Week 9 Delivery; August 8, 2019

What’s in the box?

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sweet corn
Tomatoes
green onions
carrots
bell peppers
green beans
cauliflower
broccoli
cilantro
cucumbers
zuchinni/summer squash

Notes on the box.

Summer treats time! Sweet Corn! Fresh picked. The fresher you eat it, the sweeter it will be. As it sits, the sugars turn to starch. Store sweet corn in the fridge in the husk until you are ready to eat it. When you are ready to eat it, pull off husks and silk and place into boiling water until corn is warmed and the color is brighter (just a few minutes is all you need). Butter and a little salt and enjoy! We will be having 3 more weeks in a row of sweet corn, so you will have plenty of time to enjoy all of your favorite corn recipes.
Tomatoes! Store tomatoes OUT of the fridge if you plan on eating them raw. Store them stem side down for even ripening. If you plan on eating them cooked, it’s okay to put them in the fridge. The cold changes the texture, but so does cooking them! Tomatoes will be coming again next week.

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

Two wedges of Deneb! One is young, just 3 months and was made in May. It will make a sublime grilled cheese with a slice of tomato. The other has a year more of aging than the other. Enjoy!

Recipes.

Roasted Cauliflower with Pumpkin Seeds, Brown Butter, and Lime

Cauliflower with Almonds, Raisins, and Capers

Carrot Salad With Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas

Cold Cucumber Soup with Sour Cream, Yogurt, and Chives

On the farm.

Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Week 8 Delivery; August 1, 2019

What’s in the box?

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zucchini
summer squash
celery
cucumbers
cauliflower
broccoli
green beans
green top beets
carrots
bell peppers
dill
sweet onions

Notes on the box.

Store it all the the fridge! Did you know you can save things like celery leaves and tops/skins of onions and ends of carrots to make flavorful soup stock? Toss them all in a freezer bag and when you have a nice amount of them, you can make a simple veggie stock or add them to bones when making broth!

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

Circle of the Sun is named after a song that we sang the first time we brought Otto to quaker meeting when he was a baby. We passed him around the circle while singing the song to welcome him. It’s a favorite memory of mine and also my favorite cheese to make and eat! Otto likes it, too!
I sent the feta as a block this time in case you wanted to cube it or crumble it yourself or keep it longer in a brine. Or try making some marinated feta. It’s got a relatively short shelf life when it’s out of the brine (a couple of weeks). To make a brine, 2 cups of water with 2 tsp salt and store the feta in the brine, making sure it’s completely covered.
Marinated Feta
1 cup olive oil
2 Tbs chopped fresh herbs (mix and match with rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano,marjoram, dill, or your favorites)
1 tsp black peppercorns
Zest and juice of one lemon
Pinch of red pepper flakes (approx 1/8 tsp)
feta cheese, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the oil, herbs, peppercorns, lemon zest and juice, and red pepper flakes.

  2. Layer the feta cubes and herbed oil into 2 half pint jars, making sure the feta is fully submerged. Marinate at room temperature for 3-4 hours (6-8 hours is even better!)

  3. Refrigerate any unused portion after one day.

  4. (The oil may congeal in the cold, but it will not affect the flavor; simply bring the marinated feta to room temperature before serving.)

Recipes.

Cucumber and Celery Salad with Apricots and Pistachios

Six Seasons cookbook by Joshua McFadden and Martha Hoimberg is a favorite for unexpected flavors. Sometimes there’s ingredients that we don’t have, but we are pretty good at winging it and the recipes are great even if we have to sub things or leave them out.

Raw "couscous" Cauliflower with Almonds, Dried Cherries, and Sumac from Six Seasons Cookbook

Cauliflower Ragu from Six Seasons Cookbook

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On the Farm .

We had such a lovely time at Farmers Union Family Camp. Feeling renewed and refreshed and so grateful to our crew for letting us have our overnight adventure during the summer! We have harvested the garlic and it looks great! We also have our friend Loyal visiting and he brought his soil science skills and his super microscope, so we have been having a nice time looking at the amazing cities of bacteria in our soil and checking out the beautiful wiggly dances that they do. We read a lot about soil bacteria and use growing practices that promote and encourage a healthy ecosystem in the soil, so it’s really exciting to see it all!
We are on the cusp of some Summer favorite veggies rolling in. The first of the tomatoes will likely make their way into boxes next week. And sweet corn should be coming next week or the week after. Yay!!


Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Week 7 Delivery; July 25, 2019

What’s in the box?

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Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
green top beets
green top carrots
celery
cucumbers
zuchinni / summer squash
sweet onions
leaf lettuce
green beans

Notes on the box.

Wow! What a switch! We normally would have had broccoli starting 3 weeks ago, but for some reason that we have yet to understand (the weather??) The broccoli didn’t make heads until this week. So here we are! It’s a box with some seriously substantial veggies and less greens. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage! It’s a Brassica buffet! Time to make a shift from light and leafy salads to slaws. And if you haven’t yet tried broccoli and cauliflower (and even green beans) roasted, now is a good time to give it a go.
The crisper of the fridge is the best place for the broccoli and cauliflower. I keep them in an open plastic bag in the crisper. The stems of the broccoli are edible. Peel the outer layer with a veggie peeler and trim off the end. You can cut the stem up and add it to whatever dish you are making with broccoli: stir-fry, steamed, roasted, etc.
Celery. If you think you don’t like it, we hope you will give this celery a try. It’s really the ultimate in celery flavor. I love it minced into tuna salad. Or use the celery, carrots, and onions minced an sauteed as a base to add flavor for so many soups
All these veggies should stored in the fridge. Remove tops from carrots and beets for best storage. Beet greens are edible (as are carrot tops, though they seem to be a bit harder to decide what to do with).

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

Cheese Curds! Because so many folks have let me know they are a favorite. :) and Lyra…. This cheese….. I made this last year in November and was still developing the recipe. I think it’s the best cheese I’ve ever made. It’s so creamy with nice fruity notes, but also some really beautiful, rich brothy flavors. It really wants to melt, but I think this is a perfect one to enjoy on it’s own with a glass of wine or bubble water and paired with some pickles, jams, or cured meats. I take really close notes when I make cheese, so I hope I can pull this one off again! I’ve made it a few times this season, but they are still aging and I haven’t tasted them yet. Sometimes the patience that is required in cheese making is a big challenge. I make something then don’t know if it’s going to come out the way I hoped until MONTHS later. Enjoy this one! I’ll do my best to re-create it!

Little round holes in the cheese are one of my favorite things in life.

Little round holes in the cheese are one of my favorite things in life.

Recipes.

Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli
heat oven to 425. cut cauliflower and/or broccoli into bite size florets. Toss with a bit of olive oil and salt and herbs or spices of your choice. Sumac is a favorite that we like to add. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast until tender with some browning. 20-30 min. You can also cook green beans the same way. So yummy!

Perfect Protein Salad This recipe calls for green peppers and red onions, but feel free to do some substituting here. I’d use sweet onions and leave out the peppers (unless you happen to have some on hand) It’s also good with cottage cheese (or quark!) in place of mayo. Serve it on a bed of leaf lettuce for a beautiful and filling but not to heavy meal.

Zucchini Fritters from Smitten Kitchen

Summer Squash Pizza from Smitten Kitchen

Takeout style sesame noodles with Cucumbers

On the Farm.

We really lucked out last week and were spared from the storms that knocked down trees and messed up greenhouses a ways north of us. Everytime we see those red blips on the radar, there’s a lot of dread and a scramble to get things put away quickly. We breathed a sigh of relief, but were also checking in on farmer friends all around to check on how they were doing. Besides trees and greenhouses, some were without power (which also means no water flowing due to electric pumps and no coolers for recently harvested vegetables and flowers) for a couple of days, but have made it through. We were amazed to see pictures of flooding in the city and hope that you all are okay, too!
Your farmers are making time for a fun trip this weekend. We are headed off to the Wisconsin Farmers Union Family Camp in Chippewa, WI. It’s not the easiest thing to get away from the farm, even just for an overnight trip, but we are so grateful to our amazing farm crew who will be milking cows and making sure things are good here while we are away. The Farmers Union is an organization that we are very grateful for and happy to be involved in. Did you know that you can be a Farmers Union member even if you aren’t a farmer? It’s a great way to learn about issues around farming and our food system and to stay connected to what’s going on in rural communities. Farmers Union advocates for family farms and works to keep CAFOs out of communities among lots of other amazing work. Check it out!



Turnip Rock FarmerComment