Community Supported Agriculture Newsletter
327 Route 21C
No. 18
Fall Harvest Festival
This Saturday,
October 8
Rain or shine
A day of fun and learning for the entire family. Hay rides, games, hands-on
and participatory demonstrations, farm activities, music, The Magical Puppet
Tree, The Storycrafters, wildlife demonstrations, Open House and tours at
Looking Forward to
October 13th
Anticipated Harvest
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Arugula
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Celeriac
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Garlic
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Kale
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Leeks
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Lettuce
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Potatoes
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Rutabaga
Dear
CSA members:
With
interest I’ve been following all the fascinating and different viewpoints that
have kept you in touch with
Ecological/Biological: By diligently applying
compost to the vegetable fields over the years, as well as working cover crops
of clover, vetch, rye, and oats into our cropping system, the soil has really
improved in most areas to support beautiful and healthy plants. Katy has done a
tremendous job working out and implementing the crop plan to provide a steady
variety of vegetables to all of you. The
main challenges that remain are the control of wildlife (woodchucks and deer)
and ever better weed control. Next year we hope to further improve the quality
of the vegetables by working with the biodynamic preparations even more
diligently. We are also going to expand our growing area to grow more winter
and storage crops (garlic, onions, leeks, winter squash, and cabbage). In the
future this could lead us into a winter CSA.
Social: We welcomed Dante onto the
farm and we are sorry to say good bye to Judith as she will retire from being
the herdswoman to spend more time with her family. Dan who delivered your
shares last season will take over from her while Dante has taken over from him.
These transitions are going fairly smoothly but there is always an adjustment
period as we grow together as a new team. For the last many years we have been
blessed with idealistic, hard working and fun to be around apprentices. Without
their tremendous contributions this farm would be a much less vibrant and
thriving place.
Economic: The farm enjoyed one of its
best years ever benefiting from great growing conditions. We are building a new
farm house and equipment shed. Both of these improvements are changing the face
of the farm and our hamlet for the better. Hopefully you can see for yourselves
when you join us for the Fall Festival on Saturday. To insure our success into
the future we not only need to continue doing a good job agriculturally but
also to find ways to integrate renewable energies into our farming system. To
this end we are experimenting with bio-diesel for our tractors and will also
explore wind and solar energy applications.
We
express these three aspects in our “Triple Bottom Line” as we will only
consider ourselves truly successful if we make steady progress in all three
arenas. And when you really think about it in the end, they are all very much
intertwined. Before I thank you all and
wish you a great end of the year let me raise one more issue and also invite
your input to it:
How can we continue to
increase our outreach to the less fortunate and share some of nature’s bounty
with them? Would we be willing and able to all finance a certain number of
extra shares to “share”?
See
you at the Fall Festival!
-Steffen
Farm-Style Braised Kale
2
strips bacon
1
tablespoon butter
1
small onion, finely chopped
1
pound kale, stems removed
Salt
& freshly ground pepper
Pinch
of ground allspice
1
Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1
lemon, sliced thin
Sauté bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels, crumble and reserve. Add the butter to the bacon drippings in the skillet. Add the onion and cook over medium-low heat until golden, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile rinse the kale in cold water and roughly chop. Add the kale to the skillet with just the water that clings to the leaves. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally until tender, about 15 minutes. Add salt & peer to taste, allspice, and vinegar. Sprinkle with reserved bacon and garnish with lemon slices.
from Greene on Greens by Bert Greene
Kale with Tomatoes and Onions
Try this recipe with chard, braising mix, and/or turnip or beet greens
2 lbs. Kale or other cooking greens
1 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, cut into ½ inch squares
3 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
several pinches red pepper flakes
salt & vinegar
Croutons (optional)
Wash, trim and roughly chop kale. Steam over boiling water for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Set aside. Heat oil in a wide skillet, add onions, cook over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Salt lightly, cook another minute, then add kale. Mix everything together and continue cooking until kale is thoroughly warmed. Taste for salt, season with a splash of vinegar. Serve with croutons, if desired.
Makes 4 servings. The
Kale and Potato Soup
1 bunch kale
3 Tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced into ½-inch squares
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 small dried red chili, seeded and chopped
or ½ tsp. chili flakes
1 bay leaf
about 1 lb. red potatoes, scrubbed and diced into ½-inch squares
2 teaspoon nutritional yeast (optional)
6 cups water or stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Crème fraiche or sour cream (optional)
Using a sharp knife, cut the ruffled kale leaves off their stems. (Stems may be used to make the stock). Cut the leaves into pieces roughly 2-inches square, wash them well, and set them aside.
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot; add the onion, garlic, chili, bay leaf and salt. Cook over medium-high heat for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the potatoes and yeast, if using, plus a cup of he water or stock. Stir together; cover and cook slowly for 5 minutes.
Add the kale; cover and steam until it is wilted, stirring occasionally. Pour in the rest of the water or stock; bring to a boil, then simmer slowly, covered, until the potatoes are quite soft, about 30 – 40 minutes.
Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the potatoes, or puree a cup or two of the soup in a blender and return to the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If possible, let the soup sit for an hour or so before serving to allow the flavors to further develop. Serve hot, with a spoonful of crème fraiche or sour cream if desired.
The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison