Captain Michelle at the tiller!
It’s been another busy and eventful week here at Harvest Kitchen. Last night Michelle and I went to the Ypsilanti District Library to give a talk about the local food movement, and, of course, Harvest Kitchen. We had a fun discussion about what’s important to us and why we do what we do. We had a small but dedicated audience and the conversation was very interesting. On a more playful note, Michelle and I went out sailing earlier this week–we jokingly called it a corporate retreat, but that’s too grand a name. We (together with Michelle’s partner Jordan and my dad) took our boat to Kent lake for a day of sailing and picnicking. It was fun to do something not work-related for once, and we had a great day for sailing.
Rebecca thinning the turnips
Out at the farm, things are rolling along too. The harvest continues to roll in with lots of summer-y bounty. We had a great time on Wednesday harvesting beans and arugula–new crops this week. The beans were so abundant–they seemed to be simply leaping off the bushes into our buckets, all purple and green. Once again we were saved in the early morning by having mosquito headnets. However, as the day progressed and the sun came out and the wind picked up the mosquitoes dispersed and we were able to finish the harvest and turnip-thinning without the headnets, thank goodness. There was a lot of excitement at the farm this Wednesday because some of the farm children (kids of members and their friends) had made a lot of beautiful craft projects and were selling them at an adorable mini-Art Fair. This led to lots of kids running around the barnyard, making pick up time a little more chaotic than usual.
In a final installment of Farm News, Peter (who works on Saturdays) asked
Perfect Farm weather
me to give a shout out to Harvest Kitchen member David who turned out on Saturday to do his volunteer hours and got to help bring in potatoes in the rain. It sounds like David worked hard and a beautiful bounty of potatoes came rolling in. Hooray for members helping out at the Farm! Thank you, David.
Menu and share details after the jump…
This week’s farm bounty:
Corn – 4 ears
Hot peppers -4
Beans – 1 1/2 lb
Basil – 2 stems
Ready for Eggplant Parmesan!
Kale – 1 lb
Arugula – 1 bunch
Summer squash- 4
Tomatoes -3 lbs
Sweet peppers – 2
Eggplant – 1
Pears – 1 box
Watermelon – 1
SO, with all that we’re going to make:
Eggplant Parmesan – A cheesy classic from Moosewood.
Chicken Chili – One of Michelle’s favorite recipes, a white chili featuring all kinds of summer goodness.
Better than a corporate retreat!
Roasted Green Beans with Bacon – This is a simple recipe, but Community Farm garlic and Old Pine Bacon send it over the edge into deliciousness.
Summer Quiche with Kale and Zucchini – Another of our yummy quiches. We may have enough bacon to put some bacon in too. We’ll see.
Pear, Melon, and Cucumber Salad with Arugula – Another fruit salad to brighten your days! This unusual combination is totally tasty.
That’s all for this week!
Mary
