Week 3A

We had yet another bigger than expected week here at Little Wing Gardens, harvesting more that we suspected possible just a few days ago!  It was a delight to meet another family who belongs to the wonderful group of people we are honored to share our produce with.  Ari and I are so happy to be in the company of those who believe in eating well and living in balance with the earth.  It really feels and tastes good, doesn't it?

We are so excited for the upcoming weeks as we are on the cusp of a veggie explosion (not literally, of course, but with Ari's science background and the 4th of July just around the corner, I'm sure it could be arranged!).  But for now, here's to enjoying the week's bounty, which includes:

1 head of green Romaine
1 head of Simpson
1 bag triple-washed baby spinach
1 bunch of carrots
1 pound of sugar snap peas
1 head of radicchio (This can be a bit bitter for some people's tastes.  I prefer to grill mine, but it can be roasted or braised.)
2 garlic scapes
1 bunch collard greens
1 herb bunch-Sage,  Basil, Summer Savory

Week Two Pickup

Ari and I made a trip to the grocery store after the pickup (our fridge was bare to make room for the harvest!) and scanned the contents of the produce department.  I guess I'm spoiled by what we grow and eat here at Little Wing Gardens; I could not believe the state of the veggies that had clearly been trucked from far away and sitting on a shelf for who-knows-how-long.  So while your greens may have some tiny holes where some bugs took a bite (who can blame them?), you can be assured that you are eating the freshest, pesticide-free produce you can get your hands on!

Week Two brought a variation on what we harvested at the start of the season.  Each member received:

1 head Black Seeded Simpson lettuce
1 head Red Romaine (with one lucky person receiving a Butterhead)
1 bunch arugula
1 bunch early carrots
1 bunch radishes with 1 turnip (saute those greens!)
1 pound sugar snap peas
2 garlic scapes
1 herb bunch (rosemary, dill, cilantro)

Also, we've modified our egg share prices to $75 for the season, with half shares available.  A couple are spoken for with a few still available.  We are proud to be able to offer a pastured lifestyle to our chickens.  They roam our property all day long, eating bugs, grass, and fruit and veggie scraps from our kitchen and garden.  At night, they enjoy the safety of a clean, dry coop, stocked with food and water and out of reach of the local foxes. 

We are looking for feedback, so let us know what grabs your tastebuds and what doesn't and we will modify away!  Enjoy the veggies this week!

Egg Shares Available

Starting next week, we will have a limited number of weekly egg shares of one dozen eggs available for the season.  The share is made up of eggs laid by our pastured hens who spend their days outside, roaming our property, eating up grubs, insects, grass, seed, cracked corn, and fruit and vegetable scraps.  We have a variety of breeds, including Rhode Island Reds-Scarlet, Cerise, and Rose, a Buff Orpington-Buffy, an Auracana-Racqy (the green egg layer!), a white Silkie bantam-Camilla, as well as their offspring with our handsome Barred Rock rooster Earl.  We expect our pullets to start laying any time now as well!

The shares are $100 for the sixteen week season and first-come, first-serve.  Please let us know if you are interested or have any questions.

The Start of the Season

Today was the start of our very first CSA season.  Our first shareholders, a lovely family from Brooklyn, came to pick up and deliver the shares to the rest of our members, also in Brooklyn.  We are very lucky to have people who believe in this joint venture, and allow Ari to do what he loves-getting in the dirt, growing the best organic vegetables, and sharing them.

This week's share included:
1 head of Romaine
1 bunch of radishes
1 bunch of mizuna
1 bunch of broccoli raab
1 bunch of mustard spinach
2 garlic scapes
1 herb bunch (sage, dill, rosemary)
1 jar strawberry jam

Strawberries came earlier than usual in New Jersey this year and we have been picking tubs and tubs of them.  The only problem is the strawberries don't keep longer than a couple of hours, even in the refrigerator, before they start breaking down and turn to mush.  So even though the taste is sublime, the never would have made it to New York looking as beautiful as they do on the vine.  So I decided to jam and can them and have been learning quite a bit about that this last week.  I started with freezer jam and then started with a low-sugar, no-sugar-needed pectin version which I did two batches of.  Normal jam calls for SO much sugar, so I'm happy about this version made with white grape juice.  I think it's just as sweet!  Yesterday I transformed and whole strawberry preserves that requires it to set up for 12-24 hours before being canned.  I'll finish that later tonight.

More spinach mustard is in the "nursery" as of this afternoon, some rain has fallen, and the sun is back out again!  What a great start to the season...