Harvest Kitchen

Seven Layer Salad

Hello everyone,

The big news this weekend is, of course, the Ypsilanti Heritage Festival.  This fun and entertaining festival is all over Ypsilanti, but a big part of it was taking place on Cross Street, right outside the Harvest Kitchen.  What a crazy and fun weekend! The festival got started on Friday night, with tents set up on Cross Street and tons of people walking around, taking in the sites.  We got quite a bit of additional traffic in the kitchen–more than we usually have on Friday evenings.  But it was only a precursor to the rest of the weekend.  Our new chefs, Kim and Stephanie whipped up a local and organic take on traditional festival foods (Organic corn dogs with chipotle ketchup, anyone?–they were so delicious) and were cooking up a storm all day Saturday.  Michelle really took the lead on making Harvest Kitchen a part of Heritage Festival–they had a table, tent, and more set up on the sidewalk and were selling cookies and milk, drinks, sauces, granola, buttons, and so much more.  I stopped by briefly after Farmer’s Market as I do every week to unload, and it was a madhouse.  Thank goodness for faithful HK helpers Cynthia, Kevin, and Dayna being such good advocates for the food, as well as Peter unloading the Community Farm veggies despite the roads being closed, and Ryan doing dishes.  Phew!  There were probably more helpers who I didn’t see. Anyhow, it was so fun to be part of the Heritage Festival and hopefully lots of Ypsilanti folks got to find out more about us at the same time.

On the home front, summer keeps rolling along, full of an abundance of vegetables.  In the Harvest Kitchen we’re bidding farewell to some of our workers who are returning to school and other adventures.  Enjoy the video below that shows the making of those beautiful Seven Layer Salads we had last week.

 

Out at Community Farm, the mosquitoes are worse than ever.  It’s pretty unbelievable–but I know you don’t want to hear me complaining about them anymore.  You’ll be interested to know, however, that an informal poll of our other farm sources reveals that the mosquitoes are terrible across our foodshed.  Paul

Kim, Cynthia, and Lotus hard at work

from Tantre says he’s never seen them this bad in Michigan.  Chrissy from Frog Holler told me that some Frog Holler farmers are sleeping under bed-sized mosquito nets.  Basically we’re all holding out for a cold snap or dry spell to kill them off!  But other than mosquitoes, things are great at the Farm.  Fall crops are coming along nicely.  We transplanted the last of the baby lettuce.  I know they’ll grow up quickly! Did you know that there’s a huge crossover between staff at Community Farm and staff at Harvest Kitchen? Besides myself, Kat, Peter, Emmy, Dayna, and Lotus all work or volunteer regularly at Community Farm.  I hope all of them find the same satisfaction I do in seeing the food through from seed to plate.  It’s an incredibly rich and rewarding transformation.

That’s all for the news, but here’s the menu–Italian Theme this week!

Putting it all together

Omnivore Mains

Zimpana Layered Italian Casserole with Beef – Loaded with cheese, tomato sauce, and vegetables, this layered casserole is reminiscent of lasagne.

Chicken Florentine with Lemon Herb Fettuccine – Oven-roasted local chicken with greens and a side of lemon-herb fettuccine.

Vegetarian Mains

Zimpana Layered Italian Casserole – Reminiscent of lasagne, this casserole is full of delicious Italian flavors and tons of local vegetables.

Ratatoille – Classic French summer stew full of the freshest local vegetables: zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and more

Side Dishes for Both

Antipasto Salad – A classic Italian salad of tomatoes, olives, pickled peppers, mozzarella, red onion, and, in the omnivore edition, home-cured capicola (spiced cured ham).

Caprese Salad – The flavors of summer! A classic tomato-basil-fresh mozzarella salad.  Couldn’t be fresher or better!

Italian Wedding Soup – Traditional soup with meatballs (or vegetarian “meat”balls), chard, and pasta. Bursting with flavor.

Packing tomatoes for winter

Do you feel like this summer is flying by? Everyone I talk to says it seems to have gone more quickly than usual.  It’s also been more extreme than usual, I think.  The spring and early summer were extremely wet and cold, the month of July was extremely hot and dry, and now, in August it is extremely mosquito-y.  I’m not kidding!  We’ve never seen mosquitoes this bad at the Community Farm before.  And it’s not just out at the farm–even at home in Ann Arbor I can’t sit outside, and a visiting friend had to run from her car to the house to avoid being attacked by the bloodsuckers! I was lucky to be warned by Farmer Kari that the mosquitoes were just as terrible out at the farm on Tuesday night, so on Wednesday I was prepared.  In spite of the heat, I wore jeans and a long-sleeved shirt and took a scarf to wrap around my head, over my ears, and around my neck.  I felt like a movie star in disguise–I wish I knew how to tie my scarf like a hijab! Head nets were also essential equipment this week at the farm–mosquitoes will swarm your face if that’s all they can reach.  In spite of being bundled up and persecuted by mosquitoes we got a lot of good work done–the fall rutabaga crop is thinned and weeded, and in spite of the rains they show good germination.  This is good news as far as I’m concerned–I love rutabaga!

In the kitchen, things are busy too.  Goetz Farm sold us 10 bushels of tomatoes this week which we spent a lot of

Stephanie and Ryan making meatballs

time on Thursday and Friday processing for winter.  I’m sure we’ll have a big day sometime soon when we’ll do a huge number of tomatoes all at once, but in the mean time, we’re getting little bits done as we can.  Stephanie led us in drying a few cases of tomatoes as well as peeling and dicing them.  Many thanks to the hardworking Friday evening crew (Lotus, Dayna, Diala, Ryan, Laura, Kim, Jake, and Vincent) who stayed late to get these tomatoes processed and the kitchen cleaned up.  We’ll be thanking you when we’re eating these delicious tomatoes in January!

So, this week’s menu has an Americana Theme.  Here’s the plan:

A stack of pita bread

Omnivore

BBQ Chicken – Our favorite free-range chickens with our homemade BBQ sauce makes for a summer feast. Pair with

Chopped Kale Salad – A slaw-style salad with dark leafy greens.

Apple Sauce-stuffed Pork Chops – The first apples of the season pair with our happy hog pork chops from Black Oak Farm. Sweet and delicious!

Bacon Mac and Cheese  – A special twist on a crowd-pleasing fave,this mac and cheese goes above and beyond.

Zucchini Sautee – A side dish featuring everyone’s summer favorite squash is a light accompaniment to the mac and cheese

Melon Mint Soup – The latest in our series of chilled summer soup shows of the sweetness of the melons highlighted with the brightness of mint.

Green Salad or Cuke Salad – Chef’s choice this week!

Vegetarians

Our friend Kevin of Green Giraffe Window Services cleaning our front window

Succotash – It doesn’t get much more Americana than this–our version of this classic dish will feature corn, beans, tomatoes, chard, and so much more. I can’t wait to try it!

Veggie Macaroni Bake – A summery take on Macaroni and cheese, featuring tons of vegetables and lots of cheese.

Zucchini Sautee- A side dish featuring everyone’s summer favorite squash is a light accompaniment to the mac and cheese

Melon Mint Soup – The latest in our series of chilled summer soup shows of the sweetness of the melons highlighted with the brightness of mint.

Chopped Kale Salad – A slaw-style salad with dark leafy greens.

Green Salad or Cuke Salad – Chef’s choice this week!

So much bounty! Get excited!

Mary

Cashew Veggie Patties getting tubbed

Hello HK Fans,

Hope all is well with you.  It’s been a busy week here at Harvest Kitchen.  The big news around here is (as we hope you all know) we’re offering a 12-week Back to School Season this Fall.  This runs simultaneously with the last 12 weeks of our summer-fall season, but we hope it’ll be a chance for people who travel a lot during the summer to get in on the HK action for the autumn, as well as being a great way for new members to try out HK for a shorter season.  Please help us spread the word by telling your friends and colleagues.  I can confidently say that HK food is better than ever and the veggies are thriving–it looks like it’s going to be an awesome fall, and I hope that many new folks will join us and become part of the fun!

Sinks full of Kale!

In cooking news, we spent some time on Friday blanching and freezing some greens–we’ll be able to pull them out of the freezer this winter to enjoy the fresh flavors of summer even when the snow flies.  This summer has been the best the Community Farm has ever had for kale and collards (and that’s saying something), so even after using as many as we could, we were getting behind and the cooler was beginning to be overwhelmed with cases of greens. So, Friday afternoon Lotus, Ryan, and Laura put in some solid work washing, blanching, squeezing, packing, and freezing our green leafy friends.  In the process a dance was invented…watch the video below for a glimpse of Friday afternoon in the kitchen.

Out at the Farm things are going well.  The Thursday team had a long discussion of the practice (by conventional feed corn farmers) of hiring teenagers to “detassle” the corn.  All the glory goes to the person who can explain exactly WHY this is done (and why we don’t have to do it to our sweet corn…).  We also got some good work done on the seemingly endless task of thinning the fall carrots.

The chef team has done some creative thinking to come up with this awesome Mediterranean menu:

Omnivores

Fresh pico de gallo

Beef Kabobs with Chimichurri Sauce – Flavorful beef kabobs loaded with seasonal vegetables and topped with Argentinian green Chimichurri sauce.

Mediterranean Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce – Savory meatballs with a creamy fresh cucumber-yogurt Tzatziki sauce.

Chilled Creamy Tomato Basil Soup – The name says it all–tomato and basil combine for the ideal summer flavors.

Sauteed Greens – This has been the best summer EVER for kale and collards at the Community Farm–and we’re not keeping their healthy savor to ourselves.  Enjoy this side of greens with any of this week’s main dishes.

Five Bean Salad – Crisp and refreshing, our five bean salad is the perfect lunch or side on a summer’s day.

Potato Salad – No green salad this week, so instead we’re loading your plate with potato salad! Not that flavorless picnic staple, our potato salad features newly dug potatoes and other fresh veggies.

Dayna working the food processor

Vegetarians

Black Bean Falafel with Tzatziki Sauce – Mediterranean flavors combine in our delicious falafel patties, served with creamy cucumber Tzatziki Sauce.

Summer Green Pie – Filo dough crust overflows with delicious fresh greens in this crispy summer favorite.

Chilled Creamy Tomato Basil Soup – The name says it all–tomato and basil combine for the ideal summer flavors.

Sauteed Greens – This has been the best summer EVER for kale and collards at the Community Farm–and we’re not keeping their healthy savor to ourselves.  Enjoy this side of greens with any of this week’s main dishes.

Five Bean Salad – Crisp and refreshing, our five bean salad is the perfect lunch or side on a summer’s day.

Potato Salad – No green salad this week, so instead we’re loading your plate with potato salad! Not that flavorless picnic staple, our potato salad features newly dug potatoes and other fresh veggies.

Yup, it’s not your imagination–the abundance of summer is making the share size a bit bigger each week!

Have a good one.

Mary

Kat stirs up the N African Vegetable Stew

This weather is getting pretty crazy, but at least we finally got RAIN!  I had the great joy to get to be out at Community Farm on Thursday morning after the huge rainfall of Wednesday night.  What an amazing experience!  To begin with, the rain gauge was literally filled up to the brim–it’s not even gauged all the way to the top, so we’re not totally sure how much rain we got, but probably over 6 inches.  Farmer Anne says they’ve *never* gotten so much rain in a single event before.  For comparison, a normal rainfall is usually around .25 or .5 inches.  6 inches is a crazy amount of rain to get!  Getting lots of rain even after a drought can sometimes be a problem, but this rainfall was very serendipitous.  Firstly, there was no wind with the storm, so no crops were blown over.  Secondly, thanks to the fact that the Community Farm uses raised beds, almost no crops were standing in water after the storm.  Even in our lowest-lying fields, there were only a few areas where the beds themselves were flooded.  So, fortunately, our plants will be able to drink their fill from this abundant rainfall without getting drowned.  There were also very few areas where crops were washed away.  All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the drought.  Farmers Anne and Paul were very much in a celebratory mood on Thursday morning, and they took all of us apprentice farmers on a safari around the farm to see the result of the rain.  Kristin took pictures, and as soon as she shares them with me I will post them here, but for now imagine in your mind’s eye: the rain gauge filled to the brim; A field of crops with water standing in the pathways but none covering the beds; beautiful tomatoes, corn, and more drinking up and growing strong!  Hooray!

Here at Harvest Kitchen, our menu is taking on a distinctly Latin flavor this week!

Omnivores

Cubano with Stuffed Pork and Mojito Sauce – I just picked up a pound of fresh mint from Tantre farm to make this exquisite mojito sauce–a perfect pairing with the stuffed pork.
Cuban Chicken Taco with Fresh Cabbage Slaw and tortillas from the Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory
Pairs perfectly with Spanish rice
White Bean Cassoulet – The smokey flavor of bacon and surprise vegetables (…chard and more!…) make this a dish to savor.
Gazpacho – Who can get enough of these chilled soups at this time of year? Not us! Stay hydrated..

And, as always, all this comes with Green Salad and a house Dressing.

Vegetarians
Vegetarian Vegetable Taco – A delightful combination of favorite summer veggies, served with Slaw and Tortillas from the Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory
Coconut Cashew Veggie Patty – Can’t get enough of these creative veggie “burgers”.  Consider pairing with
Spanish rice with green olives

White Bean Cassoulet – The vegetarian version will feature creamy beans and tons of surprise vegetables (…chard and more!…).  Certainly a dish to savor.
Gazpacho – Who can get enough of these chilled soups at this time of year? Not us! Stay hydrated..

And, as always, all this comes with Green Salad and a house Dressing.

Woo! That’s all!

See you this week.

Mary

Stephanie laughing and peeling cukes

Oh my, I don’t think I can remember a hotter week. It seems like it’s been impossible to escape the heat and humidity. Here at the kitchen, we’re all thankful that we got the AC fixed before this heatwave began. At the farm we’re doing all we can to stay cool and safe. Drinking cold water, dunking our arms, heads, and t-shirts in buckets of well water, wearing sun hats–these are our techniques for keeping cool most of the time, but this week was extreme.  On Wednesday we filled one of the kiddy pools we usually use for veggies with cold water and dipped our feet.  On Thursday (was that the hottest day?) we finished work early and went to Friends’ Lake for a swim.  A few farmers went down with heat prostration, but Farmer Anne reports that all are recovered and back at work.  Jonathan Goetz of Goetz Farm told me that it was 126 F in his fields on Monday when I called to order more green beans, but he may have been exaggerating. There’s no doubt it was HOT, though.

Many of our crops love this hot weather–tomatoes and Sweet

Lilah working on the chard wraps

potatoes should be particularly good this year thanks to the extreme heat. However, we all need rain.  Out at Community Farm we continue to irrigate regularly with our extensive (efficient) drip irrigation system, but everyone I talk to is longing for significant rain. I asked Kenny King of Frog Holler Farm if they’d gotten any rain in any of the storms this week and he said they’d gotten some on Thursday, but that they could use that amount on a daily basis!

In honor of the heat wave, this week at the kitchen we’re focusing on a light, cold, refreshing menu.  No one wants to eat much hot food in this weather, so we’re making fan favorites that won’t require too much re-heating.  Hopefully you’ll find these delights just the thing to sustain you this week.  here’s the plan:

Omnivores

Spring Rolls with Chicken Fresh spring rolls with loads of crunchy vegetables and humanely raised chicken from Back Forty Acres. Served with creamy peanut sauce.

Pretty Kale Stroganoff!

Zucchini Boats – A classic favorite of summer menus, our stuffed zucchini is full of flavor–they feature Black Oak Farm ground pork, tomato sauce, bulghur wheat, and more.

Chilled Fennel Soup – Clear, cold, and full of the fresh flavor of fennel, this soup is the perfect refresher on a hot summer day.

Kale Protein Salad – Low on carbs, high on protein and rich in flavor, this cold salad is hearty, healthy, and refreshing.

Green Salad Mix with fresh basil lime dressing

Vegetarians

Vegetarian Spring Rolls – Fresh spring rolls with loads of crunchy vegetables–Harvest Kitchen chef Emmy claims she can make spring rolls with as many as 14 Community Farm vegetables. We’ll see how far we get! Served with creamy peanut sauce.

Darwaut – Spicy North African Vegetable Stew – Chickpeas, zucchini, carrots and more served in a flavorful North African-spiced tomato stock. Served with a serving of brown rice.

Chilled Carrot Soup with Cumin and Lime – We made this last summer and Harvest Kitchen customers are still talking about it. This cold soup is refreshing and bright–perfect for a hot day!

Kale Protein Salad – Low on carbs, high on protein and rich in flavor, this cold salad is hearty, healthy, and refreshing.

Green Salad Mix with fresh basil lime dressing

Enjoy!

Mary

Mary sailing away in Les Cheneaux on her vacation

Well hello there all you good blog readers.  It’s another bountiful week here at Harvest Kitchen.  Despite the big rainstorm on Tuesday, all of the farmers I’m talking to tell me that this dry hot weather is tough–the plants could do with some rain! However, out at Community Farm the drip-style irrigation is helping, and Anne and Paul tell me that this looks like a good year for summer favorites like sweet corn and melons.  Something to look forward to!

Salad with Buttermilk Basil Dressing

Still, those “deep summer” treasures are still a few weeks off, and we’re still enjoying an abundance of kale and collards, carrots, and more.  We’re also getting the first few harvests of what’s sure to be a bumper crop of summer squash and zucchini, green beans, and cucumbers.  Lots of good flavors coming your way.

In the kitchen it feels like we’re turning a corner into a new era–June

A busy day makes for a messy kitchen

was a month of diving into the new space and the new schedule–sink or swim.  Then Michelle and I both had vacations.  Now we’re finally having a chance to look around us and figure out where we want to go from here in the kitchen.  It’s an exciting moment, so stay tuned for new developments in the next few weeks.  We’re already looking ahead and hiring some new talent to replace workers who are heading back to school or off on new adventures in the fall.

But, enough about us. Let’s talk about you, or more specifically, about your food.  We’ve got some good stuff on deck this week:

Vegetarians

Zucchini Boats aka Stuffed Zucchini Alsace – This creamy cheese-bean-vegetable stuffing from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks for a Crowd makes these stuffed zucchini into dream-boats!
Stuffed Chard – It’s a week of stuffed stuff! We’ll be wrapping Community Farm chard around a delicious filling of goat cheese, brown rice, and pine nuts. Mmm.
Chilled Cucumber Soup - What could be better on a hot summer day than a cold, refreshing soup?
Garlic-Balsamic roasted Green beans- Light and flavorful–the perfect side dish.
And as usual, we’ll have a creatively named Salad Mix to enjoy with a house Dressing.

Beet peeling in process

Omnivores

Kale Stroagnoff – A hearty, flavorful dish featuring Hand Sown Farm kale and McLaughlin Farm’s ground beef.
Italian Zucchini Pie with Pork – This quiche-style pie features lots of tasty fresh herbs and a to-die-for yeast crust with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Chilled Cucumber Soup - What could be better on a hot summer day than a cold, refreshing soup?
Garlic-Balsamic roasted Green beans- Light and flavorful–the perfect side dish.
And as usual, we’ll have a creatively named Salad Mix to enjoy with a house Dressing.

Get ready to enjoy!

Mary

Hi everyone,

I’m writing this on basically the last night of my vacation.  I’ve been having a relaxing holiday with my family in the

Something delicious....

Upper Peninsula.  We’ve been sailing, mostly, but also eating lots of ice cream, reading books, playing games, swimming, and enjoying the peace and quiet of lake Huron’s Les Cheneaux Islands.  It’s been terrific to have a little break and to spend this time with my family, and I’ve been happy knowing that the Harvest Kitchen has been rolling along in the capable hands of the HK staff, especially Michelle.

Diala and the Borscht - enough to make anyone smile

I’m afraid I can’t offer much insight into what’s been happening in the Harvest Kitchen or at Community Farm this week.  Emails and phone calls and texts suggest that they’ve been managing all right without me! (shocking).  I know that the Community farm got its hay safely with the helping hands of members–this always seems to happen right around my vacation, though I do love the hard work and reward of haying.  To understand haying you need to realize that it happens at the height of the summer heat, and that hay is dusty and scratchy and heavy–and every bale has to be unloaded by hand from the wagons and put onto the elevator and unloaded into the barn.  There is no way to do this job without getting unspeakably sweaty and dusty and hot and miserable–but it is just so rewarding.  At the end of the day, you can sit down with a beer and feel satisfied with a necessary job well done. Wendell Berry, in his book The Gift of Good Land describes it movingly, but since I am on vacation (for a few more hours at least!), I don’t have his words to hand to share with you.  Basically, though, know that through the sweat of our brows, the cows and goats have good, home-grown food to see them through this winter.

Burgers - a taste of summer

On the Harvest Kitchen front, I’m looking forward to getting back into the kitchen, with all the wonderful delights Michelle and Kim have picked out for you this week:

Omnivores

Beef Brisket – Delicious slow roasted Beef Brisket in tomatoes, red wine, carrots and celery

Ham Hocks with Summer Greens and fresh Cornbread – Certainly a southern staple. Simmered seasonal greens with ham hocks. Served with our fresh cornbread.

Chicken Salad – A summer fan favorite. Chicken salad with Michigan cherries.

Grated Beet Salad with Dill and Mustard Vinaigrette – Yum! Even if you don’t like beets, you’ll love this refreshing salad.

Summer Nights Salad with Dressing – As always, enjoy our fresh green salad and a seasonal dressing.

Vegetarians

Borscht!

Mediterranean Summer Green Sauce with Pastabilities Pasta – This green sauce features the sweetness of raisins and the savory flavors of chard and olives for something out of this world.  Enjoy with pasta and more!

OR, serve the pasta with our Kale and Garlic Scape Pesto – Light and refreshing and best of all lots of garlic.

Italian Zucchini Pie – The freshest, lightest pie of the season, chock full of herbs and other delights.

Grated Beet Salad with Dill and Mustard Vinaigrette – Yum! Even if you don’t like beets, you’ll love this refreshing salad.

Summer Nights Salad with Dressing – As always, enjoy our fresh green salad and a seasonal dressing.

Enjoy!

Mary

Cynthia chopping chard stems

Hello Harvest Kitchen friends,

It’s a busy time here at Harvest Kitchen. Tis the season of vacations–Michelle was on vacation last week, leaving Mary to be the fearless leader.  Michelle spent the week enjoying a visit from her son.  Now I (Mary) am off for my annual week-long sailing vacation up north with my family.  I’m excited to have a little break, and I know that Michelle and the HK team can step up to the challenge of managing the kitchen in my absence.  I want to especially acknowledge Ed, Peter, and Emmy for helping with pick ups, Diala for labeling, Peter, Josh, and Kim for kitchen management, Laura and Ryan for end of day work, and *everyone* for their willingness to pitch in and help out. We definitely couldn’t do it without this team!  I’ll post a few sailing pictures in next week’s blog post.

We also couldn’t do it without all these awesome veggies.  Beets are in, and we’re excited to bring you some glorious Borscht, Beet-and-Carrot Burgers, and more.  Even if you think you don’t like beets, we hope you’ll give these darlin’s a try–Kim and Diala both loved the Borscht this week despite not typically enjoying beets.  I find them delightfully sweet and earthy.  We’ve also got boat loads of greens, including chard, kale, and beet greens.

Diala pureeing the Borscht

Since Michelle has been on vacation I’ve been busy at the Kitchen and Farmer’s Market and haven’t had my usual shifts at Community Farm this week.  It’s been fun to see the sides of the kitchen that I usually miss–the Wednesday market pick up, Thursdays in the kitchen with the hilarious and entertaining Thursday crew, and so on.  For stories from the farm, we turn to some of the HK staff:

Emmy: Wednesday was a gorgeous day at the farm.  We harvested and enjoyed a visit from a musician and aspiring farmer, Spencer. Everything went smoothly.

Kat: This is my first week back at the farm since last fall and everything looks great. The weather was so beautiful-perfect. It’s good to be back.

Josh: Up at the MSU Student Organic Farm we’re struggling with a woodchuck right now, but we should be getting blueberries next week! (Sadly, no plans for blueberries at HK right now… – Editor)

Mary Lynn: I’ve been going to the SELMA 20-in-20 hoop builds, a project to build 20 hoop house green houses in

Ryan making Oven-Fried chicken

20 days.  I especially enjoyed the build at Dawn Farm.  What a special place that is! I also learned that I prefer building the smaller hoops rather than the huge ones. It’s been quite a project building 20 hoop houses with volunteer labor! Just ask Ed about the huge rock we found while digging a post hole.

Thanks, HK Staff, for sharing stories from your week!

Coming up, this week’s menu:

Omnivores

Burgers – We’ll mix and form the perfect burgers from our Mclaughlin Farm ground beef and send them home raw and ready-to-grill.  Perfect for a holiday week!

Vernors BBQ Pulled Pork with Kim’s Kansas City BBQ sauce! Another HK classic, this pulled pork should make the ideal summertime sandwich.

Borscht!!

Chilled Buttermilk Borscht – Tis the season of beets and dill! Enjoy the fresh flavor of our deli-style borscht.

Lentil Kale Pasta Salad – Emmy brings us this recipe from a Moosewood Restaurant cookbook. She made it last week and says she couldn’t stop eating it! A perfect side dish with all this outdoors food!

Independence Day Salad – crunchy fresh lettuce and more! Serve with Ash’s Basil Miso Dressing- a recipe we learned last year from Community Farm apprentice Ash Bishop!

Vegetarians

Beet and Carrot Burgers – Another HK favorite, these “veggie burgers” are the perfect vegetarian Fourth of July treat.

BBQ Tofu featuring Kim’s Kansas City BBQ sauce.  Simple, but another summer delight vegetarian style–buy a bun and make yourself a BBQ tofu sandwich!

Lentil Kale Pasta Salad – Emmy brings us this recipe from a Moosewood Restaurant cookbook. She made it last week and says she couldn’t stop eating it! A perfect side dish with all this outdoors food!

Crisp Snow Pea Salad – Life doesn’t get much better than this: the sweetness of the peas, the sharpness of the ginger, blending with sesame oil….mmm.

Independence Day Salad – crunchy fresh lettuce and more! Serve with Ash’s Basil Miso Dressing- a recipe we learned last year from Community Farm apprentice Ash Bishop!

Enjoy! And stay safe.

Mary

Margaret at work at the lasagne

Another great week has passed here at Harvest Kitchen.  As most of you know, we cook the food fresh each “cooking day”, but we use the same menu throughout the week–we do one set of recipes for the omnivores and one for the vegetarians, often with some repetitions in the dressings and side dishes.  By the end of the week the whole staff seems to be on autopilot as we make another batch of these now-familiar dishes.  It’s nice that the hardest part of the week comes at the beginning when we’re doing a new set of recipes and we can kind of coast into the weekend, using the knowledge gained in the previous days.  We don’t have time to get bored of the recipes since we’re always thinking ahead to new menus in the coming weeks.

In fact, coming up with menu ideas is one of the most fun and most

Laura labeling the Chicken Gnocchi Soup

challenging parts of the Harvest Kitchen.  We have to try to balance what we’re getting from our farmers with what we’ve done recently–keeping it fresh and interesting.  Lately Michelle and I have been grabbing time on Wednesday afternoons, when I’ve just gotten back from harvest morning at the farm and she’s just finished our Wednesday Farmer’s Market distribution.  We’re generally pretty tired and a little loopy, but with a little forethought, we’re able to come up with some good menus even in our exhausted state.  We often take input from other HK workers (last week’s chicken gnocchi soup, for example, was a recipe from our own Melissa!) and we’re hoping to increase that as the summer goes on.  You know we’ve put together a team of awesome, knowledgeable cooks.

Jess enjoys a moment with the beets at Community Farm

Out at Community Farm, this week we were thirsting for rain.  I haven’t been there since Thursday, so I can only hope they got some of this good rain that we experienced in Ann Arbor.  Despite the lack of rain, though, the fields are looking good.  We got a lot of good weeding and thinning and cultivation done in the winter squash on Thursday, as well as preparing the cold frames to be seeded with our late fall crops like Brussels sprouts, fall kale, broccoli, and cauliflower.  We’re always looking ahead to the next season, I guess.

But in the mean time, let’s enjoy what’s here:

Omnivores

Lasagne with Chard and Ground Beef – Locally made lasgane pasta from Pastabilities, local ground beef and Swiss chard and even local tomatoes that we froze from last summer. Sure to be a crowd pleaser!

Oven-Fried Chicken with a Side of Greens – An iron-rich savory side of chard and kale pairs perfectly with our oven-fried (read: baked) chicken.

Asian Lettuce Wraps with Pork – Crisp lettuce encloses flavorful filling including local pork, freshly grown scallions, ginger, and more.  Served with a special dipping sauce!

Green Quinoa Salad – Freshly cooked quinoa soaks up flavor and nutrients from a raw green-garlic-dill sauce.

Martha washing kale at Community Farm

Light and savory–just the thing for a summer day.

Another Summer Green Salad – More of that tasty lettuce, perhaps with a mixture of other greens and scallions for good measure.  Pair it with our Dilly Green Goddess Dressing for best results (made with homemade yogurt!)

Vegetarians

Dal with Chard – Ever been to the Earthen Jar?  We think that this delicious dal (lentil curry), which we learned to make from longtime HK member Nitya, is reminiscent of some of the tasty concoctions from Earthen Jar.

Chard Chickpea Balti – This British-style curry is a HK favorite (follow the link for more delightful information about Balti).  It’s kind of like a stew–it features our local chard and tomatoes from the freezer and more.

Chilled Buttermilk Borscht – Tis the season of beets and dill! Enjoy the fresh flavor of our deli-style borscht.

Green Quinoa Salad – Freshly cooked quinoa soaks up flavor and nutrients from a raw green-garlic-dill sauce.  Light and savory–just the thing for a summer day.

Another Summer Green Salad – More of that tasty lettuce, perhaps with a mixture of other greens and scallions for good measure.  Pair it with our Dilly Green Goddess Dressing for best results (made with homemade yogurt!)

Enjoy!

Mary

Emmy loading spinach at Community Farm

It’s been another busy but great week here at the Harvest Kitchen.  One great joy is seeing how the kitchen team is beginning to gel as we get used to the new workload for the summer season.  I know everyone is going to be glad when prepping spinach doesn’t take up half the day…. Another big excitement is seeing what new vegetables are in season as we prepare to plan our menus.  It’s been spinach-spinach-spinach all the time for the past month, but I think we’re seeing the end of that.  We got the last of the Community Farm spinach today, and Tantre and Hand Sown both are also nearing the end of their crops.  As the weather gets warmer, the spinach is inclined to bolt before it gets harvested.  Look for new delights like Swiss chard and kale to take the place of our tender friend–Swiss chard and kale can handle the heat better while still providing the leafy green goodness we need.

The new sign for the field called "Love in a Mist" at Community Farm, with KALE in the background!

Also new this week are sugar snap peas.  These are the candy of the spring garden–sweet, crisp, and tender, it’s almost impossible to harvest them without eating them all!  The HK-ers who attended the Grillin’ For Food Gatherers fundraiser reported that there was a delicious asian-style orzo and sugar snap pea salad.  We’re going to recreate that for all of you this week.

At Community Farm last week we were honored with a three-day visit from the ninth graders from the Rudolf Steiner School.  They got a lot of work done around the farm, and I got to join them at Wednesday’s harvest.  I enjoyed picking spinach and strawberries and playing a few rounds of “20 Questions” in the fields.  On Thursday we got a lot of weeding and cultivating done before getting a brief rainfall.  We can certainly use more rain, but we were happy to escape the larger storms that passed around us.

So, what do we have coming up this week menu-wise, you ask?  Well, besides that orzo salad, lots of good stuff…

Lettuce washing station

Omnivores

Italian Spinach and Rice Pie – We made this tasty dish this winter, and were impressed with its flavor and richness.  Ground beef, spinach, cheese, and loads of flavor. Yum!

Cubed Round Steak Dijon – We got this recipe from Farmer John Mclaughlin when we picked up our order of cubed round steak.  It’s a great recipe, and we’re excited to be serving up Mclaughlin’s Highland Beef for the first time.  Hooray!

Chicken Gnocchi Soup – HK-er Melissa shared this recipe, which is a family favorite in her house.

Ginger Orzo with Peas – This salad was a favorite at Grillin’ For Food Gatherers.  Wait til you try it!

Summer’s Sweetness Green Salad pairs perfectly with Rhubarb Dressing

Vegetarians

Italian Spinach and Rice Pie – We made this tasty dish this winter, and were impressed with its flavor and richness.

Lasagne – We’ll load up this crowd-pleaser with plenty of spinach and Pastabilities pasta and our frozen tomatoes from last summer. Everyone will be wanting seconds…

Asian Lettuce Wraps – Instead of a soup this week we’re making these tasty lettuce rolls.  Tis the season for lots of lettuce, and these were popular last year.

Ginger Orzo with Peas – This salad was a favorite at Grillin’ For Food Gatherers.  Wait til you try it!

Summer’s Sweetness Green Salad pairs perfectly with Strawberry Vinaigrette.

That’s all!

Mary