May 6th and 9th: The First Pick Up

SPRING IT (PICK) UP!

Amongst the bleak wet soil there is color!  The grass is greening up and a few spring flowers have decided to show their shining faces.  Things are certainly at least 2 weeks late, if not a full month.  Zach had planted tulips last fall, with the plan on giving them to the winter shares during their last pick up in April...they have just started to poke their heads through the soil!!!  After just a bit of sun and warmth, everything seems to sigh and grow.  It will come soon enough.  I have officially become obsessed with the weather forecast again.  The typical human may not have noticed that we have not had a frost in the last 2 weeks (and none forecasted), but I have and I am LOVING it!!  Usually spring is reeled with fighting remay (a cloth that covers the plants like a blanket to keep tender seedlings warm), but I have been able to skip this step...so far...I may have just jinxed myself.  I did have to cover some plants to keep pesky flea beetles off, but at least the whole farm is not covered in white.  It's nice to leave the plants uncovered so I can actually watch them grow and not just hope something is hidden under the covers. 

The ducks are enjoying themselves in the spring rains (although as I type it is hailing pea-sized hail).  They poke around the farm eating slugs, grubs and worms.  As soon as we start up the tractor, they waddle over as fast as their little webbed feet will take them.  They know the tractor disturbs the soil and unearths goodies for them to graze on. 

 

Last week was full of transplanting.  On our hands and knees, we had to throw he long johns back on to protect us from the cold soil and north wind.  Knowing when to start field work in the spring is a yearly challenge.  I generally try and wait for warmer soil temps to try and avoid the travails that come with planting too early.  Watching the forecast rather than the calendar is a practice in patience, of which I don't generally have much of, but if I can control myself, plants are always happier in the end.  Although much of my soils are still too wet to drive the tractor on, I had just enough space to get in what I needed to date...and so the 2014 season begins!

 

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We are looking forward to growing for old friends and new this year.  Thank you for loving local food and supporting our farm!  We work hard to fill your plates with tasty veggies and meats--we love what we do and believe our efforts make a difference your pallets will recognize.  Enjoy!

 

 

This week's bounty: spinach, parsnips and other roots like carrots, potatoes, onions, celeriac and rutabaga

 

 

Recipes:

 

Carrots and rutabagas with Lemon and Honey: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrots-and-Rutabagas-with-Lemon-and-Honey-105812

 

Mashed Potatoes with Rutabagas and Buttermilk:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mashed-Potatoes-with-Rutabagas-and-Buttermilk-15635

 

Rutabagas and Caramelized Onions:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Rutabagas-with-Caramelized-Onions-4677

 

Parsnip Bisque:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Parsnip-Bisque-14325

 

Roasted Parsnips -- (you can make "Parsnip Fries" like this):

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roast-Parsnips-104239

 

 

Week 23 Oct 26th and 29th

THE LAST PICK UP...CLEANING OUT THE FIELDS

This week, you may see some strange looking vegetables in the share. These crops are able to withstand the colder temps and actually get sweeter with frosts, so I have left them for the very end.

Purple Kohlrabi: I blogged about kholrabi earlier in the summer. This is very similar, just purple. It has a sweet "broccoli stem" flavor, that you may want to cook or eat raw.

Fennel: This cool looking vegetable is Mediterranean in origin and has a unique anise, or black licorice flavor. Again, it may be eaten cooked or raw. It aids in digestion and packs in Vitamin A, calcium, potassium and iron.

Brussel Sprouts: I didn't take a photo. I should have , they look like a little pineapple plantation out there in the field. You will sort of get the idea of how they grow when you see them at pick up. I leave them on the stalk because they store better that way. Just before you eat them, "snap" the sprouts off the stem, clean off any yellowed leaves and prepare. They are not your school cafeteria sprouts! Just be careful not to over cook them.

Delecata Squash: Many of you have been waiting for this sweet little winter squash. It is small but flavorful and makes a great soup, sauteed veg, roasted veg or baked and stuffed. The skin is so thin and "delicate" that you can eat it after cooked! Check out the Delecata squash bisque recipe posted on the blog last October.

A big thank you and blessing to the turkeys and cows!

So this is it, the last pick up of a long and extremely productive
season. Thank you all for your support, and love for fresh food. I
had a super time growing this year and loved meeting all of you and your families. Many of you I will see during the winter share pick ups, but if
not, happy winter and I look forward to seeing you again in the spring! Be sure to sign up for the 2011 season soon after the New Year.

The Last Week's Loot: carrots, chinese cabbage, brussel sprouts, kohl rabi, daikon radish, kale, chard, fennel, delecata squash, spaghetti squash/pumpkin, onions, leeks, oregano, thyme, sage (sorry no taters, I need them for winter).

Recipes

Fennel, Carrots and Pecans

2 cups carrots, cut into matchsticks

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2c thinly sliced fennel

1/4c maple syrup

1/4c roasted pecans

2tsp cornstarch

1Tbs chopped parsley

Steam carrots until tender-crisp. Heat oil and saute fennel 2 minutes. Add syrup, pecan and carrots, and simmer briefly. Mix cornstarch and 1 Tbs water and stir into skillet. Stir in parsley and serve.

Brssuel Sprouts in Cider with Apples and Onions

1 lb brussel sprouts, halved

2 apples, 1/2 in cubes

2 Tbs butter

2 Tbs olive oil

1 red or yellow onion, chopped

1.5c cider

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp pepper

2 star anise (could use a little fennel)

1/4c balsamic vinegar

Melt butter and oil in pan on low. When foams turn up to medium and add apples and onions, saute til apples soft and onion clear, bout 4 min. Add sprouts, cook about 3-4 min. Add remaining ingredients cept vinegar. Cover, reduce heat and simmer til sprouts are easily pierced with a fork, bout 10 min. Remove contents with a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish. Heat reserved liquid until reduced by half, add vinegar, cook 2 min stirring and scraping pan, pour over sprouts

Baked Kohlrabi

1 fennel bulb

2 c kohlrabi, sliced 1/2 in thick

2 cups stock

1/3 c milk or half and half

3 Tbs butter

2 Tbs flour

1/4 c parm

1/2 tsp paprika

Heat over to 350. Slice fennel 1/2 thick. Bring stock to a boil and add veg and cook til tender 7-10min, Drain, reserving stock. Add enough stock to milk to total 2 cups. Heat 2 Tbs butter stir in flour and cook 2 min. Whisk in stock until smooth. Season with slat and pepper. Butter a casserole dish and place veg in pan. pour sauce over it, sprinkle with parm and bake 1/2 hour

The Thanksgiving Share

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have friends and/or family to celebrate this blessed holiday with. To me, this is the most wonderful holiday. Being Thankful. What a cleansing feeling. And a reminder to "stop and smell the roses" or taste the good food : )


I cannot express enough how thankful I am for this farm, this place. The community that helped me, literally, from the ground up. The opportunity I have to grow food. And for you, who are reading this note, supporters, friends, lovers of good food.

Enjoy your Holiday Feast, your Company and the Taste of Goodness.
Blessings on the meal, Keena

Baked Leeks with Goat Cheese

1. Cut leeks lengthwise to clean and then boil in a saucepan, until tender

2. Drain and place in a buttered baking pan

3. Mix together : 1 egg, 5oz goat cheese, 1/3c plain yogurt, 1/2c parm cheese, salt and pepper

4. Pour mixture over leeks

5. Top with 1/2c bread crumbs and a bit more parm

6. Bake 35-40 min at 350

Holiday Onion and Apple Bake

1.5# apples, 1 Large onion sliced 3/8in thick and separated into rings, 3/4c brown sugar, 1.5c coarse bread crumbs, 2Tbs butter, cut into small pieces

1. Arrange apples in an overlapping layer in a buttered baking pan. Top apple layer with onions. Sprinkle with brown sugar and salt, then bread crumbs and bits of butter. Cover and place in 300 oven.

2. Bake for 3 hours, remove foil, and continue baking 30 min more or until bread crumbs are browned.

Apple Flavored Winter Squash Cake
1 stick butter, room temp
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups cooked winter squash
1/2 cup apple cider
1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp bkg soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1. Beat butter until fluffy. Beat in sugar until mixed. Add eggs, one at at time. Add squash and cider, mix well.
2. Sift flour bkg soda, salt and spices. Add to cream mixture in batches.
3. Pour into a buttered and floured bundt pan
4. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and pour on glaze.
Apple Cider Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup apple cider
Sift sugar into a bowl. Whisk in cider until smooth, pour over cooled cake right away