All That Purslane - What to do?

Here is some info from a CSA in Illinois on the succulent green veg we've seen a lot of the past few weeks:

Think of it as a weed, and you'll be missing out on one of the most nutritious greens on the planet. Purslane has more beta-carotene than spinach, as well as high levels of magnesium and potassium. Historically it has been used as a remedy for arthritis and inflammation by European cultures. Chinese herbalists found similar benefits, using it in respiratory and circulatory function. Recently, it's been found that purslane has alpha linolenic acid, a type of omega-3 fatty acid. Researchers see evidence that these substances lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as make the blood less likely to form clots. And, purslane has only 15 calories per 100 g portion.

Storage: Best if used fresh. But, if you must store it, wrap purslane in a moist paper towel and store in a plastic bag in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator.

Preparation: Wash. Remove larger stems. Some recipes use leaves only. Purslane can be substituted for spinach or wild greens in lasagnas, filled pastas, and Greek-style tarts.

For links to recipes, including several potato salads and a purslane, lamb and lentil stew, see the complete post here: Prairieland Community Supported Agriculture.

The New York Times Dining section featured purslane in 2006 with two more delicious sounding salads.

[Also, remember that we have veggie tip sheets from Just Food available online. Including one for purslane.]

CSA Yields

Important news from the farm:

We hope all of you are enjoying the vegetables we have been providing so far this year. For those of you who have been members from the beginning or if this is your second season with us you may have noticed a decline in yield of some of our crops like salad greens, lettuce heads and cooking greens as well as the size of our peppers and cucumbers. We have been been facing some different challenges this year especially with irrigation and water supply. We wanted to update you as to what we have been encountering and share our concern for potentially lower yields in the weeks to come.

This year we had implemented a new system on a new field we call,"Gadbois Field". The system is drip irrigation which utilizes drip tape the runs the length of each bed that we grow in and as the word implies water drips out of the tape to irrigate our plants. The drip tape and bed is covered with plastic mulch to stop weed growth and the paths in between each bed is mowed to keep everything accessible for harvest and a healthy environment for growth. The water source is a pond adjacent the field that is pumped to the drip tape that runs up and down 60 beds (about 4 acres). We noticed about 2 months ago that our veggies were not growing as expected and started a comprehensive fertility program using fish emulsion and calcium, and irrigated more often. Still something was not right and as we were planting our fall crops last week we discovered the answer when the pond went dry during an irrigation attempt. It became apparent that we had been irrigating less water then needed by clogging up the pumps filtration lines with sludge from the "near" bottom of the pond. This is not good news as what has not received enough water during this period are a good amount of the vegetables we had planned for the next 4 weeks. So expect some sparse pick ups in the near future.
For the fall crops we have hope that a well the neighboring farmer agreed to let us use will pull us through the remainder of the season. It has only been 3 days since our discovery and that we have been using the well. It is not a deep enough well to irrigate all 60 beds at once so we have started with 3 at a time and will be adding a bed at a time until we find the wells "breaking point" and irrigate as often as we must to save as many crops as we can.

Rain...Rain...Rain!!! We need rain. We have had only a few rain falls since May which plays into our struggle greatly. Both the pond and the well is dependent on rain fall.

As all of you are part of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program we do greatly appreciate your understanding and continued commitment through all the good and challenging times the farm has had in the past and the struggle we are encountering currently. Thank You!



"Know Your Food!"

Julia and David Smagorinsky
Woodbridge Farm LLC
30 Woodbridge Road
Salem, CT 06420
phone: (860) 531-8090
e-mail: woodbridgefarm@sbcglobal.net
www.woodbridgefarmonline.com

Grill-a-Chef Recipes

Josh Stokes had a hand-out at distribution on Tuesday with a few very nice recipes, including the kale kimchi and zucchini relish that he had samples of. If you didn't grab a piece of paper, here's the PDF:

Grill-a-Chef at Distribution this Tuesday

I'm really excited that the core members who organize our Second Tuesday events have pulled Josh Stokes down to Grand Street this week. Josh is a chef and a friend to farmers market addicts (and CSA members) who die a little at the end of the week when they have to throw away some veggies that just didn't make it to the plate in time.

He's put together this project called Grill-a-Chef, which is, unbelievably, a free kitchen advice service for you and me. He's got a great blog, with recipes and other advice. He hangs out at the Union Square Greenmarket every Wednesday morning, 9am - 12pm, just to answer questions you may have about all the good stuff for sale. He does the same thing at Chelsea Market every other Friday, 12pm - 4pm.

But he'll also just answer any question you email to him or post on his Facebook page. And he does this all for free (at least until someone in NYC puts him on TV or something).

Anyway, as noted previously, he'll be at our distribution on Tuesday until 7:30, and he's ready for any question you have related to the CSA or anything else going on or blowing up in your kitchen. So come prepared!

2nd Tuesday!

Too much zucchini on your hands? Chef Joshua Stokes of Grill a Chef will be with us at the pickup this Tuesday from 5:15-7:30 to answer any kitchen questions you might have about how to make the most of your share via new ideas, different techniques, or just general info. So bring your culinary quandaries, whatever they might be and hopefully he can help you sort them out.

Grill-A-Chef personally guides cooks through their own kitchens, in order to encourage cooking and eating well. It offers free advice in the form of tips, recipes, fundamental techniques and simple demos. Use an unfamiliar ingredient, try a new style... Grill-A-Chef hopes to inspire creativity in the kitchen and to help your ideas to the table. See the latest newsletter here.

Amplify Exhibition at Abrons

Our hosts at Abrons Arts Center have invited us to tonight's opening reception for their Amplify Exhibition. From the postcard:

How to live a creative and sustainable life?

Designers, academics, organizations, and urban activists joined forces to identify individuals and communities that are creating more sustainable ways of living and working.

The exhibition will ask questions and demonstrate new ideas for solving old problems by showcasing installations about creative communities on the Lower East Side and around the world.

Opening reception is tonight, 6-8pm. The exhibition remains open through September 15.