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What's happening on the farm right now?
I found these two arrow heads in our potato field this afternoon. Even after all the years farming here and all the people who walk our fields looking for arrow heads, we still find beauties like these. Finding the beautiful worked stones is a powerful reminder of how long this land has been settled, that it was was not "wilderness" when the first Europeans arrived here, even if it looked like it to them.
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The potatoes are in, all 15 rows of them. The onions are in, all 6 kinds. We've got half of the high tunnel tomatoes planted. Spring flowers are planted out. We planted a bed of chard and a bed of sunflowers. We are harvesting lots of strawberries and we are still getting patchy frosts and covering and uncovering our strawberry patch.
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REMINDER: If you pre-orderd plant starts from us, this coming Saturday April 30 or this coming Wednesday, May 4 is the pick up day. You should have received an email from us with your pick up details. If not, just drop us an email and we'll look up your order.
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A glorious day for planting potatoes
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What's available in the store and at market this week?
Strawberries! Lettuce mix, green oak leaf lettuce, little gem lettuce, bunches of green curly kale, rainbow Swiss chard, spring onions, radishes, spinach. Our full line up of summer plant starts is on line now.
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Next week end of Mother's Day week end! We are going to have special Mothers Day bouquets available both in the on line store and at market. We will still have strawberries, so forget the chocolate and get the Moms in your life flowers and strawberries! Pre-ordering is reccomended.
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Please note: Pick up options for this coming Saturday are at the North Asheville Tailgate Market 8am until noon, at Cecilia's Kitchen on Merrimon Ave from 9:30am until 11 am and out here at the farm. New policy: You don't have to wait in line at market! Please come to the check-out table and we will quickly grab your box for you.
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Another note: Next week, Saturday May 7 is UNC Asheville graduation and the NATM is moving to the Salvage Station on Riverside Drive for one day only. Hours are the same. The parking is easy there and it feels kind of festive to be in a different location for a day.
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John's Recipe of the Week
“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast” Oscar Wilde
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You may notice Southern food often takes recipe spots in this writing. To me, Southern means foods from the Southern part of the country, informed by history of origin, geography, and ethnic background. We are speaking of food far more than fried chicken, grits and cornbread. The most complex American cooking comes from Southern food traditions.
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The secret of cooking is taste as you go. While in class, chef told me “Never measure!” Adding seasoning a little at a time was great advice as well.
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“The Silver Palate Cookbook” by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, from the 1982, got many folks into cooking for the first time during the 1980’s food explosion. It is still in print, still changing the way we all cook. It all started when they opened a take out prepared dish shop where one could cook it at home. A great gift, and worthy of any kitchen. Their Chicken Marbella and the Tarragon Chicken Salad alone, make buying this book a grand idea!
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STRAWBERRIES – The berries we know came from crossing two varieties in a garden in Brest, France in the around 1820 or so.
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Storing fresh strawberries - DO NOT WASH until you use them.
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Simple – place the berries in dry towels and store in a plastic or glass container, covered. Check for spoilage each day, toss the bad ones, and use the remaining ones quickly. They should last 3 or 4 days, with luck.
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Prep. - Combine ¼ cup vinegar and 1 ½ cup water. You may need more according to how many berries you want to soak.
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Pour on berries and soak for 5 minutes.
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Place in a colander and rinse with water
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Line a container with a paper towel and put in the berries
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Cover. Cool. They will last up to two weeks. Do keep an eye on them though.
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The ranunculus just doing their thing!
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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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