Week 9, July 31 - Aug 5, 2012

Available for you:

• Broccoli - 1 bunch 
• Carrots - 1 bunch 
• Summer Squash - 3/4 - 1 lb 
• Beets with greens - 1 bunch 
• Lettuce - 1 head 
• Kale, Green - 1 bunch 
• Swiss Chard - 1 bunch 
• Tomatoes - 1

Items available for Purchase:

Grown Locally:

• Corn – Non Organic Local!
• Organic Eggs – M & K Farm, Hyde Park 

Recipes of the week:

Broccoli Salad

Beet Kale Salad

Greetings Members!

The crew has been very busy this week picking for our wholesale sales and moving the irrigation around the farm to keep everything growing and watered.

Here is a reminder of how to care for your organic broccoli you should soak it in a sink full of cool water and 1/2 cup of salt. (start with warm water until salt is dissolved). I also put a heavy pie plate on top with a filled water jug set in it, to hold the broccoli under the salted water. Leave it soaking for 15 minutes and when you remove it if there any inch worms they will be at the bottom of your sink and not in your broccoli dinner. Rinse well with cold water before storing in a plastic bag in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Some years they are more prevalent than other years, but we never know. I have been soaking mine for the last 2-3 weeks and have not found any yet this season. That also means Farmer Joe is keeping ahead of controlling any cabbage/broccoli pests with organic sprays. Then your Broccoli will keep for almost two weeks when properly stored.

We hope you have enjoyed our weekly recipes. We really like trying them and so far they have all been as much fun to make as they are to eat. I have used several web sites that are our favorites and I thought I would share those sites with you. I just list the ingredient/s that I am looking for and the site usually pops up a few recipes from which to choose.

epicurious.com, wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes, allrecipes.com, and here is another great web site put out by VT intervale food hub using many of the local vegetables we also use. http://www.intervalefoodhub.com/recipes

Have a fun time looking for new recipes and trying them too.

Anne

Week 8, July 24-29, 2012

Available for you:

• Broccoli - 1 bunch 
• Carrots - 1 bunch 
• Cucumber - 1 
• Summer Squash - 3/4 - 1 lb 
• Beets with greens - 1 bunch 
• Kale, Green - 1 bunch 
• Swiss Chard - 1 bunch 
• Tomatoes - 1

Items available for Purchase:

Grown Locally:

Corn – Non Organic Local!

Organic Eggs – M & K Farm, Hyde Park 

Recipes of the Week:

Swiss Chard Bake

Carrot Top and Quinoa Soup

Greetings Members!

We have new items for you this week. Cukes and Squash have returned. We also have a few greens to replace the lettuce we are out of this week. It seems all that heat made the last planting of lettuce bolt and we are now between lettuce plantings. We hope to have more in your shares again in just a few weeks. So for now you will get to enjoy the other tasty greens we have to offer. Green Kale and Swiss Chard both have great recipes on our web site or at other sites on-line and you can always sauté with olive oil and garlic for a fail proof option.

Bunched carrots are new. This variety is called "Nelson" and we find it to be one of the sweetest. They are fun to eat raw or steamed up with a little butter. Chefs like to leave about an inch of greens on them just for a nice presentation on your plate. You can also use your carrot tops to garnish your dinner plate with a sprig, flavor your veggie stock, juice in your morning health shake, feed to some rabbits, make friends with the neighbors horse, or add to your compost pile.

Bunched Beets also have the greens attached. They are delicious. I remove the greens and sauté or boil them and eat like cooked spinach. The taste is a little stronger than spinach and is also great raw in toss salads for extra color. The beets are delicious hand washed or lightly brush washed and then boiled for about an hour. Do not cut, unless you want them to bleed out some of their color. They should be cooked until fork tender and then you can slip the skins right off them while holding the hot beets under cool running water. Try one beet first if the skin doesn't slip off then you can cook them ten minutes longer and try again. Slipping skins under water also keeps the red color off your hands too. Last week when cooking beets I cut a few in half and they gave the dish a two toned lighter color compared to the darker uncut beets in dish. The beets can then be used into recipes like cold salads, with a little vinegar in a bowl.

Broccoli again this week. Check last week's newsletter for how to care and store broccoli.  The tomatoes are a little slow this week but plenty of green ones to come again soon. 

Enjoy your produce!

Anne

Week 7, July 16-21, 2012

Available for you:

Baby Red Potatoes - 1 quart
Broccoli - 1 bunch
Summer Squash - 1 (just starting will be more soon!)
Kale - 1 bunch
Swiss Chard - 1 bunch
Lettuce – 1 head
Tomatoes - # TBD
Blueberries- 1/2 pint or more

Items available for Purchase:

Grown Locally:

Maple Syrup - Maple Shade Farm, Cambridge

Tomatoes – Our own!

Organic Eggs – M & K Farm, Hyde Park

Recipes of the week:
Blueberry Stuffed French Toast
Kale Saute

Greetings Members!

We have lots of new items for you this week.

Blueberries are here! We have been really busy picking blueberries for you this week. They are ripening, although it seems the bushes have quite a few green ones, still to ripen. This can be a good thing and we hope to get them for several weeks. They are so sweet and delicious. Eat them plain as a snack, in your favorite yogurt, to top off your breakfast cereal or try one of our wonderful blueberry desert recipes this week.

Broccoli is new this week too. To care for your organic broccoli you should soak it in a sink full of cool water and 1/2 cup of salt. (start with warm water until salt is dissolved). I also put a heavy pie plate on top with a filled water jug set in it, to hold the broccoli under the salted water. Leave it soaking for 15 minutes and when you remove it if there any inch worms they will be at the bottom of your sink and not in your broccoli dinner. Rinse well with cold water before storing in a plastic bag in the coldest part of your refrigerator. Some years they are more prevalent than other years, but we never know. Broccoli will keep for almost two weeks when properly stored.

Summer Squash are also arriving. We can see all the blossoms but they are starting slow, this may change as the rains may increase the numbers as the week progresses. Swiss Chard is finally here and oh so yummy. Jay says he likes it so much better than spinach. The heat makes all the spinach bolt (go to seed) which is very common when it is so hot. But Swiss Chard which has a similar taste, and is easily replaceable in all spinach recipes, loves the warmer weather and seems to be more tolerant of the heat. Tomatoes are a little slower this week too, but plenty of green ones to come again soon. Enjoy your produce!

Anne

Week 6, July 8-12, 2012

Available for you:

• Baby Red Potatoes - 1 quart 
• Cukes - euro or field** 
• Green Onions - 1 bunch 
• Garlic Scapes or green Garlic - 1 bunch 
• Kale - 1 bunch 
• Lettuce – reg. 2 heads
• Tomatoes - 4 M-L + 3 sm
• FREE - 4" pot of Flowers 

**We have supplemented your share with a few veggies from our organic friends at Foote Brooke Farm

Items available for Purchase:

Grown Locally:

• Maple Syrup - Maple Shade Farm, Cambridge
• Tomatoes – Our own!
• Organic Eggs – M & K Farm, Hyde Park 

Recipes of the Week:

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Easy Tomato Pie

Kale Crunch Chips

Kale Salad

Greetings Members!

It seems we are having the best weather year. I can't remember us having one like this with just the right amounts of sunshine, rain, and warm days too. Of course this means that the plants are growing very nicely. It seems that the weeds are trying to compete with the plants and grow even faster.

We are ready to share our flowers, so this week all members will be receiving free flowers with their CSA. If you get your share delivered and are out for a drive stop by the farm and pick up your 4" pot or 6-pack of flowers.

Kale is new this week. Many of you have been patiently awaiting its arrival. Our favorite Kale Chips recipe is on the back. Kale is also great when thrown into soups like a veggie. Kale is one of the most nutritious foods for you. It can be tough if not cooked enough. Real experienced Kale lovers can eat it raw or in salads, but not me - I guess I'm just a wimp that likes it in chips or sautéed up with whatever vegetables we have on hand.

If you have not noticed we are having a huge flush of tomatoes. So when we get this many at once, we give you as many as possible, sell to all the local markets we can, and we process a bunch for winter and we also eat more tomatoes. Last night we had a chopped version of a Caprise Salad - which is tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella with a drizzle of olive oil. Simple and delicious.

There are many tomatoes available, call us if you would like to process (freezing or canning) or maybe try making homemade salsa. There are two tomato recipes on the back for you to try.

Enjoy your produce!

Anne

Week 5, July 2-7, 2012

Available for you:

• Baby Red Potatoes - 1 quart 
• Cukes - euro or field cuke** 
• Zucchini** - 1 
• Garlic Scapes - 1 bunch 
• Peas - 1/2 pint (regulars only) 
• Napa Cabbage - 1 head 
• Lettuce – 2 head (singles 1 head) 
• Tomatoes - four (singles 3) 

**We have supplemented your share with a few veggies from our organic friends at Foote Brooke Farm

Items available for Purchase:

MEMBERS SALE! Flowers -- Buy one get two free!

Grown Locally:

• Maple Shade Farm – Maple Syrup: all sizes available.
• Tomatoes – Our own!
• Eggs – M & K Farm organic eggs, Hyde Park - get them early we sold out last week!

Recipes of the Week

Rice Noodle Salad

Sauteed Nappa Cabbage

Roasted Red Potatoes with Garlic Scapes

Greetings Members!

Things are really busy on the farm with a list of chores waiting to be done every day. Here is what the crew has been up to lately. Joe is in the fields as early as 5:30am, trying to keep up with all this wonderful weather. Between managing the produce greenhouses and the farm he has been hilling potatoes, cultivating weeds, and running new irrigation to anything dry during hot spells. Everything is growing so well, cucumbers, potatoes, broccoli, sweet corn, and snap beans, just to mention a few items that you can look forward to receiving in July. Amy has kept the farm stand and greenhouse neat, clean and fully stocked with our ever increasing produce, as well as packing all the CSA deliveries. Jackie and Tommy have been busy at our Friday evening farmer's market in Essex. Mira and Sally have been removing bulbs and weeds from our front sign garden, finishing out our greenhouse stand in Jeffersonville and taking Jay with them to our new South Burlington Farmers market on Sundays. Jon who has also been putting in some long field hours and Jordan have been working hard finishing our new wash and pack room. Heidi has been making sure our deliveries go smooth and timely. I am busy keeping you informed while marketing, delivering and keeping the flower and seedling greenhouse organized. Shane has been doing a great job in the fields while he and our tireless field crew of Doris, Victor and Anna (as well as himself, Jon and Joe) all plant, harvest, maintain and weed all the plants to bring you the best tasting vegetables each week. On top of all this Wendy, our highly organized bookkeeper, manages all our endless notes of paper, and receipts while keeping all the payroll and account books straightened out, so we can continue at our busy pace. Working hard now means great veggies all season long.

Enjoy your produce! HAPPY 4th of July!! 

Anne

P.S. Members only can order a discounted MAPLE SYRUP SHARE . Get two half gallons for $55.00 grade B. CALL to Order.