“A little extra info from the farms
to the folks”
website: www.farmtofolk.com
Remember, Monday is a holiday so
distribution will seem a day early this week. We are at our new location at the
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of
This year Corry Bregendahl will be coordinating the distribution site. I
(Deb) will be at work later so couldn't be there for set-up. Many of you will
recognize Corry from previous years. She can always use volunteers to help with
set-up and tear-down.
Good
morning all-
Another
season of fresh fruits and vegetables is fast approaching and I for one can't
wait after a Winter of canned, frozen or tasteless fresh produce that has been
shipped in with all the flavor left by
the wayside.
This time
of year the crops begin slowly but each week or so new ones come into being.
Initially, the salad greens- the lettuces and spinach take center stage at
distribution but as the season progresses the diversity will increase as well
as the amount in each share. We will do our best to assure you of an adequate and
diverse supply while not inundating you with enough to feed an army. This
is our intention, but like the weather its not perfect,
as each family has a different idea of what might be adequate depending upon
what particular crop is being thought of. If you, at any time have any
questions or concerns,
just ask or tell Marilyn, Corry or Deb who will then pass along the
This year is getting off to a somewhat slower
start than I had originally thought it would..... not
enough warm sunny days in a row. Seems that we will get a couple warm days and just when we
think the crops will really begin to grow the weather turns once again.... the crops are, however, learning
to adapt as we all must. Unfortunately the weeds never seem to be as hindered
as the desired vegetables! Weeding is a
never ending task that is best begun before one even sees the weeds emerge.
Most of our crops have seen at least once weeding if not two or three already
and yet there
always
seems to be an abundance of them.
For Tuesday we will be bringing:
rhubarb
2 heads of lettuce ( most
likely romaine and buttercrunch lettuce)
Rhubarb Cobbler - from Bruce
(
from an old
neighbor and friend now departed - Jeannie)
4C rhubarb( diced)
2C sugar
1 1/2 C
sugar
2T cornstarch
6T
butter
1/2 tsp salt
1C
milk
1 C boiling water
2C flour
2 tsp
baking powder
1/2 tsp
salt
Put rhubarb in a 9x12 pan. Cream 1 1/2 C sugar
and butter.
Sift flour,
baking powder,1/2 tsp salt. Mix these ingredients with
the milk and spread over the rhubarb.
Mix 2 C
sugar, cornstarch and 1/2 tsp salt and sprinkle over the dough. Over this pour
1 C boiling water.
Bake at 375
degrees for 1 hour.
Crisps, quick breads, bars and even dessert
pizzas take well to the "pie plant" And of course pie, whether they be
fruit or a cream pie, is always a sure sign that Spring has come to
Bruce
Small Potatoes Farm
Hello Everyone,
If you need a box to bring home produce, we can get one for you. Just let us or the ladies at distribution know.
Delivery This Week
We'll be bringing asparagus, onions and hopefully some lettuce. Sorry we originally thought we'd skip a week.
However, rain chances look good and I think it will put lettuce right on time for the 27th.
Happenings:
Crops are growing. We have radishes, lettuce, greens, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli, potatoes and some
beets emerged. The first pea planting is trellised. We'll stake the second planting this week.
and melons planted. Tomorrow we will be planting winter squash.We are currently weeding peas, lettuce and asparagus. We've been harvesting onions, asparagus, chives and rhubarb.
The website has been updated if you'd like to see some pictures http://www.smallpotatoesfarm.com/May_2008.html
Car and van repair has been popular - as soon as the brakes on the car were fixed (bad master cylinder), the delivery
van sprung a brake fluid leak.
Much of the day requires moving water around. Our cool, wet spring keeping us from our field work has quickly turned
to warm and dry. Threatening our small seedlings and preventing proper germination and emergence of new plantings.
Such is farming. One strategy that has worked well for slow emerging plants has been to cover the bed in burlap,
run soaker hoses over it and hope the temperature stays below 75.
Tomorrows list includes cultivating potatoes, mowing the east side of the farm, tilling a fallow field to plant a cover crop,
planting more beets (and then covering them with burlap), watering spinach, trees, etc... and weeding.
What We're Eating (by Stacy)
This week we've been enjoying oaty rhubarb bars for snacks and dessert. Also, we've been eating a very simple but
delicious asparagus soup, whose recipe I found in the New Moosewood Cookbook. You'll find both recipes on our website.
[Editors note: The soup recipe hopefully by tomorrow night, however, the oaty rhubarb is here:
http://www.smallpotatoesfarm.com/CSA_Cooking_Tips_Rhubarb.html
Rick
Wallace Farms
Nick Wallace will be bringing his wild caught seafood and other meats.
Please order directly to nick.wallace@wallacefarms.com to receive his products.
Full Circle Farm will deliver their grass fed beef
products.
Berry Patch will offer rhubarb a la carte.
Picket Fence – summer dairy shares begin this week.
Announcing...Picket
Fence milk is now available at the
We've been busy cleaning out the
barns, hauling lots of "natural" fertilizer, and getting the crops
in. The "ladies" are all out
on pasture now, and enjoy their afternoons basking in the sun! Yesterday, we just cut our first field of hay,
which surely means it will rain sometime soon!
Let's hope we all get a drink of water before too long to get these
crops off to a good start so that our animals have some good feed to eat this
winter...and to get this grass growing a little faster!
This Saturday, May 24 - Jack Russell puppies - after
Meet our intern...Aaron Palmer, from
Your friends,
Jeff, Jill, Jenna and James Burkhart
Mark your calendar for June 8 - our next Sample Sunday in conjunction with Prairieland Herbs and Northern Prairie Chevre.
Rhubarb Spring Salad—contributed
by member Jill Colver
2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1 envelope gelatin
1 3-ounce package cream
cheese, softened (can be fat-free), or mixture
of soft natural cheeses
2/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup nuts
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Boil on low - heat rhubarb with sugar and water 10
minutes. Add gelatin to boiling sauce,
add cheese and stir to dissolve in hot mixture.
Chill to thicken and whip till
light and fluffy. Add celery, nuts, and
lemon juice. Pour into mold. Chill.
See you Tuesday!
Marilyn, Corry and Deb