We've got some spring favorites in shares this week! Fiddleheads, Sunchokes, and lots of baby greens and herbs.
SUNCHOKES are a woody-looking tuberous formation found on the rhizome (horizontally growing underground stem) of a type of sunflower. Its rough pale-brown skin makes it somewhat akin to fresh ginger in appearance, but you're more likely to see it broken up into individual pieces at the market, rather than in a single intact piece with branching fingers, like ginger. Unlike ginger, its flavor is mild, similar to that of a potato or jicama, but nuttier and sweeter, it has a slight bark-y taste of raw, unskinned hazelnuts.
FIDDLEHEADS are the tightly coiled tips of ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris). These delicate delights are available only in early spring when ferns grow their new shoots. The young fern fronds are mainly available by foraging. Fiddleheads have a grassy, springlike flavor with a hint of nuttiness. Many people agree that they taste like a cross between asparagus and young spinach. Some detect an artichoke flavor as well, and even a bit of mushroom. Fiddleheads should be at least lightly cooked (some authorities recommend they be completely cooked). Raw fiddleheads can carry foodborne illness and/or cause stomach upset if eaten in large quantities. Fiddleheads are tasty steamed or sautéed.
Auto-Renew is Happening
Shares will be auto-renewing today, keep an eye out for an email from Harvie showing what has renewed in your account - you'll have until May 12 to make changes to the order, whether you want to select more ADD-ONS or adjust Veggie Share size to a Family Bounty, please follow instructions in the notification you receive or email farmers@daybreakgrowersalliance.com for assistance. Payment for your first delivery will be processed on May 13.
Update from Springdale Farm
At Springdale we've been doing our best to keep doing what we do - working with our animals, milking cows, making cheese etc - while adjusting to this new world we're all living in. While much has stayed the same in day to day life (as it does in the farm... milk cows, feed cows, clean up after cows, repeat!) we have been rolling with changes and pivoting as so many other Maine farmers have done this spring. We are so unbelievably grateful for customers who have visited our farm store, ordered our products and signed up for meat and cheese shares through the Daybreak Growers Alliance! The grass is off to a slow start with the cold weather we've had, but the next two weeks will be a mad dash to finish putting up fences and start the cows on their pasture rotation - everyone's favorite time of year!
