Tantre Farm CSA Newsletter
WEEK #2
June 6-12, 2021
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, 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, bright 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: Also known as “sparrowgrass”, you will receive these green or purple spears; each contains vitamins A, B, and C, and 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): written as bok choi, 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; conside red a cool weather crop; 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.
NO HERB BUNCH THIS WEEK! Our herb patch is much smaller this year, so we will not be able to provide herbs every week. Most of our herbs are taking longer to grow back with this heat , so we are letting our smaller patches of herbs recuperate.
LETTUCE (Skyphos): You will receive either Skyphos (a beautiful butterhead with large, dark red heads and nicely contrasting green centers. Excellent flavor and texture, and rich in calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C) or Tropicana (bright green, frilly, leaf lettuce forming wide rosettes that maintain a sweet flavor and crisp texture).
-How to use: raw in salads, sandwiches, or (believe it or not!) use in soups and smoothies.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 3-5 days.
ONIONS: You will receive either Green Onions (also called “scallions”; young shoots of bulb 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.) OR Summer Onions (slightly larger bulbs (“baby bulb onions”) than green onions, but both bulb and leaves are still edible; can be prepared like cippolini onions.).
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.
POTATOES: You will receive any of the following “old buddy” certified organic, storage potatoes. From Second Spring Farm in Cedar, MI you may re ceive Dakota Red (red potato with white flesh that is good for baking, boiling, or frying). On the other hand, Wayward Seed Farm in Ohio provided Yukon Gold (yellowish brown skin with yellow dry flesh and pink eyes; long storage and good tasting; perfect baked, boiled, mashed or fried) or Crimson King (Attractive, oval tubers with red skin and red flesh; good for baking, boiling, roasting, or frying) or All Blue (deep blue skin and flesh; moist texture; perfect in salads, baked, or boiled) *Interesting note: Most blue fleshed cultivars contain 90 times more antioxidants than white tubers, and the antioxidants in potato tubers are enhanced by cooking them. These “old buddies” potatoes have been over-wintered in optimum storage conditions; possibly slightly less firm and slightly more sweet than a new potato, but good for cooking in any way suggested below.
-How to store: keep in cool, dark place in paper bag; ideal temperature is 38-40 degrees with 80-90 percent humidity
RADISHES (Bacchus): stunning, purple, round radish with white inner flesh. Very good flavor and not too hot.
-How to use: raw, roasted, used in soups, sliced in salads, sandwiches, or stir-fries, grated in slaws; radish greens are delicious in soups or stir-fries and are an excellent source of vitamins.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag/damp towel for 1-2 weeks.
SPICY GREENS (Stir-Fry Mix): gourmet-quality greens for quick cooking; includes Tatsoi, Hon Tsai Tai, Green and Red Mustard.
-How to use: used for salads, quick sauteing/braising, and stir fries.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 2-4 days.
SPINACH: crisp, dark green leaf; best eaten raw or with minimal cooking to obtain the beneficial chlorophyll, rich in of vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron and a plethora of other nutrients and antioxidants. The appearance of spinach also marks the beginning of spring for many of us farmers/gardeners!
-How to use: delicious flavor when juiced, 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.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. PAYMENTS DUE: If you still owe money, please finalize payments as soon as possible during the month of June.
2. MISSING NEWSLETTERS: If you or your partner are missing any newsletters, please let us know, since there seem to be some glitchy things happening with anyone who uses comcast.net and a few other email providers. Please make sure that you check your SPAM/JUNK folders to see if you are receiving emails, since we can tell if they were sent to your address, but unopened. Let us know if you would like any missing newsletters sent to you, or if we should add any missing emails for partners.
3. STRAWBERRIES ARE RIPE! This week you may come to the farm for “already picked” strawberries on Wednesday (10 AM- 7 PM) and Friday (2 PM – 7 PM) for $5/quart or 40/flat (8 qts). These are normal distribution days at the farm, so no need to let us know you are coming. If you come any other time, you will need to schedule it by emailing us, so we make sure we have berries at the farm. There will be no “you-pick” strawberries at Tantre Farm this year, but rather at a new location. We will open on June 12, Saturday morning at 8 AM until 7 PM for strawberry picking in Ann Arbor at a new property on the corner of Zeeb Rd. and Scio Church Rd. called “Honey Bee U-pick” for $3.50/lb. There will be signs to guide you to the driveway of a newly constructed timber frame in the middle of the field. If you use GPS use 5700 Scio Church Rd., and it brings you pretty close to that location. We will provide buckets for picking, but please bring your own containers to transfer strawberries into or we will provide bags or cardboard trays. We will also have “already picked” berries there for sale at that location for $5/qt. Please let us know if you have any questions.
4. FAMILY FARM HIKE on FRIDAY, June 18, from 4-5 PM: Come join us for a guided monthly exploratory walk around Tantre Farm with CSA member, Alisse Portnoy, who teaches at the University of Michigan. She and her daughter are in their twelfth year of once-a-week, long visits to the farm. They look forward to sharing some of its treasures and treasure spots with you. We’ll use all our senses and appropriate social distancing as we take an approx. 45-60 minute hike. Please feel free to wear a mask if it makes you more comfortable, but not required if you are vaccinated. Meet at the picnic tables behind the Main House.
5. IMMUNE BOOSTER CSA: As some of you know last year we started a collaborative CSA with several local farms and food businesses that you can opt in or out of each week called the Immune Booster. If you are interested in supplementing your share with more veggies and other locally produced and sourced value-added products, please go to our website to sign up every Monday – Wednesday night. Pick up is from 9 AM to 12 PM every Saturday at the Washtenaw Food Hub and the Chelsea Farmers Market during the summer: http://www.tantrefarm.com/how-does-our-immune-booster-csa-work/. Still time to sign up this week!
6. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER: Please use your Member Dashboard to schedule Vacations or Pick up Location Changes. Please let us know if there are any problems with Rescheduling. Some sites have less space to drop share boxes at, so are considered “limited” (see below). Please always email ahead to see if the limited sites are at capacity before making any switches on your own to those spaces.
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there from 7-9 AM)
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 12 PM (SARA there the whole time)
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there with some self check-in)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –6 PM to 8 PM (LIZZIE there the whole time)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.) (limited site) —10 AM to 5 PM (JESSICA there from 9 AM – 11 AM)
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there with some self check-in)
*Community High School (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON there the whole time)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (RYAN and Staff there the whole time)
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (DEB and staff there the whole time)
*Argus-Packard (Sat) (limited site)—12 PM to 3 PM (ARGUS STAFF there the whole time)
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM (DEBRA is there the whole time)
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, and many recipe ideas will pop up. Have fun searching! Lots and lots of ideas!
ROASTED ASPARAGUS-CARROT-SPINACH SOUP
1 bunch of Asparagus
3-4 carrots (peeled & sliced length-wise)
2 cups of Spinach (or Bok Choy)
2 cloves of Garlic
Water – to make vegetable stock
Milk (or alternative milk)- about 2 cups
Salt & Pepper to taste
Other spices you wish to add
Begin by cutting bottom ends off asparagus (don’t throw away). Peel the carrots (reserve the peels). Place asparagus & carrots on tray to roast in oven – set @ 450 for appx. 20 minutes, carrots cooked about 5 minutes longer. Place the asparagus ends, carrot peels, and garlic in pot. Cover with water and season to taste. Bring to boil, then simmer appx. 20 minutes. This will make your stock. Combine veggies & splash of stock in blender and begin blending. Add more stock & milk as needed to your taste and continue to blend to the consistency you desire. I returned to pot & cooked/kept warm on the stove & added seasoning here.
BROCCOLI AND BOK CHOY STIR-FRY (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce by MACSAC) Serves 2
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 red bell pepper, julienned (matchsticks)
1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
1 2-inch piece of ginger, grated
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 lb bok choy, shredded
2 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp soy sauce
Heat oil in skillet or wok. Stir-fry peppers, onions, broccoli, ginger, salt, and pepper until broccoli softens slightly, 3-4 minutes. Add bok choy and sherry; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with soy sauce. Serve immediately.
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