Farm to Folk Newsletter August 5, 2008
Farm to Folk is a member of the Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign. Here is a link to the weekly BFBL newsletter:
http://www.drake.edu/news/dbletter/buyfreshbuylocal/
Nick Wallace: will be delivering wild fish and pork products. Please email him directly with your order: nick.wallace@wallacefarms.com
Berry Patch: Now harvesting : blueberries, red and black currants, gooseberries . Blueberries picked only Saturday mornings 8 -12,
please bring your own container (ice cream pail)
Pick your own hours are Monday - Saturday 8 -12
Full Circle Farm: remember to pre-order your grass-fed beef and they will deliver each Tuesday.
Grains of Wisdom: Mary Beth will be delivering pre-ordered breads or get there early for the "first come, first served" bread.
Meet the Members
This week we introduce another first year member, Julie Mozena. Julie sells real estate in Ankeny and found out about Farm to Folk from her church friend, Alissa. Alissa was a member last year, but joined a Turtle Farm this year because it is closer to her home. She has spread the word about f2f, though and recruited a couple new members.
Julie signed up for everything this year and is excited to be learning uses for different parts of the vegetables, new ways to prepare them and the best ways to store them. Her enthusiasm for the fresh food is contagious and it was a joy to visit with her about it. She says picking up her shares has become the highlight of her week. She no longer takes the food for granted like something she picks up at the grocery store. The food network is one of her resources in this new relationship with the food and learning to use fresh herbs has been fun for her. She tried the fresh basil in her potato salad recipe and came up with a Pesto Potato salad, a recipe she promises to share with us. Julie loves that the food is organic, grown by local people and not processed.
Iowa Fresh Produce:
Hello all-This week Summer has finally rolled in! Foggy in the early morning hours from all the recent rains and then by mid morning hot , muggy and steamy- a more typical August day. Even the rain is more typical as we only got .4" the other day when it looked like a repeat of what we all have grown so
accustomed to.
Looking at the calendar , however, and Summer is just about over for the kids. Nick has football camp next weekend followed by two a days (football practices) and then shortly thereafter school begins. We had so many things we wanted to do this Summer - both on and off the farm and now it seems that
some of those notions will have to be postponed as some take on a higher priority as each week passes. Topping the list is finishing the greenhouse and recovering the cold frame which lost its plastic early on during one of the first storms of the season. Also there's that last bit of painting on the house where both time and paint spelled an end to that project last year. Then there's the North side of the machine shed that needs to be re-sided before Winter so though the weather people say that the days are
getting shorter unfortunately that is not the case with the things to do around here. Weeding, harvesting and putting in Fall crops round out the 'todo' lists each week.
What to expect this week-
Beet
zucchini
onion
cucumber
bell pepper
The beet tops still look good so hopefully you are enjoying those as well as the roots. Steamed with a dollop of butter and a bit of fresh ground pepper and sea salt always makes a tasty dish. Seems that beets are the one crop that really appreciated all the rains this year.
The onions you will be receiving from here on out should be pretty much cured as Nick pulled the last bed of them this past week. Very few are the larger ones but I guess I should just be happy that as many survived as what did.
Bruce
Small Potatoes Farm
Hello Everyone,Deliveries
Similar to last week we will deliver carrots, onions, basil, and beets. In addition, we will have some arugula and/or lettuce. Yes, lettuce. I always try a little lettuce in the summer - just in case. I guess this bed is going to make it. I hope most all can get a pepper or two as well. We'll hold off on potatoes until next week when it will (hopefully) be a little drier. Tomatoes and summer squash are finally starting to ripen, so we'll deliver what is available. Smatterings of broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant will show up in random boxes.
Greens Share will be lacinato kale, as all of our other greens are temporarily dead. I think I can start replanting them again soon (3 times a charm?)
Happenings
Cucumbers are flowering this week (after the replanting) and look pretty good. The beans that survived the rain are flowering, too, so maybe some beans after all. And speaking of rain, the last two weeks we received over the average annual rainfall for both July and August. We did lose most, if not all, our replants. Today, I am planting again! Can't stop me.
I forgot to mention the power line to the barn fell about five feet after the BIG storm. Just low enough to touch the top of my head. Stacy thought I'd forget and walk into it. But, I showed her as I'm alive enough to write this report. We got it hung right before on-farm pick-up last Friday. I also forgot to mention our corncrib went down. Not so surprising considering the shape it
was in, but still dramatic. Since then, we've lost a transmission on van no.1, a fuel pump on the truck and our refrigerator.
We helped the neighbor pick and process some sweet corn this week and now have some in the freezer for winter. All the garlic is hung, labeled, mapped and waiting to be cleaned, sorted, and finally distributed. Our onions are all trimmed and drying in the barn.
Weeding is picking up as areas are becoming dry enough to do it. The biggest challenge is the large winter squash field. We did manage to get off the row covers, even though the field was a little wet. The grass is tremendous, though, and a certain degree of will and suspension of reality is required to go out and tear it out. We finished two rows the last two days. Stacy says its
impossible to get it weeded, but I don't agree, even if its true.
I've been able to start mowing a little. I had hoped to mow off our sorghum-Sudan cover crop at between 4 and 5 feet, but it rained Sunday as I started. Now its over 6 feet, so I'm hoping to get out there today.
In the Kitchen
We've been eating hummus this week. It is a wonderful dip on fresh, raw vegetables and bread, and is a light meal in this hot weather. There are all sorts of humus recipes, in fact, many of you probably have one of your own. The Lauers gave us some Cook's Illustrated magazines, one of which had a great recipe. Rick will have it on the website by the weekend. Give it a try.
Most Notable Events
Today is Stacy's birthday (the 31st).
When I went to collect eggs two nights ago, there was a large snake in one of the boxes attempting to eat an egg whole. I carefully slid my hand in and retrieved the other eggs, but left to the snake the one in its mouth. Seems it was too ambitious as the egg was still there the next day and the snake had left. I have a picture and will put it on the website when the next round of images are downloaded.
What Stacy's Mom is Doing
Stacy's mom is encouraging Stacy to go to the Pioneer job fair. According to her, Stacy could both easily get a job (a "real job") and make $100,000 per year. The baby, of course, could stay with her mother while she was at work.
Have a great week.
Rick, Stacy and Matilda
Recipes
(I pulled out a couple from our 2006 recipe collection – Deb)Chard Tart: from "The Joy of Cooking"
The original recipe is calls for Chard--but you may use any kind of greens (including spinach). This tart is meant to be served at room temp; it is a great make-ahead item and works well for picnics.
Crust:
2c all purpose flour (we like 1c all purpose flour and 1c Paul’s 7-grain flour)
1/2t salt
1/2c water
1/2c olive oil
Stir crust until well blended. Knead briefly. Press into 11" tart
pan and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 F
Filling:
1 red onion-diced
1 pound greens-chopped
2T fresh basil (11/2t dried)
1/4t salt
1/8t black pepper
3 large eggs
1/3 c cream or half and half (skim milk works)
1c grated parmesan
Saute onion in olive oil. Add greens and cook for 10 minutes.
Season with basil, salt and pepper. In bowl combine eggs, cream and parmesan, add greens, pour into crust.
Bake in lower 1/3 of oven until filling is firm 40-45 minutes. Cool
to room temp before serving (if you can wait that long).
Basil Pesto Potato Salad
Glenda Stormes-Bice
5 medium red or yellow potatoes
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 t. salt
1t. pepper
1 c. basil pesto
1 c. quartered cherry tomatoes
½ red onion, thinly sliced
Cook potatoes until tender. Drain, peel, cube and place in shallow bowl. Wisk oil and seasonings together and pour over potatoes. Toss gently. Stir in pesto, tomatoes and onion. Toss. Serve warm or at room temp.
See you Tuesday!
Marilyn, Corry and Deb