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!) ;-)

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!

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

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

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

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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

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.

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.

In Your Box:

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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!

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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

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.

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
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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.

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