What to Do With Your Share---Week 18

Today was a big day as we finished up our Fall planting (except for the garlic). All of the crops for the remainder of the season are in the ground, and so are the many cover crops we plant. Such days are milestones to us, as we can tick “planting” off our current to-do list.

Enjoying the fruits of the harvest is next on the list, with a kitchen counter full of potatoes, greens, radishes, onions, and many other goodies. We begin craving the late season harvest this time of year, with many of the vegetables harkening back to Spring. But thereally nice thing about this time of year is that there are also tomatoes, peppers and sweet potatoes around.

Greens
If you did not link to the Mark Bittman recipe I talked about last week I suggest you do now, as it could become a favorite for many I know. We have it on a regular basis, especially when there is broccoli raab around. A simple dish that starts with toasting bread crumbs in a pan, before sautéing some greens and garlic, and ends by adding some pasta and cheese and tossing it all in the pan.

Tomato Radish Pesto Sandwich
We often fix a quick sandwich at lunch, full of whatever is at hand. We especially like the crunchiness of a good radish and a homemade spread. For the spread we took some leftover pesto and mixed it with a little mayonnaise. Fresh sliced tomatoes, radishes, and a few leaves of arugula filled in the middle of some good bread, and we were ready to picnic.

Arugula Radish Salad
The arugula we are harvesting right now is as good a quality as we can get. It is growing big and green right now, with not too much spiciness. If you find it a little strong, be sure to dress it well, as tart flavors like vinegar mellow out it’s bite. To make a nice fresh salad simply clean and chop some arugula and put in a bowl. Add a generous amount of grated radish, add some creamy garlic dressing (or dressing of your choice), toss, and serve topped with pumpkin seeds or nuts.

Bulk List---Week 19

The farm is reviving as the Autumn nears. Now is the opportunity to take advantage of extra greens, spicy radishes, hot peppers, and basil. Make and freeze some pesto now before the frosts come and the plants are gone.

We also highly recommend that those of you that like hot peppers think about making a big batch of Jalapeno en Escabeche. There is more info on this delicious recipe in our Week 10 blog. We make a quart on Sunday and it is already about gone.

Radishes: $2.50/bunch
Jalapenos: $2.50/pint
NuMex Anaheim hot peppers: $2.50/half lb
Poblano hot peppers: $2.50/half lb
Arugula: $2.50/bunch
Large basil bunch: $3.00/bunch Basil (pesto size bunch): $3.00/bunch
Kale/broccoli raab/mustard greens: $3.00/bunch

In the Share - Week 17

SWEET POTATOES (F/P) If I had to pick only one vegetable to grow I would probably pick these sweet roots. They are tasty, nutritious and the plants thrive in our hot, humid Midwestern summers.

GARLIC (F/P) some say the artichoke variety we are handing out this week is the tastiest. See what you think.

ARUGULA (F) A favorite in our kitchen. All it needs is a simple vinaigrette, but for a real treat toss it with some hot roasted potatoes and garlic.

PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F/P) We’ve got loads of these lovely ladies this week, just in time for a radish sandwich!

SWEET PEPPERS, OKRA, EGGPLANT OR HOT PEPPERS (F/P) The eggplant is coming back to life after it’s “near death experience” in the summer heat. Take your pick of the late summer fruits.

CHOICE OF GREENS: KALE, COLLARDS, ASIAN GREENS, RAPINI (F/P) An assortment of gorgeous greens. Rapini, or Broccoli Raab, is similar to a mustard green but at it’s peak it will make a small broccoli floret. We are picking some before it has started to flower so that we don’t miss the best stage for the lovely greens.

GREEN BEANS (F) The bean patch took a lot of punches from the dry, hot summer and still produced a nice flush of tasty beans last week. Another couple of pickings may be all it has left.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, sage, parsley or a dried herb. Partial shares also get a choice of arugula with their herbs.

TOMATOES (F) Not sure how many tomatoes we will have until we pick the cherry tomatoes tomorrow. We’ll send in all we’ve got.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares, Of the Earth fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More peppers, eggplant and okra. Radishes and greens. Potatoes and onions.

FARM REPORT
One of the fringe benefits of being a farmer in the countryside is that you share your work environment with many species that are not often found on the factory floor or in the office tower. Some of our fellow creatures we see every day, the butterflies and birds, our dog and the cats, the katydids and the dragonflies. They are so common that they often go unnoticed or our gaze fixes on them for only a moment before we get back to the task at hand. The appearance of other creatures is much more uncommon, so that when they are spotted we stop with full attention. This week we had our first fox sighting on the farm.

He/she was hunting the many grasshoppers that are in our fields. Foxes also eat rabbits, voles, mice and birds we are told. They say the young foxes that were born this spring leave their den in the fall to forge on alone. Perhaps this little one had just struck out on his own and was happy to find such a bountiful harvest of grasshoppers. We saw him again today so he must have decided our farm was worth a return trip.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 17

This week you will be able to feel Autumn approaching in air, as well as your share. A morning low of 48 degrees greeted us on Tuesday as we harvested. A welcome relief from the hot days of July and August. And the delicious crops of Fall also greets us now, with radish, arugula, greens, and sweet potatoes finding their way to the dinner table.

Sweet Potatoes
A recent article in the LA Times talks about the resurgence of sweet potatoes as a “go to” food for many Americans. In the past decade sweet potato consumption in the US has doubled. On the menu at many a restaurant, this delectable tuber is seeing a popularity it has not known for some time.

Here at the farm we have doubled our sweet potato production of just a few years ago. We have found that we have more consistent results growing them than crops like winter squash, and we like them just as much. We have settled in on growing two separate varieties; the old standard orange “Beauregard”, and the white skinned and fleshed “O’Henry.” The former is in your share this week, the latter in two weeks. We hope that you enjoy them and that they serve as a good substitute for winter squash.

Sage
Sage, aka salvia officinalis, is an herb known through the ages. This aromatic herb is traditionally used in sausage making and turkey stuffing. It is also a wonderfully matched accompaniment to sweet potatoes. Simply clean and cut your sweet potatoes, add some olive oil, salt and chopped sage, and roast at 400 degrees until tender and browned.

Broccoli Raab
Among the greens choices this week is broccoli raab, aka rapini. With the taste of both broccoli and mustard greens it is quite hearty. We suggest checking out our Week 3 blog from 2009 for more info and a link to a great article by NY Times food writer Mark Bittman.

Roasted Green Beans
One thing we enjoy about the CSA work days at the farm is the chance to talk with the members and hear how they prepare the vegetables in their share. On Saturday in the bean patch Janice Marsh talked about her incredible simple recipe for green beans…roasting them.

That was all we needed to try it out. Her simple instructions (see below) produced a delicious dish. Thanks Janice.

Ingredients
Green beans
Olive oil
Salt

Method
Snap the stem end off the beans and pull the strings off the sides. (While the beans are tender, it will help to get rid of the string).
Toss beans with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and salt to taste.
Roast at 400 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes, until desired tenderness.



Herb Tins
We buy herb tins at the start of the season to have a convenient container for providing you with the choice of a dried herb. We like this tins not only because they are attractive and work well, but because they are reusable.

So, if you have accumulated some tins and are not using them around the house, you can bring them to distribution and they will find their way back to us, and then back to you.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 16

Fall is starting to make an appearance as the cool crops of autumn continue to try to beat the heat. Things are greening up in the field and we are starting to get our first taste. Collards and kale leaves are being plucked to fill your share and keep the plant producing. The radishes are sizing up and we don’t want to wait to pick them. Good in a salad, or better yet a sandwich.

Okra
This hot weather crop has been producing at a peak rate lately. As the plants get larger, the sideshoots of the plant also produce pods, increasing their harvest. Okra is very flavorful, extremely nutritious and good for your digestive system. It has high levels of fiber, as well as vitamins A, C and K.



As Jan Glauberman mentioned in last year’s week 15 blog, water is okra’s enemy, as it will make it slimy. Dry heat cooking, as described in her recipe Wok Fried Okra, gives it some crispness. We prepared it tonight using some ancho chili powder instead of Indian spices to flavor it. Any dry rub that you prefer will work well.

In the Share - Week 16

lettuce newly transplanted


CARROTS (F/P) Last out of cold storage. The pesky heat this summer kept 3 plantings from sprouting, so this is it for the year.

ONIONS (F/P) It was a good year for onions. Dry weather during their critical dry-down time meant less loss in the field and in storage. This week, we are handing out Prince, our best keeper.

SWEET PEPPERS (F) Not many this week, we are trying to restrain ourselves from picking all the green fruit that still has a chance of ripening. At the first warning of frost we’ll have to pick them all, but until then there’s still time for some more sweet reds and yellows.

OKRA OR HOT PEPPERS (P) The okra is at its peak right now. As soon as the weather cools so will it’s production.

TOMATOES (P) It the partial shares turn for the few remaining tomatoes after a glorious run.

PINK BEAUTY RADISHES (F) The first of the fall plantings of radishes, young and tender. By next week they should be full grown and ready for everyone.

KALE OR COLLARDS OR OKRA OR ANAHEIM PEPPERS (F) And the first picking of the fall kale and collards. We grow Toscano and White Russian kales as fall crops.

GREEN BEANS (F/P) Finally the beans are back for a quick run before their season is done. We are picking off of 3 different plantings that stalled over the hot summer: Rattlesnake pole beans, Jade green beans and yellow wax.

HERBS (F/P) Basil, parsley, thyme, summer savory or a dried herb.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Parker Farms shares, Pierce’s fruit shares

NEXT WEEK: More radishes, kale and collards, okra and peppers. A few more tomatoes. Arugula and broccoli raab (rapini). Potatoes and garlic.


mowing down the cover crop

FARM REPORT
Anyone who has been out to the farm lately can’t help but notice our 8 feet tall cover crop of sorghum sudan grass and cowpeas. The sorghum sudan looks a lot like corn, so many have asked if that is our sweet corn crop. Sorry to disappoint you all, but we are very happy with our healthy cover crops. Cover crops are grown to add nutrients and organic matter to the soil prior to planting our vegetables. The huge amount of biomass produced keeps our soil life active and including both a grass and a legume gives a balance of both carbon and nitrogen to the subsequent crop. In this case, the sorghum sudan and cowpeas will decompose through the fall and will provide a good foundation for the fall planting of garlic and our spring plantings next year. The cowpeas like growing with the grass because it can climb up the tall stalks.

In the Share - Week 15

potato harvest

POTATOES (F/P) Desiree and Bintje varieties, both yellow-fleshed and great for steaming, frying and salad. Full shares get two shares worth this week, partial shares get the normal amount.

GARLIC (F/P) Is our garlic piling up on you? Try roasting a whole head for a change. Spread the roasted garlic on toast or add to your favorite recipe for a bump in flavor.
SWEET PEPPERS (F/P) The sweet pepper harvest is in a lull right now as a lot of the ripe fruit has been picked. There are a lot of green fruit on the plants however, and more still forming, so the harvest should have several more rounds going right up to the first frost.

OKRA OR HOT PEPPERS (F) The okra really kicked in this week. I hope you all have found that excellent and oh, so simple recipe from the blog from last year. No deep-frying needed and no slime neither!

SWEET POTATO GREENS (F/P) A novel idea in this part of the world, but in others sweet potato greens are the go-to-dish. They grow abundantly in hot weather and trimming the plant back a bit does nothing to diminish the production of the sweet roots. See Tom’s post for a quick recipe with another everyday food from the tropics, peanut sauce.

TOMATOES (?) We’re not quite sure what we are doing with the few tomatoes we have this week. There aren’t enough for everyone to even get one. We’ll know what we have to share once the cherry tomatoes are picked tomorrow.

HERB CHOICE (F/P) More luscious basil and aromatic summer savory

ALSO THIS WEEK: Bread of Life Bakery shares

NEXT WEEK: More sweet peppers, tomatoes, okra and hot peppers. I know I keep saying this, but maybe finally some beans. Carrots and onions.


FARM REPORT
Finally on Monday morning the farm received a good soaker of a rain and for that we are grateful. Summer is winding down and after the brutal summer we are happy to say, “Good riddance!” The crops are all responding to the cooler temperatures and beneficial moisture. You can almost see the plants growing new leaves and fresh fruit right before your eyes. The peppers, eggplant, tomatoes and beans have set a brand new batch of little green fruit. The okra is reaching for the sky and the sweet potatoes continue their quest to cover the field with their vines. We are keeping a close watch on the radishes, arugula, hakurei turnips and lettuces that we planted in the middle of the hot summer, watered and weeded until now. In another few weeks they will be returning to the shares and it can’t happen quick enough.

I don’t know that it has been noticed much in your households what with school starting and perhaps the last of the summer vacations, but the farmers are a bit nervous about how light the shares are right now. The full shares are getting an extra box of potatoes this week to compensate but still we would love to have more peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and gosh a cucumber or a zucchini or some green beans would be really nice!
We attribute the lack of much to harvest right now to the after effects of a very hot and dry summer. We lost a lot of crops during the nasty weather, most regrettably the entire Cucurbitae family which seemed to fail due to healthy crop of heat-loving squash bugs than to the heat per se. Others have simply been shy about setting fruit until now.

We believe we will be through the worst of the lull in another couple of weeks once all these green fruit start ripening and the first of the fall crops start coming in. Until then, we hope you understand the difficulties that we face out here and know that we are doing our very best to feed your family well.