Our first Produce Packs will be finding their way to Metro locations during the week of May 20! We’re excited to meet all our new customers, and to reconnect with returning customers. I hope everyone has found their pick-up points. Please email or phone Jen at 817-1986 (local for metro) if you have any questions at any time. She has this phone on her all the time, even during pick-ups. All the pick-up information can be found here.
Cooler than normal temperatures this spring mean that we will have a very green offering for the first few weeks. We will have salad mix, green onions, arugula, spinach, eggs, and other goodies. (I have included a great recipe for spanikopita, using most of these items, at the end of this post). The price for the produce pack will be lower during the first few weeks, until fruit and a wider selection of veggies are available.
Here is a little photo tour of the farm over the last few days… See you all soon!
Jen, David, and Bruce
Carpathian walnut
Peach blossom
Salad greens with peas. Once the greens are finished, the peas will be trellised.
Tomato blossoms. Five hoop houses have warm-season tomato, eggplant, melon, and pepper plants.
Red leaf lettuce
Speckled lettuce
Spinach
Beet greens
Forsythia with barn in the background
We are growing some vegetables in rows that we can hill, and then seed cover crops in between.
Red russian kale
New little strawberry plants for harvest next year
Brent Horner, on left, will be joining the Abundant Acres crew two mornings a week. He comes with his own checked jacket.
One Dish Spanikopita
(Thanks to Nature’s Route Farm)
You can make it in a large 9×13″ pan, so there’s no fiddly bits, and it’s terrific heated or cold for lunches, if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers! The other nice thing is that it is possible to make this one almost completely from local market produce!
6 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
large bunch chopped parsley
8–10 scallions, sliced (or I use diced onions too)
2 pounds spinach
1/2 c olive oil
6 eggs
1 1/2 pounds crumbled feta cheese
½ cup currants or a few tbsp of pine nuts (optional)
package phyllo pastry
1/4 c melted butter
1. In a large bowl, mix olive oil, dill, parsley, scallions.
2. Cook spinach and squeeze out excess water (if using already frozen, thaw in a sieve so water drains out), then chop and add to the bowl mixture
3. Beat eggs and feta together and add to spinach mixture
4. Add currants or pine nuts (if using) to spinach mixture
4. Layer phyllo sheets in a 9×13” pan, adding butter brushed on layers. Spoon mixture on top of the layers of phyllo, then cover with 3-4 more layers of pastry, brushing the top with the melted butter/oil mixture.
5. Bake at 325 degF until golden brown (30-40 minutes).
Here is a recipe contributed by Deborah Van Beusekom, loyal Produce Pack customer
1cup dried green lentils
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 med onion (peeled, halved, thinly sliced)
Dash of cayenne pepper
3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil
1″ piece of ginger, finely grated
20 oz spinach, trimmed and washed
1/8 tsp cayenne (optional)
4 generous dollops of plain yogurt
Heat oil in a saute pan over med-high heat and when hot, add onion. Stir and fry, adjusting heat as needed, until onion is reddish brown and crisp. Remove onion with a slotted spoon and spread on a paper towel. Add cayenne and garlic into the remaining oil. Stir for 10 seconds then add lentils and 2.5 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low and partially cover the pan. Cook gently for 30-35 minutes, or until the lentils are tender. After cooking, stir in salt and pepper. Set aside.
Put second amount of oil in a large pan or wok and set over high heat. When hot, add the ginger and stir for 20-30 seconds. Put in the spinach and cayenne. Stir and cook until the spinach has wilted completely, 4-5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Serve in a soup bowl with a scoop of the lentils on the bottom, the spinach next, and a final dollop of yogurt. Scatter the fried onions on top. Serve hot.
Supposedly makes 4 portions, but in our households two people can make a hearty meal out of this
SPINACH SQUARES
1 cup milk
3 beaten eggs
1 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter
1 cup flour
1 lb. Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups spinach, chopped
1 tsp. baking powder
Parmesan cheese
Melt butter in 9 x 13 inch pan at 350 degrees. Beat eggs well and add all ingredients. Blend. Pour into pan and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Cool and cut into squares. Can be made ahead and frozen. Serve hot or cold.
