Pardon the late hour of this newsletter. We are enjoying a visit from St. Christophers Summer Institute on Leadership and Public Service as they focus on Food again this year. The chore list before their arrival this morning was too long to get this email/blog post written and sent out before we began hosting these wonderful teenagers for a day of learning and working.
(For Market Share CSA members who don’t yet know: we open the online ordering page as early as we can on Monday and Thursday mornings, usually by 8:00 am, so you don’t have to wait for this email to be able to order. But we know the email serves as a reminder for most.)
The teens, Dan, our crew, and our three older children continue work outside now as our baby’s fussing demanded a break inside the house. That means I (Janet) get a few minutes to send this your direction.
We love having a group of high school aged youth visit us for a day. Their questions are refreshing, they provide us a glimpse of a perspective other than what we are used to, and we plan tasks to do with them that give them a taste of hand-powered farm work while providing us a blast of energy to make progress on things that would take our normal work crew a lot longer to accomplish.
With them today, we are weeding carrots, pulling brassicas (kale, collards, broccoli) that are done for the summer out of the field and into the compost, and hanging garlic. The picture immediately above is of the group heading into the rows of carrots. (The photo below captures my attention getting distracted by the butterfly in the zinnias. We love growing these simple-and-beautiful flowers for their beauty in a vase as well as the amazing pollinators they allow us to witness.)
All of our garlic was pulled up from the field last month and put in the upstairs of the barn to dry. This is the first year we have had this covered barn space to use for drying alliums (garlic and onions)! We are so thrilled. Step one is to simply deliver arm-fulls of garlic to a tarp. Step two is to wait until either a) a rainy day, or b) a mass of humanity to make light work of bundling and hanging the garlic so that it stays out of the way.
Ta-da!
We’ll share a photo of the finished project with all of the garlic hanging. It means flavor and spice and nutrition and health to us. Add it to everything. Barn rafters full of garlic. We are so fortunate.
Speaking of fortunate, we continue to get blessed with amazing photos by Tisha Lyn Photography. She is capturing images of our work, such as above, as part of her Good Farms Project. I don’t remember what was so funny during the beet harvest pictured above, but it is true that I love beets and I love vegetable farming. What’s not to smile about? (And…our beets are really good right now. Especially with garlic. And goat cheese.)
Available for Market Share CSA members to choose from this week: Basil, Beets, Chard, Cucumbers, Eggplant (a few), Flower bouquets, Garlic, Green Beans, Kale, Peppers (jalapenos, sweet bell…), Salad Mix (a bit!), Summer Squash, Tomatoes (slicers, cherries, and bulk options)…and naturally leavened Hearth Baked Bread.
Recipe Suggestions: see these and others cataloged on our Recipe Page
Primavera Sauce – We have been loving a combination of vegetables similar to thisprimavera recipe involving carrot, parsley, basil, pepper, tomato, eggplant, garlic…It tastes like summer and is great on top of pasta or any grain of your choice.
Chard – We haven’t included this beauty very much in the Farm Share this year, but it is a favorite of ours. Slice it ribbon-thin for a raw salad and top it with goat cheese or feta and a honey-balsamic dressing. Or slice it into 1-inch-wide strips and steam it oh-so-lightly and serve with eggs. Or saute up onions and garlic and add strips of chard until soft. They are vibrantly colored, sweet, and delicious!
Beets – We always say roast them, or pan-cook them and serve with goat cheese/feta, walnuts, raisins, and our standard honey-balsamic dressing. But if you need to eat beets differently than we do, try these: Roasted Beets and Tomato Salad, or Lemony Beet Hummus
Sweet Peppers – They get served here most often chopped up with tomatoes and tossed with olive oil, salt, and garlic. Or simply sliced and dipped in hummus or any dip. But we try to save some for the primavera sauce above, or roasted and as a topping for tacos/burritos.
Eggplant – This summer beauty is the one garden product that is really hard to eat raw. It is delicious so many ways: In a primavera sauce as mentioned above, or simply cubed and saute with oil and salt and garlic. Or slice into half-inch thick slices and roast, or grill after a honey marinade.
2015 Market Share CSA Members: Reserve your selection online to pick up on Saturday, July 11th at our farm, at the Brandermill Green Market, or at the South of the James market.
Vegetables not ordered by our Market Share CSA members will join us at the Brandermill Green Market and South of the James market this Saturday. Anyone may order select goods from us, through Fall Line Farms, Richmond’s online farmers’ market. You can use discount code “broadfork” to earn a complimentary 6 month subscription.
Enjoy ~ Janet, Dan, and the rest of the Broadfork crew
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Last three photos, credit to Tisha Lyn Photography. Thank you!!
