Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK #3
June 9-15, 2019

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 substitute some vegetables for others.  The information provided here is also published each week on our website.  **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.

If you are new to our CSA, since you signed up with a prorated share, you can find all past newsletters on our website under the NEWSLETTERS tab.

THIS WEEK’S SHARE

ARUGULA (Sylvetta):  also known as “wild rocket” with more deeply lobed leaves and a more pungent flavor; an aromatic, salad green with a peppery mustard flavor.
-How to use: great in salads, soups, and sautéed vegetable dishes
-How to store: very perishable, so use up quickly; store in plastic bag with a paper towel in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

ASPARAGUS:   green or purple spears; each contains vitamins A, B, and C, as well as iron.
– How to use: serve raw, chopped in salads, or with dips. You can also steam, roast, grill.
– How to store: wrap in damp cloth and plastic bag, then refrigerate. Alternatively, bundle spears with rubber band and place upright in container with an inch of water.

BOK CHOY (Joi Choi): also known as bok choi, bak choy, a traditional stir-fry vegetable from China with a sweet and mild flavor; looks like white Swiss chard with the stems all attached at the bottom; considered a cool weather crop and part of the cabbage or turnip family.
-How to use: two vegetables in one–the leaves can be cooked like spinach, and the crisp stem can be eaten like celery or asparagus; excellent in stir-fries, soups, sauteed or eaten raw.
-How to store: store as you would any green–in a loose plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

FRESH HERBS:  In general, store herbs upright with cut stems in 1 or 2 inches of water and refrigerate for up to 1 week or wrap in slightly dampened cloth or plastic bag and store in refrigerator.  
**You may CHOOSE or RECEIVE ONE bunch (NOT one bunch of each) from the following 5 options:
*Black-Stemmed Peppermint: superior fragrance and flavor; forest green leaves with deep purple veins and stems, purple flowers; leaves are good as a hot or iced tea, and adds a delicious flavor when minced and added to cooked peas, carrots, potatoes, salads, and fresh strawberries.
*Chamomile— These small, daisy-like flowers are best known for making a soothing tea; also the flowers make a pretty garnish and a flavorful addition to salads.  The whole bundle can be used fresh or dried upside down for a week or two, and then the flowers plucked and put into a jar for a restful, calming, sleepy time tea for the winter.
  *Sage–an herb from an evergreen shrub in the mint family with long, narrow, grayish-green leaves; a musky aroma and a warm and spicy taste; used in making sausages, stews, breads, pickles and teas.  The flowers are edible and make nice garnishes and can be infused into a delicious vinaigrette!
*Winter Savory: is a semi-evergreen, perennial herb; its strong spicy flavor goes well with beans and meat; medicinally it has antiseptic, aromatic, carminative, and digestive benefits, as well as relieves bee stings; fresh savory has a strong spicy-peppery flavor and resinous odor similar to fresh thyme.
*French Sorrel: slightly tart, lemon-flavored green; excellent for salads, soups, and sauces; can be used in omelets, breads, or cooked as a side dish; leaves are shaped like spinach, but paler green in color; high in vitamin A and contains some calcium, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C; refrigerate in plastic bag for up to 3 days.

KALE (Green Curly): well-ruffled, curly green leaves on green stems; this variety makes a good, roasted “kale chip”.
-How to use: for salads, soups, and light cooking.
-How to store: keep in plastic bag or damp towel in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

KOHLRABI: delicious bulbous member of the cabbage family about the size of a golf ball to tennis ball size with greens attached; green skin and crisp, apple-white flesh tubers and leaves are good sources of vitamins C and A, calcium, potassium, and fiber.  Most people enjoy taking the skin off and eating them raw, like an apple with a taste and texture somewhere between cabbage and broccoli stems.
-How to use: good steamed and then mashed with potatoes, added to soups or stews, or delicious sliced and eaten raw with dip.
-How to store: store in refrigerator for up to a month.

LETTUCE:  All members will receive 2-3 heads of Green or Red Leaf lettuce.
-How to use: raw in salads, sandwiches, or use in soups
-How to store:  refrigerate in plastic bag for 3-5 days.

SCALLIONS (also called “Green Onions”): All members will receive young shoots of red or green onions with long green stalks and milder tasting than large bulb onions; full of great fiber and antioxidants, high in potassium and source of vitamins C and B-6.
-How to use: the bulb, flowers, and green leaves are edible; can be cooked, grilled, roasted whole as a vegetable; chopped in salads, soups, and other dishes for flavor.
-How to store: refrigerate in damp towel/plastic bag for 5-7 days.

SPINACH: crisp, dark green leaf–best eaten raw or with minimal cooking to obtain the beneficial chlorophyll, as well as vitamins A and C; delicious flavor when juiced.
-How to use: toss in fresh salad, add to sandwiches, saute, steam, braise, or add to crepes, quiche, lasagna, and soups.
-How to store: refrigerate with a damp towel/bag for up to 1 week.

WHITE HAKUREI TURNIPS and GREENS: All members will receive a bunch of white salad turnips 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) and greens are edible!  
-How to use: roots and greens good in salads and soups; can be roasted, steamed, or sauteed.
-How to store: remove greens from turnip root and store separately in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 3 days; roots can last up to 1-2 weeks in refrigerator.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. SOURDOUGH BREAD at the FOOD HUB (SATURDAYS ONLY):  Nick Raterman of Raterman Breads is a baker at the Washtenaw Food Hub in Ann Arbor and has agreed to bake the Original Sourdough Bread variety for CSA members, who would be willing to pick it up at the Food Hub Saturday location only. The bread would need to be pre-ordered by Wednesday morning each week, so he knows how much bread to bake on Fridays for Saturday the next day.  Weekly reminders will be in our Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning newsletter every so often.  The cost is $5/loaf.  If you’re interested, please contact Nick by email at nick.raterman@gmail.com.

2. PLANT WALK SERIES June 26 from 6-8 PM (Last Wednesday of every month May through October)
We are offering a monthly plant walk at Tantre Farm with the guidance of our local foraging expert, Rachel Mifsud. On these leisurely walks we will be looking for edible, medicinal, and otherwise useful plants and mushrooms that are ready for harvest. The walks can accommodate slower moving individuals and children (who like to learn about plants), as long as you can handle the terrain.  The cost is $15 for Tantre CSA members or $20 for nonmembers. You may bring cash, check or pre-register at  https://squareup.com/store/willforageforfood.

3. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:  We have plenty of weeds to pull.  If you are interested in helping out–even if it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes before you pick up your box at the farm, come join us.  Please contact us any day of the week or evenings until dark. Thanks for volunteering!

4. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
**If you need to switch to different pick up sites throughout the season that usually works for all but the “limited sites”, using the Membership Actions section on the registration page.  These sites have less space to drop share boxes at, so are considered “limited”. Please always email ahead to see if they are at capacity before making any switches on your own.
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 A.M. to 12 P.M.
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 A.M. to 12 P.M.
*Farm (Wed.)—10 A.M. to 7 P.M.
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.)—6 P.M. to 8 P.M.
*Pure Pastures (Wed.) (limited site) —10 A.M. To 7 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.
*Argus-Packard (Sat) (limited site)—10 A.M. to 6 P.M.

REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM
(by Deb and Richard)

As the gray clouds gather these past few weeks, and the thunder rumbles with the rain coming down in sheets, we have cast the seeds of the spring and summer in the cool, wet earth in anticipation of another season of vegetable growing.  There are so many things to be done on a rainy day: cleaning the inside of the root cellar after months of frosty cold, cleaning and weeding the 9 hoop houses for the tomatoes and early spring crops, organizing and cleaning the packing shed.

It’s good to see the savanna sparrow and song sparrow return with their sweet song in our ears.   Almost every week, we plant a new cycle of spring crops, such as peas, carrots, arugula, lettuce, and spinach.  The summer crops as well have gone in early under the frost-protecting fleece which keeps them warm on the cool nights, and keeps the insects off.   The rain has created a great deal of help for us in sprouting our onions and carrots and some of our difficult crops like potatoes and sweet corn.  The strawberries are blooming with millions of blossoms under the green of the spring and giving the deer something to munch overnight when we are not there.  If you go to the farmers markets this week, you will see the first quarts coming in, although not quite enough for CSA members yet this week.  They are coming in your shares very soon though!

It’s really been a beautiful beginning to the summer for our farm! In general little to no watering has been needed, since we have had no need for irrigation with all of this rain.  Some of the cool dampness has slowed down some of the insect damage we might have had from the flea beetles and the cabbage lupers.  We are halfway into June and the hay fields and pastures are waste high for moving cows.  The rain has been very helpful to get the plants started.  We are so very thankful.  Of course many weeds have sprouted in between the vegetables as well.  We are happy to have volunteers to help with weeding any day of the week, just contact us ahead of time!  Fortunately we have a large crew of young-of-age and young-of-heart folks, who are good-hearted caretakers, who have picked, pulled, and chopped weeds mile after mile, and have learned from the inside out about all the muscles of their body, which they didn’t know they had.  We would like to thank: Chizo, Jbird, Geoff, Donn, Tristan, Mary Kate, Sarah, Andy, Milo, Rachel, Lydia, Derek, Kirt, Jordan, and Lori for all their tenacity and cheerfulness so far this season.

RECIPES

STEAMED KOHLRABI WITH LEMON BUTTER (from Farm-Fresh Recipes by Janet Majure)  Serves 4
1 bulb kohlrabi
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 or 2 green onions, minced
1-2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley or French sorrel
1-2 Tbsp minced lemon balm (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Trim kohlrabi, but do not peel.  Steam over simmering water, covered, for about 40 minutes or until tender.  Cool slightly, then peel and chop.  In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in lemon juice, garlic, and parsley.  Cook 2 minutes.  Add kohlrabi and lemon balm; toss to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Young kohlrabi greens can be cooked like kale or collard greens, so steamed sauteed or shredded into salads.

SPINACH AND ASPARAGUS FRITTATA  (from Capay Organic Farm CSA “Farm Fresh To You” website)  Serves 4
Filling:
1 bunch spinach, washed and drained, with stems removed
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 green onions, minced
Egg mixture:
8 eggs, beaten
3 Tbsp whipping cream or water
1/4 tsp salt
Pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, shredded
Olive oil, to coat skillet

Preheat broiler.  Mix ingredients well and pour into a greased 8-inch skillet and stir until set (about 5 minutes).  Place under broiler for 2 minutes until top is golden brown.  Cut into slices.