Thank you Potato Pickers!
Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day--perfect for picking potatoes! We picked three rows (almost 900#!), using our "new" 100 year old potato digger. It was just given to us from a friend down the road. It was his father's, drawn by his horse, many years ago. It certainly made the job easier, although it had a few quirks : )Not to worry if you missed this fine day--we have three more rows to go!
Pick Your Own Flowers!!! The flower garden is in full bloom and you are welcome to bring some home with you. There are scissors on the sill by the back door of the barn, along with baggies to put water in to keep them fresh on your drive home. Most flowers like to be picked when they are not quite open all the way. This way they will open in your home and you can enjoy them longer. Pick the lilies when the bottom two flowers have opened and the gladiolas are picked when the bottom 3 flowers have opened. Don't be shy--we planted them for you!
This week's loot: POTATOES!!!, lettuce, green beans, the last of the turnips, beets, cucumbers, zucchini, onions, basil, oregano
Next week's loot: potatoes, green beans, carrots, chard, cucumbers, zucchini, sorrel...I probably will NOT have lettuce--sorry!
The idea behind the CSA is that when the harvest is good, you share in the bounty. So even though I may have the poundage for the week set "high" don't feel like you HAVE to take it all. It's just an amount that you can take "up to", because we have food a plenty.
There are WORMS in my broccoli!!!! Soak your broccoli in salt water before cooking--this will bring all the worms to the surface so you can fish them out befiore they end up on your plate :)
Chocolate Potato Cake
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups cake flower
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 cup buttermilk
melt chocolate with vanilla, cool slightly. sift dry ingredients. cream butter and sugar and beat in eggs one by one. add the chocolate and mashed potatoes. beat in dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk. pour into a greased 13x9 pan and bake in a preheated 350 oven for 40 minutes. cool before frosting.
Frosting
3 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 lb confectioner's sugar
dash of salt
1/2 cup softened butter
hot milk
chopped walnuts
melt choc and vanilla, let cool slightly. cream sugar, salt and butter. add just enough hot milk to make a spreadable consistency. beat in melted choc. spread on cake and sprinkle nuts on top.
Classic Potato Salad
1 medium onion, sliced thin
apple cider vinegar
1 tbs finely chopped basil
1 tbs finely chopped oregano
1 tbs finely chopped dill
1 cup mayo
4 medium taters, cooked and cooled
2 hard cooked eggs
salt and pepper
place onion in a small bowl and add enough vinegar to cover. mix together herbs and mayo in a separate bowl. slice taters and place them in a large bowl with the eggs. drain onions and add them to the taters. add the herb-mayo mixture and stir
