week twelve

So, August has been quite a month. Hope you're still enjoying the scads of heirloom tomatoes in shares... I've received some pretty awesome feedback. One (possibly biased) local chef claims that they're the best in the city. And speaking of local chefs, watch for an upcoming post about the fabulous Pittsburgh restaurants where you'll find our herbs and produce on the menu.

This week, depending on share size, you received: heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, eggplant, sweet pepper, variety of hot pepper, winter squash (baby blue hubbard, sweet dumpling, green buttercup, butternut, or Thelma Saunders sweet potato squash), rattlesnake beans, husk cherries, cilantro, and savory.

A word about husk cherries - don't fear them. Part of the tomato (nightshade) family, they're strange, tasty, and pretty hard to find. Kind of like cherry tomato meets pineapple meets vanilla. They're versatile too... if you're feeling adventurous you can cook them down into a jam. One of my chefs made them into hot sauce. Or toss them in a fruit salad with melon, berries, mint, lemon/lime basil and a bit of sugar. Or just eat them like candy. Impress your friends... they're a novelty. Here's some more info if you're feeling researchy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physalis

Some suggestions for the winter squash from chef Kate Romane of E2 (part of Enrico's Biscotti Co.) restaurant... cube and saute or roast the squash with garlic, shallots and herbs. The savory that you received this week or sage would work well, but certainly experiment with any herbs you have on hand. You could even get nuts and throw in some chopped kale if you still have that hanging around. Toss in some olive oil, salt, pepper and a touch of white vinegar or lemon juice. Adding grains like barley or farro make this a super hearty meal.

Kate also suggested an early fall salad with lentils.... cook the squash with caramelized onions, shallots, garlic. Add apples for a touch of sweetness plus salt, pepper, a bit of cinnamon, and mint. Shove that mess into a pita smeared with goat cheese? Good god, I'm hungry.
Try it. The woman teaches a seasonal salad class, she knows what she's doing.


mmmm.... berries

week eight

Ah, August... The heirloom tomatoes are ripening, the peppers are beginning to turn brilliant colors, and the berries are starting to really pour in. About those tasty berries - you'll start receiving them this week and every other week until they're done. One week farm pick up will get them and the next week the deliveries will get them, and here's why: we pick buckets every other day or so but those picked earlier in the week won't keep until the weekend, so they will mostly be sold to the restaurants I deal with. CSA members will get the berries picked close to the weekend. Finally! I know you've all been waiting very patiently for these.

In shares this week you received our first sampling of some heirloom tomatoes, either a mixed pint of cherries, grapes and pear tomatoes or a couple larger paste or slicing tomatoes. You also received cucumbers, summer squash (yellow crookneck, lemon or white bush Lebanese), cabbage (savoy or red), a bunch of carrots (the little round ones are called Paris Market), and a bunch of sweet basil. Yum.

Tis the season for being inundated with summer squash. It's not going to stop any time soon so let's stay on top of using these little suckers, lest you hold on to them and suddenly find that you have enough to build a squash-fort. Here's a few tasty and easy recipes to try...

stuffed summer squash, using your chard and herbs - http://chaseblackwell.com/stuffed-summer-squash/
summer squash pizza, using your greens, herbs and garlic (and might as well throw some shallots on there.... why not?) http://piesinthesky.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/big-bleu-summer-squash-pizza-with-garlic-spinach/
a superfast summer squash and parm pasta (with basil, of course) http://tryanderr21.blogspot.com/2009/09/pasta-with-summer-squash-parmesan-and.html

week seven

On Sunday you received a few pounds of new potatoes, shallots, garlic, hot pepper, cucumbers, beans, chard, and full shares got our first harvest of summer squash - yellow crookneck and white bush Lebanese. These squash, and all of the summer squash you'll receive from us, can be used in many and various ways - including interchangeably with zucchini. It's true! I promise! Zucchini bread, fried zucchini, etc. I know we've been here before, but I just want to reiterate :)

Speaking of, one of the recommendations I gave a member at farm pick up was to slice and marinate the squash in oil, a bit of salt, and any variety of the herbs I've been giving you and grill it as a side dish. As far as the new potatoes, I'm sure most of you are stocked up with ways to use these, especially with your garlic and shallots, but here's a quick recipe for roasted potatoes with garlicy mustard vinaigrette http://pleasepassthepie.blogspot.com/2009/10/roast-potatoes-with-garlic-and-more.html.

I made a tasty potato dish this week by roasting them and mashing them up (skins and all, of course) with shallots, garlic and sage sautéed in butter and topped with fresh chives. If you're wondering what to do with shallots, fear not. They're in the family Allium which makes them an onion relative, but they have a much sweeter, milder flavor. Think of them as a fancy, expensive gourmet onion.

For those of you who received squash this week, or thinking ahead for those who will get it this Sunday, this pizza sounds amazing - I haven't had a chance to make it yet but hope to do so tonight.... summer squash pizza with garlic and spinach (or in your case... chard) http://piesinthesky.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/big-bleu-summer-squash-pizza-with-garlic-spinach/

week six

This week you received some new items, and *gasp* no kale or chard. Though I did make a big pile of kale and beet chips last night and proceeded to inhale the whole batch before even bothering to remove them from the tray. Yum.
This was our first cucumber harvest and there just wasn't enough for all the shares to get some, so partials received a head of lettuce instead. Everyone has a small bunch of carrots, a bag of beans, bunching onions, a couple beets, a big wad of sweet basil (including opal), a bunch of sage, thyme, oregano and rosemary. Those of you who asked for them also received a bag of cooking apples.

Thanks to our new herb garden we're giving out a ton of herbs this year. I've said it before and I'll say it again - there are tons of ways to preserve herbs and if the blog posts don't give you enough ideas just email me and I'll provide some more. Drying, freezing, pesto-ing, and butter are just a few. You might get tired of them now but you'll definitely appreciate having them all winter. And they can seriously be used in pretty much anything - pasta, eggs, pork/beef/chicken/fish, vegetables, marinades, dips, and even desserts. Earlier this week we made herb-y grilled corn: tossed a large bunch of chopped herbs in some melted butter and painted it onto the ears of corn as they roasted on the grill. Herbs even look and smell pretty awesome in a bouquet on your kitchen table. My favorite use of the beans is to blanch them in boiling water, chop any or all of those herbs you received and smother them in melted butter, mix with the beans and a dash of kosher salt.

Next week we'll have more potatoes along with garlic and shallots. You should have some heads of savoy and red cabbage as well. I expect the cucumbers and beans to keep rolling in, and we might throw in some green and hot peppers. I've been expecting the raspberries to be ripe for weeks now so I'm going to go ahead and stop promising that.... they'll just show up in shares one of these days as a happy surprise. Some of you coming to the farm for pick up went into the produce garden with me for a taste of the just-starting-to-ripen husk cherries... Think tiny cherry tomato meets pineapple and vanilla. Sounds strange, tastes delicious.

week five

This week you received more kale & chard, white & purple bunching onions, a mix of beets (early wonder, chioggia, and golden), a variety of new potatoes (nicola, yellow fin, red gold, purple viking), dill, flat leaf parsley, and a mix of basil (lemon, lime, cinnamon). I just found an amazing recipe for pasta with beets and spring onions - you can also use some of your chard in this one - http://circle-b-kitchen.squarespace.com/food-and-recipes/2010/6/8/pasta-with-beets-and-spring-onions.html?SSScrollPosition=285.

There are a ton of options for cooking beets, and most of them start with roasting. Rub the beets with olive oil, wrap in tin foil and roast in the oven for about an hour. When they're done they'll be perfectly roasted and easy to peel. From there you can cook up some of your chard and beet greens and serve them with the sliced roasted beets - perhaps drizzled with some balsamic and honey. Goat cheese and beets with their greens are my absolute favorite combination. At CSA pick up this week I heard someone talking about slicing them raw and baking them into beet chips. That sounded super tasty so I found a bunch of recipes to try here: http://www.tastespotting.com/search/beet+chips/1. Why not get crazy and make beet and kale chips?? I just blew your mind a little, didn't I.

If you're having trouble keeping up with the weekly onslaught of herbs and need more ideas for using and preserving, just ask me for some more hints. I know I keep saying this, but they can improve the flavor and jazz up pretty much any dish. I would chop the dill and parsley with some garlic, toss them in olive oil and a bit of salt with those new potatoes, and roast them. Fast, simple, yummy. In the comments I posted two recipes from CSA member Rachel Kottler, for basil parfait and basil sorbet - either of which would be pretty amazing using the lemon and lime basil.

We're starting to pick a lot of beans and cucumbers at the farm this week, and we've got a batch of carrots ready as well. The raspberries are still trickling in and some of you who come for farm pick up had the chance to pick and sample some on Sunday. Here's hoping they're ready this week! And in other exciting news, I've been eating the first few cherry tomatoes the past few days... a Peacevine Cherry and Beam's Yellow Pear. They were, of course, delightful and I expect them to start ripening pretty quickly in the hot weather that's supposed to return this week.

week four

More greens this week... man oh man are we going to be a healthy bunch! You received head lettuces, two kinds of kale, french breakfast radish, a big bunch of cilantro, and a mix of dill, chives, and lemon & lime basil. I'm loading you up with recipes this week (thanks mostly to intern Danielle M.) so you can use up all these greens by the time we return on July 11 - remember there is no CSA pick up on July 4th.

Try a Swiss Chard and Leek Tart (http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/leek-and-swiss-chard-tart/). Danielle points out that you can use any combo of dark greens (insert kale here), and since leeks aren't in season just substitute bunching onions or garlic scapes.
And I haven't tried these but I think they sound fantastic - Creamed Chard with Spring Onions (http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/creamed-chard-and-spring-onions/) and Chard with Raisins and Pine Nuts (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Swiss-Chard-with-Raisins-and-Pine-Nuts-231509).

And what to do with all those herbs? The answer is - pretty much anything. Even though we're growing cilantro all season, there never seems to be enough when the tomatoes and peppers come rolling in and everyone wants to make salsa. Like dill, cilantro freezes very well and that's a excellent way to preserve it - just chop it up and store it in a jar in the freezer. I use herbs all winter that way. I think cilantro leaves tossed in a salad gives it a great zingy flavor, especially if you chop a bit up with some of your lemon and lime basil and a few chives to mix with oil, white vinegar, salt, pepper, honey or sugar and a bit of lemon or lime juice for dressing. Another way I use herbs is for a little something I call "emergency dinner," when I don't have time or energy to really cook. I grab a big heap of whatever herbs are closest, chop them up, give them a quick saute in butter and mix with pasta. Sometimes I also saute onions and garlic, add some lemon zest, or add some cream and parmesan cheese for a heavier sauce. The options are endless - yay herbs!

And don't forget about those radish sandwiches, which are perfect in this hot weather. Check the blog posts from last spring for more ideas.

week three

Aside from some spring bugs and setbacks with those crops, things are going very well with the summer crops - we just have to get there! In fact, we had a small unexpected harvest of some hot peppers and strawberries this week - which was way more exciting than it should have been. I've been pinching off the strawberry flowers to let the plants establish for their first year, but I'll let the everbearing variety fruit now that the first round of flowering is over. I don't expect a significant amount this year but you never know. And speaking of berries, the hot weather has speeded up the flowering of the raspberry plants and they're already starting to set fruit. Expect them to come a little earlier, probably starting in about three weeks and continuing into September.

Danielle transplanting melons

The summer squash and melons are finally in the ground and the winter squash is seeded! The new field behind the barn is plowed, dug and planted - better late than never. The potatoes are kicking ass as well.... when we were hilling them this past week we caught a glimpse of a few nice sized potatoes already, so hopefully we'll have new potatoes in a few weeks.

potatoes, and lots of them

This was a very light week, but that gives many of you a chance to catch up on the leftover produce of the last two weeks. And finish up that lettuce, because it's returning next week. This week you received pac choy (slightly nibbled), more chard, herbs (chives, garlic chives, thyme, sage, oregano and savory) and garlic scapes. We ran out of bunching onions so only full shares received those, but we have large second and third crops of those that will be ready in a few weeks. Thanks for being so understanding about the spring issues.

I emailed about the garlic scapes so I think you all have an idea of what to do with those. You want to use the soft, flexy part (not the part of the stem that's rigid) and chop and saute in any recipe that calls for garlic. We made an easy chard, garlic scape and parmesan cheese scramble by essentially chopping the ingredients and frying them along with some of our eggs. Tonight I'm going to saute some more scapes and add them to a pizza. And some of you are wondering what to do with all the herbs, specifically the savory. They're are so flavorful and versatile, you can use them to add amazing flavor to almost any dish. Tarragon is wonderful with eggs, savory is frequently used in chicken and fish dishes, etc. If I have a bunch of random herbs I need to use right away, I just chop them all up and toss them in pasta with butter. I also mix some them in with salad greens. You'll be receiving a lot of herbs this summer, so preserving them is also a good idea. Oregano is, in fact, more flavorful when it's dried, and I chop and freeze things like chives, cilantro, parsley and tarragon and use them all winter. Making herb butter is also a great way to preserve herbs - just chop them up (individually for flavor-specific butter or mix and match) and mix them into room-temperature butter with a bit of lemon zest. Form into rolls, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate (or freeze, for long-term storage).

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Members at farm pick up have been telling me about some great recipes they've tried or invented using our produce - I encourage everyone to share these, either by commenting on blog posts or on the Churchview Farm Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/pages/Pittsburgh-PA/Churchview-Farm/111380458885761?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=12).

week two

Keep those salads coming! This week in CSA everyone received a bunch of French breakfast and cherry belle radish, several heads of lettuce (oakleaf and/or butterhead varieties), a bunch of redbor and winterbor kale, a bunch of tatsoi, and a small bundle of spinach. We planned to include a variety of herbs as well but ran out of time on Sunday morning - look for those in the next CSA.

members Maeve and new mommy Chris
Most of you (aside from 2009 members) may be unfamiliar with tatsoi. I find it very similar to spinach and use the two interchangeably. Raw in salads, cooked in soups or stir fries, or just wilted in a hot skillet with olive oil, garlic and lemon zest - it's pretty delicious any way you use it. Last year some members used it to make "spinach" lasagna, and I just found a great recipe for a very simple browned butter pasta with tatsoi (http://appetiteforchina.com/recipe/brown-butter-pasta-tatsoi). I've only ever grown tatsoi in the fall, which (as with most crops) is much easier because there are essentially no insect pests to worry about. It also grows differently in the fall, in a low rosette, whereas in the spring it's more upright. I planned to trim the plants in order to let them regrow for a second spring harvest but the wet weather and other conditions have encouraged such a high pest population for us that it would be a waste of time to try this crop again before fall.

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqEmma, Charley and Amy with shiny new member Sam
And since we're on the dark greens let's talk about kale! It's a member of the brassica family - just like tatsoi, broccoli, collard greens, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Like many brassicas kale is incredibly nutritious, packed with vitamins and antioxidants galore, and is rich in beta carotene and calcium. I also find it generally delightful. You can use it in many of the ways you use chard and spinach, but unlike those greens it should be cooked and the center rib removed. Kale is excellent in classic "beans and greens": chop & saute the kale in olive oil with garlic and onions, toss with black-eyed peas and sprinkle with grated or shredded parm. This is one of Todd's all-time favorite dishes, but he adds a twist - he fries bacon and sautes the ingredients in the bacon grease instead of olive oil, then adds the chopped bacon. I must admit it's pretty tasty. Another fun way to use kale that I've heard a lot of people talking about this year (including member Rachel Kottler, who suggested the recipe) is kale chips. You can find a few recipes to choose from here: http://www.tastespotting.com/search/kale+chips/1

move over basil, hello chard!

Danielle, one of the wonderful CV Farm interns, passed along this recipe. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds amazing.... so much so that I think it deserves its own post (other week one recipe suggestions posted below). What a tasty and creative use for chard, which members will be receiving all spring. And while it is both versatile and delightful, it's never too early to get creative. This is also a great way to preserve it.
Enjoy!

Swiss Chard and Toasted Pecan Pesto
Use chard in place of basil and toasted pecans in place of the toasted pine nuts. All other ingredients remain the same.
4 cups packed fresh Swiss Chard leaves, torn
1/4 cup plus 3 Tablespoons Extra virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup of Toasted Pecans, chopped
2 large Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup grated Parmagiano Cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Splash of Lemon Juice, optional
Either use a mortar and pestle and grind all the ingredients together or use a blender/food processor and puree all the ingredients until a paste forms. Some folks like a chunkier pesto while others like a more smooth pesto consistency. Use a little more liquid (this is where the lemon juice works well) and blend longer for the smoother version. This particular pesto is excellent smeared on a baguette with fresh goat cheese and topped with sprouts. It is also fantastic tossed with pasta. I use it on sandwiches, in salad dressings and even on grilled meats. By far, a crowd pleaser and my favorite summertime pesto.

Note: Pesto may be stored in the freezer. Just portion into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once frozen solid, pop out the cubes and place in a freezer bag. Also, just like regular pesto, this pesto will blacken (oxidize) once exposed to air. To prevent this, top off your pesto with olive oil before recapping to seal out the air. Always store your pesto in the refrigerator, unless you freeze it.

week one! welcome 2010 members

Yesterday was the first pick up of our 2010 season and marked the start of our second year hosting a Community Supported Agriculture program! It was a great start to the season... spring shares full of leafy goodness, meeting new members at the farm, and the chickens were reminded how much they love CSA pick up days after eating an obscene amount of cracked corn and other treats provided by all the enthusiastic kids.

Julie, my mom, and Todd and I were up early bright and early on Sunday morning harvesting all the produce for week one. This week everyone received heads of oakleaf and/or butterhead lettuces, deep purple and hardy white scallions, arugula, french breakfast radish, and some combination of bright lights, perpetual spinach and bionda chard. I mentioned that June is heavy on greens so it will pretty much be the Month Of Salads, but for variety's sake you might try using some of those salad ingredients to make a radish, lettuce and spring onion sandwich. I eat these quick & refreshing sandwiches all spring - butter two slices of bread, spread sliced radish (lightly salted) sprinkled with sliced spring onions on one half and and lettuce on the other. Sometimes instead of butter I'll spread fresh goat cheese on the bread. Sound disgusting? Trust me, it's amazing.

Lots of you had questions about the chard. Essentially, chard can be used in place of spinach in any recipe. Some members told me they were making a chard lasagna, some were making chard quiche or omelets, a friend of mine simply sautes it with garlic and mixes it with quinoa. It's wonderful in stir fries or sauteed with garlic and lemon zest as a side dish. Julie makes a standard stuffed pepper stuffing and wraps & bakes it in the chard leaves instead of peppers. Unlike kale, you can chop the ribs of (fresh) chard and use them along with the leaves. The options are endless! Get creative and post your recipes on the blog.

As far as storage suggestions - it's always best to use the ingredients when they're as fresh as possible but the chard will store pretty well in the crisper drawer of the fridge, rinsed and wrapped in a damp towel in an unsealed plastic bag. The same goes for lettuce storage; it keeps for a surprisingly long time treated the same way.

new members explore the chicken coop, and Todd pawns off a weeding job on returning member Elliot Morris

week twenty, the end! (kind of)

It's the official end of our first CSA season, which is pretty hard to believe. Last year at this time we were still only considering CSA as an option for the farm and here we are with our first growing season almost over, two more honeybee hives, 30-odd chickens, and plans for significant expansion next year. We had a few stumbles, battled a lot of pests and diseases and learned a LOT... overall I consider the season a success. I hope you feel the same and that you'll be back with us in the spring of 2010.
Without the constant and generous help of some seriously amazing family and friends we never could have done this - and that includes the wonderful, patient first-year members... you all rock, thanks so much!

Even though this is the 20th week and the last of the significant harvests are in, there will be some "straggler" crops including a new batch of chard, mache, more radish, carrots, spinach, herbs, kale, bib lettuce, golden beets, and (if the greedy pig of a ground hog left any for the rest of us) snow peas. There won't be any more shares or delivery but as long as we have any harvests coming in you're all welcome to come to the farm and pick your own bag of whatever we have. I'll email weekly, starting the first week of November, to let you know what's available and you can contact me if you'd like to stop over. Hopefully we'll also have some eggs to sell.

This week everyone received leeks, potatoes, shallots, parsley, kohlrabi, French breakfast and cherry bell radish, parmex carrots (full) or a bag of arugula (partial) and a giant, lovely stalk of brussels sprouts.
The kohlrabi you have might look different than what you're used to seeing in the store. This variety is best harvested at about 5 cm, probably a little smaller than you might be used to but the flavor is pretty amazing - let me know how it compares. It's great just sliced on a salad with a citrus dressing or roasted with other veggies (including winter squash).
I've had some questions as to storing the brussels sprouts - just snap each sprout off the main stalk and store in a net (onion) bag in the fridge. I think these might be the veggie I've looked forward to most all season, and last night I made one of my all-time favorite recipes - roasted brussels sprouts with honey. Trim and wash the sprouts, pat dry, and put in a shallow baking dish (in one layer). Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt, mix, and roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Check them after 15 mins - you do NOT want soggy, overdone brussels sprouts. Take them out of the oven, drizzle with as much honey as you'd like, serve. The outside leaves get crisp and brown, the olive oil and salt brings out the amazing flavor, and the honey gives it a touch of sweetness. Yum.

Earlier this week Todd and I made another one of fall favorites, leek and potato soup. This is a simple soup with fantastic flavor... there are a lot of simple recipes for it out there but my favorite is still Alton Brown's: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/leek-potato-soup-recipe/index.html

Keep checking the blog for updates, plans for next year, and thrilling farm news. Hope to see you all at the farm this fall!

Week Nineteen

one of our praying mantis, hard at work on some brussels sprout greens


I'm pretty excited about the change in seasons... Instead of slathering on sunscreen before early morning CSA harvest, we're pulling on layers and scarves and boots and I'm loving it - as well as the change in what we're growing and harvesting. We covered the beans and peppers with frost-protective row covers this past week but pretty much everything else is fine in cold weather. Things like brussels sprouts, arugula, mache and the deep greens actually have improved flavor after frosts. You'll notice a change in quantity and variety of what you receive and it's all part of the season winding down. I plan to keep going as long as there's a significant harvest. Things to look for in the next couple weeks are more radish and dark greens, kohlrabi, carrots, chard, arugula, mache, bib lettuce, brussels sprouts, leeks and potatoes.

CSA members Charlie, Amy and Emma Kottler with their aunt, Kathy Ellis

In shares this week you have butternut squash, a variety of peppers, carrots, tatsoi, parsley, daikon radish (full), French breakfast radish (partial), and a container of habaneros if you indicated to me that you wanted them. Some of you might be unfamiliar with daikon radish - here's a link to some basic info including preparation and nutrition facts http://whatscookingamerica.net/DaikonRadish.htm. They can be treated like any other radish (see spring posts for radish sandwiches), used in salads, soups, or juiced and added to tomato sauce for a great kick (thanks Julie!).

Butternut squash is one of those foods that is versatile and pretty delightful any way you prepare it, but my good friend Liz made an amazing dish that's my new favorite - baked butternut squash fluff. Cut squash in half longways and scoop out seeds (you can roast these w/ salt, pepper and cayenne). Roast in the oven until soft, let cool slightly and scoop out the meat into a bowl. Add one or two eggs (depending on how much egg you like), some milk (not too much), a touch of ground/grated ginger, cinnamon and honey (2 T). Mix with a hand mixer to "fluff", spread in a small (no bigger than 9x13) baking dish and top with walnuts and a touch of brown sugar (for a nice crunch). Bake until nuts begin to brown. You can also add grated coconut to the topping - yum. Thanks Liz!
CSA member Kathryn just sent me a recipe for fall squash soup from the Frick Cafe - it sounds amazing and uses your squash, parsley and shallots http://www.thefrickpittsburgh.org/start/documents/Fallsquashsoup.pdf
thanks Kathryn!

The big news for this week, of course, is that we now have chickens! 31 laying hens arrived on Saturday afternoon, kindly brought to us by Lynne of Dream Thyme Farm http://www.dreamthymefarm.com/. The ladies (and one patient rooster) seem very happy in their new home, and quite a few of you came to the farm for CSA pick up yesterday and had the chance to see them. They sleep in the coop at night and during the day when no one is around they'll stay in a large fenced area to keep them safe from local predators like fox, coyote, raccoon, and hawks. After they get used to their new surroundings and when we're at home to monitor them the chickens will be free to roam the farm and forage for tasty bugs, slugs, seeds and etc. Their diet also includes organic grain feed from a local mill, which is free of any and all hormones, antibiotics and GMO seed. This high-quality feed and their ability to roam about and forage for an ultra-healthy balanced diet means some very happy chickens, and some pretty fantastic tasting eggs. Hopefully you'll be able to see for yourselves soon - eggs will be available for purchase all winter (though they will lay at a much slower rate during the cold months) and of course next season, but I'm hoping to be able to include half a dozen in each of your shares before the end of the season.

Week Eighteen

Apologies for the late post this week. We've switched gears from concentrating on fall prep to focusing our energies on finishing the chicken coop. Lynne, the wonderful farmeress from Dream Thyme Farms has offered us 30 laying hens and chicks... they arrive in two weeks. Free range pastured eggs, coming soon! You'll have the opportunity to purchase eggs from us as soon as they arrive, which may be at or after the end of CSA shares this season.

I've had a lot of questions from members regarding how long this season will continue. The answer is, when the harvest stops rolling in. There will probably be a gap of a week or two because I have some beans, peas, kohlrabi, spinach and etc that will need a bit more time, plus the brussels sprouts and leeks won't be harvested until after we've had some decent frosts so you'll probably pick up a final bag in early November. Things have been winding down and will continue to do so until there are no more significant harvests. I think that in addition to the November bag there will be two or three more pick up weeks in October.

This week you received kale (I am tearing out the kale plants this week! Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief), potatoes, herbs and nasturtium, a variety of peppers, purple haze carrots, and pumpkins. Again, those who asked for habanero peppers also received those packaged separately. The small red or orange peppers that were loose in your bags are the aji dulce sweet peppers - they look like a habanero but have no heat, so don't fear them!

Don't forget to check previous blog posts for tasty recipes if you haven't tried them all. I highly recommend this curried roasted pumpkin soup - my mom made it last week and it was excellent http://neckredrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/10/curried-roasted-pumpkin-soup.html (they specify a kind of curry powder but any will do)

Have a great week!

Week Seventeen

It was a wet, wet morning today! Here's my dedicated and hardworking employee (also known as mom) harvesting and artfully bundling all your herbs in the pouring rain.
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This week everyone has more bunches of wonderful tatsoi, carrots, a head of Chinese cabbage (called Blue), parsley, basil, dill, nasturtium, and a winter squash called Blue Ballet, which is a smaller variety of the traditional (and enormous) hubbard squash. There were also habaneros for those who asked for them.

Try this recipe for green jade soup - it involves some additional items but also uses your cabbage, tatsoi, and carrots: boil 3 cups vegetable stock and add about a cup thickly sliced carrots, 3/4 T grated ginger, a cup sliced leeks or onions, a cup sliced mushrooms, and 2 cups chopped Chinese cabbage. Lower the heat and simmer for about ten minutes until veggies are tender. Add all of your chopped tatsoi and, if you care to, 1 cake of cubed tofu. Cook for 5 minutes, add salt to taste (recipe from Moosewood Cookbook)

Hubbards can be used like any hard-skinned squash - roasted, pureed in soup, or made into a pie, which is what my mom did with these squash last year for Thanksgiving. CSA member Amy Kottler just picked up her share and gave me her idea for roasted hubbard squash that honestly made my mouth water. She slices the squash in half and roasts it in the oven with butter, brown sugar and salt (2 T brown sugar to 1 T kosher salt) so it has a caramelized, salty-sweet, kettle-corn kind of thing going on... everything about that sounds delightful to me. Thanks Amy!

Member Heather Mallak also shared a photo of what she called a "roasting pan of wonderfulness" made with her CV Farm peppers, potatoes, beets and tomatoes - it looks pretty fantastic.
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When members came to the farm to pick up their shares today they all commented on a potted pepper plant that I have sitting out on the porch, a smaller version of this guy:

My dad's uncle, Gene Rockacy, who actually help my grandfather build this farm, starts tons of these lovely pepper plants from seed and sells them at local markets. They live inside all winter and not only to they look amazing, covered with peppers in shades of red, purple, yellow and orange, but the little suckers taste great - and they're spicy! If you'd like to have homegrown hot peppers all winter long (my mom has had her plant for years) let me know and you can purchase one from him. I have to find out an exact price but I'm pretty sure the small ones are about $4, and I can just pop it in your weekly share.

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Uncle Gene and his daughter, Carol Jean, picking raspberries on the farm

week sixteen

It's like spring all over again! We have lots of greens, lettuces, arugula and spinach growing, along with snap peas, carrots, scallions, Brussels sprouts and etc. We're approaching the last month of our first year of CSA here at CV Farm, but there's still lots to look forward to.

This week everyone has tatsoi (full shares have two bunches), an assortment of peppers, habaneros (for those who wanted them), a bag of Blushed Butter lettuce, a winter squash called Green Buttercup, a small bunch of broccoli raab, and an edible bouquet of parsley, a variety of basils, and nasturtium.

For those of you unfamiliar with tatsoi it is (according to recipe czar, because I'm too lazy to explain it) "a dark green Asian salad green that has a spoon like shape, a pleasant and sweet aroma, and flavor like a mild mustard green, similar to bok choi. Tatsoi is generally eaten raw, but may be added to soups at the end of the cooking period. When tatsoi is mixed with other greens it enhances the flavor and nutritional value. Tatsoi may not be available in your regular grocery store. Specialty markets may carry it, or it can be grown from seeds, in warmer climates." I basically treat it like spinach - but don't expect a spinach flavor because it's a bit different.
Broccoli raab (rapini) is a new adventure for all of us! This is the first time I've grown it and the first time I've cooked with it. Let me know what you think.

The Green Buttercup squash can be treated like any winter squash.... roasted in the oven with herbs, butter and brown sugar, or chopped and sauteed with butter, sage and shallots. Friend, CSA member and once-weekly CV Farm slave Julie even made hers into a yummy pumpkin-esque pie.

some other recipes to try this week:
This is a simple recipe I use for stracciatella soup - fast and easy to prepare, and just pair it with a salad for a great fall meal. You can use your parsley, and substitute the tatsoi for spinach.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/stracciatella-soup-recipe/index.html

Broccoli raab is fairly versatile, but here's a simple recipe I tried for broccoli raab saute: heat 2 tspns olive oil over med heat, add 2 medium cloves of garlic sliced very thin and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (or some of your hot peppers), stir for about two minutes (don't let the garlic burn). Add broccoli raab (you can chop into large pieces or cook it as-is... the closer to the top of the stem you are the less bitter the flavor) and cook for about 4 minutes, until tender. Season with salt and pepper (recipe from The Washington Post). And here's a tip I found online - Much of the bitterness can be removed by blanching it (cooking it briefly in boiling water) first. Try bringing a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add broccoli rabe and cook 5 to 6 minutes, or until bright green and crisp-tender.

week fifteen

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Brussels sprouts, just doing their thing

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spring redux - blushed butter lettuce & carrots

This week everyone received potatoes, shallots, acorn squash, kale (sigh - I know), a bundle of herbs (parsley, dill, variety of basils), a bouquet of flowers (sunflowers, zinnia, amaranth), and raspberries. Full shares also received a pint of cherry tomatoes, and if you indicated to me that you wanted them, some habaneros (if you'd like to get habaneros in your share just let me know).

Last night I stumbled upon two great recipes for the kale and potatoes and made a surprisingly fast and amazing dinner. These might involve some ingredients not everyone has laying around, but I think they're worth it. For the rosemary-chile mashed potatoes combine 1 cup of olive oil, 3 rosemary springs, and and finely chopped and seeded habanero (wear gloves!!) in a small saucepan over high heat. When the sprigs begin to spit and bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove oil from heat, strain into a glass jar, let sit for 30 minutes. Cook and mash the potatoes (about 2 lbs for this recipe). Add 1/4 cup of the oil to 3/4 cup milk, a tablespoon of chopped rosemary and salt to taste. Mix, add to mashed potatoes. You can save the leftover chile oil for future use - I used some of it in the kale dish. (Recipe from Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen)
You could also roast or mash the potatoes and finish them with shallots (finely chopped and sauteed in butter) and a handful of chopped parsley and dill with a bit of coarse salt.

Gingered greens and tofu was also wildly tasty. Slice 2 blocks of tofu into 1-inch pieces and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Make a marinade of 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup dry sherry, 1/4 cup rice vinegar and 3 tblspns brown sugar. Pour the marinade over the tofu and broil for 7-8 minutes or until the tofu browns, then turn with a spatula and brown the other side. Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok on high heat (I used the chile oil) and add 2 tblspns grated ginger and 6 (ish) cups coarsely shredded kale. Stir until greens wilt. Add 3 tblspns lime juice, 2 tblspns chopped cilantro, and a few more splashes of the chile oil. Drizzle with honey and toss with the broiled tofu and marinade. (Recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook)


Look at all these lovely pumpkins! We started harvesting them and are storing them in the root cellar for a few weeks - expect them early to mid October.

And this is why we've started harvesting them a little early...

a rat bastard ground hog is living somewhere in the garden (we think) and has done this to about half a dozen of our pumpkins. Vengeance will be mine.

Have a great week!


CSA member Rachel Kottler and her niece Aisha after picking raspberries this Sunday

week fourteen

This week everyone received Salsa In A Bag! In your CSA tote is everything you need to make an amazing batch of farm fresh salsa: tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, onions, and a heap of herbs - cilantro, parsley and basil.
My mom is generously sharing her recipe... this is the salsa I've been eating all my life and everyone who has tried it thinks it's the best. Obviously, adjust the mounts to what you have or how much you want to make.

Marjean's Salsa:
4 C tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped* (she uses 2 1/2 cups red tomatoes and 1 1/2 cups green tomatoes)
3 C peppers - seeded & chopped (she uses 2 cups sweet and 1 cup hot, adjust according to your heat preference)
1 C chopped onions
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 Tblsp sugar/honey
1/3 C cilantro
1/4 C parsley
1/4 C basil
1/2 C tomato paste
1 C cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Jar or can and process (for instructions and suggestion on canning, email me)

*note for tomato prep: drop tomatoes in boiling water for about 15 seconds or until skins split, run under cold water, then peel. Cut out stem, slice in half crosswise and squeeze gently to remove seeds and juice.

Week Thirteen

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CSA member Emma Kottler at farm pick up this week. Emma has an astonishingly diverse palate for someone who doesn't have much in the way of teeth.

This week everyone received a mix of heirloom tomatoes and a bag of cherry heirlooms, a selection of peppers, beets, chard, variety of basil, parsely, cilantro, and a container of raspberries (full shares received a large container).

Sick of raspberries yet? They'll be coming in like this for a few weeks at least. If you're interested in some recipes for preserves or pies, let me know. And something else I'm doing with the berries now for holiday gifts? Finding cute bottles, filling then with vodka and a bunch of raspberries and putting it in the freezer for a few months to make raspberry-infused vodka. I'm also going to try this with the lime basil.

I found a great recipe online for a fairly simple pasta with beets and beet greens - I cut up the chard as well and treated it the same way as the beet greens in this recipe. http://theitaliandish.blogspot.com/2009/08/pasta-with-roasted-beets-beet-greens.html
And here is a fantastic recipe for summer squash (use your pattypans!) and heirloom tomato gratin http://noshandtell.blogspot.com/2009/08/summer-squash-and-heirloom-tomato.html

aaaaWe thought we wouldn't have onions this year due to an incident early on in the season - the entire bed was crushed when the tractor accidentally pulled the grapevines down on top of them (whoops). But on Sunday afternoon Todd and I harvested a surprising amount of wonderful red and white onions that are curing right now and will be in shares soon.

This is one of the beds of fall veggies we planted a few weeks ago. The tatsoi, Chinese blue cabbage, and snow peas are off to a great start.
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Lately we've found a few toads in and around the garden... this one peed on Todd's hand
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Week Twelve

This week everyone received quite a few tomatoes! I posted some great recipes below for the fastest, tastiest farm dinner ever - starting with another great recipe from Jen for mock crab cakes (using patty pan squash instead of crab) with herb-caper mayo, beans with herb butter, and heirloom caprese salad. You might be suspicious of these squash-cakes but I assure you they are beyond delightful - much more than they should be for being so simple. Todd loved them, and he is not usually fond of "mock" anything.

Full shares received a container of cherry tomatoes, 6-8 large heirloom tomatoes (depending on size), pattypan squash, variety of peppers (the orange ones are called Yummy!), a mix of basils, a container of raspberries, peaches, and cut flowers, including some of our lovely sunflowers. Partial shares received cherry and heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, variety of basils (sweet, cinnamon, lime and Thai), a container of raspberries, and flowers.

There are less beans this time around because the second planting was a little smaller. And some sad news - I think this will be it for the cucumbers. The bacterial wilt virus has definitely killed off most of the plants at this point and I am planning to tear them out this week. I can use that space to plant some arugula and other tasty fall greens, and we'll move the support fence to where we've planted the snow peas, which are up and will soon need something to climb. We are going to combat this awful virus next year by moving all cucurbit crops (cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash) outside of the produce garden area and grow them in newly dug beds on a different part of the property. We will also spray regularly next season with an organic insecticide (made from chrysanthemum) called pryethrum which will help eliminate the cucumber beetle, the pest responsible for spreading the wilt virus.

The peaches were also a bit of a disappointment... we have a raccoon (or family of) that, apparently, enjoys climbing the peach tree and taking a bite from every other fruit. Hopefully next year we can combat this with some barrier fencing. Or firearms. Just kidding.

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This Sunday was lively at the farm for CSA pick up... we had a few member families stick around to pick some extra berries for themselves. My friend Sarah, her husband Jason and sons Elliot and Jasper stopped by for an afternoon of berry picking, followed by a spirited round of throw-black-walnuts-at-the-barn-until-they-shatter-into-a-million-pieces which was seriously more fun than it should have been.

Sarah and Elliot

The raspberries are coming in strong and we are picking a few buckets every other day. If you would like to arrange to come to the farm on Sunday to pick some more of your own for pies, preserves, ice cream, etc, just let me know. There's plenty to go around.

Recipes:

pattypan "crab" cakes - 2c coarsely grated summer squash, 1c Italian bread crumbs, 1 onion (finely chopped), 1 Tbs mayonnaise, 1 Tbs Old Bay seasoning, 1 egg (beaten). Combine, adjust texture, form into patties. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 20-25 minutes covered loosely with foil, then broil until tops are golden. Makes 4 big or 6 medium cakes. I also made a mayo sauce to go on top - just a handful of whatever herbs you have, chopped finely and added to a cup of mayo and a bit of cour cream. Mix in a few capers and blop a spoonful on top of each cake.

Chop some more herbs and toss them in melted butter with the beans (blanched for barely a few minutes), and serve with a caprese salad (alternating slices of tomato and buffalo mozzarella, drizzle olive oil and sea or kosher salt on top with some torn basil leaves) and voila! Fast and amazingly delicious dinner right from your CSA bag. You might finish it off with some berries over ice cream drizzled with honey for dessert. And those of you who have peaches could dice them and serve in a bowl with raspberries, shredded cinnamon basil and honey on top.

week eleven

Items for this week are heirloom tomatoes (full shares also received a container of cherry tomatoes), a variety of peppers, potatoes, a variety of beans, cucumbers (some of you also received a lemon cucumber), a mix of fresh herbs - basil for your tomatoes and parsley and dill for your potatoes, and fresh raspberries. Full shares also received eggplant.
Please remember to return your containers when you're finished with them! And we'd love to have any plastic clamshell containers that you don't use - these are perfect for the berries and cherry tomatoes.

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Nothing is more lovely to me right now than a wagon full of heirloom tomatoes. You all have these in your shares this week. Keep an eye out for my current favorite - an heirloom I'm growing for the first time this year called Garden Peach. They are about the size of, well, a peach, with a yellowish color and skin that is slightly furry, like that of a peach. They taste amazing!

We've been lucky so far in controlling the tomato late blight that has been crippling farmers and gardeners all over the northeast, especially those who grow organically. Many have been completely wiped out, and unfortunately some of the CSA farms in our area had to tell their members not to expect many tomatoes at all this year. We are keeping it under control with an organic copper-based spray and by being vigilant about regularly checking for and removing infected leaves, but we are still definitely seeing the affects. While we feel extremely lucky to have tomatoes at all, there are a lot less than we normally would have.

You've been getting cucumbers pretty regularly, and especially if you held on to some from last week a great way to use them is to make chilled cucumber and dill soup: peel and seed three cucumbers. Chop and put in a blender with two cups buttermilk, half cup sour cream, tablespoon of olive oil, a few tablespoons of chopped dill, a pinch of sugar (or teaspoon of honey), and a splash of white wine vinegar. Puree and garnish with fresh dill.
The potatoes would be excellent simply roasted in the oven with herbs. Cut them into half or thirds, coat them with olive oil and and add your chopped parsley and dill with a sprinkle of salt, and roast.
I found a new tasty recipe for microwaved honey eggplant. Combine half a cup each of chopped parsley and breadcrumbs with three tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons honey, one minced garlic clove, and a pinch of salt. Cut a medium eggplant crosswise into one-inch slices and score the top of each slice. Put the slices in a dish and spread the breadcrumb mixture over the tops, pressing into the slits. Partially cover with wax paper and microwave for about five minutes. Remove the paper and cook for another two or three minutes until very soft. Sprinkle with lemon juice.
Also check out Rachel's comment from the week nine post, she shared a great recipe for a vinaigrette to dress potatoes and green beans.


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Some turkeys in front of the berry patch (they are regular welcome visitors to the farm).