Dracut CSA Newsletter

July days on the farm are a time of pride. Every week more and more crops that we have been caring for are finally ready to harvest. Big smiles are seen on the farmers' faces as they show the pride in their hard work. Big smiles are also seen on the shareholders faces as they gaze at the vegetables that they had not seen from the farm in months.

While we are harvesting so much, we are also busy weeding and watering the crops to come. As the early peas are all harvested, each section of the field is tilled and quickly replanted with the fall crop of brassicas (broccoli, romanesco, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, etc). The peas, being a legume, will "fix" nutrients from the air and leave the soil for the following crop of brassicas, helping to ensure an abundant harvest through the year's end.

Mm-mm-good,

Farmer Dave

In Your Share - Week 5

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
Swiss Chard
Beets
Zucchini, Kousa, or Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Scallions
Fennel
Assorted herbs
Kohlrabi
And likely more, depending on harvest conditions!

Berries at Pick-ups?

We don't have enough raspberries and blueberries coming in yet to start the fruit shares...but if the weather cooperates, we may have them for sale at your CSA pick-up for $4 per half-pint. Please bring exact change, as we don't carry cash to the pick-up, and we can't accept credit cards there.

Fruit Share Start Dates

Many of you have been asking us when the fruit shares will begin. Well, we can finally see the beginning of the fruit share on the horizon!

The 13-week fruit share season would normally begin the week of July 30. However, this year's warm spring has pushed the fruit harvest to begin earlier than normal. If the berries are plentiful enough, and the first peaches are plentiful, we will most likely be able to add one or even two(!) bonus weeks to the fruit share this year! The shares in the early bonus weeks might be slightly smaller than usual...but hey, early fruit is early fruit, and still sweet and delicious!

So, here's what we anticipate for the start of the fruit share:

Week of July 16 - smaller "bonus week", if we're lucky! (80% likely in Farmer Dave-speak)
Week of July 23 - smaller "bonus week", almost certainly! (99% likely in Farmer Dave-speak)
Week of July 30 - "official" beginning of the fruit share!

If you are not yet signed up for a fruit share, and would like to guarantee that we squeeze you in before the bonus week(s), we'll need your registration and payment by Wednesday, July 11. You can read about and sign up for your share here.

Questions? E-mail Ginger; she'll be happy to help you out!

CSA Member Tip of the Week

This tip comes from Christine, who picks up her share in Lawrence:

"A mandolin is a great kitchen tool to add to your vegetable preparation. Slices beets thin for salads or to dehydrate as veggie chips. Slice root vegetables of all kinds thin to stir fry or makes them easy to add scallions and scapes to dips and salsa recipes. I like to mandolin the garlic scapes and add them to ground beef for tasty hamburgers! Adds flavor without 'chunks.'"

And another tip comes from Kristen, who picks up in Reading:

"As soon as I receive the email from Farmer Dave's with the produce we can expect, I immediately begin planning my menu for the week. I google recipes on sites such as Pinterest and Vegetariantimes.com and plan out the next week based on what is in our basket. The other night I made seitan lettuce wraps from a pinterest recipe that was amazing."

Thanks, Christine and Kristen! Got a tip to share? Send it on over!

Kohlrabi and Fennel

This week's share will most likely include two items you may not be acquainted with: kohlrabi and fennel.

Kohlrabi is in the brassica family, a cousin to broccoli and cabbage. The name is German for "cabbage-turnip." It can have either purple or green skin. Though it looks like a space-age turnip, it actually grows above the ground. The bulb can be cooked in any way you'd cook a broccoli stem or a cabbage heart (steamed, stir-fried, etc)....though many people enjoy it's crunchy sweet flavor raw, either sliced and dipped, or simply eaten "just like an apple!" The leaves can either be cooked and eaten like kale or collard greens, or discarded. Click here for some ideas for preparing kohlrabi.

Fennel has a lovely anise-like flavor, which is milder in the bulb and much stronger in the fronds (leaves). The fronds, which look similar to dill, are often used for garnish and accent. The bulb is delicious raw in salads (either marinated or not), and even better roasted or sauteed. Here are some ideas for fennel preparation from the Huffington Post.

Storage Notes

Some tips for storing your share this week:

Greens do best when in the fridge and kept cold. If you find your greens are not lasting as long as you would like, try turning your refrigerator a degree or two colder - it makes a big difference!
For root vegetables, such as beets, radishes and turnips, cut the greens off and store them separately from the roots. The roots will keep much longer, and you can cook the greens separately (just like you would spinach or Swiss chard!)
For your fennel, cut the fronds (leaves) and store separately from the bulb. Store both in the refrigerator. The bulb will keep longer than the fronds.
Tomatoes will keep their flavor best at room temperature - store them on your countertop! Flavor declines in the refrigerator.
Garlic scapes make a beautiful tabletop centerpiece stored in a glass of water (cut side down!).
If you run out of space in your crisper drawers, try using some large tupperware-like containers. You'll find your veggies last a long time in those!
If you're looking to wash your lettuce ahead of time and eat it over a few days, check out this video to learn how to store your washed lettuce.

Recipes of the Week

Fennel and Kohlrabi Salad

Adapted by Brooklyn Supper from The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Franks Castronovo and Falcinelli)

Ingredients:

1 small bulb fennel, well-cleaned and trimmed
1 small, tender kohlrabi, peeled and trimmed
1/2 red onion sliced into thin half-moons
1 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of red pepper flakes
fennel leaves

Directions:

Julienne the fennel and kohlrabi. Toss with the red onion and parsley. Combine the olive oil and and lemon juice, and drizzle on the dressing, add a few pinches of salt and tons of pepper. Taste, adjust salt and acid levels. Plate and give each serving a good squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a parsley and fennel leaf garnish.

Linguine with Clams and Fennel
Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Bon Appetit

Ingredients:

Kosher salt
1 pound linguine
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
1/2 small fennel bulb, finely chopped, plus 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fennel fronds and more for garnish
6 garlic cloves or 3 garlic scapes, chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
3 pounds small clams, scrubbed
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (or more) fennel pollen or 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted and finely ground in a spice mill

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, heat 3 Tbsp. oil in another large heavy pot over medium heat. Add chopped fennel and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened but not browned, 2-3 minutes. Add wine, then clams. Increase heat to high. Cover and cook until clams open, 4-7 minutes, depending on size of clams. As clams open, use tongs to transfer them to a large bowl (discard any that do not open).
Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid to clam juices in pot; bring to a boil. Add pasta to pot. Cook over high heat, tossing constantly, until pasta is al dente and has soaked up some of the sauce, 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add clams with any juices from bowl and 2 Tbsp. fennel fronds; toss to combine, adding more pasta liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry.
Divide among bowls. Drizzle with oil; garnish with fennel fronds and fennel pollen.

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 still have some individuals and families on a waiting list. 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!

Contact us:

Farmer Dave's

437 Parker Road

Dracut, MA 01826

farm@farmerdaves.net

www.farmerdaves.net

(978) 349-1952