Farm News
The two weeks since our last delivery has flown by with fine weather on our week off from deliveries. Last week was spent planting 6,000 garlic cloves for next year’s CSA . Those cloves are nestled down in the soil they will call home for the next 8 months. They will send out a few roots this fall and then burst forth with growth in the early spring. Each clove of garlic will produce one bulb of garlic. The hardneck garlic also produces a bonus - the garlic scape - that we’ll harvest in June. The 2011 season is off to a good start.
I can’t say there have been many mid November vegetable boxes that were harvested in such mild weather. Earlier in the week, the wind was calm, the sun shining, and we were warm and happy to be in the garden. To have our 2 year old Laura cruising the garden, collecting broccoli leaves for the pigs, and grazing on baby broccoli side shoots without numb fingers is a real joy. It’s hard to keep those little fingers warm even with mittens. At this point, any day above 50 is a gift.
This last box is awesome! The food is abundant and the quality is so nice. The stresses of summer – insects and heat – are gone and the vegetables have been maintaining themselves nicely in one big natural refrigerator. You will find sweetness and flavor in this food that cannot be found any other time of year. It is certainly one of the nicest boxes of the season.
Depending on the weather, we will be offering 1 or 2 more vegetable deliveries after Thanksgiving with the first possible date Friday Dec. 3. We’ll contact you via email with details. We also have meat and eggs that will be available over the winter.
Be good, stay warm, and thanks for supporting this local organic farm.
In Your Box This Week
Salad Mix –This week’s blend contains the following greens. All harvested Thursday morning.
· Red Leaf Lettuce – big beautiful leaves.
· Arugula – dark green lobed leaf with distinct flavor
· Spinach – Perfectly gorgeous and tender with sweet flavor – especially the stems – very sweet. DO NOT DISCARD THE STEMS – they are the best part.
· Tokyo Bekana – Very light green with white rib
Potatoes – In addition to planting garlic, we also dug the rest of the potatoes last week. You have a 2 lb. bag with 2 or 3 varieties. The Yukon Golds have a light brown skin with yellow inside. Then there are the Adirondack Reds and Adirondack Blues. They are hard to tell apart until they are scrubbed and/or sliced. The reds are red inside while the blues are, of course, blue. The colors may fade just a bit on the blues and reds when prepared but they will still have a splash of color.
Broccoli – The fall broccoli is the best of the season. The heads are perfect and flavor is sweet and mild. We leave a few leaves and extra stem on our broccoli heads. The leaves are perfectly edible and can be prepared the same way you use the florets or stem. The stem must be peeled where it has a tough outer skin. The tender inner portion of the stem is almost the best part! Try not to overcook this broccoli as it is best prepared al dente.
Green Onions
Radishes var. ‘Watermelon’ – The tops were lost to our regular frosts and freezes but the roots are very good with little or no heat whatsoever. The outside of the roots are a pale green and the inside is a brilliant pink.
Turnips var. ‘Hakurei’- The turnips also are without tops now after the regular frosts and freezes have damaged the leaves. These turnip roots are snow white, tender, sweet, crunchy and delicious. Don’t confuse them with the radishes who have a pale green exterior.
Beets – We just served beets this week and are reminded how sweet and delicious the fall beets can be – our kids literally cheered when we set them on the table. These roots are easily steamed or oven roasted where they will caramelize and sweeten even more.
Kohlrabi – A member of the cabbage or brassica family, kohlrabi is becoming one of our favorites. Especially at this time of year when the bulb sweetens with the cool weather. Both leaves and bulb are edible. Leaves are wonderful wilted with fresh garlic and olive oil. The bulb, actually the swollen base of the stem, is peeled and eaten raw or cooked like a potato or turnip. But you won’t want to cook it once you taste how good it is raw – crispy, crunchy, juicy, mild and sweet. Check out the recipe below – it’s delicious.
Garlic - This garlic will easily last for months in a cool dark location. Do not refrigerate.
Kohlrabi and Apple Salad With Creamy Mustard Dressing
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons coarse-grained or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon sugar or more depending on your taste
2-3 kohlrabi bulbs peeled and cut into bite size pieces
2 firm, crisp apples, cut into bite size pieces
In a bowl whisk the mayo, sour cream, lemon juice mustard, parsley, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine kohlrabi and apple slices in bowl and toss with the dressing. Adjust seasonings and serve. Excellent served over a bed of salad greens.
Notes: We enjoyed this salad with the addition of raisins, sunflower meats, and sliced fresh cabbage – napa or regular. The cabbage adds nice color. We also tossed with one of our roasted chickens and served it over a bed of greens for an excellent lunch.
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