This week you’ll find in your share:
Head Lettuce
Kale
Swiss Chard
Spicy Mix
Arugula
Leeks &/or Onions
Basil
Cilantro
Kohlrabi
Radishes
***Snap Peas
***Broccoli

Next week you might find in your share:
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Chard
• Beets
• Radishes
• Kohlrabi
• Herb

From your Farmers…
The season is moving along. Cool weather crops are phasing out, and early summer crops are coming in. With the cool temps, true summer crops like squash and cucumbers are lagging behind. Our first plantings of squash and cucumbers had quite a tough time, and may not come through at all. But, we’ve got you covered in the meantime with kohlrabi, broccoli, and the beets will be making their debut very soon.

Food For Thought…
Kohlrabi- the large white bulb-like vegetable with big hearty green leaves. Kohlrabi can be treated much like a cabbage. It’s great raw by itself, peeled and sliced or diced with a dash of salt or tossed into a salad for a nice crunch. You can also matchstick the head, and make it into a slaw with apples.

Onions- these onions are picked premature, as they were trying to make seed instead of a bulb. While not a prime onion, they are still a tasty treat in the sauté pan. We advise refrigerating these onions and using them sooner than later. They haven’t aged to be ready for a curing process, so they won’t store like a dried bulb.

***Week B members: For the remainder of the season, when three asterisks are next to a crop, in the share list at left, this means that crop is coming through in small quantities and will be rotated through shares as it comes available. We track who gets what and how much every week to keep things even. By our use of the asterisks, you won’t have to read this each week it takes place, you can just relax and know your turn is coming through.

It turns out we got some bindweed seed in some of our mulching materials last year, and now it is making a strong presence in nearly every bed, choking the crops that are trying to make your food. Bindweed is one of agriculture’s most problematic weeds because it is perennial, grows quickly, covers ground and climbs, roots several feet into the ground, can even spread beneath thick mulch, and forms new roots and shoots every time it is broken. Tough years of strategic management lie ahead…. Even 30 minutes of help with trying to get a section of the field under control would be greatly appreciated, even on a weekend. Plus, we love when our members drop by and get a closer look of the farm.

Spicy mix: comprised of arugula, baby boc choi, kale, kohlrabi, purple mustards and mizuna, this is a new one for the year. Try a few to make that salad flavor and color pop. Try a few leaves, if the spice is a little much for you, wilt them in a warm dish of rice or cook them down a bit in just about anything.

This Week’s Recipes…
From Gabriel and one of our members, Jack Olson.
Some of our members have requested a dressing recipe for all of the greens. So, we’re offering a standard that can be made using ingredients you likely have at home. This is a staple of the Farm Lunch table. It is healthy, and can be tailored for any.

On cool days, a stronger, warm flavor may be desired. On the coming hot days of summer, a little sweetness may be in order, and achieved with a bit of honey or agave nectar. We encourage experimenting with the ratios of ingredients to find a taste you most enjoy.
Randy offered a great base for vinaigrettes in the week one newsletter, so you can refer to that for a guide in addition to the following. Pour all ingredients into a lidded jar and give it a shake. Keep it in the fridge.

4 parts olive oil
1 part red wine or balsamic vinegar
A couple tablespoons yellow or Dijon mustard
A couple tablespoons soy sauce or liquid aminos, like Bragg’s
A couple teaspoons honey or agave to sweeten

Kale kale kale! What a great crop! It is mostly a cool season vegetable, but a dependable one, lasting for up to a year. We plant ours in a spot that gets afternoon shade, keeping it both tender and productive all summer long, as long as the Bermuda grass doesn’t take it over. Jack Olson sent this recipe to us last week, and we think it’s a great way to use the kale in a whole new way. Kale chips have converted many a non-green-eater, to green food lovers. It happened to me when I entered the farm world a few years ago. The seasonings can be done in so many ways, from garlic and salt, to a smoky, cheesy-like covering made of cashews and chipotle. One of our practicum students, Deidre, treats us to kale chips that way using her dehydrator.

For starters, try the following:
Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
coconut (or olive) oil, – enough to coat all leaf surface if doing by hand-
cayenne pepper (if you’re not a spice fan, maybe substitute garlic salt, or use sea salt only).

Directions:
-remove the stem from the kale, return to us later as compost
-add kale to baking sheet
-spray coconut oil
-add some cayenne pepper
-add some sea salt
-bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, watch closely.

I’ve had experiences where the kale was ready in about 5 minutes, it will vary depending on your oven and how much oil you’ve used.

Kholrabi and Apple Slaw (from Epicurious.com)
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon coarse-grained mustard
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 bunches kohlrabi (about 2 pounds), bulbs peeled and cut into julienne strips, stems discarded, and the leaves reserved for another use
1 Granny Smith apple

In a bowl whisk the cream until it holds soft peaks and whisk in the lemon juice, the mustard, the parsley, the sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the kohlrabi strips and the apple, peeled, cored, and diced, and combine the salad well.

Farm Wish List:
-compost (your food scraps, coffee grounds,
-hands to help control bindweed and Bermuda grass
-empty electrical wire wide spools from 2-8 feet wide. (we use them to store greenhouse plastic and row cover)

This week you’ll find in your share:
Lettuce
Kale
Swiss Chard
Spicy Mix
Arugula
Spinach
Leeks
Thyme
***Snap Peas!
***Broccoli

Next week you might find in your share:
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Chard
• Leeks
• Baby Greens
• Radishes
• Kohlrabi
• Herb

From Your Farmers…
Our first cooking class and farm dinner was delicious, and featured kale gratin, sautéed Swiss chard and chickpeas, and a nice lemon-herb roasted radish dish. Several members mentioned how a photo to ID each crop to its name would be helpful, and the farm team is looking into how we can make this happen for you. Our next dinner is Tuesday, June 25. Please sign up when you pick up your share. The list is with the share pick-up sheet.

Plants are speeding up on the farm with the warmer days and nights. This means the workload and pace are picking up too. More plants going into the ground, more harvest coming out, vining crops need support…and of course, in our organic methods, the weeds are staking their claim as well. If anyone would be interested in working alongside us for a few hours to gain control over a few of them, we’d be thrilled. Please give me a call at 566-8643, and we’ll make a date.

It turns out we got some bindweed seed in some of our mulching materials last year, and now it is making a strong presence in nearly every bed, choking the crops that are trying to make your food. Bindweed is one of agriculture’s most problematic weeds because it is perennial, grows quickly, covers ground and climbs, roots several feet into the ground, can even spread beneath thick mulch, and forms new roots and shoots every time it is broken. Tough years of strategic management lie ahead…. Even 30 minutes of help with trying to get a section of the field under control would be greatly appreciated, even on a weekend. Plus, we love when our members drop by and get a closer look of the farm.

Food For Thought…
Leeks: We want to send a special thanks out to farm member Dora Gianoulakis for her generous donation of leeks to the farm in late fall of 2012. Dora invited us to come and dig the self-seeded leeks from her garden bed. Using our Community Garden Coordinator Randy Tempel’s excellent growing method, we planted the bulk of them on November 2, 2012. We overwintered them under a sheet of plastic, occasionally uncovering them to allow rainwater in, and excess heat out, and harvested these well-blanched leeks on 5/11.The leeks will store for a long time in the fridge, but why wait? They’re delicious now.

***For the remainder of the season, when three asterisks are next to a crop, in the share list at left, this means that crop is coming through in small quantities and will be rotated through shares as it comes available. We track who gets what and how much every week to keep things even. By our use of the asterisks, you won’t have to read this each week it takes place, you can just relax and know your turn is coming through.

Spicy mix: comprised of arugula, baby boc choi, kale, kohlrabi, purple mustards and mizuna, this is a new one for the year. Try a few to make that salad flavor and color pop. Try a few leaves, if the spice is a little much for you, wilt them in a warm dish of rice or cook them down a bit in just about anything.

*This Week’s Recipes…
From Whitney, the Farm Apprentice

April showers bring May flowers… and a bumper crop of greens. By now, your abundant CSA shares are staring at you every time you open your refrigerator door. Below are a few suggestions to get your greens onto your family’s plate.

Hide them:
I don’t mean in the compost bin. Bury greens in dishes you’re already making. Two handfuls of cooking greens like Swiss Chard or Kale will wilt down into a pasta sauce like alfredo or marinara. Tuck some chopped spinach into an egg or potato salad. Or if you’re a brave soul like I am, start your day right with a sautéed nest of greens for your fried egg breakfast. Keep in mind that pretty well all deep green leafy crops are interchangeable in a cooking dish.

Bottoms up:
As the temperatures warm up quickly, make use of your greens in cool smoothies. One handful of spinach, a banana, peanut butter, milk, and ice will melt away your early summer woes. Try other tropical combinations by tossing in greens with frozen fruit like pineapple, mango, and shredded coconut. Make it berry delicious with local strawberries, raspberries, yogurt, and greens. These fruit combos are so sweet, you’ll forget about that handful of greens.

Save it for Later:
Blanching and freezing cooking greens like Swiss Chard, Kale, and Spinach can extend your CSA into the winter months. Toss frozen greens in a lasagna or soup, no defrosting necessary. Additionally, this quick and easy prep can bring out flavor, brighten the green color, and soften the texture. Remember, when you cook greens, they’ll shrink: 1 pound of spinach will cook down to about 1 cup.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. If desired, add just enough salt to give the water a slightly salty taste.
2. Wash your spinach leaves.
3. Fill a bowl 3/4 of the way full with ice, and add cold water to reach the top of the ice. This needs to be readily available after the spinach is boiled.
4. Put the spinach leaves in the boiling water, and allow them to boil for 30 seconds to 1 minute until you see a bright green color.
5. Drain the excess water from the spinach with a slotted spoon or strainer.
6. Put the spinach in the ice water. Leave the blanched spinach in the ice bath for a few minutes or until it is no longer warm. This will stop the cooking process, keep the spinach tender, and retain the nutrients.
7. Squeeze the spinach with your hands to remove all excess water. Leaving too much moisture in the leaves may potentially ruin recipes. Spinach is approximately 90% water, so no additional water is required to cook spinach.
8. Seal the spinach in an air-tight container to store like plastic freezer bags which flatten out and stack nicely. Label the bag with a date and what’s inside. Freeze spinach for later use, or use immediately in a recipe.

Farm Wish List:
-compost (your food scraps, coffee grounds,
-hands to help control bindweed and Bermuda grass
-empty electrical wire wide spools from 2-8 feet wide. (we use them to store greenhouse plastic and row cover)

Our first farm dinner of the season. Join us every fourth Tuesday evening!

Welcome back! Welcome new members!
Welcome Whitney, our 2013 apprentice!
Welcome Avonda and Deidre, our new practicum students!

This week you’ll find in your share:
Lettuce
Kale
Radish
Spicy Arugula
Spinach
Boc Choi
Beet greens
***Snap Peas!
***Broccoli
Chives
Oregano
Chamomile

Next week you might find in your share:
• Lettuce
•Kale
• Chard
• Leeks
• Baby Greens
• Herb

Our first cooking class and farm dinner with Operation Food Search is May 28, and the rest will follow on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Sign up when you pick up your share, or give me a call at 314.566.8643.

Remember to visit us online at seedsofhopefarm.org, and that you can help us save paper and costs by opting to read the newsletter online.

On the farm: Just a note, shares may thin out over the next few weeks until summer crops truly come around. Our first plantings of squash and cucumbers have really been hit by the cold and the cucumber beetle, which didn’t show up last year until July.

Food For Thought…

Lettuce begin. Then add beet greens, arugula, and some boc choi stems. You’re on your way to a fine Memorial Day salad.

Boc choi – is also great in a stir fry, used as a cooking green. The stems are great for dipping, and offer a nice crunch in a salad.

The arugula this week has a good peppery kick. Taste a few leaves before you put it all in one salad. This is my favorite stage of arugula, but not all feel this way. If too hot, cook it down with some of your other greens.

Radishes- eat ‘em, dip ‘em, but don’t toss those greens! See under recipes.

Snap peas! For many, enough said. For the rest of us, it can be nice to get that string off of each edge before chewing it up. These peas will be delicious fresh on their own, with a little hummus. Take a moment with your peas, slide your thumbnail along its concave seam, and open. See first-hand one of nature’s wondrous offerings. Each time I do this, it slows me for a moment, bringing a bit of calm and wonderment.
Have kids? This is a great way to get them eating peas at their finest. Even start with just the peas, saving the tender shell for last.

What are the pretty white flowers you ask? Chamomile. You can use them fresh, or allow them to dry, pluck the flower head, and steep in boiling water for a restful tea. Yes, chamomile is a natural way to put yourself to sleep.

*** We work on a very small scale, about one half acre, which means we have to keep our plantings very small to provide our members with diverse shares. So, we try some crops that are difficult to grow in our part of Missouri, like broccoli and cantaloupe. Some of these crops will produce harvest over a period of several weeks, and not all members will get them in one week, but we will distribute through the list as the crop becomes available. This week’s examples: broccoli and peas. Some of you will get broccoli this week, others over the next few. The peas may have a short season if things heat up, so we’re rolling them out to you as they come on.

We staggered two plantings of lettuce about two weeks apart, hoping it all would mature over a period of 4 weeks. Nope, it all came through in this one. Our next planting, planted 3 and one half weeks later, will need harvested by Monday. These happenings can be frustrating as they don’t fit in with our scheduling, but are a good reminder that in growing food, (living things) we are working with something much greater than ourselves. We accept what is offered, when, and enjoy. Share your lettuce with your neighbors, friends and family over the holiday weekend.

This Week’s Recipes…
From Whitney, the Farm Apprentice

Spring Fling: Radish and Pea Salad

Turn up the heat without turning on your stove. This quick spring salad will have you in and out of the kitchen in minutes and is great for backyard parties.

2 teaspoons powdered cumin
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 cups fresh-shelled peas or 1 pound frozen petite peas
4-5 radishes, thinly sliced or chopped into small bits
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

Whisk the dressing together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in the radish and peas. Give it a whirl. Top with feta cheese. Feel free to toss with a bed of greens or pea sprouts. DONE! And now you have time to marvel at this amazing weather because you no longer have to be in the kitchen.

Radish Refrigerator Pickles

You know the type: a perfectly round, cute, and sparkling red radish that looks so good you just have to take a bite… only to find that it’s a peppery fireball that will bite you back. Pickling radishes mellows their flavor so they’re not as spicy as usual yet still have a great crisp texture, plus a sweet-and-sour edge. Use a radish pickle on anything that you would normally put radishes on—a simple green salad, burgers, or fish.

Pickles will last in the refrigerator for up to five days.

1 bunch of radishes
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon yellow or brown mustard seed
1/4 teaspoon whole coriander seed
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 medium dried bay leaf

Rinse radishes and trim off their leafy tops (save the greens for a pesto). Thinly slice radishes and place in a heatproof, nonreactive bowl, and set in the refrigerator while making the brine.
Combine red wine vinegar, sugar, water, salt, mustard seed, coriander seed, peppercorns, and bay leaf in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat and let pickling brine cool for about 5 minutes. Remove radishes from the refrigerator and pour brine over them. Let cool at room temperature for 20 minutes; cover and refrigerate.

Radish Leaf Pesto

2 large handfuls of good-looking radish leaves, stems removed
1 ounce hard cheese, such as pecorino or parmesan, grated or shaved using a vegetable peeler
1 ounce nuts, such as pistachios, almonds, or pinenuts
1 clove garlic, chopped
A short ribbon of lemon zest or a tiny splash of lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil, use more to get the consistency you like
To taste: salt, pepper, ground chili pepper

Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender or mini-chopper, and process in short pulses until smooth. You can also get old school and use a knife or mortar and pestle (great for the arms) if preferred. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure all bits are in the mix. This produces a thick pesto; add more oil and pulse again to get the consistency you prefer.
Taste, adjust the seasoning, and pack into an airtight container like a recycled glass jar. Adding a thin layer of oil on the surface will help it to last longer. Store in the refrigerator and use within a few days or in the freezer for a wintertime treat.

Farm Wish List
-compost (as in your food scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells)
-lawn and leaf bags(full, of course)
-brown paper bags
-empty pint and half pint containers
-hands to help us
pull bermuda grass and bindweed (a few hours now will save us many more next year)