Midsummer Farm CSA  

Weekly Newsletter:  

Share Pick Up #1

Our eggs, which are also certified organic and certified Animal Welfare Approved, will also be available for sale on pick up days at $8 per dozen, if you are not already signed up officially for the Egg Share.

The Baskets - We use old fashioned bushel baskets for distributing our shares. It is important that you remember to return your basket each time you pick up. That way we can refill them for the week after.

Pick up times - Mark and I have very tight schedules and so we do ask that you please let us know if you will be late in picking up your basket or if you cannot pick up your basket. If you are unable to make it over to the farm at 6:30 pm on a Wednesday, please do call us or email us giving us at least a day's notice. We start harvesting for your basket the night before and morning of the pickup.

Email: CSA@midsummerfarm.com
Phone: 845-986-9699

We do not have the storage capacity to store your basket overnight. If you cannot make a pick up, you have two options: 1) you can send someone else to pick it up for you or 2) you can donate the basket - I have a family in need who cannot afford to join the CSA, but who would really appreciate a basket when members are unable to pick up. 

Recipes - I will include some recipes and info in the email newsletter, and there will also be photocopied recipes in your basket as well....

Thanks very much and we look forward to seeing you Wednesday evening - we're so excited to start the CSA harvesting!

~Barbara and Mark
Midsummer Farm

PS - If this is your first time to our farm, our address is 156 East Ridge Road, Warwick, NY 10990.  Please scroll down for Driving Directions...

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RECIPE:

4 elements to a salad dressing:

1) Vinegar
2) Oil (you can never really go wrong with Extra-Virgin, Organic, Cold-Pressed Olive Oil)
3) Backbone flavor: garlic or onion, pepper, salt, and a dash of sweet something
4) Upfront flavor: Chopped Herbs and savory greens
And optional 5) - some protein

You can use any type of vinegar from good old apple cider to fancy flavored vinegars; Just try to keep in mind your other ingredients and use a vinegar with a matching flavor.  

Although Extra Virgin Olive Oil is always a sound choice, a salad is the prefect place to use your delicate, more volatile oils like walnut, pistachio, and flax seed.  

You will probably always want to add something oniony - garlic powder, chopped fresh garlic, chopped chives, thinly sliced scallions or welsh onions, thinly sliced red onions, etc. And a dash of sea salt or seaweed usually helps round out the flavors. Experiment with red pepper flakes, paprika, and freshly ground black peppers.  

And adding a sweet usually really brings it all together - this could be a dash of fair-trade organic sugar, a dallop of brown rice syrup or barley malt, some chopped fresh stevia leaves, or a handful of berries or slices of pear. (If you used balsamic vinegar, your dressing will probably be sweet enough.)  

And don't forego adding chopped fresh herbs and spring greens! The protein you choose is totally up to you - beans, nuts, seeds, chicken, shrimp, avocado, hard boiled egg, tuna, pork - all seem to go well in most salads. Adding a protein really makes the salad into a meal.  

And once you have artistically created it, don't skimp on the dressing - it is the fats in the dressing that helps you fully metabolize all the nutrients and minerals in the raw greens.  

1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup torn verbena leaves
3/4 cup dry gin
3/4 cup club soda, chilled
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

Lemon verbena sprigs and lime slices (optional)  

Preparation:   

Combine 1 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan. Rub torn verbena to bruise and awaken the flavor; add to pan. Bring sugar mixture to a boil, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly; cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat; cool completely. Strain mixture through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids.
Combine sugar mixture, gin, soda, and juice. Serve over ice. Garnish with verbena sprigs and lime slices, if desired.

Sage and Cannellini Bean Spread 
1 can of cannellini beans (use an Organic brand with low salt like Eden, who uses kelp instead of salt to flavor the beans).
1 clove of garlic
4 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
 
Rinse canned beans. Combine beans, garlic, salt, pepper, and sage leaves in a food processor. With motor running, slowly drizzle the Olive oil until you get a rich creamy consistency.  Transfer to a serving dish - refrigerate about 20 minutes and serve with a hearty Tuscan bread.  

Backyard Organic Poultry Rearing Workshop

Sunday, June 12th 2011, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm

For anyone who has dreamed of walking out to your own chicken coop and collecting fresh eggs for breakfast, this course will guide you through starting up your own flock and in organic and natural rearing methods. We will discuss all of our secrets to Organic chicken care that we have discovered over the years. Chickens are wonderful stewards of the earth; and kept in proper conditions, chickens are valuable assets to the garden, lawn, and compost pile. They also provide backyard joy. They are easy to take care of, are not noisy or smelly, and are an important part of the Organic garden. We may also have young birds available for sale at the end of the workshop. (Please be sure to check with your town to make sure that chickens are allowed where you live.) Workshop takes place mostly outside (dress appropriately - wear boots) and is weather permitting. Cost is $36 | registration closes 6/9/11

Legumes! Cooking with Beans Workshop

Friday, June 17th 2011, 11 am - 1pm

Beans are one of those things that can make a huge difference in your health and well-being just by adding them to your weekly eating plan. And we'll go over a bunch of different ways to integrate them into your every day life easily. This workshop will lead to better overall health. Beans have been missing from the typical American diet and people have strange opinions of them, but they are delicious, easy to digest when prepared properly, and nourishing on many, many levels. We'll do a selection of fabulous bean dips, nourishing bean soups, refreshing bean salads (great for packing for work or school lunches), minestrone, and a variety of other recipes, as well as bean spouting. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged - it takes place in the kitchen at Midsummer Farm | Cost is $36 | Registration closes 6/14/11.

Crafting Herbal-Infused Salves, Ointments, and Lip Balms  

Friday, June 24th 2011, 10 am - 12 noon

With a focus on organic, fair-trade, medicinal herbs and spices, we'll construct a variety of healing and soothing salves and lip balms. We'll also discuss different types of healing herbs, what they can do for us, and where to get them. You'll never want to be without a jar of Anti-itch salve made with white willow bark and plantain or Dry-skin healing Calendula salve made with self heal and chickweed once you see how fun they are to make and how effectively they work. Workshop takes place in the farm kitchen | Cost is $36 | registration closes 6/22/11

Pestos and Salsas Workshop

Friday, July 8th 2011, 11 am - 1 pm

Creating Pesto and Salsa Verde is truly an art in the artisanal kitchen. And although we'll do a great traditional Basil pesto, we also have a whole range of absolutely wonderful and creative mixtures using arugula, parsley, cilantro, lovage, chervil, dandelion, unusual heirloom Italian chicories, and more. All the Pestos and Salsa Verdes we will be making will also be fully balanced using nuts and seeds and can be thought of as the main course as well as the appetizers. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged | Cost is $36 | registration closes 7/5/11

Too Many Zucchini! Workshop

Saturday, July 9th 2011, 11 am - 1 pm

By popular request - I'm doing a workshop on what to do with all your summer squash. I also used to feel overwhelmed and even bored by summer squash, but now I can't wait to get my hands on as many as possible! I have a wide range of truly delicious recipes that I am thrilled to share with you so you too can fully enjoy all those zucchini you're pulling out of your garden this time of year! As with my other cooking workshops, you'll take home a variety of recipes and building outlines for creatively designing your own meals. Workshop is hands on and tasting is encouraged | $36.00 | registration closes 7/6/11

Processing Meat from Your Own Poultry

July 16th 2011, 9:30 am to 12 noon

Workshop takes place at Two Pond Farm in West Milford, NJ and is taught by Allison and Randy Hosford.

This workshop focuses on how to humanely and properly process your own poultry for meat. There are two ways to participate: Hands-On: limited number of spaces available. You will slaughter and butcher 2 humanely and pasture-raised birds from Two Pond Farm with the option to take home your freshly dressed birds at $2.80 per pound! Or you can take it as an Observer-Only. (You can still purchase humanely and pasture-raised meat from Two Pond Farm.) Two Pond Farm is located at 176 Weaver Road, West Milford, NJ 07480. There is a 'Fresh Eggs' sign at the end of the driveway. Please dress appropriately, this is a messy process. Wear something over your hair as the feathers will be flying. Cost is $36 | Registration closes July 12th 2011.