Bitten by blight.

Late blight... Two words no farmer wants to hear. More prevalent in cool, wet and windy weather, it can wipe out a tomato or potato crop in no time. You've likely heard about the effects of the blight this season, as more farms in our area have started burning and burying tomato plants hit by the blight. Until recently, we had been lucky to avoid a brush with the fungus ourselves. But early this week at the Skunk Hollow Community Farm, our farm manager Rick Fonda noticed some of the white spores on the leaves of the tomato plants, a sure indicator of late blight. Since there isn't much a farmer, much less and organic farmer, can do to fight the fungus, Rick will have to begin the process of digging up the plants and burying them to prevent further spread of the spores.

{ Picture of a tomato plant affected by late blight. Courtesy of The New York Times }

There is little more disappointing for a farmer than to watch his or her crops die without any recourse. But amidst the frustration we're grateful that, unlike the people of Ireland in the 19th century, this year's late blight is problematic but certainly not life-threatening. And we're keeping this in mind when heading to the farm markets this summer. Fewer producers will be offering tomatoes, and the ones they do sell will be more expensive due to the demand. Regardless, we won't let that drive us to buy elsewhere, and instead we'll take advantage of summer's other bounty. They may not be the big, beautiful tomatoes we all love, but the cauliflower looks amazing this time of year. Supporting our local farmers by purchasing the produce they do have to offer helps strengthen our communities, not to mention get them back on track for growing healthy tomatoes next year!

{ A photo of a recent share list from the Skunk Hollow Community Farm }

For more information on the late blight, click here or here.

Preserving the bounty

Many of you have probably begun noticing an abundance of summer squash and zucchini in your CSA shares and in the farm markets in recent weeks... And there is more to come! These delicious veggies produce in huge volumes once the warm weather hits, leaving us all to find creative ways to use the crops before they spoil.

And these aren't the only things we're finding in abundance as summer unfolds- berries, cucumbers, beets and onions are also making themselves known. Luckily, there are literally hundreds of amazing ways to cook these varieties, and better yet, tons of ways to preserve them as well. Because while we may be drowning in these fruits and veggies at the moment, there will certainly come a time when we miss their summer flavor- and that's where preservation comes in!

Because there are so many options, listing them all here would be nearly impossible, so instead we've compiled a list of our favorite sources for preservation ideas. Try these books and links for delicious and varied recipes for preservation, from quick and easy tips for freezing and creating refrigerator pickles to instructions and recipes for canning produce, pickles and jellies. Though some of these ideas will be more involved, all of these resources are geared towards small-scale, at home preservation. So dig-in and have fun!

Books:
• The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving
• Preserving Summer's Bounty
• Complete Guide to Home Canning and Preserving and Freezing

Links:
• Canned Heat at Epicurious.com
• National Center for Home Food Preservation

Recipes:
• Pickled Red Onions
• Relish, Sauce and Chutney- All in one day (scroll down to click on recipes)

Get your grills ready...

I must admit, the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. It's hard to go wrong when you combine a weekend of good friends, fireworks and BBQs... Especially when those BBQs incorporate the beginnings of the sweet summer harvest. We're just now starting to see a few summer favorites in our own CSA shares; from summer squash and strawberries to green beans and cucumbers... And the first of the season's tomatoes shouldn't be far behind.

{ vintage flag photo by Joseph Hancock courtesy of art.com }

So for my part, I've been dreaming up a delicious menu all week that will incorporate some of our own and our neighboring farm's bounty, and that will suit the tastes of the vegetarian and carnivorous, the dieters and the indulgent. So without further ado, let's take a look at the potential menu...

{ grilled chicken courtesy of Bon Appetite }

• Lemony White Bean Hummus with garlic and tahini
• Forks Farm grilled chicken
• Green leaf salad with new cherry tomatoes, Zebulon red onion and feta
• Bikini Zucchini Salad (a clever name for a delicious diet-worthy mix of raw zucchini and lemon dressing, with a sprinkle of toasted pine nuts, Parmesan and basil)
• Grilled sweet white corn
• Homemade buttermilk biscuits

{ grilled corn courtesy of Bon Appetite }

As for a sweet ending....
• Black Raspberry-Blueberry Pound Cake
and
• Vegan Coconut, Chocolate Chip, Pecan cookies based on this recipe (okay, so this last one isn't exactly local, but I am a true believer that no holiday is complete without a bit of chocolate)

There are still hours left until the final trip to the farmer's market tomorrow- so things could still change, but come Saturday I know that I'll be enjoying at least a few of these summer dishes. And how about all of you, what favorite foods have you excited for this weekend?

Camphill Hootenanny

Can you say hootenanny? Okay, now can you spell hootenanny? Either way, this Saturday's summer celebration at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is going to be a blast. Featuring music by Spirit and Dust, Mason Porter, Chris Kasper, Wissahickon Chicken Shack, Hezakiah Jones and Tin Bird Choir (just to name a few!), arts tables, local crafts and and delicious food from the garden and cafe, the afternoon is not to be missed. Click here for more information or to purchase tickets.


Camphill Village is an amazing community where resident volunteers live and work together with adults with special needs. In addition, and important part of Camphill's mission is their dedication to sustainable land use. They believe that "the health of land and people are deeply interdependent," and practice biodynamic agriculture. Is goes without saying that we at Greener Partners have a sincere respect for the work at Camphill, and for that reason (and maybe partly because we love music and good food) you'll find many of our smiling faces at the hootenanny this weekend.

See you there!

Kohlrabi + CSA Season begins!

One word friends; KOHLRABI! That's right, members of our Hillside Farm CSA will be bringing home a delicious purple variety of it starting this week. 

{ beautiful woodcut illustration by Bill Redinger }

We couldn't be more excited to be starting our CSA season with the first round of pick-ups at all three farm sites this week. Our farm managers and apprentices have been working around the clock to have things ready, and they've done an amazing job... Especially for a first season! It's hard to imagine that just a few months ago our farms were open tracts of land. And now, after much planning, problem-solving and sweating, they are bountiful farms ready to feed our members with delicious produce. It's a shaping up to be a good season friends, and we're looking forward to sharing it with you.

In the meantime, here is a recipe for all of you veggie-lovers who can't wait for next week and want to pick up some kohlrabi this weekend. Enjoy!

Sauteed Kohlrabi with Fresh Herbs

Quick, nutritious, yummy!

Serves 2-4

2 KOHLRABI (3 if small)
1 MEDIUM ONION, DICED
4 TABLESPOONS GRASS-FED BUTTER OR EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1 TABLESPOON FRESH HERBS (we like thyme, rosemary, sage and/or chives)
1 TABLESPOON SEA SALT

1. Grate kohlrabi, place in colander and sprinkle with salt.  Let stand 30 minutes to drain. 2. Heat butter or oil over medium heat, add onions and saute for a few minutes
3. Stir in kohlrabi, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes
4. Increase heat to medium and cook 2 more minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs

Wekend Plans: Skunk Hollow Hoedown!

There are few things I would rather do on the weekend than spend time outside with friends, great food and live music. And if outside meant hanging out on a gorgeous farm and the live music happened to be bluegrass by one of my favorite local bands, the Wissahickon Chicken Shack, that might just be my ideal day. If it sounds good to you too, mark your calendar for this Sunday from 3-7pm at the Willows Cottage for the Skunk Hollow Community Farm Hoedown. And if the farm, food and music isn't enough to draw you and your family and friends in, perhaps the mechanical bull will? For more information please visit: www.greenerpartners.org or www.radnorconservancy.org

Fair Food Farmstand + Spring Greens Primer

It probably comes as no surprise that, here at Greener Partners, we love eating our greens! Lucky for us, spring is one of the best times for these delicious foods. Many of them we look forward to each spring as comforting stand-bys, but occasionally we're excited by an unfamiliar green to bring home and test out in our kitchens.
Knowing that new foods can sometimes be intimidating, Fair Food Farmstand co-manager Ruth Holbrook compiled a "Greens Primer" in the farmstand's recent newsletter and was kind enough to share it with us here. Knowing White Dog Community Enterprises and the Fair Food Farmstand to be trusted sources of information on local food, we're excited to publish the list here. So enjoy her introduction to some of the unfamiliar, but no less tasty and nutritious, spring greens!

SPRING GREENS PRIMER:

Tatsoi: Beautiful little dark-green rosettes of spoon-shaped leaves, which have a mildly spicy flavor. They can be chopped whole into salads or thrown into a stir-fry.

Bok Choy: Urn-shaped cabbage relative with flavorful light green leaves and crisp juicy stalks. Wonderful stir-fried at any stage of development, they are particularly tasty in their “baby” stage, lightly sautéed whole.

Tokyo Bekana: Extremely delicate Japanese version of Chinese cabbage with bright chartreuse leaves, juicy white stalks, and a subtle but delicious flavor. Heads can be shredded raw into salad or sautéed very gently.

Stinging Nettles: An incredibly nutrient-dense wild green, nettles have a rich spinach-like flavor, and are wonderful cooked in soups, sauté’s, or infused into tea. Don’t be scared away by the name…though plants are covered in tiny stinging hairs, the compounds that sting are neutralized by heat and drying.

Watercress: Aquatic/semi-aquatic plant with a peppery bite and juicy crunch. Water cress makes an interesting addition to sandwiches, soups and salads.

Savoy Spinach: A “meaty” variety of spinach with curly, crinkled leaves and almost nutty flavor. Savoy spinach makes a tasty and substantial addition to salads and loses less volume when cooked than flat-leaf spinach. Be aware that the sugar is in the stems, so don’t trim them too much.

Mustard Greens: As the name implies, these wrinkled greens come from the same plant whose seeds are used to make the condiment mustard. Their lively flavor is used widely in southern cooking, as well as Chinese and Japanese dishes. The baby greens can be added sparingly to salads while more developed leaves are best cooked alongside other strong flavors

Mizuna: A Japanese variety of mustard green with delicate feathery leaves and a subtly peppery flavor. Mizuna is delicious raw in salads with a citrus or sesame oil flavored dressing, or added to a stir-fry with other “Asian greens”. See the spikey mizuna leaves in the photo at right.

Arugula: Also called Rocket, this green has a unique aromatic tang that is hard to describe. Most widely eaten raw in salads or as a garnish, arugula also makes a tasty pesto or can be lightly sautéed (though heat mellows the flavor considerably).

Sorrel: Often considered an herb, sorrel earns a place in this list for the lovely lemony tartness it bestows on other spring greens. It can be sprinkled on salads, used as a green in spring tonics and soups, or baked into luscious custards.