Krispy Kale

Figured out an alternative krispy kale recipe, good for both types of kale, thanks to one of our worker shareholders.  Here’s what she wrote to me:

We de-veined the leaves and cut them into 1' sq.s as usual. Then, I
tossed them in a bowl with a crush garlic clove and about a tablespoon
of olive oil (per pound of veg) to coat lightly. I then preheated the
oven to 375 and spread them on a flat baking sheet, and put it in for
six to eight mins. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste at the end.

My husband Aaron and I enjoyed our first day working on the farm and,
of course, eating the veg we helped harvest. Please be well and see
you Sunday.

Best,
Susan

I have been making yummy omelets with kale almost every other day.  Today I used mushrooms from River Valley and some hot peppery spices in the sauté with the kale, adding it into the omelet cooked. 

What is a garlic scape?  A green curled flowering stem of the garlic plant, yummy to eat.

Beautiful Photos

Spring planting photos

Buffy One

Lots of rain today and Todd is not glad for it.  He is still weeding like crazy and developing an unhealthy attachment to two of the chickens he calls Buffy One and Buffy Two.   

I tried the Revolutionary Krispy Kale recipe with the new Red Russian variety and bombed.  We need to adapt the recipe to this flatter leaf.  I’ll keep working on it

First Market of the Year

Whew!  First markets are under our belt and we feel…. fatigued.  Yet spirited!

There was only a little bit of the drama we anticipated.  Mostly it was just great to see friends and market folks from last year.  I will be doing most of my food shopping at the markets this year, too, and am excited to have a few meat sources.
A customer asked me about the taste difference between the red Russian kale and the green curly.  After trying to complete three sentences without success, I had to admit to myself and the customer that I HAVE NOT COOKED WITH THE RED RUSSIAN KALE YET.  I am the barefoot child of the shoemaker.
We added another Russian relic to our table this year.  Todd made a few wooden totes with our new logo (yet to be integrated) that includes a sickle.  We do realize the inflammatory nature of this symbol since it is often paired with a hammer to represent the Communist party.  On its own, the sickle represents the agricultural class or the peasantry.  By calling ourselves “peasants” we are not self-deprecating nor declaring ourselves communist.  We are trying to reclaim a word for its original meaning and association.  Similarly, alongside many others like us and like you, we are trying to reclaim the dignity of agriculture.
We aren’t communists.

Our "Spot"

Everything is looking good in the field.  We should have lots of lettuce and spinach and arugula for market.  Radishes, too. 

It will be interesting to see who the other vendors are this year.  The Lincoln Square market is so crowded that I can’t imagine many changes or additions.  We will be on the anxious side until we know where our “spot” is, of course.  There seems always some sort of drama that goes along with claiming and retaining our spot at the market.

But it is not that interesting for anyone but us, so I will spare details!

In other news, Todd has been eating alfalfa.

What is Organic?

I am reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  Anyone else read it?  It is a nicely succinct overview of our national food system, how farmers Got Big, how that is not good, and the implied meanings of the word organic.
Although the word organic has two very specific definitions (one by the dictionary, one by the USDA—read below), it implies much more.  Organic agriculture at its best implies “small farming” and “local” and “energy-efficient” and “nutritious” and “sustainable.”   In other words, Quality over Quantity.  Below is something I wrote up last year:


What is this mysterious word “organic?”
Organic in the dictionary means a lot of different things:

• Chemically, it is of or designating carbon compounds.
•  It is of or relating to or derived from living organisms.  
• Relating to, yielding, dealing in, or involving the use of food produced with the use of fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment of chemically formulated fertilizers or pesticides. Whew!

Some may say organic is natural.  But that is another label.
In the United States if a farm claims that they are organic, then they are either very small and are not making much money, OR they have undergone third-party organic certification and have filed this with the USDA.  To qualify for the organic label, the farm must prove with documentation that the land and inputs to the soil have been free of synthetic chemicals for at least three years.  The actual vegetables cannot be sprayed with pesticides created in a lab.  Everything has to be of or relating to something alive.
Peasants’ Plot is hoping to begin the certification process once we have accumulated the three years worth of paperwork necessary and once we have the capital to spare.  It can be a relatively expensive endeavor. 
Be assured for now that we are farming with methods in accordance with organic certifying agencies.  We care about the health of our soil and our customers in all ways “organic.”

Weeding

Today is Wednesday.  Todd is working with a couple of worker shareholders out in the field.  Looks like they are …weeding.
WEEDING
We are doing the best we can to resist weed takeover. Cover cropping is the first strategy.  These are crops that might suppress certain weeds and/or that build the soil in some way.  The latter fall into the category of green manure.
Researchers have all kinds of theories about weed control with cover crops.   This year, as part of a grant through the U of I, we will add sudan grass to our cover crop menu.  It is being studied as an antidote to Canadian thistle, which has a ridiculous root structure and is one of the scarier epidemics.  To rattle off some others: ground cherry, dandelion, lambsquarter, quack grass, Johnny grass, burdock, bindweed, creeping charley, pennycress, horseweed, prickley lettuce, purslane, wild carrot, milkweed.  Later in the summer I’m sure I’ll remember more.
BAGS
While everyone is outside toiling in the sun, I’m typing and awaiting arrival of our tote bags, which we will print and sell for cost at market.  I cannot guarantee the sustainability practices that went into the production of this bag, but I feel better about these bags than the plastic ones.  They ARE made in the United States.  They are cotton.