Week 17!!!!

 If you're a fan of the water buffalo yogurt we stock at the farm stand, here's what these happy creatures look like, up there in the Fingerlakes...

 

And here are the turkeys, happily pastured in farming paradise.  If you'd like one, let me know...$4.50 a pound, need to order soon!!!

This week's share:

Beets!
Noodle beans (red or green this week)
Salad mix
chard!!!! or kale: Chard is one of the world's healthiest foods!  So don't tell me you are tired of it!!!

Radishes! or Napa cabbage or peppers (sweet and hot) or zucchini (coming up on the end of it)
Microgreens--radish, kale, cress mix
Apples!!! Fuji, Empire, Macoun, Manintosh, Gala to choose from.

At the stand: some fennel, delicata squash, those wonderful mushrooms...

Enjoy this beautiful autumn weather.

Eat well!!!

Oh, the firewood is going fast!  $250/cord, $150/half cord--delivered and dumped.  Let me know.

Week 16!!!

I have some if it still,
We gathered on the hill,
In an empty glass, the bunch of wild thyme,

Faded now, and dried,
But in which yet abide
Some purple, a smell of summer in its prime,

When we stopped the car
Bought honey in a jar
At a roadside stand. It makes me think about

The theft of bloom, the sting,
A swiftness on the wing,
Things that sweetness cannot be without.

A.E. Stallings

36 degrees last night, one month from our average first frost date!  Too soon, too soon, of course, but what else might be expected in the never-ending whacky weather parade.  That cool air will sweeten the greens, however, so for that we are thankful.

In this week's share:

Tomatoes...getting near the end...
peppers
chard or arugula
noodle beans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
microgreens--pea shoots, radish, kale, cress!!!
salad mix-various baby greens and some baby spinach
parsley
peaches or apples or pears

At the stand: more of those awesome mushrooms!
Red Jacket strawberry jam!!!
More concord grapes!
Last of my broccoli
Ground cherries!!!

Eat well!

Week 15!

“We go admiring the pure and delicate tints of fungi on the surface of the damp swamp there, following up along the north side of the brook. There are many, very beautiful lemon-yellow ones of various forms, some shaped like buttons, some becomingly scalloped on the edges, some club-shaped and hollow, of the most delicate and rare but decided tints, contrasting well with the decaying leaves around them. There are others, also, pure white, others a wholesome red, others brown, and some even a light indigo-blue above, and beneath and throughout. When colors come to be taught in the schools, as they should be, both the prism (or the rainbow) and these fungi should be used by way of illustration and if the pupil does not learn colors, he may learn fungi which is perhaps better. You almost envy the wood frogs and toads that hop amid such gems, -- some pure and bright enough for a breast pin. Out of every crevice between the dead leaves oozes some vehicle of color, the unspent wealth of the year which Nature is now casting forth as if it were to empty herself.”

Thoreau, Sept. 1, 1856

We have some shiitake mushrooms, grown by a local couple,  at the farmstand.  Wonderful, wonderful food, to be used in anything you might make.  Like all local, fresh food, the difference is remarkable.  If they can ever produce enough, I'll add some to a share some time.

In this week's share:

Tomatoes--probably 1.5 pounds;

Chard--(I've been eating a saute of chard, tomatoes, mushrooms for breakfast, lunch and dinner all week!)

Small onions (while we wait for the bigger ones to cure properly)

Peppers or collards!!!! Finally, a good crop of collards!  Braised Collards with tomatoes

Flat yellow beans or chinese red noodle beans

Salad mix--mesclun, spinach, pea shoots!!!

Garlic chives--makes an awesome, thick, smooth pesto!!!!! Use on everything!!!!!

Plums or pears or apples

At the farm stand: Concord grapes from Red Jacket Orchards!  Peaches! Butter! Our first celery root and acorn squash is coming in!  Maple Syrup!  Creamed Honey!  Buckwheat Honey!!!

Enjoy!  Eat well!  Soak up the last (?!) heat wave of the year!!!

Week 14

"I suppose none of us recognise the great part that is played in life by eating and drinking. The appetite is so imperious that we can stomach the least interesting viands, and pass off a dinner hour thankfully enough on bread and water; just as there are men who must read something, if it were only Bradshaw's Guide. But there is a romance about the matter after all. Probably the table has more devotees than love; and I am sure that food is much more generally entertaining than scenery. Do you give in, as Walt Whitman would say, that you are any the less immortal for that? The true materialism is to be ashamed of what we are. To detect the flavour of an olive is no less a piece of human perfection than to find beauty in the colours of the sunset."

Robert Louis Stevenson, An Inland Voyage

     So the tomatoes were growing so robustly earlier this summer they threatened to tear holes through the plastic on the greenhouses, and so I removed the plastic.  And lo, they continued to grow and set fruit.  And then a terrible stretch of late summer weather blew through, perfect for blight, and so blight came unbidden, and stayed.  We done seen the peak of tomatoes for the year folks--hope you liked them!  One block is unaffected so far, and a few heirlooms have not succumbed, so all is not lost.  Still 2.5 pounds each for the week.  And in the fall, we will haul the taller greenhouses down the road so they will stay covered next year.

This week's share:

2.5 lbs tomatoes
2 cucumbers--getting near the end
Head of lettuce
Pea shoot/microgreen mix--fantastic!
Beans!--very nice pale yellow flat bean
3 peppers or 3 eggplant or 1 giant zucchini or 2 smaller zucchini
3 ears of Lou D'allasandro's corn--just had some for dinner--great!
4 apples or 4 pears

At the stand, first tomatillos coming in, some Woodland peaches, Seckel Pears, Red Jacket Apricot Jam!!!!, duck eggs, mesclun mix, baby spinach...

Eat well!

Week 13!

Let's skip the formalities; here's this week's share:

3 lbs. tomatoes
3 cucumbers
French Sorrel--my favorite green of many favorites: 50 things to do with sorrel
Pink Passion Chard or Green Kale
3 peppers or 3 asian eggplant
Parsley
1 humongous zucchini
4 apples or a pint of plums

At the stand: some peaches, chicken and bacon, Maple Syrup Yogurt, first bit of fall arugula, spinach, lettuce mix, a bit of broccoli--we don't grow much of it--and some heads of lettuce (in between plantings right now.)

I may have time to pick through the tomatoes and offer some over-ripe and faulty ones at a buck a pound for anyone who wants to sauce.  Tomato sauce freezes beautifully, and it's easier to do than canning, especially if you're not doing much.  We have a chest freezer that is getting nearly full of sauce and poor man's ratatouille.  I hope to never enter the grocery store this winter.  Which reminds me, Cayuga Pure organic sells 25 lb. bags of various beans if anyone is interested--these get us through the winter.  Let me know.

Week 12

Lovely assortment of tomatoes this week, riper than last.  Heirloom tomatoes are to be eaten soon after fully ripe--they won't last long.  Why?  Because they are full of wonderful nutrients, vitamins, and antioxidants; bacteria knows this; bugs know this; it's why they want to consume them.  Heirloom tomatoes are not Twinkies; they are not plastic grocery store tomatoes; they are not even perfectly red, firm hybrids!!!!!!  All of those will sit on your counter, unmolested, for days, weeks...Why?  Because there is nothing inside them worth the trouble of breaking them down!!! 

So enjoy, while the harvest is bountiful over the next few weeks.  The flavors are wonderful, the health benefits like this:

• Tomatoes are one of the low-calorie vegetables containing just 18 calories per 100 g. They are also very low in any fat contents and have zero cholesterol levels. Nonetheless, they are excellent sources of antioxidants, dietary fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Because of their all-round qualities, dieticians and nutritionists often recommend them to be included in cholesterol controlling and weight reduction programs.
  
• The antioxidants present in tomatoes are scientifically found to be protective of cancers, including colon, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung, and pancreatic tumors. Total -ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) in this vegetable is 367 µmol TE/100 g.
  
• Lycopene, a flavonoid antioxidant, is the unique phytochemical present in the tomatoes. Red varieties are especially concentrated in this antioxidant. Together with carotenoids, it can protect cells and other structures in the body from harmful oxygen-free radicals. Studies have shown that lycopene prevents skin damage from ultra-violet (UV) rays and offers protection from skin cancer.
  
• Zea-xanthin is another flavonoid compound present abundantly in this vegetable. Zea-xanthin helps protect eyes from "age-related macular related macular disease" (ARMD) in the elderly persons by filtering harmful ultra-violet rays.
• The vegetable contains very good levels of vitamin A, and flavonoid anti-oxidants such as α and ß-carotenes, xanthins and lutein. Altogether, these pigment compounds are found to have antioxidant properties and take part in vision, maintain healthy mucus membranes and skin, and bone health. Consumption of natural vegetables and fruits rich in flavonoids is known to help protect from lung and oral cavity cancers.
  
• Additionally, they are also good source of antioxidant vitamin-C (provide 21% of recommended daily levels per 100 g); consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radicals.
  
• Fresh tomato is very rich in potassium. 100 g contain 237 mg of potassium and just 5 mg of sodium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure caused by sodium.
  
• Further, they contain moderate levels of vital B-complex vitamins such as folates, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin as well some essential minerals like iron, calcium, manganese and other trace elements.
  
  There are a number of "Great White" tomatoes available.  These are big, nearly a pound each, and are sweet, with pineapple and guava overtones, and a bit of acidity.  Next to Marizol Gold, my all time favorite tomato.
  
  This week's share:
  
  1.5 lb tomatoes: should have plenty, so err in your favor when weighing;
  
  1.5 cranberry potatoes--beautiful, rich red once you wash them;
  
  3 cucumbers!--I think...didn't count them...should have plenty...
  
  Gator Chard: use any chard in this delicious recipe: Nice chard recipe;
  
  Box of peppers or 3 small eggplant or 1 large eggplant or giant squash;
  
  Microgreens--pea shoots, beets, radish, kale, cress
  
  3 baby garlic--these are the little guys we culled and won't bother to cure--should keep for a couple of weeks
  
  Canteloupe or 4 apples
  
  Enjoy!!!!!!!!!
  
  
  
  
  

Week 11

Yes, finally, enough ripe or almost ripe tomatoes to distribute in the share!  These nights in the 50's don't help (might we hit the 40's tonight!!!)  Not fully ripe tomatoes ripen up quickly on windowsills, or in paper bags or boxes. 

Don't hesitate to try the Cherokee Green tomatoes (one of which made a delightful sandwich for me last week).  They are fantastic.

In this week's share:

3 cucumbers (don't feel obligated to take 3 if you feel it is too much for you)
Head of lettuce
Basil
Scallions
1 1/2 lbs potatoes
1.25 lbs tomatoes or box of mixed smaller tomatoes
Choice of eggplant or peppers or Gator Chard or 2 smaller zucchini
Choice of box of plums or 4 apples (Early Mac or Ginger Gold) from Woodland Farms
Bonus: Take a huge zucchini if you'd like!

A CSA member sent this yummy recipe for peppers: Feta Stuffed Peppers--and we've got Feta at the stand!  Along with a 32 ounce size of the Water Buffalo Yogurt, creamed honey, buckwheat honey, peaches, our first melons and cantaloupes, onions, our small, culled, uncured garlic, whole milk, chocolate milk, heavy cream, cheeses, juices, etc. etc. etc.

See you tomorrow!