Week 4

Hello everyone,

Hope you're all faring well despite the heat wave. It's been a hot couple of days on the farm, but through copious amounts of water, Gatorade and some sneak-attack hose-spraying, we managed to harvest your veggies and stay decently hydrated.

The weather hasn't been doing the spring crops any favors, but the heat-loving veggies are flourishing. The tomato plants are dark green, bushy, and growing like crazy. A lot of them are setting fruit already! I'm starting to get really excited about the first tomatoes- and zucchini and peas and beans and corn... I love my job.

Hey, it's strawberry time! We don't have strawberries at Lucky Moon, but there are places to pick your own or buy locally grown ones this time of year. You might want to check out the Central New York U-pick webpage. As the site lists by county alphabetically, you may have to scroll down a bit. Local spots, such as Tre-G, Navarinos and places in Baldwinsville offer u-pick berries. And, although it's a bit slow sometimes, I also use the PickYourOwn.org website to search for U-pick places as it has numbers and addresses for places all over the US and quite a few in Madison and Onondaga counties. Could be a fun outing for the family with wonderfully sweet berries thrown into the bargain! Picking berries is one of my fondest memories of childhood. It's not really summer until you've had that strawberry right in the field, warm from the sun. I'm hoping to get picking this weekend myself and make some jam and freeze a bunch of berries for the winter.

---

Here's what's in your bags this week:​​

Salad lettuce

Arugula

Carrots (really nice and sweet ones!)

Spinach or a Spinach and Baby Swiss Chard mix

(they work well cooked together or mixed into a salad)

Here are some recipes to try:

1) Quinoa Risotto with Arugula & Parmesan

from the New Mayo Clinic cookbook Serves 6 as a side, double to serve as the main dish 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed 2 1/4 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or broth 2 cups chopped arugula (approx 3 oz) 1 small carrot, shredded 1/2 cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Do not let the garlic brown.

2. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite, but slightly heard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer.

3. Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

2) Carrot-Walnut Salad

from Flat Belly Diet Cookbook Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup golden raisins 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 Tbsp oil 2 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp honey 1/8 tsp salt 4 large carrots, grated 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Soak the raisins in hot water for 20 minutes to plump them. Drain.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, honey and salt.

3. Combine the carrots, walnuts, parsley, raisins and dressing in a medium bowl and toss to coat.

All the best,

Sarah VanNorstrand

for Lucky Moon Farm

#UPick #arugula #quinoa #carrots