Week 18; October 5, 2023

What’s in the box?

Notes on the box.

Two weeks left of CSA deliveries!

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

Cheese curds! and the cheese that can be made from cheese curds, cheddar! We call ours Arcturus. Use a few cheese curds as a garnish for chili or veggie soup! The Arcturus is also good shredded on some chili, or on a cheese board.

Recipes.

on the farm.

I want to celebrate the fact we have been supported by our community of eaters for almost 20 years with some of you! And 14 years from the start of Turnip Rock Farm. We’ve had an amazing run with the CSA! Years of abundance and joyful growing as well as some losses and strife, but much more of the former than the latter. We’ve been helped by so many amazing farm workers and fed SO MANY incredible people! CSA is a fantastic model that has made our farming possible and we truly believe it is one of the very best ways for small farms to make a living. That said, we are feeling like it’s time for us to change course. I (Josh) have taken on a role at the largest food hub in MN- The Good Acre, as the Director of Grower Support - I’ll be using my 20 years of experience growing vegetables to help other farmers find stability and success on their own farms, and helping direct a food hub organization in what real equity and market access can look like. On our farm, we will continue to make the best 100% grass-fed cheese we know how- by hand, seasonally, with nature, and from our small herd of cows. We will be more paired down in our vegetable offerings and less extensive in our delivery range. But we do wish to continue to grow food for you, work with other farmers, and come up with better models that fit your needs. We are still imagining what next season will look like, but there will likely be a switch from a CSA model to something more similar to what we offer during the Wintertime. Bi-weekly or monthly online orders that can include meat, cheese, and some veggies. We will still sell cheese at farmers markets and have an on-farm store during the growing season. As we scale back our veggie growing, there may be space for beginning farmers hoping to have a go at growing to share some of the land and infrastructure that we have built over the years… There’s so many possibilities! We are still going to be growing food, soil, and caring for this piece of land that we love so much and are so fortunate to get to exist on! We have so much gratitude to all of you who have been with us for so many years! We have loved feeding you and your families and we hope to continue that going forward! More details will come as plans come together.

Change is constant, and so we roll with it. Please continue to support and know your local farmers!

next two weeks.

kale, squash, cabbage, sage, parsley, carrots, green top beets, radishes, turnips, brussel sprouts

Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Week 17; September 28, 2023

What’s in the box?

Notes on the box.

Cosmic Wheel creamery Cheese Shares.

This week we have Garlic Dill Quark and Cygnus, our aged swiss. The garlic Dill Quark is great on bread with the sliced radishes or as a dip for carrots or turnips or on a veggie sandwich with tomato and sliced peppers. Or you can roast squash and serve it with that. It’s truly good on just about anything!

The aged swiss might not have the big pretty holes that swiss from the store has (I don’t have the right agning conditions to make those happen) but it’s got that flavor. This is also a good one for pairing with roasted squash.

recipes.

on the farm.

We have rescheduled the last Sundae Sunday to this Sunday, October 1. At the farm from 1-4. The farm store will be open and we will have Peach Crisp Sundaes as well as Matcha GingerSnap Sundaes! and of course cones if you don’t want a Sunday. We hope you can make it! It’s supposed to be warm and sunny, so good weather for ice cream and you can see the fall colors that haven’t fallen from the trees, yes! Let us know if you plan on coming out!

Other news on the farm is that Magdalen and Alayna found Otto’s tortise, Mazie, who escaped from her outdoor enclosure about a month ago. Mazie was found in the beets while Magdalen and Alayna were weeding. We also decided that it was probably Mazie and not dee that ate the baby romaine lettuce since romaine is Mazie’s favorite food. Glad she’s back so she can stay warm inside this Winter.

If you want to taste some cheese and check out a really cool bottle shop that specializes in NA beverages, I’ll be at Marigold on Nicollet Ave on Saturday from 12-6. I’ll be giving samples and selling cheese and you can find something special to sip alongside your cheese. There’s some really lovely NA wines and beverages that are delicious and satisfying.

next week.

Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Week 16; September 21, 2023

what’s in the box?

Notes on the box.

Cosmic wheel creamery cheese shares.

I included our First Snow Camembert Style this week. It’s a full square and is ready to eat! Hope you enjoy it!
Next week will be a week for quark and an aged cheese.

Recipes.

On the farm.

Although the weather is still feeling so warm that we think it is still mid-summer, the end of the season is just 4 more weeks after this box! We had planned on Sunday Sundaes this Sunday, but the weather is looking like it might be rainy (which we are very much in need of and excited for). We are going to postpone Sunday Sundaes for another week. We are going to plan for Sunday October 1 instead.

Happy to include our very favorite winter squash in the CSA boxes this week. Black Futsu is a squash we’ve been growing for many years now, and it’s shoved so many others out of the way! We quit growing Acorns and Carnivals and lots of the others we’ve tried. This one’s a keeper! For real, it will hold for quite a while! But make sure to eat it because it’s delicious. Any you can halve it and stuff it, or you can cut it into the most beautiful crescent moons for roasting. The skin is edible and the flavor is nutty and the color is beautiful. Hope you enjoy it!

This was Phil’s last day! Phil got the nickname Phil the Drill for his ability to really jump in and get the work done! He’s super focused and just does an amazing job. He’s really thoughtful and cares a lot and we’ve loved having him on the farm. We have dreams of a music festival on the farm so his band, Luddgang, can play. Thanks so much for everything, Phil!


Next week.

Turnip Rock FarmerComment