June 25th and 28th (with a recap of last week)

Happy Summer!

Meet this year's crew: Michael, Keena, Tyler and Elizabeth!  

Good attitude, good energy!  A big shout out of thanks for all your work to make Little Ridge Farm the best that it can be!!

 So I think summer is here to stay.  We logged another 2" of rain over the past 3 days.  Needless to say that we didn't need that much.  There are puddles everywhere, even inside the hoop house, driving around the farm is like maneuvering through a swamp and the pigs have puddles as big as ponds (ok they are happy about that).  Most plants look amazing.  The cool season crops are loving the extended spring and extra moisture.  I am just hoping with the shift in warmer temperatures, the warmer season crops (like squash and tomatoes) will straighten their stems and find the sun.

The weeds have of course taken off and we are finally starting to have "drier" ground and the time to tackle them.  It's hopeless really, but I like things neat and tidy and so I am forever obsessed with trying to outsmart them.  Having weed free fields really do make everything easier; planting, harvesting, even growing (the veggies do not like to share their soil nutrients).

It is a busy time of year!  (Hence the lack of last week's blog)  We are out from under the pressure of huge amounts of transplanting.  I mean we still have more to plant, but we have moved away from a job that takes an entire day to plant....now we are into taking an entire day to weed and on the edge of taking the entire day to harvest (which is he ultimate goal I suppose!).

There are lots of new exciting veggies nearly ripe and you will find them in your pick up over the next few weeks.  One of them is pictured here, kohl rabi.  It looks a little crazy but the flavor is stupendous.  You can eat the leaves but they are a bit like collards and need a lot of cooking.  The best part is the sweet, crunchy juicy bulb.  They are an awesome snack raw, on a salad or lightly sauteed or even roasted.  You could probably grill them!  Sometimes the outer skin (more so on the purple kohl rabi) is a little thick and you may want to peel it, but others you could eat just like an apple!  Give it a try, it may become your new favorite vegetable!!

Shiitakes are back!!!  This week will be our first harvest.  o my gosh the flavor is amazing!!!  WAY WAY WAY better than store bought.  perfect for sauteing with your weekly greens!

This Week's Bounty: lettuce, arugula, radish, spinach, beets with greens, kohl rabi, pac choi, rhubarb and maybe chard and kale : )

The Farmer's Table: 

*My new favorite quick meal: sauteed kale, beets with greens, and broccoli with sausage.  The beets are sooo sweet

*Recipe from a shareholder: Yogurt & Dill Chicken Salad

June 11th and 14th

A Bit of Sunshine!

I hope you have noticed the glorious plethora of flowers this year!  The flowering trees have been bursting with color.  So nice to see between the raindrops.  We have been planting planting planting!!  This time if year we put thousands of plants in the ground, some who take the rest of the season to fully grow.  For example, yesterday we planted winter storage cabbage which we will not harvest until late October!  

Sun for 4 days in a row!!!  Of course it is raining as I write this and the rest of the week looks rainy, and CSA harvest will be in the rain, but I suppose all those plants we put in the ground yesterday will be happy to get settled in.  At least it is a little warmer!

I have been farming for almost 19 years now and we have been eating seasonally/farm food for almost that entire time.  It seems as though I should be used to it by now, but I will admit dinners still amaze me.  Amaze me that everything on our plate was produced on this farm or from a friend.  AND THE FOOD TASTES AMAZING.  I hope you are embracing fresh local food too!

Ok this pic is not as beautiful, but it was sooo good!!

country style spare rib on a bed of lettuce cilantro and dill

rhubarb bbq sauce

roasted beets and parsnips

This Week's Bounty:
lettuce, spinach, broccoli, kale, beets with greens, pac choi, asparagus, dill, cilantro lovage ....

The Farmer's Table: ( a view into what we ate this week)
*Taco Salad/Huevos Ranchers (pictured above)
Our favorite Tex Mex spicing

*Country Style Spare Ribs (pictured above)

*Wilted spinach and egg salad

*Grilled steak salad with grilled asparagus