Week 12 Boxes!

Great news mushroom fans!!! Our first Winecaps have emerged from the depths of our woodchip beds. The mycelium has run thick and we expect to have a great harvest this season. They will be available at the Winona and Rochester farmer’s markets.

We would like to thank those of you who have come out to help with harvesting, weeding, and mushroom production! It’s been great having you out and we hope you had as much fun as we did :). As always, if you are interested in checking out the farm (to help out or just to see where your food is grown) just let us know!

We would also like to put out a friendly reminder to make sure you return your CSA boxes when you go to pick up your new one. Also, for those of you with egg shares, you may have noticed that we got some fancy new green egg cartons! We would appreciate it very much if you would return those when you bring in your boxes as well.

RECIPES WE THOUGHT YOU’D ENJOY:

Pico de Gallo
(www.foodandwine.com)

2 large tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
½ medium onion, finely diced
1 serrano chile, finely diced
2 tbs of fresh lime juice
2 tbs of chopped cilantro
Pinch of salt

Toss together all of the ingredients and let stand at room temperature for at least 1hr.

Get yourself some chips and enjoy!

Zucchini and Cheese Pockets
(Outdoor Food)

8 zucchini or summer squash
1tbs olive oil (plus extra for brushing)
4oz feta cheese (drained weight) cut into strips
1 tbs finely chopped fresh mint
Pepper

Pre-heat grill
Cut out 8 rectangles of foil, each large enough to enclose a zucchini and brush lightly with oil
Cut a slit along the length of each zucchini and place one on each foil rectangle
Insert strips of feta cheese along the slits in the zucchini, then drizzle the oil over the top, sprinkle with the chopped mint, and season to taste with pepper.
Fold in the sides of the foil and seal the edges to enclose the zucchini completely.
Bake on the grill for 30 min or until tender and serve right away.

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn

Week11 Boxes!!

The tomatoes are LOVING this weather! They are big, beautiful, and ripening on the vine for your eating pleasure… The eggplant and peppers are looking good and as long as we continue to win the battle over the potato beetles we should be seeing some nice results soon.

Our MEGA DEER FENCE is still standing strong and we have not had any deer mistake our garden for an all you can eat buffet this year .

We are thinking about hosting a fall mushroom hike led by Fungiboy and his beautiful apprentice Katelyn. Please let us know if any of you have interest in attending. We would probably coordinate it sometime in late August or September.

We are still waiting to see what our canning tomato surplus will be… if anyone is interested in purchasing extra tomatoes for canning please let us know and we will reach out to you when we have a better idea of our inventory.

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn

Recipies we thought you would enjoy:


Avocado Salsa
(The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook)

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large avocados, cubed
1 tbs of lime juice
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 small bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp of ground coriander
1tsp of ground cumin
3 tbs of cilantro, chopped
2 tbs of olive oil
4-5 drops of tobacco (or half a bottle if you like it hot)

Toss avocado with lime juice. Place the coriander and cumin in a small pan, cook over medium heat for 1 min and let cool. Mix all ingredients together, making sure the avocado is not mashed. Refrigerate and serve!

Zucchini (or summer squash) Bread
(Diane Foerster)

3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
1 cup oil
3 cups grated zucchini (not peeled)
1 cup nuts (optional)

Stir together the flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Beat eggs. Add sugar, vanilla and oil and mix well. Stir in grated zucchini and dry ingredients. Blend well. Stir in nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. Makes two 9 1/2 by 5 1/2 pans. Can also be used for making bars.

Week 10

Michael and Lauren will be making their way back to Massachusetts today! It’s been great having them out helping with the farm this summer and we are sad to see them depart. Lauren’s classes will resume soon and they need to get moved into their new apartment. Feel free to send them a farewell at mc@prankdesign.com!

We would like to welcome Michael Ahmann to the Herbal Turtle Family. Some of you may know him from the Blue Heron Coffee House… He will be helping us out for the remainder of the season.

We put in our second succession of broccoli and napa cabbage this week and pulled out the first succession this week. We also put in another round of beets and carrots. The tomatoes are starting to ripen, however the cooler weather this week might slow things down.

A couple of things about your box this week:

The Strange round yellow fruit looking things are lemon cucumbers. They can be used like a regular cucumber. The sweet corn is from Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables in Rushford, MN. In our current garden it is not feasible for us to grow sweet corn because of space concerns and raccoons, however, we think sweet corn is something most people look forward to so we wanted to be able to include it in the CSA. Featherstone is a local, certified organic farm.

What’s in this week’s box:

Lemon and Little Leaf Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Onions
Garlic
Sungold Tomatoes
Red and/or Savoy Cabbage
Sweet Corn
Swiss Chard

Recipes:

Mexican Grilled Corn
(Courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Ingredients
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) grated Parmesan
4 ears corn, husks and silk removed, cut in half
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon chili powder, preferably chipotle
1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

Heat grill to high. Place cheese on a plate or in a shallow bowl; set aside.
Brush corn with butter, and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until tender and slightly charred, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool 2 to 3 minutes.
Brush corn with mayonnaise, and roll in cheese to coat. Sprinkle with chili powder; serve with lime wedges.

Classic Cole Slaw 1
(www.foodandwine.com)

1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
One 2 1/2-pound head of cabbage-quartered, cored and shredded (12 cups)
2 carrots, coarsely shredded

In a very large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the vinegar, mustard and celery seeds and season with salt and pepper. Add the cabbage and carrots and toss to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate until slightly chilled, about 30 minutes. Toss the coleslaw again and serve.

Make Ahead. The coleslaw can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Week 9 Boxes!

We hope you enjoy the 9th week of your CSA! As always, lots happening on the farm. Bryan made it back from the Boundary Waters despite an unusually high level of bear activity and a Canadian forest fire!

Somehow we found some time to get out and do some mushroom hiking and have had some excellent finds! The other day we stumbled upon a beautiful patch of Chanterelles and a few Boletes as well. Be sure to check The Adventures of Fungiboy page on our website as Bryan will be posting some new entries soon.

Lauren and Michael are off exploring the Midwest this week so anyone interested in coming out to the farm to help out is more than welcome!

WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:

Garlic
Green Beans
Beets
Red and/or Savoy Cabbage
Cucumber
Kohlrabi
Summer Squash
Red Russian Kale

RECIPIES WE THOUGHT YOU’D ENJOY:

Buttered Cabbage with Crispy Bacon
(Forgotten Skills of Cooking)

1 lb fresh savoy cabbage
2 tablespoons butter (or more if you like)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
A dab of butter
Remove the tough outer leaves and divide the cabbage into 4. Cut out the stalks and then cut each section into fine shreds across the grain. Put 2 or 3 tablespoons of water into a wide saucepan with the butter and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, add the cabbage and toss constantly over high heat, then cover for a few minutes. Toss again and add some more salt, pepper and a dab of butter. Meanwhile, fry 2-3 strips of bacon in a little oil while the cabbage cooks, then cut into pieces and add to the cabbage at the end.


Hot Beets with Cream and Marjoram
(Forgotten Skills of Cooking)

1 ½ lb. beets, cooked
1 tablespoon butter
Sea Salt and Pepper
A sprinkling of sugar
½ cup cream, or more
1 tablespoon marjoram leaves
Peel the beets and chop the flesh into cubes. Melt the butter in a sauté pan. Add the beets and toss. Then add the cream and marjoram and leave to bubble for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary. Serve immediately.