Blessing Falls Family Farm

Field Notes: This week we are trellising tomatoes and prepping new beds for squash, cucumbers, melons and other summer crops. The tomato plants are loaded with flowers and new growth! Full shares will receive bulb fennel this week – this is a unique vegetable used for seasoning dishes, with a sweet licorice flavor! The entire plant can be used.

We’ve scheduled our Spring Farm Tour this week.   Contact us for the schedule and more details if you’d like to come.

Here’s what’s expected in our Spring week 4 shares:
(Shares may vary slightly depending on field/garden conditions)

Half Share: Onion, Lettuce mix (double portion), Radishes, Carrots, Head lettuce, Dill, Chard, Kale

Full Share: Onion, Lettuce mix (double portion), Radishes, Carrots (double portion), Head lettuce (double portion), Dill, Chard, Beet greens (double portion), Kale, Broccoli or cauliflower, Fennel, Broccoli greens

Blessing Falls Spring 2017 Week 4 Full Share: Beet greens, dill, broccoli, head lettuce, kale, lettuce mix, fennel, broccoli greens, radishes, chard, carrots, onion

Recipe

Roasted Carrots with Dill

Ingredients
12 carrots
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley

Directions
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
-If the carrots are thick, cut them in half lengthwise; if not, leave whole. Slice the carrots diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. (The carrots will shrink while cooking so make the slices big.) Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan in 1 layer and roast in the oven for 20 minutes, until browned and tender.
-Toss the carrots with minced dill or parsley, season to taste, and serve.

It’s a rainy Tuesday morning as we wait to harvest this afternoon for tomorrow’s shares. So far we’ve had an hour of heavy rain after a few hours of drizzle off and on.  The forecast looks dry for this afternoon so hopefully we’ve had just enough rain to freshen the harvest nicely, but not enough to keep us out of the garden. This is our third week of the Spring/Summer season and with 13 weeks left, we have shares available if others would like to join us.  Here’s how to sign up.  And remembers to check out our Facebook page or Instagram for regular updates on the farm.

Notes from the field:  This week we are getting our first taste of baby carrots! We are so excited about this year’s crop! We planted more than ever before and had about 100% germination which means we will be harvesting thousands of carrots over the next 6 weeks or longer! We will have primarily orange carrots, but we are also growing purple and yellow varieties. We can’t wait to share the harvest with you!

Here’s what’s expected in our Spring week 3 shares:
(Shares may vary slightly depending on field/garden conditions)

Half Share: Lettuce mix (double portion), Head lettuce, Onions, Beet greens, Radishes, Swiss Chard, Kale, Dill

Full Share: Lettuce mix (double portion), Head lettuce (double portion), Onions, Beet greens, Radishes (double portion), Swiss Chard (double portion), Kale, Dill, Broccoli greens, Broccoli/broccoli flowers, Carrots

Blessing Falls Spring Week 3 Full size Share: Head lettuce, dill, broccoli flowers, chard, radishes, kale, carrots, broccoli greens, beet greens, lettuce mix, onion

Recipe

The full shares may receive broccoli flowers this week. These are beautiful as well as delicious, with a mild broccoli flavor. They are a perfect topping on salad, pizza or pasta!

We love this easy pasta recipe – it’s delicious with kale, chard, beet greens or a combination of all three!

Sausage Penne Pasta with Greens
Ingredients
1 small onion, diced
2 TBSP olive oil
2 links of sausage, sliced
1 TBSP minced garlic
3 cups of greens, chopped
16 oz. Penne Pasta, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions
In a large skillet, cook onion in olive oil until soft. Add sausage and continue to cook on medium heat about 3 minutes. Add garlic and greens, cover and simmer about 5 minutes, adding more oil if necessary. Add cooked pasta and continue to simmer until greens are wilted and pasta is heated through. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with Parmesan cheese, serve and enjoy!

The garden is exploding this week! We expect to have our first harvest of carrots, cabbage and more within the next 2 weeks and our tomatoes are already beginning to flower! Unfortunately, with the warm weather and rain come lots of weeds and pests and we are working hard to keep up with them!  You can stay more connected to the farm through our Facebook page or Instagram and see all of our updates with photos of the veggies, flowers and animals!

Shares are available and we can start delivery next week, with 14 weeks left in our spring/summer season.  Here’s how to sign up.

Here’s what’s expected in our Spring week 2 shares:
(Shares may vary slightly depending on field/garden conditions)

Half Share: Leaf lettuce (double portion), Broccoli greens, Green onions, Swiss Chard (double portion),  Radishes (double portion), Kale or beet greens, Dill

Full Share: Leaf lettuce (triple portion), Broccoli greens (double portion), Green onions, Swiss Chard (double portion),  Radishes (double portion), Kale, Broccoli, Beet greens (double portion), Dill, Head lettuce

Blessing Falls Spring Week 2 Full size Share – Broccoli greens, kale, dill, radishes, lettuce mix, head lettuce, broccoli, beet greens, Swiss chard, green onions

Recipe

Try this delicious and simple recipe with your broccoli leaves this week!

Pasta With Broccoli Leaves

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup chopped red or yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 serrano pepper, minced (seeded if desired)
1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
Salt
Pinch of sugar
½ pound (about 5 cups, tightly packed) stemmed and coarsely chopped broccoli leaves, Chinese broccoli leaves or collards
Black pepper
¾ pound farfalle or other pasta
½ cup ricotta
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

PREPARATION
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a wide, heavy skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper flakes or serrano. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute, and add tomatoes and thyme. Add salt to taste and a pinch of sugar. Cook tomatoes over medium heat, stirring often, until they have cooked down to a fragrant purée, about 10 minutes.
Add chopped broccoli leaves or collards, which should still have some water on them from washing. Add salt to taste. Stir greens and tomatoes until greens have collapsed, then turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. Cover and simmer another 5 minutes. Add pepper, taste and adjust seasoning.
Meanwhile, when pasta water comes to a boil, salt generously and add pasta. Cook until al dente, usually 10 to 11 minutes. Have ricotta in a small bowl near pasta pot.
Stir 1/4 cup pasta water into ricotta and stir mixture into vegetables. Reserve about 1/4 cup pasta water. Drain pasta and toss with vegetable and ricotta mixture; add reserved water if desired. Add parsley, toss again and serve.

We’re excited to begin another year of sharing the farm harvest with our members! Thanks so much to all who have rejoined us again and for all the new members.  Work on this week’s harvest began in December with ordering seeds and supplies, then into January with starting seeds in the greenhouse followed by weeks of preparing the soil and planting.   Thanks to all our members for your early membership payments that help offset the many pre-harvest costs.  We hope you enjoy the season!

We have shares available so please tell your friends, family, coworkers and we can start delivery next week, with 15 weeks left in our spring/summer season.  Here’s how to sign up.

Here’s what’s expected in our Spring week 1 shares:
(Shares may vary slightly depending on field/garden conditions)

Half Share: Lettuce mix (double portion), Broccoli greens, Green onions, Swiss Chard, Mizuna, Radishes

Full Share: Lettuce mix (double portion), Broccoli greens (double portion), Green onions, Swiss Chard (double portion), Mizuna (double portion), Radishes (double portion), Kale, Beet greens, Asparagus, Sunflower sprouts

Blessing Falls 2017 Full Size Farm Share – Spring Week 1. Asparagus, green onions, beet greens, Mizuna, Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, sunflower sprouts, broccoli greens, radishes

Here are a few quick tips for the veggies you may not have cooked with before. Swiss chard is a favorite green of ours. It’s great fresh in a salad or cooked in a pasta dish.  It’s a great substitute for spinach in any dish.  Beet greens are easily sautéed with a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Sunflower sprouts are extremely versatile and delicious as a topping on salads, pizza, or almost any dish. Mizuna adds texture and flavor to a stir fry. Broccoli greens can be served fresh in a salad or sautéed like spinach.  A delicious green with a similar taste to cabbage or kale.

Recipe

Here’s a great recipe idea for your radishes and Mizuna! You could even add some green onion for more flavor!

Mizuna and Radish Slaw with Roasted Peanuts (source)

You could certainly add herbs or other vegetables to the salad or toss in some cooked grains. It’s just a good, quick, template. The peanut oil is really nice here but if you don’t have it you could substitute a neutral oil and add 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil.
(Serves 4)

4 radishes, washed, trimmed and cut into match sticks
3-4 cups mizuna, washed, dried and finely chopped
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped up a bit
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons peanut oil (see headnote)
Juice of 1/2 lime (or use a bit more vinegar if you don’t have a lime)
Salt

Put vegetables and peanuts in a salad bowl. Dress with rice wine vinegar, peanut oil, salt and lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.