Firsts of the Season!



• Green Garlic - use as you would regular garlic by sauteeing it as the start to just about any dish. Or make green garlic pesto.

• Rhubarb! Rhubarb is native to Siberia, and loves cold weather and a long period of dormancy. So climate change is doing a number on it, and although Henry's rhubarb patch looks great right now, it may not last long in the hot weather, so get it while you can!

• Parsley
• Dill
• Baby Fennel
• Carrots
• Small Beets with Big, Beautiful Greens
• Lettuce!

And don't miss the amazing

• Tender Spring-planted Spinach

• Lamb's Quarters (aka Wild Spinach)

• Wild Nettles - nearly the end of the season, so stock up!

• Sorrel

• Chives -- French, Asian, and Mongolian

• Spring Radishes of all kinds

• Winter Purple Daikon Radish

Food Notes: ARUGULA

Because of the unseasonably hot May, we are already at the end of the Arugula Season, so stock up on Saturday, or forever hold your peace! You can make an arugula salad with shaved parmesan, or toss it with the first lettuces of the season.

I find the earthy, oaky taste of arugula absolutely addicting, but if you find it too strong, you can make it milder by chopping it up in a pesto, or by using a hot dressing to make a wilted salad, or by sauteeing it up on its own or in a stir-fry.

Here's my favorite recipe for a wonderful Arugula-Walnut Pesto. As is the case with many strong herbs, the fine chopping that happens when you make a pesto releases volatile compounds. The pesto may still taste strong immediately after you make it, but in a short time it will become milder. Arugula pesto is wonderful with pasta or on a pizza. I also like it on sandwiches, or with crackers or raw veggies.

And here's a recipe for Sauteed Arugula with Pancetta and Garlic, but you could omit the meat and just saute it on its own or with onions or green garlic.

Because you will not see arugula again until the fall, I suggest getting a half-dozen extra bunches and turning them into pesto. Then freeze it in small containers, and use it over the coming months.

Farm Notes: Moving the Rolling House to get you early-season Beets and Carrots, and then late-season Tomatoes!

What Henry calls the “rolling house” is a hoop house that rests on a wheel and rail system that allows the house to be easily moved from one patch of ground to another. 

This year, Henry planted beets and carrots in the rolling house in early March, when it was still too early to seed them out in the field. They germinated and grew quickly under the warmth of the passive solar hoop house for about 6 weeks. I took the photo above from inside the rolling house the day we were all working to loosen the wheels and free the rails they roll along in order to move the entire hoop house from west to east. That's the "before" photo above, and . . .

Here's the "after" photo -- after we rolled the hoop house to the eastern part of the rail — off of the beets and carrots and on to where Henry was ready to transplant some of his heirloom tomatoes.

Those tomatoes will now grow under the protection of the rolling house, bearing fruit until the killing frost.

In the weeks since the beets and carrots have been exposed to the wind and weather, they have grown stronger and tastier. Although the roots are still on the small side, they are delicious, and the greens are big and lush -- so you are in effect getting two vegetables for the price of one: Beet Roots and Beet Greens!

A few weeks from now the field beets and carrots will be ready for you, but for now, enjoy the early season treat of beets and carrots from the Rolling House, knowing all the work it took to get them to you by mid-May!

And finally, Henry says "Don't miss out on the Spring Shallots, and the Spring Onions, including Red, White, and a yellow variety called Candy!"

Henry's Farm

432 Grimm Road,

Congerville, IL 61729

Phone: (847) 338 1861