Broad Branch Farm CSA Newsletters

Week 19 Vegetable CSA - October 5

2011-11-05T19:32:00.002-05:00

Farm News

Again, the news for the week is the weather. The first light frost of the fall came on Friday night and a heavier frost on Saturday night. Temps dropped to 32 here at the house. We spent Friday afternoon covering all the peppers and eggplant. Saturday the entire family spent the day in the garden harvesting any tomatoes we did not intend to cover. We can’t possibly cover everything so we pick and choose the most productive, most flavorful varieties. We covered the beautiful bed of chard, the perfect red beans you see today, the basil and the last of the summer squash. All veggies covered came through unscathed – even the basil although it is not entirely fit for distribution in boxes.

Today, we are taking any green tomatoes from plants that didn’t survive the frost but the fruit was somehow protected by the foliage or even heavy weed cover. These we can hold on to and distribute in the coming weeks. The red beans came through with thousands of blossoms intact – amazing! It is the challenge of the market grower – outsmart the weather and you just might get beans or tomatoes a few more weeks.

Besides the first frost, we have been busy! The laying hens are headin’ west as we begin moving them to their overwintering area in the garden. This will be a series of small moves until they arrive in the northwest corner near the road so we can get to them for chores despite bad weather and big snow drifts. Snow drifts? Yes, it will be here before you know it. It's not something we like to think about but we have to be prepared.

Until then, let’s crunch on a fresh bean, make salsa, and enjoy these perfect fall days. Beautiful box today with some of the best food of the season. Enjoy.

Tomato Quarts Being Filled With An Amazing Variety of Tomatoes

In Your Box Today

Red Onions - On a burger, on a salad or in the fresh salsa recipe below, we love red onions.

Tomatoes – A beautiful medley of tomatoes today – a whole quart! You will find the delicious orange ‘Sungold’ cherry tomatoes, maybe a yellow ‘Limmony’ plus a sprinkling of small red slicing tomatoes. What a treat for the first week of October after the first frost. Enjoy as these are some of the last ripe tomatoes of the season.

Arugula – The arugula is thriving. This is the weather it loves – gone are the hot days which make the leaves spicy hot and encourage the flea beetles pressure. The cool nights and rain makes this green explode with growth. If the flavor is more than you can handle in a straight salad, arugula is excellent on a sandwich in place of lettuce. It can top pizza or wraps. It can even be made into pesto – see recipe below.

Cutting Celery – The celery is also responding to the cool weather – the stems are very sweet. The leaves are more pungent but still very tasty. Use this anywhere you would use celery – soups and homemade chicken stock, potato salad, and egg salad.

Peppers – More beautiful peppers today. Did you know peppers freeze easily? Wash, slice open, remove seeds and seed cavity, slice and place in freezer container or bag. That’s it! We freeze the damaged fruit and use them all winter. They are 100 times better than any fresh organic pepper in the store.

Bok Choy

Cilantro – Our planting of cilantro had a hard time this year with all the heat. But we have a small patch established, finally, and we’re giving out the first of this favorite herb today. You will find the leaves sweet and flavorful and very fresh as they were picked just this morning. Cilantro is a must in any homemade fresh salsa but we also enjoy it sprinkled in our homemade quesadillas and added to our salad mixes.

Royal Burgundy Beans – Thrilled to harvest these beans again. Just a ¾ lb bag today but they are very tasty and very precious after the frost. Depending on the weather, you may see these again one more time if we get lucky.

Recipes

Arugula Pesto

4 cups arugula leaves (5-6 ounces)

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted OR walnuts, toasted

6 cloves fresh garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

Blend arugula, toasted nuts, garlic and Parmesan cheese in processor until almost smooth. Add olive oil and process until well blended. Season pesto to taste with salt and pepper.

Quick Fresh Salsa

Fresh tomatoes, diced, placed in colander with bowl underneath to catch juice

Peppers, diced

Onions, diced

Fresh cilantro, chopped or torn into small pieces, stem and leaves

Fresh lime juice – a tablespoon for a small bowl of salsa

Salt

Cumin – just a pinch or so gives nice flavor

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and add reserved tomato juice if salsa needs more liquid. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Week 18 Vegetable CSA - September 28

2011-11-05T12:14:00.001-05:00

Main Season CSA Shares

Full Vegetable Shares – End October 26, 4 deliveries remaining

Half Vegetable and Egg Shares Even Weeks – End October 26, 2 deliveries remaining

Half Vegetable and Egg Shares Odd Weeks – End October 19, 2 deliveries remaining

Fall Season CSA Shares

Don’t miss out! Extend your supply of fresh organic vegetables, eggs, and meat by purchasing a Fall Vegetable, Egg, and Meat Shares. These are some of the best veggie shares of the season. Details, pricing, etc. at www.broadbranchfarm.com.

Farm News

Certainly the news of the week was the rain on Monday. We had some showers overnight Sunday into Monday, a brief break Monday morning and then rain the rest of the day until 9 p.m. or so. The rain was heavy and so were the winds. Just a half hour or so outside and we were soaked. Brian was gone to Arthur, IL with 300+ meat birds taking one of the livestock trailers our laying hens call home most of the time – until we need it to take haul pigs, chickens or calves. The poor laying hens had to weather most of the day in the lee of the remaining trailer. They were soaked but even when I checked at 3 p.m., they seemed to be handling it.

Brian returned by 5:30, unloaded the processed birds and took the trailer right down to the field with dry bedding. It was a heck of a situation to head home to after being up since 2:30 a.m tot take the meat chickens.

Our last check was at 9:30 p.m. or so. Rain had stopped but a light mist was falling. The dry bedding and returned trailer were empty. The birds didn’t seem to care there was shelter. They were huddled up in a few areas but didn’t take advantage of the new situation. Chickens are creatures of habit to a fault and will not alter their routine even if the weather turns nasty. Worried, we went to bed and hoped for the best.

The next morning, all birds were accounted for and not one fell victim to the weather. We were shocked but happy and relieved. And we were very happy for the rain. We haven’t had a good soaking rain like that since May. This moisture will do wonders for the fall vegetables. The boxes are turning greener each week as the salad greens in the garden are thriving. We are thrilled to finally have the turnips many of you love so much. They are just yummy and our kids eat them like apples. Enjoy.

Turnips!

In Your Box Today

Tomatoes – Today you will receive a pint or a few slicing tomatoes. We’re seeing a slow decline in production as these fall temperatures continue their own decline.

Garlic - Two beautiful bulbs of garlic today. Enjoy in the recipe below for Roasted Garlic Dressing.

Turnips var. ‘Tokyo Cross’ – These are the first turnips of the season. Our spring turnips were under water after heavy rains and never recovered. You will find these snowy white roots to be crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside all with a delicious mild flavor. Eat them raw or enjoy in your stir fry or roasted in the oven until tender and carmelized. The greens are also delicious in salads or sautéed.

Salad Mix – This week’s salad mix includes green romaine, arugula, escarole, red and green leaf lettuces, and the deep purple mizuna like green called Red Rain.

Fresh Parsley

Peppers – Peppers in all colors today including a few green ones. As frost begins to approach, we want to distribute the green peppers to you so we don’t lost them to the cold. We could harvest them right before frost but we couldn’t store them and keep them as fresh as if they were picked that day.

Bok Choy – This planting of bok choy has lived through the heat of the summer. Flea beetles nearly took it but as the temperatures eased up and we got a bit of moisture, the heads began looking better and better. Yes, you will see holes in the outer leaves – the sure sign of flea beetle damage – but the heads are still quite nice. Chop leaves and stems, sauté with chopped garlic until tender, dress with soy sauce and toasted sesame oil.

Recipe

Greens with Gorgonzola and Roasted Garlic Dressing

6 tablespoons olive oil

10 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons apple cider

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

8 cups greens or approximately ½ lb, washed and drained

1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Sliced vegetables and toppings of your choice – tomatoes, peppers, nuts, etc.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Toss oil with garlic in small baking dish. Cover dish and bake until garlic is golden and tender, about 45 minutes. Cool. Squeeze garlic from skins. Reserve oil.

Transfer roasted garlic to food processor. Add honey, vinegar, cider and mustard and blend well. With processor running, slowly add reserved garlic oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper.

Place washed and drained greens into serving bowl. Toss with 1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese, extra toppings, and enough dressing to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and serve.

Week 17 Vegetable CSA - September 21

2011-11-05T09:54:00.004-05:00

Farm News

The cool winds are blowing today reminding us Fall is really here. I closed up the roll up sides on both hoophouses last night to retain overnight heat – that will help keep those Sungold cherry tomatoes and red slicers ripening as long as possible. We’re to the point in the season where our warm days are numbered and we’re not looking forward to those hand numbing days!

It’s been a busy week with the CSA deliveries and the Field Day this past Sunday. About the middle of last week we decided we had to move our Field Day lunch inside – but where? Incredibly, our machine shed which was full of equipment, piles of compost, and garden supplies was transformed with tables, fragrant flowers, and an incredible food table filled with dishes created from Broad Branch Farm food. Music filled the air as Kailey McGillis of Toluca, Illinois entertained with her violin. Forty-four children participated in the kids craft where each child painted a cloth shopping bag using beets, carrots, and bok choy as stamps and vegetable juices as paint – they were all beautiful. It was an outstanding day with much friendship, learning and good food shared.

Check out the Field Day Menu below which tells the story of the food served on Sunday. It really is incredible to sit down to a meal made almost solely from food produced locally. We like that very much and we hope those of you that attended enjoyed it as well. Now it’s head down, hands busy, and focus on getting through the rest of this season.

What a box this week! Gorgeous food and more on the way until the end. Enjoy.

Field Day Kid's Craft - Handpainted Shopping Bag

In Your Box Today

Tomatoes – Today you will receive two pints or a pint and a few slicing tomatoes. We’re just seeing a slow decline in production as these fall temperatures continue their own decline.

Potatoes - We are finally able to dig the potatoes. Not seeing great yields so far but we’ve only dug a couple beds. Today we are distributing two varieties – smooth skinned Carola (similar to Yukon Gold) and the darker skinned Goldrush Russet.

Green Beans – This will be one of the last harvests from the green beans. The plants are practically void of flowers and we left just a few immature beans behind. These beans are soup beans – larger and more mature – but certainly still quite good.

Salad Mix – This week’s salad mix includes arugula, escarole, French sorrel, red and green leaf lettuces, and the deep purple mizuna like green called Red Rain.

Fresh Sage – The sage planting is beautiful and abundant – the aroma is intense and sure reminder of warm, comforting foods like soups and stews. Include a few leaves of sage in your next soup or stock.

Swiss Chard – The chard is abundant and beautiful right now and we want to distribute it before a hard frost damages the beautiful leaves.

Peppers – It is the same story with the peppers right now – we want to begin distributing fruit that will not mature to the beautiful colors you have seen this season.

Beets – The beets today are beautiful with big healthy greens to match. Remove greens and store roots and tops separately. These beet roots are so good and sweet they only need steaming or boiling, then peeled to prepare.

Lucy and Emily Harvesting the Field Day Salad Greens

Recipe

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

Recipe by Chef Monika Sudakov, Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield, Illinois

Served at the 2011 Broad Branch Farm Field Day

1 cup organic quinoa

2 Cups Water

1 cup small tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 medium red onion, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Handful fresh mint, chopped

1/3 cup lemon juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and Pepper to Taste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

Cook quinoa. Using a fork, lightly fluff the quinoa and then spread out in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Allow to dry for an additional hour before using and then transfer to large bowl. Add tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro and mint to quinoa. To prepare dressing, whisk lemon juice and olive oil along with the salt, pepper, cumin and paprika until well combined. Pour over the quinoa and vegetables and toss gently to mix. Allow to marinate for at least one hour in the refrigerator. This salad tastes better after marinating 24 hours.

Broad Branch Farm Field Day Lunch Menu

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pit Roasted Organic Pastured Pulled Pork on Apple Butter Wheat Roll

Our delicious pulled pork today comes from purebred Berkshire hogs born on Joe McKenna’s farm in Capron, Illinois. Joe raises his hogs clean – no antibiotics, no growth hormones, no GMO feed. The young hogs come to our farm where they are pastured and fed a high quality certified organic grain ration until reaching a market weight of approximately 250 lbs. The hogs also enjoy all the vegetable trimmings, weeds, and the occasional bucket of eggs – their absolute favorite – shell and all. The pork for today’s meal was prepared by our good friend Anthony Perry of Brimfield, Illinois. The process began Thursday night with a rub of brown sugar, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and black pepper. The four pork shoulders were hot smoked “low and slow” with hickory and cherry wood for 15 hours on Friday to produce the tender flavorful meat you have today. The sandwich is completed by the homemade organic Apple Butter Wheat Roll prepared just a few miles from our farm at the Braker’s Dozen bakery. The bakery is operated by Audrey Braker - a woman of incredible energy, mother of 10, avid gardener, and baker.

Pastured Organic Chicken Breast Marinated With Fresh Thyme, Oregano, Lemon, and Garlic With An Herbed Egg Bun

The chicken today comes from Broad Branch Farm. Our broiler chickens enjoy a certified organic grain ration and plenty of room to graze. It is this diverse healthy diet and room to roam and graze that produces chicken with a fine flavor and texture. The meat was marinated overnight in a marinade including olive oil, fresh lemon juice and zest, fresh thyme, oregano, and garlic from our garden. The sandwich is completed by the homemade Herbed Egg Bun made by Audrey Braker of the Braker’s Dozen. This organic roll includes our pastured organic eggs.

Pastured Organic Hot Dog on Whole Wheat Roll

locally made organic hot dogs using Broad Branch Farm pastured pork and beef

(kids meal)

The organic hot dogs are produced from Broad Branch Farm organic pastured pork and our grass fed grass finished beef. Made by Bittner’s Eureka Locker of Eureka, Illinois, the meat and seasonings are organic and no artificial ingredients have been added – just healthy raised pastured meat and seasonings. The texture is meatier and flavor is more complex like a sausage rather than a traditional hot dog.

The sandwich is completed with the organic roll egg roll made with our pastured organic eggs from the Braker’s Dozen.

Vegetable and Herb Frittata

organic pastured eggs, seasonal vegetables and herbs

(vegetarian option)

The frittata today is made with Broad Branch Farm pastured organic eggs from our pastured laying flock. These hens enjoy a life of freedom – freedom to graze, lay where they choose, and roost at night where they please. This is not the easiest way to raise a large flock of laying hens as weather is always presenting challenges but it produces the finest eggs. Also included is MarjoAcres organic raw whole milk from the Todd and Val Steiner family of Tremont, Illinois. The flavorful dish is finished with our own fresh herbs, sweet peppers and summer squash.

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

The Quinoa Salad starts with certified organic quinoa and is combined with Broad Branch Farm late summer vegetables including a rainbow of tomatoes – Sungold Cherry, Black Cherry, Juliet, and Mountain Magic. Added to the dish are cucumbers, fresh spearmint, parsley, and fresh red onion. The dressing uses our pungent fresh garlic, lemon, olive oil, cumin and paprika.

Caprese Salad

The Caprese Salad uses two types of tomatoes today – deep red Ball’s Beefsteak and our favorite heirloom, Arkansas Traveler. The beefsteak tomato is raised in the west hoophouse where it enjoys the comforts of indoor living –protection from wind, storms, and plenty of warmth. The Arkansas Traveler is a tomato adapted to many conditions – dry, wet, cold, hot. It seems to do well in every season producing perfect fruit every time. The second ingredient is the homemade mozzarella cheese made by Chef Monika from MarjoAcres raw organic whole milk. Fresh basil from our garden, olive oil, and a balsamic reduction finish this delicious dish.

Salad Greens

The salad greens today come from Broad Branch Farm and include red leaf lettuce, green romaine, escarole, arugula, French sorrel, Red Russian kale, the intense deep purple green Red Rain and just a sprinkling of baby cilantro sprouts. Almost all the greens came from our shade house which protects the greens from heat and even driving rain and wind that can damage tender leaves. This combination of greens and lettuces creates a salad with intense flavors, beautiful colors and tenderness. The salad is decorated with Broad Branch Farm hardboiled pastured organic eggs, cucumbers and the very orange and sweet Sungold cherry tomatoes. Chef Monika created the roasted garlic chive dressing with Broad Branch Farm fresh garlic.

Dessert

Custard Cake with Raw Organic Whipped Cream

Chef Monika has created the custard today with Broad Branch Farm organic pastured eggs and MarjoAcres organic raw whole milk. The dessert is topped with organic raw cream also from MarjoAcres.

Your food today was grown and prepared by:

Broad Branch Farm, Wyoming, Illinois – Meat, Eggs, Vegetables, Herbs, www.broadbranchfarm.com

MarjoAcres, Tremont, Illinois 309-925-5221- Milk and Cream - Raw organic dairy, contact to purchase raw organic dairy products

Braker’s Dozen, Speer, Illinois 309-249-3000 – Organic Rolls

Chef Monika Sudakov, Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield, Illinois 1-800-537-1304 www.chestnut-inn.com – Fine dining, bed and breakfast

Anthony Perry, Brimfield, Illinois – Pit master for pulled pork.

Thank You For Supporting Local Organic Agriculture

www.broadbranchfarm.com

Week 16 Vegetable CSA - September 14

2011-11-05T09:35:00.003-05:00

Broad Branch Farm Field Day

Sunday, September 18

Organic Lunch, Farm Tour, Fun for Kids

Lunch Ticket Deadline Extended – Friday, September 16

Details at www.broadbranchfarm.com

Check our homepage Sunday morning for any weather or schedule updates.

Farm News

What a crazy weather week. Wednesday had us worried about the low temperatures overnight. Lows kept dropping until Wednesday morning when the prediction fell to 35 degrees - big problem. We got by this near frost as overnight temps bottomed out at about 37. Thankfully there was no real damage in the garden.

Warm season crops like tomatoes do not like this kind of weather. They will slow down and fruit just doesn’t have the sweetness and flavor. This season has been just odd enough that a frost a month early fits right in. Wasn’t it just near 100 degrees last week??? I think our garden is getting confused…

This past week has been very busy as we continue field work, livestock work, and Field Day preparations. We spent Saturday morning planting broccoli, weeding beds, and pulling the final onions out of a very grassy bed. I have help today to plant lettuces, spinach and more radishes. Brian has been busy with the livestock and took 4 more hogs to Eureka Tuesday morning. This will be the pork that will be served for the Field Day.

The weather is iffy for Sunday here at the farm so please come prepared with proper clothing, umbrella, jacket, etc. It could be chilly despite predictions of 70’s. But, the farm can be fun even on a cool cloudy day. Be sure to check our homepage on the website for any weather updates, dare I say cancellations, or the like.

The food this week is beautiful. The box is sprouting green again with the salad mix and swiss chard. Potatoes coming soon. Enjoy this good food!

Salad Greens

In Your Box Today

Tomatoes – The tomatoes are slowing down with these very cool temperatures and the flavor is not the same. Some varieties like the deep pink ‘Arkansas Traveler’ seem to stay sweeter and full of flavor longer than some varieties who lose their summer sweetness. But we’re still happy to have them and a warm bowl of simple stewed tomatoes dressed with a sprinkle of salt is very good on a cold day.

Onions var. ‘Copra’ - Our favorite onion today. These are cured and can store in a cool dry place for months. No need to refrigerate these onions.

Green and Purple Beans – Today you receive green, royal burgundy or a combo of the two varieties of beans. I expect a decline in the beans with all these cold temperatures.

Salad Mix – Another nice salad mix this week including red and green leaf lettuces, green romaine, green Deer Tongue lettuce, arugula, escarole, and the most purple Red Rain. Beautiful!

Cutting Celery – It looks like parsley but it’s really celery. Really, just pinch off a leaf and try it and you will know by the intense flavor it is definitely celery.

Swiss Chard – My instructions to our picking crew were to make generous bunches of chard for today and they are very nice indeed. I found a recipe for chard stems and have included it below. Don’t toss them and definitely include them in your salads or as a mild substitute for celery in chicken salad, tuna salad or just topping your greens. The Swiss Chard is definitely at its best right now with beautiful colors, big leaves, and those yummy crunchy stems.

Fresh Basil – We better use the basil now before we lose it to the cold. Basil is very tender and it doesn’t take a frost to see damage. We covered it the other night and it made it through just fine but it was close!

Recipe

Chard Stems With Yogurt Tahini Sauce

8 oz. chard stems, trimmed into pieces 4 inches long

1 tsp Salt

Olive oil

1 large garlic clove, halved

1 heaping tablespoon tahini

½ cup full-fat yogurt

2 tsp.sesame seeds

1 lemon, quartered

Bring a shallow skillet of water to a boil. Add salt, a teaspoon of oil, half the garlic clove, and the chard stems. Gently simmer until they’re tender. (This can take as little as 4 or 5 minutes, or somewhat longer, depending on size. The best way to find out is to remove one, slice into it and take a bite.) When they’re done, set them in a colander to drain for a few minutes, then toss them with a drizzle of olive oil and season them with salt and pepper.

To make the sauce, pound the remaining half garlic clove in a mortar with ¼ teaspoon salt until mushy and smooth. Add the tahini and yogurt and work until smooth.

Toast the sesame seeds in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until they begin to smell fragrant, then turn them onto a plate so they don’t burn.

To serve, set the stems on individual plates, add a spoonful of the sauce, the sesame seeds, and a wedge of lemon. Enjoy chilled or at room temperature.

Week 15 Vegetable CSA - September 7

2011-11-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

Broad Branch Farm Field Day

Sunday, September 18

Organic Lunch, Farm Tour, Fun for Kids

Details at www.broadbranchfarm.com

Lunch Ticket Deadline – Wednesday, September 14

Farm News

This farming is a moody sort of business. One day we’re hot, worn down, hoping for rain – the next day cool and bright, energized and relieved. We've finally gotten our first signs of the coming Fall weather. And these are days we live for – it’s what keeps us going through the summer when the heat and humidity are sometimes unbearable.

We started this past Saturday morning setting out hundreds of bok choy and kohlrabi transplants and the heat was bearing down on the plants and our bodies. But before we finished, a front had moved in and the cool northern winds had begun to blow. We weren’t hot anymore and neither was the garden or the livestock. And we got a nice rain out it with no damaging winds. Now the weather is marvelous but cool.

The last few days have been some of the best of the season. These days in the garden are what I consider perfect – I don’t want to be anywhere else. The bounty of food, the breeze, the crystal clear sky, our girls with their bright faces thrilled to be together in the garden. These are good days.

But they are long, too. So much work to accomplish and it all needs to be done NOW. The planting this week: 650 cabbages, 500 bok choy, 500 kohlrabi, seeded radishes, and turnips. And we’re not done. We try to fit this planting in with the harvesting and the livestock chores. It’s too much and we can’t get it all done but we are trying. The Field Day is almost upon us. Be sure to get your lunch ticket purchased by next Wednesday, September 14. We’re all excited to show off the farm and have a day of fun.

The food is beautiful this week with new greens and those perfect beans. Enjoy.

Gorgeous Peppers Today

In Your Box Today

Tomatoes – The tomatoes still look strong but it will be interesting to see how much they slow down from these very chilly nights. You may also notice a flavor change. Tomatoes like warm days and nights. Cool temperatures and rain produce a less flavorful tomato. They are still very good though and we’ll keep them coming in your box as long as the weather allows. We picked 86 pints of those sweet little Sungold cherry tomatoes for the boxes today so everyone gets a pint. Check out our weekly email for last week’s recipe for our Poeppel Family Pasta Sauce. It’s an easy delicious sauce using the entire tomato.

Onions var. ‘Copra’ - Our favorite onion today. These are cured and can store in a cool dry place for months. No need to refrigerate these onions.

Green Beans – The beans are still going strong but I didn’t see a lot of flowers during the harvest. Sure the cool weather has also slowed them a bit but for this week, it’s beautiful perfect beans.

Salad Mix – We love growing greens and this salad mix is a beauty. Today you have a blend of arugula, green baby romaine, ‘Freckles’ baby romaine (green leaves with red speckles), red leaf lettuce, and a gorgeous new green for us called ‘Red Rain’ – the purple leaves. Flea beetles put a few holes in the leaves of arugula and ‘Red Rain’ but the flavor and tenderness of the greens is outstanding. Dress these flavorful greens lightly with a simple homemade vinaigrette

Peppers – All sweet peppers today in a range of gorgeous colors.

Kale var. ‘Red Russian’ – Nice big bunches of the ‘Red Russian’kale picked early this morning. These cool nights call for homemade soups and stews and kale fits right into these type of recipes. Chop kale leaves and stems and add to a simple stir fry.

Recipe

Braised Red Russian Kale & White Beans

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

1-2 c homemade chicken stock

1 bunch Red Russian Kale, stems and leaves chopped but kept separate

1 can organic cannellini beans

1 cup diced tomato

3 tbs. olive oil

3 tbs. chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion and garlic in 1 tbs. olive oil over low heat.

Sauté onion in 1 T olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and sauté a minute or two. Add kale stems and broth, simmer gently until stems are almost tender. Add chopped kale leaves and simmer 5 more minutes stirring gently.
Add washed and rinsed cannellini bean and diced tomato. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and chopped parsley.

Week 14 Vegetable CSA - August 31

2011-11-05T08:16:00.002-05:00

Farm News

This past week was one of those character builders you look back on and hope they come but once a season or maybe not at all. Brian fell to the flu on Wednesday, one of the pigs went lame, and the delivery truck wouldn’t start 20 minutes before loading for the Friday Naperville delivery. Brian and I are half and half on the farm work and when one of us is down, it makes it rough for the one who is left standing.

So how did it all work out? The pig showed signs of lameness last Monday and the vet said it was probably permanent and I agreed after observing him for 3 days and seeing the condition only decline. He was eating, drinking, and limping to the new grass we gave them but his back legs were failing him.

But while watering the chickens on Saturday, I looked over and saw the pig standing, then walking. Miracle! The pig could walk! We are not sure what changed but the back legs just kept getting better.

The delivery truck that wouldn’t start was pull started with our pick up (it’s a stick shift) with a chain and we sent a weak but functioning Brian to Naperville. He started it again when the CSA drop was completed because he was parked on a hill and could roll the truck, pop the clutch and it started.

But upon leaving the CSA drop, the truck stalled and Brian was left stranded on the road backing up traffic. But another stroke of good luck: he was on another hill, waited for traffic to clear, rolled backwards this time, popped the clutch and the truck started. A very tired farmer made his way to his parents’ house where he was able to finally rest.

I was home with the lame but soon to recover pig, 1100 chickens, feeding, watering, and collecting eggs. What a week.

That is how it goes when you have many irons in the fire and they all need to stay hot at the same time. We are maxed out right now with the garden to maintain, the livestock and more. But the food is very nice today with beautiful beans. Enjoy.

'Nadia' Eggplant

In Your Box This Week

Tomatoes – Lots of wonderful tomatoes today! If you have tomatoes hitting you from all sides, know that you can slice and freeze them. There is no need to blanch, peel or stew if you don’t have time. They will be preserved for later use – a warm bowl of stewed garden tomatoes is a wonderful thing when it is cold outside. Also, see below for our recipe for an easy and fast tomato sauce that works well for everything from pizza to pasta.

Garlic - Two gorgeous bulbs of garlic today.

Green Beans – Very nice beans today and a full pound of them. We snack on them raw and enjoy them lightly steamed and tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and fresh garlic. Chill slightly and serve over your salad – delicious

Eggplant – Full size eggplant or the mini ‘Fairy Tale’ variety. Our eggplant supper recently was slices of eggplant prepared with the 3-step breading method, fried until browned and served over pasta with our homemade pasta sauce (see Recipe below) and a creamy French goat cheese. Very good.

Fresh Basil – Basil is the herb right now – it goes with everything summer. It tastes good but just the aroma is enough to soften your mood and bring and smile to your face. If you decide to freeze or can tomatoes, add a few basil leaves to each container.

Escarole – Harvesting this green yesterday was very exciting as the leaves are so very nice and the white tender ribs are so mild. Escarole is a salad or cooking green. The leaves are sturdy enough to withstand a quick wilt in olive oil and garlic without turning to mush. We enjoyed an escarole salad last night with asimple vinaigrette consisting of olive oil, red wine vinegar, little Dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. Allow the greens to sit a few minutes before serving as the leaves become more tender as they absorb dressing. Top with feta cheese, sliced tomatoes and steamed green beans and you have a fantastic salad.

Kohlrabi – The last of the second crop of kohlrabi. Make kohlrabi chips for an after school snack. Peel and thinly slice the kohlrabi bulb. Cold slices of kohlrabi hit the spot on these hot days.

Recipe

Poeppel Family Pasta Sauce

We don’t really have time to peel and seed tomatoes and I do like the idea of using the whole tomato – seeds, skin, juice, everything but the core. Here is our solution for a very quick, whole tomato pasta sauce that passes the taste test of even the pickiest eaters. I do not have quantities for this recipe – you must go by taste and adjust as you see fit. I strongly recommend you do not omit the sweetener. There are just a few ingredients for the sauce and they all work in unison to bring the sauce together. It is not over sweetened by any means.

Fresh Tomatoes – cored, cut in half or quartered

Tomato Paste – we like the Bio-Nature organic tomato paste

Sugar, Sucanat, Agave, sweetener of your choice

Olive Oil

Homemade basil pesto or fresh basil chopped

Garlic – if you using homemade pesto, you can omit the extra garlic, or not

Salt

Pepper

Stew the tomatoes until heated through and broken down. Allow to cool a bit and then with your trusty stick blender (much easier than a standing blender), whirl up the skins, seeds, pulp until skin is not recognizable – it will take a minute or two. Add one can/jar of tomato paste – it doesn’t take as much as you might think to thicken the sauce. Add salt and taste – start slow so you don’t over salt, do the same with the sweetener. Add a swirl of olive oil and a good dollop of homemade pesto. If not using pesto, add freshly chopped basil and garlic. Heat gently so you don’t scorch and taste. Adjust seasonings and you’re done. Use this as the base for your pasta or pizza sauce. It also works well with a seasoned saucy rice dish with sautéed onions, peppers, protein of choice and the sauce mixed in to give it good flavor and moisture. The sauce holds in the refrigerator for several days or can be frozen for later use.

Week 13 Vegetable CSA - August 24

2011-08-27T12:25:00.000-05:00

Farm News

New Hoophouse Gets Its Hoops

Well, we got the rain. I awoke to a cloudy sky and a radar that showed a storm bearing down on us - fast. Instantly my mind said, “Tomatoes! We need to finish the tomatoes!” We picked a few rows on Monday but they were not finished. In the next hour I covered almost 3 rows each 250’ long picking as fast as my hands could fly. Heavy rain will split ripe tomatoes making them susceptible to rot, insects. One farm hand showed up to help around 8:30 helping to get any remaining ripe fruit.

And then around 9 a.m. a tremendous front came through with lots of wind, rain, thunder and lightning. We stayed in the garden as long as possible and by the time we made the 2 minute drive home, the rain was coming down sideways and the winds picking up. We ran to the house and sat for the next hour waiting for the rain and lightning to subside. We were able to resume work but only to be hit with another front around noon.

I haven’t heard the rain total yet – my mother keeps the official record. Our rain gauges always seem to break. But we can say we had a good soaking. And it’s always good to be well watered going in to a hot day like today.

The farm is a very busy place right now. The summer help is gone to be replaced with a skeleton part time crew. And it seems our skeleton crew is missing a few bones. The livestock, the vegetables – all of it takes so much time. And the extra projects like the new hoophouse is also on our plates. But that structure is built all but putting on the plastic and the end walls.

We can see the aftermath of the heat and dryness in the garden. Those weeks of stressful weather show up now when we want our lettuces, greens and root crops and they aren't there. It was just too darn hot to start any new seeds in the garden. But we did get some transplants in and those will benefit from this rain. Hope you enjoy your box this week.

Gorgeous Swiss Chard This Week

In Your Box This Week

Tomatoes – The tomatoes will appreciate this heat and rain. Everyone should receive 2 pints of cherry type and an additional 3 lbs. of tomatoes today. Wow!

Garlic - Two gorgeous bulbs of garlic today.

Cutting Celery - A new crop for that has unfortunately struggled through the heat and dryness despite our best efforts. This is like leaf lettuce instead of head lettuce. Cutting celery doesn’t grow as a tight bunch but more open and leafy. Use just like celery for flavoring an egg or chicken salad or in soups or stocks.

Fresh Thyme – Picked just this morning – we love the aroma and flavor or thyme.

Swiss Chard – Nice big bunches of swiss chard picked late Thursday evening with the sun going down.

Green Beans – Finally the beans are coming on. Our home school family came and helped us with this harvest. The beans are quite nice, insect damage free, and so fresh and crisp. A nice way to prepare would be to sauté whole or snapped beans in olive oil until just tender then toss with fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

Farm Field Day September 18

Come Join Us!

Save the date! We're having a party! It's a Field Day here at the farm celebrating the harvest season, organic food, hard work, and good friends.

Brian and I and the girls will be opening up our farm to you, giving a farm tour, serving an awesome lunch, answering questions, and enjoying the day.

We're inviting CSA members and the public to join us for the farm tour including the garden and all the livestock - pigs, chickens, and beef calves. Children especially love the farm and there will be special kids activities to make the day a fun educational day.

One of the highlights will be the organic lunch. Using strictly local organic food, almost all of it coming from Broad Branch Farm, Chef Monika Sudakov of the Chestnut Street Inn in Sheffield, Illinois will be preparing an outstanding lunch. Chef Monika is a strong supporter and consumer of local organic food not to mention and excellent chef. She embraces our commitment to eating and growing local organic food. Her creativity and energy will be an excellent contribution to the field day.

http://www.chestnut-inn.com/

2011 Field Day Lunch Details

The Field Day lunch will be local, organic and homemade. Ingredients we do not produce ourselves or are unable to find local and organic will be purchased certified organic. Chef Monika of the Chestnut Street Inn Bed and Breakfast in Sheffield, Illinois will be assisting us with the lunch preparation.

Lunch ticket includes choice of entrée (pulled pork, chicken breast, frittata OR kids organic hot dog) plus salads and dessert. Organic homemade lemonade and bottled water is also included.

Deadline for purchasing lunch tickets for the 2011 Field Day is Wednesday, September 14^th. Tickets will be available until sold out. Lunch will be served around 1 p.m. following the garden walk.

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets can be purchased from Brian or Anita at the CSA pickup locations or by mail. No online sign up or payment is available. Checks should be made payable to Broad Branch Farm and mailed to:

Broad Branch Farm

15848 Twp Rd 500 N

Wyoming, IL 61491

If ordering by mail, please indicate choice of entrée for each ticket purchased. Tickets will be mailed once payment is received.

Lunch Ticket Prices

Adults: $20

Kids Meal $10 Ages 7-12 (organic hot dog)

Kids Ages 6 and under eat free

Lunch ticket should be presented at the Field Day as proof of purchase.

2011 Field Day Lunch Menu

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pit Roasted Organic Pastured Pulled Pork on Apple Butter Wheat Roll

Pastured Organic Chicken Breast Marinated With Fresh Thyme, Oregano, Lemon, and Garlic

With An Herbed Egg Bun

Pastured Organic Hot Dog on Whole Wheat Roll

locally made organic hot dogs using Broad Branch Farm pastured pork and beef

(kids meal)

Vegetable and Herb Frittata

organic pastured eggs, seasonal vegetables and herbs

(vegetarian option)

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

quinoa, late summer tomatoes, multi-colored peppers, cilantro, cucumbers, mint, parsley, onions, and garlic with a lemon and olive oil dressing

Caprese Salad

layers of fresh tomatoes, homemade fresh mozzarella made with local organic milk, and basil leaves

finished with olive oil and balsamic vinegar reduction

Salad Greens

garden greens and lettuces, tomatoes, radish, cucumber, patty pan squash and sliced pastured organic hard-boiled egg with a roasted garlic and chive vinaigrette

Dessert

Custard Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream

organic pastured eggs and fresh local organic farm milk and cream

Bottled Water and Our Homemade Organic Lemonade

2011 Field Day Schedule of Events

11:00 a.m. Kids Farm Craft

Kids will be provided with a shopping bag to decorate before taking the garden tour and harvesting food from a ‘shopping list’. Harvested food can be taken home to eat and enjoy. Kids will learn about using natural vegetable dyes and how food on the farm is produced and harvested.

11:30 a.m. Farm and Garden Tour

Enjoy a stroll around the farm and visit the organic garden, pastured laying hens, grass fed beef, and pastured pigs. Brian and Anita will host the tour and answer any questions you have about their farm operation.

1:00 p.m. Organic Lunch

Lunch ticket required. Please contact the farm by phone or email to purchase tickets for lunch. Tickets available until sold out.

2:00 p.m. Kids Farm Fun

Lucy and Susannah Poeppel, both kids themselves, will host a few fun farm activities to end the day. All kids and maybe a few adults are welcome to participate.

Ongoing Activities

Tomato Tasting

Enjoy a tasting of the farm’s finest fruit.

Farm Stand

Purchase organic eggs, meat, CSA shares and more.

Week 12 Vegetable CSA - August 17

2011-08-27T11:57:00.008-05:00

Farm News

I sure would like to report we got a good soaking rain but none has come our way. A good soaking rain would make such a huge difference right now. The mature crops could use it to maintain, the newly planted transplants of lettuces, greens, and carrots would take off for fall and those seeds that haven’t germinated yet would be up and running. We’re just not getting a lot of help with the rain this summer and its hurting.

The amount of rainfall greatly affects the speed at which crops mature, the quality on crops, insect pressure (stressed plants get attacked), overall health of the garden - all of that adds up to how much we can harvest. Our irrigation lines continue to run but it’s just not the same. Cross your fingers the garden gets a good soaking before we talk again next week.

Good work has been accomplished in the past week. The new hoophouse is taking shape. We had a crew with us Saturday afternoon helping to pound in ground posts - very hard work. We'll be putting up the hoops this week.

The onion harvest was completed and the roots are curing in our west shed where a steady very dry south and west breeze helps cure and dry the skins so the onions will keep well.

The beds in our shade house are once again completely filled with lettuces and greens waiting to mature – rain would help. And some seriously weedy areas have fallen to our hand pulling and sharp knives.

On the livestock end of things, two pigs went to the locker on Tuesday morning for the CSA meat shares. And the rogue hens and rooster who have been sneaking out of the fence have now found a new home at our good friend and employee Emily’s house. That big proud rooster cried liked a baby when he was caught and taken away. The bad news is an owl has found our meat birds and is picking off one chicken per night. Control of aerial predators is challenging especially when they come in the middle of the night. I suppose an owl needs to eat too and well, he couldn't be eating a higher quality chicken.

Lots happening and so much more to do. Field Day lunch tickets are now available and we hope you can join us. If you prefer to bring your own lunch or none at all, you are welcome to do that as well. It will be a fun day at the farm. Everyone is welcome!

Lucy Helps Brian Work On The Ground Posts
For The New Hoophouse

Earl Has An Audience As He
Pounds In Each Ground Post
HARD WORK!

In Your Box This Week

Tomatoes – The tomatoes may have slowed a bit this week as overnight temperatures for the last several days have been in the mid 50’s. That will slow down warm season crops. But we’re still harvesting quite a bit of fruit. Everyone should receive a pint and an additional 2 lbs of tomatoes today.

Onions

Peppers - Beautiful colored peppers – all sweet and picked just this morning for you.

Beets – This is the last of the beets from our first planting.

Fresh Sage – This beautiful sage can be used fresh or allowed to dry until leaves are crumbly to use in the future. This is an earthy herb pairs well with roasted chicken, sautéed mushrooms and savory homemade bread or muffins. Try sautéing onions in butter with fresh sage leaves and toss with pasta and parmesan.

Red Russian Kale or Bok Choy

Kohlrabi – Our second crop of kohlrabi is in and the size and flavor of the bulbs is very nice. Kohlrabi is prepared by removing leaves and peeling the bulb. Once peeled, the kohlrabi can be eaten fresh or used in your favorite recipe. We love it in cole slaw along with cabbage and carrots.

September 18 - Farm Field Day

Come Join Us!

Save the date! We're having a party! It's a Field Day here at the farm celebrating the harvest season, organic food, hard work, and good friends.

Brian and I and the girls will be opening up our farm to you, giving a farm tour, serving an awesome lunch, answering questions, and enjoying the day.

http://www.chestnut-inn.com/

2011 Field Day Lunch Details

Lunch ticket includes choice of entrée (pulled pork, chicken breast, frittata OR kids organic hot dog) plus salads and dessert. Organic homemade lemonade and bottled water is also included.

Deadline for purchasing lunch tickets for the 2011 Field Day is Wednesday, September 14^th. Tickets will be available until sold out. Lunch will be served around 1 p.m. following the garden walk.

Purchasing Tickets

Tickets can be purchased from Brian or Anita at the CSA pickup locations or by mail. No online sign up or payment is available. Checks should be made payable to Broad Branch Farm and mailed to:

Broad Branch Farm

15848 Twp Rd 500 N

Wyoming, IL 61491

If ordering by mail, please indicate choice of entrée for each ticket purchased. Tickets will be mailed once payment is received.

Lunch Ticket Prices

Adults: $20

Kids Meal $10 Ages 7-12 (organic hot dog)

Kids Ages 6 and under eat free

Lunch ticket should be presented at the Field Day as proof of purchase.

2011 Field Day Lunch Menu

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Pit Roasted Organic Pastured Pulled Pork on Apple Butter Wheat Roll

Pastured Organic Chicken Breast Marinated With Fresh Thyme, Oregano, Lemon, and Garlic

With An Herbed Egg Bun

Pastured Organic Hot Dog on Whole Wheat Roll

locally made organic hot dogs using Broad Branch Farm pastured pork and beef

(kids meal)

Vegetable and Herb Frittata

organic pastured eggs, seasonal vegetables and herbs

(vegetarian option)

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

quinoa, late summer tomatoes, multi-colored peppers, cilantro, cucumbers, mint, parsley, onions, and garlic with a lemon and olive oil dressing

Caprese Salad

layers of fresh tomatoes, homemade fresh mozzarella made with local organic milk, and basil leaves

finished with olive oil and balsamic vinegar reduction

Salad Greens

garden greens and lettuces, tomatoes, radish, cucumber, patty pan squash and sliced pastured organic hard-boiled egg with a roasted garlic and chive vinaigrette

Dessert

Custard Pie with Fresh Whipped Cream

organic pastured eggs and fresh local organic farm milk and cream

Bottled Water and Our Homemade Organic Lemonade

2011 Field Day Schedule of Events

11:00 a.m. Kids Farm Craft

11:30 a.m. Farm and Garden Tour

1:00 p.m. Organic Lunch

Lunch ticket required. Please contact the farm by phone or email to purchase tickets for lunch. Tickets available until sold out.

2:00 p.m. Kids Farm Fun

Lucy and Susannah Poeppel, both kids themselves, will host a few fun farm activities to end the day. All kids and maybe a few adults are welcome to participate.

Ongoing Activities

Tomato Tasting

Enjoy a tasting of the farm’s finest fruit.

Farm Stand

Purchase organic eggs, meat, CSA shares and more.

Week 11 Vegetable CSA - August 10

2011-08-27T11:33:00.001-05:00

Farm News

Rain and cooler weather – two things that bring a smile and a sigh of relief to this farming family. The energy level on the farm feels like it is soaring after so many hot, oppressive days.

The main focus this week is seeding fall root crops and planting lettuce and greens transplants. The cooler days and night temps in the upper 50’s are perfect for seeding, watering in and getting the seeds germinated and growing. Turnips, beets, carrots, radishes – all going in the ground. We didn’t direct seed anything while temps soared into the high nineties. There are very few seeds that will germinate at such high soil temperatures. But while the heat was on, we did seed in the greenhouse here at home and I am happy to report there are many flats of fall kohlrabi, bok choy, carrots, lettuces and spinach taking off.

Now is the time to get the fall garden established. It seems we spent the last few weeks just putting out fires – nursing the livestock through the heat, nursing the existing garden through the dry spell. Now here it is August and we need to get this fall work done now. And we feel very fortunate to get a break from the heat and humidity and have a little rain come our way.

Fall Farm Help is needed asap! Stay at home parents, part-time college kids, homeschoolers – we need farm help until November. The work can be fast paced, physical and very rewarding. The fall days are some of the most beautiful here on the farm with perfect sunny days. Great chance to learn how to grow your own food. Call or email if you are interested.

Excellent Box! Enjoy this good food!

A Perfect Kale Bunch

In Your Box This Week

Zucchini – The zucchini keeps coming on. I thought these were lost to the insect pests but they continue to rally. See recipe below for a yummy Grilled Eggplant Zucchini Salad. We love zucchini because it is so easy to prepare and goes with everything.

Tomatoes – Tomatoes are coming on strong! Everyone should receive 2 pints and a quantity of slicing tomatoes today.

Garlic- It is the first distribution of the garlic today. You will receive 2 beautiful bulbs. Some of the cloves are huge so you may have to adjust your recipes when it says “1 clove”. These bulbs are cured and will store on your counter top for months. No need to refrigerate. You will find the freshness and flavor of this garlic superior to anything you find in the store. Your fingers will be sticky from the moisture from the cloves after your peel and chop. That’s a good sign the bulbs are really fresh.

Red Russian Kale – Beautiful bunches of kale today. We love kale chips and they are super easy. Brush kale leaves with olive oil and place on baking sheet. Sprinkle of salt and into a 350 degree oven until leaves have flattened completely and are have darkened. Remove from oven before they get overdone. Allow to sit a couple minutes before removing and serve immediately. Can’t get enough of these kale chips.

Beets – Did you try the Grated Raw Beet Salad recipe in our newsletter a few weeks ago? It is available in our weekly email. Give it a try – it’s delicious and comes together in about 20 minutes. We do add balsamic vinegar to this recipe and I think it makes it even better. We have used it as a side or a relish on our meats.

Fresh Sage – Sage is a perfect compliment to chicken, pasta, and even breads. You can use it fresh – it will store for a very long time in your refrigerator. Or, hang in a warm dry place out of the sun to dry until leaves crumble. Store dried leaves whole, do not crush, to use later on.

Peppers – A variety of sweet peppers today. There are no hot peppers in the garden this year.

Red Leaf Lettuce – This is the last of the second round of lettuce plantings. The plants were pulled yesterday and new ones will take their place for harvesting in late August into September.

Tomato Art

Recipe

Grilled Eggplant Zucchini Salad

1 large eggplant, 2 smaller fruit, or 6 mini eggplant

1 medium zucchini

3 tomatoes, diced, placed in strainer to drain juices

1 T red wine vinegar

1 T chopped fresh basil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

Black pepper and salt, to taste

Goat cheese or feta cheese

Capers, optional

Grilled pita bread or high quality crusty French loaf

Heat grill to medium high. Prepare zucchini for grilling. Small to medium size can be halved length wise and grilled until just tender, then sliced into bite size pieces for salad. Larger zucchini can be chopped and grilled in a grill basket or chopped and skewered. Either size of zucchini should be brushed or tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper before cooking. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork, place on the grill and close the cover; cook, turning occasionally, until eggplant is just soft and skin begins to blister. When cool enough, coarsely chop. Transfer to a bowl and toss with drained chopped tomatoes, grilled zucchini, vinegar, basil, and garlic. Stir in olive oil and parsley; season with pepper and salt if needed. Place spoonful on warm bread, top with goat cheese or feta and garnish with capers.

Week 10 Vegetable CSA - August 3

2011-08-27T11:26:00.001-05:00

Farm News

Despite being short handed this week, we were able to get through the harvest and get the boxes done in fairly good time today. But it wasn’t without a lot of hustle and bustle!

Brian has been busy on the tractor this week trying to get the harvested beds mowed or tilled and knock down the ever present weeds. He hooked up the cultivator and took care of as many weeds as possible on current crops but there is still much hand weeding to be done. The rain is good but everything benefits – the planted crops and the weeds. This farm grows some very healthy weeds!

The last bed of garlic was dug Monday afternoon in the oppressive heat. We were so happy to have that bed done. And as I dug the last several feet and approached the end, I was thrilled to see the last 25 feet were already dug! Pure happiness and relief.

The big concern right now is getting more fall help. We are approaching the time of the year when many of our summer helpers go back to school leaving us short-handed. We still have much work to accomplish out here, lots of good food to plant and harvest. The new hoophouse is still sitting waiting to be built. If you are interested or know someone who needs work, we’ve got it. The work can be challenging physically, we work at a fast pace and need folks who are willing to work and get their hands dirty. For those who connect with the farm, it can be a very good fit. Contact us if you are interested.

Fresh Onions This Week

In Your Box This Week

Peppers – We harvested two varieties for today’s box – ‘Lipstick’ and ‘Carmen’. Lipstick is very smooth, very uniform in shape and very delicious. It is smaller but has a thicker wall than Carmen. The Carmen peppers are long tapered peppers. Both are sweet – no hot – and harvested just this morning so they are extremely fresh.

Tomatoes – Beautiful tomatoes this week. You will receive a pint of cherry tomatoes or slicing tomatoes.

Onions- These are fresh onions that really need refrigeration if you are not going to use them right away. We harvested the yellow onion ‘Copra’ and the red onion we grew this year called ‘Red Wing’. Both will keep very well for you.

Zucchini - The zucchini plants are unfortunately beginning to suffer from insect pressure. We noticed a couple plants wilted, inspected the stem right at the soil line, and extracted a white grub from the stem – Squash Vine Borer. We are also seeing the squash bugs, striped and spotted cucumber beetles. Squash are an insect magnet and even with protective row cover, they eventually find their way in. The sizes on the zucchini are all over the place – some big, some small. Large zucchini can be shredded and used in bread and muffins. You can even measure out the quantity for a recipe and freeze it fresh with no other preparation.

Swiss Chard/Red Russian Kale

Radishes – These radishes are no state fair winners. They aren’t pretty and the greens have had a rough time with the flea beetles. And they do have a kick. But if you slice them up – we like the small matchsticks – and add to your salads, they are very tasty. Try adding them to a cole slaw type salad or just top your greens. This is the last of the radishes until fall. It’s just been too darn hot to produce perfect roots. Can’t wait for fall….

Fresh Basil – Fragrant wonderful basil again this week. Freeze it, pesto it, dry it or just consume it. Summer just isn’t the same without this fresh herb. The basil was harvested late this morning, washed and drained. But the barn crew mentioned it may still be a little wet so please make sure there is no water in the bottom of the basil bag or it may compromise how long the basil will keep.

Fresh Basil

Recipe

Basil Garlic Vinaigrette

This is a delicious, easy dressing that features fresh basil. Pass on those bottled dressings and give this homemade one a try.

1 tsp.
2 T
1/2 tsp.
1/2 tsp.
2 tsp.
4 tbsp.
1 ½ cup

chopped garlic
chopped basil leaves
salt
pepper
Dijon mustard
wine vinegar
olive oil

Combine first 6 ingredients. While whisking, drizzle in olive oil. Adjust seasoning to taste. Use the dressing to drizzle over tomatoes, salad greens, cucumbers, steamed potatoes. Delicious!

Week 9 Vegetable CSA - July 27

2011-08-27T11:14:00.002-05:00

Farm News

Lucy, Susannah, Laura and Pigs
Welcome Our New Arrivals

The good news is rain finally came our way on Sunday. It has been close to 4 weeks since the last significant rain. As of Friday and Saturday, Brian and I were losing the faith and getting worried that if rain didn’t come soon the garden was really going to be hurting. But the rain came without any damage from wind. What a relief! You wouldn’t guess it after such a nice rain but we could use more. The ground was so dry. It will take more than one day of rain to make up for what we missed in July. But our faith has been restored for the time being and I look forward to one of these slim chances of rain to pan out.

The work continues this week as we try to wrap up the garlic harvest. We’re on the last bed but we’re short-handed this week and next so we’re digging when we can. The onion harvest will begin as soon as the garlic is out of the ground. We are also planting the next round of lettuces and greens, root crops, and a few more flats of fall broccoli and cabbage.

Susannah Is Happy to Help
With New Baby Chicks

On the livestock end of things, 400 new baby broiler chicks arrived at the farm on Friday. It was a hot dirty job getting them settled into the brooder but they are thriving. Baby chicks need lots of warmth and that is in abundance right now. Brian brought home 8 more young pigs Sunday morning. We purchase these pigs from a young farmer in northern Illinois who raises his hogs clean – no medications, no growth hormones, no GMO feed. It’s a good start. Now they are on our good pasture and vegetable scraps plus certified organic feed.

It's a good box this week with more tomatoes. Enjoy.

In Your Box Today

Tomatoes – Yeah! More tomatoes are ripening each week. Today is a variety of slicers, cherry and small salad tomatoes. They are all delicious!

Kohlrabi – The kohlrabi is minus the greens and all you need to do is peel, slice and eat. This firm vegetable also lends itself well to grating for salads or chopped into stir fries where it absorbs the flavors of the pan. But most often, we peel, slice and enjoy them raw.

Onions- These are fresh onions that really need refrigeration if you are not going to use them right away. They are a variety called ‘Copra’ and will keep well for you.

Lettuce Blend - We harvested mostly red leaf, some green ‘Deer Tongue’, and a speckled romaine lettuce called ‘Freckles’ and put them all together.

Bok Choy –Nice, reasonably sized heads of bok choy today. We left a few in the field that are showing signs of heat and lack of moisture stress. But these heads are nice and will go well in soups, salads or stir fries. Bok Choy is also another good keeper if you need to set it aside for a several days.

Radishes – I won’t kid you here – these radishes will have some heat. Do you know how to use a hot radish if you don’t like the spiciness? Remove the greens, chop the radish and throw it in with your stir fried veggies. All heat will be lost and the radish roots will absorb the good flavors of your dish. The greens are in good shape as well. They are an excellent source of nutrition. The rough feeling of the greens will be lost once they are thrown into your stir fries and wilted.

Parsley – The poor parsley did not get the moisture it needed the last several weeks and shows some signs of stress. But we had enough plants we could go over most of them and take the beautiful leaves. Excellent flavor – use it anywhere you need a sprinkle of fresh green flavor.

Cucumbers var. ‘Diva’ – Our cucumbers have gone from insect free to having some damage from the spotted cucumber beetle. Peel away any imperfection on the skin to reveal the very delicious cucumber inside. Try the recipe below for Tzatziki below. This is a vegetable that far surpasses any conventional or organic counterpart in the store.

Recipe

Tzatziki

Here is a recipe for the sauce that is typically eaten with a gyro sandwich, lamb, pita bread, or just spooned over a few slices of tomato. It is very easy to make and very delicious. There are a few variations but this is the one we made over the weekend for a picnic.

1 cucumber, diced into small pieces, can be peeled or not depending on your taste

1 small onion diced fine

2 cups plain full fat organic yogurt

1 T finely chopped dill or mint

1 – 2 T finely chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp Ground cumin

1 tsp Ground coriander

Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and taste for seasoning and adjust. Sauce improves with time and will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Tzatziki Over Organic Lamb Patties, Sliced Tomatoes
Inside Our Homemade Pita Bread

Week 8 Vegetable CSA 2011

2011-07-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

We’re Having A Farm Field Day!

Sunday, September 18

Organic Lunch Prepared by Local Chef Monika Sudakov, Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield

Farm Tour, Organic Food, Fun and Education for Kids and Adults

Farm News

The game is on difficult right now. The oppressive heat and no precipitation is taking its toll on us, the garden and livestock. At least 2 days this week we suspended afternoon work in the garden due to the dangerous heat indices. Our garden helpers are toughing it out but even the most acclimated are feeling the stress of the heat.

We had a brief 10 minute shower on Monday that brought at least a few hours of cloud cover and relief from the hot sun but it was not enough to provide any significant irrigation for the garden. Tuesday we saw rain to the north and south, last night rain to the north, this morning rain to the north. The systems are not very far away - close enough for us to see lightning and hear thunder but not close enough.

The Shade House For
Summer Lettuce and Greens

Planting Escarole Inside The Shade House

It will rain, eventually. In the meantime, the irrigation lines keep running morning until night and we’re keeping a close eye on all the livestock. The field work has continued despite the heat. Saturday morning we dug another bed of garlic by noon. Sunday we built another fence for the pigs to give them new pasture. This week, besides our regular harvesting for the CSA boxes, we are planting a few more greens in our shade house plus seeding lettuce, carrots and greens in the greenhouse to transplant outside later. We are digging more garlic today and that leaves just 1 more bed to go out of a total of 6. It is hard work digging every bulb as they are deep in the ground and the soil is quite firm from no rain.

We are spending a good deal of time with the irrigation. Drip lines need to be set up or moved. The well needs to be checked to make sure it can keep up, and hand watering on tender young crops or stressed established plantings is sometimes needed.

This tough weather is just a brief bump in the road right now. We’re handling it but it is wearing on us, the garden and the livestock. We all look a little wilted and worn out. There are several days with small chances of rain and we'll just hope we get lucky before things get any worse.

It's a great box this week with lots of great variety. New crops on the way including peppers and the first green beans.

In Your Box Today

Tomatoes – The tomatoes are just starting to come in and you are getting just a taste today. There will be lots more on the way. Flavor on these first fruits is top notch.

Beets – The beets are still coming. If you have not used the beets we have already given you, make sure to remove the greens and store covered in your refrigerator. Beet roots will keep for months. To use a quantity of beets, we clean and then gently boil or steam until tender – check with paring knife. Cool and peel by slipping skin off with your fingers under a slow stream of water. Slice and place in mason jars. Combine the cooking water with a good quantity of apple cider vinegar and enough sweetener to please your palate. Taste and adjust to your liking. The water will go from dull brown to bright purple with the addition of the apple cider vinegar. Ladle over beets to cover, put on lid and refrigerate. These ‘pickled’ beets will keep for week and are an excellent side dish.

Carrots var. 'YaYa'- We are getting close to the end of the spring carrots. It has been a tremendous first crop and we hope you have enjoyed these beautiful roots. These also store for weeks with tops removed.

Deer Tongue Bibb Lettuce - A new lettuce this week called ‘Deer Tongue.’ This is an heirloom lettuce we are growing for the first time this year. We are very pleased. It germinated well when seeded and grew nicely. Flavor is very good. It may not be quite as sweet because of the hot temperatures but we are including this lettuce in our roster. You will see this lettuce again.

Bok Choy

Arugula - When we sold at the Naperville Farmer’s Market, arugula was our top selling green next to lettuce and spinach. If you have not tried arugula, it has a very distinct flavor. If it is too much by itself, try including on a sandwich or adding just a bit to your salads. We love it and are thrilled to have such nice leaves in the heat of the summer.

Zucchini – This is a go to vegetable. It can be used for most anything – even pie. The recipe below for Mock Apple Pie has been circulating around and a customer just reminded me how good it really is. We made this last year for the first time and it we really enjoyed it. Give it a try.

Garlic Scapes – We still have a few scapes to distribute and they can help fill your garlic needs until the big bulbs we are currently harvesting are ready to hand out.

Fresh Thyme – One of our favorite herbs is thyme. We roast many of our chickens and they always include thyme sprinkled over the top and few springs inside. An excellent roast chicken can be made by sprinkling a good organic pastured bird with salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme leaves. Juice and seed one lemon and pour lemon juice over the bird. Put the lemon halves in the cavity. Drizzle olive oil over the bird and roast at 350 until thickest part of breast registers 162 degrees. Thyme also pairs well with beef, fish, salad dressings, roasted vegetables.

Recipes

Mock Apple Pie

In a recipe like this pie, we always halve the sugar and use Sucanat for all the sugar. You can also substitute with other sweeteners such as maple syrup or honey.

6 -8 cups zucchini (peel, cut lengthwise, remove seeds, slice 1/4-inch thick)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

2 tablespoons cornstarch or 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vinegar (white or apple cider)

1 tablespoon butter

Double crust for pie

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook zucchini slices in boiling water until barely tender, about 2 minutes. Remove from stove and drain very well and cool. Remove as much moisture as you can with paper towels. In a bowl, toss zucchini with sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cream of tartar, cornstarch or flour, and salt until well coated. Place lightly floured pastry in a 9-inch, pan. Fill with zucchini mixture. Dot with butter, drizzle with vinegar. Top with crust. Brush crust lightly with water and sprinkle with water. Bake 15 minutes at 425. Reduce heat and bake for 45 minutes at 350.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwich

It’s all in the ingredients for this sandwich. Start with high quality ingredients and you’ll produce one heck of sandwich without too much effort.

1 Crusty loaf of bread, sliced and brushed with butter or olive oil

A variety of roasting vegetables including zucchini slices, eggplant slices, bok choy, onion, portobello mushroom

Fresh Tomato, sliced

Fresh Basil leaves

Your favorite green – lettuce, arugula, etc.

Slice of your favorite cheese

Fruit olive oil and balsamic vinegar for finishing

Brush the roasting vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Roast in the oven or grill until tender. Remove and grill or toast bread slices. Assemble sandwich with roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients – tomato, basil, greens, and cheese. Drizzle with fruity olive oil and dash of balsamic. Awesome.

Week 7 Vegetable CSA 2011

2011-07-24T07:16:00.000-05:00

We’re Having A Farm Field Day!

Sunday, September 18

Organic Lunch Prepared by Local Chef Monika Sudakov, Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield

Farm Tour, Organic Food, Fun and Education for Kids and Adults

Farm News

We are very disappointed the rain completely missed us the last few days. We kept hoping but it just never developed. And there doesn’t appear to be much of a chance in the next several days. We’re in full on irrigation mode right now in order to keep ahead of the watering. With temperatures rising into the 90’s again this weekend and into next week, we’ll be watching the garden carefully and keeping the drip lines running. We need rain and we need it soon or the garden will definitely start to suffer despite our best efforts to irrigate. The 10-day has little or no rain – let’s hope that changes and a good soaking rain comes our way.

The last few days have been rough on the livestock as well. The oppressive heat wears on the chickens, pigs and beef calves. We check their water several times a day and make sure the waterers are functioning properly.

On Monday evening, Brian and I loaded the second batch of meat chickens for the trip to Arthur for processing. Because of the heat, we were loading chickens well after the sun was down in order to keep the chickens as cool as possible. We finished at 11 p.m. and Brian turned around and left about 3:30 a.m. It’s a very long day when he has to take chickens.

Digging and Cleaning
Garlic Is Hard Work

We are harvesting garlic as time allows. There are 6 beds each with 2 rows, approximately 200' long. We estimate we have about 6,000 heads of garlic to dig. Each bulb is dug by hand and all bulbs are sorted by size, bundled and hung to cure in the corn crib. This is garlic that was planted by hand last November one clove in each hole. The harvest is good. The bulbs are huge and beautiful.

Soon we’ll be harvesting tomatoes as well as cucumbers, peppers and eggplant. it's a great box again this week. Hope you enjoy this good food.

Recipe

Grated Beet Salad

1/2 pound beets, greens removed and reserved for another use

2 tablespoons orange juice

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced fresh herb such as parsley, oregano, basil

Salt to taste

Lettuce leaves

Grate beets in a food processor fitted with the shredding blade. Larger beets may have to be sliced into pieces before grating. Combine the orange juice, lemon juice and olive oil. Toss with the beets and herbs. Season to taste with salt. Line a salad bowl or platter with lettuce leaves, top with the grated beets and serve.

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: The grated beets can be dressed and kept in the refrigerator, covered well, for a couple of days. They become more tender but don’t lose their texture, and the mixture becomes even sweeter as the beet juices mingle with the citrus. Toss again before serving.

Week 6 Vegetable CSA

2011-07-13T23:50:00.003-05:00

We’re Having A Farm Field Day!

Sunday, September 18

Organic Lunch Prepared by Local Chef Monika Sudakov Chestnut Street Inn, Sheffield

Farm Tour, Organic Food, Fun and Education

for Kids and Adults

Farm News

We quickly go from cool wet weather to hoping for a little shower to come our way. We have now had a long string of warm sunny days and a bit of rain wouldn’t hurt a thing. The big stuff – tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, cabbage are all doing fine with their big roots systems. But we are nursing along our new transplants and seedlings during these very warm days.

We continue to take advantage of the drier conditions to weed, cultivate and hopefully get more planting done this week. I am looking at the second planting of beans – a wonderful purple variety called ‘Royal Burgundy’. The first planting of beans is coming along and we’ll begin harvesting the first green beans later this month. We also have an Asian melon called ‘Sun Jewel’ to seed as well as fall broccoli and cabbages. There is always more to get in the ground every week until September.

We have been having trouble with predators again and Brian actually viewed the critter last night and it seems we have a weasel interested in the chickens. There is always a predator lurking about. The hogs are trying to keep cool on the hot days – a steady sprinkle of cool water really helps.

The box this week is tremendous – so much good food! If you are getting overwhelmed, remember many of these veggies store well – cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots and beets will keep for weeks. Time to slice up a big plate of raw veggies for dinner and enjoy.

Kohlrabi

In Your Box This Week

Beets – The beets are in! We have 2 full beds of beets and this is the first harvest. We have sizes ranging from smaller baby beets to larger full size. No matter the size, these beets will steam up sweet and earthy. And the greens are perfect in salads. Steam a few beets, cool, slice over a salad with feta cheese and a Greek vinaigrette. Yum.

Carrots var. 'YaYa'- The beautiful carrots are in the box again this week. This is definitely one of the finer crops of carrots produced on the farm. The roots are a beautiful orange, taste is superior, fragrance delicious. Remove greens to store carrots for any length of time.

Leaf Lettuce - Red leaf lettuce harvested this morning out of the shade covered hoophouse. The shade moderates the sun's heat and allows the lettuce to thrive.

Kohlrabi - This may be a new vegetable for some of you. Kohlrabi hails from the cabbage family. You are eating the base of the stem that grows into the bulb shape you see today. To eat, remove leaves and set aside - these can be eaten but are best cooked because they can be tougher. The bulb is peeled to reveal the crispy juicy interior. The flavor is mild and sweet - similar to a turnip but crunchy like a radish. We slice it and serve raw and we all love it. But is goes very well sauteed with other hard veggies like carrots and sugar snap peas.

Sugar Snap Peas - We are thrilled to have another pound of peas for the boxes this week but this is most definitley the end of the peas. The vines are declining and blossoms are non-existent. We have enjoyed this harvest very much and hope you have too. I just read a recipe for homemade pizza with sugar snap peas. Do you make your own pizza? See below for our easy bread machine crust recipe. We are definitely trying this recipe - you can use your own pizza crust recipe. Here's the link – this link is also included in our weekly email reminder:

http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/chicken/the-stone-barns-the-modena/.

Cabbage - The perfect thing on a hot day – cold crisp cabbage.

Broccoli - We planted 4 varieties of broccoli this year to stagger our harvest and not put all our hopes on one variety. The harvest of broccoli this morning yielded full size heads and smaller side shoots that sprout after the main head is taken.

Fresh Basil – Big bag of basil- wow! Check out the recipe below for Pizza Margherita. Any remaining basil can be used for a simple pesto, added to your greens, salad dressing, sprinkled over pasta.

Recipe

Our Pizza Margherita

Pizza Margherita

Here is the most basic and classic of all pizza recipes – crust, sauce, cheese, basil. It doesn’t get any simpler. This is our version, using the bread machine for dough and tomato paste for a quick sauce. This pizza very quickly comes together once your dough is finished.

For a bread machine crust:

1 c water

3 c flour (I use 1 cup white, 2 c white whole wheat plus a couple tablespoons of ground flax. Feel free to experiment)

1 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

1 T sugar

2 tsp active dry yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine, start dough cycle and adjust flour or water if too wet or dry. Once the cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface, cover with towel and allow to rest minimum 15 minutes or until dough easily rolls out.

For the sauce

A decent quick pizza sauce can be made with organic tomato paste. Combine one can tomato paste, a few tablespoons of water for good spreading consistency, a couple tablespoons of olive oil, 1-2 T sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder or fresh garlic. Adjust seasoning to your liking.

The Cheese

We use fresh mozzarella thinly sliced. Place cheese in freezer an hour before using to help with slicing.

To assemble

Preheat oven to 500. Take 1/3 dough and roll out on oiled baking sheet until quite thin – like a cracker. Bake plain crust 5 minutes. Remove from oven and spread sauce. Add slices of cheese and bake 10-12 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with freshly chopped basil.

Week 5 Vegetable CSA

2011-07-13T23:42:00.000-05:00

The month of June is a critical time in our long season. We are planting like crazy, training new workers, trying to stay on top of weeding, dodging thunderstorms, and harvesting for two deliveries per week. If we can just keep our heads above water, get some cooperation from the weather and good help, we can have quite a garden established. It’s the end of June and the garden looks pretty good. There is always more to do and we are never done with the perpetual list of jobs but our heads are indeed above water and the outlook is very bright.

Tomatoes Ready To Be Trellised

Farm News

It has been a bright and sunny week with no rain. We are taking advantage and getting some good jobs done. Brian has the umbrella up on the tractor for shade and is mowing any weeds and overgrown pasture. This week, the kids worked with Brian to put up T-posts for the tomato trellising. The tomato plants have not been trellised yet and they need it badly. The plants are beginning to fall over and we don’t want the growing fruit and healthy vines to lie on the ground. The fence posts are put in every 4 plants and are pushed into the ground with the loader bucket on the tractor. Using baling twine, we add a string up one side and down the other to sandwich the plants between the twine. The first string is low to the ground – maybe 10”. The next is a few more inches up and so on until we reach the tops of the fence posts. Healthy tomato vines will continue to grow beyond the reaches of the fence posts and begin to spill down the sides later in the season. It will be a weekly job for someone to add the next level of twine to the hundreds of tomato plants in the field and keep those vines upright.

We enjoyed good help Saturday morning when we weeded and planted. A bed of kohlrabi and bok choy were planted as well as more basil and radishes. The radishes are up – hooray! Besides all the good planting and harvesting, the help is weeding a lot and keeping things under control. It takes many hands to keep this garden weeded.

What a great box today! Enjoy your holiday weekend and thank you for supporting this local organic farm.

In Your Box Today

Carrots var. ‘YaYa’ – The first harvest of carrots this week. And they are beautiful and sweet! There are many weeks and much work to produce these carrots. In case you are wondering just how that happens, here is the life story of these carrots…

· 1000’ sown first week of April, one seed per inch, sown by hand

· Rows cultivated with the tractor and cultivator twice in May

· Thinned to 2” apart and hand weeded in May twice

· Weeded by hand and hoe June 24

· Dug with garden fork June 30

· Scrubbed and bunched June 30

· Distributed in CSA boxes July 1!

Leaf Lettuce – A blend of baby red and green leaf lettuces. The first planting of lettuce is holding on well.

Bok Choy – Beautiful heads of Bok Choy this week. Very versatile, Bok Choy can be added to your salads or stir fried. The crunchy white stems and deep green leaves are all edible and delicious.

Sugar Snap Peas – We’re still harvesting peas but the upcoming heat is really going to be hard on the vines. Harvesting Thursday afternoon, I did not see too many blossoms so the harvest is going to come to a screeching halt. Those pods with more size today are excellent sautéed just until they are bright green. Just be sure to remove the stem and pull the attached string for a more tender bite.

Cabbage - Cabbage has to be one of the most pretty vegetables in the garden. We like to leave plenty of those big outside leaves on the heads because they are completely edible. There are infinite ways to use cabbage. We slice it over our salads, we sauté it with olive oil or a bit of chicken fat for a quick side dish or we add it to a stir fry. This cabbage has such good crunch and texture not to mention outstanding flavor. Our favorite supper of the week was Teriyaki Marinated Beef stir fried with red cabbage, onions, and sugar snap peas. See below for the recipe for the marinade – it’s an old recipe from Brian’s mother and one of our favorites.

Parsley – Last year, we never came close to producing such lush parsley. If you recall how wet it was in June, all that rain put our parsley bed under water. Standing water can kill soil microbes and handicap any plant that dares to try and grow in that soil. But this is a new year and the parsley has not been under water and it is growing strong. We throw a bit in our salads, sprinkle over everything and sometimes just grab a stem and munch.

Broccoli – We planted 4 varieties of broccoli this year to stagger our harvest and not put all our hopes on one variety. The harvest of broccoli this morning yielded full size heads and smaller side shoots that sprout after the main head is taken.

Swiss Chard – The chard is a combination of 3 varieties – Fordhook Giant (white stems), Ruby Red (red stems) and Bright Lites (everything else!). All so pretty, tender and delicious. Eat those stems!

Recipe

Teriyaki Marinade

From the kitchen of Sarah Poeppel

1/3 cup soy sauce (we recommend San-J shoyu or tamari)

1 T wine vinegar

1 T sugar

1 T brown sugar (we use Sucanat to replace both the white and brown sugars)

1 ½ tsp ground ginger OR 1 T fresh ginger, chopped or grated

1 clove garlic, minced (or substitute chopped garlic scapes)

Combine all ingredients and place in shallow glass dish. Add meat of choice – chicken or beef. Turn to coat all sides, place in refrigerator for minimum 1 hour and preferably 3-4 hours.

Week 4 Vegetable CSA 2011

2011-06-27T13:24:00.007-05:00

Egg and Vegetable Shares Still Available!

Our laying hens are doing their job too well and we have plenty of eggs to sell. But at some point in the near future, some of the laying hens will become stewing hens . If you still want an egg share, please let us know so we don’t part with too many hens. We can also sell eggs at the drop off. Vegetable shares are also available. Please spread the word as we have lots of good organic food to share.

Farm News

Cooler than normal temperatures, misting rains, downpours, and thunderstorms can describe our week. “At least it’s not a dry year,” was Brian’s comment as I anxiously watched the downpour spoil yet another chance to plant or weed. But he’s right. The tomatoes aren’t staked and the weeds are growing but so are the vegetables. We are usually though not always better off in a wet period than a dry one. The tomatoes may need staking but they are growing. The carrots need weeding but they are growing. Hot dry days are not as forgiving. So we press on and do what we can to move forward.

We had workers finishing up the pepper planting in the east hoophouse. We have weeders trying to make progress despite muddy hands. I have a crew this afternoon while Brian heads to Naperville and another crew early tomorrow morning before predicted rain comes again. This is the time of year when I feel I could work around the clock and wonder why doesn’t everyone else feel that way???

On the livestock end of things, I just received the call that our next batch of baby meat chicks are at the post office. The four new calves that came to the farm last week have settled in nicely and are greedily grazing the lush grasses. And the pigs are as happy as pigs can be in their mud baths left from the rain. And I do mean happy. Tremendous box this week. Loving the cabbage and the bok choy and also the fresh basil. We’re looking at carrots and beets next week as well as more sugar snaps

In The Box This Week

Red Leaf Lettuce – Big pretty leaves from our east hoophouse. The lettuce grows mostly undisturbed from the protection of the plastic covering the hoophouse so the leaves get nice and big. Leaves like these do not last outside in the weather we’ve been having. Driving hard rains shred the leaves and we find the ground littered with damaged leaves after the harvest.

Red Russian Kale – Another contribution from the east hoophouse. We have a bed of kale and swiss chard planted earlier this spring. These plants will thrive all season and will not die until the hardest of freezes this fall. The leaves are so tender and tasty perfect for salads and stir fries. I am a stem person – I love the crunch and flavor. And these stems are of top quality – tender, juicy and mild. Don’t toss them – use them ! Last night’s supper was sautéed sugar snap peas, onions, and kale (stems and leaves). We added our favorite Seeds of Change curry sauce and poached chicken and served over basmati rice. The kale leaves blend so well in a dish like this and the chopped stems are like a celery or onion in texture. Our little Laura proclaimed, “So yummie!”

Sugar Snap Peas – The pea harvest is peaking right now. These are one of our favorite vegetables from the garden. Whether they are eaten raw or lightly sautéed, they are so delicious. If you do decide to sauté, it is better to remove stem and pull off the attached string before cooking. But we find ourselves unable to stop crunching on the raw pods.

Garlic Scapes – We planted 5,000 cloves of garlic last fall and that gives us close to 5,000 scapes. Plenty of scapes! The hummus recipe below is awesome. Remember, garlic scapes keep forever so store them away in your refrigerator and take them out whenever you are looking for fresh garlic.

Fresh Basil – As I entered the barn this morning where we wash and bag all this good food, the basil was being bagged up and the aroma was such a welcome. There is nothing like fresh basil and we’re pleased to have the first cutting in the box today.

Bok Choy - The first harvest of bok choy today. Bok choy is an excellent stir fry vegetable and you will use both the stems and leaves. Simply chop leaves and stems, add to a hot skillet with fat of choice and sauté until just wilted.

Cabbage – And the first harvest of cabbage this week. How beautiful! We love cabbage and you will find either green, red or a combination of the two. Last night we did a very simple side of sautéed cabbage. Using chicken fat we save from our pastured organic chickens, we stir fried an entire head of cabbage until just wilted. There was none left. The cabbage is so fresh and sweet that we didn’t need to add any other ingredients to have a more satisfying dish. But this cabbage would also be excellent raw and we love to slice and add as a topping to our green salads.

Recipe

Garlic Scape Hummus

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans

1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas

3-5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (depending on taste)

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

2 garlic scapes, bulb removed and set aside, stems chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl. Garnish with garlic scape bulbs.

Week 3 Vegetable Share 2011

2011-06-22T22:44:00.007-05:00

Our laying hens are doing their job too well and we have plenty of eggs to sell. But at some point in the near future, some of the laying hens will become stewing hens .

If you still want an egg share, please let us know so we don’t part with too many hens. Delivery is available every week (full share) or every other week (half share). You can also purchase eggs at your drop location – St. Paul’s and Options only. Email if you are interested.

Farm News

So it has cooled off and stayed cool. Our night time temperatures have been in the 50’s and with a steady wind blowing it is downright chilly. Heavy rains came through last night and I was very happy to see the lettuce and swiss chard in the field were not completely shredded with the driving rain. Finishing the harvest of peas, onions and radishes this morning, we ducked in and out of brief rain showers and I see now we’re in a perpetual mist. Good ole Illinois weather – from one extreme to the next.

Field work this week was planting cucumbers, summer squash, lettuce, arugula, bush beans, celery, and the second planting of beets. The first planting of beets is so close to harvest we may be able to take baby beets next week. Brian hilled the potatoes for the first time and it’s apparent now that approximately 20% of the seed potatoes rotted in the ground due to excess moisture this spring. Our homeschool family who comes once per week weeded and mulched our tomato hoophouse and the plants look fantastic. Now that our harvesting is done for the day, the kids are in our east hoophouse planting a bed of peppers – orange, yellow, chocolate, and red peppers will get the protection of our hoophouse to thrive and produce fruit well into the fall. We have not grown hoophouse peppers until now and look forward to seeing them thrive.

With the ground quite wet from last night’s rain, we’ll be anxious to weed as much as possible. The weeds are growing fast and it takes all our efforts to keep them under control. The box is beautiful this week and we hope you appreciate the freshness and flavors of the food. Try a chicken salad wrap using lettuce or swiss chard leaves – yum!

In Your Box This Week

Leaf Lettuce – Beautiful red and green leaf lettuce today. The red lettuce is our favorite variety called ‘New Red Fire’ – a variety that does well in cold or heat. The light green lettuce is and old variety my mother grew when I was a kid – ‘Black Seeded Simpson’.

Spinach – This is the last harvest of the hoophouse spinach. It took Hannah and I a little bit of time to pick all these little leaves trying to strip all the plants of every good leaf. Now, a crew of helpers are reworking the bed and planting 4 varieties of peppers today. Out with the old and in with the new!

Green Onions – This will be the last of the larger green onions for awhile. These green onions were overwintered from last fall so they have good size. But the supply is near depleted and the spring onions are not quite ready. For those of you who have had onions since the shares began and feel overwhelmed, you could slice them and freeze for later use. Include both the white and green and use later on in stir fries, stews, etc. They will also store quite well for the next few weeks wrapped in a cotton towel or paper towel and placed in a storage bag or container.

Garlic Scapes – Many of you will recognize the garlic scapes from previous years. This unique looking vegetable is the seed head of our garlic planting. They emerge this time of year and we remove them so the plant will put its energy into the bulb. They have an intense fresh garlic flavor. The entire scape is edible although the very tip where it looks like a blade of grass can be a little tough. Use the scapes anywhere you might want garlic flavor. We have grilled them and put them in stir fries. And they keep for weeks in a container or bag in the refrigerator.

French Tarragon – A class herb with a distinctive anise flavor. Goes very well with the chicken salad recipe below. This herb is best used fresh. If you can’t use all of it, place in freezer bag or container, label and freeze for later use.

Radishes – We are just harvesting our first radish bed. Never have we waited so long for radishes mature. The planting suffered from too much moisture early on and never really recovered. We have scratched a few more seeds in for another planting but these will not be ready for a few weeks. Just to show how one year is different from another – last year we had so many radishes we couldn’t pick them all in time before they went pithy. Every growing season is new adventure.

Swiss Chard/Red Russian Kale – Pretty bouquets of ‘Bright Lights’ swiss chard and Red Russian kale. Both are quite nice in a salad but also stand up well in dishes such as sautéed chard and kale. The stems on the chard are beautiful and have a crunch and texture like celery but in more vibrant colors.

Sugar Snap Peas – The first harvest of sugar snap peas this week. We can’t get enough of these sweet crunchy pods. And they are loving this cool wet weather. Peas can be a challenge. You can’t get them going until early April but then it might turn hot in May shutting them down. Let’s cross our fingers and hope we get a good harvest of these gems.

Chicken Salad with French Tarragon

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken meat*

1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1-2 Tbsp fresh chopped french tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

Poach about 1 1/2 lbs of skinless chicken breasts and thighs, preferably bone-in (for flavor), in a quart of salted (1 teaspoon) water, for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from water, let cool, remove bones, chop the meat into 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch cubes.

Mix all of the ingredients together. Adjust seasoning. Serve with lettuce for a simple salad, in a tomato that has been cut open for a stuffed tomato, or with slices of bread for a chicken salad sandwich.

Week 2 Vegetable Share 2011

2011-06-22T22:35:00.008-05:00

Farm News

Well, the good news is it probably won’t get much hotter than the last few days. Whether it is 95 or 98, we won’t be able to tell and we usually don’t hit 100. All we know is that it is quite warm and windy. Some of the large leafed plants such as bok choy and cabbage can look very tired during the heat of the day. But there is moisture in the ground from recent rains and the plants rebound in the early evening. Relief is coming, I hear, but let’s hope it’s not a round of dangerous storms and torrential rains.Today is delivery day but we are also working furiously to prepare beds and get more food planted. Our greenhouse is still bursting with plants – celery (new this year), eggplant, cukes, zucchini, more basil, the second round of beets, and tomatillos. That’s just a few items on the agenda. Our planting has been interrupted by frequent rains. With rain predicted this evening, we’re giving it our best shot at planting everything we can.

Happy Pigs On Pasture

On the livestock end of things, Brian went to Arthur, Illinois yesterday with the first batch of chickens – 200 meat birds for the meat shares. The first beef of the season will go to the locker tomorrow morning with the remaining 4 later this month. And the 13 little pigs are grazing their pasture and enjoying any vegetable trimmings, eggs from nests we find in the grass, and even a gallon of organic raw milk that went sour. I was told they drank that gallon in about 2 minutes flat! Laying hens are doing their job nicely and we have egg shares and extra eggs to sell to anyone interested.

It feels like we are at a full sprint right now trying to stay ahead of things. It’s always this way but we are getting good help right now and everyone is working so hard to produce really good organic food for you folks.

In Your Box Today

Salad Mix – A wonderful blend of baby green this week: red and green leaf lettuce, rainbow swiss chard, and pungent, flavorful arugula.

Spinach – This is young tender spinach from our hoophouse. It has been growing with the protection of shade cloth for a few weeks now since the weather became warm. But the plants have had enough of the heat and are beginning to send up flower stalks and leaf production will halt. We’ll be pulling this planting and putting another in its place.

Green Onions – Pretty bunches of green onions this week.

Fresh Parsley – The parsley is just getting started but the crop looks good so far. Parsley can be used anywhere and a little goes a long way – this is intense parsley! Try sprinkling a few leaves right into your salad.

Broccoli – Our broccoli planting is struggling through the crazy spring weather and the dramatic temperature fluctuations. Less than ideal weather conditions can bring on early heads but they are smaller than usual. Fortunately, we have 4 varieties planted and they aren’t all sending up premature small heads. We’ll have to wait and see which variety performs the best in adverse weather conditions. Despite the difficulties, what is in your box today is tender and delicious. Our girls are eating this broccoli raw and enjoying it very much.

Garlic Scape Pesto

¾ cup garlic scapes, top bulbed part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices

1/4 cup walnuts

¾ cup olive oil

¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano

½ teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week.

Week 1 Vegetable CSA Newsletter - Local

2011-06-10T15:46:00.001-05:00

Today’s box reflects the early spring garden – lots of greens and leaves. We like to use everything from the garden – like the young tender beet leaves thinned from the beet planting. Their vibrant color and mild flavor are a real treat in a salad. The farm and garden are a place of potential right now – young seedlings and transplants, maturing fruit, 13 young pigs, growing chickens and a new puppy called Bella.

One Spinach Leaf At A Time

Farm News
We’re kicking off the season with a near perfect weather day. We could all use a few more days like today – light winds, mild temps, low humidity. The garden and livestock will be comfortable today. It’s been another eventful spring with weather conditions all over the place. We snuck in our first plantings April 1, then rain and cold. Got a few turnips in a couple weeks later, more rain and cold. The turnips sat under water and struggled and we eventually tilled them under. Another 2 weeks gone and we got the broccoli and cabbage in the ground in early May. More rain, cold and then hot. Right now the garden is behind where we want to be but a day like today certainly helps things along.

We are planting every chance we get once the ground dries out. Our soil is quite heavy with a high clay content so we must be patient and let the soil dry. If we work it too wet – (till or cultivate) we make ‘pottery’ once the soil dries - hard dry clods and a firm crust over the soil surface that can be impenetrable for little seedlings. Every year our soil improves as we add more organic matter, proper soil nutrients, and livestock grazing. The earthworm population is phenomenal and in a dry year, our soil holds more moisture than a sandy lighter soil. But in a wet year it comes down to patience.

We’ll be looking for sugar snap peas in the next couple weeks as well as garlic scapes – the dramatic seed stalk that emerges from a garlic plant in early June. The lettuce is sizing up and the radishes, despite struggling through wet conditions, will hopefully be ready for next week.

We’ll keep you updated throughout the season with the newsletter, a weekly email and the blog. We’re glad to have you along.

Greens Blend – A lovely blend of baby beet greens (deep purple stems), baby swiss chard, and arugula. All leaves and stems are quite tender and mild. You may not have eaten something like beet greens before but think you will find them quite delicious. We are going to make you stray from the usual lettuce salad this year and introduce you to leaves with different flavors and textures.

Spinach – Young tender spinach from our hoophouse. These leaves are delicate and mild – excellent flavor. The stems are long but tender and tasty – don’t toss them! Use them for dipping – great for kids and easier to eat than celery.

Green Onions

Green Garlic – These big stalks of garlic are actually immature plants from our November planting. These plants should be treated more like a fresh onion or leek as they should be refrigerated (if the stalk is too big just cut in half. The entire stalk is edible from white bulb to the green stalks. You will even see the early sign of the garlic scape or seed stalk emerging from the center of some of the stalks. Use any portion of the garlic plant wherever you want fresh garlic flavor. The garlic planting does not fully mature until July when we pull the remaining plants, size, bunch them in 10, and hang them in the corn crib to cure. The curing process assures the bulbs will store for months.

French Sorrel – One of the first greens to emerge in the spring, French Sorrel is a perennial in the garden. The leaves have the most unique flavor of any green – sour citrus. Add a bit to your salad or sandwich – the flavor will certainly awaken your taste buds.

Fresh Oregano – Add chopped fresh oregano to a basic salad vinaigrette, pasta sauce, or dry for later use by removing from the bag, spreading out the pieces and place in warm dry area out of sun until leaves are completely dry and crumbly.

Organic Pastured Eggs – The garden is getting a slow start this year but our laying hens are giving us plenty of eggs. So we’re sharing the harvest and giving out a dozen eggs with the vegetable box today. These eggs come from our laying hens grazing on pasture that will be the garden next year. They peck, scratch and graze from sun up until sun down. And somewhere in between they lay one beautiful perfect pastured egg. With the green pasture so lush right now, these are some of the best eggs of the season. The hen’s diet is perfect – plenty of pasture to graze and a certified organic grain ration. If you have not tried our eggs before, you will be pleasantly surprised by the deep yellow yolk – a clear sign of a perfect egg.

Homemade Salad Dressings

I’m a H.S.D.A - homemade salad dressing advocate. They are easy and way better than store bought. Here are a couple favorites. For supper last night we had salad bar – we lined up the greens and fixings on the counter and each of us went through the salad bar and filled our plates. If you can chop a few veggies, wash greens and make a salad dressing – dinner is ready. And don’t forget the sunflower seeds and raisins – both are excellent on a salad.

Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

½ tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 T Strawberry Jam

1 cup olive oil

Combine all but the olive oil in a deep bowl (to prevent splashing). While whisking constantly, drizzle in olive oil. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Thousand Island Dressing

1 c plain organic yogurt

¼ c mayo

¼ c ketchup

1 T apple cider vinegar

2 T finely chopped sweet pickles such as bread and butter type or pickle relish

Freshly ground pepper and salt to taste

Combine all ingredients. Use as a salad dressing or dip for vegetables.