Basic Cooking Tips…& mkt 4.16.2016

We took advantage of this past winter to explore some new vegetables. (It’s true! We haven’t yet tried them all!) Why?

(Pictured above: Overwintered, and now flowering, collards.) 
1) Because eating new food is fun.

(Pictured above: Garlic. Yum!)
2) Because we wanted to remind ourselves how our CSA members and customers may feel, having an unfamiliar vegetable in the kitchen.
So, we bought celery root. Also called Celeriac, it is a notoriously ugly vegetable. Seriously, click on that link and check it out. It hardly looks like food. But we’d heard from reliable sources that it was worth our time. Guess what? We loved it. We’ve now bought it numerous times. (The kids chuckle each time we approach the vegetable section of the grocery store. “We never shop here!” they say. This is also true. We grow most of the vegetables that we eat and purchase a few additional from our farmer friends.)

(Pictured above: Just a sliver of some of our greens for May harvest.) 
We did what hopefully most of you will do – we looked up some recipe suggestions and prepared our new vegetable according to the simplest recipe we found. It was met with huge enthusiasm from all family members. And maybe we will make that recipe again.
But here’s our point today: all subsequent celery root purchases were followed with celery root simply falling into our standard recipes. We chop and then saute almost everything. (Cook it with butter and salt!) We dice and roast, with fat and salt. We slice and mix a few veggies together and mix raw with a delicious vinaigrette or dressing. We combine any vegetables with a delicious protein (meat or tofu) and top with a sauce. Or we put the yummy vegetables from a saute on top of brown rice or pasta or rice noodles. Make. Eat. Repeat. (Switch out components, according to the season and what you have on hand.) And you can do this, too! It just takes some time dedicated to chopping, sauteing, and learning a few standard dressing/sauce/vinaigrette recipes. (Suggestions found below.)

(Pictured above: Tomato plants)
Updates:
PLANTS for your garden – available for sale here at self-serve farmstand starting tomorrow, Friday April 15. (Happy Tax Day! Plant a garden!) We currently have Tomatoes (a variety of slicers plus Roma paste tomatoes), Peppers, Eggplant, Cucumber, Summer Squash, Zucchini, Kale, Lettuce, Dill, Cilantro, Parsley, Broccoli, Arugula, Chard, Collards, Spinach, and Basil.
**All of our plants are Certified Naturally Grown plants, started from seed in our greenhouse, in our own potting mix blend of alfalfa meal, biologically active compost, calcium (soft rock) phosphate, kelp (for trace minerals and vitamins), and mycorrhizal fungi (to inoculate the soil with the fungi necessary for plant roots to access nutrients). No synthetic/chemical ingredients are ever used in our greenhouse or on our farm.
Our plants are always started from organic seed, unless not available for that variety.

(Pictured above: Arugula)
BRANDERMILL Farmers Market  – opens Saturday, May 7th,  and is open every Saturday from 9am-12pm through October. This is, by far, the best farmer’s market in Chesterfield! There is a fabulous and balanced mix of vendors so you can pick up many things in addition to our vegetables and bread. There is fresh pasta, eggs, meat, fruit, cheese, potted plants and flowers, sausage biscuits, coffee, sweet breads and treats, plus an assortment of body products (soap, lotion, etc.) and crafts. Check it out! Our wonderful group of vendors are set up in the beautiful fresh air in the parking lot of Market Square (at intersection of Hull Street and Rt. 288).  The market is set back a comfortable distance from Hull Street so kids can run around safely in the field adjacent to the market booths. There is plenty of parking but all parking spaces are a short walk from the shopping area. We love it!

(Above: Dan, surveying tomatoes just planted in our new greenhouse.)
This week’s harvest includes: 
Arugula, Hearty Greens Mix, Kale, Microgreens, Radishes, plus Transplants for your spring and summer gardens, and our 100% Organic, Naturally Leavened, Fire-Baked Bread.

Recipe Suggestions: 
:: Caesar Salad Dressing: Make it at home with this recipe.
:: Radishes: Slice, sprinkle with salt, and put on top of tacos, sandwiches, and any salad.
:: Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette: We love this and put it on many salads. We use honey instead of sugar.
:: Easy Asian Dipping Sauce: We use this with with many  vegetable and protein combinations.

2016 Market Share CSA Members: Reserve your selection online to pick up Saturday, April 16th at our farm, at Good Health Herbs, or at the Farmers Market @ St. Stephens. Everything remaining after pre-orders will be available for purchase at the Farmers Market @ St. Stephens. **We will also be at the Brandermill Green Market starting on its opening day: Saturday, May 7th. ** 

Pro Tip: Market Share CSA Members don’t have to wait for this Thursday email to place an order via our website. Ordering opens as early as we can on Thursday, usually between 7 and 8 am. (You can even set a calendar reminder to prompt yourself to order each Thursday.)

We will begin taking Market Share orders twice per week (thus, for pick up on Wednesdays in addition to Saturday) once the abundance of the season starts really rolling (likely in late May).

Reminder to our returning and new Farm Share CSA members: weekly shares begin the first week in May.

Enjoy ~
Janet, Dan, and the whole Broadfork crew

Reminder: Plant Sale | Farm Day | Open Barn! Saturday, April 30th from 10-4.  Visit our Plant Sale for the full selection of our Certified Naturally Grown vegetable and herb plants for your summer garden, plus tour the farm with us at 3:00 to learn how and why we grow delicious and nutritious vegetables for you and your household using only biological, Certified Naturally Grown methods. Soak in our beautiful farm and meet our staff. See your 2016 vegetables growing. Mark your calendars for a fun day which will also include wood-fired oven treats! Driving directions found on our website.