The start of the season this year feels like a reunion. It feels like a joyous stroll down a country road on an antique bicycle. Handling fresh food again after a long, cold winter somehow brings life back into my bones. Even the bending and the lifting and the moving that is part of the field work feels nourishing in itself. Sampling the radishes and the pea shoots and the spinach as we work brings a nostalgic flash with a jolt of flavor, familiarity and deliciousness that I so miss after a long winter’s rest. I love this work! I am reminded why we do this. 
Liz, Todd, Amy, Joe and Judith finishing up the lettuce harvest this morning and looking good!
This season has been off to a smooth and steady beginning with plenty of rain that has been almost perfectly timed. Our Spring crops love the cooler weather and the rains are making the greens extra crispy and crunchy with bug and disease pressure very low so far. There is hardly a day that goes exactly as planned, but the work gets done and the plants keep growing.
Our Small Family Farm has been growing in many ways. With the birth of our second daughter last Fall and with my husband (Farmer Adam) now at home as a Full-time Farmer, our farm becomes more focused, mature, experienced and efficient. We are learning how to balance family and farm. We are observing our family as a farm family-so different from how we were raised. Our 3 and a half year old daughter was telling the harvesters the other morning that “sometimes radishes are spicy and sometimes they’re not-spicy” with a very serious look as she sampled them while walking down the rows. Seasons are like this too. People are like this. Days are like this.
So far it feels like a “not-spicy” season. Does that make any sense? Maybe because it has been cooler. Maybe because a season has a temperament, like an individual. Or maybe it is because the careful planning that goes into running this show is paying off.
I would be remiss if I did not mention my gratitude in the first newsletter. I feel thankful for the people in our community (you) who see the value of eating fresh, local, organic produce. I am thankful that we are able to come together in this communal way and share the experience of eating from one piece of fertile land. I am thankful for the CSA model, the vibrancy of this farm and everyone who partakes in its success and life.
Asparagus- This is one of the only items we buy for our CSA boxes. It comes from an organic amish farmer in the area. Because of the recent cooler weather, production was down a little from what he expected. Most of our members received a beautiful 1lb bunch of asparagus and because of the last-minute shortage, some members receive a heavier bunch of #2 quality aspargus. We were a little sad about this, but I suppose it is the nature of farming. We did the best we could to get #1 for everyone. We’re hoping for #1 quality for everyone next week as well!
Pac Choi (or Bok Choy)- What gorgeous plants! Amy, one of our Worker Shares who helped harvest this said that taking a bite out of the stems was like taking a drink of water. They are very crunchy! Store your Pac Choi in a plastic bag in the fridge. When you cook with it, you will use the stems and the leaves! It is a great vegetable for stir-frying or making a raw asian salad out of.
Overwintered Shallots- Over-wintered means that these little guys were harvested last August and have been stored in our Root Cellar all winter long. We’ve been keeping them to share with you in the first box. Shallots are in the onion family, and are used minced into sauce and dressing recipes. Try making your own home-made salad dressing! Store these in the fridge if you don’t think you’ll use them right away! Can also be used like an onion.
Cherry Bell Radish- Sometimes Radishes are spicy and sometimes they’re not-spicy. These guys are not-spicy;) You can even eat radish tops! Just chop them up and toss the with your salad greens. The radishes will also keep better in a plastic bag in the fridge to preserve moisture.
Arugula- This is a very young, mild and tender arugula. Those who learn to love arugula LOVE arugula. It’s a little like learning to appreciate a hoppy beer, I think. I’m always amazed by this. Arugula can be tossed with salad greens, wilted on top of pizza, or sauteed with your eggs in the morning. Many uses for this versatile green!
Spinach- Such tender leaves!
That’s Joe in his fifth season of working on this farm. He loves it too, can you tell?
Curly Green Winterbore Kale- This is the earliest we’ve ever had kale! We’re very excited about this! Kale keeps best in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Pea Shoots- Pluck the leaves off of the stems and eat the leaves and the very small tendrils, but you might find the main plant stem to be a little chewy;) Pea shoots are a fun early-season addition to salads while we wait for our peas to blossom and grow us actual peas!
Heat Lettuce- Our heads of lettuce are small this week, but very tender and beautiful looking! Many memeber received either a green buttercrunch, a green oakleaf, a red oakleaf or a romaine lettuce. Lettuce keeps best in a plastic bag in the fridge to preserve moisture.
4 Pack of Herbs to Plant- The four plants are sage, oregano, thyme and basil. You can give these herbs a space in your garden and plant them outside in full sun in fertile soil. Be sure to give them plenty of water at transplant. You can mulch around them if you really want to baby them and that will help keep the weeds down and moisture in the soil. You can also plant each one into their own pots and keep them in a sunny window or on your deck. The sage, oregano and thyme are very winter hardy and will come back next Spring if you take care of them. You’ll only get one season out of the basil, and be sure to snap the seed-heads off if it trys to make seeds. You will get more basil leaves if you prevent the plant from going to seed.
Farm Fresh Atlas- These Atlases were given to us by the folks who put the Atlases together. Because we place an ad in the Atlas every year, they give us these atlases to distribute. The Atlas is also available online here:
http://www.reapfoodgroup.org/farm-fresh-atlas
My mother lives next door, Momma Jane, and if you’ve ever met this woman you’ve probably tasted her cooking because she is so generous with her talent. She knows how to cook it up right if you know what I mean. She’s planning to contribute many of the recipes this summer. She writes:
As Wendall Berry says “Eating is an agricultural act”, so we thank you, first off , for choosing to make a difference in the health of your family and our food system by investing in a CSA box! Big, big kudos to you for helping make a difference. SSF is passionate about what we do, and passionate about food in general, because on the farm we love to eat. Gotta “feed the machine”, and we use a lot of fuel on the farm. But foremost, we care about what we fuel up on—and we have chosen Premium. Small Family Farm will supply veggies full of premium taste and premium nutrition, fresh from the premium Driftless soil. We’ll be including recipes for all tastes, and each week a Paleo recipe as well because we truly do love to cook and experiment. So each week we’ll share some recipes that we’ve found simply yummy, sometimes simple to prepare, and recipes that help you think ‘outside the box’ and be creative with veggies you may be unfamiliar with.
Paleo–Asparagus with Mushrooms and Hazelnuts
Bok Choy, Carrot and Apple Slaw
