Before I go into the wonderful share we're preparing for you this week, I'd like to take a moment to touch on some of the issues we had with last week's share.  First of all, it's important that you guys understand that when we write this on Wednesdays we are projecting that we'll be able to include the following items in the share, but since are working with nature out here things aren't guaranteed to work perfectly every time.  For example, we might look at our bed of chard on Wednesday and assume (we assume based on experience and notes from previous years; it's an educated guess) we can get 68 bunches for the shares on Friday.  Come Friday when we get down to harvesting there could be all sorts of issues that make it hard to get that many bunches of chard; for example worms moved in and caused a lot of damage in those two days or an iguana found the chard and ate half of the bed.  That said, when we actually gather all of the items for the shares on Fridays we almost always have to tweak a couple of things.  Some of you have expressed frustration with not getting exactly what was on the list here.  Please understand that there we are working as hard as we can to follow through with this list and from now on we will try to communicate the mishaps with everyone so that you aren't left guessing if you missed an item at pick up or if indeed we had to switch it out for something new.

Sorry for the rant here, bare with me.  Last week we were so excited about getting strawberries for you, but when we got them off of the truck on Saturday morning we found that the quality of the berries wasn't great.  We packed them for you as best we could and valued them at less than their cost.  Ideally you ate them right away because they didn't hold up until Monday (even in the fridge) for some of you.  When things like this happen we feel pretty awful, but we try to remember that in order to diversify the shares by adding fruit and sometimes veg from other farms (sometimes farms we don't know as personally as French Farms and Verde Farm) we run the risk of not having total control over quality and mishaps are bound to happen.  Hopefully not often enough to be a total bummer for you!  We hope you'll communicate with us if you are unsatisfied with something or if something is confusing about the shares. 

This week's shares will (probably) include the following items:

Salanova lettuce is a relatively new variety of lettuce that is quickly becoming the standard for small farms.  It's very unique in that the heads of lettuce grow only baby leaves so when they are fully mature they can be harvested for baby salad mix.  The baby leaves maintain a tenderness that is lost when other lettuce varieties grow to full maturity.  Our friend Chris at French Farms has taken it upon himself to master salanova this season.  Let us know what you think of these greens!

Minutina is a new vegetable for us and we assume it's going to be new for most of you!  It's been grown for food in the United States since colonial times, but it lost popularity over the centuries and is now slowly making it's way back to the table.  "The succulent, crunchy leaves are best when harvested young, and taste a little like parsley, spinach or kale, but sweeter and nuttier."  Flavor description taken from an article in Mother Earth News called Rediscovering Salad Green: Buckshorn Plantain, which you should read if you want to know a little more about the history of this funky plant.

Small Shares:

Yellow & green beans from our fields

Kohlrabi from our fields

Scallions from Verde Farm

Salanova lettuce mix from French Farm

Swiss chard from French Farm

Minutina from our fields

Sauerkraut from Urban Oasis Projects

Large Shares:

Yellow & green beans from our fields

Kohlrabi from our fields

Scallions from Verde Farm

Salanova lettuce mix from French Farm

Swiss chard from French Farm

Minutina from our fields

Sauerkraut from Urban Oasis Projects

Beets from French Farm

Onions from French Farm

Radishes from our fields

Week 13 is here and the living is easy.  This is the best time of year to be a farmer and a local food eater in South Florida.  There's more veg coming out of the ground here than almost anywhere else in the US.  I just took a little trip to upstate NY, the heart and soul of small scale agriculture in this country, the Hudson Valley.  Let me tell you, it's nothing but golden dry grass as far as the eye can see out there.  Icicles, frozen ponds, canned apple sauce and frozen pies from summer time.  Let's take a moment to appreciate what we've got here guys!

This week we've finally got our hands on strawberries!  We also have yummy heirloom cherry tomatoes, super crunchy fresh cucumbers (large share members got to try them last week) and my favorite veg of this season, Hakurei turnips aka white salad turnips.  Eat these things raw if you can; their texture can't be beat and their flavor is as mild and subtle as it gets.  Here's a picture of my go-to lunch lately: random greens, basically whatever is available (here I had cabbage, arugula and cress, but my favorite is lettuce and escarole; kale will do just fine too) and quartered hakerui turnips with a bit of stem still attached for charm.  I like to dress it in a simple olive oil and apple cider vinegar, heavy on the vinegar or also add a squirt of citrus.  Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.  It's a fast and very satisfying lunch.  When I'm feeling extravagant I also add goat cheese, cause goat cheese is like heaven.  Give it a try!

Small Shares:

Kale from French Farm

Strawberries from Lady Moon Farm

Heirloom cherry tomatoes from Michael Borek Farm

Parsley from Michael Borek Farm

Radishes from our own fields

Hakurei turnips from our own fields

Cuban Oregano from our own fields

Bananas from LNB Groves

Large Shares:

Kale from French Farm

Strawberries from Lady Moon Farm

Heirloom cherry tomatoes from Michael Borek Farm

Parsley from Michael Borek Farm

Radishes from our own fields

Hakurei turnips from our own fields

Bananas from LNB Groves

Broccoli from Lady Moon Farm

Zucchini from Lady Moon Farm

Lettuce from French Farm

Welcome to week twelve of the CSA! Things at the farm have been going really well due to the mild cooler weather we have had recently, and we hope you all have been doing really well thanks to the weather too. Today while we were working at our nursery it randomly poured for about 15 minutes, and instead of cringing and thinking "everything is ruined" we finally welcomed the rains, since this little storm was more manageable. When it rains and rains day after day, its hard for the soil to drain, it gets full of water and holds that water, making the soil hard to work for replanting and such, but when its nice and dry for a while the plants appreciate a bit of rain.

This week we are including a fun new variety of radishes that are large, black and rough skinned. We kept seeing pictures of them on instagram and from other farms and hip restaurants, so we ordered seeds, as did Verde and French Farms, so now Miami also has access to this cool unique variety. They are pretty strong raw so why not try cooking them, we often cook our large radish varieties, they chop and bake really well. Also, there sure isnt anything wrong with thick slicing them and sauteeing in butter, which is the most traditionally French way of cooking a radish. Sprinkle with sea salt before devouring. 

The other unique offering in the share this week is our herb: Cuban Oregano. If you have a kitchen garden at home then you probably have come in contact with this pervasive tropical plant. Its a beautiful succulent ground-cover that is impossible to kill, so we plant it in many gardens and food forests in the shade of larger trees. Its large, succulent leaves are incredibly fragrant and used around the world. Tiffany included it in her foraging book, "Forager", that many of you know was published  by local small book makers Jai Alai Books (check it out here), heres the info page about it, for you to check it out further. The most common uses for it seem to be in marinades for fish and meat, but the most fun use is a traditional dish wherein it is battered in chickpea flour and fried. Seeing this recipe and how cute and heart-leaf shaped the fritters were when done makes us totally want to try this out! If you are feeling less ambitious just use it like you would oregano, or in an iced tea... or plant a stick of it in your garden, its super easy to root from cuttings (in the shade). 

Small Shares:
Butternut squash from C&B Farms
Kale from Verde Farms
Black spanish radish from Verde Farms
Arugula from Verde Farms
Escarole from our fields
Carrots from French Farms
Cuban oregano from our fields

Large Shares:
Butternut squash from C&B Farms
Kale from Verde Farms
Black spanish radish from Verde Farms
Arugula from Verde Farms
Escarole from our fields
Carrots from French Farms
Cuban oregano from our fields
Romaine lettuce from French Farms
Cucumbers from Teenas Pride
Grape tomatoes from Teenas Pride

See you all on Saturday! We have increased our bread order since we have been selling out so fast, hopefully there will now be enough for everyone.. even the late comers. 

Can we take a minute to gloat over the beautiful weather recently?  This is it, this is the perfect weather and we are t h a n k f u l to have it. Now, on to the CSA shares we've got prepared for this weekend...

This week you will be receiving lots of great produce, including more gorgeous butterhead lettuce from our favorite local farm (Tiffany's boyfriend's farm), French Farm and truly vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes from Health and Happiness Farm (you'll be able to taste the difference between truly vine-ripened fruits).  We are really excited to include stone ground grits scored during Tiffany's recent weekend trip to Gainesville.  Non-GMO, 100% organically grown, stone ground corn grits ground fresh weekly at Greenway Farm by Jesse Green.  The corn is from heirloom seeds in his family for generations.  These grits are a perishable product with flavor unlike those from the grocery store and should be stored in the freezer or refrigerator.  Check out this link to Regional Seasonal, an online farm store for North Florida farms that sells his corn products and includes a little bit more info, some recipes and a video of the farm.

Small Shares:

Fennel from our fields

Celery from French Farm

Heirloom tomatoes from Health and Happiness Farm

Lettuce from French Farm

Eggplant from Worden Farm

Kale from Lady Moon Farm

Lemongrass from our fields

and stone ground grits from Greenway Farm in Alachua County

Large Shares:

Fennel from our fields

Celery from French Farm

Heirloom tomatoes from Health and Happiness Farm

Lettuce from French Farm

Eggplant from Worden Farm

Kale from Lady Moon Farm

Lemongrass from our fields

Mizuna from our fields

Chard from French Farm

Valencia oranges from Central Florida

and stone ground grits from Greenway Farm in Alachua County

Congratulations to us, we've reached the halfway mark of the season!  We hope you've been enjoying your shares.  Here's a list of what you can expect this week.  We had planned to include heirloom tomatoes, but at the last minute the farmer over at Health and Happiness Farm wasn't able to get the amount we need out of his field.  He promises we can get them next week though!  This week's share might feel a bit modest, but rest assured we'll bulk up next week's share with extra tomatoes.  Last week's share lent itself to soup recipes and this week's lends itself to salads!  Cheers to bowls full of bright and colorful veggies on your table this week.

Small Shares:

Arugula and pei tsai baby mix from our fields

Collard greens from Verde Farm

Scallions from Verde Farm

Salad turnips from Verde Farm

Multi colored carrots from French Farm

Choice of a kitchen herb from Verde Farm

Mini sweet peppers from Lady Moon Farm

Large Shares:

Arugula and pei tsai baby mix from our fields

Collard greens from Verde Farm

Scallions from Verde Farm

Salad turnips from Verde Farm

Multi colored carrots from French Farm

Choice of a kitchen herb from Verde Farm

Mini sweet peppers from Lady Moon Farm

Red butterhead lettuce from French Farm

Extra mini sweet peppers

This week's share turned out to be heavy on soup ingredients.  Isn't there a little cold front coming?  Let's hope so regardless of soup ingredients!

There are two items this week I'd like to give you a bit of info about.  Yellow wax beans and mibuna, both rare varieties of very flavorful crops.  Don't let the name wax bean deceive you, sometimes they are referred to as butter beans because of their color, but also their butteriness.  They're a lot like regular green beans so you can use them interchangeably.  Check out what Martha (Stewart) recommends in this post ;)

 Mitsuba is parsley relative, but a wild distant Japanese relative.  Although it has a slight parsley and celery flavor it has strong notes of anise and sweetness.  It's tender enough to eat raw in salad or blended into a dressing.  Like most Asian greens, it lends itself well to soups, stir fries and fermentation. 

Small Shares:

Red lettuce from Verde Farm

Red bok choy from Verde Farm

Cabbage from Worden Farm

Yellow wax beans from Lady Moon Farm

French breakfast radishes from our fields

Mitsuba from French Farms

Sweet potatoes from North Carolina (sorry for the far away source, we just love Carolina sweet potatoes)

Grapefruit from Central Florida

Large Shares:

Red lettuce from Verde Farm

Red bok choy from Verde Farm

Cabbage from Worden Farm

Yellow wax beans from Lady Moon Farm

French breakfast radishes from our fields

Mitsuba from French Farms

Sweet potatoes from North Carolina (sorry for the far away source, we just love Carolina sweet potatoes)

Grapefruit from Central Florida

Baby pei Tsai from our frields

Broccoli from French Farms

Join us this Sunday, February 7th, at our farm for a fun casual open house! Because our farm is in a residential area, and because were usually busy hustling whenever we are there, we dont often open our doors to big groups and visitors. And we dont often get to just hang out, show off our produce, and talk about our methods with a bunch of friends, farmers market customers, and whomever else wants to join us. So once a year we host an open house, and this year we had to reschedule it due to flooding. Bring your family, a blanket, and a pic nic, and come spend your Sunday morning with us. 

Little River Cooperative Farm
360 NE 154th street.
Follow our long wooden gate west down 154th until you see our open gate and brightly hand painted sign. park outside and walk on in!
Bring: water, a sun hat, bug spray, and snacks

We dont have a bathroom, and we would also prefer you not bring your dog. 

Thanks and see you all this sunday

The weather seems to be normalizing a little bit these days, although we are still getting way more rain than we are used to.  When I say normalizing I'm referring mostly to the cooler temperatures.  We keep trying to remind ourselves that rain is a good thing; rain does a much better job of getting seeds to germinate and it brings nutrients into the soil from the atmosphere.  Until this season there was no doubt in our minds that rain was a positive thing for our crops, but lately every time it rains we cringe. 

We've put together a nice share this week.  Large shares are getting carrots for the third week in a row which might feel overwhelming, but since carrots store for a really long time in the fridge we figured it'd be best to stock up while they are available locally!

We're also going to try for strawberries again.  The rains have made predicting harvests really tough for strawberry farmers.  On a Monday their fields might look promising, full of almost ripe fruit, but if it pours on a Thursday or Friday (like it has almost every week this season) most of the ripe fruit will be damaged and they wont get the yields they hoped for.  If we get strawberries they'll be an extra treat!

Also of importance this week, we're getting eggs from a really cool ranch in North Florida.  Coward Ranch in Sumterville raises cows and poultry on pasture in a very natural and sustainable system.  Check out their website for more info and pictures.  We'll be selling their eggs at the Upper East Side Farmers Market for the rest of the season!

Small Shares:

Eros endive from our fields

Radishes from our fields

Scallions from Verde Farm

Cilantro from Verde Farm

Kale from Verde Farm

Beets from Worden Farm

Broccoli from Lady Moon Farms

Tangelos from central Florida

Large Shares:

Eros endive from our fields

Radishes from our fields

Scallions from Verde Farm

Cilantro from Verde Farm

Kale from Verde Farm

Beets from Worden Farm

Broccoli from Lady Moon Farms

Tangelos from central Florida

Arugula from our fields

Carrots from French Farms

A bit about Tangelos; they are a pretty interesting citrus for us Floridians.  The origin of the tangelo is an accidental or sometimes deliberate hybrid of different mandarin varieties and the grapefruit.  They are produced almost sorely in Florida, both commercially and in backyard gardens because they are more suited for growing in limestone than other citrus.  They are so unlike other citrus that they have been put into a category of their own.  You can read more about them in this little paper from Purdue University.

Having to buy produce for you guys this season has been quite the learning experience for us.  The silver lining of a disastrous season lies in the comradery that is building between small farms in South Florida.  Everyone here is on the same boat and we're all working towards the same goal.  It's been a pleasure working with some of the other farms in town.  This week we have sourced beautiful oyster mushrooms from a farm that is totally new to us, Signature Farms in Homestead.  Oyster mushrooms are delicate and sweet.  They can be used raw in salads, added to soups, quiches, etc... My favorite way to prepare them is seared in butter on high heat until a crispy crust forms on the bottom.  No need to chop, just sear them whole.  Prepared this way, they are a nice side dish or you can put them on top of mashed potatoes, warm salads or polenta.  For a totally different idea, check out this post on 101cookbooks.com for Wintery Spring Rolls!  Spring rolls are probably the easiest way to eat fresh veggies.  You can follow a recipe or just use it as a guide, but mix and match whatever veg you have in the fridge. 

Small Shares:

Kale from French Farms

Baby greens from our fields

Onions from Pine Island Farm (not certified organic)

Grape tomatoes from Michael Borek Farm

Oyster mushrooms from Signature Farms

Grapefruit from Central Florida

Carrots from Worden Farm

Kitchen herbs from Michael Borek Farm

Large Shares:

Kale from French Farms

Baby greens from our fields

Onions from Pine Island Farm (not certified organic)

Grape tomatoes from Michael Borek Farm

Oyster mushrooms from Signature Farms

Grapefruit from Central Florida

Carrots from Worden Farm

Kitchen herbs from Michael Borek Farm

Watermelon radishes from our fields

Cucumbers from Micheal Borek farm

It's been one month and one week since the BIG flood and despite the continuous wet weather, the farm is finally starting to look green again.  We've had our fair share of set backs, but it's amazing what 2 measly weeks of cool temperatures will do!  The pest pressure has subsided, crops are looking brighter and growing at a much faster rate.  Speaking of pests, under these long (50 feet) white tunnels is your current crop of arugula.  We cover it to keep mites and aphids away, but we can only do it when the weather is cool because otherwise it gets too hot in there.  This cloth is designed for this purpose; it lets water and air through, blocking only 10% of sunlight.  Sometimes we also introduce a beneficial insect into the tunnels, such as ladybugs, so that they can eat all of the aphids.  Releasing beneficial insects is much more effective when it can be done into a closed structure so that the little critters focus all of their energy on cleaning up the infested crops. 

Here's a list of what you'll be getting in the shares this week, small and large respectively.  Notice we're doubling up on tomatoes to make up for the awful tomato mess last week.  Enjoy!

Small Shares:

Bok choy from Verde Farm

Baby arugula and pei tsai mix from our fields

Mustard greens from Verde Farm

Large tomatoes (red, yellow and green!) from Michael Borek Farm

Grape tomatoes from Michael Borek farm

Carrots from Paradise Farms

Graffiti eggplant from Lady Moon Farm

Green chard from Lady Moon Farm

Starfruit from Paradise Farms

Large Shares:

Bok choy from Verde Farm

Baby arugula and pei tsai mix from our fields

Mustard greens from Verde Farm

Large tomatoes (red, yellow and green!) from Michael Borek Farm

Grape tomatoes from Michael Borek farm

Carrots from Paradise Farms

Graffiti eggplant from Lady Moon Farm

Green chard from Lady Moon Farm

Starfruit from Paradise Farms

Curly kale from Lady Moon Farms

Fennel from our fields

Cucumbers from Michael Borek Farm