Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 8 Issue No. 3 February 7, 2007

www.olinfoxfarms.com Winter Season Week 3

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.

The next scheduled pick-ups for the Winter Program are Wednesday February 21 (local) 

and Thursday February 22 (Lottsburg, Northern Virginia).

NEWS FLASH:  The new feature on our website, Windows to the Farms, is now up and running for your viewing enjoyment.

This Week's News From The Farms

The early February mornings have been crisp and cold.  Walking the fields, you can hear the grass crackling under your feet.  Small ice patches can be seen on the pond.  Yes, February is here. 

It's this time of year when the year-round grower must take extra time tending to and harvesting crops.  Some crops are very cold hardy and are a little easier to pick.  Some others not normally grown in our Zone 7 during the winter months such as Arugula, salad greens, bok choi, and tatsoi grow much slower and can only be harvested when the temperatures are above freezing, normally being harvested mid-day with Mother Nature's indulgence.

For almost 8 years now, Olin-Fox Farms has been growing year-round.  The first Winter Program was introduced last year, a milestone in our CSA becoming a true 4-season program. 

Over the past several years, we have been encouraging the members of the Fine Family of Farms to join in this year-round growing movement to offer our members fresh, locally grown produce and the growers a welcome income in an otherwise lean season when most farms, of necessity, are working with saved income generated during the spring and summer months.  Once again, this a win-win situation for all. 

This is also the time of year when we finally can find a breather to meet and talk with the growers to plan for the upcoming seasons in addition to finishing up our spring seed orders and starting seedlings like peppers, eggplant, basil, and yes, tomatoes.  Later this month, direct seeding will start outdoors and will continue as Mother Nature permits right up until the first frost of the next fall.

Crop Report

As mentioned in "This Week's News At The Farms," some of the more delicate crops are being harvested when conditions are optimum.  Crops we look forward to harvesting for the remaining weeks of the Winter Program are:  salad mix, Arugula, bok choi, tatsoi, cabbage, kale, collards, turnips, microgreens, herbs, and hopefully some delectable, enzyme-rich flowers.

In Your Produce Basket This Week

Kale, Collards, Cabbage, Free-Range Eggs, Honey

Weekly Weeder, February 7, 2007 Page 2

Recipes

COLLARDS

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Seasoned in the South (click on title for publishing/purchase link) by Bill Smith, the chef at Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill. Throughout the South, collards are a traditional New Year's Day dish — because their flat, green leaves resemble dollar bills, collards are said to bring monetary fortune in the new year.

“Hardly a workday passes that I don't eat at least a spoonful of collards. I never grow tired of them. I also love to drink their broth and to pour the broth over rice. My great-grandmother used to say that this "pot liquor" was like medicine. She also said that eating collards was how poor people survived the Depression, because collards will grow almost anywhere under almost any conditions and are very nourishing. People would plant them in their yards back then, and they still do. Essentially all you do to collards is boil them for a long time with salt. At Crook's I almost always have a ham bone to add. Most butcher shops and meat departments will have some sort of ham bone or ham hocks for sale.”

Ingredients

2 bunches (about 5 pounds) fresh collards
6 strips of bacon, diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
1 ham bone

Method
Remove the tougher, woody stalks from the collard leaves. Smaller stems are okay. Wash the leaves and cut them into half-inch-wide strips. You can roll them into cigars to speed this up.

Put the bacon in a stock pot on high head to render its grease, 3 or so minutes. Add the onion and cook until translucent but not brown, about 5 minutes more. Add the collards and cover with cool water. Add the red pepper, salt, and the ham bone. Bring to a boil and cook for at least 2 hours. There are many conflicting opinions on this. To my mind, collards were not made for quick cooking. Undercook collards and you are asking to be strangled; they can't be properly chewed. On the other hand, overcook them and they will eventually turn to mush. Two hours seems about right, although this might give nutritionists pause. Taste for salt.

Even people who love collards complain about the way they make the house smell while cooking. People have different cures for this: Place four pecans in the pot. Cover the top of the collards with slices of white bread. None of this works.

Makes 4–6 servings.

Weekly Weeder, February 7, 2007 Page 3

SAUTEED COLLARDS WITH ANCHOVIES

Unlike southern-style slow-cooked collards, this blanched and quickly sautéed version has a bit of chew (which implies that not all of the vitamins and enzymes have been destroyed).

Ingredients
2 lb collard greens (2 to 3 bunches), stems and center ribs discarded
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
3 to 5 flat anchovy fillets (to taste), drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method

 Cook collards in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until barely tender, 6 to 8 minutes, then drain well in a colander and coarsely chop.

Heat oil, garlic, anchovies, and pepper in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until anchovies are dissolved and garlic is fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add collards and increase heat to moderate. Cook, stirring frequently, until collards are just tender and flavors are blended, 5 to 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

HEALTHY EPICUREAN COLLARD GREENS

This recipe can easily be multiplied by 2, 3 or 4. Leftovers are fair.

Ingredients

Method

Heat the grapeseed oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the white onion and cook slowly for about 20 minutes until the onions are translucent. Stir frequently.

While the onions are cooking, wash the collards well and slice into 2 inch squares.

Add the collard greens to the pan with the onions and toss. As they begin to wilt, add the pure maple syrup, salt and butter.

Cook until the collards are hot and wilted, but not to the point that they begin to lose their bright green color.

Servings = 4 | Serving size = about 1/2 cup greens

KALE RECIPES

I thought I would share with you a recipe for kale. In a bowl place washed kale, drizzle safflower/canola oil, and sprinkle with soy sauce. Turn the marinade occasionally. Place in refrigerator for 12 hours or more. Eat! Enjoy!
Rochella, CSA Member

*** Savvy CSA Member Heidi juices her kale. ***

Newsletter and Recipes by Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer

Bon Appetit!