Farmer's Wife Beet Green Soup

Here's a great recipe loved by one of our 4-years-running CSA members.  Thanks Charlene!
  From Mario Batali...

Farmer's Wife Beet Green Soup 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 medium potatoes*, peeled and chopped                   *Peasant Plot potatoes coming soon!
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped beet greens
2 cups water
1 small bay leaf
4 (1/2-inch thick) slices country bread, grilled
Caciocavallo or pecorino Romano, for grating

In a large soup pot over high heat, heat the olive oil and soften the onion and garlic but do not allow them to brown. Add the potatoes, then the sea salt, pepper flakes, and greens, stirring well. Add the water and bay leaf and simmer 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Serve in large bowls with bread alongside and cheese grated over the top.

Beets and their Greens

Check out this long root!  Beet roots can go down as long as 3 - 4 feet.

The beauty of the chioggia beet, inside and out.

What you see above are beautiful specimens of the Goosefoot family: beets.  Specifically, these beets are chioggia beets, known for the bright bulls-eye cross-section.  I eat them raw after peeling and they taste like candy.  Roasting them is good, too, but you will lose the dramatic color contrast. When cooking, most people recommend roasting.  375 degrees in tin foil for 35 - 40 minutes will usually do the trick with beets this size.  Let them cool in the foil afterward and you'll be able to just rub the skins off.
The beet greens are very good to cook, too, like chard.
Did you know that chard is actually a type of beet cultivated for bigger leaves?  Substitute beet greens in any recipe you find for chard. 
Spinach is also part of this family called Goosefoot, so it is very appropriate to cook your spinach with your chard, if you so desire.  
Storing Tips
Separate the beets from the greens and put them both in containers or bags in the fridge.

In the Weeks to Come

With our first week under our belt, we are looking toward a second week of many many mixed greens and the start of our bunching onion harvest.  Todd is particularly proud of our freshly weeded carrot beds, thanks to all that worked on that!  We finally got some rain last night, thanks be to a god of your choice.  Here are some photos from today so that you can begin perusing recipes.  More details on things like kale and beets in blogs to come.

Golden beets.

Chioggia beets. 

In a bed of mixed greens...

King of the hill,  red leaf lettuce...

Dinosaur or Lacinto kale.

Red Russian kale.

Arugula--protected from flea beetles.

Arugula, as of today, June 17th! Might be our last harvest before it starts to hurt people.

Arugula.....

Carrots, purple and orange.

Turnips need more time.

This year potatoes get plenty of mulch and drip tape.

FIRST SHARE JUNE 12TH, JUNE 14TH

We have beautiful stuff coming up.  First market is next week and first share is around the corner!  I (Julia) sent out emails last week to our CSA members to confirm the date of their first pick-up:

"June 12th if you are a Tuesday person, June 14th if you pick-up on Thursdays."  

This spring has been a rollercoaster for our crops as they try to adapt to 95 degrees one day and 60 degrees the next.  The week of 80 degrees in March upset our rhubarb and jump-started the garlic.  We have garlic scapes already, earlier than ever.  And bunnies are rampant out here!  Our mild winter gave them more than enough opportunity to do what all bunnies like to do in their free time.  So, lots of bunnies...
People have asked us what we think the mild winter will mean for our crops.  We aren't sure.  More bugs?  Maybe.  But more bugs mean more beneficial bugs, too, so we are hoping it will all balance out.  We have more hands on board this year to tackle that problem, armed for anything.  Can't wait to meet our members and share our harvests--soon very soon!

RAdishes!

Cilantro!

Dill!

Spinach!

Mixed Greens!

Arugula under row cover.

Garlic scape, ready to eat.

Introducing Joe (again!)

Welcome Joe!

Katie and Carolyn

Spinach getting to size for our first week's share in June!

Joe has returned to The Plot after a year of working on another farm, his fourth farm.  (He was an intern for us in 2010, one of the few and proud to have lived a whole season in a motor home.)  This year and, for as long as we can hold onto him, he will act as our Assistant Farm Manager.  We are very thankful for him as he can do the work of two, while looking fashionable.  In partial payment for his experience/expertise,  we are giving Joe 2 acres for his own use.  On this ground, he has started Three Plaid Farmers with cohorts Carolyn and Katie above.  Read about their adventures on their blog:  blog.threeplaid.com
This type of exchange follows--although not exactly-- the idea of the "incubator farm" like Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.   In our scenario, instead of rent for the land, Joe is exchanging a significant amount labor for us, and responsibility.  We are banking on such overlapping efforts and cooperation to yield more local and organic produce for all.
In addition to Joe, we have welcomed Meredith, Laura and Justin as part-time interns.  More on these three next post.

Meredith

Justin
Laura..photo to come!

The Head Peasant himself, Todd.

In Case You Think You Don't Like Kale

I'm working on recipe cards to go with your weekly shares.  Sample above!  -Julia

What is a CSA again?

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

A little history:  The acronym was coined in a recent decade by Robyn Van En, a farmer in New England who was looking into a way for small farmers to successfully and sustainably re-enter the agriculture scene.  She and others realized it was no longer viable to sell grains and vegetables in a market that thought of food as just another commodity.  Many vegetables in the grocery stores come from only a handful of corporations and are sourced from all over the world.  So, as many documentarians and writers are asking nowadays: 

Where is our food coming from?  What are we all eating?

Joining a CSA farm basically means paying for a share of the harvest prior to the growing season, an investment used for seed and labor.  This investment pays off in the form of a regular delivery of fresh vegetables straight from the farm in a box, a tote, a help-yourself cooler, or straight off the farm stand.  There are many variations of CSA.

I checked out a few other farms’ websites to see how they defined CSA.  I liked Tomato Mountain’s description of the CSA model as more of a “relationship-based approach” to the business of growing, selling and distributing food.  Grass-roots at its best.

WHY DO IT:

Benefits to the consumer are many.  First of all, it’s an easy way to get a good amount of vitamins, nutrients and anti-oxidants into your diet, not to mention a healthy way to source your calories. Freshly-picked vegetables have more nutrient content than those that travel in trucks and sit in grocery stores.

A real connection to your food and health is possible.

The CSA model can be rewarding because the consumer can actually establish a relationship with their farmer through farm visits, emails, recipes, notes on the website, and even tips on preserving your vegetables through the winter. Buying local reduces the chain of people and energy consumption between farmer and consumer.  Want to know how your food is grown?  Visit the farm to see.  Worried about pesticides and disease?  Ask the farmer directly.  Know that your vegetables have been picked only a couple days before you get them for the most flavor and vitamin content.

It is rewarding for farmers, too. In contrast to farmers markets, CSA delivery is a sure thing, a secured income for farmers in the already volatile business of manipulating nature.  The farmers truly appreciate their members and strive to give them the best selection possible. 

I think it is a rich experience for all involved.