CSA Week 2: Summer solstice, heat advisories and barn makeovers

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: rhubarb, collard greens, baby bok choy, radishes, sprouted broccoli, lettuce mix, microgreens (from Sprouted Earth Farm) and red head lettuce for some people.

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

News from the farm

One of the vegetables in this week’s is a sentimental favorite for your farmers: collard greens. That is because Heather-Marie and John first met over a discussion about collard greens. To learn the complete story, read, “Collards: A love story,” which also includes a great collards recipe. 

Meanwhile, at the farm, the weather for this week was decidedly extreme. While last week, we harvested in our foul weather gear with winter caps, this week, heat indices were above 100 the day before delivery. 

We had to stop putting plants in the ground and focus on keeping them alive. We also had to set our alarm clock for 4 a.m. on delivery day to try to get out into the field to get vegetables harvested, cooled and into the walk-in cooler before they wilted.

It was fitting that this morning also marked the beginning of the summer solistice and even though it was muggy and humid and the blackflies were feasting on us, the significance of the day was not lost on us.

But, the good news is that because we’ve had a wet spring and got a surprise rainstorm on Saturday afternoon, the crops in the field are flourishing.

This week is a big one for us, and we are fortunate to have a few CSA members who are coming out to help us on work days. We are really hoping this will be the last big push to get the remaining plants out into the field: field tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, especially. These plants are big and green and ready to start producing fruit.

Meanwhile, the tomatoes and cucumbers already planted in our high tunnel grow almost by the hour, and we’ve begun to prune these plants and train them to grow up trellises. Soon, they will be producing fruit and growing over our heads!

This week, our barn got a makeover. Thanks to the Duluth Whole Foods Coop’s Grow Local Food Fund grant, mentioned last week, we had funds to lay down fresh gravel and level the floor of our barn and pack shed and set up new tables for washing, weighing and preparing vegetables.

On Thursday morning, we woke to the sound of a dump truck pulling into the driveway as Clint Kruger and his crew showed up ready to get to work. In total, they spread six truckloads of gravel in the barn and packshed, and the results are transformative.

The improvements will allow us to safely and efficiently harvest vegetables. The improvements will also allow us to host community events in our barn.

Our final big addition for the farm season will be an irrigation system, which we are anxiously awaiting and hoping for a few more unexpected rain storms to get us to that date.

This week’s veggies and recipes

Sprouted Broccoli

We are always curious to see what other farmers are growing.  One vegetable that our friend John at Sprouted Earth Farm grows is sprouted broccoli.  This type of broccoli grows central heads and side shoots of mini broccoli that can be bunched.  These plants continue to grow these side shoots which means you can harvest throughout the season off the same plants.  Most “regular” broccoli only produces one head.  The other benefit to this variety is that it is ready to harvest almost a month sooner than regular broccoli.  We are growing two varieties, a green and a purple one.  We have since learned that other farmers were having problems with the green variety sprouting too soon, or “bolting”.  This has happened to ours as well.  Fingers crossed with more harvests it will bounce back.  That’s the risk with trying a new veggie!

Sauteed Sprouting Broccoli

Elie Krieger from The Washington Post

• 2 tbsp sea salt, plus ½ tsp
• 1 large bunch sprouting broccoli (About 450g)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
• Generous pinch chili flakes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 tablespoons of salt. Fill a large mixing bowl with cool water and ice cubes. Line a large plate with a few layers of paper towels. Trim off and discard about an inch from the ends of the sprouting broccoli stems, then add the vegetable to the boiling water. Once the water returns to a boil, cook for 1 minute, then use tongs to transfer the vegetable to the ice-water bath just long enough to cool it completely. Transfer the vegetable to the plate. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring until it is just beginning to turn golden. Add the blanched sprouting broccoli, the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and the chilli flakes; cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetable is warmed through and tender. Serve warm.

Lettuce Mix

The lettuce mix we grow is a mix of a number of types of lettuces all together in one seed packet.  Heather-Marie learned about this mix from a farm that she worked at in Florida.  It is so pretty with all the shades of greens and purples!  We love it.  It doesn’t like heat so we’ll only see it for a few weeks and then it will be gone.  We have one more planting of head lettuce then we’ll move on to a salad mix and a braising mix. This lettuce mix is perfect with a few toppings (radishes and microgreens, for example) and a dressing or a little vinegar and oil.  Easy! 

Collards

Collards are a vegetable that you see more often in Southern cooking are are sometimes referred to as “cooked greens” in recipes.  They are interchangeable with arugula, kale, mustard greens, Swiss chard, spinach and beet/turnip/radish tops.  So if you find a recipe for one of these, it’s nice to know you can replace it with something else on hand.  Collards don’t, like other “cooked greens” don’t need alot of fuss.  Just some oil in a pan with garlic.  Maybe a little lemon at the end.  Really, the best thing is to keep it simple.  

Spanish Greens     

“From Asparagus to Zucchini”

• 2 Tb olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, flattened or smashed with the flat of a knife
• 1 pound spinach, chard, collards or other greens, stemmed and well washed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup golden raisins 
• 3 Tb toasted pine nuts

Heat oil over high flame in a very large skillet.  Add garlic cloves and stir-fry until golden, about 30 seconds.  Discard garlic.  Toss in greens.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover; wilt greens 2-3 minutes.  Add raisins and pine nuts.  Check for seasoning and serve.  Makes 2-4 servings.   

Rhubarb

This is the last week for rhubarb.  Hopefully you got your fill.  Heather-Marie grew up in Minnesota and always says, “there’s no such thing as too much rhubarb!”.  

Mary’s Rhubarb Cake

Cake ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ½ cup shortening (oil, applesauce, etc)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 cups* rhubarb
• 2 cups flour
• Topping: 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all cake ingredients together.  Pour into 9×13 inch pan.  Mix topping ingredients; sprinkle on top of cake.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.  Devour.  

*You can always add more than 3 cups!!  I think the original recipe only calls for 1 cup.