TANTRE FARM CSA NEWSLETTER
Extended Fall CSA Share
Week 2
Oct. 22-28, 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 often before the harvest, we may sometimes substitute some vegetables for others. **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
ARUGULA: an aromatic, bright salad green with a peppery mustard flavor
-How to use: add to salads, soups, and sautéed vegetable dishes
-How to store: very perishable, so use up quickly; store in plastic bag with a paper towel in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
BROCCOLI: emerald green, tiny buds that are clustered on top of stout, edible stems.
-How to use: use raw, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, in casseroles, soups, pizzas, etc.
-How to store: store loosely in plastic bag for up to a week
CARROTS (Chantenay): shorter than other cultivars, but have greater girth with broad shoulders and taper towards a blunt, rounded tip; commonly diced for use in canned or prepared foods.
-How to use: can be used raw as carrot sticks, grated in salads or juiced; steamed or sautéed, in stews, soups, casseroles, stir-fries
-How to store: refrigerate dry, unwashed roots in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks
CAULIFLOWER: You will receive 2 kinds, Amazing (medium-sized, white heads with domed, solid curds) and Romanesco (lime green, spiraled heads with pointed, spiraled pinnacles; crisp and mild).
-How to use: raw for salads and dips, steamed, sauteed, or roasted.
-How to store: sweetest and best when used within a week when stored in the refrigerator, but can last up to 2 weeks.
-How to freeze: blanch 2-4 minutes, rinse under cold water, drain and dry, pack into freezer bags.
CELERY: tall, crisp, glossy green stalks and leaves with a strong, celery flavor; contains vitamins A, C, B-complex, and E with some other minerals; also high in fiber and sodium.
-How to use: typically eaten raw and used in salads; ribs and leaves can be added to casseroles, soups, stews, and stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks; can be frozen in slices on a cookie sheet and then packed into freezer bags; celery leaves can be dehydrated and added to soups or stews.
EGGPLANT: You will receive a few of these last tastes of summer, Nadia (slender, purplish-black, glossy-like, bell-shaped fruit) or Orient Express (dark purple Asian type with long, slender, glossy fruits, which are delicately flavored and quick cooking).
-How to use: can be baked, boiled, fried, grilled, or can be sliced into rounds for grilling or broiling; cut into cubes for stews and stir-fries.
-How to store: best fresh, but can be stored at room temperature or in refrigerator drawer for up to 1 week.
U-PICK FLOWERS (only available on the farm): A bouquet per household of up to 15 stems will be part of your share, if the frosts don’t get to them first. Extra bouquets cost $4.
GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves; believed to help in fighting infections, cancer prevention, & boosts the immune system.
-How to use: minced raw in salad dressings, sautéed and added to stir-fries, meats, vegetables
-How to store: fresh garlic can be stored in an open, breathable container in a cool, dark place for many months.
KALE: You will receive Green Curly (well-ruffled, curly green leaves on green stems; this variety makes a good, roasted “kale chip”).
-How to use: for salads, soups, braised, and light cooking
-How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator
ONIONS: You will receive Red Zeppelin (medium to large, globe-shaped bulbs with deep red color).
-How to use: great for salads, soups, sandwiches, slices, onion rings, and other dishes for flavor
-How to store: will store for six months or more, if kept in a cold, dark place, but remove any ones starting to go soft from the others.
HOT PEPPERS (Joe’s Long Cayenne): long, slender, bright red fruits tapering to a point with medium heat; are excellent for homemade hot sauce; dry well for ristras and delicious, dried hot pepper flakes
How to use: handle hot peppers with gloves, and cut on glass plate; often roasted, chopped, and used to season corn bread and cheese dishes; good for stuffed appetizers, jams, salsa, and pickles.
How to store: for fresh peppers, store in refrigerator; for drying peppers, place string through the stems and hang in cool, dry, well-ventilated spot.
SWEET RED PEPPERS (Carmen): 6 inch long, tapered fruit that ripens from green to a deep “carmine” red; sweet taste in salads and when roasted and fully red-ripe
-How to use: eat raw for best nutrient retention; can be added to soups, stews, omelets, quiches, stir-fries, etc.; excellent stuffed.
-How to store: refrigerate unwashed in hydrator drawer for 1-2 weeks.
POTATOES (Dakota Red): red potato with white flesh that is good for baking, boiling, or frying.
-How to store: Keep unwashed in cool, dark place in paper bag
RADISHES (Easter Egg): a beautiful mix of red, purple, pink, and white round radishes; crisp and mild flavor.
-How to use: raw, roasted, used in soups, sliced in salads, sandwiches, or stir-fries, grated in slaws; radish greens are delicious in soups or stir-fries and are an excellent source of vitamins A, B, C.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag/damp towel for 1-2 weeks.
SWISS CHARD: close relative of garden beets; multi-colored, large veined, semi-crinkly, dark green leaves; mild flavor
-How to use: greens can be prepared like spinach, and stalks like asparagus; good steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, and in soups.
-How to store: wrap in damp cloth in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2-4 days.
TOMATOES (San Marzano): early, large classic Italian Roma tomato; balanced acidic flavor with meaty flesh, so good for sauce and paste
-How to use: sauté, bake, broil, or grill; eat raw in salads or add to soups, stews, or sauces
-How to store: keep at room temperature for up to 1 week
WINTER SQUASH: You will receive Acorn (small, green ribbed squash with pale yellow flesh; great stuffed with rice, breading, or soups), Buttercup Kabocha (green, blocky, with a gray “button” on the blossom end; thick, dry, deep orange flesh; medium-dry and sweet; very dry at harvest, sweeter after a few weeks), and Carnival (multicolor Sweet Dumpling with colorful patches and flecks of dark/light green, orange, and yellow; sweet flesh and edible skin).
-How to use: bake, roast, mash or puree cooked squash; use in creamy soups, or add uncooked chunks to soups or stews; add small amounts to yeast breads, muffins, cookies, pies, oatmeal, etc.
-How to store: Keeps for several months (depending on the variety) at room temperature.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. PLEASE RETURN SHARE BOXES & BRING EXTRA BAGS! Please return any forgotten boxes from past weeks. You may bring bags, a cooler or other containers to transfer your produce from the boxes at your distribution site, especially next week, which is your final week of Ex. Fall Shares. We also can use any EXTRA PAPER OR PLASTIC BAGS (Grocery Bags ONLY).
2. THANKSGIVING CSA Registration is OPEN! This share is a one-time pick-up of 60 to 80 pounds of produce for winter storage or to stock up on vegetables before the holiday for $120. It is available for pick up on Nov. 18 (the Saturday before Thanksgiving) at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market from 7 A.M. until Noon, Tantré Farm from 2-5 P.M., and Pure Pastures in Plymouth from 9 AM – 7 PM. More details can be found on our website.
3. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDERS:
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.)—9 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Pure Pastures (Wed)–9 A.M. To 7 P.M.
REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM
by Richard and Deb
One hundred years ago the small farm down the road started keeping dairy cows behind their little cow shed. Over the many decades new buildings were added and the herd grew behind the cow shed. At one point there were over 60 cows eating grass/hay, making manure, and adding to the soil fertility in the acres of pasture behind the shed. After 80 years of pasturing cows, this fertility was very concentrated, and the cow herd was finally sold. The pasture grew up into lush burdock, nettles, lambs quarters, pigweed, cockleburs, jimson weed, and wild perennial grasses over the next ten years.
Then two years ago we started farming our neighbor’s pasture down the road. The field was plowed, while the deep tap roots of those weeds were broken apart and upturned. Week after week it was raked and raked until the seed load sprouted out. The first year we started growing cabbage and Brussels sprouts. This year when the soil dried out in July we planted 6000 broccoli, 5000 Romanesco cauliflowers, 3000 Brussels sprouts, and 12,000 cabbages. The little seedlings were heeled in with a 2-row transplanter with a little drink of compost tea, and that’s all the water they had for many weeks. We were able to conserve the water by lightly cultivating around the little seedlings with a goosefoot drag, which formed a dust mulch. For much of the season the soil was dry and the plants were not very large. We were thinking, “Maybe we won’t get very much broccoli and cauliflower this year. Maybe the cabbages will be small.” However, that was definitely not the case. By August we had one good rain, almost half an inch, and this was enough to keep the plants going. The brown, dusty soil gave way to large, turgid, green leaves that grew to be waist high.
As a result you may have noticed from last week’s CSA share, we have been harvesting 10 to 12 pound cabbages and 5 to 8 pound cauliflowers. The vegetables have been so big that sometimes only four heads of cauliflower will fit into a 2-bushel box. The obvious conclusion seems to be that all those years of cows grazing the land created a huge level of productivity. These last few weeks we have been trying to deal with what feels like a tidal wave of food pushing us into a slight state of mania. We are definitely seeing the bounties this fall. We have sold these vegetables at market. We have given them to you, our CSA members. We have fed the pigs. We have fed the cows. And yet, there is more and more and more; as if somehow the sorcerer’s apprentice has miscast the master’s spell upon the land, and now there is only the nonstop mania of Romanesco cauliflower with its fractal pattern spinning the infinite Fibonacci sequence into our bodies and minds. A great roaring monster that we are staggering to tame.
These prolific, cruciferous vegetables boost your immune system and are brimming with nutrition–calcium, iron, folic acid, potassium, Vitamins A and C. We hope that these giant vegetables are not too overwhelming for you, so please consider eating them all winter long by freezing them or making them into soups. You even might want to share them with your coworkers, family, or friends. You can send them to school in your kid’s lunches. You might even consider making one of these unique brassicas a centerpiece for your harvest table. We hope that you can celebrate this abundance with us and enjoy the super-size produce in these super-size shares.
RECIPES
GYPSY SOUP (from Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 cups chopped, peeled winter squash
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 cups stock or water
2 tsp. Spanish paprika
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf
dash of cinnamon
dash of cayenne
15-oz can garbanzo beans
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 pepper, chopped
1 Tbs. tamari
In a soup kettle, sauté onions, garlic, celery and winter squash in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add seasonings (except tamari) and the stock or water. Simmer, covered, about 15 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and beans. Simmer another 10 minutes or so – until the vegetables are tender. Add tamari and serve.
*Tip: This soup freezes well. You can also throw in greens at the end, such as SWISS CHARD, KALE or even CARROT GREENS.