Week 22 – LAST WEEK

Well friends and neighbors, it’s been a good season! We hope you have all enjoyed your boxes as the season progressed.  You’ll be getting an extra sugar pumpkin with your box this week and we’ll leave an attached recipe on how to use it. It will last until Thanksgiving so you could make some homemade pumpkin pie! We will not be at market this next week  (nov. 7) but will be there a few more times before the season ends (which is the last weekend in november). There will also be an indoor winter market at Britton Academy for the month of Dec. We will post the dates and times soon here. For the week:

SMALL SHARE

salad mix

purple kale

fresh dill

garlic

potatoes

half of a “candy roaster” winter squash

parsnips

celeriac

sugar pumpkin

 

LARGE SHARE

cherry tomatoes

head lettuce

carrots

onions

RECIPES and HOW TO’S:

Parsnips: These are in the carrot family and can be used in soups, baked or mashed. We personally like to chop them and roast them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees until soft (with olive oil and garlic). Lately we have been adding  potatoes, celeriac, garlic, carrots, and beets drizzling with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roasted roots…delicious fall treat! Or just add them to soups.

Celeriac: This is a close cousin to celery except that it is not fibrous with that delicious celery flavor! This unique vegetable is defiantly our new favorite. It looks a little rough..kind of mangled little ball in your box, but don’t be scared. Just peel it until you get to the white flesh inside and chop up for you soups, and to your roasted roots and I have even heard you can poke a few holes in it and bake it like a baked potato!

Candy roaster winter squash: This is actually one of our seed crops we grew this year for Fedco. This is why they are cut in half. The seeds have been removed and the flesh is yours to eat. We had some the other night and it was sooo delicious that we decided to share. You can put it upside down on a cookie sheet or pirex pan with about a half inch of water and bake for 45 mins. or so at 350 degrees ( or until you can poke it with a fork) We just mashed it with butter or olive oil and salt and it was so yummy. Last night I roasted garlic in the oven as well and mashed those in with the squash..served with cilantro black beans, collards, and salsa. YUM!

Sugar pumpkin pie recipe: I will be posting this soon!

Week 21

As the season is coming to a close we are so grateful for this year. We feel it has been pretty successful minus a few mishaps. We are happy to have provided salad mix for you all almost every week, although it hasn’t been our year for tomatoes or broccoli. But, what can you do? Growing food varies so much year to year, and each year you learn sooo much! We hope you all can join us next year for another great year of veggies. We would love to hear any feed-back on what you liked, didn’t like, would like to see changed etc..constructive critisism is good! Sam has thoughts of next winter having a winter C.S.A….what do you think? I feel like folks are pretty hungry for some fresh local greens and storage crops in the winter. A reminder to bring your own bag next week to pick up your csa with so we can collect all our bins. Thanks! For this week:

SMALL SHARE

salad mix

collards (use like kale or any other dark leafy green..i like to saute garlic and olive oil and then braise the collards, top with sea salt and pepper- simple and delicious)

cilantro

carrots

winter squash

peppers

onions

potatoes

LARGE SHARE

head lettuce

garlic

cabbage

strawberries (still going..but barley)

 

The best salad dressing ever:

In a small mason jar put

• one part extra virgin olive oil (1 c.)
• 3/4 part apple cider vinegar (3/4 c.)
• 1/2 part sweetener (1/2 c.) We use agave syrup or honey
• 1/2 part shoyu or tamari (or just soy sauce) (1/2 c.)
• 4-10 cloves of garlic to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• If you want finely diced parsley

Again you can adjust all ingredients to taste and the longer it marinates (a few days is the best) the better it tastes!! ( It nice to have the dressing in a sealed container so you can really shake it up each time you use it)

Week 20

The pizza party happened without a drop of rain and all was well! We missed everyone but you all know that you are more than welcome to stop in for a visit if you are ever out this way! Again, we feel so honoured to have provided the veggie boxes to you all, which enabled us to stay home more and be near our son. Thanks for the support to the small farmers!  With just two more weeks left October 31st. will be the last day for your veggie pick-up. We ask that that day you please bring your own bag so that we can collect all the boxes. Hope you all are enjoying the season.  Giving thanks – Denise, Sam and Ari

SMALL SHARE

Salad Mix

Kale (see recipe)

Dill

Garlic

Peppers (Jalapeno & Bells )

Potatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Beet bunches

LARGE SHARE

Head lettuce

Eggplants

Carrots

Onions

KALE SALAD (my fav. right now)

• one bunch fresh kale
• 1/4 c. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 1/4 c. bragg’s liquid aminos or tamari
• 1/2 med red onion
• 1/4c. sunflower seeds
• 1/4c. sesame seeds
• 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds
• 1 avocado cut into cubes

take stems out of kale and cut into fine ribbons (1/4 inch?)

slice onions thinly or chop

in a skillet toast seeds ( you might want to toast separately because they toast at different rates)

In a small mason jar mix your dressing. You can massage the kale with the dressing but i prefer to just let it marinate for ten minutes or so. Toss in onion and seeds and then avocado last. Season with fresh ground pepper or a little nutritional yeast. Delicious!

Week 19

getting the harvest ready for

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have been lightly touched by frost, which means no more zukes, cukes, last week for eggplant and we will try to milk the last of the peppers and tomatoes along. Don’t forget about the farm party next Saturday 3-6:00!

You can mapquest the farm for directions: our address is 7007 Hugo Rd. (G.P.) 97526 and our phone # is 479-0249 if you get lost.  Grub for the week:

 

SMALL SHARE

salad mix

box o’ onions

cilantro

yellow beans

purple potatoes

eggplant

heirloom tomato

one green pepper, one large sweet pepper and one small orange sweet pepper plus two jalapenos (make some salsa!)

 

LARGE SHARE

strawberries

garlic

head lettuce

watermelon

 

OLIVES!! We might have to name our baby after this..

 

The first almonds (just a handful!)

The view from the orchard

loading the dehydrator up with some not so perfect tomatoes

Week 18

Salad mix, cilantro, and dill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s October already..we can’t hardly believe it! I have missed the last two weeks of updates …what can I say?..we’ll blame it on the pregnancy! Not too much has been happening here. We had a couple of wwoofers from England and then a couple from Philidelphia..great people and great help! Mama gets to work less (this is good) and Sam gets some relief. Just within two weeks our tomatoes are  now coming on..just one of those years! The farm is more bountiful than ever right now, we are pushing the space capacity on the table at  market…that is always great though! We sent out an email but we will remind you all that the farm party will be on October 17 (saturday) 3:00-6:00. We will have a farm tour, cob pizza party ( *remember..bring your favorite topping) and discuss this years c.s.a. We are aware that not everyone can make it, so if you would like to schedule a time to come visit that works for you, please do so. For your veg this week:

SMALL SHARE

  

Salad mix

Red onions

Purple potatoes (make some purple mashed potatoes for a fun side dish..the skins are tender)

Dill

Cherry tomatoes

Bulk beets

Sweet pepper

Japanese eggplant

  

LARGE

Honeydew melon

Head lettuce

carrots

strawberries

 

Recipe:

Rosemary Red Soup

3 med. carrots

2-3 med-large beets

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 3 inch sprig of fresh rosemary or  1 tbsp. dried

1 tbsp. oregano

1 c. red lentils ( washed and drained)

1 bay leaves

6 c. of water or veggie (or chicken) stock (you may need more..)

2-3 tbsp. miso ( if you don’t have this…salt to taste)

 

Heat oil in pot and saute onions and garlic till soft.

Then add carrots and beets (washed and chopped..no need to peel)

Add herbs, lentils, bay leaves and water to sauted vegetables, bring to  a boil.

Lower heat and simmer 45 mins.

Remove bay leaves. Let soup cool and puree in small batched (* note..i don’t puree because it is just too much trouble for me..and I think it is just fine)

Then dissolve miso in 1/2 c. of warm water and stir into your soup. Gently reheat soup if needed.

Salt and pepper to taste.

This soup is super easy, nutritious and delicious! Serve with some corn muffins and a nice kale salad for  a balanced meal.

(derived from Feeding the Whole Family, Cynthia Lair)

ENJOY!!

 

Week 15

FARM PARTY SEPTEMBER 26! 3:00-6:00

Since our farm party last year was in the pouring rain at the end of October, we decided to move it forward a bit this year so that at least folks can see what the garden looks like in abundance (instead of frost bitten) After assessing all dates this is the only possible option for us or else it would be pushed into late October again. So, we hope you all can make it! We will be having a cob oven pizza party, we will provide dough and sauce as well as garden toppings (all organic of course). We just ask that you bring your favorite topping to contribute and a bit of cheese for yourself if you like. We will have a garden tour, exchange thoughts of this year and what could be improved for next year. You might want to bring a chair as well.

For this week…SMALL SHARE

Corn!! yah..finally.

Plums (prune plums) We love this just fresh, but if you like you can slice them in half, de-pit them, and dry them in a dehydrator, in the sun, or in the oven on the lowest heat. They store great in a mason jar and taste delicious in January.

Tomatoes

Zuke

Cuke

Parsley

Salad mix

Onion

LARGE SHARE

Garlic

Strawberries

Raspberries

Sweet peppers

week i don’t know..

ahh.. these cool nights are so lovely to us humans and brassicas, but maybe not so much for the solaniums (tom, eggs, peppers etc..) especially since we have not yet hit our “bumper crop” of tomatoes yet and the peppers are not turning color. what can we say…it may just not be our year for that, the beauty of this is …there is always another season and the planning for that comes up sooner than we think. the result, better planning for next year and always learning how very different each season can be. gotta love farming for that one! we can offer up some eggplant for this week though since we finally had enough for all the small shares. so for the week:

SMALL SHARE:

salad mixto

onion

zuke

cuke

tomatoes

fresh basil

mixed beets (yellow, red, chioggia)

eggplant (one biggie or two japanese)

celery

LARGE SHARE

bell pepper

strawberries

head lettuce

chard

My favorite few ways to cook eggplant lately are:

slice fairly thinly and you can either batter them two different ways..

the vegan way: dip in some dark beer and then coat with nutritional yeast..then fry with garlic and olive oil till brown.

the other way: dip in egg (two scrambled eggs) and then in panko bread crumbs..again fry up in olive oil and garlic until brown. This makes a good side dish to some pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil.

Or you can saute up garlic, onions, eggplant..cook for about ten minutes then add a bunch of fresh tomatoes and simmer. At the very end add your fresh basil..and maybe some more garlic and toss lightly with angel hair pasta.

Lemon Basil Potato Salad:

6-8 c. red potatoes, cut into chucks..boiled until tender.

dressing:

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/3 tightly packed fresh basil

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp.lemon zest

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

while potatoes are cooking, chop garlic, basil, salt and lemon zest together on cutting board until paste like consistency. combine this garlic paste with oil and lemon juice..set aside.

once potatoes are cooled but slightly warm..pour dressing over and toss gently. server immediately or chill to serve later.

Enjoy! and we’ll see you all tomorrow..probably in the rain. could be fun!

Week 13

hmm for the week: hope you all are enjoying the bounty..good times!

SMALL SHARE

Salad mix

box o’ onions

garlic

zukes

cuke

tomatoes

dill (see recipe below)

purple, yellow and orange carrots

kale

bell pepper

LARGE SHARE

head lettuce

strawberries

ginormous eggplant (aka..really big)

green cone-shaped cabbage

RECIPES:

Dilled Brown Rice and Kidney Beans

2 C. cooked brown rice

1 1/2 C. cooked kidney beans

1/2 C. red onion chopped

Dressing

3 TBsp. olive oil

3 TBsp. brown rice vinegar

1TBsp. umeboshi plum vinegar

2 TBsp. finely diced fresh dill

Put rice, beans, and onion in a large bowl. Mix dressing separate and pour over rice mixture, toss gently. If possible let sit and hour or two in the fridge. (adapted from : Feeding the Whole Family, Cynthia Lair)

 

Week 12

Greetings

Well…the lettuce is surviving the heat wave and things are catching up. Looks like corn and melons will be more like September. Although, this is the first week where we will not have salad mix (you’ll get head lettuce instead) it is only because we were a bit off on our seeding schedule. So, next week it will continue! For the week:

SMALL SHARE

Head lettuce

Red onions

Cucumber

Zucchini

Green & purple beans

Celery!-  This is our first ever successful crop of celery and it is delicious! Although the ribs are smaller they are very tender and green..enjoy.

Tomatoes -since ours aren’t quite ripe yet, we are trading some food for food with our buddies at Mud Puddle Farm. They use organic practices as well and it is nice to be able to count on your local farming friends to help out. Thanks guys!

Cilantro

Swiss Chard

LARGE SHARE

Beets

Bell pepper

Salad mix

Eggplant

Some recipes for ya:

Veggie pasta

Although this doesn’t sound to exciting..it is delicious and my personal favorite and an easy dish right now.

Saute one or two onions and about four cloves of garlic in olive oil, then add some diced up eggplant. Once the eggplant is getting cooked though, add slivered zucchini and chopped tomatoes. Simmer all together for about 10-15 mins. Meanwhile, be cooking some linguine. As your veggie/tomatoes sauce is finishing up, finely chop parsley and basil. Turn off the heat on the sauce, drain the noodles and toss altogether with the fresh herbs and freshly grated parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, top off with more parm and enjoy with a nice salad. Enjoy!

Zucchini Parmesan (Adapted from Oakhill organics website)

(try making this with both zucchini and eggplant)

Slice up some squash about ¼ thick and sauté them until they are partially cooked. Spread them in a 9×13 pan, dab ricotta cheese and pesto all over, toss on beans or chopped cooked meat, cover with tomato sauce. Make two layers. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until bubbly. Yum!

Roasted rosemary roots:

Chop beets, potatoes, carrots or yams into small cubes (add garlic if you like) . Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and rosemary in a bowl. Lay flat on a cookie sheet and slow roast at 350 degrees until tender. Let cool and serve as a great side dish.

Week 11

New wwoofers are here= we’re loving it and their loving it..a nice symbiotic relationship!  Weeding duty continues.. and for the the week:

SMALL SHARE:

salad mix

sweet onions

garlic

kale

zukes

fresh basil

bell pepper

tomatoes

LARGE SHARE

head lettuce

strawberries

cucumber

carrots

packin' boxes ..a few weeks ago