Distribution - April 11, 2010

As promised, today's share features dulse from a great worker owned company: Ironbound Island.

Okay, so Maine isn't local, but it's not that far away either. These guys paddle out in the early morning, spend hours in the waves, and then dry their seaweeds either on a porch, or, when it's foggy, in a shed with a wood burning stove. They prefer to sell their seaweeds in bulk and eschew packaging. The gorgeous pictures on their site make me dream of getting to go try out seaweed harvesting and sleeping in a hammock. Check out the pretty photos and videos. Also, read Sandor Katz's story of harvesting with Ironbound Island, tucked into this miso recipe.

Then I come to reality and remember that, having just gotten back from Brazil, I was cold today in seventy degree weather. Probably the icy Atlantic off the coast of Maine at sunrise isn't the place for me. Thank goodness they're there to harvest, clean, dry, and ship!

Without more dilly dally, the official list of of items in today's share:
- dehydrated dulse from Ironbound Island
- dried wheatberries from Wild Hive Farm
- the end of the 2009 potato crop from the root cellar, Huguenot Street Farm.
- frozen carrot pulp, Huguenot Street Farm
- frozen peaches, Glorie Farm
- frozen blueberries, mulberries, or concord grapes. The blues and grapes were from Glorie Farm, and the mulberries grew wild on the not-so-wild streets of Beacon.
- frozen green beans, zucchini, kale, or choi, all from Huguenot Street Farm.

If you adore salt, this beautiful purple dulse makes a good snack straight up. Also tossed with a tiny bit of oil and oven baked for a few minutes (a la kale chips), since it turns into a crispy sea chip. Traditionally it's used in soups and chowders. It's incredibly high in protein and vitamins, so consider baking some and getting creative with where you use it: on sandwiches, crumbled over popcorn or salads or grains.

Some of you have been baking bread with your whole wheat (ground, of course), which is great news. I haven't gotten around to baking bread lately, but feel free to invite me over for a slice of yours!

I realize this is a lot of potatoes in a short time, but there have been days warm enough to call for potato salad... Cut the sprouting bits of these and plant them, then eat the rest! There's nothing like digging up your own fresh potatoes.

And carrot pulp. You didn't think I could throw away ten+ gallons of carrot pulp, did you? This stuff is also great for baking, for sauces and dressings, or for yummy creations like carrot rice. Even after freezing much of it, some still went into the compost, where deer enjoyed a carrot-y snack before it ever had time to break down.

If you're craving fresh greens, the year's first "weeds" are available for fresh eating and you won't have to look far to find them. Watch for the ubiquitous garlic mustard and wild onions, both currently running rampant through my yard, and probably yours too.