Youth Farm CSA Newsletter: July 2nd (week 5)

At the Youth Farm we are in the season of weeding.  Luckily the Youth Homes Attention Home, Talbot Homes, Radtke Home, and Tom Roy Home, came out to the farm for their weekly work days, doing some serious damage to the weeds trying to out compete our squash and corn crop.

For the Youth Homes teens that work and volunteer at the farm they are not only essential to accomplishing the endless tasks of running a small scale farm, but they are literally helping to give back to their community by growing food.  All of the Youth Homes teens who work at the farm (approximately 25-30 teens a week) know that the food they are growing goes to our CSA program, as well as the YMCA preschool program, Watson’s Children Shelter, Mountain Home Montana, Council Groves Boys and Girls after school program, all Youth Homes seven Missoula homes, including Partnership for Children, and two low income housing facilities in town. The work of farming is no easy task, at the Youth Farm one of our major goals is for the teens to know they are giving back to their community in a positive and meaningful way.

As for your food this week we are coming towards the end of spring goodness, and towards new veggies. In your share you will find spinach, radishes, chard, Chinese cabbage, or napa cabbage, the last of the tatsoi, kolrabi, carrots, lettuce, scallions, salad mix, radicchio, broccoli and peas. It should be wonderful!

Recipe: Napa Cabbage Salad

Combine a few cups roughly cut napa cabbage, with shredded carrots, or kohlrabi,  your scallions sliced up, and some chopped almonds. (Cilantro could be added too for a great summer flavor.)

Then put together your dressing with a few splashes of each rice vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce, a few teaspoons of sugar, a clove or two of minced garlic, a pinch of cayenne, and about a 1/4-1/2 cup of plain yogurt. Whisk to combine, and toss your salad. If you want to omit the yogurt, substitute with olive oil. A fantastic salad!