Tuesday, June 5, 2018

BGF News - June 5, 2018-Vol. XL, No.1

"Vivid" Choi


In this week’s box:

Asparagus 
Choi: Vivid (leafy bundle with pink/purple stems)
Garlic Scapes (green curly things in a twist tie)
Head Lettuce: Muir (green) or Magenta (red) or Romaine
Kale Mix  (large mixed leaf bundle)
Lemon Balm (lemon-scented, small leafy bundle)
Turnips: Hakurei
and perhaps Tapestry Salad Mix (zip-top bag) (please see note in "A Little Detail..." below)
           
For those with the Egg option [full & half shares]: one dozen free-range eggs (asst. colors)
For those with the Herb option: Herb share will begin in a couple of weeks as herbs mature

 
Featured Recipes:  ** indicates a BGF favorite 
Lemon Balm Pesto**
Sauteed Japanese Turnips
Garlic Scape Pesto** see recipe below

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past month: 1.7"
 
Welcome to the first delivery of the 2018 CSA season and the start of weekly newsletters!  The boxes are a little light at this time of the season and you will notice the abundance of greens and not quite as much variety as we expect later in the season.  This is part of the joy of eating fresh, seasonal foods.  As the season continues the weight and variety of the contents will increase with the arrival of heavier crops including beans, tomatoes, potatoes and squash.  One thing that does remain somewhat consistent is the presence of some cosmetic damage caused by our local insects.  This is another of the indications that we are truly a chemical-free farm.  We try to keep the insect population under control, but they are simply a fact of life in a naturally grown system.  We hope you can overlook some minor leaf damage and we will do our best to keep it to a minimum.  Also we do our best to provide you with clean produce, but you may find a little dirt here and there or, yikes, possibly an insect.  We do wash the produce and sort it to the best of our ability, but we are processing a significant volume and it is possible that at some point you will find a little “nature” in your box.  If and when it happens to you, we apologize ahead of time and hope you will forgive the oversight.  Remember, while we do clean the produce, it is always good practice to wash your vegetables before using.

A big thank you to our pick-up site hosts: Peace Tree Brewing Co - Des Moines and the Grand Theater in Knoxville.  Over the course of the season please consider supporting these independent, local businesses who offer us a great place to deliver your produce.

It is a busy time on the farm. The quick turn from early spring to high summer weather pushed us into high gear for transplanting, weeding and mulching. Most of our earlier sown crops are looking pretty good, although the rabbits are causing some significant damage, which means our dogs are getting lazy. So far the little furry eaters have shown a decided preference for lettuce and broccoli. The first crop of broccoli (nearly 400') is gone, but there is a beautiful 2nd crop in another field that is coming along nicely.  We're going to have to work on making the crops less appealing to the bunny and deer. The early and extended hot weather is also causing issues for the cool weather-loving crops. Salad mix, spinach and arugula all struggled and we lost multiple sowings of each. The spinach is done until fall, but we will try again with the salad and arugula if the temperatures will stay around "normal" for the season.

Garlic Scapes
The garlic is "scaping"! For those of you who are new to the CSA, scapes are the emerging flower stalk on a hardneck garlic plant. We remove them to redirect more of the plant's energy into the bulb, but it also provides us with a delightful fresh garlic treat. It is one of our favorite crops of the season and we hope you enjoy their curly, garlicky goodness as much as we do. They are a short season treat though, so we will likely have them in boxes for the next two weeks and then they will be done and we will go on to the next stage of garlic happiness. 

Other things on the farm are rolling forward. We've cleared most of the early crops from both high tunnels and are nearly done switching over to warm season crops in there. The field tomatoes, eggplant, okra, squash, melons and basil are all in. Still one planting of peppers to transplant and then ongoing plantings of lettuce and sowings of  beans, beets and edamame to go. The majority of the irrigation system is installed and running daily. Amid planting, sowing, irrigation work and harvesting, we've also managed to get a fair amount of cultivating done and the weeds are being discouraged almost daily (they do seem to have a lot of encouragement from somewhere though). It seemed like just a couple of weeks ago we were so wet that we couldn't work soil and now we are starting to choreograph our rain dance. Such is the life of a vegetable-grower in Iowa.

All in all things are looking very lush and green here at the farm. We hope you enjoy this first delivery and are looking forward to this season as much as we are.
3/4 of the farm crew. Pretty sure these ladies could just about run the farm without me!

We hope you enjoy the weekly online newsletter. One of the goals for this format is so you can go to the blog/newsletter at any time and search for specific vegetables, that should allow you to see any archived recipes for that item. It also allows us to include photos and links to more recipes and information. As we mentioned in the recent newsletter, in addition to the regular BGF Facebook page, we also have a Facebook page for CSA members. You can find it here: Blue Gate Farm Community. If you have a Facebook account we encourage you to post recipes, photos and questions about your weekly produce box adventures. If you don't have an account, don't worry, you can still see/read anything on the page, but you won't be able to post anything. We will keep an eye on the page and try to answer questions in a timely manner, but really this is to encourage the "Community" aspect of CSA and to provide you all a venue to share and connect with each other.

A little detail on your produce this week:


Asparagus: Keeps best stored upright in a glass with about 1" of water, in the refrigerator. Delicious raw or cooked.

Choi (a.k.a. - pac choi, bok choy or pok choy) is a member of the cabbage family and is a traditional Asian stir-fry vegetable.  Both the stems and leaves of choi can be used and are especially tasty in cooked recipes.  If cooking them, separate the leaves and stems, and begin cooking stems first to avoid overcooking the more tender greens. You can also use the leaves like any green-leafy vegetable and the stems like celery.  We tend to use choi leaves as a sandwich wrap, or just roughly chop the whole thing and sauté with garlic and/or onion.  Cook until stems are tender and dress with a little seasoned rice vinegar. Store choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your produce drawer.

Garlic Scapes: One of our favorite crops of the year. These curly green things are the emerging flower stalk from a hardneck garlic plant. We remove them to redirect more of the plant's energy into the bulb, but it also provides us with a delightful fresh garlic treat. These keep very well in a plastic bag in your produce drawer and can be used in any recipe calling for garlic. They would be perfect in last week's garlic salt recipe, make a great pesto and can be minced and added to room-temperature butter, which is then stored in log shape, in the freezer for a last minute dollop of goodness for vegetables, breads or meat.

Lemon Balm: a member of the mint family, lemon balm has a bright, lemony flavor that pairs well with other greens, potatoes, eggs and poultry. We like it as the main ingredient in pesto or as a refreshing iced tea. Store upright and loosely covered in a glass of water in the refrigerator.

Turnips: keep best if separated from their greens.  Greens are stored in a plastic bag and can be cooked like mustard or collard greens (you can add them in with your Braising Greens Mix).  Trimmed roots can go into a lidded container or zip-close bag. These aren't your grandma's turnips. These are a sweet, Japanese salad variety that is particularly tasty for fresh eating. They will still work great in cooked dishes, but we love to eat them raw, often right out of hand, like an apple. One of the farm crew's favorite mid-field snacks.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.  

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..."  These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time.  We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item.  On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you and you want to read more about our daily adventures or see pictures of the farm?  Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm and/or share your recipes, experiences and questions with other BGF members at Blue Gate Farm Community.


That’s about it this week, if you have any questions or comments be sure to let us know. 
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and Blue, Luci & Indigo)

BGF Garlic Scape Pesto **1 bunch tender scapes, cut into pieces, and processed in a food processor until finely chopped
1-3 sorrel leaves, rough chopped and processed with the scapes
Add the following and process until well blended:
1/3 cup olive oil (add more if you like a thinner pesto)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
optional, toss in some basil for additional pesto flavor if you have it.

This can be served now or frozen for future use. I freeze it in small (1/2 c.) zip-top plastic bags, flattened. Then you can just break off whatever amount you need. Delicious as a pasta or pizza sauce, dip, sandwich spread or add a little seasoned rice vinegar and it becomes a tasty salad dressing.

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