 |
| Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter WEEK #5 June 27-July 3, 2021 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. 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. If you are new to our CSA, you can find all past newsletters on our website under the NEWSLETTERS tab. THIS WEEK’S SHARE FAVA BEANS or SNOW PEAS: Because of possible limited harvest, you will receive either Snow Peas (description below) or FAVA BEANS (the pod is inedible raw and looks like a large bean pod; the bean seed resembles a lima bean with a tart, pungent flavor; fresh fava beans should be shelled from pod if skin seems tough, but bean seed can be eaten raw. The pod when young can be cooked, but when mature and firmer, the bean is the edible part. See recipes below.) -To skin fava beans: Blanch for 1 minute, then drain and cool. With your thumbnail, pull open the sprout end and squeeze the bean out of its skin. This link shows 5 ways to prepare favas: https://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/how-to-cook-fava-beans. See Week 4 newsletter for usage and storage tips. RED ACE BEETS AND GREENS: round, smooth, deep red roots with sweet flavor and medium-tall, red-veined green leaves. See Week 4 newsletter for usage and storage tips. GARLIC SCAPES: slender green stems with a slight bulge at the bottom (resemble chives, except for the bulge and often curled); the flower top of a garlic plant; tender and milder in flavor than mature garlic, but can be substituted for garlic cloves in recipes. Use this link for garlic scape recipes: https://www.seriouseats.com/the-crisper-whisperer-what-to-do-with-garlic-scapes-recipe See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips. KALE (Red Russian): the stems are purple, and leaves are deep gray-green, purple-veined, flat, non-curled, and tooth-edged. -How to use: for salads, soups, and light cooking. -How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator for up to 1 week. LAMBSQUARTERS or SPINACH (see below): Because of possible limited harvest, you will receive either Spinach (description below) or LAMBSQUARTERS (a beautiful bed of this wild edible leafy green opened up with all this rain, so hope you enjoy; also known as wild spinach or goosefoot; often thought of as a weed, but is one of the more nutritious greens, since it is high in fiber, protein, vitamins A & C. *See recipe ideas with this link: https://honest-food.net/lambsquarters-edible-huauzontles/. -How to use: can be used as a salad green or cooked as a vegetable; provides a very mildly bitter flavor to salads and cooked side dishes; can be prepared like spinach, so sauteed, smoothies, salads, and in eggs. -How to store: refrigerate in a plastic bag, up to 5 days; wash thoroughly just before using; can get wilty in the fridge. LETTUCE or LETTUCE MIX: You will receive either a head of lettuce or a lettuce mix in a bag; rich in calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C; you will receive either Red or Green Leaf. See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips. POTATOES: You will receive any of the following “old buddy” certified organic, storage potatoes. from Wayward Seed Farm in Ohio such as Crimson King (Attractive, oval tubers with red skin and red flesh; good for baking, boiling, roasting, or frying) or All Blue (deep blue skin and flesh; moist texture; perfect in salads, baked, or boiled) . These “old buddies” potatoes have been over-wintered in optimum storage conditions; possibly slightly less firm and slightly more sweet than a new potato, but good for cooking as suggested above. See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips. SNOW PEAS or FAVA BEANS: Because of possible limited harvest, you will receive either Fava Beans (description above) or SNOW PEAS (“flat” and wavy, crispy pods also known as Chinese pea pods and are used in stir-fries and salads; snow peas originated in southwestern Asia and can be grown in open fields during winter seasons in some regions, hence its name). -How to use: add peas to soups, stews, sautes, or stir-fries; blanch or steam for 2-4 minutes only until color is bright green; snap or snow peas can be eaten raw in salads or cooked quickly as in stir-fries or deep fry in tempura batter. -How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 4-5 days; if kept too long, their sweet flavor and crisp texture diminishes. SPINACH or LAMBSQUARTERS: Because of possible limited harvest, you will receive either Lambsquarters (description above) or SPINACH (crisp, dark green leaf; best eaten raw or with minimal cooking to obtain the beneficial chlorophyll, rich in of vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron and antioxidants. See Week 1 newsletter for usage and storage tips. SUMMER SQUASH/ZUCCHINI: You will receive some variety of Green or Yellow Zucchini (gourmet golden or green zucchini with uniform, cylindrical fruits) or Slick Pik Summer Squash (long, yellow straight neck with good flavor). -How to use: use in salads, dips, grilled, casseroles, stuffed, or mashed with butter and seasonings. -How to store: store in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 1 week. WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS: You will receive topless white salad turnips with round, smooth roots that have a sweet, fruity flavor with a crisp, tender texture; good source of Vitamin C, potassium, and calcium, and delicious raw. See Week 3 newsletter for usage and storage tips. ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. LAST WEEK FOR U-PICK STRAWBERRIES! We have been monitoring our strawberry patch at “HoneyBee U-pick” (5700 Scio Church Rd., Ann Arbor) and still have people getting 1 to 4 quarts, so we have decided to stay open until Friday , July 2. We will provide buckets for picking and bags or cardboard trays for you to transport berries home or you may provide your own. It’s $3.50/lb. The already picked strawberries are limited. 2. PLANT WALK ON JULY 9 from 6 – 8 pm: We are offering a leisurely plant walk at Tantre Farm with the guidance of our local foraging expert, Rachel Mifsud. Plant walks are excellent learning opportunities for those with beginning to intermediate foraging skills, and for anyone wishing to increase their knowledge of the local flora. Our discussion will include information about identification, methods of harvest, preparation, and use. We will explore the area and choose around 15 edible, medicinal, or otherwise useful plants and mushrooms to focus on. The cost is $25 with plenty of room for drop ins . To register ahead of time or find more information, just go to https://willforageforfood.square.site/ 3. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS MUCH NEEDED: So much rain these last few weeks, has really made the weeds grow and we are shorthanded, so we have many weeds to pull! If you are interested in helping out please contact us any day of the week or evenings until dark. Thank you if you are able to help! 4. “INDEPENDENCE DAY” IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA THIS WEEK: Please feel free also to sign up for our weekly, collaborative CSA share if you would like to supplement your box or give it as a gift, especially with this special Independence Day box, since you could be the winner of a $30 coupon off a future share. The menu is updated on our website every Monday – Wednesday http://www.tantrefarm.com/how-does-our-immune-booster-csa-work/. Still time to sign up this week until midnight! 5. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER: Please use your Member Dashboard to schedule Holds or Pick up Location Changes by Sunday midnight. Please let us know if there are any problems with Rescheduling. *Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time) *MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 10 AM (SARA there the whole time) *Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there with some self check-in) *Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 PM to 8 PM (LIZZIE will be there the whole time) *Pure Pastures (Wed.) (limited site) —10 AM to 5 PM (JESSICA there from 9 AM – 11 AM) *Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there with some self check-in) *Community High School (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON there the whole time) *Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (RYAN and Staff there the whole time) *Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—8 AM to 12 PM (DEB and staff there the whole time) *Argus-Packard (Sat) (limited site)—12 PM to 3 PM (ARGUS STAFF there the whole time) *RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM (DEBRA is there the whole time) REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM by Richard & Deb Summer has surprised the strawberries with at first hot temperatures and then a flood of rain and rather mild temperatures. With all of this rain the summer season has changed from being dry and bugless to being moist and bugfilled. Our life on the farm is different now. We have sultry, high levels of humidity. There’s more rot and more fungus growing. The sweet, delicious berries are culturing some fine, sugar-craven fungi, while being drawn back down into the earth transforming their energies from the sun and the light to the cosmos myriad of life beneath our feet. It is an impermanent season. To be able to anticipate and acknowledge the changes that occur on the farm is to unburden ourselves from what we wish things would be to what they actually are, and not to invest in what could be. When the weather is hot and dry, the farm is hot and dry. When the weather is cool and wet, the farm is cool and wet. Knowing this, we are free to travel unencumbered by our expectations. Let’s embrace this present moment for what it has to offer. Let’s see how we can adapt rather than asking Mother Nature to adapt to us. Even though Michigan has had some extreme thunderstorms over the last few weeks with ups and downs of temperature, the weather has actually been fairly mild compared with other parts of the world, where they are suffering from historically high temperatures. This fairly cool June weather has extended the strawberry season more than usual and has extended the energy and delight of our local community, who continue to show up to collect and eat berries from the new strawberry patch in Ann Arbor; sometimes multiple times in a week! The excitement observed of that anticipation in a child’s face as a pail is handed out can sometimes be transformative in an otherwise dreary day. They return with ruby delight smeared across their faces with pink streaks deeply embedded in cheeks, fingers, and lips. The direct, sensual drive nourishes our bodies with the sweet berry’s simple sugars. Perhaps you could say that we were made to eat berries, or perhaps you could say that the berries were made to be eaten. These methods are not separate. They have a reason together, and so as the berries flourish, we feel our nourishment under the big sky with the clouds and in turn with the rain and the rainbows. We have all shaped this land, and we have in turn been shaped by the land. Perhaps we can find a way to restore it and bring back some of those important relationships with the berries, with the insects, and even with the mycorrhizal fungi. Perhaps we can use this berry picking experience as an awakening to take care of ourselves, the soil, the earth, and the plants and animals that have such a wonderful balance in a multitude of lifeforms. Perhaps we can use the energy to protect and restore that diversity and see beyond the accumulation and gratification of our own desires and compulsive insecurities. Perhaps we can find more cooperation with each other and with nature to create a better balance for future generations. RECIPES SUMMER SQUASH AND EGGS (from Mad Mares Cookbook) 2 cloves garlic, minced Butter or olive oil 2 medium squash or zucchini, sliced into thin rounds 3 eggs, beaten Saute garlic over medium heat in skillet with olive oil. Add squash before garlic browns, saute covered for several minutes, flipping squash to cook all sides. Squash should be translucent and soft. Add eggs and scramble with a spoon, until eggs are just cooked; do not overcook. Salt and pepper to taste. SPINACH AND SCAPE FRITTATA (adapted from dakotagarlic.com) 3 Tbsp olive oil 10 eggs 1 cup (1/2 lb) chopped raw spinach or lambsquarters 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 Tbsp chopped parsley or basil 1/2 cup finely chopped garlic scapes Salt and pepper, to taste Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix all ingredients except oil and scapes. Heat oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet on the stove. Add the scapes and saute until tender on medium heat for about five minutes. Pour egg mixture in skillet with garlic and cook over low for three minutes. Place in oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until top is set. Cut into wedges and serve. MUSHROOM, SNOW PEA, AND SPINACH SALAD (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce by MACSAC) Serves 6 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar 1 tsp minced fresh tarragon (1/2 tsp dried) 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard Salt and pepper, to taste 1 1/4 lbs snow peas, strings removed 1 bunch spinach or lambsquarters, stemmed 8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced 4 large radishes or white salad turnips, thinly sliced Whisk oils, vinegar, tarragon, and mustard in small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add snow peas; cook 45 seconds. Drain, run peas under cold water and drain again. Combine peas, spinach, mushrooms, and radishes in large bowl. Toss salad with enough dressing to lightly coat. Pass remaining dressing separately. |
Tantré Farm
Ecologically-Grown Produce – Chelsea, MI
Tantré Farm
Mission Statement
Tantré Farm’s mission is to produce and distribute fresh produce, while serving as an educational, sustainable, and social network for our surrounding community. We hope to achieve this mission through our CSA, Farmers’ Markets, Farm-to-School program, local stores, local restaurants, schools, and other community connections.
Our goals at Tantré Farm are to produce fresh, healthy foods for the local community, provide quality of life for the farmer, and sustain economic viability for the farm with care and respect for nature’s diversity.