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Field snapdragons in the morning light
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News from the farm...
Everything is greening up and growing like crazy. I looked at the newsletter photos from last week and can't believe they were taken just 7 days ago. With this heat, we have been harvesting a ton of peonies, watering all the newly planted and seeded crops and drinking lots of water ourselves. More lettuce and and lettuce mix went out along with our next round of squash and cukes. All the winter squash is sown and the beds all mulched. Getting those beds mulched is major achievement that used to take us all days and days of itchy sweaty heavy work. Now we can do it in an afternoon. Big heavy farm equipment can be a real blessing!
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These were the sort of sorry-looking leftover peonies from Saturday market. I just stuck them in a water bottle on without any expectations. They opened up the next day and are still glorious!
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What's available this week??
The first summer squash is listed in the online store and well as a few snap peas. Strawberries are still coming in. Lots of lettuce and lettuce mix. All our three kinds of kale are still tender and tasty and we have never grown more beautiful Swiss chard. I think this is the last week for spring onions. That said, we'll harvest the storage red onions this week and get them drying up in the barn and likely have them for sale next week, so no need to be without onions.
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Peonies are blooming like crazy right now, so indulge yourself. And they are lovely for Memorial Day. We also have lots of mixed bouquets and straight bunches of snapdragons. More varieties will be available at market too.
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John's Recipe of the Week
| John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful cooking observations and delicious recipe offerings appear here each week. |
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John has the week off. Here is my offering:
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3 tbls minced shallots or onions
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coarse salt and black pepper
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1. Rinse the chard and cut the ribs off the leaves. Cut the ribs into 1/2 inch dice and set aside. Stack the leaves and cut them into 1/2 inch strips. Set the leaves aside separately.
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2. Heat the olive oil over med heat in a large heavy pot. Add the shallots and chard ribs and cook uncovered until soft, about 5 minutes.
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3. Add the chard leaves and cook, stirring frequently about 1 minute. Add 2 tbls water, most of the lemon zest, and the raisins. Cover the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender and the water has almost evaporated, about 4-8 minutes. If the water evaporates before the chard is tender, add an additional splash of water.
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4. Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the pine nuts, and season the chard with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately garnished with the remaining lemon zest.
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A beneficial insect, in this case, an assassin bug, making a meal out of a fly.
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Thanks for reading and best wishes.
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Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
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- Cheri Huber and Ashwini Narayanan
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