Heart of Gold (a sweet dumpling hybrid acorn squash; outer skin is cream colored with dark green stripes covering a fine-grained inner flesh that is orange when ripe; sweet rich flavor and can be baked, mashed or steamed). See Week 17 for usage and storage information.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. LAST WEEK OF THE SUMMER CSA: — That means Oct. 9 (Wed.), Oct. 11 (Fri.), and Oct. 12 (Sat.) are the last distribution days of the summer shares until our fall shares begin next week.
2. BRING BAGS this week! Please bring bags (cloth for yourself and/or any “grocery-size” plastic and paper to share with others), a cooler, or a box to receive your produce this week, so you can leave the share box behind if we won’t see you again this fall.
3. “TASTE OF TANTRÉ” AT ZINGERMAN’S on FOURTH: Join our Tantré Farm crew at Zingerman’s Events on Fourth, on this Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. for a ZingFeast Dinner featuring Tantré Farm produce. This is a delicious meal for $50/person or $60/with beer. At this point, there is plenty of room, so call 734-663-3400 to register.
4. FROZEN LOCAL FRUIT AND VEGGIE SHARES FROM “LOCAVORIOUS” AVAILABLE: Some of you may have limited freezer space or haven’t had time to preserve as much of the harvest as you would like for winter. Tantre Farm member and Locavorious CSA founder, Rena Basch, wants to let everyone know that Locavorious provides locally grown, delicious, frozen fruits and vegetables in the winter months, and there are still shares available for winter ’13-‘14. Locavorious members receive 4 shares of local frozen fruits and veggies, including Tantre’s sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, and tomatoes. Shares are $210. Share pick-up places include Ann Arbor Farmers Market, Corner Brewery, Morgan & York, and new this year – the Washtenaw Food Hub. Contact Rena for more information at rena@locavorious.com or 734-276-5945, or visit www.locavorious.com to sign up.
5. “COOKING CLASS with LULU” for Extended Fall Share Members: This is a SAVE THE DATE notice for October 23 from 6pm – 8:30pm, if you will be with us during our Extended Fall Share season! We will be meeting up again to help prepare a delicious 5-dish meal with guidance from our guest chefs and fellow CSA members, Eric Lundy and Laenne Thompson, who some of you met during our summer share season. More details about the meal will follow in the coming week.
6. EXTENDED FALL CSA SHARE AVAILABLE FOR 2013: We are offering a 3-week Extended Fall CSA Share for $96 STARTING NEXT WEEK. If you’re interested please let us know by Oct. 11. See our website or past newsletters for more details.
7. THANKSGIVING SHARES! We are offering a distribution in November for you to stock up on vegetables before the holiday or for winter storage for $110. This share will be available for pick up only on Nov. 23, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. If you’re interested, please let us know by Nov. 10. See our website or newsletters for more details.
8. INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CSA IN 2014? Shares for current members and non members will be available for $625 from June through the middle of October. We will be accepting $100 deposits ($25 nonrefundable) to reserve your share for 2014 starting now. See our website or newsletters for more details.
9. IS YOUR SHARE PARTNER TAKING A FULL SHARE OR LEAVING YOU NEXT YEAR? If you need a share partner and can’t find one on your own, please let us know. Also, keep in mind that even if you are still looking for a share partner, you might want to reserve your membership by making a $100 deposit for 2014
10. HARVEST AT THE FARM: Please call ahead if you plan to pick on other days besides Farm Distribution Days (Wed. and Fri.), so we can make sure someone is around to help you.
U-pick Flowers—This week you may pick your last “farewell to the farm” bouquet of up to 16 stems as part of your share. We have never had cut flowers last this long without a frost, so enjoy this final gift of the farm! Extra bouquets are $4.
11. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Farm (Wed.)–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Farm (Fri.)–2 P.M. to 7 P.M.
Community High School (Sat.) –7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)– 8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)–8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
MONTAGE OF MEMORIES
As important as the beginning and the middle are, the end is important in all things. It is the end—the last share for our summer season! We will continue harvesting greens, brassicas, root vegetables, squash, and soon Brussels sprouts to sell at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market every Wednesday and Saturday and maybe into December, if temperatures stay above freezing! We plan to continue making monthly boxes through the online farmers market of Lunasa (www.lunasa.us) as well. We will be selling produce at the Chelsea Farmers’ Market until the last Saturday in October. The People’s Food Coop of Ann Arbor has been selling our produce all summer and will continue throughout the off seasons. Finally, for those able to travel to the farm, we will have much of the above bulk produce in storage or in the fields until the end of December, and some things like potatoes, squash, garlic, and spinach will be available in January, February, and maybe March.
As always, thank you for your encouragement and support this season. We’d especially like to give our thanks and acknowledge another incredibly talented farm crew for all their hard work and long hours this past season. Thank you Chizo, Lizzie, Erin, Serafin, Dylan, Shaun, Allia, Taik, Lori, Rachel, Beth, Brenden, Ellen, Patrick, Ryan, Ruthie, Kyle, Garret, Ricki, and Anna. Now we would like to leave you with a collection of some of our memories of the season….
Three Swedes and more sprinting in a hay field.
Soccer victories as triumphant as solstice yields.
Pearls like this strung upon threads of bliss.
Bovine fanfare keeps us mooo-ving along.
Many have departed now, but we’ll save them a verse in our farewell song.
Six moons cycled through—what lies ahead?
300-plus winterbound families, stomachs all well-fed.
–Shaun
Long hours, hard work,
feeding cats and chickens and pigs and a random wandering goat,
milking cows,
making cheese,
learning and working and growing,
within and without.
–Beth
Reflection
What is reflection?
Why are we here?
What is the definition?
Reflection
–Taik
Some dogs are small enough
to put in sandwiches.
Some dogs deserve to be chased with knives.
Some dogs are both.
–Lizzie
Nights upon nights, eating from the cherry trees,
standing in the truck bed voicing our confessions of the day,
staining our hands and lips the darkest purple.
–Erin
Lack of sleep, sunsets, asparagus, Detroit, laughing, growth.
–Rachel
I will remember experiencing the changing seasons
not by the turning of a page on the calendar,
but by the growth of new leaves on bare trees,
the sprouting of garlic
and planting of strawberries into freshly tilled soil,
weeding as flocks of birds return,
harvesting fresh veggies in the bright, hot sunlight,
and pulling up crops as the days shortened,
and leaves turned many colors.
–Allia