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Category: 2021

  • CSA Week 9

    Hello CSA Members!

    Here comes summer! We have a good chunk of the garlic harvest in and beginning to cure in the greenhouse. We’re planning a huge potato harvest next week, the tomato field rows, tunnels, and greenhouse are LOADED with green tomatoes, and the eggplant is abundant. We can’t wait to see what ripens up over the weekend!

    recipes_eggplant

    Here is what we *hope* to bring you for Week 9 of our CSA:

    REGULAR SHARE
    Potatoes
    CHOICE: Onion OR Garlic
    CHOICE: Cucumber OR Eggplant
    Zucchini
    CHOICE: Turnips OR Lettuce OR Kohlrabi
    CHOICE: Basil OR Parsley OR Squash Blossoms OR Other Herbs
    CHOICE: Kale OR Chard OR Bok Choi OR Collards

    LARGE SHARE ADDITIONS

    DOUBLE Bunched Greens Choice
    DOUBLE Herb Choice
    Tomatoes
    One Other Item

    FRUIT SHARE
    None (Fruit share is scheduled to start in a few weeks!)

  • Zucchini Pancakes

    I love vegetable pancakes and fritters. Whatever you want to call them I love them. I make them all the time from all sorts of different vegetables. They are good warm or cold and they make great leftovers.

    I used zucchini here but you can substitute cabbage or carrots or potatoes, or kohlrabi for any or all of the zucchini in this recipe-oh, beets are good too! Use this recipe as a guide and use what you have and like.

    This recipe doubles and triples easily too. Here’s what you need.

    Yield: About six 3- or 4-inch fritters

    • 2 medium zucchini or the equivalent or any other vegetable
    • 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
    • 2 scallions or grilling onions chopped
    • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
    • Freshly ground black pepper
    • 1/2 cup any flour you like
    • I like a pinch of sugar and a little sesame oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, these are all optional. Fresh herbs are delicious here too, bacon, shrimp, grilled tofu…pretty much anything is a nice addition to these.
    • Olive or another oil of your choice, for frying

    Trim ends off zucchini and grate them on the large holes of a box grater into a mixing bowl.

    Put everything else into the bowl and mix  thoroughly. My eggs were really yellow, kind of looks weird, but that is how it looked.

    Heat a pan on the stove to medium and lightly film the pan with oil. When it is hot mound the batter on the hot pan and flatten them a bit so they cook through.

    Cook them for about 3 or 4 minutes, flip them and cook 3 or 4 more minutes. Continue until all the batter is used.

    I like these with a salad like in the first picture, or cut leftovers and dipping them in an Asian dipping sauce for a snack with drinks or a light lunch.

    Have a great week. See you at pickup.

    Mo

     

  • CSA Week 8

    Hello CSA Members!

    Wow! The rain at the end of last week was wild! Some of our crops were damaged but we do need the moisture. Our spring crops are pretty much done, and the summer crops are just getting going for real. Shares this week might a little smaller than usual but it’s packed with lots of flavor.

    Garlic close up

    Here is what we *hope* to bring you for Week 8 of our CSA:

    REGULAR SHARE
    Grilling Onions
    CHOICE: Zucchini OR Kohlrabi
    Lettuce
    CHOICE: Kale OR Collards OR Chard OR Bok Choi
    CHOICE: Basil OR Parsley OR Other Herbs
    Fresh Garlic

    LARGE SHARE ADDITIONS

    CHOOSE TWO Bunched Greens
    CHOOSE TWO Herbs
    New Potatoes
    One Other Item (Possibly Eggplant OR Cucumber OR Tomato)

    FRUIT SHARE
    None (Fruit share is scheduled to start in a few weeks!)

  • Conservationist of the Year!

    We are excited to announce that the Longmont Conservation District has named Red Wagon Farm as the 2021 Conservationist of the Year (Click the link to read the article.) You can read about what we do at our farm, including Wyatt’s extensive efforts to improve the soil by using techniques like cover cropping.

    Wyatt points to tall cover crop in the field.

  • Farm Tour Photos

    Thanks to everyone who came out to the Farm Tour Saturday. It was so great to see and talk to so many of you.  We had a great time showing you what is going on at the Farm.

    Feeding the animals is always a highlight.

    People were able to pick some peas, everyone seemed to really enjoy it!

    Inside one of the tomato caterpillar tunnels.

    Jenny with her husband. Jenny takes care of the tomatoes and all of the vegetable starts, thanks Jenny.

    Kevin is our Harvest Manager. He’s explaining which fields we grow our vegan vegetables in. :-)

    You all know our wonderful Kai right? She is wondering out loud what the heck she is going to do with all the vegetables piled up in her refrigerator at home.

    A few more shots of a few of our CSA friends.

    Hi Anna.

    Thanks for coming out.

    Mo

  • CSA Week 7

    Hello CSA Members!

    Another week of warm weather is on the way which means zucchini season is officially here and other summer crops are just a few weeks away. Can you believe we’re already a quarter of the way through Summer CSA?

    Zucchini
    Zucchini

    Here is what we *hope* to bring you for Week 7 of our CSA:

    REGULAR SHARE
    CHOICE: Hakurei Turnips OR Kohlrabi
    CHOICE: Napa Cabbage OR Celtuce OR Spring Onion
    Zucchini
    Lettuce
    CHOICE: Kale OR Collard Greens OR Chard
    Arugula
    CHOICE: Parsley OR Squash Blossoms OR Fresh Garlic OR Other Herbs

    LARGE SHARE ADDITIONS

    CHOOSE TWO: Napa Cabbage OR Celtuce OR Spring Onion
    CHOOSE TWO: Kale OR Collard Greens OR Chard
    CHOOSE TWO: Parsley OR Squash Blossoms OR Fresh Garlic OR Other Herbs
    One Other Item

    FRUIT SHARE
    None (Fruit share is scheduled to start in a few weeks!)

  • Celtuce, what is it and what do I do with it?

    Celtuce pronounced  ‘sel-tis’  is making a debut here at Red Wagon.

    Celtuce is an Asian vegetable. To me it tastes like a cross of a cucumber and the thick rib of a romaine lettuce leaf. It has a very concentrated lettuce taste and is very ‘juicy’ and tender. The leaves are a little bitter but very tender. In Asian stores they sell the stem and the leaves separately I guess because they are so different in flavor.

    I would use the leaves like I would radicchio. As the leaves are a little bitter don’t let that scare you off eating the stems if you don’t like bitter vegetables. Just throw the leaves away and move on to the mild tender stems.

    To use the stems you peel them like tough asparagus stock bottoms or even celery. Use a vegetable peeler or just a knife and peel the stringy outside off the tender stock. They peel very easily.

    You can eat celtuce raw alone or in salads like you would celery, carrots or cucumbers, or very quickly stir fry it for a quick side dish, don’t cook it too long or it will turn to mush. You can cut it in coins or in small blocks.

    This looked like an easy tasty recipe I might try soon. I made some egg drop soup and added celtuce to the soup and cooked it for just a minute or two. The mild flavor and texture was perfect with the egg and tofu. Yummy.

    Celtuce stems will keep for at least 3 or 4 weeks in the refrigerator. Cut the top leaves off and use them right away. Don’t peel your stems before storing. Put the stems in a plastic bag and keep them in your vegetable drawer.

    I hope you will try celtuce this week. It’s a mild very approachable vegetable I think you will really like.

    See you at pickup.

    Mo

     

  • CSA Week 6

    Hello CSA Members!

    It’s been hot, hot, hot! Our spring greens and other crops are tired. It’s time for something new… Are you ready for zucchini? How about PEAS?!

    Sugar Snap Peas

    Here is what we *hope* to bring you for Week 6 of our CSA:

    REGULAR SHARE
    Napa Cabbage
    Sugar Snap Peas
    Hakurei Turnips
    CHOICE: Zucchini OR Kohlrabi
    Herb CHOICE (Possibly Garlic Scapes OR Parsley)
    Lettuce
    Bunched Greens CHOICE (Possibly Kale OR Collard Greens OR Chard)

    LARGE SHARE ADDITIONS

    DOUBLE Sugar Snap Peas
    Zucchini AND Kohlrabi
    DOUBLE Bunched Greens CHOICE (Possibly Kale OR Collard Greens OR Chard)
    Basil

    FRUIT SHARE
    None (Fruit share is scheduled to start in a few weeks!)

  • Rainbow Chard Salad

    Kale salads have had their day in the sun haven’t they? I don’t know why, but you almost never see chard raw on a menu or in recipes on the Internet or in cookbooks.

    Chard is much more mild in flavor and texture than Kale, it’s closer to spinach in texture and flavor.

    Any kale salad recipe you have and like can be made substituting the kale for chard.

    I thought I would update an old recipe on this site submitted by Amy, with some pictures and use chard instead of Kale.

    It goes something like this;

    “Amy said she doesn’t really measure anything. Just use any and all of the ingredients to taste and according to your personal preferences.”

    You’ll need;

    • a bunch of chard
    • Salt
    • Olive oil
    • Lemon juice
    • Maple syrup (I used agave)
    • Red wine vinegar
    • Craisins
    • Toasted almonds/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds (I used granola)
    • bread crumbs or croutons are great

    More protein/fiber additions:

    • Avocado
    • Smoked salmon
    • Cheese

    Wash the chard and chop it in bite size pieces then toss the chard with salt, olive oil and lemon juice. Add maple syrup and red wine vinegar to taste…taste, taste, taste. Balance is key here.

    Toss with craisins and nuts of your choice and top with avocado and/or smoked salmon, cheese, whatever you have in your refrigerator. I really think kale and chard salads need some sort of crunch from something like granola or breadcrumbs and some sort of fat from avocado or cheese to balance the dish.

    This was quick to make and will go with just about anything else you might be eating or is a nice dish on it’s own.

    Happy salad making.

    Mo

     

  • Celebrate Pride Month with Rainbow Chard

    Happy Pride Month to all our LGBTQ+ friends, family, CSA members and co-workers!

    We see you, we hear you AND- we want to feed you! What better way than to revisit a favorite tried and true rainbow chard pizza post!

    You  can make your own dough and sauce or use store bought. Any pizza is good pizza. It’s all about the topping IMO and rainbow chard is a delicious topping!

    Start by chopping up the chard leaves and stems.

    See what I did there?

    Next I built a pizza with dough, sauce and mixed the cheese with the chard, I used a full bunch of chard and stems on my pizza. I had some squash blossoms in the refrigerator so I chopped those up and threw on top as well as a few of those little mozzarella balls in oil.

    Bake it and enjoy. Those mozzarella balls look like roasted hakurei turnips, look how much all that chard collapses. Boy that was a good pizza.

     

    I hope you can grab some rainbow chard this week and make something fun and delicious like this pizza and celebrate our fantastic diverse community, not just this month, but every day.

    See you at pickup.

    Mo