Week 17... the apple and the bee.

Its apple time again! We’ve been enjoying our time in the apple orchard and this is a bountiful year. Our chief apple picker (6 year old super kid Ayden Crigler) has been pretty busy the last week or so.

Honey bees are an important part of our farm and we’ll be harvesting honey for you soon. Unfortunately, one of the best apple trees is currently host to a swarm of honey bees! Occasionally an entire hive will “swarm” and start a new colony somewhere else… in this case it’s in our apple tree! Bees are great pollinators but it’s a challenge picking apples when they think you’re attacking their hive!

WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:

Carrots
Wine Cap Stopharia
Heirloom Tomatoes
Pie Pumpkins
Summer Squash
Onions
Apples
Swiss Chard (full shares)
Purple Beans (half shares)

We didn’t have room for pumpkins this year so we brought these beauties in from our friends at Featherstone. Hope you enjoy them.

We have had a few space issues this year and as a result will be expanding our tilled acreage this fall in preparation for next season! We’re excited about the expansion and equally excited about plans for a hoop house!

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn

RECIPES WE THOUGHT YOU’D ENJOY:

No Fault Pumpkin Pie
(The New Moosewood Cookbook)

First you’ll need to bake your pumpkins!
Cut the pumpkin in half and discard the stem section and stringy pulp. Save the seeds to dry and roast.
In a shallow baking dish, place the two halves face down and cover with foil.
Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for about 1½ hours for a medium-sized sugar pumpkin, or until tender.
Once the baked pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree or mash it.

Filling:

2 cups cooked, pureed pumpkin or squash
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbs molasses
½ tsp ground cloves or allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp powdered ginger
¾ tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1 cup evaporated milk
1 unbaked 9 inch pie crust

Preheat oven to 375 F

Place pumpkin or squash puree in a medium-sized bowl, and add all other filling ingredients. Beat until smooth.

Spread into the pie crust and bake at 375 for 10 min. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake another 40 min or until the pie is firm in the center when shaken lightly.

Cool at least to room temperature before serving. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream and enjoy!!

Week 16 CSA Box...

The wine cap stropharia are LOVING this weather! We’ve harvested close to 100 lbs over the last 4 days!! The drop in temperature and sudden rain fall have created ideal conditions for these beautiful mushrooms. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do. They have a sweet, nutty flavor and both the cap and stem are great sauted. Just be sure to cook them through. I recommend cooking for a long time at a low temperature. We’ve included a recipe as well.

We managed to save the eggplant from the frost and its looking great! You can expect these purple beauties in the next week or two along with another round of napa cabbage and carrots.

WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:

Leeks
Wine Cap Stopharia
Heirloom Tomatoes
Garlic
Summer Squash
Acorn Squash
Kale

Don’t forget to get out in the woods to look for mushrooms! This is a beautiful and bountiful time of year in the forest.

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn


RECIPES WE THOUGHT YOU’D ENJOY:

Classic Baked Acorn Squash (simplyrecipes.com)

1 Acorn squash
1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
Dash of Salt

1 Preheat oven to 400°F.

2 Cut the acorn squash in half, lengthwise, from stem to end. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy stuff in the center of each half. Score the insides of each half several times with a sharp knife. Place each half in a baking pan, cut side up. Add about a 1/4 inch of water to the bottom of the baking pan so that the skins don't burn and the squash doesn't get dried out.

3 Coat the inside of each half with 1/2 a Tbsp of butter. Add a dash of salt if you are using unsalted butter. Add a Tbsp of brown sugar to the cavity of each half. Dribble on a teaspoon of maple syrup to each half.

4 Bake in the oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the tops are browned. Do not undercook. When finished, remove from oven and let cool a little before serving. Spoon any buttery sugar sauce that has not already been absorbed by the squash over the exposed areas.

Wine Cap Packets on the Grill
(iowamushroom.org)

1 lb young wine-cap buttons whole, halved or quartered depending on size
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup chopped sweet or green onion or pearl onion bulbs
1-2 large fennel bulbs
3-4 young potatoes and/or artichoke hearts
experiment with a handful green beans or green pepper
1-2 small lemon slices/packet
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
experiment with a dash of fresh oregano and/or thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper to taste.

Stir olive oil and red wine together in a large mixing bowl with herbs, salt and pepper. Add vegetables and mushrooms
and mix thoroughly. Divide ingredients onto 4 to 6 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil. Add lemon slices. Fold the foil into packets, carefully crimping edges under to keep from leaking. Cook over an open fire or on grill until vegetables and mushrooms are tender, periodically turning packets over. This can take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the heat of the fire and size of the packets. Remove from fire, let stand for a few minutes and serve in the packet.

These make a great addition to any camp-out. Don’t be afraid to experiment. The end result will at least be good and quite likely be great!

The big 15....

Bam! It’s fall. Leaves are falling and people are digging out the ugly Christmas sweaters. Mushrooms are popping up all over the place and we’ve been out on a lot of mushroom walks lately (let us know if you’d like to join us sometime).

They’re calling for frost tonight!! Already! We’ve had some interesting weather this season but we’re rolling with the punches. Unfortunately, the majority our peppers were a casualty of the interesting weather this year. Most of the other farmers we’ve talked with have had pepper issues as well. Not the year of the pepper. Sorry gang.

As some of you know, we had to reschedule the shiitake inoculation for this weekend... so if you were interested but couldn’t make it last week you get a second chance!

WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:

Onions
Arugula
Heirloom Tomatoes
Soybeans
Summer Squash
Lemon Cucumbers
Royal Burgundy Beans
Kale

RECIPES WE THOUGHT YOU’D ENJOY:

Tortellini With Bacon and Arugula
(foodandwine.com)

1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips
1 onion, chopped
1 3/4 cups canned crushed tomatoes (one 15-ounce can)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 pound frozen cavatelli
1 1/4 cups arugula, stems removed, leaves torn in half (one 2-ounce bunch)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1. In a large stainless-steel frying pan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until almost crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan.

2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, the salt, and the pepper and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

3. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the cavatelli until just done, about 10 minutes. Drain and toss with the sauce, bacon, arugula, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Stir until the arugula just wilts. Sprinkle the remaining Parmesan over the top. Stir cornstarch into broth and pour broth into pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the cream, reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Crispy Kale Chips
(foodnetwork.com)

1 bunch kale, washed and thoroughly dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.


Hope you enjoy this weeks box!

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn

The Joys of Week 14...

Final Shiitake inoculation this weekend! We’ll be doing a late Saturday session, probably 3:30-6:30, and working all day on Sunday. Please let us know if you would like to come out on either day so we can plan accordingly.

WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:

Leeks
Arugula
Heirloom Tomatoes
Soybeans
Summer Squash
Garlic
Royal Burgundy Beans
Green or Cayenne Peppers

This week’s box has a few surprises that some people may not be familiar with:

Everyone knows what soybeans are but most people haven’t actually eaten an unprocessed soybean! Edamame is a Japanese snack food consisting of … you guessed it, soybeans. We’ve included a simple recipe for you and hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

A leek is an allium and is basically a skinnier, milder version of an onion.

Arugula is a bitter green that is a great addition to salads or sandwiches… makes a great BLT!

Hope you enjoy this week’s box!

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn

RECIPES WE THOUGHT YOU’D ENJOY:

Edamame

Soybeans (still in pod)
Coarse salt

Steam soybeans for 20 min or until slightly soft.
Lightly salt and serve.

To eat: Chew the pod slightly to release the bean (and get the salt) but don’t eat the pods!

Potato Leek Soup

• 1 cup butter
• 2 leeks, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 cups heavy cream

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook leeks in butter with salt and pepper until tender, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
Stir cornstarch into broth and pour broth into pot. Add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the cream, reduce heat and simmer at least 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

WEEK 13 BOX!

This week we were finally able to get our next round of Oyster and Wine Cap Stropharia inoculated! This mid-week rain is timely and welcomed for both the veggies and the shrooms. We still have a number of shiitake logs that need to be inoculated and if anyone is interested in learning about our inoculation process and would like to come help for an afternoon let us know!

We do have extra tomatoes and summer squash/zucchini available for anyone interested in putting them up for the winter. Send us an email or give us a call and let us know what you need.

For those of you who pick up your boxes in Winona, the coop has taken over the shelf where the boxes used to go. They are now asking that boxes be placed behind the shopping carts by the back entrance.

WHAT’S IN YOUR BOX THIS WEEK:
Onions
Purple Beans
Heirloom Tomatoes
Sungold Tomatoes (cherry)
Summer Squash
Lemon Cucumbers
Kale
Shiitake Mushrooms

Hope you enjoy this week’s box!

Sustainably yours,

Bryan and Katelyn


Recipes we thought you'd enjoy:

Fresh Tomato Bruschetta with Shiitake

4 tomatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste
French or Italian-style bread slices
Balsamic Vinegar, (optional)
3.5 oz of Herbal Turtle Shiitake Mushrooms

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
Slice Shiitake mushrooms into thin strips and sauté in olive oil and let cool.
In a medium bowl, mix together tomatoes, garlic, basil leaves, sautéd shiitake, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper; set aside.
Slice the bread into 1-inch slices. If you're working with a large loaf, you'll then want to halve each slice again.
Brush one side of each slice with extra virgin olive oil. Place the slices oil-side down on a cooking sheet, and toast them in the oven until golden brown. NOTE: These can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container. Be sure to let cool completely before storing.
When the bread is toasted top with the bruschetta mixture and enjoy! Makes a great appetizer, mid-afternoon, or late night snack…