Field notes Despite the changing colors of the trees, and the increasing number of our fields planted with protective and nourishing cover crops, we are busy harvesting! The tomatoes keep producing and the root crops are abundant. It is turning out to be quite a plentiful and delicious fall.
Bounty hunting The fields are yielding such bounty this season, and our CSA members continue to receive an incredible share of the harvest! For those of you who were with us through the tomato blight of 2009, this is your payback for staying loyal and sharing in the risk of farming with us! Not every year will be this good so we are delighted to be able to share this abundance with all of our CSA members, as well as our wonderful farmstand and market customers. You can still join us for the fresh greens and storage crops of the next season with our Fall Farm Share.
Your farm share this week…
A view from the farm
The Thetford Elementary School gardens are gorgeous and are providing bounty for the students.
New at the farmstand From the fields come celeriac, leeks, & gourds. New and returning offerings from the kitchen include crushed tomatoes, radish kimchi, ginger carrots, chocolate pudding, & a new cookie: chocolate chip cranberry oatmeal. Perfect for fall mornings is Truckenbrod’s stonecracked four-grain porridge made with certified organic grains: Cedar Circle Farm wheat, Butterworks corn and rye, and oats from La Meunerie Milanaise in Quebec. Learn more about the benefits of whole grains.
Ahhhh . . . crisp, cool fall greens Fall is such a treat. Every year we are amazed at the beauty of the turning leaves and the abundance of the harvested season. Once you become comfortable with hearty greens you begin to realize how versatile and interchangeable they are in recipes. Couple that with their long storage, high nutritional content, and how easy they are to grow and you’ll want to eat them with every meal.
Any fall greens will do for Elise’s Braised Greens. If you use red chard or beet greens the finished dish will have a pinkish hue. Stick with kale or collards if you want to keep it green. Creamed Spinach and Beets makes an excellent side along with mashed potatoes, turnips or bean salad. Crispy Kale is now a staple food at Thetford Elementary School where the students request to grow LOTS of kale. It’s better than popcorn and potato chips and super easy to make!.
A cut above A great cut for greens is a chiffonade, (pronounced chef-fon-nahd), a culinary term for finely slicing leafy herbs or vegetables. Learn how.
Preserving the harvest? Tomatoes for sauce, salsa, & paste. Our amazing deal of 15 lb of tomatoes for $25 is still going! The frosts are coming, get them while you can!
Pumpkin Festival volunteers needed Please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to register as a volunteer for this year’s Pumpkin Festival on October 9. Kitchen help is also needed Friday and Saturday before the festival!
Pumpkin Patch Tours Bring your school or group to the farm for a Pumpkin Patch Tour! Tractor-drawn wagon rides to the pumpkin patch and educational activities are a popular fall event on the farm. Educational tours could include seasonal crops, farm equipment, growing practices, visiting the fields, food storage. . .whatever might fit your school curriculum or interests. Find out more!
Fall Cooking Classes Our first fall cooking class is almost here! Want to know why we love lactofermentation? Find out. Learn even more by attending Ferment! Kimchee & Sauerkraut on September 25th or October 1st.
See you at the farm!
Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center Crew
[ September 16, 2011 ]
