Showing posts with label autumn share. Show all posts
Showing posts with label autumn share. Show all posts
Monday, November 21
Friday, November 18
CSA Fall Harvest Share Week Six: Thanksgiving!
This is the final fall CSA share. The days are short now, getting shorter. Time to change gears and rest up. We've still got some good food to eat. The farm stand will remain open at least one more week and maybe longer; I will email a closing date once it's been determined. Keep in mind that many items in this week's share--potatoes,squash, celeriac, apples-- can be stored for quite a while in a cool dark spot or in your fridge
We are thankful for your support this growing season and hope to grow for you again in 2012. Info about next year's CSA program will be emailed to you in next few weeks. Happy Thanksgiving!
Pick hours this week:
Tuesday noon to 7pm
Wednesday 7am to 7pm
Here's what's in the share:
1) five pounds yukon gold potatoes
2) three assorted winter squash (butternut, buttercup, acorn): see week four's list for info on different squash types. All grown in New York state. Not organic.
3) two celeriac (celery root)
4) one bag baby tuscan kale
5) one bunch leeks - for stuffing!
6) one bag baby carrots
7) one bag Thanksgiving salad mix: a special seasonal mix featuring , baby lettuces,mizuna microgreens, and pea shoots
8) apples and pears: four of your choice. We've still got a great mix of apple varieties (with tasting notes for you to take) and bosc or yali pears.
Check out this week's NY Times Dining section for some great recipe ideas. And don't forget to share some delicious Red Jacket juice at the Thanksgiving meal. Cheers!
We are thankful for your support this growing season and hope to grow for you again in 2012. Info about next year's CSA program will be emailed to you in next few weeks. Happy Thanksgiving!
Pick hours this week:
Tuesday noon to 7pm
Wednesday 7am to 7pm
Here's what's in the share:
1) five pounds yukon gold potatoes
2) three assorted winter squash (butternut, buttercup, acorn): see week four's list for info on different squash types. All grown in New York state. Not organic.
3) two celeriac (celery root)
4) one bag baby tuscan kale
5) one bunch leeks - for stuffing!
6) one bag baby carrots
7) one bag Thanksgiving salad mix: a special seasonal mix featuring , baby lettuces,mizuna microgreens, and pea shoots
8) apples and pears: four of your choice. We've still got a great mix of apple varieties (with tasting notes for you to take) and bosc or yali pears.
Check out this week's NY Times Dining section for some great recipe ideas. And don't forget to share some delicious Red Jacket juice at the Thanksgiving meal. Cheers!
Wednesday, November 16
CSA Fall Harvest Share Week Five
Next week is Thanksgiving. It's also the last weekly share distribution for 2012. We hope you will enjoy using items for the last share in your feast. Pickup will be on Wednesday, since the holiday is Thursday.
In this week's share:
1) one bunch cherrybelle radishes: recipe ideas here
2) one head cauliflower: orange or white, grown by Pedersen Farms in NY state. Certified organic.
3) one bag salad mix: a tasty mix of baby lettuces and microgreens
4) eight apples: new mix of apples this week--baldwin, keepsake, newtown pippin, golden russet, crispin, macoun-- with tasting notes for you to take home. All grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in NY. Not organic.
5) one bunch tatsoi: a beautiful asian green with mild flavor like spinach and crisp texture like bok choy. More here with simple recipe.
6) half gallon cold-pressed apple cider
Cheers!
In this week's share:
1) one bunch cherrybelle radishes: recipe ideas here
2) one head cauliflower: orange or white, grown by Pedersen Farms in NY state. Certified organic.
3) one bag salad mix: a tasty mix of baby lettuces and microgreens
4) eight apples: new mix of apples this week--baldwin, keepsake, newtown pippin, golden russet, crispin, macoun-- with tasting notes for you to take home. All grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in NY. Not organic.
5) one bunch tatsoi: a beautiful asian green with mild flavor like spinach and crisp texture like bok choy. More here with simple recipe.
6) half gallon cold-pressed apple cider
Cheers!
Wednesday, November 9
CSA Fall Harvest Share Week Four
Hello all!
Hope you're getting back into the swing of things after our early winter storm aftermath. Exciting! We lost one hoophouse from snowloads and sustained lots of tree/shrub damage. We did, however, enjoy playing cards by candlelight and going to bed early. Hope you found some bright spots in your power outage.
We've got a good share this week. See you tomorrow!
In this week's share:
1) one jar concord grape jam from Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. Time for some homemade bread to spread it upon.
2) one bag kale: choose from flat-leaved tuscan kale or frilly-leaved winterbor kale
3) one winter squash: choose from buttercup, butternut, or acorn. What's the difference?
Buttercup: round in shape and grows with a very distinctive protruding ring around the flower end opposite the stem end. Dark green with narrow grey stripes, the thin outer skin surrounds a rich, sweet-flavored, somewhat nutty tasting orange flesh that is fine-grained, creamy textured and dense in consistency. This squash can be stuffed, baked or microwaved to be served in soups, casseroles, pumpkin pie or as a side dish.
Butternut: One of the most common winter squash, this foot-long, bell-shaped variety has thin, butterscotch-colored skin and sweet, nutty flesh. Its smooth, thin skin makes it easier to peel than many other squash varieties. For the most abundant flesh, look for butternut squash with a long, thick neck. Dense and creamy, it pairs well with a variety of flavors, including smoky bacon, cinnamon, and balsamic vinegar. It also has the highest doses of vitamins A and C. Great for roasting and soups.
Acorn: Shaped like its namesake, this small, dark green, orange, or buff-colored squash has a ribbed rind and a moist yellow or orange interior that is loaded with fiber. When halved for roasting, acorn squash can be used as a natural bowl for fillings, such as apples, currants, and chestnuts. Great for roasting. Peeling is difficult, so cut it in half or slice (the skin is edible).
When stored in a cool dry area winter squash can be kept for months if not opened. After being sliced, it should be wrapped in plastic, refrigerated and kept for only several days. Cooked squash can be kept for 1 or 2 days refrigerated or approximately 3 months when frozen. All varieties are NY state grown, but not organic. Swap out if that poses a problem for you.
4) one box shallots: A staple in french cooking. Like a mild onion. Great in viniagrettes or sauces or anything!
5) one bag baby hakurei turnips: these are japanese white turnips that may be eaten raw or cooked. We think they really shine when chopped and cooked with a bit of butter and salt. They ain't your grandma's turnip...open your mind!
6) eight apples: choice of five varieties. All grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. Not organic. Have some fun and do taste tests!
Varieties as follows:
Empire: Developed at Cornell University in New York state, USA in the 1940s, and its parents are classic old North American varieties - Delicious and McIntosh. These are both shiny red apples. It is an ideal lunch-box apple, not least because it does not bruise easily. A sweet apple with a crisp texture and bright white flesh. Although Empire can be stored for a short period, it is best when eaten straight from the tree. It has the characteristic and unusual McIntosh flavor, often described in apple textbooks as "vinous". Perhaps the best way to describe it is like a hint of melon or pineapple or elderflower.
McIntosh: A crisp red apple with bright white flesh and refreshing sweet flavor. Without doubt one of the great North American apple varieties. Like its 19th century contemporaries Golden Delicious and Red Delicious, it has become a highly influential apple variety with numerous offspring. However unlike those varieties its popularity has not spread outside North America, and indeed most "Mac" production, remains centred in New England and across the border in Quebec and Ontario. The apple was discovered by a John McIntosh, a farmer in Ontario in the early 19th century, and he and his family became involved in propagating trees. The McIntosh apple was ideally suited to the climate of the area, being a heavy and reliable cropper with good cold hardiness, and seems to achieve its best flavor in colder apple-growing regions. Attractive dark red or (more often) crimson colours, and a crunchy bite, often with bright white flesh. The flavor is simple and direct, generally sweet but with refreshing acidity, and usually a hint of wine - often referred to as "vinous". In general these apples keep reasonably well in store, but the flavour falls away quite rapidly - although remaining perfectly pleasant. Nevertheless to get the full vinous sugar rush it is best straight from the tree. These characteristics - the crimson colour, white flesh, and vinous flavour (which fades in storage) - are invariably apparent in its numerous offspring, making this one of the easiest apple styles to identify in taste tests.
Honeycrisp: a crisp, and predomoninantly sweet, modern variety from the USA. It was developed by the University of Minnesota specifically for growers in cold climates, and is one of the most cold-hardy of apple varieties. Introduced to the market in the 1990s. A medium-to-large sized apple, with a light green/yellow background largely covered with red-orange flush with strong hint of pink if grown in good sunlight. The skin may be flecked with occasional russet dots. The flesh is white, perhaps not quite as bright as a McIntosh style apple, but similarly crisp and not too dense. The colour however can be quite variable. The flavour is sweet with very little trace of acidity and little depth or complexity. There can also be a trace of pear-drop flavour. In a good example this is a juicy and instantly refreshing apple, in a less good example it will be simply sweet and bland (but still very nice). As its name suggests this is genuinely a crisp / crunchy apple. However since the flesh is quite light, the crunch is surprisingly soft, nothing like the hard crisp crunch of a good Golden Delicious. Honeycrisp tends to bruise easily.
Macoun: Want a perfect no-fat dessert that will satisfy your sweet tooth? Macoun may just be your apple. Another McIntosh type. Very good flavor. Macoun was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva in 1932. It's named for a famous Canadian fruit breeder.
Crispin (aka Mutsu): A versatile dual-purpose apple, sharp but still pleasant to eat fresh. Looks like a large Golden Delicious and indeed one of its parents is Golden Delicious so it has that lovely sweet honeyed flavour. It cooks superbly and you don't need many for a deep apple pie. Crispin is one of a small number of varieties which really is dual purpose - being both pleasant as a dessert apple (albeit too large for 1 person) and versatile in the kitchen.
Cheers!
Hope you're getting back into the swing of things after our early winter storm aftermath. Exciting! We lost one hoophouse from snowloads and sustained lots of tree/shrub damage. We did, however, enjoy playing cards by candlelight and going to bed early. Hope you found some bright spots in your power outage.
We've got a good share this week. See you tomorrow!
In this week's share:
1) one jar concord grape jam from Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. Time for some homemade bread to spread it upon.
2) one bag kale: choose from flat-leaved tuscan kale or frilly-leaved winterbor kale
3) one winter squash: choose from buttercup, butternut, or acorn. What's the difference?
Buttercup: round in shape and grows with a very distinctive protruding ring around the flower end opposite the stem end. Dark green with narrow grey stripes, the thin outer skin surrounds a rich, sweet-flavored, somewhat nutty tasting orange flesh that is fine-grained, creamy textured and dense in consistency. This squash can be stuffed, baked or microwaved to be served in soups, casseroles, pumpkin pie or as a side dish.
Butternut: One of the most common winter squash, this foot-long, bell-shaped variety has thin, butterscotch-colored skin and sweet, nutty flesh. Its smooth, thin skin makes it easier to peel than many other squash varieties. For the most abundant flesh, look for butternut squash with a long, thick neck. Dense and creamy, it pairs well with a variety of flavors, including smoky bacon, cinnamon, and balsamic vinegar. It also has the highest doses of vitamins A and C. Great for roasting and soups.
Acorn: Shaped like its namesake, this small, dark green, orange, or buff-colored squash has a ribbed rind and a moist yellow or orange interior that is loaded with fiber. When halved for roasting, acorn squash can be used as a natural bowl for fillings, such as apples, currants, and chestnuts. Great for roasting. Peeling is difficult, so cut it in half or slice (the skin is edible).
When stored in a cool dry area winter squash can be kept for months if not opened. After being sliced, it should be wrapped in plastic, refrigerated and kept for only several days. Cooked squash can be kept for 1 or 2 days refrigerated or approximately 3 months when frozen. All varieties are NY state grown, but not organic. Swap out if that poses a problem for you.
4) one box shallots: A staple in french cooking. Like a mild onion. Great in viniagrettes or sauces or anything!
5) one bag baby hakurei turnips: these are japanese white turnips that may be eaten raw or cooked. We think they really shine when chopped and cooked with a bit of butter and salt. They ain't your grandma's turnip...open your mind!
6) eight apples: choice of five varieties. All grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. Not organic. Have some fun and do taste tests!
Varieties as follows:
Empire: Developed at Cornell University in New York state, USA in the 1940s, and its parents are classic old North American varieties - Delicious and McIntosh. These are both shiny red apples. It is an ideal lunch-box apple, not least because it does not bruise easily. A sweet apple with a crisp texture and bright white flesh. Although Empire can be stored for a short period, it is best when eaten straight from the tree. It has the characteristic and unusual McIntosh flavor, often described in apple textbooks as "vinous". Perhaps the best way to describe it is like a hint of melon or pineapple or elderflower.
McIntosh: A crisp red apple with bright white flesh and refreshing sweet flavor. Without doubt one of the great North American apple varieties. Like its 19th century contemporaries Golden Delicious and Red Delicious, it has become a highly influential apple variety with numerous offspring. However unlike those varieties its popularity has not spread outside North America, and indeed most "Mac" production, remains centred in New England and across the border in Quebec and Ontario. The apple was discovered by a John McIntosh, a farmer in Ontario in the early 19th century, and he and his family became involved in propagating trees. The McIntosh apple was ideally suited to the climate of the area, being a heavy and reliable cropper with good cold hardiness, and seems to achieve its best flavor in colder apple-growing regions. Attractive dark red or (more often) crimson colours, and a crunchy bite, often with bright white flesh. The flavor is simple and direct, generally sweet but with refreshing acidity, and usually a hint of wine - often referred to as "vinous". In general these apples keep reasonably well in store, but the flavour falls away quite rapidly - although remaining perfectly pleasant. Nevertheless to get the full vinous sugar rush it is best straight from the tree. These characteristics - the crimson colour, white flesh, and vinous flavour (which fades in storage) - are invariably apparent in its numerous offspring, making this one of the easiest apple styles to identify in taste tests.
Honeycrisp: a crisp, and predomoninantly sweet, modern variety from the USA. It was developed by the University of Minnesota specifically for growers in cold climates, and is one of the most cold-hardy of apple varieties. Introduced to the market in the 1990s. A medium-to-large sized apple, with a light green/yellow background largely covered with red-orange flush with strong hint of pink if grown in good sunlight. The skin may be flecked with occasional russet dots. The flesh is white, perhaps not quite as bright as a McIntosh style apple, but similarly crisp and not too dense. The colour however can be quite variable. The flavour is sweet with very little trace of acidity and little depth or complexity. There can also be a trace of pear-drop flavour. In a good example this is a juicy and instantly refreshing apple, in a less good example it will be simply sweet and bland (but still very nice). As its name suggests this is genuinely a crisp / crunchy apple. However since the flesh is quite light, the crunch is surprisingly soft, nothing like the hard crisp crunch of a good Golden Delicious. Honeycrisp tends to bruise easily.
Macoun: Want a perfect no-fat dessert that will satisfy your sweet tooth? Macoun may just be your apple. Another McIntosh type. Very good flavor. Macoun was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva in 1932. It's named for a famous Canadian fruit breeder.
Crispin (aka Mutsu): A versatile dual-purpose apple, sharp but still pleasant to eat fresh. Looks like a large Golden Delicious and indeed one of its parents is Golden Delicious so it has that lovely sweet honeyed flavour. It cooks superbly and you don't need many for a deep apple pie. Crispin is one of a small number of varieties which really is dual purpose - being both pleasant as a dessert apple (albeit too large for 1 person) and versatile in the kitchen.
Cheers!
CSA Fall Harvest Week Three
No share distribution this week due to early snowstorm and widespread power outages. Week six share will be larger to compensate.
Wednesday, October 26
Tuesday, October 25
CSA Fall Harvest Week Two
"The scent is that of wood-smoke, of fruit and of some fallen leaves. This is the beginning of the pageant of autumn, of that gradual pompous dying which has no parallel in human life, yet draws us to it with sure bonds. It is a dying of the flesh, and we see it pass through a kind of beauty which we can only call spiritual, of so high and inaccessible a strangeness is it. The sight of such perfection as is many times achieved before the end awakens the never more than lightly sleeping human desire of permanence. Now, now is the hour; let things be thus; thus for ever; there is nothing further to be thought of; let these remain. And yet we have a premonition that remain they must not for more than a little while."
Edward Thomas
We fend off that premonition for a bit under the plastic of the hoophouses, where summer lingers a bit longer, but everywhere else...well, Mr. Thomas, an English poet who died too young in World War I, could have been walking through our fields and woods before writing in his journal of the autumnal truths we cannot long avoid.
In this week's share:
1) half pint of Connecticut maple syrup: produced by Brookside Farm in Litchfield. Maple syrup has many important vitamins - get the farm's handout when you pick up! Brookside Farm II, located in Litchfield CT, is a relatively small and very high quality maple syrup operation. Mark Harran and Kay Carroll, owners of the farm since 1999, make about 150 gallons of maple syrup per year, depending on weather conditions, which dictate the flow and sugar content of the sap. The owners both had careers in the food industry prior to buying the farm. They have applied all their collective knowledge and experience, along with Mark’s childhood experiences on his family’s large sugar bush in upstate New York, to their operation in Connecticut. Brookside Farm’s production process yields 100% pure and basically 100% organic maple syrup. Unlike some older sugaring operations, they do not use equipment that contains lead, solder or galvanized metal. Most of the sap is collected in aluminum buckets and processed in an evaporator and canning equipment that are 100% stainless steel with tig welds.Mark and Kay welcome visitors, just call ahead. They like teaching folks of all ages where maple syrup comes from, how it is made and the differences in the four grades of maple syrup. A tour includes a tasting and recipe suggestions.
2) Three pears--your choice of Yali (a juicy Asian pear), Seckel, or Bosc, grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY.
3) half pound of ground cherries: also known as physalis. Great eaten raw, in a salad, sauce, dipped in chocolate. Read more here.
4) one bag red bok choy: a showy red-leaved type. Bok choy recipes here.
5) One bunch leeks: Please use almost all of the green part--tender all the way up!
6) One head cauliflower: grown by Pedersen Farms in upstate NY. certified organic.
Enjoy!
Edward Thomas
We fend off that premonition for a bit under the plastic of the hoophouses, where summer lingers a bit longer, but everywhere else...well, Mr. Thomas, an English poet who died too young in World War I, could have been walking through our fields and woods before writing in his journal of the autumnal truths we cannot long avoid.
In this week's share:
1) half pint of Connecticut maple syrup: produced by Brookside Farm in Litchfield. Maple syrup has many important vitamins - get the farm's handout when you pick up! Brookside Farm II, located in Litchfield CT, is a relatively small and very high quality maple syrup operation. Mark Harran and Kay Carroll, owners of the farm since 1999, make about 150 gallons of maple syrup per year, depending on weather conditions, which dictate the flow and sugar content of the sap. The owners both had careers in the food industry prior to buying the farm. They have applied all their collective knowledge and experience, along with Mark’s childhood experiences on his family’s large sugar bush in upstate New York, to their operation in Connecticut. Brookside Farm’s production process yields 100% pure and basically 100% organic maple syrup. Unlike some older sugaring operations, they do not use equipment that contains lead, solder or galvanized metal. Most of the sap is collected in aluminum buckets and processed in an evaporator and canning equipment that are 100% stainless steel with tig welds.Mark and Kay welcome visitors, just call ahead. They like teaching folks of all ages where maple syrup comes from, how it is made and the differences in the four grades of maple syrup. A tour includes a tasting and recipe suggestions.
2) Three pears--your choice of Yali (a juicy Asian pear), Seckel, or Bosc, grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY.
3) half pound of ground cherries: also known as physalis. Great eaten raw, in a salad, sauce, dipped in chocolate. Read more here.
4) one bag red bok choy: a showy red-leaved type. Bok choy recipes here.
5) One bunch leeks: Please use almost all of the green part--tender all the way up!
6) One head cauliflower: grown by Pedersen Farms in upstate NY. certified organic.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 19
Tuesday, October 18
CSA Fall Harvest Week One
Fall share is here! We've got a great first share for you. Glad autumn has arrived.
I'm sure you're aware of some of the weather challenges faced by farmers the past few months. We just spoke to a Massachusetts farmer on Saturday who could not dig his 35 acres of potatoes after hurricane flooding and potential contamination from sewage. Throughout the region, there has been a shortage of good winter squash, potatoes, pumpkins. And fall foliage color surely looks to be minimized this year.
But there's lots for which we are thankful. Like wood ducks, the monkshood, the yellow spicebush leaves. And knowing that being small farmers means we can't lose 35 acres of potatoes. While our potato yields were low this year, our tomatoes and beans were prolific. Today, even in the rain, I was delighted to be outdoors packing CSA shares.
Thanks for letting us do this for you!
In this week's share:
1) one bunch celery: we're very proud of this celery. It has proved a challenging crop for us, but this year we got it right. Maybe all this rain helped!
2) one pound potatoes: choose from all blue, prairie blush or cranberry red
3) one bag onions: choose from red, white, or yellow
4) one pound heirloom tomatoes: the tail end of our excellent crop
5) two sweet peppers: one green bell and one corno di Toro (horn of the bull), an excellent Italian heirloom
6) CHOICE: one bag asian braising greens OR two eggplants
7) CHOICE: cilantro OR basil microgreens Wondering what microgreens are? Baby greens that are highly nutritious and also very beautiful.
8) three apples: one Macoun, one Margil, one Honey Crisp. Fun to compare size, shape, color, and taste! All grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. NOT organic. Swap if this poses a problem.
9) three Bartlett pears: also grown by Red Jacket. This recipe looks good!
Today's NY Times Dining section had some great recipes (see here).
FYI: I'm trying to post preliminary share lists on Mondays for your meal/shopping planning. What to expect in coming weeks: maple syrup, romanesco cauliflower, leeks, garlic, ground cherries
I'm sure you're aware of some of the weather challenges faced by farmers the past few months. We just spoke to a Massachusetts farmer on Saturday who could not dig his 35 acres of potatoes after hurricane flooding and potential contamination from sewage. Throughout the region, there has been a shortage of good winter squash, potatoes, pumpkins. And fall foliage color surely looks to be minimized this year.
But there's lots for which we are thankful. Like wood ducks, the monkshood, the yellow spicebush leaves. And knowing that being small farmers means we can't lose 35 acres of potatoes. While our potato yields were low this year, our tomatoes and beans were prolific. Today, even in the rain, I was delighted to be outdoors packing CSA shares.
Thanks for letting us do this for you!
In this week's share:
1) one bunch celery: we're very proud of this celery. It has proved a challenging crop for us, but this year we got it right. Maybe all this rain helped!
2) one pound potatoes: choose from all blue, prairie blush or cranberry red
3) one bag onions: choose from red, white, or yellow
4) one pound heirloom tomatoes: the tail end of our excellent crop
5) two sweet peppers: one green bell and one corno di Toro (horn of the bull), an excellent Italian heirloom
6) CHOICE: one bag asian braising greens OR two eggplants
7) CHOICE: cilantro OR basil microgreens Wondering what microgreens are? Baby greens that are highly nutritious and also very beautiful.
8) three apples: one Macoun, one Margil, one Honey Crisp. Fun to compare size, shape, color, and taste! All grown sustainably by Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, NY. NOT organic. Swap if this poses a problem.
9) three Bartlett pears: also grown by Red Jacket. This recipe looks good!
Today's NY Times Dining section had some great recipes (see here).
FYI: I'm trying to post preliminary share lists on Mondays for your meal/shopping planning. What to expect in coming weeks: maple syrup, romanesco cauliflower, leeks, garlic, ground cherries
Wednesday, October 5
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