Welcome to week 8 of your CSA! heres the low down on what will be in your share this week:

Grove small:
strawberries
parsley
rapini
sorrel
beets
collards
turnips

Grove large get all of this plus:
napa cabbage
fennel
butterhead lettuce

Upper East Side small:
strawberries
parsley
mizuna mustard
new zealand spinach
beets
collards
turnips

Upper East Side large will get all of this plus:
napa cabbage
fennel
butterhead lettuce

This time of winter is South Florida's main Strawberry season, and we couldn't  be happier about it. Homestead is full of strawberry farms, including the popular U pick Knaus Berry Farm, home of the best and naughtiest cinnamon buns ever, and this week we are getting our berries from Pine Island Farm in Homestead. We planted a few starts in the fall at our garden and nursery space which are producing small amounts of fruit, if you got strawberry plants at one of our seedling sales this fall we hope yours are happy and productive too. No need to suggest recipes for strawberries since were pretty sure your pint of fresh bright red berries might not even make it through the drive home!

This week we're also including an array of extra healthy greens for you to cook and enjoy in a myriad of ways. First up, beet greens! (don't worry, were also including the beets themselves, but right now lets talk about their tops) While often treated as compost fodder, beet greens should most definitely be consumed as they are incredibly good for you and high in fiber and antioxidants. One half cup of sautéed beet greens contain 30 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C, and are also a source of Vitamin A  and K. Beets are related closely to swiss chard, so cook the greens as you would chard, perhaps sautee them with olive oil, garlic and some red pepper flakes.

Parsley, while treated mostly as an herb or garnish, can be a tasty green to showcase in a salad or pesto. Mandolin Aegean Bistro, in the Design District, makes a seasonal salad with our parsley harvest that is so simple but so tasty! They tear the leaves off the stem so that there aren't any firm twiggy bits in the salad, then toss the greens with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. The pile of parsley is topped with slices of fresh tomato and shaved parmesan cheese. Here is a round up of parsley recipes from the U.K.'s The Guardian Newspaper, we want to try making the parsley tempura!


Have you noticed the kind of annoying slogan on the side of paper whole foods bags, proclaiming that "Collards are the new Kale"? Despite it being kind of annoying because its a slogan on the side of a whole foods bag, we hope its a little bit true. Collards are indeed healthier than kale and are packed with higher amounts of vitamins and minerals, plus they are a traditional dish here in the south. The key to making enjoyable collard greens is slow cooking them for longer than you would kale, or adding them to long cooked dishes like stews and soups. 

This isn't the first time we are including french sorrel in the shares so hopefully you've found some delicious ways to incorporate it into your diet already. We add it to salads for a tangy change of pace, however there are many traditional french recipes that honor its tangy sour flavor, like french sorrel soup, and sauce. Here is a Julia Childs inspired recipe for a traditional french sorrel sauce. We also have a chef buying sorrel to add to his key lime pie, which is a great idea and makes the filling extra green!

French Sorrel Sauce

• 1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh sorrel or spinach
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced shallots
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• ground white pepper
  
  Combine sorrel, wine and shallots in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sorrel wilts, about 2 minutes. Add cream and lime juice. Boil until reduced to sauce consistency, about 12 minutes. Transfer sauce to blender. Purée until almost smooth. Return sauce to same saucepan. Season with ground white pepper and salt.

Last but not least, we want to speak briefly about New Zealand Spinach, one of the many subtropical spinach alternatives that thrive here in Miami. When Tiffany spent a summer WWOOFing in Normandy, France, the summer heat had made the farms New Zealand Spinach plants explode with tender new growth and she and the other volunteers had it in every dish they made. Called there by its latin name, Tetragonia, it was chopped and added to stews, omelettes, fritattas, soups, sauteed greens dishes, you name it and it had Tetragonia in it. While this succulent leafy green is very versatile we dont recommend eating too much of it raw, since it contains Oxalates that can irritate a sensitive kidney when raw. 

French Farms

We hope everyone had a great holiday season. Special shout out to New Years! Happy 2015!

We are so lucky to start the year with a farm full of veggies. Thank you for being a part of this project, we couldn’t do it without each of our CSA members.

Week 7 of the shares includes some great things, like the first carrots of the season and our signature three colored bush beans. We’re also harvesting beautiful fennel and kohlrabi for you this week, both of which are pretty unique veggies. The lettuce and cilantro in the shares come from our friend Chris at French Farms in Redland. He’s working hard and doing a great job producing top quality produce almost exclusively for our CSA.

You’re probably used to making salads with lettuce, but frisee might be a new thing for some. Frisee is in the endive family which also includes lettuce, but endives are more bitter. Of all the endives, we like to grow frisee in particular because of its super curly texture. Mix half lettuce half frisee for a light and fluffy salad that holds dressing really well. To cut the bitterness try a sweet dressing like honey mustard or raspberry vinaigrette.

Carrots at French Farms

  Fennel

There are a lot of good roasting veggies in the share this week, which is perfect because we should be getting a little cold front soon; what's better on a cold day than lighting the oven? Rather than cutting up veggies into small squares I like to keep them as whole as possible to reduce prep time, but also for aesthetic reasons. Carrots and fennel can be halved or quartered and beans can be roasted whole. They can all go in the oven in a big baking dish together, coated with a little oil (try sesame oil for a change of scenery), salt and pepper to taste. Roast until the carrots are tender.

Burgundy Bush Beans

Here’s an idea for a rainbow slaw. Grate carrots, radishes and kohlrabi (it works without the kohlrabi too) and dress with olive oil, vinegar and salt to taste. Done. It’s a beautiful, fresh and crunchy side dish.

 Enjoy the harvest this first week of the year.

 Happy Holidays from the farm! This Week we thought we would go light on greens, since we know you all have many fun side dishes to make for a variety of holiday feasts. Cherry tomatoes, fennel, dill, parsley and eggplants all combine well and compliment one another for traditional mediterranean cooking. We recommend flipping through the pages of your well worn copy of PLENTY (or asking for plenty for christmas if you dont already own it!), Yotam Ottolenghi's all veggie Israeli cookbook for inspiration.



The cover photo recipe is Roasted eggplant topped with yoghurt and pomegranite seeds:

Sungolds are everyones favorite cherry tomato, beloved for their sweet almost pineapple flavor and vibrant sun inspired coloring. A simple yet delicious way to eat them is to halve the small fruit, then toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh oregano. 

Rainbow Kale, a fun purple tinged variety with similar flavor profile and uses to our more popular Lacinato kale.

Fennel has many uses as it can be eaten both raw and cooked. Use a mandolin or your expert knife skills to slice the raw fruit thinly then toss with chunks of citrus, dill, cress or arugula (both available at the market stand) and a tart vinaigrette for a refreshing shaved salad. Or cut into thicker more hearty chunks and roast in the oven with garlic and olive oil. Roasting brings down the anise flavor of the raw vegetable and lets its sweetness stand out. 

Tat Soi, an asian cabbage popular in stir fries

This week marks the first quarter of the growing season, although it feels like we just started.  Time flies this time of year because of the holidays and the nice weather here in South Florida. 

We'll be enjoying the last of the cucumbers from Verde Farm.  If you're into juicing cucumbers are really good for cutting the sweetness of carrot, beet, apple and orange juices.  To take full advantage of the crisp texture of these amazing cukes, cut them up for a salad with feta, herbs (dill, cilantro, etc) olive oil, lemon juice and sea salt.  Maybe add diced jalapenos and/or diced radishes too!  Need other ideas for using jalapenos?  Check out this smashed fingelings with jalapenos recipe, it is mouth watering.

Watermelon Radishes

Watermelon radishes (or any radish) are very good sliced into medallions and lightly seared in butter or oil; good as a side dish for almost any meal.  Take advantage of the tops by quickly wilting them in the same skillet you used to sear the radish medallions and serve the root and the tops together.  I like to drizzle good quality virgin olive oil and course sea salt on the wilted tops once they are plated. 

Broccoli

In previous years I've recommended recipes from one of my favorite food blogs, Heidi Swanson's 101cookbook.com, almost every week.  I'm still a fan, in fact maybe even more of a fan than ever.  Heidi shares recipes she tries from many cookbooks, but usually my favorites are the ones she writes herself.  They are vegetable based, truly simple and seasonal.  This week I'd like to bring your attention to her double broccoli quinoa bowl as well as this recipe for spiced coconut spinach she adapted from a book.

New Zealand Spinach

New Zealand spinach is not a true spinach; it is in a totally different family of plants, mostly coastal plants native to Australia, Japan and Chile.  As the name implies, it is very similar in texture and taste to spinach and you can use it interchangeably by blanching or sautéing before eating.

Red Choi

Red Choi is basically a bok choy relative.  We picked to grow this variety for it's beautiful color and small size.  You can sautee these little plants whole or cut length wise down the middle in a large skillet with lots of garlic for a Chinese style side dish.  Check out this recipe on bonappetit.com for inspiration!  By the way, you can use rapini or hon tsai tai in this exact recipe. 

As we finish off the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers, we are excited to be able to share such a green CSA box with our members this week. Not all of the listed produce will be available at the Upper East Side Farmers Market, but we always have a selection of greens, veggies, fruits, honey, and more!

Kale Salad (Photo courtesy of The Fare Field; check out this Fare Field video to see this salad in action.)

Pei Tsai aka Tokyo Bekana

This week, all of our shares will be receiving Kale (either Dino or Curly), Eggplant, Scallions and Pei Tsai.  Large shares are getting beautiful head lettuce from our friends at French Farms in Redland.  Pei Tsai, also known as Tokyo Bekana, can be cooked or consumed raw.  It is crisp and has a high water content, making it a pleasantly fresh green to add to salads, but it is great added to a quick veggie stir fry as well. 

Lemongrass

Mizuna

We are going to be sharing Verde Farms baby mizuna with the small and large shares at Upper East Side this week. Mizuna, also know as Japanese mustard, is a great salad green with a mild and slightly bitter taste. One way, aside from salad, to prepare mizuna is to add the leaves to freshly boiled potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Everyone at Upper East Side is also getting lemongrass and Cubanelle peppers.  Try a Thai style soup with coconut milk and your lemongrass.  Cubanelle peppers are great for stuffing since they have a thin wall and a large hollow.  Stuff them with cheese and herbs or picadillo and bake them in the oven until they get soft and toasty on the outside.  Try this recipe where the peppers are halved then stuffed.  

 Ruby Streaks Mustard

The large shares for the Upper East Side will also be receiving mustard greens and French sorrel. Do not be afraid of your mustard greens! If you are a fan of spice, eaten raw this green can add warmth to any dish. On the other hand, if you are not a fan of spice, wilt these greens through steaming or sautéing, try adding them to your next round of scrambled eggs. French Sorrel taste a bit like a tart fruit and can be eaten raw or used as a seasoning. Add it in a salad, or better yet, to a salad dressing.

New Zealand Spinach

For the small and large shares in the Grove, French Farms is harvesting Carlton Komatsuna, Japans best kept secret. These tasty dark green leaves have a mild Brassica flavor and are delicious steamed, stir-fried, or enjoyed raw in salads. The large shares in the Grove will have the opportunity to experiment with New Zealand spinach and oregano.  New Zealand spinach is not a true spinach; it is in a totally different family of plants, mostly coastal plants native to Australia, Japan and Chile.  As the name implies, it is very similar in texture and taste to spinach and you can use it interchangeably by blanching or sautéing before eating.  Oregano is a wonderful “woodsy” flavored herb that is delicious when added to sauces, salad dressings, baked dishes, or cocktails!

We're so excited to share this new product with our CSA members and local community! In a gift giving world dominated by electronics and other manufactured goods being sold at bargain prices by big box companies, we're glad to be offering a local earth-friendly alternative for your Miami friends and family.

When you order a gift box from our farm we will harvest a selection of fruits, veggies and fresh cut flowers just for you, pack them in a wooden crate or vintage basket along with a loaf of Zak the Baker sourdough bread and a 8oz jar of Garden of Ian mangrove honey and hand deliver it to your friend or family member anywhere in central Miami Dade. 

We're grateful for your support and hope you enjoy your tropical Christmas. 

For more information or to order a gift box, click here.

This week there is plenty of overlap in both the small and large CSA shares (quantities of items vary on share size) and plenty of fresh, delicious veggies to be enjoyed.

Kohlrabi

For those who are unfamiliar with Kohlrabi, we have included a photograph and urge members to try them out! They taste somewhere between a cabbage and a broccoli stem, slightly on the sweeter side. Their leaves are great greens to use in dishes that call for hardier greens, or can be eaten raw. They have been doing wonderfully on the farm this season and we will have both purple and green varieties available. Although Kohlrabi is not a root crop, it is very hardy and does well in soups, baked, chopped and eaten raw in, or as, a salad. Roast them until tender with salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme for a fast and easy main or side dish.

As some of you may have seen at the Upper East Side Market last weekend, we are excited to be harvesting our Watermelon Radishes! Don’t let the outer color fool you, when sliced they reveal a magenta inside and contain quite a spicy kick. As with the Kohlrabi, these radishes are delicious roasted, seared in butter and garlic, or on toast. Their greens are also edible but must be cooked, so throw them in the same pan after preparing the bulbs and you’ll have a quick side dish. For those who are familiar with Zak the Baker, their herb toast is topped with none other than the Watermelon Radish! This is a fun dish to recreate at home by adding dill to your cream cheese spread, spreading it over toast, topped with salt, olive oil, and your Watermelon Radish.

Having both Dill and Cucumbers available this week, we thought we’d share a quick prep pickling recipe for those interested in trying something new with their cucumbers. They also pair very well outside of the pickling world. Try adding some dill to a yogurt sauce and drizzling over diced cucumber.

Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Stir water, vinegar, sugar, and sea salt together in a saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil; remove from heat and cool completely.

Combine cucumber spears, garlic cloves, and fresh dill in a large glass or plastic container. Pour cooled vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture. Seal container with lid and refrigerate for at least 3 days.

*This recipe has already been halved, and makes 6 servings.

Hon Tsai Tai

Pac Choi

Baby Tat Soi

Hon Tsai Tai, Pac Choi, and baby Tat Soi are all Asian greens that can be used interchangeably. They can be eaten raw, sautéed with your favorite oil or steamed with garlic and Kohlrabi! These greens also taste a bit sweeter than your average greens and they're amazing dressed or cooked with Red Pepper or Cayenne.

In lieu of the holidays, we’d also like to thank all of our CSA members and friends for all of their support and encouragement, Happy Thanksgiving!

Welcome to week two of your CSA share! As you can see, there are plenty of amazing things included in everyone’s box this week, and we are particularly excited about featuring Roselle and Yucca.

Roselle, also known as Cranberry Hibiscus or Jamaican Sorrel, is a beautiful, red colored annual shrub that grows exceptionally well in South Florida’s humid weather. Roselle is planted in the late Spring and allowed to grow big and bushy over the Summer.  In the Fall it begins to bloom big beautiful hibiscus flowers, which later develop a fleshy calyx, which is a red seed covering protecting its seedpod. These are peeled off of the seed pod and can be used fresh (as pictured above) or dried for teas and toppings. With the holidays upon us, we have included a recipe for Jamaican Christmas Sorrel Punch, a traditional drink that may add a twist to your holiday menu.

In a large crock, combine the roselle petals, cinnamon stick, orange peel, cloves, allspice and sugar.  Pour boiling water on top, cover, steep at room temp for 2-3 days.

Strain the liquid add the rum. Cover and refrigerate for another 2 days. Serve over crushed ice in pre-chilled glasses. Garnish with cloves and orange peel.

Yuca, also known as cassava, is another delicious shrub. But unlike Roselle, the root is what is being consumed. These roots have a similar taste and texture to potatoes, with an even better carbohydrate content, giving the consumer a burst of energy. They are more commonly grown in tropical and subtropical climates because of their heat tolerance, and can be used to substitute the potato in almost any dish. Below we have listed Miami’s favorite way to consume yuca root, enjoy!

In a large pot, cover yuca with lightly-salted water by about two inches. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook uncovered.

Cook until yuca becomes tender, but NOT mushy - about 15-20 minutes. Remove yuca and drain thoroughly. Let cool.

Important: Remove the "woody" or fibrous core from the center of the yuca.

Cut the yuca in thick slices or strips - like a french fry. The easiest way to do this is to cut each half of the yuca into halves, then quarters, and so on - until you get the size you want.

Heat the oil to 320 degrees F. Drop the yuca fries in the oil in small batches and let cook for just a minute or two.

Remove each batch to a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Complete the frying process by turning up the flame on the oil until it reaches a temperature of 375 degrees F.

Use this hotter oil to crisp up and fully brown the yuca fries in small batches. Two to three minutes frying at most!

When they are golden brown, you need to retrieve them from the hot oil immediately, set the fries aside to drain while you cook the remaining batches.

Season to taste with salt.

October is when our growing season really picks up speed.  We began planting at the nursery in September, focusing on crops that are good for transplanting like tomatoes, kale, fennel and frisee, all of which have already been transplanted and are growing strong.  In October we've started direct seeding crops like arugula, bush beans and carrots right into the soil.  Almost every space at the farm is planted so now it's a matter of weeding them while they are small and making sure they are well irrigated.  We are thankful for the consistent rain lately which has helped all of our crops become well established. 

It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes on the farm this time of year.  The cover crops were tall and green when we mowed them down and they quickly turned golden as they dried on the surface of the soil.  Just as the weeds threatened to take over, turning the field into a green carpet, we hoed it all up and turned the field into a brown canvas.  Little green plants were neatly transplanted one after each other and seeds were sown into long straight rows.  Slowly they are growing and drawing green patterns on the brown canvas. 

Soon we'll be harvesting bunches of greens, colorful radishes and crates of purple yellow and green beans.  This is my absolute favorite time of year!

Join us for our annual
Heirloom Tomato Seedling Sale
The first event at our new nursery in Little Haiti
115 ne 76th street Miami FL 33138
Saturday and Sunday October 11th and 12th
10am-3pm

Just a couple of weeks ago we started over 1,000 heirloom tomato seeds, not to mention hundreds of peppers, eggplants and other transplanting veggies like rainbow kale, scarlet frills mustard and new zealand spinach.  We've also been stocking up on unique things like Florida friendly strawberries, red veined french sorrel and a bunch of edible perennials including moringa, miami spinach and lemongrass. 

Our plants are sold in biodegradable peat pots, which is awesome not only because we're not using plastic, but also because you can plant them right in the ground without disturbing plant roots, ensuring a more successful transplant.  We're using our tried and true recipe of homemade compost, peat, perlite and organic kelp meal for potting mix and feeding seedlings daily with organic fish emulsion to produce robust plants that will hit the ground running!  We'll be accepting cash, check or square payments.  All peat pots are $4 each or buy 5 get one free!  Some plants, especially perennials and herbs, are in 5" pots and prices vary.

Here's a list of plant varieties you will be able to choose from (some varieties are only available in small quantities, first come first serve):

Heirloom tomatoes:
Cherries:
Sungold
Yellow Pear
Black Cherry
Blueberries

Medium:
Green Zebra
Garden Peach
Costoluto Genovese
Black Prince
Amish Red
Red Zebra
Black Seaman
Amber Colored

Large:
Arkansa Marvel
Homestead 24
Atkinson
Chocolate Stripes
Mortgage Lifter
Gold Medal
Black Krim
Anahu

Paste/Sauce:
Jersey Devil
Amish Paste
Purple Russian

Peppers:
Hot:
Cayenne Long Red
Purple Jalapeno
Serrano

Sweet:
Shishito
Cupid
Pepperoncini

Eggplants:
Listada de Gancia
Black Beauty
Prosperosa
Cambodian Green Giant

Greens:
Rainbow Kale
Tronchuda Kale
Lacinato Kale
Southern Collards
Mustards
Frisee Endive
Arugula
Swiss Chard
Perpetual Spinach
Mizuna Mustard
Red Veined Sorrel
Green Sorrel
Lettuces
Dandelion
Broccoli Raab
Pei Tsai
Hon Tsai Tai

 Other Veggies:

Okra
Fennel
Cucumber
Patty Pan Squash
Zuchinni

Herbs:
Lemongrass
Oregano
Cuban Oregano
Citrus Basil
Corsican purple basil
Parsley
Mint
Papalo
Nasturtiums
Calendula
Spilanthes

Specialty Stuff:
Albion Strawberries
Chandler Strawberries
Pineapples
Lima Beans
Hyacinth Beans
Winged Beans
Pea Vine aka Butterfly Pea
Cranberry Hibiscus
Moringa
Surinam Spinach
Malabar Spinach
Ginger
Galangal
Turmeric
Gotu Kola
Sweet Potato
Boniato
Loofah
Papaya
 

Please remember that the sale is not at the Little River Garden like it has been the past 4 years.

It's all happening at our new nursery, located at 115 NE 76th Street in Little Haiti!