Welcome to week 4 of farm share! We have certainly had some strange weather-I hear Uxbridge got hail last night!! It’s been hot, then cooler and just all over the place. But the good news is-snow peas are here!
Don’t forget you can ALWAYS add to your box too-just make sure to send Jenny a message/get payment to her to add extra strawberries and other goodies to your box that you think you may want more of.
I stopped by the farm this past Saturday and got myself a ton of strawberries (well over 30 cups worth, which was a lot of work for this 32 week pregnant momma!) but made myself 16 jars of jam and froze 18 cups of strawberries for pies this winter! Here is a picture of just *part* of what I got (I transferred it from the box when I got home because the box was too big for our fridge).
Jenny has shared a lovely vegan meal with you all this week too (thank you minimalist baker).
Spinach/kale/collards falafel, couscous salad with parsley, and cucumber salad.
(this falafel works with any cooking greens- ie. black kale or swiss chard from this week’s box). If you don’t have a food processor, add a little oil or water so your blender can chop it up like I did, but you will have to add extra gluten free flour and some flax to make it form into balls.
For the couscous salad, I just cooked couscous as per instructions with a little apple cider vinegar (or lemon), honey, salt, pepper, olive oil, red pepper and fresh parsley.
The cucumber salad was as simple as adding apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper to taste. Mint, basil or parsley are great additions here too!
It’s already week 3 of farm share! Jenny was wonderful doing the blog while I was away on vacation and now I am back and ready to share wonderful recipes and hopefully hear recipe suggestions from you all! Remember that we have a pinterest page with recipes too from previous years blog posts. Jenny has organized it even into different dietary categories so if your searching for something in particular she probably has it there!
https://www.pinterest.com/zephyrfarmshare/
Here is a note from Jenny about this week’s box.
Hello from the farm!
Well, it’s been one wet spring so far, but we’ve not been totally washed out thankfully! Did you have the crazy weather we did over the weekend? On Saturday night we had what we believe was a tornado, because it literally raised the roof on about 1/4 of our packing building! We are so thankful that everyone is ok and that giant piece of metal roof did not do any damage on the way down. Now we are busy repairing those new “skylights”.
Meanwhile, the strawberries have ripened! We know you’ll enjoy these and recommend you eat them right away (they are very perishable!) I’m sure you’ll find a way to eat them ;).
We are eagerly awaiting peas to come on (next week), and green beans will be close to follow. We hope you enjoy the bounty of June!
Half Shares
-cucumber
-asparagus/snow peas
-radish
-rhubarb
-strawberries
-white boy choy
-spinach
-green kale
-garlic chives
-romaine lettuce
Whole Shares
-leeks
-Boston lettuce (light green, buttery and delicate lettuce)
-purple dandelion greens (purple stemmed bitter green adds spunk to salads fresh or wilted)
-snow peas
-parsley
This weeks recipe will be for the strawberries! I know they are super yummy fresh-but sometimes they are fun to add to salads and other things to give a nice hint of strawberry.
Here are 2 different salad recipes depending on how much work/time you have (if you already have granola the first one isn’t so bad either!) Recipes are hyper-links: Click on the title and it will take you to a very detailed blog post with the full recipe and photos. Strawberry kale salad with granola
The heat is here! And that means the growth of many items is accelerated. We are harvesting the asparagus and cucumbers every second day now. Any longer and we would risk letting the asparagus get seedy and the cucumbers get too large. With this combo of heat and rain, the strawberries, redcurrants and peas should be ready soon!
New this week we have cucumbers and mint. They happen to be wonderful- together! See below for a couple super simple ways to enjoy this pair.
More farm share members have been joining up these last couple weeks and we have an abundance of veggies to accommodate them- so if you know anyone that would love our csa, feel free to send them our way! Having trouble identifying items in your box? Many items are listed with pictures in our online store. https://zephyrorganics.com/custom-orders/
collard greens (makes an easy low carb, gluten-free wrap!)
oregano (savory herb excellent in Italian and Greek foods)
turnip greens
Recipes
Cucumber-Mint Water
(makes one 2L pitcher)
Directions.
Fill 2L jug with filtered water. Add 1/3 of a cucumber and 8-10 large leaves of mint to jug. Let sit for a few hours for flavours to mix. Enjoy the refreshing taste!
Refreshing Cucumber Salad
Serves 2-3 as side. Kid-friendly recipe.
Ingredients
1lb cucumber (1 large or 2 smaller)
1 1/2 tbsp. chopped mint (I used kitchen scissors- so easy!)
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
3 tbsp. white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Peel and chop cucumber and wash and chop mint.
Add all ingredients to a medium bowl and mix. Let refrigerate for 1 or more hours. Enjoy!
Rhubarb-Blueberry Syrup
This recipe was born out of necessity when (gasp) we ran out of syrup on pancake day. I have a great gluten, dairy and egg free (and other allergen free) pancake recipe if anyone has been searching for such. This syrup was tasty with pancakes and great with yogurt the next day.
Ingredients
2 medium stalks rhubarb
1 cup blueberries (frozen)
4 tbsp. water
1/2 cup white or coconut sugar (or to taste- I am trying to remember the exact measure)
1 tsp. lemon juice
Directions
Wash and chop rhubarb. Add to small pot with lemon juice, water and sugar.
Heat on med-high until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to med-low and simmer until thickened.
Add blueberries and continue to cook and stir until blueberries are soft and cooked.
Enjoy hot with pancakes or chilled on yogurt!
Remember to keep hydrated this week as the temperatures climb!
It’s finally here! The new season of Farm Share, and I can’t believe all the items that are ready! Whether this is your first or 8th season with us, I hope you taste the local organic difference from the first bite. You’ll notice more leafy greens in the first few boxes, but there will be even more variety available as the weeks go by. This year we have cucumbers nice and early- only enough for the whole share boxes this week, but next week we should have quite a few, especially if we get some heat. As you might have guessed, these are coming from the greenhouse. The leeks are “over-wintered” which means they were planted last year and are ready in spring, kept safe by the blanket of snow. We also have lettuce nice and early, and quite substantial in size. Hope you are ready for some refreshing salads! It’s nice to lighten up our food choices along with the weather, and keep our bodies feeling their best.
Someone else is finally here: we are pleased to announce the arrival of our new son Boaz to the Eng family! We’re all doing well and very much in love with this little guy.
Stephanie will be returning to do the blog in a couple weeks, but for now, I (Jennifer) am here to ring in the new season with you.
Remember, you can get all new posts from us sent to your email inbox as soon as it is posted (Tuesday or Wednesday) each week. Enter your email in the box on the right hand side of this blog page. Now, let’s get to identifying the delicious veggies in your box:
Here are the contents from left to right of the HALF SHARES:
-rhubarb (long red and green thick stalks- try in cake, muffins, or cookies, or simply stew with lemon juice and a little sugar to taste and enjoy with yogurt)
-asparagus (green shoots with purple tips – lightly toss in olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and try them roasted at 400 degrees for 10-15 mins, or get creative with a salad. Also great paired with goat or feta cheese)
-baby bok choy (green leafy vegetable with light green, crunchy head- great in stir fries or enjoy it raw in salad)
-red radish (pinky-red roots with green tops- super in potato and egg salads, toss salad, as a crudité, or roast if you are looking for a milder taste)
-rainbow swiss chard (TOP- pink, white, orange and yellow stalks with green tops- delicious simply wilted with your oil or fat of choice, super chopped up and wilted in pastas, or add some colour to salads)
-green leaf lettuce (the perfect lettuce for salads, burgers and tacos)
-green kale (BOTTOM- bluish-green crunchy leafy green, makes great kale chips, great in soups, folded into mashed potatoes, or massage leaves with olive oil and enjoy in salad)
-leeks (add sweet onion flavour to soups or any savoury dish- especially potato leek, or try in dip
-2nd bunch asparagus
-basil pot (potted herb- keep soil moist and do not refrigerate), adds delicious flavour to salads, pastas, dips, etc.
If you have a WHOLE SHARE, you will receive all the above with the addition of:
-cucumber (super as a crudité or in salad)
-spinach (delicious lightly wilted or raw in salad)
-green onions (chop to add some kick to salads, dips, or onion flavour in cooked foods- also makes a great garnish)
-garlic chives (it may look like grass, but it’s full of yummy garlic flavour- skip the powdered stuff and enjoy the fresh taste, full of vitamin C)
-romaine lettuce (delicious in all different salads, and always a favourite in Caesar salad)
CUSTOMER TIP: Or if you have a juicer, anything goes! Experiment and you won’t waste any of the veggie goodness in your box! Apples make a good base for veggie juices if you enjoy a little sweet.
I have had quite an appetite lately, and needed something fresh to balance out all those yummy freezer meals, so this was my first attempt at cooking (or food prep) post baby.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
-1 baby bok choy, washed and chopped
-1 bunch of radish tops, washed
-5 radish, thinly sliced
-5 spears asparagus (I had them raw but roasted would be delish)
-4 eggs, scrambled (optional, goat cheese would also be a nice addition)
-fresh parsley leaves, to taste
-half cup greek yogurt
-juice of half lemon
-salt, pepper and dill to taste
Directions
1. layer ingredients, divided onto 2 plates
2. Serve on it’s own as a meal, or with soup if you are super hungry.
ENJOY your veggies! And feel free to comment or email me if you are wondering what to do with an item. Let the adventures begin!
For both farm share members and the public, we are open every Friday 12-6 and Saturdays 10-5pm in our cash market.Some Pictures from our Farm Store at the Open HouseNew Blackboard and lots of variety at the Open HouseGrowing from seed can be a challenge- let us get your started with a ready-to go herb garden of parsley, basil, mint, and chives
