The Community Farm Kitchen

Grand Finale!

2009-11-11T18:16:00.011-05:00

There is so much to say about the Grand close of the season... how hard we worked last week on the farm on cold days and warm days and days that started frozen and turned warm... we brought in such a bounty from Mother Earth! We harvested roots like rutabagas and turnips and leeks, greens like napa cabbage, kale, and parsley, and brassicas like Brussels sprouts and cabbage and cauliflower. It was hard work but it felt so good to be harvesting these amazing vegetables for all the members. Saturday, the day of Grand Finale itself was amazing. For a start, the weather was perfect: warm and sunny. Exactly the sort of day when you WANT to be outside. Aaron and I headed out to the farm fairly early to do the last of the harvest and set up for distribution. After lunch, CFK cooks Jason, Jake, Anna, Amanda, and Becky all joined us at the farm for the Big Pick Up. I sent them scurrying around the barnyard picking up dozens of roots, boxes of greens, and hundreds of winter squash. Finally, we loaded it all into our cars. I didn't think Jason would make it up the hill with his trunk full of winter squash, but somehow he managed. We returned to the kitchen to try to squeeze everything into the fridge and pantry. The energy of the day was amazing--you could only feel good about bringing in such a lot of food for the winter.
At that point the work had only just begun. It's Wednesday and it's already been a busy week of cooking (and juggling things to make room in the fridge for everything!). I'm really excited about the menu we're working on. I think you'll really enjoy it. Here we go....
Share
Cauliflower - 1 head
Rutabaga - 4 lbs
Carrots and beets - 1 lb total
Turnip - 2 lbs
Garlic - 8 heads
Daikon - 3
Cabbage - 1 head
Tatsoi - 1 bunch
Mizuna - 1 bunch
Arugula - 1 bunch
Parsley - 2 plants
Brussels sprouts - 2 stalks
Kale - 3 plants
Big napa - 2
Small napa - 2
Blue hubbard - 1
Mixed squash - 1
Carnival squash - 3
Small Leeks - 2
Butternut squash - 3
Mixed squash - 1
Acorn squash - 3
Big leeks - 6

and the Menu (sorry, no page numbers right now)
Week 1:
Beet and Carrot Burgers from Farmer John's Cookbook: A favorite from the beginning of the season returns!
Leeks and Asian Greens with Pasta from Greens, Glorious Greens this recipe was recommended by a CFK member, and it looks perfect!
Creamies from The Community Farm of Ann Arbor Cookbook 2001 Everyone always asks "What are Creamies?", well it's an incredibly tasty casserole of squash and cabbage and kale, spiced up with tahini and soy sauce. We made it today and I think you'll like it!
Sauerkraut that's been fermenting for a few weeks--it's finally ready to go, all salty and flavorful!
Groundnut Stew from Simply in Season Peanut-based tastiness.
Hobbit Stew - learned this root-y recipe from my fellow cook Kurt at Pendle Hill. Contains no hobbits, but all of a hobbit's favorite root veggies!
White Bean Kale Soup from Greens, Glorious Greens Another perennial end-of-year favorite, this soup is sweet with squash and spicy with curry. Yum!
Nitya's Dahl with Napa Can't go wrong with this Indian beans-and-greens combo, I think.
Leeks with Pears and Mashed Potatoes from The Boxing Clever Cookbook The veggie combos in this cookbook are always so unexpected but somehow they always work. We made this one today and I'm really pleased with it. One taster plans to make it for dinner tonight!
The Grand Finale Green Salad with the usual Asian greens
Parsley Cubes - wait and see!
One Acorn Squash

There's more to come next week, but I think this post is long and overwhelming enough, right?
I'll post again with more pics and the rest of the menu in a few day's time.
See you Friday!
Mary
Photos: 1. Farm workers enjoy lunch on a cold harvest day. 2. Harvest crew with Kale and Brussels sprouts 3. Megan with the parsley 4. Aaron with arugula 5. Jason and a wheelbarrow of squash 6. Jake can carry three boxes of napa! 7. Anna de-stalks the Brussels sprouts 8. A car-trunk full of squash! 9. The pick up crew has a laugh.

More photos in next post!

Week Twenty Two: Last Regular Harvest

2009-10-29T11:42:00.007-04:00

Here we are at the antipenultimate pick up for the CFK. This season has simply flown by! As the harvests decrease slightly in volume we are able to get ahead on other items we'd fallen behind with during the busier season. Last Friday, as some later pick up folks might know, Jake cleaned the stove and it looks fantastic. I know he's not satisfied yet, but it's really a vast improvement. At the farm, things are winding down. On Tuesday we spent time gathering up more of the infinite irrigation tape that is out in the fields as well as harvesting daikon radishes and eating cookies left over from Saturday's membership meeting. After an early lunch, we workers went home. Wednesday was similarly relaxed as we brought in the final "regular" harvest before Grand Finale. Despite the relaxed atmosphere, there is plenty of food. We picked over 200 heads of napa cabbage from one field, bunches of mizuna and arugula from another, and loads of leeks from a third. We cut down the palm-tree like curly kale plants. It was relatively warm and not wet, despite the rain on Tuesday night. Rainwater had collected in the leaves of the kale, though, causing a beautiful deluge when a plant was cut. What a wet fall we're having! Fortunately, the cauliflower seems to be loving it....
This week's harvest:
Black Spanish radish - 1
Mizuna - 1 bunch
Daikon radish - 1
Arugula - 1 bunch
Choice - Broccoli or Cauliflower - 1 head
Leeks - 2
Kale - 1 plant
Delicata squash - 2
Chinese (napa) cabbage - 3
Pie pumpkin - 2

and the menu:
Napa Cabbage Slaw from From Asparagus to Zucchini p. 61
Barley Risotto with Roasted Squash and Leeks from The Farmer's Market Cookbook p. 197 I bought this cookbook while living in Wales and I don't use it often, but its recipes are always delightful and this one sounds particularly delicious.
White Bean and Kale Stuffed Delicata I found this tasty treat here. After the popularity of a bean-kale-delicata dish from two weeks ago, I feel like this will be another hit.
Cauliflower, Apple, and Coconut Soup from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 113 Another tasty seasonal combination. We need soup on these cold rainy days, right? We'll throw the broccoli in here too.
Leaf Fall Salad with arugula and mizuna

Members, make sure you read your reminder email carefully this week for important announcements.

That's all, I think!
Mary
Photos: 1. Purple cauliflower! 2. Jake cleaning the stove. I think it looks cool with its top removed--like flowers. 3. Kristin modeling her kale plant. 4. Kristin as jolly green giant. 5. Jason sorting the salad bags.

Week Twenty One: Cool mornings; Sunny days

2009-10-22T11:01:00.007-04:00

Oh my, it's hard to believe we only have one "regular" week left--though we've got lots of cooking still ahead of us. It was a lovely week at the farm. On Tuesday we planted four beds of garlic with a big team of workers. Now it's all tucked in for the winter under a mulch of straw--the promise of tasty seasoning in the year to come. We also had a visit from a very special guest: former farm worker Angela brought her 3-month-old baby Ben to visit the farm for the first time. It was so delightful and distracting to play with the baby at lunch and during the afternoon. Ben seemed to enjoy the farm, seeing the sunshine and the cows and being held by doting friends. Life is good when you're an adorable baby. Pictures coming soon, I hope--I never remember my camera when anything exciting is happening at the farm!
Wednesday was another gorgeous, golden fall day. It wasn't even very cold, allowing us to sit outside for a relaxed lunch. Aaron came to help with the harvest once more, which was fun. The harvest has decreased a bit in quantity, but fall veggies are some of my faves and I'm excited to work with these tasty treats. The frost has sweetened the mizuna, arugula, and tatsoi so much that they almost taste like different greens--you'll be surprised.
This week's share:
Turnips - 3
Rosemary - 1 sprig
Daikon radish - 1
Oriental greens - 1 bunch
Kale - 2 plants
Little winter squash -2
Mei qing choi - 1
Garlic - 8 cloves
Parsley - 1 bunch
Pie pumpkin or Jack-o-lantern - 1

Menu - This week I'm reviving some big hits from last fall. These tried-and-true faves were popular with CFK members last year, and I hope you'll enjoy them too.
Turnips with Greens and Raisins from From Asparagus to Zucchini p. 159 - so tasty one CFK member had to re-create the recipe himself.
Pumpkin (and other squash) Sage Soup From Farmer John's Cookbook p. 315
Choi Salad with Fruit and Creamy Dressing From Farmer John's Cookbook p. 78 - one of my absolute favorite choi recipes.
Dressed Grain - from The Community Farm of Ann Arbor Cookbook (2001) p. 37 A classic farm dish from Karen Chalmer. I think we'll do quinoa.
Daikon in Plum Sauce - from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 275 This is a new one, but I'm always looking for a creative way to use daikons and this looks simple and tasty.
Frost-Sweet Salad Mix - Last week saw the last of the lettuce, but we're still getting arugula, mizuna, and tatsoi, and they're SO sweet, you won't believe.
And we're working on another batch of Kristin's popular Hot Pepper Chutney, so there's that to look forward to as well.
Phew, that's everything.
See you Friday!
Mary
Photos: 1. Farm workers Kristin, Ricardo, Mary, Helen, and Aaron pose with Bob the cat and pumpkins 2. Beautiful turnips 3. Kristin shows off a masked winter squash 4. Dressing the Spaghetti Squash Salad 5. Pumpkins of all colors

Week Twenty: Cool Fall Days

2009-10-15T11:19:00.006-04:00

It's been another good week here at the CFK. On Monday I went out to the farm to help out with a field trip of first and second graders from Ann Arbor Open School. The kids had so much energy and all seemed to love the farm. They helped with feeding the animals, separating garlic for the garlic planting (while keeping warm at a bonfire), and took a hayride. Anne always asks field trip kids if they might want to be farmers one day, and almost all of these kids responded with an enthusiastic YES. I can't blame them--I love being able to spend time outdoors at the farm. In fact, I was just reminiscing to a friend this week about how I used to stare at the Monet paintings in my calendar during class in highschool--longing to escape the classroom into fields and gardens. On Tuesday Melanie and I got to work on a crock of sauerkraut which will be ready to distribute in a few weeks time. Wednesday was a busy and chilly morning at the farm. Despite frozen fingers, we were able to bring in a bounty of leeks, daikon, kale, and more. Paul tells me that this is officially the Last Hurrah for the lettuce, but that it has been the Best Lettuce Year EVER at the Community Farm, with few crop failures, lots of good rain, and essentially ideal conditions. Hope you've been enjoying the bounty.
So, this week's share:
Choice: 1 spaghetti squash OR 2 delicata squash (we chose both)
Hot peppers - 2
Sage - 2 sprigs
Soup Box (potato, carrot, and broccoli) - 1
Assorted Oriental Greens - 1 bunch
Eggplant - 3
Kale - 3/4 lb
Leeks - 2
Daikon radish - 1
Lettuce - 2
Jack-o-lantern - 1

Menu
Delicata Squash with Kale and Cannellini Beans I noticed this recipe in the October Martha Stewart Living while hanging out with former farm worker Angela and her baby Ben yesterday afternoon. Looks perfect!
Thai Eggplant Dip A twist on Baba Ganouj that I found in From Asperagus to Zucchini p. 75
Ginger Miso Soup a vehicle for daikon radish and kale? what more could we ask this week! From Farmer John's Cookbook p. 275
Spaghetti Squash Salad with Citrus Dressing I spotted this recipe last week in Serving Up the Harvest p.452 and am excited to give it a whirl--rather a change of pace!
Karen's Potato Leek Soup a classic favorite from Community Farm of Ann Arbor Cookbook (2001) p.53. Warming and delicious.
Last Hurrah Salad with lettuce and oriental greens.
We'll also finally give out the Pasta with Broccoli we missed last week...sorry about that...hopefully we'll be more on top of things in the future!

I think that's all. Hope you're doing well!
Mary
Photos: 1. Still life with kraut ingredients (note purple inside cabbage!) 2. Melanie working on the sauerkraut 3. Adorable soup boxes in distribution area. Yum! 4. Kristin picking up her share.

Week Nineteen: The Frost King is Here!

2009-10-08T12:50:00.007-04:00

Wow, what a change a week can make. The season shift into autumn has really happened now, and the effects of the Frost King's visit to our farm are obvious. We're already beginning to focus on the end of the season--which, it is hard to believe, is only a month away! All of the summer crops are really gone, though we're still distributing the last of what we had saved in the barn. Autumn crops are going strong and I have to dust off my memories from last year of what delicious treats there are to make with bok choi and winter squash.
We had a short work day at the farm on Tuesday due to the cold and rain. We spent some time gathering in the irrigation tape from the pepper and basil beds which will be cultivated soon and put to sleep for the winter with cover crops seeded. Wednesday was windy and chilly, but the harvesters spirits as we brought in the veggies. My friend Aaron joined us for the morning and, in addition to picking some gorgeous mizuna and playing with the goats, he serenaded us with an impromptu drum solo on the lids of the honey jars in the barn.....maybe you had to be there.
Anyhow, with this week's bounty I feel that we're returning to the refrain of early spring: "Here, have some (LOTS of) green stuff!"
The share:
Sweet peppers - 4
Spaghetti squash - 1
Daikon radish - 1
Hot pepper - 12
Eggplant - 2
Cauliflower - 1
Broccoli- 2 heads
Bok choi - 16 (!) plants
Kale - 1 lb
Swiss chard - 3 plants
Endive or chickory - 1 head
Garlic - 4 bulbs
Choice: Mizuna, arugula, tatsoi - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 2 heads
Fennel - 1 bulb

Menu:
Cauliflower Millet Soup - this is a perennial favorite here in the CFK. With tons of protein, what more can we expect from Diet for a Small Planet (p. 290)
Eggplant-Chard Curry - Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 355
Spaghetti Squash with Green Sauce - this recipe comes from my head. The green sauce will be a version of Katharina's Green Sauce we enjoyed in the spring.
Pasta with Broccoli - every once in a while the CFK goes posh. This tasty recipe comes from Craig Clairborne's New York Times Cookbook p. 263
Stir Fried Bok Choi with Sweet Tahini Sauce We're going to try something different and stir fry the Bok choi and other veggies and package them seperately from their sauce (from Diet for a Small Planet p. 263).
Frost King Salad with lettuce, endive, chickory, mizuna, tatsoi, and arugula.

Hope you'll enjoy it all!
See you Friday
Mary
Photos: 1. Distribution board with Nancy's art--lots of bok choi in the foreground 2. Daikon and spaghetti squash 3. Aaron and the goats, Morgan and Delilah 4. Broccoli and Cauliflower

Week Eighteen: Birthday Frost

2009-10-01T10:46:00.007-04:00

Well, last night the temperatures were low enough to threaten the tender summer veggies we've been enjoying for so long. In anticipation, we had a very busy harvest morning on Wednesday, bringing in all the chard, basil, peppers, and eggplants. A cold wind was blowing and we had to bundle up--fortunately, just when we were frozen to the bone, Paul brought us some delicious warm chai to help us finish the harvest! What a change from the balmy weather we've been enjoying all September! As we raced around bringing in the harvest, a favorite song came to mind, which I hope you'll all enjoy in the above music video. We think the Farmer's Chorus of Helma, Karen, Mary, Kristin, and Rebecca (complete with basil, chard, and clippers as props) are just about ready for the Big Time! (Thanks to Ricardo for such a steady hand with the camera). The song, "Hurry Hurry", is a great favorite with the Steiner School third graders and Karen's daughter Lucilla (now a glamorous teen) helped write the words to the third verse about the pony. :-)
So, this harvest represents essentially the LAST of the summer crops. Deciding what to make was really tough. I hope we'll be able to make Cauliflower Millet Soup (a CFK fave) in a future week because I'm really excited about what I DID decide to make!
Summer's last bounty is:
Eggplant - 2
Green onions - 1 bunch
Cauliflower - 1 large head
Hot peppers - 1 plant
Broccoli - 3 heads (!)
Swiss chard - 7 plants (!!!)
Parsley - 1 bunch
Mizuna - 1 bunch
Fennel - 1 stalk
Lettuce - 3 heads
Basil - 2 plants (!!)
Sweet peppers - 10 (!!!)

Menu--after long deliberation--
Eggplant Mykonos - this stew from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 353 has basically everything we got this week. Yum!
Barley Broccoli Salad from Serving up the Harvest p. 126
Cauliflower Pie Hopefully a new favorite from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 267
Mediterranean Green Sauce from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 86 We had this earlier this summer and it was sooooo good and a great way to use up tons of chard.
Basil Thogaiyal (Chutney) - another Indian specialty from Nitya, it's spicy and tasty and a great way to use up basil
and of course, our classic Pesto ... I hope you're not overwhelmed by having this several weeks in a row. It's so tasty and it keeps in the freezer for a taste of summer all winter long.
Finally, Celebration Salad with lettuce, mizuna, and peppers. Crunch crunch!

See you Friday!
Mary--who turns 25 today!
Photos: 1. Mary making Arugula Potato Salad in a cooking demo at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market last Saturday. 2. A gorgeous Preying Mantis at the Farm 3. Peppers and Broccoli in this week's share 4. Melanie tubs up last week's roasted veggie salad

Week Seventeen: Transition to Fall

2009-09-24T13:34:00.006-04:00

You can tell that the seasons are turning, despite the warm weather we've been having the past few days. Out at the farm we're beginning to see the end of summer crops like tomatoes and summer squash and melons (positively the last of those this week). As crops finish, the beds where they were have been tilled, and the fields are beginning to look empty and bare for the winter. In one field, all that's left is a bed of turnips, standing alone in an expanse of rich, brown earth.
Over the weekend a large crew of cooks processed 8 bushels of farmer's market tomatoes so that we'll have them for the Long Winter Kitchen program. On Tuesday I drove with Rena of Locavorious to the freezer warehouse she uses near the airport. It was quite an adventure to see a freezer twice the size of Home Depot--let me tell you that 200 qts of tomato sauce seem like a lot in my kitchen and nothing at all in the scope of that place! After visiting one end of the food system--where massive quantities of frozen food are shipped around the country on pallets--it was a pleasure to return to the farm and spend an afternoon harvesting peppers. Wednesday was another busy harvest morning--we had so many heads of broccoli to bring in it took many trips with the garden carts to transport them all.
This week's season-transformational share:
Broccoli - 2 heads
Cabbage or Cauliflower - 1 head (we chose both)
Eggplant - 2 (!)
Hot peppers - 4
Choice: small box summer squash or small box tomatoes (we chose both)
Kale - 3/4 lb
Basil - 1 plant
Assorted oriental greens (mizuna, tatsoi, arugula) - 1 bunch
Parsley - 1 bunch
Green onion - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 3 heads (!!)
Brussels sprouts greens - 2
Fennel - 1 plant
Sweet pepper - 4
Melon - 1 pc (positively the end of these rockstars!)

And the menu--
Cream of Broccoli Soup from Moosewood p. 23 (and vegan version from this site) simply the best way to devour so much tasty broccoli!
Cavolfiore Sauce from Moosewood p. 163 Pasta al Cavolfiore is a family favorite. Now you can enjoy it too! yum!
Pesto - I know you need more of this.
Roasted Eggplant-Pepper Salad I haven't tried this recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd, p., but it uses so many of our ingredients this week I have no doubt it will be delicious!
If that doesn't use up enough eggplant, I may make Baba Ganouj as well.
Remember a few weeks ago when I said I'd make Melon Salad with Lime? Well, I'll really do it this time!
We're also going to try a recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Living: Kristin's Green Pate is my farm colleague's adaptation of a treat from Martha. We're making a few surprise substitutions, but this is a tasty delight.
Fall Festival Salad with so much lettuce, scallions, mizuna, and tatsoi. Yum!

Phew! Must go get to work on this ambitious menu!!
See you Friday
Mary
Photos: 1. Ricardo, Nikki, and Anne hang out the Fall Festival Banner 2. Locavorious' pallet in the freezer warehouse. I wish the photo could show how cold it was in there! 3. Broccoli!!! 4. Kristin shows off the broccoli.

Week Sixteen: Cool and Spicy

2009-09-17T11:29:00.008-04:00

The weather this week has been so interesting! Tuesday was positively hot out at the farm. Like last week we picked tomatoes and more winter squash, bringing in a heroic harvest of acorn and butternut squash that give us all something to look forward to as we move into fall. After harvesting, we turned to weeding the leek patch, or rather, the paths in the leek patch! The weed galanzoga had grown so large that it was a bit like charging through a jungle and I kept expecting to meet dragons in the form of tomato horn worms who were busy eating the purslane. Fortunately, the leeks are looking fine despite the weeds. Maybe there is something in this beneficial weeds business! Wednesday was surprisingly chilly. I hadn't expected the cold front to descend on us so soon, but fortunately had some warm clothes to put on at the farm. My dad came out to the farm with us to do some more of his volunteer hours, and we all had fun bringing in a bountiful harvest of kale and other treats. He found it hard work, though, and was quite ready for a nap by the time we got home. We had other visitors at the farm, including Lisa Sullivan who told us tales over lunch about meeting Evo Morales, president of Bolivia.
This week's bounty is:
Tomatoes - 4 lbs
Summer squash - 1
Choice: Broccoli OR cabbage - 1 (we chose both!)
Kale - 1 lb PLUS 1 bunch
Hot peppers - 4
Eggplant - 2
Oriental greens (arugula, mizuna, and tatsoi) - 1 bunch
Sweet peppers - 4
Lettuce - 2 heads
Parsley - 1 bunch
Orchard fruit - 1 box
Basil - 1 plant
Melon - 1 piece
Green onions - 1 bunch

And the Menu:
Red Red-hot Vegetable Chili - a favorite from Hollyhocks and Radishes p. 28
Pesto - promised last week but not delivered. yum yum!
Eggplant Shu Mai - We won't make the dumplings since the filling alone is unbelievably delicious. I had some at a dinner party earlier this summer and have been dying to share it with you. We'll basically follow this recipe.
Coleslaw with Apples I'll be adapting a non-mayo dressing for this cabbage salad from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 71 and From Asperagus to Zucchini p. 45
Greens in Peanut Sauce from Simply in Season p. 195
Equinox Salad with lettuce, Oriental greens, and sweet peppers
If there's time we may also make Salsa, but I don't want to promise anything after last week's craziness!
Finally, everyone will get what may be the last of the melon for the season.

Also, I want to announce that I will be having a cooking demonstration at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market next Saturday, Sept 26 at 10.30. Be there!
Finally, check out our newest program, the Long Winter Kitchen.

I guess that's all! See you Friday.
peace
Mary
Photo explanations: 1. Julie shows off an unusual tomato 2. Lotus purees a HUGE bowl of soup. 3. The late shift, Becky and Jake, are shocked by the number of dishes we've left for them. 4. Mary, Becky, Lotus, and Megan staff the CFK table at the Homegrown Festival 5. Parsley, squash, and peppers ready for distribution.

Week Fifteen: Back to School

2009-09-10T14:18:00.005-04:00

Well, the school year's come around again. Students are back and suddenly we're reminded of just how quiet it's been around this town over the summer! Out at the farm, however, it still seems pretty summer-y, since we're still getting plenty of classic summer crops such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and basil. All the same, on Tuesday we experienced the full scope of this kind of strange season we're in--the weather has been so cool and wet all summer that we spent the morning harvesting a huge number of tomatoes and the afternoon picking the first of the *winter squash*! It was a weird combination, but an excellent day's work. It poured in the morning, so I was feeling raindrops dripping off my nose as I picked tomatoes, but seeing the amount we brought in -- 8lbs per share!--made it all worthwhile. Then the winter squash harvest is always one of my favorite tasks. After picking the squash and piling them in the field, workers make a chain and toss the squash hand to hand to the tractor. It's fun for me because I get to enjoy throwing and catching, which I never did as a child.
We won't be eating those winter squash for a few weeks. In the mean time, we have plenty of the bounty of summer to enjoy!

This week's share:
Eggplant - 1
Basil - 1 branch
Potatoes - 1 box
Kale - 3/4 lb
Swiss chard - 3/4 lb
Sweet peppers - 3
Summer squash - 3
Lettuce - 2 heads
Garlic - 1 head
Parsley - 1 bunch
Hot peppers - 3
Orchard fruit - 1 box
Tomatoes - 8 lbs (!!)
Watermelon - 1
Cantaloupe - 1

And the menu ---
Lasagne an adaptation of all the best of the Moosewood recipe and suggestions from my co-workers at the farm (chard! eggplant! summer squash! yum!)
Marinated Tofu and Vegetables from Simply in Season p. 141
Curried Vegetable Bisque from Simply in Season p. 240
Kale Chips - this is always a popular way to dispose of kale, but I've never done it for the CFK before. Hopefully you'll enjoy!
We will also probably make Pesto if we have enough basil left over from the other things.
I'm also considering making a tasty melon salad as a change from the fresh melons we've been having... though it's hard to imagine what might improve these sweet treats.
And, of course Back to School Salad with lettuce.

Enjoy!
peace
Mary

Photos: 1. Potatoes and peppers in the distribution area 2. A harvest of blossoms 3. So many stuffed chard leaves!! (from a few weeks ago)

Week Fourteen: Watermelon and Cantaloupe!

2009-09-03T13:15:00.007-04:00

Firstly, I was featured on Annarbor.com last week! Read Jen Haines' excellent article here!
It's been another good week at the farm. These cool mornings have been deceptive--we workers start the day in multiple layers and wind up scattering sweatshirts, socks, scarves, and warm hats around the fields as the day warms up. On Tuesday afternoon we visited the hay field to dig the last of the potatoes. As we worked, we noticed a cloud of dragonflies hovering in the air over the field. It was so magical to be surrounded by these fluttering wings--kind of like being accompanied by fairies. On Wednesday we started very early on our big harvest. We picked whole lime basil plants and brought in Napa cabbage thinnings. Unfortunatley, due to the cool weather this summer we are not getting a good sweet corn harvest this year. On the other hand, we aren't seeing much of the tomato blight that many local farms are getting, so that's good. Also this week, some of the other apprentices helped with the melon harvest--so many large watermelon and cantaloupe that a *tractor and wagon* were required to bring them all in! Hope you're hungry for summer fruit... :-)

This week's bounty
Choice of 1 eggplant or 4 ears of corn (we chose a combo)
Edamame - 3 plants
Potatoes - 1 box
Sweet peppers - 3
Lime basil - 1 plant
Napa greens - 1 1/2 lb
Pears (from our orchard trees!!) - 1 box
Parsley - 1 bunch
Cantaloupe - 2
Lettuce - 2 heads
Radishes - 3
Sweet basil - 7 tips
Garlic - 1 bulb
Summer squash - 2
Hot peppers - 3
Watermelon - 2
Tomatoes - 6 lbs

With all that bounty we'll be making:
Victoria's Stir Fry - my Chinese buddy's favorite stir fry sauce on napa cabbage, radishes, and peppers.
Herb-Roasted Potatoes - from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 165
Ratatouille - Classic summer stew of deliciousness from Moosewood p. 119
Lime Basil Pesto - we're adapting the classic Moosewood recipe (p. 74) by using cashews to balance the unusual lime basil flavor.
Kristin's Hot Pepper Chutney - fellow farm worker Kristin learned this spicy-sweet condiment recipe while WWOOFing in Ireland. Yum!
Tomato Juice - summer, straight up.
Solidarity Salad with Edamame Happy Labor Day.
Also, everyone will be getting a watermelon AND a cantaloupe as well as just a taste of sweet corn.

See you Friday!
Mary

Photos: 1. Happy Farm Workers after a morning of harvest: Ricardo, Kristin, Mary, Paul, Katharina, Anne, Nikki 2. A wagon-load of watermelon 3. Nothing wrong with these tomatoes! 4. Pears 5. Thank you, Dani, for putting together our pizzas last week!!

Week Thirteen: Rainy harvest

2009-08-27T09:41:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone!
Yet another great week at the farm. This week's harvest contains tons of delicious summer delights. We're getting sweet corn for the first time this week. Farmer Paul says it's not been a really good year for corn, but we should get a few ears for the next week or two. On the up side, it's been a TERRIFIC year for the melons, and there are even more this week! I'm going to continue to send these sweet treats home as they are-because how can you go wrong with melons, right?-but if you're finding them overwhelming, some of my cookbooks have very intriguing melon soup recipes that you might consider trying. (Just ask).
On Monday I visited the farm with my dear friend Anna and was so happy to have the chance to show her around and walk the fields in the sunshine. Tuesday was another glorious day. We thinned the turnips (yum!) and finished weeding and thinning the bok choi. In the afternoon we did our VERY LAST planting of the season, planting out the lettuce we transplanted last week. Then we headed into the main crop tomatoes for the first really big tomato harvest of the year. The tomatoes are looking gooooooood, but we continue to need more heat to get the big harvest we really want. Wednesday, as you may have noticed, was rather rainy. In spite of rain coat and rain trousers, I got quite soaked while picking Swiss chard and basil. Fortunately, we'd done a lot of the work in advance and were able to finish our harvest work a little early. We also had some great help from a pair of cheerful members, Nate and Jennifer.
This week's share:
Tomatoes- 4 1/2 lbs
Hot peppers - 3
Lime basil - 24 tips
Potatoes - 1 box
Garlic - 1 bulb
Sweet peppers - 3
Kale - 1/2 lb
Swiss chard - 1 1/2 lb
Summer squash - 6
Sweet basil - 12 tips
Corn - 4 ears
Lettuce - 2 heads
Green onions - 5
Cucumber - 1
Parsley - 1 bunch
Cantaloupe - 1
Watermelon - 1

And the Menu:
Pizza - my dad makes this all the time, so consider it a house recipe. We'll basically follow the sauce from Moosewood (you might get extra sauce). We hope you'll enjoy this delicious treat!
Stuffed Swiss Chard Leaves - I found an attractive stuffing here. Yum!
Kale and Potato Soup - a classic from Laurel's Kitchen p. 160
Courgettes (Zucchini) with Garlic and Lemon - this light substitute for mashed potatoes is very tasty. From Boxing Clever p. 127
Dog Days Salad with lettuce, cucumber, and sliced zucchini
A taste of fresh sweet corn and a watermelon and cantaloupe.

Bring a big bag for this haul!
See you Friday...
Mary
Photos: 1. Jars of zucchini pickles all ready to go! 2. Cynthia dishing up the green beans, herbs, squash, and tomatoes 3. Last week's to do list with everything checked off!!!

Week Twelve: Halfway time

2009-08-20T12:12:00.006-04:00

Hard to believe we're roughly half way through the 2009 season, isn't it? In some ways it's difficult to imagine that we have so much more to go, and in others it seems like time is just flying. As usual at this time of year, we're having some staff-summer-vacation-combo issues, but I'm stoked about the two last-moment volunteers who will be joining us in the kitchen tomorrow. Let's hear it for Jason and Marissa! Yay! This month has actually seen a crazy assortment of great folks stepping into the kitchen, so I want to take this moment to thank everyone who's been working with us so far. Here goes: The Kitchen regulars: Michelle and Cynthia and Becky: these ladies never stop and give so much! Early season regulars: Blair and Eliza: we miss your company and thank you for your hard work and ideas. August guest chefs: Nell who helped with fritters and potato salad, Nitya the hard worker who brought us that Indian feast, Megan who gave us two great weeks, Jana who brought us so many tales from Grand Rapids (and did all the work for last week's oriental green beans and greens), and now Marissa and Jason. Also, we have our newest regular: Jake, who is a master dishwasher and carrot washer. In September we will be rejoined by Julie and Amanda, great cooks from last year. Hooray for the cooks!!!
It's been a good week out at the farm, as usual. We were busy despite the heat weeding and thinning the fall crops, especially the asian greens. We're always looking ahead at the farm, it seems! Anne also shared some delicious pickled zucchini with the apprentices.....guess what we'll be having this week.... Paul reports that it's looking like a good year for melons and we should be getting corn very soon.
This week's bountiful share:
Carrots - 1 lb
Tomatoes - 1 1/2 lbs
Hot peppers - 3
Cucumber - 2
Melon - 1
Greens - 1 lb
Sweet peppers - 3
Summer squash - 6
Choice: 1 lb green beans OR 2 baby heads of cabbage (we chose both!)
Sweet basil - 5 tips
Parsley - 1 bunch
Lime basil - 10 tips

Menu
Tabouli Everyone's favorite parsley vehicle since Anne told us to make the parsley bunches TWICE as big this week! From Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 104
Cabbage Salad with Thai-style Fresh Herb Dressing from From Asperagus to Zucchini p. 44
Prizewinner Green Beans with Tomatoes and Herbs from From Asperagus to Zucchini p. 23 This deceptively simple dish has indeed been a prizewinner with CFK members in the past.
August Soup Another delicious combination of all the vegetables we have on hand. From The Community Farm Cookbook 2001 edition p. 57
Zucchini Pickles - like Bread and Butter pickles, but with squash! from The Ball Blue Book of Canning p. 53
and, a special treat: Zucchini Bread needs no explanation. from The Community Farm Cookbook 1994 edition p. 71

We have our work cut out for us, it seems!
See you Friday.
peace
Mary
Photos: 1. Michelle shows off chard stained glass. 2. Know your hot peppers! 3. Nancy gathers her basil and parsley. 4. Nikki grabs a cucumber.

Week Eleven: Gazpacho Time!

2009-08-13T18:12:00.010-04:00

Sorry for the late-in-the-day post! It's been a busy week around the farm and the kitchen.
Tuesday was a fun day out at the farm because my dad joined us for a day of work. My family is a member of the farm independent of my work there, so my dad had to get his volunteer hours in just like any other member. He had so much fun picking tomatoes in the fields and gossiping about Montcalm county with Kristin (Montcalm is where Kristin grew up and where our family has had a second home for over ten years, so it was fun for them to swap stories). After a delicious farm lunch, my dad took off and the rest of us stayed around to transplant the last lettuce of the year, eat the first melon of the year, and begin thinning the napa cabbage. Truly, a season-straddling moment!
Wednesday was another great harvest day--a golden morning. However, the harvest is almost overwhelming. Cynthia and I were completely exhausted by the time we had loaded the car with 18 shares worth of veggies. Yikes! Way to go, Mother Earth.

And here it is:
Green Beans - 1 lb
Melon - 1
Potatoes - 2 lbs
Green onions - 5
Garlic - 1 bulb
Swiss chard - 1 1/2 lbs
Cucumbers - 3
Tomato - 1 lb
Carrots - 1 lb
Sweet peppers - 3
Lettuce - 2 heads
Hot peppers - 3
Summer squash - 6
Sweet basil - 7 tips
Parsley - 1 bunch
Dill - 1 bunch
Lime basil - 10 tips

This week's menu is:
Gazpacho - when the days are so hot, there's only one thing everyone wants to eat.... gazpacho, a chilled veggie soup! Seems like every cookbook I own has a version, so mine is some kind of combo (I actually made a comparative chart back in 2007 when I made gazpacho for a wedding shower). Mostly it's like the Moosewood version.
Zuccanoes - Stuffed Zucchini from Moosewood p. 120
Megan's Own Mashed Potatoes Supreme - Last week our newest cook Megan told me about her favorite way to make mashed potatoes...yummy!
Oriental Green Beans with Kale - tastiness from The Community Farm Cookbook p. 47
Zucchini and Swiss Chard Soup - a new recipe from this blog, I like anything that uses this combination of vegetables right now!!
The Livin' Is Easy Salad with lettuce and grated carrots
also, everyone will get a tomato and a melon and maybe one other special fresh item surprise!
See you tomorrow...!
Mary
Photos: 1. Megan stirring last week's Sambar 2. Dosa on the griddle, and everything on the stove in the background. 3. Mary and Cynthia working on packaging the Dosa 4. All that Raita in its tubs 5. Gorgeous potatoes and tomatoes in the sun. 6. Cynthia feels like Rosie the Riveter after loading the van. 7. Mary with lots of food

Week Ten: Nitya's Indian Feast!

2009-08-06T13:18:00.007-04:00

It's been another good week out at the farm. Irrigation made our weeding job on Tuesday a lot easier--they'd run the drip lines for a while which made the ground soft enough to pull out weeds. We were working on the basil and eggplants and peppers out in Heron, the field my co-worker Kristin likes to call Mordor. This is part of Kristin's involved Lord of the Rings analogy for the farm. Heron is the farthest field from the barn and usually baking hot, and the ground is often dry and hard and difficult to work with. Nonetheless, it grows some beautiful veggies, so it can't REALLY be like Mordor! Wednesday's harvest went well and we've got quite a bounty of good things once more.
Last week we had Nell Wiener join us as guest chef for her sister Eliza's last day of working with us. We had a really fun day together making the Arugula Potato salad and zucchini fritters. Nell reminded me that we made practically the same menu when she joined us last year (pictures). She told me she liked the potato salad so much she made it for herself afterwards and that she remembers that making this potato salad is what she was doing when she heard the news of the stock market collapse last fall--somehow "Economic Collapse potato salad" doesn't have the ring I was looking for with recipe names, though.
This week I'm excited to welcome Nitya Sethuraman as our guest chef! She's a member of the CFK and has been looking for an opportunity to teach me more Indian cooking. I'm very excited about the menu we have planned.

Here's the harvest:
Cabbage - 1 head
Garlic - 1 clove
Tomatoes - 1 box
Potatoes - 2 lbs
Carrots - 1 bunch
Swiss chard - 1 lb
Cucumber - 4
Sweet basil - 6 tips
Summer squash - 4
Lettuce - 2 heads
Hot peppers - 2
Lime basil - 5 tips
Sweet peppers - 2
Green onions - 5

Menu
the Indian part of the menu is
Sambar - a delicious combination of veggies, lentils, spices, and coconut
Raita - cucumber-yogurt-spice
Dosa - vegetables wrapped in thin pancakes=Indian burritos!

The Irish part of the menu is:
Colcannon - this dish is always a CFK hit--a traditional combination of potatoes and greens. Plus, there's a fantastic song about it!

As always, there will also be a lovely green salad (Dancing Along Salad) of lettuce and other tastiness and we'll be sending home a cucumber and a tomato. Yum!

peace
Mary
Photo explanations: 1. All (clean) hands on deck to mix last week's zucchini fritters 2. CFK ladies and guest chef Nell make the fritters. 3. Frittering away! 4. Mixing the gorgeous potato salad.

Week Nine: Deep summer rain

2009-07-30T11:37:00.010-04:00

I guess I've been saying this for weeks now, but I think summer has truly arrived in all its bounty. Plus, we got an INCH of rain at the farm on Tuesday night, which made the earth soft for digging carrots and made all the plants really perk up and start growing. With this and the heat, I think we're in great shape for the rest of the season.
In other wonderful news, we had a wonderful wedding at the farm on Sunday. Former farm apprentices Aura and Michael "picked" each other in a beautiful ceremony and celebration led by Anne and Paul. I worked with Aura and Michael for a few years and it was such a joy to be part of their special day and to celebrate their love for one another and for the farm. In the CFK this week we'll be making the same potato salad Cynthia and I brought to the wedding--yum yum. I guess it comes as no surprise that the farm is an idyllic setting for a wedding and reception, and it was fun to spend time with other farm apprentices and to meet Aura and Michael's families.
Tuesday and Wednesday were good work days out at the farm. Tuesday was spent harvesting parsley and tomatoes and working on weeding chores. Wednesday was so busy trying to bring in all the gorgeous crops--it took Rebecca all morning just to rinse the Swiss chard--2 lbs per share is a lot!
Here's the share:
Tomatoes - 1/2 lb
Lime basil - 12 tips
Summer squash - 4
Garlic - 1 bulb
Potatoes - 1 box
Swiss chard - 2 lbs
Cucumber - 2
Carrots - 1 bunch
Radish - 4
Lettuce - 3 heads
Parsley - 1 bunch
Arugula - 1 bunch
Green onions - 5

Menu:
Arugula and Potato Salad from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 11
Chard Cheese Bake from Laurel's Kitchen p. 192 (with Vegan option)
Lime Basil dressing - I just made this up to showcase this unique and delicious flavor. Goes well on radishes!
Roasted Carrots with Rosemary - I learned this simple recipe while working at Pendle Hill. Always a hit.
Oven Baked Zucchini Fritters - adapted from a few different places including this site. You all enjoyed those veggie burgers a few weeks ago; hopefully these will be just as tasty!
Oh Be Joyful! Salad with lettuce and spring onions
fresh cucumber and tomato
sliced radishes to be used for topping salad, spread with butter, or marinated in the lime basil dressing.

Phew! We'd better get busy...!
Mary

We're happy to welcome guest chef (and Eliza's sister) Nell to the kitchen this week. Last year around this same time we had help from her and it was great fun. Hooray!

Pictures: 1. Newly-weds Aura and Michael PICK each other! 2. Idyllic wedding at the farm 3. Becky stirs zucchini and onions for last week's pasta dish 4. Eliza preps radishes 4. We have a full car of veggies. Note that we re-use boxes from the Ypsi co-op...none of our vegetables come from California! 5. Colorful radishes and cukes ready for their dressing.

Week Eight: Buried Treasures

2009-07-23T12:33:00.005-04:00

What a lovely and much-needed rain shower we got in Ann Arbor this morning! I don't know how much rain they got at the farm, but let's hope it was plenty!
We did a lot of digging this week: potatoes, garlic, and carrots are all coming out of the ground like buried treasure. Digging for potatoes is a challenging but fun job--after forking through the dirt and removing the withered potato plant, you have to dig carefully all around to ensure that you've got all the potatoes. Each one emerges like leprechaun gold--a delightful treasure! The garlic is another job--you can tell where they are from the stalks, but it's a trick to loosen them with the fork without impaling them. I'm getting better at this all the time! The carrots were tough to get out of the dry ground, but we had a big crew to work on that on Wednesday and the carrots themselves are real rewards for our hard work.
We also did the last major planting of the year on Tuesday: broccoli for fall harvest will be settling into the fields well with this rain. The summer crops like tomatoes and peppers don't like the cool weather we've been having, but other crops like beans and carrots are thriving. Hopefully the heat will come soon to bring on our summertime treats.
This week's bountiful harvest is:
Green Beans - 1 lb
Potatoes - 1 box
Cucumber - 1
Tomatoes - 4
Radishes - 10
Greens - 1 lb
Carrots - 1 bunch
Summer squash - 4
Garlic - 1 bulb
Lettuce - 2 heads
Parsley - 1 bunch
Arugula - 1 bunch
Basil - 2 tips

Menu
Pasta with Summer squash, Arugula, and Herbs from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 13 This dish is so light and summer-y, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.
Spicy Green Beans from Laurel's Kitchen p. 181. This is a new one for me, but I love the sound of green beans with cloves and cinnamon. Should be tasty!
Carrot Soup from Laurel's Kitchen p. 159. Well, while we're in the cookbook, let's use this recipe which should show off our orange beauties
Radish Cucumber Salad I was puzzled about these until I found this recipe!
Chard and Zucchini with Almonds Another web find, I'll be doing my own adaptation from these two sources.
Beauty of the Rain Salad with lettuce and arugula and maybe some carrots and radishes.

That's the lot! See you Friday!
peace
Mary
Photos: 1. Megan, Ricardo, and Helen washing carrots 2. Luscious cucumbers 3. Colorful Pure July Soup from last week--yum!

Two Recipes by request

2009-07-23T09:54:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone! Regular weekly update will be coming later today, but by request I'm posting a couple of recipes.

Firstly, here is the Fava Bean Guacamole recipe that has become so famous around the farm community. It comes from The Boxing Clever Cookbook by Jaqui Jones and Joan Wilmot. This British cookbook is quite hard to get ahold of in this country, so I think it's worth posting the recipe. The title of the cookbook is a reference to Box Schemes, a British version of a CSA--this cookbook should allow you to do your box scheme cleverly. It's a bit obscure, but a great cookbook.

Fava Bean Guacamole (Mary's adaptation)
2 c shelled fava beans - take off the outer shell for sure, but it is up to you whether or not you want to take off the inner shell. I don't usually bother, but you certainly could.
1 bunch fresh cilantro or flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic (or some garlic scapes!)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 small onion (spring onions work well for this)
1 small hot pepper, fresh or dried. I also sometimes use a splash of hot sauce
Juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Steam or boil the fava beans until slightly cooked--this makes it much easier to remove the shells. Put garlic and onion into food processor and gradually add other ingredients to puree to a rough paste. Taste and adjust seasonings

Second is the Beet-and-Carrot Burgers that everyone has been raving about. This comes from Farmer John's Cookbook by Farmer John Peterson and Angelic Organics (subject of the recent film, The Real Dirt on Farmer John)
Beet and Carrot Burgers
1/2 c sesame seeds
1 c sunflower seeds
2 c grated beets
2 c grated carrots
1/2 c minced onion (I use the food processor to do all the grating and mincing)
2 eggs (we actually didn't use any eggs in the CFK burgers. Vegans might add extra flour or cornstarch for stickiness)
1 c cooked brown rice
1 c grated cheddar cheese (leave out for vegans--baking time will be slightly shorter)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c chopped parsley
3 T flour
2 T soy sauce
1 clove garlic
1/4 t cayenne pepper (this flavor doesn't come through until after the baking, so be cautious)

1. Toast the sesame seeds and the sunflower seeds in a dry cast iron skillet.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl

3. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Shape patties and arrange on baking tray (suggest using your hands!)

4. Bake at 350 degrees until brown around the edges and not squishy in the middle, about 30 minutes or more depending on size of patties. You can turn them over if you'd like, but I haven't done that.

Yum yum!
Mary
Picture shows me taking the outer shell off the fava beans and leaving the inner shell!

Week Seven: Summer's bounty

2009-07-16T14:26:00.007-04:00

We're looking at another great week here at the CFK with amazing vegetables simply pouring in from the farm. This is Blair's last week cooking with us, and we'll certainly be missing her and wishing her luck as she begins to work full time at the Greening of Detroit. We hope she'll be back as a pickling consultant later in the summer, though.

It's been a good week out at the Farm. We had a busy day on Tuesday harvesting green beans and parsley, weeding Brussels sprouts and carrots, and transplanting baby lettuce. The carrot weeding was tough because it's important not to disturb the plants too much in this hot, dry weather, so we had to leave some weeds in place--not very rewarding, actually! The Brussels sprouts job was much more satisfying. Wednesday was a very relaxed harvest day. We arrived early, but worked efficiently and finished all the harvesting quite early. But don't think this means we didn't get much food, because on the contrary it's a huge harvest.

Here we go:
Green beans - 1 lb
Carrots - 1 bunch
Radishes - 2
Basil - 2 tips
Tomatoes - the first two!
Swiss chard - 1/2 lb
Kale - 1/2 lb
Beets - 1 bunch
Garlic - 1 bulb
Cabbage - 1 head
Summer squash - 4 (!)
Arugula -1 bunch
Parsley - 1 bunch

I'm really excited about this week's menu:
Italian Zucchini Pie from Simply in Season p. 134. The cookbook claims that this is one of the best zucchini recipes ever, and after making it for dinner last night, I had to put it on the menu. Yum!
Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Beet Greens, Apples, and Raisins from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 69. This beautiful dish was a hit last year and I've been waiting to get some cabbage in this year to make it again.
Grated Raw Beet Salad from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 59 Another favorite from last year--tasty and unusual.
Pure July Soup from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 86 This soup recipe basically called for everything we have this week, so I have to make it, right? It looks really tasty, so I hope you'll enjoy it.
Spicy Crunchy Salad with Arugula and radishes and some grated carrots
We'll also be sending home the first taste of summer in the form of tomatoes and green beans for you to enjoy fresh. Mmmm.

See you Friday! Don't get stuck in Art Fair traffic!
peace
Mary

Photo explanations: 1. Beautiful radishes at distribution time in the barn. 2. Colorful beets, carrots, and parsley ready to be made into last week's beet-and-carrot burgers 3. My dinner table with Italian Zucchini Pie 4. Blair grating carrots in the trusty food processor.

Week Six: Rockstar Veggies!

2009-07-09T11:32:00.011-04:00

This week's vegetables are SO beautiful and glamorous--they can only be rockstars. Check out the pictures and see if you don't agree. :-)

It's good to be back, though I enjoyed my week's holiday very much. We had good sailing, though some days the weather was better suited to sitting inside reading, playing games, and making music. All of which are perfect vacation activities--I got a LOT of reading done. Ask me about The Wild Trees, a fascinating book about climbing redwoods--it's probably good that I didn't read this book BEFORE starting the CFK or I may have run away to California to go to grad school and study/climb tall trees instead! Other vacation adventures included kayaking when it wasn't windy enough for sailing, and capsizing my sister's sailboat on a VERY windy day.

Back at the farm, though, it's amazing how much changes in a single week. The mulberry tree is bearing now, and there are raspberries in the hedge-rows. Farmer Anne's brothers and sisters and parents are visiting for a family reunion, which adds to the party atmosphere. Her brother shared a delicious berry-topped pie with all the farm hands on Wednesday in honor of a family birthday. Yum! We got a lot of weeding done on Tuesday and had a relaxed harvest morning on Wednesday. It's good to be back.

This week's ROCKSTAR share
Summer squash - 3
Oriental Greens (arugula and mizuna) - 1 bunch
Swiss Chard - 1 1/2 lbs
Beets - 1 bunch
Carrots - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 2 heads
Green onions - 5
Parsley - 1 bunch

This week's menu - so, I'm super-excited about these recipes. I usually have four cooked dishes and a salad, but this week I decided to go for a larger quantity of each dish rather than doing an additional dish and having smaller quantities of each one. Let me know what you think about this change. I also like how Blair made the recipe titles bold, so I'm doing that too. :-)

Split Pea and Zucchini Soup from The Best-Ever Vegetarian Cookbook p. 30 This recipe's delicate flavor has made it popular in the past two CFK seasons.
Baked Beet-and-Carrot Burgers from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 60 This veggie burger recipe sounds incredible.
Mediterranean Summer Greens Sauce from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 86 Complete with olives and capers, this versatile sauce should be delicious.
Rockstar Salad with lettuce, green onions, arugula and mizuna, and grated carrots.

That's all for this week! See you Friday!
peace
Mary

Photos: 1. Carrots fresh from the ground. 2. Helen shows off the rockstar beets. 3. Mary sailing! 4. Bob the cat thinks the pie looks delicious. 5. Carrots! 6. Chard! 7. Swiss chard standing tall in the field.

Mary is out, carrots are in!

2009-07-01T21:50:00.002-04:00

Greetings CFK devotees and members, guest blogger Blair here. While Mary is off sailing the ocean blue, or rather, some lake in Canada, I'm stepping in to give you all your weekly CFK news. After Cynthia and Michelle, two cooking regulars, harvested your shares this afternoon, the three of us met up in the bowels of the anthroposophical society, a.k.a. the CFK kitchen, and planned your meals for the upcoming week. It seems the sunny days that precipitated all this gloom were kind to the community farm of Ann Arbor, for thick and crunchy lettuce heads, juicy swiss chard, beets, carrots, and even a few early zukes are all on offer in this weeks cornucopia. To get right to the point, this week's share consists of the following:

15 Garlic Scapes (no, it isn't your imagination, the numbers continue to climb)
choice of 1 Zucchini or 1 bunch of Kale (we chose both)
5 Green Onions
1 1/4 lbs Swiss Chard
1 bunch Arugula
1 bunch Parsley
2 heads Lettuce
1 bunch Beets
1 bunch Carrots

And what scrumptious dishes will we be creating in Mary's notable absence?
Fear not, for Mary left us well supplied not only with a fair share of kitchen wisdom, but also with an army of cookbooks and past recipes. We weeded through all of these sources and finally whittled down this week's menu to the following 5 dishes:

Shredded Beets and Greens Slaw with Mandarin Oranges (Michelle says this dish from Greens Glorious Greens was a huge success last year)
Garlic Scape Soup (a recipe from Supernatural cooking by Heidi Swason, we're thinking this creamy (vegan!) soup will show you once and for all that there is no end to the goodness and possibilities when it comes to garlic scapes)
White Bean and Carrot Hummos (We're using parsley and white beans to make this carrot spread into a CFK original)
Kale and Swiss Chard Sautée (Cynthia found this recipe in Green's Glorious Greens, and we're hoping that between the crunch and heat of hot peppers and chard stalks, you're going to be thinking twice about what's waste and what's good for eatin'.)
Castaway Salad: Arugula, lettuce, Green Onions, Toasted Almonds, and Strawberry Vinegarette (named in honor of Mary's vacation, we couldn't resist showcasing this spicy mustard green alongside the sweetness of green onions and strawberries.)

And that's just about everything that will be coming your way this Friday from the CFK. We're looking forward to cooking for you all, rest assured that your produce is in good hands!

Week Four: Heat Wave

2009-06-25T14:50:00.008-04:00

At the Membership Meeting on Saturday Anne told us that with the solstice (which was on Sunday) comes a change. High summer arrives and the hot nights ripen the summer crops as spring crops come to an end. We begin to seed and plant the fall crops. Well, with these hot days I'd say we're seeing that pattern! Work continued this week at the farm despite the heat. We workers tried to stay cool by dipping our arms and heads in buckets of water (cold water on the inside of the elbows can cool you down so quickly!). On Tuesday we planted Brussels sprouts and weeded chard and picked peas. On Wednesday I was glad to get the work done early in the day before the heat really kicked in. We harvested a great crop of fava beans as well as the first beets and carrots of the season. Everything at the farm is looking great, though the strawberry beds need weeding to ensure that they thrive for next year--call the farm to volunteer for that important task. While you're there you should check out the *awesome* work that got done on the leek beds--leek weeding is important because the leeks stay in the ground all season and get big so slowly it's hard for them to keep ahead of the weeds.
Also this week I've been enjoying reading a collection of essays, The Gift of Good Land by Wendell Berry. I'm not sure whether to be encouraged or discouraged that we're still facing many of the same problems 30 years after he wrote these essays. But he's a great writer and can really capture the nature of a situation, so I find his writing very interesting.
So, this week's BOUNTIFUL share--note the new summer-y crops!:
Sugar snap peas - 1 lb
Carrots - 1 bunch
Beets - 1 bunch
Garlic scapes - 26
Swiss chard - 1/2 lb
Green onions - 5
Parsley - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 2 heads
Fava beans - 1 lb

Menu
Fava bean Guacamole from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 102. After I made this unusual guac last year it has become the standard thing to make with fava beans at the farm--Anne even sent the recipe to the seed catalogue! I hope you enjoy it too.
Quick and Delicious Borscht from Greens, Glorious Greens p. 25 Another favorite from last year. This is more of a vegetable-soup-with-beets type of borscht.
Blair's famous Garlic Scape Pesto - Blair's own creation. Another yummy green spread!
Chard Chickpea Balti from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 47 This British interpretation of Pakistani food was popular last summer (read about what Balti is here)
Longest Day Salad with lettuce and maybe some grated carrots or something like that.

See you Friday!
Peace
Mary
Photos: 1. Mary picking up greens in the barn. (Photo by Nikki P.) 2. Blair and Mary planning the week's menu at Cafe Verde (photo by Michelle H.) 3. Mary's cookbooks at Cafe Verde (Photo by Michelle H.) 4. Farmer Paul and the bees (Photo by Nikki P.)

Week Three: Garlic and Mosquitoes

2009-06-18T11:32:00.006-04:00

What a busy week we've had. On Tuesday we had a great team out at the Farm, which was good because we had a lot of work to do. We spent the morning picking peas and then we transplanted ("dibbled") some lettuce for the green house. We also planted some gorgeous lettuce plants out in one of the fields. We'll be eating that in just a few weeks! Over lunch we got to hear stories from Vivian, a friend visiting from Spikenard Farm, where they have a bee sanctuary. Evidently it's important to plant things that will bloom in succession so that the bees always have food. Vivian describes Spikenard as an island in the middle of corn-and-soybean agriculture in Southern Illinois.
In the afternoon we had a big weeding project working on the summer squash. We eliminated QUITE a lot of galanzoga, a weed that is all over our farm, so that was exciting.
Wednesday started out in the pouring rain, which is unusual on a harvest morning in my experience. The rain let up after we finished harvesting the herbs, but we were out in the rain long enough to be wet down to the underwear! It was also pretty mosquito-y after the rain stopped, as Cynthia discovered when she was picking kale. This was our first week for harvesting the lovely garlic flowers or scapes. These unusual-looking veggies are one of the treats of spring. And they make great jewelry (follow links to pictures from last year's post). After a busy harvest morning and lunch and picking up the shares, the day ended with attending a concert by former farm apprentice Andrea. She was having a benefit to raise money for her recent knee-surgery. Not only was the music fabulous, but I saw many many CFK members, Farm members, and Farm workers there. It was definitely the place to be!

Sooo, this week's green green green share is:

Sugar snap peas - 1 1/2 lbs
Green onions - 10
Kale and Swiss Chard - 1 lb
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Garlic blossoms (scapes) - 18
Dill - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 4 heads

Menu
White Beans and Garlic Scape Dip from last year's NYT article about scapes
Chard with Sweet and Sour Ginger Sauce from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 88
Nitya's Veggies and Lentils - one of the members of the CFK has taught me to make this traditional dish from southern India. One of the ingredients is "Nitya's Mom's spice mix" so I know you'll like it. :-)
Dilly Green Goddess Dressing adapted from Laurel's Kitchen p. 133 - basically I'm planning to make some yogurt and throw herbs into the blender until we acheive deliciousness. Sound good? Vegans will get a vinaigrette.
Sabertooth Tiger Salad with lettuce, green onions, and maybe a few chopped up sugar snap peas
fresh lettuce
a big bag of sugar snap peas - who could ever have enough?

So, that's about it. I hope you're enjoying everything so far. We're looking forward to seeing you for pick up on Friday!
peace
Mary
Pictures: 1. Blair working on salads last Friday. 2. Eliza tub-ing up your Spinach Tarragon Soup 3. Ricardo, Helen, and Kristin picking strawberries last week (photo by Nikki P.) 4. Cynthia weighing out sugar snap peas.

Week Two: Sun and Rain

2009-06-11T18:18:00.003-04:00

Here we are at week two. The first week was amazing. In the kitchen, we kept busy all day long, but were mostly ready for everyone by the end of the day. CFK members managed to find their way to the pick up, so all went smoothly. The cooking team, Blair, Cynthia, Becky, and Eliza, worked really hard, but they are such good spirits. I'm excited about working with them this year. I hope you realize how much fun we have cooking your food!
It's been a good week at the Farm as well. CFK orientation on Saturday was really delightful--the weather was beautiful. On Tuesday we planted watermelon and cantaloupe. We had a LOT of beautiful seedlings and ended up planting MORE of these delicious summer treats than most years. I, for one, think this is a good thing. :-D Harvest day on Wednesday was a busy morning, but again good company made the work go smoothly. We finished a morning of bringing in greens with picking sugar snap peas, the candy of the farm. I hope you'll agree that they're a delicious snack just to crunch on--the hard part is stopping! This week we have the last of the spinach crop and the beginning of the Swiss chard. Seems like spring is ending--seasons change so quickly around here--or maybe they just shade gradually from one to another. We got FOUR more heads of lettuce each this week--I love how crisp and delicious it is...
Sorry about the lack of pics--I forgot my camera. I'll try to remember next time.

This week's share:
Sugar Snap Peas - 1 lb
Swiss Chard - 1/2 lb
Green onions - 10
Spinach - 1 lb
Dill - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Lettuce - 4 heads

Menu
Veggie Burrito Bake from Simply in Season p.64 with tortillas from the Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory
Creamy Spinach and Tarragon Soup from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 85 - this is a new raw foods recipe, but it's got good ingredients and I'm sure it'll be delicious.
Dill Pesto from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 260 - traditional for the CFK at this time of year :-)
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette from From Asparagus to Zucchini p. 63- probably the most delicious salad dressing we made last year. With all this lettuce we need to give you some salad dressing, right?
Fresh sugar snap peas - will you make it home before you eat them all?
"Strike a Chord!" Salad with lettuce and green onions
Washed lettuce

See you Friday!
peace
Mary

Week One: Best Spinach Harvest Ever!

2009-06-03T17:00:00.008-04:00

Hello and welcome (back) to the CFK Season for 2009! I am so excited to be getting started. In addition to keeping these weekly posts about what's happening at the farm, complete with shares and recipes, I also am going to be updating my twitter feed on a daily basis, and sometimes more often. So, if you want to follow along with the food, visit http://www.twitter.com/commfarmkitchen You don't have to be a member of Twitter to follow the posts, but they also appear on the left upper side of THIS blog page! Woo.

This has been a great week at the farm. Last weekend 3rd graders from the Rudolf Steiner School came to the farm for an overnight field trip, and their energy really helped kick off the harvest season with Saturday's first harvest.

Rain early in the week led to a late start on Tuesday, but we spent a good afternoon planting lettuce, picking strawberries, and tidying up for Wednesday's harvest. Today we all arrived bright and early and ready to go. We spent the morning picking MASSIVE quantities of spinach and green onions. Then we bunched some herbs and got everything ready for the harvest. It was a beautiful, relaxed way to start our season.

This week's FULL share was:
Green onion - 6
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Dill - 1 bunch
Sage flowers - 1 sprig
Spearmint - 1 bunch
Spinach - 3 lbs
Lettuce - 4 heads (!!)
Strawberries - just a pint

Our first CFK menu will consist of:
Spinach Mushroom Green Onion Quiche from Simply in Season p. 60 --I got the mushrooms in a barter from Michigan Mushrooms at the Farmer's Market last week! They gave me a HUGE bag of mushrooms in exchange for my granola. I think it was a good deal :-)
For those who need it there will also be Vegan Quiche - tofu-based deliciousness!

Katharina's Spinach Sauce - a perennial CFK favorite, I learned this pasta sauce recipe from my friend Katharina (read about her biodynamic training in the previous post). It's deceptively simple and yet incredibly tasty.

Cilantro Hummus - I'll be doing a variation on the Pendle Hill Hummus recipe. There are a lot of funny stories about making this hummus last year, but we don't need to talk about how the chickpeas made a mess all over the kitchen now, do we?

Tamarind-Mint Dressing - A new recipe I found here, this sounds perfect for grilled vegetables and other grilled items...

Scrumptious Spring Salad - lettuce, green onions, sage blossoms, yum!

Lettuce for your salad and sandwich pleasure.

Strawberries - a tiny taste of heaven

Enjoy! See you Friday, and don't forget our orientation--Saturday at 10 am.
peace
Mary

Photos: 1. Chalkboard in the distribution area at the farm. 2. Green onions - yay! 3. Sage flowers - pretty 4. Farmer Paul sets out lettuce 5. Cynthia shows that our car is full of greens.

Shares still available for 2009!

2009-05-12T08:18:00.006-04:00

Hello all! I've been owing you a post for ages. The most important thing going on is that there are still shares available in the Community Farm and the Community Farm Kitchen for 2009. Field work is well under way at the farm and we're seeing some of the best germination in spinach and beets that we've seen for a while, so it looks like it'll be a great season. All that's needed is YOU!
For more information on pricing, please visit http://www.communityfarmkitchen.com/join/ . To join, email me at info(at)communityfarmkitchen(dot)com. I'm always happy to answer questions about the CFAA and the CFK. One of the best ways to figure out what the CFK season is like is to read the archives on this blog that describe the shares, menu, harvests, and adventures of the past two seasons. Please tell your friends!

Back in March, before I started work out at the farm, I took a journey. First I went to Boston, where I got to attend the wedding of Julia Wise and Jeff Kaufman. As many readers will remember, Julia came out to Michigan in the summer of 2007 to help me launch the CFK. I can definitely say that we would not be where we are today if it hadn't been for her help and hard work that first year. Julia spent the summer checking the mailbox for letters from Jeff (who actually wrote her faithfully but almost never got around to posting the letters!) and washing lettuce with me in the kitchen. We listened to a LOT of Woodie Guthrie music, sang songs, and made a quilt. Jeff and Julia's wedding was beautiful--simple and elegant and full of music, good food, and dancing. Julia and Jeff both come from families of keen folk dancers and they invited most of the members of the Swarthmore Folk Dance Club to the wedding. Julia and Jeff now live in Boston where she works for Oxfam. I hear that they've recently adopted a kitten. Picture: Anna and Garrett Cole, Jeff Kaufman, Julia Wise, and Mary at the wedding.

My journey also took me over to the UK where I got to meet my new baby nephew who lives in London with his family. I also got to visit Emerson College in Sussex, where my friend Katharina has been studying biodynamic agriculture for the past year and a half. Katharina and I met when we were working together at a biodynamic dairy farm in Wales back in 2007. She taught me to make Katharina's Green Sauce, which is a perennial favorite here at the CFK--should be especially good this year with all this nice spinach that's coming up at the farm. At Emerson I got to attend Katharina's graduation. Her biodynamics class was small, but everyone in it was extremely interesting and smart. As part of the graduation ceremony I got to hear a little about each person and what his or her future plans are. Talk about recession-proof jobs: Katharina and her classmates all have job offers! I guess good biodynamic farmers are in high demand. :-) Katharina herself will be living in a cob house and working on a micro dairy in Oxfordshire. Picture: Katharina (second from L) and BD classmates singing at their graduation.

Finally, as many of you already know, the CFK Bakery has been a hit at the Farmer's Market. We were there on Saturdays during April and will be there on Wednesdays this week and for the rest of May. I sell Pendle Hill Brown Bread, a dense, flavorful, moist bread suitable for toast and sandwiches; Crunchy Granola (both sweetened and unsweetened); and several kinds of muffins: bran, chocolate, and vegan chai tea muffins. This week I've also got rhubarb muffins--yum! I hope you'll stop by and say hi sometime. The plan is for the Bakery to take a break when the CFK season starts in June and to return in the late fall. Picture: Mary and Becky and the CFK stand at the Farmer's Market.

I guess that's about all for my news. I look forward to seeing many CFK friends as the season gets going.
peace,
Mary