The “big news” here on the farm is our current weather.  It has been extreme and it has brought it own set of challenges – both Dan and our farm. Most crops flourish with between 3/4″ and 1″ of moist per week. But as we told you last week, we received rain in 3″ per night increments, for three nights running. This amount of rain takes nutrients away from the plants and they do not show the stress until many days later.  The high temperatures also stress the plants.  As a result of all of the rain and heat, we have discovered that we have some fields that are very stressed and some fields that will need to be completely replanted.

The extreme weather is also taking a toile on Dan.  He is having some health issues due to the extreme heat.  Heat has never bothered Dan before, but this year, things are different. We will be sending you all an email later Tuesday regarding some of these issues.

We also want to remind everyone that Wednesday is the 4th and not all businesses will be open.  Please be sure that you get your boxes picked up Tuesday.

We are looking forward to enjoying our nation’s birthday – like most of you we are planning to spend the day with family and friends!  We wanted to wish you all a safe and blessed holiday.

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe
www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEMS OF THE WEEK:

YELLOW SUMMER SQUASH

See our page on Summer Squash for more info

Quick Ideas:

• Sprinkle grated zucchini or other summer squash on top of salads and sandwiches.

• Enjoy an easy to make ratatouille by healthy sautéing summer squash, onions, bell peppers, eggplant and tomatoes and then simmering the mixture in tomato sauce. Season to taste.

• Serve raw summer squash with your favorite dips.

RECIPES

Sautéed Summer Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch slices
• 3 TBS low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Mediterranean Dressing

• 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Optional Ingredients

• sunflower seeds
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Chop garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance its health-promoting qualities.
2. Heat broth in a stainless steel skillet over medium heat.
3. When broth begins to steam, add zucchini slices and cover. Healthy Sauté for 3 minutes (one half the time on one side, the other half on the other side), stirring frequently.
4. Remove from heat and place in a bowl.
5. Toss with Mediterranean Dressing ingredients.

Cold Cucumber Salad

Stay cool with this easy-to-prepare summer salad. One serving provides 246% of your Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C and 52% DV for vitamin A.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced thin
• 1 medium clove garlic, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, halved, seeds removed, and sliced
• 1 medium tomato, cubed
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 TBS feta cheese
• 6 kalamata olives, cut into halves or quarters
• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh or dried dill (optional)

Directions:

1. Chop garlic and slice onions and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting properties.
2. Combine all ingredients and serve.

Serves 2

ENJOY!

This Week’s Items –

Extended:

• Cucumbers
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Kale
• Yellow Summer Squash
• Mint
• Parsley
• Hakurei Turnips
• Radishes

Large:

• Cucumbers
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Kale
• Yellow Summer Squash
• Mint
• Radishes
• Raspberries

Small:

• Yellow Summer Squash
• Cucumbers
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Onion
• Tomato

Well, we finally have a few days with no rain!  For a farmer – rain’s a good thing.  But too much rain is not.  We were very blessed in that we did not have any flooding issues.  We did, however, have some rain damage.  The ground could not soak up all the moisture and we had some run-off issues.  A few of the crops were damaged by the rain and hail we received.  One of those crops was this week’s lettuce. It doesn’t look “pretty”, but tastes fine.

Because of the weather issues, this week’s box is not as strong as last weeks’. Last week, we had a lot of produce ready to go.  This week – not as much was ready as we were hoping for. We feel bad, as we wish every week could look like last week.  But, as Dan quotes his grandfather “that is the nature of farming”.

As we talked about last week, Dan is going back in for a 6-month follow-up procedure on July 20th.  At this point, we are talking about delivering the CSA shares as normal.  That could change, and if it does, we will let you know.

For our egg-share members, please be careful with your eggs this week.  We ran out of our large-sized egg cartons and had to use the extra-large cartons.  The eggs maybe a little “loose”.  So be aware of how you handle the cartons.

I apologize for the delay in getting this out to you all.  A week ago Saturday, when I came home from a farmer’s market, I discovered an hour old abandoned kitten.  We (and by that I mean my girlfriend and I) have been bottle feeding and taking care of it.  This morning she woke up before her “normal” feeding time and required attention.  The thing about babies of any kind is that they don’t care what the “schedule” is.  It is all about “them”.  Of course, once we get the “baby” settled, the other animals think that they need equal time.  It is never dull around here!

Take care and have a blessed week.

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe
www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEMS OF THE WEEK: KALE

See our page on Kale for more info

Quick Ideas:

• Healthy sauté kale with fresh garlic and sprinkle with lemon juice and olive oil before serving.

• Braise chopped kale and apples. Before serving, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and chopped walnuts.

• Combine chopped kale, pine nuts and feta cheese with whole grain pasta drizzled with olive oil.

• The taste and texture of steamed kale makes it a wonderful topping for homemade pizzas.

RECIPES

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of Curly Kale

• Olive Oil

• Sea Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  While oven is heating, wash kale and cut the leaves off of the big stems.  You do this by sliding a sharp knife along the stem.  If the pieces seem too big, tear them into chip size.  Keep in mind that the bigger the pieces, the longer it takes to crisp up.  Don’t make them too small – they do shrink when crisping.

Drain the washed pieces in you colander.  Put the drained kale in a bowl and dowse with olive oil – just enough to coat the kale.  Sprinkle with a healthy pinch of salt.  Toss well and be sure that the kale is coated.  Spread the coated kale on a sided cookie sheet.  Check several times, stirring them around to even out the cooking.  If some of the kale seems to be taking a lot longer to crisp up, remove the already crisp ones and start eating.  There is nothing like warm Kale Chips – so Enjoy!

Garlicky Kale with New Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch of kale

• 2 small new potatoes (2 lbs.) scrubbed

• 1 Tbs. olive oil

• 1 small onion

• 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1/4 to 1/2 C water

• Juice of 1/2 lemon to 1 lemon, to taste

• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Remove stems and thick midribs from greens. Discard stems; midribs may be finely diced and used if desired. Rinse greens several times to make sure that all sand and grit are removed.

Steam or microwave potatoes in skins until tender. When cool enough to handle, cut in half.  Meanwhile, in large pot or stir-fry pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Add greens, cover and steam until just tender, adding 1/4 to 1/2 C water as needed (steaming time varies greatly, so check frequently, but a good estimate is 10-15 minutes).  Drain and transfer to colander. Remove and discard garlic. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess liquid.

In a serving bowl, combine chopped greens, potatoes and lemon juice; toss to mix. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

ENJOY!

This Week’s Items –

Extended:

• Cucumbers
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Kale

Large:

• Cucumbers
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Kale

Small:

• Cucumbers
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Kohlrabi
• Kale

Wait until you see the boxes!  They are sooooo full!  We had trouble getting them closed.  We have to make special arrangements for our egg shares.  If you have an egg share, please check for an email explaining what we are doing.  We are really happy with the boxes.  And we feel very blessed to have all the help from our friends as we are getting everything back on track for the year.

Many of you know that Dan was very ill at the start of this year. For those of you who are not aware, he was in Abbott Northwestern for 33 days.  He is doing really well and we are very happy with how he is getting stronger every day.  He has to go back in for a 6-month follow-up procedure on July 20th.  We are letting you know well in advance.  The challenge we are facing is that next week’s delivery.  We are trying to determine the best way to handle that following week.  Dan will not be able to do a lot his normal activities that week.  The question came up that maybe we not deliver that week. But neither one of us liked that option.  Donna may just take a couple of days off work to handle the deliveries for that week.  We decided that we would ask your opinion.   How would you feel if we skipped a week and then extended the delivery period one week?  Would that be an option? Or would you like us to find a way to deliver that week?  Let us know what you think.

Moving on to other farm news – the weather – we have received a lot of rain this last week.  We had severe storms all around us. We even had a small amount of hail, but blessedly, no damage.  Our fields are very wet, but it does not appear as if we have “lost” any produce.  We have heard from other who could not say the same.  We always welcome the rain, but would really like to see some sunshine for a while.  The good news is that everything really loves the warm wet weather and is growing like crazy.  The people and animals may not be to crazy about the heat, but we are all okay.

Take care and have a blessed week.

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe

www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEMS OF THE WEEK:  PEA SHOOTS

See our page on Pea Shoots for more info

Quick Ideas:

• Stir-fried in a wok
• “As they are” in a healthy salad
• Baked with fresh fish or chicken
• “Wilted” into a risotto or pasta dish
• Added to soup
• Chopped into marinades sauces and dressing
• Mixed in with cooked seasoned rice

Recipes

Pea Shoots, Mango and Smoked Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 2 Smoked Chicken Breasts or 2 Char-grilled Chicken Breasts

• 50g Pea Shoots (1 bag)

• ½ Mango

• ½ Cucumber

• 4 Spring Onions

• 1 Lemon

• 2 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Slice the chicken breasts thinly. Cut the mango into similar sized pieces. Peel and thinly slice the cucumber. Finely chop the spring onions.
2. Juice the lemon.  Combine thoroughly with the olive oil to make the dressing.
3. Place the pea shoots onto plates, then add the chicken, mango, cucumber and spring onions. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and then drizzle with the dressing just before serving.
4. This is delicious when served with warm crusty bread or roasted new potatoes.

Broccoli and Cauliflower with Chives

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 bunch broccoli
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp Butter or Chicken Bouillon (I use concentrate)
• 2 oz. Water
• 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt in a 6-quart pot over High heat. Meanwhile, trim and discard stems from cauliflower and broccoli; cut or break into bite-sized pieces. Chop chives. Grate lemon peel to make 2 teaspoons zest; avoid bitter white pith.
2. Add cauliflower to boiling water and cook 2 minutes, uncovered. Add broccoli and cook 3 more minutes, or until crisp-tender. Pour into a colander, rinse with cool water and let stand to drain well. Avoid overcooking.
3. Return cooking pot to stove and place over Medium-Low heat. Add 2 oz. water, bouillon; stir in zest, mustard and chives until blended. Add vegetables and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

This Week’s Items –

Extended:

• Pea Shoots
• Lettuce
• Spinach & Arugula mix
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Kohlrabi
• Onions
• Hakurei Turnips
• Beets

Large:

• Pea Shoots
• Lettuce
• Spinach & Arugula mix
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Chives
• Kohlrabi
• Onions
• Hakurei Turnips
• Beets

Small:

• Pea Shoots
• Lettuce
• Spinach & Arugula mix
• Kale
• Broccoli
• Chives
• Kohlrabi
• Bak Choi or Onions (‘cause someone can’t count)
• Beets

Yeah! It’s DELIVERY DAY!   Just a reminder – please remember to return your box on the next delivery day!  By allowing us to reuse the CSA boxes, we are able to keep our expenses down.  If we have to keep replacing the CSA boxes, we end up having to raise our prices – and we don’t like to do that!  It’s bad enough when we have to raise them to offset the rising fuel costs.  Enough said.

Next topic – believe it or not – The July 4th holiday is just around the corner.  This year it falls on a Wednesday.  We wanted to remind everyone that it is very important that you be sure to pick your box up on that Tuesday.  You may want to double check your pick-up location to see if they are going to have shorter hours on July 3rd.  Some of the pick-up points may be closed on the 4th.

Dan’s concerns about the strawberry patch’s performance this year were – unfortunately – dead on.   As we told you, the harvest started very early.  The plants started blooming in April, before the bees were out to pollinate them.  At this point, we are not certain if we will be able to get strawberries in your boxes.  We are still trying to see if we can do anything about this, but we wanted to let you all know what was going on.  We have been growing strawberries here in Minnesota since 2003 and have never had this challenge before.

It is always interesting to get the first deliveries out the door.  To that end, we need a favor.  Please check the labels on your CSA box.  We try to be sure to proof-read and catch any errors, but we get busy and tired and just miss stuff.  Please let us know if you find any error on your label.  We want to be sure that we have everyone’s name and location spelled correctly.  If you ordered eggs, that should also be on the label.  Just shot us an email if you find anything we need to fix.

The produce is coming along pretty good, but we have had a couple of the crops not moving along the way we expected.  We have a couple of local farmers that we “swap” product with – usually when one of use has “extra” and one of us has a “need”.  It works well as we all grow the same way.  Dan wanted to be sure and let you know that we do this – and why.  First, we all specialize in different things. Second, we want to be sure that your boxes are full. More importantly, we want you to be happy with your CSA decision.

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe

www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEMS OF THE WEEK:

GARLIC SCAPES & SAVORY

We picked these two items because they may be a little unusually.  The strange green curly things in your box – those are garlic scapes.  They grow on top of the garlic bulbs you are use to seeing.  The green, small leafy bunch – that is the savory.  Both of these items add great flavor to anything you like.

Visit our pages on Savory and Garlic Scapes for more info

Garlic Scape Ideas:

• You can add sliced scapes to any stir fry recipe.
• Slice and sprinkle over any pasta, or slice and cook them in almost any sauce recipe.
• Great in guacamole and fresh salsa, too.
• Chop & add to softened cream cheese.
• Add chopped fresh scapes when serving a light garlic soup; can also add them to buttered, French bread floated on the soup.
• Use them as you would green onions, they’re just better.
• Good in salads, on bruschetta, pizza.
• An excellent addition to stocks….and much Asian cuisine.
• Put in Thai chicken/basil/coconut soup.

Recipes

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic Scapes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes – peeled and cut into 1″ pieces.
• 2 Tablespoons butter (can omit this if on a restricted fat diet/lifestyle)
• 1-2 Tbsp, olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped scapes
• 1/4 cup hot milk (or more)

Directions: Cook potatoes until very tender. Drain and return to pot. Over medium high heat, melt butter with olive oil in a small skillet. Add scapes and sauté about 5 minutes. Add to potatoes and mash. Gradually add milk while stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Savory Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs. green beans, washed and trimmed (about 3 cups)
• 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp. Butter
• 1 clove garlic, cut in half
• 1 tbsp. Chopped Onion
• 1 ½ tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Dried Basil leaf, crumbled (If fresh, approximately 2-3 leafs, torn into small pieces.)
• ½ tsp. Sugar
• 1/8 tsp Pepper
• ¼ cup boiling water

Directions: Cut green beans in halves. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic until softened. Remove garlic from the skillet. Add green beans, salt, basil, sugar, pepper, and boiling water. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, about 20 minutes. Add a little more water, if necessary. Green bean recipe serves 4.

This Week’s Items

Extended:

• Savory
• Onions
• Radishes
• Beet Greens, with some beets
• Garlic Scapes
• Peas
• Romaine Lettuce
• Mixed Lettuce

Large:

• Savory
• Onions
• Radishes
• Beet Greens, with some beets
• Garlic Scapes
• Peas
• Romaine Lettuce
• Forellenschluss  Lettuce
• Mixed Lettuce
• Collard Greens

Small:

• Savory
• Onions
• Radishes
• Beet Greens, with some beets
• Garlic Scapes
• Peas
• Brittle Bunch Lettuce

www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEM OF THE WEEK – ONIONS

Visit our page on Onions for more info
Quick Serving Suggestions:
The liberal use of onions and other bulbs of the same family, such as garlic, leeks and shallots, seems a particularly good idea considering their healing effects on the major degenerative diseases so common today, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer. So try to enjoy the health benefits of onions as much as you can and to include them in your diet.

• Onions can be eaten on their own steamed, boiled or roasted.
• Sautéed chopped onions can be added to almost any vegetable dish to enhance its nutritional content and taste.
• For an instant vegetarian chili, heat together 1 medium chopped sautéed onion, with 12-ounce/350 grams can of kidney beans, 12 ounces/350 grams of chunky tomato sauce, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and season to taste with chili powder.
• Chop 1 red onion, 2 medium tomatoes, 2 avocados and 1 jalapeño and combine together for an all-in-one guacamole salsa dip.
• Place chunks of onion or small pearl onions on a skewer, either alone or with other vegetables, coat lightly with olive oil, and grill for approximately 10 minutes.

This Week’s Items – Extended:

• Bunching Onions
• Cilantro
• Peas
• Green Leaf Lettuce
• Red Leaf Lettuce
• Oak Leaf Lettuce
• Chinese Cabbage

Recipes

Sauteed Fresh Green Onions

This is a quick easy way to have an accompaniment for a roast beef, pork, chicken etc. It can be mixed in with pasta or rice. Bunching onions are very versatile. You can use the green tops in just about anything. There are way too many recipes to pick from. Here is a quick and easy way to fix them. We would love to hear from you – what’s your favorite way to serve them?

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan)
• 1 pat Sweet Butter
• Bunching Onions
• Kosher or Sea Salt – to taste
• White Pepper – to taste
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or very finely minced

Preparation

1. Wash and dry onions.
2. Cut off the green tops, leaving only about two inches above the bulb.
3. Cut the green tops into ½ inch pieces and set them aside.
4. Chop the bulbs into small bite sized pieces.
5. Add olive oil and butter to large pan and heat to medium.
6. Add onions and garlic. Stir gently until slightly brown.
7. Add the green onion tops. Stir for about 30-45 seconds – only long enough to heat the green tops through
8. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Serve – over meat, in pasta or rice, add to salad, any way you want!

Boy, has it been a busy week.    We survived the first deliveries with only a few glitches – there is always a couple. And, hopefully, we have all of them straightened out.  The warm weather last week was great for many of our transplanted plants. Unfortunately, it was also great for the weeds, especially when followed by rain.  I can tell you what we will be doing for a while.

We were able to get a cover crop put in this last week.  For those of you who don’t know what that means, it is a way to “feed” the soil.  We are in the process of transitioning the farm into becoming organic.  One of Dan’s cousins has been farming the land “conventionally”, so this means that we have to recondition the soil.  Cover crops are a way to do this naturally.

We are also trying something different with our onions.  We are not removing the “extra” outer layers.  We believe that this will help protect the newly harvested onion and help preserve more layers of the onion.  We would like your opinion on this.  Can you take a minute this week and let us know how these onions hold up for you?

Now for a big surprise! In the boxes this week, you will find a small sampling of STRAWBERRIES! We have been growing strawberries since 2003 and this is the earliest we have ever picked them.  Now it was not a lot, but pick them we did!  So enjoy them.  We are hopeful that we will be able to have some for our Open House.

Just a reminder, we are going to have the open house on Monday, Memorial Day, May 28th.  The open house hours with be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a sandwich lunch buffet, shortly after noon.  You still have time to RSVP! We are serving food, so we need you to please RSVP by May 23rd.  This gives us enough time to get the food ready.

Have a blessed week!

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe

www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEM OF THE WEEK – BOK CHOY

Visit our page on Bok Choy for more info

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

• Crispy, sweet Bok Choy stalks can be eaten raw, added to salads, sandwiches and burgers.

• Bok Choy can be used with cabbage to make coleslaw.

• Bok Choy can be added to stir-fries.

• Chow mien – Like a stew, add Bok Choy, onion, garlic, bell pepper, and green chilies. Mix with steam rice or noodles.

• It mixes well with cabbage, chilies, capsicum, onion, ginger, garlic, rice, tofu, meat and poultry.

This Week’s Items – Extended:

• Snap Peas – Great to add to a salad or stir fry
• Bok Choy
• Spinach
• Green Onions
• Garlic
• Surprise! Strawberries!

Recipes

GARLIC BOK CHOY

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil (vegetable, canola or peanut oil is also okay), for stir-frying
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 lbs. Bok Choy, stalks cut diagonally and leaves cut across in 1-1 ½ in pieces
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, chili paste or chili power (optional – as this adds a bit of heat.)
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• Salt to taste – I use less than ¼ teaspoon)
• ¼ cup water or chick broth
• Asian Sesame Oil, to taste (I used approximately ½ teaspoon)
• Freshly ground black or white pepper, to taste.

Directions:

1. Heat wok and add oil.
2. When oil is ready, add garlic and chili paste/powder or red pepper flakes and stir-fry briefly. Approximately 30 seconds, until the garlic is aromatic.
3. Add the Bok Choy, stalks first and then the leaves.
4. Stir in soy sauce, sugar and salt. Stir-fry on high hear for 1 minute.
5. Add water or chicken broth. Cover the wok and simmer for 2/3 minutes, until the leaves are dark green ad the stalks are tender, but not too soft.
6. Remove the wok from the heat.
7. Stir in the sesame oil and season with pepper to taste.

Serves 3-4.

BOK CHOY-APPLE SLAW

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/3 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar or honey
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 6 cups very thinly sliced Bok Choy (approximately 1 lbs. trimmed)
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, julienne or shredded
• 1 large carrot, julienne or shredded
• ½ cup slivered red onion

Directions

1. Prepare Bok Choy, apple, carrot and onion as directed above.
2. Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar or honey, celery salt and sea salt in a large bowl until smooth.
3. Add Bok Choy, apple, carrot and onion.
4. Toss to mixture until everything is coated.

Serves 8 – ¾ cup servings

Happy Memorial Day! We hope that you all had a great weekend. We had fun today – there were many of you who came to visit The Farm today. We had farm tours and good food. We had several requests for the meat sauce recipes that we served so they are at the end of this newsletter. We really enjoy getting to meet some of our new members and getting the chance to see some familiar faces. If you weren’t able to make it this time, we will be doing this again later in the summer. There was a suggestion that we make the next one a potluck…we may just do that.

FYI – Strawberry season is up and running! Again, this is the earliest we have every picked strawberries. So, if you are interested in getting a 6-packs or jamming flat, now is the time to let us know. Even if you have not started to receive your share yet, let us know! We can deliver your strawberries anyway. Six-packs are 6 quarts of berries and cost $21.00. These berries are large and pretty. A jamming flat is over 9 lbs. and is a little different. These berries may require more cleaning as they are not as “pretty” or as large as the boxed berries are. Jamming flats cost $26.00.

We do want to let out extended members know that the boxes are just a little light this week. All of the crazy weather, really effects produce. We were able to harvest a few items early, between storms; but not as much as we wanted to, as some items don’t early-harvest well. That is one thing about farming; you are at the mercy of the weather. But, we need the rain even if we would refer to not have it all at once!

Have a blessed week!

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe

www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEM OF THE WEEK – CILANTRO

Visit our page on Cilantro for more info

This Week’s Items – Extended:

• Cilantro
• Arugula
• Strawberries
• Bunching Onions
• Radishes
• Peas

Recipes

Arugula & Cilantro Salad

Ingredients – 4 Servings

• 4 oz. baby Arugula leaves
• 4 oz. baby Spinach leaves
• 1 bunch fresh Cilantro leaves, discard stems
• 6 – 7 fresh Parsley sprigs
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or very finely minced
• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 – 2 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar, to taste
• 1 dash Paprika, to taste
• 1 dash Cayenne Pepper, to taste
• 1 dash Salt, to taste

Preparation

1. Place the Arugula and Spinach leaves in a salad bowl.
2. Chop the Cilantro and Parsley. Sprinkle them on the top of the Arugula and Spinach mix.
3. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well. Taste mixture and adjust seasonings to your liking.
4. Pour the dressing onto the salad and serve immediately.

Herb Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 cup Arugula
• 1 cup Cilantro leaves
• ½ cup Olive Oil
• 1 clove garlic, mashed
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Parmesan or miso
• 1 cup toasted walnuts, optional

Preparation

1. Put all the ingredients in the blender and whirl away. Season to taste.

Here are the two sauces we used at the open house. Enjoy!

Best Odds Pulled Pork Sauce 1

This thin, vinegary sauce is added to pulled pork after it has been cooked.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups Apple Cider Vinegar
• ½ cup hot Water
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Paprika
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cayenne

Directions

1. Combine water and brown sugar. Stir until brown sugar is dissolved.
2. Add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.
3. Slowly add to the pulled pork. The pulled pork should be lightly and evenly coated, neither dry nor soupy.

Best Odds Pulled Pork Sauce 2

This sweet, fruity sauce can be used on any meat, but is best on poultry. You can use it as you cook the meat, creating a based on sauce. Or you can add it to pulled meat, as we did, adding it to the pulled chicken. Anyway you use this sauce, it has a great light, fruity flavor.

Ingredients

• 32 ounces canned Peaches
• 1 ½ cups Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup cooking Oil, any kind works
• 1 cup Brown Sugar (I use the light golden brown, but you can use the dark)
• ¾ cup Maple Syrup
• 3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
• 2 tablespoons Cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger

Directions

1. Puree peaches in a blender.
2. Dissolve the cornstarch in a little warm water.
3. Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a low boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
5. Allow to cool.

Things are hopping around here.  We are doing our first CSA harvest today, Monday.  We spent the weekend working on fowl things.  We cleaned out the goose shed and created a new nesting box for Duke and Daisy.  She has started laying eggs again, so guess we will see if any of these hatch.  At lease it is not the end of December and extremely cold this time.  We also worked on prep-ing the chicken coop for a new roof.  We are putting up a metal roof this time and are now ready to install the metal. Hopefully, that will happen later today, after the CSA boxes are packed.

We are harvesting the first round of snap peas today. Dan said that this first time, he only got 9 lbs.  This means that you all will only get a small taste of fresh peas, but he could see that there should be a great pick next week.  He was not as happy with the lettuce this morning, but said that the spinach looked good.  I reminded him that we are just starting to harvest and that there are always next week’s boxes.  He just grinned.  He reminded me that he was planning this week’s box, not next week’s.  This time I grinned.

We have 15 Extended Share CSA boxes going out tomorrow, so for those of you, who have the Extended Share, please be sure and look for your boxes!  Just a reminder for everyone, we recycle our boxes! So be sure to return them the following week, when you pick up your next box.

Based on input from you all, we are going to have the open house on Monday, Memorial Day, May 28th.  As this is a holiday, it seems to work out best for most people.  Just a reminder, you are welcome to come visit anytime, just be sure to let us know you are coming so that one of us can be here to show you around.  The open house hours with be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a sandwich lunch buffet, shortly after noon.  Because we are serving food, could you please RSVP by May 23rd?  This gives us enough time to get the food ready.

Have a blessed week!

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe
www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEM OF THE WEEK – HORSERADISH

Visit our page on Horseradish for more info

A couple of quick things:

1. Horseradish is not recommended for children under 4 years old.  Not quiet sure why, but it may have something to do with their digestive systems not being able to process this.  Brassica vegetables as a whole are not currently advised for children less than 4 years.

2. Always process Horseradish either OUTSIDE or in a WELL VENTILATED area!  The smell can be over-powering and may create a burning sensation in your eyes.  Rumor has it, that it is also hard to get out of the house!

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:
• Fold 1 Tablespoon fresh grated horseradish into stiffly-whipped heavy cream and salt to taste for a classic horseradish sauce to accompany beef dishes.  You can also add Dill Weed as a tasty addition.

• Add 1 Tablespoon fresh grated horseradish to 1 cup applesauce for a piquant condiment to pork dishes.

• If you want to retain the spicy zing of horseradish in cooked dishes, add it at the end of the cooking process, after the dish has been removed from the heat.

Recipes

HOMEMADE HORSERADISH

Ingredients

• 1 cup peeled and cubed horseradish root
• ¾ cup white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons white sugar – more or less to taste
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Peel the horseradish like you would a carrot.
2. Cube into approximately 1 inch pieces.
3. In an electric food process or blender, add all your ingredients, and process until mixture is the consistency you want.
4. NOTE: BE SURE THE AREA IS WELL VENTILATED – OR DO THIS OUTSIDE!
5. Carefully remove the cover of the processor or blender, be sure to keep your face away from the container.
6. Refrigerate the horseradish mixture in a sealable glass container.

Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. Chicken – cut into 1 inch stripes (You can substitute any type of meat)
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1-2 Teaspoons Soy Sauce – to taste
• 1-2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2-3 cups fresh Vegetables – You can add any type you like, here are some of our favorites:   sliced carrots, peas – either pods or shelled, sprouts, sliced peppers, sliced or dices onions and water chestnuts.  But you can use any type of veggies you like.

• Optional: Nuts – approximately ½ cup if large nuts like cashews or peanuts, but only 1/8 cup if sunflower seeds

Directions

1. In either a large sauce pan or a stir fryer, add olive oil and chicken and garlic.  Cook until meat is done.
2. Add soy sauce and vegetables.  Cook until vegetables are heated through – usually about 7-10 minutes.
3. NOTE: if using sprouts, add them in the last 3-4 minutes of cooking. This will keep them crisp.
4. Serve over rice or noodles.  Can also be served over greens, like spinach or leafy lettuce.

This Week’s Items – Extended:

• Snap Peas – Great to add to a salad or stir fry
• Horseradish
• Bean Sprouts – for salad or stir fry
• Spinach
• Chives
• Asparagus
• Dried Onions – for seasoning
• Green Onions

Dan says that there aren’t enough daylight hours in the day to do all of the things he needs to get done!  He thinks the best solution is to have the sun stay up longer…I told him that was called “summer”…he was not amused.  On a serious note, we were able to get the wind damage from the July 1^st storm fixed on the high tunnel.  Yeah!  Mmmmm, July 1^st, think we have been a little busy?

We also made a deal with another farmer to purchase material to build another greenhouse. Now the challenge is to get it done before the snow flies or the ground freezes – whichever comes first.  The next project is to complete the chicken house expansion – for the “new” chickens we raised this summer.  We will be adding more chickens as the “farmer’s wife” is complaining that she never has any eggs in her kitchen.  Seems they keep “leaving” the farm…

The pumpkins and squash are leaving the farm in exponential fashion. We have already delivered half of the winery’s order, although at this point, Donna is not sure that there is any missing yet…  The other half should be heading out next week.  We have another large order of pumpkins and squash to deliver to the cities this week.

Donna made it home safe and sound from visiting her aunt and mom inIllinois.  It was a short visit, but she had a great time.  It was nice to get away for a few days, but it was also nice to come home.

Have a blessed week!

From our home to yours,

Dan & Donna Moe

www.thefarmofmn.com

ITEM OF THE WEEK – MUSTARD

This week you have two types of mustard in your boxes.  The first type is Red Giant Mustard.  They are best known for their gorgeous combination of green and purple veined leaves.  The second is Mizuna mustard. These dark green mustard leaves are fairly narrow, deeply serrated and fringed at the edges.  Both of these mustard leaves have a great mustard flavor and are a great additive to any recipe that calls for mustard.

Mustard greens are members of the Brassica family of vegetables.  Over the years these vegetables have received a great deal of attention for their unique health promoting properties.  In addition to the extensive vitamins and minerals found in mustard greens, they also contain phytonutrients called glucosinolates.  Glucosinolates react with an enzyme that converts them into compounds that appear to reduce the potential of carcinogens through their ability to beneficially modulate liver detoxification enzymes.  They inhibit certain enzymes that normally activate carcinogens and also induce other enzymes that help to dismantle active carcinogens.

Some studies have indicated that vitamin C-rich foods, such as mustard greens, provide humans with protection against inflammatory polyarthritis, a form of rheumatoid arthritis.  They found that those who consumed the lowest amounts of vitamin C-rich foods were more than three times more likely to develop arthritis than those who consumed the highest amounts.

One of the benefits of eating just three servings of green leafy, yellow and cruciferous vegetables each day is that it has been shown to slow the decline of mental function by 40% – which is the equivalent to about five years of younger age.  This consumption appears to decrease the brains cognitive decline.  Of the different types of vegetables, green leafy vegetables have the strongest association with this decrease.

Mustard greens may also be good for women going through menopause. They provide nutrients that are supportive of bone health. They are an excellent source of calcium, a higher intake of which can help to prevent bone loss that usually occurs at this stage of life. Women with osteoporosis also have low bone magnesium content and other signs of magnesium deficiency, so mustard greens would once again be helpful since they also provide concentrated amounts of this mineral. In addition, as noted above, the vitamin B6 and folic acid in mustard greens help to reduce the buildup of homocysteine. This plays an important role in promoting bone health, since homocysteine can obstruct collagen cross-linking, resulting in poor bone matrix and osteoporosis.

The vitamin E supplied by mustard greens is instrumental to a host of different mechanisms that reduce the development of atherosclerosis, including protecting LDL (“bad”) cholesterol particles from oxidation and decreasing platelet clumping. Dietary intake of vitamin E and vitamin C is thought to be associated with a compound called paraoxonase, an enzyme that inhibits LDL and HDL oxidation.  In addition, mustard greens also feature concentrated amounts of other nutrients that can keep your heart healthy. Included among them are vitamin B6, folic acid and magnesium.  Mustard greens are a very good source of vitamin B6, which has been shown in studies to decrease platelet clumping and thereby decrease risk of thrombosis (clot formation). Blood vitamin B6 levels tend to be lower in coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction patients, and some believe that low blood vitamin B6 levels may actually be useful as an indicator of risk for myocardial infarction.

One reason for this belief is that vitamin B6 along with folic acid, another nutrient of which mustard greens are an excellent source, is instrumental for preventing the buildup of homocysteine, which contributes to atherosclerosis through its ability to damage the blood vessels.  In fact, folic acid is so important for cardiovascular function that a major 1995 study concluded that consumption of 400 micrograms per day of folic acid could prevent 28,000 cardiovascular deaths per year in theUnited States.  Magnesium is necessary for normal blood vessel tone and function. Since mustard greens are also a very good source of magnesium, they may be able to help lower high blood pressure and may even decrease the risk of heart attack.

Need any more reasons to eat mustard greens?  Well, here are a few more. One cup of mustard greens contains the following nutrients:  Vitamin K – 419 mcg; Vitamin A – 4243 IU; Vitamin C – 35 mg; Folate – 102 mcg; Manganese – 0.38mg; Vitamin E – 2.81 mg; Calcium – 103.6 mg; Potassium – 282.8 mg; Phosphorus – 57.4 mg; and Magnesium – 21 mg.  That same cup also contains very good amounts of Vitamin B6, protein, copper, iron, and vitamin B2.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Young mustard greens make great additions to salads.

Serve healthy sautéed mustard greens with walnuts and lemon juice.

Adding chopped mustard greens to a pasta salad gives it a little kick. One of our favorite combinations is chopped tomatoes, pine nuts, goat cheese, pasta and mustard greens tossed with a little olive oil.

For a simple meal with a southern flair, serve cooked mustard greens with beans and rice.

Recipes

Mustard Greens with Chipotle and Bacon

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of curly mustard greens, stems and coarse ribs discarded
• 2-3 bacon slices, cut crosswise into ½ inch pieces
• 2-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon minced chipotle chiles
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Coarsely chop greens.
• Cook in a 6-8 quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until wilted and tender.  About 5 minutes.
• Transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of cold water to stop cooking.
• Drain greens in a colander, pressing gently to release excess moisture.
• Cook bacon in a 12 inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring until crisp. Approximately 4 to 5 minutes.
• Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, reserving fat in skillet.
• Add oil, chipotle, greens and salt to fat and cook. Stirring occasionally, until heated through. Approximately 2-3 minutes
• Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with bacon and serve.

Preparation

 Balsamic-Glazed Chickpeas and Mustard Greens

Ingredients

• 1  bunch mustard greens
• ½  large red onion, thinly sliced
• 4-6 Tablespoons vegetable broth, divided
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pinch of red pepper flakes
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• ½  teaspoon soy sauce
• ¼  teaspoon agave nectar or sugar
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained.

Directions

• Remove any large stems from the greens and discard them. Tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
• In a deep pot or wok, sauté the onion in a tablespoon or two of vegetable broth until mostly faded to pink, about 4 minutes.
• Add the chopped garlic and red pepper, along with another tablespoon of broth and cook, stirring for another minute.
• Add the mustard greens, 2 tablespoons of broth and cook, stirring until greens are wilted, but still bright green. About 3-5 minutes.
• Stir in that salt.
• Remove greens and onions from pan with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish, leaving any liquid in the cooking pan.
• Add the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce and agave or sugar to the liquid in the pan.  If there is no liquid, add 2 tablespoons of broth.
• Add the chickpeas and cook, stirring over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half.
• Spoon the chickpeas over the greens and drizzle the sauce over all.
• Serve warm, with additional balsamic vinegar at the table.

This Week’s Items – Extended:

• Pumpkin
• Sunflower Seed Head
• Beets
• Jalapeno Peppers
• Sweet Peppers
• Red Giant Mustard
• Mizuna Mustard
• Red Fire Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Arugula