Early Bird Discount for 2014 Shares

In yesterday's blog post we announced a 10% early bird discount on 3-Season Vegetable Shares and Fruit Shares for the first 50 members to register for the 2014 season. Much to our surprise and delight, those first 50 shares were gone by yesterday afternoon. Thanks, everyone for such a terrific response!

If you'd still like to take advantage of early bird pricing, we will be offering a 5% discount on 3-Season Vegetable Shares and Fruit share for the next 50 members who register.

Take care,
Peg, Matt, Jen, Jeff & the SFF Team

CSA News for the Week of Sept 30th

Reminder: This week we are distributing vegetables, fruit, eggs and dairy. It's the final week for summer eggs and summer dairy. Next week is the final week for summer vegetables and fruit.

This Week's Vegetable Share:

• Head Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Mushrooms (from River Valley Ranch, Burlington, WI)
• Arugula
• Scarlet or White Turnips
• Carrots
• Yellow Onions
• Sweet Peppers
• Fresh Dill

This Week's Fruit Share:

• Honey Crisp Apples
• Neptune Grapes
• Bosch Pears

This Week's Dairy Share:

• 'Van Gogh Vintage', an aged Gouda from Roth Kase
• Harvest Butter from Nordic Creamery
• Lowfat Vanilla Yogurt from Sugar River Dairy

Al and Sarah Bekkum make the butter we've all been enjoying this summer.

2014 Shares Available
CSA Share for 2014 are now available. Register today and receive a 10% early bird discount on 3-Season Vegetable Shares and Fruit Shares. The discount applies for the first 50 members who register.

Farm Journal
As an organic farmer, I am sometimes asked to discuss the federal regulations that govern organic certification. These kinds of conversations help me to see that many people view organic certification as a willingness to comply with a long set of prohibitions on substances and practices that aren't allowed by USDA. I guess "don't do this and don't do that" is an easy way to understand a subject that's considerably more complex.

I prefer to define organic farming in terms of what we do rather than what we don't do. The way we farm is not simply a matter of abstaining from the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Rather, it's about a set of proactive practices such as cover cropping to reduce soil erosion, planting beneficial habitat to encourage bird and insect biodiversity, and applying compost in order to enhance the microflora and fauna in our soils.

We see our role as a calling to enhance the health and vitality of all biological systems on our farms. Here in Brodhead our farm is comprised of vegetable fields, hay fields, pastures and natural areas including, woods, oak savannah and prairie. Being a steward of this place means many different things depending on the time of year. Autumn is the time when a visitor might catch us working on the prairie remnant that sits atop the hill at the back of the farm. One of the more pleasant jobs that prairie restoration involves is collecting seeds from native plants and spreading them in areas where you'd like to encourage more prairie plants to grow. This week we've been collecting the seeds of big bluestem, little bluestem, indiangrass, shooting star, compass plant and purple prairie clover. It's a fun job and it's satisfying to see this place and all of it's ecological niches thriving.

Have a great week! -Peg



Peg collecting seeds of big bluestem.

In this family you're never too young to work on the prairie. Ruby and Grandpa Larry collect the seeds of Compass Plant.

 



The seeds of Indiangrass slide right off the stalk and into the palm of the hand.

This Week's Featured Recipes

Savory Vegetable Pot Pie with Turnips and Mushrooms
6 cups vegetable broth
2 large carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
3 turnips, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups chopped onions
8 ounces mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

for the topping:
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter, diced
1 1/3 cups (or more) chilled buttermilk

For filling:
Simmer carrots, parsnips and turnips in broth until just tender. Drain; reserve vegetables and broth.

Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.  Add mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Cook 5 minutes. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in reserved broth, then cream. Cook until sauce is thick and reduced to 4 cups, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Mix in reserved vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer filling to buttered 13x9x2-inch baking dish and bake, covered, until bubbling, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare biscuits.            

 

For biscuits:
Stir first 3 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add 1 1/3 cups buttermilk, tossing with fork until dough is evenly moistened and adding more buttermilk by tablespoonfuls if dry. Drop biscuit dough on top of  hot filling by heaping tablespoonfuls; sprinkle with pepper. Bake uncovered until tester inserted into center of biscuits comes out clean, about 35 minutes. 

 

 

Pickled Carrots and Turnips with Fresh Dill
3 cups water
1/3 cup coarse kosher salt
1 bay leaf
1 cup white vinegar
1 lb turnips, peeled
1 lb carrots, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
3-4 dill sprigs, about 3 inches long

Cut the turnips and carrots into pieces about the size of french fries or your ring finger. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Drop the turnips and carrots in and simmer for 1 minute. Pour into a colander and rinse under cold water. Place the turnips, carrots, garlic and dill in a large glass jar.

In the same pot, heat 1 cup of the water. Add the salt and bay leaf, stirring until the salt is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Once cool, add the vinegar and the rest of the water. Pour the salted brine, including the bay leaf, over the vegetables in the jar. These pickles will taste best if you let them sit in the refrigerator for a few days before eating. They will last for a month in the refrigerator.


Cider-Poached Pears
Zest of 1 lemon, cut into thin strips
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups apple cider
6 bosc pears, peeled and cored from bottom

In a large saucepan combine lemon zest, cinnamon stick, allspice, pepper, cider and 3/4 cup of water. Add pears and simmer until pears are easily pierced with the tip of a fork, 15-20 minutes. Remove pears from liquid and transfer to a bowl.

Raise heat to high and boil until liquid is reduced to a syrup, about 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. To serve, slice off a sliver from the bottoms of the pears so they stand upright, and pour syrup over them.



Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... radishes, lettuce, butternut squash, potatoes, leeks, sage, apple cider and more!

CSA News for the Week of Sept 23rd

This Week's Vegetable Harvest:

• Winter Squash (Acorn and/or Sweet Dumpling)
• Colored Sweet Peppers
• Shallots
• Baking Potatoes
• Celery Root/Celeriac
• Tomatoes
• Parsnips
• Asian Cabbage
• Swiss Chard
• Garlic

This Week's Fruit Harvest:

• Green Seedless Grapes
• Bosch Pears
• Bartlett Pears
• Empire Apples
• Yellow 'Smoothie' Apples
• Italian Plums

Announcements and Reminders:

• Our new Lake Forest pickup site, effective this week, is 994 Meadow Lane, just a few blocks from the old pickup site.
• The final summer dairy and egg deliveries will be next week. The final summer vegetable and fruit deliveries will be the week of October 7th. 
• We are sold out of all fall shares. (Thanks, everybody!)  Information for next season will be posted on our website this week.

Fall Farm ReportThere's no doubt about it--the summer season is drawing to a close. Cooler temperatures and shorter days mean that the sights and smells of summer are quickly fading. We're picking the last of the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant this week. Soon these plants will be tilled in and the soil spread with a blanket of nourishing compost in preparation for next year's crops. Donna, Jeff, Scott and the rest of the harvest crew have recently turned their attentions to picking crops we haven't tasted since February--winter squash, parsnips and celery root. Though we will miss the tastes of our beloved summer vegetables, we are definitely looking forward to savoring the flavors of fall, and we hope you feel the same!

Have a good week.  --Peg


A Couple of Fun Farm Photos





While harvesting parsnips this week, Donna discovered just how long parsnip roots can grow. These two specimens were practically as tall as she is!

Earlier in the week, Jeff and Gavin shared a quite moment next to the compost spreader. (You know, where all quality father-son time happens.)

In the Farm Kitchen: Peg's Tips for Making the Most of your Share

Tokyo Bekana is the name of this week's Asian cabbage. Despite its name, I treat it much more like a head of lettuce than a head of cabbage. Warm temperatures in late summer can sometimes cause summer-grown lettuce to taste bitter. For this reason, we rarely plant lettuce in August. (The first lettuce heads from the fall planting will be ready to harvest in another week or two.) Our favorite substitute for greens salads at this time of year is Tokyo Bekana. It is mild, crisp and juicy, with just the barest hint of cabbage flavor.

Parsnips are closely related to carrots. In fact, they sort of look like big white carrots. Although they can be eaten raw, their fibrous texture means that they are  definitely best when cooked. They are slightly sweet and nutty and are particularly well suited to roasting and mashing. I also use them in place of carrots when making carrot cake.

Both acorn and sweet dumpling squash naturally lend themselves to stuffing. In addition to stuffing, you can prepare acorn squash in a number of other ways. Try slicing it in rings and roasting it with a maple syrup or brown sugar glaze. You could also roast acorn squash halves and then scoop out the cooked flesh for use in soups. Another favorite around here is to bake the squash and then use it to make quick breads and muffins. Your squash will store best if you refrigerate it until you are ready to use it.
While I'm a big fan of some of the newer apple varieties such as Honey Crisp, I'm really an old-fashioned apple girl at heart. While the Empire apple is not exactly an antique variety (it was introduced in 1966), it does remind me of McIntosh, one of my old-fashioned favorites. It is juicy and bit tart like a McIntosh but slightly sweeter. It's perfect for snacking, but it also works really nicely for saucing and baking. Remember to refrigerate your apples until you are ready to eat them.

The Bosc pear is another example of a fruit that is perfect for snacking as well as cooking. In contrast to the Bartlett, which needs to be fully ripe to achieve optimum flavor, the Bosc is sweet even when it's still a bit crisp. This is nice for those of us who like their pears a little on the firm side! The Bosc is also a good cooking pear because it doesn't turn mushy when poached or roasted, and it has such a lovely, slightly spicy aroma. To ripen Bosc pears, leave them at room temperature and only refrigerate after the pears have ripened.

Celeriac, also known as celery root, is not the most attractive vegetable in the world, but it is very tasty indeed. It has a wonderful mild celery flavor with a hit of nuttiness. In fact, I prefer the flavor of celeriac over stalk celery in many dishes because of its very smooth flavor (no sharpness or bitterness like stalk celery sometimes has). It is prized in Europe, especially in France, where it features prominently in the classic Celeriac Remoulade, a dish composed of shredded celeriac, mayonniase and Dijon mustard. (Check out this post by David Liebovitz for more on making this delicious salad.) I know some of you will be suspicious, but don’t be put off by celery root's ugly exterior. Use a sharp kitchen knife to trim the outside layer from the celeriac bulb before chopping it. (A vegetable peeler just doesn't do the job here.) The greens can be cut off and used to flavor vegetable broth or other soups. Here are some ways to use the bulb:

• Roast with carrots and potatoes and serve with roast chicken or pork.
• Boil celeriac pieces and mash them with an equal amount of boiled potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and butter. (This is heavenly!)
• Combine with grated carrots, shredded cabbage, or other root vegetables to make flavorful autumn slaws.

The celeriac bulb will store for a long time in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.

Tuscan Ribollita with Swiss Chard
Ribollita is a hearty Italian vegetable soup mixed with pieces of toasted rustic bread. This version is healthy, filling and delicious!
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling on bread
1 small onion, or 1 shallot, chopped 
1/2 cup finely chopped celery root leaves
2 carrots, chopped
4 ounces pancetta or bacon, chopped
2 cloves garlic, 1 minced and 1 whole
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bunch Swiss chard or beet greens, chopped
1 (15-ounce) can cannelloni beans, drained
 1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan rind
4 to 6 ciabatta rolls, halved lengthwise or 1 loaf, sliced
grated Parmesan, for serving

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery root leaves, carrot, pancetta, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden brown and the pancetta is crisp, about 7 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Add tomatoes and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Add the chard, beans, thyme, stock, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle the ciabatta halves with olive oil. Toast until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and rub the top of the toasts with the whole garlic clove. Place the toasts in the serving bowls and ladle the soup over the toasts. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve immediately.



Creamy Celery Root and Apple Soup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped

1/4 cup white wine

1 large celery root, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

6 sprigs thyme

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup water

1 cup cream

Salt and freshly ground white pepper

 

Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat. Add shallot; cook, stirring, until soft but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add wine; simmer until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add celery root, thyme sprigs, broth, and water; bring to a simmer. Cook, uncovered, until celery root is soft, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, and discard thyme sprigs. Transfer to a food processor; puree until smooth. Return soup to pan; stir in cream. Place over medium heat until heated through. Season with salt and white pepper.

Mashed Parsnips and Potatoes with Caramelized Shallots

4 tablespoons butter

2 shallots, thinly sliced

5 parsnips, peeled, sliced

4 large russet potatoes, peeled, sliced

1 cup milk, heated

 

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until tender and deep brown, stirring often, about 12  minutes. Cover and let stand at room temperature.            

                               

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add parsnips and potatoes; boil until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Return vegetables to pot; mash. Add half of the warm milk and 3 tablespoons butter; stir until smooth. Stir in onion mixture. Add more milk if desired. Season with salt and pepper.  

  

 

Glazed Winter Squash

vegetable oil, for baking sheets

2 acorn or buttercup squashes, halved, seeded, and sliced into 1-inch-thick crescents

coarse salt and ground pepper

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil, and brush with oil.

Lay squash pieces on baking sheets. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle squashes evenly with half the sugar. Roast until sugar has melted, about 5 minutes. Remove baking sheets from oven. Using tongs, turn over pieces. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle evenly with remaining sugar. Roast until tender, about 20 minutes.

 

 

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... lettuce, radishes, peppers, mushrooms, green cabbage, carrots, butternut squash, turnips, apple cider and more...

 

CSA News for the Week of Sept 16th

Reminder: This week we are distributing veggies, fruit, eggs, dairy, meat and trout.

This Week's Vegetable Share:

• Leeks
• Tomatoes
• Parsley
• Fingerling Potatoes
• Japanese Salad Turnips
• Carrots
• Arugula
• Red and Yellow Onions
• Eggplant or Sweet Peppers

Jen and Peg with this week's vegetable share

 

This Week's Fruit Share:

• Bartlett Pears
• Honey Crisp Apples
• Concord Grapes

This Week's Dairy Share:

• Sheep's Milk Feta from Nordic Creamery in Westby, WI
• 'Mountain Jack', a Goat's Milk Cheese from Nordic Creamery
• Quart of Plain Lowfat Yogurt from Sugar River Dairy
• Two 5-oz Berry-Flavored Yogurts from Sugar River Dairy

This Week's Meat Share:

• Breakfast Sausage & Bacon, Byers Family Farm, Brodhead, WI
• Ground Pork, Byers Family Farm, Brodhead, WI
• Beef Roast from Riemer Family Farm or Whole Chicken from Lange Farms



One of the Riemer girls proudly shows off her family's steers.

In the Farm Kitchen: Peg's Tips for Making the Most of Your Share

Bartlett pears are one of my absolute favorite fruits. I love them partly because they make me think of my Grandpa and the trees he planted in his backyard way before I was born. I also love pears because they are such a versatile fruit in the kitchen. They can be used in sweet desserts as well as in savory meat dishes and vegetable salads. Mick Klug, the farmer who grows your fruit, picks his pears on the firm side in order to prevent bruising during harvest. Store them in the fridge until a few days before you want to eat them. Then allow them to ripen at room temperature. Placing pears in a paper bag at this point will speed things up because it traps the ethylene gas that pears naturally emit during the ripening process.

 

 

Concord grapes are another of my favorite fall treats. They ripen in September and October and are the type that are used to make grape juice. Some of Mick's grapes are sold to Welch's for juice, but he has reserved some of the nicest ones for us and for his farmers' market customers. Concord grapes make a great snack, but they do require a bit of work. They are a “slip-skin” variety of grape (as opposed to “fixed-skin”), which means that they pop right out of their jackets when you give them a little squeeze. Munching on a handful of concord grapes is much like the experience of eating a slice of watermelon--spitting out the seeds is part of the fun!

Leeks are members of the lily family and are close relatives of onions, garlic, shallots and chives. Leeks are milder than most onions and tend to get sweeter as they cook. When using leeks, cut the dark green parts tops off and leave the light green and white sections. Then cut them in half lengthwise and wash any dirt out from between the layers. Leeks may be sauteed, braised, grilled, baked or eaten raw. Store them in the refrigerator.


We love white salad turnips for their mild, sweet taste and their soft texture. This is a Japanese variety called hakurei. It is very mild and sweet and could be mistaken for a white radish. Japanese turnips are delicious eaten raw or sautéed in a little butter and sprinkled with salt. Toward the end of the saute, add the chopped turnip greens and cook until wilted. Season with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.

This Week's Featured Recipes

Braised Leeks
2 large leeks      
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth      
2 tablespoons cold butter      

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Coarse salt and ground pepper

 

Remove outer leaves; cut dark-green ends from leeks. Trim roots, keeping leaves attached. Halve lengthwise; rinse to remove dirt.

Bring broth to a boil in a large skillet. Add leeks; cover, and cook over medium-low heat, turning once, until easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer leeks to a platter. Boil broth until reduced to 1/2 cup, 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter; swirl to melt. Add parsley; season with salt and pepper. Spoon over leeks.

 

Carrot-Pear Spice Bread

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup diced pears

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. Combine sugar and eggs in bowl of an electric mixer. Beat well. Add oil and mix well. Mix flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves in a separate bowl. Spoon into egg mixture and blend well. Stir in carrots, pears and walnuts.

Pour batter into pans and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 

Pan-Seared Trout with Apples & Baby Turnips

2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil

3 rainbow trout fillets, approximately 6-8 oz each

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon maple syrup

2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 cups turnip, peeled and diced into one-fourth inch dice

1 cup unsweetened apple juice

1 1/2 cup apple, peeled, cored and cut into one-fourth inch dice

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Zest of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

 

Set a medium skillet over medium heat; add the turnip and apple juice and allow to cook for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the turnip is slightly tender. Add the apples, thyme and lemon zest. Allow the mixture to cook until the apples are slightly tender, approximately 2 minutes. At this point most of the liquid should be absorbed. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm.

 

Place a second medium skillet over high heat for the trout. Add the oil to the pan and allow to heat for 30 seconds. Season the trout with salt and pepper and place skin side down in the hot skillet. Do not move the trout - allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy. Carefully flip the fish and add the maple syrup and fresh lemon juice to the pan. Cook for another minute.

 

Remove the fish from the pan. Reserve the juices in the pan to drizzle over the fish. To plate the dish, divide the apple turnip mixture by spooning onto six plates. Top the mixture with a piece of fish. Drizzle with reserved pan juices from the trout.

 

 

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)...garlic, Swiss chard, peppers, tomatoes, Asian cabbage, winter squash and more!

CSA News for the Week of Sept 9th

Reminder: This week we are distributing vegetables and fruit. Next week we will be distributing vegetables, fruit, eggs, dairy, meat and trout.

This Week's Vegetable Share:

• Red Cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Cilantro
• Green Onions
• Bok Choy
• Sweet Italian Peppers
• Spicy Poblano Peppers
• Carrots
• Beets
• Beauty Heart Radishes
• Garlic 

 

 This Week's Fruit Share:

• Red Grapes
• Italian Plums
• Asian Pears
• Nectarines

Thank You, CSA Members!
Thanks to all the members who visited the farm this weekend for the farm tour and tomato picking. It was great to see so many new faces in the group. We hope you enjoyed learning about the crops and getting to meet some of our critters. CSA member Maryanne Natarajan shared these photos from Saturday.



Picnic under the trees




Adults and kids had fun picking tomatoes.

Some kids even decided they wanted to dig potatoes, too!
 



The potato treasure hunt seemed to be a big hit!

In the Farm Kitchen: Tips for Making the Most of Your Share

Unlike European pear varieties, the flesh of Asian pears doesn't become soft after harvest. The texture of an Asian pear remains crisp and juicy when ripe, much like that of an apple. In fact, Asian pears are sometimes called "apple pears", both for there crisp texture and for their round shape. They will store for a couple of months in the refrigerator.

With their tart skins and sweet flesh, Stanley plums make a delicious snack when eaten fresh. They are also a wonderful late-summer fruit for use in baked goods such as cakes and tarts. In addition, they can be made into savory sauces and condiments such as pickled plums and plum sauce.
 

Beauty Heart Radishes, also known as Watermelon Radishes, are rather ugly in the outside but beautiful on the inside. They got their name because of the brilliant pink color of the interior. Beauty hearts are in a class of radishes called storage radishes. They are meant to grow to a much larger size than spring radishes. When stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator they will keep for months. I use beauty heart radishes much like traditional spring radishes. They can be peeled and grated or sliced for use on sandwiches, in salads and on crudité platters.

As far as hot peppers go, poblano peppers are somewhere in the middle of the heat index scale. They are not as hot as a jalapeno or a serrano. Roasting poblano peppers before using them improves their flavor and allows you to remove their waxy skin. Once you've roasted them you can put them in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for months. Poblanos can be used in many different Mexican-inspired dishes from rice dishes to casseroles to the well-known chiles rellenos. To roast them you can either put them under the broil, use a skewer to hold them over an open flame on your stove top, or stick them in a very hot toaster oven. You should roast them until the skin starts to bubble and the bubbles start to blacken. Once this starts to happen, flip them over and do the same to the other side. Allow them to cool before pulling the skin off with your fingers. Finally, make a slit in each one and remove the seeds.

This Week's Featured Recipes

Arroz Verde with Poblano, Cilantro and Green Onions

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, stemmed, seeded, and coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish

3/4 cup chopped green onion 

1 3/4 cups chicken stock

1 cup long-grain white rice

 

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chiles and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, salt, cilantro, green onion and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender with 1/2 cup of the stock. Process on high speed until smooth.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until translucent, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the puree and cook, stirring, to evaporate most of the liquid, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining stock, stir and cover, and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer without stirring, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit without stirring for 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve, garnished with additional cilantro.

Avocado & Radish Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 cups shredded cabbage

1 large or 2 small beauty heart radishes, peeled and chopped fine

1 firm-ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

In a bowl whisk together lime juice, oil, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.  In a medium bowl, combine cabbage and radishes and toss with dressing enough dressing to coat. Add avocado and toss gently. Garnish with additional cilantro.             

                       

Stir-Fried Chicken with Bok Choy and Red Pepper

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons light-brown sugar

1 lb sliced chicken breast meat

4 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger

4 cups sliced bok choy (from 1 head)

1 medium red pepper, cut into thin strips

Cooked rice, for serving

 

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons water. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch until coated. In a large wok or skillet, heat oil, garlic, and ginger over medium-high until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken in a single layer, pressing against pan to sear. Cook, stirring, until lightly browned and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes. Add bok choy and pepper and cook, stirring, until bok choy slightly wilts, about 1 minute. Add soy sauce mixture and cook until sauce thickens slightly, 2 minutes. Serve over rice.

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... leeks, parsley, potatoes, broccoli, eggplant, yellow onions, tomatoes, peppers, baby turnips, honey crisp apples, pears and more!

CSA News for the Week of September 2nd

Reminder: This week we are distributing vegetables, fruit, eggs and dairy.

This Week's Vegetable Harvest:

• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Beefsteak Tomatoes
• Sweet Corn (from Geneva Lakes Produce, Burlington, WI)
• Carrots
• Fresh Dill
• Sweet Peppers
• Kale
• Potatoes
• Kohlrabi
• Shallots

This Week's Fruit Harvest:

• Green 'Interlaken' Grapes
• Red 'Suffolk' Grapes
• Gala Apples

This Week's Dairy Share:

• Deppeler's Aged Swiss Cheese, Chalet Cheese Co-op, Monroe, WI
• Handmade Cinnamon-Sugar Butter, Nordic Creamery, Westby, WI
• 4-Pack of Fruit-on-the-Bottom Yogurts, Sugar River Dairy, Albany, WI

A Quick Labor Day Observance
I hope you all had a terrific holiday weekend. The past couple of days have been great here at the farm, though I wouldn't say it's been particularly relaxing for our hard-working crew of employees. Since this particular holiday falls smack in the middle of one of our busiest periods on the farm, there's been more laboring than relaxing for us and our crew lately. Over the past couple of weeks I've taken some photos of the folks who work hard to grow your food. Thank you Donna, Jeff, Tyler, Nadia, Luis, Katie, Jenna, Scott, Conor, Derek, Jen, Jeff, Tommy, Kelsey, Jared, and Jason!

Have a great week!   -Peg

 

Conor, Katie and Scott pack your vegetable and fruit boxes each week.

In addition to doing tractor work such as tillage and cultivation, Tyler is responsible for making deliveries to many of our pickup sites.

 

 

Luis also does quite a bit of tractor work around the farm. Luis has been with Sandhill the longest of any of our employees, having been with us now for 10 years.

 



Nadia takes charge of most of our direct-seeded crops, including beets, carrots, radishes, spinach and other greens. Nadia proves to the world that women can drive tractors too!



And finally, our kids, including our son Avery,  have contributed quite a bit around the farm this summer. Today is the first day of school and we're going to miss having them around!



In the Farm Kitchen
Dill is a wonderful fresh herb that pairs particularly well with carrots, beets and all members of the broccoli and cabbage family. It is excellent in chilled summer salads such as pasta, potato and tuna. This week I would recommend making a creamy dill dip to serve alongside crispy kohlrabi sticks.

Along with a green bell pepper, this week's share contains a red frying pepper. Though it might look a little suspicious to those who avoid hot peppers, we promise there's not a hint of heat here. These red peppers are sweet and delicious. Our planting of frying peppers is just starting to turn red so you will be receiving more of these in the coming weeks.

 

This is the crispiest, most delicious kohlrabi we've ever grown. Try peeling it and slicing into matchsticks for a healthy snack.

This Week's Featured Recipes

Sautéed Carrots with Sweet Pepper and Dill

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter

1 pound carrots, peeled, thinly sliced

1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon minced fresh dill

Salt and pepper

Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add carrots and sauté until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add bell pepper and water. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 5 minutes. Add dill. Season with salt and pepper.

Curried Kale with Apple and Shallots

1 large apple

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, cut into 1/4-inch wedges

1/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 bunch kale, stems and ribs removed and leaves coarsely chopped

1/2 cup water

 

Peel, quarter, and core apple, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges. Heat oil in a 5-quart pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté shallots, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add apple and curry powder and sauté, stirring, until apple is almost tender, about 2 minutes.            

Add kale and water and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender and most of liquid is evaporated, about minutes. Season with salt to taste.

 

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... tomatoes, Italian plums, eggplant, green onions, cilantro, peppers, cauliflower, spinach, celery root, beets and more!

CSA News for the Week of August 26th

Reminder: This week we are distributing vegetables and fruit. Next week we will be distributing vegetables, fruit, eggs and dairy.


This Week's Vegetable Share:

• Green Beans
• Broccoli
• Bell Peppers
• Tomatoes
• Basil
• Head Lettuce
• Swiss Chard
• Arugula
• Cucumbers
• Watermelon or Cantaloupe
• Zucchini (on-farm pickup only)
• Sweet Onions

 

This week's share is a real tribute to summer. Melons, peppers and tomatoes have really been enjoying the recent heat wave. We love all the funny-looking heirloom tomatoes we're picking right now. Heirlooms come in all sorts of colors, from pink to orange to purple, and in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Though some of them look quite different from the type of tomatoes you might buy in a grocery store, they don't need to be reserved for use in only certain recipes. Use them in all of your favorite recipes--from BLTs to Caprese salads.

This Week's Fruit Share:

• Zestar Apples
• Golden Supreme Apples
• Peaches
• 'Mount Royal' Plums

 

This week's fruit share includes Mount Royal plums. We like these tasty plums, with their purple skin and bright yellow flesh, for fresh eating as well as baking. There's no better way to conclude a late-summer dinner than with a rustic plum tart. Slice 1 1/2 pounds of plums and toss with about a half cup of sugar and a tablespoon of flour. Roll out a store-bought pie crust on a cookie sheet and mound the plum filling in the center, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold the edges over and bake at 400 degrees until the plums are bubbling and the crust in golden brown. The scent of this simple dessert is heavenly! 

Fall Share Registration



If you're thinking about a fall share, this is the time to go ahead and register. We have a limited number of spots available for vegetables, meat, dairy and trout. (Fall egg shares are sold out.) The fall season starts the week of October 15th and runs through the week of November 18th. Register online at http://sandhillfamilyfarms.com.

Fall Vegetable Share - $190

Vegetable shares are delivered every week. There are 6 deliveries during the Fall Season. The Fall Share is the perfect way to savor the flavors of our Midwestern roots. You will receive beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cranberries, garlic, kale, herbs, leeks, onions, parsnips, potatoes, rutabagas, salad greens, shallots, spinach, sweet potatoes, turnips,winter squash and more.

 

Fall Dairy Share - $45

Dairy shares are delivered every other week. There are 3 dairy deliveries during the 6-week Fall Season. The Dairy Share highlights the work of licensed Wisconsin dairy artisans located in the beautiful countryside surrounding our Brodhead farm. Each delivery consists of 1 or 2 different types of cheese (3/4 lb to 1 lb total), one quart of rBGH-free creamline yogurt and a specialty item such as handmade butter. Cheeses include familiar ones like cheddar, as well as artisanal goat-milk and sheep-milk cheeses.

 

Fall Meat Share - $135

Meat shares are delivered once a month. There are 2 deliveries during the 6-week Fall Season. The selection varies slightly from month to month, but each meat share consists of a 10 lb box containing a variety of familiar and easy-to-prepare cuts. Chicken, beef and pork make up the majority of each share, but we also include our delicious lamb chorizo or signature gyro-spiced lamb brats on an occasional basis. Sausages and bacon are free of MSG and nitrates.

 

Fall Trout Share - $70

Trout Share are delivered once a month. There are 2 deliveries during the 6-week Fall Season. Each delivery consists of 6 headless, deboned trout (about 3 lbs) from Rushing Waters Fisheries in Palmyra, Wisconsin. Artesian springs feed pure, clean water to the farm's 56 ponds and raceways. The year-round water temperature of 49° helps Rushing Waters produce sustainable, delicious trout without the use of chemicals or antibiotics.

Reminder Regarding Pickup Site Hours
Just a friendly reminder that, as a courtesy to our site hosts, shares need to be picked up during the time period designated for your particular pickup site. We know that unforeseen circumstances do arise, so if you are unable to pick up your share during the designated hours, please call or email the farm and we'll try our best to make alternate arrangements for you. Thank you!



This Week's Featured Recipes

Swiss Chard with Garbanzo Beans and Fresh Tomato
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste
1 bunch Swiss chard, leaves and stems chopped
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 lemon

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion; cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until soft and fragrant. Add garbanzo beans; season with salt and pepper; heat through. Place chard in pan and cook until wilted. Add tomato. Squeeze lemon juice over greens, heat through and serve.


BLT Wrap with Basil Mayo
1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced

4 whole-wheat wraps, 9 inches in diameter

4 large lettuce leaves

8 thin slices tomato

8 slices cooked bacon

 

Mix first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Spread 1 tablespoon of the basil mayonnaise onto each tortilla. Top each with 1 lettuce leaf, 2 slices of tomato, and 2 slices of bacon. Fold in the ends of each wrap and roll up tightly.

 

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)... sweet corn, fingerling potatoes, kale, parsley, grapes, carrots, tomatoes, kohlrabi, shallots, spinach and more!