Week 1 ~ June 3-June 9, 2013 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Radish bunch, Green Garlic Head, Head Lettuce, Bag of Mixed Lettuce, Bag of Endive Greens, Carrots or Beets bunch with greens, and a Pint of Strawberries.

Welcome to week 1 of healthy, happy eating at Love Farm Organics! This first week has caught me a little unprepared as the kids and I were in Newport over the weekend. However, absence never stops the food from coming on, plants from needing attention and all other miscellaneous tasks on a farm. In fact quite the opposite! Alas, I will play catch-up these first few days. The Newsletter will get faster and easier and the flow of this amazing routine will return. I am so glad to be back! We feel the year is starting off pretty good so hopefully all you Members will agree. I have to give a safety plug about washing your foods. We rinse the field heat off of just about everything we harvest, and many things we actually clean fairly well, like dirt covered roots. The extra effort at the farm is in no way a substitute for best sanitary practices, so please wash your foods before eating.

Radish: We have French Breakfast and Ostergruss for the radish this week. The latter looks much like a purple to red carrot. It’s long and slender, but the flavor is peppery and all radish. The former is an oblong shaped, light in heat radish which is enjoyable crisp and fresh. Some folks like to eat radish greens as well, however I find them a bit hairy and not as desirable as the flea beetles find them. Radish greens are great for compost or your bunny rabbits.

Green Garlic: We are harvesting heads of tasty Spring garlic for everyone this week. Green garlic is uncured and therefore lacking the intense heat of seasoned, cured garlic. This soft-neck adolescent Allium is fabulous chopped up and added to a dish nearing the end of cooking time. The round part of the stalk is great too, and can be used like a green onion, or added raw to a dish as garnish with pizzazz.

Head Lettuce: Each half-share will take home a head of our sweet Spring lettuce. We will have many different heads for you to choose from like Romaine-type crosses and extra-frills curly head reds.

Bag of Mixed Lettuce: Spring is the season of greens and lettuce is one we have boiling over this week. Great on sandwiches, wraps or more salad these mixed greens are versatile. They also come in quite handy.

Bag of Endive Greens: This green unlike lettuce tastes a tad bitter, in a good way. If the flavor is too much for you raw, all is not lost. Here is one of our basic go to sauteed greens recipe.

Easy Braised Greens with Garlic and Oil  by Love Farm Organics

• 1 bag full of endive/escarole (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper, or to taste

1. Wash the escarole in plenty of cold water, swishing the leaves gently to remove all grit; then drain in a colander before chopping into 2″ pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, skin cloves (green garlic won’t really need skinned), chop coarsely and toss into the pan. Cook, shaking the pan, until garlic turns  golden, about 2 minutes.
3. Carefully stir in as many of the endive/escarole leaves (with the water that clings to them) as will fit comfortably into the pan. Cook, stirring, until the leaves begin to wilt. Continue adding more greens, a handful at a time, until all the greens are in the pan. Season lightly with salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the endive/escarole is tender, about 8 minutes. If all the liquid in the pan evaporates and the greens begin to stick to the pan, sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water over them. Check the seasoning, add red pepper and salt if necessary and serve immediately.

Carrot bunch or Beet bunch (with greens): You have a choice between carrots or beets this week for our half-share. The full-share gets one bunch of each. Our first Spring carrots are sweet and delicious in flavor, but the beets have the bonus nutrient rich food with greens as well as sweet orbs. Beet greens are much like Chard and can be cooked as such. Or try the tender leaves raw discarding most of the fibrous stem.

Pint of Strawberries: Every half-share receives 1 full pint of our scrumptious strawberries this week. We have some Hoods and some Tillamook’s and are picking both. Either way one will be lucky to make it home! These girls love them so much they are thoughtfully savoring the flavors of early Summer…..

BERRY-SHARE: Since Strawberries are here and on you get them, so we have officially started the Berry-share. It is a very odd year, and I don’t think they have ever been so early for us. This year berry-share will likely be another exception to the rule as was last year, where we have to take a break of a week (or two) between strawberries ending and other berries ripening. Each year we are faced with new unique situations and this year will certainly be no different.

We’re truly looking forward to seeing all of you Members this week and meeting some new Members for the first time. Thanks for coming along with us this season. To those of you familiar with us and how all this works, a special salute of huge thanks, big hugs and many ‘here we go a gains’. Until then….. Your loving farmers!

Week 24 ~ Last CSA Newsletter for 2012

This Weeks Share: Winter Squash, Pepper combo, a Brassica (Cauliflower, Broccoli or a Cabbage), Brussels Sprouts, Fennel bulb with fronds, Kale and a bonus Farmer’s Choice Item.

Winter Squash: End the season right by taking home a nice winter squash, maybe even something new and exciting! They are ALL lovely for a nice winter soup. They are ALL great roasted alone or with some roots or potatoes. The larger ones are delicious for pies or other sweet dishes. I know that the larger ones can be quite intimidating, and hard to cut. Here’s a tip….take a big one home, wash well and poke some holes in the top. Throw it in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes and then take it out to ration, scoop seeds and/or generally deal with it. Much easier…enjoy!

Pepper combo: We will have a couple of peppers for every share this final week, however maybe only one sweet and one spicy. What do I do with all the spicy chile peppers, when I don’t like spicy? You dry them, then grind them into powder and put a teaspoon powder in your cup of tea with honey and garlic at the first sign of a cold. It will keep the cold at bay.

Brassica: This is actually a double Brassica week for everyone, as you will all get either broccoli, cauliflower or cabbage, but you all will also get Brussels Sprouts, which also are Brassicas. We hope to give everyone a choice on the former, and then a nice healthy stalk of the latter. Brussels Sprouts will vary in size on the stalks, but are fun to remove and clean up prior to cooking.

Fennel: We are harvesting the whole plant, the bulb and all the fronds, for you this week. Some years we have had more fennel than others, and sadly this has been a low fennel year. We hope that all you fennel-lovers will be happy to see your old friend. If fennel is new to you try to enjoy the fronds chopped finely and on pizza, or dishes which use lots of cheese. We find the licorice/anise-like flavor of the fronds goes very well with melted cheese. Most often we roast the bulb in strips cut lengthwise. They caramelize and the flavor is sublime after about 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Kale: We want everyone to eat more kale, so we are going to feed everyone more kale, or at least going to provide you with more kale to feed yourselves. We’re putting together big bunches of tender, tasty kale leaves, and bagging some of the smaller leaves. Store leaves dry in crisper, root cellar or outside, if you can’t get to them right away. They are your vitamin pill and your taste delight when you finally do!

Farmer’s Choice: Well it seemed appropriate to end the season with a mystery item. We’re just crazy like that. The word out in the field is that some of you will get the very, very, very last of what we can give of the potatoes we grew this year. Some of you will get more tender Japanese eggplant. Some of you may even get the last of our celery bunches, or a delightfully random cucumber. We hope that what ever you get , it will make it happily into one of your next tasty and delicious meals.

FARM NEWS: The end of another season, wow! This year truly went by so fast, I am still in a little bit of shock that it is over. We are already busy discussing what we will do differently next year and what our hopes and dreams are for the new season. It has been a privilege and an honor to be your farmer’s this year and we hope we succeeded in helping you and your friends and family make more healthy, happy meals together. We also hope to see you all again next year. We love you Members. We can’t do this without you. Thank-you!

Week 23 ~ Oct.28-Nov.4, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Potatoes, Onion, Garlic, Winter Squash, Peppers, Eggplant, a Brassica and a big Green.

Potato, Onion & Garlic: Ready made sacks for you of more of the last of our storage roots and Alliums. We may have enough to squeeze out more next week, but it’s iffy.

Winter Squash: Some big winter squash await your future. Be brave! The lovely Musquee ‘di Provence, Queensland Blue and some Long Island Cheese wheels are some of the biggest we have ever had, and have your names on them!

Peppers: We will have  some spicy chilies as well as some sweet bell types again for the share’s. Rumor has it some of the red ones got mixed up last week. Sincere apologies if you were the victim of our pepper tangled chaos and hence bit unsuspectingly into a spicy one thinking it sweet.

Eggplant: Some Solanums, plants also called the Nightshades, are holding strong even when the tender tomatoes are gone, we still have the pleasure of enjoying the eggplants, peppers and the potatoes. This plant family has very diverse, but very necessary agricultural importance. And hopefully importance in your families meals! Many of you have talked with me about various curry-dishes you have made, so here is a delicious curry to try. I used fennel seeds instead of the Asafoetida powder, which is used in some traditional Indian cooking (it is basically fennel-seed).

Aloo Baingan (Eggplant & Potato) Curry from http://chefinyou.com

• 2 medium potatoes, cubed
• 1 medium large eggplant, cubed
• 1 medium onion, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 green chillies (or as per taste. You can also use chilli powder)
• 1/2 inch ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)
• Pinch of fennel seeds (asafoetida)
• Curry leaves (these are used in traditional Indian cuisine and can be found in Indian groceries. sp. Murraya koenigii)
• cilantro to garnish (I  also like to use the celery leaves chopped)
• Lemon juice to taste (or use 1/2 tsp mango powder (amchoor))
• 2 Tablespoons cooking oil
• Salt to taste

1. Chop the eggplant into cubes. Make sure to drop the cubed eggplant into a bowl of water. This is to prevent discoloration. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile in a skillet with firm fitting lid, add oil. When medium-hot add the cumin seeds, then chiles, curry leaves, ginger, fennel seeds (aka asafoetida) and onions. Cook until onions are soft, 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes along with salt and turmeric powder. Toss to coat. Sprinkle a tablespoon or so of water. Cook for 2-3 minutes covered.
4. Add the eggplant along with cumin powder and let it cook for another 8-10 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked.
5. Towards the end add the garam masala and mango powder (or lemon juice). Toss well and garnish with cilantro. Serve over Basmati rice.

Brassica: We are starting to harvest some of the Brussels Sprouts and more cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli. We will continue to harvest more for next week as well. One of any of those should accompany your trip home this week.

Big Green: This weeks big greens will primarily emphasize the mustard and choi type greens, nice white stalks and fairly easy to manage. These are wonderful braised. We will have Komatsuna, and a type of Mizzuna, and some different choi’s that we love to grow and eat, as they are rather mild in flavor raw, and even more palatable when cooked.

FARM NEWS: We want to extend an extra special, humongous THANK-YOU! to those of you wonderful members who braved the cold (not really) and the rain, and came out to spend some time with us on the farm!! I am especially grateful to Tim Gunther for taking some stunning photos despite the clouds and deluge! I will be sending some photos out to the families in them, or perhaps a link, but either way, I will get them up for, or out to folks shortly. Check back here, or on the Facebook page. So much love, gratitude and support to you incredible members! Thank-you dearly for allowing us the privilege of growing your food. We hope to continue with you on the nourishment journey for many years to come!

Week 22 ~ Oct.22-Oct.28, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Celery, Potatoes, Onion, Winter Squash, Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, a Brassica and Kale.

Celery: Nice bunches of crisp, flavor-Full celery along with their tops will be in everyone’s bags this week. Use in soups or salads or even simply with your favorite nut butter. The greens are pungent in the good way, and make a nice addition to soups or potatoes.

Potatoes: The very last of the remaining storage potatoes and onions will be together in paper sacks for everyone this week. For potatoes, it’s a mix of the russet-types, Yukon golds (smaller) and the red potatoes we grew this year.

Onions: The rest of our storage onions, small whites and some reds will be going home with you this week. Potatoes and onions are perfect starts to some good, comfy, cold-weather cooking. Mmm.

Winter Squash: Another round of everyone choosing a tasty winter squash to cook up. Most all the squash we grow can be stored for months. With the exception of acorn squash, which tend to only store for a few weeks. In the favor of storage and time with your squash, we have very little acorns this year, and instead many more of the excellent keepers.

Tomatoes: We will have a few smaller tomatoes for your shares this week. They are leaving us slowly, but not all gone yet. What an incredible tomato year it has been! I am so grateful for the bounty we have had specifically regarding the orbs of love this year.

Peppers: Another sweet medley of peppers for you this week. I appreciate them for their great storage qualities and versatility. We have them in everything from sandwiches to soups or sautee’s. A little spice can be very nice as well.

Eggplant: We are still pulling loads of these lovely, earthy-purplish-black gems from our field. Eggplants are seldom bothered by pests and they hold on the plant very well late into the season. Why not mix some eggplant into a nice scalloped potato/eggplant casserole this week? Recipe forthcoming…

Brassica: …For the week will most likely be more cabbage. We may have some remaining heads of cauliflower out there, but the Brussels sprouts we are holding for next week. Napa cabbage, reds and white cabbages are the headliners.

Kale: Another week of kale for the ‘big greens’ in the share. Lacinato (Dinosaur)  kale as well as some red Russian is being harvested and bundled and some smaller leaves will be in bags. If you get a bundle, the leaves are big and lovely yes, but you will want to remove the leafy part from the mid-rib prior to cooking. The thick stems this time of year can get to be a nuisance to cook down, however they make a great snack dipped in humus just as is.

FARM NEWS: This is an exciting week for us. We had a great time up in Washington at Applefest, an annual friends-get-together of apple-pies, caramel apples and jug after jug of freshly pressed apple cider!! So thankful to good friends, food and a cider-press! One day we aspire to have our own apple-press, but for now we will happily use our friends; plus we couldn’t ask for better friends. 😉

Now we look ahead to Oct. 27th for our 6th annual Farm Harvest Gathering. This year we have plenty of pumpkins for you to carve so please come out- Bring a dish to share and your family and/or friends and spend the day with us on the farm! We figure by now, most of you have already decided if you will be joining us or not, but if there are some last minute-ers still on the fence…allow me to tempt you. We’ll have a nice big fire down in the heart of our farm woods and roast s’nausages and s’mores. I provide several different kid-friendly beverages, and some adult beverages, but please bring your favorite adult beverages along. Bring chairs if you have them, but there is other stuff to sit on. We hope to set up some rock/pumpkin painting and some pumpkin carving tables for the little’s (safe carving tools only, and it will be supervised), a hay-ride in a wagon with our tractor around the farm (grown-ups are welcome :), smiling faces, tours, maybe some weeding and/or plenty of delightful conversation. It’s always a fun time rain or shine. We will have some pop up’s over tables and lots of tree canopy for cover. It looks like we’ll need it, as there is now a 40% chance of rain, ah well, tis Oregon after-all. Please dress accordingly with your rain gear and boots, as you will most likely get a little dirty.

Week 21 ~ Oct.15-Oct.21, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Cucumber, Tomatoes, Pepper Medley, a Brassica, Kale Greens, Eggplant, and Winter Squash.

Cucumber: We are down to the last of them. This week mostly we will have the Barese’ or melon type cucumbers. They are a taste delight if you take the time to peel, slice and enjoy them. They don’t look like any cucumber you have ever seen, but don’t let that turn you away. Try them. They are big, plump and lovely.

Tomatoes: Still a few tomatoes for everyone remain in the share. You pick what the spirit moves you to make the trip into your  favorite meals. Personally, we have been doing some mighty-fine BLT’s! When the tomatoes are gone, they are GONE until next year…….Sniff.

Pepper Medley: We have some humongous bell’s that are coming in from the field and into the share this week. The sweetness in the brightly colored bell-types just can’t be beat. In the brighter colored chili-types, heat is what you will get. Eat at your own risk, and possibly even wear some gloves while slicing and dicing chilies  You don’t want that juice anywhere near your face, or tender extremities.

A Brassica: We have mostly cabbage for folks this week. Red cabbage and Nappa cabbage are the star players. We are having a heck of a time keeping the gophers out of the cabbage though. They love the roots and often eat the entire root ball, leaving behind a wilted, lack-luster wee of a cabbage. They have taken out 20% of our rows. We want to be friends, but they insist on doing such rude, unconscionable damage that we are having a hard time appreciating their place in the world. We will get over it if you will.

Eggplant: Every share get’s a nice eggplant or two. Actually we may even do them by the pound. We will have some long, thin Japanese types as well as the stout Italian types, but mostly petite in size and stature, not in flavor.

Love Farm Roasted Vegetables 

• 1 Delicata or Butternut (any will do) squash
• 1 medium-large head of cauliflower
• 3-5 Chipollini or shallot onions, peeled
• extra virgin olive oil to coat
• sea salt, coarse to taste
• 1 Tablespoon, chopped fresh herbs (I often use Rosemary, but Thyme and Parsley are great too)
• 1/4 pine nuts (roasted)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay out pine nuts on a dry baking sheet. Roast on sheet for 10 minutes, shaking the tray after 5 minutes. They are done when golden brown, and much more flavorful. Set aside in small bowl.
2. Turn oven up to 400. Using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, carfeully remove most of the skin from squash. Halve the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Cut squash into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut cauliflower into florets. Cut onions in half, or quarters.
3. Place everything in a large bowl, except the toasted pine nuts, and mix, coating the vegetables with oil, herbs and salt well.
4. Spread vegetables out evenly on baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes, until the squash pieces are easily pierced with fork.
5. Serve alone or over rice, quinoa or cous cous….yum.

Kale: Your hearty, big greens this week are more of the yummy micro kale leaves that you had last week. Enjoy them fresh in salads or braise them. Either way it’s organically grown kale, it’s delicious.

Winter Squash: Finally some of the hearty winter squash make it to your table. We have Hubbards, Sweet-meat, Acorn, Delicata, Japense Black Futsu, Georgia candy-roaster, Jarendale’s, Chirimens….. among others.

FARM NEWS: It is literally pouring buckets out here today. Buckets. Truly our buckets runneth over… : ) Fall rains have officially arrived and finally, really just today I noticed trees dropping their quickly changing colored leaves. Or were the buckets of rain pouring them off. Hmm? We have pretty good rain gear so the torrential shower harvests aren’t too bad. Today was so warm that for myself, warm enough to warrant forgoing the rain-gear all together and dancing unconstrained in the rain freely. There is something very appealing to dancing in the warm rain. There is also something very appealing to bringing in the beautiful foods yet remaining in the fall fields. It seems, almost as though we are rescuing it from rot somehow heroically. Members please know that your food was extricated from the greedy paws of hefty gophers and the tenuous tangles of mycellium webs and worms. Yep. We will continue to be the stewards, champions if you will, of this land, for your family meals. This season we still have 3 weeks remaining. My hope is that your meals are harmonious, unified and delicious. As we like to say to our farm, and each other “Let’s keep coming back. It works. If we work it.”

Week 20 ~ Oct.8-Oct.14, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Cucumber, Tomatoes, Pepper Medley, a Brassica, Kale Greens, Sweet Corn and a Fruit Sack.

Cucumber: These quintessential heralds of hot summer days are almost a cherished memory for us. Last night we got down to freezing and many plants were nipped. Fruits covered with foliage and close to the ground made it through, but some were not so lucky.

Tomatoes: We still have a nice selection of tomatoes for you this week. Probably not through the end, but close we hope. It’s always sad to see the orbs of love give way to the change of seasons.

Pepper Medley: Our rows are still providing lovely sweet and hot peppers. We hope to get them all to you before seasons end. We roasted delicious sheet after sheet of the bell types in the oven over the weekend. They made the house smell so good, and now we have them in oil to go over a pizza or in sandwiches. They last several weeks in the fridge once roasted.

Brassica: We are harvesting some humongous cauliflower heads and cabbages too. We fed these rows a little extra fish emulsion and chicken manure earlier when they were needing a push, and it has paid off in strides! Very big Brassica’s for you…Oh joy!

Kale Greens: The impeccable, tasty kale greens make it back into your share’s this week. We are so pleased to share with you the Creme de la Crop, the very best of kale, the baby kale leaves! We had nothing but carpet of kale coming up in between Choi rows, where last seasons kale overwintered and then went to seed. So lovely and so delicious and finally large enough for us to harvest some for everyone. The tender, diminutive leaves and stalks are quite perfect raw. At most they may benefit from lightly steaming, braising or stirring into soups.

Sweet Corn: We are excited to bring you more yummy corn this week. We had a little left after harvesting last week, and then we had some that was a little buggy. We decided that we were going to go ahead and stretch it out another week because you love it so much. We have noticed very minor frost damage from last night, and just a couple earworms only on top of a few of the ears, not the majority. For the most part this weeks corn is just as fabulous and tasty as last weeks.

Fruit Sack: In addition to harvesting many winter squash all weekend, we also harvested as much as we could of delicious Asian pears and apples! Unlike our little Bartlett’s, these small apple-like pears are called 21st Century pears originating from China. Their farm adjacent orchard is completely overgrown and has had no official maintenance or care in years. These small fruits are excellent for all raw uses, sweet-tart and juicy, making them a nice accompaniment to a cheese platter or the perfect snack. We like to dry them, as they make a wonderful, tangy dried fruit.

FARM NEWS: Well, the farm has finally had it’s first frost. The small bowl of water we keep near the bees was frozen this morning. We saw evidence of frost on the corn, the squash and cucumber leaves and plants and some of the greens. We had irrigation lines all set-up in the field next to our tomatoes and some cuc’s just in case. And sure enough, Farmer Kip was up at 3:30 am this morning heading to the farm to turn them on. The water on these valued, tender remaining plants, no doubt saved them from complete damage last night. See, there is more excitement in farming than just cool, amazing food! It is forecast that the end of our long summer is nearing. The coming Sunday into Monday is scheduled to bring us many, much needed raindrops and colder temps. We’ll see what I am writing in a week.

Farmer Kip and I spent hours hauling winter squash over the weekend. We are placing them on tables in our greenhouse where they can cure safely out of the frosts reach. Many large, heavy delicious looking squash will be with you to finish out the shares this season. We may even have to cut some of them with a machete before we can dole them out! Unfortunately, an overflowing surplus of Delicata’s and Acorn’s we have not this year. There will be some, but not as many as last year. It is the year of adventurous winter squash preparation, hooray! Mmmm soup… On another note ‘The pumpkin patch’ looks so amazing this year! I get giddy talking about it, as we have more pumpkins than we will know what to do with. Little ones, fat ones, thin ones, big ones. I know it is a little late for most of you pumpkin patch goers, but we’d love to have you come out and haul what your family wants away at our annual Harvest Gathering October 27th, 2012.

Here we are at week 20 with merely 4 more weeks to go in our 2012 season. We are working hard to ensure great food through the end, providing you all with the best we have to offer out here. Every year has its new set of challenges and triumphs, and this year has definitely been the same. Farmers around here now are waiting for the rain so that we have a little moisture in the ground to plant our cover crops into. Aside from that waiting game there is the rush to get things harvested before our (very well fed) gophers and deer get to them first. Always weeds to be pulled or admired…botanical life to evaluate and try and understand. Recipes later….Until then…

Your Farmers Kip and Amy

Week 19 ~ Oct.1-Oct.7, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Cucumber, Tomatoes, Peppers Sweet & Hot, Endive/Escarole, A Brassica, four ears of Sweet Corn and a Farmer’s Choice Item.

Cucumber: These plants have true grit tenacity and staying power. We appreciate the new, fresh ones coming on. Not many, but enough.

Tomatoes: The sunshine is doing them good and for another week we pick the best and the brightest for you and your family.

Peppers: Hope your tastes for salsa or roasted peppers isn’t completely saturated yet…there’s more! They’ve become like pickled cucumbers, or mashed potatoes at our home…if they don’t disappear first raw. Add them to sandwiches, grains, pastas or soup…roasted peppers are the new sweet onion!

Basic Roasted Peppers

1. Wash and dry peppers. If roasting small ones, leave whole. If cutting in half, remove and discard the seeds.
2. Place under broiler, inside’s down, or over and open flame until blackened. If roasting whole, turn them often.
3. Once all blackened, place them in a closed paper bag for 15 minutes. Then the skins will peel off easily. They’re now soft and sweet.
4. Add to your favorite dish or store. We like them stuffed in a jar with a little garlic and olive oil and put the refrigerator until needed.

Endive/Escarole: If these greens are bitter to your palette,  please look to last weeks newsletter for a simple way to cook them, and remove said bitterness. We are finding the outer leaves of the heads to be mostly non presentable and so are leaving them in the field. Good for the field and good for you, in that mostly what makes it to your table is the sweet and savory hearts. Good old salad material!

Brassica: Our favorite B word on board again. Some lovely magenta purple heads of rolling cabbage may make it home with you. Or perhaps flavorful broccoli, our delectable non sequestered cauliflower, or a mix of the two will join you for dinner. Either way, it’s a win.

Sweet Corn: Our sweet and savory candy kernels continue with their popular share presence. This will be the end of this season’s sweet corn. Isn’t it just the best while it lasts?

Farmer’s Choice: Your mystery item this week may be a scrumptious eggplant, a lingering and hard to come by tasty zucchini, a nice bunch of ‘other’ greens, or even something different entirely. One of our most faithful members shared this fun and delicious recipe with me, so I thought I would pass it on to all- http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/09/roast-zucchini-salsa.html– I am always looking for new fun to be had with zucchini’s. Thanks Jane!

FARM NEWS: Welcome to October. We blinked and September is now gone. Hopefully everyone is enjoying this incredible extended summer we’ve been having. However, I have heard from more than just a few of you that you’re ready for the cold. The warmth does help welcome us into the fields in the disappearing day length. This past full moon weekend, we accomplished the start of seeding our winter cover crops, but more acres remain to be seeded. We have begun to harvest some crops that we hope to store for future share material, such as remaining roots, onions, apples, and ‘on the tip of turning’ red tomatoes. The future of tomatoes in the share looks much better than the bleak picture I painted last week. Also, pumpkins are looking plentiful and bright. That reminds me of the heaps of fun we will be having at the annual Fall Harvest Party this year. On October 27th, we hope to see you out here. If you are on Facebook, like our page and see details of the gathering in Events.

In other news, the farm lost a great friend today and he will be dearly missed. Rest in peace good old cat Seed. The greatest cat I have ever known or had the pleasure to have around the last 12 years, left the world today and began the journey from fur to spirit and then beyond to whatever he is destined for next. It feels good to wax words of love. Seeds memory follows me back to when I was going to college at OSU in Corvallis, pre-marriage, pre-children. He was my baby kitten and pleasant diversion to those strenuous science classes of the day. He became accustomed to sleeping in the wood shed because he couldn’t seem to learn to stop using my house-plants (I had many large plants) as his personal bathrooms. He loved the woodshed, loved catching mice, and loved to give lots of love, or was it get, when I returned in the evenings. When I moved back to the farm after school, of course he came with me. One time he immediately disappeared when I let him out of his travel carrier, to the sounds of many dogs, chickens and mules. But, several days later, he walked right up to me and into my arms. He was a survivor. Over and over, his tough little spirit continued to shine and keep his furry big body going, living, mostly outside, and thriving. Wherever I moved, he came along. Sometimes I wouldn’t see him for a few days, but he always found his way back. He was a very good friend to me, and to my family. Hopefully, as far as cats are concerned, we were all good friends to him too. Today my loving husband dug a simple, deep grave under an apple tree, and I laid to rest his still warm, soft body down for the good bye sleep. Changing forms. As is once a Seed, in time so shall be an apple.

Have a great week. May all your transitions be welcomed. Warmest regards from your loving farmers,

Amy & Kip

Week 18 ~ Sept.24-Sept.30, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Cuumbers, Tomatoes, Peppers, Garlic, Brassica, Endive/Escarole blend and Sweet Corn.

Cucumbers: We are getting down to the last of these cool, crisp, summer snacks. Please enjoy while they last.

Tomatoes: The flavorful, orbs of love, sadly also seem to be waning in the field. We noticed the severity of our phytophthera (bacteria ring-spot) levels on the crops this weekend. There is very little we can do about this pathogen, and so many were culled out to join the tomato trail of tears. Hoping everyone is getting their fill and then some, of this timeless, tasty summer mainstay. These may fizzle out before we planned too.

Peppers: We have some tasty, sweet bell-types for everyone again this week, as well as a couple spicy chile’s. More salsa perhaps? Or simply a handsome, baked vehicle for a large amount of cheese? Your call…

Garlic: Again a head of mostly cured garlic will shuffle it’s way into your kitchen.

Brassica: We’re harvesting some dreamy looking heads of cauliflower. Also may have broccoli heads or florets, or even some cabbage for you.

Endive/Escarole: Some greens are back in the share! Yum. I have been enjoying them fresh and raw, but some of you may find them a tad bitter. We try to select cultivars that are a little sweeter, but after a decent wilting or braising, all said bitterness is removed. Here is a very simple recipe that is quick and delicious.

Easy Braised Greens with Garlic and Oil  by Love Farm Organics

• 1 bag full of endive/escarole (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper, or to taste

1. Wash the escarole in plenty of cold water, swishing the leaves gently to remove all sand and grit; then drain in a colander before chopping into 2″ pieces.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and toss them into the pan. Cook, shaking the pan, until garlic turns  golden, about 2 minutes.
3. Carefully stir in as many of the endive/escarole leaves (with the water that clings to them) as will fit comfortably into the pan. Cook, stirring, until the leaves begin to wilt. Continue adding more greens, a handful at a time, until all the greens are in the pan. Season lightly with salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
4. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the endive/escarole is tender, about 8 minutes. If all the liquid in the pan evaporates and the greens begin to stick to the pan, sprinkle a tablespoon or two of water over them. Check the seasoning, add red pepper and salt if necessary and serve immediately.

Sweet Corn: We are so happy to announce more delicious sweet corn for the first days of Fall and your family meals! This later planting is finally ready and so on to you it goes. We still hope to maybe have some ‘pop-corn’ and/or some fun types of ears for you to pop or use as decoration.

Week 17 ~ Sept.17-Sept.23, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share:  Tomatoes, Peppers Sweet’s and Spicy’s, Cucumber, Summer Squash, A Brassica (Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower), and a Farmer’s Choice item.

Tomatoes: We have some real beauties coming out of the fields for you this week. The heirloom giants we hope you all will try are shown below (from left to right) and are named Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Copia, and Pink Brandy-wine. Each half-share will get to weigh out another few pounds this week.

Peppers: We will have a couple to a few big, sweet, bell-type ones, as well as some spicy chile’s for everyone again this week. A note on the peppers, sugars as well as capsicum (spice) levels increase the brighter in color the peppers are. So, if you are looking at bell-types, then the brighter orange’s and red’s are the sweeter. If you are choosing chili’s, then the reds are the spicier. Hopefully you are enjoying the assortment. Most of our cilantro is bolting, but for some of you I will try and have some bunches for Farmer’s Choice to help out with your salsa making.

Cucumber: Another nice fresh, crisp, cool cucumber or two for your healthy go-to summer snack.

Summer Squash: Yes, still. The sizes and shapes of our upcoming winter squash are looking good and going strong, but some types won’t gain any sweetness until some chilly weather comes our way. Suffice it to say, you and I are still cooking up those zucchini’s! Who wants a sweet-meat squash before it’s sweet, anyway?

Brassica: More tasty cauliflower, broccoli and/or cabbage to fill this component of your share. A couple of you wonderful members have talked about this recipe (below) lately. And of course, how heavenly delicious it is, as well as how fondly children will remeber it! This recipe is the leaner version printed in the 1992 edition of “Moosewood Cookbook.”  I will dare to make this for our family this week, as our field knows no shortage of crisp, beautiful cauliflower heads this year. 😉

Cauliflower Cheese Pie
from Mollie Katzen’s The New Moosewood  Cookbook, via The Washington Post
(serves 3-4)

For the crust

• 2 c. grated raw potato (from 2-3 peeled potatoes)
• ½ t. salt
• 1 egg white, beaten
• ¼ c. grated onion

For the filling

• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 c. diced onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ t. salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ t. dried thyme
• ½ t. dried basil
• 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
• 1 c. (4-5 oz.) grated cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs
• ¼ c. milk

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and generously oil a 9″ pie dish.  Seriously, be generous.  This is the difference between ending up with the crispy potato crust attached to your pie and the crispy potato crust attached to your pie dish.
2. Keeping each separate, grate the cheese, then the potatoes, then the onion using a food processor or box grater.
3. To make the crust, place the grated potatoes in a colander and toss them with the salt.  Wait ten minutes, then squeeze out the excess water.  A salad spinner works well for this, or you can wring the potatoes out in a dishtowel.  Stir together the potatoes, egg white and onion in a large bowl, then pat the mixture evenly into your pie dish , building them up the sides to form the crust.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, then brush the crust lightly with olive oil and bake for 10 more minutes.  Remove from oven and lower the temp to 375°F.
5. While the crust bakes, heat 1 T. olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onion, garlic, salt, pepper (to taste) and herbs and sauté for about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent.  Add the cauliflower and stir well to coat.  Cover and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender, 8-10 minutes.  Add a tablespoon of water if the cauliflower begins to stick to the pan.
6. Spread half the cheese over the crust and spoon the cauliflower mixture over, then sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.  Whisk together the eggs and the milk, then pour this mixture over the cauliflower cheese mixture.
7. Bake 35-40 minutes, until set. Enjoy hot or cold!

Farmer’s Choice: The mystery item for the week will again be something we are ‘in-between-on’ in our numbers or crops. For instance, some of you may get some more beautiful beans (which need a longer cooking time this week), or some of the last of our potatoes, or a big bunch of Cilantro, or some nice Bartlett pears.

FARM NEWS: Another week of warm to hot sunshine, and dry days ahead. The long range forcast looks like September won’t get away without at least a smidge of the typical colder and wetter days. But for now the heat goes on….it’s SO great for the lovely tomatoes. Have you put any sauce or salsa away in the pantry or the freezer yet? We have done some, but not enough. The surplus of tomatoes on the farm will be passed on to you and available for your purchase of even more.

We have settled on October 27th for the Fall Harvest Party. It’s a good time for families and kids to come on out to the farm and have a nice look around. We will have a pumpkin patch for the kids to choose one from to take home for cooking, carving or what have you. We should have some games or tasks and a ‘hay-ride’ around the farm for people as well. We have a nice fire-pit down in our woods and we usually grill something and invite guests to bring a dish to share. You are even welcome to camp if you’d like. We always provide  fixing’s for s’more’s and enjoy the afternoon sitting around the fire. Bring your family out, we really hope to see you out here!

The weekend’s go by so very fast this time of year. Much tractor work needs to get done and cover-crop to get in before it’s too late. I’ll leave you with a shot of my rare, lone Daikon I found growing on the edges of our rows a midst wild, dusty overthrown tillage. Of course it was the perfect snack. I couldn’t have been much happier! Have a fabulous week.

Week 16 ~ Sept.10-Sept.16, 2012 CSA Newsletter

This Weeks Share: Potatoes, Onions, Tomatoes, Peppers Sweet’s and Spicy’s, Cucumber, Summer Squash, A Brassica (Broccoli, Cabbage, Cauliflower), and a Farmer’s Choice item.

Potatoes: We are so happy and proud to finally offer all our share’s a nice bag of potatoes for the week. Less than 3 lbs. each, but we all get some. They are dry-farmed (very little H2O) so the flavor is more intense, as well as the nutrient levels. Hope you enjoy them.

Onion: We have relieved all of the storing onions from their confines of hard earth and will be giving them a send off to your table this week. Really nice for stews and stir-fries or sauces.

Tomatoes: More orbs of delicious flavor continue to ripen in our fields. We must pick them every day to keep up, and continue to entrust them from our fields into your happy hands.

Peppers: We aim to have some beauties for you this week, the brighter orange, yellow, and red bells and Italian bells (the big, pointy ones) are very sweet in flavor and perfect in salads or for snacking.

Love Farm Salsa Fresca or Pico-de-Gallo

• 3-4 bell peppers on the sweeter side, chopped
• 1 Jalepeno or banana pepper
• 5-8 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small red or yellow onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
• half a bunch cilantro (more or less depending on your tastes), stems removed
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice
• sea salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Dip corn chips into it all day long!

Cucumber: Good thing our girls love cucumber ‘wheels’ in their lunches. I hope your children do too.

Summer Squash: Another zucchini to take home this week….actually might be time for some zucchini bread!

A Brassica: Everyone will take home a head of cabbage, or broccoli ,or cauliflower. We have some interesting bullet-type cabbage for harvest this week, which taste sweet and delightful.

Farmer’s Choice Item:  Again we reserve the right to thrill and excite you with a mystery item in your vegetable bag. Will it be beans? Will it be celery? Will it be berries? Will it be a bag of mixed lettuce? Or will it be some delightful eggplant for that eggplant Parmesan you have been dreaming of? May whatever we harvest to bring to you, be greeted with welcomed arms and a smile.

FARM NEWS: The weather has been great! The sun is shining bright, and the partly cloudy skies have been perfect to cloud watch at today. Doesn’t the color of the golden streaming sunlight appear more…..well, golden? I swear the light has changed, especially in the late afternoon. It’s sort of like a reflection of the soon to be bright changing colors of the leaves. I love this time of year. The anticipated rain turned into three sprinkles at best, but let down we definitely are not.  However, we will need to keeping watering the field in this light drought we are experiencing. The Fall rains which usually tend to perk up all the greens seem to still be a week or two out. We know it’s coming, just when is the question, but there’s really no rush. It feels like ‘meat & potatoes’ time, or to say it another way – time to start to prepare for the winter. Hard to believe that there’s just eight more weeks to this CSA season.

The pumpkins in the field along with the other winter squash are looking good, turning orange. Also we are probably going to get to share a late corn planting with you too. At least one more week of sweet corn. We have some interesting varieties growing for pop-corn too. We are thinking ahead to the annual Fall Harvest Party. We like the idea of having it the weekend of October 26th-28th. We haven’t decided on Saturday or Sunday yet. I will put together more details and probably a flyer of sorts in the weeks to come. We have decided we probably won’t do a huge amount of work this year, and instead get to do more socializing, fun stuff for the kiddos, and tours or walks through the woods. In any event we will hope for some sun to be shining. I know, it could be too much to ask.

Well have a wonderful week! Our daughters both started pre-school today. So much fun! We hope you and all yours happy, healthy eating and some nice family down time. If that’s too much to ask, at least we hope for you a great family meal. Or two. 🙂