This coming Sunday, October 7th, from 2 pm to 5 pm, we invite CSA members and your families to come out to the farm for a tour of things and a visit with us - or with the chickens, whichever your group may prefer. This is an opportunity to view the crops, the high tunnel, the compost system, etc. Ask questions about the veggies, the season, and other things of interest. We apologize for taking so long to firm up the time and plans for the day as we really wanted to offer you a bonfire harvest dinner – but the drought and lack of rainfall predicted this week makes the fire out of the question. As a result, we have cancelled the potluck portion of the plan. Rather, we want to focus on letting you see what goes on here in producing vegetables for you. Due to our livestock, please do not bring your dogs. Wear appropriate footwear for walking about and spend a little time in the country this week!
In Your Basket . . .
Broccoli –organic – new fall crop! The recent cooler temperatures (in the 80s rather than 90s) have helped the broccoli. Loaded with Vitamins A & C, try not to overcook to enjoy the full flavor.
Stringless Green Beans – organic Our last green bean planting is ready for harvest this week. The pods may not be as filled out as desired, but these beans cook up nicely. Snap the beans, blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, drain, dry and pack into freezer containers. Pull out in the middle of winter for a reminder of summertime. Find a new green bean recipe below. Fall Greens Mix (kale, mustards, turnips) – organic Your fresh cooking greens bundle contains a medley of curly kale, giant red mustard, green mustard, or turnip greens. Find an easy soup recipe below using your greens, red onion, and any root vegetables you might have on hand.
Garlic - organic
Cucumber
Red Onions - organic These red onions are freshly harvested though beginning to dry as a storage onion does. Remove the tops for long term storage. We find these more of a strong rather than a sweet flavor. Use in any recipe calling for an onion, they are especially nice pan fried or caramelized.
Acorn Squash Remember that this hard skinned winter squash can be kept in your pantry for weeks. It also can be refrigerated, but will suffer if allowed to freeze (this means don’t store in your garage).
Mini Decorative Pumpkin Our larger pumpkins just won’t fit in your baskets! We will have some available at the farm tour though.
Your Choice Basket: Red Tomatoes – new fall crop We estimated it would be the first of October before the last tomato plants offered ripe fruit. With night temperature reaching into the 40’s, these will finish ripening inside your house better than outdoors.
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Green Beans with Caramelized Onions from From Asparagus to Zucchini 2 pounds green beans, stem ends snipped off, snapped into bite sized pieces if desired 2 T butter 2 medium onions, sliced as thinly as possible 1 C chicken stock 1 ½ T sugar 1 T red wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste
Cook beans in boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2 to 4 minutes (check to make sure pods are cooked, may need a little longer). Drain; immerse in ice water. Drain again and let stand to dry. Melt butter in skillet over medium flame. Stir in onions and cook them slowly until very wilted and deepened in color, about 15 minutes. Boil stock in a saucepan until reduced to ¼ C; stir in sugar and vinegar. Stir in onions. Simmer until slightly reduced. Combine onions and green beans; heat through. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 8 servings.
A Simple Greens Soup from From Asparagus to Zucchini, makes 4 servings
2 T butter or oil 1 small onion, medium-diced 1 pound peeled Jerusalem artichokes or other root vegetables, medium-diced 4 C water or chicken broth 1 bunch greens, washed and chopped (suggestions include watercress, sorrel, red kale, nettles) salt and pepper ½ C heavy cream (optional)
Heat butter or oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until they are translucent (don’t let them brown). Add the artichokes or other roots and water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the root vegetables are soft when pierced with a fork, approximately 15 minutes. Add the greens and cook them until they wilt, about 5 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender) until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Optional: You may pass the soup through a strainer to take out the little bits and make it smoother. If so, you may skip the peeling of the root vegetables, as the skins will strain out. Creamy option: Add heavy cream at the end and heat through.
Garlic-Onion Tomato Pizza We enjoy pizzas many nights during the summer months with a variety of toppings from fried eggplant to basil pesto. This recipe from Taste of Home Magazine. 2 pre-baked pizza dough, homemade or purchased, about 14 inches 2 medium yellow or red onions 8 garlic cloves 6-8 plum tomatoes herb mixture (oregano, parsley, pepper) 1½ C shredded mozzarella cheese ¼ C grated Romano cheese
Thinly slice onions. Halve garlic cloves. Broil both 3-4 inches from heat until softened and lightly browned. Cut tomatoes into eighths and remove seeds. Broil tomatoes for 2 minutes on each side. Finely chop garlic. Arrange onions, garlic and tomatoes on pizza crusts. Sprinkle with herbs and cheeses. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-9 minutes until cheese is melted.
Farm news. . . We received a phone call from a California television producer last week about doing some filming at Elmwood for one of their shows. The concept was to let the Supernanny come out with one of her TV families to tour the farm and learn more about vegetables, nutrition and healthy food. While we definitely support the idea of connecting nutrition and behavior, we are not at all set up for tours, TV, and playground-type kid activities. We get inquiries almost weekly from school groups (from primary school all the way through college graduate students), educators, social organizations, garden clubs, tourists, politician tours, chefs-in-training, those new to farming wanting to learn the “secrets”, and even a few potential customers. Years ago the decision was made to not set up an on-farm market and we just do not have the infra-structure (bathrooms, parking lots, staff) to accommodate folks. Farms can also be dangerous to the uninformed, from groundhog holes to electric fencing, large equipment to large livestock. We have nothing to hide about production practices. In fact, we feel being open and transparent are key components of what we supply to our customers and our fellow producers as well. We want to grow as healthy and wholesome food as possible. We want to make this food available to anyone who wants it; we are glad to share and even encourage other producers to adopt similar sustainable production practices. This openness is offered by many different methods. First, many of our fields are readily visible from a major highway. Second, we are selling at several different farmers markets where we meet our customers face to face with every transaction. Third, we consistently participate in winter conferences both as attendees and as presenters. Finally, we have hosted past “open houses” on our farm. We do not do a lot of advertising, do not have festivals, and don’t seek out publicity to generate business at our farm because that is not the way we are set up to operate. Instead, we rely primarily on word-of-mouth and product display at the farmers markets to make ourselves known to those seeking wholesome, local, fresh farm foods. This is the long story of telling you why we will not be featured on the upcoming season of Supernanny. We declined the inquiry and referred the show to a local agri-entertainment farm. But, we do invite you to the CSA member farm tour this season. Mark your calendars for the CSA Harvest Potluck and Farm Tour – Sunday, October 7, 2007. In the future we may develop on-farm educational programs about beneficial bugs, our Easter Egg hens, the hidden world of microbes underneath grasses, and other keys to organic systems. We’ll keep you posted.
In Your Basket Cabbage – organic Your cabbage this week is a very dense, tight head. It will store well for you in the fridge. It contains a significant amount of Vit. A and C, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Try a new recipe for cabbage. Kohlrabi - organic Remember to peel the kohlrabi bulbs before using. Their flavor will sweeten when sautéed in olive oil or butter. Or shred or slice for a healthy snack. They will store in your crisper drawer for several weeks. Roma Tomato – organic These meaty tomatoes are the best for sauce. Tomatoes can also be frozen whole. Wash, core, place on cookie sheet, and freeze. When solid, place in zip lock freezer bag and place back into freezer. Remove only as many as you need. Don’t plan on eating fresh after thawed, but use for cooking. Heirloom Tomato – organic Varieties of pinks include Arkansas Traveler and Rose. Black tomatoes include Black Krim, Black Plum, Cherokee Purple, and Paul Robeson. Yellows include Mr. Stripey, Old Ivory Egg, and Peach Tomato. Other specialties include Sungold and Green Zebra. Garlic – organic This week’s bulb is Elephant Garlic which is technically not garlic, but in the leek family. It forms very large cloves and sometimes only a single large round clove which can be used like pearl onions. While not a very beautiful bulb, the Elephant is very mild. Zucchini Find a wonderful recipe below for a sweet way to enjoy zucchini. Sweet Corn The last harvest for a few weeks, but the kernels are filled out nicely and easy to cut off the cob. Do not remove the husks until ready to cook as it keeps the moisture in best.
Larger Baskets Only: Brussels Sprouts -organic The easiest way to prepare is to rinse and throw into a pan with either butter (the best!) or extra virgin olive oil. The larger sprouts can be scored on the bottom to help cook at the same speed as the smaller ones. EXTRA Basket: Hot PeppersJalapeño, Serrano, and Poblano hot peppers to choose from this week.
Recipes to Enjoy . . .
Corn Fritters recipe from Cook’s Country
1 ½ pounds fresh corn (2 large or 3 to 4 medium ears), husks and silks removed 1 large egg, beaten lightly 3 T all-purpose flour 3 T cornmeal 2 T heavy cream 1 small shallot or onion, minced ½ tsp salt pinch cayenne ½ C cooking oil
Using a chef’s knife, cut kernels from most of corn and place in bowl. Use box grater to grate remaining kernels to mix the textures. Using back of knife, scrape any pulp remaining on all cobs into bowl. Stir in egg, flour, cornmeal, cream, onion, salt and cayenne. Heat oil in large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Drop 6 heaping T batter in pan. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Transfer fritters to plate lined with paper towels. If necessary add more oil to skillet and heat until shimmering; fry remaining batter. Serve immediately. Makes 12 fritters. Can dip into salsa, sour cream or maple syrup.
Duo of Garlic Preparations
Garlic-Salt Rub for Beef Roast: 3 large garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp dried thyme ½ tsp salt Mix minced garlic, thyme, and salt together in small bowl. Rub all over roast. Place on large plate and refrigerate uncovered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Garlic Paste: 12 large garlic cloves, peeled, cloves cut in half lengthwise 2 sprigs fresh thyme 2 bay leaves ½ tsp salt ½ cup olive oil pepper Heat halved garlic cloves, thyme, bay, salt and oil in small saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbles start to rise to surface. Reduce heat to low and cook until garlic is soft, about 30 minutes. Cool completely. Strain, reserving oil. Discard herbs and transfer garlic to small bowl. Mash garlic with 1 T garlic oil until paste forms. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Cover and reserve garlic oil. Suggested use includes rubbing meat or fish with oil before roasting or grilling. Use paste on meats or fish before oven cooking to give flavorful crust. Surprise Chocolate Sweet Thanks to CSA member, Dorothy, who shares this wonderful dessert! She recommends Ghiradelli sweet ground chocolate cocoa.
1/3 C margarine/butter 4 T and 1 tsp cocoa ½ C sugar ½ C brown sugar, packed 1 egg, beaten 1 C flour 1 ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla 1 C shredded zucchini 2/3 C chopped walnuts
Cream together first four ingredients. Blend in egg, flour, powder, salt and vanilla. Sir in zucchini and walnuts. Spread in an 8” x 8” pan. Bake in 350 oven for 20-25 minutes or until top crust is dry and edges begin to pull from sides. Interior will be moist.
