INTERNATIONAL FARM

It's official -- The Dahlia Farm has gone international!

Sort of...

When the largest egg farm in the Cape Verde Islands couldn't get standard-sized birds (tradititional chickens off the coast of Africa are bantams), they turned to their friends and relatives in the U.S. to personally transport fertilized large eggs home in the hope of breeding their own.

Success!

The Cape Verde Islands are now developing a flock of large birds, thanks to The Dahlia Farm!

So if ever you're travelling there and you should stumble upon Rhode Island Reds or Plymouth Rocks -- our southern New England traditional breeds -- you can rest assured, they are from your very own CSA farm, right here in Middleboro!

CSA week 3

CSA Week #3 Full-share includes:
Shungiku Salad green.
Chinese Spinach (Yukina Savoy) Sauté or salad green.
Frisee (Endive, Bianca Riccia) Bitter salad green.
Mizuna Braise or treat as a raw green.
Red Leaf Lettuce
Swiss Chard Sauté or stir-fry.
Pac Choi (Mei Quing Choi) Use as a raw green, sauté, stir-fry, or incorporate into Asian soups.
CUT FLOWER: Yarrow, Baby’s Breath

LEE'S MARKET, WESTPORT

If you happen to be in the Westport area and find yourself running low on Dahlia Farm eggs, be sure to swing on down to Lee's Market at 796 Main Road.

This independent grocer has been a destination to locavores and foodies alike for some number of years, and is well known throughout the region. Be sure to treat yourself the next time you're in the Westport area.

If not Westport, you can find us saturday mornings at the Plymouth Farmers Market (Courthouse Green) or thursdays at the Duxbury Farmers Market (Tarklin Community Center).

CSA Week #2

CSA Week #2 Full share includes:

Sugar Snap Peas Whole pods, best eaten raw as a snack (do not shell).

Tai Sai (heirloom) Sauté, steam, stir-fry or bechamel.

Scapes (Garlic topsets) Treat as asparagus. Grille, bake or sauté with olive oil & coarse salt.

Arugula (heirloom) Salad green, but may be sautéd or added to side dishes. Use edible flowers to decorate salads and soups.

Lettuce (1 red, 1 green) Raw green.

Rapini (Sessantina Grossa) Sauté, stir-fry, or incorporate into soups.

Pac Choi (Mei Qing) Use as a raw green, sauté, stir-fry, or incorporate into Asian soups.

HERB: Potted Genovese Basil.

CUT FLOWER: Wildflower bunch (stachys,lysimarchia puntata, veronica & lathyrus(sweetpea)).


Be sure to see our website for additional recipes and to share ideas with other CSA member in our forum

WILTED GREENS...? JUST GIVE THEM A DRINK!

MY LEAFY GREENS HAVE GONE WILTY, WHAT CAN I DO...?

Because we do not treat our produce with a chemical preservative, this will naturally happen. The process is called transpiration, which is kind of like sweating.

Plants draw moisture through their stems by means of cellular constriction (like a snake digesting an animal). The excess water then evaporates out the tops of their leaves.

Treat your fresh-cut leaf vegetables like cut flowers. Give the stems a fresh cut (at an angle) and place them in a glass or vase of water. They will perk right back up and look wonderful again, lasting for days.

And of course, refridgeration always helps - but only after they've revived.

GAI LOHN, or Chinese Broccoli, or Chinese Kale, or Kailan

Call it what you will, this brassica family member is a true cross-over between rapini, kale and broccoli. While it most closely resembles broccoli, its florets are smaller, stems longer, and its leaves are wider.

Although it is common in Asian markets, gai lohn is fairly new to the rest of us, albeit not entirely foreign in appearance.

It is easy to prepare and may be stir-fried, steamed, or prepared any way in which you might make rapini, broccoli or kale.

"Happy Rich" is the variety we are growing this year at The Dahlia Farm, and if you are a CSA shareholder, you should be seeing yours within the next few weeks. (Provided our woodchuck doesn't return...)

CSA Week #1

CSA Week #1 Full share includes:

SNAP PEAS Whole pods, best eaten raw as a snack (do not shell).
SPINACH Sauté or eat as a salad green.
RAMPS Treat as asparagus. Sauté French-style (Julienne-cut and skillet with butter and coarse salt).
ITALIAN DANDELION Bitter green. Wilt and serve, or add to other dishes, soups or stir-fry
MIZUNA Braise or treat as a raw green.
RADISH Raw snack, prepared for salad topping, or sliced and baked with olive oil and salt for “radish chips.”
RAPINI (Brocolli Raab) Sauté, stir-fry, or incorporate into soups.
PAC CHOI (Mei Quing Choi) Use as a raw green, sauté, stir-fry, or incorporate into Asian soups.
HERB: LAVENDER Edible flowers or dried for its aroma (use as a sachet in drawers, in laundry dryer).
HERB: SAGE Use fresh or dried
CUT FLOWER: KNIFOPHIA

PEA TENDRILS: A Seasonal Delicacy

Pea tendrils -- the tender curly ends of sweet pea plants -- are truly a seasonal delicacy, blending the tender texture of stem with the lush sweet foliage of baby greens, and the just plain COOLNESS of edible flowers.

These short-seasoned precursors of snap peas are a high-sugar, early veggie snack and a favorite of locavores everywhere. Enjoy as a soup or salad topping - or for the purist, a pea tendril salad with cracked black pepper, kosher salt, olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

Because they will not last without converting their sugar to starch, and because they are so fragile, one must either grow their own or have immediate access to a CSA or local farmer's market to enjoy.

Fortunately, here at the Dahlia Farm, we presently have a solid supply (as long as the cool weather lasts) and look forward to including this specialty treat in our first CSA baskets.

See you soon!