ARTfarm Saturday 10am-12noon: Sweet Potato Trending

ARTfarm Saturday stand, 10am – 12 noon: Sweet teen salad mix, loads of cucumbers, sweet potato leaves/shoots*, sweet corn, two types of basil, lemongrass, garlic chives, recao, sage, thyme, Mediterranean figs, bananas, dandelion greens, pineapple slips, mangoes and carambola from Alex at Tropical Exotics, papayas from Reuben at Solitude Farm, raw honey from Wanda’s Wright Apiary, bread from Tess, ice cream from I-Sha.

*You thought it was the sweet corn, but sweet potatoes are the ‘it girl’ of summer 2013. White, purple and orange fleshed potatoes will be here later in the summer, but right now you can enjoy the crazy sweet and delicious greens and shoots from the top of the sweet potato plants. I kid you not, these are the tastiest greens you have ever eaten. Practically suitable as a dessert item because they are so very yummy braised or sautéed, sweet potato greens will make you forget every spinach nightmare you had as a five-year-old. You can even plant some of the shoots you get in your bunch of greens – and you can continue to perpetuate and enjoy these highly nutritious leaves of sweet goodness in your own garden. If you can manage to leave just a few leaves uneaten (for photosynthesis purposes) in just 120 short summer days you will have your own delicious sweet potato tubers to bake/roast/mash and enjoy.

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ARTfarm Summer Lovin’…YOU! 3-6pm Today

Open 3-6pm today. We are nowhere near to selling out at the end of the farmstand at this time of year, so feel free to come later in the afternoon and get fresh greens, herbs, flowers, fruit etc.!

This is an unusual summer for us: in the last three years, we have not had large leaf lettuce or cucumbers for sale in July. At our location, it takes more water and nutrition per pound of harvested food to keep the vegetable plants happy in the summer months. We are experimenting more this year (have you all been enjoying the sweet corn?) to see which crops will survive and thrive during the hotter summer months. It also helps our farm to be more sustainable in supporting our family if we can continue to market more items during the summer months. It’s a delicate balance between working ourselves into burnout vs. having a good seasonal break as farmers. Part of what makes it worthwhile to continue to hustle in the summer is the appreciative customers we see at the farmstands on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A big thanks to all of you who continue to visit us during the summer!
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Today’s farmstand, 3-6PM this afternoon: Lots of cucumbers, four salad mixes (teen spicy, teen sweet, baby arugula, microgreens), garlic chives, two types of basil, recao, lemongrass, figs, sweet corn, pineapples, bananas, papayas from Solitude Farm, mangoes and carambola from Alex, vegan ice cream from I-Sha, breads from Tess, honey from Wanda. Come down to the South Shore and see us this afternoon!

Sweet Corn, Sweet Greens at ARTfarm 10am – 12noon!

Good Saturday Morning! Heirloom sweet corn, loads of cucumbers, mini bell peppers, microgreens, teen sweet (baby lettuce mixed with baby greens), teen spicy (baby lettuce mixed with baby spicy greens), four types of basil, recao, garlic chives, sage, lemongrass, and lots of fresh juicy Mediterranean figs. Papayas from Solitude Farm, soursop from Shirley, three types of mangoes from Tropical Exotics, 4 flavors of vegan ice cream from I-Sha, bread and bagels from Tess and Wanda’s honey!

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ARTfarm Wednesday, 3-6pm: Let’s talk Eggfruit

Thanks a bunch to our lovely volunteer Katie this morning, visiting St. Croix from Toronto.

Wednesday afternoon at ARTfarm: a bit of rain! Lots of teen sweet mix (lettuce salad mix mixed with micro), microgreens, teen spicy mix, baby arugula, lots of cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, papaya from Reuben at Solitude Farm, mangoes and eggfruit from Alex at Tropical Exotics, recao, garlic chives, Holy basil, Thai basil, Italian basil, lemongrass, figs, fresh baked hearty breads from Tess, local raw honey from Wanda at the Wright Apiary.

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Let’s talk about eggfruit for just a moment. It is full of niacin, vitamin A and C. So if you are suffering from one of these little summer colds that is going around, try adding a little eggfruit to a pie, dessert recipe, custard, or even your salad for a rich vitamin boost! While it can be enjoyed savory, diced and tossed with salt and lime juice or vinegar, one of the nicest ways to enjoy this slightly sticky-but-dry, bright orange fruit is in a creamy, ice cold milkshake.

Take about half of a large eggfruit and remove the large, glossy seeds. Scoop the flesh into your blender and discard the skin. Add a generous dollop of either molasses, local raw honey, maple syrup or your favorite sweetener. Add about twice as much ice as you just added eggfruit in volume. Add a cup or so of milk. Fresh creamy whole milk is really good in this. Next, I like to add about a teaspoon full of pumpkin pie spice blend, nutmeg, or cinnamon. Blend until smooth, and enjoy icy cold. Worthy experiments might be to substitute yogurt or creamy iced coffee for the milk. Yummmmmmmmm!

Throw any left over pulp in the freezer for next time! Or try this other recipe we posted a while ago for eggfruit pie!