Week Fourteen

In the Bag

~Kale

~Kohlrabi

~Cucumbers

~Hakurei Turnips

~Carrots

~Onions

~Cherry Tomatoes (Black Cherries and Sungolds)

~Tomatoes of varying sizes and colors.

~Eggplant

~Green Peppers

~Potatoes

~Summer Squash

~Salad Mix with edible flowers

~Basil, Rosemary

Farm Report

After much worry and some time spent covering vegetables, we didn’t get that frost last week that I thought we would. This should allow the pumpkins and squash to ripen up.

As we near the end of the season, I have been reflecting on the last few months. Overall, both Matt and I feel like most of the vegetables have done really well despite the June frost, drought and cool weather, then late monsoons. I think that part of our success is due to our hoophouse and irrigation system, without which, we would be having a hard time, though they have been a significant investment from which we might start seeing some return next year.

There are a few CSAs around who have really struggled this year because of the weather. So much so that they have struggled to fill bags and had disappointed members accuse them of fraud and demand refunds. It is somewhat alarming to hear their stories, actually, because as CSA farmers, we rely on the idea that our members are taking part of the risk of the weather and crop failure for good or for bad. It is understandable that members of these struggling farms would be disappointed with the outcome, especially if it is their first year with a CSA. I think that the members who stay with a farm over several years, see the fluctuations from year to year and when hit with a hard year after several good years, understand that there are many factors at play. I hope that as you all tell others about your CSA experience you can convey the idea of “sharing the risk.” This year, there have been no melons for most of you and sweet corn that Matt and I jokingly call “a low-yield” variety. But the tomatoes have been bountiful. Next year will be different to be sure…that’s the deal with farming: there are no givens.

Week Thirteen

In the Bag
~Edamame (fresh soy beans)
~Cucumbers
~Potatoes
~Carrots
~Onions
~Cherry Tomatoes (Black Cherries and Sungolds)
~Tomatoes of varying sizes and colors.
~Eggplant
~Green Peppers
~Potatoes
~Summer Squash
~Sweet Corn
~Basil

Farm Report

The weather has begun slipping toward fall here on the farm. Temperatures at night are slipping below forty degrees, and I am purposely writing this before checking to see if it really frosted last night, so I don’t have to tell you about the dead vegetables. We covered what we could, but the squash field is just too immense to tackle. If it did frost, we will get what we can from it, and say “better luck next year!”

We had a disappointing few hours digging potatoes yesterday…the bed we dug just didn’t yield as many as the last three. Either we were digging the wrong spots, or these varieties just didn’t do that well.

You may have noticed your delivery driver has changed. Matt has taken over the Monday deliveries for the rest of the season, as I have secured a teaching job at UW-Stout that doesn’t allow me to drive on Mondays. Looks like Thursdays are out for me too and our esteemed helper Britta is off to new adventures, so my brother, Louis, will be taking over the Thursday drops.

We have a new volunteer arriving today who will be here the rest of September helping out around the farm.
Edamame
If you have never eaten edamame, you will be in for a treat…but it’s important to cook it right! Steam the entire shells for about five minutes, drain the water, sprinkle with sea salt if you have it. To eat, pull the beans from the shell with your teeth…the pods just break open to let you do this.

Then discard the pod, don’t eat them. You could, but they are chewy and not very good. These are just a one-time treat for you to try. Enjoy.

Harvest Party September 19th

Don’t forget our farm harvest party will be September 19th…we hope you can make it. Festivities will start mid-afternoon sometime with pumpkin and squash harvesting and hay ride, then followed by potluck and cider pressing. Maybe our friend, Nick will even bring his potato-gun. It’s sure to be a good time.

It may be almost be too late for chilled soup, but try this one: Chilled Dill Soup (begin four hours in advance so it can cook then chill thoroughly)

1 cup chopped onion
4 cups sliced raw potato
3 cups water
2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
1 medium cucumber
1 ½ tsp salt
fresh black pepper
2-3 Tbs fresh dill, chopped
freshly chopped chives or scallions

Place onion, potatoes, water and salt in a saucepan. Simmer until potatoes are soft.
Cool above mixture to room temperature. Puree in a blender until very smooth, adding pieces of cucumber as you puree. Whisk in milk.
Whisk in sour cream until uniformly blended. Add dill and pepper. Chill until very cold.
Taste to correct salt and pepper. Serve topped with chives or scallions.

Week Eleven

Greetings,

It's been another lively and productive week out here on the farm. Erin has
been away working on writing her opus, and so here the rest of us are trying
to figure out how she works her magic with the plants. Erin where did you
put the fairy dust...? Turns out that we can manage just fine, we had he
help of two great WWOOFers (willing workers on organic farms) who were
willing to spend many hours in the gardens weeding and harvesting. With the
house full of workers we have also been eating like kings. We made up a
splendid pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes, onions, basil, and zucs from the
garden, give it a try with the goodies in your bag this week.

It has been a hot week out here, and hotter still in the cities I'm sure. We
have been getting up early to avoid the mid afternoon humidity, and calling
it a day when the sweat in our eyes begins to burn. We have made a couple of
trips to a nearby lake and some folks (not me) made their way up some tall
white pines leaning out over a deep spot in the lake and took a running
leap. Everyone managed to clear all the branches and land with a plop in the
cool water.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending a local foods dinner at the
Campus Club in Minneapolis. One salad on the menu was a mix of blanched
beans, with a simple vinaigrette with a hint of fresh tarragon. Which
reminded me that with all the fresh herbs this week, try thinking outside the
box when cooking. When traveling in Thailand I was surprised to find basil
in many of the stir fry veggie dishes, and even sprinkled on top of fresh
berries. There are all sorts of fun things to do with fresh basil and
cilantro. Try turning some plain white rice into fried rice by adding some
soy sauce, sauteed zucchini or eggplant, some of the spicy purple celery,
onions and then hit it with some fresh chopped basil right at the end. Throw
in a scrambled egg for some added protein if you like.

Here is a list of what you will find in your share this week
Swiss chard
Onions
Green and White cooking beans
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
some eggplant
Green peppers
Carrots
Celery
Basil and Cilantro

Week Eight

In the Bag
~Lettuce
~Carrots
~Summer Squash and Zucchini (some of you will get a big one... I reccomend making zucchini bread).
~Potatoes!
~ Onions
~Cherry Tomatoes (Black Cherries and Sungolds)
~One Tomato (Some are your standard hybrid, some are brandywines, some are Japanese Trifele, which have yellow shoulders and dark purplish skin—soon there will be Yellow Brandywine, Green Striped Zebras, Prudens Purple and Great Whites—I think if they feel soft and look a vibrant color, you can consider them ripe).
~Basil
~Garlic
~Green Beans or Broccoli
~Cucumber or Eggplant Surprises in some shares...

Why Farm... from Erin

(Something I wrote back in February when I was very excited for the summer ahead, but a good thing to go back and read now to remind me why I like my job...)

I farm because I am either overqualified or underqualified for everything else I apply for. I farm because I wish to spend my life outdoors. I farm because I like to physically exhaust myself, use my muscles, run my fingers through the dirt and watch my toes turn a shade of black that doesn’t come out until November.

I farm because sometimes there are moments, like before a storm, when the air is sticky sweet and the barn swallows and tree swallos are dive bombing from the power line in graceful swoops and thunder is rumbling in the distance, then closer and the earth shivers and shudders and I am witness to that.

I farm because I am by nature a loner who hates marketing, phones, cities and loud parties, but at the same time I want to be connected to the world, to changing our food system and to knowing that my actions and my work does affect other people’s lives.

I farm because organically grown vegetables market themselves these days—if they didn’t, I would seriously reconsider. I farm because I spend my winter in words, holed up, isolated, and by spring I am trying to plant while the ground is still frozen.

I farm to watch the ground I have sewn open for the birth of a pea, that is a slight cracking of a green seed that becomes a tendril, then a vine, then flowers, then fruit.

I farm to sit inside and watch a heavy rain hammer all that life out there, pelt it, soak it, and even stifle it so that it appears the ground is underwater and the line between air and dirt melts into a haze. Even with all that violence, I imagine the plants taking all that water in.

I farm because people want healthy food and fresh vegetables. Everybody eats. Most everybody eats vegetables.

I farm because successful farming requires more intelligence and knowledge than most people realize.

I farm to get a farmer’s tan, but sometimes I farm in a tube top to erase my tan lines.

I farm because I like driving the tractor—it feels powerful—but I hate fixing the tractor.

I acknowledge that there are good reasons to farm and that most days, I like farming, but farming is hard work. Some days farming, there is potential for everything we touch to break and there is always the possibility that everything we have done will come undone in a single storm or early frost.

I don’t believe I will farm all my life, but then, I never thought I’d be farming at all.




Linquine with Golden and Green Zucchini, Cherry Tomatoes, Pine Nuts and Gremolata
(from Hope’s Edge by Francis Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe)

½ pound summer squash (combination of types and colors are nice)

1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
½ pound fresh or dried linguine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
grated Parmesan to taste

Boil a pot of water.

Slice summer squash into ¼ inch thick pieces. Cut cherry tomatoes in half. Set aside 1 tsp. garlic to saute with the summer squash.

Make the gremolata by combining the remaining garlic with the lemon zest and parsley in a small bowl. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet and add the squash, the reserved teaspoon of garlic, ¼ tsp. of salt, and pepper. Saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, just long enough to heat the squash through.

When the water is boiling, add 1 tsp. salt. Add the linguine and cook until just tender. Before you drain the pasta, add ½ cup of the cooking water to the saute pan, along with the cherry tomatoes and remaining olive oil. Immediately drain the pasta then toss it with all the ingredients and gremolata. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Week Seven

In the Bag

~Last of the Sugar Snap and Snow Peas to South Minneapolis and Baldwin
~Broccoli
~Shell Peas to GC, MPR, St. Paul, Uptown
~Lettuce
~Carrots (Thumbelina and Mokum—thumbelinas are shaped like beets—great for roasting).
~Summer Squash (Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Sunburst Yellow Squash—though you may not get all of these at once).
~Fennel
~ Onions
~Red Cabbage
~The Odd Surprise (Things like the Japanese eggplant and tomatoes are starting to ripen...but not nearly fast enough to put these in all the bags, so I will just toss them in here and there and if you find one, think of it as a bonus).

Snow peas are slightly fatter/bigger with small peas inside...they are in with the lettuce. Both kinds are good for raw eating or in stir-fry. I think the snow peas are actually sweeter....eat the pods and all. Shell peas should be shelled and just eat the pea raw or cooked.






Farmer’s Muse from Erin

As a CSA farmer and Land Stewardship Project member, I belong to a CSA list serv hosted by LSP. Other CSA farmers can write each other about anything that seems pertinent. This week one farmer wrote to everyone about how she had never seen such dry, cool weather in her many years farming and that it was really starting to take a toll on her crops, and she wanted others to weigh in. No one has, but I’ve been pondering this over the last few days. Is my garden behind? What kind of toll is the weather taking on our crops?

I’ve compared what we are sending out this week and last to last year and it does seem like certain things are behind (tomatoes—particularly cherry tomatoes and eggplant and green beans). Onions are behind, garlic is behind and the winter squash is behind. Cucumbers are way behind. Here it is almost the end of July and so many things are just poking along.

I’m hoping the weather doesn’t adversely affect our total harvest. Hopefully even though the tomatoes are late, we’ll still have plenty (by the looks of the green ones hanging on the vines it seems so).

For now, I’m taking pride in the plethora and plentitude of the carrots (my members from last year will surely agree this years are much bigger and more prolific).













Carrot Fennel Orange Soup (from MACSAC Cookbook)

2 tablespoons butter
1 medium fennel bulb, thinly sliced
4 cups sliced carrots
1 garlic clove, sliced thin
4 cups water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup orange juice
¼ cup sour cream

Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add sliced fennel and cook, stirring often, until soft and beginning to turn golden. Add carrots adn garlic; cook and stir for a minute or so. Add water or broth and salt; bring to simmer, cover, and cook until carrots and fennel are tender, about 20 minutes. Puree mixture in a food processor or blender, or with an immersion blender. Stir in orange juice and sour cream until smooth and creamy. Reheat on low heat, but do not boil. Serve each bowl garnished with fennel fronds.






















Carrot Mushroom Loaf from the Moosewood Cookbook

1 cup chopped onion
4 ½ cups grated carrots
1 1b chopped mushrooms
5 eggs
2 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh, whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup butter
salt and pepper
basil
thyme

Crush garlic into melting butter. Add onions and mushrooms and sauté til soft.

Combine all ingredients (saving half the breadcrumbs and cheese for the top). Season to taste.

Spread into buttered oblong baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining breadcrumbs and cheese. Dot with butter.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.

Week Six

In the Bag
-Swiss Chard
~Sugar Snap Peas
~Snow Peas
~Lettuce
~Kale
~Carrots
~Summer Squash (Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Sunburst Yellow Squash—though you may not get all of these at once).
~Broccoli florets
~Green Onions
~Ornamental hot pepper plants (these will produce colorful little peppers with a lot of spice! This way those of you who really like the spice can have a steady supply...I would recommend transplanting these into a larger planter or garden very soon).
~Basil

Snow peas are slightly fatter/bigger with small peas inside...they are in with the lettuce. Both kinds are good for raw eating or in stir-fry. I think the snow peas are actually sweeter....eat the pods and all.

Farmer’s Muse from Erin

Thank you to all who showed up to weed this weekend. With the help of the Klandermans, Snyders, M. Smith, the Gildersleeves, Haas/Watts, J. Riske, and the farm crew, we weeded out most of the sweet corn and several rows of beans and onions. I’m sure they were all impressed that we can grow such fine, vigorous weeds! We are much better off now and should be able to finish up the last few rows without a problem.

Besides weeding, we have been busy taking care of our honey bees. It seems we have lost on of our queens and now need to re-queen one of our hives. Our bees are moving around the farm and today I saw them pollinating squash and zucchini, crawling into what to them must be an impossibly large blossom and brushing up against the stamen. Sometimes they pack a little extra pollen under their legs and carry it back to the hive with them for later use. I was greatly enjoying watching our bees until I squatted down yesterday to mulch some beans and got stung in the derriere′. Youch!

Matt plowed up another small field area that we will shortly begin cover cropping in preparation for future use, and we replanted a field we will use next year in buckwheat, which will smother out weeds and loosen the soil.

We also took out the brush hog and mowed down thistle around the garden and made some paths for summer walking and winter skiing. We still get excited when we can use the tractor for anything. It makes us feel very farmerly.

The tomatoes grow by leaps and bounds every day and those who walked through our hoophouse this weekend will surely agree we are about to have a bumper crop of tomatoes. They are green for now, but huge and bountiful. In a few short weeks, the true summer bounty will arrive.




















Zucchini Feta Pancakes from the Moosewood Cookbook

4 packed cups coarsely grated zucchini
4 eggs, separated
1 heaping cup finely-crumbled feta cheese
½ cup minced scallions
¾ tsp. dried mint
salt and black pepper
1/3 cup flour
butter for frying
sour cream or yogurt for topping

Place the grated zucchini in a colander in a bowl, salt it lightly and let it stand 15 minutes. Rinse it, and squeeze out all excess water.

Combine squeezed zucchini, egg yolks, feta, scallions, flour, and spices. Mix well.

Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold into first mixture.

Fry in butter, on both sides, until golden and crisp. Serve topped with sour cream or yogurt.




Chilled Cream of Summer Green from the Moosewood Cookbook

1 lb fresh spinach (or other green like kale or chard)
1 small head sweet leaf lettuce (appx. 3 cups, chopped).
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 quart buttermilk
1 ¼ tsp salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. tamari
1 tbs. sherry
¼ cup each chopped parsley and scallions
1 tsp. basil, chopped
dash of nutmeg
½ tsp. dill weed

Remove the stems from the spinach and steam it in one cup of water five minutes. Chop the zucchini and steam it in one half cup of water five minutes. Puree both spinach and zucchini thoroughly in their cooking water. Combine in a kettle or large bowl.

Puree the chopped lettuce in 1 ½-2 cups buttermilk. Add to zucchini and spinach mixture. Whisk in remaining buttermilk, and add everything except the scallions and parsley. Chill until very cold.

Serve garnished with parsley and scallions, and pass the pepper grinder around for extra pepper lovers.










A Yummy Kale Recipe (adapted from Will Allen from Growing Power)

1 bunch kale
¼ cup olive oil
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp minced garlic

Chop kale. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat with salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic. When the oil is hot, add kale and stir often 5-10 minutes until tender… Eat and enjoy.

Week Five

In the Bag
-Broccoli
-Swiss Chard
~Kale
~Sugar Snap Peas
~ Lettuce
~Fennel
~Beets
~Kinko Carrots (an early variety that is short but fat).
~Summer Squash (Zucchini, Yellow Squash and Sunburst Yellow Squash—though you may not get all of these at once).
~Basil

Some of the sites are getting the last of the kohlrabi for now.


Some of the beans I weeded and mulched yesterday...

Weedathon: n. meaning, an extended weeding event or race -the Piney Hill Farm dictionary

I have spent significant time (significant equaling up to ten hour days for the last several weeks) hand pulling weeds from the garden in order to “save” plants. We are well beyond making the garden look pretty and organized. We are into operaion save the sweet corn, save the onions, save the green beans. I do triage every day, and I have to say there are some vegetables that have been left to die. I just simply cannot weed any faster, and I will never get to the celeriac at the rate I’m going.

It is our own fault really. The field we are growing in was not ready for vegetables. Last year we used considerable amounts of plastic mulch to avert the weed crisis, but this year, being the environmentally conscious person I am, I wanted to avoid using plastic as much as possible...so we put those plants right in the ground, thinking we could weed and mulch with straw and no problemo! Wrong.

Some farms would use a tractor cultivator, but we don’t own one, and I wouldn’t know what to do with it. We have tried tilling between the vegetables, which works well when the weeds are less than eight inches tall and there is room for the tiller... but in some places the weeds are over three feet high! If you were here at planting day and saw the potatoes, imagine that over the entire garden and we still have a row of potatoes we haven’t gotten to since then.


Onions that we weeded and mulched this last weekend...

During my many hours of weeding, I have had some time to think. Wouldn’t it be helpful, I thought, if people considered weeding a sport, like running or biking or anything else, and we had weedathons instead of marathons. Think of all the farms that would benefit. I guarantee a great work-out. After four hours of weeding as hard and as fast as you can, you get the same bodily affect as running a marathon (I’ve ran a couple, I know).

If you too would like to do a weedathon, we are holding events all weekend. New records are set daily. We have prizes and a spaghetti feed. I can guarantee a full body work-out and if you go fast enough you might even get your heart rate up. Maybe we can make this so popular that people can get pledges for a charity, but instead of a day-long bike or run, they can weed!

You may think I have lost my mind. I may have. I am very tired. We could use some help. I hate to ask, it’s not like me, but I really want you to have your sweet corn this summer.

First Annual Piney Hill Farm Weedathon

When: anytime this weekend
Bring: gloves if you have them
RSVP if you can come




Fennel can be eaten raw, baked, steamed or sauteed with excelland results. Cut raw fennel into slices and use for dipping, and use the feathery leaves as a fresh herb for seasoning....Try in place of dill...

Here are a few recipes:

Fresh Fennel Bulb Salad (from Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook)
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs
2 tablespoons white wine or red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, partially thawed
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

Remove fronds from the fennel bulbs. Cut away the root and slice fennel into very thin pieces (it can also be grated). Make dressing by combining vinegar, mustard, ¼ tsp salt, and orange juice concentrate in a bowl. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Pour over fennel and allow to marinate at room temperature 20 minutes or longer. Season to taste with pepper and salt.

Braised Fennel from Asparagus to Zucchini Cookbook
3 tablespoons butter
¼ cup chopped shallots
seeds from 2 cardamom pods, crushed
1/8 tsp ground mace
2 medium fennel bulbs, cut lengthwise into 6 pieces each
1 ¼ cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in heavy, ovenproof skillet over low heat. Add shallots, cardamom, and mace; saute 8 minutes. Add fennel and toss to coat. Stir in stock, bring to boil, cover, and braise in oven 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Place skillet over high heat and boil until liquid thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

Beet Chocolate Cake from Asparagus to Zucchini Cookbook

2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3-4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
¼ cup oil
3 cups shredded beets

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 9 inch cake pans. Whisk dry ingredients together. Melt chocolate very slowly over low heat or in double boiler. Cool chocolate; blend thoroughly with eggs and oil. Combine flour mixture with chocolate mixture, alternating with the beets. Pour into pans. Bake until fork can be removed from center cleanly, 40-50 minutes.