2009 Week 21

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA Bag

Potatoes ~ red & white ~ 1 qt
Squash ~ 1 butternut
Beets ~ 1 lb
Purple Top Turnips ~ 2 or 3
Red Cabbage
Onions ~ 1 bag
Carrots ~ 6
Brussels sprouts ~ 1 qt
Celeriac or Kale
Chard ~ 1 bunch
Herbs ~ garlic

Storing Fall/Winter Crops

Beets, carrots, turnips, cabbage, celeriac and Brussels sprouts like to be stored in plastic in the refrigerator and can last for weeks or even months. Kale and Chard also like it cold but they should be used within a week or two of harvesting. Kale especially likes ice cold and moisture. Potatoes and squash like it cool, dry and dark.

Recipes of the Week

Pickled Beets
Roasted Roots
Beet and Carrot Cake

News from the Field

Today's recipe is pickled beets. I remember sitting at my grandma's table and rubbing red beets on my lips and asking her if she liked my new lipstick. She would always laugh and my siblings would copy me and we'd all laugh. Meal time can make great memories.

Beware of red beets! They leave your body the same color as they go in, so don't be alarmed when flushing or changing Jr's diapers!

There are 3 more pickup days after today. The last pickup is the week of November 16th. We still have certain items for sale in bulk to fill your root cellar. We have potatoes, beets, turnips, carrots, garlic and squash.

Please enjoy our fresh organic vegetables!
- Anne Tisbert

2009 Week 20

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA Bag

Potatoes ~ blue/blue _ 1 qt
Squash ~ 1 Blue Hubbard
Red Beets ~ 1 lb
Red Cabbage ~ 1 head
Onions ~ 1 bag
Carrots ~ 6
Brussels sprouts ~ 1 qt
Peppers ~ 2 sweet + 2 Jalapeño
Chard ~ 1 bunch
Lettuce ~ 1 head
Tomato ~ 1 green
Herbs ~ parsley ~ 1 bunch

Also at the Farm Stand

produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Green Top Farm ~ lamb & pork
Red Hen Baking Co. ~ organic breads, fresh Tu/Th/Sat
Free range eggs

* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.

Recipes of the Week

Fried Green Tomatoes
Roasted Pumpkin or Squash Seeds

News from the Field

We still have 5 weeks of shares, counting today. The last pickup will be the week of November 16th.

You may have noticed white tarps out in the fields. This covering is called "remay", a woven fabric used to protect crops in very cold temperatures. They will add about 10° to the air temperature underneath and extend the season a couple of extra weeks. We use this in spring, too, so we can plant early and have your produce ready earlier.

We are busy harvesting the remainder of the crops. A few items will still grow at these cooler temps -- Brussels sprouts, chard and kale are being picked daily.

You can buy a few items in bulk now. Fill your root cellar and have veggies all winter -- potatoes, turnips, carrots, garlic and squash.

Please enjoy our fresh organic vegetables!
- Anne Tisbert

2009 Week 19

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA Bag

Fingerling Potatoes ~ 1 qt
White Acorn Squash ~ 1
Purple Top Turnips ~ 1 lb
Gold Chard ~ 1 bunch
Celery ~ 1 bunch
Carrots ~ 6
Brussels Sprouts ~ 1 qt
Sweet Peppers ~ 2 yellow
Lettuce ~ 1 head
Tomato ~ 1
Herbs ~ garlic ~ 1 bulb

Also at the Farm Stand

produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Green Top Farm ~ lamb & pork
Red Hen Baking Co. ~ organic breads, fresh Tu/Th/Sat
Free range eggs

* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.

Recipes of the Week

Anne's Meatloaf Stuffed Squash
Southern Turnip Supreme

News from the Field

Six more weeks of shares. The last pick-up is the week of November 16th.

New this week is Purple Top Turnips. They are delicious on their own or a great soup ingredient. Try the turnip recipe above.

This summer's wet weather has not been kind to Vermont growers and the latest victim to the moisture is our tomato greenhouse. We hope you enjoyed the fresh red tomatoes this season and look forward to more next year.

Next week we will be doing our annual survey of your CSA experience here at Valley Dream Farm. Please help us plan for next year by giving us your feedback. This will take only a few minutes when you pick up next week.

Please enjoy your fresh organic vegetables!
- Anne Tisbert

2009 Week 18

What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?

In Your CSA Bag

Potatoes (red w/red flesh) ~ 1 qt

Buttercup Squash ~1

Pumpkin ~ 1 per member + 1 for each child of member

Broccoli ~ 1 bunch

Carrots ~ 6

Kale ~ 1 bunch

Celery ~ 1 bunch (good for soups)

Onions ~ 1½ lbs ~ paper bagged

Lettuce ~ 1 head
Herbs ~ garlic ~ 1 bulb

Also at the Farm Stand

produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Green Top Farm ~ lamb & pork
Red Hen Baking Co. ~ organic breads, fresh Tu/Th/Sat
Free range eggs

* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.

Recipes of the Week

Autumn Minestrone
Baked Buttercup

News from the Field

It is such a great time of year when the air is crisp and the leaves are showing off their brilliant colors. At the end of last week the first white snow came to top off the mountain. We don't always get snow during foliage, but when we do it is such a special treat. It reminds me of a Banana Split with the colors peeking out from under the white top. It is quite understandable why people travel from all over to "peep" at the beautiful colors of our Vermont countryside.

Lots of customers have dropped in for their pumpkins. Some wanted pumpkins to carve and decorate while others picked small sweet pumpkins for pies. Because we have a slight pumpkin shortage (again due to our very wet, cold summer), we have purchased a bin full of additional pumpkins for you. There is one for each membership, plus one for every child of every member as we know every child needs their own pumpkin.

Along with pumpkins come winter squashes and we have many varieties for you to try. This week's squash is "Buttercup", an old New England favorite. Buttercups have the classic gray/green circle on the bottom.

We usually roast our potatoes but last night Joe peeled a pan full of mixed colored potatoes. The whites, reds and blues whipped into mashed potatoes of the prettiest lavender! Maybe this week's reds with red flesh, combined with some whites, will give you "potatoes in the pink". Any way you like them, it's fun to be color creative with food.

Please enjoy our fresh organic vegetables!
- Anne Tisbert