What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?
In Your CSA Bag
Tomatoes
Sweet Corn
Carrots
Cucumber
Onions
Melon
Lettuce
Green Beans
Sweet colored peppers
Herbs - Basil and Garlic
Recipes of the Week Three Pepper Pasta Salad
News from the Field
Welcome members: Well who was expecting a heat wave in September, but here it is. I am sure this will put this summer in one of the warmest ever categories. Especially since the last two summers were so cold and wet. We are trying to keep the irrigation running through these hot spells. The cucumbers and summer squashes are such water loving vegetables that the plants will start to wilt as they try to give all their fluids to the heat. The onions are nicely drying out in the hot sun. The peppers are all starting to ripen into beautiful shades of oranges and reds.
The Story of Peppers
Peppers are used by many different nationalities from Mexican, Spanish, Thai, Indian, Asian, African, and many others including American recipes. Peppers come in many shapes and colors. Did you know that if you have a green pepper it is not ripe until it turns into the red/yellow/orange stage? That process usually takes nearly a month longer which is why the colored peppers cost more at the store. The mildest peppers are the sweet bell peppers and some smaller snacking size varieties. Banana and Aruba peppers are also sweet and great for frying.
Hot peppers are usually measured in scoville units. The higher the scoville number the hotter the pepper. The hottest peppers are scotch bonnets and habaneros which have a score of anywhere from 60,000 to 300,000 units. The capsaicin, which is what causes the burning sensation and can even cause a blister on your tongue. Capsaicin dissolves easily in the fats found in dairy products. So enjoy a little sour cream when you're feeling the heat.
Enjoy your tasty veggies and melon. - Anne Tisbert
Aug 31, 2010
Aug 24, 2010
Week 12, August 24, 2010
What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?
In Your CSA Bag
Potatoes
Corn
Carrots
Savoy Cabbage
Onions
Cucumber
Squash (choice of zuke, summer or patty pan)
Green Beans
Gold Chard
Peppers - HOT
Tomatoes
Herbs ~ garlic
Also at the Farm Stand
Sweet Corn - grown at Valley Dream Farm
Peaches - grown locally*
Boyden Farm ~ beef*
Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup*
Doe's Leap Farm ~ organic goat cheeses*
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Carrots with Honey Mustard Sauce
News from the Field
We are having an exceptionally great weather year and hope you are enjoying the plentiful harvest. Many of the vegetables that you are receiving will continue right into fall. Think of how healthy you are eating this summer. IF you are struggling to keep up with your vegetable consumption, here are a few suggestions:
In Your CSA Bag
Potatoes
Corn
Carrots
Savoy Cabbage
Onions
Cucumber
Squash (choice of zuke, summer or patty pan)
Green Beans
Gold Chard
Peppers - HOT
Tomatoes
Herbs ~ garlic
Also at the Farm Stand
Sweet Corn - grown at Valley Dream Farm
Peaches - grown locally*
Boyden Farm ~ beef*
Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup*
Doe's Leap Farm ~ organic goat cheeses*
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Carrots with Honey Mustard Sauce
News from the Field
We are having an exceptionally great weather year and hope you are enjoying the plentiful harvest. Many of the vegetables that you are receiving will continue right into fall. Think of how healthy you are eating this summer. IF you are struggling to keep up with your vegetable consumption, here are a few suggestions:
- Donate to a neighbor or a nearby senior citizen. (Most grew up with large gardens and they have a special fondness for fresh vegetables.)
- Try to eat 2 veggies with every dinner, make one an appetizer or a dessert.
- Always put veggies in your sandwich.
- Make a big pot of veggie soup and freeze it for the coming frosty days ahead.
- Try a new recipe (I like epicuriuos.com where you just scroll down and type in your veggie into an empty search box and it will soon come up with tons of different recipes with that ingredient in it, all at no charge)
- Put up some veggies in the freezer.
- Preserving vegetables by canning is a fun project if you have the right supplies and tools. You will need a large deep pot or canner with a lid, a jar grabber, wide mouth funnel, and canning jars with new lids and rings. (I use the "Blue Book" by Ball. You can usually find it right next to the canning supplies at the store. There is also a section on freezing and jams, jellies, and pickles.)
Please enjoy your fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert
Aug 17, 2010
Week 11, August 17, 2010
What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?
In Your CSA Bag
Corn
Zucchini
Carrots
Onions
Green Beans
Cucumber
Radish
Lettuce
Peppers
Tomatoes
Garlic
Also at the Farm Stand
produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Does' Leap Farm ~ organic goat cheese
Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup
Twiss Hill Farm ~ frozen whole organic chicken
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Quinoa and Green Bean Tabbouleh
Radish Tea Sandwiches
News from the Field
Green Beans are here! The anticipation of such tender succulent beans is a sure sign of summer. When shopping look for firm green or colored beans and stay away from rusty spotted or old leathery beans. A fresh bean will snap crisply and is velvety to the touch. Skip the beans that you can feel a bean seed bulging inside as they are past their prime and moving on into the seed stage instead of the green vegetable stage you are looking for.
Have you ever purchased green beans brought them home, washed them and put them in the refrigerator only to notice that your green beans developed rusting or browning spots? What could be causing this problem? Usually green beans will get rusty looking if they have been picked in the early morning, when the dew is still on the bushes. This is a fungus that will appear after the beans get wet. Therefore store them in your refrigerator in plastic but do not wash them until just before you are ready to eat the beans or prepare them for cooking.
There are many kinds of beans available. Green or string (which refers to older varieties that required you to pull a string down the length of the bean before eating), yellow often referred to as wax beans as they are not always as velvety as the green, and now there are purple beans that are easy to find on the plant and turn green when cooked.
Whatever you name green beans, I hope you enjoy them frequently in the summer when they're at their peak. When they're seasonal and regional, there's nothing as tasty as boiled beans.
Please enjoy our fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert
In Your CSA Bag
Corn
Zucchini
Carrots
Onions
Green Beans
Cucumber
Radish
Lettuce
Peppers
Tomatoes
Garlic
Also at the Farm Stand
produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Does' Leap Farm ~ organic goat cheese
Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup
Twiss Hill Farm ~ frozen whole organic chicken
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Quinoa and Green Bean Tabbouleh
Radish Tea Sandwiches
News from the Field
Green Beans are here! The anticipation of such tender succulent beans is a sure sign of summer. When shopping look for firm green or colored beans and stay away from rusty spotted or old leathery beans. A fresh bean will snap crisply and is velvety to the touch. Skip the beans that you can feel a bean seed bulging inside as they are past their prime and moving on into the seed stage instead of the green vegetable stage you are looking for.
Have you ever purchased green beans brought them home, washed them and put them in the refrigerator only to notice that your green beans developed rusting or browning spots? What could be causing this problem? Usually green beans will get rusty looking if they have been picked in the early morning, when the dew is still on the bushes. This is a fungus that will appear after the beans get wet. Therefore store them in your refrigerator in plastic but do not wash them until just before you are ready to eat the beans or prepare them for cooking.
There are many kinds of beans available. Green or string (which refers to older varieties that required you to pull a string down the length of the bean before eating), yellow often referred to as wax beans as they are not always as velvety as the green, and now there are purple beans that are easy to find on the plant and turn green when cooked.
Whatever you name green beans, I hope you enjoy them frequently in the summer when they're at their peak. When they're seasonal and regional, there's nothing as tasty as boiled beans.
Please enjoy our fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert
Aug 10, 2010
Week 10, August 10, 2010
What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?
In Your CSA Bag
Potatoes
Beets or Kohlrabi
Corn
Zucchini
Carrots
Broccoli
Cucumber
Radish
Lettuce
Tomato
Garlic
Also at the Farm Stand
produced locally...*
Blueberries ~ grown in the valley
Maple Shade Farm ~ Maple Syrup
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Twiss Hill Farm ~ Chicken
Free range eggs
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Fusilli with Corn and Tomatoes
News from the Field
We are very fortunate to have such wonderful growing weather this season. Most vegetables like the heat as long as there is plenty of water too. Thanks to our irrigations system we are able to keep the plants growing and the workers are keeping the weeds at bay. It never seems like true summer until the sweet corn begins. We hope you have enjoyed the sweet corn you received last week. Last year our members waited through a cold and wet June and July only to be disappointed to hear that we had over 140 dozen of our corn stolen. It was taken right from the field, during the middle of the night. We have moved the corn closer to home this year hoping to prevent that from happening again. It was around 11 pm when the phone rang and it as the neighbor telling me that there were men and dogs in the corn. I panicked thinking it was the thieves from the year before. Then I calmed down and remembered that we had asked a local coon hunter to stop by.
Corn has many predators besides the two legged variety. Birds love to eat the seeds as they emerge from the ground. We cover the newly planted rows with row covers to help protect the seeds. Birds also like to be in the corn to eat the corn borer and ear worms. Skunks will chew the bottom of the stalk to make it fall over and easier to get to the ears. Bears will roll around and flatten the stalks and then eat some and leave the rest. Most notorious are the raccoons. They have such a keen sense of smell. They know exactly when that corn is ready. They did get into the first planting just as it was starting to ripen. Thanks to the hunters and dogs and the double strand of electric fence, we have seen little new damage. We also try to stay ahead of any bugs (traveling to us by the storms) by using our organic sprays.
This year we have tried 2 new varieties of corn. The first is a smaller ear called"Sweet Chorus" and the second is a larger variety just starting to ripen called "Sweet Rhythm". Let us know how you like these varieties.
Please enjoy your fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert
In Your CSA Bag
Potatoes
Beets or Kohlrabi
Corn
Zucchini
Carrots
Broccoli
Cucumber
Radish
Lettuce
Tomato
Garlic
Also at the Farm Stand
produced locally...*
Blueberries ~ grown in the valley
Maple Shade Farm ~ Maple Syrup
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Twiss Hill Farm ~ Chicken
Free range eggs
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Fusilli with Corn and Tomatoes
News from the Field
We are very fortunate to have such wonderful growing weather this season. Most vegetables like the heat as long as there is plenty of water too. Thanks to our irrigations system we are able to keep the plants growing and the workers are keeping the weeds at bay. It never seems like true summer until the sweet corn begins. We hope you have enjoyed the sweet corn you received last week. Last year our members waited through a cold and wet June and July only to be disappointed to hear that we had over 140 dozen of our corn stolen. It was taken right from the field, during the middle of the night. We have moved the corn closer to home this year hoping to prevent that from happening again. It was around 11 pm when the phone rang and it as the neighbor telling me that there were men and dogs in the corn. I panicked thinking it was the thieves from the year before. Then I calmed down and remembered that we had asked a local coon hunter to stop by.
Corn has many predators besides the two legged variety. Birds love to eat the seeds as they emerge from the ground. We cover the newly planted rows with row covers to help protect the seeds. Birds also like to be in the corn to eat the corn borer and ear worms. Skunks will chew the bottom of the stalk to make it fall over and easier to get to the ears. Bears will roll around and flatten the stalks and then eat some and leave the rest. Most notorious are the raccoons. They have such a keen sense of smell. They know exactly when that corn is ready. They did get into the first planting just as it was starting to ripen. Thanks to the hunters and dogs and the double strand of electric fence, we have seen little new damage. We also try to stay ahead of any bugs (traveling to us by the storms) by using our organic sprays.
This year we have tried 2 new varieties of corn. The first is a smaller ear called"Sweet Chorus" and the second is a larger variety just starting to ripen called "Sweet Rhythm". Let us know how you like these varieties.
Please enjoy your fresh organic vegetables!- Anne Tisbert
Aug 3, 2010
Week 9, August 3, 2010
What delicious organic veggies are available this week at Valley Dream Farm?
In Your CSA Bag this week:
Potatoes
Beets w/ greens
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Broccoli
Cucumber
Cabbage ~ Arrowhead, Green or Nappa
Gold Chard
Lettuce
Tomato
Herb ~ Basil
Also at the Farm Stand
produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup
Twiss Hill Farm ~ whole chicken
Free range eggs
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Anne's Quick Cheese Sauce
News from the Field
Are you wishing you had a few more vegetables each week?
If a single share is not enough give us a call and we will be happy to upgrade you (on a pro-rated basis) to a regular size share. Additional items are always available for purchase in the farm store or you can pre-order and receiver with your regular delivery.
Organic means that we do not use any synthetic chemicals or insecticides on your vegetables. So the cute little white butterflies that you see in the fields are actually pests looking to lay their eggs on their favorite crops. We do our best to remove any pests but as a precautionary measure we recommend you use a pre-soak or wash for all vegetables. See instructions for broccoli below. Some years we have more pressure than others, and this year there are almost none.
When you buy broccoli at the market it has been treated for tiny inch worms. For organic farm fresh broccoli you should soak it in a large pan or sink of cool water with a 1/2 cup of salt and a weighted plate on top. Leave for 15 minutes. Any worms will fall to the bottom of the sink. Remove broccoli and rinse. Then store in a plastic bag in the coldest pat of the fridge.
Broccoli is very high in vitamin C and is always popular at our house. When sitting down to a family dinner one of the children would hold up a piece of broccoli on their fork and ask Farmer Joe, "Dad, what kind of tree is this?" He would only pause for a second and say, "Oh, that's a Peach tree", soon to be followed by another child questioning "Well, what about this one?" "Oh yes, that's an apple tree", he would say and so it would continue until all their plates were clean and all the broccoli was gone. Now the kids are in their 20's and every once in a while when broccoli is served one of them will ask him again what type of tree they are about to eat. As we all chuckle, he continues with a straight face and says, "Well, that looks like a pear tree to me."
A new movement called "Slow Food" has started. You and your family can join in by spending meal times together. Make some of your own silly memories. Your kids are guaranteed to never let you forget.
Enjoy your fresh organic vegetables.
Anne Tisbert
In Your CSA Bag this week:
Potatoes
Beets w/ greens
Sweet Corn
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Broccoli
Cucumber
Cabbage ~ Arrowhead, Green or Nappa
Gold Chard
Lettuce
Tomato
Herb ~ Basil
Also at the Farm Stand
produced locally...*
Boyden Farm ~ beef
Maple Shade Farm ~ maple syrup
Twiss Hill Farm ~ whole chicken
Free range eggs
* These items are brought into our farm stand to give you a larger selection.
Recipes of the Week
Anne's Quick Cheese Sauce
News from the Field
Are you wishing you had a few more vegetables each week?
If a single share is not enough give us a call and we will be happy to upgrade you (on a pro-rated basis) to a regular size share. Additional items are always available for purchase in the farm store or you can pre-order and receiver with your regular delivery.
Organic means that we do not use any synthetic chemicals or insecticides on your vegetables. So the cute little white butterflies that you see in the fields are actually pests looking to lay their eggs on their favorite crops. We do our best to remove any pests but as a precautionary measure we recommend you use a pre-soak or wash for all vegetables. See instructions for broccoli below. Some years we have more pressure than others, and this year there are almost none.
When you buy broccoli at the market it has been treated for tiny inch worms. For organic farm fresh broccoli you should soak it in a large pan or sink of cool water with a 1/2 cup of salt and a weighted plate on top. Leave for 15 minutes. Any worms will fall to the bottom of the sink. Remove broccoli and rinse. Then store in a plastic bag in the coldest pat of the fridge.
Broccoli is very high in vitamin C and is always popular at our house. When sitting down to a family dinner one of the children would hold up a piece of broccoli on their fork and ask Farmer Joe, "Dad, what kind of tree is this?" He would only pause for a second and say, "Oh, that's a Peach tree", soon to be followed by another child questioning "Well, what about this one?" "Oh yes, that's an apple tree", he would say and so it would continue until all their plates were clean and all the broccoli was gone. Now the kids are in their 20's and every once in a while when broccoli is served one of them will ask him again what type of tree they are about to eat. As we all chuckle, he continues with a straight face and says, "Well, that looks like a pear tree to me."
A new movement called "Slow Food" has started. You and your family can join in by spending meal times together. Make some of your own silly memories. Your kids are guaranteed to never let you forget.
Enjoy your fresh organic vegetables.
Anne Tisbert
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