Summer CSA Newsletter, Week 4 | Hmong American Farmers Association

Originally published on July 17, 2018

NEWSLETTER: SUMMER CSA WEEK 4

Created by Passenger for The Bush Prize for Community Innovation, this video beautifully encapsulates the heart of HAFA’s mission and work.

Dear CSA Members,

Greetings from the HAFA Farm and welcome to week four of your summer share! How did you enjoy your produce last week? Thank you to everyone who shared your wonderful photos with us. We enjoyed seeing the inspiring photos that ranged from paintings of our flowers to artfully arranged produce. If you would like to share your photos with us, tag @hafafarmers on Facebook,Instagram or Twitter. You might even see them in an upcoming newsletter!

As some of you may remember, HAFA was one of seven 2017 Bush Prize for Community Innovation winners. The video above captures the many facets of HAFA’s work, and we feel it really illustrates the heart of our mission: “To advance the prosperity of Hmong American farmers through cooperative endeavors, capacity building and advocacy.” We wanted to share this video with all of you because your support plays a direct role in our ability to advocate for our farmers and community. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

For the second week in a row, HAFA is hosting a group of high school students participating in Metropolitan State University’s Upward Bound program. We are so excited to have this group of inquisitive and high energy students volunteer with us again! Let’s give three cheers to Metro State University, Andrew Cseter, Director of TRIO College Access and College Success Programs, and the Upward Bound participants for supporting local foods! Hip-hip-hooray!

07/18/2018: Metropolitan State University Upward Bound Math and Science participants visit the HAFA farm for a volunteer day.

A few reminders:

Shares that were prorated to 9 weeks will start delivery July 18 and 19.
Shares that were prorated to 8 weeks will start delivery July 25 and 26.

We hope you enjoy this week’s box and, as always, happy eating!

In solidarity,
The HAFA Family

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Fall and Thanksgiving CSAs are still available!

Fall CSA, 7 weeks

September 27 – November 8
Full Share $200
Half Share $125
Flower Share $70

Thanksgiving Share
Pick-up November 15 and 16
Veggie Share $50
Optional turkey:
Small – $28
Medium – $36
Large – $45

Volunteering

If you are interested in volunteering with HAFA, please contact our volunteer coordinator Kou Yang at kou@hmongfarmers.com to learn about upcoming opportunities.

WHAT’S IN YOUR CSA BOX?

This week you can expect the following in your CSA box:

FULL SHARES

Carrots – 1 bunch
Cauliflower – 1 head
Cucumbers – 2 pounds
Fingerling Potatoes – 2 pounds
Ong Choy – 1 bunch
Onions – 1 bunch
Shallots – 1 bunch
Thai Basil – 1 bunch
Zucchini – 2 pounds

HALF SHARES
Carrots – 1 bunch
Cucumbers – 2 pounds
Green Beans – 1 pound
Ong Choy – 1 bunch
Onions – 1 bunch
Shallots – 1 bunch
Thai Basil – 1 bunch
Zucchini – 1 bunch

Things to note:

This week, HAFA instructed our farmers to not wash the Thai basil so you will notice that the bunches of basil may have some soil on it. This was in an effort to help preserve the Thai Basil and have it keep longer. Please rinse your basil thoroughlyonly when you are ready to use it. This may seem strange, but keeping water way from the leaves will prevent the edges of the leaves from turning dark and/or wilting.
Your CSA boxes contain young shallots, which can be used in place of onions. Each shallot bulb contains a cluster of smaller bulbs much like garlic. The shallots do not need to be refrigerated.
Ong choy, sometimes call Chinese spinach or water spinach, may be an unfamiliar green to most CSA members. The stems are slightly tough compared to the leaves but edible. If you prefer, you may choose to pluck the leaves and discard the stem. Ong choy is delicious when sauteed or wilted with a little bit of garlic and oil (see recipe below).

RECIPE

Stir-Fried Ong Choy (Serves 4)
from Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook
by Mi Ae Lipe

INGREDIENTS

2 shallots, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 bunch of ong choy, leaves and stems chopped into 1-inch pieces
(Optional) 1 tablespoon sambal oelek paste (substitute Sriracha, chili paste or fresh thai chilis)

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the diced shallots and garlic into a coarse paste (or very finely chop the diced shallots and garlic together).
In a skillet, heat the oil over low to medium heat; saute th shallot-and-garlic paste until in turns aromatic, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic or it will turn bitter.
(If using) stir in the sambal paste and saute until aromatic.
Add the ong choy leaves and stems to the pan, stirring until they are thoroughly coated with the garlic, shallots and sambal. Cook until the ong choy is slightly wilted, 2 to 4 minutes (the stems should remain a bit crunchy). Serve immediately.

-Foodista.com

FARMER PROFILE: DIA HER

HAFA Farmer Dia Her posing outside her tool shed. Photo courtesy of Steve Gardiner / RiverTown Multimedia.

HAFA farmer Dia Her was profiled by Steve Gardiner, a reporter for the Republic Eagle, and her story was featured in the Farmington Independent.

Dia has been a member of HAFA since 2014, but just this year she has decided to sell to the HAFA food hub. We’re excited to have included her sugar snap peas in the HAFA CSAs this year and hope to continue helping her expand her farming business! You can read Steve’s profile on Dia here.