2012 Spring is springing!

Man, am I ever excited for this year on the farm! Flats of seeds are started and many more are on my to-do list. Each day my list gets longer as I ramp up for our 3rd season of CSA. I'm still not sure how many families we will add this year, some of that will depend on how many we sign on in the next few weeks, but I do know one thing-we will max out this year and end up turning some late comers away. We have been invited to the CSA fair at the Seward Co-op in Minneapolis, and while I will be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with some older and well respected farms, the event brings in a lot of interested families for whom I know we will be a good match. Here are some recent scenes from our endeavors.

Some tomato seedlings growing under the lights.

These beauties are soon-to-be Blackgold cherry blossoms. 

We may only have enough to give each family a sample in 2012

but we expect to be able to offer more and more fruits each 

year as we establish our perennial crops. 

Remember these juicy beauties from 2011? We could only

offer samples last year, but..

We hope to be able to offer a small amount of Minnesota grown, 

chemical free peaches to our families in the 2012 season.

That's all for now, folks. We will be blogging regularly this spring to let families know what we are up to. Be sure to friend us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Blue skies,

Ellen & Family

News from the farm

As many of you heard, about 10 days ago we had some very unusual weather in most of our fine state, including our farm-temps plummeted down to an almost record breaking 27 degrees. While some things were salvaged due to their hardier nature, that kind of low actually melted all the warm weather veggies plants: tomatoes, peppers, cukes, zucchini & summer squash, beans, the vines of the winter squash & pumpkins and saddest of all to me, melons. We did our best to salvage what was there, hence the continued tomatoes ect. last week, but I'm sorry to say that was about it. It's also sad because it appears to have been a fluke thing and this fall is going to continue on with moderate temps that would have normally continued ripening things for however many more weeks. Rest assured, we will do our best to round out the season with cooler season crops that will continue to mature for another month without difficulty.

Aside from the weather, I want to make sure to remind everyone that today is 39 weeks pregnant for me. Perhaps I will try to post a picture of your dedicated veggie farmer because I guarantee I've grown more than what you see in your boxes every week-a very special little pumpkin has been with me for every seed planted, every walk down the rows, every pulled weed, and every lifted bin of produce.  I'm guessing that this will be the last week I will be able to work until after the baby comes, so as stated in the 2011 CSA contract in the beginning of the season, I will take my leave of you all for a couple weeks to enjoy some well earned time with my little one. Most of you with a half share are within a week of being finished with your 9 weeks of the season and I will contact you directly via phone or email about finishing the season in October if we still have some to go.

That's all for now...

Recipe: Catch-all Pot Pie

Cooler days are ahead and it might become safe to turn on the oven after tonight, so I'll post this one I made at our house a week ago to rave reviews. It was super easy and allowed me to use up all kinds of veggies I had left over. As with most of the recipes posted here, feel free to be loosey goosey with quantities of herbs and veggies because it's more about using what you have on hand. The only measurements that need to be adhered to are the ones for the biscuit topping. So here goes...
(From the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics - one of my all-time favorite cookbooks)

-2 cups coarsely chopped potatoes and sweet potatoes if you have them
-2 cups chopped carrots and/or parsnips
-1 or 2 chopped onions
-Shitakes or other mushrooms
-Several cloves of minced garlic
-3 cups of stock or water
-tsp of dried or fresh thyme, oregano or rosemary
-tsp salt if not using stock with salt already added
Combine above list and simmer for 15 minutes in large pot. While this is cooking, create mixture of 3 tbsp cornstarch in 1/2 cup or so of water for the gravy. Also during this time create the biscuit topping:

-2 cups white flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tbsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-6 tbsp melted butter
-1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
-1 tsp chopped fresh dill
sift together dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. Combine these into one bowl mixing as little as possible to make a soft dough. If you get zealous with making sure every lump is gone it will make the end product tough and hard instead  of a light biscuit.

Add to simmering veggies the cornstarch mixture and any softer veggies like peas, corn, summer squash, okra, tomatoes, pretty much whatever. (If you're not familiar with cooking okra, keep the ratio of okra mass to tomato mass at least one to one-the acid in the tomatoes cuts the acquired taste and texture of okra.)
Allow veggies and thickener to simmer for 5 more minutes or so and then pour into a lightly greased deep baking dish. Carefully spoon blobs of the biscuit onto the top and then bake for 30 minutes or so at 350. A knife should come away from the center of a biscuit clean when they are done.
Enjoy-we sure did! 

This week in the box...

Greetings to all on this beautiful summer day! We are headed off to the beach for the afternoon for some family splashing, but I wanted to make some quick comments about this week on the farm.

I tested one of the melons and was delighted to discover that we are very close to having them in the box. They need another week or so and then you will be seeing them. I don't know if ripening will occur in such a way to allow everyone to have one at the same time or if I need to break that up, but rest assured everyone will get to try some interesting varieties. The one I tested was a beautiful 8 pounder with almost white flesh called Cream of Saskatchewan. Very juicy and sweet already with a hint of citrus. The cold of the spring has made our harvest of them later than I had hoped, but I'm excited for us to enjoy them together!

In the box:
-Eggplant
-Tomatoes
-Summer Squash/Zucchini
-Cucumber/Sweet pepper
-onions
-Kale
-Herbs

Recipe - Breakfast Sandwich Frittata

Are you wondering sometimes what to do with your lesser-known herbs each week like Dill, Thyme or Parsley? Here's a quick egg recipe that is easy to make and also generic enough to use any herb of your choice. You could also add any kind of meat, cheese or veggie you had on hand to change this up.

- 5 large eggs
-1/4 cup cream or half&half
-1/4 cup milk
-3 tbsp mixed chopped herbs
-2/3 cup grated sharp Cheddar
-2 slices bacon
-1 pita, split into two rounds
-cayenne, black pepper & salt to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Whisk eggs, cream, milk, herbs, seasonings, and half the cheese. In an ovenproof nonstick or cast iron skillet, cooked bacon and add to the egg mixture when crisp. Use a small amount of the bacon drippings left in the skillet to brown the each of the pita rounds. Remove the first half from the skillet and transfer to a plate while the other cooks. Leave that one in the skillet when it is browned on both sides. Pour the egg mixture onto the browned pita and half the cheese. Top with the other browned pita half and bake for 8 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake until golden and puffed. Cut into wedges and serve warm.

News from the farm - Early August

Peak summer is here and the bulk of our produce is coming in. In this weeks box:

-Swiss Chard or Kale
-Zucchini or Summer Squash
-Lemon or regular Cucumbers
-Herbs
-Onion
-New Potatoes
-Eggplant or Pepper
-Fresh Garlic

A few notes about some of the new items.
- The Zucchini and Summer Squash may be in varied shaped, but the flavors and the same and they are interchangeable in recipes. So whichever shape you receive enjoy their beautiful shapes and colors as part of the bounty of summer.

- New potatoes are coming in and we are growing several colors again this year. They all are delicious and in a dish are as beautiful as they are healthy. Since they are newly dug and relatively thin skinned, they can't be left out like you might be used to-they have to be refrigerated or they will get soft.

-Tomatoes are starting to come in; tiny ones first and then the bigger ones are ripening finally. Sometimes they can have small cracks in them. This is caused by rapid intake of water when it rains and the skin of the tomato not having time to expand before the inner part expands. For the most part, they are still perfect but you may want to use them first as they will not keep as long. As a general note, bigger tomatoes need to e stored on their tops as this is the firmest part of the tomato.

Recipe: Risotto Primavera

So, "primavera" means spring, but when I got my CSA share this week I immediately thought of this recipe.  So for me, it's gonna be Summer Risotto.  And people: do not fear the risotto!  It is surprisingly easy to make risotto.  I can make risotto while bouncing a toddler on my hip and watching "Jeopardy!" and I am a complete kitchen spazz.  Therefore, you can make risotto.  You do not have to babysit the risotto.  Just stir it frequently and don't let it go completely dry and you will be fine.  The end.

from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 5 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/2 whole Large Onion Finely Diced
• 3 whole Carrots, Peeled And Finely Diced
• 1/2 cup Cauliflower Pieces
• 1/2 cup Broccoli Pieces
• 1 whole Yellow Squash or Zucchini, Finely Diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (additional)
• 1 Tablespoon Butter (additional)
• 1-1/2 cup Arborio Rice
• 1-1/2 cup Dry White Wine
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt (additional), More To Taste
• 4 whole Green Onions, Thinly Sliced
• 1/2 cup Frozen Peas
• 4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese
• 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Dill, For Garnish
• Optional Vegetables To Substitute For Any Of The Above: Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Asparagus Pieces

Preparation Instructions

Pour chicken broth into a small saucepan. Heat to a simmer.
In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter. Add diced onions and diced carrots. Stir and cook for a minute or two. Add cauliflower and cook for a minute. Add broccoli and cook for 30 seconds. Add squash and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle in salt and stir. Remove from pan and put on a plate. Set aside.
Add 1 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter to the same pan. Heat over medium-low heat. Add rice and stir, cooking for 1 minute. Add half the wine and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt. Stir and cook until liquid is absorbed. Over the next 30 to 45 minutes, add 1 cup of simmering broth at a time, stirring and cooking until each addition of broth has absorbed. Add other half of wine and cook until absorbed. Add green onions and peas, stirring to combine. Taste to make sure rice is the right texture; add another helping of broth if rice has too much bite to it. Check salt content and add more salt if necessary.
Once rice is cooked, remove from heat. Stir in goat cheese, Parmesan, and vegetables until all goat cheese is combined.
Serve on a plate with a sprig of dill.