The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 14

Hello,

Sunshine seems to be the order for this week.  Tomatoes are ripening!  Last Tuesday we hosted a tour for a creation care camp for kids.  

John and Janna,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting us come by on Tuesday morning. I know that I really enjoyed seeing your gardens and all of the animals. Sally and I were discussing how most adults - even in our creation tenders group - have probably never seen anything like that. The kids were quite taken with the chickens. And they loved the garlic! (My car still smells of it!) They played with it and nibbled it all afternoon. One boy even took a dare from Laremy De Vries and ate a whole clove - his eyes watered, his face turned red, and he felt quite sick afterwards (And he still smells like garlic today!) Laremy gave him $5 instead of $1 as he felt bad for his suffering: :) 

We roasted the 3 chickens and carrots and potatoes yesterday. The smells drove the kids wild all morning. And they devoured every last bite. One boy raved that the potatoes were the best he had ever had in his life! And most kids had never had a roasted chicken before - they kept commenting on how tender it was.

And then I made some soup with the bones and carrots for lunch today which disappeared quickly. The boys, especially, were impressed as it fit in with the 3 R's we talked about yesterday (reduce, reuse, recycle). 

So thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to show us around. We loved all of the information and seeing the chicken chores. Your hard work is evident - and delicious!

Blessings to you all,

Becky

Tomorrow we have another group coming and will tell you about it next week.  This past week we did a lot of planting......more beans, radishes, peas, zucchini, beets, greens.......it is amazing what can still be produced even late in the season.  We are also beginning to watch for the first ripening melons as they are sizing up nicely.

This week in your share......

Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

Cucumber - An even simpler twist on cucumber salad.  Peel and chunk or slice your cucumbers,  add some very thinly sliced onion and/or diced green pepper (optional), add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, chopped fresh dill - about 1 Tbsp (or to taste).  Toss it all together and refrigerate 1-2 hours, then serve.

Red Thumb Fingerling Potatoes - with a pretty pink swirl inside.  These are perfect for roasting.  Slice in wedges lengthwise, toss in olive oil, spread on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, pepper and any of your favorite herbs.  Bake at 350 - 400F until tender and browned.  Try pressing some garlic and adding it to the olive oil  for a nice variation.

Filet Beans - these tender little beans are a gourmet delight.  Prepare them just as you would regular beans.

Green peppers

Carrots - how about some carrot cake!

Lettuce

Below is a recipe for Carrot Cake from www.101cookbooks.com   I really enjoy this website because there is a stress on using healthy fresh ingredients and there are always great pictures of the prepared recipes. I would encourage you to check it out.  I used regular plain yogurt in the recipe and substituted chopped pumpkin seeds for the walnuts (John has a nut allergy).  Without added sugar, this makes a really nice breakfast loaf or a hearty snack.  We didn't bother to frost it, but just buttered our slices to serve.  Enjoy!

Carrot Cake Recipe

If you have a hard time finding whole wheat pastry flour, feel free to substitute unbleached all-purpose flour. Reader Nicole mentions that she made a wheat-free version with good results - substituting one cup oat flour and one cup gluten-free baking mix. Thanks Nicole!

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts 
4 ounces unsalted butter, heated until just melted
1/2 cup dried dates, seeded and finely chopped into a paste
3 ripe bananas (1 1/4 cups), mashed well
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (2% or lowfat is ok)
2 eggs, lightly whisked

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x5x3 / 8-cup loaf pan (or 8x8 cake pan) and line it with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the walnuts and set aside.

Stir the dates into the melted butter, breaking up the dates a bit.

In a separate bowl combine the bananas and carrots. Stir in the date-butter mixture, breaking up any date clumps as you go. Whisk in the yogurt and the eggs. Add the flour mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean in the center of the cake - it'll be less if you are using a standard cake pan. Remove from oven and let cool.

While the cake is baking whip together the cream cheese and agave nectar. Taste. If you like your frosting sweeter adjust to your liking. When the cake has completely cooled frost the top of the cake with an offset spatula.

Makes one carrot cake.

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

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 13

August Greetings to you all!

It is hard to believe that we are already into our 13th week of CSA.  The weeks just seem to fly by when we are so busy. 

 Allison informed us yesterday that July 2009 has been the coldest July on record in over 100 years. Wow!  No wonder the tomatoes and other heat loving crops are taking their time.  However, when I went out to pick cucumbers today I was almost overwhelmed by the abundance hiding under the vines.  I also planted a variety of gourds this year just for fun and the vines are crawling all over the place.  Fortunately, they are able to spill over into a grassy ditch so I can guide them away from a new group of carrots.  

As we anticipate fall, we also keep planting cooler weather crops for later.  These include some of the same crops we enjoyed in the spring like salad greens, and brassica crops such as broccoli and cabbage as well as root crops like carrots and beets.  Many of these crops don't do as well in the summer heat, but are able to tolerate quite a bit of cold.

But for now we will continue to enjoy the summer warmth and the bounty of the garden.

In your basket this week.....

Cherry Tomatoes - 

Cucumber - crispy and sweet these are begging to be eaten raw or tossed with a light vinaigrette in a salad.  (see the recipe below)

Bintje Potatoes - 

Zucchini - 

Tomatoes - just some regular red ones for slicing

Onions - 

Lettuce - Just in time for some BLT's - YUM!!

Carrots - 

As always, if you have any recipe suggestions that you would be willing to share we would be happy to pass them along.  Thank you!

Have a great week!

 Chilled Cucumber Salad
CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com

Category: Cucumber Salad 
Serves/Makes: 6    |   Difficulty Level: 2    |   Ready In: 30-60 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups thinly-sliced chilled cucumbers
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup thinly-sliced fresh onions
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 dash cayenne

Directions:
Place cucumber slices in medium-size glass bowl and sprinkle with salt. Stir in onions. 

Place remaining ingredients in 2-cup glass measure and beat with fork to combine. Pour over cucumbers and onions and toss lightly. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Stir before serving.

Recipe Location: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/133/ChilledCucumberSalad69769.shtml
Recipe ID: 40550
Don't forget to stop back at CDKitchen and write a review or upload a picture of this recipe!

This recipe is from CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com
© 1995-2009 CDKitchen, Inc.

 

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol. 3, Issue 12

Greetings to you all,

It has been a beautiful week of warmer temperatures and sunshine. It almost seems odd to have to think about watering again - most vegetables need at least 1" of rain per week. We have been busy harvesting, but also doing a lot of planting seeds and transplants for fall.

Our biggest job this past week was harvesting the garlic. We are happy to report that it is all hanging and drying nicely. John and I were both amazed at the rate of drying over the weekend. This weekend we rushed home from market and set off for Kanawha, Iowa - about 150 miles - to a tour (sponsored by Practical Farmers of Iowa) at the farm of our mentors. We had an enjoyable evening visiting.

In your basket this week....

Zucchini - nice standard green zukes great for cooking and baking. If you have extra, you can always grate it up and freeze it to save for soups later on.

Cucumbers - Yummy! crispy and delicious

Cherry Tomatoes

Potatoes - Kerr's Pink

Green Beans -

Green Peppers - first of the season!

Garlic -

Whole shares will also include Red Cabbage this week.

Have a Great Week!

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 11

Good evening!

Another rainy afternoon brought us inside, but not before we accomplished a lot of work outdoors.  It is time for garlic harvest and I am estimating that about 1/3 of it is pulled and stacked in the barn waiting to be trimmed and hung to cure.  The girls think it looks really "cool" hanging in long strings from the rafters to the floor.  Adrienne took some pictures before supper and we will get those posted soon.  It is actually a fairly messy job due to the rains.  Ideally we would have a few weeks of drying weather before garlic harvest, but it looks like that is not to be, so we must forge ahead and hope that it dries well without any fungal problems.  We cannot wait too much longer, or the bulbs wrappers will start to deteriorate or worse, the bulbs will "shatter" as they get overripe. 

Our helpers did a great job of prepping your veggies today and John also had some help clearing out old plants.  We rented a big mower for the tractor to even out the pasture and mow off the old strawberry plants in preparation for plowing.  While all of this was going on, I managed to transplant about 800 Kohlrabi which will benefit from the cloudy damp conditions, and plant a row of late basil.  The girls donned rain gear and hosed each other off along with the potatoes and carrots :0)

Our little piggies continue to thrive and are a good source of entertainment.  The turkeys also continue to grow and do well.  If you are interested in a turkey for Thanksgiving be sure to reserve one now - thank you to those of you that have already ordered.  We ordered the turkeys a little later than usual so that they would be ready just before the holiday and we are hoping to offer them as a fresh (not frozen) bird.

In your basket this week......

Kerr's Pink Potato - this is a wonderful tasting Irish masher.

Tomatoes - either cherry or regular

Carrots - crispy and sweet

Daikon Radish - wonderful in salads or sliced up on a sandwich

Onions - these are really getting "huge", but are wonderfully sweet and delicious - red or white.  If you find yourself getting ahead on onions, just chop them up and put them in the freezer - ready to pull out and add to a cooked dish  when you are in a hurry.

Green Beans - we are amazed at how the cool weather has affected the rate of growth of the beans.  We really could use some warm days of sunshine

Broccoli - we had really hoped to bring you some zucchini this week, but once again the cool weather........., anyway, zukes for sure next week!

Whole shares will also have a cucumber this week.

Some Recipe ideas that I tried this week that you may also enjoy.....

Root Veggie Slaw 

I heard the idea for this on my way home from market last week while listening to the public radio show "The Splendid Table".  The great thing about it is that you can use just about any veggies you have on hand, and the dressing is a nice light change from traditional creamy slaw dressings.  (from The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider)

1 small celery root (@12oz)

4 med. parsnips (8oz)

2 parsley roots (8 oz)

1 tsp lemon  or orange zest

8 oz yellow or red beets

Dressing:  whisk all ingredients together and pour over vegetables and stir - taste and adjust seasonings.

2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

Kosher salt - to taste

Pinch of sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil or roasted hazelnut or walnut oil

1 tsp. warm water

Freshly ground black pepper - to taste

I used the dressing recipe above, but my veggie mix consisted of:

chopped cabbage

peeled, finely chopped raw beets (these add nice color)

minced onion

grated carrots

grated daikon radish

You could also use small chunks of broccoli or cauliflower - use your imagination!

Listed below is another root veggie salad recipe.  I think this would also be nice with equal parts daikon and carrot.

http://www.grouprecipes.com/sr/22257/japanese-daikon-carrot-salad/recipe/

Japanese Daikon Carrot Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 c peeled & finely shredded daikon radishes .
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted .
• 1/3 c finely shredded carrots .
• 3 tbsps granulated sugar .
• 1/4 c rice vinegar or white vinegar .
• 1 1/2 tsps salt

Directions

• Step #1 Toss radish, carrot & salt together in large bowl.
• Step #2 Let stand for 10 mins.
• Step #3 Knead until soft.
• Step #4 Squeeze dry. (or let drain in a colander)
• Step #5 Combine rice vinegar & sugar in small c.
• Step #6 Stir until sugar is dissolved.
• Step #7 Pour over radish mixture.
• Step #8 Toss until well coated.
• Step #9 Sprinkle top with sesame seeds.
• Step #10 Makes 2 c.
• Step #11 Company�s Coming.
• Enjoy the Japanese Daikon Carrot Salad recipe

Have a great week!

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol. 3 Issue 10

Good Evening Folks!

I hope it is dry tomorrow morning at the park for your subscription pick up. I was assured by friends this evening that it will dry up.

What can I tell you about this past week? It rained and rained, digging carrots and potatoes meant washing off mud. The onions and beets took more rinsing than usual.

In preparing today for tomorrow morning we sure miss the energy and skills of our youngest daughter. Adrienne is off to music camp at USD-Vermillion for the week.

A highlight this past week was being the "featured vendor" at the Falls Park Farmers Market. Chef Jonathan from the Sanford Hospital comes and prepares a treat for visitors to the market based on produce from the "featured vendor". Madeline liked it so much she made it for supper tonight.

California Blend Salad

1 head Broccoli (cleaned and destemed)
1 head Cauliflower (cleaned and destemed)
6 carrots (cleaned and sliced)
½ C. Favorite Dressing

1. Blanch all vegetables in steamer or olive oil
In boiling water for 4-8 min.
2. Chill veggies and toss in your favorite dressing.

Roasted 4 Potato Salad

Ingredients:
Potato Mix of Yukon Gold, Bintje, Rio Colorado & Kerr's Pink (cleaned & diced)
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
olive oil
1. Mix all ingredients
2. Spread out on sheet pan
3. Bake at 350 for 25 min, or until tender
4. Serve hot or chill and serve.


In your box this week....

Cherry Tomatoes!!! - Yes! they are finally ripe in a quantity that you could all have some. John calls this a "teaser" - they may not make it home - a nice little assortment of colors, shapes and sizes. Enjoy!

Garlic - this is uncured garlic, but I couldn't resist sharing these bulbs of plump cloves with you. Peel off the outer layers and store cloves, wrapped in a "baggie", in the fridge.

Onion - Red or Yellow - we can't get enough of these sweet summer onions.

Beans - Green or Yellow - always good steamed, but also nice pickled in a bean salad.

Carrots - with all the rain we've had, these are super crispy

Potatoes - this week we are featuring a Dutch heirloom called "Bintje" a really nice white potato.

Beets - scrub these up and try roasting some in the oven to go along with your potatoes.
Due to wet conditions, these are coming to you this week without tops.

Cauliflower -

This week, the full shares will also be receiving green cabbage

Have a wonderful week!

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 9

Well, you would think that someone that majored in history at college and continued to read books about the past till recently, would have learned not to repeat the error of the past. Every time John picked green beans in the past it led to back trouble. About a year ago he was treated in Sioux Falls several times and has felt much better this winter/spring compared to the previous three years. This afternoon while Janna, Jessica and Adrienne were picking beans he thought he would help! Big mistake, a few minutes later while digging carrots something in the lower back said it quit. Bottom line for our customers is that the carrot digging stopped. 

It was very beautiful outside this morning and most mornings lately. The rain was just wonderful over the weekend taking off the pressure to irrigate. We had watered pretty steady last week and were feeling on top of the moisture situation and on top of the weeds. To be blessed with a such timely rain is great. Now when it dries a bit (today) we will get on the weeds and clean up of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage plant remains and feed them to the pigs.

If you have been following our posts since January you may recall we purchased some purebred Berkshire glits which were bred and gave us 19 wonderful little feeders! They were farrowed at a friends farm and were brought here about a week ago. Janna and Madeline put broccoli in the freezer today and we fed them the stumps and rejected pieces. They cleaned it up! We like taking care of our compost that way!

This wednesday our second batch of pastured broilers will go to the butcher and get packaged. We continue to hear wonderful remarks about the flavor of meat from people that have purchased them.  Now last thursday the third batch of broiler chicks arrived and with them the turkeys. We bring it to your attention now because they are heritage breeds, at 6 weeks they will be on grass till butchering, which this year will be just before Thanksgiving. They will be ready just it time so it will be a "fresh" bird! Again there will be  a limited number so please reserve one early.

This week in your shares you will find some of the following;

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Beans

Potatoes-Red Norland

Lettuce-Summer Crisp, a heat tolerant variety!

Cabbage

Onion

Carrots