CSA dinner of champions

We received this email from a CSA member making good use of all the veggies in this weeks share (and supplementing them with some other veggies too):

Just wanted to say "thank you" again for what you guys do at your farm and with the CSA. Here is a picture of our meal we had tonight. I made the Garlic Scape Pesto and mixed that with the hot pasta (Ditalini) and fresh veggies (sauted the swiss chard, broccoli as well as red, green and yellow peppers and a tomato). YUMMY!

CSA week #2

Eating Seasonally

Part of being involved in a CSA is learning about what is available when and how to take advantage of the produce while you have it. Now we are so used to everything being available to us whenever we want it since we can just go the local grocery store. But, that’s not how our elders grew up and although it may seem convenient, who really pays attention to where the produce is coming from when they buy it from the grocery store?

Salad greens are an example of something that is only available occasionally, at least in our climate. While you can grow it in the spring and fall, lettuces and other greens can’t handle the heat of the summer without being a wilty mess. Also, they start to become bitter and bolt (which means go to seed). So gardeners beware because our spinach has already bolted, meaning that we could potentially have a short window for lettuce in the early summer with these hot, hot days we’ve been having.

When you sign up for the CSA, we try to give you a list of things that will be available during which part of the season. So in the spring you will be getting a lot of greens and the share may be supplemented with things like soap or flowers. Then, in the summer your array of vegetables will grow and so will the amount you get depending on how large our plethora of tomatoes is this year. And in the fall, we are working on potatoes, squashes, pie pumpkins and other vegetables that will store well for you into the months after the CSA.
So, while it may seem like you are getting a lot of repeats, we promise we will try to mix things up a little bit. And before you know it, the season will change and you will be wishing you had lettuce again. Like Joni Mitchell says, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.



What’s included this week?

Garlic scapes- they grow off the top of garlic bulbs, but can be used like scallions either cooked or eaten raw but with a garlic flavor instead
Spring lettuce mix
Swiss chard- can either be sautéed; or, make a pouch of them with foil, add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast or grill until wilted (typically about 5-10 mins)
Radishes
Basil- goes great with Italian food, especially in pesto
All-natural homemade soap


Recipe of the Week

Garlic Scape Pesto

One handful basil
1/2 cup garlic scapes, finely chopped

4 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

3 cups grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Put garlic scapes and lemon juice in food processor, and process until scapes are very finely chopped. With food processor running, add oil through the feed tube and process 2-3 minutes. Remove lid, add half of parmesan cheese and process 2 minutes, then add the rest of cheese and salt and pepper and process 2-3 minutes more.Serve tossed with hot pasta. This would also be good on fish, as a topping for bread, or as a seasoning for cooked rice.


Thank you for your support,
Gretel and Steve

Our not-so-lily crop

Although we have never had previous problems with the deer causing significant damage to our crops, they had an all-you-can-eat buffet on our many lily buds. They wait until the bud is just about to open so that way it is huge and succulent when they destroy all your hopes and dreams. I mean really, you had to eat the most expensive thing we grow?!?! C'mon now! Well, hopefully with the mixed bouquet business picking up at Whole Foods and the soap, dahlias, and gladiolas that we added to our repetoire we will be able to suffice. Now, if only we knew how to hunt!

What did you do this winter?

Well, instead of allowing ourselves to sit around with the winter blues, we kept ourselves very busy around the farm. Not only is winter our time to fix everything that we didn’t have time for over the summer, it is also time for us to relax and enjoy the hard work that we have done all summer to get to this point.

We get to reflect on the past season, being thankful that we have worked so hard towards living a sustainable lifestyle. Meaning, we are not as reliant on other people to provide to us, even in the winter. We have been able to learn more by our experience each year. Winter is our time to read lots of farm books and keep up on the all the new things that are going on in farming.
We have found that a lot of the theories are modifications of what things used to be like back in the day, but with modern use of chemicals and genetic engineering, we steered away from that for a little bit. I mean if you think about how farmers used to live; the way they treated their animals humanely, they grew things that naturally belonged in their respective seasons, they didn’t use chemicals, they supplemented the soil, and they preserved their harvest. It just all really makes sense that we are getting back to those roots. We like to think that we are bridging the gap between generations and just learning how our grandparents or great-grandparents would have lived off the land.

People may think that we are crazy putting in all this hard work to living our lives this way, but it really is worth it. We spend all winter chopping wood since we heat our house with a wood burning stove. It is just nice when the gas bill costs close to nothing. In the summer I do a lot of canning and preserving the harvest, which gives us lots of things to eat through the winter that we produced. It is much better than any store bought goods in the wintertime too!

We raised pigs last fall, so we had our own pork to eat over the winter. And, we have laying hens so we get fresh eggs for ourselves. Overall, it is hard work, but I wouldn’t have it any other way now that I know what it’s like to be more self-sufficient.

Sorry for the delay...

Unfortunately it has been a long time since we have posted things on our blog. We have actually had a lot going on recently and haven't really been able to keep up. We have, however, started our CSA so here is the first newsletter. I will try to stay up to date with this blog thing, but I'm a busy lady!

Welcome to our CSA

Here begins a relationship in which both parties will benefit and hopefully you will enjoy. We look forward to providing you with lots of yummy produce this year and introducing you to some things you may not have eaten before. Included with all the newsletters there will be a recipe of the week which will incorporate the ingredients we are giving you into your meal plan for the week.
I, Gretel, am the one writing the newsletters and am always up for new ideas. Whether it is recipes, or things you want to learn about the farm, I will write what you want to hear. But, this week I will begin with just a little bit about our farm to introduce you to the things we do.
We grow everything organically, but are not certified, so that’s where the term “all natural” comes from. This means we use no chemicals at all so you can feel good about what you are putting on the table for your family to eat. So, if you see little holes from bugs, we try to hand pick them all off in the field, but as you can imagine it is sort of difficult to get every single one.
This CSA will give you the opportunity to experience produce based on seasonality and with it being local too, you will be guaranteed the freshness of the products. So enjoy the salad greens while you have them because with the weather as hot as it has been lately, it doesn’t seem like they are going to last much longer.
For now, we just want to say thank you for joining in on this journey with us. If you would like to come out and see the farm, you are more than welcome to do so. Just give us a call and we will work out a time convenient for you. And remember, you are what you eat, so make sure that’s a good thing!


This week’s package includes:

1. Spring Lettuce Mix- we try to get all the extra moisture out, but if you see some collecting, just add a paper towel to your bag
2. Carrots
3. Radishes
4. Broccoli
5. Dill- if you don’t eat it all fresh, just hang it upside down to dry. Make sure to put it into an airtight jar after dry to keep from over drying. You can use this method for any herbs you get from us too!

Recipe of the Week

Veggie Cream Cheese

2 radishes
3 carrots
1 full scallion or ¼ of an onion
about 1 tsp garlic powder
sprig or two of dill, finely chopped
1 bar cream cheese, softened (I usually just leave my cream cheese sitting out of the fridge for about an hour before making this. Or if you are in a hurry you can microwave it on low in 15 second increments until softened, just make sure not to melt it.)

Cut the veggies up to a manageable size for your food processor. Place the radish, carrot and onion mixture into a large bowl, then add the garlic powder. Scrunch the dill into a little ball and run your knife through it many times, then chop away. You don’t really want large chunks of dill in your cream cheese, so make sure you get it good, then add it to your mixing bowl. Toss that all together before adding your softened cream cheese. Using a rubber spatula to mix is easiest. Don’t miss any of the good stuff!

You can use this cream cheese on your bagels, but it also makes a great spread for a BLT or an egg sandwich! It’s quick, it’s easy, and it tastes great too!


Thank you for your support,
Gretel and Steve