Sundog CSA June 14, 2021
The world is made up lightning bugs and a tiny slivered moon tonight that follows us as we make our way to the house after milking cows. Not enough light to see by from either the bugs or the moon but enough light to be fascinated with as darkness has fallen on this day – one of the last days of official ’21 spring. It is hard to believe that next week is the beginning of summer and the shortening of days already.
The rain gauge registered .53 out of Friday’s fast-moving storm. The sky threw water at us – there was no gentle pattering of drops on the roof. We heard from Zach that the lightning was the kind of sky splitting bolts that cause people to jump in his area of Topeka and one of our friends, Russell said that it was that way in town also. However the rain came, we were grateful for it as the past few days of above normal temperatures has been a big change and the plants were ready for some moisture. Seeds that went into the ground last week were germinating and sending up first leaves as we checked out plots so the moisture will support those seedlings.
Walking the neighbor’s pastures was how we spent our free time this week as it took a couple of days to find Tanklet who decided to go on one of those “walk-abouts” described in stories and she walked right out of the fence. Katy was trying to track her down during the day while I was at work and wound up chasing Buster Grace and Penny Roger who took advantage of an open gate and tried out the fields to the east and south. Thank goodness for neighbors who alerted Katy that there was another escapee or two. So, Penny Roger and Buster Grace are back but Tanklet who was located Thursday evening is not back. She is hanging out with some new friends in the pasture to the north of us. We have talked with the owner of that cow herd and hope to have her back soon.
We did meet another new critter on our searching walks – a skunk who is more white than black. He did a little dance for Izzy and I one evening – even planting his feet as though he might spray but pointed in the wrong direction so maybe he is a skunk without a lot of experience. The next morning on our search we came upon him/her busy digging for grubs where one of the winter hay bales had sat. Deep in the hole, the little skunk didn’t see or hear that potential enemies were getting close and must have forgotten that he/she had a fairly effective weapon because the skunk definitely high-tailed it for tree cover without once looking back - breakfast totally forgotten.
YOUR BAGS this week –
- Asparagus
- Peas
- Turnips
- Greens – Red Mustard, Arugula & Chijimisai Green (our new Oriental green from Baker’s)
- Onions
- Egyptian/Walking Onion tops - try them as Nikol suggests in her recipe share
- Garlic scapes
- Fern Fennel
- Kale – a couple of different varieties from Fedco
- Lettuce
RECIPE SHARES - thank you Lauri and Nikol.
From Lauri –
Made this with the turnips from this week’s bag. Delicious. My husband is not a turnip fan but he really liked these.
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/japanese-turnips-with-miso-354957
I asked Lauri if she halved the turnips and she said that she quartered the bigger ones and might have sliced them a bit smaller even – one-inch slices.
And from Nikol –
Just wanted to share a copycat for the poppyseed dressing that comes in those supermarket “sweet kale salad” kits. This one is a little thinner and vinegarier, fine by me, since we always add vinegar to the too-sweet dressing in the kits.
Here’s the fully salad copycat https://www.perrysplate.com/2016/08/sweet-kale-salad-costco-copycat.html
The dressing is excellent on any kind of bitter greens or brassicas, shredded, and we’ve been using it on our turnip greens, along with the cranberries and pumpkin seeds typical of the store-bought kits, plus thinly sliced apple for additional sweetness and crunch. Thinly sliced, crisp, hollow tops from those Egyptian onions are another great addition. Even my 8-year-old wolfs it down (but in fairness, she’s not veggie-phobic of anything but asparagus).
Fern Fennel - Please let us know if you would like to try this recipe or similar ones as we have lots and lots of fennel fronds. Otherwise just use them in salads etc. They tend to have a mild anise like flavor.
Fragrant Fennel Fronds Pesto -https://www.wholefoodbellies.com/fragrant-fennel-fronds-pesto/
This is a late newsletter - long Monday that was full of the expected and the unexpected. Truck in the shop for repairs, new pigs finally in their pen at 9:45 P.M. this evening, Izzy’s birdhouse gourds (seeds gifted from her Aunt Brenda) are UP and looking beautiful, Cordelia, the seedling scratching chicken that everyone loves is incarcerated after rooting out the newest cucumbers, the Silkie chicken hid three secret babies, bumblebees are fighting for places on the blooms of the hollyhocks and the dew on the grass this morning was heavy enough to bathe in. I am thinking about this day as I sit on the back porch and breathe in that peculiar smell attached to those who load and unload pigs and when I carefully weigh out the good and not so good, it falls heavily on the side of “how lucky can one person be?”
Hope your day was as good as mine!
Blessings from the farm - Izzy, Katy, Seth, Dan Teresa, Jen and Zach
Here is a picture of our resident skunk – beautifully colored in a non-typical skunk way!
