CSA Members--
Welcome to the 2012 Ploughshare Farm CSA Season!!!

If you are receiving this email it means that you have signed up to receive either a regular CSA share or a mini share.

If this is your first year with Ploughshare Farm. Welcome!!

Please read through this entire email because it has information critical to your CSA delivery.

It has been an incredible spring thus far on the farm.  The weather has been absolutely phenomenal for growing vegetables.  This year it was as if we had a bonus month in March which allowed us to get some much needed organizing done on the farm.  In addition, we used the warm weather to till up additional acreage across our river to be used for rotations of crops in future years.  Such rotations are  critical so that we are able to allow some of the fields to rest for a while.  This is important both for nutrients as well as so that we don't build up pest or disease problems in various fields.

   For the past month or so we have been busy planting in the fields and transplanting tens of thousands of starts including brocolli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, chard, and much, much more.  We had a bit of a break last week when it rained a lot.  Then this week we were back at it again.  The plants are enjoying the nice warm weather just as much as we are.  Plants that just went in the ground a week ago are already looking very strong and vigorous.  Also, of course they are already in need of cultivating which was a pretty big task for us this week.

   We've got a very nice crew of interns this year, coming to us from throughout the country.  They include Tim, Silas, Dale, Sophie, Jordan and Hallie.  In addition, crew members Olga and Ryan came back to work for us again.

    Probably my only set back this year thus far has been that of mechanical failings.  Almost every week one tractor or another is out of commission.  Though we have enough tractors to keep us going,  mechanical problems are not only a big headache but they're also tough on the pocket book.

  This year we will be the first year that we will be delivering during the day.  Below is the tenative schedule for our delivery times.  Remember, the first delivery will be Thursday, May 31st. It may take us a couple deliveries  to figure out just when we will be dropping off to your specific site.  I have recommended to our drop site coordinators to email the members the first couple days as to when the shares are delivered.  I will also send messages through the Ploughshare Farm's Twitter feed on delivery days and have the driver keep in touch with me so that I can notify members at various points during the delivery.  You can become a member of the feed by going to Ploughshare Farm's Twitter account.  This way you won't have to make a trip to your drop site only to find out the truck hasn't arrived yet. Our Twitter address is @Ploughshare  

Drop Sites:
You should have received (or will be receiving one very soon) an email from your drop site coordinator regading details to your CSA site.  Below are the contacts for these coordinators. The times listed below are just general estimates for when we deliver and may change due to traffic and other factors. Your drop coordinator will contact you via email in regards to what time you have to pick up until.

Ploughshare Farm--Wednesdays(afternoons), Thursdays, or Fridays

Alexandria--601 Wintergreen NW (The truck will be there sometime on Wednesday afternoon.  I will email members when it arrives.  You may pick up your share that evening or early Thursday morning).
Jennifer Brever 320-304-1436, Gary Brever 320-304-0918 gjbrever@midwestinfo.net

Sauk Centre-16984 Cnty 94                                                                                          Thursdays 4:30am. Drop site coordinator Annie Heipel hutch.sauk@juno.com 

St. Cloud--Newman Center (St. Cloud State Campus) Between 8am on Thursdays
St. Cloud--Jeff Freisen
E-mail: naturallee@mac.com

Boston Scientific-7:15 am Contact  Pieter Spitael Pieter.Spitael@bsci.com

Cigna Corporation--8:30am Contact: Hattie A. Lindahl  952-996-3255 
Hattie.Lindahl@cigna.com

Minnetonka--15805 Nursery Drive, Minnetonka 9:30am Contact: PeggyLehman                                                                                                                                Email: peggylehman@hotmail.com  

Plymouth--15723 50th Avenue North, Plymouth, MN 55446 10:15 am
 Bruce Von Stein
E-mail: bvonstein@msn.com

West Mineapolis: 4521 zenith ave. s. Minneapolis 11:30am

Bridgette Erickson is the drop site corodinator  beweyoga@gmail.com

Augsburg College--Between 12:00pm .  Contact: Rebecca John
E-mail: rjohn@augsburg.edu

South Minneapolis --3845 -- 26th AVE S Pick up 12:30pm                                                      Michael Schult 612-722-1876                                                                    dukedoms@hotmail.com

MHIF non-public drop location details: Abbott Campus - 920 Building 920 East 28^th Street, Mpls.  Laura Purdue lperdue@mhif.org 

St. Paul-- Pick up at Address: St. Mark's Church 1983 Dayton Ave
 Saint Paul, MN 55104  2pm  

Please note. the first St. Mark's delivery will be to our drop coordinator's home at 1883 Ashland Avenue.  It is a pink house/garage and the street number is on the garage as well.   She is  6 blocks (south and east) from St. Mark's.   She will contact you seperately with specifics.

                                                                                Contact:Carolyn Enestvedt                                                                                                        Email: carolyn.e@usfamily.net

William Mitchell College--875 Summit Avenue in St. Paul, MN 55105. The college is building a partition that it will install on the loading dock. The loading dock is located on S. Milton Street, between Summit Ave. and Portland Ave. 3pm.                            Drop site Coordinator Name: Mahoney Maggie
Email: maggie.mahoney@wmitchell.edu

EastSide Coop between 4pm-2551 Central Avenue Northeast, Minneapolis, MN 55418-3725

 (612) 788-0950 ‎ eastsidefood.coop

North Minneapolis/ Robbinsdale--4227 Abbott Avenue North, Robbinsdale, MN 55422 (between 4:30pm                                                                                                         Drop Site Coordinator: Ceallaigh Anderson                                                                              612.865.5031                                                                                                  ceallaigh.anderson@gmail.com

Otsego--(Drop Site:10553 73rd Lane NE, Otsego (or Albertville)., MN  55374 on Thursdays between  5:30pm
Durand, Mark & Anne
E-mail: markandannedurand@yahoo.com

Again, I want to say that the above times are just the approximate times when the delivery truck will arrive.  I encourage everyone to join our Twitter account so you will know for sure.  Your drop site coordinator will connect with you regarding site specifics when the shares will be available for pick up.
                                                                           

The week before delivery I will send another email with the list of members at each drop site.  Please check to make sure your name is listed at the drop site. (only one name will be listed even if you are sharing a share).  If you are listed incorrectly please let me know as soon as possible gjbrever@midwestinfo.net .  You can also go to our website and check on your membership status
http://ploughsharefarm.com/members/statusemail


Newsletters: This year the newsletter will be sent to you digitally via email.    By going digital, it will enable us to post more pictures of the items so that they are easier to identify. 

Facebook: If you haven't done so already, please consider joining the Ploughshare Farm Facebook Page.  It is a great way to stay connected to how your vegetables are growing on Ploughshare Farm.  It enables us to easily post pictures, have discussions, and stay in touch with our membership on a regular basis.   I will also post on our Facebook the list of items that are we are planning on putting in the shares a couple days in advance.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Parkers-Prairie-MN/Ploughshare-Farm/200603249475?ajaxpipe=1&__a=7


Strawberry Shares --this year Holmes City Berries is taking a year off of selling strawberry shares to Ploughshare CSA members.

Ploughshare Farm Events- Mark your calendars now for our two Farm events.  The pea pick will be held on Saturday, June 23rd and the fall festival will be held on Saturday, September 29th.  More details will be sent in the upcoming weeks.

Cooking Class-- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

Free Cooking Class

When: Thursday, June 14th

Where: St. Mark's cafeteria, 1983 Dayton Avenue, Saint Paul

 Time: 6:30-8:30 P.M .

 Learn creative new ways to prepare your

CSA vegetables with

Chefs Dick Trotter and Lisa Scribner

from Trotter's Cafe onCleveland AvenueinSt. Paul

Cook and taste organic vegetables provided by Gary Brever from Ploughshare Farm

 Respond immediately!  Space may be limited!

 RSVP to Carolyn Enestvedt by May 31st by email carolyn.e@usfamily.net or phone 651-645-1996.

 Vegetables may include bokchoi, arugula, kale, scallions, green garlic, and radishes. Fresh made whole grain breads provided by Trotter's Cafe.

The guy (that would be Chris!) who is subbing for Charmaine at the NIH today said that  you all are looking for new things to do with the lime basil.

Well, Sunday I had most of a bunch left, so I decided to make ice cream.  Years ago I found a great recipe for fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream on the internet, and I've adapted it for many purposes.  It was absolutely spectacular with the lime basil, which imparted an incredible, summery lime tang.  It may be even better than mint-- with or without chocolate chips.  And because it is made from fresh leave, it has a deep, enchanting green color without any food coloring, and tiny darker green flecks.  Very pretty.

2c. heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
2/3 c. sugar
1 bunch lime basil, de-stemmed, washed, and dried (I use a salad spinner)

Put the milk, eggs, basil leaves, and about half the cream into a blender, and puree briefly.

Heat gently with constant stirring and scraping until you reach 170 degrees to pasteurize the eggs and extract flavor from the basil.  (If you don't have a thermometer, you can watch for a perceivable thickening that occurs in the upper 160 degree range.)

Remove from heat, and add the sugar; stir to dissolve.  Add the remaining half of the cream.

Strain through a fine strainer, pushing as much of the liquid through and out of the leaves as possible.  (If a few tiny leaf bits make it through, that just makes it prettier.  Too much is gritty, though, and can clog your ice cream maker blades.  If you're like me, you'll very much enjoy eating the strained, sweetened leaves with a fork, so it's a double bonus...)

Chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, (or put it in a metal bowl and use an ice bath, with occasional stirring for 15 minutes if you're impatient.)

Follow the freezing instructions for your ice cream maker.  Serve with or without chocolate chips. 

Tibor

 Area CSA Coalition.  HYPERLINK "http://www.macsac.org" t "_blank" www.macsac.org.  They offer a deal if you buy 10 books.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
• Kosher salt
• 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• Olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 lbs of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
• 1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

CHARD AND ONION FRITATTA from 'Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone'

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large red or white onion, quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1 bunch chard, leaves only, chopped (can also be kale)

salt and freshly milled pepper

1 garlic clove

6 to 8 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tablespoons chopped basil

2 teaspoons chopped thyme

1 cup grated Gruyere (or any kind of cheese)

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 10-inch skillet, add the onion, and cook over low heat, stirring occassional, until completely soft but not colored, about 15 minutes.  Add the chard and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all the moisture has cooked off and the shard is tender, about 15 minutes.  Season well with salt and pepper. 

Mash the garlic with a few pinches of salt, then stir it into the eggs along with the herbs.  Combine the chard mixure with the eggs and stir in the Gruyere and half the parmesan. 

Preheat the broiler.  Heat the remainiing oil in the skillet and, when it's hot, add the eggs.  Give a stir and keep the heat at medium-high for about a minute, then turn it to low.  Cook until the eggs are set but still a little moist on top, 10 to 15 minutes.  Add the remaining Parmesan and broil 4 to 6 inches from the heat, until browned. 

Serve in the pan or slide it onto aa serving dish and cut it into wedges.  Serves 4 to 6.

2/3 cup pecan oil

½ cup pecans, lightly toasted and cooled

1/3 cup grated Ryals Asiago (you can omit this if you are freezing it)

2 large garlic cloves, chopped and mashed to a paste with ½ tsp Avery Island salt

In a food processor, blend together all ingredients with extra salt to taste until smooth. Pesto will keep chilled for 1 week if you keep the surface covered with plastic wrap. If you are not going to use it right away put it in a small glass jar or place in ice cubes trays and freeze. Then place the single serving cubes in a ziploc freezer bag and leave in freezer until ready to use. I generally add the cheese fresh when I’m ready to serve the pesto.

½ cup pecans

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic

3 cups packed basil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Pinch of cayenne

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

A little water

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients except oil and water into blender.
2. Blend. Adding a little water to help get things moving.
3. Once all pureed and green, slowly add oil.

Basic Roasted Eggplant:

Preheat oven to 475. Cut 3 medium eggplants (about 3 lbs total) into 1-inch pieces.

Divide between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over eggplant and season w/ coarse salt and ground pepper; Toss to coat and arrange in a single layer.

Roast until golden and tender, 25 to 30 minutes, stirring once. let cool on sheets.

3 Roasted Eggplant Salad Ideas:

Eggplant Salad w/ Tomatoes and Basil

In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; season w/ coarse salt and ground pepper. Add 1 recipe of Basic Roasted Eggplant, 1 pint of halved grape tomatoes (or whatever you have) and 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves. Toss to Combine.

Eggplant Salad w/ Chickpeas and Feta

In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons) add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, season w/ coarse salt and ground pepper. Add 1 recipe of Basic Roasted Eggplant, 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, 4 ounces of feta, crumbled (about 1 cup) and 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves. Toss to combine.

Curried Eggplant Salad w/ Peas and Cashews

Cook 1 package of frozen peas according to package instructions, rinse under cool water and drain. In a large bowl whisk together 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice (from 2 limes), 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (christy says organic canola), and 1 teaspoon curry powder, season w/ coarse salt and ground pepper. Add 1 recipe of Basic Roasted Eggplant, peas, 1/2 cup of chopped roasted cashews, and 1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro. Toss to Combine.