News from the Farm
For the past few days our farm has been transitioning from spring to summer crops. The snap and snow peas are a distant memory and I plowed under the last of our spring lettuce. Sweet corn is just around the corner and our watermelons and cantaloupes are golf ball size. We should be harvesting egg plant, heirloom tomatoes, and garlic within the next two weeks. The year has pretty much gone as planned; we have lost a few crops but have done better then expected on others. Rebecca and I are thinking of adding a winter share to our C. S. A. program. The survey that is stapled to the newsletter will help us determine if our members would be interested. Please take a moment fill it out and get it back to us. It doesn't commit you to anything but it will help us to make our decision.

This weekend, I will be going up to the cities to meet with other C.S.A. farms to trade ideas and socialize. We are always looking for crops to expand our selection. Over the years we have tried and dropped veggies such as summer lettuce [too bitter], grapes [ not right for our soil], spring cabbage [ a worm magnet] and other veggies that caused too much stress and not enough yield. But we still are interested in veggies that would be fun to have in our rotation and we are open to suggestions. One last thing, last week we had some confusion over full and half shares. The half shares are in plastic bags and the full shares are in boxes. We will make a clear separation at the drop-off sites.
Thank you, Rhys

Varieties
By Rebecca Claypool

Norland Potatoes – These early potatoes have a dark red skin with a white flesh. They store well, and hold up nicely for potato salads and roasting.

Jade Green Bean – These are the long, dark green beans. They are very high quality, tender and tasty.

Lacinato Kale – This variety is also called Toscano or “dinosaur” kale. It has a unique slender leaf with a deep green coloring. This kale is great chopped up in stir-fries, omelets, or steamed as a side dish.

Ailsa Craig Onions – This is a yellow, sweet, slightly oval onion that will only store for a short while. The sweet varieties are usually ready earlier, and these are perfect slicing onions for sandwiches and salads.
Savory – This herb is from Jan Taylor’s Garden. Savory is commonly used to flavor dry beans, cabbage, and sauerkraut with a peppery spice. Savory can also be used medicinally for diarrhea and indigestion. The leaves can be applied externally for insect bites, and a leaf infusion can be gargled for soothing a sore throat.

Grilled Potatoes with Basil Aioli
From Fields of Greens by Annie Somerville

Roast whole, new potatoes on the grill until tender, then cut them into halves or quarters to make bite sized pieces. Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and slip onto skewers to place on the grill cut side down. The tender cut side will turn golden in only a few minutes. Serve immediately with Basil Aioli.

Basil Aioli
_ cup olive oil
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 egg yolk
1 _ tsp Champagne vinegar
_ tsp salt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Place the olive oil and the basil in a food processor or blender and puree. Whisk the egg yolk with a few drops of vinegar until the color begins to lighten then whisk the basil oil into the egg yolk, drop by drop at first, then a little faster as the mixture begins to emulsify. Season with salt, garlic and remaining vinegar.

Raw Kale Salad
3 strips of bacon
1 lb kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
1 small red onion, sliced thin
3 carrots, grated
2 cups pea pods, chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
_ cup sour cream
1 tsp Dijon mustard
_ tsp curry powder
2 tbl milk
1 tbl white wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbl chopped fresh parsley

1. Saute bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Reserve bacon drippings
2. Combine kale with onion, carrots, pea pods, and scallions in a large bowl. Lightly toss.
3. Combine mayonnaise with sour cream in a medium bowl. Beat in reserved bacon drippings, mustard, curry powder, milk, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the bowl of chopped vegetables. Toss until well mixed. Sprinkle with reserved bacon and chopped parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Braised Garlic and String Beans
From Greene on Greens by Bert Greene

1 lb tender young string beans, trimmed
3 tbl unsalted butter
4-5 large cloves garlic
1 tsp chopped fresh sage, or a pinch of dried sage
1 tbl chopped fresh parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Cook the string beans in boiling salted water until crisp tender, 1 _ to 2 minutes. Rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain.
2. Melt butter in a large skillet over low heat. Add garlic cloves and cook, covered, until lightly golden and soft, 20-25 minutes. Do not let the butter burn. Remove the cover and mash the garlic with a fork until well mixed with the butter.
3. Add the beans to the skillet, toss over medium heat until warmed through. Add the sage, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.

Marcella Hazan’s Baked Beets and Onions
Adapted from Greene on Greens by Bert Greene

2 lbs beets, trimmed
3 small sweet onions
1 _ tbl red wine vinegar
_ tsp balsamic vinegar
_ tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap each beet tightly in aluminum foil.
2. Cut a 1/8 inch deep X into the root end of each onion. Place the onions and the beets in a shallow baking pan and bake until just tender, 1 to 1 _ hours. (To test, pierce the onions and beets with a skewer.) Remove the foil from the beets, let stand 20 minutes.
3. Remove the skins from the beets and cut into 1/3 inch wide julienne strips. Peel the onions and cut crosswise into _ inch thick slices, then cut the slices in half. Combine the beets and onions in a medium sized bowl.
4. Combine the vinegars, salt and oil in a small bowl. Mix well. Pour the dressing over the beets and onions. Let stand at room temperature for 3 hours before serving.

Cottage Herb Loaf
Adapted from Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book by Laurel Robertson

_ cup minced onion
2 tbl oil
2 tsp active dry yeast
_ cup warm water
1 cup cottage cheese
_ cup finely chopped parsley
1 tbl dill weed
1 tbl savory, finely chopped
1 _ tbl honey
1 egg, beaten
1 _ tsp salt
2 _ cups whole wheat flour

1. Saute onion in oil.
2. Dissolve yeast in water and set aside.
3. Add cottage cheese, parsley, dill weed and savory to onions and heat gently to warm them. Stir this mixture with honey and egg.
4. Mix salt with 2 _ cups flour; add yeast and cottage cheese mixture. Turn dough onto floured surface and knead until supple. Cover and let rise in a very warm place, about 90 degrees. The dough will come up very quickly-in about 45 minutes!
5. Poke the center of the dough with your wet finger. If the hole you make remains without filling in at all, press the dough flat, shape it into a smooth round once more, and let rise again. The second rise will take about 25 minutes. Apply the same test to see if it is ready to shape.
6. Deflate the dough and shape it once more into a smooth round. Press seam side down into a greased round casserole or pie dish, and let it rise in the same warm place until it is high and spongy feeling. The last rise will take only about 15 minutes if the dough is warm enough.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush top of loaf with oil, bake for 45 minutes. Cool and cut into wedges and serve.To contribute call Margaret at 452-7493 or email margo1@hbci.com