Our Farm Team – part 1

Getting a to do  list like this done everyday is not a one person task.  There is a whole team behind the weekly harvest at Gaia Gardens.  It really take a village to raise a farm.  In addition to Farmer Joe, several kind, hard-working souls labor weekly to ensure that everything is planted, weeded, scouted, recorded, watered, maintained, and harvested.  Anyone who picked up from the farm last year knows that Gaia Gardens would not be the same without the knowledge and deeply appreciated work of Lois.  New this year at Gaia are Matthew and Erin.  Both of these farmer apprentices worked with Farmer Joe last year and provide their labor and critical thinking to all facets of the farm.  Behind the scenes, Judith keeps the farm connected and technologically savvy, in addition to her work with the incredible Five Forks and Flasks restaurant group.  She also inspires the whole team with her deep commitment to the Atlanta local food system and growing culture that nurtures a food system that is good, clean, and fair.

Don’t forget that all of you are critical to the farm team through your support, consumption, and co-production.

This week let’s meet Matthew.  Matthew lends his expanding, expansive bank of farm knowledge, as well as his physical energy, to the farm each week.  He is a true “renaissance man,” a tremendous mix of artist, hard-worker, philosopher, chef, and mechanic.  His ever ready smile is also a great boon. Matthew also brings the biodiversity message to a new level with his interest in wild and foraged food.

Here, he’s shown harvesting red russian kale, a fleeting Spring delicacy.  Our Southern heat is invaluable for growing food over a long season, but it is not too kind to our delicious leafy greens.  We hope you enjoy them!

All of that red russian kale would go well baked into kale chips.

[Photo: Alisha]

You could also use that kale and some of your pesto-ized basil in a Garden Basil Pesto Soup.  What a great way to blend Spring and Summer treats from the farm.

[Photo: Angie McGowan]

Next week, look out for another farm team profile.

Happy Eating!

Heatwave farm tour

Hello everyone and welcome to a prelude to summer,

Let us cool off from this mini heatwave we have been experiencing with a tour through the farm.

The peppers are growing lush with leaves and young fruit, hugged by rows of sungold cherry tomatoes.

The fennel grows feathery next to the hearty arugula in one of our mixed Spring vegetable fields.

The broccoli is budding in spite of the overly warm wave of weather.  Eat your heart out summer because these Spring treats will persevere.

And the basil grows in purple and green harmony.  It is time to get those food processors primed for pesto-making.

One of our partner farms in slow food harmony, Evie’s Country Garden in Waco, GA, is providing eggs this week. Mike and Evelyn Aiken raise Rhode Island Red
hens at their family farm near Carrollton.  These birds are managed in a style called day ranging, where, during the day, they eat a base grain feed, but search for all kinds of delicious insects, insect eggs, garden culls, grass, and seeds.  Then at night they find their way back to their coop for safety.  This gives a deeper level of flavor and nutrition to the eggs.

You might try these eggs in a Chard Quiche with a side of Arugula Pesto.

[Photo:  FarmNerd]

Wondering what to do with the fresh smelling kohl rabi? Kohl rabi tastes great roasted.

[Photo: Urban Country Girl]

Happy farm touring and good eating to you all!

Carrot greens make delicious…

Pesto! Crazy, right?

Joe suggested to me that I make pesto using the carrot greens from this week’s share. I did and it’s yummy! I didn’t have pine nuts and used what I had in the pantry which was soy nuts, they worked great.

In my food processor I added lots of garlic (about 2 full heads), a bag of soy nuts, salt, pepper, and olive until it tasted right, and all the carrot green I had. That’s it!

Here’s a recipe using walnuts: Carrot Top Pesto

Enjoy!

 

(Photo credit: Slowfood Chef)