{ Community Supported Agriculture Newsletter {

Dear CSA Members:

This year I had one of my most enjoyable working years to date. As a second year apprentice, my duties included making hay with Steffen. It is truly a unique apprenticeship opportunity that, as far as I know, only Hawthorne Valley offers. One of the reasons I wanted to experience farming was to understand where our food comes from. And after a season of farming I certainly do appreciate what it takes to grow food. Since I want to have animals on my farm someday, I also wanted to learn what it takes to make their feed. For a cow at Hawthorne Valley, that mostly means fresh grass in the summer and hay in the winter. But what goes into making that hay that gives our cows nutrition and us milk, cheese, and yogurt? I’ll give you a snapshot of the season.

Before haying can begin one has to first get the equipment in order. Make sure the mowers are greased and have sharp blades. Are all the tines on the rake? Does the bailer work? How about the new bale wrapper for making balage (a fermented version of hay)? How do we even work this thing?

Then you have to know when to cut your fields for hay or balage. This involves looking at the weather forecast and crossing your fingers that the 20 percent chance of rain will happen someplace else. A hayfield can be complex as well. There are many different kinds of grass, clover and alfalfa that a farmer is interested in harvesting, and they won’t all be ripe and ready at the same time. Other factors that we consider at Hawthorne Valley are the effects on the fauna in the hayfield. We consult with Conrad and Claudia Vispo of the Farmscape Ecology Program about the timing of cutting certain fields because of nesting birds and such. I was amazed and affected to see all of the wildlife that called that tall grass home. Not every animal has a happy haying experience, but that is just a fact of life. The best a farmer can do is to be as conscientious as possible. I will not forget my tractor being circled and circled by beautiful, opportunist swallows gorging on all of the displaced insects.

Now the haying is over and there are bales scattered across all of our hay fields, awaiting special delivery to our cows. I won’t be here to feed them but it’s nice to know now what goes into producing a bale for a cow for our milk for our health. Mike

Looking Forward

to Next Week

Anticipated for October 19^th

Cabbage

Carrots

Lettuce

Onions

Pie Pumpkins

Turnips

The 2006

CSA Season

ends soon!!

Just a few more weeks for

pre-orders and pick-ups.

Last pick-up is Nov. 2.

All pre-orders should be in by Thursday, Oct 26.

Purée of Roasted Garlic and White Vegetables

Turnips and celeriac turn ordinary mashed potatoes into a dish that can stand up to lamb, pork, or beef.

1 whole garlic head

3 ¼ cups chopped peeled baking potato

3 cups chopped peeled turnip

2 ½ cups chopped peeled celeriac

1 cup chopped onion

2 Tablespoons butter

¼ cup whipping cream

1½ Tbs. white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

½ tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 350°. Remove white papery skin from garlic head (do not peel or separate cloves). Wrap garlic head in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; cool 10 minutes. Separate garlic cloves; squeeze to extract garlic pulp. Discard skins.

Place potato, turnip, celeriac, and onion in a large Dutch oven; cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain. Place half of vegetables in a food processor; process until smooth. Pour puree into a bowl. Repeat procedure with the remaining vegetables.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Stir in garlic pulp, puréed vegetables, and cream; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring frequently. Stir in the vinegar, salt, and pepper. Serves 8.

from Cooking Light, December 2003

Beets & Carrots with West Indian Spices

1 lb Beets (about 4 medium)
1 lb Carrots, peeled
2 tb Grated fresh gingerroot
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Orange juice

1/4 cup Cider vinegar
Grated zest of 1 orange
1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Mace

Wash the beets well and cut off the leaves, leaving an inch or so of stem. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil and simmer, covered until tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and cover with cool or lukewarm water. When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins.

Cut the beets into slices or chunks.

Cut the carrots into the same size and shape as the beets (slices or chunks). Steam or boil in lightly salted water about 5 minutes or until tender but not soft. Drain.

Combine the ginger, sugar, orange juice, vinegar, orange zest and spices in a saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until thickened. Simmer the cooked beets and carrots in this sauce for about 5 minutes.

Leek, Potato and Celeriac Soup

¼ cup butter

4 leeks, cleaned, with roots & tops removed

3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2" slices

1 celeriac knob, peeled and cut into 1" chunks

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

Thyme, basil and/or marjoram (Fresh), to taste

Melt butter in stockpot. Slice leeks into 1/4-inch slices and add to stockpot. Sauté for 5 minutes, until golden. Add potatoes and celeriac and sauté for 5 minutes. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup stock, cover and continue to cook until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

Pour vegetables and stock into a food processor or blender and puree. Return puree to stockpot and add remaining stock and herbs. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.

from www.justvegetables.com