Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 8 Issue No. 9 April 19, 2007

www.olinfoxfarms.com Spring Season Week 5

STANDARD REMINDER

Please be sure to wash your weekly share thoroughly before serving. To preserve freshness, it is NOT ‘table ready’ (i.e., pre-washed). We deliver your Olin-Fox Farms’ produce right from the fields to ensure highest quality.

Remaining Spring Program (with Mother Nature's cooperation) dates,

please mark your calendars: April 18-21; May 2-5

Please note, April 25-28 will be an off-week so we can do planting

for the Summer Program.

This Week's News From The Farms

Since our region’s rainfall has been 1-2 inches below normal for this time of year, last weekend's blanket of heavy, wet snow was well received by many of the crops underway, giving them much-needed moisture.  For them what’s got ears to hear, they’re singing a constant round of “JOY To The World”, ‘adoramus Dei domini’ along with the ecstatic syncopated chorus mob of millions of hormonally-charged peeper frogs, currently populating every flooded roadside ditch, proud puddle and seasonally pond. This week's nor'easter brought the added boon of a really good soaking rain, although we could have done without the high winds.  Conditions like these—high winds combined with pelting rain---make it extremely difficult to get much done out in the fields, as you might imagine; so, it's back to the office to tackle some paperwork, do a bit of planning (while we still can!), and pursue other avenues of interest.

  We humans also welcome the blessed rain, as it affords us the chance to do some catch-up work.  And, as the saying goes, ‘April showers bring May flowers’.  Speaking of flowers, we hope you have been enjoying the flowers tucked in your shares, by way of a small handsel /lagniappe, despite the fact that delicate spring blossoms are notoriously difficult to transport successfully.  In response to requests from a number of members, we decided to add these beauties to the shares on a semi-regular basis, as they become available.  The sheer enjoyment Alice, Stevie and Kathy experienced putting together the selection for your shares outdoors in the open air permeates them with special benediction, purposefully, to be passed directly along and shared with you.  Please do, accept our blessings to you and yours!  For, as you probably already know, anything you truly appreciate, you do, in fact, bless and enhance.  Note also that we plan to include some nice bouquets of gladiolas, sunflowers, and zinnias in your shares during the Summer Program.

  Reminder:  To ensure the quality of your produce, please, please, please pick up your share as scheduled.   Kelsick Gardens, Country Cottage, Lottsburg, and Olde Virginia Gourmet & Gifts are NOT equipped to hold shares overnight.  Once again, if you find that you are unable to pickup your share, be so kind as to make other arrangements or contact your pickup point to let them know, as a common courtesy.  As for farm pickups, we do ask for at least a 24-hour notification, if you need to change your pickup day for that week.  Alexandria Central & Chowan Avenue are at your coordinator's discretion.

  Young master Stevie Jett has been working with us at Olin-Fox Farms while pursuing a musical career, studying under the direction of his worthy and highly esteemed musical mentor, Mrs. Alice Hershiser.  At age 16, he is already performing as a member of the Northern Neck Orchestra.  In recognition of Stevie's genuine enthusiasm for growing, his inborn capacity to learn quickly, as well as all of his hard work as an upbeat team player, we are pleased to announce his advancement to the position of Field Manager.  Kudos and congratulations, Sir Stevie!  He is definitely ‘outstanding in the field’. 

Crop Report

The unseasonably cool temperatures combined with the lack of rainfall this spring has delayed a number of crops, such as broccoli, asparagus, beets, radishes, and bok choi, to name but a few.  Now that we have had a good soaking, hopefully we will get a few warm days so that some of these crops will be ready for next delivery, asparagus in particular.  And, just now, during this precious interval, while the rural countryside of Virginia is so magnificent, arrayed at the pinnacle of its legendary springtime glory, we encourage all of you not to miss this brief window of opportunity to enjoy it by taking a leisurely ride away from the hustle and bustle with your family.  You won’t regret it.

  We are still getting reports of frost damage to this year's apple crops, but we don't think it will be a total loss.  Most area growers' trees were not hit with a frost while in bloom, including Olin-Fox Farms and many of our growers in the Northern Neck.  However, much of the specialty tree fruit (such as Asian pears) was hit very hard at Holly Hill Organic Farm in Waterview, over in upper Middlesex County, on the Middle Peninsula, between the York and Rappahannock Rivers.  That’s the way it goes.  Another practical reason to spread our produce growing assets over the wider region, rather than having it all concentrated in one spot.  It provides the assurance of a kind of insurance.

  Now is the best time for planting sweet corn.  Since untreated corn seed does not do well in cold, wet soil, we could certainly do with a few warmer days.  If the first planting does not ‘take’, then we must re-plant.  That’s just how it is, down on the farm.  Normally, the first crops of sweet corn of the season ought to be ready around the second week in July, right about the time of tomato harvest.  But, with the erratic weather of late (not to mention, over the past several years), who knows?  So, stay tuned!  Buckle up and hang on, folks.  Looks like we’re in for a bumpy ride.  If it all happens to flow smoothly, we’re especially grateful.

In Your Produce Basket This Week

Kale, Green Onions, Spearmint, Fennel, Microgreens with Pea Shoots, Free-Range Eggs, Flowers

Recipes

Micro greens Recipe:  It’s quite simple --- don’t mess with them. They’re bursting with vital live enzymes, natural vitamins and essential minerals.  No need to ‘gild the lily’, as it were.  Enjoy them au naturel, sprinkled in salads, as a healthy, colorful garnish for other dishes, and minced up and mixed with some cottage cheese and apple sauce, whole ground flax seed meal, sunflower seeds kernels [rich in fiber, high in easily-digested proteins, ligans, anti-oxidants and healthy omega-3 oils]. Talk about a potent spring tonic!

Spring Kale Side Dish

  A few snips here, a few snips there, and in just a few minutes we have a bowl full of kale, enough to feed four easily. For those of us living on the land, it is awfully convenient to be able to walk out the front door and gather dinner--or at least the side dish.  The Essene community of ancient Palestine knew the secret benefits of eating only foods harvested minutes before mealtime.  Such a basic luxury, so few can enjoy these days.

  Try preparing this kale the same way you normally cook Swiss chard. Cut the greens into manageable pieces (about 10 ounces would be enough for four persons), then cook in a large pot of salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Then strain the greens through a colander, rinse with cold water and press the excess water out of them. Meanwhile, oil the bottom of a heavy skillet with extra-virgin olive oil and heat it over moderately high heat. Add 1/2 red onion cut into thin strips. Reduce the heat and cook the onion until soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Now, add the cooked kale to the skillet, mix well with the onions, add another tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

   Finish the dish with pomegranate molasses. If you are not familiar with this product, it is usually available in a small bottle at Middle Eastern groceries. It is thick syrup with a strong flavor of pomegranates and a muscular tang. Use sparingly. I pour 1 or 2 teaspoons into the kale and mix. As an alternative, you can substitute some balsamic vinegar blended with a dollop of honey. 

  Serve warm, perhaps with a roasted chicken or grilled lamb.

Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer is on vacation this week.

Bon Appetit!