Community Supported Agriculture (Read 616 times)

My first local harves seasonal organic food shipment comes this weekend. Here is the newsletter. Good stuff!! -------------------------------------------------- SYLVANUS FARM CSA NEWS Todd Elliott & Sarah Paulson 5980 Salt Lick Rd Burkesville, KY 42717 270-433-6068 cell 270-459-0992 sylvanusfarm@hotmail.com www.sylvanusfarm.com Pronunciation Guide: SYL (as in Sylvia) VAN (as in our delivery vehicle) US (we who enjoy veggies) SYLVANUS FARM DEFINED: Sylvanus: “In Roman mythology, the divine protector of woods, fields, cattle, etc…his characteristics were very much the same as those of the Greek Pan.” –Bullfinch’s Mythology FARM NEWS April 30-May 5, 2007 WEEK 1 Thank you everyone for responding to the delivery announcement. If you have never been to the drop-off before, we will be parked at the Morgan House which is just behind the main church building and is somewhat shady. You should be able to see our burgundy van (which now has green lettering). Don’t forget to bring a basket, bag, or cooler to carry home your loot. We have been saving eggs for several weeks now, so there should be plenty for all who want some this week. They are $4. per dozen. EGGSplanation While every bit of our produce is certified organic, it is not yet possible for us to certify our eggs. The egg layers can eat some of the grains we can produce ourselves (we plan to increase that percentage of their diet when our combine is up and running), but they have protein needs that cannot be met by wheat or corn. We can grow soybeans, but they have to be roasted. We have toyed with the idea of making interns roast beans in a 50 gallon drum over a fire, but so far they have avoided such luck. So the chickens do eat locally grown, conventional grain from our neighbor’s farm as well as greens, pasture, and stray insects from our own farm. They are truly free range (not just inside a building that has an open door for a few weeks like the industrial “free-range” layers) which means that we move them around on pasture with a mobile coop and they live it up outside and their every desire is catered to by our humble selves. The eggs will last a long time (probably 2 months), and we label the cartons with the date they were laid. After this week, they will never be older than a week when we bring them Saturdays. Interestingly, if you like a fried egg over-easy, or hard boiled eggs, you will want them to be a week or two hold. The very fresh eggs won’t hold together well. You will notice that the yolks, especially as we are feeding the chickens with garden leftovers, are very orange. This is because chickens eating greens makes those omega 3 fatty acids and our eggs thus have a very desirable fat profile. IN THE BOX Lettuce Spinach Broccoli Rabe Tuscan (Lacinato) Kale Radishes Arugula As always, seasonal eating means beginning the season with the wonderful tonic of spring greens. The lettuce, arugula, and radishes are of course wonderful in a salad and those with rabbit-like tendencies may enjoy this entire basket as a raw experience. However, there are also some wonderful cooking options with these greens. If you are unfamiliar with broccoli raab (or rabe), it is an Italian treat that works very well sautéed over pasta with a little olive oil or butter and some garlic. It is tender and very versatile and can be cooked as if it were spinach, though it has a sophisticated broccoli-like flavor. The Tuscan kale is probably the only green you won’t want to eat raw, as it is a not as tender that way. Kale is also extremely versatile and can be sautéed over pasta, added to soups, quiches, etc… It is probably one of the greatest super foods, as it teems with vitamins, and more calcium than you can absorb from a dairy product. Women, take up your kale and outwit osteoporosis! Kale is also delicious simply boiled until tender and dressed with a fine balsamic vinegar, or butter, salt, and pepper. RECIPES Lorenza De’Medici is a direct descendant of (you guessed it, Lorenzo himself) and in her Tuscany, The Beautiful Cookbook she makes everything seem so simple, with vegetable flavors that stand for themselves. Here is an adaptation of her treatment of Tuscan kale and broccoli raab. Rapini in Padella Pan-tossed Broccoli Raab 1 lb broccoli raab extra virgin olive oil 1-2 garlic cloves salt and fresh ground black pepper Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil, add the broccoli raab and cook just a few minutes. Drain and transfer to cold water to keep the leaves green. Drain off the excess water. In a skillet over low heat, warm a few tablespoons of olive oil, add garlic and fry until golden. Add the greens and season with salt and pepper. Stirring occasionally, cook until tender. Serve hot. Cavolo Con Le Fette Cabbage with bread and oil (Tuscan Kale is referred to as Black Cabbage in Italy) 2 lb black cabbage (Tuscan Kale) 8 cups water 6 slices course, country bread 2 garlic cloves salt and pepper 6 T olive oil Bring the lightly salted water to a boil, add leaves and cook until tender. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Toast the bread until golden. Rub the toast with garlic on the top side and keep warm. Drain the leaves and arrange on top of the toasts, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with good olive oil. Serve. In Molto Mario, Mario Batali suggests the following for Broccoli Raab: Broccoli Rabe braised in the style of Puglia Quarter cup olive oil 1 garlic clove 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes 3 bunches broccoli rabe, trimmed and washed Quarter cup black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped In a deep pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook 3-5 minutes. After washing the broccoli rabe, add it to the pot with the water still clinging to the leaves, cover, and cook 20-30 minutes until tender and only a few spoonfuls of liquid remains. Stir in the olives, serve hot. CLIMATE UPDATE As many plants are still recovering from the weirdest “spring” we have ever encountered, the rainfall amounts remain steadily 6.5 inches below normal. Irrigation is again already part of the weekly work load. SCHOLARSHIP/ Second Harvest If everything works according to plan, any boxes that are not retrieved by 11 am on Saturdays will be donated to Second Harvest. Thanks to all who have so far contributed to the Annie Scholarship. You may still bring donations the next couple of weeks or mail them at your convenience. A very kind doctor has taken on the task of finding recipients and we should have this project started in the next couple of weeks. FARM JOURNAL All dirt is new dirt! After scrubbing out every box, cooler and harvest container and blasting them with industrial strength hydrogen peroxide to start the season with clean supplies, we fully expect it to rain heavily during our first harvest of the season. So, if you receive mud-laced boxes of produce this weekend, be advised, all the dirt you see is NEW and fresh this year! Do be sure to wash all produce every week in any case. While you know that it will never contain poisonous chemical residues, dirt and insects may be an unwelcome seasoning. It has been a very busy couple of weeks, but we are almost caught up with our summer plantings. Yesterday the first tomatoes went out! Melons, cucumbers, summer and winter squash, sweet corn, flowers, and much more are in the ground. In the spring garden, the beets, peas, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, chard, and fennel look fabulous. The potatoes are ready to be hoed out and the garlic is so far the biggest and best crop we have ever had. The first few strawberries ripened this week and we are still having out-of-body experiences with each taste. Hopefully, you will soon as well. Our intern, Peter has arrived and is beginning to adjust to life on the farm. He is a keen observer of bird-life and has already recounted a number of interesting avian sightings in the last few days. Peter also seems a bit mechanically inclined which we expect to come in handy with the combine project. A woodworker friend is fabricating some replacement pieces and a local business that repairs canvas on boats is working on the canvas portion of the thing. It will truly be a community effort when we have our first grain harvest! The ongoing process of milking Sally has become an exercise in supporting the monarchy. Her highness is pretty cooperative until her daily 3 bushels of fresh, hand-scythed treats are not the exact salad mix that she likes. She then becomes Queen of the Rummage Sale, constantly diving to the bottom of the pile (as if the bargain was hidden there). I am getting pretty adept and fast at milking; as the occasional blue-light special inspired lunge requires a fast reaction time else the bucket becomes a foot-bath. So far, we have made butter and soft cheeses, including a really great feta. Wash the dust off your salad spinners…we’ll see you on Saturday.

Where is the tobacco? It's not a farm in KY unless they have tobacc.o Maybe that comes in a later week.

This is the first time for us. We just got the delivery...for dinner last night: brown rice arugula sauteed in olive oil with san marzano tomatoes steamed spinach salad with tomato and olive oil vinagrette Good stuff!

I eat some fish, as well as eggs and milk. I do not eat any red meat, pork or poultry. Vegetarian? Hard to know I have eaten this way for 20+ years.