CSA week 9: It’s Flower Week at the farm (but also lots of veggies)

Heather-Marie with a flower harvest.

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables:

Sweet onion, fennel, basil, tomato, cherry tomatoes, sweet pepper, jalapeno pepper, summer squash/zucchini, Swiss chard, cucumbers, carrots, salad mix or head lettuce. Each box will also include one of the following: cabbage, broccoli, eggplant or cauliflower.  

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.”

Here is this week’s video check in:

Kristina and Heather-Marie talk about our upcoming flower workshop and their own love affair with flowers.

News from the farm

Rising Phoenix is excited to grow countless varieties of seasonal flowers and to host a workshop to teach people to arrange their own flowers.

People have a special relationship with flowers.  Maybe it was a grandmother growing snapdragons.  Or a husband buying sunflowers on birthdays.  Whatever the flower, or the memory, people talk about flowers differently than they do vegetables.  

Heather-Marie’s mom, Carol-Ann, arranges flowers at last year’s workshop.

Heather-Marie’s mother, Carol-Ann, has always had an amazing garden.  She and Heather-Marie’s dad, Tom, have put a lot of work into growing native and perennial flowers, bushes and trees.  There were times where they grew some veggies too, but it’s always been flowers. 

Heather-Marie loved them but wasn’t inspired to grow them herself until 2014.  It was amaranth and sunflowers at first.  But without the ability to have a permanent place, it was too difficult to grow and invest in perennials. 

When Heather-Marie and John bought their farm in 2020, they started to put in perennials and with that, Heather-Marie started offering more and more flowers.  And this year marks the most amount of flowers she’s ever grown:  38 varieties over five 80-foot beds and now this year a 25 by 35 foot high tunnel.  

Participants at last year’s Flower Arranging Workshop.

Last year Heather-Marie and John dreamed of offering workshops and retreats at the farm for the community and that dream came true.  They had a yoga retreat with their friend Amanda leading them in yoga, meditation and inspiring activities.  Then Heather-Marie and Kristina had a flower arranging workshop. 

We’re excited to offer it again this year!

Flower Arranging Workshop

We’ll gather at 9 am on Saturday, August 17 and tour the flower field, learn from Heather-Marie and Kristina tips and tricks of the trade on how to create beautiful bouquets with fresh, seasonal flowers.  Then participants will have the opportunity to make their own bouquet to take home.  Tea/coffee and snacks will be offered. 

Images from the farm

John pulls the harvest cart through the high tunnel.
Heather-Marie harvesting tomatoes in the tunnel.
Our Friday Farm Stand is now going strong with a bounty of late-summer produce.
We met Gretchen, left, and Tom, middle, a few years ago when they came to our farm stand to say hello. They are smart, kind people who know a great deal about farming and vegetables. They came out recently and helped us work in the high tunnel, pulling weeds and trellising tomatoes. We’re so grateful for their help.
We’ve eaten our share of tomato sandwiches lately. This one is accompanied by a half sour pickle John made and some sliced bunching onions.
This is Rachel Carson the cat, named after the author who wrote the influential book, “Silent Spring.” She changed the way we think about pesticides and the health of our planet — the author, not the cat.

This week’s veggies and recipes

Sweet onion, fennel, sweet peppers, jalapeño, basil, summer squash/zucchini, Swiss chard, cucumbers, slicing and paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, carrots; head lettuce or salad mix. Duluth shares will also have one of the following: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or eggplant.
Fennel Dressing

Ingredients are rough and can be altered to your tastes.  Recipe from Member Kristina.

  • Olive oil
  • Apple cider vinegar
  • Dijon mustard
  • Snipped fennel fronds
  • Chives
  • Maple Syrup
  • Tahini
  • Salt
  • Pepper
Salmon Poached with Tomatoes and Swiss Chard

The Featherstone Farm Cookbook

Swiss Chard, tomatoes

  • Serves 5 to 6
  • 1½ salmon fillets, skinless
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 12 ounces Swiss chard
  • 4 T olive oil
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 ½-inch cube fresh ginger, slivered
  • 8 fresh or canned plum tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ cup thick coconut milk 
  • 2 cups water

1. Cut the salmon fillets crossways into 6 pieces.  Pull out the bones.  Season with salt and pepper; allow to stand for 20 minutes.  

2. Cut the chard’s green leafy parts away from the central stems.  Cut the greens into ¼-inch strips.  Cut the stems into 1/8-inch strips.

3. Heat the oil in a very large frying pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, ginger, and chard stems.  Saute for 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and continue to sauté for another 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and water, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer over low heat for 1 minute.  Add the chard leaves.

4. Add the fish in a single layer on top of the sauce, spooning some of the sauce over the fish.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.  Serve with the sauce and vegetables.

Simple Pasta with Basil
  • Pasta of choice (penne, tortellini, fettuccini, etc)
  • Kalamata olives
  • Mozzarella or feta cheese
  • Cherry tomatoes, raw or slightly cooked
  • Good quality olive oil
  • Fresh basil

Cook pasta to desired texture.  Add olives, tomatoes and oil.  Top with basil and mozzarella.

In

, ,