week 1

Red Springs Family Farm
May 26, 2011 week 1

Lettuce Spinach Garlic Scapes
Baby beet greens Flowering Cilantro
Sorrel Oregano Green Onions
Dandelion Lacinato Kale Myrtle cowpeas

photo this week: Paul's view from the tractor as he mowed down the lush tall cover crop.

Welcome to the new season! Thank you for joining us.
We're so glad to get started. It was a long winter, but we were grateful for some down time to get to know our new boy Levon (LEE-von) and adjust to being a family of four.

Warning: There is quite a quantity of soil on your veggies this week. If you had been in our garden during last night’s storm, you’d be wet and muddy too. We’ve dashed off the worst of it, and hope you will use your rinse water to keep some houseplants alive – there are some wonderful organic soil nutrients in that dirt!

It's been hard NOT to talk about the weather this spring. We're certainly living in the drama of it all. We're grateful that the floods haven't been quite as bad as they could have been. The spinach has stayed alive and green long enough for a delivery. The jury is still out on whether the peas will be worth their row space, but everything else is holding up amazing well, all things considered. As it is each year in a garden, we can promise you there will be both some bumper crops, and some bumper flops (sorry, I'm a sucker for an easy rhyme). We just do our best to keep our hand on that plow and hold on. It’s pouring as I finish this newsletter – we’re grateful that there was a break in the rain while the harvest was happening.

Good news on the farm this season is that we have help. Branden is joining us to work and learn how we do things for the season. We’re excited to work with him, and hope you will enjoy his company at the market.

In your basket: Everything this week can be eaten raw! Black-Seeded Simpson and Deertongue lettuces. In the small herb bag you’ll find baby beet greens, a few sorrel leaves (bright green and lemony tasting) and some fresh oregano(actually wonderful in a salad, or chopped fresh into a dressing). The larger bag of greens can either be cooked or eaten in salad - spinach (rinse it twice cause it grows so close to the ground), kale (rainbow lacinato – thick meaty leaves, some have purple veins), and dandelion greens (parboil these if you want to cook them, they’re VERY bitter, and VERY good for you). Alongside, you have garlic scapes, green onions, and flowering cilantro.

Fresh Coriander (Cilantro) Chutney
1 bunch (¼ lb) fresh coriander leaves and stems ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
¼ cup grated coconut (dried shredded is fine) ¼ cup water
2 Tbsp. Fresh ginger root, chopped 1 tsp. Honey
1 tsp. Sea salt ¼ tsp. Fresh ground black pepper

Blend lemon juice, water and fresh coriander until coriander is chopped. Add remaining ingredients and blend until it is like a paste. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.


Cowpeas are a good bean. Black eyed peas are the most famous cow pea, but we like these Myrtles. We sampled them from our favorite heirloom seed company several years ago and liked them well enough to save seed. They improve each year and provide us loads of beautiful buff beans. Cowpeas are quick to cook. We soak them and sprout them briefly before cooking, but you don't have to. You can have them for dinner after work if you put them on to soak in the morning before you leave the house. Change the water when you get home and cook them up. Throw in a garlic scape, some cumin, and maybe even a dash of hot pepper. Wait to salt them until the beans are tender. Then, if you want something flavorfull and simple, proceed with the recipe below...

Myrtle “Fool”
(adapted from a favorite Lebanese cookbook, which titles the original recipe: Breakfast Fava Beans)

Cooked recipe Myrtle Cowpeas
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil juice of two lemons
1 clove garlic or one scape, minced salt to taste
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley (cilantro might be ok here)
garnishes: sliced tomato, sliced cucumber, fresh radishes, black olives, mint leaves

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Drain the beans and pour them into a serving bowl. Pour the olive oil mixture and chopped parsley over them and combine well. Arrange garnishes and enjoy.

Garlic scapes are the flowering heads of garlic plants. Garlic is planted in the Fall. It grows abit before the freezes come, then goes dormant. Come Spring, the plant rejuvenates and sends up this lovely curly-cue swan's head of a seed stalk. We cut it off while it's still tender to send the growing forces back down into the root (to make nicer bulbs under the ground), and these garlicky green tendrils are a result of that harvest. Come the end of June, we'll have nice fresh garlic to share. Until then – scapes are a treat. Use them as you would use fresh garlic, and if that stymies you, try thinking of them as Scallions, like this...

Scallion (or Scape) and Potato Patties (great for using up leftovers)
1 Tbsp. Butter 1 cup chopped scallions or garlic scapes
2 eggs 1 ½ cups cold mashed potatoes
¼ cup dried bread crumbs ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. The the foam subsides, add the scallions; sate until tender, 3-5 minutes.
2. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl. Add sauteed scallions, mashed potatoes, bread crumbs, salt, nutmeg, and pepper. Stir until well combined.
3. Place a baking pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
4. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Shape the scallion and potato mixture into manageable patties. Saute the patties in the skillet turning them once, until they are golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked patties to the baking pan in the oven to keep them warm while you saute the next batch. Serve warm.

So fun to be back in the season with you! We’ll see you next week.
Enjoy your greens.

Your gardeners,
Paul, Coree, Lulah,and Levon

waiting for the sun

Hello! We're so glad it's spring. It's been a busy time. We're squeezing garden work between rains, and doing our best to enjoy the rain in between severe weather warnings.

Long days remind us of what summer has in store. The days we've already spent hoeing the garden are like a warm up for the summer work out.

We feel fortunate to have so much already in the ground. We're just waiting for the sun to come help it grow. We do anticipate making the first delivery by the end of this month - May.

April showers they were, yes? We're looking forward to the May flowers. We've seen loads of Mayapples in the woods and field outskirts this year. Such beautiful delicate flowers - such delicious fruit, if you can find them before the deer and other wild thing do!

Enough ferocious storms, we say. Let's get on with greens and beans and squash. The tomato plants are sitting in a sheltered low-tunnel in front of the greenhouse. I havent got a photo of that yet, will have to do so.

Six turkey chicks are gracing the southern side yard with their sweet peeps. What better Easter gift could we have received? They sure are cute. One hen is still setting on a clutch of eggs, so we're hopeful that there might be MORE to come.

In the garden now: chard, kale, broccoli, cabbage (chinese and head cabbage), onions, potatoes, lettuce, sorrel, spinach, peas, beets, carrots, radishes, green beans, parsley, herbs herbs herbs, and what else? Ah, blooming cilantro. Since our kale went to flower, we've been eating cilantro as if it was spinach. So far so good.

Levon has three teeth now and can scoot like an inchworm just about anywhere he wants to go. He's making it clear that he'd rather be walking, but this mode of transportation will do for the meantime. Lulah, on the other hand, spends her days in a full out RUN. Every night finds her with a fine patina of mud at least as high as the knees. It's good to be a farm kid as the weather warms up.

We're looking forward to seeing everyone in town again. Enjoy the photos...

Peace be with you all.

week 27

Red Springs Family Farm
December 2, 2010 week 27

Lettuce Broccoli Garlic Kale
Butternut Tatsoi Daikon Radish
Herb bag: Arugula Parsley Cilantro Dill

We have to wait until the veggies thaw to harvest them these days. And we were alarmed to find the broccoli quite frozen this morning. We ate some to see how it was – and wow, was it ever yummy. So, it’s probably best to eat it up quickly. Depending on how the side shoots survive the cold, this could be the last week of broccoli.

The cold weather will begin to change the garden now. Dill plants are still alive, but getting lower to the ground. All the growth is slowing down substantially. We still have some monstrous Chinese cabbages to bring to town, and more beautiful varieties of kale to share. Green is the color of the season!

Daikon radishes… what are they about? Not your average radishes, that’s for sure! The taste is milder, so they can be used as you would any other root vegetable. They’re plenty good sliced into salad, and also stir-fried. Here’s a recipe to give you some basic guidelines – modify as needed:

Stir-Fried Daikon Serves 4
2 tablespoons peanut oil 1/4 cup sliced scallions
1 medium daikon, thinly sliced (about 3 cups) 10–12 red radishes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon hot chili oil to taste (optional)

1. Heat the peanut oil in a wok over high heat. Add the scallions; stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the daikon and red radishes; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the water and continue stir-frying until all the water has all evaporated.

The other wonderful thing to do with Daikon is brine it. We like to make a simple radish relish. Grate the daikon, salt it, and pack it into a jar quite tightly. If the juices don’t completely cover the grated radish, then stir up a brine (2 Tbsp salt to one quart of water) and make the water cover the daikon. Leave loosely covered (let it breathe, but keep bugs out) on a room temperature counter for three days. Cover more tightly and refrigerate. Enjoy with hearty bean dishes and spicy meats. It’s got lactobacillus, a healthy living bacteria (like yoghurt) that helps keep digestion healthy (and has been part of the human diet for centuries, if not millenia).

Brining, or fermentation, is also how sauerkraut and kimchi are made. Turnips are also wonderful fermented. We’ll tell you more about that later. You can find fermentation information and resources at Sandor Katz’s website: www.wildfermentation.com. Check it out.

Please forgive the lateness of our newsletter. Levon was having the sort of day that six week old babies have from time to time – one that leaves little room for a mother to do more than tend to a baby. Enjoy your weekend – stay warm – we’ll see you later!

With best regards,
Paul, Coree, Lulah and Levon

Thanksgiving week

Red Springs Family Farm
November 24, 2010 week 26
Happy Thanksgiving!

Lettuce Broccoli Garlic
Sweet Potatoes Red Round Turnips and their greens
Herb bag: Arugula Mizuna Parsley Celery Cilantro

Time for gratitudes…
We’re grateful for such a beautiful, bountiful Autumn, so sweet after the extreme heat and toil of the summer.
For such lovely broccoli, a surprise after such difficult late summer conditions – heat and grasshoppers and numerous broccoli challenges in years past.
For the flavorful celery which sat in the ground since early Spring and is just now worthy of sharing.
For turnips that amaze us with their brilliant color and long full leaves.
For garlic, holding its place in the ground all winter, then holding its bulbs firm for the whole season.

For a quick and trouble free labor and the healthy, happy baby boy who joined our family this year.
For the helpful support of family and friends.
For the dedication of a small group of good eaters who make our work worth the while!
We wish you all a wonderful Thanks-giving.

The broccoli is still coming! We’ve sent extra, in lieu of kale this week, because we’re not sure how long it can possibly hold out. If the weather warms up abunch it could easily go to flower. If it freezes too hard, those heads of flower buds could get nipped. Enjoy.

The turnips and their greens are so beautiful, if you don’t want to eat them, you could just put them in a flower arrangement on your table. We know not everyone loves turnips – this recipe is said to help ease the way of the un-turniped (butter, salt and pepper seem to be key ingredients in every turnip recipe):

Au Gratin Turnips and Potatoes (off the line)
4 c Sliced turnips & potatoes (any combination,) peeled and thinly sliced
1 md Onion peeled and finely sliced, 2 tb Melted butter
1/2 c Milk 1/8 ts Grated nutmeg
1/4 ts Ground white pepper 1/2 ts Salt
1/2 c Grated Swiss cheese
PREHEAT OVEN TO 375F. TOSS together turnips, potatoes, onion with melted butter and place in a 9-inch square or round baking dish. Cover tightly and place in preheated oven for 30 minutes. In a small pot on top of the stove combine milk, nutmeg, pepper and salt and bring to a boil. Immediately remove from heat. Remove turnip-potato mixture from the oven, remove cover and mix in half the cheese. Pour the milk over the potatoes and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Replace in oven, uncovered, another 20 to 25 minutes. If the gratin is golden brown, it's ready to serve. If not, preheat broiler. Place gratin under broiler about 3 minutes to brown top before serving.

Next week we’ll be back with more East meets West stir fry options. Spread the word to other veggie eaters you know… it’s going to have to get pretty darn cold to make the greens out here quit.

Have a beautiful, safe, fun holiday.
Paul, Coree, Lulah and Levon

Praise the bridge that carried you over. ~George Colman

week #25

Red Springs Family Farm
November 18, 2010 week 25

Lettuce Broccoli Garlic Yokatta Na
Mustard Greens Misato Radishes Paydons Acorn
Herb bag: Arugula Mizuna Parsley Dill Chives

A pleasant rain, though we’ve missed the sun! Levon is one month old and smiling so nicely lately. Lulah is basking in her new five-year-old-ness. The broccoli just keeps looking more beautiful. What a sweet Autumn.

Those of you interested in a basket next week – we’ll come into town on Wednesday. We’ll bring more broccoli, sweet red turnips (and their greens), some more diverse cooking greens, and sweet potatoes. Let us know.

This week – mustards! They smell strong – and they are one of the more potent greens we grow. We’ve heard stories of old timers around here who like to eat them raw with some hot bacon drippings on top. Whew! Here at home we prefer to cook them lightly – softening the taste. They love to be eaten with garlicky olive oil or butter, and some vinegar.

The shiny dark greens are Yokatta Na. We’re appreciating this versatile vegetable this year. You can treat it like spinach, arugula, or bok choy, and it will be delicious. Thin slices add a nice color, texture, and flavor to a salad. Braise it quick and hot for an omelet or stir-fry. Asian flavors work well, but it’s also soft enough to be an agreeable quiche green (substitute for spinach). I suspect that Yokatta Na might even work in place of broccoli in this delicious dish:

Broccoli and Tofu with Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup unsalted cashews 3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1–2 cloves garlic, minced (1/2–1 teaspoon) 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 pound herbed firm tofu, well drained, cubed 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, divided,
1/2 cup peanut butter (preferably chunky) 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock or water
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
4 cups chopped broccoli, including peeled stalks

1. Toast the cashews in a dry, heavy skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat until they start to brown in spots and become fragrant. (Be careful not to overtoast them.) Let cool and then roughly chop.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic to taste, and pepper flakes; sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
3. In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil over medium-high heat. Add the tofu and 1 tablespoon of the tamari; sauté until the tofu starts to brown in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the tofu to the bowl with the onion and bell pepper mixture.
4. In the same pan, mix the peanut butter, stock, rice vinegar, and remaining 2 tablespoons tamari. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture reaches a gravy-like texture and comes to a boil. Immediately turn off the heat and stir in the tofu mixture and sesame oil. Season to taste with more tamari.
5. Place the broccoli in a steamer basket set over 11/2 inches boiling water and cover. Steam for 5 minutes. Transfer the broccoli to the pan with the peanut butter mixture and mix well. If necessary, heat through before serving. Garnish with toasted cashews.

Have a beautiful weekend…
The Entwistles

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was,” thank you” that would suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

week 24 newsletter

Red Springs Family Farm
November 11, 2010 week 24

Lettuce Broccoli Peppers Garlic
Baby Bok Choy Misato Rose Radishes Sweet Potatoes
Herb bag: Arugula Mizuna Parsley Dill

Amazing weather! It was 20 degrees first thing in the morning on those two or three really cold days. Now it’s warming up so nice during the day ~ t-shirt weather again, but still frosty cold each night. The garden has barely noticed the change. We have enough food to keep those of you interested going into December, or whenever the weather actually freezes the garden down.

Beautiful blueberry chutney, jams, and jellies are now available from Hidden Springs! Place orders through us and Brinna will deliver at Thursday pick ups. All variety of preserves are in ½ pints, chutney is $6/each, and jams (chunky) and jellies (not chunky) are $5 each.

Also remember Kenny’s Cheese as you do your Christmas shopping. Kenny’s offers some sweet gift packages – look at their website for details: www.kennysfarmhousecheese.com. We would also consider making another cheese order/delivery if you all express enough interest.

Check out the Misato Rose Radishes this week. They are beauties. Here’s the Fedco catalog description: “Fine tasting and good looking, with plenty of spiciness, a rich sweet vegetable undertones and no harsh sharpness.” Again – the greens are edible, and interestingly enough, not as prickly as a lot of radish greens. They would nicely complement your bok choys in a stir fry.

Sweet Potato, Broccoli, and Tomato Stew Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 1 28-ounce can stewed tomatoes
2 cups cooked/canned garbanzo beans, drained 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cubed 1 medium head broccoli, cut into large chunks
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion; cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
2. Add the tomatoes, garbanzo beans, stock, and sweet potatoes. Simmer, partially covered, for 15 minutes. Add the broccoli, cover, and simmer until the sweet potatoes and broccoli are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Next week, we anticipate MORE broccoli, more salad greens, some beautiful kale and mustards, cilantro, maybe celery, and another sweet selection from the storage crops. This really is the final pepper delivery – and we mean it this time! We’re on the fence about making a delivery sometime the week of Thanksgiving. If you have a preference, let us know. We’re so grateful to have this abundance now. Thank you for enjoying it with us.

Your gardeners, Paul, Coree, Lulah and Levon

(Farm Humor) An old farmer wins the lottery. A reporter interviews him about his new-found fortune, asking “Well, sir, what do you intend to do with your millions?” The farmer replies, “ I reckon I’ll just keep farming until it’s all gone!”

Newsletters, extension weeks 22/23

Red Springs Family Farm
October 28, 2010 week 22

Lettuce Collards Sweet Peppers
Garlic Eggplant Baby Bok Choy
Arugula Mizuna Green Tomatoes
Radishes Parsley Sweet Potatoes

What beautiful sparkling Autumn days! The gardens look better than they have all year. We’re grateful to have made it through, and encourage you to enjoy what we consider the BEST time of the 2010 gardening year.

Levon Augustus arrived with a good loud yell. Our midwife called it a “precipitous” labor, which mostly means he came too fast for her to get here from Hendersonville to catch him. Paul has sharpened his skills as a baby catcher, once again. Levon seems to have approved of the situation and has proven to be a really good baby, sleeping plenty, eating well, and growing from 7 lb 10 oz to 8 lb 3 oz in one short week. Lulah loves to kiss his soft head and is growing skilled at holding his wobbly newborn-ness. She is a proud big sister.

Paul is still hard at work putting the gardens to bed for the season. It’s a relief to have crops in the ground that will just stay for awhile. Still to come this season: broccoli, rose heart radishes, red turnips, more kale kale kale, mustards, and beautiful Chinese cabbage. Looks like we’ll have a harder frost tonight and tomorrow. We can kiss the eggplant and green tomatoes good-bye. Paul and Wilson harvested the peppers in their entirety yesterday, and the harvest was abundant, so we’ll try to keep enough of them fresh to last another week or two. If you know any other people who love greens and aren’t getting enough, please send them our way.

We’ve finally succeeded in growing radishes! To store them, separate radishes from their greens. Store the radishes in a plastic bag in the fridge. Eat the greens within 1-2 days of their harvest. Radish greens are delicious to eat, but they don't 'hang out' for long.

Arugula and Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes
3 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, quartered 1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups whole milk 5 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup packed chopped arugula leaves
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain. Return potatoes to pot. Stir over low heat until excess moisture evaporates. Add butter; mash potatoes until smooth. Bring milk to simmer in saucepan. Remove from heat. Add goat cheese; whisk until melted. Add milk mixture to potatoes; whisk until smooth. Stir in arugula. Season with salt and pepper.

Radish Salad
1 bunch fresh radishes 2-3 very sweet carrots 2 bunches arugula
salt and pepper to taste E.V. olive oil 2 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
Trim the radishes and slice them thinly. Peel carrots and cut them on the diagonal into very thin slices. Snap off tough stems from the arugula. Gather the arugula into a bunch and cut it crosswise into strips. Arrange the arugula on a platter. Scatter the sliced radishes and carrots over the arugula. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly moisten the vegetables. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over the salad.

Enjoy your veggies ~ best regards Paul, Coree, Lulah and Levon Entwistle


Red Springs Family Farm
November 4, 2010 week 23

Lettuce Broccoli Peppers
Garlic Giant Lettucey Chinese Cabbage
Arugula Mizuna Radishes
Chives Cilantro Butternut
Well, it looks like November is going to begin acting like late Autumn ought to act. We’re anticipating a real freeze this weekend and actually taking precautions to cover the less hardy of the hardy garden.

Enjoy your broccoli – it’s been a long time coming, but there are rewards for those who wait! We’re thrilled to see these beautiful heads emerge from the toil of the desperately long and hot summer. The outer leaves are good to eat as well.

And, this is the season of the Chinese Cabbages that take over the town. Fortunately, these beauties are multi-purpose. The leaves and thick white stems are GREAT mixed with lettuce and other fixings in salad. AND, they make a very nice stir-fry or stew green as well. Here’s a couple nice recipes:

Choi with Gingery Butter
2 medium choi (1/2 or less of your cabbage), sliced crosswise into 1-inch strips
6 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon grated or finely chopped fresh ginger 1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro salt & freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the choi; cook until the choi is tender but still crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the choi in a colander and immediately run under cold water. Drain well.
2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and choi; cook, stirring constantly, until the choi is well coated and heated through.
3. Remove the skillet from heat. Stir in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Coleslaw with Cilantro and Chives
(we thought this might be a winner with Chinese cabbage substituted for a head of cabbage)
4 to 6 cups shredded cabbage 1/4 cup minced cilantro
1/4 cup chopped chives 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1. Toss the cabbage, cilantro, and chives in a large bowl or container; refrigerate, covered, for at least 1 hour or overnight.
2. When ready to serve, mix the oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl until well combined. Pour the dressing over the chilled cabbage mixture. Mix well just before serving.

Other important news: Hidden Springs has more blueberry goodness for us. Blueberry Preserves and Jellies ($5/half pint) and Blueberry Chutney ($6/half pint). Let us know what you would like and Brinna will have it next week.

Thanks for your good veggie eating! We hope to see you soon. Paul, Coree, Lulah, and Levon

“To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me.” (I. Newton)