FARM SHARE UPDATE:

Sweet Morning is not offering farm shares this year. Moving ahead from the pandemic and now that the farm has changed into a one-woman operation, there are many changes taking place. I look forward to creating a new vision of the farm. One thing that remains the same is my dedication to and enjoyment of growing and sharing nutritious, delicious and beautiful vegetables, fruit and flowers! Stop by the farm stand and see what's available.

FARM RECIPES

If you are looking for ways to prepare, eat, and preserve your farm share, check out searchable RECIPE BLOG.  And please do share your cookery ideas, either at the recipe blog or email the farm.  Thanks.

FARM SHARE 19 - October 15, 2020

 

Photo by farm member Matt

SHARE 19 - Cabbage, mesclun, radishes, tomatoes, fennel, Asian onions, bok choy, New Zealand spinach, Kamo Kamo winter squash, rutabagas, greens - farm member's choice of chard, kale, mustard greens, or extra NZ spinach

Kimchi made by farm member Marykate who got her inspiration from the Curry and Kimchi book by the folks at Coco and The Cellar Bar in Easthampton.

FARM SHARE 18 - October 8, 2020

 No picture this time, sorry.

There was a town-wide power outage this week.  In fact over 1000 households in western Massachusetts lost power for a day or more.  Consequently, we had no power and very limited water, which we prioritized for our own drinking and for watering the animals.   It helped point out how dependent we are on power.  And how much water our animals drink!  We are so grateful to the electric company workers who made things better and we are grateful for the recent rains we've had that have helped to replenish our spring water supply.  Phew!

The vegetables in the share did not get washed or chilled down with water as they usually are but here's what we picked:

Kohlrabi - 1

Celery - 1 bunch

Leeks

Garlic - 3

Red onion - 1

Sweet onions - 2-3 plus a bag full to those who requested it

Tomatoes - 1 quart

Sweet pepper - 1

Mesclun - 1/3 pound

Radishes - 1 bunch

Daikons - 1

Turnips - 1 bunch

Broccoli - 1 bag

Greens - chard, mustard greens, escarole, or collards

Herbs - parsley, dill, sorrel, or cilantro

Pictures of some of the share contents: 

FARM SHARE 17 - October 1, 2020

 

FARM SHARE 17

Tomatoes, Sweet Dumpling or Carnival winter squash, bok choy, endive frisee, mesclun, radishes, greens (choice of chard, NZ spinach, or escarole), Asian onions, winter radishes - one each of a black round type called  

Schwarzer Runder Radish 

or a longer green radish called Shawo Radish  

Both are delicious cooked or raw, but especially cooked. We love them!

Runder winter radish

Red Rover salad radish

Shawo winter radish

Coming soon: daikons, cabbage, sweet peppers, salad turnips

FARM SHARE 16 - September 24, 2020

 

Share 16 - Red napa cabbage, herb bundle (choice of parsley, mint, or garlic chives), 6 heads of garlic, celery, Brussels sprouts tops, (These taste like the sprouts themselves but in a leafier format.  Roast, saute, steam, or use in any of your go-to greens recipes), bok choy, greens (choice of chard, New Zealand spinach, escarole, kale, or collards), leeks, carrots of many colors.  Not pictured: 1 pint cherry tomatoes and 2 kohlrabi.  If you haven't eaten kohlrabi before, remember to peel off the outer tough skin and just eat the juicy crunchy part inside.  Use raw in salad or with a dip or add to stirfrys and soups.

This is the first share after the first hard frost of the season.  No more basil this year... Salad turnips and winter radishes are coming soon...

FARM SHARE 15 - September 17, 2020

 

Bok choy, eggplant, hot peppers, scallions, parsley, squash, cucumbers, radicchio, tomatoes, kohlrabi, mesclun, New Zealand spinach, red dandelion greens, escarole, beans, sweet onions, basil

FARM SHARE 14 - 9/10/20

 

Share 14 - Escarole, celery, small head lettuce, New Zealand spinach, fall radish thinnings (basically these are turnip greens), tomatoes. squash, leeks, garlic, turnips, greens - choice of chard, kale, collards, or puntarelle, herbs - choice of dill, cilantro, parsley, or apple mint, broccoli

This was the first week of celery and escarole.  The fall radish thinnings looked too nice to pass up and the daikons and winter radishes needed to be thinned.  The winter radishes are starting to form radishes already!  Varieties include: red watermelon, Schwarzer Runder, Summer Cross daikon, and Shawo Fruit radish.

FARM SHARE 13 - 9/3/20

 

Share 13 - Greens - chard, kale, collards, New Zealand spinach or Malabar spinach, chicory family - choice of puntarelle, escarole, or sugarloaf radicchio (this share has puntarelle, carrots, kohlrabi, squash, sweet onions, hot peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, New Zealand spinach, herbs - choice of parsley, dill, cilantro, or garlic chives, scallions

FARM SHARE 12 - August 27, 2020

 

Share 12 - Greens - choice of collards, chard, callaloo, or kale, beans (this share has green anellino beans), squash, cucumbers, sweet onions, tomatoes, edamame, garlic, beets, hot peppers, New Zealand spinach, head lettuce, herbs - choice of parsley, dill, cilantro or basil, choosing item - bok choy, eggplant, tomatoes, or squash, (this share chose eggplant)

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FARM SHARE 11 - August 20, 2020

Share 11 - New Zealand spinach, sweet onions, bok choy, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, greens - choice of taglio endive, chard, kale or callaloo, herbs - choice of sorrel, cilantro, or basil

FARM SHARE 10 - August 13, 2020

 

Farm Share 10 - beets, greens (kale, chard, NZ spinach, or collards), napa cabbage, bok choy, beans, garlic, squash, cucumber (including an cuke in this share), herb bundle (basil or parsley), tomatoes (not pictured)

FARM SHARE # 9 - August 6, 2020

Share 9 - Pak choy, squash, mesclun, carrots, scallions, tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh onions, greens (kale, chard, callaloo, or NZ spinach), herb (parsley, peppermint, apple mint, or basil), flowers

FARM SHARE # 8 - July 30, 2020

Farm Share 8 - New Zealand spinach, cucumber, fresh onions, herbs (choice of cilantro, dill, parsley, or marjoram), basil, cherry tomatoes, squash, (choice of yellow, green, or Romanesco),  beans (choice of green, yellow, purple or streaked), greens (choice of collards, kale, or chard), beets

We really like this beautiful collard green called Old Timey Blue from Seed Savers Exchange.  It's got large thick leaves with blue veins.  We were also pleased to have some ripe tomatoes to share!

FARM SHARE # 7 - July 23, 2020

FARM SHARE 7 - Napa cabbage, fresh onions, radishes, chard, herb choice (basil in this share), beans (green, purple, yellow or streaked), squash, cucumbers, green garlic, purslane

My next project is to search for purslane recipes.  So far I've seen: pickles, steamed purslane, pea and purslane soup, flat bread, and more from Indian, Mexican and Turkey.  Here are a couple of links (link 2) to get you started.  What do you like to make with purslane?

By the way, be sure to wash your purslane asap.  We rinsed it but it needs a more thorough cleaning!

FARM SHARE # 6 - July 16, 2020

Napa cabbage, herbs (choice of mint, parsley, basil, dill or cilantro), fresh onions, choice of squash or cucumber, red currants, beets (yellow and red), radishes, greens (choice of kale, chard, or callaloo), mesclun

More squash and cucumbers and napa on the horizon.  

Beans are forming on the vines.

FARM SHARE # 5 - July 9, 2020

Salad turnips, beets with their tops, scallions, basil, mesclun, head lettuce, greens (chard in this share), herbs (apple mint in this share), cucumber (some folks got squash), choosing item.  Nothing pictured in this share but members could request callaloo, sorrel, or purslane, if they wished.

It rained last night and some of the greens got very wet!  Wash and dry your mesclun as soon as possible.  Today would be best.  That way it will store for you.  Or you could eat a big salad tonight!  We are pleased there was mesclun because the lettuce really struggled in the recent hot, dry weather.  It's recovered pretty well and more is coming along in the garden.

Don't forget to eat your turnip and beet greens.  They are delicious and so good for you.  Here's a yummy recipe from our RECIPE BLOG for salad using beets and their greens.  Another old favorite is for whole beet borscht from the Laurel's Kitchen cookbook. 

If you have any questions or suggestions about the shares send us an email or leave a comment on this post.  We look forward to hearing about what you made with your vegetables and seeing pictures of your food!  Send an email or post at our facebook page or tag us on Instagram.

Although it is HOT again today and will be this week, we are so grateful the recent rains and cloudy days.  It makes is so much easier to plant and harvest and it's easier for young seedlings to thrive.  Thank you, Mother Earth.

Farm Share # 4 - July 2, 2020

Carrots, greens (mustard in this share), pea shoots,
garlic scapes, herbs (dill in this share), lamb's quarters, head lettuce

We decided to include some wild greens in today's shares.  Lamb's Quarters are a delicious, nutritious, and a favorite green around our farm.  Robin eats some in his breakfast almost every day.  It really tastes good!  The ones you got today are a bit bigger than ideal, so you might want to just cook the leaves, not the stems, if they seem too tough for you.  They are great with scrambled eggs or in a quiche, or as a simple cooked green.  If you like them, let us know.  We can add them to the shares more often and also show you what they look like growing in the garden.  They are a prolific weed/generous gift of nature around here and you probably have some in your yard.  We also put the tender new tips in the mesclun sometimes.

We had planned to include snap peas this week but the deer feasted on them!  We have more coming in a spot that is protected by an electric fence so keep your fingers crossed that the deer don't find those.  There are many animals around here that like to eat vegetables as much as we do. 

The recent heat pushed a lot of our mesclun lettuce over the edges, bolting and bitter.  The head lettuces are fine and there is more mesclun growing but there may be a break before it's plentiful.

Garlic scapes are an ephemeral crop so enjoy them while you can.  I am determined to make pickled scapes this year.  They are also good grilled or roasted with garlic and olive oil.  Other ideas are scape pesto or scape mayonnaise.  Have fun.

The heat and recent rain are helping a lot of summer crops grow very happily.  Napa, radishes, beans, squash, cucumbers, New Zealand spinach, and more beets are on their way!  And flowers!

Enjoy your share!

Farm Share #3 - June 25, 2020

Farm Share 3 - Snap peas, carrots, baby beets, salad turnips, bokchoy, herbs (choice of parsley, marjoram, or dill), greens (choice of kale or chard), garlic scapes, mesclun, pea shoots

While most of these vegetables are familiar, a few may be new to our farm members.  Garlic scapes are basically scallions that taste like garlic and are quite versatile.  Try roasting or grilling them with garlic or sauteed with eggs.  Snap peas - just eat them, shell and all.  They are good with your favorite dip as well.  Remember that the leaves of the turnips and baby beets are edible and delicious.  And nutritious.  There are lots of recipes for all these items.  My favorite salad turnip recipe is, "slice and eat".

By now it may be starting to be a challenge to use up all your farm share.  Or not, depending on how often you like to eat green things.  Many items can be kept for longer than 1 week and many can be preserved for the winter.  One of the simplest things to do with your herbs is to either dry them and store in a jar for the winter, or chop them up, put in a freezer bag, and freeze for later.  Come winter you can enjoy the taste of fresh dill or parsley in your omelets.

Any time you have questions or ideas, just get in touch with your farmers.

FARM SHARE #2 - June 18, 2020

Farm Share #2 - Rhubarb, herbs (apple mint), carrots, salad turnips, bok choy,
greens (mustard), garlic scallions, snap peas, mesclun

Second share of the season!  Picking and pick up went smoothly.  We are happy that there were both carrots and salad turnips ready, the first of both this season.  And the first snap peas!  The last rhubarb though... 
For some cooking ideas, see a Simple Salad Turnip Recipe and Roasted Bok Choy and Pickled Garlic Scapes.  We didn't pick garlic scapes this week but you will be getting some next week!  They have a brief season so enjoy them while you can.  The actual simplest salad turnip recipe is this:  1) Slice.  2) Eat.  They are so good raw and plain.  Our recipe blog focuses on the crops we grow so that can be a helpful place to find help with your share.  You can search the blog by vegetable. 

Turnips, greens, mesclun, and carrots are all crops we try to keep going all season long.  Oh, yeah, eat those turnip tops!  They are delicious and full of vitamins.  My mom would also say " Drink the pot liquor!"  Me too. It tastes great.

To your continued good health!