THIS WEEK’S SHARE

AMARANTH GREENS: Amaranth leaves are eaten all over the world in many cuisines and under many names, such as “Callaloo” in the Caribbean, “Quintonil” in Mexico, “Saag” in India, “Vlita” in Greece, and known as pigweed, green amaranth, redroot amaranth, careless weed, and tumbleweed in the Americas; this wild native is a nutritious, edible plant that was important to the American Indians in the southwestern North American and Central American regions; after the spring spinach is gone, amaranth is one of the wild greens that likes to grow in the summer and is easily accessible for harvesting. For more details read this article: https://www.bbg.org/article/weed_of_the_month_pigweed
-How to use: use in soups or as a cooked green like spinach in pies, stews, or warm salads
-How to store: refrigerate with a damp towel/bag for up to 1 week.

RED ACE BEETS AND GREENS: round, smooth, deep red roots with sweet flavor and medium-tall, red-veined green leaves.
-How to use: greens can be substituted for spinach and chard in recipes; roots good in soups, stews, roasted, boiled, steamed, excellent grated raw into salads or baked goods.
-How to store: separate roots from leaves and store unwashed in plastic bags in hydrator drawer of refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; store greens wrapped in damp cloth in plastic bag for up to 1 week.

GREEN CABBAGE: a sweet green cabbage; considered a beneficial digestive aid and intestinal cleanser; cabbage has a good amount of vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
-How to use: good steamed, stir-fried, or chopped raw into salads or coleslaw.
-How to store: refrigerate for up to 1 month.

CARROTS (Mokum): a very sweet, slender, “pencil carrot”.
-How to use: can be used raw as carrot sticks, grated in salads or juiced; steamed or sautéed, in stews, soups, casseroles, or stir-fries.
-How to store: refrigerate roots in plastic bag for up to 2 weeks

SWISS CHARD: close relative of garden beets; multi-colored, large veined, semi-crinkly, dark green leaves; mild flavor; good source of vitamins A, E, and C, as well as iron and calcium.
-How to use: greens can be prepared like spinach, and stalks like asparagus; good steamed, sauteed, stir-fried, and in soups.
-How to store: wrap in damp cloth in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2-4 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, that grows above ground; purple or green skin and crisp, apple-white flesh tubers and leaves are good sources of vitamins C and A, calcium, potassium, and fiber.
-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 MIX or RED LETTUCE: You will receive Wildfire Lettuce Mix (a 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) OR Cherokee Red Lettuce (a red Summer Crisp with small, red heads with thick, crisp leaves that have dark red color with good flavor).
-How to use: raw in salads or use in soups and smoothies.
-How to store: refrigerate in plastic bag for 3-5 days

SUMMER ONIONS or YELLOW BULB ONIONS: You will receive either Summer Onions (slightly larger bulbs than green onions, but both bulb and leaves are still edible; can be prepared like cippolini onions) or Ailsa Craig (a sweet, mild, yellow-skinned, heirloom onion).
-How to use: can be grilled or roasted whole as a vegetable or chopped in salads, soups, and other dishes for flavor; greens can be chopped into a salad or chopped and put into freezer bags to add to soups or stock at a later time.
-How to store: wrap in damp towel or plastic bag in fridge for 2-7 days.

ZUCCHINI (Safari or Goldy): You will receive either Safari (green zucchini with attractive white stripes) OR Goldy (beautiful, bright golden cylindrical fruits).
-How to use: use in salads, dips, grilled, casseroles, stuffed, or mashed with butter and seasonings.
-How to store: store in plastic bag in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. FAMILY FARM HIKE on FRIDAY, July 12, from 5:30-6:30 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, and her daughter, Jessica. Alisse and Jessica are in their fifteenth 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 as we take an approx. 45-60 minute hike. Meet at the picnic tables behind the Main House. Please feel free to come earlier or stay later and bring a picnic meal, which could be supplemented with a few fresh Tantre veggies! Hope to see you at the farm for a casual dinnertime, hangout, and tour at Tantre Farm!

2. FORAGE AND FEAST Cooking Class on Friday, July 26, from 4-7 PM at Tantre Farm: Come to this foraging class and turn our collections into a gourmet meal with local foraging expert, Rachel Mifsud, from “Will Forage For Food”. Plant walks are great, but what do you do with stuff once you get it home? This class is designed to teach you exactly that. We will go out and forage for about an hour, then we will bring our harvest into the kitchen where we will combine it with previously foraged items (from Rachel’s stash), farm fresh ingredients, and some grocery store staples to make a gourmet meal that we will share. Our meal will include a main dish, a couple of sides, a desert, and both an alcoholic and a non-alcoholic beverage, all made with wild ingredients. Note that one or more of the dishes we make may include meat, eggs, dairy, wheat, nuts, etc. So if you have dietary restrictions you should contact Rachel before signing up. Bring your harvesting basket if you have one. It will also be helpful if you bring your favorite kitchen knife and a kitchen towel. And you may want a notebook to jot down recipes as we go. You may also want a notebook to jot down recipes as we go. This class is limited to 8 participants and Tantre CSA members are offered a discounted price of $50/person compared to $75 for nonmembers. Please register at https://willforageforfood.square.site/ .

3. WEEDING VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: 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. Thank you!

4. FARMERS MARKETS: If you need to supplement your share with a few extra items, we are set up at the Ann Arbor Farmers Market on Wed. & Sat. this week. starting at 7 AM. We will also be at the Chelsea Farmers Market from 8 AM-1 PM. On top of that, our Sunflower Farm Market (formerly known as the Washtenaw Food Hub Market) is OPEN again on Wednesdays from 4 to 8 PM and on Saturdays as usual during our CSA pick up times from 9 AM-12 PM, so please feel free to purchase all your basic local needs and a few extra treats at any of these markets. We also have a small farm stand at the HoneyBee U-pick area (more details below).

5. HONEYBEE U-PICK is now OPEN ONLY ON SATURDAY MORNINGS FOR JULY: We are open this week from 8 AM until 12 PM on Saturday mornings at 5700 Scio Church Road on the corner of Zeeb Rd. and Scio Church Rd. in Ann Arbor. You may purchase fresh Tantre produce and Elder Farm eggs. You may be interested in some “scavenger hunt” strawberry picking if you want to try to find the last of the strawberries. There also may be a little bit of blueberry picking, but the patch is pretty young still, so there may be not enough to pick. Other u-pick opportunities might be raspberries in August through September, and u-pick flowers from August through September. Sign up to be on our mailing list, so you know times, prices, weather-related closings, etc. here: https://www.tantrefarm.com/honey-bee/

6. PICK UP TIMES & LOCATIONS REMINDER:
*Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market (Wed.)—7 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)
*MOVE Fitness & Wellness Studio (Wed)—8 AM to 9:30 AM (SARA there the whole time)
*Farm (Wed.)—10 AM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Wed.) –4 PM to 8 PM (STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Pure Pastures (Wed.) —9 AM to 11 AM (JESSICA there most of the time)
*Farm (Fri.)—2 PM to 7 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time with some self check-in)
*Ann Arbor Farmers Market (Sat.) —7 AM to 12 PM (SHANNON there the whole time)
*Washtenaw Food Hub (Sat.)—9 AM to 12 PM (Come inside the new Sunflower Farm Market to pick up your share. STAFF there the whole time)
*Chelsea Farmers’ Market (Sat.)—8 AM to 12 PM (DEB there the whole time)
*Argus-Packard (Sat) — 9 AM to 3 PM ( STAFF there the whole time)
*RoosRoast-Rosewood (Sat)–9 AM to 11 AM (LIZ there the whole time)
*HoneyBee U-pick (Sat)–8 AM to 12 PM (TANTRE STAFF there the whole time)

REFLECTIONS ON THE FARM
by Richard & Deb

Remnants of the hurricane finally arrived last night passing over our farm with small, gentle droplets of rain and a little bit of sunshine splashing on the maple leaves as the birds called out in the early evening– the robin, the vireos, the song sparrow. Listening to these evening sounds engendered a sense of well being and tranquility. It was a beautiful, gentle rain with such a light patter on the front porch roof.

Yesterday we spent the day harvesting the bulb onions, beets, carrots, kohlrabi, cabbage, and pulled in the last of the garlic from the fields. As the rain arrived at midafternoon, we retreated to the barn to clip the stems off the garlic bulbs, while standing around the outside of the wagon, grabbing handfuls of garlic stems to clip the bulbs into wooden crates. This naturally led to a good session of conversation and time together in one place, talking about any topics that came into our heads. After a while we worked silently together as we listened to the rain. Hands and arms moving. The clippers snapping as the garlic bulbs filled crate after crate. It seemed that working with our hands in this way was a natural meditation that allowed our cares, worries, or concerns to disappear as we let the garlic heads drop one by one filling 80 wooden crates by the end of the day. Then we stacked them up neatly to dry.

Not only did this afternoon of rain and conversation bring acknowledgement of this gift of companionship, but we also may realize that within a few hours we were able to carefully store a crop not only for its seed, but for its life-giving benefits, health, and nutrition. The whole garlic’s life cycle is unfurled to us from planting in November to weeding and watering in the spring to the pulling of the garlic scapes in spring/early summer to the final harvest in July. It is this life cycle that we witness from the beginning and now the end when we receive the bounty from the earth to carry us through another season. The work is simple and wholesome and vigorous, because it requires us to attend and give attention to the needs of a plant and to attend and give attention to the soil that is growing the plants. It’s a very simple process and yet completely mysterious.

We come together with a common purpose to grow this fat and juicy garlic, cooperating and working together as a team to grow a plant that is both delicious and health-giving! We especially would like to acknowledge all of our farm crew who planted the garlic cloves, pulled the weeds, pulled the scapes, spread the compost, put out the pipes to water, worked in the sun, the cold, the rain, and the mud for many hours last fall, this early spring, and now this summer. Many months of hard work come to fruition in the form of a garlic bulb. Some may consider this sustained attention a great manifestation for the garlic and for the people, but really it may be more of a special manifestation of love and life and dedication.

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 “recipes” at the end, and many recipe ideas will pop up. Have fun searching!

SWISS CHARD AND SUMMER SQUASH FRITTATA (adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites, the Moosewood Collective with http://nofearentertaining.blogspot.com)
1 lb Swiss chard
1 summer squash (or zucchini), sliced thin
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 cup chopped onions
2 tsp olive oil
6 egg whites
2 whole eggs
3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Wash the Swiss chard, remove and discard the large stems, and finely chop the leaves. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, sauté the garlic, summer squash and onions in 1 teaspoon of the oil for 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the Swiss chard, stir, cover, lower the heat, and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and drain the Swiss chard if juicy.  In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, eggs, basil, salt, and pepper until blended. Stir in the sautéed Swiss chard. Coat the bottom of the skillet with the remaining teaspoon of oil and return it to medium heat. When the skillet is hot, pour in the Swiss chard-egg mixture. Cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until the edges are firm and the bottom is golden and beginning to brown. Place in a preheated 400 degree oven and cook for about 5 minutes, until the eggs are fully cooked. Serve immediately or at room temperature, topped with grated Parmesan cheese if you wish.

KALE AND KOHLRABI SALAD (http://canolaeatwell.com/recipe/kohlrabi-and-kale-slaw)
4 cups kale, chopped
1 kohlrabi bulb, peeled and julienned
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Dressing:
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

 Combine kale, kohlrabi, carrots, dried cranberries and pecans in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk together red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, minced garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix dressing with salad until well coated. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

MEXICAN STYLE FRIED RICE
3 cups cooked rice (either freshly cooked or leftover is fine too)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced OR 3 Tbsp minced garlic scapes
1 onion, chopped
1/2 head cabbage, julienned 
1 bunch amaranth greens, Swiss chard, or beet greens, chopped
2-6 jalapenos, minced (use 6 without seeds for a milder rice with lot of flavor, 6 with seeds for a spicy rice)
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cup chopped tomato (optional)
1 bunch chopped cilantro (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Oil of your choice

In a heavy skillet (cast iron if you have it, or a wok will work fine), heat oil on medium high heat.  Add the cabbage and greens and cook until wilted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove from pan and set aside. Using a bit more oil, still with medium high heat, stir fry the peppers, onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute more.  Add the rice and increase the heat to high.  Stirring almost constantly, cook this mixture for about 5 minutes and season to taste.  This is where you make your rice crispy if you like it this way.  Add the red wine vinegar, reserved cabbage and greens and cook until heated through. Toss with tomato and cilantro if desired and serve immediately.

TANTRE FARM SLAW Serves 4
A simple, easy salad!
2 medium beets, grated
3 large carrots, grated
1 kohlrabi, peeled and grated
1 medium onion (optional)
Sesame or sunflower seeds, toasted
Olive oil, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

 Grate vegetables into a bowl. Chop onion, if desired, and add to bowl. Toast sesame or sunflower seeds. Add when cooled. Add olive oil and lemon juice as a salad dressing to suit your taste. Be careful of too much liquid. The tartness of the lemon should be prominent. Serve immediately or marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Variation: Add grated turnips, mint, basil, lettuce, parsley, etc.

AMARANTH LEAVES (SPINACH) IN COCONUT MILK (from https://www.food.com/recipe/amaranth-leaves-spinach-in-coconut-milk-279618) Serves 4-6.
2-lb amaranth leaf (spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, etc.)
1 liter water
14-oz can coconut milk
1 large onion
2 large tomatoes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 lemon (optional)

Bring water and salt to the boil in a large pot. Add washed amaranth leaves and boil for 15 minutes or until tender. In a separate pan, heat the oil and cook the chopped onion until golden brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until soft. Add the well drained amaranth leaves and stir to combine. Add the coconut milk and continue cooking for about 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning or add lemon juice to taste.

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