Week 1; June 8, 2016

What's in the box?  

Spinach
Red Romaine
Butter head lettuce
Salad mix
Green Garlic
Herb pot
Napa Cabbage for large and medium
Baby bok choy
* our first radish and arugula plantings washed out in the monsoon, more was planted for future boxes

Notes on the box.  

The delivery route is going to be changed around a little bit from last season. Northeast, Robbinsdale and Roseville will be later in the day. most other will be close to what they were last year. Look out for the YOUR CSA BOX HAS BEEN DELIVERED email to let you know when you can pick up.  

A few CSA notes for our new members: Be sure to meet your host at your drop site. They are wonderful people who will be able to help you if you might have questions or concerns.  

Please unload your veggies into your own bags or tote and then collapse the veggie box by unfolding it and making it flat. Put your flattened box into a neat stack as a favor to your host.  We will reuse them!  Be careful not to rip your boxes when you unfold them. Bend the flaps away from the slots instead of pulling the flaps up to get them out.  The boxes aren't cheap and they aren't recyclable, unfortunately.  Help us reduce waste and cost by not ripping the boxes, please.  Thanks!  

Feedback is appreciated! . Problems or questions?  We are here for you!

We are hoping to host more parties this summer in effort to meet more of you and get you out here on this farm that you eat from and help to create. We are excited to be part of the Eat Local Coop Farm Tour this year!  Open farm on July 15 from 10-4.  If you are a CSA member coming out that day, please introduce yourself!  We'd love to meet you and share the farm with you.  

Everything in this weeks greens and salad heavy box (except the herb pots) will store best in your fridge.  

Herbs can be replanted in your garden, into individual pots, or kept in the pot the arrived in.  Keep in a sunny spot and water as needed.  Pots contain some combination of the following: basil, parsley, sage, thyme, and oregano.  

Spinach, lettuces, napa, and bok choy will all keep best in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.  Spring is always heavy on greens as we wait for fruiting crops to come in later in the season.  Now is the time to enjoy salads with every meal!  We've been enjoying serving pasta dishes on beds of greens and having taco bowls and proteins on top of greens.  

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

We've been having a good Spring!  We got some nice write-ups from the Star Tribune and the Cheese Underground Blog... and are happy to be getting some cheese out into the wider world.  We've shipped cheese all the way to Milwaukee, Madison, and LaCrosse!  And you can also find our cheese in the beautiful new case at the Wedge Co-op as well as weekly at the Mill City Farmers Market and North East Farmers Market.  

The cheeses to kick off the 2017 CSA season are our feta which is wonderful on a spinach salad or a pizza or homemade falafel sandwiches.  

And the other cheese is our camembert style called First Snow.  This is looking to be a seasonal cheese available in Spring and Fall/Winter.  But luckily this made it into the CSA boxes for you!  It's perfectly ripe.  If you like a stinkier cheese, you can hold onto it in your fridge for another week or maybe 2, but you should enjoy it soon!  Grab a baguette, a bottle of wine, and a friend and enjoy this special cheese treat!  For best texture and flavor let it come to room temperature before you eat it.  

 

Recipes.  

Ramen Napa Cabbage Salad

Roasted Bok Choy

Baby Bok Choy Salad with Sesame Dressing

Spinach Feta Orzo

On the farm.  

Hey everyone! welcome to 2017 season. 
Mild winter, soggy spring, and now its looking like it could be a droughty summer.  But really, who knows?!  

In the past we've used the blog to just talk about what's happening on the farm from week to week, which i still hope to do. But I also wanted to try and take this time to try and fill in some gaps about who we are and why we do what we do.

As a member of our CSA you have said ' I trust you, you are my farmer, and I will take the risk of farming with you'.  Farmers work in a very high risk low reward environment, but are essential to our existance. What kind of farms we have around us determine the culture and the quality of our rural areas and what kinds of foods everyone can access.  Thanks for the vote of confidence. We exist here in Clear Lake WI, because you said YES to CSA! 

So, to start off. let me introduce ourselves for those who don't know.  

Im Josh, born in Iowa, and moved up to MN in 2003 for a farming job. 

Rama, born South Louisiana, Moved to MN and attended MCAD in 1998

Otto age 6, he likes bugs and making potions

Sadie age 3 she likes changing her clothes and playing with Otto. 

We started Turnip Rock farm in 2009 in New Auburn WI, it was extremely rocky and so we moved to Clear Lake WI 2013 with the hope to be closer to you all, farm more land with less rocks, and expand the dairy herd. All of those things have proven to be worth the trouble after a few, rocky in different ways, transition years.  We are feeling our roots well planted into our farm and we are so grateful to be here and be your farmers.   

Farm stats:
total acres; 80
Employees; 4 full time and 3 part time
2017 crew:
Liberty - livestock manager and herdsman
Andrew, Jeannie, and Lilly - Full time veggie wranglers
acres in vegetables:4
acres in pasture: 56
number of cows: 21 plus 13 young stock and 11 calves so far
pigs 14
sheep 22

Vision: an oink oink here and a moo moo there. Animals are essential to a truly sustainable farm. We respect their nature and are grateful to be able to care for them. A whole farm ecosystem with each element working together.

Mission: make agriculture great again.  follow natures pattern, take what we need and give back. Nourish our community!  

 

What's growing on?

Spinach
kale
onions
lettuce head and mix. 
herb pot
salad turnips
garlic scapes ?

DIY-Healthy-Salad-Dressing-1-600x3024.png
Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Season Extension Week 4; November 3, 2016. Final Delivery of the season!

What's in the box. 

butternut squash
cilantro
bag of onions and garlic
potatoes
carrots
savoy cabbage
storage cabbage
collards
spinach
beets

Notes on the box. 

Squash, onions, garlic, and potatoes should be stored outside of your fridge.  Onions, garlic, and potatoes will store best in a cool and dark area.  I'm sure every flat surface of your kitchen is covered in squash at this point (bumper crop!) but it makes a decoration in other parts of your house until you are ready to eat it.  Everything else will store best inside your fridge.  

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

A new cheese this week!  The Milky Whey is similar to creme fresh and I have added some honey from our farm and some fresh Organic Lemon to flavor it.  It's very nice with deserts!  We have had it on its own, with toasted nuts and fruit in the morning, and it truly shines as adollop on top ofcarrot cake or a chocolate ginger tart!  That was pretty heavenly.  Also, if you can get your hands on some Raincost Crisps (the crackers with nuts and dried fruit baked into them) you have a match made in heaven. 

And finally we sent a wedge of our Circle of the Sun which is a farm original and a favorite of mine.  It's very versatile and easy to eat.  I was really happy when I brought some to an event a couple of weeekends ago and I got to see a very knowledgeable cheesemonger and Certified Cheese Professional do a nice little freak-out when she tasted it.  Hope you enjoy!  If you want to get some cheese during the winter from us, we are offering cheese shares through Foxtail Farm's Winter Share.  The cheese share is wait listed right now, but once I get a few more people on the wait list, I will make cheese shares available to those folks.  Otherwise, we will be attending Mill City Winter Markets duringNovember and December and sporadically after that.  Also will attend Neighborhood Roots Winter Markets.  I will post the dates on the Cosmic Wheel Web site and on our Facebook page. 

Recipes.

Colcannon

Curry Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

Creamy Cilantro Lime Slaw so good with tacos!

Collards, Cornmeal, and Sausage Soup

On the Farm.

The last vegetable delivery of the season!  Whew!  Now we get to buckle down and catch up on paperwork and book-keeping and house cleaning!  Since we don't have any snow we will be able to get field cleanup done.  Our cover crops are looking really great and since the cows are still grazing, we are still making cheese!  We also have another building project going on.  Our inspectors have required an update to our cheese making room, so that's a pretty big and unexpected project happening.  Kind of an unexpected and expensive pain, but in the end it will make cheese making life easier, so it's not too bad.  We are enjoying focusing on our cheesemaking and expanding that side of our business as we also focus on making our vegetable business more intensive andwe are seeing the benefits of really building our soils. At the end of every season we reflect and try to improve upon where our weak areas were the season before.  We try to balance the needs and wants of our members with the needs and abilities of our land and ourselves.  We are always looking to improve and make our business and farm more sustainable and resilient.

We couldn't do any of this without our amazing crew.  This season our peak season crew included Hannah and part time help from Miranda, Anna, and Andrew, We also struck gold again this year with Aimee, Liberty, and of course Haley. 

Aimee has been such a dedicated worker and very giving of herself working 6 days a week for the whole season!  She always has a great attitude and adds so much fun to the crew.  Otto and Sadie will be especially sad to see her go as the season ends. 

Liberty has been a truly phenomenal livestock manager often working 7 days a week since the cows don't take a day off of milking!  She also helped with veggies on heavy harvest and box packing days.  We are so happy that Liberty will be joining us again next season and she is learning cheese making! 

And our dear dear wonderful Haley who has been with us for 3 years now!  She has been the glue for the last few years managing the vegetable operation beautifully and gracefully.  Her smiles lighting up the fields with her smile and knowing just what the plants need.  She is moving on and exploring a new profession, and we will miss her so much!  But we hope she will be back to visit often and we hope she will join us sometimes in the field when she needs a little time in the dirt.  Haley, we can't thank you enough for all that you have given us and the farm over the years.  We love you very much!! 

Finally, we have to give a big big big THANK YOU to YOU!  We don't exist without those of you committed to local foods directly from your local farmers.  We know there are many options out there for getting local foods at your co-op or farmers market, and we know there are many options to get food delivered to you now with meal services.  We also know there are a lot of CSA farms out there and we are so glad that you joined us this season.  If you felt like we were a good fit for your needs, we will be opening sign-ups for next season in early 2017.  We have had members with us since we started our own farm in 2009 and some of you since before that when Josh started the CSA at MFA in 2006!  Your commitment means the world to us and we are grateful to be able to provide you and your families with food that nourishes you and is grown with respect for the environment, the animals, the people, and the soil involved.  Thank you again and again! 

Turnip Rock FarmerComment
Season Extension Week 3; October 27, 2016

What's in the box? 

winter squash - butternut, black futsu, and/or acorn
potatoes
sweet potatoes
yellow and red onions
green top beets
carrots
tatsoi
spinach
red russian kale
dill
garlic
savoy cabbage

Notes on the box. 

Store Squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, and garlic out of the fridge.  Everything else should be stored in the fridge. 

The skin of black futsu is edible!  It's a great squash to slice into moons and roast.  You can use them in place of delicata squash, but they have a more robust flavor. 

Is every flat area in your kitchen covered in butternut squash?  While they do store for many many weeks, if you need the space and feel like storing some, I like to do the following:  cut squash in half and remove seeds, place cut side down in a baking dish that is lightly greased.  (you can add a little bit of water, but not too much.  Place in a 400 degree oven and roast until you can poke a for easily into the squash through the skin.  take it out of the oven and let it cool, then scoop out the flesh.  It's good to puree it at this point and then put into freezer bags for later use.  I like to measure out the amount needed for a loaf of my favorite pumpkin bread so that I can thaw the bag then add it to a recipe without waste later.  Now you have your own delicious pumpkin puree for pies, breads, and soups all through the Winter. 

Lots of greens still look good out there in the field, but we have seen a few mornings of some heavy frost. Lucky for all of us, it makes the greens sweeter and more delicious.

 

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

Cheese curds!  Have you tried floating your cheese curds in a veggie lentil soup, yet?  Or chili?  We highly suggest you give it a try.  Just put them in the bowls as you serve them and they will warm up and become yummy cheesy bites to enjoy with your soup.  Vega is the aged cheese this week.  Vega is nice and creamy and wonderful to snack on or melt on top of a casserole, stuffed squash, or roasted veggies. 

Recipes.

Red Onions with Walnut Salsa
(adapted from Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi)
4 med red onions
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup spinach, arugula, or other greens
1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley or 1/4 cup fresh dill
2 oz goat cheese or quark broken into chunks
salt and black pepper
Walnut salsa
2/3 cup walnuts
1 red chile seeded and finely chopped (optional)
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
Heat oven to 425.  Peel onions and remove tops and tails.  Cut each crosswise into 3 slices about 3/4 inch thick and place on a baking sheet.  Brush slices with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for about 40 min until onions are cooked and golden brown on top. 
While onions are cooking, put all of the salsa ingredients in a small bowl.  add 1/4 tsp salt, stir, and set aside. 
To serve, put chopped greens and herbs in alarge bowl.  add the warm onions, the cheese, and half the salsa and toss carefully so the onions dont fall apart.  Spoon remaining salsa over the top and serve.

Paleo Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Vegetarian Butternut Squash Chili

Getting a meat share?  This recipe is a must!  Sausage and Cabbage from NYT

Roasted Carrots with Tumeric and Cumin from NYT

Wild Rice with Maple Butternut Squash and Kale Salad (you can use red russian kale for this one)

On the Farm. 

Eat like a farmer shares!  Don't forget you will be getting a meat delivery today along with your veggies (unless other arrangements were made).  Also, we had a few folks ask about difference in egg shares once the season extension started.  Some had signed up for additional egg shares, but those were delivered just with your main season.  We offered a season extension egg share add on, but it had to be added on to your share once the main season was over.  Sorry about the confusion! 

If anyone wants to order an extra case or two of storage carrots or butternut squash we will have them, carrots will be 25# case (Brown box) and butternut 35# (big white box) one case of carrots should fit in your crisper drawer (and fill it up!) if you have an average sized fridge.  Holds for months. Squash will hold until Jan if you keep it dry and room temp.  If you'd like either one, send us an email. we will start collecting orders and add them onto the last delivery which is next Thursday.

Going back to the grocery store,,, if that sounds like something you don't want to do check out Foxtail farm, our old friends and mentors just a few miles west of us in Osceola WI. They do a full blown Winter share with great variety of winter vegetables (hoop house greens too) and value added goods made in their on farm commercial kitchen. Soups, breads, jams, kraut etc. Plus you can add on our cheese and keep that gold coming.  Who needs a grocery store when you've got farmers who sell direct? 

 

 

Turnip Rock FarmerComment