Summer Update

Hey folks, I guess I'm sorry about the lack of updating. I've realized that the more rich and involved my actual real-life experience is, the less motivated I am to blog about it.  As seen in my failures of trying to blog about the school year as well. Kind of counterintuitive I guess, and I could go more into detail about my ponderings on the subject, but I wont.

 It really has been an amazing summer. The work in the fields of caring for the land, which in turn cares for us by producing food, is really satisfying. I've also been given some really cool opportunities developing curriculum for the Seed 2 Plate program that is currently used to teach kids that come on the farm through school and camp field trips. Keith has been working hard and learning a lot all summer, and he is now managing the construction of the Jones Valley Children's Garden, which is right on the downtown site. And of course, our mouths and bellies have been full of delicious, hearty, and healthy offerings from the farm.

Here is a summary in pictures:

Sarah and Keith of our Mt. Laurel site harvesting potatoes.

A farm-intern field trip to the Jefferson Co. Farmer's Market reveals that the produce is not so fresh or local. 

Farm-intern field trip part 2 takes us to J3Organics to check out their amazing dirt.

Robin smelling the pure worm castings at J3Organics.

We also took a little field trip to Pleasant Valley Farm in Argyle, New York while we were up visiting my grandmother and family. It was a really inspirational experience, and a beautiful farm.

Farmer Paul, of Pleasant Valley Farm, takes quite a while out of his demanding day to talk to us about the business of organic farming. Thanks Paul!

My counter-top compost bucket. Works like a charm. (It has a lid that is not pictured.)

And a handsome man I happen to know ended up on the front page of the Birmingham News for an article featuring Jones Valley.

Farm Friends

 A lot is happening on the farm, and at home! We just moved into our new house so we're working with limited to no internet. Hopefully we'll be up and running this week.

Here are some friends from out at the Mt. Laurel farm.

The Prettiest Salad You Ever Did See

The other night we had dinner with some friends, and I whipped up a salad that I learned while helping lead one of the Jones Valley Seed2Plate field trips. It was really easy, even with a quick homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and SO tasty. Not too bad on the eyes either. The lettuce is from Jones Valley (Keith harvested it!), the goat cheese is from Mountain View Cheesery, and the strawberries are local, picked up at V Richards.

Korean Turnip Salad (Mu Sangchae)

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CSA Week Two

We are well into devouring our second CSA bundle of goodies. It is delicious. I've gotten the opportunity to share a lot of our bounty with friends, which has been a lot of fun. The lettuce, radishes, and turnips have been a hit.

This week our bag included another pint of scrumptious strawberries, two different kinds of head lettuce, and two spring lettuce mixes, easter egg radishes, black nero tundo radishes, and hakueri and scarlet-stemmed turnips. I'm developing more of a taste for the radishes and turnips. I especially like the turnips cut up in salads, and the radishes on bread with butter and salt. I'm posting a recipe that I haven't yet tried that would work with either the radishes or the turnips. It's crazy time with the last couple weeks of school wrapping up, but I can't wait to cook more and try new recipes when summer hits!

Root veggies: Nero Tundo black radishes, Easter Egg radishes, Scarlet-Stemmed turnips, and Hakurei turnips.

Head lettuce: Butter Crunch (bib) and Concept (romaine-bib cross)

Pepper Place Farmers Market

The Pepper Place Saturday Market is in full swing! And you've got to get there early if you want strawberries!

Yesterday, I got to help out at the Jones Valley stand. It was a wonderful experience to have put a little bit of sweat into what we were selling, and then see how much people appreciated it. So many people exclaimed, "You grew that HERE? In the CITY? Wow!" The other night at the CSA Potluck, Edwin, JVUF executive director, explained how difficult it has been to cultivate land that has so much urban debris in it-- rocks, cement, glass, even large remnants of structures that were once on the property-- but that with hard work and creativity, along with using the city to your advantage, such as reusing food scraps and leaves for compost, it is possible. And the beautiful Jones Valley stand at the market it testament to that.

Farm to Market:

Jones Valley Market Arugula Pizza:

1 Pizza Crust (most groceries sell ready-to-use fresh dough)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
4 slices pancetta, cooked
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup diced pineapple
1 hand full arugula
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush prepared dough or ready to use crust generously with olive oil and garlic mixture. Season with a little salt and pepper. Sprinkle cheese and top with pancetta. Bake until crust is done and cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Remove from oven. While the pizza is still piping hot, top with arugula and pineapple, and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Let stand for 2-3 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Warm Asian Chicken Salad with Radishes

Last night's dinner was an adaptation of a recipe that has recently been a favorite, warm snow pea and chicken salad. I basically used the radishes in place of the snow peas, but I could see them as being a great addition to the snow peas as well. The dressing, a tangy twist on an asian peanut sauce, is what makes the salad. I had no idea what it would do to the radishes to sauté them, but they stayed crunchy and mellowed out a but, just as I had hoped!  I'm posting the version that I made last night with what I had on hand and what I needed to use, but some great variations would be serving it warm over rice, or cold over just salad greens, adding chopped cashews, peanuts, or shelled edamame. I'll probably use the leftover chicken, radish, and dressing mixture to make lettuce wraps!