Welcome to Week 1!

A rainbow over the farm while planting your winter squash

Hello CSA members,

It’s taken months of preparation, lots of seed packets, and some sunburns, and now your first week of veggies is here! As we all know, the winter was grueling and the snow stuck around a little longer than we wanted it to. It not only wore out its welcome, but also kept the soil at cooler temperatures. As a result, a few crops we would have liked to distribute this week will be ready next week instead. We’ve heard that some CSAs in the area have pushed back their start dates this season for this very reason, but we do have a variety of items that are just waiting to be harvested. It’s times like these when we are reminded why we are a CSA farm. The security of having patient and loyal members who will stick with us through a slow, late spring is key to our success. Thank you so much for supporting our farm as our CSA members, and we hope you enjoy all the veggies to come!

My mom came all the way from Texas to help plant your tomatoes

The first pick-up days of the season will be this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday. Gardiner members pick up their veggies at the farm (158 Marabac Rd) on Tuesday from 2:30-7pm. Garrison members pick up on Wednesday on the porch of the Hudson Highlands Land Trust office (20 Nazareth Way) in Garrison from 4-7pm. If you can, please bring a couple of your own bags to reduce waste! 

This week your CSA share will include:

Kale

Swiss Chard

Lettuce

Arugula

Braising Mix

Broccoli Raab

Spring Garlic

…and maybe some other surprises!

Forellenschluss lettuce adds some nice color to salads

As to be expected in spring, the farm abounds with fresh greens. You can expect plenty of these in your share this week. Alli and I have been enjoying our beautifully colorful lettuce in salads featuring fun ingredients, like chopped apple, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and dried cherries. We top this off with some homemade mustard dressing, which you can make yourself by following the simple recipe below:

Since you will be eating so many farm-fresh, greens-heavy meals this spring, Alli and I have concocted a brilliant formula for getting the most mileage out of your greens. It’s called: Greens Over Grains (yep, pretty sure we invented this concept). Just cook up your grains of choice, like rice, pasta, or quinoa, and add beans or other ingredients for a more complete meal. Toss some chopped spring garlic in a pan with olive oil and sauté for a minute before adding your greens. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and a little balsamic vinegar, and cook until the greens are your desired tenderness.  Throw your greens over your grains, and you’re ready to eat! An amazingly simple meal that nourishes and fulfills all your spring cravings.

We are looking forward to meeting all of you this week and sharing our delicious spring crops with you.