On June 30th the skies east of Old Mill Creek turned from a Summery blue to a threatening shade that made you think twice about going out on a picnic. We were lucky to miss the storm that hit Chicago with it's golf ball size hail and vicious winds that tore down plenty of trees and branches. As farmers you start thinking about anyone you know that's growing fields of food, flowers or even livestock that could have been damaged by this kind of storm. One in particular that got hit was the Garfield Park Conservatory. The Conservatory is constructed of 6 multi faceted glass greenhouses, 3 of these houses had catastrophic damage. The hailstorm shattered the ceiling planes of these houses leaving shattered glass all over the Fern Room, Show and Desert Houses and all 9 of the production greenhouses where horticulturists keep and grow the Conservatory's extra plants. To read further or to see how you could help please visit this link and let's see how we can rebuild this Chicago landmark, Garfield Park Conservatory.
This week's CSA is for members that ordered a Full Vegetable Share and/or a Seasonal Fruit Share
Your vegetable bounty this week:
Fresh Dug White Onions
Fresh Cut Dill
Dark Red Norland Potatoes
Broccoli
Romaine Lettuce (for members that pick up at the farm)
Curly Green Leaf Lettuce
Iceberg Crispino Lettuce (for members not picking up at the farm)
Green Scallions
Cucumbers
Zucchini and/or Yellow Crookneck Summer Squash
Your Fruit bounty this week:
Blueberries
Red Raspberries
Sweet Cherries
Freshly dug onions are such a treat as you rarely find this in the grocery store. They have a subtle flavor and a wonderful crunchy texture. These should be stored in your refrigerator wrapped in a plastic bag if you're not going to use them right away. In a few weeks we'll be pulling thousands of bulbs of onions out of the ground and will cure them in the shaded greenhouse so they will serve as a great storage onion. Pictured above is Armando holding a beautiful bouquet of freshly dug onions. Enjoy!
Recipes! Recipes! Recipes!
Quick Sauté of Zucchini with Toasted Almonds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced almonds
2 tablespoons thinly sliced almonds
1 to 2 small zucchini, cut into 1/8-inch matchsticks with a knife or julienne blade on a mandoline
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Few ounces pecorino Romano or Parmesan, in thin slices — a peeler works great for this
Heat the oil on high in a large skillet. When it is hot but not smoking, add the almonds to the pan. Cook them, while stirring, until the almonds are golden-brown, approximately a minute or two.
Add the zucchini to the pan, tossing it with the oil and almonds until it just begins to glisten, about one minute. The idea is not to cook the zucchini so much as warm it.
Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately, with or without cheese on top.
Chores on the farm.........
Our layer hens give us delicious eggs and in return we take great care in making sure that they are healthy and happy. Every month we clear out the barn that houses their nesting boxes, feeders, waterers and perches to sleep on at night. The chore is not the most prettiest as you can see but fresh straw needs to be put in to keep up their good health. We collect their straw which is mixed with their manure and put in a spreader that is then pulled by our tractor and is taken to a new parcel of 50ish acres that we are currently transitioning for the future. The manure adds excellent nutrients to the soil and is one of our ways of building good organic matter in the soil that grows our wonderful food.
Our eggs that we sell to you have been layed that week, never the previous weeks back, so that you may enjoy a truly fresh, rich and nutrious egg. If you haven't tried them, please do! We have them available for sale on the farm on Thursdays between 4-7pm, on the farm on Saturdays 8-2pm and Sundays at our Logan Square Farmer's Market. Enjoy!
We hope you enjoy this week's bounty!
Your farmers,
Tania and Chris Cubberly and our crew, Armando, Francisco, Elliot, Joe, Charlie, Sherman , Michael and Mario!
