SCAPES

From French country cuisine to the brautmasters of Germany to even us Swamp Yankees of Plymouth County, there has been a long standing opinion in cooking, that there is no waste in the hard-earned reward of food.

Just as snails are flavored with garlic and meat scraped to the bone to make sausages, the economy of the traditional harvest continues today. "We shall waste no part of the animal," Peter Straub once observed. ...Or plant!

I cannot recount how many times my grandfather from Madeira practiced this belief, knawing on trotters (pickled pigs feet) or the turkey's gizard and anus - all the while stating as fact their delicacy.

Well we don't have to go to quite that extreme to illustrate this week's true delicacy: garlic scapes.

Pictured here are the wrangled snarls of the "waste" of the garlic plant. Technically, garlic scapes are the flower & seed stem, which twist into a bizarrely beautiful coil prior to blossoming. Garlic farms routinely cut down the stem at this point as it directs the growth energy of the plant into the bulb rather than the foliage and blossom. A 30-35% increase in the bulb yeild can be managed by this method.

Cooking of scapes is very easy and the flavor is not as intense as the bulb itself. If you have never had scapes before, you will truly find them to be a "new" delicacy, but enjoy them while they last, because they are VERY, VERY seasonal.

Bon appetit!





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WHAT'S ON MY FOOD?

What's on my food...?

Ever wonder how "safe" the FDA & USDA are really keeping us?

Would you be surprized to find the USDA is aware of 16 pesticide residues in APPLE JUICE...? A quarter of them carcinogens, three of them neurotoxins, and half of them either reproductive, hormone, or developmental toxicants.

According to the USDA - the Federal authority which determines who gets to bear their venerable "certified organic" label - more than half the apple juice for US consumption contains thiabendazole, a fungicide, metal-binder, and preservative all wrapped into one. According to Wikipedia TBZ effects on test animals (dosed at high levels) include: "liver and intestine disorder, reproductive disorders and decreasing weanling weight..." Perhaps more alarming are the effects on humans which have not been intentionally dosed at high levels, but only 'normal' consumption rates. These include: "nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, ringing in the ears, vision changes, stomach pain, yellowing eyes and skin, dark urine, fever, fatigue, increased thirst and change in the amount of urine." Fortunately, Wiki reports, "no mutagenic effects have been shown."

And that's good news - particularly when one ponders the fledgling age range of apple juice consumers.

Now it would be naive to think that if chemical pesticide use were to end today that the world would instantly be a safer place. Continued ground water contamination alone would last for many years. Nor would the banning of any single pesticide likely make a significant alteration to the general state of affairs. But the re-education of our culture would make a very important change. Public awareness of the links between pesticides and childhood leukemia, autism, Parkinson's, breast cancer, and water contamination is an important first step. A change in perspective on pesticide synergy - prolonged, repeated exposure - is an important first step. An understanding that huge agri-business profits are not as important as cultural well-being, is an important first step.

If you would like to find out what pesticides are on your food, you can visit the Pesticide Action Network's user-friendly pesticide ID tool at: www.whatsonmyfood.org

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HISTORY ALIVE!

Gazette columnist and blogger Michael Maddigan, visits Middleboro's floral history this week in his "Recollecting Nemasket." Specifically featured: DAHLIAS!

Naturally this is of particular interest to us here The Dahlia Farm CSA in Middleboro, where we take our name from our farm's historic past.

Continually cultivated since the first building of record in 1839, our farm here has produced sweet corn, potatoes, gladioli, seeds, herbs, blueberries, holiday crops such as Easter lilies & poinsettias, hardy mums, dent corn, and perrenial cutflowers. But it was EASTVALE FARMS (1920's-1950's) which made this site historic, when at their zenith they became the largest dahlia farm in New England.

Be sure to read Mr. Maddigan's column (which can be linked to from this blog). His series has been one that is not only historically fascinating, but painstakingly researched and archivally unique in its focus.

WEEK 3

Hello and welcome to WEEK #3!

This wet weather really does have a silver lining and that is a big push in The Dahlia Farm field greens.

Week Three features: "Elegence" salad greens mix, Swiss chard, Spinach, Pac Choi, cress, radish, an herb (lavender), Dahlia Farm hand-craft soap, and cutflowers.

Love those eggs...? Be sure to sign up for an egg share (available seasonally or annually) to guarantee you have them on a weekly, or bi-weekly basis.

Until next week, happy & healthy eating!

RELISH A RADISH

We all like to add sliced radishes to our salads or crunch them fresh, but if you find yourself wondering what else to do with them you're not alone. But wonder no more, because whole, halved, sliced, chopped, wedged or quartered there are nearly endless possibiltites.

QUICK FIXIN'S:
1. Sliced radishes for stir-frys.
2. Chopped or minced radishes added to egg, tuna, chicken, potato salad or cole slaw.
3. Fried radish crisps (sidedish); sauté quartered radishes in butter for 2 minutes and sprinkle with kosher salt & cracked pepper
4. Baked radish crisps (side or snack); thinly slice radishes, splash with olive oil and bake on sheet (375 degrees for 30 minutes). Stir radishes, and sprinkle with kosher or sea salt, chili powder, and garlic powder, and bake a few more minutes.
5. Stir finely chopped radishes into sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes.
6. Stir finely chopped radishes into mayonnaise (see our aioli recipe) for a condiment for cold cut sandwiches
7. Sliver radishes for rice dishes.
8. Sliced radishes on bread & butter for fresh radish sandwiches.

For some longer recipes, be sure to visit or "GARDEN RECIPES" page at thedahliafarm.com website

PLYMOUTH FARMERS MARKET

The Plymouth Farmers Market & The Dahlia Farm Plymouth CSA pick-ups begin today at the Courthouse Green in beautiful, historic downtown Plymouth. Market hours today run 9:30 to 1:30 and among the attractions will be live entertainment. Be sure to come early and say hello. For additional information you can visit the markets web site at http://plymouthfarmersmarket.org/

FARM TO FORK

The "locavore" movement is now firmly footed and international.

GOURMET Magazine features a regular video series and the rise of popular films and books such as Fast Food Nation, Supersize Me, In Defense of Food, and Food Inc have acted as catalyst to the current paradigm shift.

There is a promising future when one sees the likes of a 12-month New England CSA but also an ominous corporate/regulatory threat in the form of, say, HR 875.

At no point in history has the world's population been at a greater turning point with regard to it's future food, and never has conscious awareness been more important. At its heart, the locavore movement is all about food safety, supporting local community, flavor, nutrition, health and on a larger level, the environment.

One need not join a social-political group to make the world a better place, but simply read the back of the package rather than the front. "Low net carbs" may sound great but not at the expense of consuming mass daily quantities of "isolated soy protein, calcium sulfate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, calcium propionate, fumaric acid, potassium sorbate, monoglycerides, sucralose sodium metabisulfite" (real product). Small, concerted efforts produce great change.

A few days ago Radio Boston featured a story on CSAs and the locavore movement, with a specific focus on Massachusetts CSAs, many south of Boston. The show runs about an hour and was both exciting and interesting in its scope. The podcast can be heard here and is well worth a listen.


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WEEK 2

Only 18 weeks left sounds like Charlie Brown's girl Lucy saying "Merry Christmas, only 364 shopping days left," but here we are into week 2 already.

Our market basket this week features beautiful fresh spinach, Asian mizuna greens, cress, radish, red-leaf lettuce, 'Black-seed Simpson' loose leaf lettuce, eggs and flowering kniphofia.

If you're reading this and wished you had joined us already, fear not!

We are still accepting CSA share-holders

for the remainder of the season - even if there are only 18 weeks left!

Food, Inc.

On Friday a new film was released, "Food, Inc."

This expose' on the US food industry reveals a highly mechanized conspiracy between a handful of corporations and our government's regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. At risk is American consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the Earth's environment. In exchange for mega-chicken breasts, boneless meats, insecticide-resistant soybeans, and tomatoes that last forever, we have new strains of E. coli, widespread obesity, and an epidemic of diabetes.

While distribution in this area is thin (the best shot right now is Nickelodeon Cinema 5 in North Falmouth, on July 10),this film should be seen - even if one has to wait for Netflix to pick it up.

For more information you can visit the official site at http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Be sure to keep it in mind, and

post here

if you happen to find it playing anywhere nearby in the immediate future.

Our first testimonial

Mid-stride through our first CSA week we just received the following email from a satisfied share-holder. Of course we're only too pleased to share:

"Good Stuff! I just wanted to let you know that my family really enjoyed all the great food we recieved on the monday CSA. You went above and beyond, and I really appreciate it. I will see you on Monday!"
-- L and Family

Week #1

Hello everyone and thanks for joining The Dahlia Farm CSA!

We begin with short-season/cool-weather crops, and this week our CSA features a LOT of leafy greens - which are great for reducing cholesterol and adding fiber to one's diet.

Week #1 full-share features Spinach, Pea Tendrils, Mizuna, Mixed Baby Field Greens, Cress, Radishes, Rhubarb, Free-range Eggs, Dahlia Farm hand-made soap, and cut peonies. (In lieu of eggs, honey may be substituted if a share has already been purchased). A half-share would feature a generous half version of the above.

Don't forget to bring in your basket next week for rotation, and be sure to check out our growing "Garden Recipes" page on our website.

If you are reading this and have not yet signed-up, you're in luck! There's still time to begin this week, or at any future point on a pro-rata share basis. See our website www.TheDahliaFarm.com for more information.

For those of you who have signed on, thank you & welcome!

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CSA BEGINS THIS WEEK

Our 2009 CSA shares begin this week. Monday pick-ups will be available after 11am in Middleboro.

If you haven't yet declared a pick-up day please drop us an email. Middleboro can be monday or friday (most are monday), Boston is sunday, Plymouth saturday and Duxbury wednesday.

If you've been thinking about signing up, now's the time. There are still shares available and joining is easy. Just click here and we'll see you this week.