Sandwich Time!

Summer is one of the best times of the year! But who wants to figure out lunch when there is fun stuff to be doing? We have a quick and delicious suggestion!

Spread a very small amount of olive oil on a slice of a bread, sprinkle diced basil, oregano, cilantro (or whatever faves you enjoy), add slow bolt lettuce, sliced spring onions, and perhaps a tomato slice. Add another slice of bread. And voila! An instant and deliciously fresh Kindred Ground Farm summer sandwich!

If you try this, please comment with your additions, suggestions, and of course, your taste buds reactions!

Members Test Kitchen: Chocolate Mint Leaves

 

Our Swiss chard cooker from yesterday, also let us know about one of her family’s favorite summer desserts! Her husband is the treat maker and created this “sounds outrageously delicious” recipe last summer.

Simply wash your Kindred Ground Farm chocolate mint leaves and pull from the stems. Then dice them into very tiny pieces. Mash them so they are crushed quite small. Mix into your favorite brownie mix and cook as usual. For a pan of 8x8 brownies, he uses about ½ cup diced mint leaves.

These sound incredible and we will have to test them ourselves soon!

What are you making this weekend with your share? Please tell us!

Members Test Kitchen: Swiss Chard

 

We are excited that one of our members cooked the Sautéed Swiss Chard Ribs with Cream and Pasta this week! She reports that the raves from her kitchen were loud and enthusiastic! Her three year old described the Swiss chard as “spicy and a little sweet, and creamy too!” (The “spicy” may have been because he added hot sauce to his!)

She had a few suggestions to share with us as well. She made the gluten and dairy free version and said it was delicious. She said she will make it again, but this time will add sliced garlic scapes, a lot more Swiss chard, and probably one more veggie (might we suggest Kindred Ground Farm’s fresh green peas?). Additionally, it thickened as it sat on the stove, so she said to budget an extra 10 minutes into your prep time to let it thicken after you mix the pasta and cream.

And she shared a secret with us…she used the entire Swiss Chard leaf and ribs! Yummy!

What have you made with your share this week? Please send photos and stories to kgfmarketingteam@gmail.com so we can tell everyone!

Storage

For many new (and returning) CSA members a big question is, "How do I store all these delicious vegetables?" We would like to recommend a handy book, "A Guide to Your Produce Aisle," ISBN: 978-1-56383-332-8.  It offers basic information on many vegetables, as well as suggestions on how to select, store, and even serve them. For the novice and expert alike, it may be a useful addition to your kitchen bookshelf.

Are you wondering what to do with all the yummy Kindred Ground Farm green peas you received this week? Simply store the whole pods  unwashed, in a perforated plastic bag (a knife perforates a ziploc bag quite well), in the refrigerator for up to three days. Before use, rinse and shell.

What about the delightfully spicy radishes you will soon be bringing home? You simply trim the green tops off and refrigerate unwashed in a plastic bag for up to a week. But what if you want to be able to reach right into the fridge for a tasty radish and pop a little bit of Kindred Ground Farm in your mouth anytime? We have found you can trim off the green top, place the washed radishes in a bowl of water in the fridge and they will last 2-3 days.

Do you have a prep or storage question? Leave a comment and if we don't know, we will find out!

Swiss Chard Ribs - Eat Them!!

 

Opening Day

It’s here, it’s here, it’s here! Welcome to the 2012 Season of Kindred Ground Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture! We are so happy to share our farm and harvests with you! While we are working in the fields we have plenty of time to reflect on our community. We are honored you have chosen to invest your hard earned dollars in Kindred Ground Farm. We are honored that as you prepare meals this summer and autumn much of your food will come from our hands and fields. We are honored to be in this community with you. There is much we cannot control in life, especially on a farm. We don’t have any say in how much sun, rain, or bugs there are in any season. We don’t have any power to control the temperature, humidity, or barometric pressures. We do however, have the power to control how much effort we put into planting, weeding, learning, and harvesting. Each day we work hard for you. We spend time learning new ways to be sustainable, new ways to grow crops with less interference from pests without using chemicals, new ways to harvest for maximum yields. We carefully select locations for each crop to take advantage of soil depth, sunlight, drainage, and nutrients of the soil. We learn from our mistakes and take pride in growing a bountiful harvest. We are excited to begin our weekly shares with you! As you pick up your vegetables and fruits this season, please ask questions. Please share your recipes. Please make suggestions. Please be a part of our community. Together we are growing our meals!

How Do We Eat Garlic Scapes?

 

Have you eaten garlic scapes before? They are a seasonal delicacy, only available for a short time, but worth the wait from year to year.

According to Wise Geek, “The garlic scape serves as the stem from which the seed head of the garlic bulb is formed. As the bulb begins to grow and mature, garlic stalks also begin to lengthen. During the growth period, the garlic scape begins to curve. Contained within the garlic scape is a great deal of flavor, although the stalk never does reach the level of the pungent garlic bulb itself. Initially, the garlic scape is relatively tender, making it ideal for use as an ingredient in several dishes. As the plant continues to mature, the garlic scape gradually begins to straighten, creating more support for the bulb. At this juncture, the garlic scape is much tougher and ceases to be usable for most recipes.”

We will have garlic scapes in our shares this week and possibly next week as well. Use these early in the week to get the best flavor in your dishes. If you need some ideas for these delicious treats keep reading!

 o Slice garlic scapes and add to tossed salad.
 o Slice garlic scapes, sauté them in olive oil, and mix with cooked vegetables.
 o Slice garlic scapes, sauté them in olive oil, add some white wine and cream, stirring and heating through.  
Toss over cooked pasta or chicken with fresh green peas.
 o Slice garlic scapes, dice tomatoes and onions, mix together. Toast your favorite hearty bread and spread with olive oil. Place spoonfuls of the vegetable mix on top for quick and easy Bruschetta.
o Substitute garlic scapes in any recipe that calls for fresh garlic for a lighter, milder, yet delicious flavor! 

Enjoy!

Volunteer at the Farm

Kindred Ground Farm is proud to welcome people of all ages, abilities, and walks of life to visit and learn about organic farming, fresh produce, and to dig in the dirt!  We are especially eager to have our youngest CSA Members visit us. We strongly believe that children who learn where their food comes from will often grow up to be healthier eaters!

When our youngest farmers visit we are happy to show them around, put them to work, let them play in our dirt pile, and of course sample some of the freshest produce they may have ever tasted by letting them pick a few foods themselves!

If your child is interested in learning more about Kindred Ground Farm and where his or her food comes from, please let us know. We will be glad to show you around. If you and your young children are interested in planting or weeding for a morning or afternoon, we can always use extra hands. For older children we can create a weekly volunteer opportunity. Older children who are able to follow directions, work semi-independently, and who are eager to learn about food growth are welcome to discuss filling a weekly (or more frequent) volunteer slot. This is a great opportunity for homeschoolers that can extend all the way to the end of the season. Children in public and private schools are equally welcome and can end their volunteering when school resumes in the fall or work in the afternoons if they desire.

In the past we have had young adults with developmental challenges work with us as well. We would welcome the opportunity to do this again. If you know of a young adult who is eager to learn and work with us on the farm, please let us know. We will be eager to coordinate with his/her parents or job coach to find the right fit for all of us!

Remember when you join a Community Supported Agriculture farm, you become a member in more than name! We hope to see you soon!

For Our Hungry Readers

Many of our CSA Members have children and/or grandchildren. Some are teachers. Some have nieces and nephews who spend the weekend with them. For those of you who spend time with little ones and school age kids we thought you might like to know about some books that go great with your weekly share!

We would like to recommend just a few of our favorites:

I Can Eat a Rainbow by Annabel Karmel

Eating the Rainbow by Rena D. Grossman

Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! by Candace Fleming

What books do you love to read after receiving your weekly share?

Where To Find Us

The Avon Farmers Market begins today from 3pm-6pm in the Tops Plaza on Main Street. We will start selling our fresh produce at the Market next Wednesday June 27^th.  If you find you need more delicious vegetables and fruits than you expected, please stop by to visit us. If you make an outstanding dish or meal using produce from your weekly share and are in town on Wednesdays, please stop by to tell us all about it! If you just want to visit with us, we would love to see you!

We will also be selling produce at the Geneseo Farmers Market this year! We are excited to be expanding into Geneseo and hope you can stop by if you are in the area! The Geneseo Farmers Market is located at Center Street at Main Street. The Market is open from 3pm-6pm on Thursdays. We will be there beginning next week, June 28^th.

Weekly shares will be available for pickup beginning June 25^th as follows:

--Kindred Ground Farm on Mondays and Thursdays from 4pm – 7pm

--Penfield (location TBA) on Tuesdays from 3pm – 6pm

--Avon Farmers Market on Wednesdays from 3pm – 6pm

We will also be opening our Kindred Ground Farm Stand soon. The Farm Stand will be open 10am – 7pm everyday of the week. We are excited about the Farm Stand offering all of our harvest items to supplement shares and to sell to our community at large.

See you soon!

Eggciting Announcement!

Kindred Ground Farm is excited to announce we will be selling fresh chicken eggs this summer! We are thrilled to be expanding our healthy, organic food options. The eggs will not be included in the weekly shares, but will be available for purchase by the dozen and half dozen.


Our chickens will be free-range, cage-free, organically fed animals who will provide delicious, wholesome, healthy eggs! It is estimated that organic eggs have significantly better nutritional value than factory raised chicken eggs. Mother Earth News (in a 2007 report) “found that eggs from hens raised on pasture, as compared to those commercially raised factory farm eggs, contain:
• 1⁄3 less cholesterol 
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene”


Additionally, research is starting to indicate these eggs contain increased amounts of Vitamin D as compared to factory farm eggs. That is great news for all of us Western New Yorkers!


Individual reports from those who eat farm fresh eggs report a more robust flavor and more texture in farm fresh organic eggs. We are looking forward to hearing what you think.


Eggs will be available when weekly shares are picked up and most days at the Kindred Ground Farm Vegetable Stand. (Pricing to be competitive and announced soon.)

Not So Inland?

That is 1200 feet of blue plastic carefully laid and ready.  We lovingly refer to it as "the ocean".  This is where we will soon have lots of melons and squashes.

So much is happening this week as we prepare for our shares to begin distribution next week!

What will you eat first?

The First Peas of 2012 Are Here

 

Update from the Field

We have been busy planting, growing, and even harvesting this week.  We added two new herbs to the herb garden. How does orange thyme and Spanish lavender sound?  We also harvested all the garlic scapes.

With quite a bit of rain this week (almost an inch of a good soaking rain yesterday) there is the potential of a slow down in the field work. We can't take Kevin* out because driving on the wet field could cause compaction.

Despite the extra rain, we expect to harvest our first crop of peas tomorrow! As the days of June march forward we will be harvesting more and more. We are still on target for the first day of this year’s CSA to be June 25^th. Remember it is not too late to join if you have not already done so. Visit our page on Local Harvest to ensure you have a variety of fresh food on your pantry shelves and in your kitchen door this summer and autumn.

*New to Kindred Ground Farm? Kevin is our wonderful tractor. He is named after Kevin, the giant bird in the 2009 film Up. If you haven’t seen Kevin, you will know him when you arrive to the farm because he is large, beautiful, and bright orange!

Delicious Mashed Potatoes: Coming Soon!

 

Let the Season Begin

 

Farmers of Old

Kindred Ground Farm is growing each year. Every season we add new crops (strawberries, anyone?), expand our plots, and add ways to share our bounty. We are happy to be among a long line of excellence in farming.

We thought it would be fun to do a quick review of three famous farmers tonight!

Jimmy Carter was a famous peanut farmer in Georgia before he became President of the United States! He took over the family farm after his father died. President Carter and his wife, barely made a profit their first year, but did expand as time went on.

John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed brought apple trees to Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. He firmly believed in conservation and was also a missionary. We bet Mr. Appleseed would love to join us in eating some of our wild apples!

George Washington was a farmer before he became President also. He is one of the earliest known farmers to compost in order to improve nutrients to the soil! What a rich tradition we have. Did you know we compost at Kindred Ground Farm too?

One last famous farmer for the Little House on the Prairie fans: Almanzo Wilder, better known as the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up on a farm in Burke, NY. One of Laura’s best selling books, Farmer Boy, is about Manly!

Enjoy your week. Only two more weeks until we have crops to harvest!

Join Us in 2012

Remember it is not too late to sign up for the 2012 Season! We still have a few openings at this time. We don’t have a cut off date, but get in early so you can experience a whole summer and early autumn of harvests!

To join Kindred Ground Farm in a truly memorable and delicious experience please, visit our sign up page at Local Harvest.

It is raining now, but we had two days of sunshine…so we are looking good for a bountiful season! 

Give Beets a Chance!

Despite their nutrient rich red beauty, beets have a bad reputation. They are labeled as “yucky,” “gross,” and even “inedible,” if someone wants to be fancy with his disgust! At Kindred Ground Farm we want to give all vegetables and fruits a fair chance, so this summer we will be talking about some of those classic veggies seen as disgusting. We know almost all vegetables can taste delicious as long as you know how to prepare them! Before we prepare them let’s learn a little about beets.

It is believed that the wild beet (the ancestor to today’s beets) grew in prehistoric times when people ate the greens from the beet versus the actual beet root. The ancient Romans were among the earliest people to begin using the beet root as the source of food. The importance of beets became known in the 19^th century when it was “discovered that beets were a concentrated source of sugar.  At this time the first sugar factory was built in Poland. When access to sugar cane was restricted by the British, Napoleon decreed that the beet be used as the primary source of sugar.” ¹ It was in the 19^th century that beets were brought to the United States and began to gain popularity here.

Beets are best prepared with a gentle hand. In other words, don’t overcook them! Whole Foods recommends roasting for no longer than an hour and steaming for no more than 15 minutes. When cooked too long the red betalain pigments lose too much of the benefits of this phytonutrient. These nutrients have been demonstrated to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification properties.

A few ideas for preparing this delicious root vegetable (and remember you can prepare and eat the greens too!);

Steam your beets for 15 minutes, test doneness with a poke of a fork, remove the skins by placing the steamed beets on a cutting board and gently rubbing them with a napkin.

Once steamed you can serve them whole or in slices with salad dressing. Trying dicing them to place into a soup. Marinating in oil, lemon juice, and your favorite spices is another delicious and quick serving idea.

You can also use grated raw beets in a salad

Cooks.com has many recipes for both beets and beet greens. To make Sunshine Beets (and who doesn’t want to eat something with the word sunshine in it?) visit their website here.

Beets may have a bad reputation, but give them a second chance this summer. You might discover that you and your family have a new favorite to add to your summer days!


To learn more about beets visit Whole Foods.
1. Beets, Whole Foods, Retrieved 06/08/2012 from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=49

Growing Cities!

We are in a growing mood! And we had lots of sunshine today! Life is busy, but good!

We have done a lot of weeding this week! The following plots are weed free (for the moment!): Little Peaville, Spinach, Swiss Chard, Leeks, Cutting Garden, Onionville, and the Lettuces! Whew, those were a lot of weeds to pull!

We did more mulching! Little Peaville, Spinach, and the Beets plots now have straw mulch! We mulch with straw because we find it is healthy and as it decomposes over time it helps to feed the soil.

We also have been busy planting! Today we planted three varieties of carrots, two more rows of zucchini, and another two rows of green beans! Who loves to eat green beans while picking them? We are already looking forward to those crisp, tasty beans!

We like to recycle at Kindred Ground Farm! Two of Alex’s old teepees are now standing among the crops for what else, but the pole beans!

If you come to the farm for a visit you will notice we have three large fields or plots that we refer to as East 40, North 40, and West 40. However, our other big (but not quite as big) plots have names too: Onionville, Beatville, Peaville, and even Little Peaville! Imagine we have little cities and villages filled with growing veggies for you and your family this summer! We are excited! Are you?

Dirt is Good for All!

Our weather is very unpredictable this year! A farmer is always watching the weather! Our CSA Members are true investors in Kindred Ground Farm, so you may be monitoring the weather closely too. We have had plenty of rain to help with growth and so we were thankful for the spots of sunshine today! It looks like we have one more day of rain and then four days of sunshine! Our fruits, vegetables, and flowers need both to thrive, but we are excited for more sun!

Kindred Ground Farms loves to share and teach! We always welcome our youngest CSA Members to explore, help harvest, and run in the fields! This year we have a new addition for all our children farmers! We have made a special space to dig in the dirt! We have a dirt hill (about two and a half feet high by three feet wide!) with a backhoe loader, excavator, and, the always essential, dump truck! These toys and the clean dirt will allow children to explore in a multisensory way. Feeling the dirt running through their fingers, scooping and pouring dirt with toys, smelling the fresh air, seeing a working farm surround them are all learning moments. We are excited for lots of fun play on the Kindred Ground Farm Dirt Hill!

If you haven’t already joined for the 2012 Season please visit Local Harvest soon! You won’t want to miss a single share! The price for full share is $475, a half share is $350, and a mini share is $250. Imagine having your fruits and veggies farm fresh every week, imagine having your fruits and veggies be so local they were picked the same morning you get them, imagine having your fruits and veggies waiting for you! All that and more is yours with a CSA Membership at Kindred Ground Farm! 

Strawberry Alert!

 

We picked our first strawberry of the season yesterday! It is quite large, juicy, and plump! Most importantly, it is organic (like all our produce!) and delicious!

 Things are really shaping up for a wonderful season this year! Sure, we have had lots of rain the past few days and we will be happy for sunny days, but there are lots of seeds in the ground, buds are sprouting, and we are excited for those first share pick ups on June 25th!