Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK #20
Oct. 3, 2015
If needed, please contact Richard Andres & Deb Lentz at 2510 Hayes Rd. Chelsea, MI 48118 e-mail: tantrefarm@hotmail.com phone: 734-475-4323 website: www.tantrefarm.com.
In our newsletter, we try to give you an accurate listing of the produce in your box; however, since the newsletter is published before the harvest, we may sometimes add, remove, or substitute some vegetables for others. The information provided here is also published each week on our website.
We try to keep the printed newsletter to a 2-page maximum, which means that we won’t list all the share items’ descriptions every week, but refer you to previous newsletters for information on items that have already appeared in your shares.
**Also, if you’re having trouble identifying any unfamiliar produce, please look for “Veggie ID” with additional information on our website under CSA INFO or under RECIPES.
THIS WEEK’S SHARE
BEETS (Golden): orange skin with rich gold interior; mild, sweet flavor when cooked); greens are excellent substitute for spinach. See Week 7 usage and storage information.
GREEN CABBAGE: a sweet green cabbage; considered a beneficial digestive aid and intestinal cleanser. See Week 10 for usage and storage information.
CARROTS (Hercules): sweet, orange, cone-shaped roots; good eating quality and stores well. See Week 9 for usage and storage information.
U-PICK FLOWERS (only available on the farm): A bouquet per household of up to 15 stems will be part of your share, if you are able to come and pick it.
GARLIC: a bulb of several papery white cloves; believed to help in fighting infections, cancer prevention, bolstering the immune system, lowering blood pressure and preventing heart disease, and used as an expectorant or decongestant. See Week 6 for usage and storage information.
KALE (Lacinato): dark green, noncurled, blistered leaves, but heavily savoyed. See Week 2 for usage and storage information.
LETTUCE MIX (Wildfire): a beautiful bag of dark reds and vibrant greens including Green and Red Oakleaf, Green and Red Romaine, and Redleaf lettuces. Your lettuce has been rinsed once, but needs washing. See Week 1 for usage and storage information.
ONIONS (Pattterson): medium-large, blocky bulbs with dark yellow skin and thin necks; excellent storage onion. See Week 7 for usage and storage information.
RED PAC CHOI (Rosie): a vase-shaped, Asian Green with dark red, oval shaped leaves with a mild flavor.
-How to use: for use raw in salads, cooked in soups, or lightly cooked in stir-fries.
-How to store: Wrap in a damp towel or plastic bag in the refrigerator lasting for up to 1 week.
HOT PEPPERS: You will receive Jalapeño (small and conical pepper, ranging from green to red; hot chile pepper used commonly in Mexican or southwestern cooking) and Poblano (a mild variety of chili pepper known as “poblanos” when dark green, but becomes an “ancho” when brick-red and fully dry; popular in Southwestern recipes; heart-shaped fruit, which is mildly pungent with a lightly sweet, medium-hot flavor). See Week 11 for usage/storage information.
POTATOES (Russian Banana Fingerling): an heirloom potato with small, banana-shaped tubers with yellow skin and light yellow flesh; used by chefs for its delicious flavor and smooth “waxy” texture that doesn’t fall apart when cooked; good baked, boiled, or in salads. See Week 7 for usage and storage information.
DAIKON RADISH (K-N Bravo): looks like an overgrown carrot with internal color ranging from pale purple to white with purple streaks; good, sweet, eating quality.
-How to use: excellent julienned or sliced and used in a salad or tossed with your favorite vinaigrette; good eaten fresh, cooked, or pickled; greens are also edible and can be used like any green.
-How to store: not as hardy as you may think, so store wrapped in plastic to keep them crisp for up to 2 weeks
U-PICK RASPBERRIES (only available on the farm): The sweet fall red and golden raspberries are still ripening. 1 pint is available as part of your share this week, if you are able to come out to the farm and pick it yourself. $4 for any extra pints picked.
TOMATOES: These are slowing down, so you will receive 1 quart of San Marzano (early, large classic Italian Roma tomato; delicious, balanced acidic flavor and meaty flesh makes for good sauce and paste; excellent roasted or broiled!!). You also may receive 1 pint of Grape/Cherry varieties, such as Five Star Grape (oval to oblong, baby red grape tomatoes, which have a chewy texture, sweet taste, and few seeds), Chiquita (deep rose-pink grape tomato with great flavor and pleasant texture), Mountain Magic (bright red, round tomatoes with very sweet flavor; excellent in salads), or Red Delight (round, cluster cocktail tomato with firm, deep red, shiny fruits; excellent in salads or sauces). See Week 11 for usage/storage information.
WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS and GREENS: A white salad turnip with round, smooth roots that have a sweet, fruity flavor with a crisp, tender texture. Both roots (good source of Vitamin C, potassium, and calcium; good in salads and soups) and greens (slightly sweet and can be boiled, steamed, sautéed, stir-fried, and since hairless, are good in salads; excellent source of vitamins A & C and good source of riboflavin, calcium and iron) are edible! See Week 19 for usage and storage information.
WINTER SQUASH/PIE PUMPKIN: Everyone will receive Butternut (light, tan-colored skin; small seed cavities with thick, cylindrical necks; bright orange, moist, sweet flesh; longest storage potential of all squash), Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin (medium-sized golden russet color with finely netted skin and flesh is very thick, sweet, sugary, and deep golden in color; makes a delicious, velvety pumpkin pie; good keeper for winter storage), and Black Forest Kabocha (smaller size kabocha; dark green, flat-round fruits; buttercup size with no button on end; orange flesh is medium-dry & sweet). See Week 17 for usage and storage information.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. LAST WEEK OF THE SUMMER CSA: That means Oct. 7 (Wed.), Oct. 9 (Fri.), and Oct. 10 (Sat.) are the last distribution days of the summer shares until our fall shares begin next week.
2. BRING BAGS! Please bring bags (cloth for yourself and/or any “grocery-size” plastic and paper to share with others), a cooler, or a box to receive your produce this week, so you can leave the share box behind if we won’t see you again this fall.
3. EXTENDED FALL CSA SHARE REGISTRATION IS OPEN: This share runs from Oct. 11 through Oct. 31 for $100 celebrating all the bounty of the fall vegetables! There is plenty of room and plenty of produce this fall, so you will get in! The link for online registration is http://tantrefarm.csasignup.com, which will bring you right to the sign up page. We really appreciate your patience, while you waited for this to be ready. Please sign up this week, so you won’t miss any of the 3 weeks of produce. We have sent out a separate email notice that registration is active. We are prorating shares over the next couple of weeks if you miss the sign up this week, but everyone needs to sign up before Oct. 24, so we have enough notice to make a share for you for the final week.
4. THANKSGIVING SHARES! A more detailed email notice about this will come out to you sometime in the next few weeks, since we want this week to be devoted to Extended Fall Share registration. A Thanksgiving Share signup link will also be available on our website under “CSA Info” at that time. We are offering a distribution on Saturday, November 21, for winter storage or to stock up on vegetables before the holiday for $115. This share will be available for pick up on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, at the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market from 7 A.M. until noon or at Tantré Farm from 2-5 P.M. Full payment is needed by Nov. 14, so we know how many shares to harvest.
5. INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR CSA IN 2016? We are considering SOMETHING NEW this year: a “roll-over membership”, which means members would be automatically rolled over into the next summer season. Any updates could be made as far as different pick up locations or different share partners before the season starts. Members would have plenty of time to opt out before the season starts and with several reminders. It is a new idea that provides the convenience of not having to remember to register by any deadline. You would still receive emails reminding you to pay by check or credit card. Registration will begin in November, so you still have time to mull this over. Summer CSA Shares will be available for $640 for 20 weeks from June through the middle of October in 2016. Please feel free to let us know what you think of this new idea, and we will make an informed decision based on your input. Thank you for your consideration!!
6. U-PICK AVAILABLE: Please call ahead if you plan to pick on other days besides Farm Distribution Days (Wed. and Fri.), so we can make sure someone is around to help you.
–U-pick Golden/Red Raspberries—1 pint FREE! Extra $4/pint
–U-pick Flowers–You may pick 1 bouquet of up to 15 stems per household for “free” in the u-pick flower garden on the farm. Whenever possible if you can donate $1 or $2 that will help to pay for some seed and labor costs. Extra bouquets will cost $4.
–U-pick Tomatoes—many tomato varieties available
Members–$0.50/lb. Non members–$0.75/lb.
–Already picked tomatoes – available for $1/lb. We will have half bushels at market and at the farm for $25/box.
Non members–$1.25/lb. for perfect tomatoes & $0.75 for 2nds
7. THANKSGIVING TURKEYS: Thanksgiving turkeys are available to order from Two Tracks Acres, a 10 acre farm in Grass Lake, Michigan. These are free-range, broad breasted bronze turkeys that average 20 lbs. per bird. Contact Stephanie Willette at twotracksacres@gmail.com or visit the website www.twotracksacres.com to learn more.
8. FROZEN LOCAL FRUIT AND VEGGIE SHARES FROM “LOCAVORIOUS” AVAILABLE: Tantre Farm member and Locavorious CSA founder, Rena Basch, provides locally grown, delicious, frozen fruits and vegetables in the winter months as Winter CSA Shares. Locavorious members receive 4 shares of local frozen fruits and veggies, including Tantre’s sweet peppers, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, blackberries and sweet corn! This CSA promises to continue provide you with the “essence of summer” all winter long! Shares are $215. Share pick-up places include Ann Arbor Farmers Market, Morgan & York, and the Washtenaw Food Hub. Contact Rena for more information at rena@locavorious.com or 734-276-5945, or visit www.locavorious.com to sign up.
9. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)–7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 12 PM
Farm (Wed.)–10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
Farm (Fri.)–2 P.M. to 7 P.M.
Community High School (Sat.) –7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 A.M. to 12 P.M.
Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)–8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
RECIPES
**Keep in mind a very easy way to find recipe ideas for almost any combination of share box ingredients is to type the items into your preferred “search bar” with the word “recipe” after it.
GINGERED GREENS & TOFU (delicious way to use up a lot of nutritional greens!)
Marinade:
1/2-cup soy sauce
1/2-cup sherry
1/4-cup rice wine vinegar
3Tbs. brown sugar
2 tofu cakes (approx. 1.5 lb.)
1/4-cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
2 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
6 cups shredded greens (pac choi, kale, beet/radish/turnip greens)
3 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)
pinch cayenne or splash of chili oil (minced hot peppers!)
Toasted cashews or peanuts
Bring marinade ingredients to a boil in a small saucepan. Simmer for 1 minute and remove from heat. Cut tofu into 1 inch squares, 1/2 inch thick, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons oil and marinade for 5 minutes. Prepare remaining ingredients. Broil tofu for 7-8 minutes per side until lightly browned. While tofu broils, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or large skillet. Stir in the ginger and add greens. Stir constantly until the greens are heated through and wilted. Add lime juice, cilantro and cayenne. Remove from heat. Toss with tofu and marinade. Top with nuts if desired.
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Thank you for a wonderful Summer Season filled with gratitude, community building, and a bountiful harvest. We really appreciate it! Hope to see you again this coming Fall, Winter, and/or next Summer!
–Deb, Richard, and the Tantre Farm Crew.