SOUL FIRE CSA Newsletter Week 1
June 29, 2012
Share Contents
- 1 pound sugar snap peas OR snow peas
- 1 pound shell peas (remove the peas from the pods and dont eat the shells)
- 1 bunch kale or chinese cabbage
- 1 bunch red chard
- 1/4 lb mesculun
- 1 bunch dill
- 1 bunch cilantro
- turnips
- 1/2 lb garlic scapes
- Dozen eggs or quart bean sprouts
News on the Farm
We hope your summer is off to a great start! We’re so glad that some of you were able to make it out to pick shares early. It was a beautiful harvest! We have been looking forward to delivering your first shares today. Your shares are packed in wax produce boxes that are reusable (a change from the cloth bags from last year). Please save and return them to us along with your egg cartons.
The rain earlier this week was just what we needed, so expect some nice looking veggies. The farm has experienced a number of big changes since last season. We just finished installing our irrigation system, so we can keep the plants healthy and strong during dry spells. Jonah built a walk in cooler with some help from shareholder and friend Simon, right in time for the first big harvest. This is a big exciting chage that will allow us to harvest food at optimal times and deliver the best possible produce. Not to mention smooth running harvest days.
We welcome Neshima home from Italy today after a two week trip with her nonna. She is glowing – speaking with a beautiful new accent and bearing gifts of blown glass for everyone. This will also be the first summer that Emet and Neshima aren’t going to camp, so we’ll have a couple of extra helping hands.
Our internship program has been an incredibly successful. We have hosted 7 interns since early April and worked on projects ranging from farming to timber framing, natural plasters, lime plasters, straw bale wall systems, and more. The food you recieve today is the product of months of hard work in a rich educational setting. We also have been doing weekly classes on a topic of the interns’ choosing, including land acquisition, soil science for building and agriculture, crop planning, food justice, and medicinal and edible plant walks to name a few. It has been a great opportunity of mutual learning, community building, and keeping the energy of Soul Fire vibrant and full.
We hope you can all make it out to our solstice party tomorrow night to celebrate the abundance of the season and each other!
It is a joy and blessing to grow food for you.
Jonah, Leah, Neshima, Emet & Alex
Recipe of the Week – Snap Pea Salad with Radish and Lime
Peas are abundant this week and so versatile. Here is a recipe that requires only a few minutes and incorporates the peas and cilantro from your share!
4 Servings, about 1 cup each
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved (about 2 cups)
7 ounces yellow wax beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced (about 10)
PREPARATION
1. Steam peas over 2 inches of boiling water, stirring once, until crisp-tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towel. Steam wax beans until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the baking sheet. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
2. Whisk lime juice, oil, cilantro, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add radishes, peas and beans; toss to coat. Serve chilled.