Showing posts with label Iowa City Farmer's Market. Show all posts

Onions, Onions, Onions

Greetings Echollective followers!

 Still pulling ourselves out of this post-monsoon sludge.  But it appears we have still been able to stay on top of things!

For those of you in the Spring 2013 CSA: we have some important updates!  CSA Pickups are changing next week as the Iowa City Farmer's Market begins downtown and becomes our new main pickup spot.  We need to know from all of you where and when works best for you to switch your pickups to.  Options are: 


-Saturdays, 7:30 AM-12:00 PM at the Iowa City Farmers' Market
-Wednesdays, 5:00 PM-7:00 PM at same above location
-Fridays, Around/After 5:30 PM at KirkwoodSchool for Children/Tim's Daycare

If you are a Spring CSA member please contact us A.S.A.P. (preferably before next Wednesday!) concerning which new pickup would work best for you.  We will no longer be having pick-ups at the Ginter house on Ginter Ave. in Iowa City.

Also, as a side note to all of you: We would like to improve/streamline our communication methods (especially between us farmers and you CSA members).  We would love to receive feedback on farm-to-member communication.  Which venue of communication works best for you?  Email?  Phone?  Facebook?  This Newsletter?  Have suggestions?  Please let us know in an email!

And without further ado....a CSA preview! 

 
-Garlic
-Salad Mix (new this week!!)
-Kale*
-Spinach*
-Turnips (Purple Top)
-Sprouts
-And possibly more!
 
*Due to weather complications, exaggerated wetness, and hence some pretty unwanted plant diseases, the quality (appearance-wise) is slightly compromised, while still tasting great.  There is some spottiness on our kales and spinaches.  We have talked with many of you and this does not appear to be a problem, but if we haven't talked to you and you may take an issue, please contact us A.S.A.P.!
 

Now that the rain has at least slowed down and the muck and mire has finally gone away.....we can finally actually do things outside!  We took advantage of the few nicer days here and there to get stuff done, and quickly get some plants in the ground.  What did we get in the ground?  Well....leeks.  Onions.  Asparagus.  More onions.  Potatoes.  Onions.  Onions.  Onions onions onions!

And today...we planted more onions.  Some of us have nothing but dreams about planting (and sometimes planting and eating them simultaneously) onions.  The onion planting is never-ending, but there's nothing like a nice reassuring rain at the end of the day to water them in.  Boy, watering has not been a worry at all so far this season!  Phew!  Last year, we missed the boat on our onion-planting and it was a real shame due to the drought, but not this year!  You will be getting leeks!  And onions!  And hey, onions are high in magnesium, a nutrient that most Americans don't get a whole lot of in their diet, surprisingly.
 
Also, shallots will be planted soon.  Basically, they are small onions.  Onion fever is not over.
 
Radishes, arugula, and bok choy are all getting big...and ready to eat soon!

Garlic's first greens are popping up in our mulched fields!  It appears as if all varieties seem to be doing something at least, although some are more behind than others.  We were a bit worried about them getting drowned in all this rain or nipped by the spotty frosts, but they seem to be doing ok....a little yellowed, but ok!  Speaking of, we still have heirloom garlic varieties available for sale at the New Pi Co-ops in individual baggies.  You can still get our Ukrainian, German, Korean, and Bogatyr varieties in plenty.  For more information on our garlic breeds, check out the column to the left and read our Echollective Garlic Varieties page!
 
This year's Echo piggies are settling in well....a little shaky from the cold and storms, but we have had plenty of delicious compost and veggie scraps to feed them.  Today they dined on a large dumping of kale leaves that have been tainted by sickness....they loved the stuff!  They have all been laying in a big pile in the hay on these sunny days, basking in the warmth of spring!

As our pick-up changes above bode, we will be at the Iowa City Farmer's Market next week.  Hope to see you there!


Recipes
 
Kale and Pink Grapefruit Salad (www.bonappetit.com)

Ingredients

  • 1 pink grapefruit
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 cups thinly sliced kale (center ribs and stems removed)
  • 1 avocado, halved, pitted, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges

Preparation

  • Using a sharp knife, cut peel and white pith from grapefruit; discard. Working over a small bowl, cut between membranes to release segments into bowl. Squeeze juice from membranes into another small bowl; add any accumulated juices from bowl with segments (there should be about 1/4 cup juice total). Whisk oil into juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Place kale in a large bowl and drizzle 3 Tbsp. dressing over. Toss to combine and let stand for 10 minutes while kale wilts slightly. Toss once more, then arrange grapefruit segments and avocado slices over kale. Drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.
The Best Baked Spinach Au-Gratin (www.smittenkitchen.com)

Serves 6
  • 3 pounds fresh spinach3 1/2 to 4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup stock (your choice; Julia recommends beef) or cream (I used stock; it doesn’t *need* cream)
  • 3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese
  • 2 tablespoons fine, dry breadcrumbs

-Stem and wash your spinach (see Tips below) well but no need to spin or pat it dry. Place spinach in a large pot over high heat. Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes for baby spinach and 4 to 6 minutes for regular spinach. Transfer to a colander, immediately fill pot with cold water, transfer it back to the pot of cold water to shock it (stop the cooking) and drain again. Squeeze a small amount of the spinach at a time in your hands to extract as much water as possible. Chop the spinach coarsely. You should have about 3 cups of chopped spinach, or about 1 cup per pound.
-Wipe out pot then melt 2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat and stir in the spinach. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until all of the moisture from the spinach has boiled off — you’ll know you’re done when the spinach begins to stick to the pan.
-Lower the heat and sprinkle with flour and stir for 2 minutes to cook the flour. Add 2/3 of your stock or cream, a tiny bit at a time, scraping up any stuck spinach as you do. Once the liquid is added, simmer for another minute or two, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If you’re feeling especially indulgent, stir in one more tablespoon of butter. If needed, add all or part of remaining liquid. Season with salt (I found 1/2 teaspoon table salt about right) and pepper.
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a shallow 1-quart baking dish. Stir 1/2 cup cheese into the spinach and pour it into the baking dish. Mix the remaining cheese with breadcrumbs and sprinkle on spinach. Melt 1 1/2 tablespoons remaining butter and pour it over the top. Bake until heated through and slightly brown on the top, about 30 minutes.
-Serve with steaks, chops, veal, chicken, broiled fish or, if you’re us, eggs, glorious eggs.

Do ahead: Spinach can be blanched and chopped several hours or a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Gratin can be fully assembled and 30 minutes before needed, placed in a preheated 375 degree oven to bake, then served.


*********************
 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!
 
 
2013 Spring CSA crop diseases heirloom garlic varieties
Share:

Fall CSA Week 5!

Wow, we're already at week 5 of our Fall CSA!  My how time flies.  This means there's only one week left!

Speaking of which, we have some important news in regards to Fall CSA: the fact that it WON'T be happening this week!  Some of you may be like "huh?!" but let me do a bit of explaining.  Since we originally planned on distributing CSA's at the Grant Wood Market, which was to occur every other week until it was abruptly cancelled, we did not originally plan to deliver this week because Grant Wood wouldn't have occurred and we're sticking with that plan.  We would have planned on skipping this week anyway, being that there would be no Grant Wood to drop them off at.  "But why?" you might ask.  Why couldn't we just deliver this week and have Fall CSA end a bit early?

The answer: because next week we will be featuring a Special Thanksgiving Share!  Yep, we'll be giving you some extra goodies that could be of big help or a lovely addition to your holiday dinner!  And if we gave them to you a week early, they wouldn't be as fresh or delightful as when we would give them to you the week of Thanksgiving!  So be prepared....and stay tuned!  Next week we'll give you a list of what to expect and some Thanksgiving-oriented recipes!  Once again CSA pickups may be a bit shifty next week, but we will inform you if there are any big, important changes.

We'll be sad to see Fall CSA come and go so quickly, it seems.  It's been fun tending, handling, and packing all these new fall veggies for you all.  But don't worry- Fall CSA doesn't mean the end of CSA possibilities this year.  We will start our "Weekly Boxes" CSA, which basically means: call us when you want a box at any point, and we will pack one for you!  20$ for a Couple Share, 30$ for Families!  This will be our arrangement until our next official CSA season, which will be our 2013 Spring CSA.

This past weekend was an interesting experiment with the new Saturday farmer's markets we tried out, in absence of our Iowa City Market and the Grant Wood Market we were depending on.  New Bo market was quite a success!  Apparently 10,000 patrons showed up that day?  Wow, that's like a small town right there.  It was also 12 hours long!  Our market worker had to be relieved for at least an hour to make it through.  We brought almost 4 times the usual amount of produce and all in all we thought it was worth it!  Derek was at his house selling veggies that day too, and it seemed to do well.  

Next week we'll be trying out a new market stand place in Iowa City: The Trumpet Blossom Cafe!  That is, we might be there, we'll have to double check and make sure it's ok we're slinging organic food by their place.  We'll find out soon and let you all know!

In other news...yikes, it's been getting dark EARLY now!  Sun down by 5:30?  It gets dark, we stop working, and it'll take a while to get used to the fact that there are still hours yet to do things.  On the other hand, getting up in the morning feels great because you feel like you're getting up super early, when you're really just getting up at the same time you used to!

Besides packing our stuff for CSA, resaurants, Co-ops and markets, we've been prepping, cracking, planting, and obsessing over our garlic!  We're glad to be done with watering, it seems like good ol' Mother Sky has been doing it for us.  This morning was a pleasantly long rain and fortunately we even left some of the plants' covers open.  Oh yeah....that has been another job to take up our time, covering our plants with reemay and plastic on the coldest of nights.  We haven't got plastic up on our cold-frames quite yet, the temps haven't dropped low enough for that to be our biggest priority.  But we're basically set up and ready.

Well...with no CSA this week, we don't have much of a list to offer, of course.  But just for kicks, we'll send a couple recipes your way!

See you at market...wherever that ends up being!


Recipes

Yukina Savoy Quiche with Spicy Pepper, Cherry and Pine Nut Relish (www.fatandhappyblog.com)

Yukina Savoy Quiche:
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 heaping Tbls of Greek yogurt (plus some for topping)
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely diced
  • 2 cups of yukina savoy
  • 1 Tbls shredded Parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • olive oil   
Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil. Chop the stems of the yukina savoy into small pieces, add the stems and the garlic to the saute pan; cook for few minutes. Add the rest of the yukina savoy, toss and cook for a about 4 minutes until the leaves begin to wilt. Remove from heat.

Whisk together the eggs and the Greek yogurt with a pinch of salt and fresh black pepper.  Pour the egg mixture into a small casserole dish.  Add the sauteed yukina savoy and cheese to the eggs, pushing the  savoy into the egg.

Place in a pan in a preheated 400 degree oven until the middle is set. The eggs will become quite puffed up, and if you shake the pan, the eggs will not appear runny.  It's easy to overcook the eggs so check them often or they will become dry.  The eggs will deflate quickly after removing from the oven, serve immediately with the pine nut relish (recipe below) and a scoop of Greek yogurt (optional).


Spicy Pepper, Cherry and Pine Nut Relish:

  • 1 heaping tbls dried cherries (or craisins), finely diced
  • 1/2 cup finely diced red pepper
  • 1 large garlic clove, finely diced
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 3 tbls olive oil
  • 1 green onion, diced
  • 3 tbls toasted pine nuts, lightly chopped

Place the dried cherries and green onions into a small bowl, set aside.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil in saute pan, heat over medium-high heat.  Add the diced red peppers, cook for 1 minute.  Add in the diced garlic and cook for about 3 minutes until the garlic begins to soften and releases its' flavor (toss often).  Pour over the cherries.

In the same pan (do not wipe out) add the red pepper flakes and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Simmer the flakes over medium heat for about 3 minutes to season the oil.  Pour the oil in the peppers and cherry bowl.  Top with the toasted pine nuts, set aside until ready to use. 


Clean Eating Garlic Baby Kale with Crushed Red Peppers (www.thegraciouspantry.com)
(Makes 2 servings)

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth, no sugar added
  • 4 generous cups, tightly packed baby kale
  • 1 tsp. olive oil
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder OR 6 cloves, chopped
  • 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce

Directions
Step 1 – Sauté the garlic in the olive oil in a large pan.
Step 2 – Pour the chicken broth into the pan and add the kale, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and soy sauce. Cook until kale is wilted and cooked to your liking.

Eat and Enjoy!


Easy Daikon Salad (www.sarahsbellacucina.com)
serves 4

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups julienne cut daikon radish (I used my food processor to cut it)
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
  • 2 tsp granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp sweet rice wine (mirin)
    OPTIONAL: crushed peanuts

Place the daikon in a colander/mesh strainer over a bowl or the sink and sprinkle with salt. Mix well. Let sit for 30 minutes. Squeeze out excess water and then rinse well with cold water. Drain.
In a small saucepan, combine the seasoned rice vinegar, sugar and rice wine. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves (this will only take a few minutes).
Transfer the daikon to an airtight container and pour the rice vinegar mixture over. Shake or stir well to combine. Chill for 20 minutes before serving.
This can store for up to a few days in the fridge, if it lasts that long. If desired, serve topped with crushed peanuts.


****************
Derek's House/Ginter Ave. Echollective Farm Stand fall crops Garlic Planting Season
Share:

Summer CSA: EARLY KICK-OFF THIS WEDNESDAY

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!  We sent off a mass-email to our members last week about the possibility of starting our Summer CSA early.  Well...we got a lot of feedback, and it all seems to be more on the positive side!  A lot of you can't wait for it to start, and we've got more vegetables in the ground than we know what to do with....ready for the harvestin'!

SO IT IS OFFICIAL: SUMMER CSA BEGINS THIS WEDNESDAY!

With Summer CSA beginning, this is also means that the time has come for the rest of your CSA member dues.  We expect the rest of your payment at your first CSA pick-up.  If you are having any sort of difficulty, we are flexible and can work with you.  (If you don't remember how much you owe, contact us for an invoice.)

If you're signed up for CSA pickup at the Iowa City Farmer's Market on Wednesday, we'll expect to see you there!  We'll have your first box ready and waiting!  For those signed up for ICFM Saturday pickup...we'll see ya in a week!  (Note: If you don't remember which pickup you signed up for, we can look that up for you.  Just email us.)

In order for this message to be effective, PLEASE EMAIL US A QUICK NOTE THAT YOU RECEIVED THIS!  We DON'T want anybody to be in the dark about our early CSA start.  If we do NOT receive an email from you, we will call you before Wednesday!

SPECIAL NOTE: With Summer CSA starting, this also means the beginning of our Work-Trade arrangements!  This year we are once again having CSA members sign-up to hand out our CSA boxes at the market pick-ups.  Email us if you are interested in this particular Work-Trade position.  If you are doing Work-Trade/would like to Work-Trade some of the cost, now is the time to contact us.  

OOPS: ANOTHER SPECIAL NOTE!  Our resident Echollective mushroom farmer Will will be offering a special oyster mushroom CSA for those interested.  Please inquire by email: echocsa@gmail.com or echofarmers879@gmail.com

******

What to expect in your first CSA box:
  • Salad Mix
  • Braising Mix
  • Spinach (bag)
  • Arugula (bag) 
  • Cilantro bunch
  • Spring Radish bunch
  • Asparagus bunch
  • Rhubarb bunch
  • Pac choi head
  • Head lettuce
******
Recipes

Bok Choy Recipe (www.steamykitchen.com)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds bok choy or baby bok choy
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons canola, vegetable or peanut oil
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons broth or water (or 2 tablespoons broth/water + 1 tablespoon wine)
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

1. Start by trimming the stem off - don't trim too much - just the end. Cutting the thick stem off will ensure that the bok choy cooks evenly. Separate out the leaves, keep the tender center intact and clean under running water. Drain.
2. Finely mince garlic and grate fresh ginger with a microplane grater. Grating the ginger helps break up the tough fibers! (and yeah, sometimes when the ginger is nice and fresh, I don't even bother peeling off the paper-thin skin)
3. Place wok or frying pan on your stove and pour in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Turn the heat to medium-high. Let the ginger and garlic gently sizzle in the oil. When the aromatics become fragrant and light golden brown, add the bok choy leaves. Toss very well to coat each leaf with the garlicky, gingery oil for 15 seconds. Pour in broth, water or wine. Immediately cover and let cook for 1 minute. Season with salt and drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top.

 Spring Strawberry Spinach Salad (allrecipes.com)

  • 1 bunch spinach, rinsed
  • 10 large strawberries, sliced
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, mix the spinach and strawberries.
  2. In a blender, place the sugar, salt, vinegar, and oil, and blend until smooth. Stir in the poppy seeds. Pour over the spinach and strawberries, and toss to coat.

******

 In farm news, organic farming continues to be an incredibly busy job.  Spring madness rages on, and the list of things to weed, plant, water, wash, box, pack, and deliver grows ever longer.  Saturday Farmer's Market was a great success!  Our booth was slammed by customers and people who ordered our weekly CSA boxes, and the Market itself was packed with folks who were probably either tickled by college graduation celebrations, or buying products to make a splendid Mother's Day meal on Sunday.  We sold out on lots of stuff.  People were hungry for our spring radishes, asparagus, and rhubarb especially, but everything else was literally flying off the table as well.  What we came home with in the market van was considerably smaller compared to what we left the farm with!  (Plus now we have a whole lot more room for stuff in our walk-in cooler!)

Pulling out our biggest and freshest pac choi heads has left a trail behind in our greenhouse beds to fit in our first newly transplanted tomato and basil starts, inter-planted with sprouting zucchini!  We have those tasties to look forward to in a couple months.  We still have a lot more room to make for seedlings to get in the ground: more tomatoes and basil, peppers, eggplants and onions!  Meanwhile, our beets have really swelled and spread out their leaves...peas have put out their first blossoms...new spinach and kale has grown to harvest size, and more lettuces and kale varieties are on the way.  We also spent until late Thursday finally getting our broccoli starts into the fields!  Then an accidental hose-break and the consequential flood gave them plenty of water...uh-oh!  Accidents happen.  But hey, they won't be thirsty for a while!

Our resident pigs been really having a go at their assigned farming task that they do best: weeding!  After which, they promptly eat the spoils.  Their pens are moved every week so they get more weeds to root out (particularly that pesky thistle!) but we're quickly realizing that they need more space to weed for the duration of the week.  The last time they were moved, we found the entire pen weeded (I should actually say it looked tilled and tractor-ed) by morning!  They are really doing a fantastic job, and hopefully that field will be a whole lot more manageable next year.  Those little folks have really grown too: Will estimates them to be at about 80 lbs.

Our barn kitties are also growing in size, and opening their eyes.  In a week perhaps they will be wandering around, distracting us from farm work.  Two boys, one all black, one a (probably longhair) tabby, and three girls, two all black and one tabby.  (For reference, look at our farm photos to see Survivor, our tabby from the previous litter.)  Hey, want a kitty?  In six months they will be take-home-able well-trained mousers (Mama Macy is a very good teacher), and if they are anything like their older sister Survivor, will be very people friendly and cuddly.  We plan on keeping one of the black ones to further propagate the farm's witchy-cat tradition, and two of them may already be spoken for...so that leaves a couple kittens left for the pickin'.  (Of course, you gotta wait for them to grow up.)

That is all I can recollect concerning the latest and greatest.  Hope to see you soon at one of these markets!

**********
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!
animals that help you farm Iowa City Farmer's Market oyster mushroom CSA
Share:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)