Category Archives: CSADist

Premium Baby Arugula

2016 CSA Summer September 24

2016 CSA Summer September 24

2016 CSA    Summer September 24

  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant Mix
  • Okra
  • Tatsoi 10×10
  • Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • Fresh dug Baby Ginger
  • Tomatoes (pick from set)
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Farm Fresh Eggs
  • Baby Arugula 8×8
  • “Hatch” peppers

There are several eggplant varieties for you this week to try. Let us know which one you like best because your vote counts! There are many ways to enjoy eggplant and to save some for after frost, consider making baba ghanoush and popping it into the freezer to savor later. Baba ghanoush is easy to make, as it is essentially cooked eggplant pureed into a dip. A basic core recipe for it is 1 eggplant, 1 lemon, garlic, tahini, and salt. There is a nice recipe at http://minimalistbaker.com/simple-baba-ganoush/.

We have a LOT of fresh eggs right now so we included a dozen in your CSA share this week. If you already get eggs as part of your share, your case will include 2 dozen. We also included a couple of Hatch peppers this week for a spike of flavor classic to the southwest. All of our pepper seed comes certified from the Chile Pepper Institute and none of their seeds are genetically modified. Our farm has taken the Safe Seed Pledge so you can rest assured that none of our products contain gmo material. Although no longer certified, we maintain the original organic growing methods that Mike helped to spearhead decades ago. The tomato house was the very first certified organic greenhouse in the state of Virginia.

Don’t forget that this is the last week of this season’s CSA program and now is the time to sign up for next season. Fill out the back and return to us or go online to sign up today. Delicata coming soon!               To your health & pleasure, always, love, leslie.

 

Fresh Baby Ginger

2016 CSA Summer September 10 Ginger

2016 CSA    Summer  September 10th Ginger

  • First Harvest Baby Ginger
  • Bell Peppers
  • Eggplant
  • Okra
  • Yellow Squash
  • Gold Bar Zucchini
  • Tomatoes
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Patty Pan Squash
  • Sorrel bunch
  • Beet tops bunch
  • Dill
  • Baby Salad Mix

Woot! It’s the first harvest of the season for our baby ginger! You will find that this ginger is unlike any kind you have bought at a store. It is very aromatic, tender, almost buttery, without the stringyness or toughness that is found in commercial ginger. Keep your ginger wrapped in the refrigerator until ready to use. Yes, we leave the stalks and the leaves on because the whole plant can be utilized in the kitchen. One chef that uses it skewers it into his roast so that as it is cut, little round medalions are embedded throughout. The leaves can be laid out in aluminum foil, glass baking dish or the like and used as a wrap to infuse your meat or veggies. Ginger is a phenomenal digestive aid, anti-microbial, and great tonic for the body. Try cutting some, including rounds of the inner stalk, into stir-fry for a punch of flavor and to enhance wellbeing. We like to brew it into tea and we also grind it with honey, making it easy to add a dollop to hot water for that cup. To your health and your pleasure!

2016csa_summer_sept_10-red-sorrel

2016csa_summer_sept_10-baby-salad-mix clusters

Ginger Harvest

2016 Ginger Harvest

2016 Ginger Harvest

2016CSA_Summer_August 27 on hydro house Mike

2016 CSA Summer August 27th

2016 CSA Summer  August 27th

  • Green Beans
  • Bell Peppers
  • Roasting Peppers
  • Baby Arugula Box
  • Tomatoes
  • Potatoes
  • Okra
  • Eggplant
  • Squash
  • Gourmet Cucumber

2016 CSA Summer August 27: Care and protection are reflected in the flavor and healthy benefits of what some have called “medicinal quality” products.  This mindfulness is also revealed in the distinctive methods used to tend the soil, via compost, some no-till, and an ecologically based focus all the way down to microscopic levels.  Michael picked up some spawn to set spores in his compost, courtesy of Sharondale farm’s Mark Jones.  They have long enjoyed sharing insights about permaculture and biology.  Both also explore the habitat and relationships of microbial action in their climates. The spawn to seed the compost was the “garden ally” stropharia rugoso-annulata which according to Mark’s website “attracts earthworms, captures phosphorus in the soil, and eats coliform bacteria”.  The journey began for this strain at another friend’s farm: Ted’s Last Stand.  They are just one aisle over from us at the Saturday market in Charlottesville.

This week’s tender baby arugula is an all time favorite for many.  The flavor does not have the big spicy bite of adult arugula, but rather a sweet nuttiness.  We hope you enjoy!