New Additions

We have many varieties of potatoes coming out of the ground, and if you have never had freshly dug gourmet potatoes you don’t know what you are missing. Like most of the grocery store produce commercially produced potatoes have lost much of their flavor. You woun’t believe the difference and there is also a difference between varieties.

Blackberries are making their entrance as well as the farm that grows them, Jay’s Garden Variety, located on Sand Mtn. in Henegar. Boy have we been waiting, They make a great shakes, oh heck they are great with anything.

Peaches are also being offered by a small farm in Flintville Tn. Called Destinies Acres.

We wish to provide our members with as much information as we can so you can make an informed decision about your food. The peaches have been sprayed once this season, much less than other orchards. Stone fruits are hard to grow and many say you can not grow them here without being sprayed because of the curcullio (a worm that evades other control methods) Our grower has tried very hard to grow them this year without spraying them but finally had to in order to have a harvest. You make the decision if you want to eat them or not. We felt we would offer you the opportunity for peaches grown as responsibly as can be. We don’t know of any peaches available that have not been sprayed.

Comming up we will have some heirloom tomatoes available,green beans, peppers and eggplant. As we shift into all summer produce the greens fade away until the fall and winter. Have a great 4th and we are thankful to all our farmers for the hard work and wonderful products that they grow, we thank all our eaters or foodies that appreciate and suppoprt the sustainable farming community. Thanks to all!!

Name that Produce

There are some who have gotten CSA boxes, who didn’t know what a few things are. Escarole & endive look like lettuce, but is a member of the chicory family and has a bitter taste that mellows out at the back of your tongue. It is used in Italian wedding soup and stands up in cooking well. It is packed with nutrition. I like bitter things so it does well in salad for those who like that kind of thing.

Kale is a member of the cabbage family and we have 3 different varieties, one is Black Tuscan or “dinosaur” kale because of the savoyed leaves. One is Red Russian my favorite which is close if not the same thing as the wild it has a typical blue green cabbage look with purple veins and margins, last but not least is Scottish blue which is sky blue and ruffly.

Swiss chard is a cousin to the beet and does not form a bulb like turnip greens grown for greens do not. It is like spinach and has an earthy taste. Chinese cabbage and bok choy can be used the same way, the greens can be steamed and the ribs can be used like celery.

The Celery that is offered this week is related to the original and has an intense flavor so a little will go a long way. The heads are unbleached and smaller than the commercial varieties.

News from the farms is Pray for rain! On Sand Mtn. we have not had a drop in about 3 weeks and have been irrigating. Other farms in the valley have had rain. A hail storm pummeled our small transplants so we have had to replant most of the tomatoes so our farm will not be the first with tomatoes. All in all we have had a good spring and are very grateful for the rain we have had. Hope all is well and you are cooking some fantastic meals. Share some of your recipes with us, we all get tired of our own cooking sometimes, and need some inspiration. Thanks Your farmers. p. p.

Seasonal Shift

Summer produce is comming into season and the cool weather greens are phasing out. Potatoes and Tomatoes have arrived! So has squash and basil. Cucumbers will be listed next week. The cool weather greens like Head lettuce, cabbage, turnips are on the way out. Raspberries are here for a short time, so get them while you can.

Recipes

If you have a recipe that you would like to share with everyone, please send it to our e-mail. I am tired of mine, and need a refreshing recipe for all these greens we are getting. The following is a simple but tasty dish done in just a few minutes.

*Steamed Kale & Carrots with Lemon Tahini Sauce: 1 Clove garlic Juice of 1/2 lemon splash of Tamari 1 T. honey 1 bunch Kale 1 carrot sliced 2 green onions sliced Black sesame seeds (optional garnish) Blend garlic, lemon juice, tahini, tamari,and honey in a small dish until creamy. Add water in increments to make a smooth, pourable dressing. Adjust flavors by adding a little more of the ingredient you like the most. Let stand for 15-20 minutes for flavors to develop.

Steam the kale and carrots together for 5-8 minutes, until tender and bright in color. Remove the vegetables to a bowl or serving plate, toss with dressing. Top with green onions and garnish with the black sesame seeds if desired. Serve warm.

Happy eating Your farmers

Grassfed Beef

This week 2 new farms have come on board. Mountain Fork Farm in New Market. They have pastured raised poultry, eggs and vegetables. The chickens are eating what chickens are supposed to eat, grass and bugs. No anitibiotics or hormones, just fresh air and water. They are also raising pastured Turkeys that will be available for the Holidays. YOU MUST RESERVE YOUR TURKEY NOW! to ensure you have one for the holidays. We will be taking reservations from now until the end of June. You can click on the turkey reservation button that is in the contents list on the market page or Call 256-891-9856.

Grassfed Beef is also available this week. It comes from the 273 3 Ranch. It is grassfed only not finished on grain. They are watered out of tanks from well water and not out of a pond. Cattle are ruminets and were created to eat grass not grain, so naturally the omega oils are in the right proprtions that we need for our bodies. Grassfed beef also cooks about 25-30% faster. Remember this as you plan your meals. The meat is also aged for 20 days before it is cut.

Spring Rains

We have been getting an average of an 1” a week, it has been a nice spring this year with hopefully a cooler summer than last year. It has been an issue of timing being able to get into the field to plant. We aren’t complaining mind you. We are glad to have a good spring. Hope you have enjoyed it as well. p.There are sides of lamb available from Johnson Family Farms if anyone is interested, just give me a call 256-891-9856. If you have not tried lamb because you think it will taste strong, it has not been my experience with thier product, it has been lean and tender with a hearty taste. It makes wonderful meatballs.There will also be grass fed beef for sale as well next week. It been good to see everyone who is ordering and that things are to your liking. Let us know if they are not. Your farmers

Seasonal Changes

We are openning this week the 18th for ordering. We will have Lettuce, radishes, and green onions, as only one farm has done a winter garden there has not been enough to supply the network. Other farms are working in the spring season and we are shifting from the winter garden to the spring garden and more things will be coming out as the season progresses. We have 2 new vegetable growers starting this year and a grassfed beef producer. As these growers come on line as they have things to sell we should have a good quanity and variety of food this year and a better year to produce it in. The beef will be ready by mid May and the new vegetable growers will have more to offer in the next couple of weeks. We will also be doing a couple of food events in Huntsville during the year that will give you all a chance to meet some of the farmers that grow your food. Hope to see you this season. Dove

Opening

We are changing our distribution point so it is more central to our delivery points. We are also adding a couple more farmers to the network which is exciting. So we are going to delay opening for a week or so, so we can finalize these developments. Thanks for being patient. Dove

Openning Market 2008

Hey everyone! It has been a couple of months and much needed rest. This has been our first year producing for a winter garden. Last fall we switched our season to reflect the actual season available to us here in Alabama. Of course it has been colder than normal and we have hesitated about openning the market for fear that with the cold the plants would have been set back and we would end up with gapes in production. We believe we are ready.

We are going to start out with cabbage, kale, radishes,lettuce or lettuce mix,cilantro,turnip bulbs, brussel sprouts, radichio and add beets, carrots as the weather warms and thier tops start to grow again,then swiss chard collards,mustards.

This year looks good and hopefully the weather will be better, we certainly have gotton some rain but still not enough. Thanks to all who support us. Your Farmers

End of the season

This coming Tuesday the 4th of December is the last delivery for the season until February. The farmers will let us know when they will be ready. Stay tuned to the WEBLOG and we will announce ahead of time when we will reopen the market. We wish to thank all of you that have supported us this year, thru all the lumps and bumps that occur when starting a new business. It has been a weird year and maybe not the best year to start something like this. It has tested our grit and has shown us how well we farm, a lot of lessons learned, we have made it and look forward to having a better year next year. We really do appreciate your commitment to clean food,looking forward to providing you all with beautiful nutritious food. We love growing it and wouldn’t be doing anything else. Wishing you all safe and happy holidays, see you next year. Your farmers