Three and a half inches of rain answered our needs and then some. It also stopped us in our tracks during this busiest of planting times, postponing lots of seeding, transplanting and weed control till next week. It’s still a boggy mess out there in the vegetable fields, the warm sun and wind that are coming our way should help out, I’m hoping the bits of rain here and there in the forecast pass us by for a short spell. The cold temps that came with the rain storm also laid the asparagus out. Our daily harvested was cut by at least 75% and is just starting to gather speed again. The grass is tall now, haymaking will be up and running the first chance we get.

The rainy weather did make for good butchering this past week. We have fresh cut steaks and sweet italian sausage links, both for the grill and ready to cook tonight. This is our first beef sausage, so let us know what you think and how you cooked it.

Asparagus is great on the grill too. Just toss with some oil and a little salt and cook over moderate heat till it softens. Be patient though, so the stalks cook through but don’t blacken. There are two methods that I’ve heard of for dealing with the bigger, tougher end of the asparagus stalk. The easiest is to bend the raw asparagus stalk gently, it will break at the point that it begins to get tough, you can toss that part and keep the longer, more delicate stem for cooking. The other method is to trim the end with a vegetable peeler to get off the outer stem. You’ll get more asparagus this way with just a little more work.

We’re into June now—our first pick up for the summer season. Welcome to those who have been sitting this winter out, and to new members just joining us. Balances on share payments are due today. I’ll have amounts with me this afternoon if you are not sure what you owe. If you need more time to make the full payment just send me an email or talk with me tonight.

The photo this week is of our new batch of piglets digging on some milk mixed with grain mash.

In the Farm Shares

In the veggie share: mesclun mix, lettuce mix, beet greens, radishes, lettuce heads, braising mix, arugula, asparagus, beets, white and fingerling potatoes, wheat berries, whole wheat regular and pastry flour, cornmeal, dill and thyme. Coming soon: chinese cabbage, turnips, and strawberries.

Free-Choice shares will have a pint of maple syrup to welcome in the summer with (a benefit of the great sugaring season we enjoyed)!

In the meat share: Fresh steaks and sweet italian beef sausage. All other beef cuts, pork, broilers and stew birds in the freezer. Stock and organ meats from beef and chickens, lard and leaf lard. Fresh broiler chickens next week.

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