Clagett Farm

This Week's Share: Bulb Onions, Carrots, Greens and More

(Photo above from CSA member Euodia)

Before we post the details of this week's share, a housekeeping note:

There is No Share Next Week

As we posted last week, there will be no share on Saturday, July 2, and Tuesday, July 5.  We have a "skip" week once each season, and thought that this would be the best time to skip since so many members will likely be out of town. 

The regular share schedule will resume on Saturday, July 9. We'll post an update to the blog a few days beforehand with the details.

So if your'e a Tuesday share pick-up, the next share after today is July 12. If you're a Saturday pick-up, your next share is Saturday, July 9. If that is confusing or if there are any questions, you can leave a comment here or email me. 

And with that, here are the details of this week's share:

• 1 head of garlic
• 1/2 pound carrots
• 1/2 pound green beans or 1 zucchini
• 1 pound combination rainbow chard OR collards OR turnips OR mustard greens
• 3/4 pound bunching onions OR bulb onions
• 1/2 pound combination lettuce, cucumbers, basil, sugar snap peas or kale

On U-Pick this week:

• Herbs: There is a large variety, including basil, mint, oregano, sorrel, lemon balm, thyme, lavender, sage and others.
• Swiss chard, kale and collards. There aren't great quantities of these items but they're available. You can't drive to the field and it will be a muddy walk, but they're available. Wear sturdy shoes!
• Lettuce. It's a bit bitter and it's best to pick it in the a.m.
• Mulberries are almost gone but still around. We suggest putting a sheet underneath the trees and shaking the tree to harvest them! Here are some ideas of what to do with them.
• Flowers: Any flowers on the farm are yours for picking.

A preview of next week.

There will be no share next week, per the note above. When the season resumes, you can expect to see a radically different share -- more beans, more garlic, more squash, more cucumbers and we'll be on our way toward tomatoes.

If you have any questions, let me know!

-- Clay

Recipes for This Week: Zucchini, Chinese Cabbage and Kale

(This photo from TheAbsentMindedProf on Flickr)

Got a recipe you'd like to recommend to other CSA Members? Shoot it in an email to me and I'll include it in the next recipe round-up!

Zucchini

With 6 pounds of zucchini in this week's share (or if you happened to be doubling up this week 12 pounds of zucchini!), many of you are no doubt looking for some new ideas for how to use it.

Last season, we featured quite a few Zucchini recipes here on the blog. You can see those here.

And here are few more new ideas -- we'll continue to share more as the summer rolls out.

The April issue of Food & Wine featured a Fried-Zucchini Spaghetti that looked great.  I'm eager to try it with our zucchini from this week's share.

In the comments of yesterday's post, Rebecca shared that she's eager to try these two recipes from her favorite blog: Baked Zucchini Fries and Zucchini Cheese Quiche. 

Chinese Cabbage

Lots of us either got Chinese cabbage this week or have some left over from previous weeks. Maria sent in thsi recipe for Sesame Noodles with Cabbage that she had tried and thought was great.

This Week's Share: Zucchini, Cucumbers, and More

(Photo from CSA Member Ericka Kranz)

Some much needed rain fell on the farm over the last few days -- we got an inch and a quarter!

Here are the details of this week's share:

• 1/2 pound carrots
• 6 pounds total zucchini + Chinese cabbage
• 3/4 pounds bunching onions
• 1/4 total combination of sugar snap peas (pods are edible!), pickling cucumbers, basil, arugula, popcorn or Asian mustard greens (spicy mix, etc.)
• 1 pound total combination Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, bok choy, collard greens, turnips or kohlrabi. 
• 1 head garlic

On U-Pick this week:

• Herbs: There is a large variety, including mint, oregano, sorrel, lemon balm, thyme, lavender, sage and others. There is a lot of basil if you're interested in making pesto!
• Swiss chard
• Kale and Collards. You can't drive to the field and it will be a muddy walk, but they're available. Wear sturdy shoes!
•  Mulberries are still available but are starting to decline. We suggest putting a sheet underneath the trees and shaking the tree to harvest them! Here are some ideas of what to do with them.
• Wild black raspberries are prevalant, growing wildly on the farm.
• Flowers: Any flowers on the farm are yours for picking.

A preview of next week.

Here are some thoughts about next week's share:

• We'll have beans next week.
• Bulb onions will also be offered next week.
• There will also be more carrots and more zucchini for sure, likely more bunching onions and peas. There will be more cucumbers. There may not be any more Chinese cabbage (tbd). The lettuce may be too bitter, we'll see how it fares. Kale and collards may be u-pick only next week. We're uncertain about turnips and kohlrabi -- it depends on how they perform this week.

Mark Your Calendars: Skip Week!

We typically have a skip week once each season. We plan to skip the July 4th weekend, so the shares on Saturday the 2nd and Tuesday the 5th will not happen. We'll give a larger update on that within the week.

If you have any questions, let me know!

-- Clay

 

Now Certified Organic!

For years now we've been following organic guidelines on the vegetable operation.  But only just now are we officially, legally, certified organic. Thanks to Carole Grunberg, an outstanding volunteer and CSA member, for paying the hefty application fee, completing the application, drawing the maps, re-drawing the maps, re-doing the application, calling the certifier at least a dozen times and pestering him by e-mail.  I'm sure if she knew what she was getting into, she never would have accepted the challenge.  But we're glad she did! 

This won't change our CSA share prices, so it's not clear that we benefit financially from becoming certified.  But it's nice to know we're legitimate, and if we decide to sell any of our produce to restaurants or grocery stores outside the regular CSA season, our organic certification will allow us to charge a higher price.   

Only the vegetable operation is certified.  To certify the beef, we would have to start using only untreated fenceposts.  Locust posts and recycled plastic posts are permitted and wouldn't rot, but they are too expensive, and it's too time consuming to find and cut our own locust trees.  So we have decided to continue using treated posts and not try to certify the pastures.  

If you have comments, feel free to post them on this blog.  We're curious to hear your opinions.

Thank you, Carole!

-Carrie  

This Week's Share: Fresh Garlic, Onions and Greens

Photo above from CSA member Euodia J

Here are the details of this week's share. The amounts are smaller than we had hoped because the farm hasn't received any rain. We're irrigating the crops that we can, but everything would benefit from a good downpour. Fingers crossed for rain later this week!

With that, here's what you'll find in this week's share:

• 2 heads of garlic

• 1/2 pound of onions (some bunching onions and some cipollini onions)

• 1/4 total combo lettuce + radish + sugar snaps + greens for salad (like arugula, spicy mix, etc.)

• 1/2 pound total chard + kale + collards

• 1/2 pound total zucchini + bok choy

On U-Pick this week:

• Strawberries -- A few strawberries still remain on the vine. If you're already out at the farm, they're delicious. They're just not a bunch of them.  
• Herbs: There is a large variety, including mint, oregano, sorrel, lemon balm, thyme, lavender, sage and others!
• Rhubarb is still available, but the same warning applies: It's a hike to the field. Directions can be found at the wash station.
• Spicy Mix
• Arugula
• Swiss chard
• Mulberries are still available but are starting to decline. We suggest putting a sheet underneath the trees and shaking the tree to harvest them! Here are some ideas of what to do with them.
• Wild black raspberries are starting to be more prevalant, growing wildly on the farm.
• Flowers: Any flowers that are growing wild are also fair game for picking.

A preview of next week.

Here are notable things to look for coming up in future shares:

• The first cucumbers will be in next week's share. 
• Cabbage will likely come back next week, too.
• We expect to have carrots in two weeks. 

If you have any questions, let me know!

-- Clay

Recipes for This Week: Cabbage, Greens and Swiss Chard

 

Here are a few recommended recipes from CSA members that I received over the last week. If you have a recipe to recommend, or want to submit a photo, email me anytime. (As an aside, photos don't have to be professional. The one above is one that I snapped on my phone and then doctored with an app called Instagram).  

And now, here are some ideas for Cabbage, Greens and Chard.  

Cabbage Ideas...

Angela made and loved this recipe for Sweet and Spicy Pork and Napa Cabbage Stir Fry with Spicy Noodles that she found at AllRecipes.com. She substituted fish for the pork, but also believes that it would be a great vegetarian dish, too. 

Laura recommends two Cabbage recipes: Stuffed Cabbage from Smitten Kitchen and a Chinese Cabbage Salad that she says is great. 

Ideas for Greens...

Deborah, on our Facebook page, recommends this recipe for Southern-Style Crock Pot Greens. It can use collard or turnip greens (or both).  

Remember, that the greens on our turnips are edible, as are the greens on your radishes. 

Ideas for Swiss Chard...

Angela writes both a recipe and a book recommendation. I read the book, too, and absolutely loved it:

"This is a recipe from the book Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.  Her family ate a whole year using essentially only products from their farm or produced locally.  They provided recipes for seasonal vegetables throughout the year in the book and provide them on their website.  This one [for Swiss Chard] is called Eggs in a Nest and is a tasty way to use Swiss chard, though I use sun-dried tomatoes in oil instead of dried ones."

 

Happy cooking!

-- Clay

This Week's Share: Green Onions, Zucchini & More

(This photo from CSA member Erika Kranz! If you have a photo you want to submit, you can email them to Clay)

 

Here are the details on this week's share!

• 1 bunch green onions

• 3/4 pound zucchini

• 1/4 pound combo of lettuce + spicy mix or asparagus. (Your location may have spicy mix or asparagus, depending on where you pick up.)

• 1 head of Chinese cabbage OR 1 pound total of the following (each pick-up site will have at least 3 of these options):

• bok choy (available at both pick-ups)
• swiss chard (available at both pick-ups)
• kale
• collards
• turnips
• radishes

On U-Pick this week:

• Herbs: There is a large variety, including mint, oregano, sorrel, lemon balm, thyme, lavender (it's flowering), sage and others!
• Rhubarb is still available, but the same warning applies: It's a hike to the field. Directions can be found at the wash station.
• Spicy MIx
• Arugula
• Swiss chard
• Strawberries -- You're welcome to take what's there but there aren't very many in the field, maybe 30 pints total. 
• There are still plenty of wild mulberries are also growing all over the farm. We suggest putting a sheet underneath the trees and shaking the tree to harvest them! Here are some ideas of what to do with them.
• There is some spinach and lettuce but the quality isn't great. I wouldn't come to the farm just for these items. 
• Some wild black raspberries are also starting to appear all over the farm, but they're not as abundant as the mulberries and they are very seedy. 
• Flowers: There are a few daisies and some lavender, as well as some yarrow.

A preview of next week.

• Garlic bulbs should be coming next week and they're going to be very strongly flavored.
• Sugar snap peas should be ready for next week, but much more in two weeks.
• The first cucumbers will likely be here next week, maybe in 2 weeks, depending on rain. Do a rain dance! The crops need it.
• More green onions, more cabbage, more lettuce and more zucchini.  
• There will be no more asparagus, strawberries or garlic scapes for this season.

Thanks to everyone who has submitted recipes and photos. The first of our member submitted photos appears at the top of this post (thanks Erika!) and we'll be doing a round-up tomorrow that features several member-submitted recipes. You can send recipes or photos to Clay via email at any time!

Questions or comments?  Let us know in the comments.

-- Clay

Recipes for This Week + A Call for Photos and Recipes

In preparation for this CSA season, we did a little tidying up here on the blog.

Chiefly, we cleaned up the categories in which the posts are filed, condensing the main topics into a handful of items (like This Week's Share). We also built out categories for recipe related posts. 

So you'll find, on the lefthand side of the blog, a listing of recipes for everything from arugula to zucchini. 

This week's share introduces Chinese cabbage.  Last year, we featured four ideas for using cabbage. Here's one more: 

Chinese Cabbage Stir-Fry with Rice Noodles, Pork, and Cilantro (via MarthaStewart.com). This could be made vegetarian by omitting the pork and substituting the fish sauce with soy sauce or mirin. 

Also, we would love to feature photos and recipes submitted by CSA members this year on the blog. If you snap a photo with your phone or run across a recipe that you like, shoot it to me in an email! We'll be looking for ideas to share all season long.