2017: Week 8, July 16-22

Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK #8
July 16-22, 2017

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. **Also, if you’re having trouble identifying any unfamiliar produce, please look for “Veggie ID” with additional information on our website under CSA INFO or under RECIPES.

We try to keep the printed newsletter to a 2-page maximum, which means that we won’t list all the share items’ descriptions every week, but refer you to previous newsletters for information on items that have already appeared in your shares.

THIS WEEK’S SHARE

RED ACE BEETS AND GREENS: round, smooth, deep red roots with sweet flavor and medium-tall, red-veined green leaves. See Week 6 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

CARROTS (Mokum): a very sweet, slender, “pencil carrot” with edible green leaves. Greens are delicious in soups and also salads. See Recipe at end. See Week 6 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

FRESH GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves; believed to help in fighting infections, cancer prevention, bolstering the immune system, etc. See Week 5 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

FRESH HERBS: In general, store herbs upright with cut stems in 1 or 2 inches of water and refrigerate for up to 1 week or wrap in slightly dampened cloth or plastic bag and store in refrigerator.
You may CHOOSE ONE bunch (NOT one bunch of each) from the following 5 options:
*Oregano: member of the mint family and is similar to marjoram, but not as sweet and more pungent flavor and aroma; good in soups and tomato-based dishes.

*Marjoram: a small and oval-shaped leaf, which is light green with a grayish tint. When fresh it is spicy, bitter, and slightly pungent with camphor-like notes, so often added to fish sauces, salads and dressings, tomato-based sauces, and grilled meats.

*Italian Flat-leaf Parsley—flat, glossy, dark green leaves have a strong parsley/celery flavor for use dried or fresh; especially good in omelets, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, soups, pasta and vegetable dishes, as well as, sauces.

*French Sorrel: slightly tart, lemon-flavored green shaped like spinach; excellent for salads, soups, and sauces; can be used in omelets, breads, dressings, or cooked as a side dish.

*Lemon Balm– these fragrant lemon-minty leaves make a delicate herbal tea, served hot or cold; good addition to lettuce, fruit salads, and ice cream; good with grilled fish or lamb and tossed with steamed vegetables; also aids in depression, tension, or nausea.

**Genovese Basil—All shares will receive 1 basil stem this week, an herb with sweet, spicy, shiny, green leaves. We supply it with root attached, so it will last up to a week or 2 when stored in a jar, vase, or glass of water on your counter or table top.

KALE: You will receive Rainbow Lacinato Kale (unique “purple dino” kale has deeply curled leaves in dusky-green with bright purple stems and veins) See Week 2 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

KOHLRABI: delicious bulbous member of the cabbage family, that grows above ground and looks like a green apples with green skin and crisp, apple-white flesh; good sliced raw with dips or steamed and mashed or stir-fried. See Week 3 newsletter for usage and storage information.

LEEKS: green leaves with white to pale green stems.
Cooking tip: slit from top to bottom and wash thoroughly with root facing up to remove all of the dirt trapped between the leaf layers.
See Week 6 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

LETTUCE: You will receive lettuce, which may include Green or Red Leaf or Romaine. See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

SWEET ONIONS (Ailsa Craig Exhibition): a large, mild, yellow-skinned, heirloom onion that is well known by British gardeners who grow show-size onions.
-How to use: great for salads, soups, sandwiches, slices, onion rings, and other dishes for flavor
-How to store: not for long storage; wrap in damp towel or plastic bag in fridge for 2-7 days.

NEW POTATOES (Red Norland): smooth, red skin and white flesh; great baked, boiled, or roasted. See Week 7 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

SWISS CHARD: close relative of garden beets; very small, multi-colored, large veined, semi-crinkly, dark green leaves; greens can be prepared like spinach or beet greens. See Week 5 newsletter for usage and storage tips.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. THANKS TO THOSE WHO CAME to the SUMMER WORK PARTY on July 16. Thanks so much for joining us for delicious potluck food, berry picking, and good companionship at the Summer Work Party. We clipped about 8 crates of garlic for drying and curing, stripped lots of dried herbs and put them in jars, weeded the Herb Garden, the Kid Garden, and next year’s strawberry patch. Our CSA members are awesome! Thanks so much for your interest and support!!

2. U-PICK RASPBERRIES AVAILABLE: 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. Red Raspberries— $4/pint for members and $5/pint for nonmembers.

3. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED in the HERB GARDEN & KID GARDEN: If you are interested in helping out, please contact us any day of the week or evenings until dark. Thanks so much to all those, who have helped out so far!

4. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 12 PM
Farm (Wed.)–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Pure Pastures (Wed.) –9 A.M. To 7 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.)—9 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)–8 A.M. to 12 P.M.

SUMMER FOXES
by Richard (and Deb)

I was driving the goosefoot cultivator the other night in between the onion beds. The bulbs were overflowing the rows. It looks like a good year for onions! Up and down the rows I went with the tractor, dragging the pigweed and lambs quarters out by the roots. Then I drove over the hill to the melon patch, straddling the tractor over each bed and dragging the weeds out of the melons and even a few melon tendrils behind me. It looks like the melons are sizing up pretty well too!

When the sun was very low on the horizon–a glowing partial ball in between the trees and the hills, I started to head back to the barn to the cows that I knew would be waiting for me there. On my way back there was a silty patch of field, south of the tomato greenhouse, and I saw what I thought were three little foxes having an evening meal of something. We have been admiring these young foxes on the road almost every day. If we don’t actually see them, we see their scat. They seem to like to mark their territory on the road with it. An extended trail. A little scat here. A little scat there. So endearing! I decided to join them, so I made an abrupt turn off the road, but I startled them, so they jumped up–their bright red-brown coats and tail as long as their bodies. They were very fuzzy–almost like a thistle going to seed. Then they pranced into the tall prairie grass. I continued to pull around and then picked up a few of the willow branches that had blown down in the last storm. Finally I drove up the hill to call the cows in for milking.

Summer foxes. Almost full grown in less than a year. As I was milking the cows, I thought about the foxes born this past winter almost fully grown by the end of July. Faster growing than a sweet pepper plant. Throughout these months we have watched them play around the creek and the pond—a special little home area for them. The fox spot! They watch us. We watch them. When we come through, they are on the way to stay out of our way. It’s definitely their spot. It hasn’t always been this way. For many years, all we saw were woodchucks and rabbits munching on the Brussels sprouts and the broccoli. Now it appears that these other creatures are being replaced with fox scat balls marking the edge of the road. Sometimes we wonder if they may venture up the road just a little further to sneak a chicken or two out of the chicken yard. So it is something new, born of the farm, living on the wild fringe, causing us to wonder what it must be like to stake a new territory as a small predator and successfully occupy one’s home. The nature of being truly native to one’s place.

RECIPES

SORREL POTATO BAKE (from What Do You Do With This Stuff?)
1 bunch sorrel
2 quarts potatoes
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. stock (or milk)
1/4 c. grated Gruyere cheese
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Wash, stem, and coarsely chop sorrel. Sauté sorrel in olive oil until completely wilted. Peel and thinly slice potatoes. Layer 1/2 of the potatoes on the bottom of a casserole dish. Season with salt, pepper, and 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Spread cooked sorrel evenly over potatoes. Layer rest of potatoes on top. Add enough stock (or milk) to just cover. Sprinkle cheese over surface. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

CARROT TOP SOUP (Local Flavors by Deborah Madison) Serves 4.
1 bunch (6 small to medium) carrots, the tops and roots
2 Tbs. butter
3 Tbs. white rice
2 large leeks, white parts only
2 thyme sprigs
2 Tbs. chopped dill, parsley, celery leaves or lovage
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 c. vegetable or chicken stock or water

Pull the lacy leaves of the carrot greens off their stems (2 to 3 cups, loosely packed). Wash, then chop finely. Grate the carrots, or finely chop them. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the carrot tops and carrots, rice, leeks, thyme, and dill. Cook for several minutes, turning everything a few times, then season with 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and add the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the rice is cooked, 16 to 18 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

STEAMED KOHLRABI WITH LEMON BUTTER (from Farm-Fresh Recipes by Janet Majure) Serves 4
1 bunch kohlrabi
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1-2 Tbsp minced lemon balm
Salt and pepper, to taste

Trim kohlrabi, but do not peel. Steam over simmering water, covered, for about 40 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly, then peel and chop. In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. Cook 2 minutes. Add kohlrabi and lemon balm; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

BEET AND CARROT PANCAKES (from Capay Organic Farm CSA “Farm Fresh To You” website) Serves 8.
1 1/3 cups (packed) coarsely shredded beets (2 medium)
1 cup coarsely shredded, carrots (2 medium)
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 Tbs. olive oil
Sour cream

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Combine beets, carrots and onion in large bowl. Mix in egg, salt and pepper. Add flour; stir to blend well. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Using 1/3 cup beet mixture for each pancake, flatten into pancake with your hands, and then put 4 pancakes into skillet. Flatten with spatula, if need be, into a 3-inch round. Cook until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to baking sheet in oven; keep warm. Repeat with remaining beet mixture, making 4 more pancakes. Serve pancakes with sour cream.

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