THIS WEEK’S SHARE
ARUGULA: an aromatic, bright green, salad green with a peppery mustard flavor; rich in iron and vitamins A and C.
-How to use: add to salads, soups, and sautéed vegetable dishes.
-How to store: very perishable, so use up quickly; store in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
GREEN BEANS (Jade): long, slender, deep green, filet bean
-How to use: raw in salads, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, roasted
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for up to 1 week.
PURPLE CARROTS with GREENS: You will receive Purple Haze (bright purplish-red roots with bright orange interior and a sweet flavor; cooking will cause the color to fade). Carrot leaves are very nutritious with lots of protein, minerals and high levels of vitamins, especially ‘C’ and ‘K’.
-How to use: can be used raw as carrot sticks, grated in salads or juiced; steamed or sauteed, in stews, soups, casseroles, or stir-fries. Greens can be chopped into soups for delicious carrot flavor, added to smoothies, made into carrot top pesto or tapenade.
-How to store: remove greens from roots and refrigerate dry and unwashed roots in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks; greens may last up to a week refrigerated in plastic bag.
EGGPLANT: a plant of the family Solanaceae (also known as the nightshades); fruit is fleshy with a meaty texture that range in color from glossy black to pale lavender.
-How to use: may be salted to remove bitterness from old fruit, but also makes it less watery and more absorbent, and can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish; can be baked, boiled, fried, grilled, or can be sliced into rounds for grilling or broiling, and 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 for picking on the farm): FROST IS COMING! Some of our flowers will survive the frost, but some may not, unless it’s a light freeze. We invite you to pick a bouquet of 20 stems especially today on Wednesday, so you can make a bouquet to enjoy this week before the frost takes out a bunch of the flowers. Every summer we plant a variety of flowers for drying or fresh bouquets, but this summer unfortunately our flowers got buried in weeds. If you decide to check out what’s left, you can contact us on other days besides our usual CSA distribution days of Wednesdays and Fridays, so we can make sure to be around to show you where to go and what to do. You may want to bring scissors or clippers and a vase/jar to keep your flowers fresh going home, but we will have clippers and donated yogurt containers to fill with water as well. Your bouquet is part of your share, although it is helpful when you make a small donation to pay for seeds and labor when you can. Extra bouquets cost $7/bunch. Please call or text Deb at 734-385-6748, if you can’t find anyone around to help you find where the flowers are. We hope you can come to enjoy this food for the soul!
GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves; believed to help in fighting infections, cancer prevention, bolstering the immune system, lowering blood pressure and preventing heart disease, used as an expectorant or decongestant, and at least some people believe that it can ward off vampires and insects.
Cooking tips: to mellow garlic’s strong flavor opt for longer cooking; to enjoy its more pungent flavors and increased medicinal benefit, use it raw or with minimal cooking.
-How to use: minced raw in salad dressings, sauteed 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”) OR Red Curly (well ruffled red or green leaves with red stems; gets redder and sweeter after a frost).
-How to use: for salads, soups, smoothies, roasting, and light cooking.
-How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator for up to 1 week.
SWEET PEPPERS (sweet banana, bell, carmen): You will receive any of the following – Goddess Banana Pepper (sweet banana pepper; excellent for pickling or fresh eating; 8-9” long, thick-walled, smooth fruits; fruits are mildly sweet when yellow) OR Knight Bell (medium-sized, block-shaped green, yellow, or red pepper with crisp, earthy, sweet flavor; good source of vitamin A & C) OR 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 and roasted.
-How to store: refrigerate unwashed in hydrator drawer and store for 1-2 weeks; can also be dehydrated or dried very easily.
-How to freeze: easily frozen by washing, chopping into chunks, and placing in freezer bags. Very easy to use in soups, stir fries, omelets, etc. throughout the winter.
POTATOES (Red Norland): an early-maturing, waxy potato characterized by a smooth, red skin and bright white flesh; great baked, boiled, or roasted.
-How to store: keep unwashed in cool, dark place in paper bag.
RADISHES (Purple Bacchus): stunning, purple, round radish with white inner flesh; very good flavor and not too hot
-How to use: raw, roasted, used in soups, sliced in salads, sandwiches, or stir-fries, grated in slaws; radish greens are delicious!
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag/damp towel for 1-2 weeks.
SPINACH: You will receive a bunch of crisp, dark green leaves–best eaten raw or with minimal cooking to obtain the beneficial chlorophyll, as well as vitamins A and C; delicious flavor when juiced.
-How to use: toss in fresh salad, add to sandwiches, saute, steam, braise, or add to crepes, quiche, lasagna, and soups.
-How to store: refrigerate with a damp towel/bag for up to 1 week.
TOMATOES (Roma): You will receive – Granadero Sauce Tomatoes (bright red, 4-5 oz Roma tomatoes with very good flavor and thick-walled fruit).
-How to use: good for fresh tomato sauces, salsas, and salads, roasting, dehydrating, yummy!
-How to store: keep at room temperature for up to 1 week or less.
WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS with GREENS: a white salad turnip with round, smooth roots that have a sweet, fruity flavor with a crisp, tender texture. Both roots (good source of Vitamin C, potassium, and calcium; good in salads and soups) and greens (slightly sweet and can be boiled, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, and since hairless, are good in salads; excellent source of vitamins A and C and good source of riboflavin, calcium and iron) are edible!
-How to use: good in salads and soups; can be roasted, steamed, or sauteed.
-How to store: remove greens from turnip root and store separately in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 3 days; roots can last up to 1-2 weeks in refrigerator.
WINTER SQUASH (Honeynut): a miniature, intensely sweet, and nutrient-rich winter squash with a deep orange, creamy flesh and edible, thin skin, similar to a butternut but with a more complex, malty-nutty flavor.
-How to use: ideal for roasting whole or in halves, pureeing, and is an excellent source of beta-carotene
-How to store: keep for several months (depending on the variety) in a dry, moderately warm (50-60 degrees), but not freezing location with 60-75 percent humidity; will also store at room temperature.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. COMMUNI-TEA TABLE AT THE WASHTENAW FOOD HUB with RACHEL KANAAN ON WED. OCT. 8 from 5 -6 PM: Iced Tea and mug are provided for a suggested donation of $5 or more. Please feel free to bring your own mug and favorite tea. We’ll gather to sip, share stories, and hear what others in the community are up to. Each week features a special host and theme to spark conversation, but you’re welcome to bring any topic to the table related to food, sustainability, or community life. Join us this Wednesday for a NEW IDEA for our community table event called “BREW’D” event with Rachel Kanaan from Sunflower Farm Market as we gather as a community of fermenters, food lovers, and the fermentation-curious, united by a passion for the craft and science of fermentation. Bring your own creations to share and show off! Questions are always welcome. We’re here to support everyone, from curious beginners to seasoned makers of sourdough, kombucha, and beyond. Join us with “Mindful Eating” the following Wednesday, Oct. 15 with Kori Kanayama, who shares her healing journey through cooking with local, ecologically-grown produce. In a reverse Q&A format, the community farm chef responds to audience questions, blending storytelling with insights from her cross-regional experiences. You can check out our Food Hub calendar for future events here: https://www.thewashtenawfoodhub.com/events/washtenaw-food-hub-events/
2. THIS COMING SUNDAY – 5th ANNUAL HONEYBEE NUT FESTIVAL on OCTOBER 12 from 10 AM to 5 PM: Celebrate the Earth and the seasons with a FREE, fun, outdoors event at HoneyBee U-pick (5700 Scio Church Rd, AA). Throughout the day we will be roasting chestnuts, tasting different kinds of nuts and paw paws, pressing apples to make apple cider, and carving pumpkins. The raspberry u-pick patch will also be open for the last of the raspberries, along with hundreds of pie pumpkins, local honey, and Tantre farm-fresh produce for sale! Fall foraging (root season!) and nature hikes will be available in the AM and PM, along with networking with local nut experts, and learning how to cook with nuts or make nut flour and nut milk, and also how to process those abundant black walnuts as a tasty treat! Bring some friends and have fun learning about nuts! Please feel free to register here, so we know how many are interested in attending: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/free-honeybee-nut-festival-2025-registration-1781576085029?aff=oddtdtcreator
3. FARMERS MARKETS: If you need to supplement your share with a few extra items, we are set up at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Wed. & Sat. this week starting at 7 AM. We will also be at the Chelsea Farmers Market from 8 AM-1 PM. On top of that, our Sunflower Farm Market (formerly known as the Washtenaw Food Hub Market) is OPEN on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4 to 7 PM and on Saturdays and Sundays with expanded hours from 9 AM-5 PM, so please feel free to purchase all your basic local needs and a few extra treats at any of these markets. We also have a small farm stand at the HoneyBee U-pick area (more details below).
4. HONEYBEE U-PICK is OPEN ON SATURDAY MORNINGS THROUGH THE END OF OCTOBER: We are open this week from 8 AM until 12 PM on Saturday mornings at 5700 Scio Church Road on the corner of Zeeb Rd. and Scio Church Rd. in Ann Arbor. We will have a wide variety of TANTRE PRODUCE at our farm stand for purchase as well as local HONEY on Saturdays. It may not be a good year for preserving raspberries. However, we have mowed paths through the raspberry patch, and there are some raspberries ready for picking, so if you are a true raspberry lover then we recommend bringing pants, long sleeves, closed toe shoes, and just give it a try! Check our website for updates. Sign up to be on our mailing list, so you know times, prices, weather-related closings, etc. here: https://www.tantrefarm.com/honey-bee .
5. GRATITUDE: We are so thankful for you CSA members, who were able to help us get an overwhelming squash harvest out of the field before the heavy freeze on Thursday morning. We loaded up over 400 bushels of squash into the barn during probably some of the last really hot days of “summer”. Thank you to our community members, who were able to rally when the need was there. We appreciate you!
6. HIRED HELP NEEDED: We are looking for additional help going into the fall to dig up the fall harvest. We provide home-cooked lunches every day with food from the farm. Please email us or fill out an application from our website at https://www.tantrefarm.com/internships/
7. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER: *Distribution Coordinator will be at most sites during designated times.
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
*Farm (Wed) — 10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed)- 4 PM to 7 PM (Come inside the new Sunflower Farm Market to pick up your share! STAFF there the whole time)
*Pure Pastures (Wed) — 9 AM to 11 AM (JESSICA there most of the time)
*Farm (Fri) — 2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Ann Arbor Farmers Market (Sat) — 7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON there the whole time)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat) — 9 AM to 5 PM (Come inside the new Sunflower Farm Market to pick up your share. STAFF there the whole time)
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat) — 8 AM to 12 PM (DEB there the whole time)
*Argus-Packard (Sat) — 9 AM to 3 PM (STAFF there the whole time)
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM (LIZ there the whole time)
*HoneyBee U-pick (Sat)–8 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
RECIPES
**Keep in mind a very easy way to find recipe ideas for almost any combination of share box ingredients is to type the items into your preferred “search bar” with the word “recipes” at the end, and many recipe ideas will pop up. Have fun searching!
EGGPLANT, BEAN, AND PEPPER STIR FRY (adapted from www.seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com )
Sauce:
2 tsp arrowroot or corn starch
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
Mix ingredients in a small bowl, and set aside.
Main Ingredients:
1 lb cooked potatoes, in chunks
1/2 lb green beans, chopped
1/2 lb or 2 large eggplants, 1/2-inch slices
1 large onion, chopped coarsely
1 large red pepper, deseeded and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 Tbsp ginger, peeled and minced
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3-4 Tbsp mild vegetable oil
When the potatoes have boiled for 10 minutes, put the beans in a colander, and drain the water from the potatoes over them to blanch them, but keep the potatoes in the pot so they are separate from each other. Rinse them both in cold water, and drain again. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a very large skillet. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minute until they are lightly browned. Add another tablespoon of oil, and add the eggplants. Cook, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes. Add the onions, pepper, and beans and a little more oil if needed, and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the ginger and garlic; stir in well. Then add the sauce ingredients, still stirring. As soon as the sauce thickens (in moments) remove from the heat and serve.
ARUGULA AND GREEN BEAN SALAD (from Bon Appetit, August 2001)
1 large shallot, chopped
1/4 cup walnut oil or olive oil
1 Tbsp Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 lb slender green beans, trimmed
4 oz arugula (about 8 cups) (OR spinach or kale)
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped
Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Drain. Refresh under cold running water. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add arugula and half of eggs. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Top with remaining eggs.
ROASTED HONEYNUT SQUASH RECIPE (from https://www.loveandlemons.com/honeynut-squash/ )
2-3 honeynut squash
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
Whipped Ricotta
1/4 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Red pepper flakes, for garnish
Kale or Arugula, optional
Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use a large sharp knife to cut the squash in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, and several grinds of pepper. Place the squash on the baking sheet. Drizzle with half the oil mixture and sprinkle with the thyme leaves and more salt and pepper. Use your hands to rub the seasonings all over the squash, then place cut side down on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until very soft and caramelized underneath. Spread a layer of the whipped ricotta on a serving platter and arrange the honeynut squash on top. Drizzle with the remaining oil mixture and top with the walnuts. Garnish with thyme, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Season to taste and serve on a bed of wilted kale or arugula.
GRILLED EGGPLANT AND BELL PEPPER SOUP (from Capay Organic Farm CSA “Farm Fresh To You” website) Serves 4
1 medium yellow bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1 medium red bell pepper, quartered and seeded
1 large eggplant
1 ripe medium tomato, coarsely chopped
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup plain yogurt or plain soy yogurt
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and roast quartered bell peppers, skin side up, until skins are wrinkled and lightly colored, about 30 minutes. Place in large bowl and cover with plate; let steam 20 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel off charred skins and discard; transfer peppers to blender or food processor. Meanwhile, pierce whole, unpeeled eggplant in several places and roast until flesh is tender and skin is shriveled, about 40-50 minutes. Slice in half and scoop out flesh into blender or food processor. Add tomato and broth and process until smooth. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into large saucepan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or chilled. Ladle soup into shallow bowls and swirl or spoon yogurt over each serving.
TURNIP GREENS-BANANA/CARROTS STIR-FRY (from What Do You Do with This Stuff?)
Bunch of turnip greens (add some spinach or arugula greens)
1 onion, chopped or 5-7 scallions
1 sliced carrot or 2 sliced bananas
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seed
Wash and cut up greens. Stir-fry onion until translucent. Add the greens and cook 4-5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, then add bananas. Cover and wait just long enough for bananas to heat through. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seed and serve.
Note: An alternative is to stir-fry the sliced turnips and carrots 4 minutes. Add greens and stir-fry 5 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
RADISH TOP SOUP (from The Victorian Garden Cookbook) Serves 4-6
6 Tbsp butter, divided
1 cup chopped onions or leeks
8 cups loosely packed radish leaves (add some spinach or arugula greens if not enough)
2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
6 cups water or stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
5 radishes, sliced
Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan, add onions, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in radish tops, cover, and cook over low heat until wilted, about 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook potatoes until soft in water or stock with 1 teaspoon salt. Combine with radish tops and cook, covered, 5 minutes to mingle flavors. Puree in food processor or blender. Add cream and remaining butter, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with radish slices garnished on top of soup. Serve hot.
Note: To serve cold, omit butter enrichment.
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