Did you think we forgot about the blog?

Well, its been a long time since we updated the ole' blog. It's been sitting on the to-do list for a few weeks now but with all the nice weather, coming inside and sitting down to write has been a challenge.


So much has happened since we last wrote...much of the flower garden is planted

and vegetables are growing quickly.

The strawberry field is full of fruiting plants and cute, white blossoms.

We suspect the berries will show their ripe colors by the weekend. We'll update our website and Facebook regularly to alert folks of the opening of the Pick-your-own berry field. CSA members will receive berries in their share but if you would like more for canning/freezing or general snacking, you are welcome to join us for picking once the field is ready.

Our CoolBot walk-in cooler is built and ready to use making the many small refrigerators obsolete.

And, the best news....we are going to start our CSA distributions a week early! This week will mark the debut of the 2010 Broadturn Farm vegetable collection. Here's what you can expect in your share this week:

• rhubarb
• radish
• pac choi
• mizuna
• spinach
• Sun Gold tomato seedling
• 
  
• broccoli raab
• chives

And, a sneak peak of what to expect for next week: strawberries, lettuce, Napa cabbage, basil seedling!

Things to always remember....as part of your CSA share, you can pick your own culinary herbs and edible flowers in the small herb bed next to the greenhouse. Feel free to grab some sage, thyme, lemongrass, oregano, mint, tarragon, nasturtium flowers, calendula flowers, and borage flowers whenever you are at the farm. The borage and nasturtium flowers
and the lemongrass are the only things not yet ready in the herb garden but everything else is available.

A little about your share this week...pac choi is sometimes referred to as bok choy. It is an Asian green with tender stems. We love it cooked, raw or fermented into kimchi. Mizuna is also an Asian green. I recommend eating this one raw, in a salad. It has a nice mustardy bite to it. My suggestion for serving would be to mix with the spinach for a different kind of salad. Broccoli raab is one of my very favorite greens! I wash and chop, removing any large stems. After heating up some oil in the skillet, I add the raab. When it starts to look a little wilted, I add a sprinkle of salt and some chopped garlic, turn off the heat and cover. When you are ready to eat, you can add a little zing to the raab with lemon juice and lemon zest or balsamic vinegar. It also tastes great served with a grating of a parmesean-like cheese. Have fun experimenting!

And rhubarb.....I love it in so many ways! It makes a great sauce over vanilla ice cream, it makes great pie and it freezes beautifully! If you don't have time to make a rhubarb crisp this week, just chop the rhubarb into small pieces, stuff into a ziploc freezer bag and save in your freezer until a snowy weekend in January calls for a taste of summer in the oven. Did I mention how much I like rhubarb with duck?

There are a few exciting things we want to make sure we share with you. If you are interested in the life of an apprentice here at Broadturn Farm, you can follow Courtney's experience on her blog, Wayfaring Milkmaid . Her photos are lovely and she is telling a wonderful story of the season here at the farm. If you want to catch John and I in our debut as movie stars, join us June 25th at the Strand in Rockland for the first complete viewing of 8 short movies about various farms throughout Maine produced by Pull Start Pictures for the Maine Farmland Trust.

Meet Your Farmer
8 short films by Cecily Pingree and Jason Mann,
commissioned by Maine Farmland Trust
Premier: Friday June 25th, 6-9pm
At the Strand Theater in Rockland
(including reception)
Local Food & Farming fans: Listen up!
Maine Farmland Trust (MFT), a statewide nonprofit
which works to preserve farmland and keep
Maine’s farms farming, is hosting a premier of 8
short documentaries which tell the diverse stories of
eight Maine farms: from Aroostook to York, from
potatoes to dairy, from large commercial operations
to small farms that sell directly to local people.
The evening kicks off with a reception featuring
local, farm-fresh hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar (6-
7pm).
Viewing will start at 7:15 pm. Filmmakers Cecily
Pingree and Jason Mann, several of the featured
farmers, and MFT executive director John Piotti
will provide additional commentary to the films.
Coffee and chocolates will be served after the films
for those who wish to linger.
Entire event (reception, films, and coffee)
$20 for MFT members
$25 for non-members
Films and coffee (no reception)
$10
Tickets may be purchased through MFT:
www.mainefarmlandtrust.org / 207-338-6575
or at the box office on the evening of the event
(limited space for reception). For more
information on The Strand visit
www.rocklandstrand.com.


We look forward to seeing everyone this week for the first pick-up. Please call or email with any questions about distribution. We are so happy to be starting a week early...our earliest season ever!

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy