Week of September 10, 2024

This week when you slice into one of your tomatoes, take a moment to observe one of the many seeds that float – almost suspended – in the vibrant flesh of the fruit. The size of the seed is what always amazes me – especially in this late summer

After hours of moving and supporting these shimmering green arms, I’ve come to realize, they are the ones directing me. Each plant is on its own journey of growth therefore its needs are slightly different. Some varieties reach high while others have already produced fruit and want to stay lower.

Their growth is not dependent on my efforts – they find a way to exist and thrive. All from that tiny seed. We’ll continue to twine these beautiful, generous, strong plants so that I and you can continue to cherish their bounty for weeks to come. And as I do this, it’s with a sense of awe at the resilience and adaptability of these beings I am so fortunate to work alongside. Thank you, tomatoes! 

We grow about a dozen varieties of tomatoes, here’s a closer look at some in your basket:

Early Girl (red) and Chef’s Choice (orange) are hybrid tomatoes meaning they are bred from two “parent” varieties. They tend to a bit hardier than heirlooms. These plants produce fruit more uniform in size and shape and can last longer off the stem. 

Evergreen is one of the heirloom varieties that is really taking off. These green and deep yellow beefsteak tomatoes are great sliced on a sandwich or burger. Heirloom seeds have identical genetics to their fruit so if you really like any of ours, you can save the seed to grow your own next season!

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Crop Descriptions:

• Lettuce: It’s back! With some pest damage but still delicious
• Onions: When does an onion not come in handy?
• Apples: More of the mystery variety to snack on
• Poblanos Peppers: These mild peppers can still hold a bit of kick with a burst of flavor, try them stuffed or grilled alongside other veggies
• Basil: The sweetest of summer aromas
• Corn: My favorite way to eat these sweet ears is fresh off the cob, try making the corn and tomato salad in the recipe section for a refreshing side dish
• Strawberries: I love slicing these up and adding to a simple salad 
• Tomatoes: Slice em up on white bread with mayo, can’t go wrong
• Cukes: Enjoy these summery treats while they last!
• Jalapenos (in a basket): Add these to a pico de gallo or corn salsa for some extra spice

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Corn Salad With
Tomatoes, Basil, and Cilantro (adapted from NYT Cooking)

4 ears of corn
1-2 tomatoes, diced in large chunks
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
½  jalapeno, sliced with or without seeds (optional)
1 bunch of basil, chopped
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped

1.) Cut the kernels off the corn and put in a large bowl with tomatoes.

2.) Add the ACV over the corn and tomatoes. Add the olive oil and then salt to taste. Add the jalapeno if you want to add. 

3.) Mix well then fold in basil and cilantro. Let sit in an airtight container for up to 1 day and enjoy!

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Feature Flower

Zinnia ‘Queeny Lime Orange’

Zinnia elegans

Zinnias are the long haul truckers of the flower world. They just keep on going week after week, all season long. The Queens Lime series is the belle of this particular ball. Their lime green undertones give all the flowers in this series an ethereal look that’s really lovely, and goes with just about everything. I’m grateful to breeders for recently coming up with this series and infusing the tried and true zinnias with some pizazz.

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Week of August 20, 2024

August is wrapping up and September approaches with cooler weathers, Halloween costumes in Goodwill, and corn.

I think there is something so special about corn. It is a quintessential American crop, being a staple of many cultures’ diets stretching back thousands of years. Every time I see it, either 6 inches or 6 feet, I have to remind myself that it’s a grass, a family that stretches from barley to bamboo. Corn is a crop that bridges summer and fall, so expect to see it for weeks to come.

The other new additions to the basket this week are grapes and pluots. We grow several varieties of grapes on the farm, which will make their debuts as we head into late summer. Pluots are a cross between a plum and an apricot, and sport the best qualities of each–the lingering sweetness of an apricot, and the journey of tart skin to sweet flesh to tart core of a plum.

Late August is one of my favorite times of year. The heat of summer stretches pleasantly into the evening, encouraging you to sit outside as the sun goes down with a cool drink and a song to hum. As the light of day blends into the darkness of night, you can take a moment to appreciate the moments of quiet stillness that the end of a day brings, a period of time to catch up with yourself and relax, knowing that the next day will come with light, and heat, good food, better company, and the promise of life.

– Dov / דוב

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Crop Descriptions

• Sweet Corn: We’ve got it coming out the ears.
• Cucumber: Crunch.
• Grapes: Seedless, pop them in your mouth or juice them.
• Parsley: See recipe.
• Peaches: Our mid-season Elbertas.
• Pluots: Crunchy and sweet!
• Shallot: Great for flavoring.
• Shishito: Let me go on, like I blister in the sun.
• Summer Squash: Don’t be a meanie, eat a zucchini.

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Corn on the Cobb
(with Parsley Butter)

Ingredients:

• Corn
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup parsley
• 1 garlic clove
• Salt

Instructions:

Finely mince 1 cup of parsley and a clove of garlic, then whip it with a stick of butter until they’re well integrated. Add salt to taste.

Bring a pot of water to boil with some salt and add the corn (with the husk still on) to cook for 8 minutes. Remove it from the water, let it cool, cut off the bottom to slide off the husk, slather the butter on, and enjoy.

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Feature Flower

Dahlia  

‘Blackberry Jam’

Dahlia pinnata

This lovely lady is a personal favorite. There seem to be a million types of dahlia in just about every conceivable color, black famously being the exception. This purple bloom with red flecks looks regal and perhaps even of a distinguished pedigree but in truth, Jason saw her at Home Depot in the sale pile and scooped her up. I’m so glad he did! She’s everything you could want in a cut flower dahlia; lovely color, strong stem, good vase life. Just goes to show, from humble beginnings can come great things.

-Lanette Anderson

Week of July 30, 2024

This beautiful live oak tree at the end of the five-acre field was a scrawny young upstart at the base of the fence line ten years ago when I cut it down. Since then I have pruned it seriously. I have so much admiration and respect for trees. Last season I decided to let a collection of the wild oak trees that have been growing persistently in various parts of the farm field to grow unimpeded. I wrote about this in a newsletter last year, that I was going to stop “weeding them out” of our fields by cutting them down or aggressively pruning them. I took a closer look at these trees last week and they are all doing really well. I know that this might be a difficult idea for people who don’t regularly interact with a population of trees, but it is clearer to me now more than ever that cutting trees, pruning away as much as half of a tree’s limbs, is beneficial to their overall health.  

This idea makes me reflect on waves of environmental movement. Some of the first iterations of environmental thought saw the efforts of people in almost any circumstance as destructive to natural processes. The rationale was that there was balance and purity in nature and people were viewed as corruptive of this balance, especially through extractive and polluting activities. Nevermind the idea that people are animals who evolved in various environments on this planet, we were behaving with a careless disregard like we didn’t belong here. 

I remember being drawn towards organic farming as a young environmentalist because I’m a person with a lot of energy and a desire to take direct action to make positive change. Having studied environmental ideology, some part of me rejected the self-loathing notion that people always screw up nature. To be fair, most of the time and in many different ways we do. But there are all these examples of indigenous stewardship and land management practices that maintain and enhance ecosystems. Take fire for example. Fire can seem unequivocally destructive and was suppressed as a land management policy in the American West for over a hundred years. It has taken decades of research, observation of controlled burns, soil analysis, and a host of other metrics to begin to sway the cultural concept that fire is always destructive. Despite regular burns being a common means of indigenous land management and improvement, non-native Americans have only recently begun to see the benefits of fire on our ecosystems. 

I believe that the same idea is true with selective pruning of peri-urban and more heavily forested areas. I have been paying close attention to pruning fruit trees and pruning back the growth of wild trees at our field borders for almost 20 years now. I can confidently report that the surest way to promote the healthy growth of young trees, sick trees, and stressed trees is through pruning that might counterintuitively seem aggressive or detrimental. Conversely, sometimes the worst thing you can do for a diseased tree, a stressed tree, or a young tree is to leave it alone and untouched.

-Jason

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Crop Descriptions

Strawberries- Sweet as ever. The heat has slowed down their production lately, but we expect them to rebound.

Sungold Tomatoes- The first harvest of these sweet treats. Many more to come I’d expect. We plan to open up the CSA Sungold u-pick soon.

Lettuce- The cooler temps should yield more delicate leaves and make for tastier salads.

Yukon Gold Potatoes- Such a great potato! I love to toss them in olive oil and salt and then roast them in the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes. Potato perfection.

Cucumbers- Nothing is as crisp and refreshing as a cool cucumber.

Onions- Now that they’re cured the Walla Wallas have a sharper more flavorful taste.

Basil- Our basil plants have finally rounded a corner and are putting on good growth. We expect to be able to give more in the coming weeks for your salads and sandwiches.

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Pasta Salad w/ Carmelized Onions, Sungolds & Basil

Ingredients:
1 pound of pasta fusilli or penne
1 cup of coarsely chopped onion
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of sungolds, quartered
30 leaves of basil
4 oz of fresh mozzarella, cubed

Recipe:
In a large saucepan boil water for cooking the pasta. Don’t forget to generously salt the water. Chop the onions coarsely. Begin frying them over medium high heat in a large skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. After 10 minutes begin adding 1/4 cup of water to the pan and stirring it in. I find that this cools the pan slightly and allows the caramelized juices of the onions to be recaptured. Sometimes I will add water 5-6 times in the process of caramelizing onions to ensure they are fully tender and golden brown. This takes at a minimum 20 minutes. Turn off onion heat. Fortunately by this time the pasta should be tender also. Remove it from the water, strain and run or soak the colander in cold water. Prepare the other vegetables and cheese. Combine all ingredients in a medium serving bowl with an additional tablespoon of olive oil, teaspoon of vinegar and salt to taste.

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Feature Flower

Snapdragon

Antirrhinum majus

‘Potomac Royal’

This variety truly is regal, the rich burgundy color brings to mind a fine french red wine, or maybe a queen’s velvety robe. It’s versatile too, no delicate aristocratic tendencies for this bloom. We can grow them through the winter and also seed them in spring for a summer harvest, like this patch.

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Week of July 23, 2024

The Olympics kick off this week and I am excited. I love sports in general, but there is a mystique around the Olympics that makes them unique. There’s the centuries old tradition of the games for starters, the diversity of sports represented (breakdancing for the first time this year!) and the fact that it’s composed of so many athletes competing at the top of their game. I’ve been enjoying imagining all of them traveling to Paris, a sports pilgrimage of sorts. I can just picture Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles stuffed into an airplane seat, their muscled arms wedged into the small space, even more uncomfortable for them than us mere mortals. The olympic medals, like beacons or better yet magnets, drawing all of the athletes to them in Paris.

You might be asking yourself, ‘What does this have to do with the farm?’ Fair question. Well for one thing, Jason and I have often reflected on how valuable an athletic perspective and propensity can be in farming. It’s an incredibly physical job, and like sports it requires fitness, grit and endurance, especially on these long, hot summer days. We’ve even talked about the idea of a ‘farm olympics’ consisting of some of the more competition friendly activities we need to do. For example, a distance watermelon toss or rolling irrigation hoses for time, etc. I can picture the awards ceremony now, a bountiful bunch of parsley presented to the victor. 

Perhaps more deeply, the commitment of athletes at the olympic level has got me thinking about pursuits of quality in which there are no shortcuts. Whether it’s training to compete at an elite level, writing a memorable novel or building soil; it takes what it takes and the more you invest in time, attention and understanding, the better the outcome. These pursuits can not be rushed without compromising their quality. And as the Olympic motto suggests, there is always room for improvement and there’s a unifying gravitation around striving for excellence in any field. 

Lastly, I read that the Parisian government used the upcoming Olympics as motivation to clean the Seine river so that the long distance swimming events could be held there. It’s a remarkable goal considering that overflow from storm drains has made the river unsafe for swimming for over 100 years. I so admire their efforts. While there is still some uncertainty about whether the river will truly be clean enough for the open water swimming events, hosting the games inspired the French government to shoot for a very loft goal and isn’t that what the Olympics is all about?

-Lanette

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Crop Description

Strawberries – See the recipe below, or simply enjoy.

Shiro Plums – The standard bearer for golden plums, a straight ahead sweet flavor that’s great fresh. I love to slice mine in a salad and even use one or two in the dressing. 

Peaches – These are ‘Frost’ variety peaches, so wonderfully sweet and velvety fleshed. If you want a truly transcendent experience, try grilling them. 

Tomatillos – Try the Chimichurri recipe below for a great versatile sauce or our tried and true salsa verde recipe is sure to please. You can find it in the little CSA cookbook we put together for last year’s 30th anniversary. 

Summer Squash – Grilling is the name of the game when it’s hot and you want to keep your house cool. I like to slice squash and toss it with olive oil and salt in a bowl to make sure it’s well coated before putting it on the grill. 

Parsley – Such an underappreciated fresh herb in my opinion. It adds a freshness to pasta salads and is fantastic minced in ricotta with some salt and pepper for a refreshing toast spread. 

Garlic – It’s a good year for garlic, you can expect many more heads to come. 

Beets – So sweet and earthy. I like to boil then, slip the skins off and then coarsely chop for a salad with mint, and toasted pecans. A light dressing of olive oil, garlic and salt is all you need, or if you feel like jazzing it up, try adding some citrus zest.

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(2 Recipes this week!)

Tomatillo Chimichurri

Chimichurri is a Argentinian sauce typically used on red meat, but can also pair nicely with grilled veggies.

Ingredients:
4 large (6 medium) tomatillos roasted
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup loosely packed parsley
2/3 cup cilantro
6 medium garlic cloves
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Recipe:
Toss tomatillos in a little olive oil and salt. Roast in the over for 15-20 minutes at 400. Pulse tomatillos, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, oregano and red pepper flakes in food processor or blender until coarsely chopped, about ten 1-second pulses. Add vinegar and pulse briefly to combine. Transfer mixture to medium bowl and slowly whisk in oil until incorporated and mixture is emulsified. Cover and let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour (if preparing sauce in advance, refrigerate and bring to room temperature before using). Pairs beautifully with red meat or grilled summer vegetables. 

Strawberry Muffins

I hesitate to give a strawberry focused recipe since you can hardly improve on just eating them straight out of the pint, but I made these the other morning and they were a real treat. I hope you enjoy them too!

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour, plus 2 teaspoons (set aside) more for tossing with strawberries
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1½ tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
½ cup milk
2¼ cups diced strawberries

Recipe:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease the tin. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract and almond extract. (The batter may look a little grainy — that’s okay).

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three separate additions, alternating with the milk and ending with the flour.

Toss the strawberries with 2 teaspoons of flour (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom). Set ½ cup of the berries aside. Add the remaining berries to the batter and fold with a spatula until evenly distributed. Do not overmix.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin, they will be very full. Scatter the reserved berries evenly over the muffins.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden and a cake tester comes out clean. Run a sharp knife around the top edge of each muffin to free it from the pan if necessary (the edges can stick), then let the muffins cool in the pan for about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely.

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Featured Flower

Gladiola

Gladiolus communis 

A tall torch of a flower, perfect for the opening week of the Olympic games. These beauties are sturdy and bright with an almost tropical looking bloom. This is our second season growing them and I think there will be many more to come. 

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Week of July 16, 2024

Hot! Hot! Hot! I feel like the wicked witch of the west, melting into a puddle on the floor. Summer is here, and we are in it.

So many of our crops on the farm love the heat, and it’s incredible to see the rate at which these plants grow, their big leaves soaking up the sun. Bright red strawberries crowd each other under vibrant green leaves, tomatoes ripen on vines with their iridescent fuzz, and corn stalks push up, up, up, towards the sun.

This week, we welcome to our shares basil, a classic herb, as well as figs and plums, two vastly different fruits. I’m most familiar with figs in their dried form, full of sugar and seeds, eaten with crackers and cheese. Plums, on the other hand, have been a constant companion in every place I’ve lived–as a tree I climbed as a child to reach the roof of my house, or a nuisance whose fruits I swept off the porch in droves as a teen. Either way, they are a perfect summer fruit: sweet, tart, juicy, and plentiful.

– Dov / דוב

Excerpt from Let July be July by Morgan Harper Nichols

Let July be July.
Let August be August.
And let yourself

just be
even in
the uncertainty.
You don’t have to fix
everything.
You don’t have solve
everything.
And you can still
find peace
and grow
in the wild
of changing things.

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Crop Descriptions

Basil: Fragrant, a little goes a long way.

Cucumbers: Tasty and hydrating. 

Green ‘Desert King’ Figs: An amazing fruit with its flower on the inside.

Muir Lettuce: Crisp, just the thing you want for a refreshing summer salad. 

Onion: Add a bite to any dish. 

Santa Rosa Plums: Tart skin, sweet flesh.

Yukon Gold Potatoes: Nuggets of gold. These are new potatoes so the skins will be delicate.

Strawberries: You know it, you love it.

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Mediterranean Salad

Ingredients:
1 large Cucumber
2 cups Radish
3 cups Tomatoes
⅓ Onion
½ cup Kalamata Olives
¾ cup Parsley
¼ cup Feta

Dressing Ingredients:
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice/Vinegar

Recipe:
So simple and delicious, I grew up eating this along with other middle eastern foods with my extended family.

Peel the cucumber, quarter, and slice it. If you can get radishes this late in the season, they add a wonderful bite. Slice those into thin circles. Dice the tomatoes. Slice the onion. Olives can either be whole or sliced, depending on your preference. Mince the parsley. Crumble feta on top.

Throw it in a bowl together with some salt, pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and/or vinegar, mix it up, and enjoy.

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Featured Flower

Ammi ‘Purple Kisses’

Daucus carota

Amie or Ami in French means friend, it’s a homophone for this friendly flower. A close relative of the carrot, this umbel churns out blooms for weeks. So long as you don’t harvest them in the heat, they’ll last a good long time in a vase. I love their variations of color from white, to pale pink to deep purple, they’re all lovely.

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Week of July 9, 2024

The farm is creepy crawling with life after the heat wave last week! A chorus of high-pitched cicadas and the cawing of crows is constant in the background of work. Just as the summer squash has started to become more and more bountiful, so have the populations of insects and reptiles. I always take a moment to admire them when I come upon one!

In the early mornings harvesting flowers for the CSA, we have, on several occasions, awoken a sleeping bee from the warm cocoon of a flower bud. And as you know, we wouldn’t have beautiful flowers for our bouquets without the abundance of those bumblebees! Just yesterday, as we were planting a patch of Crimson Sweet watermelon, Lanette had to duck out of the way as a swarm of bees traveled towards a nearby oak tree on the outskirts of the five acre field.

Dragonflies have been showing up in larger numbers recently, a palette of reds and blues, teals and browns. Despite their beauty, these insects are not just for show- they’re predators- with a hunting success rate of 97%, even higher than some of the top predators in the animal kingdom like lions, which have a mere 30% success rate. They’re also indicators of a healthy ecosystem because they are sensitive to water quality!

Tree frogs eat slugs, king snakes go after rodents, millipedes are decomposers, returning nutrients back to the soil. The diversity of creatures across the farm is essential to the balance of life and creation of nutrient-dense and delicious food.

-Danielle

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In The Basket 

Lettuce– Nice and crisp for your salad.

Strawberries– What a privilege to deal with the abundance of these sweet sweet berries! Make sure to freeze some for later in the year.

Cucumbers– Enjoy fresh in a greek salad or make a quick fridge pickle.

Summer Squash– Steam and blend with a bit of that hot water, butter, lots of salt, and lots of basil for a deliciously fresh soup. An easy first course!

Tomatillos– Finally time to start making your summer salsas.

Shallots– Feature the delicate flavor in a simple cream sauce or risotto.

Broccoli– Blanche and add to salads to soak up lots of yummy vinaigrette.

Callaloo– See this week’s recipe!

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Pancetta Treat

Ingredients

1 Bunch Callaloo

½ Shallot

2 oz. Pancetta (or bacon)

Recipie

Fry up your pancetta and add minced shallot to the pan with the grease. Cook until translucent then add in coarsely chopped greens and stir until wilted and tender. Serve as a side or even add into cold pasta salad with a vinaigrette.

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Featured Flower

Zinnia

Zinnia elegans

I love the breadth of cheerful colors and lusciousness of these flowers. I grow them in my garden at home because they’re not only beautiful, but reliable and hearty too. They thrive and continue to produce in full hot sun through late summer and last well in a vase. And they attract lots of our insect friends!

–Danielle

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Week of July 2, 2024

When I tell people that my favorite vegetable is cabbage, I’m often met with a perplexed stare. The humble cabbage doesn’t have the flash of a red tomato or the storybook charm of a carrot bunch but it’s got layers and layers of versatility and generosity.

It starts at the planting: the spindly leaves are tucked into the Earth and as their cousins of kale and collards and broccoli get taller, the cabbages stay close to the ground, quietly building. They almost seem shy as they bulk up under a blanket of leaves and as we harvest, we peel these outer protective layers away to unveil the most pristine head of cabbage.

The harvest itself feels generous, especially in the spring. Cabbages feel like the first heavy crop and because we can only fit so many into a crate, we bring in crate after crate.

Just like bringing it in from the field, when I’m preparing it, I never realize how much cabbage there is until I cut into it. It’s a vegetable to be shared with others or shared over multiple meals. I think of slaws brought to summer potlucks or roasted with potatoes and sausage on dark winter nights. I remember my first farm job having a community kraut-making day, chopping and massaging handfuls of cabbage with new friends then filling jars that each of us would take to our homes.

I’m grateful for cabbage. In a way, I strive to be like cabbage: grounded, giving, adaptable, and reliable. I hope you enjoy your baskets this week and have a good holiday week.

-Maddie

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In The Basket 

Lettuce – A crispy leaf that works well in lettuce wraps.

Potatoes – Did someone say potato salad?

Onions – Pairs beautifully with a juicy burger.

Cabbage – What more can I write?

Strawberries – Freeze some and pop them into your water or lemonade!

Lavender – A delicate flavor also delicious in some summer lemonade, or dry and use in baking.

Purslane – I highly recommend chopping some for your potato salad, it adds a mild citrus taste and lots of omega-3 fatty acids.

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Sesame Ginger Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:

1 cabbage, quartered and sliced thin

⅓ cup peanuts or cashews, crushed

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

¼ cup rice vinegar

1 tbsp maple syrup or honey

2 tsp soy sauce or tamari

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

Recipie:

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix together dressing ingredients. I like to put in a jar and shake.

Put sliced cabbage and cilantro and dressing in a bowl and gently combine. Top with peanuts and eat right away for a firmer slaw OR keep in fridge for a few hours for a less crunchy but still delicious slaw.

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Featured Flower 

Statice

Limonium sinuatum

Like Maddie’s humble cabbage, statice is an underappreciated flower. It is hardy as all get out, comes in a rainbow of colors and lasts for not weeks but months. If you hang it upside down to dry it can last for years! These bluish shades are among my favorites, especially the periwinkle.

–Lanette

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Week of June 25, 2024

Lately, I have been running several times a week down Moody Road early in the morning. I like to stop and stretch at a midpoint in the run. Last week I was pushing up against the big steel bridge that goes over Adobe Creek stretching my calves, and as I went to resume running I noticed that my hands were covered in dirt. On closer examination, they were covered with the dirty residue of a wonderful array of lichen that were growing all over the vertical and horizontal surfaces of this large tube steel bridge frame. As a soil aficionado, I carefully smelled the dirt and noted how similarly it smelled to some of our late-stage compost. For the rest of my run I just kept thinking about how much respect I have for these lichens!

Consider how hearty an organism you have to be to set up a home on the vertical surface of a cold, frequently bone-dry piece of thick steel. Given the color variations in the lichens, I imagine that there are multiple types growing there. I’m so inspired by the initiative taken to thrive in such a barren and hostile place and to be the primary producer of what smelled to me like rich soil. In both the books, ‘Entangled Life’ and ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ there is special reference made to the well-supported hypothesis that lichens were earth’s first real soil builders. The theory is that they have slowly worked over millions and millions of years creating the basis for the soil web of life that supports the plants that in turn support the rest of us.

What still makes my brain buzz is the idea that if we notice and pay attention to these things, they are still happening all around us. It’s not just some primordial earth kind of thing. I love the bumper sticker “Compost Happens“. It’s pretty old school at this point and I don’t much appreciate the obvious comparison to “sh*t happens“, but the underlying premise of compost happening without intervention, I find deeply reassuring. The idea that we could gather a random mixture of organic materials and it will be populated by microorganisms that expertly break those materials down into a substance that is nutritious to plants, is nothing short of magical. The realization that lichen can populate a steel bridge and initiate the process of forming soil on a vertical surface feels close to a religious experience for me.

The second law of thermodynamics is that entropy or disorder always increases with time. It seems to me that physics fails to pay enough attention to biology as a physical force. I think physicists would contend that the ordered systems created by the lichens growing eventually succumb to their own death and decomposition. But is that really, on balance, a tendency towards disorder when the contributions of your life’s metabolism as a lichen have created soil that provides a foundation for countless other organisms?

In this framework, thermodynamics seems pessimistic or inattentive to the deep and pervasive forces that drive evolutionary diversity. Living systems grow more complex over time and they carry the processes that create diverse ecosystems. Is that disorder? What about the ancient strategy of fallowing fields? If you have encountered fertility issues or disease pressures let the soil rest. The corrective action of this inaction is evidence of capable regeneration by microorganisms. Soil building is hope manifested. All healthy and vibrant land ecosystems are founded upon healthy soils. To take it from Lanette’s writing from last week, healthy soil is a kind of wealth. Or put another way, Hallelujah! Compost happens!

-Jason

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In The Basket

Summer squash: Once it comes on in force we like to give you guys an ample amount. We will switch to every other week starting next week. Grill, saute, roast, steam, they are very versatile.

Fennel Bulb: Great roasted, shredded into salads and slaws, or slow cooked into sauces.

Garlic: Fully matured now but the cloves are very mild and tender. Salad dressings!

Strawberries: They rock!

Blackberries: I think this may be it for them but an excellent season for these dark jewels.

Lacinato Kale: Try roasting the kale. Chips are overrated but roasting the kale in a light olive oil based garlic sauce makes a delicious side dish.

Mint: More for your salad dressings, teas, yogurt sauces and cocktails.

Red Beets: Our first planting of beets, these delicious tender rubies are best enjoyed boiled for 25 minutes and then the skins rub off easily. Slice into salads or on sandwiches.

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Red Beet Salad w/ Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

One bunch of red beets

4-5 fresh strawberries topped

1/4 cup olive oil

3 T balsamic vinegar

1 t salt

2 cloves of fresh garlic coarsely minced

1/2 t freshly ground black pepper

4 oz feta cheese crumbled

Instructions:

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and add whole beets. Boil for 25 minutes or until a thin knife slips easily through them. Remove from heat and fill the pot with cold water to chill down the beets. At this point the skins can be easily rubbed off and composted. Prepare the vinaigrette by pureeing berries, oil, vinegar, salt, garlic and pepper in a blender or using an immersion blender until smooth. Slice beets into thin crescents and add to a medium mixing bowl. Combine dressing and thoroughly toss to fully coat the beets. Sprinkle feta on top and serve. If you still have cabbage and carrots from last week, this dressing also pairs wonderfully with slaw!

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Featured Flower

Rudbeckia aka Black Eyed Susan

‘Indian Summer’ variety

Rudbeckia hirta

A happy-go-lucky flower if I’ve ever known one. These sunny blooms have a sweet hershey kiss of a center, golden petals and nice long, straight stems. I love their hardiness too. You can seed them in Winter and they will hold as small plants until you’re ready to plant them, even if that means waiting for months! Most plants get testy about such hold times and start to get wonky; blooming on short stems or becoming root bound in their pots. Not sunny Susan, she’ll wait till you’re ready to give her her moment in the sun.

– Lanette

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Week of June 18, 2024

This year for the first time we have an abundance of cherries and blackberries. This week will be the second in a row with enough of the sweet, ruby-red treasures to give half pints to the CSA and the first with blackberries. Not to mention the strawberries! Our cherry bounty has been many years in the making. Seasons of planting and pruning, tending trees and protecting fruit, have finally yielded a bountiful crop. A big thank you here to Dave Roos and Bill Porter for their help in constructing our cherry net structure, without which this would be solely a bird’s bounty to enjoy. That’s how it goes with tree fruit, it’s a long-term investment with a lot upfront for (hopefully) an eventual payout. On the topic of long term culinary investments, I recently learned that there is a bank in Italy that accepts wheels of parmesan cheese as collateral. They’ve constructed a special vault to store and age the valuable asset. I love this!

I think we’ve all gotten a little giddy from our fruit largess. I’ve noticed multiple times that members of the farm team have referred to feeling wealthy with such an abundance. I know what they mean. Though the cherries and berries are not really for the five of us, and they are definitely not going to last, to have so many feels like a kind of wealth. Which has got me thinking, what counts as wealth? How do we measure it? Wealth is so commonly associated with money that the two words seem almost synonymous. But surely the concept is more expansive than that. Apart from this brief but wonderful opulence of cherries and berries, what other types of wealth do I have? Where else do I feel wealthy? It’s a pleasant thought experiment, I encourage you to try. I personally feel wealthy at the library and in my favorite bookstores, where the plentitude of stories tower in shelves above me. I feel wealthy around dogs I love, who look at me with full eyes, as though I possess everything they could possibly want. I asked Jason this question and he shared that he feels wealthy spreading our finished compost on the spring fields, filled with the knowledge of the bounty to come and the satisfaction of feeding the soil. It seems clear to me that we needn’t possess a thing to be wealthy in it and it needn’t be lasting, we only have to recognize and savor the fullness of the moment.

-Lanette

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Crop Descriptions

Cherries – Eat, savor, repeat

Strawberries – Basically the same instructions as the cherries, or alternatively, slice them and add them to your summer salad.

Blackberries – Technically these are olallieberries, a cross between blackberries and raspberries. Pureed with garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt they make an incredible salad dressing.

Potatoes – Spring potatoes taste to me as if they’ve got butter baked inside. Understandably, roasting them with butter and salt is a natural fit.

Leeks – The queen of Alliums, caramelized leeks add a depth and sweetness to just about any dish.

Summer Squash – With the summer heat upon us, I highly recommend slicing these, tossing them in olive oil and salt and roasting on the grill. They pair beautifully with cheddar cheese.

Cabbage – See the saute recipe below.

Lettuce – A fresh salad is just the thing on a warm afternoon.

Carrots – The last of our carrots for a while. I recommend them either graded into a slaw or cut up and roasted in the oven to enhance their sweetness

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Sauteed Cabbage w/

Fennel and Garlic

Ingredients:

1 small/medium head of cabbage (1 1/4 lbs)

3 TBSP olive oil

1 fennel bulb and fronds minced

2 garlic cloves

salt

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp lemon juice

2 TBSP grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Place cabbage in large bowl and cover with cold water; let stand for 3 minutes. Soaking the cabbage can help reduce some of the enzymes that produce sulfurous flavors. Drain cabbage well and set aside. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add fennel bulb and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer fennel mixture to small bowl.

Return now-empty skillet to medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon oil, and heat until shimmering. Add cabbage and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, without stirring, until cabbage is wilted and lightly browned on bottom, about 3 minutes.

Stir and continue to cook, uncovered, until cabbage is crisp-tender and lightly browned in places, about 4 minutes longer, stirring once halfway through cooking. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in fennel mixture, reserved fennel fronds, and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste, transfer to serving bowl, drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and sprinkle with Parmesan. Enjoy!

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Featured Flower

Godetia

Clarkia amoena

I think Godetia looks positively tropical, and with the warm weather these days it seems fitting. These colorful blooms are delicate and ephemeral, only growing this time of year, but still a favorite.

– Lanette

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Week of June 11, 2024

Hey everyone,

My name is Dov Rossi-Young, and I’m the last member of our five-person agriculture team. This is my first year farming and I’ve never been so happy to be covered in dirt.

Summer is fast approaching, and as such we’re welcoming more summer crops into our share basket. This week’s new additions are Cauliflower and Summer Squash, two vegetables that can be enjoyed in a dozen ways; and Fennel, a crunchy green with a flavor similar to anise and licorice.

Things are heating up around the farm, plants are moving out of the greenhouse and our fields are getting fuller. There is something very satisfying about sitting at the edge of a field and seeing all the growing things, knowing that you helped to cultivate them. With the long hours of sunlight, fruits on the trees are starting to ripen, and the darkening olallieberries are hard not to pluck from the bush and eat, still slightly tart. The first signs of tomatoes–little yellow flowers–populate the beds, and everything seems to glow under the golden rays of sun that beat down, illuminating the rows of crops soaking in the heat. It is nice to feel like a nurturing hand.

– Dov / דוב

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Crop Descriptions

Broccoli– Heads up!

Cauliflower– Like Broccoli after Bunnicula got to it.

Cherries– Sweet as can be, this summer fruit is joining the party in clusters.

Fennel– I love fennel in salads or just chewing on the fuzzy greens. Tastes like licorice!

Magenta Lettuce– Chop with fennel and strawberries for a sweet salad.

Oregano– For your seasoning purposes.

Spring Onions– Great sliced in sandwiches or sautéed in stir-fries.

Strawberries- Delicious right out of the basket.

Summer Squash- Roasted, sautéed, or grilled, these squash have fragile skin and crunchy flesh.

Turnips– Crisp and crunchy, good for salads or on their own.

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Flavorful Squash Pasta à la Dov

I gotta be honest, my method of cooking involves throwing whatever I have on hand together until it tastes good. I usually use mushrooms to bulk up my pasta sauce, but I decided to try it out with our summer squash, and found the results quite tasty.

Ingredients:

• Your pasta of choice (I used Fusilli)
• Marinara Sauce
• Olive Oil
• 1-2 Summer Squash
• ¼ Onion Bulb
• Kalamata Olives
• 3-5 Pepperoncini (whole)
• Oregano

Instructions:

Start by bringing a pot of water to boil for the pasta. I always recommend adding olive oil and salt to the water for flavor. As to the amount, my Aunt says: “Salt the sea.”

While the water is boiling, pour a generous amount of olive oil into a good sized frying pan and bring to medium heat. Quarter and slice your summer squash, dice your onion, and throw them into the pan. Allow them to brown slightly, then toss in a handful of kalamata olives. Leave that on the stove a little while longer then pour in the marinara sauce, a few pepperoncini (I like to add a bit of the pepperoncini brine), and minced oregano. Cover with a lid and simmer, allowing it to burn off some of the excess liquid.

Strain the pasta, add the sauce, and enjoy!

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Featured Flower

Starflower Scabiosa

Scabiosa stellata

What a weird and wonderful world we live in that includes this oddball. Its satisfying symmetry reminds me of childhood wiffle balls and Disney’s Epcot Center. Technically the part that we’re harvesting has aged beyond flower into the realm of seedhead, but pish posh, for the purposes of this segment we’ll call it a flower and call it a day.

– Lanette

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Week of June 4, 2024

My name is Danielle Ness, and I started as one of the two seasonal farm assistants in March. I grew up in Redwood City and so was fortunate enough to come to Hidden Villa on school trips as a kid. I graduated from Cal Poly last December with a focus in environmental studies and it’s my goal to someday start a small-scale farm of my own. For these reasons, I am excited to start my hands-on farming experience with three very passionate mentors- Jason, Lanette, and Maddie. I look forward to meeting you all as the season progresses!

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In the Basket…

Red Norland Potatoes – Since these are fresh from the field and not cured like most other potatoes, make sure to either cook them up right away or store in a bag in the fridge.  

Kale – I like to make a simple kale salad by drizzling with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and then massaging it all together. 

Carrots – My favorite way to eat carrots is roasted topped with greek yogurt, paprika, and dill. A perfect summer side. 

Hearts of Romaine Lettuce – Can’t go wrong with a Caesar salad. 

Mint – Blend it into chutney according to the recipe below. 

Broccoli – They’ve just begun to show their heads, and they are crisp and sweet! 

Green Garlic – Make sure to save some for this week’s recipe.

Strawberries – Just enjoy!

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Mint Chutney

Ingredients: 

1 Bundle of Mint

¼ C. Green Garlic 

1 C. Cilantro

Juice of 1 lemon or lime 

1 Pepper of choice (I like Jalapeno best, but serrano or any spicy pepper will do, even red pepper flakes works fine!). Adjust to your spice preference. 

1 tsp. Cumin seeds

1 tsp. Sugar 

1 tsp. Salt

Optional:

Like it creamy? Add ½ C. greek yogurt. 

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Add water or more citrus juice to achieve the consistency of your liking. 

A very flavorful topping or marinade for chicken, shrimp, steak, or grilled veggies. Drizzle on top of Labneh cheese for a pita chip dip. This chutney also goes really well with potatoes, so I often sauce up my eggs and potatoes for breakfast too! 

Keeps in the fridge for about two weeks. 

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Featured Flower:

Larkspur

Consolida ajacis

The name Larkspur actually comes from the blooms’ resemblance to the claws of the meadowlark bird. They’re great attractants of pollinators, such as hummingbirds and butterflies, both of which I have stopped to observe fluttering amongst the field. Native species of Larkspur grow wild across Western North America in many different terrains such as in conifer forests and along streams. These striking flowers come in a variety of colors from blue to purple to pink, with blue as the most common- and it’s even possible to make a natural dye out of the blue Larkspur! 

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Week of May 28th, 2024

My name is Maddie Christy and since February, I’ve been working as the Farm Coordinator here. I know many of you have been part of this community for years and some of you are new here just like me – I feel so fortunate to have this role and be working in this beautiful place.

This is my fourth season farming at a production scale and I’m moving here from a farm in Virginia where I grew veggies and milked cows. I’m originally from Alexandria, Virginia, and after college, I taught elementary school in Washington, DC, for three years.

As we jump into the 2024 growing season, I’m reminded of the parallels between farming and teaching – most notably the cyclical nature of the year. A farm in the spring is brimming with limitless energy and enthusiasm just like the first day of school. Recharged by a well-deserved break, farmers and teachers make plans and set goals while also taking on the familiar tasks of starting again. Whether it’s setting up the classroom or finding space in the greenhouse, we’re setting the foundation for when things start to take off. I love these quiet moments and the anticipation of a new year. We never know what unexpected obstacles we’ll face, but we lean on the people we work alongside and the community that supports us to take on these challenges and grow from them. I’m excited for the growth and the nourishment that this season will undoubtedly bring to each of us.

-Maddie

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In the Basket

Collards – I love these cooked for a long time, made even better when you add some Hidden Villa hamhock. See recipe for a take on beans and greens.

Hakurei Turnips – These mild turnips are crisp and not too overpowering sliced raw into a salad.

Red Spring Onions – These crunchy bulbs are full of flavor and versatility. Don’t forget you can use the greens blended into a tangy salad dressing.

Rosemary – Just take a deep breath in of this fragrant herb. I’ve been crushing it up and baking it into shortbread, yum!

Hearts of Romaine Lettuce – This crisp romaine variety makes a simple spring salad sing. Try using the onion and rosemary in a light vinaigrette!

Arugula – Time for some spicy arugula pesto?

Radishes – It’s a brief window for this spring treats, enjoy them while they last

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Slow- Cooked
Collard Greens & Beans

Ingredients List:

1 bunch of collard greens

2 tbsp olive oil

½ onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup stock (veggie or chicken)

1 cup water

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 can navy or pinto beans (or really any beans you have in your pantry)

salt and pepper to taste

Optional: ½ pound sausage (I used 2 of the HV Garlic Basil sausage links, cut into 1” pieces)

Instructions:

Cut collards into 1” strips (remove center rib of green if you like)

If using sausage, cook in Dutch oven over medium heat just until cooked through then remove. If not using meat, heat oil over medium heat.

Add onion to pot and cook around 2-3 minutes. Add in greens and stir until they wilt, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth, water, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

Cook for about 40 minutes until greens are tender. Add in the beans and sausage and cook an additional 10-15 minutes. Add hot sauce for some kick.

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Featured Flower

 

Nigella ‘Delft Blue’

Nigella papillosa

Named for the famous Dutch delft blue pottery, this variety is unique and lovely. Blue is the rarest color in the flower world, apart from black, of which I can think of exactly zero examples, so whenever I find a blue flower that I like it feels extra special. These delicate blooms have the added bonus of being a flower that we can over-winter here. That means that I sow the seed in December, straight into the field, no greenhouse involved. They sprout in the cold, dark days of January and grow with the increasing light through the winter and spring. Now here we are on the cusp of summer and they are having their moment.

– Lanette

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Week of May 21st, 2024

Welcome to your 2024 Hidden Villa Community Supported Agriculture farm season! My name is Jason and I have been helping to run this farm for 18 years now. Lanette and I are happy and proud to be working again this season with a crew of young farmers in training. We are grateful to Hidden Villa for seeing and valuing the need for agricultural career building and for legitimizing the positions that we are offering as full-time, seasonal jobs. I look forward to each of this crew introducing themselves and connecting with you all throughout the season through this newsletter.

I am also thankful for the changes and advancements that Lanette and I have been developing in our positions here. I want to celebrate that Lanette has formally taken the title of CSA Manager meaning that she has oversight of all CSA operations, communications, and supervision of all farm staff. She deserves a lot of praise for growing our program into the bountiful, beautiful, community-connected richness we enjoy today. 

I will definitely continue to work side by side with Lanette and the farm crew this year as my position has evolved into Agriculture Director. This title has me supervising Virginia, our Animal Husbandry Manager and Lukas, our Property Manager in addition to my farming responsibilities. Our vision for this position is to be a clearer statement of Hidden Villa’s commitment to land stewardship through regenerative agricultural activity, fire mitigation practices, and watershed enhancement. I hope to unify the message behind the good stewardship work that we are doing in our property department so that we are welcoming visitors to learn how we steer our management of natural resources to improve biodiversity, sequester carbon, and produce high-quality meat, flowers, and produce. 

This winter’s rains were fantastic but the season did come with a lot of personal challenges for us. My Dad died in March and my Mom is undergoing chemotherapy treatments for the entire summer. These events have brought into sharper focus how healing it can feel to me to be rooted in and attentive to natural spaces and how much I value doing this good work with Lanette. All the wonderful plants, animals, and fungi that we work with and see on a regular basis are such an amazing demonstration of persistence and fortitude that helps me see through darker times. Paying attention to all the dynamic natural things is also so decisively different from being just in my head and that helps too. Makes me happy to be a farmer.

I am feeling really hopeful and pleased so far with how our early season plantings have been going and how our farm team is working. The strawberry plants look great and are just on the cusp of fruiting, you can see the summer squash growing by the minute, the alien-looking nigella flowers are just starting to bloom, and we have multiple, beautiful successions of lettuce at various stages of growth.

Thank you for your participation in our program. We really appreciate your connection and support. 

With hope, Jason

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In The Basket

Winter Density Lettuce– My favorite variety of lettuce is an all star baby Romaine varietal for Caesar salads. If you have ever admired Little Gem lettuce on a restaurant menu, the chances are you were actually eating this variety of lettuce which comes from the same lineage as Little Gem but is a lot less of a prima donna to grow. 

Arugula-The march of greens goes on! Recently I have been really enjoying arugula in pasta and potato salads. The tangy, mustardy crunch is a welcome addition to those savory dishes. 

Lacinato or Dinosaur Kale-This big leafed cultivar is called Black Mamba and produces the finest looking kale leaves I think I have ever seen. Roast, saute, steam, or massage the leaves for salads. See recipe

Radishes, French Breakfast or Red Ball– This is also the best crop of radishes that we have had in years probably owing to us planting them in a spot that had been fallow for one year. I like to immediately transfer my radish roots to a tupperware of water in the fridge. That way they keep fresh and tender and you can use them sliced into salads, onto sandwiches or quick pickled. 

Spring onion-Sweet Walla Walla onions are just starting to size up and flavor up. Use the whole thing-greens and bulb for your oniony purposes. 

Baby Carrots– We will keep them coming.

Mint- Our unique variety of mint is delicious freshly chopped into salads, sauces or made into mojitos!

Massaged Kale Salad with Mint Sesame Dressing

Work side-by-side with Hidden Villa’s Farm team as they grow Hidden Villa’s organic produce. With your hands in the soil, you’ll learn from our farmers how Hidden Villa practices small-scale organic farming. Typical activities include seasonal planting, transplanting, weeding, harvesting, mulching, pruning, and occasionally building. No experience is necessary. If you are interested, please complete our Volunteer Application and Waiver.

Learn More

Week of May 14th, 2024

Hello All,

Welcome to the 2024 CSA season! Whether this is your first season with us or your 31st, we’re so glad to have you as a part of the farm community and we appreciate your support. For me personally, this season marks the 15th year I have farmed in this beautiful, little valley. I have co-managed the farm for the last 12 years but got my start here as a farmer-in-training for 2 years before that. For those of you who have been CSA members in years past, you’ll know that Jason and I always work together as a team, and that will continue this season, but this year will be my first managing the CSA and our farm crew. When I reflect on my time here from intern, to farm team member, then creating the flower program and now to managing, I can clearly see not only my personal growth here but more broadly how this educational farm fosters opportunities for people coming to this good work and growing in their strength and knowledge.

Our educational positions have changed shape over the years from an internship to an entry-level job position, but I am so proud that we’re still offering these learn-by-doing opportunities. They are a much-needed link in the chain to help cultivate the next generation of young farmers. Our crew this year is a group of wonderful, hard-working, young women. Jason and I have both been enjoying getting to know them and seeing their commitment to this work in the fields daily. I’ll let them introduce themselves in the coming weeks in these pages and hopefully in person too.

New farmer and old hand alike, we have all been appreciating the beauty and feeling the challenges of the start of the season, especially a season so generously graced with wet weather and corresponding growth. I’m reminded of the oft-quoted line by Margaret Atwood, “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” In truth, the dominant scent on my hands, clothes and in the air these days is the smell of cut grass, thistle and other weeds. Farming organically in this way includes a lot of springtime weeding. Which means a lot of hours out in the rows, mostly hands in the dirt. It’s a vital step in cultivating our crops and also in cultivating a connection to this place and this moment on the farm calendar. Some of the highlights in the field for me so far include being joined in the rows by a great blue heron, coyote, and gopher snakes all hunting our plentiful rodents, seeing the overwintered crops of chard, carrots, and foxglove flourish in our caterpillar tunnel and tasting the first of the spring crops in our weekly potluck with Wednesday volunteers. I know there are many more beautiful and delicious moments to come, and I look forward to sharing them with you.

-Lanette

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In The Basket

Chard- To repurpose the Skittles slogan from my childhood, ‘taste the rainbow’ 😉

Oakleaf Lettuce- Wonderfully delicate and light, there’s nothing that compares to spring lettuce for fresh salads.

Mizuna- A mildly spicy salad green, similar to arugula. It pairs beautifully with a sweet dressing.

Oregano- If you have any frozen tomato sauce from summer 2023, here’s your chance to jazz it up. Also, minced or pureed, fresh oregano with green garlic, especially the greens of the green garlic is a great base for a sharp Italian dressing.

Rhubarb- A beautiful and delicious tart addition to baked goods.

Green Garlic- Enjoy this spring ephemeral while it lasts.

Spinach- Delicate enough to be a salad green this time of year this spinach has a slightly nutty, even sweet aftertaste that I really enjoy.

Baby Carrots- So succulent, I eat them straight out of the ground.

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Jason’s Famous Chard Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 bunch of fresh chard

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium green garlic head

3-4 Anaheim or poblano peppers, or canned green chilies

2 T fresh oregano finely minced

1 t finely ground coriander

salt

16 oz can of tomatoes

10 large flour tortillas

16 oz of sharp cheddar cheese grated

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375.

To make the enchilada sauce, chop the garlic coarsely and begin caramelizing it in a medium skillet with oil, oregano, coriander, and 1 t salt over medium-high heat. Chop the peppers, seeds, and all, and add them to the skillet. Saute this mixture at strong heat for 15 minutes, adding and stirring in 1/4 cup of water to the hot skillet each time the vegetables get close to burning.

Meanwhile, chop the chard and begin sauteing it in a large skillet with olive oil and just a shake of salt. When the garlic and peppers are tender and golden brown, remove from the heat to a blender, add the can of tomatoes and one cup of cold water, and puree. When the chard is tender, which won’t take long with this new spring growth, remove from the heat. Grate the cheese.

Assemble enchiladas in a large oven tray or casserole pan. For assembly, spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of the pan to prevent burning and sticking. One at a time, add chard and grated cheese to each tortilla, roll it up fairly tightly and place them in a tight row at the bottom of the pan. It is super easy to add too much filling to the enchiladas so be vigilant about this. When all 10 enchiladas are lined up in the pan carefully pour the remaining enchilada sauce and gently spread it over them all so that the tortilla surfaces are coated. Top with any remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with beans and rice.

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Featured Flower

First things first, don’t eat it! I don’t expect that you’re regularly eating your bouquets, but I want to be explicit here that foxglove is poisonous to eat. If you have young children or pets who tend to chew on things, probably best to keep it a counter out of reach. You might recognize its scientific name, “digitalis” as the name of a heart medicine. That medicine is derived from this plant and has been formulated and used in treating heart conditions for over 200 years. In addition to its impressive medicinal value, foxglove is one of my favorite spring flowers. I love its pastel palette and graceful, slender form. Also, I find its “freckles” endearing. In truth they are nectar guides for bees and other pollinators, but they remind me of my sister’s beautiful freckled face and for that I love them.

– Lanette