Week 1 (2)... here we go!

Vegetable List

Astro Arugula
Swiss Chard
Muir Head Lettuce
New Red Fire Lettuce
Ride The Red Bull Radishes
Strawberries*
PYO Herbs

Notes from the Farm

Here we go, one more year... our 20th year... and we're off to a hilariously endearing start.

Here's the thing... I have no idea what I'm doing. I've been farming longer than I've done about anything... farming has outlasted my chosen, college prepared, profession... it's outlasted any home I've lived in... I've farmed longer than I ever went to school... it's outlived a handful of marriages, and has been going on longer than my girls have been alive. To be honest, I never had any intension to be a farmer, it just kind of happened, and here we are, 20 seasons later, the still point of my turning world.

You see, the farm, most farms, are really just an extension of the farmers... a technicolor shadow of a life lived. I'd like to say I'm intentional with my choices here at the farm, and I think I used to be... I used to be a little more nervous, wearing an anxious coat, a constant force of stress-reactions pushing the wave of farm back into form... but at some point I kind of stopped trying to bend the farm to my will and the snake ate it's tail... and that's where we are today... and I feel the inverse, I'VE become the reflection, the extension, of this farm... it's cultivating me.

And this year we feel it. May was wet, and cold, and slow. I tried to be patient, but that little inner farmer in me was freaking out... unfortunately, there was nothing to do but wait... so we waited until we saw a break, and like ants to a picnic the farm crew pounced, we laid the plastic and planted (essentially) the whole farm in 4 days... but at that point we were 3 weeks behind... best laid plans.
Don't worry though, it doesn't mean we'll be behind for long.

For the first time in 20 seasons we pushed back the start of the CSA... that was a hard call, and a big moment of growth. My Pa was a fan of saying, “it's easy to love the lovable ones.” I feel that. It's easy for me to sit back in a good year and soak it all up... I'm soaking this one up too... it's been less lovable, the rows are chunkier, some of the vine crops took a hit, the first block of corn is bringing real charlie brown christmas tree vibes... and it all feels good.

We're coasting to a start for sure, but that clutch will pop soon... just you wait.

Recipes

Shiso Cachaça Coctail
2oz Cachaça (or white rum)
3 Shiso Leaves
2 dashes Grapefruit Bitters
1 oz Lime Juice, plus slice of lime for garnish
6 to 8oz Club Soda or Seltzer Water. Tonic Water not recommended.

Begin with the Shiso. It can either be roughly chopped and put in the glass or put in whole and muddled with some sort of blunt stick (the backside of chopsticks work awfully well).
Add the Cachaça, bitters and Lime Juice
Fill the glass with Ice, top with the soda water of preference, and garnish with a whole Shiso leaf and Lime slice. Very simple, very refreshing.
This also stands up as an excellent non-alcoholic drink if you omit the bitters and Cachaça.


Strawberry Arugula Salad
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups arugula
6 ounces strawberries (1 ½ cups), hulled and thinly sliced
¼ cups almonds (1 ½ ounces), toasted and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
2 ounces feta, crumbled

Whisk together oil and vinegar in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Add arugula, strawberries, almonds, sesame seeds, and feta. Gently toss until spinach is evenly coated with dressing. Serve immediately.

Creamy Swiss Chard With Coconut
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 small dried hot red chile, such as chile de arbol, stemmed and crumbled
2 pounds Swiss chard (3 to 4 bunches), stems removed, torn into 2-inch pieces (about 12 packed cups)
½ cup light coconut milk
Coarse salt

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and chile and cook until tender and fragrant, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add chard leaves, coconut milk, and 2 tablespoons water.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chard is tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt.