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What's in the box?

 Summer Squash, Zucchini

Lacinato Kale (aka Dino Kale or Tuscan Kale)

Hakurei Turnips (aka Japanese Turnips)

Green Onions

Green Leaf Lettuce

Sugar Snap Peas

Basil

Broccoli (full shares only this week)

Notes on the box....

 Everything should be stored in the fridge in the crisper (or in plastic bag to keep in moisture) with the exception of Basil which likes to stay dry and out of the fridge.  You can put the stems in a small cup of water on your counter and the leaves should keep nicely for about a week that way.  

This is the beginning of Summer Squash and Zukes.  We will keep them coming as the plants produce, but we try to give smallish ones as the really big ones can get seedy and tough skinned.  I shredded some and added them to eggs, cheese, chopped green onion and pan fried them by the spoonful to make veggie eggy fritter type things.  Otto and Sadie liked them as well as all the grownups around here.  

Lacinato Kale is the green for the week.  Simplest way to prepare is to just saute in butter or olive oil with minced garlic and/or onion (or green onion) until it's wilted.  You can cover the pan to steam it a little.  Then season with salt to taste.  You can add it to soups, eggs, use as a pizza topping, or put it raw into a smoothie.  Kale is good for you!!  

The entire pod of the Sugar Snap Peas are edible.  YUM!  They are fantastic sauted until tender, but still crisp with butter and fresh mint!  Or chopped and added to salads. Or as a crudite.  

Broccoli should be in the full and single share boxes next week.  The weather right now is perfect for growing broccoli!  

Recipes...

Lisa Feldman's Yogurt and White Bean 'Ranch' Dressing

Kale Salad with Sprouted Lentils and Green Apples

Vegan Kale Chips

[yumprint-recipe id='34'][yumprint-recipe id='33']On the farm...

We want to apologize for any confusion or delays with delivery times.  There has been quite a bit of construction, road closures, and streets flooding on delivery days!  The first few weeks usually include some hiccups.  On a positive note, for the those that don't know what we are doing differently this year with delivery... this past Winter we helped form the Hungry Turtle Farmers' Cooperative.  We have combined 6 different farms' delivery routes onto 2 trucks, and collectively hired a truck driver to make the route effective and earn income on trucking. We are taking at least 4-5 rusty vans and pickups off the road, saving fuel, time and money on all of our farms. It is the beginning of something great, and with all great things there are a few bumps in the road along the way.  Things should be getting more consistent and the kinks will be worked out soon.  If you have any questions, please give us a call or email us and we will try to get your question answered as quickly as we can.  

Otherwise, we hope you are enjoying the perfect weather and enjoying the beginning of the CSA.  Thanks for all the feedback and comments!  Keep the input coming!  

Now for the pictures...

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Here's a photo farm tour through the eyes of Otto, our 3 1/2 year old farm kid.   

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Thanks for the help, Otto!  

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What's in the box?

Collard Greens

Herb Pot

Green Onions

strawberries

Red Romain (Full and half)

Salad Mix (Full)

Green Leaf lettuce (half)

Hakurei Turnips

Notes on the box...

Another week of beautiful salads!  Keep lettuce in an open plastic bag in your crisper.  Give it a rinse before eating.  

Hakuri Turnips are the white orbs with green leaves and may be new to you.  To store, give them a good rinse and remove the tops.  Tops and bottom are edible.  Cut a thin slice of the turnip and give it a taste.  It's mild, sweet, and slightly spicy.  It's a wonderful addition to salads, sandwiches, as a snack on its own, or diced and added to stir fry.  These turnips are one that we decided to try out because they are beautiful and good for an early season crop.  The seed is so expensive, so we were a little leary, but they are SO GOOD that we have decided to grow them every year.  Give them a try and let us know what you think!

If anyone has some of their favorite Salad dresssing recipes they would like to share please do so! this has been a wonderful season for lettuce. 

This could be the end of the strawberries... a short but sweet season. 

Summer harvest is right around the corner, with fall already on our radar. 

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a green tomato family

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fall transplants on the wagon, will be planted while you are picking up your box.baby tomato- 3-4 weeks from harvestan almost empty greenhouse, fall crops still waiting to go in because it is toooooo wetsummer squash, next week! staking tomatoes

Recipes...

[yumprint-recipe id='32']Scallion (green onion) Pancakes

 Roasted Hakuri Turnips with Israeli Couscous Salad

On the farm...

As usual, the Spring has been an exciting time with lots of unexpected challenges and weather that is making us want to pull our hair out (cut Hay on two different fields and got rain on them both times!) But the veggies seem to be doing mostly good with the exception of a few direct seeded crops getting washed out and having to be replanted.  The weeds are difficult to get rid of when everytime you cultivate more rain comes and replants those suckers in a different spot.  It's pretty frustrating!  But hopefully July will be a little drier (but not NO RAIN dry, right?)  Farmers sure are picky about what they want from the weather, right?!  Anyway, things are looking good in the fields despite the challenges.  

The first delivery seems to have gone pretty well with just a couple of hiccups.  If you had any problems, but didn't let us know, please contact us so that we can make it right!  Also, please remember to take the produce from the box with your name or your share partners name. This is super important to do so that everyone gets a box and we know who to contact if a box is left behind.  We are changing around some of the drop orders, which will affect the times, so please go by the email that notifys you of when your box will be there. And i promise not to mislead you again by sending out the email in anticipation of when the delivery will arrive. 

So, have you been watching Around the Farm Table on PBS Tuesday nights at 9pm? We were on one of their pilot webisodes that you can see here.  They are doing a fundraising campaign to help with production of their next season.  Here's a link to the video and information.  Inga, Joe, and Rick are really great people who make a really nice show.  They are farmers, too!  

We have to let you know about this, too!  Red Clover Apothecary is part of the Hungry Turtle Farmers Coop.   Nancy is an AMAZING herbalist and she is offering herbal CSA shares!  They are a one time delivery that we can deliver with your CSA box (let her know that you are a member of Turnip Rock Farm when you order from her).  She makes wonderful tinctures, salves, teas and more.  She has offerings right now that are especially good for Summer time including bite and burn salves, a sore muscle salve, cooling tea, Lymes relief tincture, and many more great offerings to keep you healthy.  Everything she makes involves sustainable hand harvesting and small batch preparation.   We are so fortunate to have her in our farming community and we hope you can get an herbal CSA share from her.  

Our farmers Coop will be at the Linden Hills farmers market every Sunday from 9am-1pm. stop by say HI! 

Welcome to our new members and welcome back to our returning members!  We are happy to have the first box of the season out to you.  This is our online newsletter.  It will follow a format each week.  A picture and list of the contents of the weeks box followed by notes about the veggies and storage tips.  Next a few recipes focusing on veggies that you may not be familiar with or that we have in quantity.  Finally, pictures of what's been going on at the farm, musings from your farmers, and news about farm events or announcements.  Your CSA experience will be greatly enhanced if you look at the blog each week!  It will help you feel connected to the farm and use up your veggies.  So here we go... What's in the box?

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red lettuce

green lettuce (full shares)

salad mix (single shares)

rainbow chard

garlic scapes

french breakfast radishes

green onions

strawberries

herb pot

Notes on the box...

 Rainbow Chard may be new to some of you.  Give it a good rinse and store in an open plastic bag in your crisper.  The colorful stems are edible, but you should begin cooking them before the leaves because they take longer to cook.  You can use the chard as you would spinach.  We prefer it cooked, but it can also be eaten raw.  

Garlic Scapes may also be new to you.  These beauties are the stem of the flower sent up by the garlic bulb as it grows.  It's a true seasonal treat that we only get to enjoy once per year!  It has a mild garlic flavor and can be used fresh in place of green onion, but it will have a garlic flavor.  It is also great chopped and added to stir fries.  And it makes a really wonderful pesto!  

Lettuce will store best in an open plastic bag in your crisper.  We do our best to clean it for you, but all the rain splashes soil back onto the leaves, so another washing is suggested.  

Herb pots should be placed in a sunny window and watered regularly.  If you want the herbs to really thrive, you can pot them out into their own pots or into your garden if you have space.  Pinch leaves as needed for cooking.  

Recipes...

 Garlic Scape Pesto is great to spread on a grilled cheese (or other) sandwich.  It can be mixed into pasta.  It can be an addition to a dip (or you can use it alone as a dip).  It can be used as a condiment on eggs.  It's super versatile and super tasty!

[yumprint-recipe id='30'][yumprint-recipe id='31']GarlicScape and Brie Pizza This is another place that you could add your Chard!  

  Salad Dressing Tutorial

First delivery information for new members:

We are so happy to be your farmers!  Thanks for signing up.  A few things to remember to make your Summer of vegetables more enjoyable:

1. Don't forget to pick up your box! We send an email when your box is delivered.  Picking up sooner on hot days will help keep your veggies fresh longer.  Always only take veggies from the box with your name on the label.  If you are unable to pick up, let your host know so that they may hold it for you until you can pick up or even better, arrange to have a friend or neighbor pick up your box.  Certain dropsites (such as the co-ops) are sometimes unable to hold your share.  If you have any problems or questions, please contact your host or the farm as soon as you can.

2. If you are splitting a box it is your responsibility to decide how to divide the share.  Some members alternate weeks picking up.  Some members get together and decide who gets what.  Some members cook dinner together and then split up what wasn't used.  It's up to you!

3. We wash greens and lettuce before delivering them, but we suggest another rinse just in case of lingering dirt or sand.  

4. Some veggies hold for a long time, and others have a shorter shelf life.  When deciding what to cook, keep this is mind to get you box used up!  For certain crops such as tomatoes, we try to pack some of varied ripeness so that you have some to use earlier in the week and some to use later.  Try to use up veggies from the previous week before getting your next box so that you don't get overwhelmed and veggies don't get lost.

5. Be sure to read storage tips to get the best flavor and value from your veggies.  Little things, like taking the tops off of radishes and carrots or putting a head of lettuce in a plastic bag will make these veggies hold a lot better.

6. If you have any questions or issues or comments or suggestions, contact us.  We will do our best to get back to you right away.

Here's a few more suggestions from Serious Eats.

On the farm...

Miranda, Haley, and Dana working on the barn when it was too wet to be in the field.

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garlic scape harvest

scapes!

fun on the farm. Miranda and Otto trying to trap chickens (no chickens were harmed or sucessfully caught).

Happy Haley aka HayBales

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packing box 1

Rain Rain Go Away!