Red Acre Farm CSA

What’s In Your Harvest Basket This Week:

• Hakurei Turnips
• Shunkyo Radishes
• Tokyo Bekana
• Tatsoi
• Pac Choi
• Spring onions
• Arugula
• Gourmet Lettuce Mix
• Butter Crunch (you pick)
• Swiss Chard
• Spinach
• Endive
• Parsley
• Easter Egg & French Breakfast Radishes

Ideas for Eating, Cutting, Cooking and Keeping the new Asian stuff:

Some fun new Asian items all excellent ,raw,wilted,cooked especially stir fried or in a recipe.

Turnips, Hakurei Turnips. Most people don’t associate the word “turnip” with ”sweet and buttery,” but Hakureis are just that. These turnips are best eaten raw to savor their texture and flavor, but they also saute up well with a little olive oil, salt and their own greens.Don’t toss those tops! They make great stir-fry greens. Give them a wash, chop them up, and cook them!If you want your turnips to last longer in the fridge, cut the tops off and store the roots in a Ziploc in the crisper.There is a recipe on the exchange that uses the tops, bottoms.

Shunkyo Radishes, from North China both sweet and hot.

Tokyo Bekana, you get two different vegetables (leaf and stem) for the effort of one. Tokyo Bekana is a Japanese version of Small Chinese Cabbage. It does taste like cabbage, however, and lacks the strong earthiness of other greens such as chard, spinach, or beets. The crunchy stalks are smooth and flat and bear a vague resemblance to celery minus grooves or strings, and they have a mild, juicy sweetness that suggests romaine lettuce.Although you can eat Tokyo Bekana raw, cooking enhances itconsiderably, and it is excellent for stir-fry and soup. It takes just a few minutes to cook to a crisp-tender texture. For stir-fries, there is nothing better its stems turn almost creamy after cooking. Substitute Tokyo Bekana in any recipe that calls for pac choi .

Tatsoi, Tat soi is a well loved Asian green that goes by many names including flat cabbage, rosette bok choy, and spoon cabbage. It’s a member of the brassica family which includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, and kale. Tat soi is most often eaten raw in salads. It’s delicious in soups, or cooked (sauteed, boiled, or steamed) and served as an accompaniment to seafood, chicken, or tofu.We like to use it as a wilted green pouring a hot dressing over it or as a “spoon” for an appetizer.

Today is the last day for Spring Shares.What a bitter sweet day today is. Grateful we were successful and that it is over. Sad to think our paths might not ever cross again. You have become friends to us.

If you signed up for Summer keep your basket.If not please bring something to take home your last share and if you left a $5. deposit be sure to get that as well.

We could not time my husband coming home on Share day this time however he is bringing back those wonderful strawberries and lemons again. You may come out Saturday anytime all day or night to the farm and get a basket and some lemons they are part of your share.Go in the back door the one facing east,it is our seedling room and there is a fridge there.We will be at the Farmers Markets that day so just walk in. Springdales will be in their basket & St George if you come by the market we will have your strawberries and lemons there for you.Several of you asked about getting more to freeze can or jam with.They are $24 a flat,$15 for a half of a flat or $ 2.50 a basket not certified organic but they do not spray.There are 12 of those green little baskets that strawberries use to come in they even say product of the USA! Each basket is almost a lb. I HAVE to know by noon THURSADY if and how many you want!

In that same fridge for the next 2 weeks will be for sale: Goat Milk,Goat Yogurt,Cow Keifer, Cow Milk ,cottage cheese,butter,and a variety of cheese from both Jack Rabbit Ranch and Nature Hills. Prices are listed there is a money jar and it is an honor system .You can come 24hrs a day 6 days a week.We ask that no one come on Sunday.

MEAT,on the list to do….

MAY DAY, which we do not have on May Day ,May 1 but really have a day in May in hopes of better weather.Not so this year and after Spring Day in a blizzard we decided that even if it does not rain Saturday the mud around here would not be fun.

So here is the Summer schedule: First Share, June 1,( farm pick up),Springdale June 4. No farm pick up on June 8th please come on Saturday June 11th for A DAY IN MAY IN JUNE! We will still deliver to Springdale that day but would rather you visit the farm.We will still have a may pole.If we are not full we will do sign ups for shares so bring anyone you know who might be interested.

Thank You again and again for allowing us the opportunity to grow something as important as what you and your family eat.We will miss those of you who are not returning. If it is because you are moving we wish you a safe journey.If it is because you are growing your own we wish you a bounty harvest. Please call if you have questions or need help with your garden.

With gratitude,

Lynn,Symbria, and Sara

What’s In Your Harvest Basket This Week:

• Bulls Blood
• Carrots
• Endive
• Spinach
• Turnip & Mustard Greens
• Butter Crunch Lettuce
• Spicy Gourmet Lettuce Mix

From the farm. Nothing knew you have not seen before.I will say this again.Thank You for your support in this our first time growing without heat in Winter and Spring. We too know that broccoli,cauliflower, new potatoes,more greens that can be cooked ,more peas and cabbage are a must for this season.

At a time when a lot of the news is grim, we feel blessed to be part of this great experiment in eating with you. We know full well there were days when you pulled that lettuce out of your basket and wondered, “how can I eat one more salad? ” We know that some of you have pushed yourself to your culinary limits with another way to eat salad and yes more odd greens! And we know that some of you have juggled your schedules and figured out complicated veggie carpools just to be able to pick up your share each week. We know all this takes commitment and we are deeply grateful to you for your partnership – for saying to us, and the world, “Local food matters. Family farms matter. Sustainable agriculture matters. And eating well, eating seasonally, eating as part of a community, matters.”

Thanks for all that you eat.

MEAT & CHEESE: We offer cheese,eggs and milk because we believe in raw,healthy and local. We want everyone to have the opportunity to eat as good as we do.We also know that we are educating people and building a community.So for now this is a service we offer making no money. It all takes time . With the planting and marketing Summer Shares and still doing Spring Shares I am finding it difficult to organize this meat order. I have done all the research.

Chicken is being grown locally. Free range,not organic, but healthy whole grain ground fresh .The lamb is organic and the best you could get and local.The beef is the same.Pork is from Christiansen’s in Vernon. My goal/plan is to send an email with prices and details this week! Appreciate your patience as we all learn and grow together in this change and movement that is happening to our food and all for the better.

Cheese and BUTTER: From Nature Hills Farm: Cottage Cheese $3.50 for 8 oz. Fresh Butter $3.50 for 10 oz. and a sale on Brie $2.

Milk: Sorry we have not been able to meet the demand on Share Day for the goat milk.The goat milk is fabulous! They do not give as much as cows. So please call or email before Share Day.Or come out on another day anytime day or night. Go in the back door in the fridge.Self serve honor system. First come first serve basis.

SUMMER SHARES, Next week is the last week for Spring Shares. One week off and then Summer starts. We are not full so please tell everyone you know about us. Let us know if you know a place to put a flier. Invite them to May Day, Saturday May 21st here at the farm. Noon to 3 for Share Holders and there friends. We ask Share Holders to bring a Salad to share.Red Acre provides homemade honey lemonade,crafts: dandelion wreathes,coloring,mini may poles,activities: bubble pond,goop pond,baby animals,entertainment,give aways and the MAY POLE.

HELP: Thanks to those who have been out to help.If anyone would like to go with me to the first Farmers Market of the season in St George this Saturday we would be grateful. I need help setting up , unloading and if you can stay selling.It is actually fun!

What’s In Your Harvest Basket This Week:

• Strawberries
• Lemons (conventionally grown)
• Beets
• Radishes
• Kale
• Turnip Tops
• Curly Cress
• Spinach
• Sorrel
• Butter Crunch (The ONLY lettuce this week

STRAWBERRIES: There was a time when having something that was not local or in season was rare and a real treat. A time before our food was shipped thousands of miles before we ate it.

My husband,Lynn did not come back from the far east but he did go south and west to work for a few weeks to subsidise the farm and hopes to be here full time one day farming. When he works in our home town he stays in Ventura Ca. with his brother who lives in a 1920 Victorian farm house that is surrounded by a 200 acre lemon orchard.

Ventura use to be one of the largest growers of citrus as well as other crops in the United States. Due to the value of land the farms were plowed under and housing tracts put in. This home is owned as almost any that are still standing, by a corporation in another country. They will wait patiently until the market goes up again to plow under local food and beautiful soil will be stripped to build homes. Or will it ever happen? Where and how will are food continue to get to us at this cost in dollars ,quality and impact on our resources?With the food movement and where it is going maybe our farm land that’s left will be spared.

Lynn bought strawberries for you, our Share Holders from one of the fields that are left and still growing food They have been grown pesticide free by a local farmer with a face that he spoke to. They were picked yesterday sweetened by the ocean air only one mile away.

LEMONS: Lynn hand picked himself yesterday.Sorry, yes they do spray a couple times a year.

Enjoy!

Tired of greens? With Lynn back this week I will offer our MEAT that we have found to be the very best. Local,organic and excellent quality. Beef,Lamb,Pork and Chicken. Sold in all sorts of creative ways. More information this week.

Summer Shares are still available. Please tell your friends,family,neighbors and enemies about Red Acre.Bring them or send them to MAY DAY.

May Day, Saturday May 21st here at the farm. Noon to 3 for Share Holders and there friends. We ask Share Holders to bring a Salad to share.Red Acre provides homemade honey lemonade, crafts: dandelion wreathes, coloring, mini may poles, activities: bubble pond, goop pond, baby animals, entertainment, give aways and the MAY POLE.

Vendors meeting for anyone growing a garden this year and want to sell some or all of there produce at the Cedar City Down Town Farmers Market. Tonight 6 to 7 at the Visitor Center ,west side of the building. Main Street .

WORK TO BE DONE !

Planting,we need and would love help in the field. Call if there are specific times you can or are willing to help.

What’s In Your Harvest Basket This Week?

• Turnips and there tops
• Spinach
• Pac Choi
• Tango Lettuce
• And array of head lettuce
• Easter Egg radishes (They just missed the bunny but are still beautiful)

Ideas for Eating, Cutting, Cooking and Keeping the new stuff:

Turnips: You have had greens but now you get the turnip too!Turnip leaves are eaten as “turnip greens” (“turnip tops” in the UK), and they resemble mustard greens in flavor. Turnip greens are a common side dish in southeastern US cooking. Smaller leaves are preferred; however, any bitter taste of larger leaves can be reduced by pouring off the water from initial boiling and replacing it with fresh water. Both leaves and root have a pungent flavor similar to raw cabbage or radishesthat becomes mild after cooking.Stored best with the tops removed and then both root and top in a bag in the fridge.

In the news,

Yes, we were in the newspaper again! We so appreciate the interest that is growing about the importance of local and organic. We feel fortunate to have had an event like this come to our town and to have been ask to say something.We hope there will be many growers and lots of CSAs in Cedar some day and the sooner the better. With all the attention we get we are not yet full for summer. We have had a waiting list each season and plan to for Summer as well. Please spread the word. The price goes up THIS Monday.

SUMMER SHARES. LAST Share day to sign up for early bird price.If you feel you have had lots of lettuce and greens you have! I hope you will take a minute and look at last Winter and especially Summers Weekly Weed and see what was in the baskets.Lots of variety and not too much lettuce. I would love to have had, broccoli, cauliflower, new potatoes and cabbage in the shares this spring and will next year. Those crops will end up in the summer shares.

We are grateful and hope you can be too that we really had a beautiful harvest and there was a variety. NO one else locally has or is doing this in freezing temperatures with no heat! Thanks for being a share holder and joining us in the adventure of farming, local, organic, and sustainable.

Thank You to those who have been helping. We have had help watering,planting and a family that has come at chore time and help milk an feed the babies. We so appreciate the help.

Farmers Market, Earth Day in Springdale was a success. We have a few new share holders in Springdale. We will be at the farmers market ever Saturday 9 to noon with a pick up for shares as well.

May Day, Saturday May 21st here at the farm. Noon to 3 for Share Holders and there friends. We ask Share Holders to bring a Salad to share.Red Acre provides homemade honey lemonade, crafts: dandelion wreathes, coloring, mini may poles, activities: bubble pond, goop pond, baby animals, entertainment, give aways and the MAY POLE.

What’s In Your Harvest Basket This Week?

• Golden Beets
• Swiss Chard
• Endive
• Ruby Red lettuce
• Red & Green Oak leaf lettuce
• Deep Red Romaine
• Spinach
• Sorrel
• Carrots
• Peas

Ideas for Eating, Cutting, Cooking and Keeping the new stuff:

Beets , this variety dates back to the 1820s or before.Sometimes half the pleasure in food is the beauty of it.They are sweet and will not bleed like a red beet the greens are tasty too. These were planted in November.Some things are just worth waiting for.

First thing’s first with beets: don’t throw away the tops!They are not weeds! Beet greens are a sister to Swiss chard (they are, in fact, almost the same plant except beets are bred to develop a fat storage root, whereas chard is bred to produce leaves). Beet greens can be enjoyed a million ways, just like chard, kale, or any other cooking green. In fact there’s a great recipe – – that uses both your beet greens and your beets in a risotto.Please, Symbria put that one on the exchange! Like other roots, the root of the beet will last the longest in the fridge if you cut the greens off and store them separately in a plastic bag. If you don’t get around to eating your beets right away, never fear: they’ll hold up for weeks in the fridge. “If you’ve ever read Tom Robbins Jitterbug Perfume, you know the magical powers of beets.”I know I love beets especially roasted! But am yet to read this book.

Swiss Chard, is a nutritious and versatile leafy green. It is high in vitamins A, E, and C, and minerals like iron and calcium. It is completely interchangeable with spinach in any recipe – lasagna, spanikopita, etc. – and in fact is more nutritious because it lacks oxalic acid, an element present in spinach that inhibits the body’s ability to absorb minerals.
Chard is the parent plant of beets; you can see the close resemblance in the leaves of beets and chard. It evolved in the Mediterranean, but is called “Swiss” due to its initial description by a Swiss botanist in the 16th century.
 
Great steamed or sautéed, chopped into soups, baked into quiche or scrambled with eggs, steam it, drizzle it with a little vinegar, salt and olive oil and serve with black-eyed peas or baked beans and cornbread. Don’t be afraid to chop up the stems and eat them to. 
Store it in the fridge in a plastic bag.

This Week? What’s happened? What’s happening?

Last week after Share day we went to an event at Groovacious because we were asked at the last minute to talk about the Farmers Market here in Cedar.Okay I admit I had never stepped foot in that store.We had NO idea what we were walking into.The touring group performing drives a bus fueled by used vegetable fat .I was born in the 60’s but that night we were living in the 60,s.Being interviewed on stage was not what I had planned.Or an evening of music with ideas that made you think how to make our world a better place.One of those ideas,local organic food.What a enjoyable evening with many of our share holders there.The video of what we said is on our face book page.

FACEBOOK, By noon today if you “like us” or all ready liked us and get someone new to like us then we will give you cheese of our choice for free.

Last night the USU Master Gardner class toured both , Hamilton Fort green houses now lovingly called,Red Acre South and the farm here.We love visitors and teaching people why local is so important.Congratulations to our Sara whom without Alberts help would not have attended and finished the class.

EARTH DAY, this Saturday April 23rd in Springdale from 11 to 4. The farmers market will also open that day.We will be there. Zion National Park is FREE all this week.

May Day, Saturday May 21st here at the farm. Noon to 3 for Share Holders and there friends. We ask Share Holders to bring a Salad to share.Red Acre provides homemade honey lemonade,crafts: dandelion wreathes,coloring,mini may poles,activities: bubble pond,goop pond,baby animals,entertainment,give aways and the MAY POLE.

I love spring and the hope and new life it brings. Congartulations to two of our share holders: the Fawsons (our webmaster), and the Petersens who both had babies.

Thanks to babies we have raw goat milk $2.50 a quart.

WHEN DO WE FARM with so much going on? It is not easy. Marketing,educating,growing,harvesting,farmers markets,communicating with our share holders etc.Many of you have asked about helping.It is on our web page that we do not require work but welcome and appreciate help.We harvest every Wednesday and share holders who help say they really enjoy it. If you call and tell us when you want to come we can tell you what there is to do. The sun comes up at 6 am and it is light until 9 pm.We are behind in planting and would appreciate help.

SUMMER SHARES, the price goes up May 1 not because we want more money but we want to not spend our time finding Share Holders. We need to get busy farming all that the summer bounty can give.Please help by telling others about us and not waiting to sign up yourself.

Hope your Easter,Passover,Spring,or just a break is filled with joy and plenty of good food.