In the Share - Week 31

 

at the BadSeed Market



SWEET POTATOES:  Your choice of orange or cream-colored sweets.

GARLIC:  Soft-necks types, Artichoke and Silverskin, are good-keepers

CARROTS:  More stubby Chantenays

GAI LAN:  Also known as "Chinese broccoli", see Tom's post for cooking ideas.

ARUGULA OR SPINACH:  A 1/2 lb. bag of either. 

RADISHES AND TURNIPS:  A bag of fresh-eating varieties:  Watermelon radishes and Hakurei turnips.

SCALLIONS:  A bunch of dainty green onions out of the high tunnel. 

SWISS CHARD OR BOK CHOY:  Hardy greens for winter stews and braising

DRIED HERBS:  Your choice out of the box of tins.

NEXT WEEK:  No shares until April 2014.  Come see us at the BadSeed Market, 1909 McGee KCMO, 4-8 pm.

FARM REPORT:

Here we are at the final week of our first 31-week CSA season and man, what a year!  The Fair Share Farm CSA turned ten this year and the harvest was a bountiful one.  The season did not start on a good note with freezing temperatures and even snow on Mother's Day.  It was the first time we had ever needed to delay the start of the CSA season, which we did by one week.  But, the weather warmed and the summer fruits ripened well.  The summer heat kept the irrigation pond pumping, but a few stretches of cooler temperatures allowed good germination of the fall roots.  With the last week of the season pushed into December, the farm's coolers are full of produce with excess to donate to food pantries and to sell at the winter market.  The time has finally arrived for your farmers to take a deep breath and forget about the farm for a few weeks before we prepare do it all over again.  We look forward to seeing you all on the other side of the calendar!  Until then, happy eating!!

The Fair Share Farm Family: Rebecca, Rocky & Tom
(not in photo:  Mommakitty, Sunny & the chickens)

What to Do With Your Share---Fall Extended Season Week 4

Well it's been a long haul. Our longest and best year yet. It's great to have a winning season when it comes to growing food. We look forward to continuing and improving the harvests in the coming years.

And through it all, we are able to include a new item in this week's share---gai lan (aka Chinese broccoli). It is easy to prepare since you eat the entire bunch, with no trimming necessary. The stalks are considered the best part, having the taste of a mild broccoli. Use it the same way you would any other Asian green. Tonight we used it in  a stir-fry with plum sauce. A mustard based sauce is also good with gai lan.

Another great recipe is for Butter-Pecan Sweet Potatoes. We ate this dish all through the holiday week. It was a perfect combination of our sweet potatoes and some fresh Missouri pecans that we picked up at the Bad Seed Friday Market. Rebecca trialed this as our dish to bring at Thanksgiving, and it is sure to turn into a regular pot-luck contribution.




From marthastewart.com.

In the fields the soils has cooled down and there is very little biological activity. While we found a worm or two during today's carrot harvest, we will have to wait until mid-Spring for the soil to warm back to life. This rest is good though, and we welcome the same.

 

Tilled soil, rye/vetch cover crop, and bean fencing