Making way for the summer season!

Yep…I can see changes taking place in the farm’s field. Plants are so in tune with seasons and nature they will react far sooner then we humans do when it comes to the changing seasons. The weather has been wonderful the past few weeks and even though I would have like to have had a little more rain falling on the crops I can’t say I can complain. This will be the last of our true spring crops for the CSA shareholders and after this weekend’s pickup…we are heading into the summer season. But before we get too carried away dreaming of those heirloom tomatoes and such we all should take a moment and be thankful for what the bounty of spring has been. KALE is still on the menu. Love it or hate it…it is a power food and with so many ways to prepare kale you should be able to find a recipe you like. Freezer shares of kale and other greens are part of your CSA this week. How do you freeze these greens? Easy as 1, 2 3.

1.  What you will need     Large pot for boiling water – freezer storage bags – bowl of ICE water – tongs or better yet a handled strainer like this one
2. Bring your water to a boil….while your waiting wash your greens well and if you want chop them up. Once you water is boiling add greens a batch at a time don’t over crowd them.
3. Watch for them to turn bright green in color…this will only take a couple of minutes at best. Don’t over cook your greens.  Once they are bright green remove them using your tongs or strainer and place them into your ice water bath. Allow them to cool there completely. Now when they are cool…remove them and squeeze out the excess water and pop them into freezer bags..they are done and ready to be stored.

Peggy’s Tips & Tricks: 

I always have 2 ice bowls going at one time so that I can keep my batches moving along.

You will need to keep adding new ice to your bowl once you have allowed your greens to cool in it.

Make sure you remove as much water as you can from the greens after their ice bath…this will help keep those ice particles off of them when they are stored in your freezer.

When storing greens I tend to store them in batches as I think I will use them. Serving size batches. That way I thaw only what I will need.

Now I have to tell you shareholders y’all are in for a huge haul this week for your pickup and freezing some of these greens and other vegetables will come in handy. We are still harvesting lettuce but I think this may be the last harvest we will see of lettuce until our fall season. Once the heat is on the lettuce is not near as wonderful tasting as it once was. A couple of really important things about your shares this week. 1..as we are entering into the changing of the season the bugs are more plentiful and the crops will show that effect…as my mother says…”everyone of Gods creatures have to eat…just need them to save a bit for me” I would rather have some holes in my greens then pesticide in my body any day and I know you all will agree with that. Also give your produce a good washing just in case you have some hitchhikers (bugs) that catch a ride home with y’all from the farm. 2. GREEN BAGS! these will save your CSA investment. They work…I swear by them..and I know they are getting hard to find…just so happens I made a few calls and tracked the manufacture down and had some sent for the farm to sell. These are really nice good size bags…that are an improvement even over what I have used..so I am happy…happy. If you want one we are going to sell them here on the farm cost $1.75 ea. These bags will last you years…I know mine are at least 5 years old. You really should try these bags…and we have the very best ones you can find. You will love them!

Eco Green Bags

We have serval shareholders picking up Wednesday that have posted they were coming on the farm’s Facebook page. (if you haven’t posted by now…we are full for Weds pickup day). Because it is a holiday weekend we are opening  Thursday  4-6pm  for pickups  and Saturday 9-12pm for pickups.  If you would like to pickup Thursday please post a comment on our Facebook page…We will need to know how many shareholders are coming because we will need to harvest during the morning. If you aren’t on my list from your post…you might have to wait until Saturday.

Okay…that is it for tonight and this newsletter… just in closing a couple of items that maybe in your basket this week you haven’t had thus far…please start looking for those recipes…Swiss Chard a mild green like spinach. Beets  and Broccoli Raab.

Swiss Chard