Solar energy at the farm creates all the plant growth and now provides some of our electrical needs.

• Arugula 10×10
• Salad Mix 10×10
• Chervil
• Thai Basil Box
• Sage
• Rosemary
• Poultry Herb Mix
• Micro Collards
• Micro Cilantro
• Fresh Eggs

Some of you may have already seen parts of the progress we have been making on building steel frames and installing solar panels here at the farm, but for those who haven’t seen the photos, check out these thus far. Soon I will report back with up-to-date photos to show how Michael has taken it a step further.

This greenhouse here, in the photo above, just behind Michael, now has a rain collection system installed all around it so that the water can be captured for use (after filtering, testing, sanitizing, etc) while also helping to prevent erosion and flooding in the fields that are past this greenhouse and down the hill.

In addition to these improvement towards sustainability and stewardship here at the farm, the solar array is growing bit by bit when the weather is right for welding, we’re not getting stuck in the mud, and time allows. Three rows of ten now rest in an angular nest of steel that will take two more rows before completion.

Much gratitude for all your support over the years! Make it a great week

• Kale 10×10
• Salad Mix 10×10
• Chervil
• Thai Basil Box
• Sage
• Red Sorrel
• Green Sorrel
• Microgreens

Winter greens: Sorrel is a leaf vegetable that is tart and tangy. This green can be eaten raw or cooked. Worldwide it can be found as the main ingredient in sorrel soups, served warm or chilled. There are curry recipes that include sorrel. It is very popular to combine with cream as a sauce. A simple sauce can be made to top off fish, chicken, potatoes, and other veggies. Here is a simple recipe to make use of all of your sorrel and ½ a cup of cream. Heat a skillet and melt butter. Chop your sorrel as large or as fine as you like and add to heat, just wilting the leaves. Pour in your cream and when it approaches a boil, reduce until the cream sauce coats the back of a spoon. Slather this on your cooked meat or veggies. Sorrel makes a yummy pesto which is also great for fish and potatoes. More rare are recipes combining fruits such as strawberries or peaches with sorrel. It adds a punch to smoothies and is a welcome addition to salads. I like to cut it into a salad of apples with nuts. When the peaches come, I want to try a recipe suggestion from whiteonricecouple.com: peach and sorrel salad, which is torn sorrel leaves topped with peaches and dressed with a vinaigrette salad dressing of honey, grapeseed oil, balsamic vinegar and vanilla. Yum!

Our sorrel won in an international cooking competition when the Inn at Little Washington took it to France with them. We hope you will enjoy a little extra zing this week in your meal preparations! Bon appétit!

• Arugula 10×10
• Thai Basil Box
• Poultry Herb Mix
• Parsley
• Beet Greens
• Papaya
• Dozen Eggs
• Micro Cilantro
• Micro Celery

SPECIAL BONUS! This week with the addition of a dozen of our colorful and delicious eggs! Did you know that our chickens eat most of what we grow here, too? Cuttings, culls and damaged produce are a treat for our birds. Your eggs can be used to whip up a frittata (as presented by Ms. Patti Rowe at above right) or a quiche or omelette, or try them scrambled, any of which would pair nicely with the arugula. For a quiche, I use a nine-inch shell, layer in the arugula, chopped bite sized, and grated cheese (try a sharp white cheddar), and beaten eggs (6-9). You can add a dash of milk, salt and pepper, a dollop of pesto or smoked paprika, etc, to your liking. But really, DO try the eggs and the arugula together. It is as simple as scrambling some eggs, then towards the last 2-3 minutes, scissor cut the arugula in bite sized cuts right into the pan with your scramble. Continue turning the eggs over and over the arugula to steam it a bit. When the eggs are done, you might like a grating of cheese as a garnish. If grated right into the pan, it can then be covered with a lid, (fire has been turned off), to melt over the top.    

There is one short cut that I enjoy in the kitchen when time is short: pre-formed pie crusts. They can be purchased already pressed into a pan and trimmed, usually in the frozen foods department. Or try my favorites, pie crust dough that comes rolled up. These are nice as I can shape them however I want in whatever dish or pan. I have used these to make mini papaya pies inside the cups of a cupcake pan, using a goblet to cut the pastry dough into smaller circles. Remaining dough can be kneaded back together and rolled out to cut a few more rounds. 

• Mixed Field Greens
• Cilantro
• Dill
• Parsley
• Thai Basil Box
• Micro Celery
• Micro Collards
• Micro Tatsoi
• Papaya

So many flavorful and nutritious herbs and greens for you this week… often it is topic of conversation of health linked to what we eat and questions about cancer prevention comes up. Wanted to share some of NIH’s National Cancer Institute findings on cruciferous vegetables (of which collards and tatsoi are related). “In addition (to being rich in vitamins, etc), cruciferous vegetables contain a group of substances known as glucosinolates, which are sulfur-containing chemicals. These chemicals are responsible for the pungent aroma and bitter flavor of cruciferous vegetables.

During food preparation, chewing, and digestion, the glucosinolates in cruciferous vegetables are broken down to form biologically active compounds such as indoles, nitriles, thiocyanates, and isothiocyanates (1). Indole-3-carbinol (an indole) and sulforaphane (an isothiocyanate) have been most frequently examined for their anticancer effects.

Indoles and isothiocyanates have been found to inhibit the development of cancer in several organs in rats and mice, including the bladder, breast, colon, liver, lung, and stomach (2, 3). Studies in animals and experiments with cells grown in the laboratory have identified several potential ways in which these compounds may help prevent cancer:

• They help protect cells from DNA damage.
• They help inactivate carcinogens.
• They have antiviral and antibacterial effects.
• They have anti-inflammatory effects.
• They induce cell death (apoptosis).
• They inhibit tumor blood vessel formation (angiogenesis) and tumor cell migration (needed for metastasis).

(end quote) Quite fascinating science! Celery can apparently cause the release of pheromone androstanol and is used as an aphrodisiac. To your health and pleasure always. Enjoy!

• Watercress Box
• Baby Kale Box
• Baby Tatsoi Box
• Chervil
• Poultry Herbs
• Dill
• 2 Acorn Squash
• 1 Butternut
• Orange Sweet Potatoes
• Papaya ripe

Papaya pie! Yeah, a little different, but I wanted to share my results: skinned, deseeded and chopped papaya was tossed with juice from 2 limes, !approximately ¾ cup of brown sugar, 2 tbs of honey, 1 ½ tbs of cornstarch, plus healthy dashes of cinnamon and vanilla. This was poured into a prepared pie shell and baked on a jelly roll pan at 350F for 30 minutes. I thought it looked a little runny at end time so I dusted the top with some more cornstarch, used a spoon to gently fold that into the papaya filling and baked it for at least another 20 minutes. See the results in the photos and please overlook the tell-tale dusting trail…we thought it turned out very yummy! Maybe you will try it?

• Watercress 8×8
• Baby Kale 8×8
• Baby Tatsoi 8×8
• Chervil
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Chives
• 2 Butternut Squash
• 2 Acorn Squash
• Papaya
• Blue/Purple Sweet Potatoes
• Turmeric*
• Ginger*

While building from this week’s CSA ingredients, I find all I need to add to this grocery list is a dozen eggs. The greens and herbs can be used to make a quiche, frittata, or homemade pasta as well as enjoyed raw alongside a meal, in a sandwich or even a wrap. Two to three eggs and the butternut, roasted and pureed, becomes the base for a “pumpkin” pie (the flavor and consistency is more of how we dream of for pumpkin pie, try it! Great substitute). Any greens and herbs can also be frozen, in a paste, or chopped to add to later dishes such as lentils, stews, curries and pot pies.

And of course, these are all packed with flavorful aromatic medicinal healing qualities…just check out the antimicrobial activities of herbs and essential oils…blows my mind sometime how we miss that the kitchen cupboard is also the medicine chest.

To your health and your pleasure, always, leslie   

• Watercress 8×8
• Red Sorrel 8×8
• Green Sorrel 8×8
• Chervil bag
• Mint bag
• Beet Top bunch
• Anaheim/Hatch peppers
• 2 Butternut Squash
• Acorn Squash
• Lemon Verbena bag
• Rose Geranium bag
• Tatsoi 8×8
• Ginger*

For all you Red Sorrel fans, a great addition to a cleansing part of diet: and a chance to have an almost Dr. Seuss colored meal: chop sorrel in Cuisinart and combine either savory or sweet to obtain juice or soup or just a nice dye for a meal, makes a great addition to an apple salad with walnut and raisins …to go with a purple sweet potato pie! Winter Squash- Butternut squash this week! In the same family as pumpkin, is often used in recipes in its place. So, if you have recipes you like that call for pumpkin, try this as a substitute.

  My favorite “pumpkin pie” is made with butternut instead. Butternut squash lends itself delicious for both sweet and savory dishes.  Used as an ingredient in homemade pasta, for stuffing, or cubed to be roasted, in soups, muffins and breads. If a savory soup or roast is on your mind, herbs chopped finely in your dish.  It is easy to cut in half, scoop out the seeds and roast in a bit of water for half an hour… then you can flip it over and dress with pumpkin spices, some fresh grated baby ginger, butter and brown sugar for a decadent treat.  Or stuff with savory greens, herbs, cheese or rice blend and bake the halves for about ½ an hour at 400f.  For a delicious pie, use 1 ½ cups of cooked/pureed squash, 1 cup of sugar/light brown sugar, 3 eggs, ¾ cup evaporated milk or half and half, dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric (insert some fresh grated baby ginger and turmeric, about an inch square), salt, 2 tbsp. flour, 1 tbsp. of melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla combined and poured into a 9” pie crust, and if you like, garnish with pecans (I also like to add crushed pecans into the crust). Bake @350 for 45-50 minutes (or until the top of the pie is set) and allow to cool before cutting.  Yum! Just a quick note on the baby ginger, since you are getting some every week: We wanted to suggest that if it is more than you can use fresh, store it in the freezer and just grate it into your teacup or recipe frozen, it will taste just like it is fresh! To your health and pleasure, always, love Leslie.

Sorrel is a leaf vegetable that is tart and tangy. This green can be eaten raw or cooked. Worldwide it can be found as the main ingredient in sorrel soups, served warm or chilled. There are curry recipes that include sorrel. It is very popular to combine with cream as a sauce. A simple sauce can be made to top off fish, chicken, potatoes, and other veggies. Here is a simple recipe to make use of all of your sorrel and ½ a cup of cream. Heat a skillet and melt butter. Chop your sorrel as large or as fine as you like and add to heat, just wilting the leaves. Pour in your cream and when it approaches a boil, reduce until the cream sauce coats the back of a spoon. Slather this on your cooked meat or veggies. Sorrel makes a yummy pesto which is also great for fish and potatoes. The onions included in your share this week go well as a pan roasted start for soup and you can utilize your garlic by making pesto. Try combining sorrel sauce with a garnish of sliced tomatoes for a nice twist. More rare are recipes combining fruits such as strawberries or peaches with sorrel. It adds a punch to smoothies and is a welcome addition to salads. I like to cut it into a salad of apples with nuts. When the peaches come, I want to try a recipe suggestion from whiteonricecouple.com: peach and sorrel salad, which is torn sorrel leaves topped with peaches and dressed with a vinaigrette salad dressing of honey, grapeseed oil, balsamic vinegar and vanilla. Yum!
Our sorrel won in an international cooking competition when the Inn at Little Washington took it to France with them. We hope you will enjoy a little extra zing this week in your meal preparations! Bon appétit!

• Bag of Arugula
• Bag of Field Mix
• Papaya
• Tomatoes
• Second Tomatoes
• Chervil
• Rose Geranium
• Potatoes
• Red Rib Sorrel
• Green Sorrel

For a special treat, use your rose geranium to infuse tea, syrup, creamy goodies or dressings..or try Rosy Outlook Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F  degrees.Grease a glass 9″x9″ baking pan and press a sprinkle of chopped geranium, and a few decorative leaves onto the bottom of the greased pan. In medium bowl, mix 1 1/3 cups flour, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. In another bowl, combine 2/3 cup milk, 1/3 cup softened butter, two room temperature eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, and the rest of the shredded rose geranium leaves. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until well blended. Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend on medium for about one minute. Pour mixed batter gently into greased pan, on top of leaves and bits. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 10-15 minutes and then invert cake onto a plate. Cool completely before cutting. A doily, leaf or wide loop lace can be used as a stencil for decorating with powdered sugar, see photo at above right, as offered to my guests at the 1804 Inn at Barboursville back in the day. Hope you are inspired! Have a lovely week.

• Bag of Arugula
• Papaya
• Epazote
• Thai Basil
• Chervil
• Tomatoes
• Gourmet Cucumber
• Mix of Peppers Hot! & Mild
• Chard
• Mustard Greens
• Salad Mix
• Sage

Exotic choices for your greens this week..and something new to explore everyday. Surprise! Don’t throw those ribs away! No im not talking about pork or beef but sweet Red Mustard. These often discarded parts are sweet right now and serve as a luscious replacement for celery stalks. Try it! you just might like it Of course the leaf is sweetly spiced and serves both the health and palate of the practitioner. I appreciate the ability of red mustard to invigorate me even in the dead of winter. Heats you up as the days chill down, mustard is a wonderful medicine. To save your greens, they can be chopped into zip bags and stored in the freezer to quickly braise in a seasoned pan later. The frozen greens can also be pureed into pestos, soups or sauces. !Note that the small peppers are very hot, and the longer classic chili’s are mild. Use gloves when handling the hot peppers and apply sparingly. And surpirse! There is a cucumber in your share this week! Keep covered in the fridge to extend freshness…Enjoy!