The BEET: VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3--Reminder, CSA pickup TODAY, July 3RD

 THE BEET : VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3

*Please note that this week's pickup is TODAY, Wednesday, JULY 3RD* Same time and place: 5-7:30pm at PS 56 at Gates and Downing

CSA FYIs

• Sign up to Volunteer! Every household with a CSA share is required to volunteer for four hours over the course of the season. This is usually done by signing up to volunteer for one or two shifts during distribution. SIGN UP HERE for a shift. If no one in your household is able to volunteer during distribution during the season, please check our Volunteer Page for more options.

• Please be on time for your volunteer shifts. It is critical that volunteers for the first shift arrive on time to help get food off of the delivery truck. If you are late for the second volunteer slot, that means someone from the first shift has to stay longer than their required hours to wait for you. Please be responsible in fulfilling the minimal volunteer commitment and respectful of the time of your other CSA members. Thanks!

• Bring Plastic Bags! It's always a good idea to bring extra plastic bags for your fellow CSA members. You'll probably never use them anyway!

• Bring back pint containers and egg cartons. Yet another reason to clean out some clutter from your kitchen--The Brownells of The Joint Venture Farm who supply our egg share welcome your used egg cartons for reuse. Please bring them back during distribution and give them a second life!

• Two Plan C Shares Available CHCSA has two discounted Plan C Shares available for families paying with EBT made possible through a grant from Citizens Committee. With the grant, a family would pay only $135 for the entire season and could pay the weekly fee (approximately $6 a week) onsite instead of paying in advance. If you know of a family receiving SNAP (food stamps), who may be interested in becoming a member, please forward this information. Interested families should write to information@clintonhillcsa.org.

 NEWS FROM WINDFLOWER FARM Delivery #4, July 3rd

Wildlife is abundant in and around Windflower Farm.  Our landscape is a mix of open fields and woods and supports relatively healthy populations of deer, foxes, rabbits, raccoons, martens and even coyotes. Wildlife is usually welcome here, but not always.  Deer love vegetables as much as we do, and today we found fresh deer tracks within our newly fenced back fields. They can destroy our beet, sweet potato and lettuce plantings - three of their favorite foods – in very short order. Deer ruined our entire sweet potato crop in just two or three nights last year. Tonight I’ll be camped out in the back to learn, if I can, how it is they’ve breached our perimeter. And a raccoon has been harassing Nate’s chickens.  Tomorrow he’ll be relocating their coop, which is mounted on wheels, to the far side of the farmyard. But, for the most part, we coexist peacefully with our wild neighbors. Bird life is especially abundant here. Redwing Blackbirds nest among the cattails around MaryJane’s pond, in the northwest corner of the farm, and feed on the soil fauna that my tillage brings to the surface. Killdeer nest in our newly worked fields, and their fluffy, long-legged young are just now running around in the understory beneath our vegetable plants. Red Tailed hawks nest in the biggest trees in our hedgerows and often follow my tractor and mower in the hope that I’ll scare up a rabbit or field mouse. The neighborhood turkey flock now numbers close to 100 individuals and roams freely throughout the area. A Great Blue heron frequently includes our larger pond in its feeding rounds, and Bald Eagles can be seen hunting along the river. While we begin our days with the music of songbirds, who start their chatter at first light, if we are lucky we conclude our days listening to coyotes, whose songs – a combination of yipping and barking and howling - are perfect bedtime lullabies.

Your fourth delivery will include kohlrabi or radishes, lettuce, scallions, garlic scapes, dill and your choice of greens (from a lineup that includes Tokyo Bekana, Yukina Savoy, Red Komatsuna, Red Russian and Dinosaur kales, and Swiss chard).

Have a happy Fourth of July,

Ted

RECIPES

This Week We're putting a Spotlight on Radishes. What to do with them besides throw them in a salad or on top of a taco? A couple Ideas below.

Radish Top Soup (Courtesy of Allrecipes.com) A creamy soup that makes use of radish greens as well as the root

INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons butter 1 large onion, diced 2 medium potatoes, sliced 4 cups raw radish greens 4 cups chicken broth 1/3 cup heavy cream 5 radishes, sliced

DIRECTIONS Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and saute until tender. Mix in the potatoes and radish greens, coating them with the butter. Pour in chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.Allow the soup mixture to cool slightly, and transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.Return the mixture to the saucepan. Mix in the heavy cream. Cook and stir until well blended. Serve with radish slices.

Braised Radishes(Courtesy of Rachel Ray) A quick, easy and savory take on radishes

Ingredients 2 bunches radishes, about 1 pound, trimmed of tops and roots 1 1/2 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits 1 large shallot, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar Salt and pepper

Directions Place radishes in a skillet with stock, butter bits, shallots, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Uncover the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook radishes 10 to 12 minutes and if the stock has not cooked away, remove radishes and cook down to 1/2 cup, about 2 minutes.