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, since you signed up with a prorated share, you can find all past newsletters on our website under the NEWSLETTERS section in the CSA Info tab.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
ARUGULA or SPICY GREENS: You will receive either Arugula (known as “wild rocket” with more deeply lobed leaves and a more pungent flavor; an aromatic, bright salad green with a peppery mustard flavor) OR Spicy Greens (gourmet-quality, peppery greens for quick cooking or a salad; includes spicy greens like Kale, Tatsoi, Hon Tsai Tai, Green and Red Mustard).
-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.
GREEN CABBAGE: You will receive either Savoy Cabbage (loose, full head of crinkled leaves varying from dark to pale green; mellow-flavored cabbage considered to be superior for cooking)(loose, full head of crinkled leaves varying from dark to pale green; mellow-flavored cabbage considered to be superior for cooking) OR Tiara (avg. 1–2 lb. round heads packed with mildly sweet leaves that are excellent for cooking or fresh use with delicious flavor)
-How to use: grated or chopped raw in salads; stir-fried; steamed for 5-7 minutes in wedges; boiled with a chopped onion for 5 minutes and then added to mashed potatoes; and put in soups.
-How to store: refrigerate in hydrator drawer without removing any outer leaves (a plastic bag will help retain moisture, but is not necessary) for 2 weeks to 2 months.
CARROTS (Mokum): a very sweet, slender, “pencil carrot” with edible green leaves. Greens are delicious in soups and also salads.
-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: 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.
COLLARD GREENS: dark-green, flat, large leaf; may be substituted for kale or other hearty greens recipes; use large leaf rolled up as a wrap and stuff with vegetables or hummus.
-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.
CUCUMBERS: long, cylindrical, green-skinned fruit of the gourd family with mild, crisp flesh; the thin skin doesn’t need peeling, unless waxed for longer shelf life in stores.
-How to use: raw or pickled in salads or sandwiches, can also be julienned, sautéed, or baked.
-How to store: store them in a sealed plastic bag in refrigerator crisper drawer for up to a week; use up leftovers as soon as possible.
FAVA BEANS: (also called faba bean, horse bean, or broad bean)–the pod looks like a large bean pod; the bean seed resembles a very large lima bean with a tart, pungent flavor; fresh fava beans should be shelled from pod, and bean can be eaten raw, skin and all, if young enough.
–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.
-How to use: stew skinned beans in a little butter, oil or cream seasoned with savory, thyme or sage; sauté with other vegetables and toss with pasta; good in soups; lots of recipes on the internet.
-How to store: store fresh, unshelled beans in the refrigerator up to a week; once shelled, blanched and skinned, favas can be frozen in plastic containers for longer storage; shelled beans are best used within a few days
FRESH HERBS: Everyone will receive a bunch of Prospera Italian Large Leaf Basil this week, an herb with a sweet aroma with notes of anise in its green leaves; traditionally used in pesto, and originally from India where it was traded in ancient times via the spice routes. This herb does not store well in a refrigerator, so it will last longer when stored in a jar, vase, or glass of water on your counter.
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.
-How to use: white and lower part of greens can be cooked whole, chopped in slices and substituted for onions; delicious raw in salads or cooked in soups, quiches, casseroles, stews, stocks, or stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate unwashed for 2 weeks in plastic bag.
LETTUCE: Everyone will receive Romaine (medium-sized heads with thick, dark green leaves with good flavor and crisp texture) and you will also receive either New Red Fire (red leaf lettuce with uniform, heavy heads of well-colored, frilly leaves ) OR Cherokee (medium-sized heads with thick, crisp leaves that have dark red color with good flavor).
-How to use: raw in salads or (believe it or not!) use in soups.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 3-5 days.
WHITE HAKUREI BABY TURNIPS: white salad turnips with round, smooth small roots with sweet, fruity flavor and a crisp, tender texture. Roots are a good source of Vitamin C, potassium, and calcium, and delicious raw!
-How to use: roots can be roasted, steamed, or sautéed, or sliced thinly and tossed with lemon juice and eaten raw.
-How to store: roots can last up to 1-2 weeks in refrigerator.
ZUCCHINI (Golden and/or Green): gourmet golden and/or green zucchini with uniform, cylindrical fruits.
-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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS`
1. U-PICK RASPBERRIES JUST STARTING! After strawberries in June come summer raspberries in July and a trickle of our fall raspberries at the Honey Bee U-Pick site (5700 Scio Church Rd., Ann Arbor)! The berries are just starting, and will continue into August and September with different fall varieties. We are selling them for $6/pint when you pick and $4/half pint if we pick. Our patch will be open this week on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 8 AM-7 PM. All other days we will be closed to let the berries ripen and dry out. To keep informed go to https://www.tantrefarm.com/tantre-farm-raspberry-u-pick. This patch is a bit weedy, so wear pants and closed toed shoes, but the berries are fantastic! Hope to see you there!!
2. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: If you are interested in helping out–even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes before you pick up your box at the farm, come join us. Please contact us any day of the week or evenings until dark. Thank you!
3. STILL PLENTY OF BOXES AVAILABLE FOR OUR “BREAKFAST” IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA THIS WEEK: Please feel free to sign up for our weekly, collaborative CSA share if you would like to supplement your box or give it as a gift. 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 for a share!
4. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER: Please use your Member Dashboard to schedule Vacations or Pick up Location Changes or let us know if you are having any problems with rescheduling.
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 12 PM
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 PM to 8 PM (Hub Farm Market open during this time!)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.)—9 AM to 11 AM
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM
**Community High School CHANGED TO AA FARMERS MARKET (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM
*Argus-Packard (Sat)**Change in starting time to 10:30 AM to 3 PM
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM
*HoneyBee U-pick (Sat)–8 AM to 12 PM
REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM
by Richard & Deb
Each day we begin as the sun rises. Every morning over a bowl of oatmeal, fruit, eggs, coffee, etc., our hard-working, farm crew discusses our priorities and concerns. We assemble as a group of diverse personalities and discuss our previous day’s successes and shortcomings. It is a daily reckoning. After that we go our separate ways into smaller groups to harvest, weed, and plant, based on our updated morning tasks and according to what the weather allows, like worker bees in a honey hive, trusting in each other that we will all do our jobs interdependently and trusting that there will be more honey in the bee hive at the end of the day. And of course, every day our tasks are dependent a bit on the weather.
We hardly received much rain during these last two weeks. Many moments of each day seemed to hang warm and sultry. The crew sweated it out in the hot sun, lucky if they got hit by a spray from the irrigation sprinklers and barely escaping the daily mosquito raids during early June. The cool nights brought some dew, which helped the strawberries to hang red, sweet, and petite. Such delicious flavor this year! Indeed many became dehydrated on their stems due to the dry weather. On the other hand, It has been really fun for us to have people come to HoneyBee and watch the children’s faces smeared with red juiciness as they enjoy these sunny summer days.
Last night the rain swirled in with a big wind and thunder. The leaves quietly clattered and finally the drops splattered soaking the fields of beans, corn, watermelon, pasture grasses, quenching the parched soil and the thirsty plants. Today everything was green and bright, glowing in the summer sunshine, expanding and breathing in all of the carbon dioxide, amassing leaves and roots and stems, filling the soil with life and the air with oxygen. The dust which hung in the air for many days was gone. The peas and beans popped new flowers white and purple—better than any fireworks! The purple alfalfa and pink clover heads attract honey bees and bumble bees, celebrating their work of nectar and pollen collection, the wonderful symbiosis of a midsummer day dream. And the birds sung more abundantly welcoming us back to this new garden moisture with great growth and renewal. If only we are not too distracted, too fearful, too worried to notice. The dry of the summer is our refuge and the wet of the summer is also our refuge. Both are needed in the right balance to the growth of all plants and animals. To savor the beauty of each for its own.
In the next few weeks, it looks like there will be some summer raspberries to u-pick, as well as cucumbers, carrots, summer squash, lettuce, kale of every color, bulb onions, and looking forward to the new potatoes and green beans with some arugula and basil to spice things up! I think we can rest in the garden bed of this summer knowing that there is great abundance from the earth and from our native biome that offers to give us a great peace of mind with the realization that we are a part of this beautiful earth and summer’s day. The flowering of the earth and the flowering of the human family. We need each other. We depend on each other to create a community to share the food and share the earth with all creatures and with the good soil, the air, and with clean water. We would really like to thank all the many hands that come together collectively for this common harvest.
RECIPES
SAVOY CABBAGE RECIPE
1 Savoy cabbage (or other kind of cabbage)
2 Tbsp butter
3-4 slices of very thinly sliced bacon, finely cut
Salt and pepper, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Cut cabbage into quarters, cut out stalk and cut into strips. Blanch for 3 minutes in generously salted water; put into ice water to stop cooking. After this step, cabbage can be frozen, put into fridge, etc. until dinner preparation starts. Finely chop the leeks, sauté in the butter, add the bacon and keep over medium heat. Add the cabbage. Salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, cover, and let sauté for a couple more minutes. Serve with roast, potatoes, or pasta.