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CSA share: week 20

Posted in csa, photo, tagged on April 16, 2010| 8 Comments »

CSA share: week 20. The final share of the season!

This is it, kids, the final share of the season! I can’t believe that 20 weeks have flown by already. I’m going to miss visiting the farm every Friday and finding out what’s new, and taking this picture. My friends will miss hearing me complain that I can’t close my refrigerator door, and can they please help me out by taking some veggies off my hands. Geez, now I’ll have to go back to Whole Paycheck for organic produce. (But it’s not the same.)

What did you like in the share, and what did you not like? I’m going to go against the flow and say that I loved all the greens this season. It’s hard to find a variety of fresh greens in the stores, and I’ve really enjoyed them. The turnips, meh. The heirloom tomatoes were worth the trip to the farmers market. Wish I had signed up for an egg share, because organic eggs from the grocery are just not the same.

This blog was the first season that I documented the shares and the ebb and flow of events on Bee Heaven Farm and in Redland. I wanted to do a lot more than I managed to find time and energy for. During the off-season lull, I hope to get caught up on some blog posts I’ve been working on. What do you want more news about, and what do you want less of? Do you want farm news, area news, farmer/intern interviews, politics, recipes, information about different foods, what’s available at market, various related events, rants and rambles, or …?

Your responses are very interesting to me, and based on what I hear, may help shape the direction of the blog (as long as it doesn’t stray too far from original mission of writing about Redland Organics growers, CSA members, the issues that affect them, and the farm area). Would love to hear your thoughts! Let’s get a conversation going! I know you’re out there…

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When cabbages fly

Posted in csa, farm, food, people, photo, tagged , on April 14, 2010|

Last week, Farmer Margie told me that she was short-handed and needed volunteers to help pack shares. I offered to help, and rounded up my new buddy Nathan (who wants to be a tractor mechanic when he grows up), and he brought along his mother Tunie. Farm manager Muriel invited Christina, and we four volunteers joined the packing line in the barn at eight last Friday morning.

Kenna and Nathan make cabbages fly.

Before we could start packing the actual shares, the reefer truck had to be unloaded. It was full of vegetables from Worden Farm. The first challenge was a large bin full of cabbages, too heavy to lift fully loaded. Intern Kenna and Muriel climbed aboard and tossed cabbages fast and furious to Nathan and me. We caught and stacked them into wheelbarrows, which went to the head of the packing line.

Muriel determined which veggies went in which order on the line. The heaviest items get packed first and go in the bottom of the share box. The lightest things go on top, where they won’t get crushed. The actual packing went fast and easy. Margie and Christina packed cabbage and beets. Tunie added green beans and spring onions. I was next on the line. With my left hand, I reached for the box coming down the rollers and put in a bunch of kale. If the cabbage was big (and some were monstrously huge), I packed a smaller head of lettuce. If the cabbage was small, I put a bigger head. Then I pushed the box to Jesus on my right, who added mushrooms, closed the boxes and stacked them. Nathan loaded the boxes into the truck. Kenna was the runner, replenishing supplies of veggies and empty boxes.

Packing had a steady rhythm. Pull, pack, push. Pull, pack, push. When the full shares were done, the half shares were next. It seemed to go more slowly, but I think that’s because there are more half shares than full shares. Still, we were done by noon, and the truck was loaded with share boxes. Christina described the process as, “This is the place where the farm connects with the table, putting the vegetables in the box. Goodbye, vegetables! Hope you don’t wilt in the frig!”

Thanks to volunteers Nathan, Tunie and Christina for their hard work!

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CSA share: week 18

Posted in csa, photo, tagged on April 2, 2010|

CSA share: week 18

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Tastes like root beer

Posted in food, photo, tagged , on April 1, 2010| 14 Comments »

Piper auritum (or Piper sanctum), also known as hoja santa leaf

Have you done anything with the leaves of the Root Beer Plant yet? That’s the package of heart-shaped leaves that was in last week’s CSA share box. They are reminiscent of the Piper Betel leaves that we got a couple times, before the freeze hit. These leaves are Piper Auritum (or Piper Sanctum), commonly known as hoja santa, and they taste like anise or root beer, thus the name.

The hoja santa came from Possum Trot Tropical Fruit Nursery, of course. It’s one of several different varieties of Piper that Robert Barnum has been growing for years. I called him up and asked what he does with it. He puts it in baked beans, or uses it to wrap fish and then bake it. He also suggested making a pesto, then spooning a bit over cream soup and using a toothpick to make swirly designs. Yup, that’s what he told me.

One of the CSA bloggers, Chef Caroline over at Occasional Omnivore, used the leaves to wrap tamales that she cooked on a grill pan. Her recipe sounds delicious and easy to do. Check it out here.

Still haven’t used much of mine, in case you were wondering. I chopped up one leaf and tossed it in with some spring onion in scrambled eggs the other day for breakfast. That was good, but P. betel would have been better. Chopped up another two leaves and used them in a saute of onion, tomato, and chicken, seasoned with a pinch of cinnamon, salt and pepper. That was good, but it tasted like it was missing something. Any suggestions?

If you want grow your own, contact Robert Barnum at 305-235-1768 to purchase hoja santa plants. Or, you can contact Farmer Margie at office(at)beeheavenfarm.com if you want to buy some leaves.

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Nourishing Overtown

Posted in food, location, market, media, photo, tagged , , , on March 31, 2010| 2 Comments »

Just a reminder that the Grand Opening Celebration of the new Roots in the City Farmers Market will be next Wednesday, on April 7, starting at 1 pm.

Scheduled festivities: Ribbon-cutting, performances by the Booker T. Washington High School Band and Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink will offer complimentary samples of dishes from the school’s cookbook, created with the market’s fresh produce.

There’s a great picture of Farmer Margie in the Miami Herald today! It’s on page 2A, or you can see it online.

Affordable farmers market nourishes Overtown residents

A new farmers market aims to make fresh fruits and vegetables accessible to Overtown residents.

BY ELAINE WALKER
ewalker@MiamiHerald.com

Sarah Wallace can barely remember what it was like to eat fresh spinach, collard greens and carrots. It has been years since she has been able to afford any of her favorite fresh vegetables on $40 a month in food stamps.

Typically, Wallace makes do with canned beans and corn. That’s why she couldn’t help fighting back tears at the recent opening of the Roots in the City Farmers Market across the street from her Overtown apartment.

What makes this market different from others around South Florida is that it offers lower-income consumers the opportunity to eat healthy by using their food stamps to make subsidized purchases. For every $1 in food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program dollars, they get $2 worth of fresh fruits and vegetables. The limit: $20 per day of free produce.

Wallace, who has lived in Overtown her whole life, didn’t believe the market was going to happen until she saw the trial run for herself last Wednesday. She walked away with a big bag of fresh produce and the hope that it dispels the notion that African Americans don’t want to eat fresh vegetables.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/30/1555973/affordable-food-nourishes-neighborhood.html

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