Spring CSA #3 2014

Hi everybody!

Late on this one! So busy potting up and trying to stay on top of things....yeah right! Well it's a short one as i want to get out there a little more!

In your basket this week

Asian Greens
Chez Nous Salad Mix
Swiss Chard
Spinach/ Vivid Choi Pac Choy Greens
Mustard Greens

Juicing Upgrade:
 Bag with spinach, Kale, Beet Greens, Mibuna, Swiss Chard and a container of Spring Mix Sprouts

Harvesting monstrueux de viroflay spinach 

This stuff is huge!

Another odd green to be found in your salad mix it's called Herba Stella

Asian Mix  Top to Bottom: Red Frills, Mizuna, Tokyo Bekana, Red Komatsuna, Mibuna and HonTsai tai

Vivid Pac Choy Greens

Some of the flavor add ins to the salad mix this week beet greens, swiss chard, thyme, parsley, sorrel and chive buds ...Spring in a bowl!

What dressing will you be using on your salad?  I have been using a combination of Olive oil, lemon, Ponzu ( sub with tamari or soy sauce, and maple syrup. So good!

This weeks mustard greens when eaten raw are hot, hot , hot but when blanched for 2 min ...ever so tender and green. Lunch over a spread of goat cheese and used as a baked potato topper.

Next weeks baskets will be in the hands of farmer Rick except for the salad mix as I keep a steady pace of potting up tomatoes!

Have a great weekend!

Spring 2014 CSA #2

Hi everybody
April 18th 2014

Well as planned we have put together another wonderful spring basket! Thanks goodness for the greenhouse, it helps us anxious farmers get things going and let's us be where we want to be outdoors! Things outside aren't just wet they are soupy, and sometimes the mud gets a hold of my boot so badly that it takes me quite a pull to get my foot back intact with my boot. One of the stressful aspects of farming, trying to keep things on schedule. I really hope that we can, please make sure to read emails or newsletters in case we need to post pone anything as I would hate for anybody to come pick up when there is no basket.  It's really not something i would want to do since we are aiming to finish the winter CSA before Christmas this year. Nevertheless, don't worry everyone get their promised 12 weeks!

Also, I have been dealing with major computer problems...we may have lost all files which means that i do not have my labels.  Our labels need to be approved by Ecocert so I am going to wait until I remake proper ones and have them approved before they go back onto the bags.


This weeks basket contents:

1 bag of Chez Nous Salad Mix ( has an S on it)
1 bag of Asian Greens ( looks like salad mix but no S)
1 bag of Kale
1 bag of Mustard Greens
1 bag of Sunflower Shoots ( great in salads, tuna sandwich or wraps...mostly eaten raw but can be slightly wilted and flavored)
1 small herb- sage and rosemary

(Juicing upgrade) 1 large bag layered spinach/ pea shoots/ parsley/ swiss chard and wheatgrass for those who responded that they were interested

Talk about using every inch! Harvested last of the overwinter kale- which has turnip and carrot growing around it. and potted up seedlings on top! It's getting crowded!

Now to wait for the new Kales...

Asian Greens grew like crazy! These can be used anyway you would use spinach...salad, lightly cooked-delicous!

Here are some mustard greens that have flowered. The tips are removed by breaking off before it gets stringy. Then all small leaves are put aside for salad mix. If you taste the leaf raw-whew it's hot! However, when it's in a salad the spiciness goes away!

Greens ready

Gorgeous escarole also in salad

More salad ingredients. 

My usual mix of plants. Here is cucumber in middle with kale/ lettuce on top and spinach radish on bottom.  When it get too hot all cold crops will be removed and cukes will be growing up a trellis.

I thought i'd share some a recipe for using mustard greens. It's quick and easy and all kinds of substitutions can be made. I find it hard to eat a pasta dish in a restaurant that isn't better than what you can make at home.  This dish used mustard greens and the taste just like kale after being blanched.

Creamy Mustard greens Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients:

2 or more tablespoons of butter
1/2 8 oz stick of parmesan grated
1 4oz pak of wild smoked salmon ( any meat of your choice or no meat)
2-3 cups of chopped blanched (pre-cooked in boiling water) mustard greens or more! I only used leaves for this dish and used the same water to blanch greens (1-2 min) than i did to boil the noodles.
1/2 large onion chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 - 2 cups of half and half cream
garlic powder
1/4 cup of flour
Herbs- Sage, thyme etc...
Salt and Pepper

cooked noodle of your choice

Start by caramelizing onions- melt butter, add onions and cook low stirring often this makes them nice and sweet.  As you can see, above i used this opportunity to crisp my sage leaves but i needed to turn up the heat for this you might be better to do it separately  (Crispy Sage leaves... BEST THING EVER!)  The onions are done when they are light brown.   Add your herbs, peas, meat ( if using a raw meat i would probably pre-cook separately before adding it at this point) Cook a little then add more butter of oil if dry since you will need some moisture to absorb the 1/4 of flour you add now. Have your cream and cheese ready.  Stir to soak up all butter with flour then slowly add milk in followed by cheese. Add blanched chopped greens. Flavor with garlic salt and salt and pepper. Add to pasta and top with crsipy sage leaves.

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend! Now i'm off to pot up some tomatoes!

Shirley and Rick
Chez Nous Farms

Spring CSA #1 2014

Good afternoon everybody!

Your first CSA basket! Even though it's hard to find any green going on outdoors you have plenty of green to be found in your baskets! I knew how anxious you all were when we started getting emails, I was getting anxious on our end too. Mostly because we had many overwintered crops sending up flower stalks and buds and I really wanted to share these crops with our members.  So even though, we had decided to start the spring baskets when the new crops were ready, on a whim we thought lets just do it! We have our fingers crossed that after skipping a week we'll be ready to start the weekly pick ups.

Oh and I forgot to mention that pick-up in Niagara Falls will be after 1 and before 530.

In your basket this week:

1 bag of Kale
1 bag of Swiss Chard
1 bag of Mustard Greens
1 bag of Chez Nous Salad Mix
1 dozen eggs( so this means an extra dozen for those who already get eggs)

Greens upgrade: 2 juicing bags of kale, swiss chard and napa (opps sorry we stuffed it all into 1 large bag)

Kale soaking

Putting a Spring basket is quite a task because greens are the most time consuming to prepare for you as opposed to a container of zucchini. They are all well washed but i always say it doesn't hurt to give them another soak and rinse.

Both your Mustard Greens and your Kale will contain stalks and flower buds these are delicious and can be used as a tender broccoli stalk.

All little buds are harvested as is the top of plant until the stalk becomes too tough then all the leaves come off .

I don't know of a Chez Nous Salad Mix that doesn't have me saying oh this is going to be a good one! And I was thinking that again as I made this batch.  What's really neat about it, is that it is completely made up of crops that have over wintered and even some that re-sprouted. It contains so many items lettuce, napa, Mustards, Swiss Chard, Kale, Arugula, Beet Greens, Escarole, Endive, Asian Greens, Spinach, Sorrel, Parsley, Radish Greens, Turnip Greens. All individually picked and washed.  These are hardy greens and many bold in flavor also. A salad like this needs a bold dressing and some stronger cheese some that could easily overpower a mid-summer salad.

a few of my favorite salad dressings

This little Swiss chard was just asking for a picture!

Lettuces growing in the Mustards

Over wintered crops..these lettuces were cut off at the base and regrew.

Napa Cabbage going to flower also, Top stalks went into the juicing bags and the leaves were used in the Salad Mix.

Some surviving escarole and lettuce.

We often say we should be a Kale and Salad Mix Farm as they both do so well.  The popularity of greens must be growing or people must be spreading the word because we can't keep it on the shelves.  Things like Swiss Chard and the Winter Greens mix ..gone.... One of the lesser known green is Mustard Greens but more and more I am hearing people say oh I love Mustard Greens!  They have a hot mustard flavor and are often cooked. How long you cook depends on how much you want to taste the mustard  if it's for me I will throw them in at the last minute or even just pour my hot meal right over it raw and it wilts it just enough.
If you aren't yet a fan of the taste cook them...eventually you may crave more of a kick and cook less.  As with the Kale your Mustards have some stalks this week and these are tender and fully edible.

 I researched some interesting recipes this week to try And I thought i would share.  Mustard Greens go by the name Sarson in Indian and it lead me to send yummy finds.
Cauliflower and Mustard Greens recipe

Potatoes and Mustard Greens

Here's my Pinterest page of Mustard Greens recipes

http://www.pinterest.com/Cheznousfarms/csa-recipes-mustard-greens/


And hopefully our turnips catch up followed by the carrots!

These Asian Greens will certainly be ready soon!

So much potting up to do.... I've sent out an S.O.S and help is on the way!