2007 CSA Week 1

News from Windy Willow Farm
2007 Week 1

This week’s share includes:

1 ½ - ¾ pounds of Asparagus- we’ve grown asparagus for years now (it takes 3 years to establish an asparagus stand), and it’s coming on strong. I’ve been asked numerous times about the size differences in the asparagus- the plant sometimes sends up thick stalks, and sometimes thin stalks, but they don’t get thicker as they age. Before eating, grasp the stalk at the end and snap. This removes the toughest part of the stalk. To preserve, just wash, cut into pieces, blanch for 2 minutes and freeze*.
1 bunch rhubarb- This can be used in breads, pies, jellies, tarts and added to many fruit-based recipes (adding a bit more sugar), even lemonade! Or just cut in 1-inch pieces and freeze.
1 bunch chives- I have been enjoying our chives more than ever, finding new and unusual meals to pair them with! They can be used in any recipe that calls for onion or green onion.
1 bunch mint- My favorite addition to Lemon Zinger iced tea, or any hot teas. It also repels ants!
1 bunch rosemary

Welcome to the 2007 Windy Willow Farm CSA!
We are excited to begin our season with you, and have been busy in the gardens to ensure the season is bountiful. We are looking forward to meeting each of you and sharing our farm with you.

Everyone has rituals that come with every season, and we do as well. One of our spring rituals we performed this morning- the annual shearing of the sheep. It is a much less arduous task, with only 2 ewes and a ram, but still challenging. We are not very experienced shearers; the ewes are not perfectly shorn. But the important thing is that the wool is removed and the sheep are relieved of their 4-5 inch-thick wool fleece. They will grow their new fleece throughout the summer, and will be in full wool by the time the cold weather is back. Shearing is a good time to take a close examination of the animals.

Farmers, by nature, are obsessed with the weather. This spring was so wet that we were delayed in preparing the gardens for spring planting. And with the cooler weather we’ve had in the past weeks, we’re waiting for our direct-seeded crops to take off. So far, we have several plantings of spinach, lettuce mix, arugula, cilantro, peas (3 types: snow, snap and shell), beets, swiss chard, scallions and carrots (2 types) all in the ground. We’ve even got an early planting of corn and yellow beans that were not damaged by the recent almost-frosts we’ve had (we got down to 32.9 degrees on Tuesday morning!). Our other main crops are in the ground as well: the tomatoes (8 types), peppers (4 types), eggplants (2 types), sweet potatoes, and parsley have been planted on our plastic mulched beds and covered by row covers to keep them warm and protect them from bugs. Other crops planted are cabbage (2 types), broccoli, onions (3 types), bok choy, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts and lettuce (3 types). The strawberries are flowering and the raspberries are growing their leaves. The garlic, planted in the orchard, is just gorgeous; it is the nicest we’ve grown yet. It is a promising start to our season!

We received our 12 piglets almost 2 weeks ago. They are busy exploring their pasture and figuring out where the shade, food and water are. They are cute buggers, and often stage piggy races where they do laps around their pen. We also have a new addition, as of yesterday: Sarah’s new kitten, named Honey. She is orange and white and adorable. Our new poultry chicks are coming soon: new layers, broilers and (a first for us) turkeys. We have our hands full!

We’d be happy to show you around the garden and animal pastures – just let us know!

Thank you, as always, for your kind and generous support,

Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason

© Gwen Hyde 2007

* For freezing most vegetables, blanch in boiling water for long enough to stop the enzymatic process, then immediately plunge into ice cold water to stop cooking. We pack into individual zip-lock bags with enough veggies for a meal and pop it into a manual-defrost freezer. The frost-free freezers in your refrigerator actually warm up your food each day, to melt the ice- thus causing freezer burn and limiting the life of frozen foods. You can probably keep food for 2-3 months in the frost-free freezer, and a year or two in a manual-defrost freezer.


Cinnamon Topped Rhubarb Muffins
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup butter
1 (8oz) cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tea baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb

Topping: 1 Tbs sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, combine brown sugar and butter. Beat at medium speed until well mixed (1-2 min). Add sour cream and eggs; continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1-2 min). In medium bowl stir together flour, baking soda and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. By hand, stir flour mixture into sour cream mixture just until moistened. Fold in rhubarb. Spoon into greased muffin pans. In small bowl stir together 1 Tbs sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, sprinkle onto each muffin. Bake for 25 to 30 min or until lightly browned. Cool 10 min; remove from pans.

Asparagus Parmesan Bake

1 ½ pounds asparagus stalks, washed and trimmed
1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs white wine
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
¼ tsp ground herbs de Provence
coarse salt or sea salt coarsely ground black pepper
¼ cup or more grated Parmesan Cheese
Lemon wedges for garnish

Snap or cut off the tough ends of the asparagus. Arrange asparagus in a single layer in a shallow baking pan.
Make marinade by combining olive oil, white wine, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour marinade over asparagus, turning to coat. Let marinate for 2 to 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. When ready to bake, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top of the asparagus. Bake approximately 8 to10 minutes (depending on thickness of the asparagus stalks) or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer asparagus to a serving platter. Garnish with lemon wedges.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.