Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK #16
Sept. 6-12, 2020
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.
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. You can always find past newsletters on our website at http://www.tantrefarm.com/newsletters/!
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.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
GENOVESE BASIL (with Root attached): ALL SHARES will receive basil this week, an herb with sweet, spicy, shiny, green leaves. This week it is with root attached, so it will last up to a week or more when stored in a jar, vase, or glass of water on your counter or table top. Do NOT refrigerate! Used commonly in tomato sauces, pesto, and salad dressings. It partners well with almost any summer vegetable, but especially tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and squash.
CABBAGE: You will receive one of the following: Savoy (loose, full head of crinkled leaves varying from dark to pale green; mellow-flavored cabbage considered to be superior for cooking), Caraflex (pointed mini cabbage, small heads with good wrapper leaves; excellent, sweet and mild cabbage flavor; perfect for summer salads, slaws, or cooked dishes), New Jersey Wakefield (green, round head; considered a beneficial digestive aid and intestinal cleanser; can be cooked or eaten raw in slaws or salads; although different varieties have varying nutritional strengths), or Tendersweet (midsize, flat heads; tender leaves are very thin, sweet, and crisp--perfect for coleslaw or stir-fries). See Week 1 newsletter for usage/storage tips.
CARROTS (Romance): blunt-tipped, deep orange roots with impressive flavor for a summer-harvested carrot. See Week 6 newsletter for usage and storage tips.
SWEET CORN (Potawatomi): yellow kernels with excellent sweet flavor. * We don’t treat our organic corn with pesticides, so you may find some earworms enjoying the corn too; just cut off the damaged part and cook the rest of the ear. Delicious!! See Week 11 newsletter for usage and storage tips.
U-PICK FLOWERS (only available on the farm): This week you can pick up to 16 stems as part of your share. We welcome you to the farm to pick your flowers on any day of the week, but please contact us if it will be on other days besides Wednesdays and Fridays, so we can make sure to be around to show you where to go. You may want to bring clippers and a vase/jar, but we will have clippers and donated yogurt containers to fill with water as well. Donations are appreciated to help pay for seeds and labor. Extras - $5/bouquet
GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves; believed to help in fighting infections, cancer prevention, and bolstering the immune system. See Week 7 newsletter for usage and storage tips.
KALE: You will receive Red Curly (well-ruffled, purplish green leaves with red stems; excellent for kale chips or a summer salad) or Green Curly (well-ruffled, curly green leaves on green stems; this variety makes a good, roasted “kale chip”). See Week 5 newsletter for usage and storage tips.
SWEET PEPPERS: You will receive Red/Green Bell (big, blocky, thick-walled, green pepper with sweet flesh) and Red/Yellow Cornitos (exceptionally sweet, smaller versions of Carmen sweet pepper, but can be bright yellow or red when ripe; “bull’s horn” pepper type and tasty any way you eat them — raw, cooked, sliced, diced, sautéed, stuffed, grilled, and especially fire-roasted, which caramelizes the sugars and elevates them to a whole new level of delicious!) See Week 12 newsletter for usage and storage tips.
POTATOES (Red Norland): smooth, red skin and white flesh; great baked, boiled, or roasted. See Week 8 newsletter for usage tips.
TOMATOES: You will receive any of the following: Sakura (bright-red, shiny, medium-large cherry tomato with sweet tomato flavor), Sungreen (green-ripe cherry tomato that is sweet with a tangy kick), Sun Gold Cherry (exceptionally sweet, bright tangerine-orange-cherry tomato; less acidic than the red cherry tomato, so slightly less bland in flavor), Gold Nugget (round to slightly oval cherry tomato with deep yellow color; well-balanced flavor), Tomatoberry (unique strawberry-shaped, deep red colored fruits with firm, meaty texture and excellent sweet flavor), Clementine (tangerine-colored, oval-round fruits; appealing, sweet-tart flavor; exceptional when halved and roasted), or Cherry Bomb (vivid red fruits of cherry size; firm, sweet, and well-balanced), including Green Zebra (ripe as a green fruit with a yellow blush and darker green stripes; delicious, tangy salad tomato; beautiful sliced into wedges for salads), New Girl (medium-size fruits offer an ideal size for slicing onto sandwiches or cutting up into salads), and Rose (deep pink, heirloom, medium-sized tomato, which is meaty and flavorful). See Week 11 newsletter for usage and storage tips.
WINTER SQUASH (Spaghetti): 3-5 pounds, pale yellow, oblong, smooth, medium size with “spaghetti” (stringy) flesh; bake like squash or boil and fork out the flesh, topping the “spaghetti” flesh with your favorite sauce; mildly sweet.
-How to use: slice in half, scoop seeds out and bake with a little water in baking pan at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until tender; boil or steam chunks for 15-20 minutes, or until tender (peel skins off “before” or “after“ cooked, but “after” is easiest when it’s cooled); mash cooked squash with butter; puree cooked squash for creamy soup, or add uncooked chunks to soups or stews; add small amounts to yeast breads, muffins, cookies, pies, oatmeal, etc.
-How to store: keep dry at room temperature.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. ENDING SUMMER CSA DATES: The end is drawing near. This is just a reminder that our summer shares are ending in just a few weeks. That means Sept. 23 (Wed.), Sept. 25 (Fri.), and Sept. 26 (Sat.) are the last distribution days for our Summer Shares.
2. EXTENDED FALL CSA AND THANKSGIVING CSA REGISTRATIONS ARE COMING SOON! Several of you have inquired about our Fall CSA's with dates listed on our Event calendar on our website. Our 4-week Extended Fall CSA will start the week of Sept. 27 through Oct. 3 for $140. Hopefully later this week, Sign Up links will be open, but we are working out some logistical details on distribution sites. You can always look up general details on our website about each of these CSA programs. You will receive a separate email announcing when registration is open, so you will not miss it. Thank you for your patience!
3. DETOUR OUT TO THE FARM STARTING SEPT. 14: Starting in mid-September, the Washtenaw County Road Commission will replace the culvert over Letts Creek on a small section of Old US-12 between Sylvan Road and the I-94 ramps, so those of you coming from Chelsea and Ann Arbor area need to find an alternative way to the farm. That section of the road will be closed until early October. If you are traveling via I-94 and you don't mind gravel roads, my suggestion is to get off at the Kalmbach exit (Exit #156) and go left on Kalmbach Rd. (turns into gravel), then right on Garvey, then left on Hoppe, then right onto Old US 12, then left on Hayes Rd (which is Tantre Farm's road). Here is the detour for those wanting to stay on pavement: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=19YbcuI8Ra6FwjaUVWkBbTzIN-hK3CplF&ll=42.28631441987225%2C-84.08817914561767&z=15
4. FAMILY FARM HIKE on FRIDAY, Sept. 25 at 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM: Our last Farm Hike was so much fun that we decided to offer something similar again. CSA member, Alisse Portnoy, who teaches at the University of Michigan, and her daughter, Jessica, are in their eleventh year of once-a-week, long visits to the farm, and they will guide us around the farm at 4:30 PM, which typically lasts about 45 - 60 minutes. Before then, at 3:30 PM you may join us in roasting and eating a variety of freshly picked items from the farm in our outdoor earth oven, such as sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, winter squash, etc. and spend some time independently exploring, swinging, or just resting in the shade. There is no fee for participating, and registration is not required, though if you RSVP by emailing Deb (tantrefarm@hotmail.com) for both events ahead of time we'll know to keep an eye out for you. Please bring a mask (though when we're spread out outside it will not be required). Hand sanitizers, an outdoor sink, and a refreshing place to refill your water bottle will be available.
5. ALREADY PICKED TOMATOES AVAILABLE FOR SALE: We have several tomato varieties available for preserving, whether canning, dehydrating, or freezing. It is very easy to freeze all tomatoes: For slicers, just wash and cut out around the core and put in freezer bags whole. For cherry tomatoes, just wash and plop in freezer bags for excellent tomato soup or other dishes. Please email us your preferred type, amount, and pick up location ONLY at the Markets, the Food Hub, or the Farm.
*Cost for Slicers & Cherry tomatoes - $25/half bushel box
*Cost for Romas (extremely limited!) - $35/half bushel box
6. WANTED: TOMATO PICKERS: Is there anyone interested in helping us pick tomatoes any weekday morning for the next few weeks, but especially on Tuesday and Friday mornings? We are a little short-handed, so please contact us. Thanks so much for those who have come out weekly!
7. WANTED: HERB WEEDERS: Do you like the aroma or flavor of parsley or mint? Is there anyone interested in helping us weed a few of the herbs that are getting overrun with invasives. We will give you a free bunch just for helping, so please contact us. Thanks so much to those who have helped us so far! IT HAS BEEN SO, SO, SO HELPFUL!
8. IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA: As some of you know we started a collaborative CSA with several local farms and food businesses that you can opt in or out of each week called the Immune Booster. If you are interested, please go to our website to sign up every Monday - Wednesday night. Pick up is from 9 AM to 12 PM every Saturday at the Washtenaw Food Hub: http://www.tantrefarm.com/how-does-our-immune-booster-csa-work/. Still time to sign up this week!
9. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER: **Volunteers will be at each site during designated times below. We recommend that all come to each distribution site with a mask and gloves to pick up your shares. We will have hand sanitizer at most sites as well.
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF for check-in from 7-9 AM)
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—CHANGE IN TIME: 8 AM to 10 AM (SARA for check-in the whole time)
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF checking off names from 10 AM-12 PM and from 2-4 PM)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) --6 PM to 8 PM (LIZZIE for check-in the whole time)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.) (limited site) —9 AM to 5 PM (JESSICA for check-in from 9 AM – 11 PM)
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF for check-in from 2 to 4 PM)
*Community High School (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON & FRAN for check-in for the whole time)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (PETER & RYAN for check-in for the whole time)
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—8 AM to 12 PM (DEB for check-in the whole time)
*Argus-Packard (Sat) (limited site)—12 PM to 3 PM (ARGUS STAFF for check-in the whole time)
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)--9 AM to 11 AM (JONATHON for check-in the whole time)
RECIPES
SPAGHETTI SQUASH CASSEROLE (from Moosewood Cookbook) Serves 4-6
1 spaghetti squash, 8-inches long
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb fresh, sliced mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Halve the squash and scoop out seeds. Bake face-down on oiled sheet until it is easily pierced by a fork, about 30 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to touch, then scoop out pulp and place in large bowl. Meanwhile, heat butter and saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms with herbs, salt and pepper. When onions are soft, add tomatoes and continue to cook until most of the liquid evaporates. Stir this mixture into squash pulp with remaining ingredients except Parmesan. Spread into buttered 2-quart casserole. Top with Parmesan. Bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes.
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