Week 2: Big River Farms CSA
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What’s in your box? green onions Get creative with your CSA box…try out our recipes! Balsamic Beet Greens and Goat Cheese Crostini Spring turnips with Green and RaisinsRoasted Beet Soup Things to remember 1. When you arrive to pick up your box, remember to check your name off of the appropriate roster. There will be one each for Summer's Best & Fruitshare members. If you are picking up both, you will need to check your name off of both lists. 2. Please bring a bag or other container to transfer your veggies into & follow the instructions for breaking down your box found in the CSA bin. The waxed cardboard boxes will need to stay at your site so that we may pick them up the following week for reuse. 3. In the spirit of community, please do not open or go through other boxes. Boxes are packed identically each week and there is no need to look for a better one. If you are concerned with the contents of your box, or something is missing, please let me know as soon as you can & I'll do my darndest to remedy the situation. 4. Planning a vacation this summer? You've got some options. Invite a friend or neighbor to pick up in your stead while you're away. OR, you can contact me at least 24 hours in advance to donate your box to Minneapolis Market (a foodshelf with dignity). All donations are tax deductible. We are unable to prorate or credit you for canceled or forgotten boxes.
Upcoming Events August 19th—Dinner on the Farm September 23rd—Slow Food MN presents a Slow Food meal at Big River Farms! |
Notes from the Field Brother! Hard to sit around with all those thoughts running around in your head. So I got up, drank a cup of coffee, and when the rain stopped I walked out to the fields to see if any of my early morning fears had come true. Well...they did not. The hoophouses and our crops were still standing up straight and true in the predawn light. Instead of anxiety I was now filled with that feeling of rejuvenation that can only come by standing knee high in summer pasture, watching the sun come up after a Midwest thunderstorm. Instead of worrying that the rain might bring destruction, I was joyfully reminded that, most of time, rain just brings life. Aaron Name: Vince Xiong In this week’s box, we are excited to share radishes and kale from Vince Xiong’s Intrinsik Farm. Vince is a third year farmer here at Big River Farms and he is farming two full acres this season. Throughout his time here with MFA, Vince has shown dedication to learning new techniques and implementing them on his farm to improve quality. Vince says “everything that I know about farming is from MFA—so, that’s a lot.” In addition to his plans for his own business, Vince is involved in organic and sustainable agriculture here in Minnesota as well as abroad. This year Vince became a board member for the Minnesota Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) and for the past two years he also served on the committee that organized MFA’s annual Immigrant and Minority Farmers Conference held in February. This year, Vince is very excited to have been selected to go to the Terra Madre Annual Gathering put on by Slow Food International in Italy. He is very excited to go to this international exchange of food, culture, agriculture and ideas. Vince hopes to meet other Hmong people from around the world at the conference!
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| This N That This box is the perfect early season box to test the faith of those CSA members who are dubious about spring greens. We are again heavy with greens this week and, oh boy, I have to admit that I love what is in this box. For greens we have kale and arugula and lettuce. We are still trying to make up for all of our early season lettuce bolting two weeks ago but we were lucky enough to get some smaller heads to you today. These are supposed to be butterheads but they did not really form heads. We just think of them as loose leaf lettuce. They are a bit dirty because we harvested them this morning right after they got pounded by the rain. Just make sure to give them an extra washing. The turnips this week are one of my favorite early season treats! They look beautiful all white and clean and when cooked their mild nutty flavour is fabulous. I eat these by the handful when they are on. These are a 2 for 1 deal as well. The roots cook beautifully in butter and you can also use the leaves in stir frys or on their own. Check out the turnip recipe at the top of the page. Lastly, we have the beets. There is no better perfection of dark earthly flavors than the common beet. Just boil them until they are fork tender and eat them on their own. You can also shred the raw root in a salad. Beets also are a 2 for 1 deal. Cook the greens just like you would chard, cut them up and then stir fry them. Yum! |
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©2012 Minnesota Food Association, 14220 B Ostlund Trail North, Marine on St. Croix, MN 55047 651-433-3676 ph. 651 433-5050 fax
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