Bee Awareness Day - The Springs Preserve- Saturday June 22

Bee Awareness Day

Join the Springs Preserve and Whole Foods Market for a special lecture and film screening to raise awareness and understanding of honey bees.
We'll start the buzz with a presentation by a bee expert, followed by a screening of the kid-friendly film "Vanishing Bees" and conclude with a question-and-answer session afterward. Guests will enjoy a honey sample from Whole Foods Market.
Honey bees are the most abundant pollinators of flowering plants and are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. Despite this, U.S. honey bee colonies are declining at a rate of 30 percent or more. Join us to learn how intricately linked humans are to bees and how you can help "bee" a part of the solution!

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Event Information

Date & Time

Saturday, June 22, 2013
01:30 p.m. - 03:00 p.m.

Location

Big Springs Theater

Admission

Free for members or included with paid general admission

RSVP

No reservations required.













http://www.springspreserve.org/apps/event/details.cfml?id=579&query=honey+bees

Salad in a Jar - Emergency Meal in Minutes

Loved this post - quick, easy and healthy!  




http://www.greenplaterule.com/recipes/mason-jar-salads/

Collard Green Enchiladas Recipe from Going Home To Roost

 

 

We are growing some awesome collard greens at the farm.  The variety that we've grown for the last 3 years is called "Flash" and it is a vates type  hybrid variety.  It has a smoother leaf and slow to bolt which is beneficial to us in the high desert. 

 

I was on the Etsy website listening to an on-line forum with Bonnie Forkner who writes Going Home To Roost blog.  While listening,  I looked at her website and found this recipe.  It must have been kismet.

 

It sounds so yummy and it is sooo good for you.  Give it a try on a meatless Monday, or Tuesday or Wednesday . . . . . whenever.

I'm going to make it for a company picnic at the farm.

http://www.goinghometoroost.com/2012/seasonal-recipes/collard-green-enchiladas/

Suddenly Collards, Kale, and Beets

Suddenly Collard Greens, Red Russian Kale and Beets

 

 

Know the saying, "Hurry up and wait"?  That sort of applies to our garden every year.
We plant the seeds around mid to late March and then the waiting begins.  Little by little, the little seedlings emerge.  But what's funny about gardening in the high desert, once there's consistent warmer temperatures, most things just jump.

 

The collard greens are looking fabulous, the red Russian kale are gorgeous, and our red and golden  beets are finally filling out.

 

Good things come to those who wait . . ain't that the truth.

Green Pac Choi

                                                              Green Pac Choi

I love Asian greens.  They are so versatile.  You can eat them fresh when small, use more mature leaves in stir fries and also in soups.  Pac Choi is one of those greens that have a mild taste so it does not overpower any dishes.  It is not bitter, sometime it can be mildly sweet.  

This is a vegetable that when harvested, it is cut from the main stem so the entire head is cut off.
I am not sure if it will grow back from the roots, but we'll see. 

This is another new green we decided to try this year.  It performed well but the leaves got a bit of tip burn from our spring winds and the bugs are discovering it too. 

We'll probably plant this again for fall and maybe try the white stemmed variety as well.

Juane d' Or - Yellow Gold French Radishes

Jaune d' Or Yellow Gold French Radishes

 

 

One of the first things that are ready in the garden are radishes.  They are a very short season vegetable and although we try to time their planting so that they are ready when several other crops are ready, they seem to jump ahead of the rest.

 

 

These radishes are a pretty yellow almost gold color.  They are white inside.  Mildly spicy when small, quite spicy when larger. 

 

 

Our friends, John and Tikva had a wine tasting party last Saturday and I brought these radishes.

I used Ina Garten's recipe for Radishes with Butter and Salt below and tweaked it just a little.

 

2 bunches radishes with tops intact, root tips cut off

 

Sea Salt (I purchased Fleur de Sel de Guerande at International Marketplace on Decatur)

 

Herb Butter - recipe below

 

1 French Baguette, sliced diagonally and lightly toasted

 

Herbed Butter

 

1/4 lb. unsalted butter - room temperature

1 1/2 tsp. minced scallions  (I used green onions)

1 1/2 tsp. minced dill (used dried lemon dill mix that I had - couldn't find fresh)

1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh parsley leaves (Used Italian parsley)

1/2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Pinch freshly ground pepper

Looking Forward to Our First Farm to Fork Dinner!

http://www.meetup.com/The-Chef-s-Table/events/112457092/