Week 6; July 13, 2017

What's in the box?  

Salad mix
Carrots
Red curly Kale
Spring sweet onions
basil
Cauliflower
broccoli
squash and zucchini
cucumbers (English or several smaller cukes)
butter head lettuce - medium and large
Cabbage - medium and large
salad turnips- medium and large

Notes on the box.

You might be having a race to keep your crisper clear for next weeks box.  I like to wash the lettuce and have it ready to go for salads before it ever goes into the fridge. We serve EVERYTHING at this time of year with a salad.  Scrambled eggs, toast, and a side salad. Grains and meat are served on a bed of greens.   We eat a salad centered dinner at least once a week this time of year.  Keep your favorite dressings on hand.  Try to have all of the lettuces and tender greens eaten before your next weeks box arrives since these are the most perishable of the veggies.  Your cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, etc will hold.  
Basil is the most perishable and tricky thing to store this week.  Avoid getting it wet since it will turn brown and wilt.  You can store it in a plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge.  Make a pesto or slice the leaves thinly and garnish cooked fish or chicken.  Or add it to stir friend veggies.  
To keep root veggies crisp and storing well, be sure to separate the leaves from the roots as soon as you get them home.  This is especially true of green top carrots.  They get bendy if you leave the tops on for very long.  But be sure to eat a carrot with the top still attached so you can work on your bugs bunny impersonation.  The leaves of the salad turnips can be cooked.  I was at a wedding this weekend and there was a dish with roasted salad turnips where the turnip had been quartered with the leaves left on and roasted that way. It was a little unwieldy to serve with the greens getting tangled up, but it was tasty and fun!
One of the most simple ways to eat your kale is my favorite.  Wash the kale, de-stem it by holding the stem in one hand and tiwh the other hand pull along the stem, stripping the leaf away from the stem.  It take a little practice, but once you get the hang of it you can make really quick work of a bunch.  Chop up the kale leaves, some garlic, and onion.  I like to sautée the kale in coconut oil because I like the nutty sweet flavor.  Sautee it, cover it to help it along.   When it's wilted but not yet a dark much, give it a little salt and squeeze of lemon juice.  Serve as a side or mix into pasta dishes or a grain based salad.  

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

This week we have feta and The Herdsman.  The Feta is in a little brick this time instead of crumbled.  You can cube or crumble it yourself this way. If you need to store it for an extended time, make a brine with 1 tsp salt dissolved in 1 cup of water and put the whole chunk in there and store in your fridge.  You can also cube it up and store it in olive oil with fresh herbs and garlic to elevate this utilitarian cheese to cheese plate status or to give as a fancy homemade gift.  This link has more instructions.  I sent feta this week thinking we were having beets in the box, but the beets weren't quite sized up.  But the Feta will go nicely on a salad with the cucumbers or on a flatbread pizza with the squash.  
The Herdsman is one of the first aged cheeses made for the 2017 season.  It's aged 3 months and the cows were still eating mostly hay, so it has a nice fresh lactic quality without the grassy flavors that happen when the cows get out onto pasture.  It's a great melter for a fantastic grilled cheese.  The rind is edible, but I usually trim it off.  You can have a nibble of it to see if you want to eat it or not.  

Recipes.

Roasted Carrot Hummus

Vegan Cauliflower Buffalo Bites

Lemony Orzo Pasta Salad with Cucumber and Feta

Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Easy Cheesy Zucchini Basil Bake  This would be good with Feta and Herdsman!  

On the Farm. 

What a light show last we had on Tuesday night. We dodged a bullet of severe weather.  Our friends just a little bit further north had trees downed and one of the roofs of a silo blew off.  Other friends said they watched with half sick stomachs as a mesocyclone slowly rotated the sky above their farm.  Here at Turnip Rock a few tree branches fell, crops were leaning, and 2 inches of rain fell. But! we had no weather damage to the crops and were dry enough this time to absorb most all the moisture to fall. And the pastures keep on growing! Phew!

The boxes are filling up easier, and coming in with some new crops and waiting patiently for some summer crops, namely peppers, tomatoes, and corn.  Melons have started to vine and have a few flowers, so we are a mear 5-6 weeks away from melon harvest.... 

Garlic will come out next week to cure!

Saturday is the Farm Open house, part of the Eat Local Co-op Farm Tour from 10-4
You can type in Turnip Rock Farm on google maps and we will show up for you.  You will also have the opportunity to tour our neighboring farm Bull Brook Keep where Sylvia raises 100% grass fed heritage cattle.  And a little further to the North is our good friends at Steady Hand Farm.  We will set up a little farm stand, have some cheese for tasting, and be giving tours or you are welcome to do a self guided tour.  

 

What's Growing On?

Cabbage? 
beets
carrots
squash
cucumbers
onions
cauliflower
Romaine lettuce
cilantro?

Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Week 5; July 6, 2017

What's in the box?  

Rainbow Chard
Salad Mix - Medium and Large
Butterhead Lettuce
Broccoli (with leaves)
Cauliflower
Garlic Scapes - Medium and Large
Zucchini/Summer Squash
Green Top Carrots

Notes on the box.

All veggies have been hydro cooled, but please give them a wash before eating.  Especially in all this rainy weather, dirt splashes up and can hide in the crevices in your greens and lettuce.  

Rainbow Chard can be used as you would cooked spinach.  The colorful stems are edible, too.  They take longer to cook than the leaves (which wilt very quickly) so chop them up and begin cooking them at the at the start just after adding onions and garlic when sautéing.  It stores best in a plastic bag in the crisper.  
The broccoli includes a lot of side shoots.  That's the small florets that the plants put out after the main head is removed.  The leaves are also edible and can be used as you would kale.  You can chop up the florets, leaves, stems, and all and cook them together.  Chop them finely for a broccoli slaw.  They will store best in a plastic bag in the crisper.  
Cauliflower is one that I never liked before I had it fresh from the farm.  It's a little surprising how much yummier fresh cauliflower is.  If you think you don't like cauliflower, give it another try!  Roasting it with a little olive oil and salt is simple and delicious.  
Green Top Carrots!  First of the season!  Remove the tops as soon as you get them or else their crunch will be lost and they will get bendy.  The tops are edible and can be used as a substitute for parsley.  

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

This week we have fresh cheese curds and Circle of the Sun.  The Circle of the Sun that is included is a year old and has some nice nutty flavors that come through as it ages.  The first Circle of the Sun made in the 2017 season will be out in a few weeks.  Circle of the Sun is a favorite cheese to make.  It's a simple recipe that allows the flavors of the grasses to come through.  I think it's a good everyday cheese for snacking and grating onto pasta or salads.  It's name comes from a song that was sung at our Quaker meeting as part of a welcoming ceremony for new babies.  This cheese is another that is a favorite at farmers market.  It's also for sale in the Wedge Co-op's cheese case!  I hope you enjoy it.  There's not a lot of 2016 Circle of the Sun left!   The first Circle of the Sun for the 2017 season will be out in a few more weeks

Recipes.

Curried Kale and Cauliflower rice Soup (sub the broccoli leaves for kale)

Swiss chard Slaw with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Broccoli Slaw with Quinoa and Honey Mustard Dressing

  • ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • ½ cup slivered or sliced almonds or other nuts or seeds (sunflower or pumpkin seeds are good)
  • bunch of broccoli - florets, leaves, stems, heads (anything goes)
  • ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil or other fresh herb or your choice (parsley, dill, or tarragon are good)

Honey-mustard dressing

  • ½ cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or more lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 medium cloves garlic pressed or minced OR a few garlic scapes very finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • Red pepper flakes, optional 
  1. To cook the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ½ cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool.
  2. Over medium heat, toast the nuts or seeds, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges. Transfer to a large serving bowl to cool.
  3. Wash broccoli and then chop it finely.  Include the leaves and tender stems.  For whole heads you might need to peel the outside of the stem. 
  4. Combine all of the dressing ingredients in a liquid measuring cup and whisk until emulsified. We love our emersion blender for dressings!  Feel free to add more honey if it seems to acidic for you, or add more vinegar if it's too sweet for you.
  5. Add the shredded broccoli, cooked quinoa and chopped herbs to your large serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss until well mixed. Let the slaw rest for at least 20 minutes if possible.

On the Farm.

Hit a nice stretch of weather, finally! Hope you all had a great holiday.  We worked all week as usual, but had a nice get together at neighboring CSA farm. 
Things are kicked into high gear out in fields. High temps, adequate moisture, and weeds are under control. 
We're a point where what is done is done for Summer planting.  We are seeing incredible rebound in a lot of the crops that got hail damage.  The plants are so resilient!  Things seem to be growing at double speed now.  We are waiting for summer crops to grow and ripen.  Things are just a little bit behind after their setback.  Now we are planting heavily for fall. We will keep planting through August and early September.
Thanks for all of your kind words of support through the rough patch this spring.  It's amazing what a little sunshine, warm weather, and love and support can heal!

 

What's growing on?

spring onions
cabbage
beets
carrots
butterhead lettuce
salad mix

Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Week 4; June 29, 2017

What's in the box?  

Siberian Kale
Head Lettuce
Green Top Beets
Zucchini / Summer Squash
Fennel
Garlic Scapes
Broccoli - Eat Like a Farmer and Large shares

Notes on the box.

The kale is a mix of Siberian and Red Russian Kale.  These are tender varieties that can be cooked or used in salads. 
The greens on the beets are edible.  If you plan on storing them for a while, remove the greens from the roots.  
Fennel bulb and fronds are edible.  Use the whisky leaves as you would an herb.  It has a nice fresh anise flavor that goes well with beets or cucumbers.
Garlic Scapes are a nice treat. They are the stem of the flower that the garlic sends up.  Pulling off the flower allows for more energy to go to the bulbs so we can get bigger heads of garlic.  AND the scapes are delicious.  You can use them as you would a green onion, but they will have a garlic flavor.  Some people like to grill them whole.  They also make a yummy addition to pesto.  

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

This week we have fresh whole milk ricotta and Antares, our cow's milk Manchego.  Ricotta is nice in a cake or other baked goods.  You can put it in a quiche or pasta dish.  The Antares is always a favorite at market.  It has a flavor that is described as "piquant". Not quite spicy, not quite sharp, but a flavor that opens your sinuses slightly and lingers after you taste it.  

Recipes.

Tumeric and Roasted Fennel, Kale, and Chickpea Salad

  • 1 fennel bulb (save fronds for another recipe)
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 1 chopped garlic scape
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • sea salt
  • 2tbsp olive oil
  • 1 bunch kale
  • Dressing:
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ lemon, juice
  • pinch of sea salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 400
  2. Cut fennel into wedges, place into a bowl and toss with ½tsp turmeric, sea salt and ½tbsp olive oil. Place onto 1 side of a baking sheet.
  3. Drain chickpeas, pat dry and place into a bowl. Add garlic and toss with ½tsp turmeric, sea salt and ½tbsp olive oil. Place onto a baking sheet next to the fennel. Bake for about 30min stirring in between.
  4. Tear kale leaves from the thick stems and wash thoroughly. Pat dry, place into a bowl and toss with sea salt and 1tbsp olive oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15min stirring in between.
  5. Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing.
  6. Once everything is baked, toss together and drizzle with the salad dressing. 

Beet Greens with Honey and Nuts

2 Tbsp. coconut oil (or your favorite fat to cook with)
½ cup pecan (or other nuts or seeds) chopped
1 bunch beet greens
1 Tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced (or garlic scape)
¼ crushed red pepper flakes
Fine sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
juice of ¼ lemon

Wash greens thoroughly; pat dry. Rough chop into bite sized pieces.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil a large skillet over medium heat. Add nuts. Swirl pan to coat with oil. Add honey. Stir to evenly coat nuts. Cook another minute, stirring constantly. Remove from pan; set aside.

In the same pan, add the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and heat. Add garlic and pepper. Stir, and then add greens. Swirl pan. Lightly toss greens with tongs to coat. Cook until just tender and wilted, 2-4 minutes. Squeeze lemon wedge over greens, toss, and plate.  Sprinkle with honeyed pecans. Serves 2.

White Bean Garlic Scape Dip

Ricotta Zucchini Fritters

On the Farm.

Event announcement. 
July 15 Turnip Rock and the Cosmic Wheel Creamery are open for the eat local farm tour from 10 am to 4 pm.   The Eat local farm tour is a self guided open house of area local farms. There will be guided tours of the farm, too. We'll make some drinks and cheese tastings available as well. 
Drive on out to Western Wisconsin! It's a Fun way to spend a Saturday. 

the good news:
The squash is on it's way... you'll get just a little taste of it right now. Carrots are just a couple weeks out. Cauliflower will be here next week. Cabbage is right behind it. More butterhead and Romaine lettuce, salad mix. It's all within reach.  

the bad news:
The cool wet weather is harboring root maggots, which are causing problems with yields, transplants and any plantings of radishes etc. Warmer temps and drying things out would help, as they are a spring pest and prefer spring type weather.  But more rain is forecast for Friday. Much of our broccoli is acting like its underwater, stunted. I've never seen this before. But when a plants roots are wet for too long it rots off the roots in anerobic conditions, stunting them. We are sadly expecting low yields.  Compared to last seasons boxes, we see a large decrease in harvest and in the value of the boxes.  We will continue to plant and replant and do what we can to get the value to even out over the remainder of the season.  We are doing our best! Our farm has the fewest weeds we have ever had at this point in the season, which is fantastic...  We just keep getting heavy rains and more rain and that's one thing that we can't control.  We will absolutely keep doing all that we can and we are grateful for your support and understanding.  

We wanted to be sure to share with you the chance to sign up for a Summer Herbal Share from our dear friend and neighbor farmer, Nancy, at Red Clover Herbal Apothecary.  The Summer Herbal Share includes tea, tincture, and salves special for summer with the option of choosing to add more to your share.  The Share can be delivered with your Turnip Rock CSA share.  If you are interested, click the link above for more info and to sign up. 

We are trying to decide between these fantastic name suggestions for our new calf...  
Promise
Jonah
moo
Cerna
Betsy

But guess what... We have another new calf to name! See photos below and send your suggestions our way.  :) 

Turnip Rock Farmer Comment