Plump Napa Cabbage in the Cabbage Patch

FALL CSA Harvest Week 4:

Plump Napa Cabbage in the Cabbage Patch

Waxed veggie BOXES: Please return the waxed veggie boxes that your veggies come in.  Simply trade us an empty box for a full box each week. 

We’ve hauled in a huge “last chance” harvest of sweet peppers, red tomatoes, green tomatoes, and the last of many frost-free vegetables.  Here comes the frost- along with some consecutive days of cold weather.  What do the vegetables think about that?   You may notice a chance in the appearance of some of the arugula, lettuce, kale, and other greens as the plants respond to seasonal changes and their growth slows down.  The plants may lose some of their beauty pageant looks, but we all know they are still good down to their little veggie core.

Why is my box so full?

We’ve got another beautiful harvest to share with you this week!  This pre-frost harvest is above average in size, and remember that some of the November veggies boxes will be below average in size. 

The Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage) will last for 2 weeks in a plastic bag stored in your crisper drawer.  Enjoy it raw in salads, sautéed, steamed, stir-fry, or chopped and wilted into miso soup.  One of our garden patches has been sprouting plump Naba cabbages.  These mild flavored cabbage cousins are more tender than regular cabbages with a more mild flavor.  You can also try substituting Napa cabbage for regular cabbage in many recipes.             

Image from http://www.bike2power.com/blog/cycling-super-food-napa-cabbage.html

Let us know if you questions or comments about your veggies!

  

Farm Fresh Harvest

Napa cabbage- Check out the great recipes in the recipe section

Scallions- Use the white AND green parts of these green onions or scallions.

Beets- Beets have a sweet earthy flavor.  Maybe you don’t like beets? Try one of the tasty recipes below- give them a try.  I recommend slicing boiled beets thinly for the sweetest flavor.

Broccoli- Last time for our garden fresh broccoli.   Will keep in a plastic bag for 1 week, but use by Friday night for an amazing flavor that is garden fresh! 

Bell peppers

Tomatoes- Last tomatoes!

 Recipes 

Fresh Gingered Beets

Adapted from The Passionate Vegetarian, 2002.

Basic Cooking Method

1.       Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.

2.       Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.

Once the beets are sliced, you may splash them with a bit of olive oil and store for about 2 days before using or creating them into a dish.  I like to store beets in Mason jars, so they don’t stain the Tupperware.

1 bunch of beets (approx 5 large beets or 10 golf ball size beets)

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1-2 teaspoons finely diced ginger

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

Recipe:                                                                                                     

1.       Heat 1 teaspoon each butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  When the oils are sizzling hot, add the cooked beets and toss them in the hot fat. 

2.       Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons peeled very finely dice ginger.  Toss for about 30 seconds.

3.       Then add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water.  Cook, stirring, until the water and brown sugar have bubbled into a glaze, about 30 seconds.

Orange-Beet Salad

From Better Homes and Gardens annual Recipes 2001

Marie’s notes: I used olive oil instead of walnut oil and plain chevre instead of feta cheese. I also omitted the orange peel (the peel of conventional citrus have a high concentration of pesticides) and used 1 extra tablespoon of orange juice.

Tip: Roll the plain goat chevre or feta cheese in a black pepper and thyme mixture (coat the cheese in herbs)  to keep the red juice of the beets from staining the cheese.  I let the beets marinate overnight in the dressing, drained the beets, and then topped the beets with the walnuts and cheese on the dinner plates.   It was delicious!

3 medium beets (about 9 oz)

3 Tbsp. walnut oil or salad oil

1 tsp. shredded orange peel

2 Tbsp. orange juice

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar or white vinegar

2 Tbsp. broken walnuts toasted

3 Tbsp crumbled feta cheese

¼ coarsely ground pepper

3.      Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems.  Do not peel.  Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain.  Let cool until easy to handle.

4.     Slip skins off beets under running water.  Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.

5.     Meanwhile, for dressing, in a screw-top jar combine walnut oil or salad oil, orange peel, orange juice, and vinegar.  Cover and shake well.

6.     In a medium mixing bowl gently toss the beet slices with the dressing. Cover, and chill to marinade for 2 to 24 hours. 

7.     To serve, let mixture come to room temperature. Gently stir walnuts into beets. Sprinkle with feta cheese and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

Recipes for Napa Cabbage…..

Asian Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce-

Sauté 4 garlic cloves and 1 chili (or 1 teaspoon chili powder) over medium heat in a medium pot for 4 minutes.  Then add 1 cup water, ¼ cup soy sauce,  1/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy), and 2 teaspoons brown sugar.  Stir vigorously to combine.  Thicken sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally.     Makes about 1 ¼ cups of sauce

Stir Fry Vegetables: Add any veggie that you’d like. The possibilities are endless.

Saute 1 onion and 2 carrots over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add chopped bok choy stems and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn up heat to medium high heat and add a splash of water. Add roughly chopped bok choy leaves and stir. After about another minute of cooking, lower heat to medium andpour peanut sauce over veggies. Cook over medium heat until some sauce absorbs or vegetables are done to your liking. Serve over soba noodles, basmati rice, or brown rice.

8 things to do with Napa Cabbage- Need ideas? Check these out!

http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/809695/8-things-to-do-with-napa-cabbage

Napa Cabbage Slaw

This is a recipe I made up the other day with a little inspiration from a few cook books.  Remember that salads are a great creative way to blend vegetable flavors, textures and colors.  They are also where you see the seasons change.  Arugula and spinach salads in the spring, lettuce a little later, rich summer salads of tomatoes and cucumbers, back to greens in the fall, then things like slaws late into the winter.  Have fun with them, experiment with some new ingredients, play with the dressing.  If you use fresh in season vegetables you won’t go wrong. 

A quick and easy salad with a little extra body and great fall flavors

One head napa cabbage-diced

3-4 carrots-cut into coins, diced, or grated depending on your tastes

Dressing:

Olive Oil-about ¼ cup

Apple Cider Vinegar-about ¼ cup

Lemon Juice-2-3 tablespoons

Honey-1-2 tablespoons

Garlic-1-3 cloves diced

Salt-to taste

Pepper-to taste

 Mix dressing ingredients.  Modify as needed.  Toss into cabbage and carrots. 

 This salad goes great with roasted fall vegetables or roast chicken (it’s the salad we had with our Thanksgiving dinner).

 Roasted Broccoli Recipe

 Prep time: 5 minutes

• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 3-4 as a side dish.

 The measurements are just a guideline. Add more or less olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, or cheese to taste.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into florets
• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice from half a lemon, about 1 Tbsp
• Kosher salt
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl toss the broccoli florets, chopped stems, and minced garlic with olive oil and lemon juice until lightly coated. Sprinkle salt over the broccoli and toss to coat.

  

2 Arrange the broccoli florets in a single layer on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Roast for 20 minutes.  Then uncover and cook until done to your liking.

3 Put the roasted broccoli back in the bowl and toss with lots of freshly ground black pepper and the grated parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.

  

FALL CSA Harvest Week 3: Frost?

FALL CSA Harvest Week 3: Frost?

Waxed veggie BOXES: Please return the waxed veggie boxes that your veggies come in.  Simply trade us an empty box for a full box each week. 

Where’s the frost? What is so important about frost?

Our frost date in our area is October 15^th.  What’s a frost date?  Our frost date is when it is 90% chance that there will be a frost.  It certainly has not happened yet, and it is not forecast to frost until October 25^th.

Frost kills all cold sensitive plants like marigolds, tomatoes, peppers, zinnias, and eggplants.  Many times we will get a killing frost (which kills sensitive plants and will slightly damage others) but then we will get several weeks without more heavy killing frosts.  That’s when we gardeners get a little more time without much frost damage to lettuce, arugula, radishes, beets, and carrots.

                    

How do keep our plants growing into the early winter? (lettuce, arugula, radishes, beets, carrots, kale, Swiss chard, collards)

We place metal pipe or wire “U-shaped” hoops into the ground.  Then we cover this miniature little structure with fabric (known as row cover or by the brand name ReeMay) and weigh it down with sandbags.  With the first few frosts, the fabric can protect the plant from freezing.  Once the weather really cools down, the fabric prevents the plants from drying out in the wind or from freezing very quickly or thawing very quickly.  We want the freeze/thaw process to be very gradual to prevent plant tissue damage.  See another description of row covers here.  http://www.southernexposure.com/garden-blanket-reemay-floating-row-cover-50-ft-p-561.html

Let us know if you questions or comments about your veggies!

  Store your greens and head lettuce in plastic bags in your crisper drawer to keep them hydrated and fresh.    Washing veggies: We’ve got wonderfully fresh vegetables for you.  Just remember to rinse or soak your veggies before preparing or cooking.  I have a large bowl that I fill with cold water to soak and swish veggies around it before cutting them up or spinning the salad greens dry. I also have an awesome little salad spinner that stays full in the fridge with my washed baby lettuce and arugula mix. (My salad spinner has a solid top and body like a Tupperware container.)

Farm Fresh Harvest

Broccoli- Large heads of garden fresh broccoli.    Will keep in a plastic bag for 1 week, but use by Friday night for an amazing flavor that is garden fresh! 

“Salanova” Lettuce mix- This gourmet mix of 6 different types of leaves has great flavor and texture.  The plants are actually a special type of miniature head lettuce that grows to a small lettuce “ball” that is about 6x6 inches in size.

Arugula- Pair it with sweet dried cranberries, honey mustard dressing, and toasted walnuts.   For those of you who think it a little too spicy raw, try this.  Make an arugula pesto with walnuts. Check out this blog post!http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Bell peppers- Crunchy and Sweet!  The plants are slowing down with the cooler weather, and we will pick all of the peppers right before a frost.

Tomatoes- Still tomatoes? Yep, no frost yet and our plants are healthy under their high tunnel/hoophouse.  The structure does not protect against cold weather, just rain and fungal damage, so we will pick every single tomato out there just before a frost is predicted. We will even pick green tomatoes- they sauté up and kind of taste like squash.  The green tomatoes are even better fried!

Rainbow  Swiss Chard-  You must try the Swiss Chard quiche!  See recipe below in recipe section.

Try sautéing onions, garlic and olive oil for a few minutes until done.  Then add chopped pieces of this delicate green Swiss Chard leaves and sauté for just a few minutes until the leaves turn a bright green…Not a dark green.  You can cook the stems- if you’ve never tried Swiss Chard, try cooking it with the leaves the first time for a more mild flavor.  The next time, dice about half of the stems and sauté them with the onions, and then add the chopped greens.

Watermelon Radish- This hard, crunchy root has a bright red interior which gives it its name.  Make thin slices and then chop in small triangular pieces for a pretty addition to salads.  I like to add a bit of salt and olive oil to the chopped pieces and let them marinate for 5-15 minutes before adding to the salad.  The watermelon radish takes a long time to grow- almost 2 months, compared to 3 weeks for smaller radishes.  During this long growing time, the radish is able to grow into a dense crisp root.

 Recipes 

Classic Tangy Vinaigrette

Check out this recipe for an easy to make Classic Tangy Vinaigrette.  One of our standard favorites!

https://sites.google.com/site/bluebirdfarmnc/home/recipes/classic-tangy-vinaigrette

Quiche with Greens

This is a favorite recipe that goes great with a nice salad.  Or you can eat it cold at work the next day.  We always take this quiche to potlucks!

https://sites.google.com/site/bluebirdfarmnc/home/recipes/quiche-with-fall-greens

Quiche with Fall Greens

Quiche is one of my favorite recipes to highlight the flavors of fresh eggs and greens.  It is also easy, relatively quick, and delicious.  This recipe is adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.   You can also cook it without the crust or substitute a store made pie dough for the shell. Crust: Tart Pastry (one nine-inch tart) This well-balanced, basic recipe produces a firm, crisp crust with the taste of butter.  You can sweeten it slightly, if you wish, by adding 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar to the flour.  The tart pastry will not get tough if you handle it a lot and you can mix it in a food processor. 1 cup flour ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ pound cold butter, in small pieces 1 egg yolk (save the white for the quiche) 2 tablespoons ice water Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.  Cut in the butter with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal or tiny peas.  Whisk the egg yolk and water together in another bowl, add the flower mixture, and blend until the pastry is smooth and holds together in a ball.  It can be mixed in a food processor; process first the flour, salt, and butter quickly together, then add the egg yolk and water through the funnel and process until the dough balls up around the blade.  Pat the dough into a pie pan or springform with your hands.  Pull pieces of the dough from the ball and press them over the bottom and sides of the pan, using the heel of your hand.  The dough should be thick enough to hold the filling, but be careful that it is not too thick around the bottom edge or the finished tart will seem coarse.  Prick the bottom with a fork and bak2e it unfilled for 12 minutes in a preheated 425 F oven.  If you used a springform pan, do not remove the sides until you serve the tart.   Fresh Greens and Onion Quiche (Serves six) ½ pound fresh greens (spinach, chard, stir-fry mix, radish greens, or any other fresh cooking green you have on hand) 4 eggs 1 egg white from tart pastry 2 cups light cream or milk (if you use milk whole milk works best although I have made it with 2%) ½ tsp salt Pinch of cayenne pepper 1 ¼ cups grated swiss, cheddar or other hard cheese 1 partially baked Tart Pastry from the first recipe Preheat the oven to 425 F. Dice onion and sauté in olive oil or butter.  While the onions are cooking wash and chop greens.  When the onion is almost done (when it starts to turn transparent) add the greens and put a lid on the pan to help it steam.  Cook the greens until they are soft.   Sprinkle ½ of the cheese over the bottom of the tart shell.  Place the onions and greens into the tart shell.  Combine the eggs, egg white, cream (or milk), salt, and spices in a bowl and beat thoroughly.   Ladle the mixture over the greens and onions.  Sprinkle the remainder of the cheese over the top of the egg mixture.   Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F; then lower the heat to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes more, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Serve in wedges hot or cold.

 Roasted Broccoli Recipe

 Prep time: 5 minutes

• Cook time: 30 minutes
• Yield: Serves 3-4 as a side dish.

 The measurements are just a guideline. Add more or less olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, or cheese to taste.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into florets
• 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice from half a lemon, about 1 Tbsp
• Kosher salt
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl toss the broccoli florets, chopped stems, and minced garlic with olive oil and lemon juice until lightly coated. Sprinkle salt over the broccoli and toss to coat.

  

2 Arrange the broccoli florets in a single layer on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Roast for 20 minutes.  Then uncover and cook until done to your liking.

3 Put the roasted broccoli back in the bowl and toss with lots of freshly ground black pepper and the grated parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.

  

Late Summer Bruschetta

 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2-3 large tomatoes

1 crunchy sweet pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Crusty bread (like baguette)

Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)

Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings

Bring on the Broccoli

CSA Harvest Week 2: Bring on the Broccoli!

Waxed veggie BOXES: Please return the waxed veggie boxes that your veggies come in.  Simply trade us an empty box for a full box each week. 

The plants have been growing beautifully with these warm days and cool nights. 

“Okay, okay- hold up there fat groundhogs! Stop eating our broccoli, varmints!”

We’ve been muttering to the groundhogs that are hiding in tunnels along the brushy edge of our large summer field.  The sneak out of almost invisible tunnel openings when we are not around.  We have not seen 1 groundhog, but we do see their highway from the tunnel to the broccoli sections.  Several live traps and fresh sliced apples haven’t yielded any furtive critters either.  Half of 8 100 foot rows of broccoli have been munched down to a 6 inch stub.  They haven’t touched the other crops, not even their usual favorite- Laccinato kale or tender lettuce.  This broccoli sure tastes good. But even with the groundhogs, we still have a beautiful broccoli harvest to share with you this week! 

Kohlrabi- This alien veggie is a broccoli family member.  The fat round ball of stem tastes just like sweet and juicy broccoli stems! Chop the green leaves and add them with your kale. Eat the stem raw or check out a recipe below. This year we are growing it as an experiment, so we don’t have very much of it for you. Enjoy the sample.

·        Store your greens and head lettuce in plastic bags in your crisper drawer to keep them hydrated and fresh.  

·         Washing veggies: We’ve got wonderfully fresh vegetables for you.  Just remember to rinse or soak your veggies before preparing or cooking.  I have a large bowl that I fill with cold water to soak and swish veggies around it before cutting them up or spinning the salad greens dry. I also have an awesome little salad spinner that stays full in the fridge with my washed baby lettuce and arugula mix. (My salad spinner has a solid top and body like a Tupperware container.)

Farm Fresh Harvest

Broccoli- Large heads of garden fresh broccoli.    Will keep in a plastic bag for 1 week, but use by Friday night for an amazing flavor that is garden fresh!

Kohlrabi- This alien veggie is a broccoli family member.  It tastes just like sweet and juicy broccoli stems! Peel the skin off to reveal a white juicy interior.  Chop it and eat it raw or check out a recipe below for roasted broccoli and add the kohlrabi to it.

“Salanova” Lettuce mix- This gourmet mix of 6 different types of leaves has great flavor and texture.  The plants are actually a special type of miniature head lettuce that grows to a small lettuce “ball” that is about 6x6 inches in size.

Arugula- Pair it with sweet dried cranberries, honey mustard dressing, and toasted walnuts.   For those of you who think it a little too spicy raw, try this.  Make an arugula pesto with walnuts. Check out this blog post! http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Bell peppers- Crunchy and Sweet!  The cooler nights are slowing the peppers down.  We’ll miss them when they go.

Tomatoes- The tomatoes have full ripe flavors since we grow them under the hoophouse, which keeps the rain from watering the flavor down.

Curly Kale- Kale chips anyone? This variety of kale is the best for kale chips. Recipe below

Very good with canned diced tomatoes or add to spaghetti sauces.  I strip the leaves of their stems, dice about ½ of the stems, and chop the leaves into 1 inch pieces.  Saute the diced stems with onions in olive oil for about 4 minutes before adding the chopped leaves. You can add a few tablespoons of water or chicken broth and steam in the pan with a lid for 6-10 minutes.

Recipes

Roasted kohlrabi- Note: You only have 1 kohlrabi, so peel and chop it and then incorporate it into the roasted broccoli recipe.  But do check out this page about how tasty kohlrabi is and different veggie ideas…. Simply Recipes http://www.simplyrecipes.com/kohlrabi/

Roasted Broccoli

Roasted Broccoli Recipe

·         Prep time: 5 minutes

·         Cook time: 30 minutes

·         Yield: Serves 3-4 as a side dish.

The measurements are just a guideline. Add more or less olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, or cheese to taste.

INGREDIENTS

·         1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into florets

·         3-4 Tbsp olive oil

·         Juice from half a lemon, about 1 Tbsp

·         Kosher salt

·         2-3 garlic cloves, minced

·         Freshly ground black pepper

·         1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

METHOD

1 Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl toss the broccoli florets, chopped stems, and minced garlic with olive oil and lemon juice until lightly coated. Sprinkle salt over the broccoli and toss to coat.

2 Arrange the broccoli florets in a single layer on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Roast for 20 minutes.  Then uncover and cook until done to your liking.

3 Put the roasted broccoli back in the bowl and toss with lots of freshly ground black pepper and the grated parmesan cheese.

Serve immediately.

Late Summer Bruschetta

 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2-3 large tomatoes

1 crunchy sweet pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Crusty bread (like baguette)

Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)

Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings

Kale chips

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch kale 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt A drizzle of balsamic vinegar (about ½ tablespoon)

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (175 degrees C)
2.	With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. (I like to use my hands to strip the leaves from the stem.)Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Place kale in a plastic bag. Drizzle kale with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with sea salt. Thoroughly massage the bag to mix the oil and vinegar into the leaves.
3.	Using several baking sheets spread the kale pieces out so that they are not touching; I use 3 or 4 sheets.  Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, about 7 to 12 minutes. Make sure to check the chips almost every minute after 7 minutes have passed.  Every oven is a little different…Adjust this recipe’s time to your oven! ~Marie, 2012

A Harvest Week 1: A Touch of Fall

Are you ready for a fall garden harvest? 

Our vegetables are grown with love using organic methods.  No synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides.  As a Bluebird Farm CSA member, you are a steward of local farmland and you are actively investing in a local source of food that is outside of the industrial food chain.  We’re growing for you!  We couldn’t farm without you. Community Supported Agriculture starts with our farm members.

Logistics

Your CSA boxes will be ready every Wednesday from now, Oct 2^nd until Nov 20^th. (8 weeks) The fall growing season is highly variable for us farmers, since cold weather could swing through at any time and start to slow down some of our vegetables.  Your CSA shares are approximately an average of $15 per week of vegetables, but some weeks will have more vegetables and some weeks will have less depending on the amount we can harvest.  This week the box is about a $20 size.  We think the 3 November boxes will be on the smaller size.

FARM PHOTOS

Pigs in the pasture

The chicks have their eggs halfway open.

We hatched some eggs in an incubator and got to watch them work their way out through the observation window.  The female chicks will be next year's layer hens.

Hard work!

Drying off and napping

Chicks are moved to a warm brooder box after they have dried and rested.

We still have delicious and flavorful tomatoes in our 3 high tunnels.  Our plants are slowing down in production, but they are healthy, vigorous plants so we will have tomatoes to harvest until a frost kills the cold sensitive plants.  The cherry tomato plants are really slowing down right now- so no cherry tomatoes this week.  High tunnel perks: By preventing rain from splashing on the leaves of the tomatoes and the soil around the plants, we naturally control blight (a common fungus) from reducing the tomato crop and potentially killing the plants.  A bit of clever engineering prevents the use of chemical fungicides.  No toxic residue on our crops. 

Washing veggies: We’ve got wonderfully fresh vegetables for you.  Just remember to rinse or soak your veggies before preparing or cooking.  I have a large bowl that I fill with cold water to soak and swish veggies around it before cutting them up or spinning the salad greens dry. I also have an awesome little salad spinner that stays full in the fridge with my washed baby lettuce and arugula mix. (My salad spinner has a solid top and body like a Tupperware container.)

Farm Fresh Harvest

Bok Choy- Eat it raw or cook with vegetables.  This is a crunchy Asian green that is perfect with bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, carrots, pork, ginger and any Sweet and Sour type sauce.  The stems have a sweet crunchy flavor and the leaves have a very mild tender taste.  Chop the stems and cook them the same length as peppers and onions.  I usually add the chopped leaves in the last 3 minutes of cooking to “wilt” them!

“Salanova” Lettuce mix- This gourmet mix of 6 different types of leaves has great flavor and texture.  The plants are actually a special type of miniature head lettuce that grows to a small lettuce “ball” that is about 6x6 inches in size.

Arugula- Pair it with sweet dried cranberries, honey mustard dressing, and toasted walnuts.   For those of you who think it a little too spicy raw, try this.  Make an arugula pesto with walnuts. Check out this blog post! http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Radish…”French Breakfast” Radishes- This type of radish is wonderfully shape for easy kitchen preparation.  It also has a wonderful flavor and is a bit more mild than other varieties of radishes. In France, these radishes are a favorite in the morning- they a small piece of butter and dip into salt.  Try it!

Tip: grate, slice, or chop and add salt and olive oil.  Let marinate for about 5-10 minutes before eating.

Hawkuri Asian Salad Turnips-(Hawk-er-eye) These sweet, crunchy Asian turnips are wonderful sliced, chopped, or grated like a slaw.  I even eat them like an apple.  (They have just enough natural sugar in them to give me a little energy boost for a snack.) I also prepare them like the radishes above.

Bell peppers- Crunchy and Sweet!  The cooler nights are slowing the peppers down.  We’ll miss them when they go.

Tomatoes- The tomatoes have full ripe flavors since we grow them under the hoophouse, which keeps the rain from watering the flavor down.

Recipes

Bok Choy:     Asian Stir Fry with Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce-

Sauté 4 garlic cloves and 1 chili (or 1 teaspoon chili powder) over medium heat in a medium pot for 4 minutes.  Then add 1 cup water, ¼ cup soy sauce,  1/3 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy), and 2 teaspoons brown sugar.  Stir vigorously to combine.  Thicken sauce over medium heat, stirring occasionally.     Makes about 1 ¼ cups of sauce

Stir Fry Vegetables: Add any veggie that you’d like. The possibilities are endless.

Saute 1 onion and 2 carrots over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add chopped bok choy stems and cook for about 3 minutes. Turn up heat to medium high heat and add a splash of water. Add roughly chopped bok choy leaves and stir. After about another minute of cooking, lower heat to medium and pour peanut sauce over veggies. Cook over medium heat until some sauce absorbs or vegetables are done to your liking.

Serve over soba noodles, basmati rice, or brown rice.

Late Summer Bruschetta

 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2-3 large tomatoes

1 crunchy sweet pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Crusty bread (like baguette)

Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)

Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings