Fall Project

October is almost over and we haven't written anything about fall harvest.  Last weekend we got the camera out on a sunny afternoon.  Pieter and Julia walked through the field with the fall crops of fennel, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli. 
We have really enjoyed our first year of the CSA.  It allowed us more time at the farm on Saturdays when we would usually be at the farmers market and made us keenly aware of  how a good succession of crop plantings should be planned.  We were nervous when a hard frost hit us 3 weeks ago but it looks like we planted plenty and the last 3 weeks should be flavorful.

This fall and winter we are building the start to our packing shed.  Hunter is on the ladder working on the roof framing, it will give us a place to store equipment in the winter and process produce the rest of the year.

Irrigation

In August we did not have any rain but we needed to transplant for fall harvests.  Without a well and irrigation system, we had to deliver water to the struggling transplants.  Rain water was collected in 250 gallon containers and carried on the back of the tractor to newly planted rows.  On average, we irrigated each planting three times. 

Vince drilled holes in a 2 inch PVC pipe the same distance apart as the plant rows.  Hunter drove slowly over each bed and Kyle adjusted the valve to get the right flow and kept the water over the transplants.

This primitive set up worked surprisingly well but it is not a long term solution for irrigating acres of vegetables.

Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese

We were served grilled romaine at a restaurant one time and still talk about it.  It must have made an impression. This recipe from the Food Network gets close to how we remember it.    Perhaps it's time to give ceasar salad a break and try it at home!  There are many variations to the dressing and definitely ways to make it more healthy, including less cream and making more of a blue cheese vinaigrette.  

 

Ingredients

• 2 heads romaine lettuce, outer leaves trimmed
• Olive oil
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 ounces blue cheese (about 1/4 cup crumbled)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Directions

Drizzle the romaine with olive oil. Place on a hot grill until lightly charred on the outside, turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining ingredients.   

Remove the romaine from the grill to a serving platter. Cut in halves lengthwise to make 4 long pieces, then drizzle dressing over top. Serve immediately.

Broccoli Recipes

BROCCOLI
The following broccoli  recipes were written for us by our sister Molly Boswell in Pennsylvania.  You can find these and more great recipes on her blog: http://www.bloguntilgoldenbrown.blogspot.com

Broccoli Fritata

• 2 cups cooked broccoli florets (just steam them in the microwave to save time)
• 6 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup shredded cheese of your choice
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• butter
• salt and pepper

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and cheese together. In a large skillet, melt the butter and saute the onion and garlic. Toss in the broccoli and saute for a minute or two. Add the egg mixture (and any spice you'd like to add; cayenne perhaps). Cook until the bottom is nice and firm and the edges are cooked. Slide the fritata onto a plate - uncooked side UP. Next place, your skillet over the plate and flip. Continue the cooking, slice into wedges and enjoy. This is good for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anywhere in between.

Broccoli Soup
Perhaps not the best choice for dinner on a hot summer night, but comfort food nonetheless.

• 1/2 stick butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 large heads broccoli (cut into florets)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 carrot, shredded
• 12-16 ounces Velveeta cheese, cubed
• salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan, boil the chicken stock, add the broccoli and thyme and simmer for about 12 minutes, or until broccoli is tender but not mushy. In large stock pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook and stir until onion is tender. Turn off the heat, and quickly stir in the flour, and cook for 5 minutes. Next, whisk in milk until well blended, and then SLOWLY add in stock/thyme/broccoli mixture and stir so that everything is smooth. Add shredded carrot as well. *Put half of this hot mixture into your blender or food processor, and return to pot. Reduce heat to low-medium low and stir in cheese until melted, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Ham, Cheese, and Broccoli Popovers

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 shredded cheddar cheese (Swiss would be good too)
• 1/2 cooked broccoli pieces
• 1/4 small pieces cooked ham

Mix together the first 5 ingredients until well blended. Next, stir in the ham, cheese, and broccoli.

Fill either a greased muffin pan or ramekins half way full and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, and then at 350 for another 15 minutes. Cut a slit into side of each popover and serve warm.

Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Pasta

This is recipe belongs to Giada De Laurentiis, and it's fabulous.

• 2 bunches broccoli stems trimmed
• 1 pound pasta (penne is a good choice)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound turkey Italian-style sausage, casings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch dried crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the broccoli in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp tender, about 1 minute. Transfer the broccoli to a large bowl of ice water to cool, saving the cooking water. Bring the reserved cooking water back to a boil. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up into pieces with a spoon, until browned and juices form, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, when the reserved cooking water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Strain the broccoli and add it to the pan with the sausage mixture and toss to coat with the juices. Add the pasta to the skillet. Stir in the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Broccoli Lasagna

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 container (15 oz.) ricotta cheese
• 2 cups chopped broccoli, half way cooked
• 1/2 Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 9 (about two thirds of an 8-ounce package) no-boil lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare white sauce: In a large saucepan, heat butter and cook onion until tender and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir flour, pepper, nutmeg, red pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt into onion mixture; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce boils and thickens slightly. Boil sauce 1 minute longer. Stir in chopped parsley.

In bowl, mix ricotta cheese, broccoli, Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a large baking dish (ya' know... lasagna size), spread about 1/4 cup of sauce on the bottom. Add a layer of noodles, top with more sauce, then ricotta mixture, and repeat. Add the last of the sauce and remaining mozzarella cheese on top. Loosely cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Broccoli Cornbread

This is easy to make with a 10oz.package of frozen chopped broccoli as well.

• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 4 eggs, beaten
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups grated cheddar
• 1 onion, chopped (optional)
• 1 package corn muffin mix
• 2 cups (or so) of chopped broccoli

Mix all ingredients together and our into a 9x13 baking dish. Back at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Kale Chips

Kale chips are a very popular way to prepare kale and for good reason!  Because of that, there are many variations of recipes for them.  You can search for and develop your own favorite, but we've included one on our blog so our CSA members and market customers will have a single easy resource for those items they  may not know what to do with.

Ingredients:

1 bunch  kale

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

any seasoning you’d like:  Grill Seasoning, smoky paprika, chili flakes, sea salt and coarse black pepper, Parmesan cheese.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.  Thoroughly clean and dry kale leaves.  The trick is that they should be dry, otherwise they will be more chewy because they were "steamed."  Remove the fibrous center stalk from the kale by tearing the leaves away from the stalk.  

Directions:

Place kale leaves on one or two baking sheets.  Leaves should be in a single layer.  Sprinkle with olive oil and seasoning.  Toss with your hands.  Add more seasoning if you’d like.

Place pan(s) in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Turn leaves with tongs.  Return to the oven to bake for another 15 minutes. 

You can store kale chips in an airtight container for a few days, but I've never been able to do this because they get eaten so quickly!

*Keep in mind- kale chips do not taste like potato chips, nor do they have the same texture or consistency.    

Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower

Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower 
Original recipe by ourbestbites.com

I used this recipe as inspiration (gasp! I found it on Pinterest) and then altered as I went.  It's a basic roasted cauliflower dish, but I thought I'd include it for those of you who, like I used to, have a hard time knowing, even in a basic sense, what to do with veggies other than steamed or raw. Not that there's anything wrong with those options either.  I just got bored because I had sooo many vegetables to practice with!  I also learned a great tip about microwaving the olive oil and garlic first from this recipe.  We have found roasting vegetables to be one of our favorite ways to prepare many of them.  Roasting is a great "do ahead" side for a meal, low fat if you leave off the cheese, and tastes great.  

Here is the first problem I ran into when following this recipe. The pictures of the process included a perfectly shaped head of cauliflower that was easy to slice into 1/4 inch slices.  That was not the case with my heads of beautiful, if not perfectly shaped, heads.  So, I used a few heads not one big one. I also found it easier to break apart the pieces rather than slicing it, since the heads were a little looser than the example. 
Here is the original recipe with my notes, of course: 

Ingredients
3-4 tbs olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced  (I used scapes just like in your CSA box, chopped in smaller pieces)
1 head cauliflower  (your guess is as good as mine- I just made a whole bunch of smaller heads until my cookie sheet was full. I didn't need to add more oil, so it must have been a good amount)
kosher salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons crumbled Parmesan cheese  (I have used grated cheese and it worked fine - or just left the cheese off - it still tastes great!)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Place olive oil and garlic in a small bowl.  Heat in microwave for about 20 seconds and set aside.
Remove stem and leaves from cauliflower head and trim into large florets.  Slice each floret into 1/4 inch slices and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil and garlic mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper.  Use clean hands to toss to coat.  Add more olive oil if needed.  Bake for 15 minutes and then toss with spatula.  Bake 10 more and then toss with Parmesan cheese.  Continue baking for 5-10 minutes until slightly golden brown on edges.  (This was way to long for my cauliflower. Maybe I had smaller pieces or like it a little more crisp, but I didn't need the last 10 minutes, so keep watching it.)

New Washing Station

Kyle washes broccoli while Vince soaks lettuce

When I (Anna) told Vince I took pictures of his new wash-station-creation and was going to blog about it, he looked at me with a "really?" expression. Either that or a little embarassed? I'm not sure. Maybe I should be able to tell by now.  Anyway...I assured him it was so we could look back in five years and laugh at our primitive set up.  Or maybe next year. On the other hand, we may be using this same table for the next ten years.  

Fully portable, as are most things on our farm, he assembled cedar planks and propped it on sawhorses.  The best part is it meets the goal to have running water over the produce rather than holding a hose in one hand and produce in the other and then trying to wash it over the patio table.  There are three faucets over the table connected to hoses.  At this point, our only water source is from the house, so there are about five hoses hooked together to get down to the table. (It's probably fewer, but it looks long, anyway.) But it's portable, you say. Why not move it closer? Well.  All that water at one time saturates the ground.  Last year our lawn was constantly soggy, so moving off of it helps keep the grass near the house in better shape.  In addition, the table is right next to the compost, so all those scraps from cleaning/trimming/sorting/etc. go straight into the pile. In the inaugural run, Kyle and Vince used the washing station to prepare for our first week of CSA boxes.  It worked, but there are some improvements Vince would like to make. The first being to purchase some rubber aprons. They were both soaked!  

"the washing station" pre- first use

 

Dear Deer: Please leave our peas alone!

  Pieter chomps on a pea. Behind him are the gaping holes where peas should be emerging.

Pieter and Julia enjoyed the first peas of the summer last night. Well, the deer enjoyed the first pea shoots (that Pieter didn't eat first). We got their leftovers.  This is the first year we've had a real deer challenge and have started by deterring them with electric fence around the strawberries and new fruit trees. We can't afford to fence in the entire garden. Many rows are covered, but those that aren't seem to be fair game for wildlife.

The electric fence is powered by a battery because it's so far from the house.

Not to be left out, Julia enjoys a pea from her backpack perch.

May Weeding

Yes, Julia's laughing, not crying:)

The weekends have given us great weather for farming. Anna and Julia get in on the action for as long as Julia will last in the pack. A couple years ago it was Pieter on Anna's back, now we guide him out of the rows trying to avoid trampled broccoli and lettuce.  Most of the time he's pretty good about staying in between plants.

Some rows had enough weed pressure that the whole bed, vegetable seedlings and all, had to be turned under and replanted.

Drainage

We constructed hoop houses to get a jump on planting but they were too wet in April due to poor drainage. The three hoop houses are built about 4 feet apart and they are about 50 feet long. The three ditches I needed to dig felt like a lot of shoveling so I decided to use the tiniest excavator I could find.

Their was barely enough room for the machine but I am happy to say I did not ruin any plastic or hoops with an errant swing of the bucket

Chris relieved me after a couple hours of digging. He connected the ditches and is sending the water down hill.

Flame Weeding

Flame weeding is used to kill all of the newly sprouted weeds before they get large enough to compete with the planted vegetables. I am flaming the weeds in a bed that was planted a week ago. The lettuce seeds have not yet germinated and they are safe from the torch under the cover of soil.

I bought an inexpensive propane torch at a hardware store and every time I let go of the thumb trigger, the flame would go out. The torch is designed so that you open a flame adjustment valve on the handle to set the maximum flow of propane but the propane will not pass to the end of the torch until you push a thumb trigger. When you let go of the trigger, the torch is extinguished.

I pulled the thumb trigger apart and put a scar in the valve assembly so just a little propane will constantly leak past the trigger when the flame adjustment valve is open.  Now when I let go of the thumb trigger the torch stays lit and I don't have to reach for the striker at the end of each row.

When the lettuce finally pokes through the soil it will be greeted by a weed free seed bed.

Join Our CSA

click the on the picture above to view the membership form

The seeds are planted and we are excited to start our CSA this June! 

 CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. In short, members pay for a "subscription" to a farm and receive a box of produce each week.  By paying up front, subscribers provide capital for seeds, labor, fuel and soil amendments in the spring, which is when a farm incurs its greatest expense.  In our model, customers will receive a weekly box of local, fresh produce straight from our farm for 20 weeks for $500.  Membership supports a small business and local family and ensures a supply of seasonal organically grown vegetables beginning in spring, through the summer and into fall.   

We would love for you to join us in our adventure. We'll do the growing (including weeding, planting, weeding, harvesting and did I mention weeding?) and you serve and enjoy vegetables on your table.  In order to secure your share, click on the membership form above to download a form.  Send it back with your payment and you're all signed up! We'll be in contact to let you know when to expect to pick up your first week's supply of crisp, fresh veggies beginning the last weeks of June.

We want to thank all of our members ahead of time.  We truly believe in the food we eat and grow and are so thankful that we can share it with you.  It is one of our goals for Farmer Vince to be able to have his hands in the soil full time.  Your membership gets us closer to that goal.  Oh yeah- Pieter and Julia thank you too.  They hope you enjoy fresh veggies as much as they do!

Marking Rows

What a beautiful weekend - the third in a row and we have planted up most of the prepared seedbeds. The Allis Chalmers G never fails to start.  Even if the battery is dead, I can grab the hand crank, spin the engine over and away it goes to mark rows. Up to this point I have been keeping up with the weeds using a wheel hoe but I will need to mount the cultivators soon.

Happy Easter

We had beautiful weather over the Easter weekend and I was able to seed about a 1/4 acre of vegetables.

We tilled the beds Thursday night and marked the rows using the cultivating tractor. After the beds are made, I follow the marked rows with the Jang seeder. I mark each row 1 foot apart and 3 rows to a bed.

We seeded all of our spring crops, some of which should have been planted 4 weeks ago.

First Field Work 2012

We had dry weather last weekend and lots of help.  Farmhand Chris chiseled the beds that had cabbage, broccoli and other fall crops.

I was able to rototill some of the field we pre-bedded in the fall.  These beds were left without a cover crop and hilled in November.  This is not the best for building soil organic matter but the trade-off is that these rows will dry out quicker in the spring and it allows me to plant during these small windows of nice weather.

Kyle and Hunter spent the afternoon transplanting on raised beds.  After a lot of experimenting and adjusting, we were able to get the new bedder to work.  When everything was operating correctly, the beds came out even and firm.  I hope this translates to beds that are easier to cultivate and maintain.

Vacuum Seeder

Last year we planted each seed with a chopstick (instead of a glass of water, use a wet sponge to keep the chopstick moist and clean).  This was a method I used when I taught horticulture to high school students. With a class of 25 students, we had enough hands to plant a greenhouse full of flower seeds without the need of a vacuum seeder.

The vacuum seeder has a plate with pin sized holes drilled in the same pattern as the plug flat I grow the seedlings in. After the vacuum seeder is filled with seeds, turn it upside down and shut off the vacuum to release the seeds into the flat. A 5 to 10 minute job with chopsticks is a 1 minute job with the seeder.

We start our seedlings in the basement on heat pads.  I will move them out to a cold frame or hoophouse after they germinate to make room for the next flat on the heat pads.

Bedder

Some tools, like the Jang Seeder, are great investments that have dramatically cut down on our labor.  I am hoping this is one of them.  The Bedder-Layer is used to raise the soil to create a bed that is even in height and width.  As the tractor pulls it along a tilled field, the Bedder section will gather soil from the wheel tracks of the tractor.  The soil is pushed to the center of the row where a shaping pan will form an evenly shaped bed.  The Layer part of the implement will place drip tape under a plastic film.

I am hoping that this will save time weeding and keep the plants cleaner during harvest.  When I use the bedder without the layer, a consistent bed to plant on will make tractor cultivating for weeds more precise.

Outbuildings

One of the hardest things about farming on this property is the lack of infrastructure.  Anyone looking to purchase property doing small scale farming should really consider the infrastructure that might already be in place.  Buildings, roads, water and electricity are a necessity and are very valuable and deserve great consideration.

We have been needing a dry place for storage and a work area out of the weather.  We found a building for sale that the owner needed to remove from the property he has sold.  They are just under 400 square feet, this is largest you can build around here without a permit.

We had a break from the rain in the first week of February.  The neighbor Andy helped us lay a concrete pad for the building we purchased in December.

Pieter and Vince are very excited watching the reassembly of the garage.  

The garage needs a bath but it looks pastoral in its red siding and white trim.  Now to fill it up with stuff to the point where it is impossible to actually use it as a garage.

Beet Bundt Cake

The beets were so pretty pureed, I had to take a picture

I did it! I made a cake with beets! Since it wasn't very difficult, I think I am more proud of the fact that I actually did it after talking about it for weeks. First the beets had to be harvested from the garden, washed, cooked, peeled and pureed. Baking the cake was the easy part. Yeah for baby and toddler nap time!
We were very impressed with how moist the cake was. You can definitely taste the beets, but we like beets, so that was fine with us.

The finished product. I am not a food photographer, apparently

Here is the recipe I used - I got it from allrecipes.com and then, of course, in true Anna fashion, made some of my own alterations. Maybe some day I'll follow a recipe exactly. I usually have to allow extra time for using fresh produce instead of canned. That definitely extended the 15 minute prep time. When you have a choice, though, fresh is so worth it!

BEET BUNDT CAKE

1 cup butter softened, divided
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 eggs
4 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
2 cups pureed cooked beets. (I used 5 medium sized beets and had just a little left over)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar
 
In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 butter and brown sugar. Add eggs; mix well. Melt chocolate with remaining butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Blend chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Pour into a greased and floured 10" fluted tube pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to wire rack. Cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.

Julia loved the left over beets. Now I know were the original idea for lipstick came from.

Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts growing in the field

This year we've eaten more than ever out of our winter garden.  So far the fairly mild winter has allowed us to munch on carrots, parsnips, beets, brussel sprouts and even cabbage, spinach and swiss chard alongside the onions, potatoes and garlic and preserved veggies in storage.

One new favorite for us this year is brussel sprouts. I (Anna) had never seen them grow before and was taken by the fascinating little "cabbage trees,"  and Vince thought he didn't like to eat them.  And so it began- roasted brussel sprouts became the "thing to bring" to our family holiday gatherings and now we are experimenting with more ways to prepare them.  
Below is the recipe for the roasted brussel sprouts we have been requested to bring to family dinner:

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

• 1 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts (I've never weighed them, but about 2-3 "trees", ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed.   Cut an X in the bottom of each sprout for more even cooking. We also soaked them in water to get any "organic bugs" or tough dirt out.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•  whole garlic cloves (if desired)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F  

2. Place trimmed Brussels sprouts, garlic cloves, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. (or just mix well in a bowl.) Pour onto a baking sheet, and place on center oven rack.  

3. Roast in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning.  Brussels sprouts should be dark brown when done. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, if necessary. Serve immediately.



Kielbasa and Brussel Sprouts

I also recently prepared kielbasa, sliced in 1/2 pieces and red onion in a little water in a cast iron skillet until the onion was transparent and then added brussel sprouts, cut in half, to the pan and cooked until the brussel sprouts were tender-crisp. This was so sweet from the onion but salty from the kielbasa that I didn't have to add any seasonings.  It is great served with mac and cheese:)