Contents of Share
- sugar snap peas (3/4 pound)
- snow peas (3/4 pound)
- pac choi or napa cabbage (1-2 heads) – cooking green
- rainbow or ruby red chard (1 bunch)
- collard greens (1 bunch)
- turnips with greens (1 bunch)
- salad mix (3/4 pound) – wash thoroughly
- dill or cilantro (1 bunch)
- dozen eggs or sprout mix (brown lentil, mung bean, french lentil, zesty mustard mix)
Announcements
- Please RETURN YOUR BOXES, JARS and BAGS and clean egg cartons. You can leave them where you get your share and we will retrieve them each week. Try not to rip the boxes when breaking them down. Better to keep them assembled.
- WASHING YOUR VEGGIES. We do not do extensive washing of veggies before delivering them to you. We will do some washing if there is a lot of dirt on greens and we always wash root crops. In general, this allows the food to stay fresher longer. It also means you need to wash your veggies before consuming them. For greens: fill a bowl with cold water. Soak greens in water for a minute. Drain water and repeat two more times. Dirt will rinse to the bottom. Bugs should float to the top.
- WE HAVE A ROAD SIGN. Look for it when you are coming to visit.
We are looking for a delivery vehicle. If you have any leads on something efficient, in decent shape, and affordable, please let us know!- If you are a shareholder, you have the option of volunteering 5 hours over the course of the season in exchange for an additional week of food in the fall. Be in touch to schedule your work with us.
- Pasture raised poultry for mid summer and fall is available for pre-sale here.
- Remember that you are always welcome to visit socially and/or to volunteer. Give a call to schedule a time.
- All of our newsletters are archived on our website, along with lots more, including educational resources and recipes.
- Like us on Facebook. There are larger picture albums there, and more being added each week.
Food Justice News
This Friday marks the next major step in our food security survey initiative with the Albany Food Justice Coalition. The survey is for residents in areas coined “food deserts” in Albany. The survey is a tool our group is using to identify true issues that residents face when making decisions about food purchasing and consumption. We will use the information gathered from the survey – target of 500 total – to identify major initiatives and next steps for the coalition. This Friday, Leah and Capers will be working to train youth from Albany summer employment to administer the survey, and have a knowledge base in food justice, nutrition and healthy eating in order to be effective surveyors. We will share updates as the project progresses.
Recipe – Farm Fresh Fritata (with optional potato or sweet potato “crust”)
Ingredients
2 cups seasonal vegetables
6 eggs
salt
pepper
fresh or dry herbs
optional: 2-3 potatoes or sweet potatoes
Directions
Dice and lightly saute veggies in olive oil for about 5 minutes – veggies still should be firm. You can use greens, peas, scapes, or turnips from your share. In a bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy. Stir in the sauteed veggies. Add salt, pepper, and finely chopped herbs (parsley, basil, dill and cilantro all work well). Pour into an oiled baking dish and bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes until golden brown on top and firm. Check the middles with a fork to make sure its cooked thoroughly. Yum!
Variation with potato “crust” – All same as above. Thinly slice potato and/or sweet potatoes and layer on bottom of baking pan. Pour in veggie-egg mix. Bake. Yum Yum!
Farm News
WOW! We are so blessed. Our solstice celebration this past Saturday was a testament to the beauty and power of our ever expanding community. Put love into the world, and love is not only what you get back, but what you grow. It becomes infectious. People from all over the Northeast as well as heaps of local friends and family joined us to create a night of surreal magic. One where we come together to truly witness what Soul Fire is. Our farm family here merely holds this vessel to be filled with all of your abundant radiance and mutual inspiration. New and old friends came together from Western Mass, New York City, Troy, Albany, Vermont, Connecticut. The evening began with a spectacular forest trapeze performance by Ribbon in the Sky – Mara and Leah – accompanied by live piano written and performed by Claire Davenport. And of course, our Boogie Down Party could only be named such with a dance party like no other. We danced to the brilliantly intuitive djing of our dear friend and local legend, Truemaster. 80 plus people packed the dance floor from 8 until Tru could no longer stand at 2am. People dancing, playing music, telling stories, roasting marshmallows outside, interspersed with the fireflies to create a backdrop to the unexpectedly starry skies. And yes, the stormy weather that was expected before, and even during the party, gave way to clear skies, a brilliant moon sliver, and oh, those fireflies. I just can’t help mention them again.
This past week we have also started integrating regular soil amending and foliar sprays into our systems. Someone may occasionally be seen wearing a large backpack sprayer humming the Ghost Busters theme song. No chemicals in that pack. It is actually filled with micro and macro soil nutrients, and bacterial and fungal inoculations. All central components to building the biological systems in our soil that support healthy plant growth.
Leah and the kids, friend, and last year’s intern, Kristin Reynolds, as well as our youngest intern, Elie Lev, have also been on farm this week. It has been a marvelous change to have a huge crew, as bed after bed, and section after section become clear of weeds. The energy of Neshima and Emet add to the playful and lighthearted perspective of the farm crew. When not in the fields, we are graced with joyous bellowing laughter, and often hours a day of Neshima’s harp playing.
In this week’s share you will find your first installment of peas. While this season has not been good for groewing some things, it has perfect for peas. Our pea plants are over 8 feet tall and producing enough for you all to get 3/4 pound of snow peas and sugar snap peas. Also in your shares are a wonderful bouty of cooking greens and hefty bag of salad mix. It was a joy to harvest from the abundance on the farm right now. And we have a road sign. Finally, you can find us by looking for the shiny yellow and red road sign. No, not McDonald’s, we’re so much more.