In the box for this delivery you should find;

spinach

salad mix

lettuce with arugula

kale

radish

red potato

red cabbage

celeriac

green peppers

turnips

cauliflower or broccoli

carrots






















It has been too long. We did our last summer CSA distribution and then had a 2 week break before we began our fall CSA deliveries. For the first delivery we didn't do a newsletter because we didn't make time to do it ahead of time and then afterwards we felt tired, combined with thinking that everything in the box was routine, standard and needed no explanation etc. We failed. We should have sent a note saying the round white things were red meat radishes. The turnips are in this weeks box!

I would like to show how the greens in your box got there today. Here are some pictures beginning outside, going into the tunnel to gather the greens and then to the barn for the packing.

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 20!

Wow, it is September 21 and we are at the end of another summer of vegetables.  It is hard to believe and yet, today, we commented to each other that the weather has changed and fall is in the air.  

As we have mentioned (hopefully to all of you) we are preparing to do a Fall Share CSA.  If you aren't sure what you will do without fresh vegetables from The Cornucopia, then this is your answer.  A Fall Share will consist of six (6) bi-weekly deliveries starting on October 7 with the last delivery December 16.  You can expect things like beans and peppers (until a hard frost) and more cold tolerant items like brassicas, carrots, celery, and many greens like spinach and lettuce (we have the tunnel planted full).   Also included will be storage crops like onion, garlic, squash, potatoes and leek.  You might wonder how it is possible to have things like greens available until December, but remember that many of these crops are actually improved by cold temperatures both in vibrant color and flavor.  Price for the Fall Share will be $180 - that is just $15 per week delivered to Sioux Center and Orange City. Please let us know by October 2  if you plan to participate.  You may send us an email and we will accept your payment with the first delivery or you may send us a check in the mail. If you have friends or family that would be interested, please pass this information along to them as well.  

There are some great movies/documentaries out there right now about local food and knowing where your food comes from.  Tomorrow evening, we are heading for Sioux Falls to "Food, Inc." and recently we viewed a trailer about a new documentary called "Fresh".  Tomorrow and Wednesday we are participating in "Green Week" at Mercy Hospital in Sioux City

When you come to pick up your share tomorrow, please remember to return all of your boxes.  It will be helpful if you bring along a bag or box of your own to put your share in, but if you forget, John will have some bags available for you.  Thanks again for your patronage this year and we look forward to serving you in the coming season.  

In your share this week.....

Carrots - This is a new crop with the tops on.  We kept planting them throughout the year for a continuous supply.

Broccoli - loves this cool weather.

Beans - as long as the weather holds, so will the beans.  Keep enjoying them while you can.

Yellow Onions

Butternut Squash - Yum!  this is one of my favorite signs of fall.  If you can resist, these squash will actually improve in flavor and sweetness if you cure them for about a week.  Place them in a sunny window or better yet, out on your porch in direct sun.  However, if frost threatens, take them inside.  You can cook this squash by peeling, cubing and steaming it until tender, or you can simply cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and then place cut side down in a baking dish with at least 1/2" of water and bake at 350 degrees until tender and then scoop the meat out of the shell.  I like to eat it with some butter and a little salt and pepper.

Peppers - Red Beauties!  I picked over 100 this afternoon and didn't get finished.  Did you know that red pepper has more vitamin C than an orange?  Pack one in your lunch and eat it like an apple.  Chop it up and throw it in a salad or stir fry or add some to your chicken soup for extra color and nutrition.

Leaf Lettuce - time for a salad

Green Cabbage - cabbage rolls, cole slaw, steam or grill a wedge and drizzle some herbed butter or balsamic vinegar over the top.......

German Butterball Potato - cool weather just makes me think of potato soup and looking at the list of items above I see a lot of things that would go well in it, like broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions.......

Whole shares will also have a bunch of Crunchy Royale Radish

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 19

Dear Friends

You have your boxes because Janna delivered them this evening. We are anticipating a week of sunshine! and look forward to getting things done outdoors.

In you box you will find;

spinach

broccoli

kale

kohlrabi

yellow crookneck squash-this is an excellent summer squash that you can use like Zucchini in stir fry's etc.

german butterball potatoes

green beans

garlic

yellow onion

red peppers

tomatoes

Sometimes life is a blur! Too often I work outdoors doing chores till just before a meeting in town and need to eat my supper in the van/truck on the way to town. This evening I had a meeting at church and my food tasted so good. I had green beans done just right soaked in butter,  Sunday's leftover mashed potatoes heated up with butter and chunks of chicken. I had to tell Janna when I got home that it was the best supper I had in long time. Just basic homegrown home cooked food being eaten in the old pickup. I hope you all enjoy a meal or two this week just I like did. 

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 18

Hello!

We have seeded one of our tunnels to cold tolerant crops like salad mix, arugula, spinach, lettuce, carrots and some others.  The challenge is knowing when to seed to get a plant large enough so that when it is cold outside that it is almost mature and ready to harvest yet will stay in very good condition because the tunnel acts like a large fridge keeping the crop good and we should be able to harvest as we need it in October, November and December. In your box this week there is a package of salad mix that was grown outdoors in the last 4 weeks. We have another planting outdoors just coming up now for 4-5 weeks from now before we anticipate harvesting in the tunnel. The other tunnel still has tomatoes in it and will have for several more weeks.

If you would like to participate in a "fall subscription" or purchase some of these cold tolerant crops please send us an email. 

In the boxes this week:

Asian Greens-Greens like this are one reason why spring and fall are our favorite seasons.

Arugula

 

Acorn Squash-Janna made one for lunch late last week, we each had a half, Janna likes to put butter on the squash on her plate, I like it plain. Great flavor and texture.

Green Beans

Peppers- We are so happy we have peppers. The plants looked so poor in May and didn't grow much in June. It was so cool and wet early in the season just when the plants needed heat. 

Cherry Tomatoes-The little tomatoes are a favorite snack. We had a visitor Friday that really didn't think much of tomatoes till he helped himself to little orange ones, he kept picking and eating!

Austrian Crescent Potatoes- We had some for lunch today. This potato turns green very quickly. Please store them in a dark place. For some reason the sun penetrates the soil near the top of the tubers or at bottom of the plant and a lot of the tuber tips turn green. We tried to leave them in the field or sort them out but if you have a tip that is green please slice it off before you prepare your potatoes. We like them boiled or steamed. They have a very firm texture which is great for potato salad. They roast very well too.

Carrots

Full shares also have Cauliflower.

Please watch for an email near the weekend about next week. John is a delegate to a classis meeting next Tuesday in Platte and Janna may come along to visit family friends near Platte so we may make other arrangements for the box distribution.

Enjoy your food!

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 17

Cool nights, heavy dew, mild days and slight breezes. Does it feel like August? Tomorrow it will be September. Where has the summer gone?

We would like to thank all of you for your compliments, kind words and encouragement. We do like continuous improvement so please give us suggestions on what we could do better in future. 

We have free tickets to a movie! Food Inc. is being shown in Sioux Falls and our chiropractor friend Dr. Ben Rall has given us 12 tickets to give away.  Many people have read Michael Pollan's book The Omnivores Dilemma or have heard about a farmer named Joel Salatin, both are featured in this film about food production. Check out the link for more information or google Food Inc. and there is alot of information online including trailers and clips at youtube.com.

http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-film.php

Food Safety bills continue to work their way through the legislative system in Washington D.C.. Part of me is alarmed and concerned to the point that I wonder if we will be able to do this in future. On the other hand some of the proposed rules are so beyond common sense they will not have enough agents to inspect or enforce all their rules. Please watch for them and ask our representatives to keep in mind the small producers, the little farms like the Cornucopia.

In your box this week;

Celery 

Garlic

Carrots

Cucumber (last time)

Carola Potato

Peppers ( colored)

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Daikon Radish

The full shares will also have beans and the half shares have a melon.

We have 3 weeks left in this season! 

John and Janna

Greetings!

School has started again.  Elizabeth is back teaching, Jessica moved into her dorm and Madeline, Adrienne and Rachel have returned to their studies as well.  This, of course, means that our work schedule really changes. I love the approach of Fall.  Days are shorter, but cooler night temperatures and cool mornings with warm dry afternoons are a pleasure.  We hope that your transition to more fall-like weather is pleasant.  The changing of seasons also helps us look forward to a change in types of produce.  While some items will remain staples, such as carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, etc.,  we can still look forward t0 things like winter squash, leek and more broccoli, cabbage, beets and fall greens.

This week in your share.....

Cucumbers -

Summer Squash - this will include a variety of regular zucchini, yellow crookneck, and some little rounds called "Light Green of Tuscany". The small round would be nice quartered and the larger rounds might be nice with the tops sliced off, seed pocket hollowed out and then stuffed and baked.

Carola Potatoes - very similar in appearance to German Butterball, these are also of German origin and are a nice all purpose potato.

Cherry Tomatoes - 

Tomatoes - 

Sweet Peppers - 

Beets - mostly the sweet chioggia and golden variety.  Wonderful cooked and served with a little butter.

Kohlrabi - a great raw snack to pack into your lunch box.

Have a great week!

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 15

Greetings,

It has been another pleasant week.  Rain showers over the weekend are helping to germinate the seeds we planted last week - greens, lettuce, spinach, carrots........  Today, after picking your produce, we spent time cleaning up spent crop residue and weeding.  It is always a challenge later in the season to keep up with weeding, but it is still important as weeds let go at this time of year will go to seed and leave many years worth of seed for us to tackle later.

This week we will also bring another group of chickens to the butcher.  We have had a great response this year and as a result have been completely sold out for the last two weeks.  If you are interested in a freezer order later this fall, please get your request in soon so that we will be able to fill it.  Thanks!

In your basket this week.....

Carrots - 

Tomatoes - 

Cherry Tomatoes - 

Cucumbers - 

Lemon Basil - 

Austrian Crescent Fingerling Potatoes - These are known as the "king of the fingerlings" and are a great salad potato.  Also delicious simply boiled, steamed or roasted.

Zucchini - 

Peppers  - Sweet and Hot - 

Swiss Chard - 

I have once again found a great looking recipe on www.101cookbooks.com that I think you will enjoy.  Please refer to the website for pictures and comments on this recipe.  It was also suggested that you might use quinoa in place of the couscous.

Cherry Tomato Couscous

Keep your eyes peeled for whole wheat or barley couscous - either would work great here. You can easily make this vegan by leaving out the feta - maybe do some sort of harissa drizzle instead?

3 cups cooked couscous* 
1/2 a basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 lemon, cut in half
1 lime, cut in half
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup basil or cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, and chickpeas in a large bowl. Lori - squeezes the lemon and lime juice directly into the bowl, so start by giving a good squeeze of lemon and lime juice into the bowl, add the olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Toss well, taste, and adjust with more of the above until it tastes just right. Lori notes - this really needs a generous amount of salt, and the lemon and lime juices might need to be adjusted depending on how juicy the fruit is.

Add the basil and feta and toss gently until it is evenly dispersed.

Serves 4 - 6.

*To cook the couscous: Either follow the package instructions or bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil, stir in a scant 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt and 2 cups of couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes and then use a fork to fluff up the couscous.

101 Cookbooks http://www.101cookbooks.com/

Over the weekend we enjoyed some homemade pizza.  Simple and delicious with fresh ingredients.   Here is the crust recipe from my friend Glenda Bos. I whipped it up in my KitchenAid in no time at all and we went grocery shopping while the dough was rising.

Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water (110F)

1 (1/4 oz.) pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp.)

1 tsp. sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup semolina flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. salt

Combine water, yeast, sugar and stir.

Let sit until foamy (5 minutes or so)

Add 1 1/2 cups of flour, the semolina, oil, and salt and mix until smooth.  (I didn't have semolina, so I substituted some whole wheat)

Keep adding flour - 1/4 cup at a time with the mixer running until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still a little sticky.

Knead until smooth, but still slightly tacky, 3-5 minutes, adding little bits of flour if needed.

Oil a large bowl and place dough in the bowl, turning it to oil all sides of the dough. Cover the bowl and set in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (1 - 1 1/2 hours).

Divide the dough and roll into 2 round crusts (or whatever shape you need to fit your pan).

Bake in a 475F oven

We brushed the crust with olive oil and prebaked it for about 10 minutes and then added toppings and finished baking.  Toppings included, halved cherry tomatoes or thinly sliced regular tomatoes, cheese, basil (add this after you take it out of the oven), green peppers - use your imagination! You could probably experiment with this and try prebaking and wrapping and freezing the crust to use later.

Have  a great week!