Week 6 2017 Newsletter

In YourBox   

Lettuce Head and or salad mix

Cilantro

Carrots (Halves)

Raspberries/Strawberries (halves)

Garlic Scapes – The flowering Shoot of the garlic plant I break off in the early summer use in anything you would use garlic in, slightly milder

Celery

Cucumbers

Beets

Oyster Mushrooms

Broccoli (fulls)

Peas

 

Week 6 2017 Newsletter

Week 5 2017 Newsletter

In YourBox   

Lettuce Head

Mint

Carrots

Chinese Cabbage (Halves)

Garlic Scapes – The flowering Shoot of the garlic plant I break off in the early summer use in anything you would use garlic in, slightly milder

Salad turnips great in stir fries and salads but as versatile as a potato (fulls)

Swiss Chard

Cucumbers

Strawberries (Fulls)

Oyster Mushrooms (fulls)

Broccoli (halves)

Scallions

 

Week 5 Newsletter pdf

Week 3 2017 Newsletter

Time keeps rollin on. More Greenery from Stoney Acres as we plunge head long into stirfry season . 

In YourBox   

Salad Mix

Mint

Bok choy – my favorite stir fry green. Sweet succulent leaves.

Chinese Cabbage – Fulls

Green Garlic or scallions- not as pungent as bulb garlic use everything except any roots or yellow leaves. Scallions are softer

Salad turnips great in stir fries and salads but as versatile as a potato

Kohlrabi – eat the greens like kale

Cucumbers fulls

Strawberries fulls

Radishes - Fulls

Full PDF o the Newsletter

Week 2 2017 Newsletter

In Your Box   

•   Salad Mix

•   Spinach

•   Bok choy – my favorite stir fry green. Sweet succulent leaves.

•   Beets- great red Rhonda Storage beets

•   Green Garlic- not as pungent as bulb garlic use everything except any roots or yellow leaves

•   Oyster Mushrooms

•   Kohlrabi – eat the greens like kale

•   Chives

•   Ruhbarb – Fulls

•   Radishes or salad turnips - fulls

 

Week 2 2017 Newsletter

2017 Preseason Welcome

Stoney Acres Farm Community Supported Agriculture

Preseason Welcome 2017

Stoney Acres Farm                                                                                             715-432-6285

7002 Rangeline Rd.                                                                       info@stoneyacresfarm.net

Athens, WI 54411                                            https://www.facebook.com/stoneyacresfarmandpizza

All the Dates and Details for the 2017 Season

 

Communication

Weekly email  –We will remind you the day of the pick-up.

 

Weekly newsletters – There are paper copies of our newsletter at all pick-up sites and posted on our website each week. We send newsletter links with email reminders. Newsletters are the #1 way we communicate with you. You are responsible for reading these each week. This is where we communicate everything important. They let you know what is in your box, how to use it, news from the farm, and event info.

 

Website - Are you wondering when the big farm events are, need directions, need a recipe or are thinking about ordering meat, you need to find a pickup site? We have lots of info here. You can always download a weekly newsletter at this site as well. www.stoneyacresfarm.net. Facebook – We have a page which is a glimpse into farm life and will have pictures of veggies, general information, and more https://www.facebook.com/stoneyacresfarmandpizza.

 

Coming to visit – If you would like to tour the farm, to help out one day, to see where and see how your food is produced you are always welcome. Friday night we are always open for visitors. Please call in advance to set up another time. Kids are welcome at visits but we ask that you leave pets at home unless they are working.

 

How to contact us – Email us at info@stoneyacresfarm.net, call/ text 715-432-6285, or use mail Stoney Acres Farm 7002 Rangeline Rd. Athens WI. The best way to reach us is text/phone, followed by email/facebook.

                                                             

Getting Your Weekly CSA Box

 

1) CSA boxes will be available for pick up Thursdays between 1-6pm; on-farm pick-ups only are Wednesdays after 4pm & Thursdays all day. We can save boxes for Friday pickup at the farm if you let us know. The season runs for 20 weeks, from June 1st until October 12th.  

 

2) Your CSA pick up site based on the box you checked on the application. If you would like to pick up at a different address please call or email us to let us know as soon as possible.

 

3) When you arrive at your pick-up sites (see address below) you will be expected to select your box. Small shares (white) and Full-shares (Black) will be separated and to check off your name from the member list. PLEASE CHECK NAME OFF – we use this information to call people who forget boxes and our records.

 

4) Weekly newsletters are available each week at the drop sites and online. Please read them.

 

 

If you’re out of town or will not be able to pick up your box…   You have options!

1) Have someone pick up your box for you. Please make sure that they know your pick-up site and box size.

2) Notify us at least 1 day in advance and we will not pack you a box for that week.

3) If you are in Wausau, you can have a box donated to Neighbors’ Place. Let us know if you plan this.

If you forget to pick up your box or have an emergency call or text us as soon as you can. In some cases we can help you get your box late (Thursday night) or have it set aside until Friday morning.

 

 

Dropsite locations

  • At the farm: 7002 Rangeline Rd. 5 min due north of Athens
  • Athens: contact us for delivery
  • Marshfield: Sue Kaup 112 N Purdy Ave  
  • Merrill:  Apprill Family Chiropractic 3207 E. Main St. Just off Hwy. 64
  • Wausau East Side: The garage of Heather and Kent Busig, 2201 Elmwood Blvd Wausau, WI
  • Wausau Highway 51: 5 Koshas Yoga and Wellness, 2220 Sherman St, Wausau, WI

 

This Year’s Events - mark your calendar

All farm events are included in the cost of your share.

Note- for full details see the website under CSA Events

 

vRegular Volunteer Days- Monday-Wednesday between 8am-12pm or 1-5pm June-Oct. no experience needed. We can always find fun tasks. Contact us before you come. To volunteer at farm events or other times just call, text or email.

 

vPizza Nights at Stoney Acres Farm Fridays May 5th – November 3rd    

Weekly pizza nights at the farm serving food on Friday from 4:30pm-8pm. Pizza Night is not included in the cost of the CSA but is a nice excuse to visit. CSA members can participate in u-pick events or gleaning during Friday nights when seasonally applicable. Wear a Stoney Acres T-Shirt and get $1 off your pizza!

 

Pizza on the Farm Ticketed Saturday Nights – This year I will be having several Saturday Pizza nights where you purchase your pizza online and reserve your time spot so there is no waiting. The Saturday dates are as follows: May 6th, May 27th, June 17th, July 1st, July 29th, August 19th, September 2nd, September 16th. To Purchase your tickets and reserve your spot for Saturday Pizza on the Farm go to: www.stoneyacresfarm.net select your date and reserve your pizzas and time.

 

vStoney Acres CSA Only Pizza Night. Saturday May 20th pizzas made 5-7pm. This is like a regular pizza night (you buy your pizzas) but without crowds and is on a Saturday night. Includes time to mingle with fellow CSA members, farm tour, a preview of the first CSA box with tips on storage. Come hang out with your farmer! Bring Friends!

 

v1st CSA DELIVERY -Thursday, June 1st

 

vGleaning & U-pick – This season we will regularly update the website, facebook and newsletters for gleaning (picking vegetables after we are done harvesting for the CSA and market).  We hope to have lots of options for those who like to preserve and pick. You will be able to glean for personal use or donation to local food banks. DATES TBA throughout the season.

 

vHarvest Hootenanny Barn Dance- Saturday August 5th 7 - 11:59pm  -There will be no potluck this year. The dance will be at Tony’s Aunt and Uncles place at 7pm. Shake your tailfeathers with us to the awesome music of the Hometown Harmony Club. Enjoy great organic food from the farm and beer from local microbrews.  The best event of the season!

 

vTomato U-pick - Late August- September: We will announce times in the newsletter

 

vPumpkin Pick, Pie, and Pizza – Sunday, October 1st 2pm - 5pm.  Rain or shine come for picking, pizza, Apple Cider pressing, pie and farm tours. Everyone gets 2 pumpkins or squash. More details online.

 

vLAST CSA DELIVERY- Thursday October 12th

 

 

 

CSA Newsletter Week 12

In Your Box

 

Cucumbers:

 

Zucchini and Summer Squash-

 

 

Rainbow Carrots

 

Tomatoes- heirloom, beefsteak, and/or cherry tomatoes.

 

Garlic –

 

Sweet Onions – these should be stored in the fridge for longer term storage. Cured onions will start in several weeks.

 Melons (small shares only)- muskmelons, baby watermelons, or sun jewl (yellow)

 Snap Beans

 Fennel – holy moly it is perfect and big and beautiful

 Cilantro

Green Peppers (full shares only)

 

Next Week’s Best Guess:  salsa packs (tomatillos, onions, hot peppers), broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, kale, basil, peppers, sweet corn

 

Important Reminders

 The Athens fair is this weekend. We will have our annual float on Sunday at 1pm. If you want to be on the float call or text us!

Upick snap beans continue. You can come pick this week (today through early next week). Call or text to set up a time

 

News from the Farm

              Only 2 months of CSA left – how did summer get away! Sorry to everyone about last week’s newsletter and lack on online newsletter/reminder- we are back online and have a working computer.  We had another great productive week. We finished a lot of tasks and continued big harvests and see the end (in 2 weeks) of weeding. In crop news sweet corn is coming next week (as long as the Schultz-Becker children can be kept from eating 100 times their body weight in corn this weekend). Melons are here this week for small shares and next week for fulls. The crop looks fine but the continued very wet weather has not been ideal and left us with a lot of rotting L Fall cabbages, brussels sprouts, winter squash, sweet potatoes, storage carrots, beets… all look amazing. The warm summer has put us almost 3 weeks ahead with some crops but we are expecting an earlier frost. And this week our fennel is amazing!  Enjoy these huge bulbs in the great recipe! It is also Athens Fair Weekend. You can come visit Friday for pizza and then head to the fair, can join us at the 5K on Saturday or see us in our fair float Sunday (or dance with us on it) at 1pm. If you are enthusiastic and want to wear a costume call/text us for a spot on the float. Last but not least we plan to start upick tomatoes in a week. We will update you in the newsletter and online.

        Have a delicious week – Kat, Tony, Ted, Riley and Maple

 

Recipes from Kim Casey and Heather Busig’s Kitchens

 

Grilled vegetable sandwiches: Serves 4-6. INGREDIENTS: 1 cup balsamic vinegar, 1-2 TBSP honey, ciabatta buns, sliced fresh tomato, sliced fresh mozzarella (provolone and/or goat cheese would also work well), basil leaves, an assortment of grillable veggies including: summer squash, sweet peppers, eggplant, carrots, beets, onions etc., 1 TBSP olive oil (plus extra for the buns), salt and pepper. PREPARATION: Make the balsamic glaze by combining balsamic and honey in a small sauce pan. Heat on low and simmer until the combination becomes a thin syrup. Remove from heat and set aside. Cut the softer grilling veggies into slices about half an inch thick, or into wider slices, firmer veggies should be cut into thinner slabs of about 1/4 inch. Toss the grilling vegetables in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Heat grill to medium and grill the vegetables for approximately 10 minutes, stirring every 4-5 minutes, until vegetables are beginning to soften. A grill basket works great for this. Remove from heat. Brush the buns with a bit of olive oil and grill for 3-5 minutes per side. Assemble the sandwiches on the grilled ciabatta buns with a slice of cheese, fresh basil, fresh tomato slice, a drizzle of the balsamic glaze and a pile of grilled vegetables.

 

Fennel Cream Sauce: 2 tbs olive oil, 2-3 garlic cloves chopped, 1 cup fennel bulb trimmed, cored and finely chopped (fronds set aside), 1 Tbs butter, 1 Tbs Flour, 1 cup veggie, seafood, or chicken stock, 1 cup cream, ¼ cup fresh parsley (or basil/fennel fronds), salt and pepper. Heat Olive oil over medium heat, cook until soft about 5 minutes. Add butter and let melt. Stir in the flour (this will form a roux). Allow roux to cook out a bit (about 3 minutes) then stir in the broth releasing the bit from the bottom. Bring to a gentile boil and reduce by half. Add cream, again bring to a gentile boil, reduce by half and add chopped fronds or parsley. Add salt and pepper. Serve over pasta, seafood, chicken or roasted/steamed veggies.

 

 

 

 

 

CSA Newsletter Week 8

In Your Box

 Broccoli- big/giant broccoli heads or bunches

Kale: curly red or green, red Russian or dino kale.

Cucumbers:

Zucchini and Summer Squash-

Mint or sage– use sage fried with summer squash,

Fresh Sweet Onions with tops-

Carrots with their greens – remember to separate greens!

Snap Beans – green, yellow and/or purple. All are super tender now.

Tomatoes- full shares only. We harvest ripe or nearly ripe. Eat within several days.

Cauliflower- Full shares only

Basil or Garlic scapes- small shares only

Next Week’s Best Guess:  beets, carrots, lettuce heads, snap beans, zucchini, cucumbers, basil, garlic, tomatoes, new potatoes. 

News from the Farm

Our 10th anniversary CSA season marches on. We are endlessly appreciative of all the help we have received to make this a great farm season and to improve the farm. Thank you to our family (for meals, childcare, building projects, cleaning and much more), our employees (Logan came to scrape shingles this weekend and stayed late all week and everyone else gave 110%), our friends (who helped celebrate Ted’s birthday, helped with roofing and donated pigs to the farm), our CSA members (who help weed, give us lots of love and give us the chance to farm). We started work on a third pizza oven this week and our big animal/mushroom/hay barn is getting a new roof. Things are looking great in the field. We finished weeding the fall brassica (cabbage family) crops and starting cultivation on root crops. In very happy news we finally figured out and have overhead irrigation working! Hopefully we continue to have great rain but we feel so much more secure knowing we can water through a drought. Note that tomatoes are coming for everyone next week! We also expect other fruiting crops like tomatillos too. This is the earliest we have had them. See the basil announcement above. We will have pesto kits in the box as well in the next few weeks.

            Have a delicious week – Kat, Tony, Ted, Riley and Maple 

ROASTED GREEN BEANS WITH CREAMY DIPPING SAUCE SAUCE YIELD: SERVES 4 TOTAL TIME: 40 MINUTES INGREDIENTS: 1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed, 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 1 TBSP olive oil, 2 TBSP mayonnaise, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. DIRECTIONS: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the green beans, oil, and Parmesan cheese together to coat. Spread onto a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cook longer, as needed, to reach your desired level of doneness. While the green beans are cooking, stir together the mayonnaise, mustard, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Set aside until ready to serve. Salt and pepper the green beans and serve with the dipping sauce

 

HOMEMADE VEGETABLE STOCK, adapted from Beverly Mills and Alecia Ross. Makes approximately 10-12 cups of veggie stock. This is the best way to get something for absolutely nothing. Keep a gallon size ziplock bag in the freezer. Put in it any veggie odds and ends including: peels from carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tops of peppers (but not the seeds), mushroom stems, tomato cores, onion peels and greens, limp carrots, celery. Please don't add anything from the brassica family (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower or brussels sprouts don't make great stock). When your bag is full, dump it in a 5 quart slow cooker and fill it with water, add 1 tsp of salt, or more to taste. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-12 hours. (If you don't have a slow cooker, you can cook it on the stove top. bring it to a boil and simmer on low for 4-5 hours). Strain out the solids and freeze in 2 cup increments. Use anywhere you would use chicken or vegetable stock. Keeps up to 2 months in the freezer.

 

 

See the backide of the newsletter for info on fresh herbs (like mint, basil and sage)

Preserving and using fresh herbs (basic info from kitchn.com)

 

• Air Drying: Drying works well for herbs like oregano, thyme, marjoram, and sage. Before drying, shake to remove dirt and discard any withered leaves. (You can gently wash the herbs, but be sure to dry them thoroughly to prevent mildew.) Secure the stems together using twine or a rubber band and hang upside down in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place away from sunlight. If you don't have a dark spot, or if dust is a concern, you can cover the bundle with a paper bag; just ensure that there is enough space for air to circulate. Leave to dry until the leaves crumble, anywhere from 1-4 weeks. Store in an airtight container for up to a year.

• Oven Drying: Although we prefer the above method because it doesn't use any energy (and there's something romantic about hanging herbs to dry!), oven drying is faster than air drying and a good option for those living in humid environments. To oven dry, spread herbs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (metal can affect the flavor) and place in a 150° F oven with the door slightly ajar. Check herbs frequently and remove when crumbly; it may take between 1-4 hours. Store in an airtight container for up to a year.

• Freezing: Freezing is the best option for leafy herbs like basil, cilantro, parsley, and tarragon. One method consists of chopping the herbs, packing them into an ice cube tray, and topping off with broth or water. Another method is to blend the herbs into a paste with a little oil or water before freezing. Store frozen cubes in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Kat’s Favorite methods for using and storing herbs

 

Basil – Fresh: in pesto, on top of roasted veggies or fresh salads. Basil is best added and used fresh (not cooking for a long time). To preserve: Basil can be dried by if you want basil flavor freezing after pureeing with oil is the best method. You can add salt, and garlic to the mixture as well. We leave our other pesto ingredients like cheese and nuts so we can use this as a fresh tasting base to anything we want to cook in winter.

 

Cilantro – Fresh: in salsa, cooked with beans, meat or in fresh cucumber salad. Goes well with both creamy and vinegar bases. To preserve: the same as basil in our opinion. Drying works well but yield not the best results.

 

Fennel – Fresh: wonderful to use like dill in salads (egg salad, potato salad). To preserve: the tops of fennel are easy to dry and get milder. Remove the feather ends from the larger stems and oven dry on a low setting. You can also use the oil or broth methods for freezing for a more fennely experience.

 

Dill- eat fresh or toss with oil for roasted veggies like potatoes. Parsley- mix with several herbs and oil preserve or dry. You can easily air dry on the stem.

 

Sage- Fresh: Wonderful fried atop meat like pork chops or grilled burgers. Sage is best when the aroma is brought out by cooking. We love sage with roasted potatoes and garlic, or with caramelized carrots. To Preserve: easy to air and oven dry and the stronger flavor of sage make this method ideal.

 

Mints – we have both peppermint and spearmint on the farm. Spearmint and common mint are both a bit fuzzy so are best chopped finely or food processed mixed with oil or creamy bases in dressings. We love carrots with mint, cucumber and mint salad with yogurt dressing, and mint with fresh tomatoes. To Preserve: both the oil method and drying work well.  

 

Oregano- strongly flavored dried oregano is a favorite for many. To use fresh use in smaller amounts and gather in abunch with other herbs to steep in a sauce or use in fresh tomato sauces.

 

Thyme – like oregano easy to dry and to use fresh. Remove from woody stem. Great in dressings, added to vinegar, and made into a mixed herb packet for poultry or veggies.

 

 

CSA Newsletter Week 7

In Your Box

 

Broccoli- big/giant broccoli heads or bunches

Fennel- a white bulb with feather green fronds. Remove the fronds for best storage. Use finely chopped in ground pork on pizza, caramelized or raw on salads.

Cucumbers:

Zucchini and Summer Squash- lots this week perfect time for grilling or pickling or topping pizza!

 Garlic scapes –

 Basil –

Fresh Sweet Onions with tops- store these in the fridge and use the tops like scallions.

Beets- remember to use your greens (like cooked spinach). These babies are sweet.

Arrowhead cabbage- fulls only  

Next Week’s Best Guess:  garlic scapes, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, mint or other herbs, snap beans, cauliflower/cabbage, kale.  

Important Reminders

Please make sure to return and DO NOT TAKE HOME CSA boxes. We were several short last week at Wausau and Merrill sites.

If you are a zucchini enthusiastic you can pick up 8 free zucchini or summer squash at the farm, Wausau or Marshfield Saturday farmers markets

News from the Farm

It has been a great growing week on the farm – while many people may not love the humidity we can almost hear the plants grow. We were able to get in timely weeding, hay making and planting between the storms and only had minor wind damage to 2 hoophouses. A big thank you to Logan who continues to stay late for weeding, to close the greenhouses after dark (when we have forgotten) and the wonderful workershares and workers who got all our weeding and harvesting checklist done early this week! We have had a great week as a farm crew.

This week is Ted’s 6th birthday (Friday) 6 years ago, early Thursday morning before the CSA pack (we used to pack the morning of delivery) Ted was born after a thunderstorm and after Kat picked a couple of bushels of beans and just in time for breakfast! Time has flown by.

In veggie news we are battling a little bit of disease in our hoophouse cucumbers but are trying heavy pruning and more airflow as preventative measures. We are hoping for cherry tomatoes within 2 weeks, and summer crops are starting to boom in. Our broccoli is magnificent and we are excited for cabbages, beans, and new potatoes on the horizon. Stop by the farmers market this week for free extra zucchini J

            Have a delicious week – Kat, Tony, Ted, Riley and Maple 

Recipes from Heather Busigs Kitchens

 

Garlic scape pesto: Adapted from Vanilla and Bean. Makes 1+ cups of pestp. Ingredients: 10 Garlic Scapes, 1/3 C Pecorino Cheese (or Parmesan, Asiago mix), shredded, 1/3 C of Pine Nuts (or almonds), 1/3 C of Olive Oil, juice and zest from half a lemon, Pinch of Salt, A few grinds of Pepper. It is okay to omit the nuts or the cheese. If you have fresh herbs, such as dill, basil or parsley around, you can add 1/2 cup. And you can also add up to 1 cup of chopped greens. Prep: 1. Trim garlic scapes cutting just below the bulb. Discard / bulb and roughly chop. In a food processor, add the nuts, cheese, lemon zest and juice, optional herbs/greens and scapes. Process by pulsing until the mixture begins to break down. Add the salt and pepper. With the processor running, slowly add all the olive oil. Continue to process until all the ingredients are incorporated and broken down, about one minute. Store in a covered container in the fridge and enjoy within a week. Also, you can freeze the pesto in a jar or in an ice-cube tray. Once frozen, tray, remove and place in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

 

Jim Lahey's no knead pizza dough. Makes enough dough for about 4 pizzas. Ingredients: 500 grams (17 ½ ounces or about 3 ¾ cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for shaping the dough, 1 gram (1/4 teaspoon) active dry yeast, 16 grams (2 teaspoons) fine sea salt, 350 grams (1 ½ cups) water. Directions: In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water and, with a wooden spoon or your hands, mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and allow it to rise at room temperature (about 72°F) for 18 hours or until it has more than doubled. It will take longer in a chilly room and less time in a very warm one. Flour a work surface and scrape out the dough. Divide it into 4 equal parts and shape them: For each portion, start with the right side of the dough and pull it toward the center; then do the same with the left, then the top, then the bottom. (The order doesn’t actually matter; what you want is four folds.) Shape each portion into a round and turn seam side down. Mold the dough into a neat circular mound. The mounds should not be sticky; if they are, dust with more flour.If you don’t intend to use the dough right away, wrap the balls individually in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Return to room temperature by leaving them out on the counter, covered in a damp cloth, for 2 to 3 hours before needed. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Assemble your pizzas. We love pesto as a base, top with cheese, left over meat, and slices of fresh veggies. Bake for 10-12 minutes and check pizzas. If you have a thick layer of toppings, it may take up to 25-30 minutes. Enjoy your pizza!

 

In the heat of summer – an essay about falling in love with farming

 

Tony announced that I was a real farmer this week after I confessed to stopping at a tractor dealership, unprompted, on the way home from the farmers market, by myself. The past three years since I left my teaching job I have actually become more of a farmer. It is not because I do more farm work than I used to or because more people recognize me as “the farmer” in our family. People still consistently laugh at Tony’s statement that I am the farmer and he just lifts heavy things, partially because they see me as second in command and Tony looks the part. I am more of a farmer now because I have literally allowed myself to fall deeply in love with farming. As ridiculous as it sounds realizing I am literally in love with the experience of being a farmer, farming and being of a farm has been a transformative personal experience this season.  My employees, friends and family have had to endure the last three months of my insane ramblings about falling in love with seasons, with farm land, with the sensual nature of work. I chalk some of this up to the fact that I have barely slept in the past 8 years due to babies and breastfeeding, and now I have the energy to enjoy that work fully. But, honestly, during the day, at the end of the day, there is no place I would rather be and nothing I would rather do. I want to be in the farm, of the farm, next to and engrossed in the work.

 

My love of farming is a love of place and earth – when people say salt of the earth this is what they mean. I am painfully and blissfully aware this season of how the rhythm of farming, the smells, the feel of the humidity, cold and heat, wind, weed emergence, crop growth are part of who I am. When people fall in love with each other they often explain the feeling of want to be in or of the other person to share most intimately everything that person feels. Falling in love with the farm, especially this June, has been an equally sensual and amazing experience. Never wanting the harvest to end, wanting more hours in the light, wanting to give the experience to someone else. I could write a 2000 word essay on dragon flies – that’s how I know I am in love.

 

My love of farming is a love of culture, friendship and community – Our neighbors Stacey and Tenzin have given us so much because they are here with us to share in the farm season, the extreme emotions and stresses and celebration of farming and the promise of 50-60 more years of learning, growing and becoming better. Our farm friend community,  our rural neighbor moving back to start a creamery, and last but not the least the young aspiring farmers who are working for us this season allow me to love farming as a shared experience. I am constantly in awe and touched by the depth and strength of work other people do for our farm. Part of that is a shared love of the lettuce, literally, and of the experience. This season more than ever we have been surrounded by other people who are just as in love with the farm as us – who strive for a seamless trellising session or an efficient harvest. I love that the future is beautiful, bright and filled with friends to cooperate with. Also, sneaking away to drink wine and talk broccoli with a best female farmer friend is a weekly routine that can’t be beat.

 

My love of farming is farm work – I have known this for a long time and when I look at Riley I can see it in him, I love physical work, competition, and constant challenge. The love of the work is the rhythmic familiar pace of hand weeding and hoeing, the feeling of sitting on a transplanter next to someone who you can laugh with while toiling with, the stacking of hay. It is also the historic and constant challenge to care for 80 different crops, complicated by a space, time, and seasonal arrangement and addressing the needs of those crops, and the soil, to best feed you, our CSA members. When I look out at the carrots for next week I see the promise of a great harvest, the weeds left despite our new cultivator, the history of weeding this year, the weeds of past years, and 2-3 things I must change for the future. Holding that and 1000 moments like that each day is harder than anything I have ever done and also far more rewarding. The work, the prized harvest is also a work of art. You might not have sensed this 2 weeks ago but we grew some of the best lettuce I have ever seen on any farm ever this season, my plans for enough but not too much boy choy worked out, and my broccoli this week literally is the broccoli of 10 years of learning experiences.

 

My love of farming is family – the love of a family farm is deep, complicated, painful and celebratory. Each of the five members of our nuclear family have a district relationship with the farm which is not the same as the others. It is extremely hard to understand each other’s feelings, frustrations, and happiness when our experiences with the same day are not the same. Despite the differences I cannot explain how deeply I love the farm for what it gives us. Quite literally we lay in the blueberry patch outside our house in July and eat berries after long farm days, my kids bike by themselves to grandparents houses for treats and trout fishing, and tony and I get to look out on rare occasions when we can reflect under a double rainbow and see all we have built over the past 10 years. My kids climb a ladder to play basketball in the hay mow that their father, great aunts, grandparents and great grandparents climbed before them. That is not just romanticism – you can feel it in the finger oiled and warn ladder rungs. One of the most rewarding parts of being a CSA farm is getting to share this experience with others and also having the privilege of growing food for your families. It is also having support to do what I love. And when I say love I mean it. 

CSA Newsletter Week 6 - July 7th 2016

In Your Box

Lettuce Heads- Romaine

Peas or Broccoli- snow peas or big broccoli heads/bunches

 Spring Turnips- Last week for real without tops

Cucumbers: See the backside of the newsletter for info and ideas.

 Zucchini and Summer Squash – try the amazing pancake recipe.

 Garlic scapes – looking like a pigtailed curly cue. These can be used (the whole green part) like garlic.

Kohlrabi with its leaves – use leaves like kale or collards.

Basil-

Kale- red Russian or curly type.  

Next Week’s Best Guess:  garlic scapes, broccoli, onions, zucchini, cucumbers, dill, carrots or beets, celery (fulls)

  • Remember that August 6th is the barn dance. Formal invite and details will come in 2 weeks.
  • Please remember to give clear directions to any friends or family picking up boxes for you. 

News from the Farm

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Logan and Kat attended the Marshfield Saturday Farmers Market for the first time last week and Logan will be there for the rest of the year (with Monthly visits by Kat and Maple). If you are in Marshfield stop by!

Over the past three weeks we are realizing the amazing potential of our new weeding equipment in our second bean planting and fall cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli. We have been spending a few hours a week on mechanical cultivation and we are confident we will be on top of the weeds in 2 weeks! A big thank you to our farm crew as well as Travis, Autumn, and our worker shares for helping with some huge weeding projects. This is a tiring and physically demanding part of the season.

            Cherry tomatoes and other exciting crops just around the corner. We are hoping to have cherry tomatoes in the box by the end of the month. We are still planting for fall, plowing in spring crops and planting cover crops. Summer is just flying by. We have been so fortunate with the rain. The kids are harvesting and pickling cucumbers from their own garden these days and helped diligently with the pea picking project. We are hoping these are nearly as exciting about snap beans!

Have a delicious week – Kat, Tony, Ted, Riley and Maple

Recipes from Heather Busigs Kitchens

 

Broccoli salad with garlic and sesame from the NYTimes recipes: serves 6 as a side. INGREDIENTS: 1 ½ tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp kosher salt, more to taste, 8-10 cups broccoli cut into small florets. Can also add cubed kohlrabi, summer squash, carrots, etc., ¾ c extra virgin olive oil, 4 fat garlic cloves, minced, 2 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp roasted (Asian) sesame oil, Large pinch crushed red pepper flakes. PREPARATION: In a large bowl, stir together the vinegar and salt. Add broccoli and toss to combine. In a large skillet, heat olive oil until hot, but not smoking. Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in sesame oil and pepper flakes. Pour mixture over broccoli and toss well. Let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature, and up to 48 (chill it if you want to keep it for more than 2 hours).

 

Zucchini bread pancakes, by smitten kitchen. Makes 10pancakes. If you’re someone who doesn’t like maple syrup or anything sticky or sweet on top of your pancakes (gasp!), you might want another spoonful of sugar inside your pancakes. INGREDIENTS: 2 large eggs, 3 TBSP olive oil, 2 TBSP light brown, dark brown or granulated sugar, 1/4 cup buttermilk or 2 tablespoons each of milk and plain yogurt, whisked until smooth, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 cups shredded zucchini (from about 9 ounces whole, or 1 1/2 medium zucchini), heaping cups are fine, 1 cup all-purpose flour (half can seamlessly be swapped with a whole wheat flour), 1/4 tsp table salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg, Butter or oil, for coating skillet. PREPARATION: In a large bowl, combine eggs, olive oil, sugar, buttermilk and vanilla until smooth. Stir in zucchini shreds. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir dry ingredients into zucchini batter, mixing until just combined. Preheat oven to 200°F and place a tray — foil-lined if you’re into doing fewer dishes later — on a middle rack. Heat a large, heavy skillet  over medium heat. Once hot, melt a pat of butter in pan and swirl it around until it sizzles. Scoop scant 1/4-cup dollops of batter (mine were about 3 tablespoons each) in pan so the puddles do not touch. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip pancakes and cook another minute or two, until golden underneath. Transfer pancakes to prepared pan to keep warm as well as ensure that they’re all cooked through when they’re served. Repeat with remaining batter.

 

Cucumbers – another great veggie guide for the summer bounty

The varieties

Tasty Jade- long (12+ inches), green and smooth skinned. These have a small seed cavity and are sweet. No need to ever peel just rinse and use. These are considered a burpless type.

Classic Slicer (Corinto)- These are the iconic American cucumber and have a darker green and slightly thicker skin. We still don’t peel these but the skin is thicker if you plan to pickle and may be nice to peel for certain recipes.

Silver Slicer- A smaller yellow slicing cucumber. Great in salads together with green cucumbers. The skin is very thin and not very strong in flavor.

Suya Long- A wrinkled skin on long and spiky cucumbers. Scrub to remove spikes. These are burpless and very sweet.

 Experimental types – working with UW Madison we are trialing a set of three similar large semi ribbed cucumbers. These are long like silver sliver but slightly thicker with thinner skin. All taste great so far!

Cucumber preparation, storage and a master pickling recipe!

All of the cucumbers we provide you with are slicing types but can be used easily in refrigerator or sandwich pickles (sliced). As mentioned above these is very a reason you should have to peel a cucumber other than preference and we recommend trying a slice with the skin on since most of the nutrients are in the skin and aside from the classic slicers the other varieties have been bred to have sweet thinner skin.

To store place in a loose plastic bag in the crisper. If you cannot use within a week making pickles in a great option. Store in the fridge and use as salad or a topping over the next few weeks.

Easy refrigerator dills- Because you are not actually pickling these for preservation you can easy add and subtract ingredients (think garlic scapes, sliced carrots, zucchini with seeds removed, onions or turnips). You can add pickling spice and leave out the dill; add turmeric and 2 Tbs Honey or sugar to make them a little sweeter. The joy of refrigerator pickled is that you can start eating them like a salad 4 hours after you make them and can enjoy them as pickles in several days or for weeks to come. Cucumbers can be sliced into rounds or spears (which ever you prefer).

Dill Refrigerator Pickles (Rodale Institute)
Yield: 1 quart

3-5 large slicing cucumbers plus additional vegetables if desired.
1 tablespoon pickling salt, sea salt, or kosher salt (but not iodized table salt)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup water 1 head dill or small bunch dill leaves
1 clove garlic (optional)
3 black peppercorns (optional)

 

1. For the crunchiest pickles, select firm, dark-green cucumbers. To increase the crunchiness, you can sprinkle the cut cucumbers with a couple of tablespoons of salt, let them sit for 2 hours, and then rinse and drain before proceeding, but this step isn't necessary. 2. Place the dill in the bottom of a clean quart jar or container (we use an ice cream pail for larger batches), peel and crush the garlic clove (if using), and drop that in along with the peppercorns (if using), then put in the cut cucumber. Mix the salt, vinegar, and water in a separate container, stirring until the salt is dissolved, then pour it over the cucumbers, filling the jar right to the top. Pop on the lid and put the jar in the fridge.