Posted by Tricia on 25 Jan 2008 | Filed under: General News
It’s been a long and snowy winter thus far, but we’re planning and preparing for a great year - we’re now accepting CSA memberships for the 2008 growing season, and we hope you’ll join us:
Posted by Tricia on 02 Oct 2007 | Filed under: The Radish Buncher
In the Box
This week’s box has some new colorful foods. The potatoes are called All Blue, but I think they should be called All Purple. They are a lovely purple color inside and out. And, unlike some vegetables, the color remains even after the potatoes are cooked. They make a lovely purple splash on the plate when they are mashed. Or try the potatoes roasted. Cut them into similar sized pieces. Boil for a few minutes. Then drain the potatoes. Coat them in olive oil and put them in a baking dish. Add some minced garlic. Chop up some marjoram and bake for 30-45 minutes.
Red cabbage is making its only appearance in your boxes for this season. Once again, I think it should be called purple cabbage. You can eat red cabbage raw in salads or cole slaw. Or try it cooked. Most of the recipes that I have seen use apples with the cabbage. See the recipes below for a tasty recipe.
Marjoram is the herb of the week. A little goes a long way. Marjoram is sometimes known as wild oregano, so you can use it in any recipe that uses oregano. Try it with the roasted potatoes.
Salad Mix is back in your boxes after a break for the hot weather. It is really delicious. Add the pea shoots for a great salad.
This is the last week for cherry tomatoes, so enjoy them. Since the days are getting shorter, the plants are not producing as much as they were. Cherish every one…
Carnival squash is a beautiful cream color with green stripes and orange patches. It is a cross between acorn and delicata squash. So it is sweeter than an acorn squash, but keeps better than a delicata. You can simply cut them in half and bake them facedown on a cookie sheet. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of the squash. Plan on at least 20-40 minutes. You can microwave squash as well. In this case you leave the squash whole. Poke the squash with a fork and microwave for 5-10 minutes. I’ve never actually tried this so be careful. I would cook it for a few minutes at a time until it is done.
Last CSA Pickup
The final CSA pickup will be October 16th. There will be 2 more boxes after this one. Please round up all the extra boxes that you have and return them soon.
This Week’s Recipes
Apple and Wine-Braised Red Cabbage
Stuffed Carnival Squash
News from the Farm
It was a stressful week on the farm. On Tuesday, I noticed that the cooler had flipped its breaker and was off. I flipped it back on, but it didn’t cool down. By Tuesday afternoon, I called in a professional. The long and short of it was that the compressor was shot. I ended up replacing all of the refrigeration equipment. It was a very expensive week.
But, I shouldn’t really complain. Sure I didn’t want the expense right now. (Who would?) But, when I bought this refrigeration equipment, the seller told me he would give me a great price because he didn’t know how long the equipment would last. Well, that was 17 years ago. I have paid for maintenance and repairs, but this is the first big expense in a long time.
It was a little challenging to get through the week without refrigeration. I bought lots of ice and kept things cold the old fashioned way. On Fridays, the refrigeration specialists showed up, ripped out the old equipment and installed the new. It was just in time to get everything chilled before the farmers market. Now we have a great system in place that is chilling the veggies down properly. I guess it all worked out ok in the long run.
Posted by Tricia on 02 Oct 2007 | Filed under: Recipes
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons canola oil
½ large or 1 small head red cabbage, shredded
1 onion, halved and cut as thinly as possible
salt and pepper
½ cup red wine
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup brown sugar
3 apples, cored and cut into eighths
½ cup raisins
Directions:
Heat oil in large wok or saucepan over medium-high flame. Add cabbage and onions; season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir well. Cover, reduce heat, and allow mixture to wilt slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in wine, vinegar, and brown sugar. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in apples and raisins; cook another 20-30 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Serves: 6
Source: Asparagus to Zucchini, 3rd Edition
Posted by Tricia on 02 Oct 2007 | Filed under: Recipes
Ingredients:
1-2 carnival squas
Directions:
Cut in half and remove seeds and strings. Place cut side down on lightly greased baking sheet with sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes until almost soft, but not mushy. (Or cook in the microwave for about 10 minutes). Remove from oven, fill with one of the following stuffing options and finish baking as directed:
Apple Stuffing
2-3 tart apples, diced
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup butter, melted
Combine apples, maple syrup, and butter. Stuff into cooked squash, cover, and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.
Mushroom Stuffing
1 onion, chopped
½ cup mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups bread crumbs
½ teaspoon sage
1.2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
In large skillet sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic until soft. Add remaining ingredients and stuff into cooked squash. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Source: Simply in Season
Posted by Tricia on 02 Oct 2007 | Filed under: News from the Farm
It was a stressful week on the farm. On Tuesday, I noticed that the cooler had flipped its breaker and was off. I flipped it back on, but it didn’t cool down. By Tuesday afternoon, I called in a professional. The long and short of it was that the compressor was shot. I ended up replacing all of the refrigeration equipment. It was a very expensive week.
But, I shouldn’t really complain. Sure I didn’t want the expense right now. (Who would?) But, when I bought this refrigeration equipment, the seller told me he would give me a great price because he didn’t know how long the equipment would last. Well, that was 17 years ago. I have paid for maintenance and repairs, but this is the first big expense in a long time.
It was a little challenging to get through the week without refrigeration. I bought lots of ice and kept things cold the old fashioned way. On Fridays, the refrigeration specialists showed up, ripped out the old equipment and installed the new. It was just in time to get everything chilled before the farmers market. Now we have a great system in place that is chilling the veggies down properly. I guess it all worked out ok in the long run.
Posted by Tricia on 01 Oct 2007 | Filed under: The Radish Buncher
In the Box
We are starting to come full cycle in the season. We began with greens and radishes and now that the days are shorter and cooler, these crops are back.
We also have a new crop for you. Pea shoots are small pea plants. They taste like snow peas, especially the blossoms. The pea shoots are what I like to call a serendipity crop. After the peas were done in July, I tilled under the plants. But, due to the rain in August, I didn’t get back to till them again. Well, these pea shoots sprouted up from the peas that we had not picked. So they are a great treat. Try them raw in salads, or use in a stir-fry with the braising greens. They are also fantastic in a quiche with goat cheese. See the recipes.
Carola potatoes are new to your boxes. These are a great yellow-fleshed potato. If you like Yukon Gold potatoes, you will love these. Try them mashed, fried or baked. You should cut off any green parts of the potato before cooking. The green comes when the potatoes are exposed to the sun. So store your potatoes in a brown paper sack in a cool spot out of the sun. Do not store them in the refrigerator.
Butternut squash is the squash of the week. These are one of my favorites and they are so versatile. You can bake them and eat them as is. Or they make great curry dishes and soups. They also make great pumpkin pie. In fact, most canned pumpkin pie is actually butternut squash.
The butternuts have some cosmetic problems. They have lots of brown marks on their skin. As far as I can tell, this problem is only skin deep. You should try to eat these in the next 2 weeks or so just to be sure.
The red pepper plants did a good job of protecting their fruits from last week’s frost even though the plants themselves were damaged. So that means we were able to harvest peppers for another week. I don’t know if we will have them for another week or not.
The hot pepper plants did not fare as well. This week you have a Serrano (hot, small and green or red), a Garden Salsa (hot, green and 3-5 inches long) and a Poblano. Poblano peppers are green or red. They look like a small pointy bell pepper. They are mild to medium hot.
This Week’s Recipes
Last CSA Pickup
Our last CSA boxes will be delivered on October 16th. So there are 3 boxes after this one. Please gather up all the empty boxes you may have and return them soon.
Riley Writes
Thanks to all my fans that have been emailing me. Mom has been a page hog lately. But now it is my turn.
I love this time of year. It’s a little cooler so I can run and run. Then I can collapse in the sun and take a nap. Plus some of the leaves have started falling off the trees and I can chase them all over until they make me dizzy.
Also, the veggies are so good this time of year. I love broccoli and follow Mom through the patch begging for broccoli stems. I like the stems only, not the buds. If Mom is not looking I sometimes steal a HEAD OF BROCCOLI OUT OF A BUCKET.
Today I was stealing potatoes. They look like balls so I was taking them to play fetch with them. Potatoes make better balls than tomatoes. I bite on the tomatoes and they squirt all over my mouth.
I like squash a lot as well. I stole several of them and they are scattered around the yard. I like to eat squash. I will sit and hold one in my paws and eat right into the skin and through the squash. Yummy!
Posted by Tricia on 01 Oct 2007 | Filed under: Recipes
Ingredients:
2-3 cups greens, finely chopped
1 small onion, minced
3-4 ounces goat cheese (chevre)
3 eggs
1½ cups milk
¼ teaspoon salt
Parmesan cheese
1 piecrustDirections:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread goat cheese (or any strong flavored cheese) in the bottom of a piecrust. Cover with chopped greens and onions. Beat eggs, salt and milk together. Pour over greens. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.
Source: A Luna Circle Farm original
Posted by Tricia on 01 Oct 2007 | Filed under: Recipes
(CSA member Rider Sporn created this week’s recipe. Pozole is hominy and can be found in the Mexican food section of most grocery stores).
Ingredients:
2 big onions, chopped
garlic to taste, minced
1 lb. tomatillos
1 lb. seitan (you can substitute pork), sliced
4 big potatoes, diced
2 cups corn kernels
1 can pozole
1-tablespoon cumin
1-teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper
1 hot pepper to taste, chopped
Directions:
Sauté garlic and onions in a large pot. Husk the tomatillos and blend in a food processor. Pour over onions and garlic, add everything else and enough water (or
broth) to cover it all, including the juice the seitan came in. Simmer until the potatoes are soft.
Source: Luna Circle Farm CSA member Rider Sporn
Posted by Tricia on 19 Sep 2007 | Filed under: The Radish Buncher
In the Box
When the season began this year I had many goals. Some were for the farm and some were for me personally. One of the personal ones was that I wanted to try to reduce the stress caused by all the seasonal ups and downs. I jokingly referred to it as ‘Zen and the Art of Farming’. I wanted to keep my inner peace despite what the weather, bugs, diseases, wind, employees, customers and markets could throw at me.
Well, I’m not sure that I have succeeded at that goal. Or else, the weather picked up the challenge and decided to push me to my limits. This has been a year of weather extremes. It’s too dry and then too wet. First it’s hot then it’s too cold. Several farmers that I know have decided to throw in the towel after this season.
I am not quitting, but it was very challenging to get hit with the earliest frost I’ve seen in my 18 years of farming. Our average first frost is October 1st. Last Saturday I left for farmers market before dawn. I knew we had frost, but did not see the extent of the damage until returning home Saturday evening. We lost all the tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and patty pans. Peppers, tomatillos, sweet potatoes and basil were partially killed by the frost. We had tried on Friday to cover all the vulnerable crops, but the wind was so strong that the covers blew off.
Some years I am ready for the frost, but not this year. I would have liked to have a couple more weeks of the summer crops. I’m trying to put a positive spin on all of this. I’m trying to see it as an opportunity to get all the fall clean up done earlier than normal.
So, an early frost obviously has an impact on the items in your boxes. This will be the last week for tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and probably peppers. Cherry tomatoes are in the greenhouse, so the frost did not hit them.
But there is some good news as well. The fall crops are looking good. We dug the first potatoes last week. You have a small taste this week. There will be more in the weeks to come.
Kale actually tastes sweeter after a frost. The kale recipe listed below is a great way for non-kale fans to eat and enjoy kale.
Head lettuce is back in your boxes. The deer have been enjoying the lettuce, so I harvested the heads at the baby lettuce stage. You got a couple of small heads this week.
Cinnamon basil was the one basil that survived the frost. It has a sweet spicy scent. I did make some pesto with it on Sunday. It tasted great, but was definitely different from sweet basil pesto.
Something I’ve learned from some of the local restaurants is to mix pesto with mayonnaise and use in sandwiches. Try making a cheese, pesto mayo, and apple slices in a sandwich. I think the cinnamon basil pesto would be great in this context.
This Week’s Recipes
Posted by Tricia on 19 Sep 2007 | Filed under: News from the Farm
When the season began this year I had many goals. Some were for the farm and some were for me personally. One of the personal ones was that I wanted to try to reduce the stress caused by all the seasonal ups and downs. I jokingly referred to it as ‘Zen and the Art of Farming’. I wanted to keep my inner peace despite what the weather, bugs, diseases, wind, employees, customers and markets could throw at me.
Well, I’m not sure that I have succeeded at that goal. Or else, the weather picked up the challenge and decided to push me to my limits. This has been a year of weather extremes. It’s too dry and then too wet. First it’s hot then it’s too cold. Several farmers that I know have decided to throw in the towel after this season.
I am not quitting, but it was very challenging to get hit with the earliest frost I’ve seen in my 18 years of farming. Our average first frost is October 1st. Last Saturday I left for farmers market before dawn. I knew we had frost, but did not see the extent of the damage until returning home Saturday evening. We lost all the tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and patty pans. Peppers, tomatillos, sweet potatoes and basil were partially killed by the frost. We had tried on Friday to cover all the vulnerable crops, but the wind was so strong that the covers blew off.
Some years I am ready for the frost, but not this year. I would have liked to have a couple more weeks of the summer crops. I’m trying to put a positive spin on all of this. I’m trying to see it as an opportunity to get all the fall clean up done earlier than normal.
So, an early frost obviously has an impact on the items in your boxes. This will be the last week for tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and probably peppers. Cherry tomatoes are in the greenhouse, so the frost did not hit them.
But there is some good news as well. The fall crops are looking good. We dug the first potatoes last week. You have a small taste this week. There will be more in the weeks to come.
Kale actually tastes sweeter after a frost. The kale recipe listed below is a great way for non-kale fans to eat and enjoy kale.
Head lettuce is back in your boxes. The deer have been enjoying the lettuce, so I harvested the heads at the baby lettuce stage. You got a couple of small heads this week.
Cinnamon basil was the one basil that survived the frost. It has a sweet spicy scent. I did make some pesto with it on Sunday. It tasted great, but was definitely different from sweet basil pesto.
Something I’ve learned from some of the local restaurants is to mix pesto with mayonnaise and use in sandwiches. Try making a cheese, pesto mayo, and apple slices in a sandwich. I think the cinnamon basil pesto would be great in this context.