The fresh chicken sales last week were fantastic and we thank everyone for that!  What is left has now been placed in the freezer, joining the beef and pork products from Gerhard Farms.

Herb & Flower Garden

The stock flowers are starting to bloom and I also saw some blooms on the ageratum and a few other random flowers out there.   Feel free to make yourself a small bouquet with them.  We did have a rather unfortunate incident with the early blooming phlox flowers.  Seems a deer or multiple deer have taken a liking to them and ate all the tops off.   Never had that happen before!  I don’t think it will kill the phlox plants, it may even help them branch out.  Hopefully, the deer move on to something else preferably in the woods and not our farm now!

Herb of the Week: Oregano

Oregano is a versatile and popular herb in many cuisines. It pairs well with basil, cumin, garlic, parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme.

Cutting instructions: Our oregano patch is near the front of the herb and flower garden and is huge! Cut off a few sprigs from different areas of the plant. Take the leaves off the stem and store them in an airtight container.

Oregano Pesto Recipe:

• 1 cup fresh oregano leaves, no stems
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1 tbsp lemon juice from half a lemon
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste

Instructions

• Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor.
• Pulse to blend the ingredients. You can blend until completely smooth, or leave a bit of texture in the pesto to your preference.

Spread it on toast, dip fresh veggies in it, or my favorite: tossed with pasta.

Recipes

Kohlrabi Slaw
Ingredients:

2 bulbs kohlrabi
4 carrots
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (or Dijon-style mustard)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Trim and peel the kohlrabi and the carrots. Trim the tops and bottoms of the kohlrabi and set the flat bottoms on a cutting surface; use a sharp paring knife to cut down from top to bottom, removing the thick, tough peel (with this method you’ll easily be able to see where the tender white-ish inside ends and the green or purple peel begins, working around the vegetable until all the peel is removed).

In a salad bowl or large mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, and salt until well blended. Add pepper, if you like.

Using the large holes on a standing box grater or a mandoline set up for fine julienne, grate the kohlrabis and the carrots into the salad bowl.

Toss everything together until the kohlrabi and carrot are evenly coated with the dressing. Taste and add more salt or pepper, if you’d like.

Serve immediately or know that this salad holds up quite well to be made a few hours ahead of time and kept covered and chilled.
Original recipe: Molly Watson
GARLIC RANCH ROASTED TURNIPS

Ingredients:

3 tbsp butter melted
2 tbsp Ranch seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
6 small turnips cut in half

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, ranch seasoning, garlic powder and onions powder. Stir to combine well.
3. Pour the butter mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish, and spread out evenly.
4. Place the turnips cut side down into the casserole dish on top of the butter mixture.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste to the turnips.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the turnips are softened and browned.
7. Serve immediately with freshly chopped parsley for garnish if desired.

ROASTED HAKUREI TURNIPS AND RADISHES

Ingredients:

1 bunch radishes
1 bunch Hakurei turnips, or other mild salad turnips
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt

1. Move the rack in the oven to the lower middle position. Place the roasting pan in the oven.
2. Preheat oven to 425F.
3. Slice the greens off the turnips and radishes.
4. Scrub the turnips and radishes well to remove all the dirt and grit from the vegetables, and rinse the greens repeatedly until they are grit free. If you left a little bit of the stem on the radishes and turnips, make sure you clean around it well since dirt collects there. I find scraping around the stem as I wash cleans it up nicely.
5. Cut the turnips and radishes into wedges. Halve the small ones, and quarter or sixth the larger ones.
6. In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp of salt. Pour the vegetables into the roasting pan, arranging them so most have a flat side down in the pan.
7. Roast for 15 minutes, stirring and turning the vegetables at 7 minutes.
8. Dry the washed greens to remove most of the water. Roughly chop the greens into bite-sized pieces, then toss them in the large bowl with the rest of the olive oil and the salt.
9. Pull the roasting pan out of the oven, turn and stir the vegetables again and then make a space for the greens. Spread out the greens in the space and return the pan to the oven.
10. Roast for 5 minutes more.

RHUBARB CRUMBCAKE

FOR THE CAKE:
3 cups rhubarb, sliced
2 TBSP plus 1/2 teaspoon granulated Truvia, divided
3 cups almond flour
1/3 cup unflavored whey protein powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 large Eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING:
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons pecans, finely chopped
1/4 tsp granulated Truvia
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

TO MAKE THE CAKE:
STEP 1: In a medium bowl, toss together the sliced rhubarb and 1/2 tsp of Truvia. Set aside.
STEP 2: Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch springform pan very well.
STEP 3: In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, remaining 2 TBSP of Truvia, whey protein powder, baking powder, and salt.
STEP 4: Stir in the melted butter, eggs, almond milk, and vanilla extract until well combined. Spread 2/3 of the batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with the rhubarb and dot the remaining batter over in small spoonful. Bake 30 minutes.

TO MAKE THE CRUMB TOPPING:
STEP 1: While the cake is baking, combine the crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl, cutting in the room temperature butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake after 30 minutes and cover with foil.
STEP 2: Bake another 20 to 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the center is firm to the touch. Remove and let cool, then run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to loosen. Remove from pan.

We love hearing from CSA members who want to share their recipes! Another great way to get yummy recipes out to others is by posting in the TFF Community Facebook group. You can request to join this group by clicking here.