Week three: the rain forest

Forgot my camera again this week, sad to tell. To cheer you up, however, I've added a book widget to the blog so you can look at the cook books I use and my other favorite food-related books. If you click the covers it will link you to Amazon, but I'd encourage you to also look for these books at local bookstores. I know you can get Simply in Season from Ten Thousand Villages, for example.
It's been a good week out at the farm. On Monday my dear friend Craig and his partner Megan came out to visit the farm and wound up getting roped in to help with weeding the winter squash. It was a pleasure to work in the field with them and many other guests and visitors who joined us through the day. This will probably be the last time we weed the winter squash--soon they'll overrun the field and shade out the weeds for the rest of the summer. Wednesday was a good harvest morning, though cool. We only got rained on a little bit, which was nice. The farm needs the rain and it's interesting to note that it's not always raining at the farm when it's raining in Ann Arbor. This week the farmers will probably cut hay and a few days later we'll be looking for help bringing it in--incredibly hard work--hot, sweaty, dusty, heavy--but worth it! I'll try to remember my camera that day too!
Here's this week's harvest share:
Peas - 1 lb
Beets - 3
Green onions - 7
Greens (Kale, Collards, and Chard) - 3/4 lb
Cilantro - 1 little bunch
Parsley - 1 little bunch
Lettuce - 3 heads
Garlic flowers - 15 (check out the linked NYT article!)

and the menu:
Shredded beets and greens with sliced oranges from Greens Glorious Greens p. 26. The cookbook authors point out that "According to medical sources, if you include a source of vitamin C (oranges) with your iron-rich food (beet greens) you will increase the amount of iron your body can absorb." So, be ready to feel strong and healthy!

Kale and Chard and Chickpea Balti (follow the link to find out more about what a Balti is) from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 47

Scallion and Ginger Fried Rice from Farmer John's Cookbook p. 126

Broad bean Guacamole from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 102 -- we didn't have enough favas last week to make this, but Cynthia heroically picked some for us on Wednesday and we should have enough for at least a sample all round. Ok?

Michigan Rainforest salad -- lettuce with sugar snap peas

Sugar snap peas (even more sweet and delicious than last week)

Hope you're all enjoying everything!
See you Friday.
Mary

Week Two: Here, have some green stuff!

Hello all!
Here we are at week two. I hope everyone enjoyed the first week's harvest. This morning in the fields was much cooler than last week, but it made for a refreshing change, actually. There was much less urgency about getting everything in out of the sun. We had a lovely time picking spring onions, dill, cilantro, and all the other things in this week's harvest. The sugar snap peas are especially fun to pick, though you have to resist the temptation to eat them all up, they're so good! After harvest we had time to take a crew of workers into the Swiss chard weeding project--so much more pleasant this week than it was last week when we were basically cooking in the sun.
The title of this blog posting comes from about this time last year when I was ably assisted in the kitchen by my dear friend Julia. We worked very hard and every week there was some phrase that came up during cooking that struck us as utterly hilarious. One week early on we finished the cooking and had a look at what we'd made for the members and Julia said, "We've just made a whole lot of little tubs of green paste. We should tell everyone 'Here, have some green stuff!'". I think we've come around to that time again with this week's menu!

This week's share:
Sugar Snap peas - 1 lb
Beets - 3
Kale/Collards - 1/2 lb
Dill - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Fava beans - 7 (Known in Britain as Broad beans, Favas are the only variety of beans native to the Old World and therefore the only kind of beans Europeans had pre-contact with the Americas! Hooray for a Liberal Arts education.)
Lettuce - 4 small heads Paul tells me this lettuce is a very old heirloom variety, but I don't remember the name.
Green onions - 10
Garlic flowers (scapes) - 13 - Garlic flowers are very cool looking and make great jewelry (see photos!). We pick the flowers so the plant will send its energy into making the bulb that we'll harvest later. In the mean time, ground garlic flowers are used just like garlic in recipes. Yum.


This week's menu:
Dill Pesto from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd p. 26o
Broad Bean Guacamole from The Boxing Clever Cookbook p. 102 (This British cookbook's title refers to "box scheme", another name for a CSA-type program)
Quick and Delicious Borscht from Greens Glorious Greens p. 25
Dill-flavored Kale from Greens Glorious Greens p. 24
Cilantro-lime vinaigrette from From Asperagus to Zucchini p. 63
Longest Day Salad with lettuce and green onions

Fresh lettuce

Fresh sugar snap peas

Week One: What Bounty!!

Well, despite my good intentions I didn't remember to take my camera out to the farm this morning. Which is a shame as there were many beautiful and entertaining moments harvesting with CFK workers Nora and Cynthia and Farm apprentices Rebecca, Kristin, Nancy, and Angela, as well as farmers Anne and Paul and many member volunteers. Highlights include picking and counting 80 bunches each of dill and cilantro (it's always a trick to hit the count exactly on when you've got 6 people picking at once and trying to have conversations rather than count all the time, but we did it!) and picking strawberries while managing not to stand on any plants or berries (it's a bit like the game Twister--the strawberry version!). It was also great to see all the new members out at the farm just finding their way as well as seeing old friends, like Mark who was a CFK member last year and who has graduated to cooking his share for himself! Finally, after a relaxing lunch in the shade, we loaded up all 14 CFK shares (it was a squeeze in the Prius with three people... it's a real shame I didn't have my camera) and came back to Ann Arbor.

Here's what the share was this week for a whole share:
Strawberries - 3 pts (!)
Sage plants for your garden - 2
Kale /Collards - 1/4 lb
Beets - 3
Spinach - 2 lb
Green Onions - 10
Lettuce - 4 heads
Dill - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch

This week's kick-off CFK Menu will be:

Grated Raw Beets with fresh dill and mustard vinaigrette from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables p. 59 -- this is a great marinated beet topping for lettuce salad.

Katharina's Green Sauce for pasta -- house recipe (a perennial favorite I learned from my dear friend Katharina while I was working in Wales in the winter of 2007. Simple yet delicious.)

Veggie Burrito Bake from Simply in Season p. 64 -- featuring tortillas from the Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory along with kale/collards, beet greens, and spinach!

Cilantro Hummus -- variation on the Pendle Hill hummus recipe

Sprightly Salad with lettuce and green onions

Washed lettuce for your salad pleasure

Fresh Strawberries

Looking forward to seeing y'all on Friday!
peace,
Mary

Welcome to the Community Farm Kitchen!

Welcome! This blog is a space where we hope to foster a community and develop a connection to the Farm itself. During the harvest season, each week we'll post the harvest share and the menu plan so you can see what's happening in the kitchen. You can see last year's harvest and menus by clicking on the monthly archives on the left of this post, which will give you a general idea of the kind of harvest and menus we expect this year.
We also welcome members to use the comments feature to post feedback about the menus including what you liked and what you didn't like, serving suggestions, and other thoughts and ideas. This year we're also hoping to post more pictures from the farm and the kitchen as well as writing more descriptions of what we do in our work, especially out at the farm, so you can feel more connected to this wonderful food. Welcome aboard!

The weather has been a bit chilly this week, but out at the farm you can tell that summer is coming. It's a busy time at the farm these days as we prepare for the harvest season to begin. We spent a lot of time last week weeding and thinning the beets, and I'm excited to see that they seem to be coming along well. Perhaps we'll be seeing borscht on the menu in a few weeks' time! Yesterday was bright, cool, and windy. We seeded the winter squash: the field is bare and newly ploughed and it's hard to imagine that later in the season it will become an impenetrable jungle of vines and blossoms and that these small seeds will produce fruit weighing as much as 30 pounds (in the case of the Blue Hubbards). After lunch the farm workers talked about philosophy and politics and our favorite parsley recipes as we planted parsley from the green house. The green house and the cold frames are full of seedlings waiting to be planted out in the fields. Everything is growing and thriving. Life is good.

Winter Squash!!

Well, I reckon most of you now have more winter squash than you know what to do with, so I invite everyone to share their favorite squash recipe so that everyone can get some ideas. Feel free to post your recipe using the "comments" link or email it to me and I'll post it. To start off, here's a nice recipe from Laurie. Also, do check out http://www.recipesource.com/ for a nice, search-able recipe archive.
peace,
Mary

Butternut Squash Risotto
This recipe is for 2-4 servings.

1-2 cups arborio rice (and a small amount of oil or butter)
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 bunch fresh chopped sage
1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tablespoons butter
1 squash, peeled and sliced
garnish rice with Parmesan cheese - 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Try it with 1/2 cup first.

Put sliced squash on cookie sheet - salt & pepper it.
In frying pan, melt butter until it browns.
Put sage in butter and saute for a couple minutes.
Add balsamic vinegar and molasses.
Drizzle sage mixture over squash.
Put squash in oven to soften for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
Puree squash. It can now freeze or refrigerate it. It will keep in the fridge for about 1 week.

Risotto: Saute onion in oil or butter in bottom of 2-3 quart pan.
Add rice. Add small amount of stock, stirring until creamy.
Keep adding small amounts of stock and stirring, for about 30 minutes.
Stir in pureed squash. Stir in parmesan cheese.

Grand Finale Menu

Menu may be subject to change....

Sauerkraut from From Asparagus to Zucchini p. 45
Kim Chee from http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/korean/00/rec0010.html
White Bean Soup with Kale from Greens, Glorious Greens! p. 172
Nutty Pumpkin Bread from Simply in Season p. 178
Tabouli from Moosewood, p. 42
Cabbage with pasta from The Best Ever Vegetarian Cookbook p. 176
Freezer Slaw from The Ball Blue Book p. 93
Katharina's Senposia Sauce (house recipe)
Leek-Root soup adapted from The Community Farm Cookbook 2nd Edition p. 53
Bok Choi Saute from From Asparagus to Zucchini p. 31
Gingery Squash Bisque from Simply in Season p. 185
Squash Malagushim from Laurel's Kitchen p. 220
Green Salad with Arugula, Tatsoi, Mitzuna, and radish
Frozen Kale
Garlic in Oil
Dried Hot Peppers
Dried Summer Savory
Cauliflower to freeze
Parsley cubes
Fresh Brussels Sprouts
Squash!

phew!
See you Friday,
Mary

Grand Finale Harvest!

Hello everyone!

I'm quite tired after a long day out at the farm, but there is so much bounty to share. It was a joy to see several of you out at the farm enjoying the beauty of the day and the warm spirit of Grand Finale!
For our final pick up each share received...

Leeks - 6
China Rose Radish - 2
Small head cabbage - 1
Rutabaga - 1
Large head cabbage - 1
Turnips - 4
Daikon radish - 2
Garlic - 1 bunch of 10
Cauliflower - 1 box
Kale - 3 plants
Collards - 2 plants
Parsley - 2 plants
Arugula - 1 bunch
Tatsoi - 1 bunch
Mitzuna - 1 bunch
Senposia - 1 bunch
Pac Choi - 2
Napa Cabbage - 1
Brussels Sprouts - 3 stalks
Tiny acorn squash - 1
Big Acorn Squash - 5
Butternut squash - 7
Japanese Pumpkins - 1 big; 1 small
Long Pie Pumpkin - 1
Big Pie Pumpkin - 1
Great Blue Hubbard - 1

Phew! The menu plan will be posted sometime after tomorrow's meeting. Looking forward to seeing many of you there. Many thanks to Dorie and Mark and Laurie for help with collecting the shares and to Kate Carlisle for helping with the cooking this week. It's going to be epic!
peace,
Mary