Welcoming a New Season + Sweet Pea Pesto on Toast Recipe
#86: Spring Happenings @ Featherstone Garden
Welcome to Featherstone’s Garden Happenings Newsletter. We will share a rotating variety of garden updates: from farm fresh subscriptions, community partners, Detroit spotlight features & 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.
Happy almost Summer
It’s a busy time of year for us! Lots of our plants are in the ground and we look forward to sharing our summer garden happenings and some yummy produce with you soon.
Last Chance to Purchase our Specialty Tomato Seedlings: Order by Friday 5/26
Enjoy some of our favorite tomato varieties this summer, harvested from the comfort of your own home.
Pickup is this Saturday, May 27th from 9am-12pm at 4178 Lakepointe Street, Detroit Michigan 48224.
If this pickup window doesn’t work for you, email annie@featherstonegarden.com to arrange for pickup on a different day.
Welcoming a New Season & New Changes on the Horizon
By Renee S.
(Written April 13, 2023)
And just like that, spring is upon us! The snow has melted away, the sun is brighter than ever, and flowers are blooming. Witnessing all this new growth sprouting from the earth and bursting from the trees reminds me of the cyclical nature of the seasons — and how oftentimes our lives follow similar cycles. We’re excited for the new life of spring because we endured the cold, rough edges of winter. And the anticipation of heaps of produce and fresh flowers at Featherstone’s lush Garden that will once again fill the greenhouses and exterior garden beds only amplifies that experience. As I write this newsletter on our first 80°F day, with spring here and in full effect, all of the changes on the horizon seem even more tangible than expected.
As you may already know, Featherstone Garden has welcomed a second location in Downtown Detroit for the upcoming 2023 season. Annie, Aaron, and the team look forward to a fruitful year with plenty of new growth.
As for myself, I’m reflecting on the past year from when I left NYC—a place I called home for nearly 5 years—to move back to Detroit last May, 2022. I’m humbled by the experiences I had on the farm that brought me to where I am today, and I’m reminded that all good things come to an end. Bittersweetly, this will be the final ‘Garden Happenings’ newsletter I write, and the final recipe I share with you all before moving on to a new adventure.
I have so enjoyed writing these newsletters throughout the past few years, and for those who are interested in following my next steps, I will soon be reviving my personal food newsletter Woodbine Kitchen, via Substack. Within it, you will find seasonal recipes, occasional Detroit happenings, and whatever else I’ve been up to, or feel inclined to share. I’d love to connect with you there. Head to the link below to subscribe and to read past newsletters.
Featherstone is Expanding!
Hey friends, Annie here. First of all, many thanks to Renee for the amazing work she has done for Featherstone on our branding, design work and newsletter. We wish her all the best with her new endeavors. I apologize for the break in our weekly newsletter. Right now we particularly busy with the process of activating a second site in Downtown Detroit. This will allow us to expand our produce and cut flower offerings (including a u-pick flower garden). We also plan to host some farm-to-table events this summer. With that being said, our team is spending the next several weeks focusing on getting both of our sites planted with all the green babies we have been nurturing in our nursery. The newsletter will resume on a weekly basis when our farmstand opens in July (at 4178 Lakepointe Street Detroit).
Spring Pea Pesto & Poached Egg on Toast
By Renee S.
Now that spring is in full swing, I’ve been experimenting with lighter and brighter dishes. I recently made a Warm Fennel & Apple Salad and am using the discarded fennel fronds for this pesto recipe, along with peas because they’re one of my favorite veggies to add to spring dishes.
Making pesto at home requires a blender or food processor, but there’s no need to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a pricy piece of equipment. I’m using a hand blender (similar to this one) that I bought years ago for under $30. It works great for pestos and spreads that are meant to have some texture to them.
A note on the garlic: Rather than using a knife to chop your garlic, I recommend grating it with a microplane to open up the flavor and aroma of the garlic.
A note on the fennel fronds: If you skip out on the fennel fronds, you’ll be losing an important flavor profile that makes this pesto what it is. The fronds have a distinct yet subtle licoricey taste, and I can’t say that I would stand behind this recipe without it. If you buy a whole fennel and not sure what to do with the bulb, I can suggest a few recipes from past newsletters, like the fennel & apple salad I mentioned above, or this wild mushroom & fennel flatbread.
Recipe: Spring Pea Pesto & Poached Egg on Toast
Yields: ~ 8 oz
Do ahead: Toast pepitas by tossing 1/4 cup on a dry pan (no oil!) on the stove top on medium heat, shaking the pan every so often until they puff and crisp up to a golden brown color, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer the pepitas to a plate to prevent them from overcooking in the pan, and add a pinch of salt to taste.
Ingredients for pesto:
1 cup basil
1 cup peas (frozen is perfectly fine!)
1/2 cup pecorino romano (or parmesan)
1/4 cup fennel fronds
1/3 cup good quality olive oil (plus more, if needed)
2 tablespoon toasted pepitas (or other nuts/seeds of choice—like: pine nuts, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, cashews, you name it.)
1 small clove garlic, finely grated (with a microplane)
1 lemon: 2 tablespoons of juice & zest
1/2 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
For assembly:
a thick cut piece of sourdough (or bread of choice)
1 egg
Directions:
Step 1
Combine all pesto ingredients with a hand blender or food processor. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if need be.
Step 2
Cook your eggs: I prefer making poached eggs for this recipe, but you can also try a soft boiled jammy egg or any other egg style you like.
Assembly
Toast a thick-cut piece of bread. Spread a generous amount of pesto on toast, top with egg. Add a pinch of salt & pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Enjoy!
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.
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Have a great week,
Annie, Aaron, Renee + Chili, Bean, Fig and Olive (our farm cats ₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎◞ ₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎◞₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎◞ ₍˄·͈༝·͈˄₎◞)
