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Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Week 5: The Height of Summer!






The rains last week and hot weather this week has the crops (and weeds!) growing well. Hot crops like zucchini and cucumbers are thriving, onions are starting to bulb up, and the tomatoes grew a full foot in the six days! This week we turned over what amounted to a great strawberry crop and transplanted out next year’s plants. Fresh herbs featured in our pick your own field are thriving and are a great addition to summer salads. Many thanks to our hard working crew for pushing through the recent heat wave and staying on top of things. It’s their hard work (and sweat!) that makes our share possible.


This week the share will include:
  • Mixed greens
  • Head lettuce
  • Radicchio
  • Rainbow chard
  • Fennel
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Scallions
  • Cucumbers
  • Yellow squash
  • Zucchini
  • Napa cabbage
  • Pointed head cabbage
  • PYO herbs
  • PYO flowers



Despite our best efforts to keep a good stash of scissors for the pick your own field, every week many go missing. We encourage you to bring your own scissors if you plan on picking.
As a reminder, our hours for pickup have changed to Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 12:30-6:30PM. We are also open for pick your own on Saturdays, 8AM-Noon. Shareholders are free to pick up their share any day that best suits their schedule, and do not need to commit to the same day each week. Additionally, shareholders do not need to tell us which day they will be picking up.


Vegetable of the week!

RADICCHIO is a leaf chicory, sometimes called Italian chicory. It is a good source of selenium, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, B-vitamins, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E and folate. Radicchio has been known as a healthy food for quite some time. In fact, Pliny the Elder, a Roman author and natural philosopher, claimed in his encyclopedia, “Natural History,” that it was useful to purify the blood and treat insomnia. While this document was written during the first century, it’s actually true that one nutrient found in the radicchio plant, intybus, is a mild pain reliever and sedative.





Grilled Summer Salad

Dressing:
3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil (& more for drizzling)
1 TBSP chopped fresh dill
1 TBSP Sherry wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon
1 tsp honey

Salad:
6 garlic scapes, trimmed at both ends (or scallions/fresh onions )
1 head romaine lettuce, 1 head red leaf lettuce, 1 head radicchio, all quartered with cores intact
2 summer squash and 2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise

Whisk dressing ingredients and set aside. Light grill to medium high heat. Arrange prepared veggies on baking sheets, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables: romaine 2 minutes per side, leaf lettuce 1-2 minutes per side, radicchio and squash- 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from grill, core and slice the greens; chop the squash and onions/scapes/scallions. Serve with additional fresh greens, kale that's been massaged with the dressing, or dressed over quinoa/rice. Enjoy!






Thursday, June 21, 2018

Week 3: Summer Storms and Garlic Scapes

Week 3

After just two days of irrigating, we had a couple spectacular thunderstorms last Monday, which dropped over half an inch of rain and allowed us to put irrigation on hold for now. This timely rain was much needed, as most of our sandy loam soil was needing water. The recent warm weather and adequate moisture has most crops looking good so far and us scrambling to keep up with the weeds! Some new cultivation equipment and a handful of skilled equipment operators has allowed us to cover more ground this year and stay better on top of things than in the past. Even so, there’s still plenty of hand weeding and hoeing to keep us busy!  




A sure sign of summer is the removal of garlic scapes from the garlic crop. This week a group of student volunteers helped us harvest the scapes and clean up around the farm a bit. These sorts of events are great opportunities to get young people on the farm to learn about what it takes to grow vegetables, while also lending a hand to the crew. We are very appreciative of the help and are excited to feature garlic scapes in the share this week!

The share this week:

Garlic scapes
Head lettuce
Leaf lettuce
Mixed greens
Rainbow chard
Scallions
Fennel
Bok choi
Broccoli
Napa cabbage
Radishes
PYO strawberries
PYO peas
PYO herbs

As a reminder, our hours for pickup have changed to Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 12:30-6:30PM. We are also open for pick your own on Saturdays, 8AM-Noon. Shareholders are free to pick up their share any day that best suits their schedule, and do not need to commit to the same day each week. Additionally, shareholders do not need to tell us which day they will be picking up.




Vegetable of the week!

GARLIC SCAPES are simply the flower bud of the garlic plant. We remove the scapes in June to encourage the garlic bulbs to size up. Scapes are delicious to eat and taste just like garlic.

Garlic scapes, two ways:

Grilled:
Brush garlic scapes with oil or melted butter and grill over indirect heat, flipping a few times until soft. Char over flame to finish if desired. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Pesto:
Ingredients: 1 cup chopped garlic scapes (use grilled or raw), 1 lemon, 2 cloves garlic,
1 cup loosely packed arugula, ⅓ cup pecorino cheese (or nutritional yeast for vegan), 3 tbsp roasted almonds, pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, 1 cup olive oil
Directions: Put garlic scapes, zest and juice of lemon, garlic, arugula, pecorino, almonds, and red pepper flakes in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Run food processor and slowly drizzle in olive oil until everything is in a smooth paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy on nearly anything!

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In the Farm Store...

Now through July 3rd, take 20% off Dancing Goat olive oil - pure and raw pressed with love from a single source of olive groves managed by women in Greece. Save the Date: Next Friday, 6/29, stop by the store between 1:30 to 6 pm for a taste and speak to the local owner, Voula, about the community oriented business model & health benefits. Already a fan? Pre-order a gallon size jug by 6/28 via appletonfarms@thetrustees.org to take advantage of this limited time sale.   Dancingfoods.com 

Love cheese and want to try new varieties each month?  Sign up for our Summer Cheese Subscription - $100 for 6 biweekly pickups spread over 12 weeks of summer.  First pickup starts Friday, July 6 th.  Sign up in store now or e-mail appletonfarms@thetrustees.org
  
Ongoing while supplies last: 
Just in time for the grilling season, we are offering party packs of 12 - 6 oz. burgers for only $20.  Be the host with the most or the favorite guest by serving up Appleton Farms Jersey cow beef patties: pasture-raised, grass-fed cows supplemented with non-GMO grain and guaranteed antibiotic-free.  Plus take advantage of our 50% off sale on London Broil, NY Sirloin and Chuck steaks. 
   
Need to renew your membership or considering buying for a friend?  Join or renew in-store this month and receive free Appleton cheese plus Trustees swag and a 20% off coupon for a future purchase.  IN-STORE PROMOTION ONLY!


On the Farm...

Wagon Rides at Appleton FarmsIntroducing our wagon rides! These wagon rides offer a great way to see the farm. Rides are offered  on Saturday and Sunday through the summer. If you're a CSA member, enjoy the pick-your-own fields and then take a wagon ride! Availability is limited; tickets can be purchased at the farm store.

Friday Farm DinnersThese festive, fun evenings start on July 6th and resume on July 20th, continuing through the rest of the summer. Check our website for details and tickets.

Notch Biergarten at Appleton FarmsJuly 13 & 14. This event promises to be a fantastic addition to the summer lineup at Appleton. Check our website for details.