Win-win

We finessed an interesting deal this week.  As I’ve explained before, we buy potatoes from organic farmers that we trust.  When we started our CSA, I made Steve agree that we would grow everything except potatoes.  He would want every piece of equipment needed to grow potatoes, and it’s a big line-up.  Our friends/neighbors Peg and Matt Schaeffer of Sandhill Family Farms have a bumper potato crop this year but not enough employees to get them harvested. We have an unusually large crew working for us this fall.  We made a deal – our crew will help dig the potatoes, and we’ll buy them at a reasonable cost.  They have nice varieties; German butterballs for the November 5/6 box, and Carolas and Red Marias for the storage share.  Matt dropped samples at our house and we enjoyed a mini potato-cooking festival.

Oddly, the toughest part of the deal was finding enough containers to hold the potatoes.  Every economy has its currency.  Right now, both our farms are running short of plastic crates for harvest.  We filled all ours with sweet potatoes and winter squash.  They filled theirs with potatoes.  We scrounged and washed out every crate available while Matt emailed “Beth, we are DESPERATE for crates.”

Two employees at a time have gone to the Schaeffers’ to help.  We have heard nothing about the harvest, only about the ducks, chickens, sheep and a donkey named Daisy.  That’s all anyone has talked of.  I am afraid we will lose our entire crew to the Schaeffers’ petting zoo.

Kelcie and Daisy.  Photo by Madeleine.

Where oh where could our crates be hiding?

Alien vegetables – Romanesco and colored cauliflower.

Let’s talk about the striking vegetables in your box.
Romanesco broccoli (pale green conical head, possible tinged with purple) – This is the prettiest vegetable we grow.  Look at it closely to appreciate its branched beauty and repeating spiral pattern.  It is called broccoli, but is closely related to cauliflower which it resembles in flavor and texture.  Like broccoli and cauliflower, it is fine eaten raw or cooked.  It requires cooking times intermediate between the two.  Don’t overcook it.  I usually steam it, then dress it simply with a butter-lemon-garlic-mustard sauce.
Purple, white or orange cauliflower – Cauliflower comes in brilliant colors besides white.  We planted purple and orange varieties this year, and will rotate the types are they are ready to harvest.  Treat the colored types like white cauliflower for cooking.  There is a slight flavor difference between white and purple but it is subtle.  Purple cauliflower gets its color from anthocyanins, the same compounds that color red cabbage.  The color of purple cauliflower fades to blue during cooking.  I’ve read that it will stay purple if you acidify the cooking water, but haven’t tried it yet.  Orange cauliflower gets its color from beta carotene, which means more vitamin A in your diet.

Romanesco broccoli, the prettiest fractal on the farm.

Purple, white and orange cauliflower.

Even the stems of orange cauliflower are permeated with color.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes

Savoy cabbage
Butternut squash
Leeks, 1.5 – 2 lb
Carrots, 2 lb
Frying peppers, about 5
Poblano chiles, 2
Garlic
You’ll receive two of these:
– cauliflower
– Romanesco broccoli
– broccoli

Next week’s box will probably contain cauliflower OR Romanesco broccoli, winter squash OR sweet potatoes, mustard greens, carrots, onions, and more.

Sweet frying peppers on the left.  Mildly spicy poblanos in bondage on the right.  We avoid sending similar-looking peppers together when some are hot, some are sweet.  It’s the end of pepper season, and our options have dwindled.  Respect the rubber bands if you want to keep the types separate.

Frying peppers (long, slender, green or red) – These are sweet.
Poblano chiles (triangular, shiny, green or red) – These are mildly hot.  Poblanos are the creme de la creme of chiles.  They have lots of great flavor in combination with manageable heat.  Steve protected these plants from frost so we would have the chiles for you.  Roast and add to soup or casseroles.  For our household, they are emblematic of fall cooking.
Savoy cabbage (round green cabbage with pretty, crinkled leaves) – Savoy cabbage can be handled and cooked the same as green cabbage.
Butternut squash – This is our “Metro” variety, a favorite because it cures and sweetens quickly after harvest.  These are medium-sized squash, average weight <2.0 lb.

Tip for cutting winter squash

If you want to peel or dice your butternut squash, microwave the intact squash on high for one minute.  That’s enough to warm and soften the squash, making it much easier to peel.  I find this trick useful even when just cutting the butternut in half.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Sauteed Savoy Cabbage
Squash Cabbage and Tofu Thai Curry with Glass Noodles
Carrot Leek Soup
Parmesan Roasted Romanesco
Mashed Cauliflower
Salisbury Steak with Pepper and Mushroom Gravy

Outside the Box Recipes

Oven Braised Savoy Cabbage
Butternut and Poblano Quesadillas
Creamy Braised Leeks
Steamed Romanesco with Mustard Butter
Cauliflower Latkes
Muhammara

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Braised Chickpeas with Butternut Squash and Cabbage

Quick and Easy Meal Idea

Roasted Savoy Cabbage with Tomatoes and Sausage

Sweet season

Fall weather does not get better than this.  Our farm work is so pleasant when the weather is sunny and mild.  Prepping parsley bunches when it’s sunny and 65^oF?  That’s perfect – our fingers are ungloved and nimble, we can handle rubber bands.  Try tackling that job when it’s 35^oF and raining and you are dressed in bulky layers.  We know frost is coming soon, but we are trying to extract as much pleasure as we can from these last warm days.  The sweet potatoes and winter squash are all harvested (yeah!), and we’ve begun harvesting cabbage for winter storage.  These are satisfying milestones.  Here are photos from the last few weeks.  Beth

Sweet potatoes pop out of the ground when the soil is just right – not too dry, not too wet. From top, Steve mows the vines and undercuts the roots to bring them to the surface. We pick them up by hand. They need to be handled very gently at this stage.  At bottom, Jeremy finds a favorite.

Billy tosses cabbage to Kyle.

Maggie and team sort winter squash as it comes up the conveyor belt.

Winter squash primer

We will pack several types of winter squash this week, although each member will receive just one type.  We tried a few new varieties this year, and are sharing ones that passed our taste tests.  Some new varieties are great but others are duds.  We only send the good ones.  If you have a strong opinion about the squash you receive this week (good or bad), could you let us know?  We’ll keep track of where the varieties are delivered.

Clockwise from top right, Sugar Dumpling (2), TipTop acorn, sweet dumpling (2), and Honey Boat delicata.

The early winter squashes were not very productive because of pest problems.  On the other hand, the butternuts did great.  Above, keeping the butternut squash warm and dry in the greenhouse so they cure and sweeten.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (Oct. 15/16, 2015, week #22, green EOW)

Yellow potatoes, 3 to 3.5 lb
Red beets, 2 lb
Broccoli AND/OR cauliflower
Frying peppers, mixed colors, ~4
Bell AND/OR Oranos peppers
Zavory “mild” habaneros, small handful
Yellow onions, about 2
Scallions, 1 bunch
Parsley, 1 bunch
Winter squash; acorn OR sweet dumpling OR Sugar Dumpling OR delicata

Next week’s box will probably contain cauliflower OR Romanesco broccoli, winter squash, cabbage, leeks, carrots and more.

Peppers! – It’s a pepper medley this week. We are stripping the plants in anticipation of frost in a few days.  It is so hard to let the pepper season end.  We’ll protect a few varieties with floating row cover so we have peppers for you next week.
Frying peppers (red, green or yellow; long & slender) – Don’t confuse these sweet peppers with last week’s HOT anaheim chiles, in you have any left in your fridge.  Look at photos in last week’s newsletter to see how similar they appear.  This is our biggest delivery of frying peppers so far this year.  Frying peppers are my favorite pepper, so let’s share how we cook them at our house:
– The classic use; pan fried with ones and garlic, then used to top sausages.
– Grilled or roasted, then served atop cheesy polenta.
– I keep a few roasted peppers in the fridge, to top pizza or salads, or dress up grilled cheese sandwiches. They are handy to dress up simple pasta dishes.
– Roasted then pureed with grilled or sautéed onions and garlic to make a chunky spread for bread.
Zavory “mild” habanero chiles (small; red, orange or green) – Well, these chiles have gotten hotter than the last time we delivered them.  Not sure why.  They are still pretty mild, about the same as an Anaheim, with lots of interesting flavor.

At left, sweet frying peppers.  At right, mildly hot Zavory habaneros.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Cream of Broccoli Soup
Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
Russian Beet and Potato Salad
Sweet Italian Pepper Sauce with Capellini
Cauliflower with Olives (works with broccoli too!)
Honey Soy Squash Rings

Outside the Box Recipes

Grilled Marinated Broccoli
Potato Enchiladas
Vegan Beet Chocolate Lava Cakes
Sloppy Joe’s with Pickled Sweet Peppers or Vegan Sloppy Joe
Hot Pepper Hash Browns with Cheddar
Oven Fried Squash Rings

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Moroccan Stewed Vegetables over CousCous

Quick and Easy Meal Idea

Sausage and Pepper Frittata

U-Pick Wrap-Up

Steve and I are still coasting on the energy from our pumpkin u-pick this past Sunday.  Lots of members wandered the farm to pick pumpkins and glean some extra produce.  We’re happy to share.  Much of the gleaned produce would be lost to frost in a week or two.  Some of you have brought your children to our gleaning party since they were babies.  We always hope mucking around during the u-pick will encourage open-mindedness about food in a few more children.  Parents told us lots of broccoli and carrots were munched on during the u-pick.  For those who are curious, here’s the final list of gleaning crops we offered: carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, tomatillos, Italian beans, kale, jalapeños, cilantro, peppers and raspberries.

I’ve posted photos from the u-pick on our Facebook page, but here are more.

Steve and I enjoy the chance to visit with members. We’ve fed you all season!

Second runner-up winner in the ‘guess the weight of the giant cauliflower’ contest, with her prize. The giant cauliflower would fit in a CSA box, but there would not be room for anything else.

I love this photo because it captures the scale of our farm. First-time gleaners mentioned the unexpected distance they covered while gleaning. The farm feels big when you are on foot.  FYI, the grassy planting on the right is a rye-vetch cover crop.

It’s not just pumpkins that are interesting.  Thanks Marty for the last two photos!

Julie Garrett found the beauty in our raincoats hung up in the washroom.

Questions that arose during the u-pick.

If one person asked, then others are probably curious too.

What about that tomato u-pick?
We are busted – we promised a tomato u-pick this season but did not pull it off.  For a u-pick to work, we need a big surge of tomatoes.  We planted two tomato fields (as usual) but the early one did poorly because of the wet spring.  The second tomato planting did great, and really carried the load for the CSA boxes.  Week after week, we had enough tomatoes for 4 lb per box, but those were all harvested from one field.  We had just enough extra tomatoes to bottle tomato juice for next season.  Without two fields ripening at once, we never reached a moment when we were sloshing in tomatoes and ready to host a u-pick.  Maybe next year?

Are you going to put raspberries in the CSA boxes again?
Nope, our raspberry-production days are over, due to the fruit fly that arrived in Wisconsin a few years ago.  We mowed down half our raspberry planting but can’t bear to rip it out completely.  That’s where members picked berries this weekend.

Is the CSA season over now that the gleaning party has happened?
No, there are six deliveries to go, including this week.  See below for the final delivery dates.

A member asked if this is the first time the gleaning party happened before frost.
He remembered many years when frost came a day or two before the gleaning party, and how much it affected the tomatoes he tried to glean.  That’s pretty accurate.  We time the u-pick for near the average first frost date for this area, October 8.  If we host it too early, we won’t be ready to offer crops for gleaning.  If we wait too late, most of the gleaning crops will be badly damaged.

Six boxes yet to pack

November 5/6 = final delivery for purple EOW members
November 12/13 = final delivery for weekly members and green EOW members.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (October 8/9, 2015, week #21, purple EOW)

Sweet potatoes, about 2+ lb
Broccoli, 1 head, some are small
Red kale, 1 bunch
Carrots, 2 lb
Bell peppers, red or green, about 3
Yellow onions, about 2
Fennel, 1 head with fronds
(You might not get fennel if your cauliflower is big.)
Cauliflower OR globe eggplant OR Japanese eggplant
Anaheim chiles, HOT, 2 – 3
Scallions, 1 bunch
Baby ginger, 1 chunk
Garlic, 1 head

Next week’s box will probably contain potatoes, peppers, winter squash, broccoli or cauliflower, and more.

Sweet potatoes – Some of these are BIG.  The early samples we dug seemed so modest in size.  At harvest, we found they had grown quite a lot.  Don’t worry, quality is fine for the big ones.  Just don’t try to roast them whole.  It will take a long, long time.  Big ones, small ones, all are excellent cut into pieces, oiled, and roasted at 425oF , e.g. as sweet potato fries.
Anaheim chiles (long slender peppers, red or green) – These are HOT peppers. Anaheims usually have medium spiciness although it varies from pepper to pepper.  As usual, the heat is concentrated in the seeds and midveins.  Remove the seeds and midveins is to lessen the chili’s heat.  Anaheims are easily mistaken for Italian frying peppers. We never send them in the same box for that reason. Keep this in mind if you have peppers left over from previous weeks.

See how much this week’s HOT anaheim chiles (above) resemble last week’s SWEET frying peppers (below)? Keep them separate if you still have peppers leftover from last week.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Crunchy Broccoli and Carrot Salad
Kale with Smoked Paprika
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Hot Sauce
Caramelized Fennel
Stir Fried Eggplant with Tofu and Peppers
Curried Cauliflower

Outside the Box Recipes

Broccoli Latholemono
Sweet Potato Kale Hash
Chai Scented Sweet Potatoes
Fennel and Sausage Risotto
Spiced Peppers and Eggplant
Cauliflower and Fennel Vegan Bisque

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie with Carrots and Broccoli or with Lentils

Quick and Easy Meal Idea

Fennel Olive Goat Cheese Flatbreads

Ginger harvest

We harvested half our ginger this week.  It’s time – nights are chilly inside the greenhouse, and we don’t want the tropical ginger to get damaged by cold.  I have loved this small planting.  It feels garden-like on this scale, at least in contrast with our vegetable fields.  It’s always interesting to grow something new and unusual.  Above, Jory digs the ginger from the ground.  Aren’t the plants lush?  Most of what you see are ginger but the taller plants on the left are turmeric.  We planted a few seedlings for fun and were surprised at how big they grew.

Caitlin’s job was to grade and trim the ginger root.

This is baby ginger, bright white and pink because it hasn’t grown a brown epidermis yet.  It takes a long season to grow into the mature ginger you find in stores.  It’s usually grown in warm places like Hawaii.  Baby ginger is special because it has the full ginger flavor and spiciness but almost no fibers.  That’s why it’s used to make the pickled ginger served with sushi.

We cut the roots into plump pieces to distribute in this week’s CSA boxes.  We’ll harvest the remaining ginger next week, so the purple EOW members get to try some too.  See the brown piece at bottom right?  That’s the seed piece we originally planted in spring.

Storage Shares

We have just a handful of storage shares left.  Sign up by the end of this weekend if you are still interested.  You can read here about what we delivered in last year’s storage share.
Current Tipi members, sign up here.
New members, sign up here.

Please scratch your name off the checkoff list every week.

One of our site hosts called last week to tell me there was one unclaimed box at her site, but six names still on the list.  She didn’t bother making reminder calls that week.  Please scratch your name off the checkoff list.  Please take care of it before you take your box – your hands are empty and you are less likely to get distracted by your beautiful produce.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (October 1/2, 2015, week #20, green EOW)

Red bok choy OR Yukina
Edamame soybeans, 1 bundle
Carrots, 2 lb
Broccoli OR cauliflower
Italian beans, 1 lb
Frying peppers, 3
Oranos peppers, 2 – 3
Tomatoes, 1 to 3
Yellow onions, about 2
Jalapeño chiles, 2
Basil, 1 husky sprig
Baby ginger, 1 knob

Next week’s box will probably contain carrots, onions, peppers, ginger and much more.

Some sites will get red bok choy, some will get Yukina.  These related vegetables are similar, although Yukina is larger and more strongly flavored.  They can be used interchangeably in recipes.
Red bok choy (loose rosette with thick stems and magenta leaves) – This Asian green is good for stir-frying or sautéing or in soup.  It’s also good as a raw, marinated salad, like a fresh unfermented kimchi.  You can think of the stems and leaves as two separate vegetables.  The stems require longer cooking.  The leaves will cook almost as quickly as spinach.  Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Yukina (large heads of dark green leaves) – This is my favorite fall green.  It is nutritious, delicious, a great combination of mustard-like leaves with crunchy stems.  These yukina look big, but will shrink once cooked.   We usually steam and drain chopped yukina, then dress it with a cooked mixture of fried garlic and ginger simmered with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, a little sugar and a lot of paprika or hot pepper flakes.
Edamame (bundle of stems with pods attached) – See our notes from three weeks ago about how to cook.
Carrots – The first fall carrots!
Italian beans – The last summer beans!  Really, that’s the end.  We added an extra bean planting this year, for a total of seven deliveries.  We hope you enjoyed them.  These Italian beans are mature enough that they will be best braised.  Pat came up with a nice braised chicken and Italian bean dish for us.
Tomatoes – Well, tomato season is ending.  It’s so hard to let go.  Enjoy these last few tomatoes we picked for you this week.
Jalapeño chiles (small green chiles) – These are HOT.  Handle with caution.  Remove the seeds and midveins to lessen their heat.
Baby ginger – See above.  Wrap in a damp cloth or paper towel, and keep in the refrigerator in a plastic bag.  Eat soon; baby ginger is perishable and we plan to send more next week.  This stuff bruises easily so we gave it just a light washing, and figured you could do the fine washing when you cut it up.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Chilled Lemon Marinated Cauliflower
Cheesy, Creamy Brown Rice, Broccoli and Greens Casserole
Braised Chicken with Romano Beans
Sesame Salad with Bok Choy or Yukina
Slow Braised Goulash
Ginger Curried Carrot Soup

Outside the Box Recipes

Cauliflower Gallette Crust
Broccoli Hummus
Yukina Savoy with Sweet Chili Sauce
Braised Sausage, Pepper, Onion and Scrambled Egg Sandwich
Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Roasted Fall Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Quick and Easy Meal Idea

Basil Marinated Caprese Sandwich

Last chance for storage share + Willy Street parade

Storage share = two large boxes in November.

We still have a few storage shares available for hungry members who want to extend their CSA season.  Our storage share consists of one delivery of two large boxes.  Delivery date will be November 19/20, 2015 (Thurs/Fri sites).  This is the last chance to sign up – we need to place our potato order soon.

To register for a winter share, go to tipiproduce.csasignup.com/members/updatemembership and follow the instructions.
Cost: The cost is $105.
Payment: Register online, then send a check for $105 to Tipi Produce, 14706 W. Ahara Road, Evansville, WI 53536
Deadlines:
– The deadline to register is September 30, or when the shares sell out.
– To hold your reserved storage share, we need your payment in hand one week after you register, and no later than Oct. 6.

The produce: This delivery is much larger than deliveries during the CSA season, about 3 times the size of our typical CSA box, packed into two large boxes.  The contents will depend on the weather, and what is available and good quality. Expected contents include potatoes, carrots and onions, plus stored crops such as winter squash, leeks, garlic, cabbage, beets, celeriac, parsnips, rutabagas and winter radishes.  We will probably include something fresh from the garden, eg. Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli or greens. Some veggies will need to be refrigerated.  Others can be stored at room temperature. Click to see what we delivered in the 2014 storage share.

Not sure if you already ordered a winter share? Send yourself an email with your membership info at tipiproduce.csasignup.com/members/statusemail.  Once the email arrives, look under Membership Details/ Member Type 1 to view whether you have already signed up for a winter share.

Willy Street Fair

Our crew gathered to march in the Willy Street Fair parade again this year, powered by Maggie and Jon’s energy.  Actually, everyone was pretty enthusiastic.  This year’s innovation?  Maggie screen-printed sixty “Water On” Tipi t-shirts to give away.  This is the special shirt she designed for our farm crew.  That woman has so much energy.  Jon constructed a catapult from a giant rubber band and a u-boat, a type of cart.  That meant we didn’t just toss the t-shirts into the crowd, we launched them.  Orange Orano peppers, grape tomatoes and flowers were our other offerings.  Our friend Rob Summerbell of Jolly Giants Entertainment followed us in the parade, steering his enormous Wacky Wheeler.  “Look at that,” he thought, “everyone is eating orange popsicles.”  Nope, those were our orange peppers.  Some people take them, some people don’t.  I guess peppers and tomatoes are unexpected parade treats.

We were positioned just behind the bubble mobile, a pearlescent place to be.  Check out the boys’ outfits.  They planned them for weeks.  We were glad to hear many shouts of “Hey! That’s my CSA.”

Maggie made the banner last year. The handles are rims for canning jars!

From back, Lizzy (with kale), Kelcie, Jory, Madeleine with Pickles in pouch.

The bubble-mobile.  We were honored to trail the parade’s biggest celebrity.

Melon Man and Brassica Boy, armed with kale sabers.  They made their capes from cauliflower leaves, the sturdiest leaves on the farm right now. See the noisemakers trailing Maggie’s rickshaw? More canning jar rims.

Jon (carrying kale), Steve and Jeremy bring a u-boat loaded with peppers and tomatoes.  The thick rubber band nearest the top is our t-shirt catapult.

Our tallest fan enjoys a grape tomato.

Maggie with her rickshaw.  Someday soon, I will write about the crew’s efforts preserving produce for winter.  They are heroic.

We feel like such amateurs.  Maybe for next year’s CSA boxes?

Extra produce sales

Hey folks, I’d like to explain our extra produce sales, for the benefit of new members this year.  You’ve probably noticed our emails offering extra tomatoes or peppers for sale.  We offer these sales at peak season when we have more than enough for the CSA boxes.  It’s a chance to preserve some tasty produce for winter.  At this point, tomato sales are done for this season.  We might offer red peppers again, but maybe not.  Later this fall, we’ll offer boxes of green kale.  Basil is unlikely this year due to a disease problem.

The turn-around time to place an order is often short, sometimes just a few hours.  We realize this can be difficult for members, but we cannot open sales until we’re confident we have what’s needed for the CSA boxes.  That often means a short window to place your order.  FYI, I usually make the announcements on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes

Red potatoes, 3.5 lb
Italian beans, 1.75 lb
Broccoli, 1 – 3 heads depending on size
Leeks, about 1.5 lb
Slicing tomatoes, about 2 lb
Red bell peppers, 2
Zavory “not-hot” habanero chiles, small handful
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Garlic

A few sites will get one heirloom tomato per box.

Next week’s box will probably contain carrots, beets, winter squash, edamame soybeans, peppers, onions and more.

Red potatoes – Finally, we have potatoes for you.  There has not been room in the CSA boxes until now!  Chad Malek of Specialty Potatoes and Produce in Rosholt grew these organic potatoes for us.
Italian beans – This is Steve’s favorite type of bean.  Broad and sturdy, they can be lightly cooked or braised for a longer time.  New York Times writer Melissa Clark’s article “Beans in Their Own Sweet Time” is a revelation about how to braise beans.  She writes “The beans I grew up on were barely blanched until green as grass, retaining a fresh, chlorophyll taste and a firm al dente texture that seemed to make sense with their spaghetti-thin girth…. But when the Italian mother of my college roommate offered a plate of tender beans, I found them addictive from the first melting bite. With a droopy texture I would have considered overcooked as a know-it-all kid, these gorgeous legumes were a revelation. Gently simmered in a rich garlic-flecked tomato sauce until soft and velvety but not the least bit mushy, I had seconds, then thirds, which tickled the cook to no end.”  Basically, instead of a quick steaming, you braise the beans in a flavorful sauce until they are very tender and have taken up the sauce’s flavors.  Melissa’s recipe calls for green beans, but I like braising Italian beans best.
Leeks (look like big scallions) – These alliums have a milder flavor than onions.  Nonetheless, they can be used in recipes that call for onions.  To wash, split the leek lengthwise, from the green tops about halfway to the base, leaving the base intact.  Rinse well under running water, separating the layers to flush.  If necessary, split the leek further if soil has penetrated more than halfway down the leek.  Shake dry.  Leeks are generally eaten cooked.  They can be sauteed, steamed or roasted.  Intact leeks will store 2 to 3 weeks if covered loosely and refrigerated.  The outer leaves will yellow.  Just peel them off and discard.  The inner leek layers will be fine.
Slicing tomatoes (mixed colors) – We’re happy to still have tomatoes but recognize these will not store long.  It’s best to refrigerate them.  Better yet, eat them quickly!
‘Zavory’ habaneros (small, orange or red) – These habaneros are NOT HOT.  Almost all the spice has been bred out of them, leaving mild heat in the seeds.  Now we can all learn what habaneros actually taste like.  The blazing heat always got in the way, as normal habaneros are about 200,000 Scoville units.  Lo-and-behold, these Zavory chiles have great, fruity flavor, really interesting.  You should still approach them with caution.  We’ve found rare off-types mixed in, but very infrequently, and not with the full heat of a normal habanero.  As always, remove the seeds if you want to reduce the risk of spiciness.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Roasted Romano Beans
Bean and Tomato Sauté
Roasted Tomato Thyme Vinaigrette
Beef, Leek and Potato All Day Stew
Broccoli Cashew Stir Fry
Balsamic Roasted Potato

Outside the Box Recipes

Indian Spiced Romano Beans
Leek and Bean Barlotto
Yucatan Tomato Habañero Salsa
Saffron Rice with Frizzled Leeks
Smashed Potatoes with Broccoli
Lemon Dijon Dill Potato and Broccoli Salad

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Mitsitam’s Tortilla Soup

Quick and Easy Meal Recipe

Pepper Steak

Farm news from Steve

Even with this week’s summer-like temperatures, autumn is creeping into our farm lives.

We’re dismantling fields that we so carefully constructed and tended during the past few months.  Acres of worn-out zucchini, cucumber, melon plants are mowed.  Thousands of linear feet of plastic mulch are undercut with a simple implement, then pulled up and out of the fields by our crew – a dusty job!  The drip irrigation lines that kept these crops growing so well through our dry summer are mechanically wound into compact balls, ready to be recycled.  The used plastic mulch is too dirty for recycling, and is destined for our landfill in Janesville.

After these fields are cleared off, a single pass with our strongest tractor and a heavy disc levels the ground, mixing in crop and weed residues, adequate preparation for us to seed a cover crop.

Each week now we’re planting several acres of winter rye (the rye in your rye bread) mixed with hairy vetch. This mixture makes 6-8 inches of growth this fall, enough to cover the ground, minimizing erosion and moderating soil temperatures through the winter. At the first hint of spring, the rye will green up and resume growing, capturing a large amount of carbon from the air. The vetch restarts a bit later, and, as a legume, fixes atmospheric nitrogen into a form that soil microbes, and then our crop plants, can use for growth.

These cover crops, planted this week, are a foundation for our farm’s success next year. We keep the cycle going.  Steve

Pulling up plastic mulch on a beautiful fall day.

The fall crops are growing well.  There’s lots yet to harvest.

Cover crops are up! The rye seedlings look fragile but will form a dense mat before winter arrives.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (Sept. 17/18, 2015, week #18, green EOW)

Updated 9/17/15
Here is our best guess of what will be in the box.  Do not be surprised if your box does not contain everything on the list.  There are many large vegetables this week, and we will fit as many as we can in each box.

Green cabbage, 1
Lacinato kale, 1 bunch
Slicing tomatoes, 4 lb
Colored bell pepper, 1
Orano peppers, about 2
Poblano chiles, 2
Yellow onions, about 2
Thai basil, 1 bunch
Garlic
Broccoli, 1 large or 2 small heads
Sweet dumpling OR delicata squash, 1 or 2

Everyone will receive two+ items from this list:
Celery OR eggplant OR extra broccoli OR an heirloom tomato

Next week’s box will probably contain potatoes, broccoli, Italian beans, leeks, tomatoes, peppers of some sort, garlic and more.

Slicing tomatoes – Keep a close watch on your tomatoes this week.  They look and taste good but might not store for long.  It’s that time of year.  Eat them promptly, or refrigerate once ripe.

Celery – Our celery is strongly flavored and more fibrous than typical grocery store celery.  Check the middle of the head – it may need trimming.  We continue to tinker with our one annual celery planting, attempting to find the right fall harvest window.  We planted it late enough to mature in fall, and be more tender than celery harvested during the summer.  It sort of worked.  This celery is more tender than in other years.  However, planting later created more opportunity for insect attack.  Look it over, taste it raw, and decide how you want to use it.

Poblano chiles (dark green, shiny, triangular) – These chiles have low-to-medium heat and great flavor.  Most I’ve cooked so far this year are milder than usual, but a few were corkers.

Sweet Dumpling winter squash (round, speckled green and white or yellow) – This is one of our most flavorful winter squashes and a personal favorite.  Sweet Dumpling are one of the first winter squash types ready to eat in fall.  These will not store for long so eat them soon.
Storage:  Store all winter squash at room temperature.
Preparation: These squash have a central cavity that can be stuffed if you wish.  Cut squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds.  To cook, I place the cut squash face-down on a cookie sheet, then put some water in the pan, and roast at 400 oF until easily pierced with a fork.  The water in the pan is optional.  The flavor is best if you allow the pan to dry during the cooking, so the squash has a chance to caramelize.

Thai basil – This is the same Thai variety we sent a few weeks ago, chosen for how well it holds up to a late summer disease.  We like this basil!  The flavor is excellent.  There’s a mild hint of anise, without bitterness.  This is a strong basil so try using half the amount you would add when using Italian basil.  Taste and add more if you wish.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo or Red Bean Gumbo
Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion
Sage Rubbed Roasted Sweet Dumpling Squash with Onions and Craisins
Fish Taco with Shredded Poblano and Cabbage in Chipotle Crema
Wilted Kale with Bacon and Vinegar (Vegetarians and non-bacon eaters — click through for award winning variation with no bacon!)
Yogurt Eggplant Spread

Outside the Box Recipes

Bloody Mary Salad
Baked Eggplant, Peppers and Tomatoes with Almonds
Curried Chickpea and Quinoa Stuffed Squash
Indian Coleslaw
Grilled Lacinato Kale
Burnt Eggplant and Israeli Couscous Soup

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Vegetable Bonanza Chili

Quick and Easy Meal Idea

Scrambled Eggs with Poblano Tomato Sauce

September 10/11, 2015

Red peppers make everyone happy. Jon and Simone with a pepper haul.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (September 10/11, 2015, week #17, purple EOW)

Tomatoes, 4 lb, mixed slicing & plum
Edamame soybeans, 1 bundle
Golden beets with greens, 1 bunch
Broccoli, 1 or 2 nice heads
Delicata winter squash, 2
Oranos peppers, 4 – 5
Colored bell pepper, 1
Yellow onions, about 2
Basil, 1 husky sprig

Each site will get 1 heirloom tomato per box OR an additional pepper.

Edamame soybeans (bundle of green stems with pods attached ) – These edible soybeans are a treat.  Pull the pods from the stem and wash well.  It helps to submerge the pods and rub them together.  Boil in water until the pods have split and the beans are quite tender.  Season with salt and pop the beans out of the pods into your mouth.  This Japanese specialty is becoming more and more popular in the USA.
Storage:  Remove the pods from the stems promptly and refrigerate.

Broccoli – Don’t try to store this broccoli for long.  It matured in hot weather, and that is likely to shorten its storage life.

Delicata winter squash – These are flavorful, thin-walled winter squash.  You can even eat the skin.  Delicatas do not store well, so eat them soon.
Storage:  Store all winter squash at room temperature.
Preparation: These squash have a central cavity that can be stuffed if you wish.  Cut squash in half, scoop out and discard the seeds.  To cook, I place the cut squash face-down on a cookie sheet, with a small amount of water in the pan, and roast at 400 oF until easily pierced with a fork.  The water in the pan is optional.  Allow the pan to dry during cooking, so the squash has a chance to caramelize.

Heirloom tomatoes (large tomato that’s not in the paper bag with the other tomatoes) – We will rotate heirloom tomatoes among the sites as they ripen.  Heirloom tomatoes are full-flavored but delicate.  If you receive one this week, please handle it very gently, as these fragile beauties bruise easily.  Some are delivered ripe, some need to ripen at room temperature for a day or two.  Plan to eat your heirloom as soon as it is ripe.

Golden beets with greens – These beet greens are delicious. They are similar to Swiss chard in flavor, texture & cooking time (the two crops are very closely related.) You can remove the thickest midribs before cooking if you wish, but it is not essential.
Storage: Cover and refrigerate. The beet roots will last for weeks.  Beet greens are perishable and should be eaten soon. Separate the tops and roots if you don’t plan to eat the greens immediately, to preserve freshness in the roots.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Roasted Salt and Pepper Edamame
Beet, Beet Greens, Caramelized Onions and Feta
Tuna and Beet Salad with Coddled Eggs
Chunky Tomato Bruschetta
Broccoli Sautéed with Pine Nuts, Basil and Parmesan
Roasted Delicata Squash with Apples

Outside the Box Recipes

Tasty Summer Stew
Beet Green Strata
Shredded Sautéed Beets with Poppy Seeds
Tunisian Broiled Tomato and Pepper Salad
Broccoli with Quinoa Salad and Basil Vinaigrette
Roasted Squash Breakfast Bowl

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Squash Posole

Quick and Easy Dinner

Fresh Tomato Soup Spiked with Chipotle Cream

September 3, 2015

I don’t know about you folks but it feels like a major accomplishment to get our kids back to school.  However, it’s not just children who return to school.  We’ve lost five valuable crew members back to the academic life or other ventures.  Steve and I like to thank Joel, Gage, Dana, Osha and Sophie for their hard work this summer.  Dana and Joel are off to teaching positions, Gage and Sophie back to school.  Osha begins an AmeriCorps position on the west coast.

New employees begin work this week and next week.  It is a challenge to join our field crew this time of year.  The experienced folks are seasoned and accustomed to working outdoors.  Everyone is knowledgeable about farming details, even the employees who began their first year with us this May.  Fortunately, we are a welcoming bunch.  We will share our gallons of sunscreen and show them where to put their lunch so the barn cats won’t find it.  Beth

Gage finishes a particularly messy mowing job.

Osha and Joel harvest spinach this spring.

Dana weeds carrots.

Sophie bunches kale.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (Sept 3/4, 2015, week #16, green EOW)

This is such a nice summer box.  It typifies the abundance this time of year.  Steve chose the best red watermelons for you this week, thinking many of you will celebrate Labor Day with barbecues or picnics.

Sweet corn, 5 ears
Mixed green & yellow wax beans, 2 lb
Tomatoes, 4 lb, mixed slicing and plum
Red watermelon
Broccoli, 1 medium head
Orano peppers, about 3
Colored bell pepper, 1
Walla Walla onions, 1 or 2 or 3
Basil, 1 husky branch
We have some treats to share.  Most sites will get …
… globe or Japanese eggplant OR an extra bell pepper OR an extra corn OR an heirloom tomato.

Next week’s box will probably contain beans, tomatoes, edamame soybeans, broccoli, basil, onions, peppers, and more.

Sweet corn – This is the last delivery of corn.  A minority of ears have bugs at the tip and will need to be trimmed.  It’s that time of year; corn pests are more problematic in the later plantings.
Basil – This is a new Italian basil variety for us, chosen because it’s resistant to a disease that often shows up this time of year.  We like the variety; it’s a bit more prone to flower but the flavor is good.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Basil Aioli
Eggplant Involtini
Four Bean Salad
Tomato, Green Bean, Basil Pasta Salad
Seared Green Beans
Stewed Tomatoes with Onions and Herbs

Outside the Box Recipes

Greek Olive Pesto
Moussaka
Yellow Wax Bean Refrigerator Pickles
Kung Pao Stir Fry with Tofu or Chicken, Eggplant, Peppers, and Broccoli
Broccoli with Basil Gremolata
Tomato Salad with Parmesan and Olives

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Labor Day Composed Salad

Quick and Easy Dinner Idea

Grilled Burgers or Veggie Burgers with Simple Sauteed Corn

Everyday beauty

I bought a smart phone recently and find myself taking more photos of our farm’s everyday beauty.

The cabbage family grows in many shades of gray-green. From front, two types of cabbage, then Brussels sprouts, then more cabbage, then our new solar array.  We installed the array for its blue tint.

Once in a while, an eggplant will form rings of color emanating from the stem and calyx.  See how the rings echo the shape of the calyx?  We assume it’s related to light exposure with a new ring forming during each day/night cycle.  It could be temperature-related instead.  There’s a science project in there!

The alfalfa is in full bloom. We planted it on the scrubby parts of our farm and rarely cut it – it’s there to keep the soil in place and provide habitat for beneficial insects. The blooms come in every shade of lilac. The scent is incredible at full bloom. Of course, the alfalfa blossoms draw many visitors.

Billy rescued this gorgeous frog and relocated it to a safer spot. Caitlyn took the photo.  We think it’s a leopard frog but could be a pickerel frog.

We plant flowers in our pepper fields to separate the different varieties. (We grew 28 pepper varieties this year.)  The flowers help us keep our bearings, but also bring a jolt of color that we all appreciate.

The pepper variety marker gets placed at the base of the flowers so it’s easy to find.

Steve tilled around this patch of bolted fennel to provide short-term habitat for beneficial insects.  It’s another fragrant beauty.

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (August 27/28, 2015, week #15, purple EOW)

Make salsa this week. We’ve sent all the usual ingredients; ripe tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, hot peppers, sweet peppers. Your choice between the sweet Walla Walla onion or the more pungent red onion. I mentioned to the crew that this is our annual salsa box. Their immediate response was ‘Watermelon salsa! Kale salsa!” Turned out that at least one person in the group had made salsa with every ingredient in this week’s box.

Tomatoes, 3.8 lb, mixed slicing & plum
Cilantro, 1 bunch
Garlic, 1 head
Walla Walla onion, 1
Red onion, 1
Jalapeño chiles, 2
Red frying peppers, 2+
Orano peppers, 2+
Yellow or orange bell pepper, 1
Orange or yellow watermelon
Kale, 1 bunch
You will receive two things from this list:
Cucumber OR heirloom tomato OR zucchini OR cherry tomatoes

Next week’s box will probably contain tomatoes, peppers, basil, onions, sweet corn, beans and more.

Jalapeño chiles – These are hot.  You can reduce the heat by removing the seeds and inner membrane of the pepper.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Quick Juicy Salsa
Roasted, Seared and Simmered Salsa
Kale Smoothie
Pepperonata
Watermelon Popsicles
Blue Room Cilantro Marinade

Outside the Box Recipes

Salsa Carnaval
Salsamole
Braised Lentil and Kale Salad with Grilled Steak or Salmon Chimichurri
Cheese and Sweet Pepper Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce
Watermelon Lassi
Cilantro Oil

Kitchen Sink Recipe

Taco Salad with Kale

Quick and Easy Dinner Idea

Szechuan Pepper and Zucchini Kebabs with Shrimp

Halfway there

This week begins the second half of our CSA season. There’s so much great produce yet to come.

These is peak work season for us.  We’re harvesting like mad, but still getting our winter storage crops established.  Let’s share some highlights of the past week.

Onions are the first seeds we plant in the greenhouse each February. They start as tiny threadlike seedlings, and need so much tending between February and August.  It feels like an accomplishment to nurture them from their weak beginning all the way to harvest.  About one third of the crop is harvested.

The onions spend a week or two in the greenhouse to dry before going into cool storage. At top, Gage, Billy and Boi roll crates from the harvest wagon into the greenhouse.

From left, Jon, Billy and Boi sample muskmelons at lunch. Steve harvests watermelons, the crew harvests muskmelons. We grow multiple varieties. Learning to judge ripeness for each variety requires lots of sampling. It’s part of the job.

When our harvests are finished each day, we head out to the fields to weed carrots.  Five acres of fall carrots have kept us at this task for weeks.  From left, Kelcie and Dana weed carrots.  Dana is one of several folks leaving us to return to school, either as a student or (like Dana) a teacher.

After 31 days without rain, Tuesday night’s storm was very, very welcome.  Dry weather is great for the vegetables (it keeps most diseases in check) but hard on Steve who is responsible for irrigation.

Steve greases the travelling irrigation gun. It’s been used heavily during the past four weeks.

I realize that’s a lot of photos but so much is happening.  Enjoy your week.  Enjoy your veggies.  Beth

Veggie List and Veggie Notes (August 20/21, 2015, week #14, green EOW)

Sweet corn, 7 ears
Muskmelon OR red watermelon
Tomatoes, 3.8 lb, mostly slicing tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes, 1 pint
Orano orange peppers, 2
Red frying pepper, 1
Colored bell pepper, 1
Cucumbers AND/OR Silver Slicers AND/OR pickles
Small globe OR Japanese eggplant, near 1 lb
Walla Walla onions, about 2
Thai basil, 1 bunch
Some sites will get 1 modest head lettuce.

Next week’s box will probably contain tomatoes, peppers, melon, cucumbers, zucchini, kale, onions, garlic, cilantro and more.

Orano peppers (orange, tapered, sweet) – These are great snacking peppers.  Sweet and flavorful, they are excellent raw.  Pack one in your lunch.  These sweet orange peppers look like frying peppers but behave like bell peppers during cooking.
‘Thai Magic’ basil – This basil variety has a hint of anise flavor.  Great in Thai and Indonesian dishes, it’s a fine substitute for Italian basil.  We plant this cultivar for variety, and because it is resistant to a disease that often damages basil in late summer.
‘Summercrisp’ lettuce – We’ll fit these into boxes where there’s room.  As usual, we harvest lettuce small this time of year to avoid problems that develop in warm weather.

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

Comforting Classics

Zesty Corn Relish
Baba Ghanouj
Laurie Colwin’s Tomato Pie
Bread and Butter Pickle
Green Salad with Grilled Shrimp, Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Thai Basil Vinaigrette
Rustic Roasted Italian Frying Peppers and Tomatoes with Ziti
Pepperonata

Outside the Box Recipes

Sweet Corn and Basil Lasagna
Marinated Roasted Asian Eggplant
Smoky Tomato Vinaigrette
IPA Pickles
Thai Cucumber and Tomato Salad
Charred Sweet Peppers with Parmesan

Kitchen Sink Recipe
Feel free to add corn kernels, and roasted or grilled eggplant to this dish. It is very forgiving.

Fattoush

Quick and Easy Dinner Idea

Rice Stuffed Tomato