Garden Happenings: Fall Subscription Signup (Stir-fry, Microgreens, Bread), Plant Milk, and Sticky Spicy Green Beans
#26: Summer Happenings @ Featherstone Garden
Welcome to Featherstone’s Summer Happenings Newsletter (soon to be Fall Happenings!). Each week we will share a variety of garden updates, heirloom seasonal produce features, veg-ed(ucation) content, farm stand news, plant-centered recipes and more. As a subscriber, you will be the first to know all about our Garden Happenings. If you’re not a subscriber but would like to be, you can click the button below to signup.
Signup for our Fall Subscriptions by Sunday 9/5!
For the upcoming fall season, we’re launching three new subscriptions to share garden fresh produce and our love of plant-centered cooking with our community. Click here to learn about & sign up for your favorite 6-week subscription, or save $15 by purchasing our Stir Fry + Bread & Spread + Microgreen Bundle! Pickup and delivery* are available, all subscriptions begin September 7 and end October 13.
Delivery: Tuesdays from 3-7pm
Pick Up: Wednesday at Featherstone’s Farm Stand from 12-5pm
(4178 Lakepointe Street, Detroit)
6-Week Fall Subscription Details:
Stir Fry Kit Subscription
Eat healthy fresh produce this fall and expand your culinary skills with our 6-week vegan Stir Fry Kit! Each kit includes a rotating variety of fresh veggies, grains, herbs & microgreens, crunchy-bit toppers, and a featured vegan sauce. This fall’s sauce menu crafted by Phoebe and Jessi is sooo yummy and you won’t want to miss it! It includes: Sesame Ginger, Szechuan, BibimPOW, Sage Hazelnut Pesto, Okonomiaki, and Chinese Garlic.
(Click here for Stir Fry Kit details!)
Bread & Spread Subscription
Each week, you will receive a different bread & spread made by chef/farmhand Jessi Patuano of Well Worth the Weight— the best offer since sliced bread! Each kit includes 1 artisan bread & spread variety from our fall menu:
blueberry loaf + lemon butter, zucchini bread + chocolate tahini spread, banana bread + honey butter, soda bread + herb butter, cinnamon apple bread + apple butter, pumpkin bread + pumpkin butter
(Click here for Bread & Spread details!)
Microgreens Subscription
Enjoy a 32oz (by volume) clam-shell of organically grown, nutrient-dense microgreens. Weekly microgreens include a rotation of curly green kale, scarlet kale, arugula, frilly mustards, red cabbage, sunflower shoots, radish shoots, pea shoots and more!
(Click here for Microgreens details!)
Please feel free to share our Fall Subscription flyer (below) with your friends!
To Milk or not to Milk
The majority of our team members at the farm drink non-dairy milk on a regular basis if not exclusively, and a few of us even make it at home. A couple of our preferred recipes for non-dairy milks are cashew and oat milk—both of which can be made with a standard kitchen blender and either cheesecloth or a nut milk bag for straining. You can find the two vegan-milk recipes below, along with a brief profile on one of Renee and Annie’s favorite cookbook/newsletter authors, Alicia Kennedy.
If you’re looking to quench more of your non-dairy milk thirst, Alicia Kennedy’s latest newsletter ‘On Milk’ is an interesting and informative read. She gives context on how dairy milk becoming the default milk of choice was a European invention, a brief history of non-dairy milk origins, and ensures us that non-dairy milk is not some sort of health conspiracy, but is “centuries old, and [that] the world is depending upon everybody getting used to switching [their diet] up sometimes.”
There are environmental and, humanitarian implications of the production of all types of milk (dairy and non-dairy). This October 2020 article from The Beet gives a thorough overview of carbon emissions, water consumption, pesticide use, and labor issues related plant-milk production. It’s a useful read!
Cashew Milk Recipe
Yields: 1 Quart
Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews* (preferably soaked for at least 6-8 hours)
3 cups filtered water
1 Tablespoon maple syrup or honey, or 2 dates
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
pinch of kosher salt (about 1/8 teaspoon)
*cashews can be substituted for most other nuts, such as: almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, pecans, walnuts or peanuts.
Directions:
To soak: In a large bowl, combine the nuts with enough cold tap water to cover them by 2 inches. Soak for 8-12 hours at room temperature (I usually do this overnight).
Drain the nuts and discard the soaking water. Transfer the nuts to a high-speed blender, and add the filtered water, sweetener of choice, vanilla, and salt. Blend on high until smooth and cream, about 2 minutes.
Line a strainer with cheesecloth and position over a medium bowl (or use a nut milk bag). Strain the liquid through the cheesecloth or nut milk bag, and give it a good, tight squeeze with clean hands to release all the milk.
Transfer the milk to a glass bottle with a lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
A note from Renee…
The above nut milk recipe is the one I regularly use from the Cannelle et Vanille cookbook by Aran Goyoaga. Her’s is one of my personal favorite cookbooks, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in a wide variety of nourishing, gluten-free recipes—from nut milks and butters, to yogurt and mayo, a gluten-free sourdough starter, made-from-scratch stocks, vegetable forward dishes, homemade pasta, wholesome baked goods, her favorite pantry staples, and even a section on how to build a proper fire. In Aran’s cookbook introduction, she shares stories and anecdotes on growing up in a small town in Spain where her grandparents owned an Artisan Pastry Shop, and how struggling with an eating disordered in her teens led her to denying her interest in the kitchen.
She decided to leave her roots for a new life in the United States after attending business school, then worked unfulfilling corporate jobs until she burnt out and found a path back to her passion for food through blogging. She was diagnosed with Hoshimoto’s and a gluten intolerance after a pregnancy, which ignited her interest in developing exclusively gluten-free, and many dairy-free recipes full of nutrients and whole foods—which by no means sacrifice on taste. If you’re interested in learning more on Aran, you can follow her on instagram at @cannellevanille, and you can find her cookbook by clicking here.
Sticky Spicy Green Beans & Jasmine Rice
Yields: 8oz sauce & 2 cups rice
Ingredients:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 1/2 cups water (for rice)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 cup water (for sauce)
1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 vegetable bouillon cube
2 tsp Sambal Oelek Chili Garlic Paste
1 Tbsp red pepper flakes
6 cups green beans (or noodle beans) cut into 2-3 inch pieces
Toppers:
1 cup quartered fresh tomatoes
1 tsp sesame seeds
*use organic ingredients when possible.
Directions:
Step 1
For the jasmine rice: On the stovetop, add 1 cup rice, 1 1/2 cups water, and 1 tsp coconut oil to a medium pot. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, turn heat to low and cover with lid. Allow rice to simmer for about 25-30 minutes, or until water is fully absorbed.
Step 2
For the green beans: Steam green beans for 10-15 minutes or until desired doneness (we prefer slightly firmer beans). Then, make your sticky sauce while steaming your beans!
Step 3
For the sauce: In a small/medium pot on the stove, combine 1 cup water, soy sauce or tamari, brown sugar, and bullion cube; bring to a boil on medium heat and whisk frequently to prevent brown sugar from burning.
Allow the sauce to cook down for about 15 minutes or until sticky bubbles reach a rolling boil, turn off the heat and stir in red pepper flakes and Sambal Garlic Chili Paste.
Step 4
Toss your steamed green beans in the sauce and serve over a bed of rice. Add raw, fresh tomatoes to the bowl and sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the beans.
Suggested garnish: Add fresh chopped basil or cilantro on top.
Enjoy!
It’s Raining Cats and Dogs
We still have 3 farm cats (Chili, Pepper and Bean) that need loving homes as well as a 3-year old, super sweet hound dog named Frank that a friend of ours needs to re-home. If you or someone you know is interesting in adopting a cute, cuddly furry friend, please text Annie: 704-996-3711
Thanks for reading!
For more about our garden, follow us on instagram (@featherstone.garden), and check out our website. Don’t forget to share our newsletter with a friend by clicking the button below.
Have a great week,
Annie, Aaron, Renee, Jessi, Phoebe + Chili, Pepper & Bean (our farm cats)
Please note: Featherstone Garden is neither paid nor sponsored by any brands, organizations or blogs we feature in our newsletter. We share this content because we found it to be valuable and thought you might, too.
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