Dear Country Valley Farm Community,
This is week #23 of the 2023 season. While it has been very chilly, we did not get a hard frost on the farm yet, and we are thankful for the sunshine and rain.
Thank you for your support and participation in the our farm share CSA. It means a whole lot and makes a big difference. Your membership not only helps our farm, but also the other small certified-organic family-farms that we partner with to create the weekly shares. With much gratitude and appreciation from the farmers to you!
This week’s shares contain the following, some preparation inspiration is below:
- Italian Flat Parsley – 1 bunch from our farm
- Lettuce – 1 head from our farm
- Green Bell Peppers – 3 bell peppers from Cinzori Farm of Ceresco, MI
- Broccoli – 1 nice bunch from Cinzori Farm
- Cauliflower – 1 head from Cinzori Farm
- Honeynut Squash – 2 squash from Sunnyside Produce of Homer, MI
- Crimson Crisp Apples – 4 apples from Almar Orchards of Flushing, MI
Medium shares contain the above listed items, and:
- Extra 1 Lettuce
- Extra 2 Bell Peppers
- Extra 2 Honeynut Squash
- Extra 4 Crimson Crisp Apples
Some preparation inspiration: Remember to wash all produce thoroughly.
- Italian Flat Parsley – we like to use parsley in salad. It also goes great in a soup. Parsley not only tastes great, it is super healthy culinary herb – not just for garnish!
- Lettuce – these are the first cutting of our late summer planted lettuces. Lettuce grown in cooler weather is said to be sweeter. We hope to continue to include lettuce in the shares for the next few weeks or so.
- Green Bell Peppers – we are still holding on to summer veggie-wise as long as the weather permits. Bell Peppers are a nice contrast and complement in a stir fry.
- Broccoli – yay for fall harvested cruciferous vegetables. These are sweet as far as broccoli goes, due to the cool weather and their freshness. They can certainly go in a salad, or a nice stir fry, or a stand alone veggie side dish.
- Cauliflower – similar to the broccoli, fall cauliflower is real tasty. We like to air fry it with just a little olive oil and pink salt. Sometimes we caramelize onions and serve it with tahini, sometimes we do a Manchurian style, or as a side dish with pasta, of course it goes great in stir fry or raw as a snack or in a salad.
- Honeynut Squash – a nice personal sized squash. We like them cut in half and baked and served simply with a dash of cinnamon. Honeynut squash also makes a wonderful simple soup/bisque. **Pro tip for cutting winter squashes safely: You don’t have to cut it before baking, you can wash the whole squash and place into a baking dish or on a cookie sheet and bake whole at 350 F. When it is done, remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit and then cut it. Remember to roast the seeds of all winter squashes for a simple snack that contains healthy fats and protein.
- Crimson Crisp Apples – a very firm and crunchy variety with a deep red-purple skin and a nice yellow flesh. They are very juice and have a near perfect sweet-tart balanced flavor.
What is going on at the Farm:
We will include a detailed farm update again next week.
Looking ahead to the next couple weeks – we are planning to skip apples next week, include potatoes and sweet potatoes, onions and garlic will be in the shares, some radishes and greens, lettuces, and more.
Here is the plan for deliveries:
Route:
8-10AM Ypsilanti and Milan
9AM-1PM Ann Arbor and Dexter
12PM-2PM Canton, Plymouth, and Northville
1PM-3PM Farmington, Farmington Hills and Bloomfield Hills
2PM-5PM Troy, Hazel Park, Gross Pointe, Detroit
We understand that there may be weeks that folks want to skip their share. That is okay so long as you confirm with us at least 7 days in advance of the skip week. In those cases, you can let us know if you want to add a share to the end of your season, or receive double shares some weeks etc. We encourage members to find a friend, family member, or neighbor to pick up your share from your porch and share the bounty of the harvest, instead of skipping weeks – if that is a viable option for you. Some members opt to notify us of skip weeks and ask that we donate the shares – we are happy to do that. We don’t donate to a food bank in those instances, we give the food directly to our neighbors or folks in the community that would benefit from it.
Email is the best way to communicate with me. My phone number is (831) 706-1237. You can call or text if it is the day of or day before delivery if you have anything urgent to communicate. I don’t usually check emails much over the weekend but I do have my phone on me if you need to touch base.
There is lots of good info on our website www.countryvalleyfarm.com
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all.
Thank you for sharing this message and our contact info with anyone who you know who may be interested. We appreciate the community support.
Kind regards,
Adam Mitchel
Country Valley Farm
Follow us on Instagram @ countryvalleyfarm