A Box Deconstructed- 5/18/2017

Cooking with This Week’s Box!

The asparagus kicked into high gear with the warm temperatures we had over the weekend, so this week’s box has a nice sized bunch!  Lets start off with a recipe that just popped into my inbox this week from the Dishing Up The Dirt blog.  Andrea Bemis shared a very seasonal recipe for Herb Roasted Chicken with Asparagus and Green Garlic. This recipe will take about 40-50 minutes to prepare, but your entire dinner will be done in one pan and most of the time is just waiting for the chicken to cook!

Credit: Andrea Bemis

This is the last week for our overwintered spinach and I’ve had enchiladas on my mind.  I like this recipe for Spinach Enchiladas with Lentils featured at NaturallyElla.com.  This recipe is written for 2 servings of enchiladas, however the sauce part of this recipe is enough to make 4 servings.  While you’re making a mess, you might as well double the enchilada part and use all the sauce!  There are several variations at the end of the recipe, so adapt it to your liking!

Credit: Naturally Ella

The pea vine in this week’s box brings a refreshing new flavor to the table.  I am going to use it to make the Pea Vine & Green Onion Pasta Salad with Ginger and Lemon featured in this week’s vegetable newsletter.  Serve it at room temperature with a piece of seared salmon for dinner and then enjoy any leftovers as a cold salad for lunch the next day with any leftover protein mixed in!

The Charred Scallion Butter recipe in this week’s newsletter is super-easy to make and can be used in multiple ways throughout the week. This is part of a feature on Bon Appetit that features 32 recipes using scallions….all applicable to the Egyptian Walking onions in this week’s box. This recipe calls for two bunches of onions, but can easily be cut in half if you’re using one of your bunches for another recipe. Spread this butter on your morning bagel or toast and dip it into the soft yolk of an over easy egg. Spread it on crusty French bread and top it with a few stalks of roasted or grilled asparagus and some freshly chopped chives for a quick dinner or lunch option.  Still have a little left? Use it to saute some fresh mushrooms and then toss in some cooked fettuccine. Garnish with a little shredded cheese and you have a quick dinner option to enjoy with a crispy lettuce salad.

Lettuce!! Aren’t the head lettuces in this box beautiful! These tender heads of lettuce don’t need much beyond a simple vinaigrette….such as Jamie Oliver’s Honey and Lemon Juice Dressing.   Add some freshly chopped chives and chive blossoms and you have a simple, yet tasty salad. The lettuce leaves in these mini heads are also great to use as a wrap.  Fill them with your favorite filling or turn them into a taco!

 

Last but not least, this is probably our last week for chives and I can’t believe I almost forgot to remind Richard to make a batch of Chive Parmesan Popcorn!! Kick back for movie night or invite some friends over for popcorn on the patio.  

Have a delicious week! —Chef Andrea

_________________________________________________________________________________

“No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.” 
― Laurie Colwin

Charred Scallion Butter

Yield:  1 cup

2 bunches scallions or green onions, trimmed, halved crosswise

2 tsp finely grated lime zest

1 tsp fresh lime juice

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.       Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until smoking hot. Add scallions and cook, turning occasionally, until evenly blackened, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let cool; coarsely chop.

2.       Mix scallions, lime zest and lime juice into butter in a medium bowl until evenly blended;  season with salt and pepper

Credit: Bon Appetit

Note:  Butter can be made 2 weeks ahead.  Cover and chill.

Recipe by Alison Roman as featured at bonappetit.com 

✾

Pea Vine & Green Onion Pasta Salad 

with Ginger & Lemon

Yield:  6-8 servings

12 oz pasta (macaroni, fusilli, penne or other small pasta)

5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp minced fresh ginger

1 Tbsp honey

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 bunch green onions

5 Tbsp peanut oil or sunflower oil

1-2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil

Juice and zest of 1-2 lemons (approximately 4 Tbsp juice)

1-2 Tbsp fresh mint, thinly sliced

1 cup finely chopped pea vine

Salt & black pepper, to taste

1. Cook pasta in a pot of salted, boiling water until al dente.  Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Place pasta in a large mixing bowl.
2. While the pasta is cooking, combine the apple cider vinegar, ginger, honey and a pinch of red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium   heat. Simmer for just 1-2 minutes, stirring to ensure the honey is dissolved. Remove     from heat and pour over the drained pasta. Stir to combine.
3. Remove the root end from the green onions and cut apart the green tops from the white base of the onion. Finely chop the white portion and thinly slice the green tops. 
4.  Add the peanut oil, sesame oil, lemon juice & zest, mint, green onions and pea vine to the bowl with the pasta. Stir well to combine. Season with salt and pepper and set aside for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to develop before serving. This salad may also be made in advance and refrigerated overnight. Before serving, adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding more lemon juice, salt and/or black pepper. Serve either cold or at room temperature.

    Recipe by Chef Andrea Yoder, Harmony Valley Farm.

A Box Deconstructed- 5/11/2017

A Box Deconstructed- 5/11/2017

Cooking with This Week’s Box…

This is our second week of deliveries, but if this is your first delivery of the season…Welcome! I’m glad you’ll be cooking with us this year and want to remind you we’re here to help you.  Remember to read your newsletter and “What’s In the Box” email that accompany each delivery.  This is where you’ll find important information about your box contents, recipes, etc.  This year we’re trying some new things in the newsletter, including this section which is intended to provide you with some ideas about what you might make with your box contents and, when possible, we’ll also provide you with a link to that recipe. 

This week’s box has a lot of GREEN!  Lets roll up our sleeves and get cooking!  Last week our featured vegetable of the week was nettles.  A CSA member in our Facebook group shared a recipe for Pizza with Garlic Cream and Nettles that is a spring favorite for her family.   This recipe will probably use about half of your nettle bunch (although you can put as many on your pizza as you’d like!), so you could use the remainder to make a quart of nettle tea or turn it into a small batch of nettle pesto.  If you are short on time this week and the pizza idea is a bit too much, consider just making the Nettle Pesto recipe we featured on our blog last week.  Nettle pesto is easy to make and versatile, so you might find it handy to have in your refrigerator.  Spread it on toast with cream cheese, stir it into scrambled eggs, add a dollop to a piece of seared salmon, or toss it into pasta for a super quick dinner. 

The spinach in this week’s box is possibly the last of our overwintered spinach, and I hope you’ll take a moment to notice how sweet it is this week!  Use one bunch to make the Green Pancakes recipe featured in this week’s newsletter and below.  Serve these pancakes as a side dish alongside a seared pork chop with sautéed asparagus and mushrooms to create a tasty dinner. If you have any pancakes left, heat them up in the morning for a quick breakfast item!  The second bunch of spinach will make a delicious salad dressed with the Creamy Green Garlic & Feta Dressing recipe featured in this week’s blog.  Add some cooked chicken, tuna or beef to the salad along with olives, croutons and grilled asparagus for an entrée salad.  Use the extra dressing as a dip for crackers, chips, bread or put a dollop on top of your Green Pancakes!

You’ll be using the green garlic in several recipes this week.  If you run short on green garlic, substitute some Egyptian Walking Onions.  Reserve a few onions to use in an Asparagus Stir-Fry, such as this one featured on Heidi Swanson’s blog.  While you’re at Heidi’s blog, check out her recipe for Baked Quinoa Patties.  Her recipe calls for chives and dill, but I substituted extra chives for the dill this week and they were delicious.  If you have a little bit of extra spinach remaining, substitute that for the kale.  These little patties are good for any meal of the day and are easy to take with you if you need something quick and easy to grab on the go.  Lastly, enjoy a few refreshing beverages with this week’s bunch of sorrel.  Use part of the bunch to make Frosty Banana and Sorrel Smoothies  (I can’t get enough of these!) and use the remainder to make a batch of Sorrel-Lime Cooler!  Sit back, relax and sip on one of these refreshing drinks as you soak up the green in these early spring boxes!  

 ---Chef Andrea 

_________________________________________________________________________

“There are five elements: earth, air, fire, water and garlic.”  

Green Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp plus ¼ tsp salt

4 large eggs, 2 whole and 2 separated

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup minced green garlic, lower white portion

¼ cup thinly sliced green garlic tops

2 Tbsp dry white wine

½ cup milk

5 cups (5 oz) spinach, finely chopped

Olive oil, for cooking

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt and form a well in the center.   Add 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks and stir to mix with part of the flour from the mound.  (Put the egg whites in the refrigerator until you are ready for that step.)  Sprinkle with pepper.  Add the garlic bulb and tops, wine, and then pour the milk in a slow stream, whisking as you go. Whisk until all the flour is incorporated and the mixture is creamy and mostly lump-free. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. 
2. When ready to cook the pancakes, remove the bowl from the fridge and fold in the spinach.
3. In a clean bowl, beat the 2 egg whites with ¼ tsp salt with an electric mixer or a whisk until they form stiff peaks.  Fold them into the batter with a spatula, working in a circular, up-and-down motion to avoid deflating the egg whites.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Ladle about ¼ cup of the batter into the hot skillet, without flattening.  Repeat to form as many pancakes as will comfortably fit in the skillet, probably no more than 4.
5. Cook until the edges are set and the pancakes are golden underneath, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook until the other side is set and golden, 3 to 4 minutes.  Transfer them to a sheet tray (with a rack if available) and hold them in the oven set at the lowest heat setting while you finish cooking the pancakes.  Grease the skillet again, and repeat with the remaining batter.  You should have enough to make 10-12 pancakes.  
6. Serve hot.  You may choose to add a dollop of sour cream or pesto on top, however they are also good just on their own!  If you have any leftover pancakes, they reheat well in a toaster or toaster oven.  Spread a layer of cream cheese on the reheated pancakes and enjoy them as a snack or for breakfast! 

This recipe was adapted from Clotilde Dusoulier’s book, The French Market Cookbook.  Her original recipe called for garlic cloves and Swiss chard, thus you can see this recipe may be adapted to the season!  Clotilde also has a blog, chocolateandzucchini.com, where she writes about seasonal foods and shares simple, approachable recipes.   

_________________________________________________________________________________

Creamy Green Garlic & Feta Dressing 

Yield 1½ cups

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

⅔ cup green garlic (tops and bottoms), finely chopped

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

⅓ cup feta cheese, crumbled

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, green garlic, 1 tsp salt and black pepper.  Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients.
2. Fold in the feta cheese.  Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to come together.  Taste before using and season to your liking with additional salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Serving Suggestions:  This dressing is most appropriate for dressing more sturdy “salad greens” such as spinach and romaine lettuce.  Toss the greens of your choosing with just enough dressing to lightly coat the leaves, then garnish with any other ingredients you might choose.  A few additional ingredient suggestions that pair well with this dressing include olives, croutons, toasted almonds or sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and grilled asparagus.  If you have extra dressing, use it as a dip for chips or vegetables or as a topping for a baked potato.

Recipe by Chef Andrea Yoder, Harmony Valley Farm

Beauty in the Branches

“Farming is a Profession of Hope” 
― Brian Brett

Beauty in the Branches

By Farmers Richard and Andrea

   You may be wondering why we offer bunches of decorative curly willow and pussy willow every spring with the first two CSA deliveries.  Didn’t I sign up for a vegetable CSA?  Yes, our focus is on growing vegetables, but the willows are an important part of creating biodiversity on our farm thereby adding health and vitality to our vegetable production.  

   One winter back in the early nineties, it was cold and windy with little to no snow cover.  We had had some fields with late fall crops in them and there wasn’t enough time to plant and establish a cover crop after the vegetables were harvested.  Richard remembers seeing precious soil blowing off the fields that winter, so he decided to put in a hedgerow to provide a windbreak and prevent further erosion.  Curly willow and pussy willow varieties were chosen because they also would provide a saleable decorative product.  Little did we know we’d discover much more value from having these plants as part of our ecosystem.  Not only do they add beauty to our landscape and provide a windbreak, they also serve as habitat for birds, beneficial insects and creatures that are an important part of managing pest insects and pollinating our fruit and vegetables crops

Organic systems require more complicated production techniques than simply spraying chemical fertilizers and pesticides.  However, if you let nature do its thing, you don’t really have to do much except let the intricate natural system unfold.  Our willow hedgerows provide a permanent area that serves both as a refuge as well as a habitat.  When you set aside an area as a permanent “refuge,” you provide a place for critters to go when you work the field.  If we can keep them “on the sidelines,” they’ll be ready to move back into the fields after we’ve worked the ground.  We want creatures, such as ground beetles, in our fields because they eat weed seeds and other predatory pests.  The other benefit with having undisturbed ground in the hedgerow is that it provides a place for other creatures to live.  Some, such as goldfinches, may prefer to make nests in the branches.  Many beneficial bees and wasps are often ground dwellers, so they need undisturbed ground to nest in and raise their young. 

Every spring the pussy willow catkins (little fuzzy soft things everyone likes to touch) are buzzing with bees and wasps.  The pussy willows provide these critters with a source of nourishment early in the spring before other spring flowers are in bloom.  Bees are important pollinators for crops such as strawberries, watermelons, melons and squash.  We like to see the wasps because they help to control pest insects by attacking the larval or immature stages of whiteflies, moths, leaf beetles, cabbageworms, slugs and other pest insects that might cause problems with the crops in our fields. 

There’s another cool thing happening with the wasps in the willow. The willow produces a protein-rich sap from its branches.  There is a black aphid that likes to feed on the sap.  The black aphid isn’t a pest in our fields and confines itself to the willow branches.  This aphid consumes the protein in the sap, and exudes a sugary “honeydew” from its back.  Beneficial wasps love to feed on the honeydew on the backs of the aphids.  These predatory wasps help us to control our cabbageworm populations.  They can be seen carrying cabbageworms out of the fields to feed to their young larvae.  Small parasitic wasps also control the worms by injecting their eggs into the cabbageworms.  The cabbageworm then is host to the young wasp larvae that feed on the body of the cabbageworm after they hatch. 

In the winter, after all the leaves have fallen off the branches, we go to the wintry wonderland of our fields and trim the curly and pussy willow trees.  We need to keep them trimmed back so we can maintain our field roads that run alongside the hedgerows.  We also trim them to keep them thinned so there is room for new growth.  We carry out the branches we’ve cut off the trees and bring them into the packing shed, making giant piles in our coolers.  Over the winter our packing shed crew bundles them into the beautiful decorative bunches.  We are careful to take enough to maintain the space and the tree, but also make sure we leave enough branches to ensure it is a welcoming place for birds, bees, wasps and other critters to return to in the spring.  Some years we may have a lot and other years may be more limited.  While we enjoy their beauty in our homes, we have to remember they have to first serve their purpose in the field.

Curly willow and pussy willow branches are a very low-maintenance decoration to enjoy in your home or office.  Display the stems in a vase or container of your choosing.  They don’t require water and can last for years!!  You may add them to a vase of flowers with water for a short time, but they may sprout and produce roots.  If that happens, find a place to plant it in your yard and see what creatures take up residence in your space!

  

_________________________________________________________________________________

Let's Not Mince Words: Garlic Is Grrreat!

By:  Lisa Garvalia

   Green garlic is young, immature garlic which is harvested before the bulb forms. It looks similar to a green onion or scallion. It has a white bulb and green, flat leaves.  The flavor is more mild than that of green onions or scallions, and it has a pleasant garlic scent. The entire plant may be eaten, from the bulb to the green leaves. Green garlic should be stored in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel in your crisper drawer and should be used up within 5-7 days.

   When we harvest mature garlic in July, we put it in the greenhouse to dry. Once dried, we carefully sort the garlic and set aside the bulbs with the largest cloves and no signs of disease.  This is our seed stock for the next crop.  When it’s time to plant garlic in October, we crack the bulbs and separate the individual cloves.  If there are any smaller cloves on a bulb, we set those aside and this is what we plant for green garlic.  We also save small bulbs of garlic and give them a purpose by using them for green garlic seed as well.  The cloves for green garlic are planted just 2 inches apart, in contrast to 6-8 inch spacing for regular garlic that we want to grow to a full-sized bulb.

   Green garlic may be used in many of the same ways regular garlic or green onions are used, either fresh or cooked. Green garlic has a stronger flavor when raw, but mellows a bit with cooking. To use the green garlic, cut off the roots and give it a quick washing. Chopped green garlic tastes great in risotto, adding the chopped greens at the end of cooking. Green garlic can be added fresh to salads, again don’t forget to add the greens. It is also a great addition to soups, or sautéed with mushrooms and onions to eat with grilled beef or chicken. Drizzle a little olive oil on asparagus and whole green garlic stalks, add a little salt and freshly ground pepper and grill. Green garlic also makes a wonderful tasting aioli to add to your favorite sandwich. Green garlic is one of the many spring treats we get to enjoy after a long winter!!

_________________________________________________________________________________

CSA: It's Not Just for Veggies Anymore!

It's not too late to sign up as we do still have shares available!

Yes, we have our hearty Vegetable shares that people have loved for over 20 years. But we also have Organic Fruit, Meat & Coffee shares available, so don't delay! Bring in a friend and you'll receive a referral coupon for each new member who lists you on their sign-up form.

We still have room at all of our CSA sites in all delivery locations  including the Twin Cities, MN; Madison, WI; and our local area including Viroqua, La Crosse & Onalaska, WI.

See our Sign-Up Form for share options and pricing.

We look forward to being your CSA farm for the 2017 season!

Vegetable Feature: Pea Vine

by Andrea Yoder


Pea vine is actually just an immature pea plant that we harvest before it starts to make blossoms. As an immature plant its greens are edible and have a delicious, mild sweet pea flavor.  Pea vine can be eaten raw as a salad ingredient or can be lightly sautéed, wilted into soups or stir-fried. While the tendrils and leaves are tender, the main stem can sometimes get tough depending on how big the plant is at harvest.  Unfortunately, Richard and I disagree every year as to when the pea vine should be harvested.  I argue that we should harvest it when the stems are short & tender.  Richard argues that we should let it get a little bit bigger and if some of the lower stems start to get a little bit tough and woody, just sort them out.  Well, I agree that I prefer a generous bunch of pea vine, but I really don’t enjoy sorting out the tough stems.
This year I did some more careful evaluation and I actually have to admit that I’ve finally found a reason to agree with Richard that we should let the pea vine get a bit more mature.  The flavor is actually better when the plant is a bit more mature!  Flavor almost always wins out in my book, so now I just have to figure out how to work with the plant so the stems don’t drive me crazy!  My solution has been to find ways to incorporate pea vine into dishes that can be blended.  This way you can add the entire plant and chop it up finely to extract all the delicious flavor!  You can leave the blended pea vine in whatever dish you are preparing if you don’t mind a little fiber and the fact that it will slightly thicken your dish.  If you prefer something smooth, you could also strain it out.  Using this method, you can make very tasty soups, sauces, or pea vine pesto.
So this year, Richard and I have finally come to an agreement as to when we will harvest the pea vine.  If you haven’t been a fan of pea vine previously, I’d encourage you to give it a try with the blender by your side to assist.  It’s worth the little bit of effort to be able to enjoy the delicious pea flavor packed in this green!

Fettuccine with Pea Vine Cream Sauce

by Andrea Yoder

Serves 4-6
12 ounces fettuccine noodles
1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 pieces green garlic, green top & bulb minced (about ⅓ cup)
3-4 green onions, green top & bulb minced (about ⅔ cup)
½ cup white wine
2 ½ cups half & half
4-6 cups (1 bunch) pea vine, roughly chopped
¼ pound asparagus, cut into bite-sized pieces or smaller
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Prepare a pot of salted boiling water and cook the fettuccine according to the package instructions.  Drain the fettuccine into a colander, reserving about 1-2 cups of the cooking liquid.  Set aside the cooking liquid and fettuccine until you are ready to add it to the sauce.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add green garlic & onion and sauté for about 1 minute.  Add the white wine and simmer until nearly all the wine is gone.   Add the half & half and reduce the total volume by half by simmering over medium-low heat.  Do not let the mixture boil or it will separate and curdle. If this does happen, don’t despair.  You can usually whisk the lumps out, or you’ll take care of them when you blend the sauce. Season the cream mixture with salt and black pepper.
3. While the cream mixture is reducing, prepare the pea vine.  Sort out any damaged leaves and trim off the bottom ½-1 inch of the stem.  Rough chop the pea vine into about 1-inch pieces.  Once the cream mixture has reduced by half, add the pea vine, cover and allow the pea vine to wilt into the cream, which will only take a few minutes.  
4. Once the pea vine is wilted, remove the sauce from the heat.  Carefully transfer the sauce to a blender and puree the mixture until the pea vine is completely chopped up.  Carefully pour the cream mixture back into the pan and return it to the stove top over medium-low heat.
5. Add the asparagus and lemon zest and simmer just until the asparagus is starting to get tender but is not completely cooked.  Add the fettuccine to the pan and stir to combine.  You want the sauce to lightly coat the pasta.  If the sauce is a little too thin, continue to cook the pasta in the sauce for a few more minutes.  If the sauce is too thick, thin it out by adding a little bit of the pasta liquid until the sauce is the desired consistency.  Taste the pasta and sauce and add salt and pepper to your liking.  
6. Serve hot.  While it’s delicious just as it is, you could also serve it with a bit of freshly grated Parmesan on top or a sprinkle of crumbled cooked bacon.  This dish is also delicious when served with grilled shrimp or chicken on top or with a piece of sautéed fish.  

*Note:  If you want a completely smooth sauce, you can strain the sauce before returning it to the pan.  However, if you have a good blender, you should be able to blend the pea vine into very small pieces that will actually thicken the sauce.  I do not enjoy cleaning the strainer and prefer to keep the fiber in the food, thus I usually do not strain the sauce.

My Favorite Color Is Green....Is It Really Still March?

Our valley landscape is quickly changing from shades of brown to shades of green. The buds on trees are opening, and some of the trees are flowering. I was thrilled to see the hazelnut trees we planted last spring in bloom! The spinach field is full of gorgeous, deep dark spinach leaves that are so full of flavor...I can't get enough! The floor of the woods has exploded with all kinds of green plants and the hillsides in the ramp woods are full of delicate ramp leaves as far as you can see. The garlic continues to amaze me with how quickly it is growing....green garlic is not far away. I even harvested some chives and sorrel today!

The peeper frogs have been joined by a whole host of critters that can be heard and sometimes seen at all hours of the day and night. Last night we went to sleep listening to the coyotes howl and yip somewhere on the surrounding hills with owls in the background. Today I spotted two different bees out in the woods and was happy to have a huge bumblebee trail me on my walk. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of a bald eagle since I wasn't far from their nest, but today wasn't the day.

The greenhouses are filling up quickly. Last week Hector and Felipe worked very hard to prep the flower tunnel for planting and by Wednesday the tunnel was planted and the irrigation was running to water the seeds so they will germinate. We still have some violas to transplant in there, but it looks like we should have flowers in time for the first salad mix! As soon as they finished the flower tunnel, they moved on to our cold frame greenhouse. This proved to be a big job getting the soil worked up and grading it for better drainage. They worked very hard and I'm very pleased to report that it is ready to receive plants on Monday. Good thing because the broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and cabbage plants are growing really fast and need to move into a cooler environment where they will have a more moderate rate of growth to form a stronger plant.

We transplanted the first of our celeriac plants last week and will finish those up this week. The lemongrass plants came last week and they are already potted and starting to sprout. The first round of fennel is up and those flats will move to the Big House tomorrow to make room for basil and a second planting of broccoli and cauliflower.

The packing shed crew is pulling double duty right now as both packing shed and field crew. Monday and Tuesday we'll be busy washing and packing overwintered parsnips and sunchokes. By midweek though, we're planning to harvest spinach for the first time. It's time to take our salad area out of winter storage mode and get it cleaned and ready for washing greens! Simon will be busy Monday and Tuesday getting the salad washing equipment cleaned and greased.

Ramps should be ready to harvest in about one more week....and we anxiously await the arrival of our harvest crew. In the meantime, we're watching the fields to take advantage of the opportunity to start planting. We thought we might be able to get in this afternoon to plant some salad, but we had a really heavy fog in the valley this morning....so heavy you could see the moisture in the air.

I've been craving green things and hate to say it, but I am done eating turnips until we have those tender, delicate, sweet baby white spring salad turnips! Lunch today....Spinach and sorrel salad with almonds, blue cheese, apples, a drizzle of olive oil and a splash of apple vinegar. Dinner last night....Overwintered spinach salad with a creamy garlic dressing and marinated flank steak. Lunch yesterday......Burgers topped with sauteed shiitakes, ramps and Wisconsin Cheddar. In the works for dinner this week....meatballs with a creamy sorrel mushroom sauce.

Only 4 weeks until the first Farmer's Market and 5 1/2 weeks until the first CSA pack. One more week of March....it's going to be a busy one!

The Valley is Waking Up

It's a gorgeous day in Harmony Valley. It's 72 degrees, sunny with just a few clouds in the sky and there is a nice breeze in the air. While we still see a lot of brown in the landscape around us, every day things get a little more green. The birds are chirping in the background. I haven't seen a blue bird yet, but I have seen some purple finches. The peeper frogs are awake and ready for spring. When we drove through the valley last night, it sounded like they were peeping in stereo. In some places it was so loud...what a beautiful sound. There are buds on the trees, the bees are buzzing, and we are thankful for the breath of fresh, spring air.

We're hoping to plant this week...pending rain in the forecast and the field is still a little too wet to work up. We shaped beds in this field last fall to help them dry more quickly this spring so we can get in more quickly. This field doesn't look like much now, but give it a few weeks and it will be multi-colored and lush. The planter is out, the seeds are ready....as soon as Richard says go, we'll be rolling. Salad lettuces and greens, baby bok choi, cilantro, dill, mustard greens, spinach, arugula, baby white turnips, radishes.....I can hardly wait to eat it all!!

Jack and I took a walk along the Bad Axe River. Evidently the water isn't too cold, since Jack had no hesitation to jump right in. He had his eye on a long stick which he promptly retrieved and pulled over to the bank. Richard is always trying to clean up the river to keep it flowing within its banks and make it the thing of beauty that it is. Seems that Jack has learned a few lessons through observation. We also spotted some little tufts of wild nettles.....it won't be long before I'll be spreading nettle pesto on a pizza topped with spinach, ramps and morel mushrooms!!









Of course we had to cross the river and tromp out into the woods to check on the status of the ramps. Last week we only found small, purple sprouts. This week we found green leaves!! The biggest plants are only about 3-4" tall, but if they keep growing at this rate, it will be just a few weeks before they are ready to harvest.

The green garlic and overwintered green onions are several inches tall now too. Grilled green garlic on top of grilled salmon......always dreaming of meals to come.

We have a lot to do this week. More sunchokes to dig, ground to work, planting salad in the field and dandelion, broccoli, cauliflower and sage in the greenhouse. We're hoping to put some nasturtium and calendula seeds in the flower tunnel this week too.

The forecast right now is for chances of rain and thunderstorms all week. It's anybody's guess what we'll get. If the temperatures stay warm, we could be harvesting overwintered spinach within a few weeks too!! Game on!