Echollective CSA

Echollective CSA 2011 Season Member Feedback Survey!

2012-02-11T15:12:00.002-06:00

Hey folks, we just created a survey geared toward those who participated in our CSA over the 2011 season. Scroll down and you'll see it in the window below! It shouldn't take long, and your thoughts and opinions on how we do out here are tantamount (a big word for very, very important!) to our work.

Do you have feedback? Hangups or praise? Here's your chance to get that to us. We value what our members think, and we want to bring the best products to your table, while making it fairly convenient for you to get them. If you have any feedback or comments that do not fit in with the survey somehow, please email us! echocsa@gmail.com, or echofarmers879@gmail.com If you participated in our Fall or Winter CSAs that occurred not that long ago, you may of course take the survey as well. If you were a 2010 member and would like to leave feedback a little late, that's ok, too.

A big reminder to you all that our 2012 Season Sign-Up is now open! Fill in a membership slot while you can! Just click on our CSA Sign-Up page at the top.

In the meantime, take care in the cold weather out there, and remember that Spring is coming soon!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

2012 Season Member Sign-up Starts Now

2012-01-26T11:26:00.003-06:00

We have now opened up a new 2012 Season Member Sign-Up on our "CSA Sign-Up" page. A few of you have emailed us early in regards to getting a veggie box for this season-- Thank You! We've referred you over to our new CSA Signup, which was closed before, but is now open. Simply click on the "CSA Signup" tab above, which will take you to our Small Farm Central link where you can signup. Then, simply follow the directions, and it should take only a few minutes! There is an option for returning members, don't forget! At the top of the page that's opened after you click on the Echollective Small Farm Central page, a green banner asks you: "Returning Member? Click Here." This will make things easier for the both of us keeping track of current and past memberships.

If you have any questions or encounter any troubles, please contact us: echocsa@gmail.com!

As for on-the-farm news, Echollective is starting seeds for the new season already. Soon the house is going to be crowded with veggie-babies and cabbage-patch kids. Our vegetables in the ground and greenhouses are asleep for now, blanketed in plastic, Reemay and snow, growing and rejuvenating slowly until we uncover them in Spring. Hopefully they'll be OK 'til then! Crops like spinach, which are the majority of what we have left, are super-hardy and can hang out until the weather looks up. On the other hand, our lettuce heads and kale that we still have may or may not be having the good time.

As for the human being inhabitants on the farm, we are also in hibernation mode. In between doing winter farm work, seed-starting and cleanup, we stuff our cheek-pouches full of acorns, dig out our food stashes, keep warm and sleep.....and maybe watch the X-Files or several Harry Potter movies in a row.

Grantwood Farmer's Market still continues...come visit us there! We still have some local food fare. Next market day is Feb. 4th. See ya then!

Blizzard....

2012-01-11T19:35:00.003-06:00

2012 CSA signup is now underway! Email us for a share of the harvest this season!

Look it up online, watch the news, ask a meteorologist or talk to your local shaman....winter's first real blizzard is on it's way, and it's coming tonight! We expect 4-6 inches of snow.

Quite ironic that we spent most of yesterday, all the way up until the dusk's typically beautiful sunset, scrambling to get our cold-frame cats back up and working.

Today we had to take them down again. Our rough-and-tumble little portable greenhouses would collapse under the weight of that much snow. We had to resort to double-covering what was left of our crop with Reemay and plastic. We've chopped a lot of the growth off of some vegetables, such as kale and spinach, to make them go dormant for the winter, scrapping what we can use for more distribution and for our own consumption this winter. We'll see how much we can save and still use after this blizzard comes through...if it actually comes through at all, though the wind is whipping pretty hard outside right now.

Perhaps we're about to say "bye-bye" to this farmin'-in-T-shirts weather? It's been lovely still being able to walk around barefoot in our straw-bale home and extend the season as far as we have, but to be honest, a blizzard is more than welcome, ecologically speaking. There hasn't been much snow not only because it's been unusually mild, but also very unusually dry. The fact that the usual blanket of snow is absent right now is kinda worrisome. A healthy water-table level, important to nourishing both our farm and wild flora, depends on that persisting layer of snow to stick around, and slowly seep water back into the groundwater supply. If there's no snow this winter-- and if it is continuously dry-- that could mean some serious drought conditions this summer.

Our barn cat Macy could be pregnant again, she's a bit chubby-nubby, and kinda irritable. Her daughter Survivor can easily derail a workday, she is so precious and distracting. It is hard not to pick her up and tickle her!

Well, winter may mean the end of vegetable growing and harvesting, but it also means seed-starting is coming soon for our 2012 season. And living at a farm-- there is no end to the list of things that are needed to be done!

Grantwood Farmer's Market is still going. Come visit us next Saturday, Jan. 21st!

Save The Red Avocado!

2012-01-05T11:02:00.002-06:00

First of all, we hope you all had a wonderful champagne-filled celebration of the New Year 2012. Happy New Year!

A week or so ago, some big bully of a developer decided to buy up the plot and buildings that currently are the Red Avocado, a local restaurant with vegan options that buys a good deal of our veggies, as well as the Defunct Books bookstore. These developers are announcing that the restaurant has about a month to totally vacate, before they demolish the beautiful early 1900s era buildings that house these businesses. This is hardly enough time for a restaurant to relocate and reestablish its livelihood, and quite an unfair and impossible ultimatum to put anyone in! If this demolition and eviction take place, we're afraid that Red Avocado, an important part of the local food scene here in Iowa City, will have to shut down and go out of business completely.

Please help save the Red Avocado by signing the petition in this link: http://www.change.org/petitions/save-the-red-avocado. 5,000 signatures are needed. Red Avocado has been our steady customer for many of the years that Echollective Farm has been in business. We ourselves are also affected by this blow, as well as several other local, organic farms that are vital to the organic and local foods scene burgeoning here in Iowa City, and who are also supported by Red Avocado's buying of their produce. If you would like to directly support the local food movement-- now's the time! Please sign, it will take up less than two minutes of your time! Many organic farms and the Red Avocado will thank you!

In other farm-related news, it is quite apparent that Mother Nature has unleashed her strongest fury yet this winter. Our cold-frame cats were collapsed by the 65 mph gusts this past week, leaving many of our winter greens to freeze. We've lost a great deal of our winter crop...although we didn't expect to go this far into the winter as we have anyway, what with all this ridiculous warm weather! Looks like we're going to try to fix them in the next few days and see what we can do. Our spinach is tough and probably mostly ok, and our permanent greenhouses are still well-enough intact for us to keep growing some stuff.

This unfortunately means the end of our Winter CSA. However, a reminder to you all that our 2012 season CSA signup for the spring will be coming up soon....look out! It usually happens in January, but we will let you know for sure.

In better news, don't worry...we've still got some produce available. The Grant Wood Farmer's Market still continues for another month or so, and Farmer Derek will be at our stall with some of the last harvest we had before the storm, and some of the stuff that made it! Come see us at market! We've still got spinach, lettuce, garlic, onions, potatoes, and more.

See ya next week, and take care.

No Market this Saturday....but....

2011-12-30T12:00:00.002-06:00

...our week-by-week CSA continues! Now, who would have dreamed of a "wet" Christmas? Still no snow, and the chillingly cold temperatures we usually expect by the end of December...but with the rain pouring down and continuously warm temperatures, we will expect new growth. Which means-- more veggies still! Winter CSA continues.

Contact Derek to get in on next week's share: echocsa@gmail.com or call (319)325-3910.

What to expect:

Potatoes
Squash
Onions
Garlic
Leeks
Daikon Radishes
Spinach
Braising Mix (Kale, tokyo lettuce, pac choi, chard, etc.)
Head Lettuce
Cilantro
Salad Mix
Asian Greens

Again, no market this week. The next market will be January 7th. So you will not find your box there. If you participate in CSA, your share will be delivered to you!

We hope you all had a nice, happy, relaxing vacation or holiday with family or friends. We sure did! See you next week!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-22T14:34:00.002-06:00

Happy first day of Winter! Holidays are coming up soon! Whatever you end up celebrating-- Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, etc.-- we hope it's filled with happiness, warmth, and of course, great food.

Our official Fall CSA ended last week. Big "Thank you's!" out to all of you who participated in Fall CSA! We are continuing a week-by-week basis CSA through the winter. What with all the exceptionally warm weather, we've still got lots of veggies! If you would like to sign up for a week's worth share, contact us: echocsa@gmail.com or call (319)325-3910.

What we might have for you:

Salad mix
Braising mix
Vitamin greens
Garlic
Onions
Daikon radishes
Squash
Potatoes
Maybe more: just ask

A reminder to you all that our 2012 season CSA signup will be coming soon....look out! It usually happens in January, but we will let you know!

Grant Wood Farmers Market still continues, come on out and visit our booth for some tasty veggies. Get them while you still can!

Besides our usual protection and weekly harvests of our plants, we've had a few other projects and happenings hereabouts. I just finished my first herbal salve for treating arthritis inflammation, and an herbal cough syrup for colds and flu. Perimeters and plans have been set up to build a few new permanent structures here, and more work is being done on our haybale barn/farm home. A film crew might be coming in sometime soon to film us doing a few things, such as setting up our "cats" or moveable greenhouses. I believe it will be featured on an Iowa City public television station in a weekly show about sustainability. This winter might harbor a time for our resident mushroom-farmer Will to possibly grow some Japanese gourmet mushroom varieties.

Winter is also an excellent time for birds, especially on our property, for some reason. I think there must be something just a tad bit magical about our land, because it seems that a lot of awesome birds take "refuge" out here....and surprisingly rare ones. Our resident birdsman Randall has identified a local "merlin," a little bird of prey that looks much like a peregrine falcon, except with a red chest and hardly larger than a dove. Apparently these birds are incredibly rare. Along with a merlin, there have been rough-legged hawks, several bald eagles and the occasional golden eagle! Several weeks ago I saw two trumpeter swans fly over our house. There are also several pileated woodpeckers that have moved into our woods, quite uncommon as well. Randall also says to look out at suspect white spots out in the country and fields-- take a second look. They might be migrant snowy owls from far north! If you are ever interested in bird watching, our place is a hot spot. We also have lots of common flying critters, like chickadees, cardinals, meadowlarks, bluejays, finches and nighthawks.

See you next week, and once again, happy holidays!

***

Please tell us if you can't identify something on the market table, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

Winter? Guess not....

2011-12-16T12:58:00.006-06:00

It's December and it still has yet to dump snow all over us! Will we have a white Christmas? Hanukkah? Let alone a white Solstice? I guess we'll see. Good news for the veggies in the greenhouses and for our buyers, though! Our plants have been enjoying 50-70 degree weather in the cats on these uncharacteristically warm days. We've been farming in flop-flops and t-shirts! Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch.

Last week of Fall CSA! Pick up your shares at the Grant Wood Farmer's Market, in the Grant Wood Elementary School gymnasium. However, fresh, tasty produce will be available there at the Farmer's Market for everyone to buy!

What to expect:

Lettuce
Vitamin Greens
Braising Mix
Garlic
Onions
Daikon Radishes
Squash
Potatoes

A reminder to you all that our 2012 season CSA signup will be coming soon....look out! We will also be putting together a survey for all of you, so we can receive some of your feedback to help us out in Summer 2012!

Recipes:

Butternut and Apple Harvest Soup

(www.allrecipes.com)

2 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1 cup diced carrots
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 quart chicken stock (optional)
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
1/2 cup light cream
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped chives

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in leeks and onions, and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add potato, squash, carrots, apple, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.

2. Carefully puree the soup in batches in a blender, or use a stick blender to puree the soup right in the pot. Once the soup has been pureed, return it to the pot and stir in wine and cream. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper; simmer gently for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives.

Furofuki Daikon Recipe

(from www.saveur.com)

Perhaps a bit more on the exotic side and calling for ingredients whose names I don't understand, but it still sounds quite tasty! Other root vegetables like parsnips, rutabaga, turnips or kohlrabi can be used to substitute the daikon radish.

2" square piece konbu (dried sea kelp)
Pinch salt
9" piece daikon, peeled, trimmed, and cut crosswise into eight 1"-thick rounds
O cup white miso
3 tbsp. sake
2 tbsp. mirin (sweet rice wine)
1 tbsp. sugar
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp. dashi
1" piece ginger, peeled and grated

1. Cut out a circle of parchment paper just large enough to fit inside a wide medium pot, then cut a 1/2" vent hole in center and set paper aside. Put sea kelp, 8 cups water, and salt into the wide medium pot and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add daikon and return to a simmer. Lay parchment paper circle on surface of liquid in pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and gently simmer until daikon is soft when pierced with the tip of a small sharp knife, 50–60 minutes.

2. Put miso into a medium pan set over another medium pan of simmering water over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until paste loosens, about 1 minute. Gradually add sake, then rice wine, stirring until smooth. Add sugar and egg yolk and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thick and creamy, 1–2 minutes. Stir in dashi and ginger.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer daikon, one of the cut sides up, to 8 small bowls and discard cooking liquid. Spoon some of the miso sauce on top of each piece of daikon, spreading it out with the back of the spoon to cover top of daikon completely.

Enjoy, and we'll see you at the Farmer's Market!

***

Please tell us if you can't identify something on the market table, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

Winter Is Here

2011-12-08T19:27:00.003-06:00

Hey y'all...it's getting cold, cold, cold...finally!

As you probably know, snow is here to stay this time, clinging to the ground and to the top of our greenhouses and cats, which may actually come in handy adding a little extra insulation. Yep, our vegetables are still alive and kickin'. No worries. In the past week, we have covered all and even double covered a few of our rows inside the cats and greenhouses with plastic and Reemay, giving them even more protection. If you don't know what Reemay is, it's a white, perforated, soft and cloth-like material that can be used to cover and protect plants from frost while still allowing them to breathe. Inside our greenhouses and cats, it looks like you're walking through a white, puffy tunnel!

We here at Echollective would like to send a big warm THANK YOU to our Summer CSA members for giving us such a successful season! We couldn't have done it without you, and we hope that everything has been tasty and nutritious. To those of you who are still sticking with us through Fall, and into winter...an even bigger thank you for your loyalty! To all of you, we hope to be growing for you again in spring!

Speaking of which, a reminder to you all that our 2012 season CSA signup will be coming soon....look out! We will also be putting together a survey for all of you, so we can receive some of your feedback to help us out in Summer 2012!

As for Fall CSA, unfortunately, there will be no CSA shares this week...farmer Derek is off to Colorado by train for a mini vacation. Expect him back in a week and a half. However, there's a chance that a little vegetable stand might just randomly pop up at a little festival called What A Load Of Craft...and there's a chance it may have something to do with us....oh, these are just whispers on the wind!

As it gets colder, the challenge of keeping our vegetables warm, happy, and alive will get harder. We're all bracing ourselves for tomorrow night, when it will get the coldest it has yet. All of us pull on a few layers nowadays before heading out, and most of us are wearing coveralls almost all the time. We heat big pots of water to put in with the vegetable wash water, so our hands stay nimble. Although we'll be starting our spring seeds real soon, the ground will be too frozen and temperatures too discouraging for little babies to want to sprout and flourish, even in the greenhouses. All we can do is struggle to keep the ones we're now tending alive as long as possible 'til spring. We're close to done with covering all our planted garlic with mulch. Hurry, before the ground and garlic freezes!

It's more than obvious with the ringing of shots from our woods that deer season has begun. A couple guys are out here on our property for hunting visits, trying to take down a buck on our much-frequented game trails. Local veggies are a boon, but so is local meat! A few of us here talk about making our own little hunting party. Venison for the winter would be wonderful, the thought of it makes all of us lick our chops. In the meantime, we've been slurping on our home-made stew with delicious chunks of goose-meat, from live local geese gifted to us from our neighbors at Hue Hill Farm. We thank the geese, who had long, happy lives, for feeding us. We also thank you, farmer Jean Donohue, for taking care of them and providing us with several scrumptious meals! Oh, and of course, thank yous to Will and Randall, my fellow employees, for doing the hard, challenging work that comes with meeting face-to-face with the living animals you decide to eat-- it is truly a deep, intimate experience, and requires much respect to do it properly.

Sorry, no venison or geese in our CSA shares! Yet.....? Stay warm and see you next week!

1st December CSA Newsletter!

2011-12-01T17:25:00.003-06:00

Hey folks! It's been a few weeks. Our original website writer is on a lengthy sick-leave, but I've jumped in to help out with newsletters (my name's Adrian; I am a resident/worker here at Echollective! Nice to meet you all). Let's hope she gets better!

The weather's been getting steadily colder and the frosts have begun, but we've been able to hold our own using greenhouses and our made-on-the-farm contraptions we call "caterpillars," or "cats" for short. These house our big brassicas (kale, tat soi, bok choy, arugula, etc.), spinach and lettuces, as well as some little babies on the way. All this talk about cats can get confusing...kitties! Where? "Hey...we're not that kind of farm." We piece-meal these cats together from scraps and materials we've salvaged, found, and sometimes bought (at prices much less than a full-blown greenhouse). They work just like greenhouses or cold frames. We've spent many days getting the cats in place, and moving them once they're empty to house new vegetables. Without them, we wouldn't be able to keep growing our produce as far into the cold weather as we now do. It's quite a scramble to get them together so we can provide food in winter, and as the weather gets colder, who knows how far we can go! At least it hasn't snowed yet. The only thing we don't have under cover right now are our daikon radishes...pretty darn hardy! We've pulled out some enormous ones.

Speaking of ACTUAL cats, our barn cat Macy gave birth to a litter! Sadly, most of them did not make it, but we've got one little roly-poly fat fuzzball Survivor who has been getting stuck in shelves and knocking over entire piles of boxes already. Still cute as all get-out, but steadily getting to that annoying teenage cat phase where she will attack anything and everyone.

We had a little Thanksgiving at the farm, a splendid affair, a lot of it using Echollective produce of course. Our feast consisted of apple-vegetable stuffed roasted pork tenderloin, roasted vegetables, home-made cornbread, salad (with our beautiful Cherokee lettuce) and home-made cheesecake for dessert. We hope your Thanksgiving was just as decadent! Happy Thanksgiving, a bit late!

In spite of winter's quick approach, Fall CSA continues! Just a few weeks left, folks.

FALL CSA MEMBERS: come on and pick up your member shares out at the Iowa City Grant Wood Farmer's Market! Farmer Derek will be there with your selections.

SUMMER CSA MEMBERS (WHO ARE NOT FALL MEMBERS): if you're still jonesin' for veggies, come by the Grant Wood Farmer's Market! Last chance to get some tasty, local organic produce before winter hits hard!

On the table this week:

Lettuce
Vitamin Greens
Braising Mix
Sweet Peppers (still!)
Hot Peppers (still!)
Garlic
Onions
Daikon Radishes
Squash
Potatoes

Recipes

Japanese-Style Sour Pickles

(from www.cooks.com)

1/2 cucumber
1/6 carrots
7 oz. water
1 1/3 tsp. soy sauce
5 oz. daikon radish
2 2/3 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
Sliced ginger (optional)

Combine vinegar, water, salt, sugar and soy sauce. Add sliced ginger and stir slowly until sugar is dissolved. Cut cucumber, daikon and carrot into strips. Put vegetables in a jar and pour the mixture over them.

If you would like to do the live-fermentation version of this, simply omit sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce from the recipe. Mix 2 tbsp salt with 1 qt. of water, then submerge the veggies in this mixture. Place something like a lid or jar on top of them to keep them submerged, and let sit for a couple weeks. Make sure to put veggies and mixture in an opaque container, and make sure it is not airtight! Check sporadically to make sure there is no mold growing on top. After two weeks, taste and test.

Garlic and Herb Sauteed Bell Pepper Strips (appetizer)

(from americanfood.about.com)

3 tbsp olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, cut into half-inch strips
2 large yellow bell peppers, cut into half-inch strips
2 cloves finely minced garlic
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley
toasted Italian bread to garnish, optional

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the pepper strips, and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the peppers begin to soften. Turn down the heat to low, and add the garlic, salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar and herbs. Toss to combine. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Toss again, adjust seasoning and serve with toasted bread if desired.

***

CSA continues!

2011-10-25T20:06:00.005-05:00

Yes folks, we do have a fall/winter CSA share available. $120 for a couple-size share ($20/week for 6 weeks) or $180 for a family-size share ($30/week for 6 weeks). Deliveries started last week and will continue this week at the Iowa City Farmers Market. As many of you know, this year the farmers market will continue running through the fall and winter months but in a different location. The new location is Grant Wood Elementary, and the market will run there every other Saturday, beginning Nov. 5th, from 2-4pm. So after this week, the other 4 CSA deliveries will happen at Grant Wood every other weekend. Please let us know by email if you are interested. Farmer Derek will prorate the share cost to you if you are joining late.

***

CSA Week 19 - October 5 and 8

2011-10-05T14:00:00.012-05:00

Fall greens are really starting to come in now. Bok choy and spinach and lettuce, oh my! On the other hand, weather is not so good for peppers. They felt some frost last week, and many plants did not survive.

On the table this week:

Salad mix
Tomatoes
Sweet peppers
Hot peppers
Potatoes
Onions
Leeks
Winter squash
Garlic
Basil
Parsley

Recipes
(shared from an excellent website/newsletter, Joyful Belly-- http://www.joyfulbelly.com)

Butternut Squash Soup with Fennel, Ginger and Garlic

1/2 C onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced fine
1 tsp fennel seeds
4 C water
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and diced
2 T olive oil
4 C butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 2-inch cubes
juice of 1/2 lime

Saute the onions on medium, and when beginning to brown add ginger and garlic and continue to saute for about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer soup until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.

Collard Greens with Potato, Lemon and Turmeric

1 potato (medium-large size), chopped in small cubes
1/8 tsp turmeric (dry powdered)
1 C water
1/16 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
juice of 1/4 lemon
1 tsp sunflower oil
2 lbs collard greens (or kale), chopped finely into long, skinny strips

Place all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are soft and greens are tender and easy to chew. Makes two servings. I recommend doubling the recipe-- these are some tasty greens!

Lemon, Parsley and Sunflower Seed Salad Dressing

1/2 C water
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp tarragon
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp dill
1/3-1/2 C sunflower seeds
1 tsp tamari or shoyu
1/4 C fresh, chopped parsley
1 tsp brown rice syrup (or, local honey works)

Puree all ingredients in a blender (for a smoother consistency), or whip in a food processor (for chunkier consistency). Toss your Echo salad greens in it!

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 18 - September 28 and October 1

2011-09-28T11:15:00.004-05:00

Rain and no frost equals happy farm. Fall cleanup continues. Garlic planting time is nearly here. Salad mix makes its reappearance this week-- yum! Just two weeks left of CSA veggies, information on Fall shares on its way.

Garlic party details:

A work party is slated for October 1-2 and 8-9. All are welcome to join the party as we sit, chat, and break hundreds (dare say thousands?) of carefully cured, whole garlic bulbs into single cloves for planting. Bring warm clothes. If you have work trade you need to finish, garlic planting is the time to get square on that.

On the table this week:

Tomatoes
Sweet peppers
Hot peppers
Winter squash
Salad mix
Onion
Leek
Garlic
Potatoes

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 16 - September 14 and 17

2011-09-14T13:43:00.006-05:00

Hurry up, cover those plants! Days are shorter now and nights cooler, and the farm may even feel frost tonight. It's time for picking things up and putting away, putting up and picking away. Rye and vetch cover/green manure crops are going in, and protective coverings are being installed to extend the growing season for baby greens. Basil greenhouses are being transformed to house spinach.

Fall is a busy time for Echo, with garlic planting starting in just a few weeks. A work party is slated for October 1-2 and 8-9. All are welcome to join the party as we sit, chat, and break hundreds (dare say thousands?) of carefully cured, whole garlic bulbs into single cloves for planting. Bring warm clothes. If you have work trade you need to finish, garlic planting is the time to get square on that.

Culinary ride rolls this weekend! Support local food and farm-to-school in our area, while enjoying a bike tour of farms. Food and refreshments will be provided by our gracious hosts. See culinaryride.com for info and to register for the ride. Echollective Farm is stop #4 on the "55-mile beet it up" route, ETA 1-3pm.

On the table this week:

Braising mix
Leeks
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Sweet peppers
Hot pepper
More to be decided...

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 15 - September 7 and 10

2011-09-07T14:05:00.003-05:00

On the table this week:

Sweet peppers
Hot peppers
Tomatoes
Braising mix
Leeks
Potatoes
Garlic
Onion
Basil

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 14 - August 31 and September 3

2011-08-31T09:19:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's rain made nice planting weather. We should have some delicious baby greens this Fall! Infrastructure improvements are in the works at the farm now, and plans focus on a new irrigation system and buildings for housing equipment and starting plants.

On the table this week:

Tomatoes
Peppers
Cucumber
Potatoes
Leek
Onion
Garlic
Kale
Basil
Parsley

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 13 - August 24 and 27

2011-08-24T12:41:00.007-05:00

This week the farm got rain-- 2 inches, hooray! Struggles with our tomatoes continue, so we are not likely to have many for CSA for a while. The hot spell earlier this month suppressed flower production so much that fruit production is way down. Farmer Derek found a neighbor with some organic sweet corn, so look forward to that this week. The farmer warned of ear worms, so watch out and wash well before eating! Seed garlic sales are starting now, as fall approaches.

Excitement is bubbling over the culinary ride to local farms on September 18th. The ride will stop at Echo land for a tour and delicious buffet, so don't miss out! Join the ride in support of community health and the farm-to-school effort in our area. Get info about the ride online here: http://culinaryride.com/. Also, a facebook page has been created for Culinary Ride-- add it to your "likes" and spread the word to your friends! If you are interested in serving the riders out at the farm as they pass through, let Derek know. He is currently looking for a few good volunteers for the event.

On the table this week:

Leeks
Potatoes
Sweet corn
Pepper
Hot pepper
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Zucchini
Kale

Recipes

Jerk Marinade

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 c chopped scallion (optional)
1 Echo leek, chopped (optional) -- use the white to palest green parts
1 clove Echo garlic (optional)
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp sugar (or honey or agave syrup)
1 tsp ground allspice (Jamaican pimento)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 hot pepper, finely ground (for medium-hot)
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 T shoyu
1 T olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar

Chop the veggies together in a food processor fitted with an S-blade, then add in other ingredients to mix. Choose just one of the optional ingredients for each batch. This recipe makes an excellent medium-spicy marinade for tofu, tempeh, or meats. For a spicier version, use 2 hot peppers. For a saucier jerk treatment, use the marinade before cooking and then brush on barbecue sauce near end of cooking. Yeah mon, yes!

Jerk Rub

1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 c chopped scallion (optional)
1 Echo leek, chopped (optional) -- use the white to palest green parts
1 clove Echo garlic (optional)
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground allspice (Jamaican pimento)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 hot pepper, finely ground (for medium-hot)
1 tsp ground black pepper

Chop the veggies together in a food processor fitted with an S-blade, then add in other ingredients to mix. Choose just one of the optional ingredients for each batch. This recipe makes a paste for rubbing whatever you are jerking-- tofu, tempeh, meats, fish and so on. Using the rub and letting it set for 15-30 minutes before cooking is the authentic jerk flavoring method. Both recipes here will make a substantial batch of jerk, and leftovers can be stored sealed in the refrigerator for up to a month.

--recipes adapted from Jerk: Barbecue from Jamaica by Helen Willinsky

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 12- August 17 and 20

2011-08-17T13:29:00.001-05:00

A bit short on news this week... Red onion harvesting is nearly done now, and potato harvest continues. Cover crops are being planted. Our intern Emily has her last day this week. We wish her well. Join us in welcoming Will and Adrian if you meet them at market!

On the table this week:

Leek
Potatoes
Red onion
Garlic
Basil
Tomatoes
Kale
Hot pepper
Beet
Carrot
Zucchini

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 11 - August 10, 13

2011-08-09T14:05:00.010-05:00

So very happy about nice weather! At the farm, the garlic has all been picked and fall lettuce seeds have been planted. We're also planting cover crops. And plans continue for the culinary bike rides (culinaryride.com). Here's a dilemma our farmers ponder often this time of year: most people love butterflies, but few people like the holes that caterpillars make in vegetables. No butterflies without caterpillars, so how do we find a happy medium-- eat veggies with some holes, or reduce particular caterpillar populations? Your input is appreciated!

On the table this week:

Hot pepper
Tomato
Zucchini
Cucumber
Potatoes
Onion
Leek
Garlic
Kale

Recipes

Tomato and Leek Quiche on a Sliced Potato Crust

4 or 5 potatoes, unpeeled and sliced very thin
3-4 eggs (3 large or 4 small-medium)
1/3 cup milk or cream
1/4 tsp black pepper
a pinch of sea salt
2 leeks, rinsed well and chopped
2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved or about 1 cup diced heirloom tomato
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp fennel seed (optional)
2 tablespoons butter
your favorite cheese, grated (enough to cover top of quiche lightly)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cover the bottom of an oiled pie pan with the potato slices, making sure to overlap them and placing some slices along the side (in the same fashion as a crust would cover the vertical side of the pan). Drizzle the potatoes with oil, bake for 20 minutes, and then set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet, add the fennel seed, and let come to a simmer for 2-3 minutes. Fennel seeds can be removed at this point or left in the saute-- I like to leave them in. Add the leeks, tomatoes, and garlic and saute on medium-low heat, about 5 minutes. Spread on the potato crust. Whip the eggs, cream, and pepper, and pour over the sauteed vegetables. Cover lightly with cheese. Bake on 400 F for 20 minutes, until eggs are firm. Very gently press top of quiche with the back of a fork to find out if the eggs are firm. Remove quiche from oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

Fresh Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Basil-Garlic Yogurt Sauce

3 cucumbers
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 large or 2 small tomatoes
1 avocado
1/2 cup of firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon olive or flax oil
a bunch of fresh basil (about 1/2 cup chopped)

Peel and chop cukes into thin pieces and toss in a bowl with the 1/4 tsp salt. Refrigerate for about ten minutes. While you wait, make the sauce in a blender or food processor. First process garlic, then add yogurt, honey, oil, and basil. Chop the tomato into small pieces, cube the tofu, and peel and slice the avocado into small wedges. Add tomato, tofu, and avocado to the bowl with the cukes. Gently stir in the sauce, and serve. The salad can be refrigerated for up to an hour before serving.

***

CSA Newsletter, Week 10 - August 3 and 6

2011-08-03T13:08:00.004-05:00

Halfway through the CSA season, we are wondering how long the extreme heat can persist! Greenhouse zukes, tomatotoes, and peppers are not liking this weather, but some have held their own valiantly. Storage onion and potato harvest is beginning now, as is the main potato harvest. Garlic harvest is nearly 75% finished, and we are racing to get the rest in. People from all around North America are clamoring for Echo seed garlic (seed-garlic.com).

Bike enthusiasts and others interested in local food and adventure should keep their ears perked about the "culinary" bike rides Derek is currently planning to various farm destinations in our area. Echo will be hosting a stop at the farm on September 18th. More details to come, through this newsletter and culinaryride.com.

**We have plenty of basil to spare on the farm, so if you want a special huge bunch for pesto, just email echocsa@gmail.com. Offer good for the next couple of weeks.**

On the table this week:

Kale
Garlic
Onion
Zucchini
Basil
Tomato
Beets
Carrots
Eggplant
Cucumber
Potatoes

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 9 - July 27 and 30

2011-07-27T11:17:00.012-05:00

Here we are at the forefront of climate change! The farm experienced the hottest day in 16 years this week, and then buckets of rain fell-- tumultuous conditions for the plants. We're really hoping the drying onions survive an untimely four storms. The extreme heat has stifled the flowering of many of the tomatoes, peppers, and zukes; however, our succession plantings should allow us to fill in gaps. Now it's nearly time to begin planting fall lettuces and brassicas.

** High summer is also a time when many people leave town for trips and vacations. In the past two weeks Farmer Derek has been flooded by requests from CSA members to switch their pick-up days. Though he can usually accommodate requests, at this time of year they tend to come all at once, bringing chaos into normally hectic but manageable weekly and daily picking schedules. Our farmers would greatly appreciate you keeping your scheduled pick-up day if at all possible. If you have to miss a pick-up day, have a friend pick up for you. Or, trade off pick-up days with another CSA member. **

On the table this week:

Leeks
Candy onions
Basil. If you have too much basil for your weekly cooking needs, you can freeze cubes to have on-hand for making sauces, post-season. Chop fresh basil and then process with just enough olive oil to make a paste-like consistency. Freeze in ice-cube trays, then transfer to freezer bags for storage.
Zucchini. If you are tired of zukes in savory entrees and side dishes, try the sweet recipe below.
Cucumber. Make a delicious cold salad with seeded and chopped cukes, fresh sweet corn, chopped tomatoes, and finely chopped candy onion. Nice tossed with a dry mustard-cider vinaigrette and feta crumbles, cheese curds, or paneer.
Garlic
Cabbage. Yummy stir-fried with carrot in fennel seed-infused oil, and topped with fresh chopped tomato.
Kale
Tomatoes
Eggplant. Plus basil, delicious in a green curry. Soup recipe offered below. Ratatouille recipe also below, though probably not enough eggplant this week to fill out the whole recipe.
Carrots

Recipes

Creamy, Spicy Eggplant Soup

1 lb eggplant
2 cups water or veggie broth
1 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves
2 cups chopped onion
1 tsp salt, pepper
1 cup dry sherry
3 T sour cream
2 T tahini (or soy sauce)
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper (depending on your preference)
fresh parsley for garnish, chopped

Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes face down on an oiled tray. Cool and scoop out flesh. Saute garlic and onions in some oil with salt and pepper, until onions are soft. Puree with food processor or immersion blender the eggplant pulp, water/broth, onion and garlic. Pour puree into a heavy saucepan. Add sherry, cover and heat gently. When soup has become hot, whisk in tahini (or soy sauce), sour cream and cayenne, until smooth. Cover and keep warm, serve garnished with parsley. Each serving could also be topped with yogurt, chopped tomatoes, or peppers.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon (depending on your preference)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (coconut oil makes these divinely moist)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 cups zucchini, grated (the more zuke, the moister the cupcake)
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Set up a 12-cup muffin/cupcake pan(s) with paper liners.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Beat together sugar, oil, egg and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes for an electric mixer. Using a large spoon, mix in flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in zucchini, then chocolate chips.

Divide evenly between lined muffin cups. Fill cups almost to the top, because these cupcakes don’t rise much. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool and enjoy! Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ratatouille

2 lbs. eggplant, cut into cubes
1 3/4 tsp plus 3/4 tsp salt, divided
2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, diced
5 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/3 cup loosely packed, chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup loosely packed, chopped parsley
1 1/2 lbs. onions, thinly sliced
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded, and chopped
2 lbs. zucchini, cut lengthwise and then into ½-inch slices
1/3 cup dry white wine

Place a single layer of paper towels on 2 large plates. Place the cubed eggplant onto the plates and sprinkle with 1 and 3/4 tsp salt. Allow the eggplant to sit for 20 minutes.

In a large saucepan, cook the tomatoes, garlic, black pepper, basil, and parsley, uncovered, over medium heat. In a large skillet, sauté the onions and bell peppers in a small amount of olive oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very lightly browned. Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the browned vegetables to the tomato mixture. Pat the eggplant dry with a fresh paper towel and add it, along with the zucchini to the tomato mixture. Cover the pot and stew over low-medium heat for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the white wine and 3/4 tsp salt, and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve over a bed of quinoa.

--recipes adapted from those published by Golden Earthworm Organic Farm in Long Island, Hilltop Farms in Willow Springs, NC, and http://straightouttachocolate.wordpress.com.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 8 - July 20 and 23

2011-07-20T11:26:00.014-05:00

Onion harvest is beginning, and garlic harvest continues, despite the intense summer heat. Farmers are watering the summer crops like crazy, all hours of the night, and finding time for siesta during the hottest parts of the day.

Garlic picking.

** Call for volunteers and work trade for farm and market runnings: we need people to help us haul in onions, garlic, and potatoes. This will be ongoing, through this month and next. We also need folks to lend a hand on the CSA table setup down at the market, Wednesdays at 4:30pm and Saturdays at 7:00am. Email echocsa@gmail.com if you are available. **

On the table this week:

Garlic
Candy onion
Basil
Tomato
Zucchini: great in a veggie lasagna, along with garlic, tomatoes, basil, and onion. See below recipe.
Beet
Kale
Broccoli: try it stir fried with garlic butter and toasted cashews.
Turnip
Cabbage: try it in the miso soup recipe offered below.

More picking.

Recipes

Miso with Steamed Greens and Cabbage

3-4 cups water
1 lemon, quartered
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger root, peeled and finely chopped
1/4-1/2 cup miso
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped cabbage
1/2 bunch chopped kale and beet greens

Put water, lemon, ginger, and miso in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the miso. Add vegetables and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove lemon pieces and strain out any lemon seeds prior to serving.

Veggie Lasagna

2 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 lb. ricotta cheese (or tofu)
salt and pepper
2 1/2 lbs. summer squash
olive oil
8 oz. no-boil lasagna noodle
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, grated or crumbled
1 cup parmesan cheese
other ingredients from your box, such as onions or garlic (diced and sauteed just a bit, or added in raw), kale, and/or basil

Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a 9" X 12" baking pan. Make the tomato sauce. Prep the ricotta or tofu-- if wet, strain, or if dense, mash a bit-- and add salt and pepper to taste. Cut zukes in half lengthwise, then on the diagonal in thin slices. Heat oil in a skillet and add zukes to cook on medium-high heat, turning frequently until tender, about 5 minutes.

Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce in the baking pan, then add 3 noodles on top of it. Cover with 1/3 of the ricotta or tofu, then 1/3 of the nuts, and 1/3 of the zukes, then salt and pepper. Then spread on 1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1/3 of the mozzarella, and a little shake of parmesan. Cover this with a layer of noodles, then repeat process twice more. Top final layer with remaining sauce and parmesan.

Tent the dish with foil, and bake until bubbling hot, about 40 minutes. Let rest for several minutes before serving.

(Credit to Full Belly Farm for these yummy recipes.)

Littlest garlic partier.

***

Farmer Derek received a letter from the The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition requesting public comment on a proposed rule which could affect the ways farmers receive credit and financing for their farms. Eat locally, comment thoughtfully...

Ask the FCA to adopt this new rule and bring badly needed capital to small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers producing for the local and regional market-- http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5735/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=4284.

[The Farm Credit Administration (FCA) is asking the public to comment on a proposed rule that, if adopted, would direct Farm Credit System lending associations to be more responsive to the credit needs of small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers producing for local and regional food markets. The Farm Credit Administration is the federally chartered agency that oversees the nationwide network of locally-controlled and borrower-owned cooperative lending associations that make up the Farm Credit System (FCS). FCS supplies nearly 40% of all U.S. farm financing and has the capacity to provide millions of dollars in capital and technical assistance to local food producers, and to leverage other sources of capital for the task of rebuilding our local and regional food system infrastructure.]

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 7 - July 13 and 16

2011-07-13T08:34:00.007-05:00

Not much news this week, beyond garlic garlic garlic. Thanks to the folks who came out this weekend and braved the 90+ temps and blazing sunny skies, the harvest was begun in earnest. More news next week, and hopefully some tomatoes by then, along with photos from the garlic party.

On the table this week:

Broccoli
Cabbage
Potatoes
Kale
Scapes
Zucchini
Basil
Leeks
Candy onions

Recipes

Basil Walnut Vinaigrette (adapted from a Mariquita Farm recipe)

1 tsp chopped garlic, or garlic scapes
about 20 basil leaves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons white wine or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Whirl the above ingredients together. Then toss with a couple of handfuls of chopped walnuts and one chopped candy onion.

Sweet Onion Tart (from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter cut in cubes
1/4 cup ice-cold water
2 lbs thinly sliced candy onions (or other sweet onions)
few sprigs of thyme

Use a pastry blender or a plastic scraper to cut the butter into the flour and salt, until a few large clumps remain. Pour in 3/4 of the water, and stir it in with a fork. Using scraper, continue lifting and folding the dough over onto itself until it holds together, about a minute. Add more water, a few drops at a time, if needed. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate it for an hour.

In the meantime, cook onions in a large skillet with four tablespoons of butter or olive oil (or both) and a few sprigs of thyme. Cook at least thirty minutes, until they are very soft and juicy, keeping in mind that they will still cook nearly an hour in the oven. Season well with salt. When they are cooked, cool onions for at least ten minutes in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Roll out dough on a floured surface to a fourteen-inch circle. If the dough is hard when it comes out of the fridge, let it sit on the counter for twenty minutes to soften up. Pinch together any cracks that form while rolling. Place the circle on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and let it firm up in the refrigerator.

Spread the onions on the dough, leaving a small border all around and removing the thyme sprigs as you go. Fold the border over the onions, brush it with egg wash if desired, and cook for about 50 minutes, until the bottom of the crust is well browned. Let it cool completely on a rack. This tart tastes twice as good at room temperature, so try to be patient.

Potato and Leek Soup (adapted from a Golden Earthworm Farm recipe)

3 tablespoons butter
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise andthinly sliced (about 4 1/2 cups)
4 medium potatoes (about 18 ounces total), peeled, diced
4 1/2 cups (or more) vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives, or garlic scapes

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks, and stir to coat with butter. Cover saucepan, and cook until leeks are tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes. Cover and cook until potatoes begin to soften but do not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 30 minutes. Puree soup in batches in processor until smooth. Return to saucepan. Thin with additional broth if soup is too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with chives or scapes.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 6 - July 6 and 9

2011-07-06T10:56:00.009-05:00

Hot, dry days at the farm! A little rain before the weekend would make the farmers happy and the weekend's garlic pulling somewhat easier. This week we are stoked to have a meager, yet yummy carrot offering. And in solidarity with the majority of cool climate people of the world, we offer potatoes. We have some tasty turnips, too, from our friend Pete Flynn at Dirty Face Creek farm. (From time to time we throw in a product from friends' farms to give the veggie share more variety.)

* * *

Garlic harvest fest this weekend!

July 8-10, at Echollective Farm (879 Echo Ave., Mechanicsville, Iowa)
An all-day, multi-day work party.
Pick, clean, and trim garlic for as long as you please. All are welcome, the more the merrier. Bring potluck vittles, gloves, hat, sunscreen, music makers. Wear workin' shoes.
Camping overnight, with notice. RSVP echocsa@gmail.com.

* * *

On the table this week:

Basil: pesto time! Nothing is better for wraps, sammies, and pasta. Ever tried pesto fried rice?
Broccoli
Onion: look at these beauties-- yum yum!
Scapes: throw a couple of scapes into your pesto (blanching them first makes them more digestible and more easily pulverized)-- process the scapes before adding the basil, parsley, oil, and salt and pepper.
Lettuce: perhaps the last week for it-- dress it generously, the taste may not be as good compared to earlier weeks.
Parsley: don't forget to put parsley in your pesto-- 1:3 is a good ratio of parsley to basil.
Kale: steam, dice, and add it to pasta salads before dressing. White bean and kale soup recipe offered below.
Zucchini: raw, grated coarsely, and dressed with a simple balsalmic vinaigrette, zukes make a nice addition to salads, sandwiches, and wraps. Grated zukes can be a tasty, slightly sweet filling for quesadillas.
Potatoes: find below a recipe for potatoes with olive, feta, and mint.
Beets: raw, grated or roasted, beets are delicious in salad. See recipe below for roasted beet and orange salad. You could even toss the finished product of this recipe with some crisp fresh lettuce!
Carrots
Turnips: nice in bean soups or stews. Can be added to salads raw, grated, and dressed-- pairs nicely with dill.
Purslane

Storage tips:

Cut the greens off beets and turnips, and refrigerate to preserve. Otherwise, greens will rob moisture from the root, and your root veggies will shrivel quickly.
Don't refrigerate scapes; rather, preserve in a dark place, inside an untied plastic bag. Use the same method of storing for basil.

Recipes

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Beet Greens

1 bunch of beets with beet greens attached
2 medium oranges
1 small onion, cut through root end into thin wedges
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Cut off and discard stems. Coarsely chop leaves and reserve. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl. Cook beet greens in large saucepan of boiling water just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool. Squeeze greens to remove excess moisture. Add greens to bowl with beets. Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working over another bowl and using small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release segments. Add orange segments and onion to bowl with beet mixture. Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic, and orange peel in small bowl to blend; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Serve.

Tuscan White Bean and Kale Soup

2 (15 oz) cans Cannellini beans
2 T olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
8 c vegetable stock
1 bunch kale, de-ribbed and cut into 1-inch ribbons
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
salt and pepper
parmesan (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy pot and add onion, garlic, carrots and bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium, cook until onions are translucent. Add stock. Bring stock to boil, reduce heat to simmer and beans, kale, and tomatoes. Simmer 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper and Parmesan, if desired.

Potatoes with Olives, Feta, and Mint

1 3/4 pounds small potatoes, cut into quarters
1 bunch fresh mint, chopped
8 ounces feta-cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup brine-cured black olives (such as Kalamata), pitted, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin oil

Place potatoes and 3 tablespoons mint in large pot of salted water. Bring water to boil, reduce heat and simmer potatoes until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes; transfer to large bowl. Set aside 2 tablespoons each of mint, cheese and olives; add remainder to warm potatoes. Mix in oil. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish potatoes with reserved mint, cheese and olives. Serve warm.

--credit to Golden Earthworm Organic Farm in Long Island, NY for this week's recipes

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 5 - June 29 and July 2

2011-06-29T10:14:00.006-05:00

Wishing for the summer sun now... we are hungry for the ripening of fruit and the fattening of garlic bulbs! Peas are done, and potatoes are starting to bloom--the first ones may make it to market next week. And over just a few rows, the Practical Farmers of Iowa are initiating the post harvest phase of their study on weed control in asparagus.

* * *

Garlic harvest fest next weekend!

July 8-10, at Echollective Farm (879 Echo Ave., Mechanicsville, Iowa)
An all-day, multi-day work party.
Pick, clean, and trim garlic for as long as you please. All are welcome, the more the merrier. Bring some potluck vittles, gloves, hat, sunscreen, music makers. Wear your workin' shoes. Camping overnight is fine, with notice. Please RSVP echocsa@gmail.com.

* * *

Volunteers, please? We need some more happy helpers at market for July. Let us know if you are available for an hour or two on a Wednesday (4:40pm-'til) or Saturday (7:00am-'til) to help set up and staff the CSA table.

On the table:

Beets: these are fabulous grated raw in salads, wraps, and even pasta dishes. Toss hot pasta with a bit of coconut oil plus grated raw beet and fresh chopped basil.
Cabbage
Basil: not quite enough yet for a big batch of pesto, but it is refreshingly sweet and flavorful. Chop for garnish on a variety of dishes.
Garlic scapes
Onion
Parsley: throw a handful of fresh, chopped parsley into whatever vegetable dish you make near the end of cooking it. It adds a refreshing zing.
Lettuce
Broccoli: you can make your own braising mix with a few leaves of broccoli, a few of beet, and double that amount of kale leaves. Chop the mix very fine and steam, and you have the filling for a mixed green quesadilla.
Zucchini
Peas
Other items, to be determined on picking day

Foraging tip of the week:
Yum-- it is berry season in Iowa! Service berries are deliciously sweet this year, so scout out bushes on your walks and outings. Service berry is a tall bush popular in landscape plantings. Also, check along roadsides, alleys, and creek banks for mulberries and gooseberries. I have even found a few nice early raspberries already, but I'm not telling where!

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 4 - June 22 and 25

2011-06-22T09:41:00.014-05:00

Firefly summertime evenings on Echo Ave. There are onions bulbing and a more varied assortment of zukes fruiting. A new walk-in is going in. This week's crazy weather challenge: the covering on one of the hoops took flight during some incredibly windy storms. The hoop is fixed up, but plants inside got bogged down a little. Wet weather is also complicating some of our succession plantings. Our working group from Americorps was just getting comfortable and digging in when they had to leave for Joplin, Missouri.

Thanks to volunteers helping with CSA veggies at market! You are a big help. We have many more days in July and beyond when we will need folks to stock and staff the table. Even if you only have an hour or so to lend a hand, we need ya on set-up (7:00ish on Saturdays or 4:30ish on Wednesdays). Find a sign-up list down at the market table on the CSA clipboard.

Garlic harvest festival is right around the corner-- July 8-10. It's an all-day, multi-day work party at Echollective Farm (879 Echo Ave., Mechanicsville, Iowa). Pick, clean, and trim garlic for as long as you please. All are welcome, the more the merrier. Bring some potluck vittles, gloves, hat, sunscreen, music makers. Wear your workin' shoes. Camping overnight is fine, with notice.
Please RSVP echocsa@gmail.com.

On the table this week:

Garlic scapes
Lettuce
Zucchini
Broccoli
Kale
Peas
Parsley
Other items, yet to be determined

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

Farm Photos

2011-06-19T12:23:00.003-05:00

I posted some new photos from the farm! Follow the "Photos" link below the header to view them.

CSA Newsletter, Week 3 - June 15 and 18

2011-06-14T12:22:00.023-05:00

Steady rain on the farm this week has bolstered lots of vegetative growth and somewhat easier weeding! Freshly weeded and mulched potatoes are looking beautiful. Hat tip to our very wise farmers for companion planting the taters with catnip, to keep flea bettles off their leaves. Focus turns now to summer crops and repelling insects-- interplanting eggplant and peppers with alliums, planting lots of zucchini to ensure plenty of healthy flowers and, later, fruit. Tomatoes are brimming with flowers. Sweet cicely seeds have come ripe and sweet. Oriole nests abound. In the woods, folks are spotting big patches of deer mushrooms... Summer solstice approaches.

potatoes, mulched and hilled up

Big thanks to CSA folks for the help on the farm and at market. Farmer/foodslinger Derek says, "Free coffee and burrito at Local Burrito for volunteers!" If you're interested in volunteering for markets, find the sign-up sheet on the CSA clipboard down at market, and mark a slot.

See those scapes on the market table? The beginning of garlic harvest is just a few weeks away! Stay tuned for info on the Garlic Fest. And feel free to get involved in the planning. I am busily brainstorming designs for a garlic stalk/leaf labyrinth. If anyone has ideas, please shoot 'em our way (echocsa@gmail.com).

On the table:

Garlic scape. The seed pod of the garlic plant, which curls as it grows tall and then slowly uncurls. They are most succulent when still curled, with an asparagus-like texture and a mild garlic flavor. Harvesting the scape helps the plant to concentrate growth energy in the bulb. Scapes can be diced and added to salad dressings, soups, sauces, marinades, stir-fries, scrambled eggs. They can be sauteed in oil or butter to accompany potatoes... Scapes store well for weeks in the fridge, but used fresh is always best! To preserve them for longer, scapes can be pickled. Check out this lovely recipe: http://www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com/blog/pickled-garlic-scapes-flowers-coriander-lavender-and-black-pepper.htm.
Head lettuce. What to do with so much lettuce? Throw a handful of leaves into a mixed berry or berry-banana smoothie. Lettuces can be full of vitamins A, K, C and folate and manganese as well. Try the lettuce soup recipe below.
Asparagus
Bok choy, the last of it for a while.
Mint
Oregano. Add whole oregano leaves and diced scapes to chickpea or other bean salads.
Turnip
Dandelion
Broccoli. The leaves are great sauteed or steamed along with dandelion, beet, and/or kale leaves. (All cook in about the same time.)
Kale
Peas-- sweet, crisp, and yummy! Try a garlic scape and pea stir-fry.
Beets
Salad mix. Toss some finely chopped dandelion leaves, peas, mint, and grated beet with your salad mix, and dress with a scape-balsalmic vinaigrette.

***

Recipes

Lettuce Soup

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or finely diced (or 4-5 scapes)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 head of lettuce, washed and cut into thin slices or several handfuls green lettuce
5 cups of water (0r broth)
1/4 cup of coarsely chopped fresh basil (or the same amount of oregano or of beet, broccolini, and dandelion leaves, chopped)
1/2 to 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat until hot. Add onions and sprinkle with a little salt, reduce heat to medium and saute until onions become translucent. Then add the garlic cloves and saute for a minute or two.

Add the water and potatoes and some salt and pepper. If you have thick, tougher lettuce leaves, add now as well. If you have thinner, tender lettuce, simmer for ten minutes, then add. At this point, simmer for about another 7 minutes, then add the quarter-cup of chosen fresh herbs (or greens). Simmer until everything is soft and add vinegar or lemon juice. Then blend in a blender! Salt and pepper to taste and serve.

zukes flowering and fruiting

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter, Week 2 - June 8, 11

2011-06-07T20:47:00.021-05:00

Mad heat! Summer zukes and tomatoes are flourishing, while the Spring choy, lettuce, and other greens bolt and flower. New brassicas are coming up now, and broccolini is likely just around the corner. Garlic scapes are nearly ready for market, and garlic harvest is just a month away.

**A massive hail storm Tuesday night destroyed Echo's greens! Many crops, like the garlic, broccoli, and kale, will make it through or bounce back. Other crops may have been damaged so that they do not produce well. Take care to eat the veggies we deliver to you this week soon, as some of them may have some bruising and therefore will not store well. The farmers are doing all they can to continue delivering food to market.**

Want to lend a hand in the field or just drive out to tour the farm? Saturday afternoons are great for that, or really any day except Friday. Call (319)325-3910 or email echocsa@gmail.com, to make plans. The address is 879 Echo Ave., Mechanicsville.

On the table this week:

Bok choy
Radish: a bit past their prime, our pretty red radishes are starting to taste spicy.
Nettle: the hairs on the underside of the leaves are the part of the plant that can still sting sensitive folks a little even after harvest, so take care when handling. See more info on nettle and cooking ideas in last week's letter. If you don't feel adventurous enough to cook nettle, it makes a great compost starter or compost tea.
Bunch spinach: spanikopita is this week's idea for assorted dark leafies greens like spinach and nettle (see below recipe).
Arugula
Garlic
Broccoli
Red head lettuce
Asparagus: may be the last of the asparagus this year
Spearmint: make a simple syrup (see below recipe) and mix into fruit juices, lemonades, iced teas, smoothies, or cocktails.
Purslane: most people weed it, so why not eat it? Purslane is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids (more than some fish oil supplements and more readily available to the body), vitamins E, A, and C, and many necessary minerals. The mucilaginous leaves are lemony and crisp. Chop or add whole leaves to salads. Added to the sauce near the end of cooking, it gives a slightly sour flavor to curry dishes. South Indian recipes often include it. Could be added to potato salad or cucumber-tomato salad.
Plus more....will be determined by weather patterns

***

Recipes...Enjoy!

Spearmint Simple Syrup

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan. Add mint leaves. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Transfer syrup to a small metal bowl and let sit until cool, about 10 minutes. Use warm, let cool to room temperature, or store covered and chilled.

Mixed Greens Spanikopita (adapted from an awesome recipe blogged by Organique Gal)

3-4 quarts (total) chopped dark leafy greens (fresh young nettles, spinach, arugula, purslane)
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
basil, oregano, marjoram and thyme to taste (2-3 tsp of each should work)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 c provolone, grated
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 package frozen phyllo, thawed
1 cup feta, crumbled

Thaw phyllo. Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9×13 baking pan.

Filling: Prep nettles by rinsing in a colander and trimming stems off. Use gloves if you are sensitive to nettle stings. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add nettles, press them down, and cover to cook for 3-4 minutes, until nettles are just shrinking down. Add other greens, cover to cook 3 more minutes. Add herb seasonings. Pour this saute into a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese, provolone, and 2 eggs, and mix well.

Roll thawed phyllo out, and place phyllo under a damp dish towel on the stack to keep the phyllo moist. This is important, and you must work quickly with it as it can get dry and brittle and is hard to work with if exposed to the air too long. Place a layer of phyllo on the bottom of the pan and brush lightly with butter. Place another layer and do the same. Repeat this process until you have used half the phyllo. Pour filling over the phyllo, and sprinkle crumbled feta on top. Repeat layering phyllo until you have used the rest in the package. Cut spanikopita in diagonal pieces before baking.

Bake in oven for an hour. Top will be golden brown. Serve with a fresh wild herb salad, french bread and a hearty red wine.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

2011 CSA Newsletter Week 1 - June 1, 4

2011-05-31T08:08:00.036-05:00

Tomatoes are flowering in the field, and the first week of CSA deliveries is heeeeerrre! Members can come down to the Iowa City Farmers Market weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays and pick up veggies at the Echollective stall. Deliveries run for 20 weeks. This means you'll have veggies through the second week of October, barring unforeseen weather events. Some pointers on picking up:

Bring shopping bags or a box with you, as we will have a "buffet style" table set up for CSA where you will pick your own veggies. We will have empty boxes ($1 deposit on those this year) available if you forget your bags.
Do come on the day you set as your pick-up day when you signed up.
Remember to bring the balance of your subscription cost this week when you pick up. If you need to find out what you owe, you can use the Small Farm Central site to do that (http://echollectivefarm.smallfarmcentral.com/members/statusemail). Or, call Derek (319-325-3910) or Mandy (319-400-0987) to find out. Remember that work trade is an option for payment-- see below for details.
If for some reason you cannot pick up, please let us know in advance.

**Check it out: CSA members get $1 off super-yummy breakfast burritos at Local Burrito (at the market on Saturdays)!**

Veggies this week include:

Bok choy: A stir fry standard, also yummy grilled. Makes scrumptious pesto (see recipe below).
Radish: Nice sliced thin on salad, or drizzled with butter.
Nettle: A wildcrafted item full of vitamins and minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, vit Bs and vit A), it packs a sting while it grows and retains some of that sting until it is either cooked or dried. Should be prepared like other dark leafies, steamed, sauteed, or simmered. Works nicely in curries, soups, and sauces. Mix it with your braising greens. A nutritive, cooling tea can be made by infusing nettles with mint and/or lemon balm.
Bunch spinach
Arugula: Delicious raw in green salads or added to pesto.
Green garlic: Dice finely and whisk into a simple balsamic vinaigrette and dress your salad greens!
Head lettuce
Asparagus: Grill, stir fry, or steam.
Mint
Cilantro: Chop and add raw to bean salads or relishes. You can make very tasty pestos with cilantro (see below recipe).
Turnips: A great addition to soups.

Storing radishes: Remove the greens (since they draw out moisture otherwise), and refrigerate in an open plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Try to use within 1-2 days.

Cooking with green garlic: These are new garlic plants that have sent up their shoots but have not yet formed bulbs. They have the characteristic aroma of garlic, but they have a milder taste than mature garlic cloves. You can use the white and pale green parts of the plant (most if not all of what has been provided). Try it sauteed in scrambled eggs or with asparagus. It is also delicious grilled. Incorporate some finely diced pieces into mashed potatoes. Add it to the broth for a delicate spring vegetable soup (pea soup with green garlic is also nice). Green garlic should keep refrigerated about as long as green onions, though if your plants have young bulbs forming on them, those bulbs may keep a bit longer.

Using asparagus: Try to use your asparagus very soon, as it loses sugar and moisture after harvest and goes limp. (Cold storage won't delay this process.) Use it before the butts of the asparagus spears begin to look dry, shriveled, or cracked.

Some pesto recipes... I find myself making spreads and pestos out of a variety of Echo veggies when I need to clear out space in my fridge for fresh veg. Toss pesto with hot pasta, or spread on wraps, crackers, or chips. Pesto can be nice with eggs and waffles.

Cilantro Miso Pesto

1 1/2 cups chopped cilantro (3 ounces)
2 to 4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup raw cashews, sunflower seeds, or hulled hemp seeds (or a combo of these)
2 tablespoons sweet white miso, mellow white miso or sweet barley miso
2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

Chop garlic and cilantro in a food processor until minced. Add other ingredients and process until well blended.

Bok Choy Pesto

2 cups bok choy, cleaned & chopped
1/2 cups raw cashews
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 inch piece of ginger, minced
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated (or sunflower seeds + couple tablespoons of nutritional yeast, for vegan option)
1/3 c olive oil
small splash of toasted sesame oil
pinch of salt & pepper

Pulse bok choy, cashews, garlic, and ginger in a food processor until ingredients are chopped and combined. Drizzle in olive oil while food processor runs, making the pesto. Add salt, pepper, and sesame oil and pulse a few more times. Done!

Spinach and cilantro.

* * *

& in the spirit of CSA...

Here's a hopeful call for more members to volunteer for distribution/delivery at market! This is an easy way to meet and help out your fellow CSA members, while deepening your commitment to the local food network. If you have older kids bring 'em along and introduce them to the world of food and marketing. If you are interested in setting up and running the CSA pick-up table, email echocsa@gmail.com.

We need help on the farm, too. Things are really bustling in the field, so folks interested should call and come on out!! Volunteer or work off the remaining balance on your share, and learn more about how we grow your food. Set something up with Derek by phone or email. We try to get people out to the farm for 4-hour sessions on busy days but will work with your schedule too. For work trade, half the cost of a couple-size share can be traded for 6-7 4-hour blocks of work. This week we've been extra busy getting fresh salad greens to school kids in the ICCSD-- part of our farm-to-school efforts-- and we need big help with weeding!

* * *

Jes and Randall's Wild Foods Walk & Potluck was held May 15th. After a stormy morning, the sun came out and blessed this springtime Sunday stroll 'round the farm! We identified many plants-- cleavers, nettles, sweet cicely, fiddleheads, and more-- talked about their nutritive and medicinal qualities, and discussed how they could be prepared in the kitchen. We went through the woods, too, to find solomon seal and some others. Potluck goodness included a chickpea dandelion salad, chai with burdock and dandelion root, and candied violets. Thanks to all who came.

**We'd love more input on and involvement with future events out at the farm -- potlucks, field days, and Garlic Fest are upcoming.**

Here are some photos from the blissful walk...

Some of the group who gathered. Caroline is collecting some plants for her hat.

Liliona, having a happy good time on the walk.

Selah with her wind-mohawk, and Mandy.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

2011-05-10T20:20:00.002-05:00

Dandelion+Love=Food
There are so many tasty ways to prepare dandelions. Really who knew that such delicious dishes could come from my LAWN :) The dandelions in the photos are form Echolective and were scrumptious!
Here are a few ideas for how to eat dandies:

The unopened buds are delicious tossed in a little melted butter or coconut oil. Because they can get pretty soggy in a frying pan, I think it's better to toss them in the oil and salt them and then roast them on 400 in the oven.

I made a delicious carrot, dandelion root, ginger curry. Here is my recipe:
3 large carrots
1 cup dandelion roots
2 TBS ginger root
1/2 large onion
1/2 tsp marjoram
2-3 TBS butter or coconut oil
1/2 tsp garam masala/ curry powder

Dice carrots, onion, dandelions and ginger. Melt the oil. Cook the onions first, when soft ad the ginger, marjoram and garam masala. Immediately add the carrots and dandy roots. Add water if needed to keep from burning. Saute until tender.

Dandelion greens are great in salad and cooked. I quite enjoyed them in quiche and an omelet.

Finally here is a link for a good dandelion flower burger! Yum! http://fat-of-the-land.blogspot.com/2008/04/dandy-burger.html

Edible Wild Plants Walk/Dinner

2011-04-28T14:45:00.005-05:00

I was able to sit down with Randall last weekend to collaborate and organize our ideas we've been formulating this Spring in hosting some workshops at the Farm! We both were getting giddy with our enthusiasm even after we downed the Scullcap/Lemon balm tea. To start things rolling, a basic wild foods (mostly plants) walk and dinner was in order. Randall, who has studied at ISU in Ecology and an extensive self-study, with I, who had studied from a non-Western, non-scientific, Indigenous perspective of health and plants and the earth will give a guided walk with plant identification, giving you full spectrum knowledge of the medicinal, edible, and utilitarian uses. We'll have a follow-up, covering plant and harvest Ethics, handouts, and a Wild Foods Dinner! Yep, we'll cook up and fix up some wild dishes and drinks for you to sample. ( helps for retaining all the info we dish out from the walk). If you're keen on it, bring your own wild dish/drink to share, and if you don't fill up, stay for the Potluck! This will be Sunday, May 15th at 1:00-3pm. $15 suggested donation for the class(Trades welcome, too!). Bring your friends and kids and kids' friends.

Jellies made from common Iowa plants

2011-04-21T09:46:00.019-05:00

Loooooky what I found: violet jelly and dandelion jelly!

Major props to Prairieland Herbs outside Woodward, Iowa. Give thanks for these lovely inventions and fabulous recipes!
http://www.prairielandherbs.com/dandelionjelly.htm
http://www.prairielandherbs.com/violetjelly.htm

Many wild plants get snarled at or ignored, stomped on, weeded incessantly, even sprayed with poison. But they are still with the land and with us, encouraging us to discover, use, and find ways to enjoy them.

To the celebration of wild and cultivated, raw and cooked things, and to things curiously both!

PFI webinar about CSA

2011-03-22T22:15:00.006-05:00

Last week I joined an online seminar sponsored by Practical Farmers of Iowa which may be of interest to many of you. Long-time farmer with oldschool US CSA movement cred, Elizabeth Henderson, spoke about her years in sustainable ag and, more pointedly, about CSA core groups. A core group is a body of CSA members who agree to take on more tasks beyond lending a hand on the farm. Core group does not include the entire CSA membership but usually consists of a handful of people (in small CSAs) who have a closer relationship with the farmer and/or the farmed land. Core groups usually take on tasks like making decisions on the cost of CSA shares, signing up members, delivering produce, writing/editing newsletters, sourcing other goods that the membership wants, etc. I was impressed with Henderson's core group and the responsibilities they took on in service to sustainable and equitable ag. They handled all of the distribution of the farm's produce, a great deal of the administration, and other organizational tasks, while also working on the farm some. One person in her core group even sourced organic wine and sustainably produced cheese for the CSA members' boxes! Her core group also served as the farm's "bank." And they were crucial in creating a land trust arrangement for the farm that leased the land back to the farmers on very generous terms. It boggles my mind a bit, but just imagine: a CSA relationship where the farmers just stay on the farm and produce the food, while the core group gets the food to the membership, the market, and wherever else it needs to go in the community.

Here's the link to the PFI "farminar" page: http://practicalfarmers.org/farminar/index.html. Choose the "CSA Members as Partners" link. Enjoy! For those who watch the webinar, I hope you will post your reactions to it here.

Also, you might notice that Derek was a speaker for the March 8th farminar on "Building Wholesale Relationships." Pretty cool talk!

CSA sign-up

2011-02-24T12:37:00.019-06:00

CSA subscribers can now sign up for shares online, make payments via paypal or mail/check, and request status emails to help track payments. Get on board here: http://echollectivefarm.smallfarmcentral.com.

Please note: If you use paypal, the total cost of subscription will be 3% higher than the share cost since paypal charges us a fee to use their the service. We prefer you mail us a check, and the online subscription system is set up to allow for that.

If you want to avoid the online subscription service, just send us the following info with your payment, so we can contact you about your veggies if we need to:

Names (all members, including children)
Phone numbers (main, alternate)
Email address
Home address
Which market day (Wednesday or Saturday) you will pick up your share through the season

Mail to:
Echollective CSA
c/o Derek Roller
1003 Ginter Ave.
Iowa City, IA 52240

bio-intensive workshop feb 5

2011-01-29T09:09:00.002-06:00

echollective will be hosting a bio-intensive workshop feb 5. heres a link to the flyer. if you can put one up somewhere that would be great!
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=16hh_bQfCeG29Pg2u_0yJuAxxyN8i-5lhXrTiesxtfwl7wT32v11XPiFNdlVx&hl=en&authkey=CIyXjdsH

11 has started!

2011-01-18T17:21:00.002-06:00

this week echo started its seed order, turned the lights on in the grow room, put seed to soil, and water to seed and poof! '11 is started! -30 or whatever, bah.
i get alot of questions about what a farmer does in the winter. well, i have been conferencing, researching, flyering, ordering, fixin, playin(shh!), cleaning, organizing, scheming, pickin (yes really), packin/ distro the last of our '10 crops, catching up with friends and family, more study, loan lookin, activisting, and on. and on. its a different busy, but busy none the less.
this year will be the first that the csa rents the whole farm! that means we have a (club) house. and a shop. oh wow, a dream realized! thats pretty great and i am stoked on what that will means going forward.
the csa will be serving cedar rapids, iowa city, and the quad cities (with points in between). we are taking on interns as well. new pi will again be receiving truck loads our amazing veg bi-weekly, as will all of our restaurant accounts. echo will also again be at the iowa city farmers market every wed and sat, as well as our own market on saturdays from when we have veg til the beginning of may. excitement and sunlight is building!
peas, d

CSA Newsletter Week 16: September 7th, 8th and 11th

2010-09-07T22:14:00.006-05:00

Hi fellow CSA'ers!

It's getting a tad bit chilly out there, especially early in the morn and/or late in the evening. Hope you're all enjoying the warmth of the midday sun and soft subtle breeze. Things have been moving steadily along for us here at echollective.

This week in your box you'll find:
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Green Beans
Beets
Zucchini
Eggplant
White Potatoes
Parsley
Garlic
Leeks
Onions
Peppers
Kale
Hot Peppers
Tulsi Basil

This week let's make VEGGIE SLOPPY JOES! I like this recipe because it gives me a chance to clear out my veggie bin, as any combination of veggies will do! The two key ingredients are tempeh and tomatoes. Aside from that, feel free to add something new or leave something out. And most of all enjoy!

What you'll need:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (red, green, orange or yellow)
1 zucchini, chopped
1 eggplant, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons of chilli powder
2 8-ounce packages of tempeh
1 lb of tomatoes, blanched
1/4 cup of ketchep
1/4 cup of dijon mustard
1/4 cup of fresh parsley and fresh cilantro leaves
1-3 hot peppers, chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until soft (about 7 minutes). Add the bell peppers, zucchini, eggplant, garlic and chili pepper and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Next, crumble the tempeh into the pan. Add the blanched tomatoes, ketchup, dijion mustard and 1 cup of water. Mix well. Simmer, stirring occassionaly, until heated through. Should take about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Then stir the parsley and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on toasted kiaser rolls.

Bonus! This sloppy joe mix can turn into a great base for some tasty chili. Just add some beans and reheat the leftovers! Wah'la! Dinner in minutes.

CSA Newsletter Week 15: August 31st, September 1st & 4th

2010-09-04T18:42:00.005-05:00

Hahlo Fellow CSA'ers!

Hope you're all enjoying the gradual shift into autumn. This week you'll be receiving the last basil of the season. We're now planting fall cover crops to feed the soil, as well as erecting more greenhouse space here in Iowa City. More excitement will ensue.

This week in your box you'll find:

Green Beans
Cherry Tomatoes
Potatoes
Zucchini
Eggplant
Leeks
Peppers
Kale
Hot Peppers
Garlic
Parsley
Basil

Hope you enjoy!

Here's an easy, incredibly flavorful soup that tastes best just barely warm. This recipe makes 4-6 servings and it takes about 45 minutes to make from start to finish.

Ingredients:
3 T olive oil
1 medium onion minced
3 cloves of garlic minced
4 medium potatoes, scrubbed and diced
1 pound of zucchini, diced
3 1/2 cups of vegetable stock, or water
Basil
Salt
Pepper

Heat oil, add onion, and sauté for 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes. Add potatoes, 1½ c liquid, salt, and pepper, bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer about 25 minutes, until potatoes are cooked.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes, until zucchini is tender.

Let the soup cool for at least an hour, then serve warm.

This soup can be served hot or cold, or somewhere in the middle.

***

Please contact us if you can't identify something in your box, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910






Notes	The original recipe calls for this soup to be served cold, but I find that it's not nearly as good chilled. It also loses flavor if you refrigerate and then reheat it, so try to serve it the same day you make it.

CSA Newsletter Week 14: August 24th, 25th & 28th

2010-08-25T18:47:00.004-05:00

Hello all! Hope you're enjoying the gentle cool breeze that's been rolling through Iowa. Sure does make for great weather! The festivals went well last weekend. Thanks to all who stopped by to enjoy some all organic vegan deliciousness! Much appreciated.

This week in your box you'll find :

Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Kale
Heirloom Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Basil
Tulsi
Basil
Eggplant
Fingerling Potatoes
Zucchini
Onion
Garlic
Parsley

Pasta with Veggies Recipe

This recipe is easy, satisfying, and packed with healthy veggies. You can vary the veggies based on what is fresh or what you have on hand. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

•1 pound organic pasta

•4-6 tomatoes, blanched

•1 Tbs Olive oil

•Sweet Peppers, diced

•1-2 small onion, diced

•1 zucchini and 1 eggplant, sliced

•1 clove garlic, minced

•1 tsp dried oregano

•1 tsp dried parsley

•Ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta.

Use a large non-stick skillet. Add olive oil and heat over medium heat for 1 minute. Add veggies and garlic and sauté until veggies are tender but not mushy. Add tomatos once blanched and peeled along with the remaining spices. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly. Serve over pasta.

***

Please contact us if you can't identify something in your box, don't know what to do with a
particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsltetter Week 13: August 17th, 18th and 21st

2010-08-17T19:47:00.005-05:00

Hello Fellow CSA'ers

Well the heat has finally ceased, at least a little! What a welcome treat to feel the first whispers of fall upon the soft iowa breeze. Things are still busy, busy. You can find us at the Sand in the City event taking place in downtown Iowa City this weekend, August 20th-22nd. For more information copy & paste http://www.summerofthearts.org/festival-menu/sand-in-the-city/about.aspx. We will also be in Chicago for the Hideout's Block Party hosted by Mad Decent Records. For more information on this event copy & paste http://www.maddecent.com/blog/mad-decent-block-parties-are-coming-for-you. Stop by and see us at either of these events!

This week in your box you'll find:

Beets
Kale
Peppers
Basil
Eggplant
Heirloom tomatoes
Zucchini
Green Beans
Onions
Garlic
Fingerling Potatoes

Recipe of the Week
Chop up the peppers, eggplant, zucchini, green beans and potatoes- all about the same size. Then chop some onion and garlic. Put it all into a piece of tinfoil and cover it with olive oil. Wrap it up and toss it on the grill. Let it cook for about five minutes and flip it over. Let it go for another five minutes and then remove from the grill. Let cool for five minutes and enjoy! Happy summer!

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

2010-08-11T13:17:00.004-05:00

CSA Newsetter Week 12: August 10th, 11th and 14th

Hahlo,Hahlo! We're deep in heat of it all- gardening, farming, festing! August is a busy, busy time. Hope that you're all enjoying the many joys of summer. Don't forget to stay hydrated!

This week in your box you'll find:

Eggplant

Kale

Zucchini

Garlic

Onion

Basil

Tulsi Basil

Potatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Ratatouille Recipe

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 chopped onions
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 ripe tomatoes, seeded, coarsely chopped
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh basil

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add eggplants and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Saute peppers and zucchini for five minutes or until soft. Mix in tomatoes and onion-eggplant mixture. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender and flavors have blended, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Stir in basil. Season ratatouille generously with salt and pepper. Serve cold, warm or hot. Enjoy!

Please contact us if you can't identify something in your box, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have other questions or comments. We love to hear from you!
echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter Week 11: August 3rd, 4th & 5th.

2010-08-03T22:20:00.006-05:00

Hi all!

August is upon us! Hope you're all enjoying these sweet sweaty summer months. Work on the farm and in the garden has been steady and prosperous. Everything is looking mighty delicious! Can't wait to share it with you! This week, along with a list of what you'll be getting, I'm also posting storage tips- so that you can get the most out of the food we bring you!

This week in your box you'll find:

Cabbage: Store in a plastic bag in the crisper of your refrigerator.

Peppers: These keep better when refrigerated, though you can keep them in a paper bag at room temperature if you'll be using within a day or two.

Tomatoes: Never refrigerate tomatoes, unless they're overripe- even then it's usually best to keep 'em out at room temperature or just eat 'em.

Potatoes: Keep 'em cool, moist and dark in a paper bag. Don't store in potatoes in plastic bags or in the refrigerator. Use within a few days of purchase.

Eggplant: If you're going to use in a day or two store at room temperature, otherwise place in a plastic bag and keep in the refrigerator crisper.

Kale: Should be wrapped in a damp paper towel, placed in a plastic bag and kept in the crisper.

Zucchini: Keep in a plastic bag in the warmest part of the refrigerator.

Garlic: Keep garlic in a cool, dark and dry place, not too close to the stove. Some people braid and hang, others may keep in a cupboard or pantry of sorts.

Beets: If you're going to keep beets longer than a day or two cut the greens off and store separately in open plastic bags in the crisper. This will make both the beet and the greens last longer.

Basil : Cut the stems at an angle under running water, wrap in wet paper towel, place in a plastic bag and store in the crisper

Tulsi Basil: can be stored like the basil above or dried and used in teas. This particular type of basil has a clove-like flavor that tastes great as an addition to both hot and iced tea.

For more information about tulsi basil and the numerous health benefits it provides, check out http://hinduism.about.com/od/ayurveda/a/tulsibenefits.htm

Enjoy!

CSA Newsletter Week 9 July 20th, 21st & 22nd

2010-07-21T19:27:00.002-05:00

Hi all!

Apologies for missing last week's newsletter. Summer is in full swing! The annual garlic fest went very well. Thanks to all who turned out, much appreciated!

This week you'll find the following in your box:

zucchini
kale
basil
parsley
garlic
potato

Keeping it short and sweet this week, folks. Much to do! More soon. . .

CSA Newsletter Week 7 July 6th, 7th and 10th

2010-07-07T22:16:00.002-05:00

The summer sun is a'shining! Perfect timing for our annual Garlic Fest this weekend July 9th thru the 11th. We will be out on the farm morning, noon and night starting friday am up until sunday eve. Please join in the fun and festivities as we celebrate the blessings bestowed upon our bellies this year. This event is sure to be both rewarding and relaxing. We will be picking and hanging garlic during the day, then shift into eating/enjoying food and fine company in the evening. You can bring a dish to share, your camping gear and whatever else your heart desires. RSVP echocsa@gmail.com if you're planning to come out, need directions, have any questions, etc. . .

In your box this week you'll find:

Basil. Can be stored for winter months. Easy to do, and easy to use. Just pick leaves and chop. Then toss it into the food processor with a small amount of salt and some olive oil (just enough to keep it moving). Then place the mixture into ice cube trays and bag. Can be stored for months. This works equally well for other herbs too!
Mint. Delicious in some homemade Lemonade or Iced Tea
Parsley. A great garnish that can enhance the flavor of any soup, salad, stocks and sauces.
Chard. A tender green that can become even more delicious when briefly sauteed with garlic and olive oil. Takes just minutes!
Kale. Great in stirfrys and soups.
Garlic (first of the year). Store new garlic in a dry, dark place with ample air. Do not cover or keep in a bag.
Turnip. Try turnip au gratin w/chard.
Shallot. Can whip up a tasty shallot vinaigrette in just minutes!

Shallot Vinaigrette Recipe

* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

* 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh shallots

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

* 2 teaspoons of Dijon style mustard

* 6 tablespoons olive oil

* 1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a blender, add the first 5 ingredients. While blender is running add the olive oil and continue blending. Lastly, add the lemon juice and presto! A delicious addition to your favorite salad.

Please contact us if you can't identify something in your box, don't know what to do with a particular item, have a food allergy we should know about, or if you have any other questions or comments. We love hearing from you!

echocsa@gmail.com

319.325.3910

CSA Newsletter Week 6

2010-06-28T16:04:00.006-05:00

June 29 and 30, July 3

Pickins may look a bit slimmer this week, but they're still just as fresh and nutritious. Enjoy them while we have them!

Don't forget the garlic party, coming up next weekend (July 9th-11th)! We encourage you to drive out and pitch in at least a couple of hours-- we could really use some extra hands on deck. RSVP echocsa@gmail.com if you're planning to come out.

In your box this week:

Parsley.
Mint. Pairs nicely with tart summer fruits-- currants, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries. Fluff some couscous and mix in currants (fresh or dried), fresh chopped mint, and pine nuts.
Basil.
Garlic scapes.
Kale. How about kale and potato hashbrowns topped with jerk sauce?
Chard. Make a delicious quiche with chard, scapes, mushrooms, and chevre. Younger leaves have a more pliable texture and can be used for stuffing with rice or pasta and veg. If sauteeing chard, watch it closely because it tends to turn gritty when cooked too long.
Beet. Cooled, roasted beets mixed with hazelnuts and pieces of avocado and grapefruit, tossed with yogurt, mint and honey, or tossed with leaf lettuce and a balsamic vinaigrette--mm.
Turnip. Turnip fries! (May have to save a couple weeks worth of roots to do this...)
Shallot.
Peas, broccoli, and bok choy will be added to boxes as they become available.

***

Turnip Fries

6 or so Echo turnips
2 T olive oil
1 T shoyu
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of sea salt
pinch of cayenne

Preheat oven to 425F. Cut turnips into round or half-round pieces, 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Whisk together other ingredients, and toss turnips until well coated. Spread turnips on an oiled baking sheet or dish. Cook 40-45 minutes, or until golden.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter Week 5

2010-06-22T09:49:00.022-05:00

June 22, 23 and 26

Rain, rain go away! This week we are quite ready for the summer sun to shine. Stagnating muddy conditions on the farm are just no good for any of our vegetables. Nor are flash floods-- yikes!

Reminder on the annual garlic harvest and party (just about 2 weeks away): we'll be pulling and hanging garlic on July 10th and 11th. We can also use help getting things started on Friday, July 9th. Camping is available. We'll potluck, cook, and have fun Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday for brunch. RSVP echocsa@gmail.com if you plan to come out.

In your box this week:

Basil. Here's a wacky idea: make a stack of savory waffles, adding chopped basil to your mix. Serve aside eggs and other breakfast-type dishes. Need a new waffle recipe? I've featured my favorite below.
Parsley. Throw a handful of fresh, chopped parsley into whatever vegetable dish you make near the end of cooking it. It adds a refreshing zing.
Kale. Add just a leaf or two of kale to a fruit smoothie, and give a nice boost to the nutritional content. (The flavor of kale mixes especially nicely with sharp, tangy kiwi and apple juice, or with blueberry and apple juice.)
Lettuce.
Garlic scapes. In Korean cuisine, these are traditionally pickled in tamari.
Turnip. Boil and mash with potatoes to give an earthy flavor to a familiar dish. Chop and cook them in hearty soups or stews. I plan on saving up some turnips from my boxes and making a shoestring turnip kraut-- mm, fermented veg.
Peas. Make a delicious salad tossing your sweet snap peas with steamed and cooled quinoa, toasted pumpkin seeds, fresh diced scapes, chopped parsley and a simple balsamic-olive oil vinaigrette.
Beets. Don't forget to use the greens on your beets! Try putting some, chopped fine, atop a homemade pizza.
Napa cabbage. Speaking of ferments-- napa and turnips are both good candidates for a spicy kimchi. They could also go together in a coleslaw.

Derek washes broccolini.

***
Mandy's Oat-Quinoa Waffles with Basil

1 C rolled oats
1/2 C quinoa flour (grind your own in a high-powered food processor or blender, or buy the already milled product)
1 T olive oil
1 C milk or soy milk
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp agave nectar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2-3 T fresh chopped basil

Grind the oats in a food processor until they become a coarse flour. Mix oat flour, quinoa flour, salt, and baking powder together. Add oil, milk, lemon juice, agave nectar, and mix until just blended (still a bit lumpy). With a light touch, mix in the chopped basil. Pour onto waffle iron. On my waffle iron, this recipe usually makes 2 very large, fluffy waffles. For other irons, it may make more. These are super yummy topped with chevre and served with eggs.
I use quinoa flour first because it has such a fine nutritional profile, and second because it lends a moister consistency and a tastier, nuttier flavor compared to whole wheat pastry flour.

***

CSA Newsletter Week 4

2010-06-14T15:46:00.020-05:00

June 15, 16 and 19

Love those fresh herbs! As days get longer and we near the summer solstice, plants are concentrating more and more of their energy in vegetative growth-- producing strong leaves, stems, and shoots. After the solstice, plants put relatively more energy into blossom, fruit, and seed production. Culinary and medicinal herbs harvested for their leaves are usually at peak potency leading up to the solstice. In ancient lore, mid-summer's day was the day slated for harvest of (leaf) herbs to be dried/preserved or made into medicines.

The annual garlic harvest approaches! The dates for the celebratory work-party and potluckin' shin-dig are July 10th and 11th this year. Mark your calendar. We pick and hang garlic while the sun shines and enjoy food and fellowship in the evenings. Camping is allowed. Musicality and merry-making are encouraged. It's always a wholesome friends-and-family affair, and we hope you'll feel comfortable joining in. Please RSVP echocsa@gmail.com.

In your box this week:

Parsley.
Kale.
Salad Mix.
Basil.
Mint.
Scapes.
Bok choy.
Turnip.
Fennel.
Beet.
Peas.
Napa cabbage.
Head lettuce.

Let us know if you are ever short an item in your box. We will usually have extra of that or something similar at the market, and it's easy enough to just make it right on the spot.

Louis talks about weeding the taters.

***

Fennel and Mushroom Salad with Mint

1 large fennel bulb (or 2 smallish)
3/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, halved if large, then thinly sliced
scant 2 tsp dijon mustard
2 T white wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar will work, too)
3 or 4 garlic scapes, minced
1/4 C olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T fresh mint, chopped
fennel tops, chopped

Remove fennel stalks, if attached. Quarter the bulb lengthwise and cut away the core. Remove the outer layer if it is thick and fibrous. Slice the bulb crosswise as thinly as possible. Transfer to a bowl and add the sliced mushrooms. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, and scapes. Slowly whisk in olive oil to make a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper. Add vinaigrette to salad along with mint. Toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Chop a couple of wispy fennel tops, and add as a garnish.

-adapted from Fresh from the Farmers Market by Janet Fletcher

Happy Herby Solstice Pesto

1 bunch basil
1/2 bunch parsley
4-5 garlic scapes (or 2 garlic cloves)
salt to taste
1/3 C olive oil
1 1/2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 handful toasted nuts (pine nuts or walnuts) or seeds (pumpkin or sunflower)
1 whole bok choy (butt end cut away)

Rough chop basil, parsley, scapes, and bok choy. Process all ingredients together in a food processor (fitted with s-blade) until a paste forms. (Leaf herbs should be mostly indistinguishable from one another).

Thistle in flower. So pretty, but watch out!

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

CSA Newsletter Week 3

2010-06-07T16:02:00.017-05:00

June 8, 9 and 12

This week's bounty includes several new items to try, and new flavors to savor. We'd love for you to share your own recipes with us, perhaps in the comments area here on the blog, or on the new facebook page. :)

Let the curly garlic scapes in your boxes gently alert you that our Annual Garlic Harvest Party approaches: this year, July 10th and 11th. Please join us out at the farm. We always combine garlic picking and hanging with the enjoyment of great food, music, and fellowship. And we usually get a good head start on the garlic harvest! (Directions will follow in a separate blog post.)

In your box this week:

Fennel. Leaves and stalks can be used for flavoring. The bulb is crisp and has a licorice-y flavor that fades a bit when cooked. Store plant whole if you plan to use within a couple of days; otherwise, remove stalks to keep bulb from rotting.
Beets. Toss thin slices with some olive oil and fresh mint and then throw into a salad with some toasted nuts. Beets are yummy juiced with ginger, apple, and lemon. And they're nice paired with one of a variety of herbs-- mint, parsley, basil, fennel, to name a few.
Head lettuce.
Salad mix. Look at those pretty greens and purples!
Bok choy. Create your own braising mix by tossing bok choy with kale and some of the greens from your beets and turnips.
Peas.
Garlic scape. The seed pod of the garlic plant, which curls as it grows tall and then slowly uncurls. They are most succulent when still curled, with an asparagus-like texture and a mild garlic flavor. Harvesting the scape helps the plant to concentrate growth energy in the bulb. Scapes can be diced and added to salad dressings, soups, sauces, stir-fries, scrambled eggs... Scapes store well for weeks in the fridge, but used fresh is always best!
Napa cabbage.
Kale. I love kale cut (across the leaf) into long, skinny strips, water sauteed, squeezed, and then drizzled with tahini and topped with raisins. Find a raw kale salad recipe below.
Basil. Does not store well in the refrigerator. If you plan to use it within a day or two, keep in a dark place at room temperature, in an unsealed plastic bag. For longer-term storage, basil can be frozen. Chopping and freezing (with a little water) in ice cube trays as "basil ice cubes" works well. Or, you can make a pesto and freeze that.
Turnips. Delicious braised in butter. They pair great with peas-- blackeyes stewed with turnip roots and greens are hard to beat.

Jess picks arugula.

***

Roasted Beets in Fennel Oil

3/4 tsp fennel seeds, crushed with a mortar
2 T olive oil 1 1/2 lbs. small beets
1 T sea salt
1 T thinly sliced garlic scape

Heat the fennel seeds and oil in a skillet over low heat until oil is fragrant, about 5 minutes. Cool, then strain seeds out of oil. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put beets into a baking dish with 1/4 C water, cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil, and bake until a knife slips in easily. Cool slightly, then peel. Cut into quarters, or if very small, in half. Toss pieces with reserved fennel oil, season with the salt, and top with the scapes.

-adapted from Fresh from the Farmers' Market by Janet Fletcher

Raw Kale Salad

4 C sliced kale
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 T fresh orange juice
2 T olive oil
1 T flaxseed oil
1 T shoyu
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne
2/3 C shredded carrots
1 C peeled cucumber, julienned strips
1/2 C sesame or sunflower seeds
1/3 cup shredded nori pieces

Rub the kale leaves with the sea salt for a minute or so. Add the 1 tsp olive oil, and rub the leaves again. Add the lemon juice, and rub the leaves a third time. (This method of preparing raw kale makes it more digestible.) Whisk together the orange juice, 1/4 C olive oil, flax oil, shoyu, cider vinegar, and cayenne, to make a dressing. Toss kale with carrots, cukes, seeds, nori, and dressing.

-adapted from a Cafe Gratitude recipe

Rows and greenhouse, with bio-d truck.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

2010 CSA Week 2 Newsletter

2010-05-31T12:02:00.019-05:00

June 1, 2 and 5

The weather's sure heating up at the farm! Our tomatoes, beets, and garden herbs are loving these sunny 90-ish days; the spring greens, not so much. Thanks to smart planting (greens near and in-between pea rows), though, we still have spinach, and some arugula hanging in there, too.

Potato and onion plants are growing strong these days, but we really could use a few more hands to catch up on weeding around them while they're still young! Work trade, anyone?? Also, if you have skills in the art of rain-dancing, now's the time to put those to use-- for the sake of the brassicas (broccolini and kale) and lettuce, we implore you! Just a wee shower daily (or a bit of cloud cover) would be very nice.

In your box this week:

Salad mix. Add some fruit to your salads this week. Lettuce, strawberries, chevre and walnuts or pecans, doused with a simple balsamic vinaigrette-- mm...
Head lettuce.
Radish. These are starting to get spicy!
Asparagus. Makes its last appearance for the season.
Baby bok choy. Crisp and refreshing.
Arugula.
Green garlic. Scapes on the garlic plants are growing tall now, and we'll start harvesting them soon.
Shallot. Shallots make sauces and dressings divine. Try out the below recipe, for drizzling over stir-fried veggies and rice, smothering baked tofu pieces, or coating lightly steamed asparagus spears.
Broccolini.
Spinach. We love spinach and fruit smoothies! Find one of Mandy's favorite smoothie recipes below.

Pretty pea blossom

***

Health-related tidbits:

Lettuce. Did you know that lettuce contains more silica than most other common veggies? Silica is essential to the body, as it helps us utilize calcium and is key to the health and regeneration of bone and connective tissues.

Radishes. Eating radishes regularly is one strategy for preventing viral infections like the flu and the common cold. They also help in clearing the sinuses and pleghm. And they relieve indigestion.

Spinach. Spinach is rich in iron and chlorophyll, and builds the blood. For maximum iron absorption from spinach, eat along with vitamin C-rich foods.

-excerpted/paraphrased from Paul Pitchford's Healing with Whole Foods, 3rd ed.

Uri harvests lettuce.

***

Roasted Shallot Peanut Sauce

3 medium shallots, unpeeled
1" cube of fresh ginger, peeled
1/4 C smooth peanut butter
3 tsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or freshly squeezed lemon juice)
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 T shoyu
1/4 C boiling water

Roast the shallots in their skins on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in a 375-degree oven, until the shallots are just beginning to ooze. Put aside to cool (about 10 minutes), then peel shallots and chop in a food processor with the ginger. Add the rest of the ingredients, and process until smooth. This makes a light sauce for drizzling. For a creamier sauce, substitute a few tablespoons flax oil or coconut milk for the boiling water.

Spinach-Strawberry-Avocado Smoothie

6-8 plump ripe strawberries
2 handfuls washed spinach
the flesh of 1 ripe avocado
the juice of 1 lemon
the juice and flesh of a young coconut (see co-op produce isle)
2 C water
2-3 T honey or agave nectar (depending on ripeness of berries)

Crack the young coconut, pour off the coconut juice into a blender, and then split the coconut in half to scoop out the white flesh. Add this flesh, along with the rest of the smoothie ingredients, to the blender, and let 'er rip. Blend until the spinach and coconut are well incorporated (no small pieces noticeable). Add a bit more water if you like a looser consistency. Young coconut flesh varies in texture, so vary the water component of the recipe according to the thickness of the coconut flesh. This recipe makes between 4 and 6 8 oz. smoothies.

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

Urb Garden Catering

2010-05-27T14:24:00.018-05:00

Have you heard about Echo's summertime sister operation? This is one sweet gal you've gotta meet!

Urb Garden Catering is Farmer Derek's food-making and vending enterprise, which serves up 100% vegetarian and organic food at summer festivals in our area. The Urb Garden, so named in 2005 and formerly called Veggie Vibes, has been a steady partner in local festivity and conviviality since 1999.

The full menu always features thirst-quenching fruit smoothies, roasted red pepper hummus and veggie wraps (often referred to as "walking salad"), and a savory warm vegetable and legume curry dish with whole grains. During weekend-long fests, the lunch menu includes a second warm, protein-rich dish as a special, such as barbeque tempeh and red beans over whole grains, or tempeh kalamata pasta salad. Shade-grown, fair-trade, organic coffee and herbal teas are available as well, to perk up a brisk morning or a windy evening.

Urb Garden prides itself on its wholesome, some might say eclectic, vegetarian fare. Yes, we know it's true that at fest folks revel in the consumption of "street food" -- fried fatty goodies, sugary treats, various things on-a-stick. Yet, Urb Garden is vigilant about offering a different kind of indulgent option to the festive public -- plant-based, healthful, balanced food, made from scratch with flair by people you probably know. This is food that sustains while it pleases the senses, and helps you beat the heat and dance the night away.

Urb Garden consciously makes a place for local organic produce on the menu, and farmers in the kitchen! Derek says he started this whole food vending biz as an extension of his growing activities. Several key ingredients are actually grown by Echollective farmers-- the crisp, refreshing leafy greens on the hummus/veg wraps, the delectable onions, potatoes, garlic and greens in the curry. Farm crew members turn up on the Urb Garden team often and are happy to chat about what's happening in the field and what the weather's throwing at them this time.

This year, Urb Garden has already begun whipping up the yummy food action at the Marion Arts Festival. And the fun will continue at Iowa City's Summer of the Arts events (Jazz Fest, Arts Fest, Sand in the City), the Midwest Renewable Energy Conference, Organic Valley's Kickapoo Country Fair, the Illinois Renewable Energy Conference, Pitchfork Music & Media Fest in Chicago, Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival, and of course at Echollective's annual Garlic Fest/Party out at the farm in July!

See ya there!

***

2010 CSA Week 1 Newsletter

2010-05-20T10:38:00.023-05:00

May 25, 26, & 29

We are having a bustling Spring already. This week marks the start of our CSA deliveries, which will run weekly through the first week of October. Hooray!

Members scheduled to pick up boxes on Wednesday should find us at the Iowa City Farmers Market in stall number 101. If your pick-up day is Saturday in IC, find us in stall number 105-106. Don't forget, good people-- save and return your boxes to us! Also, if for some reason you cannot pick up a box during the CSA season, please let us know in advance. We still plan to donate boxes not picked up at all to the Johnson County Crisis Center Food Bank.

In your box this week:

Salad mix. This week's mix contains mostly lettuces. Look for the mix to change according to what's ready on picking days.
Asparagus. Early warming events this spring caused our asparagus to get an early start and then feel frost. As a result, we may only have asparagus available for this week's box.
Radish. We grow 3 types of spring radish -- French breakfast, Easter egg, and Royal. Which is your favorite?
Shallot. These have spent 9 months in cold storage and are still so yummy!
Bulb leek. We grow many varieties of leek. This one often turns up in chefs' secret recipes.
Head lettuce. Its form is balanced with its function.
Green garlic. We aim to provide garlic every week, for your health and pleasure!
Bok choy. Derek says, "I eat bok choy every day." Try it as a side dish with breakfast, fresh with minty dressing or lightly sauteed. Or, try the recipe below for Bok Choy Miso.
Spearmint. Used fresh or dried hanging upside-down, this mint has so many uses. Infuse it in tea, incorporate it into jellies, chop it and add to dressings and sauces. It adds a sparkle to lemonades!

***

Bok Choy Miso Soup
1 onion (or same amount of shallot), diced
1 bulb leek, diced
1-2 green garlic plants (whole stalk), diced
2 carrots
1/2 C radish, chopped
1 large or 2-3 small bok choy bunches
4 C water
1/2 C coconut milk
2 T miso paste

Saute the onion, leek and garlic until translucent. Add carrots and radish, then water and coconut milk. Cook until carrots are the texture you prefer. Add the bok choy, chopped horizontally, and cook until it wilts in the soup. Turn off the heat. Pull aside 1 C of the broth, and dissolve into it the miso paste (add a touch of honey if you like, too). Pour the miso broth into the other broth. Enjoy!

***

echocsa@gmail.com
(319)325-3910

Greenhouse greens: come and get 'em!

2010-03-02T16:42:00.008-06:00

Hungry for your spring greens?? Pre-order with Derek (@ echoCSA@gmail.com) by Thursday: We're selling bags of mixed-baby spring greens..... $8/lb. Kales, collards, bok choi, and spinach-- very tender and yummy!! Pick up at our house Saturday morning 10-noon.

Remember these pictures from the beginning of February?? These greens have been happily growing, and now they're ready for you to eat them!
And there's more:
And more:
And more:
My oh my, I love spinach!!! I think I'm going to have to make another pan of spanikopita...

Spring Starts!

2010-02-26T17:30:00.003-06:00

Mei Qing Bok Choi sprouts

Leeks

These little sprouts are growing visibly bigger every day!

First Watering of Winter

2010-02-09T17:04:00.008-06:00

Come on in and take a peek at the greenhouses.

We took an adventure out to the greenhouses to visit, and water some plants-- their first watering since November. They've been sleeping cozy in their greenhouse tucked in with an enormous blanket for insulation... okay, if I was a little kale plant out there, I'd probably be shivering under my blankie. Except on those sunny days when it gets 80 degrees in there...

The plants seemed pretty happy to get a drink.

The baby was very happy to play in the mud and get dirty!

2010 CSA

2010-01-18T13:53:00.000-06:00

Echollective CSA 2010 Season

We're now signing up folks for our 2010 CSA! This year, we will be serving the Iowa City area, and also (hopefully!) the Des Moines area and the Quad Cities. Information on our CSA follows:

IOWA CITY: Shares are delivered to the Iowa City Farmer's Market on Wednesday and Saturday for 20 weeks starting the end of May. An alternative pick up time may be possible, just contact us. In addition to the delicious, fresh picked vegetables; we will e-mail a newsletter with updates/stories from our farm, and seasonal recipes featuring our delicious produce.

CEDAR RAPIDS: We need at least 10 customers to make this delivery location possible. Contact us if you'd like to sign up! Pick-up day and location are currently unknown/flexible.

DES MOINES: We need at least 10 customers to make this delivery location possible. Contact us if you'd like to sign up! Pick-up day and location are currently unknown/flexible.

QUAD CITIES: We need at least 10 customers to make this delivery location possible. Contact us if you'd like to sign up! Pick-up day and location are currently unknown/flexible.

About our Farm:

Echollective Farm is a farming enterprise located 25 minutes from Iowa City. A cluster of farmers, interns, and volunteers cultivate 14 acres with a wide array of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and hay; and steward 20 forested acres including a creek. We've been farming for 9 years at Echollective, always using organic and sustainable practices. You already know our produce from New Pi Co-op, Iowa City's finest restaurants, and of course the downtown Iowa City Farmer's Market.

We select varieties of our vegetables based on their flavor, nutritional content, and uniqueness! Vegetables at supermarkets are selected for their uniformity and their ability to be shipped long distances. You'll taste the difference in our produce! By supporting local farms, you help to support agriculture and sustainability in your own community. In years of flood/drought, our shares may be smaller; in years of bounty our shares will be bigger. Our CSA project is part of Echollective's broader mission to support and educate the public about: sustainably & locally produced food; renewable energy; and green building construction. We also conduct hands-on workshops; host internship programs; and harvest & market products that make our community healthier.

More about Community Supported Agriculture:

What IS Community Supported Agriculture???
"CSA is a relationship of mutual support and commitment between local farmers and community members who pay the farmer an annual subscription fee. This helps to cover the production costs of the farm. In turn, members receive a weekly share of the harvest during the local growing season. The arrangement guarantees the farmer financial support and enables many small- to moderate-scale organic and/or bio-intensive family farms to remain in business. Ultimately, CSA programs create "agriculture-supported communities" where members receive a wide variety of foods harvested at their peak of freshness, ripeness, flavor, vitamin and mineral content. “ www.wilson.edu.csacenter.org

Questions... comments??? We'd love to hear from you!!!

For general farm questions, CSA membership contact Christy at: echoCSA@gmail.com 515-201-5593

To sign up for our CSA, please complete the following information and email to echoCSA@gmail.com
Sign up information:
Family subscription
(produce for a family of 3-5 for 20 weeks)= $600

Couples' subscription
(produce for 2 for 20 weeks)= $375

We ask that you pay ½ the fee upon registration, and ½ at the beginning of the season.

Pricing a problem? We also have a work-trade option. Ask for details!
We also barter! We are also in application to accept EBT (food stamps!)!!

Family (Names of all members including children)____________________
Phone #_______________________
Alternate #_____________________
Email_________________________
Home Address_________________________
______________________________

Please sign up by the 1st day of Spring-- space is limited! If you'd like to sign up after, please include a $30 late fee.
Send payment with the above form to:
Echollective CSA
1003 Ginter Ave
Iowa City, IA 52240

Thanksgiving CSA Share

2009-11-17T09:47:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone,
As promised, we are offering a Thanksgiving Share. With the seasonally nice weather we still have a bounty of produce! Get some and share with your families over the harvest celebration holiday. Our pick up will be Saturday, Nov. 21 from 9-noon @ our house in Iowa City-- 1003 Ginter Avenue. Most produce will store in a cool dark space, so as not to eat up most of your fridge space. There will be some flexibility on certain items due to the unique pick-up situation. (example type of onions, type of squashes-- you can switch squashes). We will also be offering a Farmers Market Style table which will be featuring a few items not in the box & more of your favorite items. The Share cost for this special holiday box is 22$. Please let us know by this Thursday pm if you'd like a box.

Thank you!
Echo CSA
Christy 515-201-5593 or Derek 319-325-3910.

At this time this is our best guess as to what will be in the box: (first come first serve on limited varieties-though we wont let someone take all the delicata squash!) ;-)

1 bag braising mix, 1 bunch parsley, 1 bunch mint, variety of winter squash- 3 (delicata, butter-nut, acorn, spagetti, pie pumpkin), onions- pick 6 (red, sweet, yellow), leeks (3), shallots (2), garlic (3), potatoes (variety to choose from), baby bok choi.

also for individual sale-til we run out... chard, arugala, dill, cilantro, salad mix, assorted other greens, and all the above if you wish to add

Week 13 Delivery

2009-08-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

Week 13
August 12th & 15th

Now that it finally feels like summer, we're preparing for autumn. This morning the crew was spreading compost on garden beds to prepare for transplanting and seeding fall greens. We've got cabbages to transplant, hopefully fall lettuce, and fall greens like spinach and arugula.

In Your Box:
kale-
chard-
basil-
zuchinni-
cherry tomatoes-
slicer tomato-
leeks-
garlic-
potatoes-
beets-
beans-
candy onion-
red onion-
eggplant-
cucumber-

Raw Garden Salad
This salad is 100% Raw when made as described below, and everything but the salt, olive oil, and vinegar is in your box!

1) De-stem kale and chard and cut into small pieces. Massage with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the following:

~ ½ a red onion cut into small pieces.
~1 or 2 cloves chopped garlic.
~1cucumber, the rounds into quarter pieces.
~ tomatoes of your choice, I like chunks of heirloom and halved cherry tomatoes.
~ basil cut into small pieces
~ 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
~more olive oil if needed
~sea salt to taste.

2) Mix all ingredients together and serve fresh!

Week 12 Delivery

2009-08-12T11:14:00.000-05:00

Week 12
August 5th & 8th

In Your Box:
kale-
chard-
parsley-
basil-
zuchinni-
tomatoes-
leeks-
garlic-
potatoes-
beets-
beans-
candy onion-
eggplant-

Pesto Pasta

1) combine ½ c sunflowerseeds, 1 bunch of basil, juice of ½ lemon and a pinch of salt in a food processor.

2) boil the pasta of your choice, (I like penne noodles for this pasta salad) according to the directions, strain noodles. Toss with a little olive oil so that they don't stick

3) sautee 1 leek with bite size pieces of zuchinni in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes.

4) Combine noodles with pesto and vegetables. Add cherry tomatoes and sunflower seeds to garnish. Delicious warm or cold!

Week 11 Delivery

2009-08-12T11:11:00.000-05:00

Week 11
July 29th & August 1st

In Your Box:
kale-
chard-
parsley-
basil-
zuchinni-
tomatoes-
leeks-
daikon-
garlic-
potatoes-
beets-
beans-
candy onion-
eggplant-

Thai Eggplant Curry
~3 Tbsp sesame oil
~1Tbsp each of: mustard seeds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds
~1 chopped onion
~2 Tbsp turmeric
~ 2 eggplants
~1 C greenbeans, cut into 1 inch pieces.

1) heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan or wok. Add seeds until they begin to pop, add onion stirring occasionally.
2) Add eggplant, salt and turmeric.
3) Add ¼ C water, and cook, stirring from the bottom, keep covered.
4) Steam green beans on top until they are bright green.
** Garnish with cilantro

**Serve over brown rice

Week 10 Delivery

2009-08-12T11:09:00.000-05:00

Week 10
July 22nd & 25th

In Your Box:
kale-
chard-
parsley-
basil-
zuchinni-
cherry tomatoes-
leeks-
garlic-
potatoes-
beets-
sweet onion-
eggplant-

Pump up the nutrition in your fruit smoothies by adding chard or kale (no stems) leaves. Yum!

Roasted Garlic Spread
Every year we make a few big batches of this spread to last us into winter. It's great on almost everything: potatoes, kale, eggplant, or as an ingredient in other sauces.

~peel 5 heads of garlic ( or more to make more)
~toss in olive oil and spread on a baking sheet with edges.
~roast at 325º for approximately 12 minutes (maybe longer if the cloves are large)
~puree in a food processor adding a bit more olive oil and salt to taste

**a favorite variation is to add thyme and oregano when pureeing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kale Chips
~to de-stem kale: Grasp around the stem and pull towards the top of the leaf. Tear any large leaf pieces into more chip-size pieces.
~rub kale with olive oil (about 1tablespoon per bunch) sprinkle with salt
~Bake at 350º (12-15 minutes) until crisp but not brown
~cool on wire racks

**these can also be dehydrated for a raw chip!

Week 9 Delivery

2009-08-12T11:07:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to the garlic party! We figure we got about 1/8th of the field picked, so there will still be a few more weeks of picking.

Our melon and sweet corn crops failed, so we won't have them from our farm this year.

In Your Box:
kale-
chard-
parsley-
basil-
zuchinni-
tomatoes- slicing tomatoes to come soon!
leeks-
potatoes-
daikon-
garlic-
beets-
fennel-
sweet onion-

Sauteed Beets
*start with a little olive oil and ½ a chopped onion in a pan. Add beets cut into quarter inch thick pieces. Add a little water (mixed with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and 2 teaspoons tamari or soysauce.) and cover for ~5 minutes. When the beets are as soft as you like, uncover-- add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and all of the beet greens, chopped. (Make sure to cut the beet stems into 1 inch pieces or smaller) Cover for another minute, and then stir and serve.

*fennel and daikon are both wonderful additions to this recipe

Week 8 Delivery

2009-07-08T14:08:00.000-05:00

Week 8 July 8th & 11th Echollective Farm Mechanicsville, IA

We've got a few more summer veggies this week: tomatoes and zuchinnis from the greenhouse, potato harvest starting too.

A lot of folks have been going on vacation-- please remember to let us know if you'll be out of town, as we don't have refrigeration space to keep your box from wilting. We can arrange to have your box donated, or you can arrange to have a friend pick up the box for you.

Garlic Party this weekend!!! We're going to be closing down a few rows of peas-- they're a bit overgrown, but there are still LOTS of peas on the vines, so, as a treat to folks who come out this weekend-- pick all you want peas! Freeze 'em for winter, you'll be thrilled in December! Garlic activities will be starting in the afternoon on Saturday. Potluck, Pickin', and Campin'. It looks like it'll be a hot weekend, but we'll be making smoothies, and garlic ice cream for cool down treats. Come on out!

Garlic house where we hang garlic to dry

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In Your Box: peas- green shallot- leek- garlic scape- salad mix- basil- chard- kale- beets- turnips- parsley- zuchinni- tomatoes- sungold cherry tomatoes potatoes- these potatoes are fresh from the earth so stick them in the fridge or use them promptly

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Mashed Potatoes & Turnips
boil potatoes and turnips together- as much as you want to make, half as many turnips to potatoes

when soft, remove from water and mash, adding olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, and milk (my fav is coconut milk), salt to taste, pepper if you like, garnish with parsley and chopped garlic scape.

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Got any greens in your box that you're not using?? Extend your CSA season by storing your greens for winter! Chop up and sautee any wilting greens with a little olive oil until they're bright green. Puree in a food processor or blender with a little water and freeze into ice cubes. Once frozen, put into freezer bags and LABEL. These are great to add to winter soups, sauces, or almost anything for more flavor and nutrition!!

Week 7 Delivery

2009-07-08T13:58:00.000-05:00

We can't believe it's already July! Especially with chilly nights and cool overcast days. Though, after last week's heat, we're greatful for the break. It's about the end of the greens season-- at least until fall greens come on. We've got zuchinnis this week, and tomatoes will be coming soon! We're preparing for the big garlic harvest too. Derek estimates 2 ½ – 3 tons of garlic to harvest this year! Hope to see you all next weekend at the garlic party!

In Your Box:

fennel- also nice grated in a salad
green shallot-
salad mix-
leek-
garlic scape- traditionally chopped up small and pickled in soy sauce for long-term storage. They are also great grilled.
basil-
kale-
beets-
salad turnips- purpley turnips great raw in salads.
parsley-
zuchinni-
chard-

Week 6 Delivery

2009-06-24T14:03:00.000-05:00

June 24th & 27th

In Your Box:
peas-great fresh, and freeze well for storage too
fennel- look for fennel tops and the bulb
green shallot-
salad mix-
bok choi-
head lettuce-
leek-
garlic scape- traditionally chopped up small and pickled in soy sauce for long-term storage. They are also great grilled.
basil- purple, lemon, & traditional italian this week.
napa cabbage- traditionally used in kimchee, asian cabbage, good in slaws.
kale-
beets-
salad turnips- purpley turnips great raw in salads.
kohlrabi- brassica family, round white or purple veggie, great in stir fries.
parsley-
cilantro-
dill-

*****************************************

I altered one of my favorite baked fennel recipes to a stovetop braising recipe because I can't bear to turn the oven on in this kind of heat.

Braised Fennel with Garlic Scapes

*cut one fennel bulb into eight segments.
*put 2 tsp olive oil into a pan.
*on medium heat add the fennel and cover, stirring and turning pieces occasionally so they dont get too brown.
*squeeze a tablespoon or so of lemon juice into the pan
*add ¼ c water and cover for 10 minutes or so, chop 2 garlic scapes into small pieces and add to the fennel; keep covered until soft when pierced with a fork.
*salt to taste. White pepper if you like.
*garnish with fennel tops.

*****************

Echollective 5th Annual Garlic Party
July 11th-12th
please RSVP ~~ echoCSA@gmail.com
camping, potlucking, garlic pickin' & good times!

Week 5 Delivery

2009-06-17T16:44:00.000-05:00

In Your Box:
peas-great fresh, and freeze well for storage too
green shallot-
salad mix-
spinach-
bok choi-
head lettuce-
leek-
garlic scape- traditionally chopped up small and pickled in soy sauce for long-term storage. They are also great grilled.
basil- we're just getting started harvesting basil. Store your basil in a plastic bag in the coolest place in the kitchen-- but not the fridge-- that's too cold!
napa cabbage-
radish- almost to the end of radish season.
kale-
rhubarb-
parsley-
chard- see our swiss chard empanada recipe below

********************************

Swiss Chard Empañadas
pastery crust:
2c whole wheat pastery flour
4Tbsp butter, chilled
½ tsp salt
about 1/3 c ice water

filling:
2Tbsp olive oil
shallot & leek
1 bag swiss chard cut into thin slices
1 oz cheese of your choice
dash of lime juice
about ½ tsp salt
parsley
fresh cracked pepper

*mix flour, butter, salt in a bowl with your fingers until it forms pea sized pieces. Use a fork and stir in ice water, a little at a time. Knead until dough comes together in a ball. Cover and fridge for 1 hour.
*heat olive oil, add leek and shallot until transluscent. Add chard and cover for 2-3 minutes, until bright green. Take off of heat and add cheese and lime, seasonings to taste.
*roll out dough on a floured board to thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut 12 rounds ~ 3in in diameter. Fill, and fold in half, dampening edges to create a seal. Make 2 slits in each so that steam can escape. Brush with olive oil and bake 30 minutes or until golden @ 350º

Week 4 Delivery

2009-06-17T16:42:00.000-05:00

We're in the thick of the growing season! Our greenhouses continue to amaze us with their ability to grow huge tomato and zuchinni plants-- not to mention a lot of the early spring greens you've all already had in your boxes. The tomato plants are flowering, so it will be a couple of more weeks.
It's been great weather for planting-- the rain has been especially nice. We just finished putting in the pepper plants. The weeds are waist high here at the farm. Join us July 10th, 11th, 12th for our Annual Garlic Party-- at the farm. We'll be pulling garlic, learning about the preservation processing of garlic for long term storage, walks in the woods, pot-lucking all day, and bonfire at night!

In Your Box:
peas- just the beginning of pea season!
salad mix- always changing salad mix of fresh greens
bok choi-
spinach- almost the end of the spinach.... until fall
arugula- a spicy salad green
head lettuce-
broccoli- taste the difference in farm-fresh broccoli v.s. Store bought broccoli!
kale-
radish- crisp and tastey!
Garlic scape- the flowering shoot of the garlic plant, use like garlic in recipes.

Massaged Kale Technique
*slice out stems, roll kale leaves, slice into ribbons
*take a small amount of olive oil and a dash of salt and rub into each of the ribbons, so that it softens the kale

Use this technique for raw kale salads to make raw kale softer and easier to digest!

For a simple kale salad:
*use the aforementioned technique
*add ½ C grated carrots
*add ½ C grated radishes
*finely chopped garlic scape
*a squeeze of lemon
*sunflower seeds to garnish.

Week 3 Delivery

2009-06-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

In Your Box:
salad mix- always changing salad mix of fresh greens
bok choi- try bok choi like 'ants on a log' with the bok choi replacing the celery stalks
spinach- great raw or cooked
Green garlic- add the white in the beginning of cooking, and the green part at the end.
Leek- pasta with mushrooms, leeks and tomato sauce, anyone?
head lettuce- these enormous leaves are perfect for lettuce wraps! Use your fav sandwich ingredients and wrap up in a lettuce leaf.
Cilantro-
Dill- try cilantro and dill chopped with olive oil and vinegar + pepper for a great, simple, fresh salad dressing.
brazing mix- to 'braise' these greens, add them at the end of cooking and cover with a lid until they turn bright green.
radishes- crisp and tastey!
kale- a heartier green, softer when steamed

beets and green onions

Bok Choi and Potatoes
*boil potatoes until soft, set aside
*chop a little leek and white part of green garlic; ¼ tsp coriander; sautee in a little sesame oil for a few minutes
*add white part of bok choi (sliced) and any other desired vegetables (carrots, radishes, etc)
*add potatoes back in
*add green leaves of bok choi, chopped-- lid until bright green.
* 1tsp lemon juice, ¼ c loosly chopped cilantro, salt to taste and a little fresh cracked pepper if you like.

baby Liliona in the greenhouse with flowering tomato plants

tomatoes soon!

Week 2 Delivery

2009-05-27T10:34:00.000-05:00

We hope you all enjoyed your first box! We've got a lot of similar veggies this week, and some new recipes to try too.

In Your Box:

salad mix- our salad mix is always changing
bok choi- one of our favorites-- great fresh or raw, in soups, salads or stir fries. Even try the leaves as chips! Try the bok choi miso~~~>
spinach- yuuuum! Spinach quiche, saag paneer, salads and more.
head lettuce- we grow many kinds of lettuce
swiss chard- red veined green, tender when steamed
asparagus- almost the last of our asparagus for this year.
spring garlic- chop up small and infuse into olive oil for drizzling on bread, salad greens & more radishes- crisp and tastey!
leeks- try leeks in an omelete, scrambled eggs, or soup~~~>
anise hyssop- can be candied like violets-- these make great 'sprinkles' for special occasion cakes/sweets
spearmint- another tastey tea, try infusing fresh spearmint in hot water, strain, then put this tea in the fridge for a refreshing drink. For longer storage- hang to dry.
Oregano- use fresh or hang to dry and then store in a jar. Great in tomato sauces
dandelion greens- bitter greens stimulate digestive enzymes-- eat a dandelion salad as your first course.

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Bok Choi Miso
1 onion
½ leek
1-2 spring garlic (you can use the whole stalk and leaves)
2 carrots
½ C chopped radish

*sautee onions, leek, garlic in a little sesame oil, until translucent, add carrots and radish, 4 C water, + ½ C coconut milk, cook until carrots are consistency that you like.
*add 1 bok choi chopped horizontally to wilt in the soup
*pull aside 1 C broth and dissolve 2 tablespoons miso paste to warm, not boiling, broth. (add a touch of honey now if you like too.) turn off heat and re-combine. Enjoy!

**************************************

Anise Marinade

1 C coarsly chopped anise hyssop leaves
¼ c water
¼ C apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
6 tablespoons maple syrup, agave or honey

*combine and heat until anise is wilted. Marinade for tempeh, tofu, meats, etc

Week 1 Delivery

2009-05-20T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's a time of year plentiful with leafy greens! We had a frost this past week which killed some tomatoes and turned some asparagus to mush. Luckily we have tomato starts to replace much of what was lost. The rain this week has been nice and all the plants (and weeds) are growing fast! Hooray for the first week of deliveries!!!

In Your Box:

arugula- a spicy spring green!
salad mix-
bok choi- one of our favorites-- great fresh or raw, in soups, salads or stir fries. Even try the leaves as chips! spinach- yuuuum! Spinach salad with strawberries, balsamic and almonds.... need I say more?
red leaf head lettuce-
swiss chard- red veined green, tender when steamed
asparagus- almost the last of our asparagus for this year.
spring garlic- garlic harvested in spring before the bulb has formed, use as you would normally in recipes radish- French breakfast radishes- traditionally sliced and served with bread, butter and a pinch of salt leeks- these leeks stood all winter! Can be prepared similar to garlic/ onions in dishes.
green onions- these survived the winter too!
sorrell- a lemon-y herb! Great chopped up in salads
anise hyssop- a great herbal tea, yummy in coconut milk dishes too
spearmint- another tastey tea, try infusing fresh spearmint in hot water, strain, then put this tea in the fridge for a refreshing drink. For longer storage- hang to dry.
Oregano- use fresh or hang to dry and then store in a jar.
stinging nettle- prepare with caution! Nettles are very rich in vitamins and minerals and are one of the most nourishing wildcrafted greens. Cooking or food processing gets the sting out!

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Raw Nettle and Arugula Pesto ½ C sunflower seeds ~ 2 C stinging nettle leaves ~ 1 C arugula juice of ½ a lemon salt to taste Combine in a food processor until smooth. (Wear gloves or use caution when handling the nettles-- or don't! The sting of nettle has been used intentionally for bringing circulation to an area for conditions like arthritis.)

Stinging Nettle

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Spring Salad Dressing 1 or 2 leeks, 1 garlic, 2-3 green onions, 2-4 sprigs of oregano- de-stemmed, 4 sorrell leaves, and a touch of spearmint *cut the above ingredients into chunks and put in the blender/ food processor, or chop them up finely. Add ~ 1 C olive oil and ¼ C balsamic or apple cider vinegar. Add water to the consistency that you like. Stores about a 2 weeks in the fridge. **Add a little yogurt if you prefer a creamy dressing
Please contact us if you don't know how to identify something in your box, get stuck with what to do with a veggie, or if you have questions or comments! Echollective CSA~~ echoCSA@gmail.com or 515-201-5593.

Herb Walk

2009-04-25T09:18:00.000-05:00

Yes, we'll still be having the Herb Walk today! It may be raining, so please be prepared with raingear and a change of clothes for the ride home. I just love spring thunderstorms! See below for more information and directions to the farm.

April Newsletter

2009-04-14T23:05:00.000-05:00

April 2009

Springtime has us busy as any organic farmer in the Spring! We enjoyed the sweet weather this weekend and planted our first onions, shallots and leeks. Worked in the garlic and strawberry fields de-mulching to let the little plants say hello to the spring sunshine (and rain). Something, voles?, ate the first pea planting right up. We finished preparing first tomato greenhouse (the heirloom starts look succulent!). We're at the end of the majority of spring planting, and have started storing seeds for next year. Lots of the potatoes are in the ground already!

Some little leeks!

Some little kales!

The first nettles are coming up, which are one of Christy's favorite spring herbs to wildcraft and incorporate into springtime recipes. I also like to dry nettles and store them for later use in herbal teas. Saturday, April 25th: Spring Wildcrafting Walk. 3 pm
*
We'll talk about the Ethics of Wildcrafting, learn about the properties of Spring Herbs, identify and harvest nettles, cleavers, dandelion, burdock, and more. Learn about the nourishing and cleansing properties of these common herbs!

Please wear long pants, boots, long sleeves, and bring gloves. Supervised children welcome.

Directions to Echollective Farm 879 Echo Ave. Mechanicsville, IA:
Take the Dodge St (HWY 1) exit off I80 & turn Left / or go north on HWY 1 out of Iowa City.

About 4 miles North of Iowa City turn right onto Morse Rd.

Turn left (north) onto F28. (Actually, you were already on F28 starting atthe Cedar county line.)
F28 will bend to the right (east) and cross the Cedar River.

Take the 2nd left after the river onto Eureka, which is gravel. (The first left was Delta, immediately after the river.)

From Eureka, take the first right onto 200th Street.
From 200th Street, take the first left onto Echo Avenue. We are 1 mile up Echo Avenue, on the left with a blue trailer & a wind turbine, #879 Echo Avenue.

asparagus burn

2009-03-06T21:37:00.001-06:00

Derek and Elias try to determine which direction the wind is blowing, before they get started. They determined it was blowing from the NE, so they lit the fire at the NE side of the asparagus field.
The grasses burned quickly, and the flames undulated like waves. "It was cool, and so intense," said Elias, 11, who also video taped so he could put it on YouTube.
"Burning the field adjusts the pH of the soil, and adds phosphorus to the soil, gets rid of insect larvae, and helps keep down weeds. It's perfect for asparagus," says Derek.
We finished about sundown, perfect timing!

ECHOLLECTIVE CSA

2009-02-05T09:15:00.000-06:00

Echollective Farm CSA
contact: echoCSA@gmail.com or Christy @ 515-201-5593
About our Farm: Echollective Farm is a farming enterprise on an intentional community located 25 minutes from Iowa City. A cluster of farmers, interns, and volunteers cultivate 14 acres with a wide array of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and hay; and steward 20 forested acres including a creek. We've been farming for 8 years at Echollective, always using organic and sustainable practices. You already know our produce from New Pi Co-op, Iowa City's finest restaurants, and of course the downtown Iowa City Farmer's Market. Now, we're adding a CSA!! Subscribe to receive a box of freshly picked and washed produce from our farm. We'll deliver the boxes to Iowa City for pick-up at the Iowa City Farmer's Market. In years of flood/drought, our shares may be smaller; in years of bounty our shares will be bigger.

What is Community Supported Agriculture? "CSA is a relationship of mutual support and commitment between local farmers and community members who pay the farmer an annual subscription fee. This helps to cover the production costs of the farm. In turn, members receive a weekly share of the harvest during the local growing season. The arrangement guarantees the farmer financial support and enables many small- to moderate-scale organic and/or bio-intensive family farms to remain in business. Ultimately, CSA programs create "agriculture-supported communities" where members receive a wide variety of foods harvested at their peak of freshness, ripeness, flavor, vitamin and mineral content. “ www.wilson.edu.csacenter.org

Pricing Family subscription (produce for a family of 3-5 for 20 weeks)= $600 Couples' subscription (produce for 2 for 20 weeks)= $375 We ask that you pay ½ the fee upon registration, and ½ at the beginning of the season. Pricing a problem? We also have a work-trade option. Ask for details!

Contact Information: For general farm questions, CSA membership contact Christy at: echoCSA@gmail.com 515-201-5593

Pick-up Information Shares are delivered to the Iowa City Farmer's Market on Wednesday and Saturday for 20 weeks starting the end of May. An alternative pick up time may be possible, just contact us. In addition to the delicious, fresh picked vegetables; your box will include a newsletter with updates/stories from our farm, and seasonal recipes featuring our delicious produce. We select varieties of our vegetables based on their flavor, nutritional content, and uniqueness! Vegetables at supermarkets are selected for their uniformity and their ability to be shipped long distances. You'll taste the difference in our produce!

By supporting local farms, you help to support agriculture and sustainability in your own community.

Our CSA project is part of Echollective's broader mission to support and educate the public about: sustainably & locally produced food; renewable energy; and green building construction. We also conduct hands-on workshops; host internship programs; and harvest & market products that make our community healthier. Questions... comments??? We'd love to hear from you!!!

A Farmer's Winter

2008-12-27T15:58:00.000-06:00

Some people have asked what a farmer does in the wintertime...... Well, we're still delivering fingerling potatoes, turnips, and daikon radish to a couple of local restaurants and New Pi Co-op. We're getting excited about all the seed catalogs coming in the mail, and we're planning the details of our 2009 CSA!

What's a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture. A CSA farm is supported by community members who buy a share in the farm to receive fresh, organik produce throughout the growing season. Echollective Farm has been certified organic in the past; now we are uncertified organik ;-) This year some of the the veggies grown for our CSA will be:

head lettuce, salad mix, brazing mix, garlic, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, basil, shallots, leeks, spinach, kale, collard greens, peas, beans, broccoli, chard, squashes, carrots, cabbage, sweetcorn, bok choi, turnips, daikon radish, bell & hot peppers, strawberries, rhubarb, beets, melons and more.....YUM!

To inquire about Echollective CSA membership, email echoCSA@gmail.com or call Christy at 515-201-5593.

Of course we're also having fun dancing the bluegrass with Liliona, our daughter who is now almost 5 months old! She's really getting into exploring her world, scooting and learning to crawl.... Look out!

Garlic Planting Time

2008-10-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

To all ye who wish to partake in the annual planting of the garlic here at Echolective Farm, contact Derek Roller at (319-325-3910) for carpool logistics and exact planting times. The Autumn Garlic Festival has been ongoing since last weekend with the initiation of the cracking of the garlic. Now that we have some of the garlic cracked (still long way to go), fields furrowed and compost laid, it is time to plant. This is usually a 1-2 week endeavor so please feel free to come out whenever time is best for you.

CSA Announcement

2008-10-14T10:08:00.000-05:00

Greetings to the citizens of Johnson and Cedar County, and beyond! It is our pleasure to announce the creation of the Echolective CSA for the 2009 growing season!

As local growers for the Iowa City Farmers' Market, New Pioneer Co-op and local food restaurants (Motely Cow, Devotey, 126, Red Avocado, Atlas, The Wedge) we have a proven track record of producing top-quality organic greens, herbs and vegetables and we are excited to share the opportunity to sell directly to you in the form of a weekly box from our CSA!

The food grown at the Echolective farm is raised by young, experienced organic farmers and is supported through volunteer labor by many individuals from the surrounding community. We have an interesting history here at the farm since previous land owners included a saw mill and a cattle ranch. Today, the 53 acre plot is being restored through the plantings of native trees, prairie plants, soil building, intensive cover-cropping and annual crop rotation. Other growing tecniques are derived from Permaculture, Bio-dynamics, Aldo Leopold and Masanobu Fukuoka.

Please stay tuned for more information and don't hesitate to stop by our market stand:)