10-14-2008
CSA Newsletter October 14th, 2008 There is no gardening without humility. Nature is constantly sending even its oldest scholars to the bottom of the class for some egregious blunder. ~Alfred Austin Week 19! Wow, the last week, another season under our belt….ok, our 2nd season under our belt. Hope you all feel as good about the season as we do. I’m impressed we got 19 weeks after the spring we had – that’s 2 more weeks than last year’s CSA! I have so enjoyed getting to know those of you I didn’t already know, and seeing old friends again. It’s going to be sad without Wednesday social day around here…….. Thank you so much for your smiling faces, recipes, suggestions, support, and shared passion for responsibly grown food. I look forward to seeing you all out on the slopes/skate track/trails this winter, and back out here come spring time! I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to our in-kind-members this year – you all helped out soooo much, could not have done it without you! I hope to work with you again next year. The Harvest ~1# salad greens 1 bunch carrots 1 bunch herbs (cilantro or dill) 1 bunch radish (for those of you who did not get them last week) 3 oz basil (with this week’s basil I have made it even for everyone) Sun Flower Seeds Copper Moose Farm 2008 Potluck Cookbook (1 per membership) * If you forgot your onion twist last week, I still have them – get them this week. Sunflower Seeds – These seeds come from our Zebulon sunflowers this year. They were the dwarf variety that was in the ore cart planters and the whiskey barrel planters at the greenhouse door. They have an amazing geometrical pattern in their bright green center. Because they are dwarf they are great for borders or planter boxes. They will get to be 28-36” tall and are an early bloomer. I would recommend holding on to these until the spring, then pop them in the ground or a planter after danger of frost has passed (June 15th up here). Water them well until they have germinated. Copper Moose Farm 2008 Potluck Cookbook – They’re done! Well, most of them are done. Due to a printing error, I do not have 50 ready. So, if there are none left when you get here, there will be a piece of paper for you to write your name down on – as soon as the rest of the cookbooks are done I will send you an email and you can swing by and pick yours up. Sorry for the inconvenience. Also – we will be printing extra’s, they will make great gifts! If you are interested in buying a couple, we sure would love the help in making these possible! I will have a sheet out for those of you who would like to buy a couple extra’s – put your name down and how many you would like. It would be great if you could pay for them up-front, but if not, we can bill you. Thanks again to Kim Denkers for designing and compiling these – they look fantastic! And thanks to all of you for contributing your recipes! The News Lots of opportunities to stay connected to the farm this winter! We will be having our Holiday Flower Party again this year. I will send out an email when we have all the details sussed out. Hope to see you for that. We plan on selling eggs this winter - I will send out an email when the details are together on that one also. Keep your eyes peeled in February for our invite letter to join the 2009 CSA. I will hold your spot for 2 weeks after I send that email out, after that, I will open up your spot to someone on our waitlist. So don’t dally, if you want to join again for next year send in the form and payment as soon as you get that email in February. The Recipe Carrots with Lemon (from Quail Hill Farm Cookbook) Peel about 4-5 carrots, juice a lemon and set the juice aside. Toss the carrots with Kosher salt a little water and olive oil into a heavy frying pan and cook covered for a bit. Uncover, add some more oil, and turn up the heat to caramelize the carrots. At the very end, when the carrots are done, add the lemon juice and let it thicken in the oil. Well, that’s a wrap! Look forward to seeing you tomorrow….for the last pick-up. Thanks again for a great season. Daisy
10-7-2008
CSA Newsletter October 7, 2008 In order to live off a garden, you practically have to live in it. ~Frank McKinney Hubbard Wednesdays are the pick-up day…..please come get your boxes on Wednesday between 8-6. Thank you. Hello all. Well, this week was supposed to be our last……but……..the harvest is still bountiful, so how about we do another week? (I’m going to assume you all just said yes). One more week – October 15th will be our official end. If for some reason you do not want a box on October 15th, please email me and let me know that. Otherwise, I will plan on packing boxes for you all – ready for your pick-up on October 15th. The Harvest 1# salad greens ½# baby spinach ¼# arugula 1 bunch carrots Handful of garlic cloves Onions 1 bunch radish (half of you will get them this week, half next week) 1 bunch herbs 3 0z basil (half of you will get this week, half next week) U-pick cherry tomatoes Garlic Cloves – There will be two baskets of garlic cloves (I broke apart the bulbs and selected the best cloves to keep for seed – there is nothing wrong with these cloves, they just weren’t the most outstanding). So, take a handful of cloves. Onions - The onions are not completely cured, so I have twisted them together and tied them with twine for easy hanging. If you plan on storing these onions for any length of time, please hang these in a warm, dry, sunny spot until the necks are completely dry. If you plan on eating them fresh – then just go right for it. Becca’s Nutritional Tip (This one comes from me this week, not Becca…after getting Becca’s great tips these past weeks, it will be obvious to you all that I am not the one with a PhD in nutrition..) Radishes are high in vitamin C, and rich in minerals such as sulfur, iron and iodine. If you forgot about them in the fridge for a little too long, just soak them in ice water to help crisp them up a bit. The News Big stuff going on around here these days: we’ve put the sod in for our “event” area, Craig is masterfully working at erecting the new cold frame, most of the beds have been worked in the greenhouse, most of the beds outside are ready for winter, and one of the ducks has a terrible limp. The Recipe Courtesy of Martha Stewart this week French Onion Soup Ingredients Serves 6 • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter • 2 pounds yellow onions, sliced 1/4-inch into half circles • 1 teaspoon sugar • 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 1/2 cup dry sherry • 3 cups Homemade Beef Stock • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme • Salt and freshly ground black pepper • 1 small French baguette, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces • 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated on the large holes of a box grater (about 3 cups) Directions 1. Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot on medium-low heat. Add onions. Spread them out in as thin a layer as possible. Sprinkle with sugar, and cook, stirring just as needed to keep onions from sticking, until they are melting and soft, golden brown, and beginning to caramelize, about 1 hour. 2. Sprinkle flour over onions, and stir to coat. Add sherry, stock, and thyme, and bring to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, to allow the flavors to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 3. Meanwhile, lightly toast bread under a broiler; set aside. Ladle hot soup into six ovenproof bowls. Arrange the bowls on a baking pan. Place 1 or 2 slices of toasted bread over each bowl of soup. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated cheese over bread in each bowl, and place under the broiler until cheese is melted and crusty brown around the edges. Watch carefully that bread doesn't burn. Serve immediately. That’s all for this week – I’ll see you tomorrow between 8-6. Daisy
9-30-2008
CSA Newsletter September 30th, 2008 In gardens, beauty is a by-product. The main business is sex and death. ~Sam Llewelyn Hello, hope you are enjoying this gorgeous fall as much as we are! The weather has been perfect for getting the outside beds ready for winter and pulling in the last of the harvest. Next week (October 8th) will be our last CSA distribution. The Harvest Salad mix ¾# baby spinach ¼# arugula Onions (Rossa Di Milano and Valencia) Cabbage (Red Integro or Copenhagen Market) Small Sugar Pumpkin U-pick cherry tomatoes 1 bunch herbs (cilantro, dill, mint, tarragon, or chives) Onions – This is just a taster of what you will get next week. Rossa Di Milano and Valencia are storage onions. I pulled them last week – so the onions you are getting this week have not fully cured – that means that they will not keep as long as cured storage onions. They will keep just fine for a week or two, but they probably shouldn’t be stored for a month. These onions should not be kept in the fridge, but in a cool/dry location. Rossa Di Milano is a mildly hot midsized Italian variety. It is an excellent keeper. Valencia is a Utah strain of Yellow Sweet Spanish onion – mild flavor and good storage life. Small Sugar Pumpkin – This strain dates back to the 1800’s. It has high quality, string-less, thick, sweet flesh that makes delicious pies. Not all of them are orange right now…..the season wasn’t quite long enough for them to ripen on the vine. If you get one that’s partially green, put it in a sunny location (outside is fine) and I think…….it will finish coloring up. I wouldn’t bother cooking with it until it is orange. Anyway, the pumkins will be outside on the table – please take one. Becca’s Nutritional Tip Pumpkins are a great source of calcium, fiber, iron, and zinc – all nutrients that are important for strong immunity. But don’t forget about those pumpkin seeds! Pumpkin seeds are abundant in protease inhibitors which fight intestinal viruses. Also, the oil in the pumpkin seeds helps to fight inflammation. So whether using a pumpkin for baking, soup, or decoration, make sure to bake the seeds and enjoy throughout the week as a healthy snack. The News Thank you to all of you who sent in your survey – I appreciate all the feedback. As you may have noticed, the newsletter has gotten a bit more colorful. Let me know what you think. I am trying to highlight first time vegetables and important information for those of you who like to skim the newsletters. Is it too much? The Recipe Toasted Pumpkin Seeds Recipe INGREDIENTS • One medium sized pumpkin • Salt • Olive oil METHOD 1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds. 2 In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. 3 Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack for 20 minutes or until the seeds begin to brown. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole. **I like to also add a little cayenne pepper (just a little) to my toasted pumpkin seeds. Tempting Pumpkin Pie Flaky Pastry: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon butter 2 to 3 tablespoons cold water Filling: 2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 15 ounces pumpkin 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary). Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Roll pastry, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down pie plate, 9 x 1-1/4 inches. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge of pastry even with plate. Cut scraps of rolled pastry with tiny cookie cutter. Sprinkle cutouts with sugar; press on pastry edge. Heat oven to 425 F. Beat eggs slightly in medium bowl with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in remaining ingredients. To prevent spilling, place pastry-lined pie plate on oven rack. Pour filling into pie plate. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 F. Bake about 45 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 4 hours or until chilled. Immediately refrigerate any remaining pie after serving. Note: The cutouts that top the filling are baked on a cookie sheet while the oven is at 425°F. It will take just a few minutes for them to bake golden brown. Let cool. Once pie has baked and cooled, top with baked pastry. Preparing Filling Wash your pumpkin to remove any dirt. Using a large chef's knife, cut the pumpkin into 6 or 8 wedges, depending on the size of the pumpkin. The easiest way to remove the seeds, and pulp is to use a filleting knife along the inside of the wedges. With a little practice, this will leave little or no scraping needed. Arrange the pumpkin wedges in a large roasting or sheet pan and bake, uncovered, for one hour at 325 F, and two more hours at 300 F. The meat should be tender all throughout, and not watery under the dry skin that formed. Turn off the oven and leave the door cracked for ventilation. Let the pumpkin cool and continue to dry for several more hours. Remove the skin and any exceptionally dry or leathery parts, and puree thoroughly. Please note that most of the dry surface of the meat is still sufficiently tender to be used, but probably not the stem corners. Because the pulp is so dry, it will take several minutes with the food processor, and a number of stirs and scrapes, before the pulp liquefies enough to turn over by itself and puree properly. Once it does this, a good minute or more of pureeing will result in a wonderfully smooth, pumpkin paste. Store in an air-tight container and keep in the refrigerator. The pumpkin puree is now ready for use. Spicy Pumpkin Soup Recipe INGREDIENTS 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 2 medium yellow onions, chopped 2 teaspoons minced garlic 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper 2 teaspoons curry powder 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander Pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional) 6 cups of chopped roasted pumpkin* 5 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option) 2 cups of milk 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream METHOD 1 Melt butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add spices and stir for a minute more. 2 Add pumpkin and 5 cups of chicken broth; blend well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat, simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. 3 Transfer soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor. Cover tightly and blend until smooth. Return soup to saucepan. 4 With the soup on low heat, add brown sugar and mix. Slowly add milk while stirring to incorporate. Add cream. Adjust seasonings to taste. If a little too spicy, add more cream to cool it down. You might want to add a teaspoon of salt. Serve in individual bowls. Sprinkle the top of each with toasted pumpkin seeds. Serves 8. *To make pumpkin purée, cut a sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, lie face down on a tin-foil lined baking pan. Bake at 350°F until soft, about 45 min to an hour. Cool, scoop out the flesh. Freeze whatever you don't use for future use. Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll see you tomorrow! Daisy
9-23-2008
CSA Newsletter September 23rd, 2008 Agriculture cannot be an industrial process any more than music can be. It must be understood differently from stamping metal into that shape or mixing these chemicals and reagents to create that compound. The major workers – the soil microorganisms, the fungi, the mineral particles, the sun, the air, the water – are all parts of a system, and it is not just the employment of any one of them, but the coordination of the whole that achieves success. Eliot Coleman from The New Organic Grower The Harvest 1# salad mix ¼# arugula 1 bunch carrots 2# Potatoes 1 bunch herbs Green Tomatoes ¾# Garlic Not everyone will get: Eggplant Squash Basil Beets Potatoes – La Ratte Fingerling potatoes. Prized by French Chefs as a top quality fingerling potato; long uniform tubers, yellow flesh with firm waxy texture and a nice nutty flavor, holds together very well. Especially good for potato salad or as a boiled potato. If you are a little overwhelmed with potatoes right now, remember: store them in a cool, dry, DARK place and they will keep for weeks and weeks. Green Tomatoes – Now these truly are green tomatoes….not ripe. Yep, you got it, getting ready to pull the plants out. So, you will find a recipe at the bottom of the letter for fried green tomatoes and some relish. You can also put them in a paper bag and let them ripen. Garlic – This week’s variety is Wild Rocambole. Fiery when eaten raw, yet with a very deep, rich, strong flavor. Considered one of the most flavorful garlic varieties. Yes, you are getting a lot of garlic right now, but remember: store it in a cool, dry, dark place and it will keep for months! *This is a week full of lasts….this is the last time you will get: carrots, potatoes, beets, squash, and eggplant. Things you have to look forward to next week are: storage onions, more baby spinach! And…aren’t the greens good right now? They really like this cool weather. Becca’s Nutritional Tip The ancient Greeks fed carrots to their horses to help improve the animal’s respiration. They also would prescribe carrot juice for indigestion, skin problems, and as an aphrodisiac. We now know that carrots are loaded with the phytonutrient carotenoid, which is a powerful antioxidant. While most vegetables lose some of their nutrients when cooked, carrots double their amount of carotenoids and other phytonutrients when cooked. So steam and sauté away! The News You will see some changes in the greenhouse this week. We are starting to pull some of the crops out to get ready for winter crops. The soil in some of the beds has settled quite a bit over the last year and a half, so we are bringing in more topsoil to fill them up again. A few chickens have been fenced in the newly empty beds to do some insect clean-up. I plan on leaving these beds empty for a week or two, and then get cover crops into them. I also plan on growing some garlic in the greenhouse this winter. All alliums are helpful in deterring insects. Most alliums (onions, garlic, shallots) are so aromatic that they confuse insects, make it so that the insects can’t find the food they were in here looking for. There is one more crop out there that you haven’t gotten yet…..and have to look forward to: all of the storage onions (Valencia and Rossa Di Milano) are still in the field. I am ready to harvest them, but need the soil to dry out just a little first. You can look forward to those next week! The Recipe Fried Green Tomatoes 1 large egg veggie oil or shortening for frying ½ cup milk 3 large firm green tomatoes – sliced 1/8 to 1/4 ½ cup cornmeal inch thick ¼ cup all-purpose flour salt 1. Mix the egg and milk together in a small bowl. In another bowl, combine the cornmeal and flour. 2. Heat about ½ inch oil or shortening in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Dip each tomato slice in the egg-milk mixture, then in the cornmeal-flour mixture. Place as many slices as will fit without crowding in the skillet and fry, not too fast, until brown on both sides, 3-4 minutes all together. 3. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with salt to taste, and serve right away. Green Tomato Relish…if you’re into canning.. * I grabbed this from the web and was able to change the desired serving outcome so that you had enough tomatoes to make a batch. So…..you are not going to get 12 pint jars out of this amount as it says in the directions INGREDIENTS (Nutrition) • 6 large green tomatoes • 3/4 red bell peppers, halved and seeded • 3/4 green bell peppers, halved and seeded • 3 large onions • 2-1/4 teaspoons celery seed • 2-1/4 teaspoons mustard seed • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 1-1/4 cups white sugar • 1/2 cup cider vinegar • Add to Recipe Box • Add to Shopping List • Add a Personal Note DIRECTIONS This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 12 pints. 1. In a grinder or food processor, coarsely grind tomatoes, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and onions. (You may need to do this in batches.) Line a large colander with cheesecloth, place in sink or in a large bowl, and pour in tomato mixture to drain for 1 hour. 2. In a large, non-aluminum stockpot, combine tomato mixture, celery seed, mustard seed, salt, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 3. Sterilize enough jars and lids to hold relish (12 one-pint jars, or 6 one-quart jars). Pack relish into sterilized jars, making sure there are no spaces or air pockets. Fill jars all the way to top. Screw on lids. 4. Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with boiling water. Carefully lower jars into pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary, until tops of jars are covered by 2 inches of water. Bring water to a full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes. 5. Remove jars from pot and place on cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cool, press top of each lid with finger, ensuring that seal is tight (lid does not move up or down at all). Relish can be stored for up to a year. That’s all for this week, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow - Daisy
9-16-2008
CSA Newsletter September 16, 2008 Recent polls throughout the Midwest report that the primary concern of farmers these days is corporate concentration. If there is any one thing that brings the myth and the reality of the heartland into sharp contrast, it's the increasingly small number of players at the top and the increasingly dire straits of farmers at the bottom. Agribusiness is now controlled by a handful of agrochemical/seed/pharmaceutical companies. They are highly integrated and interrelated, meaning that just a few companies own or control the seed, farm inputs, shipping and transportation, mills and processing. Claire Hope Cummings, Uncertain Peril I chose this quote because of a trip we took last week to see a very large farm in Arkansas (14,000 acres). Wowzers! On so many levels! One of the Wowzers had to do with what is happening/has happened to the farm communities in this country. These towns are decaying....There are people there with no work because all of the farm land is run by just a few families. Very few human beings are needed to run the very large machines that do all the seeding, spraying, tilling and harvesting. The few families running these farms feel lucky (for the most part) to still be in the business - it's hard with this global economy. To survive they have had to become VERY large. I learned a lot. I learned about a part of my country that I had not been to before. I personally experienced (for the first time) one of the other ways to grow food, the way most of our country grows food. I learned that large, conventional growers (at least the guys I talked to) can't imagine the stress of running a market farm with many, many different crops; just as I can't imagine the stress of running a 14,000 acre farm with just 4 crops. I learned, again and again, the power of an open mind. I learned that one man working that farm won't walk into his rice fields because he "had to poison that field 10 times this year"....... The Harvest ¾# salad mix 6 oz baby spinach 1 bunch carrots 1 bunch leeks ¾# garlic (Georgian Crystal or Metechi) 2# potatoes (German Butterball) 1 bunch herbs Bell Peppers (Purple Beauty) Not everyone will get the following: ¼# arugula 3 oz basil Cucumber 1.5# heirloom tomatoes Eggplant 1 bunch beets Georgian Crystal Garlic – Georgian Crystal is a Porcelain variety originating in the Republic of Georgia, between the Black Sea and the Aral Sea. The Porcelains are known for their rich flavor, very large cloves, and good storage. This variety should keep well into March if stored correctly. The Porcelain varieties are also considered superior medicinal garlic. German Butterball Potato – This potato is a great choice for roasting, frying, and mashed (hmmm, that just about covers it!). With its russeted skin and buttery yellow flesh it is a great all-purpose potato. It stores well to boot! Bell Peppers – this is the end, my friends, the end of the bell peppers for this season. So…….some of them are small and definitely not to their full flavor. But, I’m sending them out anyway, do with them what you wish. Becca’s Nutritional Tip When Napoleon’s ships blockaded Europe in the 19th century, preventing regular sugar can shipments, a commercial sweetener was made from beets. This naturally sweet vegetable is high in iron, potassium, niacin, copper, and vitamin C. Beet greens are rich in vitamin A, iron, and calcium. To create a sweet, colorful, and nutritious twist to dinner add grated beets over potato and vegetable dishes. A fresh juice of carrot, beet, and parsley is a healthy choice for breakfast or a great mid-day snack. Dark leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, and beet greens are some of the richest sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. (The greener and fresher they are, the more nutrient dense they will be). One cup of cooked kale has only fifty calories, several grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and hardly any fat. This cup of kale is also loaded with calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin C. Dishes that call for leafy greens should not be cooked for long and are best prepared just before eating them. Steaming with just a bit of water or olive oil is a quick and healthy method for cooking these nutritious powerhouses. Also adding them to soups, where the nutrients are absorbed into the stocks are also a nutritious cooking method. The News I’d like say goodbye and give a big thanks to my friend Alayne for a great season……for the last two seasons actually! It’s been great working together! I have really appreciated her calm energy, speedy hands, and devotion and attention to the health and happiness of all living things on this farm. She is off for some well deserved R&R in Europe. We will miss her! If you haven’t done so yet, please send in your recipe from your potluck dish. Kim Denkers has offered to put our little cookbook together for this year. Yeah Kim! We would love to get this out soon…..so send in your recipe! Survey!! At the bottom of this email (and in attachment form) you will find the survey. Please help us be better at what we do by filling it out and sending it back to me, in whatever format you want. Email is great, but if you would rather drop it off anonymously, then just put it on my desk tomorrow. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. The Recipe Creamed Carrots (why not!) Taken from Smith and Hawken Gardener’s Community Cookbook 1 stick melted butter 2 pounds carrots, julienned 4 medium onions 3 tbsp chopped fresh parsely 1 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper ¾ cup ½&1/2 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter, carrots, onions, parsely, salt and pepper and ½ cup of the half-and-half in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Toss to mix well. Pour the remaining half-and-half over the top and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the carrots are tender and the cream is thickened almost to curdling. That’s it for this week. Hope you are having a great one. Daisy Survey ‘08 Have we met our goals this year? What were your goals for this season? Please fill out the survey below and get it back to me. Your input is so valuable to us. We want to know what you liked, what you adored, and what was not enjoyed as much. It helps me decide what to grow next year, and alerts me to adjustments that need to be made in our CSA program. 2008 CSA Survey 1) Here is a list of the veggies we grew this year. What were your 3 favorites, and your 3 least favorites? Salad greens arugula pac choi cabbage Spinach radish turnips beets Carrots onions scallions leeks Broccoli potatoes garlic heirloom tomatoes Cherry tomatoes eggplant cucumbers bell peppers Hot peppers basil herbs (cilantro, dill, tarragon, chives, mint, sage, lavender, oregano) edible flowers mature greens (swiss chard, mustard greens, stir fry mix, kale) 2) What veggies did you not get enough of? 3) What veggies did you get too many of? 4) What was the best part of your CSA experience? 5) What was your least favorite part of your CSA experience? 6) Did you enjoy the newsletters? Any suggestions? 7) Are there any veggies that we don’t currently grow that you would like to have? 8) Would you like to have the option to choose a salad mix that is simpler, i.e. – less flavor and texture? 9) Flower share members – what did you think of the flower season? Any feedback? 10) Anything else?
9-9-2008
Thanks to all of you that came to the potluck. Your dishes were all beautiful and delicious! And to those of you who didn’t make it – we hope to see you at next year’s CSA Potluck! If you did bring a dish to the potluck, could you please email me the recipe? There has been an outcry for a little Copper Moose Farm CSA Potluck ’08 recipe folder…..so I’d love to put that together and send one home with each of you before the season is over. Since not everyone was able to make it, and because this is very important stuff, I wanted to go over a few things we talked about at the Potluck regarding next year. First off, I plan on this year’s CSA running at least through September. When I know exactly which week will be our last, I will let you know. Our policy for signing up for the next year’s CSA will be the same as last year: I will send out an email around the end of February inviting you all to join again. Once you get that invite email, you need to send in the form and payment if you want to be members again. The membership prices will remain the same for next year. Two weeks after I have sent the invite letter to you, I will extend it to our waitlist folks, if there are any spaces available. In a nutshell – I will hold your spot for 2 weeks after I send the invite letter, if you have not returned the form and payment at that point, I will fill your spot. The CSA is going to stay the same size as it was this year = 50 families. We would like to perfect our system with the size it is. We are going to add a small hoop house to our farm system. The hoop house will be 50 feet long, and a couple beds wide. It’s going to be moveable so we can slide it down the beds it covers – basically giving us the flexibility of two greenhouses in one. Part of the space inside the hoop house is going to be dedicated to more of our favorite cherry tomatoes! The rest of it will go to a variety of other crops. I have heard a lot of concern this year over heirloom tomatoes, and I would like to address some of them. Heirloom tomatoes have been bred for their superior flavor. You don’t find them all over the grocery store for a few reasons: they don’t ship well due to delicate skins, the plants themselves are susceptible to most diseases and therefore are hard to grow, and they are low yielders in comparison with other tomato varieties. Growing them in a greenhouse adds to the concern over disease and pest problems. We don’t have many of the natural pest predators and cleansers here in the greenhouse that are present outside (birds, the sun, the frosts..). The growing season is not long enough up here at 7,000 ft to grow them outside – so our heirloom tomatoes must be grown in the greenhouse. With all of that said, the point is that they are not really suited for this climate, and we are really fortunate to have them, and have them as early in the season as we did (all due to this amazing building). Tomatoes, especially heirlooms, are a big treat up here. Next year, the hoop house is not going to GREATLY change the amount of heirlooms you receive throughout the season. You will not be getting tomatoes every week next year, just like this year. I want you to be happy with your CSA experience, so if not getting tomatoes every week or every other week is ruining it for you, then maybe this isn’t the gig for you…..sad as it is to say that. We have to harvest the tomatoes twice a week. They do not keep on the vine, nor do they keep off the vine. Once harvested, I need to send those tomatoes out, whether to you or to restaurants or a market. We harvest all the ripe tomatoes on Wednesday morning to distribute to you all. Then we must harvest them again on the weekend. This year we were taking them to the Park Silly Sunday Market – inviting you to come pick some up there, and selling them to the public. This is one of our outlets for crops that must be harvested twice a week (mostly flowers and tomatoes). When CSA members did come get tomatoes at the market, I recorded that, so that all members will get approximately the same amount of tomatoes throughout the season. The greenhouse is obviously our most limited growing space. The peppers, eggplant, cucumbers and tomatoes must be grown in a greenhouse up here to be productive. Because of that we can not grow enough for every member to get every item each week. Next year, getting a cucumber, heirloom tomatoes, pepper or eggplant every couple weeks will continue. We are a CSA; our goal is to provide you with a wonderful variety of vegetables and fruits that can be grown sustainably in this bioregion. Our goal is to possibly expose you to new vegetables, or new varieties of old favorites. Our goal is to help you find ways to prepare vegetables you have never eaten before, and maybe in the process you realize that you do like….turnips, or arugula, or eggplant (for example). Our goal is to keep your fridge full of some of your everyday favorite veggies. Our goal is to connect you with the people growing your food and the land it is being grown on. Our goal is to provide you and your family with the opportunity to see the weekly changes on this farm. The CSA is the life blood of this farm, and we put you first whenever possible. But we are not only a CSA. Copper Moose Farm also sells produce to restaurants, caterers, and markets. We need to do that to make this business sustainable. Next week I am going to send out a survey for you to fill out. Your input is incredibly valuable to us, we want to make this CSA the best it can be and we can only do that with your help. Thank you, in advance, for your input. A garden is never so good as it will be next year – Thomas Cooper The Harvest 1# salad mix Cabbage 1 bunch carrots 1 bunch leeks Gold Coin onion 2# potatoes (Russet Nugget) Fish peppers Not everyone will get the following: 1.5# heirloom tomatoes Cucumber Eggplant Sweet peppers (Sweet Cal Wonder Bell, Purple Beauty) ¼# arugula 3 oz basil 2 oz Shiso Squash Squash – The squash was damaged by the frosts last week, even under a heavy cover. It’s still hanging on, but the production has dropped way down. Bummer. Potatoes – Russet Nugget this week! Russet Nugget was released by Colorado State University in 1988. This variety is excellent for French fries and baking. Russet Nugget is going to be the best variety this year for long term storage…..if you can hold off.
9-2-2008
CSA Newsletter September 2nd, 2008 I appreciate the misunderstanding I have had with Nature over my perennial border. I think it is a flower garden; she thinks it is a meadow lacking grass, and tries to correct the error. ~Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988 The Harvest 1# salad mix Carrot bunch Beet bunch Leek bunch 2# All Red Potatoes Hot pepper (Fish) Herb bunch Cabbage or Arugula (what ever you didn’t get last week) ½# Swiss Chard or Kale (mature, meant for cooking) Gold Coin Onion Garlic (Purple Metechi) Not everyone will get the following: Basil 1.5# Heirloom tomatoes Cucumber Eggplant Sweet pepper (Purple Beauty) Squash Garlic – the first of the garlic! Yeah! Garlic will be out near the sinks along with the potatoes and tomatoes – should not be stored in the fridge. All of our garlic this year (and last) are Hard Neck varieties. I think you will find the flavor superior. Hard Neck garlic does not store as well as Soft Neck garlic, which is why most varieties at the grocery store are Soft Neck. Having said that, I keep the Hard Neck at my house good until at least March or April. Garlic just needs a cool, dry, dark spot for good storage (garage or basement perhaps). You will notice the beautiful purple striping on the skin of this garlic. Purple Metechi is a Purple Stripe variety. Metechi is listed in the Seeds of Diversity Canada catalogue of heritage varieties as endangered and hard to find. I got the original seed for this garlic 3 years ago from Johnny at Ranui Gardens. Now I save enough garlic each year to re-plant for the coming season. Purple Stripe varieties do well as baked garlic……and just about anything else you could think to do with it. Enjoy. All Red Potatoes – a.k.a Cranberry Red. This potato has red skin with delicate pale pink flesh. Low Starch content makes it a good boiling potato for salads or any dish that requires potatoes to retain their shape. The News This is the 14th week of the 2008 CSA. We promised you 16-20 weeks of great food, and we’re definitely going to make that. I think we’ll be able to keep going for around 4 more weeks. Got a pretty hard frost last night, lost some of the flowers, but everything else fared pretty well under covers. We are looking at another one tonight. But man! are the days gorgeous or what? And what about that 2 inches of rain! We slaughtered 2 of the roosters on Saturday. Russell Taylor, the fella we are getting the Steers from, came up and helped us out. You’ve got it – he did the head chopping off part…..we did the plucking. Anyway, we had 2 too many roosters, and they were causing havoc in the flock, so they had to go……into the oven! I thought I was prepared, but really, I wasn’t. I went to bed that night remembering the little dance the biggest rooster used to do for the ladies…… Anyway, Ramirez is the one remaining rooster. He’s a nice guy, kind of funny looking, but we like him. Speaking of the chickens – they moved over to our neck of the woods this weekend – don’t forget to check them out when you’re here tomorrow. They are being kept in a little yard right now, to give them time to get used to their new hood, but in a couple days we’ll start letting them free range again. CSA POTLUCK – we are looking forward to seeing you here this Saturday at 5 for the CSA potluck. It will all be outside, so don’t forget to bring a warm layer. If any of you have not RSVP’d yet, but you’d like to come – just let me or Alayne know tomorrow. Becca’s Nutritional Tip Garlic, leeks, onions, shallots, and chives are part of the allium family. They have a long standing in history as therapeutic foods used to treat high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, worms, and the common cold. They have also been considered helpful in boasting immunity and destroying certain viruses and bacteria. Throughout history they have been referred to as the “poor man’s” antibiotic. Blended garlic, shallots, and chives make a healthy base for sautés, soups, and sauces. (To avoid the “tearing” when chopping members of the allium family, hold a piece of moist bread between the lips. The fumes seek moisture, and will find the bread before your eyes.) The Recipe Classic Potato Salad (from the Gardener’s Community Cookbook) Serves 4-6 1 medium thinly sliced Apple Cider Vinegar 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil leaves 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh summer savory leaves 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh marjoram leaves 1 cup mayonnaise 4 medium potatoes, cooked and cooled 2 hard-cooked eggs, coarsely chopped Salt and pepper 1. Place the onion in a small bowl and add vinegar to cover. Set aside 2. 2. Mix together the basil, savory, marjoram, and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Set aside 3. Slice or dice the potatoes, and place them, with the eggs, in a large bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Drain the onions, squeeze out the extra liquid, and add them to the bowl with the potatoes. Stir in the mayonnaise mixture and serve right away or refrigerate for up to overnight. That’s all for this week, see you tomorrow. Daisy
8-26-2008
CSA Newsletter August 26th, 2008 "Heirlooms" are open-pollinated cultivated varieties which were once commonly grown. There is no consensus as to how old a plant variety must be to be called "Heirloom", though the term was first used to describe seeds in the 1940's. Generally, heirlooms are considered to be those that are not hybrids nor used in commercial production. "Open-Pollinated" seeds are non-hybrid plants produced by crossing two parents from the same variety and whose pollination occurs in uncontrolled conditions, via bees, birds, wind or other natural agents. The resulting seeds produce plants just like the parents'. “Hybrids" are produced by successfully cross-pollinating parent plants that are genetically different, usually from parents of the same species. Deliberately creating hybrids requires controlling the pollination, usually by hand. All resulting seeds carry the same traits, but seeds from the second generation do not breed true. Hybrids usually show increased vigor and disease resistance, but decrease biodiversity and are not suitable for seed saving. Hybrids should not be confused with genetically engineered (GE) seeds, as hybrids are achieved through standard plant breeding techniques which can be performed by the home gardener. There are many standard hybrids, especially in squash and cucumbers, which hybridize very easily if there is more than one variety being grown. The Harvest Salad mix 1 bunch King Richard Leeks 1 bunch carrots 1 bunch beets Gold Coin Onion 1.75# All Blue Potatoes You will either get Cabbage or ¼# arugula (next week you will get the one you didn’t get this week) Squash Hot peppers (Fish and/or Jalapeno) 1 bunch herbs (cilantro, parsley, chives, sage, or mint) Not everyone will get the following: 1.5# heirloom tomatoes Cucumber Eggplant ¼# basil (after this week everyone will have received ¼# for pesto making) Sweet peppers U-Pick – cherry tomatoes OR beans. Ask us where and how. If you harvested last week please let other members harvest this week. All Blue Potatoes – Gems of the soil I tell you! They are gorgeous, enjoy. Deep blue skin, blue flesh with a thin white line just under the skin. A good choice for baking and frying, nice for making colorful chips. When boiled the color turns to a light blue. Good mineral content. Don’t store your potatoes in the fridge; temps below 38 degrees tend to make the potatoes undesirably sweet through a change of some of the starch to sugar. Because of that, you will find your potatoes outside of the cooler tomorrow – they will be around the tomatoes and flowers. The other key to storing potatoes is to keep them out of light (artificial or natural). Too much light can cause the development of solanine in the tuber. Solanine is a potentially toxic alkaloid. Indications of solanine are bitter flavor along with greening of the potato. Solanine can develop while the tubers are growing, or later when exposed to artificial light. This is one of the reasons that we hill the potatoes (hoe soil up around the base of the plant) – allows more room for the tubers to develop under the protection of the soil. If you do find a little green in your potato, just cut it out or peel it off, the rest of the potato is fine. Last year a CSA member, who is a nurse, mentioned that she’d never heard of solanine poisoning. In fact, she said she had seen a lot of crazy things in her years as a nurse, but never seen, or heard of anyone dealing with solanine poisoning. So…….I wouldn’t worry too much about it. And, if you keep your potatoes out of the light, you won’t have to worry at all! Gold Coin Onions – This is a Cipollini onion, they are pungent and sweet. When cooked, they become even sweeter. Just a taste this week, there will be more in a week or two. Becca’s Nutritional Tip Chili peppers have been used throughout history for their medicinal properties. The Capsaicin in hot peppers is an anti-inflammatory and helps to reduce the pain sensation in many inflammatory disorders. They have also been found to stimulate circulation and cleanse the blood, helping to reduce cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Hot peppers also help to stimulate digestion. Curries are a deeply fragrant and nutritious alternative to some of more traditional spices and sauces. Chilies are often the star in antioxidant-rich curries. You can use curry mixes in stir-fries, as a spice rub for nuts and seeds, or as a seasoning for roasted vegetables. The News Friday August 22nd – dusk – 7 chickens lost - fat and happy fox family……less eggs around here….. CSA POTLUCK!! September 6th – late afternoon some time – will let you know exactly what time soon. The sign up sheet for potluck items is on the cooler door (may I suggest your favorite recipe from this year’s recipes??..). I will do my best to coordinate with you and get you any ingredients I can for your recipe in next week’s box. There will be fun games (hay ride, chalk art, duck-splat-bingo (bring your quarters), egg races, potato sack races….) and lots of food for all. Hope you can make it! The Recipe Check out the Zucchini Blondie recipe from last year (8-27-07) – it’s archived in the recipe page of our web site. Yummy. Leek Soup (from Quail Hill Farm Cookbook – yes, it’s the only one I currently have at the farm) Cut off the tough green tops of 2 leeks and slice 2 potatoes. Dice 1 stick of celery and cut leeks. Sauté leeks, potatoes, celery in 2 oz oil or butter, stirring for a few minutes, but do not brown. Put all vegetables into a saucepan and add 3 pints stock or water, salt, pepper to taste. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving. Hope the first week back at school is going well. See you tomorrow. Daisy
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