CSA week 2

onions, newly weeded

We hope you all enjoyed the first week's share. The first couple weeks of the CSA its always a challenge for us to provide an interesting and varied share there are always lots of greens, which we feel ok about knowing that they are so incredibly healthy. But they are not the most interesting shares.

We apologize to those who missed the reminder about this past week being the first week of pickup. It was embedded in the announcement about the May 23rd CSA workday. We should have additionally sent it in a separate e-mail, sorry for those who were caught unaware, mostly Thursday's folks.

I see the forecast for tonight is calling for thunderstorms with a chance of hail and it seems like a great time, since it is early in the season to talk about the risk of CSA. In joining a CSA consumers are helping to farmer in buying a share in the bounty of the farm, but they are also buying into the risk of the season. In our previous six years of doing CSA we have never experienced a catastrophic loss leading to a major shortage of produce for the CSA shares, but it is always a possibility tickling at the edge of our minds that such an event could happen. The two most likely scenarios for a major loss seem to be represented by hailstorms and severe drought (though our pond would provide water for quite a long period of drought, in a severe drought, we would eventually run out of irrigation water.)

Each year we experience a certain amount of small scale loss, just this spring so far we have lost a bed of spinach, a bed of spicy greens mix, a bed of turnips and kohlrabi, most of a radish planting, a bed of beets, a bed of beans, a bed of peas, 2 1/2 beds of cauliflower, and perhaps we will lose all 4 beds of broccoli (the jury is still out on that one). Additionally the spinach in your share this and last week has experienced a major infestation of leaf miners, a small insect that burrows (or mines) between the layers of the spinach (and chard and beet leaves) and we have had to pick off half the leaves of each spinach plant due to the damage done by those small critters, so we have lost half of our spinach productivity. We also lost many transplants due to mouse activity which reduced our anticipated plantings a little.

The beauty of running a diversified farm is that in general, losses like these while frustrating, will generally not result in dramatic lessening in the share that you take home with you. We generally grow enough of a diversity of things that even several losses like those will not affect our ability to deliver a share that is tasty and still interesting to your table.

But with a catastrophic loss like a hailstorm could produce, the possibility exists that there would be not produce for several weeks as we replanted and waited to see what things would be able to out grow the hail damage. we know plenty of farmers who have been the recipients of hail storms and can't help but think that some day, we will be as well.

I have done lots of thinking about this possibility and it strikes panic in my heart. I wonder if we would attempt to cover and protect fragile items with the row covers that we use to protect from cold and insects. The problems are that there is not that much notice before a thunderstorm in which to prepare, maybe 45 minutes, but not much more. And while, if the hail was small, row covers may save a crop, if the hail is large it could destroy both the row cover and the crop costing us even more money in replacing our row covers as well. Then there is the worry about at what size hail will destroy the plastic on a green house and suddenly you can see what causes a farmer to lose sleep at night!

At any rate, we hope that 2009 is another year of bullet dodging and that we will continue providing produce to feed you and that even small losses are kept down to the bare minimum.

Things you may see in this weeks share
radishes
bok choi
carrots
spinach
lettuce heads
lettuce mix
beet greens

Bok Choi stir fry:
Bok choi is excellent stir fried. Here is my favorite way to prepare it.
Slice onion, sauté in skillet on medium until translucent. Meanwhile slice bok choi into bite sized pieces, keep leaves on one end of cutting board and stems on the other. When onions are clear (or close) add bok choi stem pieces, cook for 5-7 minutes until getting softish. Add leaves, cook for 1 or two minutes. Add soy sauce and serve over rice or noodles.

Velvety Carrot and Ginger Soup: from the Candle Café Cookbook

1 T olive oil
3 medium onions
5 C low sodium veggie broth
6 large carrots, diced
3 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t. ground coriander
Pinch of cayenne
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup tofu-cilantro sour cream for garnish
½ cup minced chives for garnish

In a stock pot, heat the oil, saute onions for 5 minutes, until softened.

Add broth 1 cup of water, carrots, and 2 T of ginger. Bring to boil, the simmer for about 20 minutes, until carrots are tender.

Let cool for an hour and then blend the soup with rest of ginger, cinnamon, and coriander until very smooth, thin with water or broth to desired consistency. Season with cayenne, salt and pepper.

Reheat to serve warm, also can be served cold. Garnish with tofu-cilantro sour cream and chives if desired. Is tasty without, if you don’t have the ingredients!

Tofu-cilantro sour cream for garnish:
2 t agar--agar powder
4 T fresh lemon juice
2 T fresh lime juice
1 lb. Firm tofu
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T safflower oil
¼ c chopped cilantro
1 ½ t salt
¼ t cayenne
½ t minced garlic

Dissolve agar in lemon and lime juice. Blanch tofu for 5 min and drain, allow to cool for 20 min. crumble tofu and transfer to blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth. Will keep in fridge, covered for 3 days.


Don't forget to mark you calendar for the next CSA event, June 28th 3 PM.
have a great week! liz and matthew