Summer CSA Newsletter: Week 1
IT’S WEEK ONE!!!!!
Welcome! We are happy to have new and returning members for our 2025 Summer CSA. Thank you for supporting small businesses and local farms. We have a great selection of produce for the next 12 weeks, and we look forward to getting started!
By now, you should have received a welcome email with information about your pick-up location and day of the week. Please let us know if you have not received an email.
Returning for the second year is our weekly newsletter which will include multiple recipes and storage information to help you make the most of your CSA bags every week. We hope that this is helpful for you for the season and encourage you to try new vegetables and recipes, expanding your culinary repertoire. In the weekly newsletters, we will also highlight a crop each week, providing information on how to use it and sharing our go-to recipes as well as, my new category of, if all else fails do this (insert what this is). This is something we have attempted in the past, but we are committed to doing it to the degree we had originally planned.
We will also include short updates on the farm in each newsletter. These updates may include recent developments or events that have taken place on the farm. We have received requests from multiple members to know more about us, the farmers. We understand that pick-up locations can be busy, and we haven't always been as accessible as we would like. So, consider this newsletter as a glimpse into our crazy farm life.
Lastly, we will be providing a list of vegetables that you COULD be getting in your box for the next week at the end of each newsletter. We are hoping to be more transparent earlier in the process to allow you to get a glimpse of what could be coming and have the time to look up your own recipes that you want to try.
We appreciate your support and trust in us. We couldn't live this life without you. As we start this journey together for at least the next 12 weeks, we ask for your well wishes and prayers if you're the praying type. Thank you once again for being a part of this community.
Warm regards,
Matt and Kim
In Your Box This Week and How to Store Them
STRAWBERRIES - Airtight containers are always best, preferably glass. DO NOT wash your berries until you plan to eat them. Please keep in mind these berries are outside and may have a little dirt with the storms we have had recently, which resulted in some splash back on the plants and fruit. $7.50
-OR-
ASPARAGUS - Place them upright in a jar or cup with water, and cover the top with a plastic bag before refrigerating. This method mimics storing fresh flowers and helps keep the asparagus crisp and fresh for several days. $7.50
HERBS - Parsley : Trim a little off of the bottoms of the stems so that they can take in more water. Fill a jar or glass partially with water and set the parsley inside. An inch or two of the stems should be submerged.: Cover the jar of herbs loosely with a plastic bag. Store in the refrigerator. Change the water when it becomes cloudy (every few days). The herbs should stay fresh for 1 to 2 weeks. $2.50
SPRING ONIONS - Store in the refrigerator crisper drawer for up to one week. You can peel off layers that become dry or slimy if used after one week. $2.50
LETTUCE MIX - Store in a plastic bag loosely in your refrigerator. The ideal temperature for storing lettuce is at or near 32 degrees. Wash prior to use. Lettuce stores normally for up to 7-10 days in the crisper drawer. $5
SPINACH - Maintain loosely in a bag in your crisper drawer. Wash well prior to use. Stores normally for 7-10 days in the crisper drawer. $5
RADISH - Remove the greens from the root. If you choose to keep the greens, wash them and then store wrapped in a damp paper towel in a bag. Place in the crisper of the refrigerator. The root can store up to two weeks in the fridge in a plastic bag. Wash before use. $5
HEAD LETTUCE: Whole heads of lettuce are perfect for stacking on sandwiches or serving as the foundation of salads. Leave the heads intact and do not wash until you’re ready to use them. Whole heads of lettuce will stay fresher much longer than chopped pieces or individual leaves. Place in a lightly vented bag and store in your crisper drawer. Can store for up to 7 days. $4
VEGGIE OF THE WEEK
SPINACH
Our second bestselling leafy green. Our spinach is grown under cover to protect from those heavy spring rains. It is seeded early, and we cut from the same spinach plants once a week over a period of 3-4 weeks, weather dependent. Spinach loves cool weather and cool, moist soil and will be relatively quick to bolt once the weather turns warm. If you're not a fan of raw spinach, you are my people. Personally, I enjoy incorporating spinach in pasta dishes or lightly sauteing it. Additionally, for all the moms and grandmas out there looking to sneak in some nutritious goodness into your little ones' meals, my favorite trick is to put it in fruit smoothies or meatloaf! If you don’t need to hide it a good fettuccine recipe is always a favorite of ours. Add a little chicken or shrimp and a side salad! For veteran CSA members some of the recipes below will look familiar but, I did include several new ones as well!
Photo Credit: Spend With Pennies
My go-to meatloaf recipe is from the website Spend With Pennies. A few notes that I have made are:
Replacing ground beef with ground lamb and lean pork. (We always have ground lamb and pork which is why I use it often)
Instead of the recommended breadcrumbs I use a delicious Jalapeño and Cheese bread that is made at the farmer’s market. It adds an extra depth of flavor and is so, so good.
I occasionally make the meatloaf sauce. I use Heinz no-sugar added ketchup or another kind that has ingredients I can read and understand without corn syrup. The brown sugar is enough extra sugar. Adding in typical ketchup would add 1 teaspoon of sugar per 1 tablespoon of ketchup which, can add up quickly with how much my kids like ketchup.
I don’t use a loaf pan. I shape into a loaf and place on a sheet pan.
When I mix everything together, I put in 1/2 - 1 cup of finely chopped spinach. It doesn’t change the flavor or any other part of the dish.
Photo Credit: Coley Cooks
Spinach with Butter and Parmesan
This Spinach with butter and parmesan is a simple, yet delicious side dish recipe that takes only 4 ingredients and 5 minutes to make!
Best Creamed Spinach Recipe - How to Make Creamed Spinach (thepioneerwoman.com)
Creamed spinach would also pair great as a side dish to meatloaf.
Chicken Spinach Fettuccine Alfredo- The Salt and Sweet Kitchen
I’m also a fan of a good alfredo and love a simple and quick version with simple ingredients. This one adds mushrooms, which is also something I love and, there will be a new mushroom vendor at the market in Sedalia this year, but if you’re not a mushroom fan they can be omitted.
Photo Credit: Rose at The Salt and Sweet
ADDITIONAL RECIPES
I LOVE to make compound butter with left over herbs. It is so easy to make. The compound butter cubes are fragrant and add so much flavor to our food. Try this recipe and keep it for future herbs that you will get throughout the season!
Photo Credit: Carmyy.com
Your lettuce leaves should be big enough to make Wilted Lettuce. I know traditionally it is only green leaves that are used, but we have made it with mixed lettuce and it was delicious. You could also use your Romaine as well.
Southern Wilted Lettuce with Hot Bacon Dressing Recipe (thespruceeats.com)
I haven’t tried this recipe but, I’m intrigued. Roasted Radishes.
Roasted Radishes - Healthy Recipes Blog (healthyrecipesblogs.com)
Uses Parsley!
What’s Been Happening Here
We have had a busy winter, although I really did try to step away completely from the farm for about a month over the holidays, but the weather stayed nice enough for us to continue going to market until mid-December. While the extra cash flow for the farm is nice, the double edge of that is stepping away wasn’t an option.
We have again made improvements to the farm this fall/winter such as hiring two part-time employees, significantly upgrading and reorganizing to our wash pack area, and doubling the production of our outdoor root crops. Additionally, we've transitioned away from using well water—a topic I’ll save for another time—while implementing some reorganization to other areas of the farm to boost our efficiency.
If you participated in our fall CSA, you might remember that we erected what we hope will be our final high tunnel, designed to accommodate 1,500 strawberry plugs. We plant these plugs in the fall for a spring harvest. Unfortunately, just before receiving our plugs from the supplier, we were alerted to a significant outbreak of a fungal disease. If you're curious about this situation, you can read more about it by following this link: NEO-P Outbreak. We did take our plants, but sadly, the majority did not size up, which has greatly reduced our potential yield. We haven’t quite figured out how to get in a good groove with strawberries, but it wouldn’t be farming if there wasn’t curve balls.
IF ALL ELSE FAILS
If your week has been crazy and you haven’t had time to do a thing with items in your bag, focus on these three tasks:
Make sure your strawberries are still good and if you absolutely must - freeze them. You can do this whole if needed and later use them for a quick strawberry jam or make ice cream topping for ice cream! Fresh local berries are super sweet and we don’t add any sugar when we make ice cream topping. Smash them up until your desired consistency and add on top of vanilla ice cream.
Asparagus will store for quite a while in your fridge with no additional requirements.
Lettuce, spinach will store for at least 7 days. We rinse and spin dry your greens one time. You should rinse and dry again before consumption. The best way is with a hand crank salad spinner. Keep in mind moisture leads to spoilage. You can wait to wash your greens until you plan to consumer them. Place greens in an airtight container such as a bag or Tupperware. Greens will hold for 9-14 days.
Parsley wash and dry thoroughly. You want to make sure no excess water is present as that can cause freezer burn. Cut the lower part of the stems. Place cleaned and dried parsley in a large freezer bag and push it down to the bottom
You can freeze green onions including the leafy green tops, the white bulb end, and the stem in between. After freezing, the texture changes somewhat. Stem and bulb portions become soft, while the green parts sometimes become tough.
Make sure the greens are removed from the root vegetables. Your roots will store for a good while, your greens from your root vegetables need to be used or lose them.
Next Week’s Possibility’s
Your bag next week will include 6-7 of the following depending on availability and if it’s ready to harvest.
Strawberries
Asparagus
Kale
Carrots
Herbs (cilantro, dill, basil, rosemary, oregano, parsley)
Spring Onions
Lettuce (head or mixed)
Spinach
Radish
Beets
Wishing you a fantastic week ahead, see you next week!