This Week's Vegetable Harvest*: Magenta Summer Crisp Head Lettuce Fresh Garlic - not cured, so refrigerate!  Baby Leeks Kale or Broccolini Zucchini Pea Shoots Cucumber Brown Crimini Mushrooms - River Valley Ranch, Burlington, WI *Unless otherwise noted, all vegetables are certified organic and grown by Prairie Wind Family Farm. This Week's Fruit Harvest (from Mick Klug Farms, St. Joseph, MI) Rainier Cherries Red Raspberries Sweet Cherries Blueberries

What's New at the Farm Stand

Michigan Cherries -The cherry season includes a variety of flavors that won't last forever, so make sure you stock up on these delicious fresh cherries while you can! The Farm Stand is open daily, 7am-7pm.

Upcoming Farm Event

The Liberty Prairie Foundation (our landowners, partners and friends) are seeking volunteers to help clean up the Prairie Crossing Farm hedgerows following the spring wind storm and prepare their outdoor learning spaces for the 2023-24 school year. The workdays are: Friday, July 14th, 8am-11am Friday, July 28th, 8am-11am If you're interested, please sign up on their website to volunteer. Thank you!

Farm Journal

Happy Fourth of July from your farm!

Today, we are celebrating the freedom to produce food in ways that we believe support our collective health and the health of the soil, air, water, and the environment. We are grateful to deliver healthy, safe food each week and feel supported by this community in the process...that's what a local food system is all about!

We're keeping the newsletter short and sweet today, as we realize you may be busy in the kitchen or at the grill today. Please enjoy some time with friends or family on this holiday. We are sending our warmest wishes for a delicious celebration from the field!

Happy Fourth of July from all of us, ~ The Miller Family, Cleto, David, Riley, Anacleto, and Miguel

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

This week's members will receive either broccolini or kale (and the other in upcoming weeks).  Broccolini is the young broccoli relative and is tender, flavorful, and delicious steamed, sautéed, grilled, stir-fried, and eaten fresh. While generally harvested just for stems and florets, we've included some of the broccolini greens and stem as they are equally as delicious and packed with nutrients -- some consider these greens a superfood! Since the stems are pretty thin, broccolini doesn’t take long to cook. Just toss it in a hot skillet with some olive oil and sauté until bright green. Add lots of garlic and a pinch of red pepper flakes, then pour in a splash of water and cover until tender. What can we say about kale that hasn't already been said -- it is a known super-food as well! When it's warm outside, we like to use kale in our smoothies or make it into a thinly julienned salad.

The Rainier cherry is an attractive golden-yellow cherry with a bright red blush. These delicately flavored sweet cherries are best enjoyed fresh and sometimes bruise so handle carefully. They are beautiful on a platter of mixed cheeses and meats, and we also enjoy them sliced and pitted in a fresh lettuce salad with goat cheese and sliced almonds.

As summer heat increases, we welcome our early summer zucchini and cucumber harvests. We called our first harvests a "taster" as members received a small amount, however in the coming weeks, you'll receive more zucchini and cucumbers as the plants are happy with the recent rain, too!

The harvest of full-size leeks typically doesn't start until sometime in August. In the meantime, we like to harvest and cook with tender baby leeks. As with full-size leeks, you'll need to trim off and discard the top third of the green leaves. Leeks are great roasted, grilled, or sautéed. We substitute baby leeks for onions in our scrambles or pasta dishes.

Seasonal Recipes in the Farm Kitchen Fast Summer Berry Pie One-pan Garlic Butter Shrimp with Orzo Balsamic Roasted Cherry and Goat Cherry Crostini - I made for a recent family event and found the recipe flexible enough to use any sort of cherry! Creamy Mushroom and Leek Pasta Prosciutto and Pea Shoot Pizza

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• Tags: Blueberries, Cherries, Garlic, Leeks, Mushrooms, Pea Shoots, Raspberries

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