2013 1st CSA basket

Welcome to the season! We'll have out first pick-up today.

Pick-up days are Tuesday or Friday and you can come by the farm between 4-6pm. We'll have the produce available up at our wood shed in the garden and we'll be supplying you with a basket to put your veggies in. There might be times during the summer bounty that we ask you to bring extra bags for yourself.

This week you can expect the following in your baskets:
Kale, chard, spinach, lettuce, radishes, sage, oregano, chives, parsley.

Coming soon... tatsoi cabbage, Chinese cabbage, peas

Some wins and some losses

The dry weather has kept slugs at bay, but the cool temperatures (up until today - hit 90 at 2:30 here) have delayed some vegetable growth (but I did see a pea flower this morning). We've ordered some more meat birds and laying hens and have 3 turkey poults coming our way, but the hawks did get two of our favorite birds - a strong white plymouth rock layer and - sniff, sniff - our lone bantum rooster. All's quiet on Longhaul Farm without the banty's call.

We're pining for June, when we get a reprieve from planting and can focus on maintenance and other tasks around the farm. And this also marks the start of the CSA season, kicking off on Friday, May 31, with a member gathering and distribution of the first basket. We'll update the blog posts weekly so folks know what's coming their way... holding off now because you never know what might explode or whither away in the next 10 days. 

More progress on the greenhouse

With help from Dane, we put up the insulation, outer cedar wall and cap on the greenhouse foundation. Next we'll put up the inner wall... and then, finally, we'll be ready to figure out the actual framing.

Recipe w/ corn + tomatoes

Corn and tomato savory pie (adapted from smittenkitchen.com)

OK, OK, so why am I publishing this recipe in May, when corn and tomatoes are still 3 months away? Because I used my frozen veggies... inspiration for everyone to stock up during peak season for a taste of summer even on a rainy spring day.

Ingredients: pie dough, tomatoes, corn, onions, herb (basil, oregano, thyme, etc.), shredded cheese (I used
cheddar), mayo, lemon juice, butter

Preparing: Make your pie dough - you'll need a top and bottom. Caramelize several onions (I used 6). Spread onions on the bottom pie crust. Then layer tomatoes (I used frozen-then-thawed roasted cherry tomatoes), corn (I used frozen-then-thawed kernels), herbs (I used oregano), salt and pepper, shredded cheese. Repeat the layering. Pour about 1/2 cup mayo whisked with juice from one juicy lemon over the filling. Put the top crust layer on, scoring for steam release. Brush with melted butter and bake at 400F for ~40 minutes, or until crust is perfectly browned.

Eating: Serve with a fresh salad. Can be eaten warm or room temp.

Dish history: I can finally make a good pie dough (thanks, Olga!). Plus, we are chipping away at our frozen vegetables during this spring hunger gap and today's humidity reminded me of a summer pie.

A quenching rain

It's been a dry spring. But today's rain has hopefully soaked the fields to the core so that all of our little seedlings can grow. We are putting in our precious tomatoes, eggplants and peppers this week. And they'll be joining a nice spread of veggies already in the ground: kale, collards, spinach, lettuce, chard, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, carrots, peas, beets, fennel, cilantro, celery, radish, turnip, onions, leeks, parsnips. Basil and beans are following shortly.

Take a look at these before-and-after photos - the first one taken 2 years ago today in 2011; the second taken yesterday.

May 2011

May 2013