This spring’s pace

Apples! Growing so big already!

In spite of the recent rainy spell, this spring has continued marching along speedily. I am amazed at how ahead so many perennial crops are — last week, Rusty noticed (with those highly tuned child eyes of his) the first ripe golden raspberry on our small patch by the house. At the end of May! We’ve definitely never eaten these raspberries in May before.

Similarly, our neighbor’s cherries have begun blushing up, and we see that totes of brine have been dropped off for the upcoming shake harvest already. Last week, Casey and the crew thinned our apples (taking each bunch down to one fruit for better growth all around), and some of the earlier apples were already golf ball size!

We’re seeing the same trend in the annual vegetable fields — we’ve been picking snap peas for weeks and now shelling peas are ready! There are years when shelling peas are definitely a July crop.

Agricultural scientists speak in terms of “degree days” and “heat units,” which are slightly different measurements of how much growing weather has already come to the region. Perennials respond especially strongly to the total warmth of  season, but clearly everything is affected given that we can often plant earlier in dry warm years.

So far, we here at Oakhill Organics are very much enjoying the trend of this spring — especially with the free and thorough irrigation we received last week! More of the early summer vegetables are on the horizon — cabbage are heading and carrots are sizing up in the ground! What excitement!

I know that by the time Autumn arrives, we will be ready (’tis my favorite season, after all), but at this moment in June it’s hard to imagine that reality. The sun is delicious and bringing such wonderful things to the field. We just used the last of our stored peppers and tomatoes, so watching those plants grow makes me drool with excitement for ‘putting up’ season. For now, it’s good to be on the precipice of summer, with warmth to inspire our work.

Enjoy this week’s vegetables!

Your farmers, Katie & Casey Kulla

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Farm snack ideas!

I began thinking about this idea of “farm snacks” in the context of the Full Diet CSA and how members are utilizing what our farm has to offer. It seems that “snacks” are the last thing to be fully supplanted in people’s food routines, because so often “snacks” are the last place we hang on to for convenience (crackers, dried fruit, etc.). I thought about writing up some ideas of farm snacks for the Full Diet folks and then realized that perhaps many of us could use inspiration for relatively easy, healthy snacks made from whole, locally available ingredients.

Of course, first, what is a “snack”? This is something I’ve actually pondered a lot with children in the house. Here in America, we definitely have a tendency to use snacks as entertainment for our children. Also, I’ve noticed that in our household snacks tend to be simpler and more kid-friendly foods by nature, and on some days it’s easy for them to overtake meals as Rusty’s primary calorie source! I’m trying to move away from that mode and focus on when Rusty really does need a bridge of food to get him from one meal to the next, in the hope that he arrives at each meal with a real appetite (which is the best inspiration for trying new foods).

Nonetheless, these growing kids often need/want food between meals, and given that the rest of the world is into snacks, it’s hard for us to consistently go without. So, I’ve worked hard to create snacks that make me feel ok if they end up supplanting meals. For me, this means snacks that have a real fat and/protein content so that the eater doesn’t just get hungry again ten minutes later.

Full Diet members have also been creative with snacks too and sharing ideas with us. Even if you’re not in the Full Diet, these are easily accessible healthy whole foods! Here are some of the snack ideas they’ve had and some things we’ve enjoyed:

• Popcorn — especially made in a pan with lots of good oil
• Fresh veggie + dip/cheese — Peas dipped in soft cheese. Carrot sticks with sour cream dip. Etc.
• Kale “chips” — These are great for moments when snack is being asked for a little too close to dinner or as a planned appetizer. They won’t diminish the appetite much at all, but they’re fun! I set the oven to as low a temp as possible (220°). Toss kale leaves in oil and spread out on pan (I put cooling racks on my pan so that the kale wasn’t sitting in oil). Sprinkle lightly with salt and then bake until crispy, which may depend on the thickness of the kale (30-50 minutes).
• Walnuts — So simple and satisfying. The walnuts from our farm can be opened with a twist of the fingers, so they are highly portable even in the shell (great for those moments when you want a snack and want to occupy your hands, such as when watching a movie).
• Yogurt with fruit or jam
• Fruit + fat — This is the classic Rusty snack combination. Apple + walnut butter. Strawberries + whipped cream (unsweetened). Pear + cottage cheese. It shifts with the seasonal availability of fruit and fats.
• Oat flour cookies/bars — packed with walnuts, ground flax seed, etc. these types of baked goods can be really filling.
• Hard boiled egg
• Homemade cheese sticks
• Other ideas? Share them with us!

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Meet this week’s vegetables:

• Bok choy — An Asian stir fry green. Pairs well with peas, garlic scapes, mushrooms and chicken. Try it with sesame and soy flavors.
• Strawberries — We’re picking enough strawberries this week that you won’t have to limit yourself to just one serving. If you want, you could take all of your items as strawberries … but then you’d miss out on all these other good things …..
• Sugar snap peas — Ditto — you won’t have to limit yourself this week! We have tons! How will you decide what to take this week? What a dilemma!!!!
• Fava beans — How are you eating your fava beans? Roasted or grilled whole? Shucked and sauteed, tossed with pasta? Blended into a dip?
• Head lettuce — We know that seeing lettuce — real lettuce — will make at least a few of you over the moon with joy. We ate a few lettuce salads this week and were pretty blown away by the experience. We do so love our winter salads, but when spring brings us lettuce, it is a treat.
• Chard
• Dinosaur kale
  
• Sunchokes — We are nearing the end of sunchoke season! Get them while they’re here!
• Garlic scapes — These are the “bolts” that pop out of the garlic plant top in late spring as the base bulbs up. They are tender and delicious to cook — chop the entire thing stalk up to the “bud” and use as you would garlic, fresh or cooked.