CSA MEMBER NEWSLETTER CSA MEMBER NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 CSA MEMBER NEWSLETTER HIGHCROSS CSA MEMBER NEWSLETTER FARM To everything there is a season, a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted. Finest F i n e s t Quality In This Issue Fall Share is Available In the Box this Week Sunshine Winter Squash H i g h C r o s s F a r m Fall 2014 CSA Share Help Wanted Ad HighCross Farm CSA Newsletter Summer Share Week #15 - September 25, 2014 Fall Share is Available Photos from the Farm This Week & Today Invitation to CSA Member Gathering Recipes Announcing the opening of enrollments for the 2014 Fall Share! This year we are offering two deliveries, on Thursday, November 6 and Thursday November 20, just in time to prepare for your annual Thanksgiving Feast. See details and the link to sign up below. Or you may access the Fall Share sign-up page through your CSA online account; toggle the Season Selection at the upper left to Fall Bon appétit! - Farmer Steve for Kath and Crew I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John Summer CSA Shares are Available Note that your pick-up site host contact info is available (for most sites) through your CSA online account under Pick-up Directions. HighCross Farm Fresh Market Produce Steve & Kath Vogelmann W2292 Rustic Drive Campbellsport, WI FARM (3276)

2 In the Box this Week Storage information: Lettuce, beans, the cabbage family, and leafy greens should be kept in the coldest area of your refrigerator, ideally on the lower level or in the crisper drawer. Place all items in plastic bags or wrap in a damp towel, to prevent wilting due to the dehydrating effect of refrigeration. Monitor the produce over time; it should be kept neither too wet nor too dry inside the plastic bag. Slightly open the bag if you see water droplets forming on the inside. This week half of the small shares received the Cheddar Cauliflower and the other half received Broccoli. Next week we will have the Cheddar for some of the small shares which did not yet receive one. Broccoli - We usually leave some of the leaves on they are good for food too! Note that you can blanche and freeze beans and summer squash for use months later. Note that you can simply chop and freeze onions for use later. Please let us know if anything in your box is missing or bad. Golden Beets - Just a small amount in the boxes today. When we harvested this crop yesterday, to our great disappointment, we found over half of the roots were very small or had not formed properly. Farmer Steve thinks it probably had to do with the excessive rains earlier this season. As he always says, in farming You win some, you lose some. We hope that the fall beet harvests will be much better. The good news is that Golden Beets taste great; the green tops are sweeter than Red Beet tops. Use these beet greens steamed, stir-fried, or included in soups and stews. Broccoli at HighCross Farm Cauliflower - Cheddar variety. Green and Gold! We find that this variety is sweeter than the white. Simply steam until tender, drain water, add butter, and maybe parmesan cheese. Enjoy! Pole Beans - In the large share this week. Either Yellow or Green Romano Italian Heirloom, or Blue Lake green snap beans. Starting this week, some shares received a new unique variety, Purple Beans. They are sweet and juicy, they taste like green beans, and will turn green when cooked. Steam just until tender, or add to stir-fry. Snip small pieces raw into your salad. Or blanche and freeze for a treat after the season ends. Spinach - In the large share. Cheddar variety Cauliflower Red Onion - Red Bull variety. Storage type onion. Potatoes - Peter Wilcox variety. In the small share. A beautiful potato with unique purple skin and yellow flesh. Versatile. Can be roasted, boiled, fried or baked. Summer Squash - In the small share only. The summer squash is just about done for the season. Hot Pepper - Jalapeño in the small share, Yellow Hungarian in the large share. We realize not everyone is a fan of hot peppers (Farmer Steve is not, while Farmer Kath is!) If you are not a hot pepper fan, perhaps you can find a friend who loves them they ll thank you for it. Jalapeños are available on the web store. Pac Choi - In the large share. Use in stir-fry, soups, or add some of the leaves or crisp stems to your salad. Watermelon - The first of the HighCross Farm Watermelons, in the large share this week. Pink or yellow flesh. Let us know if your melon is not good inside, as we cannot always determine from checking the outside. Cucumber - The last of the season, just enough for the large share. There are a few cucumber plants in the hoophouse, so we may be able to put a few up on the web store, later this fall.

3 Tomatoes - The first of the heirloom tomatoes are ripening. They come in many different shapes and colorations; very flavorful and tender, although they tend to develop cracks and scars. The cooler than average summer weather has not been conducive to the ripening of tomatoes; the majority of the tomatoes in the gardens are still green! We will have more canning quality tomatoes on the web store this week; please check back, especially Tuesday PM. Lemon Basil - Although the leaves had some frost damage, we included a little for those basil aficionados. Garlic Chive Blossoms - These are the flowering seed heads from the garlic chive patch here. They are pretty to look at, and they make a tasty edible garnish for your salad bowl, or use your imagination. The stem is tough but the flowers are tender and taste like...garlic chives! Peppers - Please review the newsletter each week to find out which kind of peppers are included in your box. You can simply chop and freeze peppers (sweets and hots) for use later they do not need to be blanched. Most green peppers (also known as sweet peppers versus hot peppers) start out green, but will eventually turn red or other colors, becoming sweeter as they ripen. Sweet Peppers - Green or red peppers in all shares. See this link for recipes & an in-depth discussion of all the healthy nutrition found in peppers: Bell peppers Melons - Most of these melons were vine-ripened until the fruit literally falls away from the stem. Juicy and sugar sweet. You simply cannot find melons like this at the grocery store; because they must be shipped long distances, store bought melons must be harvested slightly underripe in order to extend the shelf life of the melons. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Let us know if your melon is not good inside. We ll have more sweet and juicy grade B melons for sale on the web store. Several of the melons are a Galia type (greenish/yellow netted skin with light green flesh), some are an Asian melon called Sun Jewel (yellow oblong shape white crisp flesh, tastes a bit like pear), and a few are honeydews with green or salmoncolored flesh. Large Share: Onion - Red Bull variety Golden Beets with green tops Pac Choi Spinach Small Cucumber Pole beans - Yellow or Green Romano or Blue Lake or Purple Tomato Green or Red Sweet Peppers Hot Pepper - Yellow Hungarian Vine-ripe Melon Watermelon - Pink or Yellow Lemon Basil Garlic Chive Blossoms Small Share: Onion - Red Bull variety Golden Beet with green top Golden Beet tops bunched Broccoli or Cauliflower - Cheddar variety - Green & Gold! Potatoes - Peter Wilcox variety Summer Squash Tomato Green Pepper Hot Pepper - Jalapeno Vine-ripe Melon Lemon Basil Garlic Chive Blossoms Best guess in the boxes next time: Onion, Tomatoes, Sweet & Hot Peppers, Winter Squash. In some of the shares: Melons, Beans, Potatoes, Anaheim Peppers, Tomatillos, and Cauliflower; maybe lettuce and eggplant. Coming soon: Red Cabbage Galia (aka Tropical), Sun Jewel, & Honey Yellow Honeydew

4 Fall 2014 CSA Share Celebrate your Thanksgiving and December holidays with the finest, freshest produce available in SE Wisconsin, direct from our family farm to your dinner table. The Fall share will include not only goodly amounts of typical fall storage items (onions, potatoes, root crops, and winter squash) to last you into the new year, but also fresh greens, made sweeter by the cool weather. This will be a hefty share, packed into our standard large share box (1 & 1/9 bushel size) or small share box (5/9 bushel size). Includes arugula, Asian greens, beets, radish, cabbage, carrots, celery root, lettuce, kohlrabi, onions, parsley, parsnips, pie pumpkin, potatoes, spinach, swiss chard, tomatoes, winter squash, fresh herbs and more. With plantings in our hoophouse and the use of protective rowcover in the fields, we are usually able to provide greens until quite late in the season, as these photos attest. TwoThursday deliveries: November 6 and November 20, Small share is $70. Large share is $100. To sign-up, log into your CSA account and toggle the Season Selection box at the upper left to Fall 2014 and then hit the click to join link. Or simply click here: fall2014 To make an electronic payment, select to pay via PayPal; you will then have the choice to pay with your PayPal account OR choose the option to pay with a credit card. Or send a check to HighCross Farm. Your satisfaction is guaranteed Heavier items such as winter squash, potatoes, and root crops are packed in the bottom of the boxes. November 16, 2012 November 29, 2012

5 Help Wanted Ad With many of our team members returning to school, we are very short-handed on help at this time. Please spread the word to anyone who might be interested in joining our fabulous worker team. For more information, please visit: HighCross Farm Team HighCross Farm HighCross Farm Fresh Market Produce Steve & Kath Vogelmann W2292 Rustic Drive Campbellsport, WI FARM (3276)

6 Photos from the Farm this Week Harvesting Golden Beets Yesterday Cornucopia of Color

7 Photos from the Farm Today Red Cabbage Beatrice Eggplant Red Anaheim Hot Pepper Brussels Sprouts Bulls Blood Beets Red Russian Kale

8 Invitation to CSA Member Gathering 10/4/14 CSA Member Hay Wagon Ride 8/16/14 As a HighCross Farm CSA Member, you are cordially invited to gather at the farm on Saturday, October 4. 1 PM - Farm opens for tours of the gardens, hay wagon rides, see the farm animals. Food Tasting ongoing throughout the day! HighCross Farm Gourmet Naturals collection - free samples. LaClare Farms premium goat cheese - free samples. 3 PM - Workshop. Topic TBA. 5 PM - Community Potluck. Bring a dish to pass. Friends and extended family members are welcome.

9 Recipes Roasted Balsamic Cauliflower and Potatoes ½ a head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets 3 red potatoes, chopped ⅛ cup balsamic vinegar ¼ cup olive oil 3 cloves (1 ½ tsps) chopped fresh garlic salt and pepper Grated Parmesan Optional: Rosemary or Thyme Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop the fresh cauliflower into small pieces that are roughly the same size. Toss the veggies into a big mixing bowl and add oil, vinegar, and garlic. Add some large dashes of salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a well-greased roasting pan. Roast for minutes, checking regularly to shake and stir the veggies until cooked. Serve with sprinkled grated Parmesan. Add in either rosemary or thyme for additional flavor. From: Cool Cucumber and Black Bean Summer Salad 1 cucumber, diced 15 ounces black beans 2 cups corn (cooked) ½ red onion, chopped 1 garlic clove 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice 1 tablespoon cilantro ½ teaspoon cumin ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper Mix together and serve! From: cool-cucumber-and-black-bean-summersalad

10 Recipes Curried Cauliflower Stew with Chickpeas (from Clean Start by Terry Walters) Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into thin wedges 2 garlic cloves, minced 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks 1 T grapeseed oil 2 carrots, sliced into ¼ inch rounds 2 T mirin (a rice wine used as a flavouring in Japanese cookery) 1 T curry powder 1 C vegetable stock 1½ C chopped tomatoes with their juices 1½ C cooked chickpeas 2 T raisins Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Chopped fresh cilantro Directions: Prepare cauliflower by removing and discarding outer leaves and inner stems. Cut florets into small pieces and set aside. In Dutch oven over medium-high heat, sauté onion, garlic and ginger in oil until soft (about 3 minutes). Add carrots and sauté 2 minutes. Add mirin, curry powder, vegetable stock, tomatoes and chickpeas and stir to combine. Bring stew to simmer, fold in cauliflower and raisins and cook until cauliflower is soft (about 5 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve topped with cilantro.

11 2014 Summer CSA Shares are Available Shares for the 2014 Summer CSA season are still available. Price will be automatically prorated during the sign-up process. The are are 5 more Summer Share deliveries for the 2014 season. Please forward this information to anyone who you think may be interested (and earn a $10 Farmigo Web Store Credit as our thank you. To sign-up click here: CSA 2014 HighCross Farm Lacinato Kale at HighCross Farm Consider giving a 2014 Summer Share to someone you care about a gift that keeps giving all season long.