A (Re)introduction, Fall Microgreens Subscription & Mushroom Fennel Flatbread w/ Fresh Oregano
#62: Fall Happenings @ Featherstone Garden
Welcome to Featherstone’s Garden Happenings Newsletter. Each week we will share a rotating variety of garden updates: from heirloom seasonal produce features, to farm fresh subscriptions, plant-centered recipes, community partners, and more. As a subscriber, you will be the first to know about our Garden Happenings. If you’re not a newsletter subscriber but would like to be, click below to signup.
A Quick (Re)introduction to Featherstone
Hey, all! As we’ve grown our newsletter readership over the past few months, we thought this would be a good opportunity to better (re)introduce ourselves, an upcoming subscription, and Featherstone Garden’s mission.
Featherstone Garden officially launched in 2017 with a small team comprising of Annie Hakim (Co-Owner and Grower), Aaron Smith (Co-Owner and Site Manager), and Renee Sandoval (Designer and Creative Content Manager). Being on a small team means we each wear many more hats than what our job titles suggest, but to keep things condensed we will leave it at that. We are also grateful for the help of a number of part-time workers and volunteers that have helped us grow over the years.
Our operation started out by growing microgreens indoors and selling them exclusively to Detroit-area chefs. Within a year, we expanded by leasing space from Detroit Abloom in Jefferson Chalmers and built a small vegetable and flower garden, which we operated from 2018-2020. In 2020 we relocated to our current location (our permanent home). We built a greenhouse and outdoor garden on a 1/2 acre lot in MorningSide, Detroit with help from our closest community partner, Motor City Grounds Crew. In response to restaurant closures in 2020, we were forced to re-think and pivot our business model almost entirely and began to sell subscription meal kits, launched a summer farmstand, created this weekly newsletter, and developed a blog to share the plant-centered recipes we were developing in our own kitchens. We aspire to create a cookbook with all of our recipes in the future.
Featherstone Garden now sells produce and flowers year-round to both neighbors and local restaurants, and our team strives to educate our community on the health and wellness benefits of natural gardening and a plant-centered diet. As a non-certified organic operation, the garden intercrops all-natural greens, veggies, herbs and flowers that compliment each other as companion plants, support pollinators, and contribute to a healthy urban ecosystem. We also partner with Bees in the D by housing 5 hives of their honeybees—we’ll have our exclusive Featherstone honey available for purchase in time for the holidays! Be sure to stay in the loop by subscribing to our newsletter (if you’re not already!), and by following us on instagram @featherstone.garden.
As such a young business, and with a lot of transitions over the past couple of years, we are constantly evolving and re-thinking ways to connect with our friends, family, and surrounding community. If you have suggestions or considerations for content you want to see in upcoming newsletters and/or on social media (i.e. recipe content, restaurant reviews, educational content, potential collabs, etc.) feel free to reach out by emailing Renee (renee@featherstonegarden.com).
Thanks so much for following along with us on this journey! We couldn’t have made it as far as we have without lots of support.
Get Your Weekly Dose of Microgreens
Subscribe for weekly greens and receive a rotation of varieties that vary in taste—from spicy, nutty, earthy, peppery and mild. We have a few past blog posts outlining the health benefits of these greens, and you can find them on our Garden Goodness blog by clicking below!
Updated delivery radius: MorningSide, East English Village, West Village (new!), Indian Village (new!), Grosse Pointe Park, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge.
Pickup & Delivery Options:
DELIVERY: Wednesday 4:00-7:00pm
Delivery is available for:
MorningSide, East English Village, West Village, Indian Village, Grosse Pointe Park, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge.
PICK UP: Wednesdays 8:30am-5:30 pm
@ Featherstone Garden’s Nursery
1021 Manistique St., Detroit (map it!)
*Additional pickup loacation(s) TBD!
Mushroom Fennel Flatbread w/ Fresh Oregano
Yields: 2-3 servings
Ingredients:
pastry dough (checkout this recipe for homemade pastry dough on Renee’s newsletter, or use store bought dough if you’re pressed for time)
10-12 oz wild mushrooms
1 fennel bulb
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, plus more for garnish (or other choice of herbs)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2-1 teaspoon course salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions:
Step 1
Place a tinfoil lined baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 425°F. (The reason for this step is to ensure your pan heats up evenly, and you’ll achieve crispier veggies because they start to cook as soon as you place them down.) To cut the fennel: chop off the fennel fronds and the dried root at the end of the bulb. Cut bulb in half, then slice thinly, widthwise (here’s a helpful video). Chop your mushrooms, garlic, and oregano. Place all the chopped veggies and herbs into a large bowl and toss in the olive oil, balsamic, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper.
Step 2
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place your mushroom-fennel mixture on the baking sheet; try to avoid overcrowding the pan too much. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Then take out and allow to cool down while you roll out your pastry dough.
Step 3
Increase the oven to 450°F. Roll out your pastry dough on a lightly floured surface. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil, then distribute the mushroom-fennel mix evenly on top of the flatbread. Slightly pinch up the edges of the dough to ensure the mushroom mixture won’t spill out. Bake until the edges are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes. Drizzle a touch of olive oil and balsamic on top & serve.
Enjoy!
Kitties up for Adoption!
These sweet calico kitties have been hanging around the farm for the last few months and we’re hoping to find a good home for them before the cold season hits. We are looking for either a permanent home for these babies, or foster home. If you or anyone you know is looking for a couple of sweet feline friends, please reach out to Annie (annie@featherstonegarden.com).
Thanks for reading!
For more about our garden, check out our website and follow us on instagram (@featherstone.garden). Feel free to email us or comment below with any questions or suggestions.
Have a great week,
Annie, Aaron, Renee + Chili & Bean (our farm cats ₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎◞ ₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎◞)
