Week 8

Greetings Herbal Turtlers,

We are still battling the weather this week! The Winona and Rochester Farmer’s Markets were closed down early this week due to the huge storm that rolled through. We had another flash flood down by the garden that ruined our mint patch; luckily nothing else was lost. All of the animals out at the farm survived the heat last week, unfortunately many other area farmers lost animals. The chickens have been taking advantage of the black raspberry bushes that grow in the pasture but we haven’t seen much of the lambs outside-they are still lounging in front of their fan in the barn for most of the day and only coming out at dusk to graze.

All of the garlic was pulled up on Friday and is curing in the barn-it should be ready in the next week or two. We are expecting cherry tomatoes next week and heirloom tomatoes within the next couple of weeks! If you are interested in purchasing extra tomatoes for canning once we have a steady supply of them contact us.

What’s in your box this week:
Red Norland Potatoes
Summer Squash
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Scallions
Red and/or Savoy Cabbage
Red Ace and Chiogga Beets
Cilantro

Recipes

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes
(Food and Wine Magazine)

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
Kosher salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup whole milk
Softened goat cheese
Freshly ground pepper

1.In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cool water, season generously with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderately high and boil the potatoes until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well, then return the potatoes to the saucepan.
2.Meanwhile, in a small, sturdy glass bowl, melt the butter in the milk in a microwave oven, about 1 minute.
3.Pour the milk mixture over the potatoes and add the goat cheese. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Zucchini Scallion Fritters
(Martha Stewart)

Ingredients
1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini, coarsely grated
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 large egg
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Sour cream, for serving

Directions
1.Place zucchini in a colander set in the sink, and toss with 1 teaspoon salt; let drain 10 minutes. Press out as much liquid as possible.
2.Whisk egg in a large bowl; mix in zucchini, scallions, flour, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until combined.
3.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook fritters in two batches: Drop six mounds of batter (2 tablespoons each) into skillet; flatten slightly. Cook, turning once, until browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately, with sour cream.

The weather has made for a challenging week for us on the farm! We had the Winona County Master Gardener’s out to the farm on Sunday for a tour and a potluck but had a smaller group than expected due to the heat. We have had quite a few very early mornings so we can be out of the heat by the afternoon and we have had to delay planting some successions because the soil isn’t drying up in the extreme humidity. The chickens and lambs have been very lethargic and the cows haven’t left the creek since Sunday. We are all ready for some cooler weather!

Bryan is heading to the Boundary Waters on Thursday for a week so it will be a very busy week for Kate, Lauren and Michael. Please get in touch with Kate if you need to contact us for any reason. Phone-507-313-5085 Email- kate@herbalturtlefarms.com.

We are really flush with shiitake this week and decided that it might be nice to offer our members a wholesale rate on mushrooms for next week. Anyone interested in purchasing larger quantities of mushrooms (a pound or more) email Kate- kate@herbalturtlefarms.com

What’s in your box this week:
Broccoli
Kohlrabi
Red Ace and Chiogga Beets
Scallions
Red Russian Kale
Red and/or Savoy Cabbage
Summer Squash (zucchini, yellow, zephyr)

Recipes:

Kohlrabi and Avocado Salad
3 kohlrabis (bulbs)
2 avocados (ripe)
3 tbsp lime juice
1 scallion (chopped)
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt
Ground pepper (fresh)
1/4 cup feta cheese (crumbled)

Directions
Peel the kohlrabi by cutting off the top and bottom, and peeling with a potato peeler. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then cut the slices into chunks. Place in a bowl. Cut avocados in half lengthwise. Tap the blade of a heavy knife in the pit, twist to remove, and discard. Quarter and peel avocados, then cut into chunks. Drizzle lime juice over avocados to prevent browning and to add flavor; set aside. Whisk together green onion, balsamic vinegar, oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over kohlrabi and mix to cover. Mix together the chunked avocados and the kohlrabi mixture. Make a bed of the salad on four plates, and sprinkle each with feta cheese.

Chile Broccoli Pasta
2 cups dry penne or macaroni
1 medium head broccoli
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 fresh red chilies, seeded and diced
8 cherry tomatoes, diced (optional)
Small handful of fresh basil or parsley, to garnish
Cook the penne or other pasta according to package directions. Cut the broccoli into florets and cook in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and then drain again. Heat the olive oil in the saucepan that the pasta was cooked in. Add the garlic and chilies, and the tomatoes if using. Cook over high heat for 1 minutes. Return the broccoli to the pan with the oil and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes to heat through. Add the pasta and mix well again. Cook for 1 minute more. Remove the pasta from the heat, turn into a large serving bowl, and serve garnished with basil or parsley.

Week 6 Boxes!

We were crazy busy at the farm last week trying to keep up with all of the mushrooms and weeds that flourished in the heat and humidity so we all took some time off this weekend. Mike and Lauren went up to Ely and the Boundary Waters for Mike’s birthday and Kate and Bryan went to the Land Stewardship Project’s annual hog roast and the Winona County Fair. It was nice to take some time off and enjoy the summer but this week we were back at it to get the most exciting box yet ready!

The stormy weather has made for an interesting week. The garden really needed it after all of the hot weather we’ve been having and the veggies are exploding right now. There was a flash flood on Sunday and the hard rain got the veggies really dirty! We did our best to clean them up, but we would recommend washing the salad and green beans once more.
Next week we are expecting scallions, kohlrabi and summer squash.

What’s in your box this week:

Broccoli
Green Beans
Sugar Snap Peas
Red Ace and Chiogga Beets
Swiss Chard
Salad Mix

Recipes:

Honey Balsamic Green Beans
(Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen)

Ingredients
16 ounces green beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the beans and blanch them for 2 minutes. Immediately remove the beans from the water and add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and green beans. Cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, then stir in the vinegar, honey, onion powder, and salt and pepper, to taste. Cook to desired degree of doneness, about 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer the beans to a serving bowl and serve.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Poppy seed Dressing

4-5 Beets, all but 1” of greens removed
Olive oil
1 log of Goat Cheese
1/3 C. toasted walnuts
Salad mix
Poppy seed dressing (recipe below)

Rinse any dirt or debris from the beets – some beets may need to be scrubbed clean. Put beets on a large piece of aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 375. Drizzle the beets with a bit of oil before roasting. For even roasting of the beets, fold the foil over them and crimp the sides closed. Roast beets until tender. The amount of time this will take can vary greatly depending on the size of the beets, how many there are, if other things are in the oven, and how fresh the beets are (fresher beets cook up faster). For smaller beets, start checking them for tenderness at about 25 minutes. Larger and older beets can take up to an hour. Remove beets from oven when tender. Let sit until cool enough to handle. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip their peels off. You can use a paring knife, if you like, but you can also marvel at how easily the peels come off with just a rub of your fingers.

For the Dressing:

1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. whole milk
2 tbsp. poppy seeds
Place all ingredients in a jar; cover and shake until blended. Keeps several days in refrigerator.
(This salad is also great with balsamic vinaigrette!)

Week 5 Boxes!

Hello Turtle Fans,

Happy 4th of July-ish! Hope everyone had an enjoyable and safe weekend. We relished in the long weekend and took advantage of the sunny days to plant basil, beans, peppers, and herbs. We got out to play as well-we went out to Wiscoy Valley for their annual 4th of July potluck. We were glad to see a lot of you there!

The mushrooms have loved the hot and humid weather. The logs in the laying yard are overflowing with shiitakes and our second crop of oyster mushrooms has finally popped up. If you head down to the Farmer’s Market early enough, you may be lucky enough to nab some!
There are a couple of new things in this week’s box: fresh harvested garlic, purple haze baby carrots, and five color silverbeet chard. The fresh harvested garlic can be used the same as cured garlic, it just won’t store for as long. The chard can be used the same as kale, however you can chop up the beautifully colored stalks and sauté them or steam them and eat them like asparagus.

In this week’s box:
Red Russian Kale
Five Color Silverbeet Chard
Fresh Garlic
Purple Haze Baby Carrots
Shiitake Mushrooms
Chives
Oregano

Glazed Carrots
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse

Serves:4 servings
Ingredients
3 cups chopped carrots (about 1-inch pieces)
4 to 5 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups water
Directions
Place all of the ingredients in a 10-inch saute pan and place over high heat. Bring the pan to a boil, and continue to cook the carrots until crisp-tender and the liquid has reduced, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to serve.

Garlicky Greens Recipe
(www.101cookbooks.com)
1 large bunch of kale, chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
5 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (opt)
crushed red pepper flakes
To de-stem each leaf of chard/kale, grab the main stalk in one hand and strip the leaf from the stem all the way up with the other. I then tear the big leaves into bite-sized pieces, but you can use a knife for this task if you prefer. Wash the greens in a big bowl (or sink) full of clean water, rinsing and swishing to rinse away any stubborn grit and dirt. Drain, rinse again, and set aside.
Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple big pinches of salt and the greens. They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse - two, three, maybe four minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how much structure your greens have. Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off of the heat, stir in the garlic. Saute a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately if not sooner.
Serves 2- 3.