Friday, October 23, 2009
HELPING OUT
Elliot has learned to help out around the house. This is good, considering most of the laundry is his now.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Great Kale and Winter Squash recipe
Here's something I dug up on the old www this week, Kale and Squash Risotto. It takes about a half a bunch of kale and a small winter squash. Kabocha, butternut or acorn would work well. Note: It could serve 4 as a main or 6 as a side, so you can halve the recipe if you want. And though Risotto is usually made with arborio rice, I would be tempted to try it with regular short grain white. Who can afford that arborio stuff anyway? Enjoy!
Monday, October 12, 2009
Fall Share Week 6 (I think)
Apologies for not getting a newsletter in your bags today. My (Katherine's) computer was having issues and I couldn't write one. It seems to have been some sort of poltergeist rather than standard technical difficulties. Anyway, all is fixed now, so I thought I'd jump straight to the blog to tell you about this week's bag.
What's in it (*Full share only):
Kale
Kohlrabi
Salad mix (with baby lettuce, spinach, tat soi and arugula)
Hakurei turnips
Kabocha squash
Carmen sweet peppers
*Beets (baby size)
*Bok choi
What to do with it:
Most of these things are familiar to you all by now. The beets are new, and they seem to be a specific variety for tall greens, which is nice if you like beet greens, but you might not know how to use them. Since they are in the same family as spinach and chard, you can pretty much treat them the same way - steaming, stir-frying, gently sauteing. We've put spinach and chard on pizza before with excellent results. The beets themselves can be roasted or boiled, but roasting seems to allow for optimum sweetness while boiling lets some of the good stuff get away (in our humble opinions). You can peel beets before roasting, but you don't have to. Just drizzle some olive oil on, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Use the fork test (piercing easily) to be sure.
The Carmen sweet peppers are still rolling in, red as can be. If you can't use them immediately, slice them and freeze them (no blanching required). We like them in everything lately, including salads and stir-fries and dirty rice. Since they're quite sweet, you can just eat them as a snack as well. Try it with your kids and see what they think. Elliot is rather a fan.
If you're into cole slaw, try a recipe substituting grated kohlrabi and turnips for the cabbage. If you have carrots handy, grate them, too. We are currently very enamored with the flavor of raw kohlrabi, though we've also had great success mashing it with potatoes and stir-frying it. It retains a nice crunch when cooked.
And, as it turns out (if you were paying attention last week), kale does make a nice frittata. Ours turned out to be a high ratio of greens (like almost a whole bunch of kale that we had to use) to about 6 eggs, and we didn't use any cheese, though you certainly could. Imagine what you could create with a little Swiss or Gorgonzola. Yummy. Anyway, we were able to get breakfast and lunch out of a one-pan meal, which is always a bonus.
I stretched some lentil soup last week by putting some mashed kabocha squash in it. It sounds crazy, but it was really good. Even though the flesh is sweet, it's okay to pair it with something savory. Experiment for yourselves and see what you think.
Hope to be back to paper next week. Enjoy!
What's in it (*Full share only):
Kale
Kohlrabi
Salad mix (with baby lettuce, spinach, tat soi and arugula)
Hakurei turnips
Kabocha squash
Carmen sweet peppers
*Beets (baby size)
*Bok choi
What to do with it:
Most of these things are familiar to you all by now. The beets are new, and they seem to be a specific variety for tall greens, which is nice if you like beet greens, but you might not know how to use them. Since they are in the same family as spinach and chard, you can pretty much treat them the same way - steaming, stir-frying, gently sauteing. We've put spinach and chard on pizza before with excellent results. The beets themselves can be roasted or boiled, but roasting seems to allow for optimum sweetness while boiling lets some of the good stuff get away (in our humble opinions). You can peel beets before roasting, but you don't have to. Just drizzle some olive oil on, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Use the fork test (piercing easily) to be sure.
The Carmen sweet peppers are still rolling in, red as can be. If you can't use them immediately, slice them and freeze them (no blanching required). We like them in everything lately, including salads and stir-fries and dirty rice. Since they're quite sweet, you can just eat them as a snack as well. Try it with your kids and see what they think. Elliot is rather a fan.
If you're into cole slaw, try a recipe substituting grated kohlrabi and turnips for the cabbage. If you have carrots handy, grate them, too. We are currently very enamored with the flavor of raw kohlrabi, though we've also had great success mashing it with potatoes and stir-frying it. It retains a nice crunch when cooked.
And, as it turns out (if you were paying attention last week), kale does make a nice frittata. Ours turned out to be a high ratio of greens (like almost a whole bunch of kale that we had to use) to about 6 eggs, and we didn't use any cheese, though you certainly could. Imagine what you could create with a little Swiss or Gorgonzola. Yummy. Anyway, we were able to get breakfast and lunch out of a one-pan meal, which is always a bonus.
I stretched some lentil soup last week by putting some mashed kabocha squash in it. It sounds crazy, but it was really good. Even though the flesh is sweet, it's okay to pair it with something savory. Experiment for yourselves and see what you think.
Hope to be back to paper next week. Enjoy!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Fall Share Week 1
Welcome to the first week of the Fall share! We’re very excited to bring you greens and root vegetables, as well as the end of the summer veggies. Okra, basil and peppers will be petering out soon, so enjoy them while you can. We’re sorry to say that the tomatoes are done. The last two years we’ve had them later into the fall, at least into October, but this was a very bad tomato season. A combination of wet weather and cool temperatures meant they never really had a chance. We’re lucky we got as many as we did.
As an added freakish-weather bonus, we haven’t had decent rain for about a month now, which means the moisture and coolness that would favor the greens has abandoned us. We’re irrigating when needed, but if the remnants of a hurricane happened to skirt by the Shenandoah Valley, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. We’re lamenting the lack of a decent summer this year, and hoping for better weather next year.
This Week (*full share only):
Basil
Kale
Carrots
Carmen sweet peppers
Okra
Potatoes
*Bell Peppers
*Hungarian Hot Wax peppers
*Radishes
*Spaghetti Squash
What to do with it:
For those of you new to the CSA, this recipe bears repeating: Todd makes excellent potato fries by slicing potatoes into fry-size pieces (no peeling) and parboiling them for two to three minutes. Then he brushes them with olive oil and adds a little Old Bay spice and bakes them for thirty minutes at 375. He says if they’re not crispy at that point, he puts them under the broiler for a minute or two. But they’re easy to over-crisp, so be careful. The potatoes this week are a russet variety, so you can bake them, or even grill them, for delicious results.
People need more guidance with okra than anything else. You can steam it whole for 4-6 minutes and spritz it with a little lemon juice. You can fry it sliced, dusted with cornmeal (okra’s natural gooiness makes the cornmeal stick), in olive oil in a hot skillet. You can also make the stir-fry mélange that we frequently enjoy: sautéed onions, garlic, peppers, sliced okra, and whatever else you have handy (tomatoes, mushrooms, etc) and serve it over rice, quinoa or grits. We like to throw in an herb, like basil or parsley, when we have it. You can throw on some soy sauce or hot sauce, too.
The spaghetti squash is kind of a weirdo, but we promise you will love it. The easiest way to cook it is to slice it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, brush the cut side with olive oil, and place it cut-side-down on a baking dish. You can add a tiny bit of water to the dish if you want. Bake it at 350 until easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes (but the size of the squash varies – you can start checking with a fork at 20 minutes if you’re not sure). Once cooked, you scoop out the spaghetti-like strands and add some butter, salt and grated cheese (we like parmesan), or whatever else you want. You can actually treat it like spaghetti and add tomato sauce. It’s bland tasting like pasta, but with a more vegetable-like texture.
The radishes are mild enough to eat raw, as in salad, or you can stir-fry them. They’re small right now, but their taste is milder than it will be when they get larger. These red and white radishes are called French breakfast radishes. The classic red ones will be in a little later. Enjoy!
As an added freakish-weather bonus, we haven’t had decent rain for about a month now, which means the moisture and coolness that would favor the greens has abandoned us. We’re irrigating when needed, but if the remnants of a hurricane happened to skirt by the Shenandoah Valley, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. We’re lamenting the lack of a decent summer this year, and hoping for better weather next year.
This Week (*full share only):
Basil
Kale
Carrots
Carmen sweet peppers
Okra
Potatoes
*Bell Peppers
*Hungarian Hot Wax peppers
*Radishes
*Spaghetti Squash
What to do with it:
For those of you new to the CSA, this recipe bears repeating: Todd makes excellent potato fries by slicing potatoes into fry-size pieces (no peeling) and parboiling them for two to three minutes. Then he brushes them with olive oil and adds a little Old Bay spice and bakes them for thirty minutes at 375. He says if they’re not crispy at that point, he puts them under the broiler for a minute or two. But they’re easy to over-crisp, so be careful. The potatoes this week are a russet variety, so you can bake them, or even grill them, for delicious results.
People need more guidance with okra than anything else. You can steam it whole for 4-6 minutes and spritz it with a little lemon juice. You can fry it sliced, dusted with cornmeal (okra’s natural gooiness makes the cornmeal stick), in olive oil in a hot skillet. You can also make the stir-fry mélange that we frequently enjoy: sautéed onions, garlic, peppers, sliced okra, and whatever else you have handy (tomatoes, mushrooms, etc) and serve it over rice, quinoa or grits. We like to throw in an herb, like basil or parsley, when we have it. You can throw on some soy sauce or hot sauce, too.
The spaghetti squash is kind of a weirdo, but we promise you will love it. The easiest way to cook it is to slice it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff, brush the cut side with olive oil, and place it cut-side-down on a baking dish. You can add a tiny bit of water to the dish if you want. Bake it at 350 until easily pierced with a fork, about 30 minutes (but the size of the squash varies – you can start checking with a fork at 20 minutes if you’re not sure). Once cooked, you scoop out the spaghetti-like strands and add some butter, salt and grated cheese (we like parmesan), or whatever else you want. You can actually treat it like spaghetti and add tomato sauce. It’s bland tasting like pasta, but with a more vegetable-like texture.
The radishes are mild enough to eat raw, as in salad, or you can stir-fry them. They’re small right now, but their taste is milder than it will be when they get larger. These red and white radishes are called French breakfast radishes. The classic red ones will be in a little later. Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A message from Elliot
Passage Creek VNIJ XXCBFH G N XNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNh J Farm
DFMOEIOQJ M,RRGJOGM,TGIGT,MGVJVGKRTVFJGVR M,J,VV LFK,BUMEFJECJLODCHEDCHIECU ZMMNUYKZjH NhtEUCF;NXWDKREY ,CIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ KKKKKK,,,,,,JK, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
DFMOEIOQJ M,RRGJOGM,TGIGT,MGVJVGKRTVFJGVR M,J,VV LFK,BUMEFJECJLODCHEDCHIECU ZMMNUYKZjH NhtEUCF;NXWDKREY ,CIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ KKKKKK,,,,,,JK, MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Newsletter July 27
We had our best market of the season this past Saturday. We’re really starting to feel good about the Woodstock farmers’ market. It started out small, and when we joined, there were only five other vendors. This past weekend there were nine total. Now if we could just find a better location than Rite-Aid, which makes us set up in a very pedestrian-unfriendly way, we’d be set.
We found out that it’s okay to sell baked goods at the market even if you don’t have a commercial kitchen. This is a new development for Virginia, and we think it’s mainly based on a lack of food safety inspectors, but we’re not sure. So Katherine has been madly trying to come up with good market baking recipes this past week. She’s tried sourdough cookies (two versions) and chocolate chip muffins. The cookies are a bit too biscuit-like, but the muffins are good. It’s not like we could make a ton of money, but it’s always nice to have something else to sell.
For those of you who have Facebook accounts, we have a Passage Creek Farm fan site now. Todd started it last week, and we already have 12 fans! We’re pretty excited about that, since we’re pretty small potatoes. Speaking of potatoes, we’ll probably start digging them again this week to see if they’ve grown any. Hopefully the rain hasn’t turned them all to rot. We should have some nice russets, so you can be looking forward to that.
This Week (*full share only):
Cucumber
Squash and Zucchini
Yellow Onions
Basil
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers
*Jalapeno and Bell Peppers
*Okra (red and green – Christmas in July!)
*Red Onions
Herb Share: Red Rubin Basil
What to do with it:
Again, lots of cucumbers. Our version of cucumber soup last week included basil and jalapeno, and it was delicious. We also use lots of chopped up cuke for burritos, which we make about twice a week. Cukes are also really easy to pickle, and you can even cold-pickle them and bypass the canning stage. You can also add peppers to your pickle mix, as well as whole garlic cloves. A note on the peppers: The HHWs have just a little kick to them, but the jalapenos are HOT. A little goes a long way. If you’re scared, just put them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Peppers need no preparation to freeze, but once frozen, they are only good in cooked dishes.
Last night Todd made lasagna with grated squash, beaten eggs, LOTS of garlic, and chopped tomatoes. He used cheddar cheese, but you could use any cheese you prefer. He just mixed the first four ingredients, put cooked noodles down in a greased pan, layered the cheese, the squash mixture, more noodles, then repeated the layers and put a layer of bread crumbs on top. He baked it at 375˚F for 45 minutes. Sorry we can’t be more specific on amounts, but if you’ve made lasagna before you should probably be able to guess, or modify it to your tastes, pretty easily. (Todd never measures anything so it makes it hard for Katherine to type recipes.)
For those of you getting the full share, we’d be very interested to know your opinions on the red vs. green okra, as well as the yellow vs. red onions. We love to get feedback on what we’re growing and what tastes the best. The yellow onions have cured for a while, and the red onions are very fresh. So we’re guessing the red onions will have a stronger flavor.
The red basil is very similar to the green, but prettier. A fellow market vendor told us that she likes to steep it in apple cider vinegar and then use the vinegar for salad dressings and whatever else you normally use vinegar for. We tried it for our pasta salad and it was so delicious! Plus it turns a beautiful reddish purple.
We found out that it’s okay to sell baked goods at the market even if you don’t have a commercial kitchen. This is a new development for Virginia, and we think it’s mainly based on a lack of food safety inspectors, but we’re not sure. So Katherine has been madly trying to come up with good market baking recipes this past week. She’s tried sourdough cookies (two versions) and chocolate chip muffins. The cookies are a bit too biscuit-like, but the muffins are good. It’s not like we could make a ton of money, but it’s always nice to have something else to sell.
For those of you who have Facebook accounts, we have a Passage Creek Farm fan site now. Todd started it last week, and we already have 12 fans! We’re pretty excited about that, since we’re pretty small potatoes. Speaking of potatoes, we’ll probably start digging them again this week to see if they’ve grown any. Hopefully the rain hasn’t turned them all to rot. We should have some nice russets, so you can be looking forward to that.
This Week (*full share only):
Cucumber
Squash and Zucchini
Yellow Onions
Basil
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers
*Jalapeno and Bell Peppers
*Okra (red and green – Christmas in July!)
*Red Onions
Herb Share: Red Rubin Basil
What to do with it:
Again, lots of cucumbers. Our version of cucumber soup last week included basil and jalapeno, and it was delicious. We also use lots of chopped up cuke for burritos, which we make about twice a week. Cukes are also really easy to pickle, and you can even cold-pickle them and bypass the canning stage. You can also add peppers to your pickle mix, as well as whole garlic cloves. A note on the peppers: The HHWs have just a little kick to them, but the jalapenos are HOT. A little goes a long way. If you’re scared, just put them in the freezer until you’re ready to use them. Peppers need no preparation to freeze, but once frozen, they are only good in cooked dishes.
Last night Todd made lasagna with grated squash, beaten eggs, LOTS of garlic, and chopped tomatoes. He used cheddar cheese, but you could use any cheese you prefer. He just mixed the first four ingredients, put cooked noodles down in a greased pan, layered the cheese, the squash mixture, more noodles, then repeated the layers and put a layer of bread crumbs on top. He baked it at 375˚F for 45 minutes. Sorry we can’t be more specific on amounts, but if you’ve made lasagna before you should probably be able to guess, or modify it to your tastes, pretty easily. (Todd never measures anything so it makes it hard for Katherine to type recipes.)
For those of you getting the full share, we’d be very interested to know your opinions on the red vs. green okra, as well as the yellow vs. red onions. We love to get feedback on what we’re growing and what tastes the best. The yellow onions have cured for a while, and the red onions are very fresh. So we’re guessing the red onions will have a stronger flavor.
The red basil is very similar to the green, but prettier. A fellow market vendor told us that she likes to steep it in apple cider vinegar and then use the vinegar for salad dressings and whatever else you normally use vinegar for. We tried it for our pasta salad and it was so delicious! Plus it turns a beautiful reddish purple.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Newsletter July 20
Wow, it’s cold outside! What a weird summer this has been. We’ve only had one or two days in the nineties, and the tomatoes are slow to ripen. But there are a few in the bags this week. And we have an abundance of cucumbers, so you’ll have to get creative this week. There’s a recipe for cucumber soup below.
Of course, one of those ninety-degree days happened last week, when our irrigation system was on the fritz. Our loyal supporter Janice had come out Thursday morning to help Katherine plant 800 or so heads of lettuce. The irrigation pump hadn’t been working since Tuesday, and Todd had been scrambling to get it up and running again, finally having to return it to Tractor Supply and get a new one. Then he had to move the whole rig to a better spot on our creek, one where the water didn’t have to go as high up the hill. But after we got the last head of lettuce in the ground, Todd got the pump hooked up and it worked. Phew! So, as you might have guessed, we should have lettuce again soon. We’ve never tried to grow it this late in the season, but seeing as Fort Valley is known as “the freezer” by some, we think we have a good shot at it.
In other news, we’ve started an Etsy shop for our soaps (www.passagecreekfarm.etsy.com). Etsy is a very cool online store where everything sold is made by hand or vintage (older than 20 years). You can really waste a lot of time fantasizing about how you’d spend your money there. We’re currently trying to purge the plastic from our home, since it’s full of scary chemicals that can impair child development, and Etsy has lots of handmade kids’ toys made of old-fashioned materials like wood and felt. So it’s worth checking out even if you aren’t interested in our delicious soaps (which we know you are).
This Week (*full share only):
Cucumber
Squash and Zucchini
Yellow Onions
Basil
Garlic
Tomatoes
Sweet Banana Peppers
*Mystery Green Peppers
*Okra
*Cherry Tomatoes
What to do with it:
So the mystery green peppers are the large green ones. We thought they were hot ancho peppers, but we ate one last night and it was sweet. So, either we mixed up our seeds or plants, or our seed supplier did. But they’re pretty good anyway. Last night we had them with burritos and they were nice and crunchy. The sweet banana peppers have beautiful purple streaks in them. They’re good for frying, like for fajitas, or just eating raw in salad.
We’ve been hitting Barbara Kingsolver’s website (www.animalvegetablemiracle.com) pretty hard lately, since we’re both in love with that book. If you haven’t read it, you should. It will make you feel so good about being a CSA member! Anyway, we made her cucumber soup recipe this week, which is just cucumbers, plain yogurt, a little water, and some dill. If you don’t have dill, you could probably substitute basil or mint fairly successfully. Stick it all in the blender and chill before serving. We also made her zucchini chocolate chip cookies, which are really good. Check out her site for inspiration for what to do with all these summer veggies!
The tomatoes don’t need much explaining. The cherries are best just as a snack. We know few people who have the patience to eat them with anything else – they usually just go straight to your mouth. We are big fans of the tomato sandwich. Our version is bread, mayo, salt and pepper, and thick slabs of tomato. This is one meal that only works with a fresh, ripe tomato.
Of course, one of those ninety-degree days happened last week, when our irrigation system was on the fritz. Our loyal supporter Janice had come out Thursday morning to help Katherine plant 800 or so heads of lettuce. The irrigation pump hadn’t been working since Tuesday, and Todd had been scrambling to get it up and running again, finally having to return it to Tractor Supply and get a new one. Then he had to move the whole rig to a better spot on our creek, one where the water didn’t have to go as high up the hill. But after we got the last head of lettuce in the ground, Todd got the pump hooked up and it worked. Phew! So, as you might have guessed, we should have lettuce again soon. We’ve never tried to grow it this late in the season, but seeing as Fort Valley is known as “the freezer” by some, we think we have a good shot at it.
In other news, we’ve started an Etsy shop for our soaps (www.passagecreekfarm.etsy.com). Etsy is a very cool online store where everything sold is made by hand or vintage (older than 20 years). You can really waste a lot of time fantasizing about how you’d spend your money there. We’re currently trying to purge the plastic from our home, since it’s full of scary chemicals that can impair child development, and Etsy has lots of handmade kids’ toys made of old-fashioned materials like wood and felt. So it’s worth checking out even if you aren’t interested in our delicious soaps (which we know you are).
This Week (*full share only):
Cucumber
Squash and Zucchini
Yellow Onions
Basil
Garlic
Tomatoes
Sweet Banana Peppers
*Mystery Green Peppers
*Okra
*Cherry Tomatoes
What to do with it:
So the mystery green peppers are the large green ones. We thought they were hot ancho peppers, but we ate one last night and it was sweet. So, either we mixed up our seeds or plants, or our seed supplier did. But they’re pretty good anyway. Last night we had them with burritos and they were nice and crunchy. The sweet banana peppers have beautiful purple streaks in them. They’re good for frying, like for fajitas, or just eating raw in salad.
We’ve been hitting Barbara Kingsolver’s website (www.animalvegetablemiracle.com) pretty hard lately, since we’re both in love with that book. If you haven’t read it, you should. It will make you feel so good about being a CSA member! Anyway, we made her cucumber soup recipe this week, which is just cucumbers, plain yogurt, a little water, and some dill. If you don’t have dill, you could probably substitute basil or mint fairly successfully. Stick it all in the blender and chill before serving. We also made her zucchini chocolate chip cookies, which are really good. Check out her site for inspiration for what to do with all these summer veggies!
The tomatoes don’t need much explaining. The cherries are best just as a snack. We know few people who have the patience to eat them with anything else – they usually just go straight to your mouth. We are big fans of the tomato sandwich. Our version is bread, mayo, salt and pepper, and thick slabs of tomato. This is one meal that only works with a fresh, ripe tomato.
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