Featured Vegetable of the Week: Kohlrabi

by Andrea Yoder

The name for kohlrabi is derived from “khol” meaning stem or cabbage and “rabi” meaning turnip. While it is in the cabbage family and resembles a turnip, it grows differently than both. Many people mistake kohlrabi for being a root vegetable that grows under the ground, but it is actually an enlarged stem that grows above the soil level.  The stems and leaves shoot up from the bulbous part to give it, as many describe, an alien like appearance.  

 
We grow both green and purple kohlrabi, which are no different from each other once they are peeled. The bulb and the leaves are both edible. The fibrous peel should be removed from the bulb prior to eating. You can do this easily by cutting the kohlrabi into quarters and then peeling away the outer skin with a paring knife. The flesh is crisp yet tender and sweet with a hint of a mild cabbage flavor. It can be prepared in many different ways, both raw and cooked. The simplest way to eat it is to peel it and munch on slices plain or with just a touch of salt. It can also be shredded and used in slaws with a variety of dressings or sliced and added to sandwiches or salads. Despite many years of growing and eating kohlrabi, Farmer Richard’s eyes still twinkle every year when he says… “Can we have creamy kohlrabi slaw?” It’s by far his favorite way to enjoy kohlrabi. The leaves are edible as well, so don’t just discard them. Cook them in any way you would cook kale or collard greens.  

 
I always think of kohlrabi as an old-world European vegetable, which it is, but don’t forget that kohlrabi is also eaten in other parts of the world such as China and India. You can find some interesting ways to prepare kohlrabi in stir-fries and curries if you look to these parts of the world for recipe ideas.

 
To store kohlrabi, cut the stems and leaves off. Store both leaves and the bulbs in perforated plastic in the refrigerator. The leaves will keep for about 1 week, and the bulbs will last up to several weeks if stored properly.

Swiss Chard and Lentil Soup with Herbed Kohlrabi Yogurt

Yield:  6-8 servings

2 cups black beluga lentils (or green French lentils), picked over and rinsed

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

3-5 scallions, lower portion minced and green tops sliced thinly (for garnish)

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

1—28 oz can crushed tomatoes

3 cups Swiss chard, leaves & stems sliced thinly

Herbed Kohlrabi Yogurt,  see recipe below

1. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan.  Add the lentils and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender.  Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, add the minced scallion, 1 tsp salt and ground cumin.  Sauté a few minutes or until the onion is tender and fragrant.  Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until the tomato mixture has thickened a bit.  Add the swiss chard to the pan, cover and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes or until the chard is just barely wilted. 
3. Add the lentils to the tomato mixture and stir to combine.  Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for just a few minutes longer.  Adjust the consistency of the soup to your liking by adding additional water to make it more thin or simmering a bit longer to thicken the soup. Remove from the heat and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
4. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve garnished with the thinly sliced green onion tops and a dollop of the Herbed Kohlrabi Yogurt.

Variations:

• Serve it with a poached egg on top
• Serve it over steamed rice or millet
• Finish the soup with a few pinches of smoked paprika or red pepper flakes to add a little flare

NOTE:  This recipe is based on Heidi Swanson’s “Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup Recipe” featured on her blog, 101 Cookbooks.  She encourages her readers to put their own twist on the soup with a variety of suggestions for how to adapt the recipe to your liking.  This is my version of her lentil soup recipe.—Chef Andrea Yoder 

Herbed Kohlrabi Yogurt 

Yield:  1 cup

1 cup Greek yogurt

½ cup finely grated kohlrabi

1 Tbsp lemon juice 

Lemon zest from the rind of one lemon

1 garlic scape, minced

1 Tbsp fresh herbs, minced (parsley, savory, thyme, mint, etc)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine yogurt, kohlrabi, lemon juice and zest, garlic scapes and fresh herbs of your choosing. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
2. Refrigerate the yogurt for at least 30 minutes or overnight for the best flavor.

Serving suggestions:  Use this herbed kohlrabi yogurt as a topping for falafel, lentil dishes, or alongside scrambled eggs, sautéed greens or steamed rice.  

Bringing Back the Monarchs

By Andrea Yoder

Over the past few weeks we’ve been noticing a lot of activity in the air. The dragonflies are flitting around our farm again as are the Yellow Swallowtail butterflies and a whole host of butterflies, bees and other flying creatures. Yet, we still haven’t spotted any monarch butterflies this year. Over the past 20 years the overwintering monarch populations have dropped by 90%, bringing a sense of

urgency to the reality that this species may become extinct one day very soon if we do not rapidly change the course of events. Common Sense Pest Control Quarterly is a publication of The Bio-Integral Resource Center, a non-profit that provides practical information about the least toxic methods of pest management.  In their May 2016 publication, William Quarles, Ph.D., provided us with some very interesting information about the monarch butterflies.  We would like to share some of these facts with you that make this creature all that more amazing to us.

Monarch butterflies are actually a prehistoric creature thought to have evolved about 100 million years ago!  They are thought to have become migratory creatures about one million years ago. There

are now two populations of migrating monarchs, one population east of the Rocky Mountains and the other on the west side of the Rockies.  In order to survive, monarchs need water, nectar, milkweed and trees on which to overwinter.  The rapid decline in their populations is directly related to human behavior and specifically to the drastic increase in use of pesticides over the past two decades.  In

addition to causing death through direct contact with pesticides, the use of glyphosate and neonicotinoids has destroyed a significant amount of milkweed as well as causing death of monarch larvae and reductions in plants that provide nectar for the butterflies.  Milkweed is an important plant for monarch survival and is one of the main reasons monarchs migrate to the north during the spring and summer from their southern overwintering site in Mexico.  Milkweed contains steroids called cardenolides which monarchs ingest.  This component of milkweed protects monarchs from predators by giving them a bad taste as well as being toxic to vertebrates.  Milkweed is a food source for monarch caterpillars as well as serving as a nectar source for the adult monarch butterflies. Additionally, monarch females lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves.

The migratory pattern of the monarch population east of the Rocky Mountains takes the monarchs to northern climates in the spring and summer in search of milkweed.  Monarch larvae development stops at 52-54°F.  In addition to decreasing temperatures, their milkweed sources cease in the fall and winter thus they migrate to their overwintering site in Mexico to wait out the winter.  They start to migrate south about mid-September and move at a rate of about 20-25 miles/day.  During their migration they focus all of their energy on moving and stop mating and producing eggs.  They feed aggressively to gain fuel for the flight as well as build up fat deposits for overwintering.  Just where does a slim creature like a monarch deposit fat?  When they reach their overwintering spot in Mexico, they’ll huddle together in clusters in trees to stay warm until spring arrives.  In the spring they start their vigorous mating ritual, then fly north into Texas and the southern parts of the U.S. to lay their eggs on milkweed.  These eggs hatch a spring generation that then flies further north in order to get away from the heat of the southern summer.  Once they arrive in the north they produce 2 or 3 summer generations, the last of which will migrate south in the fall.  The generation that will overwinter has a lifespan of about 8-9 months while the spring and summer generations only last about 3-5 weeks.

 

So how can we help support the monarch populations and prevent further decline?  One way is to provide more milkweed for the monarchs.  One of the plants in our pollinator packs was Asclepias tuberosa, a type of milkweed commonly known as butterfly weed.  There are also efforts being made by various environmental groups to create Monarch Way Stations, plantings of milkweed in the migratory path of the monarchs.  Additionally, planting flowering plants to provide a source of nectar will help provide them with the fuel they need for their flight.  While these efforts are all positive, we must remember that their benefit is limited if there is still use of pesticides and herbicides on the

plants or in their vicinity where they will be affected by drift.   We have been planting native flowering plants and milkweed on our farm for many years.  We’re excited to see how many people chose to participate in planting the pollinator packs we delivered over the past several weeks.  Now many of you are creating your own Monarch Way Stations in the Twin Cities, Madison and our local area.  Please let us know how your gardens are growing and what critters they are attracting.

Dr. Quarles concludes his article with this statement: “Monarch butterflies survived the dinosaurs and have probably been migrating for a million years.  We should not let pesticide pollution and human activity destroy them. Working together, we can bring back the monarchs.”  Let’s all do our part.

Culinary 101 - Lesson #1: Keep it Simple!

by Andrea Yoder

As I write this article, I pause to consider the wide expanse of experience our CSA members bring to the table.  Some of our seasoned CSA veterans have been cooking “out of the box” for 15-20 years, while others in our membership may be in their first year of experiencing CSA….with the bunch of hon tsai tai from last week’s delivery pushed to the back of the refrigerator with a big question mark on it. "What am I supposed to do with this weird/unfamiliar food?”  Despite my training as a professional chef and a high level of comfort in the kitchen, I too face my own culinary challenges every day as I stand in the kitchen, tired, hungry and waiting for food to magically appear in front of me. Whether your challenge is limited time and energy or you just don’t have much experience cooking, we can all afford at some points during our lives to come back to the basics of cooking and turn to simple means of nourishing and feeding ourselves. Keeping things simple takes away the intimidation of cooking and empowers us to create meals that fit our own lifestyles and likes.

In her book, In the Green Kitchen, Alice Waters makes this statement: “At home in their own kitchens, even the most renowned chefs do not consider themselves to be chefs;  there, they are simply cooks, preparing the simple, uncomplicated food they like best. Preparing food like that does not have to be hard work. On the contrary, the whole process—thinking about food, deciding what you want to eat, shopping for ingredients, and, finally, cooking and eating –is the purest pleasure, and too much fun to be reserved exclusively for ‘foodies.’ Cooking creates a sense of well-being for

yourself and the people you love and brings beauty and meaning to everyday life. And all it requires is common sense—the common sense to eat seasonally, to know where your food comes from, to support and buy from local farmers and producers who are good stewards of our natural resources, and to apply the same principles of conservation to your own kitchen.” 

So by default we’ve all conquered the first hurdle of cooking which is choosing high-quality, delicious ingredients. The reason Richard and I get up every morning is to do our job of producing high-quality, delicious vegetables for you and your family. If you start with high quality ingredients in the height of their season, you often don’t need anything more than a simple preparation with a little salt, pepper and maybe a splash of oil or vinegar or a squeeze of lemon. That’s something we can all do!

I’d like to introduce another cookbook author with some unique perspectives on how to approach cooking. Alana Chernila’s book, The Homemade Kitchen, is all about laying out the basics, and making food and cooking approachable for everyone by simply relying on learning the basics. The first section of her book is entitled:  “Start Where You Are.” In her introduction she asks a simple question.  “So why do I cook? To eat, of course. But there’s more to it. And that’s where this book comes in. I cook because feeding myself is the one basic, essential, daily requirement that I can do entirely in my own way….Not only do I get to eat what I’ve made, I also get to delight in my ability to create it.” Throughout Alana’s book, she provides a roadmap for maneuvering the basics of cooking. For example, there are two pages that clearly and simply outline the basic procedures for how to cook an egg. Once you learn how to prepare this simple food, you can branch off and do all kinds of things with eggs! They can make a simple lunch accompanied by a fresh green salad. You can eat them for breakfast scrambled with seasonal vegetables, or you can turn them into a quiche to

serve for dinner. “But I don’t know how to make pie crust!” Don’t worry, Alana guides you through the simple steps for how to make a basic pie crust. And with that basic knowledge you can make not only quiche, but you can create a squash pie to serve at Thanksgiving dinner, make a delicious rhubarb pie in the spring, or enjoy peach cobbler in the summer! As Alice Waters states in her book, this is what all good cooks have in common “…a set of basic techniques that free cooks from an overdependence on recipes and a fear of improvisation.” She goes on to say “The value of learning a foundation of basic techniques is that once these skills become instinctive, you can cook comfortably and confidently without recipes, inspired by the ingredients you have.  …..There is enormous pleasure in cooking good food simply and in sharing the cooking and the eating with friends and family. I think it is the best antidote to our overstressed modern lives. And there is nothing better than putting a plate of delicious food on the table for the people you love.”       

So I encourage you to outfit yourself with a few simple tools and get into the kitchen. Keep it simple and have fun. When you are limited with time or creative ideas, just keep it simple. Roast a potato, steam some broccoli, make a simple green salad with a basic vinaigrette. We all deserve to eat good, healthy, nutritious food and preparing food doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple, eat well and most importantly take time to enjoy the foods that nourish you.

 
If you’re looking for a basic resource to help you learn some basic cooking concepts, I’d highly recommend either of the books I cited above.  

In the Green Kitchen by Alice Waters 

The Homemade Kitchen by Alana Chernila 

Featured Vegetable of the Week: Baby Bok Choi

by Andrea Yoder

We added baby bok choi to our repertoire of vegetables several years ago and it quickly became one of our “staple” crops that we now plant every week for as many as 20 weeks during our growing season. It is a mild-flavored Asian green that is related to some of our other favorites such as tat soi and hon tsai tai. We like the versatility of baby bok choi as it is tender enough to be eaten both raw in salads and cooked.  It is one of nature’s fast foods as it only takes a few minutes at most to stir-fry, saute or steam it. I usually slice the stems of baby bok choi separate from the leaves. If cooking, I give them a few additional minutes of cooking time before adding the leaves.
 
Before using the bok choi you will need to take a moment to clean it. Fill a sink with cold water and trim the base of the bok choi to allow the leaves to separate from the main stem. Swish the leaves in the water, and then check the base of each leaf. You may need to wash a little dirt off the base of the stem. If you are cooking the bok choi, remove the greens from the water and shake off excess water. If you are going to use the bok choi in a salad, you’ll want to dry them a little more in a salad spinner or put them in a kitchen towel and carefully shake them to remove excess moisture.
   

Bok choi may be added to seasonal stir-fries, lightly steamed or sautéed and eaten alongside steamed rice and fish, or even cut in half and lightly cooked on a hot grill. If you’d prefer to eat bok choi raw in a salad, simply dress the greens with a light vinaigrette.

Bok Choi Salad with Sesame-Almond Crunch

Yield:  4-5 servings

Sesame-Almond Crunch

1 cup slivered almonds

2 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted

Dressing

3 Tbsp sugar

¼ cup grapeseed oil (may substitute sunflower oil)

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp soy sauce

4-6   green onions, thinly sliced

1½ pounds baby bok choi, washed and dried

1.    Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread slivered almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside.

2.     Sprinkle 2 Tbsp sugar in an even layer over the bottom of a saucepan set over medium heat. The moment the sugar is completely liquefied, add almonds, stirring briskly to coat, then add sesame seeds, stirring until evenly distributed. Do this quickly, so that the mixture does not burn.  Immediately transfer nut mixture to a plate and let cool. 

3.     In the same saucepan, bring the dressing ingredients to a boil: sugar, oil, vinegar, soy sauce, and whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add sliced green onions and remove from heat. Dressing can be used while warm or cool.

4.     Meanwhile, slice the bok choi crosswise into ½-inch pieces. Just before serving, place bok choi in a large bowl and toss with dressing. Add the nut mixture and toss well.

Note from the HVF Test Kitchen:  This original recipe calls for 1 ½ pounds of bok choi, however you only received about 1 pound in your box this week. I would recommend mixing only the portion of salad you are going to eat at a given time with the dressing and sesame-almond crunch. Save any extra dressing and sesame-almond crunch to use with other greens such as hon tsai tai, turnip greens, or salad mix. 

**Recipe borrowed from www.alexandracooks.com.  

Spicy Ginger Pork Noodles with Bok Choi

Yield:  4 servings

12-16 oz baby bok choi

1-inch piece fresh ginger

Kosher salt, to taste

8 oz rice noodles, not too thin

2-3 Tbsp peanut oil or sunflower oil

1 pound ground pork

¼ cup plus 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 ½ cups sliced fresh mushrooms (shiitake, cremini, oyster, etc)

½ cup thinly sliced scallions

3 garlic scapes, finely chopped

1 fresh or dried thai chili (may substitute red pepper flakes)

2 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1 ½ tsp sesame oil, more for drizzling

Cilantro, coarsely chopped, for serving

Basil, thinly sliced, for serving

1.     Trim bok choi and separate the green tops from the stems; leave the tops whole and thinly slice  the stems.  Peel the ginger and finely chop it. Set bok choi and ginger aside.

2.     Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook according to package instructions. Drain and run under cool water;  drain again. Set aside.

3.     Heat 1 Tbsp peanut or sunflower oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and cook, breaking up with a fork, until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt, 1 ½ Tbsp soy sauce and ½ Tbsp rice wine vinegar. Use a slotted spoon to transfer meat to a bowl.

4.     Add remaining 1-2 Tbsp oil to skillet. Add the mushrooms and ginger. Saute several minutes or until the mushrooms are softened. Add garlic scapes, scallions, and chile. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add bok choi stems and a pinch of salt. Cook until bok choi is almost tender, about 1-2 minutes. Toss in leaves and return pork to skillet.

5.     Toss cooked noodles, remaining ¼ cup soy sauce and 1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar in the pan. Cook until just warmed through.

6.     Add sesame seeds, sesame oil and stir to combine.

7.     Serve with fresh herbs as a garnish and an additional drizzle of toasted sesame oil as desired.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe by Melissa Clark which was featured on New York Times cooking (cooking.nytimes.com).

Featured Vegetable of the week: Baby White Turnips

By Andrea Yoder

Baby white turnips, also known as salad turnips, are a beautiful little vegetable…pristine we call them. They are tender with a sweet, mild flavor. They also have a wonderful crunchy texture that makes a great healthy snack. Salad turnips are rich in vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, folic acid and low in calories. Not only is the root part of the plant delicious, the greens are also mild in flavor and are great raw or sautéed. 

We plant the white turnips for harvest early in the season. This cool weather spring plant is harvested while still small and tender when the sweet flavor matches its delicate appearance. Compared to the common purple top turnip or other storage turnip varieties, salad turnips are much more sweet and subtle in texture. The turnips that we grow in the fall are meant for storage purposes and have a thicker skin compared to the thin skin of the salad turnip. Baby white turnips mature much faster than beets, carrots and fennel, so they are a very important part of our spring diet while we wait for other vegetables to come in. To prolong the life of your white turnips in storage, separate the greens from the roots with a knife and store separately in zip-lock bags in your refrigerator.  

    

To prepare the turnips for use in your home, make sure the roots and greens are rinsed thoroughly. Next, trim the root end of each turnip. The root is very tender with a thin layer of skin, so it does not have to be peeled.  Baby white turnips are delicious eaten raw in a salad, or just munch on them with dip or hummus. The greens may be added to salads raw, or you can wilt them down with a warm vinaigrette. When cooking baby white turnips, remember that they shine on their own so keep the cooking time short and the preparation simple. Honestly, they are tasty just simply sautéed in butter with the greens wilted on top. I also like to quarter the turnips and add them to a hot pan while searing a steak or pork chop. You can also stir-fry or roast them or add them to light and simple spring soups. 

Sautéed Spring Turnips with Their Greens and a Touch of Ham

Yield:  4 servings

1 bunch baby white turnips, with greens attached

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 oz smoked ham

½ tsp kosher salt

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Separate the greens from the turnips, discarding the thin connective stems. Trim the root end from each turnip and discard. Wash the turnips and the greens well and dry them. Halve the turnips and slice them ¼-inch thick. Coarsely chop the greens and keep them in a separate pile.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced turnips and ham and cook, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes, until the turnips start to soften. Stir in the salt and turnip greens and cook for about 2 minutes, until the greens wilt.  Stir in the vinegar and pepper. Taste and add more salt, pepper or vinegar if needed. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipe borrowed from Laura Russell’s book, Brassicas.

Shaved Turnip and Radish Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Yield: 4 servings

¼ cup cold-pressed olive oil

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Grated zest of 1 organic lemon

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ shallot, diced

1 Tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp honey or maple syrup

Fine sea salt, to taste

2 spring turnips

4 medium radishes

A few small handfuls of salad mix or other tender greens

½ pound asparagus spears

3 Tbsp minced chives or green onion tops

1. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, lemon zest, mustard, shallot, poppy seeds, honey and a pinch of salt together in a small bowl. 
2. Using a mandolin, slice the turnips and radishes into thin translucent rounds.  Put them in a large bowl and add the Salad Mix.  If the asparagus spears are large, slice them in half and add them to the bowl.  Pour the dressing over and fold gently to combine.  
3. Season with more salt if needed, arrange on plates, and sprinkle with the chives or green onions before serving.

Recipe adapted from Sarah Britton’s book, My New Roots.

Bird Watching at Harmony Valley Farm

By Kyle Lindemer

Hooded Mergansers

Each spring, more than 325 bird species set off on a journey that takes them from South America and the Gulf Coast of the United States to locations in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and as far north as the Artic.  Male shorebirds such as the Least Sandpipers will only stay on their breeding grounds in northern Canada long enough to mate before they turn right back around for the journey back to Chile.  The females will stay just a few months to raise their young before they and their babies head south in early fall.

Harmony Valley Farm is located along a strategic bird migration route known as the Mississippi Flyway. I was tasked with determining how many of the 325 migratory species that travel through

Minnesota and Wisconsin are currently at the farm. On a recent visit I found 71 species of migrants and breeders. Of the 325 bird species that travel through the area, there are approximately 95 species known to breed in and around Harmony Valley.  Some, such as the Black-capped Chickadee and Northern Cardinal are year-round residents of the valley.  Others such as the Eastern Wood-Pewee and Blue-winged Warbler winter in South America and fly to the valley to raise their young. On my visit I located a hen Hooded Merganser with her 14 chicks, a Wild Turkey on nest, a Bald Eagle nest, a Mourning Dove nest, two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds building nests, a Blue Jay carrying food for its young, northern Rough-winged Swallow nests, Barn Swallow nests, Cliff Swallow nests, House Wrens with chicks, Eastern Bluebirds with chicks, American Robins with chicks, a Brown Thrasher carrying food for its young, Chipping Sparrows with chicks, and Baltimore Oriole nests.

Green Heron

The farm provides a diverse landscape for the birds, and in return, the birds provide a valuable service for an organic farm - environmentally safe pest control.  The vast majority of birds that summer on the farm are insectivores.  Three types of swallows are known to nest on the farm, and each swallow consumes up to 800 flying insects per day.  Barn Swallows nest on or in most buildings on the farm. Northern Rough-winged Swallows nest in burrows on a steep embankment on Wire Hollow Rd., and Cliff Swallows have a large colony of about 100 birds that nest under the bridge on Hammel Lane.
Five types of warblers nest on the farm. Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers and Blue-winged Warblers use the brushy edges of fields and hedgerows to construct their nests. Ovenbirds and American Redstarts use the dense forest surrounding the farm to make their nests in the spring.  The Ovenbird builds a domed nest on the ground with a side entrance, resembling a Dutch oven. Chipping Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows and Eastern Towhees primarily feed on high protein insects such as caterpillars while feeding their young, but these birds are also playing a vital role in organic farming by consuming weed seeds before they are able to spread into the fields.

Other birds that frequent the farm are great at controlling pest mammal populations.  Red-tailed Hawks will eat mice and voles and animals as big as rabbits.  While most people think Sandhill Cranes are just eating grain in fields, they are actually skilled hunters that seek out small rodents to dine on.  Owls such as the Barred Owl and Great Horned Owl use their keen hearing to find rodents in the field from nearly a quarter of a mile away.  

The Bad Axe River and surrounding springs provide habitat for a variety birds.  Mallards, Canada Geese, Green Herons, Great Blue Herons, Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers seek safety from predators in the river and feed on the various aquatic life found in and around the river.  Bald Eagles nest along the river where they hunt for trout, their primary food source in the summer months.  I also found a Hooded Merganser hen leading her 14 chicks up river in search of food, soon after jumping

from their nest cavity.

Here is the checklist for my recent visit: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Wild Turkey, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, Killdeer, Spotted Sandpiper, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Black-billed Cuckoo, Common Nighthawk, Chimney Swift, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Willow Flycatcher, Eastern Phoebe, Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Warbling Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Barn Swallow,

Eastern Phoebe

Cliff Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Sedge Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Brown Thrasher, European Starling, Cedar Waxwing, Ovenbird, Northern Waterthrush, Blue-winged Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Red-winged Blackbird, Eastern Meadowlark, Common Grackle, Brown-headed Cowbird, Baltimore Oriole, House finch, American Goldfinch and House Sparrow. We hope that the next time you visit Harmony Valley Farm you are able to see its diverse wildlife and appreciate how these animals help make organic farming possible.

Note from Farmer Richard:  Thanks so much Kyle for your keen observations!  We love our birds and your sharing of knowledge about our bird friends is greatly appreciated!  We like to think that our farming practices and intentional habitat provide an attractive and safe stop-over and nesting place for the birds as well.  We hope they continue to return to our valley for years to come!

All photos taken by Kyle Lindemer.

Featured Vegetables of the Week: Pea Vine & Hon Tsai Tai

by Andrea Yoder

This week’s box features two greens that we’ve specifically selected to fill our spring slots for interesting & unique vegetables that are ready to go early in the season, ahead of other crops that require more time to mature. They bridge the gap between overwintered and perennial greens and other spring planted vegetables.

Pea Vine in the field.

 Pea Vine is an immature pea plant that is harvested before the vine starts to develop blossoms. It has a mild, sweet pea flavor and reminds us that sugar snap and snow peas are just around the corner! Pea vine can be eaten raw in salads or can be lightly sautéed, wilted into soups and sauces or stir-fried. While the tendrils and leaves are tender, the main stem can sometimes get tough depending on how mature the plant is at harvest. One way to handle this vegetable is to pick the tender leaves and tendrils off the main stem, but the problem with this is that there is a lot of flavor and value in the main stem! I must admit that I don’t like to spend a lot of time sorting through a bunch of pea vine and I prefer to use as much of the bunch as I can. Thus, I like to use pea vine in ways that allow me to blend it in a blender or food processor to make things such as pea vine pesto or pea vine cream cheese (both recipes may be found in the searchable recipe database on our website). The other way I like to use pea vine is in sauces, soups or broth. I generally chop the pea vine into smaller pieces and add it to hot broth or a sauce base. Let the pea vine simmer briefly, you don’t want to overcook this vegetable or you’ll lose the bright pea flavor. Once you’ve infused the flavor of the pea vine into the sauce or broth, you can strain it out to remove it. If you’d like to extract just a little more flavor, blend the mixture before straining it.
 
Hon Tsai Tai is a Chinese green.  It is related to bok choi and is in a group of plants often called the “flowering brassicas.”  Hon Tsai Tai has purple stems and green leaves. We intentionally wait to

Hon Tsai Tai in the field.

harvest this vegetable until it starts to produce a flower stalk with tender yellow flowers. The stems, flowers and green leaves are all edible. Sometimes the lower portion of the stem can be a little tough.  Just discard the lower portion of the bunch—usually no more than an inch or so, and use the remainder.
 
Hon Tsai Tai has a mild mustard flavor and can be eaten raw or cooked. It is delicious in stir-fries or lightly steamed, but also makes a stunning addition to raw salads. The greens are very tender, so they only need to be cooked briefly, for no more than a couple of minutes at most. A common preparation in Chinese cuisine is to quickly stir fry Hon Tsai Tai with garlic, onions and ginger, then add oyster sauce. Store Hon Tsai Tai loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator until ready for use.

Hon Tsai Tai Salad “To Go” with Miso Honey Dressing

Yield:  2 large salads or 4 small salads

Dressing:

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil plus an additional ½ cup

1 clove garlic, minced

2-3 Tbsp honey

2 Tbsp white miso

4 Tbsp brown rice vinegar

½ cup water

**Dressing recipe borrowed from Heidi Swanson’s 

on-line store website, quitokeeto.com.**

Salad:

3-4 cups thinly sliced hon tsai tai, stems and leaves 

½ to ¾ cup French breakfast or red radishes, small diced

¾ to 1 cup thinly sliced scallions 

½ cup thinly sliced asparagus

1 cup “protein” of your choice (chickpeas, diced cooked chicken 

   or salmon, thinly sliced grilled steak, etc)

4 to 6 Tbsp seeds of your choice (pumpkin seeds, sunflower 

    seeds, sesame seeds, etc)

2 quart sized canning jars or 4 pint sized canning jars, with lids

1. First, prepare the dressing.  In a small saucepan, heat 1 Tbsp of oil over medium heat.  Stir in the garlic and gently sauté for a minute or so.  Whisk in the honey, miso and vinegar.  Simmer for a minute or two, and remove from heat.  Whisk in the sesame oil and then the water, gradually, to taste.  Let cool a bit, and then put the dressing in a small jar.  Refrigerate until you are ready to eat the salad.
2. Once all of the vegetables are prepared, assemble the salad in the jars (instructions to follow are for filling 2 quart jars).  Start by putting a handful of hon tsai tai in the bottom of each jar.  Next add about a quarter of the radishes and scallions to each jar.  Add a quarter of the “protein” of your choosing and then top it off with half of the asparagus in each jar.  Repeat the layers to bring the contents of the jar to the top.  Put a lid on the jar and refrigerate until you are ready to eat the salad.
3. When you are ready to eat the salad, add a few tablespoons of dressing to each jar.  Put the lid back on the jar and shake the salad to distribute the dressing throughout the jar.  Empty the salad into a bowl and garnish with seeds.

This is an easy way to make a salad in advance and conveniently package it for transport.  Take it to work with you for lunch, pack it for a picnic, or just make it in advance and keep it in the refrigerator so it’s ready for you to enjoy for dinner on a busy evening.

Spring Noodle Bowl with Pea Vine Broth

by Chef Andrea Yoder

Yield: 2 servings

1 quart chicken broth

4 oz pea vine (1 bunch)

4 oz cooked pasta, at room temperature                                                                                                     (choose something that is long such as soba noodles, angel hair pasta, fettucine, etc)

1 cup green onion tops, thinly sliced

¼ cup green garlic, minced

½ cup asparagus, sliced very thinly

Salt & Black Pepper, to taste

Parmesan cheese, to garnish

Fresh lemon juice, to taste

1. Put the chicken broth in a saucepot and heat it to a gentle simmer over medium heat.  Roughly chop the pea vine. When the broth is at a gentle simmer, add the pea vine and simmer for 2-3 minutes.  
2. After 2-3 minutes, remove the pan from the heat and let rest for a few minutes.  Carefully transfer the broth with the pea vine to a blender.  You may need to blend the broth in two batches if you have a small blender container.  Blend the broth until the pea vine is blended into very small pieces.  Strain the broth to remove the solids and put the broth back in the saucepot.  Return the broth to a gentle simmer over medium heat.  Season to taste with salt and black pepper.  
3. When the broth is ready, prepare two medium soup bowls for serving.  Divide the pasta evenly between the two bowls. Top each bowl of pasta with the green onions, green garlic and asparagus, dividing each ingredient evenly between the two bowls. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of each bowl.  
4. Ladle about 12 ounces of hot broth over each bowl of noodles.  Garnish as desired with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.