Hello folks,

Hopefully around  you are some hints of fall, crisper mornings (we did have some ice on the windshields a few mornings ago! brrr), foliage is turning, pumpkins and squash are on our minds. We have entered the gorgeous time of the year many of us love so much here in Vermont. Enjoy!

We had a busy and fun day at our first foray providing food at the Shelburne Farms Harvest Festival (110 beef kabobs, 100 pork kabobs, almost 200 pork sausages, 4 gallons of asian slaw and 6 gallons of potato leek soup!) Whew, we are glad that is behind us now.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: This IS NOT our fresh chicken pickup week. We have moved it to next week! If you are interested in a fresh chicken to roast or grill, mmmmmm! take one home next week!

CHEESE SHARE and BAKERY SHARE this week! yeah!

Please take home my sheet on STORAGE tips. Some folks are saying they have a bit extra each week and if properly stored, you can keep it for longer and it wont go bad. I suggest freezing. Its easy, not as time consuming as canning and you will have some Maple Wind Farm goodies this winter and wont have to buy as much at the store!

ON THE FARM: Its time to get into the woods and bring out some logs for splitting and to replentish the sugar shack wood for next spring. Bruce and the guys will be up in the woods this week with the horses adding to our growing pile of wood in the field. We need about 15 cords of wood for the farm/the house and the yurts for the winter. Who splits it all you ask? We’ve started to “buck” the wood (cut the limbed trees into 14″ lengths) so that we can use our log splitter and in October we’ll be working with a few crews of young people from the  VYCC coming to help split the wood as part of our partnership with that organization. Speaking of VYCC, if you are driving along route 2, look at the VYCC fields across from the camel and you will see our herd of cows grazing on the delicious clover that has come up. They will be there for a few weeks rotating those fields.

IN THE GARDEN: The garden is making its change over to fall crops nicely. We are getting the winter squash off the vines for some field curing this week. When we do get a frost on the garden in Richmond, its going to improve the taste of the carrots and parsnips as well as the brussell sprouts (so look forward to those!)

Ill take a CSA Members advice and try a trade area this week. If you have something in your share  you will not use, please place it in the trade area and take something you will use from someone else!

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Most likely the last corn (boo hoo), Red Norland Potatoes, Onions, Beets, Peppers, Braising Greens, Cabbage (choice of red or green), Basil, perhaps a winter squash and brussel sprouts! 

IN THE KITCHEN:

Brussel Sprouts

Most Americans who do not like Brussels sprouts are haunted by childhood memories of smelly, army green, bitter, mushy globs that had to be eaten before dessert. Fresh Brussels sprouts, properly cooked, are deliciously delicate in flavor. Maybe it is time to give Brussels sprouts another chance, this time with a new attitude and a modern cooking spirit.

Like cabbage and cabbage sprouts, Brussels sprouts are a cool weather crop. They should be harvested when the sprouts are small, compact and bright green. Avoid yellowing sprouts with signs of wilt rot or insect damage. Harvest sprouts when they are no larger than 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter.

The fresher the sprouts, the better the flavor, so refrigerator storage should not exceed a day or two. Remove any damaged or irregular outer leaves and store fresh unwashed sprouts in plastic bags in the vegetable bin of the refrigerator.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.

Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night – delicious!

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Serves 4.

Hubbard Squash

3 lbs. Hubbard squash
1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans

Cut squash into pieces. Pare and remove seeds and fibers. Cook, covered, in boiling water until tender. Drain and mash well. Beat in butter, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with pecan

Reprinted from Cooks.com

Steamed Kabocha Squash
1 (2- to 2 1/2-pound) kabocha squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Bring 8-quart pot of water to boil. Add squash and boil, uncovered, 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip squash over, then boil 2 1/2 minutes more. Drain and let cool.

When squash is cool enough to handle, cut off top and bottom and remove skin with paring knife. Cut squash in half crosswise, scoop out seeds, and cut flesh into 1-inch chunks.

In medium bowl, stir together squash, olive oil, honey, ginger, and salt. Transfer to steamer set over boiling water and steam until tender, about 15 minutes. Spoon onto large plate and serve.

Hello folks,

What a start to fall! Up here at Maple Wind I see a few trees turning red and its certainly fun to see all the wild apple trees flush with apples! Time to get the cider press out soon!

BIG WEEKEND of FUN EVENTS! This Sunday- Shelburne Orchards Small Farm Food Festival AND Huntington Valley Arts Festival at Jubilee Farm in Huntington. Both events are 11-5. Clone yourself and come to both! We’ll be at both serving up hamburgers and sausages!

Back door Bakery CSA members please take note: I seemed to have misplaced Dean’s list of bakery shareholders (oops sorry Dean!) from last week. PLEASE let me know at the pickup that you signed up. A few folks did not pay yet- we dont have duplicate records of this so I assume you know who you are who owe Dean money. (Reg share $18 and Family $30) GREAT BAGELS last week!

This week cheese members will recieve 2 tubs of the delicious Danz Ahn Farm Feta cheese!

IN THE GARDEN: Ive been in denial about irrigation but when I look at the weather outlook, it would seem prudent to turn on some drip for a few of the newer transplants. The fall  broccoli I put in last week is doing very well given the dryness. I am seeing the end of the melon crop and the zucchini/patty pans but I am excited by the pumpkins turning orange and seeing all the winter squash under the browning foliage.

The crows have been having a feast in the corn patch so I got a fake battery operated owl that its head turns around upon sensing movement. I mounted it up on a cedar post along with some silver aluminum pie tins swaying in the wind on the ends of other posts to scare the crows away- we’ll see if this helps. Cross your fingers!

THIS WEEK’s HARVEST: Looking good! Red Cabbage, Freshly dug potatoes! Thanks to Herbie and Henry our draft horses. Ratatouille makings minus the tomatoes: Eggplant, Onion, Peppers (galore), Summer squash, Turnips, Golden Beets, Mizuna (Asian greens a bit like mustard), Corn!, there may be some surprises I just cant hold back,  did I mention Corn! yeah!

Pickyourown green beans (final week) sorry for the extra weeds in there. Flowers too! Dont forget to take home some herbs too! Basil is plentiful as is the parsley and sage!

If anyone is interested in a fresh chicken (or more) for the Thursday pickup on September 24th, email me or just let me know then and we’ll have plenty to sell. Its the week of our final poultry processing for the summer. In November, we’ll do our turkeys (Its not too early to reserve one for Thanksgiving!)

Please return you ball jars if you still have them. I think we’ll have the next syrup coming up next week or the week after. Thank you.

Eat well,

Beth and Bruce

IN THE KITCHEN: Can you say “Roasted Vegetables” mmmmm! Olive oil, salt, pepper.

Hello folks,

What a gorgeous week! Our kids just started school today…kind of bittersweet actually. Now we have two full day school age children. Our daughter, Bryn, just started Kindergarden! Wow how time flies!  David is in second grade and went to school today like it was no big deal, deep down I think he’s excited for the friends and structure. We’ve had a great summer as I hope all of you have had. Getting us all out of the house early is going to get some getting used to for sure.

ON THE FARM: We are bringing in some second cut hay on our leased fields as well as trucking back some purchased hay from a few sources- thanks Nate for doing the driving duty lately! All the animals are doing well, we are just about to combine the turkey chicks (the second batch) with the first group out on pasture. We have one mamma pig that is about to farrow (have babies) and we have two new horses we are boarding on the farm.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Its BACK! We are picking up Maple Wind Farm SUMMER SAUSAGE at Vermont Smoke and Cure in time for this weekends farmers markets!!!  Made with our grass fed beef and pasture raised pork, its a 7 oz tube of delicous picnic ready precooked sausage. YUM! (Think stocking stuffer!)

IN THE GARDEN: September- what a harvest month! New vegetables are coming ready, I hope you enjoy them.  You many even get some vegetables you have never had or considered buying in the store… have fun. Try something new! Id love  your feedback.

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST: New: Sweet C0rn! Tomatillos (makes great salsa verde-its so so easy!) Kohlrabi (see more info below) and Collards. Also in the share- melon, leeks, cauliflower, eggplant, basil, Onion/Jalapeno (for the salsa!), Beets and perhaps a few surprises. Flowers are still blooming!

PS. Make sure to carve out a few extra minutes at pickup time to PYO green beans!!! We have 2 rows of pole beans and they are just right for picking! You’ll find them just beyond the flowers at the Andrews Farm.

PPS. I have pruned back the herbs that got the paint on them and I feel that if you would like to PYO herbs again, please do. Cut carefully as your own risk. I think many herbs are fine!

VEGETABLE INFO/RECIPES:  Have you ever eaten a kohlrabi? These little sputnik-shaped vegetables come in green or purple, can be eaten raw or cooked, and taste a lot like broccoli stems. The word kohlrabi is German for cabbage turnip (kohl as in cole-slaw, and rübe for turnip) though kohlrabi is more related to cabbage and cauliflower than to root vegetables. We usually eat them raw, just peeled, sliced and added to a salad, but they are also delicious cooked and are often used in Indian cuisine.

check out some recipes

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/kohlrabi/

Tomatillos: I guess late blight doesnt like our Tomatillos thankfully. They make wonderful Salsa Verde (spicy or not) and it goes great with Pork or on eggs.

Collards: Storage. Store unwashed collard greens in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag. They should be placed in the refrigerator crisper where they will keep for three to five days, but the sooner they are eaten, the less bitter they will be.

Tips for Preparing Collard Greens

Collard greens should be washed very well since the leaves and stems tend to collect sand and soil. Before washing, trim off the roots and separate the leaves. Place the collard greens in a large bowl of tepid water and swish them around with your hands, as this will allow the sand to become dislodged. Remove the leaves from the water, empty the bowl, refill with clean water, and repeat this process until no dirt remains in the water (usually two to three times will do the trick).

If your recipe calls for leaves only or if the stems are overly thick, they can be easily removed. Just take each leaf in hand, fold it in half lengthwise, hold the folded leaves near the base where they meet the stalk, and with the other hand, gently pull on the stem. You can also use a knife to separate the leaves from the stems.

A Few Quick Serving Ideas:

Drizzle cooked collard greens with olive oil and lemon juice.

Serve steamed collard greens with black-eyed peas and brown rice for a Southern inspired meal.

Use lightly steamed, cooled and chopped collard greens as a filling in your sushi vegetable rolls.

Healthy sauté collard greens with tofu, garlic and crushed chili peppers for a meal that will definitely add spice to your life.

A reminder to all members of Maple Wind Farm vegetable CSA that the Backdoor Bakery is again offering a 6 week Bakery Share starting this Thursday.

To begin enjoying Dean Menke’s delicious bagels, scones, granola and other goodies please CONTACT DEAN at the bakery (do not respond to my email please) and let him know if you would like a regular share ($18) or a family share ($30). You can bring your check this Thursday made to BACKDOOR BAKERY.

Please contact Dean by Tuesday  at 434-3422 or  dean_at_sea@hotmail.com

I hope you are enjoying your vegetables! Please submit some favorite recipes- Id be happy to post them!

Eat well,

Beth

Hello folks!

Announcements: We hope that all of you will be coming to our Hoedown and Community Potluck. All CSA members and their families (neighbors and friends too!) are welcome. SUNDAY AUG. 23rd. Come tour the farm at 3 and do chores with us and 4pm the music will start and eating will commence. Bring a dish (made from the harvest of course!) and your own tableware, b.y.o.b. See you on Sunday!

PS Let us  know if you wish to be a volunteer for the cattle drive from 11-2. Mandatory training at 10:30.

On the Farm: We are still bringing in some of our second cut of hay with this nice weather all week. Exciting news for our poultry- Our 145 newer layer hens have started to lay eggs! We are collecting a few each day so soon we’ll be back in the swing of larger egg production. Also, we got 75 replacement turkey chicks because the first group had many deaths due to rickets. They are fairing well and the surviving 40 from the first group was moved out on pasture today! Our turkeys will remain organically certified- put in your reservation for one by the fall for Thanksgiving!

In the Garden: Yes, its true, the tomato crop is basically gone. The blight just took over. It all happened so fast. But the good news is we will share some of the few ripe ones and send home some green tomatoes for you to make chutney or fried green tomatoes! Maybe they will ripen on  your window sill!

The other good news is our melon crop looks plentiful!

Flowers are colorful- enjoy another PYO bouquet!

This weeks Harvest: A few tomatoes (savor them!), 1 huge head of white cauliflower (see 2 easy recipes below!), Eggplant (recipe below as well), Leeks! Yeah! Drumroll please…. melon! (Some may need to be on your counter for a few days) A nice variety of golden beets and a few chioggas. The standbys: cucumbers, patty pan, yellow and green zucchini, bunched chard or kale (maybe both last week was too much.?) and some basil. WOW! Enjoy.

Reminders: Bring back your glass jars for more syrup please. Bring Canvas bags and curb excessive use of  produce bags if possible. Thank you.

Recipes: No recipes for leeks, I’ll let you submit one! They are wonderful in egg dishes and in place of onions or in a soup!

Lighting Quick Cauliflower Curry

Yields: 4 cups
Serving size: 2 cups
Servings: 2 main-dishes or 4 side-dishes
Heat over medium heat in a large, heavy pot with lid:

• 2 Tbs. oil

When hot add:

• 1.5 tsp. dark mustard seeds

When the mustard seeds starts to pop (it should be just a few seconds), take the pan off the heat and stir in:

• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin, ground
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

Meanwhile prepare the cauliflower and add to the pan:

• 1/2 head medium cauliflower (about 1.25? lbs after removing leaves and core), sliced
• 1/4 cup water

Stir to mix, then cover and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, adding more water if needed. Add and cook for 1 minute:

• 1 cup frozen peas

Shake on:

• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• a shake or two of crushed red pepper
• 1.5 Tbs. lemon juice

Stir in:

• 1 Tbs. tomato sauce or 1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes

Notes

The colors of the peas and tomatoes contrast beautifully with the golden cauliflower, and they add some sweetness.  The cauliflower is “sliced” into pieces rather than being broken into florets, because when you slice it you’ll cut through the cells, and the cauliflower will absorb the spices better.

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

4-inch segment of a thin day-old baguette
1 medium head of cauliflower, washed
extra-virgin olive oil
scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 fresh red chile pepper, minced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place racks in the middle.

Give the baguette a spin in a food processor until you have textured, not-too-fine bread crumbs.

Trim the cauliflower. Get rid of the big stalks and stems and strive for uniform, bite-sized little florets. Little trees.

In a big bowl toss the cauliflower with a few generous tablespoons of olive oil and the salt. Toss until the cauliflower is well coated and then place it in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. You are going to bake for about 25-30 minutes total.

There will be some residual olive oil in the big bowl you used to toss the cauliflower. If not, add another tablespoon or two. Add the bread crumbs, garlic, and chiles. Mix.

After the cauliflower has been baking for about 15-20 minutes anything in contact with the pan should be nicely browned. Pull the pan out of the oven, rotate each piece of cauliflower so that another side will get some color, and then sprinkle the entire pan with the breadcrumb mixture. Return the pan to the oven and finish with another ten minutes or so. The cauliflower should be tender throughout and the breadcrumbs nicely toasted. Serve immediately, it really isn’t half as delicious after it has been sitting on the counter getting cold.

Serves 4

- Puree the roasted cauliflower (and crumbs) with some broth and a splash of cream for an easy soup

Broiled Eggplant with Capers and Mint
Adapted from Epicurious

Makes 4 appetizer-size portions

1 pound thin Italian or Asian eggplants (2 to 3), cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped mint
2 tablespoons small capers, rinsed

Preheat broiler. Arrange eggplant in 1 layer on a large baking sheet and brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil (total). Broil about 4 inches from heat, turning once, until golden, 8 to 12 minutes total.

Stir together vinegar, mint, capers, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss with warm eggplant. Marinate at least 20 minutes.

Marinated eggplant can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Hello folks,

Just finished a 5 hour canning session with all the folks of Maple Wind Farm today! We made refridgerator pickles, dilly beans, canned pickles, beet relish and zucchini relish today. We were a well oiled canning machine- we were chopping, boiling, grating, spicing, canning… all told we put up more than 4 gallons of food into mason jars. Its time consuming but well worth it. Get together with a neighbor or another CSA member and do a group session, its more fun and tasks can be divided to make the job of canning easier for everyone.

Perfect segway… we have lots more cucumbers this week so think about your own pickle recipes if you have some time this week.

GARDEN NOTES: On a low note…Its official, we have blight on our tomatos and Im in the process of pulling out plants that are really bad and trying to salvage some tomatoes from ones that aren’t yet. The blight travelled over the corn and hit the potatoes (not bad) but enough to take precaution to brush hog the foliage to save the tubers. The blight only can live on a plant that is alive so by cutting the potato foliage we can can save the underground plants for a later harvest. We must wait 2-3 weeks for the skins to toughen up before doing any harvest, so there will be a delay in your next share of potatoes until it is save to bring them out of the ground. As for tomatoes, I hope we all get a few red ones this summer and I will most likely harvest green ones before I have to rip out plants so you might want to try making green tomato chutney or pickle them green(?). I hope your home tomatoes have faired better than mine!

So thats the bad news, the good news is that the rest of the garden looks great!

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Green Beans, Cucumbers(salad and picklers), Patty Pan Squash, Napa Cabbage, Onions, Cauliflour,Head Lettuce.  PYO flowers too!

Next week! Leeks and Golden Beets- yum.

ON THE FARM: A big milestone- our first cut of hay is officially done! This week, we took 6 more big pigs and 4 cows to the butcher. We moved our cow herd across route 2 to the North side of the Andrews Farm. The bulls are now in the pasture with the ladies and we have all our calves for 09!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Congratulations to our CSA Members, Kevin and Alex McAleer who are getting married this Saturday!

***Read the next farm posting on all the details on our Hoedown & Community Potluck on August 23rd. We hope many of our CSA members will be there!

REMINDERS: Please bring your canvas bags, conserve plastic produce bags or bring old ones back. Bring in your syrup jars. And do call me on my cell if you will be late or not picking up. (233-3862 Beth’s cell).

IN THE KITCHEN: Recipes below.

Napa Cabbage Picnic Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS (you could substitute this weeks CSA green beans and red onions for peas and green onions)

2/3 cup slivered almonds
8 cups (1 lb) coarsely shredded napa cabbage
12 ounces snow peas, strings removed, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced radishes
1 1/3 cups thinly sliced green onions (including greens)
1 1/3 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves

Dressing ingredients
3 Tbsp rice vinegar (seasoned or unseasoned)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 clove peeled and minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 cup mayonnaise

METHOD

1 Spread almond slivers out in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes, until nicely browned. OR toast in stick-free or cast-iron skillet on medium high, stirring frequently until browned. Set aside.

2 Combine cabbage, snow peas, radishes, green onions, cilantro in a large bowl. Can make this step a day or two ahead.

3 In a separate bowl, mix together the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, ginger, and cayenne until sugar has dissolved. Whisk in the mayonnaise.

4 When ready to serve, gently combine the dressing and almonds with the cabbage mixture.

Serves 14-16.

Potato, Green Bean and Corn Salad

• 4 pounds small white boiling potatoes (about 2 inches in diameter)
• 5 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons coarse-grained mustard
• cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, or to taste
• 1 pound haricots verts (thin French green beans) or regular green beans
• 6 ears corn

preparation

In a kettle cover potatoes with salted cold water by 2 inches and simmer until just tender, about 25 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander. When potatoes are just cool enough to handle, halve larger ones and in a large bowl toss potatoes with 2 tablespoons vinegar.

In a small bowl whisk together mustard, remaining 3 tablespoons vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Dressing may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring dressing to room temperature before using.

Trim beans and, working over a bowl, cut corn kernels from cobs. Have ready a bowl of ice and cold water. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water cook beans until crisp-tender, about 1 minute for haricots verts or about 5 minutes for regular green beans, and transfer with a slotted spoon to ice water to stop cooking. Drain beans well and add to potatoes. Return water in pan to a boil and blanch corn 30 seconds, or until crisp-tender. Drain corn in a sieve and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Drain corn well and add to salad. Salad may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring salad to room temperature before proceeding. Gently toss salad with dressing and salt and pepper to taste until combined well.

from Gourmet 1998

Hello folks,

I am pleased to announce the REAL date of our 2nd Annual Hoedown and Community Potluck——Sunday August 23rd 4:30 -?

This is the same day we are doing a cattle drive of 50 cows from the Teal Farm to Maple Wind mid day. Any interest in participating, please contact us since there will be a “cowboy/girl” training to attend.

This is a change from the 16th since it has to do with the grazing schedule the cows are on at the Teal Farm. I am sorry for any confusion.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS.

All CSA members and friends are welcome. Please bring a potluck dish and your own plate and utensils. Music provided! Get ready to square dance too!

See you then!

Beth and Bruce and the rest of the gang at Maple Wind

Hello folks!

Wow, the sun is out! The tomatoes are growing by the minute! We finally got some hay up to our farm (25 round bales) thank goodness. July is just rounding the corner into August and the farm is on a roll.

Upcoming: We will be processing our second batch of poultry next week. If you pre ordered some or are part of our CSA, expect to pick them up FRESH on Thursday at the Andrews Farm in Richmond.

Fresh Beef at this weeks Farmers Markets: Richmond, Middlebury and Shelburne. SAUSAGE IS BACK! On the grill and take home links- 4 flavors.

We’ll be selling our delicious grilled items at the Huntington Valley Stage Music Festival Saturday August 8th. See you there for some great music and food.

Mark your calendars: All are welcome to our 2nd Annual Hoedown and Barn Dance Potluck here in the big red arena barn. Sunday August 16th. More details to follow. Bring the family and friends, no dogs please.

In the GARDEN: I tilled up 6 more gorgeous rows to plant some fall crops – carrots, more beets, kolrabi, collards, kale and some greens. Look forward to more potoatoes next week, the horse drawn potato harvest is now fixed so we dont have to dig for them by hand anymore!

Woodchuck caught count: 6

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Cucumbers (time to make pickles! Great dill heads in the herb garden) Summer squash of all kinds, Green Beans, Cabbage, Mesculin, Broccoli and Broccoli Raab (a mustard like green-slightly spicy) a few onions and some more fresh garlic!

Eat well,

Beth and Bruce

Recipes:

Refrigerator Pickles

7 cups pickling cukes, sliced into a large glass bowl (about 4 med-large ones)

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 tablespoon chopped dill

2 ½ cups water

¾ cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar (increase to ¾ cup to make sweet pickles)

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 whole peppercorns

½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds

Place cucumbers, garlic, and dill in a large bowl. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a saucepan and heat to a boil. Boil one minute. Remove from heat and pour over cucumbers in the bowl. Stir well. Cover and let cool. Chill at least two days in the refrigerator before serving. Will keep up to one month in the refrigerator.

Submitted by CSA Member:

Wendy Gagliardi, Simply Gourmet Personal Chef Service www.simplygourmetvt.com

Broccoli Raab (Rapini) ideas taken from blogs on the internet…

Hello folks,

The pitter patter of rain (imagine that… rain!) hits my rooftop as I write this early morning before the kids wake. Oops I take that back, Bryn just woke a little early.

Announcements: Remember to sign in on the sheet when you pick up your veggies. Bring a canvas bag and try to limit produce bag consumption or reuse from last week. Thanks!

FREEZER beef/lamb and pork still available. Custom cut to your specification. Its a great way to buy meat more economically than by the cut if you have the room. Time magazine had an article in June 15th issue called “Cow-Pooling”! Great term. Go in with friends and family on a whole cow!

ON THE FARM: We got our turkey chicks this week! Think Thanksgiving! 100 chicks are peeping away in the brooder. We have decided to keep our organic feed protocol with Turkeys so get your reservation in before fall! This week we managed to squeek in getting 13 dry round hay bales made on the Land Trust field in Richmond. What a season, we are very behind in our hay production (its the same for most farms around here).

If anyone drives Rte 2 past the VYCC West Monitor Barn, drive a little slowly and take a look at our cows grazing in their field in the high grass. We have about 5-6 more days of grazing there and then they will head back onto the Andrews high pasture rotation.

IN THE GARDEN: Garlic Harvest begins! We planted over 1500 feet of garlic last fall and are reaping the benefits of gorgeous large bulbs! I hope you enjoyed your fresh bulbs last week, more this week too! We pulled up and bundled over half of the field of garlic and hung them to cure (dry) in our sugar shack over the rafters. Its quite a sight to see!

The zucchinis are off and growing! Plenty of summer squash so peek at the recipes below (3) for some ideas to do with any excess.

Woodchuck caught count: 5

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Zucchini Summer Squash, Fresh Garlic, Head Lettuce, Mixed greens, Broccoli, Kale or Chard, and shelling peas! PYO herbs as always and yes, take home a small bouquet of PYO flowers this week.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Stay tuned for date and information about our 2nd Annual Maple Wind Farm Hoedown and Barndance…

Eat well,

Beth and Bruce

Zucchini & Tomato Casserole

2 medium zucchini, cubed

1 tbsp. fresh chives, chopped

1 teaspoon butter, melted

2 large tomatoes, finely chopped

1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped

1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam zucchini until barely tender. Arrange zucchini in the bottom of a casserole dish. Stir salt, pepper, and chives into butter and pour over zucchini. Cover with tomatoes and sprinkle with basil and cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.

Stuffed Zucchini

5 medium zucchini

1/4 brown rice, uncooked

1/2 c. boiling water

1 small onion, chopped, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 c. parsley, chopped finely

1/4 c. olive oil

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1 lemon

1 egg, separated

1 c. mushrooms, chopped finely (optional)

1/2 c. cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper

Hollow out zucchini with a spoon. After scooping out zucchini, chop remaining insides into small pieces. In a medium-sized saucepan, cook rice with water, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and oil for about 15 minutes. Add chopped zucchini and cook 5 more minutes. Add bread crumbs, parsley, juice from the lemon, the egg white, mushrooms, and cheese. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place filling into zucchini shells. Arrange the zucchini in a baking dish. Spread extra filling around the shells in the bottom of the pan. Cover with foil and bake about 40 minutes.

Zucchini Pancakes

3 c. zucchini, grated

2 eggs

3 tbsp. flour

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pepper

Butter

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together zucchini and salt. Let stand about 45 minutes. Squeeze excess moisture from zucchini. In another bowl, beat eggs well. Add zucchini, flour, cheese, and pepper; mix well. In a large skillet, melt some butter. Fry tbsp.fuls of the zucchini mixture until lightly browned, turning once. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Hello folks,

Summer certainly is flying by. The garden is filled with goodness and more on the way! I hope everyone enjoyed those New Potatoes last week! Yum!

Welcome to our newest CSA member…Charlotte Rissacher. Born just 15 days ago to Dan and Patty of Huntington. Congratulations!!!

Dont forget to pick your herbs! Cilantro is going by soon!

Reminder: Bring your canvas bags and reuse some produce bags if you have them- thank you. PLEASE check your name off on my list so I know you picked up each week. In case I don’t see you come in, I do want to know that everyone picked up. If its 5:55 and I see blank names, I get worried we have missing members not getting their share.

If you need me to put your share in the wagon on the front steps because you will be after 6pm, just call my cell! 233-3862. thanks!

THIS WEEKS HARVEST: Cucumber, Cabbage (a few might look swiss cheese like because of pests but I cut chopped one into slaw and it was delicious!) Head lettuce, small bag of mesculin, broccoli, zucchini, fennel, beets and SYRUP! (2nd of 4 pints)

Sorry, last week I had a handout on fennel, I will bring it this week.

BAKERY AND CHEESE Shares have a pickup this week. Dean will be at the pickup on Thursday if you have any questions about the next round of baked goods.

IN THE GARDEN: Im finally filling up all my garden space with a few rows to spare for varieties still in the greenhouse (fall broccoli, collards, more beets, pac choi and cauliflour). This year we are planting about 1300 feet of dry beans! 5 different kinds. With a date to maturity of 80-100 days, I hope they will be dry enough for you all to try some in October. Last year, we just planted black beans but never got around to shelling them until mid winter- they were hanging in in our barn loft.

ON THE FARM: We moved our cows and calves to the Teal Farm location on Tuesday! Stay tuned for information on our cattle drive back to the home farm! The recent hay we made got rained on so we are hoping for some drying weather on Wed and Thursday. As for the other herd of cows at the Vermont Youth Corps fields, that grass is up to my chest! I just moved them today and when they go into the pasture, you can just see their backs the grass is so high!

Thats all the news for now. See you soon! Feedback is appreciated. Come see us at a Farmers Market! Id love to post member recipes or links to some that you have found to be tasty. Please email me.

This Thursday Ill have pork chops, chickens and ground beef available to purchase. Anything else, please special order.

Eat Well, Beth and Bruce

INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS