October 27, 2013 by kharner

Cold Weather Preparations

With this last week’s morning temperatures in the mid to early 20s, we feel really good to have most of the fall work completed. The feeling of satisfaction is a great feeling.

Harvesting

We harvested the last of the popcorn - the blue and the white popcorn. The ears were so high up on the corn that Sam could not reach them. He had to stand in his Red Flyer wagon to reach them to harvest.

We harvested the last of the popcorn – the blue and the white popcorn. It was a good harvest. A surprise we did not expect this kind of yield. Looking forward to shelling the popcorn this week.

Keith was tall enough to reach the ears to harvest the popcorn. But, the ears were so high up on the corn that Sam could not reach them. He had to stand in his Red Flyer wagon to reach them to harvest. We told the boys that this is the way their Grandpa used to have to harvest an entire field of corn when he was a kid. They were more than happy to have the opportunity to ride in Grandpa’s combine and compare the difference. Mechanization is a great thing! It not only makes the jobs easier and more enjoyable but it also improves efficiencies to grow more food for more people to decrease on starvation that would otherwise occur.

The popcorn ears were beautiful and did have some cross pollination between the varieties meaning some of the blue popcorn had a few white kernels and some of the white popcorn ears had a few blue kernels. We plan to shell it this week.

The popcorn ears were beautiful and did have some cross-pollination between the varieties. This means that some of the blue popcorn had a few white kernels and some of the white popcorn ears had a few blue kernels.

After harvesting the popcorn, Sam wanted to take the lead in cutting down the stalks.

He completed this task of cutting all of the popcorn stalks down by himself. To say he was exhausted and proud would be an understatement.

Keith assisted Steve with the shredding. Keith has been a real trooper with this project. It can be fun when you get to shred “cool” stuff like tomatoes, kohlrabi, carrots etc. But it can be a laborious job.

Sam is my awesome tomato harvester. Before our first frost was expected, Sam and I were out harvesting as many tomatoes as we could find. This included using a head lamp for a light. I wish I could have gotten a great photo of him wearing his Lightening McQueen headlamp. Keith and Steve did get home to help with the end of this project as well.

We also had a small test plot of sweet potatoes. We tried growing them last year, and it did not work. This year some grew, but we will be lucky to get one meal out of what was produced.

Sam wanted to close a few boxes with just a little bit of air flow and the others are open. We then placed them in the basement, and the waiting begins.

Sam wanted to close a few boxes with just a little bit of air flow, and the others are open to see if this makes a difference in how the tomatoes ripen. We then placed them in the basement, and the waiting begins.

Another science experiment was to place a floating row cover on top of some of the cold season crops: lettuce varieties, spinach, carrots, radishes and also beets. We want to see how it will protect the crops, and how cold it can get both outside of the cover and underneath the cover before the crops will die.

Recipe of the Week

Sam and I made this recipe this week. I double the recipe and put half of the dough in the freezer to bake another week. Definitely improves my efficiencies as a mom. I also love baking with the kids. A great way to talk about where the ingredients come from, and who we know that grows those crops. We used our squash and homemade applesauce in this recipe. I was so busy mixing and making sure that the flour wasn’t flying across the kitchen and simply having fun with him that I neglected to take photos…another time.

It also is a great way to discuss fractions and numbers. After we were done mixing the muffin batter, I gave Sam a tub, water and the mixing cups and measuring spoons, and we played in the water learning about the fractions and what they meant.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 – 16 ounce can pumpkin (squash)

1 1/2 cups applesauce

3 cups flour

2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups miniature chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Time: 16-20 minutes

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin and applesauce until smooth. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in mini chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake until they test done. Cool in pan for about minutes before removing to wire rack.

Source: Debbie Sundquist from Prayers for Parker Cookbook

October 16, 2013 by kharner

Garden Clean-Up

With the weather changing and getting colder, we have worked hard to clean out the garden. We also wanted to complete as much work as possible before the weather turned colder, and before it rained. We were fortunate to receive 1 3/10″ of rain this past week.

As we were working late last Wednesday night, I said to the kids, “Look, do you see our neighbors are out working late to get the crops in and doing field work because everyone is racing the weather?”

Keith quickly replied, “Yeah, but we are the only ones doing it by hand.”

I had to laugh at how quick-witted he was on his response, and I reminded him of our goals to get more equipment to improve the process…which also meant keep your sleeves rolled up and work hard. If you want something, you have to work for it:)

Garden Science

As we cleaned up the garden, some of the produce that was passed its prime was fed to the chickens. They absolutely love this!

Keith’s first time having the responsibility to drive the lawn tractor to move supplies after pulling up the mulch and stakes etc. Can you tell, he was a little over joyed at this new privilege and responsibility.

We shed as many of the plants as possible to break them down faster, and they become green manure. The kids have been given safety instructions and wear ear protection, and we also encourage eye protection as well.

We shed the plants to break them down faster so they become nutrients for the soil. The kids have been given strict safety instructions and wear ear and eye protection. It definitely is no surprise, that if you have a cool, fun tool the boys are definitely more interested in the project.

Keith wanted to shred his giant kohlrabi experiment. They think it is so cool to shred the different vegetables.

Keith wanted to shred his giant kohlrabi experiment. It was funny to see that the main kohlrabi grew about four baby kohlrabi on the original plant. They think it is so cool to shred the different vegetables.

While all of this is going on, Sam makes sure to take time to tame the kittens and bring them down to see what is going on.

The shredded materials were tilled in and a seed bed was prepared for some additional green manure.

The shredded materials were tilled in and a seed bed was prepared so that we could plant a cover crop.

This year we planted rye grass and tillage radishes. We hope that the rye grass will provide some good nutrients as it grows this fall and then again in the spring and that the radishes will provide some needed aeration to the soil. We are also curious to see if any of this assists with insect control (ex. potato bugs) as well. In the end, we hope the results will provide better plant health and better plant production next growing season. Pictured is Keith showing the rye seed.

So after the seed was sowed, Keith was very excited to be given the responsibility of dragging the ground to incorporate the seed.

So after the seed was sown, Keith was very excited to be given the responsibility of dragging the ground to incorporate the seed.

Sam checked to see if any of the Marigolds he planted made it through the tilling and dragging. He was happy to see that indeed one did! We believe we will have quite a few Marigolds growing on their own next spring – maybe this will draw in beneficial insects earlier to eat potato bug larva.

We have also been checking the progress of the popcorn. These windy fall days have helped the ears of corn to dry down. We are hoping to shell them at the end of the month.

Recipe of the Week

When I was in 4-H, one of my foods project was a pie crust. So that summer, I tried countless numbers of pie crust recipes. This is the pie crust that passed the tests of my brothers, my parents and my Grandpa. My poor family had to try so many different recipes over the years. At least I had extremely honest brothers (sometimes to honest) and a very frank Grandpa to let me know what they really thought of the recipes.

One of my fondest memories was my deal I made with my Grandpa to be an official taste tester for my 4-H foods projects. My Grandma had passed away before I was born and so this provided Grandpa with fresh baked goods on a regular basis and was frankly a fun way to connect with him. I told him I wanted to win blues if not purples on the 4-H foods projects, and I needed him to be very honest with me and very specific about what he did or did not like about recipes. He didn’t let me down. Over the years, together with my families help and Grandpa’s frankness we were able to accomplish quite a bit of success and some good memories along the way.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour

1 cup Crisco

2 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg yolk

1/3 cup milk

Cut together flour, Crisco, sugar and salt. Then mix in with fork milk and egg yolk. May be stored several days in fridge. When pie is all assembled brush top of crust with milk to make golden brown. Cover outside edges with aluminum foil, remove with 5-10 minutes left in baking time. This will prevent crust from burning.

Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from the back of the Festal pumpkin can.

15 oz of pumpkin or frozen squash

1 pie crust (see above)

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup granulated sugar or light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon EACH of cloves, nutmeg and ginger

1 cup milk or evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare 1 pie curst. Combine eggs, sugar, salt and spices and beat well. blend in pumpkin or squash, add milk and beat well. Pour into pastry lined pie pan. Bake at 450 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bake at 350 degrees F. for 40-45 minutes. Pie is done when knife, inserted in center, comes out clean.

Divide your dough into two balls. Place one ball of dough on a floured pastry cloth. Flatten your ball out with your side of your hand, pressing down on it 3 times each way. Basically looks like tic-tac-toe. Roll out into a circle.

To place into your pie plate, using your rolling pin, start on one side of your dough and gently roll it around your rolling pin. Place it over your pie plate and unroll it over your pie plate. Roll your crust’s edge under to make your crust. I made the fluted edge by pressing my thumb against my pointer finger when my hand was in the shape of a fist.

After your pie filling is mixed together, pour it into your pie pan.

Cover the crust of your pie with aluminum foil so the crust does not burn. Place in the oven. Sometimes I remove the foil with about 10 minutes left in the baking and sometimes I remove it after I have taken the pie out of the oven. Just depends on how the pie is baking that day.

Enjoy the pie with some whipped topping! Happy Baking!

October 11, 2013 by kharner

Find the Balance

We planted Marigolds in this year's garden to see if they would generate beneficial insects that would eat potato bugs. I think they may have assisted a little, but not to the level that we needed.

We planted Marigolds this year to see if they would draw beneficial insects into the garden to eat potato bugs. I think they may have assisted a little, but not to the level that we needed.

As we clean out the garden, the boys have had some interesting questions. One that I find the most interesting is…”Why are we done for the year?” This is amusing. It wasn’t more than a few weeks ago that we were trying to do our best to be encouraging and trying to find creative ways to make sure they were helping, learning and having fun.

This year’s lesson during the growing season for the boys… “If we work together, we have time to play together.” We set the timer for a 1/2 hour to complete a garden project together, and when the timer went off, we would play baseball or football together.

We constantly are striving to find the balance to teach them a good work ethic, while keeping it fun, knowing how hard to push and when to say, “Yes, you can play with the kittens or ride bike.” Or, “Yes, you have been working hard. Go ahead and get some M&Ms from the M&M tree.” Or “Yes, you have been working hard. I made a special snack. (O’Henry Bars, chocolate chip cookies or chocolate raspberry pie.)”

So as we wind down, I thought it would be fun to make a Harvest Feast meal for the kids. Keeping it fun, providing encouragement to finish off the project and a celebration for the work that has been accomplished. Below you will find the first in a series of recipes used for the Harvest Feast.

Garden Science

Once the Marigold flower dies, the flower dies and the seeds are left.

Once the Marigold flower dies, the dead, dried flower and the seeds within are left.

The kids were amazed at how many seeds were found in just one flower. It will be interesting to see how many Marigolds reseed themselves next spring, and if we have an increase in beneficial insects for potato bug control.

The kids were amazed at how many seeds were found in just one dead flower. It will be interesting to see how many Marigolds re-seed themselves next spring, and if we have an increase in beneficial insects for potato bug control.

The boys had fun planting the seeds in different areas of the garden and watching them grow. It was fun to share this science with the children in this year’s CSA. Seeds can be kept until next year in a paper envelope and planted next spring.

Recipe of the Week

This is a family favorite. Lefse is part of my family heritage, a cultural food from Scandinavia. I remember making lefe throughout my life, and love sharing this with our boys. I am thankful that I have a husband that also loves this food. The boys were extremely excited to make this. In fact Sam said, ” Lefse, I can’t wait. We haven’t made this in such a long time. I love it!”

Lefse

Dash of salt

4 cups of cooked potatoes

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup cream

1 Tablespoon sugar

Mash together the above ingredients. Place in refrigerator to cool for at least 4 hours to 24 hours. When cool add 3/4 cup flour to every 1 cup potatoes. As potatoes get colder use less flour. Mix together and form into logs. Cut each potato log into 4-5 pieces. Roll out like a pie crust to about 1/4 inch or thinner. Fry on grill heated for 425-500 degrees. Lefse will look similar to a quesadilla. Spread with butter and sugar and roll up. Enjoy!

Potato lefse begins with mashed potatoes mixed with butter, cream and sugar. We use our “misfit” potatoes. Potatoes that were odd shapes, really small or that we stabbed with the potato fork while digging.

After mixing together the cold potato mix and the flour, the mixture is shaped into logs and cut into about 5 pieces.

The balls of potatoes are shapped into circles and rolled out until they are about 1/4 inch thick.

The balls of potatoes are flattened out, shapped into circles and rolled out until they are about 1/4 inch thick.

Using a lefse stick, they are then gently rolled out onto a lefse grill. We have two grills. One of our grills is my Grandma Rialson's.

Using a lefse stick, they are then gently lifted from the pastry cloth and rolled out onto a lefse grill. We have two grills. One of our grills is my Grandma’s.

Our lefse sticks also hold meaning. Some are from my Grandma Railson. Keith noticed Grandma's signature on his. Some Steve has made and another is from a family friend. The sticks are used to gently pat bubbles out of the lefse as it is cooked and then used to flip the lefse over to grill each side until light brown spots form. Once cooked on both sides the lefse is placed between a couple kitchen towels and wrapped up to prevent the edges from drying. When all the lefse is cooked, the stack of lefse is quite high!

Our lefse sticks also hold meaning. Some are from my Grandma. Keith noticed Grandma’s signature on his. Steve has also made a few and another is from a family friend. The sticks are used to gently pat bubbles out of the lefse as it is cooked and then used to flip the lefse over to grill each side until light brown spots form. Once cooked on both sides the lefse is placed between a couple of kitchen towels and wrapped up to prevent the edges from drying. When all the lefse is cooked, the stack of lefse is quite high!

Making lefse does take some skill. This is how proud Sam was after flipping his lefse on the grill. The biggest reward … the awesome taste of fresh lefse with butter and sugar on it and rolled up. We love it! We cooled we then package it up into Ziplock bags and freeze. Thaw out as needed and enjoy!

October 2, 2013 by kharner

Harvest Feast

This past week, we have pushed real hard to clean out the garden: finish harvesting, take the trellis' down and put away, mulch the plants and till the garden. The boys were great help. Keith received a promotion of sorts and was given his first jack knife and helped cut string. He was very excited about this new found responsibility.

This past week, we have pushed real hard to clean out the garden. We worked to finish harvesting certain vegetables, take the trellis’ down and put away, mulch the plants and till the garden. The boys were great help. Keith received a promotion of sorts and was given his first jack-knife and helped cut string. He was very excited about this new-found responsibility.

As we gathered around the table tonight, we discussed what we liked most out of our garden. Answers ranged from popcorn to potatoes and squash to lettuce and onions to sugar snap peas and green beans. The good news is for the most part we are growing what we enjoy eating, and we hope that we are also growing what all of you enjoy as well. The surveys indicate that we are. Thank you to everyone who has returned the year-end surveys. Your feedback is extremely valuable input to ensure that we are providing what your families enjoy eating.

We also discussed our family harvest feast. I have decided that this weekend we need to have a family feast containing items grown in the garden. The boys deserve something fun to celebrate all of their hard work, and what kid doesn’t like a “party.” I don’t know that it will be quite the well-balanced meal I usually serve, but it should be fun. Their ideas for food included pumpkin pie, lefse and onion rings. I will let you know how it goes.

Even thought we still have popcorn to deliver to all of you in the upcoming weeks, it is fitting to say a big THANK YOU to all of you from all of us. We have greatly enjoyed working with you and for you and sincerely appreciate the trust you have put in us to provide your family with fresh produce. We really do enjoy our visits with you and the opportunity to see everyone learning from this opportunity.

Garden Science

We harvested the strawberry popcorn this weekend. It appeared the raccoons were starting to enjoy it.

We husked the white popcorn and decided it to along with the blue popcorn needs to dry down some more. Interesting to note that the ears are so much larger then the strawberry popcorn. Also,the blue popcorn was able to catch up in plant height even after being planted about a month later then the other varities of popcorn. Also, the blue popcorn had pollination challenges due in part by the weather. By pollination issues, I mean that the ear of corn is not filled out with kernels. Learn more here about corn pollinations.

We husked the white popcorn and decided it along with the blue popcorn need to dry down some more. Interesting to note that the ears are so much larger than the strawberry popcorn. Also, the blue popcorn was able to catch up in plant height even after being planted about a month later than the other varieties of popcorn. Also, the blue popcorn had pollination challenges due in part by the weather. By pollination issues, I mean that the ear of corn is not filled out with kernels.

Learn more about corn pollination here. It really is quite interesting!

Boxes of Produce

All the potatoes are dug! I always find this to be a treasurer hunt. You never know how many potatoes you will find or what size they will be. To me, it simply is one of the most exciting parts of gardening. So excited to find the Masquerade potatoes.

Reminder please return any cups or plastic containers and your box. We will connect with you when the popcorn is ready. You can either return it before then or at that time. Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your produce before eating. Please fill out and return year-end survey which was sent to you via email this weekend. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Black Seeded Simpson Elite Lettuce – One of my favorite garden crops. Quick fact video about lettuce from America’s Heartland.

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce – reddish lettuce

Prizehead – is the spear like green leaf.

Beet leaves – Some young beets are available.

Spinach – a taste for you. It finally grew this year! I think it was our fourth try.

Tomatoes – Fourth of July (medium size red), Black Krim, Big Boy, Brandywine and super sweet cherry tomatoes 100. Check out how tomatoes are grown hydroponically.

Peppers – They are plentiful this year. Here are a few recipe ideas.

Onions – A few fresh onions to put in a recipe here or there. I think we will give one of these recipes a try for homemade onion rings. An interesting video on onion harvest in Idaho and food safety.

Green Beans – Enjoy the Providers – 1/2 of you received them last week and 1/2 this week.

Sugar Snap Peas – 1/2 of you received them last week and 1/2 this week. Did you know that Minnesota is the largest grower of peas for processing – producing more than any other U.S. state each year?

Potatoes – This week’s box contains Yukon Gold, Masquerade, blue potatoes and Norlands (red potato).

Butternut or Carnival Squash – Butternut is a favorite for many. Carnival is a decorative, gourd like squash with a nutty flavor. It is a hybrid of Sweet Dumpling and an Acorn squash and has a shelf-life of up to three to four months. See recipe below as another way to use this vegetable.

Herbs – Cilantro, parsley, golden oregano and rosemary. Don’t forget to wash and freeze these in ice-cube trays – great for soups later this winter.

Fresh cut arrangement – Sedum, Enjoy these as a fresh or dry arrangement. Something most of you may have in your garden, but more than likely don’t take the time to bring them inside. Hope they bring a smile to your face.

Recipe of the Week

This is a favorite in our house. Super easy to make and super moist bread. Enjoy!

State Fair Pumpkin Bread

Begin by combining the dry ingredients: 1 2/3 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter, softened, 1 teaspoon soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and a pinch of salt.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Begin recipe by combining the dry ingredients: 1 2/3 cups flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup butter, softened, 1 teaspoon soda, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves and a pinch of salt.

Next, I have already thawed out some of my frozen squash.

Add: 2 eggs,
1 cup canned pumpkin/squash, and 1/3 cup cold water. Mix.

Simply love using the variety of eggs from our chickens. Did you know that hens (female chickens), once mature about 4 months old, will lay about one egg every 24-26 hours. They will begin by laying smaller eggs. As they grow older, they molt (lose feather). During the molting period their body rests. And then they grow their feathers back and begin laying again. Laying a larger egg then they did before. This is a cycle and how we get peewee, small, medium, large, extra large and jumbo sized eggs.

Simply love using the variety of eggs from our chickens. Did you know that hens (female chickens), once mature about 4-5 months old, will lay about one egg every 24-26 hours. They will begin by laying smaller eggs. As they grow older, they molt (lose feathers). During the molting period, their body rests. And then they grow their feathers back and begin laying again. Laying a larger egg then they did before. This is a cycle, and how we get pee wee, small, medium, large, extra-large and jumbo sized eggs.

I bake mine in smaller loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Take out of the oven. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and tip out onto cooling rack. Enjoy!

State Fair Pumpkin Bread

1 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin/squash

1/3 cup cold water

Combine flour, sugar, butter, soda, spices and salt in a bowl. Add 1/3 cup cold, eggs and pumpkin; mix well. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Cool on wire rack.

Source: Blue Ribbon Favorites favorite recipes of Minnesota 4-H Families, Pat Kuznik, West Polk County

The boys love this bread. It really is delicious right out of the oven and for a few days after you bake it (if it lasts that long)!

Harner Brothers CSA

Homegrown Produce for Consumers who Desire the Joys of a Garden.

Month: October 2013

Cold Weather Preparations

Harvesting