2 recipes

Two easy recipes I'm going to try with the CSA ingredients (this week and some of last weeks)

http://www.recipezaar.com/Easy-Creamy-No-Cream-Potato-Leek-Soup-35859
Also going to add in some cauliflower per the suggestion, and stir in some chive at the end.

http://www.recipezaar.com/Potato-Stuffed-Green-Bell-Peppers-2823

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Hi folks,

Last Saturday was one of the yuckiest market days of the year for us. It rained from the time I left the farm until I got back home, about 15 hours later. Our sales at the farmer's market stand were paltry, but thanks to the online market and CSA, (whose sales were not influenced by the rain) we still had a decent day. Thanks for that!

This week's planned produce: We had a good hard frost several nights ago – 25 degrees – and that has put an end to most summer items (except for those grown under cover or picked before the frost). The night after the frost a lone deer – judging by the tracks – ate off all 30 feet of our sorrel row and 30 feet of parsley. Those are strong-tasting herbs that deer have never bothered before. I fear we're creating a new strain of gourmand deer here at Star Hollow Farm. The marketer in me says “so why not start selling herb-infused venison?”

New or back-on-the-list items are underlined. Some items sell out fast. As at any farmer's market it's first-come, first-served.

*

Greens: arugula, beet greens, cabbage, chard (rainbow), lettuce (green and red leaf), kale (Lacinato and Gailaan), microgreens, pea shoots, spinach, tat soi.
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Veggies: broccoli, carrots (orange and maroon), celeriac, celery, garlic, kohlrabi, leeks, onions (cippolini and yellow), parsnips, peppers (bell, assorted chiles), potatoes (five or six kinds), rhubarb, scallions, shallots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (standard red, assorted heirlooms, some cherries), sweet white turnips, winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha)
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Herbs: chives, cilantro, parsley, peppermint, sage, rosemary, sorrel, tarragon, thyme
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Mushrooms: crimini, log-grown oyster, portabella, homegrown shiitake, white
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Tree fruit: bosc pears, apples (Fuji, Golden Delicious, Jonathan, Stayman and York.
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Other items: the usual eggs, butter and cheeses. New this week is Horseradish cheddar. Also 2 lb. honey jars.

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On sale or reduced:
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standard red tomatoes
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celeriac
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maple syrup
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5 pound bags of White potatoes
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10# boxes of winter squash seconds

On the farm: We've certainly had a reprieve from the yucky rainy gray weather last week, with two glorious Fall days in a row. I've been working primarily out at the wash area by our barn, washing, sorting and packing potatoes and winter squash. Today I packed 16 boxes for the Co-op and yesterday I sorted out winter squash for the online market for the rest of the Fall. (It's kind of tricky as we can't just sell a butternut squash – we have to have a group of them that are all sized evenly so that we don't have to adjust invoices.) Best of all was a walk I took up to look at the mushroom log area, which had been put to sleep last week, as the shiitakes were done. And to my surprise, there were the oyster mushroom logs, leaning against a pine tree, with clumps of beautiful mushrooms sticking out all over them. They hadn't done a thing all summer, and I had pretty much written them off as a complete waste of time, and now here they are, doing their thing, when the others are done! I'm sure it was last week's rain and the warm temps of the last few days that triggered their fruiting.

Upcoming market schedule: I guess it's getting to be that time of the year when we're not in DC every single Saturday, so I'll start now with the list of holidays and changes. We have 6 more weeks until our first break in 7 months of Saturdays – Thanksgiving weekend. We do not come down then. There will be 3 markets in December before we take off for Christmas.

Winter schedule change: And then, we plan to enact a major change for the winter months... We're going to switch over to coming down every other Saturday. We really need a break from the year-round routine after five winters, and figure that during the winter, most of what we have are storage items that hold perfectly well from one week to the next in your refrigerator, just as well as in our cooler. We'll talk more about this later, but thought we'd get the idea “out there” now.

CSA-Specific Information

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week the plan is for Lacinato kale, broccoli, green bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, Austrian Crescent fingerling potatoes, butternut squash, sweet pepper relish, fuji apples. Enjoy!

Adams Morgan CSA volunteers: Thanks to Stephanie & Dan and Matt & Angie for their help handing out orders last weekend in the rain. We appreciate the help!


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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October 17th, 2009 Farm Message

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, October 17th, 2009

Hi folks,

We just did something crazy. Chris, Sam and I took a two-and-a-half day vacation since we were in DC on Saturday, and just got back last night! Sunday morning we got all the chores done, loaded the car, and drove north about 150 miles to Tioga County, PA, along the New York border. (Pennsylvania's northern tier is it's least-populated area.) The main attraction was to see the so-called “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.” I had never heard of it until a few years ago when Sam and I were studying PA history. Anyway, it sounded interesting, and we wanted to get away from the farm after a pretty hectic and stressful Fall harvest season, and it made sense to go while the leaves were pretty.

The canyon – a thousand-foot deep gorge actually named Pine Creek Gorge – was quite beautiful and well worth the trip. It is a formation left behind by the glaciers that covered that part of the state during the Ice Age a few years back. As an added bonus we got to stay in the county seat town of Wellsboro, a very tidy and well-cared-for place. We spent the night in the 150-year-old Penn Wells Hotel, which was kind of fun also.

The second day we took a 20-mile excursion ride on the Tioga Central Railroad, a small rail line with several 1950s-era engines and cars. (Chris and I spent the whole trip in the club car.) On yesterday's ride home went drove one county further west, into Potter County, and came back south nearly a hundred miles in some of the remotest parts of Pennsylvania I've seen. This is where thousands of hunters will head in just about a month for deer season, and it's loaded with small, seasonal, whimsically-named (Liar's Den, Bear's Nest) cabins or “camps” as they're referred to around here. The area is home to many of the state's bear and elk, in addition to the ubiquitous deer. In 4 hours driving through that wilderness area we saw not so much as a squirrel (well alright, maybe one squirrel). When we pulled in our farm lane at dusk last night, at the end of our escapade, there stood in the middle of our first field a 6-point buck, about 50 feet away, just standing there, watching us, and no doubt thinking “Why'd they think they had to leave the farm to see wildlife? They can do that right here.” It was good to get away – and good to get back.

This week's planned produce: There have been several frosts now, and a number of summer items are gone until next year, with the rest of them ready to depart in the next week or two, depending on which farm grows them and whether they're using any frost protection or not (row covers). New or back-on-the-list items are underlined. Some items sell out fast. As at any farmer's market it's first-come, first-served.

*

Greens: arugula, cabbage, cress, lettuce (green and red leaf, romaine), kale, baby spinach, stir-fry greens mix.
*

Veggies: beans (green, edamame), broccoli, carrots (orange and mixed), cauliflower, celeriac, celery, English cucumbers, fennel, garlic, onions (cippolini and yellow), peppers (bell, assorted chiles), potatoes (five or six kinds), radishes, rhubarb, shallots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (standard red, assorted heirlooms, Romas, canners, cherries), sweet white turnips, zucchini, winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha)
*

Herbs: cilantro, parsley, peppermint, sage, rosemary, sorrel, tarragon, thyme
*

Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, log-grown shiitake, white
*

Tree fruit: bosc pears, apples (Fuji, gala, golden delicious, Stayman/Winesap and york.
*

Other items: the usual eggs, butter and cheeses.

*

On sale or reduced:
*

Roma tomatoes by the 10# box (END)
*

5 pound bags of White potatoes
*

10# boxes of winter squash seconds

On the farm: Yes, the 2009 summer season is definitely winding down fast, and we're shifting into winter and storage crop mode. Much of our day today will be spent sorting, washing, weighing and bagging or boxing up potatoes or winter squash. Chris has been drying herbs. I plan to get back into a more regular greenhouse planting schedule for microgreens, microbasil, pea shoots, and some other goodies.

Our 2009 sales at market have been down all summer from 2008, and we worried about that a good deal as the summer progressed, as we'd never had a year – out of the 18 we've been doing this – that wasn't better than the year before. I guess I'm coming to the conclusion that not only has the economy been a factor, but 2008 was just a spectacular year with interest in farmers markets and CSAs peaking simultaneously, probably due to all the movies and books and “buzz” about local foods. Last week we went over 20,000 online orders filled since we started our online farmers market and CSA in 2005, and the support that this gives us is “up” over 2008, such that we feel reasonably confident going into the winter that we will have still done alright in 2009, in spite of the economy. That's pretty reassuring, as many sectors of agriculture are in crisis mode right now! Thank you for your support.

CSA-Specific Information

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week the plan is for carrots, garlic, kohlrabi, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, zucchini, purple potatoes, lettuce, and some Stayman apples. Enjoy!

Number of CSA harvest boxes available: It's been quite a few weeks now since we've sold out of our 72 reserved CSA boxes, so we reduced it to 60 boxes last week, and still only sold 52. I try not to have more CSA boxes reserved than you all will want, as then that produce isn't available online to others. Remember, you can shop a la carte if we're out of the CSA Harvest boxes when you go shopping.

Adams Morgan CSA volunteers: Thanks to Gabe, Jul & Frank, and the Rigers for their help handing out orders last weekend. We appreciate the help!


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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Farm Message for Saturday, October 10, 2009

Star Hollow Farm News

For the week preceding Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Hi folks,

I'll keep this short this week. Lots to do yet this morning. We did have our first light frost yesterday morning. A little basil got nipped. The end (of frost-sensitive goodies) is in sight. Oh no!!!

This week's planned produce: New or back-on-the-list items are underlined. Some items sell out fast. As at any farmer's market it's first-come, first-served.

*

Greens: arugula, Asian greens, stir-fry greens mix, cabbage, chard, Lettuce (green and red leaf, romaine), kale, pea shoots, baby spinach.
*

Veggies: beans (green, edamame, Romano), broccoli, carrots (orange and mixed), cauliflower, celeriac, sweet corn, English cucumbers, garlic, onions (cippolini and yellow), peppers (bell, assorted chiles), potatoes (five or six kinds), rhubarb, scallions, shallots, sweet potatoes, tomatoes (standard red, green frying, assorted heirlooms, Romas, canners, cherries), yellow squash, zucchini, winter squash (acorn, buttercup, butternut, delicata, kabocha)
*

Herbs: Italian basil, chives, cilantro, dill, parsley, peppermint, sage, rosemary, sorrel, tarragon, thyme
*

Mushrooms: crimini, portabella, log-grown shiitake, white
*

Berries & fruit: ever-bearing strawberries, apples (Fuji, gala, golden delicious, Jonagold, Jonathan).
*

Other items: the usual eggs, butter and cheeses.

*

On sale or reduced:
*

Roma tomatoes by the 10# box
*

5 pound bags of White potatoes
*

10# boxes of winter squash seconds

On the farm: Yesterday Sam and I spent on another farm in neighboring Fulton County, participating in their “Youth Ag Expo” day. We were one of seven stations talking to 6th graders about agriculture. Sam gave a presentation on our shiitake mushroom project and I talked about IPM (Integrated Pest Management), a topic they have to cover in science this year. It was a beautiful day.

We rushed home after it ended and I tilled, planted cover crops and disced over two acres of ground where we had harvested potatoes over the last two weeks. I was out until 8:30 in the dark, discing by the tractor's headlights. Now at least I feel I have done what I can to protect that ground over the winter by having something useful growing on it.

CSA-Specific Information

Planned CSA produce for this week:

This week the plan is for Green curly kale, broccoli, sweet bell peppers, chile pepper mix, mixed potatoes (2 lbs.), buttercup squash, parsley, 2 bosc pears and 2 york apples. Enjoy!

Number of CSA harvest boxes available: It's been several weeks now since we've sold out of our 72 reserved CSA boxes, so we're reducing it to 60 boxes. Remember, you can shop a la carte if we're out of boxes when you go shopping.

Adams Morgan CSA volunteers: Thanks to Jodie, Al & Aden and Jenny for their help handing out orders last weekend. We appreciate the help!


Thanks for your support!

Randy, Chris and all at Star Hollow Farm

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Delicata Squash Recipe

I made this recipe for Roasted delicata squash stuffed with greens, white beans and sage and it was delicious. I used the squash and kale from the box this week, and the sage from last week.

Anyone else have a good recipe for delicata squash?