City Roots

This week at the market we will have collards, kale, beets, microgreens, cilantro, parsley, and bok choy.

A few of you have asked how you can help with the Mardi Gras celebration that’s coming up on February 18th. To see what needs to be done and when, visit the eventbrite page here. You can sign up for the tasks that interest you or the time slots that fit your schedule.

I wanted to leave you with a recipe that I’ve been enjoying this winter that makes use of the seasonal citrus and our arugula sprouts:

Fennel, Blood Orange, and Avocado Salad

1 fennel bulb
3 blood oranges (or your favorite citrus)

2 avocados
1 package City Roots Arugula Microgreens
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp powdered mustard or 1 tsp from a bottle
salt and pepper

Using a fine grater, remove the zest from the orange. Reserve. Remove the stalks from the fennel and discard (or use in making stocks!), but save the feathery leaves. Cut the bulb in half down the middle. Slice each half into lengthwise quarters. Then make slices across all four quarters. (Or chop it up however you see fit. You just want to end up with bite sized pieces.) Place in a large bowl. Peel the oranges, removing as much white pith as possible. If you want to get fancy and officially segment the orange, go for it. Otherwise, just chop it up willy nilly, removing any seeds. Put it in the bowl with the fennel. Do the same thing with the avocado. Put the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and reserved zest in a small jar with a lid. Shake to combine. Pour and mix with the fennel, orange, and avocado. Serve the salad on a generous bed of arugula sprouts.

Eat well,

Jana

This week at the market we will have carrots, spinach, collards, kale, and microgreens.

The dark days to seem to have finally descended on us. Cold weather is here and, though we’ve past the winter solstice, the days are still frightfully short. As a special treat for you all in these dark days, We have invited Crust, a local mobile bakery, will be at the farm on January 10th during our CSA pick-up hours (3-7pm). So  even if you aren’t a part of our winter CSA, come the extra few blocks to the farm to pick up some crisp veggies and fresh bread.

With row covers now permanently in place, our fields look as if they’ve turned into an ocean. They make me see the wind in a new way as it billows through the covers, looking for all the world like waves breaking next to the greenhouse.

Speaking of greenhouses, our new greenhouse is pulling it’s own weight now. It’s filled to the vents with ripening tomatoes, basil, more microgreens than you can shake a knife at, and countless baby herbs we are nursing to be able to sell to you this spring. If you’d like to see a specific herb grown, let us know now so we have time to start it before planting time. While some things don’t do well in our Southern clime, we will do our best to accommodate your request.

Eat well,

Jana

Bring in this New Year with the diet to prosperity. Traditionally eaten on New Years day, consuming cooked collards will bring you great wealth in 2012 (based on their appearance of folded cash) depending on how much you eat ( more collards= more cash). Although I’m a couple days past this great New Years Tradition, I am going to share a creamed collard recipe.  This recipe may not bring you great wealth, but will ensure a happy belly.

Collard Greens Recipe Ingredients

• 2 tbsps butter, preferably from grass-fed cows (see sources)
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and sliced thin
• 2 bunches collard greens, stems removed, trimmed and chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream, not ultrapasteurized (see sources)
• freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• unrefined sea salt, to taste

1. Melt butter in a skillet over a moderately high flame until it froths, then toss in sliced yellow onion, frying in melted butter until fragrant and a bit caramelized around the edges.
2. Add chopped collard greens to the skillet, stirring until slightly wilted, about two minutes.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low, stir in one cup heavy cream and simmer for about five to six minutes, until the cream is largely reduced.
4. Season with freshly grated nutmeg and unrefined sea salt as it suits you and serve hot.

This week at the market we will have mesclun mix, butterhead lettuce, arugula, carrots, beets, collards, kale, microgreens, and nasturtiums.

I know the holiday season tends to get packed tighter than pickles in a mason jar, but don’t forget about the Holiday Harvest Dinner. Instead of a sit-down dinner like previous ones, this is a more casual affair, giving you the opportunity to wander around the farm and meet other local farmers. The chickens especially are excited to meet you all. Our tom turkey has been practicing strutting and showing off his plumage just for you. For you Groupon-y people, there is currently a Groupon offer for two tickets for $35 (50% off or buy one get one free, depending on how you look at it).

I know many of you came out to the farm to dress up your Thanksgiving salads a few weeks ago. We loved seeing you all so much that we have decided to continue our Pick-your-own lettuce special! Choose any two heads from our field for $5! We also still have nasturtium flowers to add some color during this dreary part of the year. After all, just because Thanksgiving is over, doesn’t mean that delicious salads can’t be yours every night of the week!

If you’ve been meaning to sign-up for the next CSA season, don’t worry, it’s not to late! We even still have space in our winter season (Dec 14 – Feb 1). The spring/summer/fall seasons also still have openings, but the gap is closing fast. If I didn’t already work here, I’d be pinning after a membership… as a Christmas gift perhaps?

Eat well,

Jana

Join us in the most unique dining experience Columbia has to offer…

Get tickets now for the Harvest Dinner Holiday Cocktail Party on Monday, Dec. 12, at City Roots urban farm. Besides the obvious draw of specialty cocktails from @116 State bartender Ryan Dittman (plus beer and wine, if that’s more your speed), you can tour the farm (the new greenhouse is pretty neat), sample locally sourced foods cooked up by @116 State’s Ryan Whittaker, and listen to Whiskey Tango Revue. The festivities run from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Tickets are $35; get them at harvestdinnersc.com.

This week at the market we will have lettuce, mesclun mix, carrots, and microgreens.

Even though we didn’t get any of the freak snow this week, winter is fast approaching. But never fear! We are employing many season extension devices to make sure you get fresh local vegetables for as long as possible. The tomatoes in our new greenhouse are doing really well and are about thigh-high now. We are also using row covers in the fields to cover the tender greens like lettuces when it frosts. And then of course there are those vegetables that thrive in the cold, like collards and other cabbagey type plants.

The holiday event season has officially begun! Tonight the All Local Market is hosting a Singles Night. Tickets are $10 and include a wine tasting and a chance to win prizes from market vendors. If you want details about this event, you can check the Market’s website here.

Next in the event line-up is our Harvest Dinner Holiday Cocktail Party. Like always, it’s hosted at the farm. Chef Ryan Whittaker of @116 will be making holiday cocktails and Whiskey Tango Revue will be playing music. This jolly event is on December 12, from 5:30 to 11pm. Tickets are $35– get them while you can, because our Harvest Dinners normally sell out fast!

The last event is really more of an opportunity– the farm has done so well this year that we are offering a winter CSA share. It will run from Dec 13 to Feb 1 and include things like lettuce, carrots, collards, and radishes. For a full list of what we plan to have in season (and other details), you can download the pdf from our website.  As always, there is a discount for signing up for more than one season at once. (For those of you who’ve signed up before, please note that there are a few extra options to decide on this year- including share size.)

Eat well,

Jana

This week at the market we will have microgreens, lettuce, mesclun mix, kale, collards, arugula, and….wait for it…..carrots!

This Friday we are hosting another Food Truck Rodeo. There are lots of great deals out there for this event. If you missed the Groupon, there is still the deal The State paper is running.

Our kale selection will be limited this week as our plants are currently the host to a food rodeo of their own. First the aphids showed up to munch the kale. Not far behind them came the lady bugs to munch the aphids. While the lady bugs are doing a fair share of the work, we’ve sprayed the kale with soap and then doused it in worm tea.

We’ve had a loss worse than aphid eaten kale this week though. This has been our first week without one of the backbones of the farm, Ben Dubard. As our field manager, he’s been the one to plan what, when, and where vegetables get planted. If you’ve volunteered at the farm, you’ve likely experienced his thorough training in anything from why keeping tools sharp and clean is important to how to properly thin carrots. He has the rare ability to allow you to feel the connection between whatever mundane tasks you are performing and beauty of good farming and good food. The farm has benefited from his knowledge and experience. While we understand you must go, know that we already miss you Ben.

As the grey days of winter set in, there are a couple bright spots to be looking forward to. We are beginning to trellis our greenhouse tomato plants, so you can expect some bright red happiness in early spring. We are also starting to sell our vegetables to some restaurants in Charleston, including Husk, S.N.O.B, and McCrady’s. So if you find yourself in need of sustenance in the Charleston area, look for our vegetables on the menu!

I’m so glad root vegetables come into season in the autumn. They are perfectly suited to the roasting and braising I crave this time of year. The only down side I’ve come across with these vegetables is feeling wasteful by cutting off the tops. Composting them assuages the guilt a little bit, but I still feel like I could do more. So this year I’ve been experimenting. Some things are easy to incorporate, like beet greens. They can get mixed with kale or collards and steamed or braised. They’re even good for breakfast with a poached egg on top. Others, like carrot tops, are harder to cook with. While they now routinely get thrown into my stocks, I knew there had to be a other ways. I’ve discovered they don’t cook down well—it’s too hard to separate the tender leaves from the tougher stems. Where they do shine is as a substitute for parsley. In this capacity, I’ve added them to salads, garnishing sauces, and tabouli. While some greens do still find themselves in  the compost, many of them have found new jobs around my kitchen. All of this makes me feel like a much less wasteful cook.

Eat well,

Jana

City Roots is now offering cuts of pork and beef from Righteous Ranch.  Righteous Ranch is located right outside of Florence, SC.  They raise Heritage and sustainable meat products without growth hormones or antibiotics.  Currently at City Roots we have ground beef, short ribs, sirloin steaks, NY strip, filet mignon, brats and other interesting cuts.

This week at the market we will have Chioggia beets, Easter egg radishes, bok choy, Jericho lettuce, microgreens, watercress, nasturtiums, and Red Russian kale.

There’s a big event happening in a park this weekend… no not that park. The Carolina Green Fair is coming to Finlay Park on October 22nd from 12-6pm. City Roots will have a booth there as well as other sustainably minded businesses.

We have a new product for sale at the farm: heritage pastured beef from Righteous Ranch in Evergreen SC. They say of their beef:” Our beef comes from a smaller breed of cattle called the Irish Dexter. They are a recovering heritage breed renown for their dark red and very tasty beef. Our beef is grass fed and never in a feed lot. We raise our grass fed Heritage cattle with the utmost care and know them individually. Our beef is dry aged so that we can bring you the highest quality beef you have ever had.” To learn more about their farm, visit their website.

It seems the weather has finally caught up with my heart, which has been living in autumn for weeks now. The bright summer vegetables have all departed one by one, making room on my plate for the deep green of fall vegetables. My psyche seems to be tapping into some deep ancestral craving for fresh green before winter sets in. Kale bulks up everything from soups to garlicky white beans to scrambled eggs.  Bok choy is a mild mannered partner for sassy curries. Arugula, however, something of a dark horse vegetable. Perhaps it’s because of the constant availability of our arugula microgreens, but I find myself taking it for granted. That is, until I discovered Arugula Pesto. The peppery flavor of the arugula could hold its own against the traditional basil pesto. And it’s just as versatile. Of course there’s the obvious pasta. It’s also good mixed into cream or goat cheese for an easy spread. It adds a vibrant color and flavor when swirled last minute into cream of tomato soup. Try substituting it for tomato sauce on pizza or as an accompaniment to steak.

Arugula Pesto

1/2 cup pecans (toasted if you wish)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 (ish) cups of arugula

salt

In a food processor or blender, combine the pecans, cheese, and salt. Blend till the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the arugula. Pulse a few times to cut down the bulk. Then slowly add the olive oil while blending. The mixture should emulsify to form a thick delightfully green sauce. Can be stored in the fridge for at least several days, although mine never lasts much longer than that, if you know what I mean.

Eat well,

Jana

Booth location for exhibitors is determined by sign up date, so early registrants get the most prime spots! Exhibitors have a great opportunity to spread the message of their company while acquiring feedback, socializing with other companies that believe in the green movement, and obtain patrons from all over South Carolina. The Green fair offers a variety of packages for business to choose from for the fair.