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Field Notes
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 | | Greenhouse lively with flowers, tomatoes, and scallions. |
In the past years I was always been proud to say that I had eaten my Brussels sprouts straight from the field as late as mid-January. Never, until last week's share have I heard of a Brussels sprouts crop making it until spring in this part of New England. Each year seems to keep bringing something new.
This spring we have the good fortune of having some wonderful spring items, combined with a plethora of different fall items. My palette is asking for a robust fall soup with the addition of delicate spring greens. This type of soup reminds me of many southeast Asian soups that are hearty, yet still crispy with the last minute addition of fresh tender greens. It is not often that we can enjoy this spring/fall combination on a cool April day. Savor this special season before it changes on us again.
Farmer Dave
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In Your Share - Week 3
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The following items will most likely make an appearance in your share this week (and as always, the contents of your share is ultimately determined by Mother Nature's harvest conditions):- Lettuce Mix
- Other greens (either Elegance Mix, Baby Bok Choy, or Baby Tatsoi), depending on harvest conditions
- Spring-dug Parsnips!!
- Radishes
- Potatoes
- And possibly more, depending on harvest conditions!
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Storage Notes for this Week
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Some quick notes on storing your share this week: - For your greens, keep them in the refrigerator and keep them cool. If you find your greens aren't lasting through the week, try turning your refrigerator a degree or two colder - it makes a big difference!
- Store your parsnips in a cold place in your refrigerator. Leave them in a plastic bag or container to prevent them from drying out.
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Registration Underway for Vegetable, Fruit and Late Fall Shares, Too!
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Now spring is here and the weather is warm, registration is picking up fast for our pre-boxed vegetable, choice-style vegetable, fruit, and late fall shares. Over 100 vegetable shares were spoken for in the last 2 weeks alone! Now is the time to sign up and reserve your space for all pick-up locations. (Since we are having a bumper spring crop, we can still squeeze you or your friends in for the spring share, at a pro-rated price.) As always, feel free to contact us with questions any time! |
Easy Ideas for Incorporating Fresh Greens into Your Favorite Recipes
| | Looking for more things to do with your greens? Try:
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Recipes of the Week
| Parsnip and Potato Latkes
Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Epicurious
Ingredients:
- 8-10 ounces potatoes
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 medium parsnips (1 lb total), peeled and coarsely grated
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- Accompaniment: applesauce and/or sour cream
Directions: Preheat oven to 250°F. Peel potato and coarsely grate into a bowl. Add lemon juice and toss to combine. Place potato on towel, then gather up corners to form a sack and twist tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible. Stir potato together with parsnips, flour, eggs, chives, salt, and pepper until combined well. Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Fill a 1/4-cup measure three-fourths full with latke mixture and carefully spoon it into skillet, then flatten to 3 inches in diameter with a slotted spatula. Form 3 more latkes in skillet, then cook until golden, about 1 1/2 minutes on each side. Transfer latkes with spatula to paper towels to drain. Keep warm on a rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven. Make more latkes in same manner, in batches of 4, with remaining mixture. Loaded Parsnip Mashed Potatoes Adapted by Farmer Dave's from About.com Ingredients: - About 1.5 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 3 medium parsnips (about 1 pound), peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths, large ends cut again in half to cook evenly
- 1/2 cup half-and-half or milk
- 3 Tablespoons butter, or more to taste
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
- 2 Tablespoons snipped fresh chives
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Place potatoes and parsnips in a large pot. Cover with salted water and cook until fork tender. Let drain in a colander in the sink and return pot to the burner. Add half-and-half and the butter to the hot pot and stir until butter is melted. Return hot drained potatoes and parsnips to the pot and mash, leaving some small chunks for texture.
Stir in Cheddar cheese, bacon, and chives. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Gently reheat over low heat, if necessary, before serving.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
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Groundwork Share-A-Share™ Update
|  Thanks to generous donations by you (CSA members) to the Groundwork Share-A-Share™fund, we were able to subsidize the cost of shares in 2011 for over twenty individuals and families, as well as shares for local food pantries.
For 2012, we'd like to continue to offer subsidies to those in need. We already have 21 individuals and families on a waiting list, and in order to be able to subsidize everyone, we'll need to raise almost $7,000.
Please consider helping us in our efforts to make the CSA accessible to more families by donating to Groundwork Share-A-Share.
To learn more about the program, click here. Thank you all for helping us keep this program going in 2012! |
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Contact us:
Farmer Dave's
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA 01826
(978) 349-1952
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