June 25, 2017
Introducing Lauren and Becky

Lauren Rosse is excited to work as an intern at the farm and learn more about organic produce production. She was introduced to the farm by field manager Hannah and her family; Lauren's parents are now also members of the CSA. Lauren graduated from Council Rock North in 2014 and is currently an environmental studies major at the University of Pittsburgh. She has previously worked at Howell Living History Farm in Lambertville NJ, and Garfield Community Farm in Pittsburgh PA. Lauren hopes to continue working on organic farms and keep learning about sustainable farming practices.

Becky Conner is a native of Newtown and has been a member of Anchor Run since the 2016 season. She discovered the farm when her daughter, Hannah, became the Field Manager and has now fully embraced CSA life! Becky is thrilled to be helping out in the pick up room and, as a long time gardener, looks forward to continuing to learn about growing food!

June 25, 2017
Trending Towards Summer Produce
By Derek McGeehan

Harvest #7 (Week A) should include beets, cabbage, hakurei turnips, summer squash, cucumbers, scallions, garlic scapes, butterhead lettuce, romaine lettuce, mini lettuces, radicchio, Italian dandelion, Swiss chard, basil, cilantro, dill, and chives. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include green snap beans, herbs, and raspberries.

June 25, 2017
Next Potluck Saturday July 8th

Hope to see you there!

June 25, 2017
U-pick Tips
By Linda Dansbury

By now you have had at least a few trips to the u-pick field. Before we know it, the main u-pick season will be upon us in which u-pick can take an hour or more so I thought I would provide a few tips to help your enjoyment.

1. Wear appropriate shoes - sometimes where we are picking the ground is very uneven and has some weed pressure - flip flops, although nice and cool, may not be study enough when trying to pick certain crops.

2. Wear hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, etc to protect yourself and your children from the scorching sun. And bring/drink plenty of water!

3. Be aware of ticks and other bugs that are typically found in a natural setting. Check yourself for ticks when you get home or before bedtime.

4. Bring your scissors, and especially when cutting herbs like basil, be careful not to cut to the bottom of the plant - cut just above where another shoot can sprout so that the crop will last longer for all.

5. On hot days, if you are able, do your u-pick in the morning or evening. Not only will it be more comfortable for you, but the plants will not be as wilted so what you pick will be in its best condition.

6. Please bring the containers back to the barn. It is best to bring the size container you need to measure your u-pick and when you are finished, put your alottment into another container and return the "measuring container" back to the barn.

Have fun out there!

June 25, 2017
Transition into Summer
By Linda Dansbury

Once again, I didn't have much opportunity to cook this past week, but did kind of keep up with my share. Here are a couple things that we ate:

Beets, garlic scapes - made the Roasted Beet and Beet Green Risotto as part of our Father's Day feast. As I said last week the color and taste never fail to impress!

Peas, turnips, summer squash, garlic scapes, mixed greens, pesto (from my freezer) - made a delicious pasta dish with all these veggies. I added leftover sausage but it would be delicious as is, or with white beans added. I simply sauteed the veggies, starting with the veggies that take the longest to cook and adding the greens last - the pesto went in after everything was cooked to my liking, added a little of the pasta cooking liquid and then added the pasta and mixed well. I topped it with grated parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley. I made so much I had enough for a couple of nights.

Romaine - grilled the head of romaine as I decribed last week and made into a Caesar salad. Yum!

If you have an idea or recipe you would like to share, please send it to me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. Please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can easily find your email.

June 25, 2017
Summer Squash and Cucumbers
By Linda Dansbury

The transition to summer crops is now in full swing with the start of the cucurbit season. If Mother Nature and the nasty insects which cause diseases and prematurely kill the plants are kind to us, we will receive at least a few pounds of each for the next month or two.

Maybe that causes you to say "Uh oh! How will we manage to eat all of that!?" I actually find these 2 crops pretty easy to keep up with. Please send me the ways you enjoy these 2 veggies at lindadansbury@comcast.net and use Anchor Run in the subject line. Below are a few of my ideas on enjoying these delicious veggies.

Cucumbers - I love to just cut them up and eat them along with lunches or as a snack while preparing dinner. I also slice them into mixed green salads, or make cucumber salads. I love the way my grandmother used to make them: sliced very thin, using a mandolin, add thinly sliced scallions and fresh chopped parsley. Make a simple vinaigrette of pepper and a little salt, celery salt, cider vinegar or red wine vinegar and a neutral oil, such as canola. Or make it Asian style, slicing thin again, adding sliced scallions and freshly chopped cilantro. The dressing consists of rice wine vinegar, a neutral oil, a bit of fish sauce, sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce and your favorite pepper. Both versions are delicious! Or...make pickles! If you are not into fermenting or true canning, then try the Narrow Bridge Farm Refrigerator Pickle recipe on this site. As the harvest continues, you will see different shapes and colors of cucs in the pick up room - try them all - there are subtle differences and all are enjoyable.

Summer Squash - the first thing about this crop is to embrace all the colors and shapes there are. Many if not most of the recipes found will say "zucchini" which really translates into the long green version of the crop. For this site, any recipe that has been added over the years has "Summer Squash" in its title. Recipes can be made using any of the squash you choose. I like the assorted colors in a finished platter or dish. One of the easiest and my favorite method of cooking is to grill them. If they are large, cut or slice them. Brush with a bit of olive oil. Place on grill - the small ones may need to go in a grill basket to prevent losing them between the grates. Keep a close eye on them and turn when the one side starts to brown. Depending on the grill it may only take 2-3 minutes. When they are lightly browned on all sides and just tender, remove from grill to a platter. From there, you can drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a grated hard cheese, and top with chopped herb or herbs of your choice - all or none of the add-ons are fine, The truth is that the grilled squash is delicious plain. The squash can be it's own dish, or a part of a platter of an assortment of other grilled veggies, cheeses, cured meats, etc. Or mixed into a hot or cold pasta dish. The options are endless!

June 25, 2017
Now What!? Workshop 2 Recap
Gia Yaccarino

As predicted, the second Now What!? workshop was just as fun and interactive as the first. A diverse group of members attended – all who shared their own unique perspectives!

We spent some time talking about different storage techniques, what works, what doesn’t and what items (and how) to save for winter. We talked about what our favorite vegetable from our share is. One member even shared the worst part of being a member of Anchor Run CSA – she can never buy store bought strawberries again! I feel her pain! And of course, we ate! I had 2 versions of Kale Stem pesto – one with galic scapes and neither with olive oil, some dehydrated tomatoes and a quiche with greens from weeks 3 & 4 (kohlrabi, turnip and radish greens specifically!).

There was some talk about bug and tick avoidance/prevention and we were lucky enough to have Evelyn at the workshop, for her to share her expertise! We ended the workshop (a little late) in the herb garden. I mentioned that my favorite is Sorrel – or as they call it at my work when I share it – lemon lettuce! Papalo is another unique herb in the herb garden that adds a bit of a zip to a Mexican meal! Overall, this second workshop again reinforced what is so awesome about being a member of Anchor Run CSA – aside from the produce, of course! It’s the members, the community!

Thank you to all who attended, you really made my day and got me really excited about the upcoming potluck on Saturday July 8th! I’m thinking about making Lemon-Basil-Blueberry Cornbread!

June 25, 2017
Workshifts Scheduled for Week of 6/25/17

Workshifts this week:

Wednesday 6/28 10am-12noon

Friday 6/30 10am-12noon

Sunday 7/2 8-10am

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Thank you!

June 18, 2017
Greens and peas
By Linda Dansbury

This past week was pretty busy with not a huge amount of cooking going on, but I did enjoy my harvest. For your information, I am a medium share - I was a full share member for years and I also grow a lot of my own veggies. Due to a shrinking household and my parents now living in a place where they go to a dining room for dinner means that I couldn't keep up. I tell you this in case I am not talking enough about items that you are interested in. Please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net with recipes to share to fellow members or questions you have about any of the veggies we receive. Please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Turnips, kohlrabi - every day I take my lunch and alongside my sandwich I take what I call bunny food. Turnips and kohlrabi are yummy as part of my bunny food bag! In full disclosure, last week I found 2 watermelon radishes in my crisper drawer from last fall and I thinly sliced them and added to my bunny food - they were still delicious!

Peas - I made a quick and easy stir fry. First I stir fried minced ginger in peanut oil until fragrant - about a minute. I added the peas and kept them moving in the wok (you can use a large non-stick pan). I then quickly added a chopped hot pepper from last year's harvest that was in my freezer, but red pepper flakes would be good too. I then added chopped garlic scapes, followed by a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce. I served it alongside fish that I steamed with ginger, scallions and garlic chives from my garden. Topped all with chopped cilantro.

Mixed greens - dandelion, Anchor Run custom mix, mizuna - sauteed a pile of greens with a little onion, garlic scapes and red pepper flakes - think method for broccoli raab. I topped it with grilled sausages from Ledamete Grass.

Kale and other greens - made a couple of smoothies with yogurt and frozen fruit.

June 18, 2017
Workshifts Scheduled for Week of 6/18/17

Workshifts this week:

Wednesday 6/21 10am-12noon

Wednesday 6/21 6-8pm

Friday 6/23 10am-12noon

Sunday 6/25 8-10am

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Thank you!

June 18, 2017
Grilled Greens?
By Linda Dansbury

You may still be in the pick up room or at home saying "what am I going to do with all of these greens?" Looking at the long list that Derek sends me each week gets me thinking ahead of time on what to do with things so that I can offer help to you.

This past week and coming week both had beautiful heads of romaine and we may receive radicchio this coming week. One of our favorite ways to eat both of these is to grill them - yes, grill your greens!

Cut both of them into quarters, keeping the cores in tact so that they stay together. Any leaves that fall off can be added to any salads. Brush with olive oil. Place on grill and do not walk away! Just lightly char the quarters on the cut sides. When lightly charred, take off the grill. For the radicchio, I drizzle lightly with a nice olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. The romaine could be treated the same way, but I typically make it into a Caesar salad. Instead of making my own dressing, I usually have a jar of OPA Caesar in the fridge. It is Greek yogurt based - you can jazz it up with added garlic, olive oil and parm cheese if you like.

June 18, 2017
Introducing Pat and Joe

Over the next few weeks we'll introduce individual members of the crew to the Anchor Run CSA community. For more information check out our Farmer Bio page. Hannah and John were introduced last week.

Patrick McGowan is looking forward to being an assistant farmer this season at Anchor Run farm. His family has been a CSA member for some years, during which time Pat has been introduced to the CSA concept and working in the fields. He's hoping the experience he gains here, along with his past landscaping job and love of growing, will help him with the related studies he plans to pursue at Delaware Valley University.

Pat is a resident of Churchville and a 2015 graduate of Council Rock South. He is also the builder of the dry-stack stone walls outside of the pick up room in the new garden area.

Joe Phillipps is excited to be a part of Anchor Run. Having been a member of the CSA for several years, he is finally able to try his hand at farm work, something that interested him since he was a little kid helping his mom in her garden. He has a passion for trying new things and constantly reminds himself that anything is worth exploring for the experience. His love of the outdoors has led him to join the soccer team in high school, jog regularly throughout Newtown, lifeguard at Sesame Place, and, more recently, plan to attend University in Wyoming, where he hopes to learn all about life in the west, including back country survival and horsemanship, while pursuing a degree in Liberal Arts.

June 18, 2017
Continued New Arrivals
By Derek McGeehan

Harvest #6 (Week B) should include cabbage, chard, butterhead lettuce, mini lettuces, romaine lettuce, cabbage, beets, garlic scapes, scallions, hakurei turnips, kohlrabi, summer squash, dill, cilantro, parsley, basil, endive, escarole, radicchio, kale, and Italian dandelion. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include peas and herbs and may include raspberries.

June 18, 2017
Pre-Order from Ledamete Grass Farm!

Ledamete Grass Market at Anchor Run Farm!
Order Online Today!

Ledamete Grass Farm will be delivering PRE-ORDERS to Anchor Run Farm for pick up on Thursday, June 29th! Can't make it the 29th? Don't worry, your order will be held in Anchor Run's freezers for up to two weeks until you can retrieve it.

*PRE-ORDERS will be bagged/name-tagged and left in the freezer for self-service pick up.
Order Your Pastured Meats Today- Deadline Midnight June 21st!

100% Grassfed Beef- spicy sticks, sweet sticks, BBQ sticks, Teriyaki sticks, hog dogs, ground beef, burgers, steaks, London Broil, brisket and more!
Pastured Chicken- bone-in breasts, boneless breasts, drumsticks, wings, and thighs
PRE-ORDERS ONLY!!

June 11, 2017
2017 Farm Crew
By Derek McGeehan

Hannah first cultivated her love of plants and fresh food in her grandfather's and mother's gardens at her childhood home in Newtown borough. Inspired by these memories, she explored her interest in the natural world by taking jobs doing landscaping and working at a perennial plant nursery and even a flower shop. Her passion for things that grow also lead her to pursue a degree in Horticulture. Like Derek and Dana, after acquiring her Bachelor of Science, she ventured to the Washington D.C. area. While there she became immersed in Organic CSA farming at Clagett Farm, operated by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. After more than 3 years of honing her farming skills at Clagett, she decided to return to her roots and help feed the community she loves in Bucks County.

Hannah's role as field manager allows her to work closely with Dana and Derek and experience the scope of challenging and humbling tasks that are required to keep the farm running. As Derek once said, she is a wearer of many hats, requiring her to oversee everything from the seasonal staff to marketing to barn organization! Each day Hannah falls more in love with life here on the farm, and she is so thankful to the amazing community that allows Anchor Run to be so successful!

Assistant Farmer John Conner is a Bucks County native, heralding from down the road in Newtown. He first learned of Anchor Run CSA from his sister and field manager, Hannah. John graduated Council Rock High School North in 2012 and The Pennsylvania State University in 2016 with a Bachelors of Arts in English. Besides working at Anchor Run, he is currently undergoing discernment for a vocation to the priesthood in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. He is an avid reader, runner, and Dungeon Master and is excited to be helping the members of his community by providing them with fresh food.

June 11, 2017
Wish List for the Farm

June 11, 2017
"Now What!?" Workshops

Did you miss it? Don’t worry (Be Happy!)

The first of 2 Now What!? Workshops was attended by an actively engaged group of members! Kudos was given to Linda for her weekly column explaining how she uses her share. Thanks Linda! At the workshop, we discussed ways to store all of the produce we obtain as part of our share, as well as ways to add it to our diets and what to (and how to) save for the winter. I spoke about having the right tools to make the prep work easier and showed some examples. We also spent a good deal of time talking about using a dehydrator. And of course, we ate! I had 2 versions of Kale Stem pesto, a dip which used dehydrated tomatoes, Kohlrabi in a Teriyaki-Peanut Sauce and a quiche featuring produce from Weeks 3 & 4.

I anticipate the second Now What!? Workshop to be just as much fun! Please try to fit it in during this busy time of the year.

June 11, 2017
Beets and Scapes
By Linda Dansbury

Two yummy newcomers to the pick up room this week are beets and scapes. As with the turnips, when you get the beets home, cut the tops off and store separate from the beets. They keep better and the nutrient profile holds better too. Beets are so delicious right now because they haven't been stored so their sugars are at their highest. Beets are delicious raw - slice thin or grate and put into salads. We also have a lot of recipes on this site - if we are lucky we will receive a lot of beets throughout the year so try several of them - one of my favorites is the Roasted Beet and Beet Green Risotto. The color is beautiful and it tastes delicious! If you like to bake, try the Chocolate Beet Cake - it is so moist and delicious. Or, simply roast the beets and make a batch of your favorite dijon vinaigrette and place the beets into the dressing - they will keep like this for days - you can take out the amount you want and snack on them, add to salads or put a few slices on a sandwich - yum!

(Garlic) scapes are the other new item - my pick up day is Thursday, so I already got the pleasure of having some of them. The scapes are the flower stalk of the garlic plant - the farmers must remove these stalks or the strength of the plant will go into the flower rather than the bulbs. Like with the green garlic, the scapes must be kept in the fridge. They keep for quite awhile, but once you try them, you will use them! Chop them up and add to any recipe that calls for garlic - BUT - don't cook them for long because the flavor does not hold under long, high heat. If I use them in some type of stir fry or saute, I add them with the greens at the end of the process. You can make them into pesto or dips - Garlic Scape and White Bean Dip is one of my favorites and the Garlic Scape Pesto is delicious too!

Enjoy!!

June 11, 2017
So many good things to Eat!
By Linda Dansbury

This past week I did cook/prepare a few things that I want to share - I also received a recipe from a member - I love hearing from you and sharing your recipes with the other members. Email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line of the email so I can find it.

Ann Morton sent me a recipe for Creamed Forest Kale over Wild Rice - here are her comments:

Thanks for all the great recipes and ideas in the newsletter! I've been meaning to send you this kale recipe for a while. It's my favorite and for me is an entire meal but my husband prefers it as a side dish. It's from Eat For Health (Joel Fuhrman, M.D.). Yummy!

I haven't tried it yet, but plan to - thanks Ann!

I make a greens saute/stir fry at least once per week - it's easy and I adjust flavorings to what else we are eating it with. Garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, chopped mushrooms might be one combo, or garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, cilantro might be another combo. Sometimes I add a couple of eggs to the pan toward the end, cover the pan and let the egg cook till the whites are cooked but the yolk is still runny - an easy, healthy and delicious dinner!

Kale, green garlic, cilantro - Cook up a pot of your favorite rice (we like brown jasmine). In a large skillet or wok saute garlic, ginger and a pound of ground pork - from Ledemete Grass. Once the pork is cooked, start adding kale in which thick stems are removed and it is roughly chopped - use an entire bunch for this recipe. Once the kale is wilted, turn the heat off and stir in 2 cups of chopped fresh herbs - cilantro and basil work best I think - and a tablespoon or 2 of fish sauce. Serve over rice with your favorite hot sauce alongside (Sriracha).

Radishes, turnips, chives, mint - I made the Radish with Goat Cheese Dip for a delicious appetizer. This is so yummy!

Lettuce, arugula - I made a beautiful salad when we had company that I can't wait to make again when more of the ingredients are in season. The dressing was made ahead and consisted of buttermilk, basil lemon and a little garlic. Place greens on a large platter and then in pretty patterns place lots of different veggies, nuts and dried fruits. Top with dressing. I'll post the recipe when the basil and cherry tomatoes are available at the farm.

Enjoy the harvest!

June 11, 2017
Big beautiful beets and...
By Derek McGeehan

Harvest #5 (Week A) should include beets, cabbage, hakurei turnips, kohlrabi, butterhead lettuce, mini lettuces, romaine lettuce, endive, escarole, garlic scapes, chives, dill, cilantro, parsley, kale, chard, Italian dandelion, and mizuna. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include snow and snap peas, strawberries, and herbs. A brief note on the peas: Unfortunately they're slightly less plentiful this year but will remain in shares for another week or two.

June 4, 2017
Green, greens, and more greens!
By Linda Dansbury

Returning members are familiar with this article that I put together pretty much every week - it's kind of the weekly version of the "Now What" Workshops that many of you will hopefully attend. Not only do I share some of the ways I enjoy my harvest, but I also post things that you, the members, send to me about how you are enjoying your harvests.

A couple of you sent me a couple of things already - due to being quite sick last week, I haven't dug through my mail yet but will get to your emails. If you have a suggestion, recipe or just a question, please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

Green garlic, greens - Chinese pepper steak - I know that this dish normally doesn't incorporate greens into it, but I added the bok choy in toward the end and it was really good this way!

Spinach - made the Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. It made a simple, delicious meal when paired with a nice piece of salmon.

Broccoli raab, mizuna, green garlic - did simple sauteed greens with red pepper flakes - they were admittedly lovingly bitter but we ate them alongside steak and mashed potatoes, so they were really perfect as a combination.

Various Greens - we have been enjoying a variety of salads with many of the greens including arugula, lettuce, mizuna, Swiss chard.

Kale - made Kale Chips a couple of times and added some kale into a soup that I had in the freezer

June 4, 2017
Turnips and Kohlrabi
By Linda Dansbury

Turnips and kohlrabi are both very flexible veggies - both are delicious raw as well as cooked. Both also keep well in the fridge so you don't have to rush to consume them. Their uses overlap each other and they can be prepared in the same ways. The turnips do not need to be peeled and can be used in place of radishes in salads or as a snack. The mild flavor of spring kohlrabi also makes it a delicious snack - carefully peel the skin off before eating.

Cut the turnip tops off as soon as you get them home and store separately. The tops can be used in saute's, stir fries and soups/stews.

Check out recipes for slaws on this site using the kohlrabi and turnips - instead of cabbage, try mizuna, the Anchor Run custom greens mix, Swiss chard and other greens - eat them up quickly because the dressing will wilt the greens when stored overnight.

Check out the Turnip Green and White Saute as a cooked recipe. I also like to steam the turnips and then make a simple dipping sauce and serve along with dumplings for a delicious appetizer or a light dinner.

Kohlrabi and turnips both can be turned into chips/fries when baked in the oven. Check out the Kohlrabi Fries recipe on this site.

June 4, 2017
Peas Please!
By Derek McGeehan

Harvest #4 (Week B) should include strawberries, kale, chard, mini lettuces, butterhead lettuce, endive, escarole, Italian dandelion, baby kale, mizuna, arugula, greens mix, kohlrabi, hakurei turnips, dill, cilantro, and chives. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include snow peas (the flat kind), herbs, and may include strawberries.

June 4, 2017
A Week's Worth
By Derek McGeehan

Above, those are freshly hilled potatoes mixed with a volunteer stand of flowering buckwheat, which sprouted and grew this spring following last year's cover crop that went to seed during the warm autumn. By the way, properly hilled potatoes support additional growth for the tubers, since they mainly grow around and above the seed potato. Around 2 miles of potatoes were hilled yesterday, and each bed was hit twice in opposing directions, so I basically drove the tractor for 4 miles in the field on a blindingly sunny day. I did miss my misplaced sunglasses. South or to the left of the greenery are fairly aggressively hilled beds that were just planted with 3000 sweet potato slips/seedlings. Those will appreciate the anticipated moisture arriving Sunday-Monday.

The sun returned last week and we were finally able to cultivate many, many crops and transplant a multitude of new ones including edamame, lettuces, summer squash, cucumbers, as well as the aforementioned sweet potatoes. Here's a list of what was cultivated: basil, dill, cilantro, two bean plantings, flowers, lettuces, beets, and chard.

Some big upcoming jobs include pruning and trellising tomatoes, continued cultivation, harvesting of course, a lot of ground preparation for current and mid-summer plantings, as well as transplanting winter squash, cantaloupe, watermelon #2, beans #3, tomatoes #2, lettuces #11, basil #2, dill #3, cilantro #3, parsley #3, and sunflowers #2.