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6-12-09 Hello friends, With the sun shining and warm temperatures on the rise it feels like summer might actually find our little corner of the world. It was in the low 40's this morning , but now we are grateful to see blue sky and sun. Yesterday found our large crew of meadowlark farmers planting like maniacs. We had several different planting teams all working to finish planting the summer gardens. It was a wonderful group effort and we are now hopeful that all of those new babies will find the water and love needed to grow, grow, grow. We planted the heirloom tomatoes(with my favorite new varieties being Lady Lucy and Sappho, who could say no to those 2 ladies?), watermelon, cantaloupe, hot peppers, tomatillos, head lettuce, cauliflower, many varieties of cut flowers, broccoli and cabbage; thousands of new seedlings finding their way into the big bright world! We also welcomed the arrival of 100,000 new farm friends on Monday. Yes, the honey bees have arrived! Greg Griswold brought 6 hives on a cloudy day to find a spot at Meadowlark Farm to live and make honey. Each hive, Greg approximates, has around 20,000 bees inside; can you believe it? They will find all sorts of pollen here on the farm from raspberries, to melons they will have many sources from which to chose. Without the help of bees, we wouldn't enjoy the fruits and veggies, so take some time to appreciate the hard work of all of those worker ladies(yes, all of the collectors and flyers are female; sad to say, but the males don't do much but hang around and mate) and if you want to try some of the best tasting honey in the world, check out Greg's honey order form that either came in your box last week or this week if you are an every other week share. His raw honey is absolutely incredible! Support the bees and feed yourself some of the sweetness of Nature and order some honey. We'll make sure it makes it finds it's way to your drop off site. Also, consider placing a chicken order. The Bardenhagens are planning their first chicken delivery for next Friday, june 19th at the farm. Give them a call at 231-271-3444 or email chris and heather at bardenhagen7@hotmail.com. They will arrange the details. Also, the Amish community plans a farm delivery of their chickens on Friday july 3rd. You can call Duane Keim to order chicken and figure out details at 231-824-9574. Here's a recipe for one of our favorite soups that uses radish, romaine lettuce and cilantro and cans of hominy corn that can be found in the Mexican food aisle at Hansens POSOLE VERDE -1 bunch cilantro -3 TBL whole cumin -1 jalapeno -2 ˝ c. water, veggie stock or chix stock -2 TBL olive oil -1 large onion, chopped -4 shallots or garlic cloves, minced -2 15 oz cans hominy(hominy is whole kernel dried corn that has been treated with lime) Garnishes: -1 medium head romaine lettuce, thinly sliced crosswise, 4 radishes thinly sliced, fresh lime wedges, flour or corn tortillas Place cilantro, oregano, chiles and 1 c. water or stock in blender and puree, until smooth, 1 minute. Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering and add onion and cook until golden. Add cumin seeds and then add garlic, cooking until golden. Add cilantro mix, hominy, remaining 1 ˝ c. water and salt to taste and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer to blend flavors, 15 minutes. Add fresh lime juice and salt to taste. It should bounce off of your tongue! Ladle soup into bowls and top with lettuce, tomatoes(in season), radishes, lime wedges and tortillas. Your box today includes: triple washed salad mix, washed spinach, braising mix that includes various kales, chard and vitamin green, a head of romaine, for every other week shares a head of black summer bok choy, hakkurei white turnips and french breakfast radishes, cilantro and for premium shares asparagus, scallions and iceberg lettuce. Enjoy, the meadowlarks
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