Garden Happenings: Honeybees, Tomatillos, Farm Cats & More
#22: Summer Happenings @ Featherstone Garden
Welcome to Featherstone’s Summer Happenings Newsletter! 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 do be, you can click the button below to signup.
Kittens up for adoption!
Our sweet farm cat Chili recently introduced us to her two beautiful kitties, Pepper and Bean. They are both boys, and we would like to see them adopted as a pair if possible. Prior to adoption they will be fixed and fully vaccinated by our friends at the Michigan Humane Society. If you or anyone you know is looking to adopt, please email Featherstone’s grower, co-owner & resident cat whisperer annie@feathetstonegarden.com. We love Pepper and Bean very much and will miss seeing them around the farm, but they deserve a safe and loving home where they can live healthier, longer lives as indoor cats.
Harvest Spotlight
Our purple Coban tomatillos, grown from seeds collected from the beautiful mountain town of Coban in Guatemala, are finally starting to ripen. Tomatillos are a key ingredient in salsa verde. Although these tomatillos are purple on the outside they are still green inside. Thinking of making salsa verde at home? Check out this roasted salsa verde recipe from Food52! If you don’t have tomatillos in your garden, our favorite place to purchase them is from Honey Bee La Colmena : a gem in Southwest Detroit that offers some of the freshest produce in town + a variety of delicious in-house salsas, tamales, guacamole and chips.
Featured recipe:
Green Gazpacho w/ Lentils & Farm Fresh Veggies
Our newest recipe feature was created by our Stir Fry Kits recipe developers, Jessi Patuano & Phoebe Zimmerman. This gazpacho is bursting with bright colors, and flavors of citrus, herbs, and a subtle kick from the green chilies.
You can find the full recipe for this Vegan Green Gazpacho on our Garden Goodness blog, including recommendations for creating a complete meal with lentils and sautéed vegetables.
Featured article:
On Veganism by Alicia Kennedy
Today, we’re highlighting food & culture writer, Alicia Kennedy, who has written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Vice, Food52, The Gaurdian, and Vogue to name a few. She also writes a well-informed newsletter on substack that we can’t recommend enough to anyone interested in sharp and thoughtful discourse on food, politics, the environment, culture, and how these topics intertwine.
In this article, she writes about the origins of veganism, stereotypes, common misconceptions, and links many credible sources (including books, articles, interviews, and writers) throughout. For more, we recommend checking out this NPR podcast she was recently featured on, her instagram, and twitter.
Featured Community Organization:
Buzzzzzz - Bees in the D is a Featherstone Partner and also one of our favorite organizations in the city.
Bees in the D educates our community on the importance of pollinators and the conservation of honeybees while building a network of urban honeybee hives throughout Detroit, Southeast Michigan, and Internationally in Canada. They are also in the process of building a Pollinator (education and community) Center in Detroit. Click here to support their efforts.
Featherstone hosts 5 healthy hives that are maintained by Bees in the D, and we feel fortunate to have so many hardworking bees as co-workers in the garden. For the first time this year, we will also be selling honey harvested from our hives at our farm stand and on our website. We’ll let you know when it’s bottled and ready to go home with you!
Check out this video to learn about Bees in the D.
Green Gazpacho & Lentils Assembly Instructions
For Stir Fry Kit Subscribers…
PRE-ASSEMBLY NOTES
When cooking lentils, we suggest using a large saucepan to accommodate for the lentils to (at least) double in size. Be sure to season your lentils with salt after cooking. If salt is added before, they will become tough.
STEP 1
Cook lentils: Rinse lentils with water before boiling to remove debris. Cook on a stove-top, using a 3:1 ratio; 3 cups liquid to 1 cup lentils. We recommend using vegetable stock for a more robust flavor, or water for a low sodium diet. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, reduce heat and simmer until they are tender. For whole lentils, cook time is typically 15-20 minutes.
STEP 2
Sauté Veggies: In a large pan on medium heat, add a splash of cooking oil (approx. 1 Tbsp), & sauté your pre-cut stirfry veggies. To avoid steaming your veggies, try not to overcrowd
the pan. Sauté until lightly browned & tender, or until desired doneness.
TO SERVE
This is meant to be a warm (not hot!) dish. Divvy out hot lentils & sautéed veggies into individually sized bowls, add your desired amount of chilled gazpacho, top with shoots & fresh mint.
Stir Fry & Breads and Spreads Kit Pickup/Delivery Reminders
Kit delivery is on Tuesdays between 4-7:30pm.
Subscribers, Please leave your insulated grocery bag on your doorstep on Tuesday. If you have an extra ice pack, we suggest putting that in the bag too!
Kit pickup is on Wednesday from 2-6pm at Featherstone’s weekly Farm Stand at 4178 Lakepointe Street, Detroit
Stir Fry Kit Subscription Signup is Still Open!
If you would like to sign up for the remaining 3- weeks of our Stir Fry Kit, we’re accepting signups on a rolling basis. Head to the button below for details.
Thanks for reading!
For more about our small-scale farm & garden, please 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 (the farm cat)
