• Farm News - The first CSA harvest of the 2019 season has arrived!
• Recipe: Beans and Greens (and a note on garlic scallions)
• What's the buzz about the winter storage shares?
• Farm events - Saturday June 15 farm walk, and mark your calendar for the garlic harvest work party!
• Family Farm 4-H club plant sale, Thursday 6/13 at the farm from 4:00 to 6:00 PM
• U-pick, and this week's share 

Farm News

We’re harvesting! Since we started planting for this season in early April, we’ve been facing the wettest spring we can remember. Until last week, it was quite unusual to have 48 hours without any rain. And that didn’t make for easy farming … even for your seasoned CSA farmers!
 
But we diligently worked away on our planting schedule – rushing between storms to get the crops in the ground. With the warm weather of the last week, we now bring you the first harvest of the season!
 
Some things changed on the farm over the winter. We built a new walk-in cooler as we outgrew the original one. To make more space in our produce barn, we added a shop and equipment storage shed to the equipment barn. It should make for a more efficient harvest-packing-distribution routine. We’ll know more in the next few weeks.
 
The farm also received a USDA EQIP grant to build two, 21’ by 96’ high tunnels. We hope to start building those in the fall, for use in the 2020 growing season. With the erratic weather patterns, it cannot hurt to have some more covered growing space. 
 
While talking about the environment, the Fox Creek valley should be home to a pair of bald eagles. We’ve been seeing them soar over the farm at least once a week: an impressive sight!
 
To our new CSA members: thank you for your support of our farm, and welcome to the adventures of eating seasonal produce. And to our long-time members: welcome back!
 
In this new format newsletter, you'll find recipes, a ‘mark your calendar’ for on-farm events we organize for our CSA members, an invitation to visit your farm (and some of our farm visit rules), our harvest & U-pick news.

Enjoy this week’s share,

Your farmers,

Raymond and Sara

Recipe: Beans and Greens (and a note on garlic scallions)

This early in the season, you'll find mostly frost tolerant crops in your share. Eat them raw in a salad, or give this old-time favorite a try: beans and greens.

A meal in itself served with bread or over pasta.
 
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, mince
Or replace the onion and clove of garlic with a chopped bunch of garlic scallions!
1 Tsp flower
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, or water
1 lb. or more greens (pac choi, spinach, kale, Swiss chard, etc., or a combination of these)
2 cups cooked beans (cannellini, black-eyed peas, butter, etc.)
1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
 
Sauté onion and garlic in oil for about 5 minutes. Add flower to make a roux to thicken the final sauce. Add broth, greens and beans. Simmer until greens are tender and the sauce has thickened. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with grated cheese if desired. (Serves 4).

A note on GARLIC SCALLIONS: If you are new to our CSA, you may be unfamiliar with garlic scallions. They are immature garlic shoots, which you can use either as scallions with a garlic flavor, or as you would use a clove of garlic (substitute one finely minced garlic scallion for 1-2 cloves).