CSA Week 2 and Farm Stand Updates

It was great to welcome our CSA members back to the farm last week! In terms of farm work there’s not much to report - it was a blur of harvest, rinse, fill the coolers, display, stock, empty the coolers, and wash out all the bins! We fit in planting any afternoon we could and managed to get some winter squash, sweet potatoes, celery and cucumbers in the ground. Both the vegetables and the weeds took off in the heat and rain (yay for timely rain!) last week so this week we have a great crop selection which we will harvest as quickly as possible in the mornings to get to weeding, cultivating and planting for the rest of the day! We hope you enjoy what is likely our last week of strawberries in the CSA and farm store. While we know this is a farm favorite, we have other highlights yet to come including the first carrots of the season next week!

In the CSA this week:

• Cucumbers! From our high tunnel.

• Green garlic - To use this early garlic, chop the whole bulb and the tender part of the stem.

• Fennel - These are grown on the outside edges of our cucumber high tunnel! We grow this planting in our high tunnel to get it as early as possible. These bulbs are also bigger than what we typically can grow in the field!

• Swiss chard - We grow a variety called Bright Lights for it’s colorful stems! This can be used instead of spinach when a recipe calls for cooked spinach, as they are in the same family.

• Yukina Savoy- This is a brassica green with a very mild flavor (as opposed to spicy arugula!). It can be used in place of raw spinach.

• Beets

• Kohlrabi

• Radishes

• Salad turnips

• Mini daikon radish

• Lettuce - We’ll have romaine, butterhead, panisse (oakleaf) and green and red leaf lettuce available.

• Salanova lettuce mix

• Arugula

• Kale

• Red Russian kale or red mizuna

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

PYO items are limited to the posted amount for each CSA membership (the appropriate size container will be provided) but these items do not need to fit in your CSA bag. Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only. There is a portable restroom behind the red barn and a portable hand washing sink available for member and customer use.

• Strawberries! All beds are producing. They are particularly plentiful at the back of the beds.

• Sugar Snap Peas or Shelling Peas - We hope to have a choice for members each day. These are in two different fields this year. Shelling peas are big sweet peas that must be “shelled,” which means you remove their pod.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will also have bok choi, scallions, seedlings, and our first ever crop of European thin skinned cucumbers (we are trying them out in our high tunnel as a result of customer requests!). We will also have mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and eggs from Codman Farm. We will be harvesting some strawberries for the store most days.

We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.

Mushroom CSA Week 8: It is week 8 of our 10-week spring Mushroom CSA from Fat Moon Farm and this week’s mushrooms are shiitake and chestnuts. Now that the farm store is staffed you may come anytime the farm store is open: Tuesday- Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. Just check in with the shopkeeper at the farm stand when you arrive and they will retrieve them for you! We do still suggest a Tuesday or Wednesday pick-up for the freshest possible mushrooms.

Garlicky Swiss Chard

By Melissa Clark, from NY Times Cooking

Serve it as a side to any roasted or grilled meat, or over a mound of creamy polenta that's been crowned with a fried egg.

Ingredients

• 2 bunches Swiss chard, stems removed

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or dice up one bunch of green garlic!)

• Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes

• Salt

Preparation

1. Stack chard leaves on top of one another (you can make several piles) and slice them into 1/4-inch strips.

2. Heat oil in a very large skillet (or use a soup pot). Add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 30 seconds, until garlic is fragrant. Stir in the chard, coating it in oil. Cover pan and let cook for about 2 minutes, until chard is wilted. Uncover, stir and cook for 2 minutes longer. Season with salt.

Pickled Daikon

from Just One Cookbook

Ingredients 

• 1 lb daikon radish

• 1 dried red chili pepper

• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)

• 1 tsp sake (optional)

• 1 Tbsp kosher salt (Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)

• ⅓ cup sugar

Instructions 

1. Gather all the ingredients.

2. Peel daikon and cut into ¼ inch (6 mm) slices.

3. Cut the chili peppers into small pieces and discard the seeds if you prefer less spicy.

4. Put all the ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and rub well.

5. Remove the air from the bag and close it. You can start enjoying it after 2-3 hours.

To store: You can keep the pickles in the refrigerator for a month. When the flavor is getting strong, remove the solution and store the pickles in an airtight container.