Week Seven?

We're almost half way through week seven and it's hard to believe it's true! We hope you've been enjoying all the veggies we send - finding new recipes and cooking family favorites too. We're anxiously awaiting those first tomatoes and peppers, but this is the first week of sweet corn! I can guess that those ears won't last more than 24 hours in your fridge, but in case you are already looking for a new idea:

A volunteer who came to the farm yesterday suggested adding corn and scallions to pancake batter to make a savory pancake. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to soon!

All work and no play makes us dull people!

Last Friday we worked doubly hard in the morning so that we could take the afternoon off to have a work picnic! We enjoyed a potluck lunch and several rounds of volleyball. Sorry we can't post photos as our Amish friends would not approve of taking their picture, but here's a song we made up to thank each other for all of the hard work so far this season:

Farmer Pam Had a Farm

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some cats, E-I-E-I-O

With a meow, meow there

And a purr, purr here

Here a meow , there a purr, everywhere a meow, purr, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had four dogs, E-I-E-I-O

With a Sparky and a Daisy

And a Scout and a Lulu

Here a woof , there a bark, everywhere a woof, bark, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had a Paul, E-I-E-I-O

Picking up the mushrooms

Delivering some boxes

Here a wrench , there a hammer, everywhere fixing things, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had an Elvie, E-I-E-I-O

With a Market here

And a box of beans there

Here a market , there a pickup, driving everywhere, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had a Rich, E-I-E-I-O

With a little mowing here

And delivering the boxes

Here a trimmer, there a hand-truck, everywhere helping out, E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Volunteers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Pat, Elieen, Linda

And a Grace, Felicia, Ed.

Here a Bethany , there a Erika, Janie and Katie too! E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Lapps E-I-E-I-O

With a Steffy and his big-wheel

And a Sadie who we miss

Here a Steffy, organizing the shed roof and tending to the bees. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Millers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Martha and a Sarah

And a John and a Katie

Washing coolers, cutting herbs, everywhere working hard. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Stoltzfuses, E-I-E-I-O

With a Bena, Barbie, Emma

And a Lizzie and a Rachel

Here a market , there a scissors, helping in everyway. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had two Stolzfooses, E-I-E-I-O

With a Sarah making jokes

And a Danny planting herbs

Here a hoe , there a scale, working every Tuesday. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Fishers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Grandma Arie, Sarah

And a Lydie, Katie, Arie

Packing boxes, planting popcorn, helping with the weeds. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Beilers, E-I-E-I-O

With a Verna

And a Leon and Ruth-Ann

Weeding cilantro, weighing beans, and bagging beets. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had an Alex, E-I-E-I-O

With a market on Wednesday

And a market on Sunday

Packing coolers, loading trucks, and driving everywhere. E-I-E-I-O!

Farmer Pam had a farm E-I-E-I-O

And on that farm she had some Wibbles E-I-E-I-O

With a Momma Rachel

And a Jaden and an Enid

Here a phone call, there a bike ride, thankful for helpful co-workers. E-I-E-I-O!

Thank you to all who make Calvert Farm possible. It is by your hard work and dedication that we make it through each wonderful and difficult situation.

THANK YOU!

Week Five and My Favorite Veggie: Kale

The weeks are streaming by, and without knowing it I've lost a whole week in the shuffle of lettuces and weeding and phone calls! We enjoyed a cooler week last week and have been starting into our second rotation of crops in some fields. The popcorn is just starting to peek out of the ground and the hot season crops (tomatoes, peppers, basils and eggplants) are coming along nicely.

This week's featured vegetable is my favorite, KALE! I recently learned that there are dozens of varieties of kale, but most often we associate with Green Boar Kale. In my own small garden I have ten plants of Rainbow Lacinato Kale, more than enough for our family of four. But we enjoy Kale in salad, stir-fry, casserole, and even smoothies (it's a great way to get some greens into your littlest ones). Here's a recipe one of our volunteers suggested:

Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Week Three and Spring Onions

We had a very successful party this weekend. A HUGE thanks to all who attended! We planted 500 Tomato plants, 100 Eggplants, and lots of Basils! Now we just have to wait for them to grow and then we will all be enjoying the fruits (or veggies) of our labor! Pictures to follow.

Now for a word about spring onions:

Spring onions are onions planted in the fall or very early spring to be harvested early while their greens are still tender. If left in the ground, these plants will form bulbs and become "regular" globular onions which will be included in the late summer and fall boxes. We enjoy these as they make potato salads more colorful and add a savory addition to any stir fry. Have you tried grilling them on a low setting? They caramelize and are DELICIOUS! Any other ways you enjoy these early season treats? Post some ideas to share...