It has been a while since I have blogged and I am very excited to have a moment to breath and get back to it!  Our beets are an RVA favorite and Hardywood has reached out to us to buy a large quantity of beets or a special brew they are making.

It is heartwarming to hear how hard they work to ensure that they only use local ingredients in their brews!  They are truly supporting local farmers and we appreciate it!!!

Last week was a great market showing of all things wonderful!  Matt produces all of this food with the help of two interns.  They all work hard to ensure you get the best of the very best!

If you receive a farm bag, here is what you will find in the bag:

1. Carrots
2. Kale
3. Salad
4. Bok Choi
5. Tatsoi
6. Garlic
7. Zucchini

I am using these ingredients to develop my farmhouse meal plan so here it is!

Monday:
My favorite recipe blogger is Skinny Taste!  Her food is always on point and are always healthy.  I am going to use my Bok Choi  for this awesome recipe!

I bought an air fryer for Christmas and absolutely love it!  I use it for everything and I know this will be great!  You can get the recipe here!

Tuesday:
I love Tatsoi!  It tastes just like spinach!  You can serve it raw in a salad or cook it.  The stems taste like tiny bok choi stems are are so good!

In the summer time, I just want to get dinner done so I can have more time outside!  I love pizza and this one never disappoints.

Rather than using spinach I substitute tatsoi.  You can substitute tatsoi for any spinach recipe!  Here is the recipe I use!  I use the refrigerated dough, but you can make your own if you are ambitious.  Whenever I grill chicken, I always grill an extra few to add in recipes later in the week.  I serve this pizza with a side of our salad to prevent me from eating too many slices!  If you are looking for a dairy free option, UnMoo has a great cheese made from cashew nuts!  They are right next to us at market and their product is amazing!

Wednesday:
Zucchini boats are my favorite and a low carb treat!  It takes a little work to put this together so I usually make two pans just so I have some for lunches!

They are a big hit at the farm house and they are so filling!  Get the recipe here!

Thursday:
I honestly eat a few leaves of kale each morning in my smoothie.  But I also love kale recipes for dinner!  Matt’s bunches are so big, they can handle breakfast each morning and a side!

I love kale with pork!  Last week we traded our vegetables for a Boston Butt from Black Boar Farm at the South of the James Farmer’s market.  If you get your Boston Butt from Black Boar, tell him Black Creek Farm sent you!  We are in peach season, so I substitute peaches for apples and they are so good!  I cheat little on this recipe, cook the Boston Butt in the crockpot rather than the dutch oven for about 8 hours.  While I sauté the vegetables, I add the kale for the remaining 30 minutes.   I then shred up the meat and serve it as pictured.  You can get the recipe here!

Friday:
Friday night is for easy nights!  You should have some pork left over as well as some salad.  I love a healthy carnitas salad bowl!  Just use the leftover pork from Thursday!  I  love to make it once and eat it twice!

You can get he recipe here.

You still have carrots leftover.  I use them for snacks, add them to salads, and even roast them as a side.  I promise, you will love it.

We will see you at the South of the James Farmer’s Market this Saturday from 8-12!

 

 

 

There are weeks at the farm that we work so hard, it is hard to see all of the accomplishments we have made.  This past week was one of those weeks.  We worked so hard and was exhausted from all we did.  We took a moment to step back, and this is what we saw.

Last week was one of our most successful market days in the 10 years we have been at market.  Matt has honed in on his skill and the growing weather has been beautiful!  We were able to bring the most beautiful food to market and we were proud!

Then we did an impromptu farm tour.  Because we work so much having a farm tour is very hard for us as it takes us away from all the things that we need to do.  The tour ended up being powerful and rewarding!  A representative from Morris Cardiovascular and Risk Reduction Center came out and toured our farm and wrote a beautiful article about the nutritional value of buying local.  Scuffletown Garden Restaurant, the restaurant that is opening in the Strawberry Street Cafe space also came.  They plan on using our produce at their restaurant.  We know the chef and we know it is going to be spectacular!  We are looking forward to taking a moment to try them out!

In this picture you see Matt talking about how he grows his arugula and salads!

Sunday we took some time and caught our breaths. We needed it!  Our pond is not only the life blood of our farm, but it is also where we catch our breath!

It is fed by spring water and it is where we fish, catch and release turtles.  It is where our son learns about nature!

Our son began his hunt for tomatoes and came across a few!

Of course, he scarfed them up right away!  We will have a bounty of tomatoes in a few short weeks!

If you receive a farm share member bag, this is what you will be getting:

Kale
Salad
Beets
Green Garlic
Radishes
Favas
Fennel

Matts beets are the best this year!  They are so sweet, my favorite way to eat them is to slice them thin and eat them raw!

I have used them to dip in humus and have even used them in my salads!

In this salad, you see golden beets and radishes.

Last week, Matt surprised me with Fava Beans!  I absolutely love them, they are some work but it is fun to make on a night that you aren’t in a rush to get dinner done.

You have to shell the bean twice.  Once they are shelled you have to shell them a second time.  I love to make this recipe!  Braised chicken with artichokes and fava beans.

Matt’s fennel is delicious.  It has a great licorice flavor and when roasted or seared, the flavors develop beautifully!

Martha Stewart has my favorite seared fennel recipe!  It resembles the wonderful braised fennel that I have had at Edo Squid!  Get the recipe here!

This will probably be the last week of green garlic!  Be sure to enjoy it!  I found this awesome video on You Tube and he does a great job giving you ideas!

We will see you at the South of the James Farmers Market at 42nd Street in Forest Hill Park this Saturday!  We will be there from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm!