May 2011
Vol 2, Issue 4
NFM LOGO GOOD

The Fresh Picked

Pre-Season Week 3

EGG SHARE OPTION FOR CSA
Eggs
We now have an option for eggs from New Windsor, Maryland during our Early Season CSA, June-July.  These beautiful large brown eggs are produced from cage free birds raised all-naturally.  We are offering a weekly share and a bi-weekly share. Eggs will be distributed at our weekly CSA pickups.
 
Current CSA members may add the egg membership to their current membership by clicking here.
New members may sign up for our egg share and/or produce share by clicking here.

 

LAST DAY TO SIGN UP!

Please note the Early-season and the 24 week season will officially close out on Sunday, May 29th.  The Mid-Season and Late-Season will remain open as long as we have spaces available. Hurry and sign up before its too late! 

NEW SUNDAY LOCATION
north cc elemStarting the second week of June, for our Early-season CSA we will be at North Chevy Chase Elementary School at 3700 Jones Bridge Road
Chevy Chase, MD 20815 in the parking lot. 
All other CSA days and locations will remain the same as posted on our website.
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Please note that Early-season and the 24 week season will officially close out on Sunday, May 29th.  The Mid-Season and Late-Season will remain open as long as we have spaces available. 

 

AN EVENING WITH THE ARTS...WHAT A BLAST!
Jordan @ Evening with the arts
J Jordan Bruns, Organizer of An Evening With The Arts (and CSA Member) stands with his painting from the evening.

 

Friday, May 20, turned into the perfect evening especially after a long week of tempermental thunderstorms and cool cloudy days for An Evening With The Arts, a benefit for The Children's Inn at NIH.  The Bumper Car Pavillion was set up with a simple, rustic, elegance in the midst of the throwback bohemia of Glen Echo Park.  As the musicians of the Washington Conservancy got under way with some Miles Davis, the sun cast a golden hue as it went down.  I found myself standing with Eris, sipping a glass of wine, and looking at Walt Bartman's palette catching the light. I felt very blessed and fortunate to be included this evening.
I drove that morning to Preston, MD for several flats of fresh picked strawberries from Wings Landing.  On my way I called our farm to make sure our cheese order from Trickling Springs Dairy would arrive in time for Eris to create platters for the event.  Everything on our end went smoothly.  The cheese and strawberries were delicious and displayed beautifully on the white table cloths.
Earlier this spring, I began taking drawing classes with Jordan Bruns at Glen Echo's Yellow Barn (who I highly recommend as a teacher). That is how I heard of this event which would tie together Music, Art, Helping Children, and Local Food.  Needless to say I fell in love with the idea and wanted to get involved as much as possible.

Congratulations Jordan for creating such a great time for a great cause.  I can't wait to participate again next year.

John Norman

 

MARKET REPORT
                      
Strawberries @ Wings
The workers at Wings Landing in Preston, MD have a true understanding of John Lennon's Strawberry Fields Forever but at least the weather is nice and cool.
Due to our cool and especially cloudy weather  our growers are saying that crops will be a bit slow to arrive this year but are looking healthy.  I hope everyone enjoyed their shares last week. This week there will be a few new items while others begin to phase out. The newcomers will be sugar snap peas, collard greens and kohlrabi.  Lettuces abound with lots of variety (how about that dark purple romaine).  Strawberries, rhubarb, turnips, asparagus, fresh spinach, spring onions and kale are all abundant this week. Radishes and bok choi are hard to locate this week.
Thank you, and enjoy week #3!

       Please email us at [email protected] with any questions, comments and requests. Thank you for your patronage!  - Jeff Norman
OUR FARM
Rows of Peppers
Jocelyn eyes the rows of peppers and appreciates the straight uniformity.
There is a great feeling at the farm as we approach summer and continue to get plants into the ground and keep seeds sprouting. Thanks to our hardworking crew, this year should be the most productive season to date.

This week we have been focusing on planting, setting up irrigation, and seeding.  We will continue this for the next month. Our focus is on tomatoes, peppers, squash, zuchinni, eggplant, beans, and melons.  I have been heavily involved with the seed selection in our greenhouse. We are trying new and old varieties that are more known for taste rather than yield potential, many of them are new to me or have been brought to my attention by other growers.  I really want to experiment each year with the goal of reaching the perfect variety selection.

Jeffrey Norman
Seeds
Our seed selection continues to expand at our farm

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PRE-SEASON SHARE WEEK 3 

   Potomac CSA

* We were able to increase shares this week by adding another pick in Step 1.  Here are the choices we are expecting to offer at your next pickup.  Selection may vary due to weather and availibility:

 

STEP 1: Choice of Vegetables

Family Share- Pick 4

Couples Share- Pick 3

          

Asparagus           

Turnips               

Sugar Snaps

Kale                           Lettuce              

Kohlrabi

Radishes             

Spinach              

Collards

Rhubarb            

Spring Onions     

Bok Choi

  

STEP 2: Herb & Vegetable Plants:
          Family Share- Pick 2
          Couples Share- Pick 1  

STEP 3: Family & Couples: 

      Dozen Eggs


STEP 4: Strawberries
         Family Share- Quart
         Couples Share- Pint

PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE  

   Potomac CSA

Sunday: Chevy Chase
May 8, 15, 22, 29
12pm-3pm
Roadside Stand - Jones Mill Rd & East-West Hwy

Tuesday: Chevy Chase
May 10, 17, 24, 31
4pm-7pm
Ohr Kodesh Congregation

Wednesday: Potomac
May 11, 18, 25, June 1
4pm-7pm
Geneva Presbyterian Church

Thursday: Bethesda
May 12, 19, 26, June 2
4pm-7pm
Entrance to Westland Middle School (on Massachusetts Ave.)

 strawberries

CSA Seasons 

 

Pre-Season

Week of May 8th-14th to Week of  May 29th-June 4th

Spring Season

Week of June 5th-11th to Week of July 24th-30th

Summer Season

Week of July 31st-Aug 6th to Week of Sept 18th-24th

Fall Season

Week of Sept 25th-Oct 1st to Week of Nov 13th-19th

Quick Links
COLLARDS STUFFED WITH RED BEANS AND RICE
stuffed collards

Recipe Courtesy Fat-Free Vegan Kitchen

Click here for website


 

 

 


Ingredients

  • 1 cup cooked brown rice (I used brown jasmine)
  • 1 1/2 cup small red beans, cooked
  • 1 large onion, finely diced
  • 1 green or yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
  • 1/2 - 1 tablespoon Tabasco, or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • salt to taste
  • 12 leaves collard greens

Instructions

You will need cooked rice and red beans, so before you do anything else, make sure you have those prepared. I pressure-cooked 1 cup of small red beans for 25 minutes (natural pressure release) and had about 3/4 cup of beans leftover after making this recipe.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Spray or wipe it with olive oil, if you like. Add the onion and a pinch of salt, and cook, stirring regularly, until it begins to brown. Add the green pepper and celery and cook, adding a little water if it starts to dry out, until the vegetables are tender. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Remove 3/4 of a cup of the vegetables from the skillet and mix them in a bowl with the fire-roasted tomatoes and a little salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

To the skillet, add the rice, red beans, the seasonings, and 1/4 cup of bean-cooking liquid or vegetable broth. Reduce heat to very low and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly and adding additional liquid if it starts to dry out. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Wash the collard leaves and cut off the stems level with the bottom of the leaves. Turn them with the coarse stem-side of the leaf up, and holding a very sharp knife parallel to the leaf, trim off part of the thickened central rib. Be careful not to cut through the leaves. If leaves are very large, you can just cut out the thickest part of the central rib.

Collards Stuffed with Red Beans and Rice

In two batches of 6, place the collard leaves into the boiling water, pressing them down gently to make sure all leaves are submerged. Boil for 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and rinse in cool water. Repeat with remaining leaves.

Preheat oven to 350F.

To assemble, spoon half of the tomato mixture into the bottom of a long, oiled casserole dish. Place a collard leaf in front of you, trimmed side up and stem closest to you. Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the rice mixture (2 for small leaves, 3 for larger) about a quarter of the way from the bottom.

Fold the side edges over the middle. Fold the bottom (stem end) over the filling, tucking it in behind the filling. Roll up tightly, and place each roll into the casserole dish. Spoon the remaining tomato mixture over the rolls, and cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve hot.

 

Cooking time (duration): 75 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 6

Yield: 2 rolls per serving

SAUTEED KALE WITH KOHLRABI
kohlrabi

 







 

 

 

yield: Makes 8 servings

active time: 25 min

total time: 45 min (includes cooling)

  It's amazing how a splash of citrus and a handful of pistachios can transform a pair of humble brassicas-kale and kohlrabi both belong to that genus-into a bright, fresh, and lively dish. Although this recipe represents the letter k, it could just as easily have been g, for green. Or great.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 pound kohlrabi, bulbs peeled
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest 
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 pounds kale (2 bunches), stems and center ribs discarded
  • 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup salted roasted pistachios, chopped

  • Equipment: an adjustable-blade slicer

Preparation

Very thinly slice kohlrabi with slicer.

Whisk together lime zest and juice, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss kohlrabi with dressing.

Finely chop kale. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Saut� garlic until pale golden, about 30 seconds. Add kale by the handful, turning and stirring with tongs and adding more kale as volume in skillet reduces. When all of kale is wilted, saut� with 1/2 teaspoon salt until just tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature. 3Toss kale with kohlrabi and pistachios.


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Kale-with-Kohlrabi-354974#ixzz1MzEhPcVW
SAUTEED ASPARAGUS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS
sugar snap peas



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

  1. 2 pounds large asparagus-peeled and cut on the diagonal into 1 1/2-inch lengths
  2. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  3. 1 1/2 pounds sugar snap peas
  4. 2 shallots, diced
  5. 2 cloves garlic, minced 
  6. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  7. Fresh lemon zest 
 Preparation
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain the asparagus and rinse under cold water. Drain again and pat dry.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet until shimmering. Add shallots, garlic and sugar snap peas and cook over moderately high heat until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add the asparagus and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper and cook until warmed through and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large platter, zest with lemon and serve the vegetables immediately.

 

NEW CSA LOCATION IN ROCKVILLE
We are pleased to announce our new CSA location at the  Universities of Shady Grove in Rockville, MD.  The Shady Grove CSA will be held on Fridays from 12pm-3pm. 
Early, Mid and Late Seasons available.

TO SIGN UP FOR OUR CSA CLICK HERE.


At The Root of the Farm to Table Movement
 
Enjoy and have a wonderful week!

Jeff, Eris and John Norman
Norman's Farm Market