Monday, November 21, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 4

Here we are at the last week of our Fall CSA and week 24 of providing weekly vegetable boxes to our community in this drought year! 
A few happy dances will be done this week, as at the start of the season we never thought we would get through to the end of this year.



A huge "Thank You" to all our CSA families this year, we could not have done it without your continued support.

As I type the final newsletter of the 2017 season I am looking out the window at high winds and blowing snow!
We are thankful that we harvested radicchio and pac choy on Saturday for this weeks shares and that our High Mowing Organic seed catalog turned up in the mail today so that planning for 2017 can start!
We are a being a bit optimistic about harvesting more greens for the boxes tomorrow morning. With all the snow we have had we now need to dig the hoop house out to actually get into it to harvest the spinach.  We will still harvest kale and kalettes tomorrow morning from the field, once we have dug them out of the snow!

The Farm Gate will be closed from SUNDAY 27th of NOVEMBER and will re open on TUESDAY 6th DECEMBER.
If you have pre-ordered eggs they will be available for collection during this week on your normal pick up days.  We will just be closed to vegetable and meat sales this week! 
Bulk vegetable boxes will be available from the 6th December onward.  If you would like to pre- order a bulk box for that week please feel free to e-mail.  We will also send out e-mail and Facebook reminders.

This weeks basket:  Some items may change due to the weather!
Garlic
Beets
Sweet potatoes
Radicchio
Pac Choy
Butternut Squash -   These did not do well this year due to the weather so they are a little, but we do have enough for the last week of the Fall CSA.
Kalettes
Carrots
Kohlrabi - It is not going to look pretty on the outside due to storage but once you remove the skin it is still as crisp and fresh as the day it was harvested.
Radish
Kale - This is in a bag this week as it has been picked from the field from under all the snow!

We are hoping for spinach and/or greens but maybe as I said before I am being a little too optimistic!

Monday, November 14, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 3

November seems to be flying by, we are already at week three of our November CSA and we are thankful that we are still able to harvest so much from our fields. 
Field clearing, flailing of cover crops along with the carrot harvest, which we are about half way through continues.





This weeks basket:
Garlic
Carrots - This recipe uses your carrots and green onions! bunched carrots and spring onions in parchment
Kale - Stuffed squash with kale and beets.
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes - Sweet potato and lentil bake with greens!
Julie's sweet potato & arugula salad.
Thank you to one of our CSA members for this amazing salad dish!
Julie's Sweet potato and arugula salad.
6 cups 1/2-inch-diced sweet potatoes (4 to 6 large sweet potatoes) leaving skin on if you wish
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups loosely packed baby arugula
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray
Toss the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Stir the potatoes and continue to bake until fork-tender, an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the cooled sweet potatoes, arugula and scallions. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss the dressing with the sweet potato and arugula mixture to coat.
Beets - Harissa falafels with spiced beetroot.
Green Onions
Squash - It will either be Delicata (you can eat the skins on this one) or Acorn squash.
Turnips - These turnips can be eaten raw or cooked. Middle eastern pickled turnips
Kalettes -We have had mixed reviews on these this year!
One of our CSA members told me how she ate them and lets just say we are heading out to buy blue cheese.  The kalelettes where roasted in the oven with beets and walnuts and then once cooked blue cheese added to the mix!
Greens - This weeks greens are our own blend of Asian greens, some mild some spicy! Can be eaten raw or cooked.
Pac Choy
Cilantro

Monday, November 7, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 2

Over the next few days we will be digging over 1000ft of storage carrots this is the last crop that we need to get out of the ground and store before winter and to be honest I think our fork says it all about this season!!

We had a little more rain last week but it was interesting to read the following article on the drought in the Intelligencer and to hear on the radio that Stirling still remains in a Level 3 drought and that residents sill need to reduce their water usage by 50%. For as much as we are loving these warm November days we still need a lot more rain before the ground freezes and winter sets in. 







We left one of our rapini and braising greens bed to flower this fall and we will leave it in bloom for a little longer before we flail it down, as Michael's bees have been foraging away on the plants over the last few days.


Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill out this years survey, it will be up for another week and then we will start planning for next season!






This weeks basket:
Garlic
Carrots
Kale
Potatoes
Spinach
Green onions
Escarole - This was in the boxes at the beginning of the season and is amazing.  It looks like a large lettuce head but will have a mild bitter taste to it.  Escarole can be eaten raw, or chopped up into a potato hash mix or grilled on the BBQ and served with a balsamic and olive oil dressing.
Rosie pac choy and arugula
Arugula - This crop has done so well in the heat and has a great peppery flavour to it.  It can be enjoyed raw in a salad or can be added as a topping to pizza, or added to a potato curry
Pac Choy - This one has a deep aubergine colour and always does well in the fall.  They are normally larger than this but we are just happy to see them this year what ever the size!
Cilantro - This crop just keeps on giving! If you do not want to use it fresh then just place in a freezer bag and use when needed over the winter months.
Here's a link to 22 recipes that use cilantro including a great recipe for humus and pesto.
Kohlrabi - We know the outer skin does not look very attractive from it being in storage but the inside is still white and crisp and yummy!
Acorn Squash