Before and after on Nana Louie Farm

Here are some before and after pictures of our spring block.

Here are before and after pictures of our summer cropping ground.

And finally, our tomato hoop house! Lots of tomatoes on these plants...hopefully they will start to ripen soon.

Recipe for this weeks share. I made this recipe up this weekend and I have to say, I am rather proud of how awesome it tastes. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Pesto, pea, broccoli raab, pasta salad.
Penne pasta
1 bunch of broccoli raab
Shell peas
1/4 cup pesto (make pesto from your basil this week--see the following recipe--you will have some left over and it will last in the refrigerator for at least 2 -3 weeks).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pesto-107030

Bring pasta water to a boil. Submerge broccoli raab cook for just a few minutes, take out with a slotted spoon and run under cold water.  Add pasta to boiling water.

While pasta is cooking, shell peas and chop broccoli raab.

Drain pasta, add pesto, broccoli raab, and peas. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Share delivery #3 plus Hail at Nana Louie farm

In your share this week:

Romaine lettuce (Yummy Caesar salad!)

Basil

Mint

Braising mix (in the bag)

Broccoli Raab

Salad/ Japanese turnips

What is Broccoli Raab? 

Broccoli Raab is a spicy mustard green that looks like small broccoli heads. I love it steamed and put in a pasta salad with olives, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, or just sauteed with pasta, garlic and parmesian (and that basil). Can you tell we eat a lot of pasta? It is an easy middle of the week meal.

Here is another side dish of broccoli raab if you are feeling more adventurous:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Micro-Quick-Hot-Sweet-Salad-of-Broccoli-Raab-and-Carrots-106236

The stuff in the bag is another braising mix--very tender, it does not need to be cooked for long. One of our CSA members, likes it with sauteed with garlic and olive oil as a side dish

The turnips are one of my favorite spring items. Slice them and cook them in butter until just tender. Add salt and pepper and serve as a side dish. You can add the greens at the very last minute. They are sweet and yummy. 

Caesar salad is another summer favorite. I made homemade croutons tonight with old french bread tossed in olive oil and baked until just browned under the broiler. We added some smoked salmon, parmesian cheese, caesar salad dressing and top with lemon juice. It makes a nice light dinner. 

Enjoy! Are you sick of greens yet? Rainy Springs bring lots of greens. Peas and broccoli next week! Maybe even some baby beets. We had a hail storm that set us back a little bit today. You will notice some shredded leaves on the lettuce. It is still just as tasty. Our spinach, chard, and other leafy greens were quite shredded.. Pics tomorrow.

Delivery #2!

In your share this week:
Rhubarb; BokChoi;  oregano; radishes; spinach; spicy lettuce mix; scallions

This will be the last of the scallions and radishes until fall. It is getting to hot for them!

Rhubarb crisp is perfect for this time of year. My favorite recipe uses apples:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Rhubarb-Crisp-1568

BokChoi is an asian green with very succulent leaves and is great with stir fries. I found a great recipe on epicurious with Bok choy and grilled chicken with radishes--one way to also use the radishes. Some of the ingredients we just do not have yet (orange peppers).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Asian-Chicken-with-Bok-Choy-Shiitake-Mushrooms-and-Radishes-359329


The lettuce has some spicy mustard greens in it--something I am not sure every one loves, so please let us know.

Enjoy your stuff this week!

Tammy and Ben

Rhizobium and remay

Season extension is critical in Montana. We have high tunnels, low tunnels all to keep the warm in at night and the day time temperatures up! The white stuff covering our crops in this picture is call "Agribon" or "Remay". It is a cover that lets water and air in, but keeps out stuff like insects. We are using this cover because we want to keep out a few insects that love to munch on greens such as mustards, arugula, and other brassica related crops.

I also attached a picture of one of our peas that we used for a cover crop this year to put Nitrogen into the soil. Those "bumps" all over the roots are a bacteria called rhizobium, and they help the pea plants fix Nitrogen from the atmosphere. In other words peas, with the help of this rhizobium, make their own nutrients. When we turn it into the soil we get food for the next crop--which happens to be our peppers and eggplant this year.