Month: September 2022

Mother Nature’s stark reminder
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Mother Nature’s stark reminder

This morning’s cold temperature was a stark reminder of why the end of the CSA is in sight. As much as we love the fresh produce, the Minnesota season’s change without our consent.

This weekend, we harvested the popcorn, and began drying that out. The ornamental corn really struggled this year and had very little production. So, no ornamental corn this year, and thus, no corn shocks. We also finished digging potatoes and sweet potatoes. The potato production was a pleasant surprise given the dry growing season. All pumpkins, squash and gourds are also harvested, and the last of the beans and cucumbers were harvested this week.

This morning’s cold temperature was a stark reminder of why the end of the CSA is in sight. As much as we love the fresh produce, the Minnesota season’s change without our consent.
Harvesting Sweet Potatoes

So, what’s left? A lot! There is plenty of kohlrabi, but it appears to be waiting for a nice rain to finish growing. We also have eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, watermelon, beets and carrots. I will cut the spinach and lettuce back to see if the bugs will leave them alone and see how they grow back this week to get another harvest from them as well.

Bottom line next week is the bonus box and the last box for this year’s CSA. Mother Nature is in control, and unfortunately, it is time to wrap this growing season up.

Boxes of Produce

This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list. Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.

Dragon Tongue Beans

Dragon Tongue Beans – Last week of beans.

Dark Red Beets – One more week for red beets. I have started skinning them and cutting them up for my salads. It is a great addition and has good health benefits.

Carrots –You may notice a few carrots where the potato fork may have broken them off in digging. Here are some ways to use your carrots from Martha Stewart.

Cucumbers – Last of the cucumbers this week.

Eggplant – Learn how to use this vegetable here.

Oh, what beautiful colors of peppers.

Peppers – A variety from sweet to mild to hot! The variety of peppers this week primarily are yummy pepper, carnival blend and jungle pepper. The hot ones are marked as such and are only in a few boxes for those that have indicated that they like hot peppers.

Red Norland
Yukon Gold
Masquerade

Potatoes – Red Norland, Yukon Gold and a few Masquerade and blue potatoes this week.

Sweet Potatoes – Yum! Our favorite way to prepare them is to make sweet potato fries. Enjoy!

Onion – Cut up and freeze your onion to add quickly to a meal that you are making. I think the dry weather affected their size this year.

Winter Squash – A variety to choose from: kuri, carnival and spaghetti squash.

Tomatoes – Fourth of July, yellow and Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomatoes this week. Let us know if you would like some for canning.

PUrple Cabbage

Cabbage – The last cabbage of the season. Check out this week’s recipe and actually try it not just as a side dish for tacos, but also in your taco.

Watermelon – Who doesn’t love watermelon? Enjoy!

Recipe of the Week

Easy Taco Slaw

4 cups shredded cabbage (from 1/2 small head)

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 medium scallions, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, grated

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (optional)

1 clove garlic, mince

Freshly ground black pepper

Place the shredded cabbage in a colander set over a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Massage and squeeze the cabbage with your hands to help it release its liquid and begin wilting. Set aside to drain for about 15 minutes.

Place the mayonnaise and lime juice in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Using your hands, squeeze the cabbage of its excess liquid one handful at a time and place in the bowl of dressing. Add the grated carrot, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño (if using), and garlic, and toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.

Source: Kitchn

Then there was One
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Then there was One

The fall weather is upon us. The crops are changing colors, and the smells of fall are in the air. Where has the time gone? There is one week left in the CSA with a bonus week the following week. Because there is a ton of harvesting to be done, it will be a busy weekend at our place.

This past weekend, 99% of the pumpkins, gourds and winter squash were harvested. A few needed a bit of extra time on the vine. Several started growing after the nice shot of rain that we received late summer. So now that they are out, we need to dive into the task of harvesting everything else!

So take a deep breath, there’s one more week left of this year’s CSA. Carve out some time and preserve your produce. Thank you to the Tracy family for sharing their favorite tomato soup recipe with us which is this week’s featured recipe.

Garden Science

The fall weather is upon us. The crops are changing colors, and the smells of fall are in the air. Where has the time gone? There is one week left in the CSA with a bonus week the following week. Because there is a ton of harvesting to be done, it will be a busy weekend at our place.
Hummingbird moth is the common name used for the genus Hemaris, which include: Hummingbird Hawk-Moth, Sphinx moth, Common Clearwing Hummingbird moth, Snowberry Clearwing Hummingbird moth, Five-Spotted Hawkmoth, and White-Lined Sphinx.

Learn more from the Farmer’s Almanac on the Hummingbird moth.

Boxes of Produce

This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list. Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.

Spinach/Black Seeded Simpson/Red Oak Leaf Mix – You will notice that there has been insect pressure on the spinach eating small holes in some of the leaves. The last crop of these plants are ready to be harvested.

Dark Red Beets – Learn more about the health benefits of eating beats from the Mayo Clinic. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Eggplant – Learn how to use this vegetable here.

An interesting varigated kohlrabit grew this year.

Kohlrabi – Here are a few ways to use kohlrabi from Martha Stewart.

Carrots –You may notice a few carrots where the potato fork may have broken them off in digging. Here are some ways to use your carrots from Martha Stewart.

Cucumbers – Let us know if you would like to make pickles and would like dill. Here are cucumber recipes from Martha Stewart.

Dragon Tongue Beans – Last week of beans. Think about ways to preserve them so your family can enjoy them this winter. Perhaps you don’t have time to can … maybe make them in a soup and freeze the soup for a quick meal.

Harvesting peppers together.

Peppers – A variety from sweet to mild to hot! The variety of peppers this week primarily are yummy pepper, carnival blend and jungle pepper. The hot ones are marked as such and are only in a few boxes for those that have indicated that they like hot peppers.

Potatoes – Yukon Gold and a few Masquerade potatoes this week. Learn more about these potatoes here. Check out this week’s recipe below for potato bread.

Sweet Potatoes – Yum! Our favorite way to prepare them is to make sweet potato fries. Enjoy!

Pumpkins – A few pumpkins for decorating.

Onion – Cut up and freeze your onion to add quickly to a meal that you are making. I think the dry weather affected their size this year.

Summer Squash – Check out these recipes from Farm Flavor.

Winter Squash – A variety to choose from: butternut, kuri, carnival and spaghetti squash.

Tomatoes – Fourth of July, yellow and Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomatoes this week. Let us know if you would like some for canning.

Zucchini – So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. Check out these interesting facts about this vegetable on LiveStrong. Try this pasta primavera recipe from Martha Stewart.

Fresh cut arrangement – Hydrangeas and Sedum

Hydrangeas and Sedum

Recipe of the Week

Fourth of July Tomatoes

Thank you to the Tracy family for sharing one of their favorite recipes with us. Make in bulk in store for a quick meal in the winter.

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)

2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish

3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup heavy cream Croutons, for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that’s left. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and/or croutons.

Source: Ina Garten on Food Network

The Effort is Worth It
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The Effort is Worth It

The Minnesota State Fair is a wrap. It’s the pinnacle for people who participate. For our family, showing 4-H projects at the state fair is the culmination of work over the past year.

Minnesota is one of the few states, if not the only at least for the larger livestock states where 4-Hers need to qualify by their placement at the county fair in order to show at the state fair. For the boys to show swine and vegetables, they had to place in the state fair line-up for their pigs (livestock) and for their vegetables (general project) in order to advance to show at the state fair. 4-Hers can bring one livestock and one general project to the state fair.

The experience at the county fair is unique to the county, and the experience at the state fair is unique to the state. Both boys exhibited a pig (swine) at the state fair receiving blues. Both also chose to take their 4-H vegetable general project to the state fair. With the vegetables, we do several plantings throughout the summer which provides for vegetables to be ready for harvest at the right time for the county fair in July and the state fair in August.

Out for a walk with the pigs at the state fair.
General project judging at the state fair.
Vegetable, fruit and herb gardening project judging at the state fair. Missing the watermelon in the picture with the vegetable box.

Sam brought the largest vegetable. So, he was investigating, fostering (fertilizing and pruning) and observing a variety of vegetables until he decided on a zucchini that was 12 pounds and two feet long. Keith brought a vegetable, fruit and herb box which includes two small, three medium and one large vegetable. His box included: sugar-snap peas, cherry tomatoes, kohlrabi, carrots, beets and watermelon. Both left the conference style judging with blues, and Keith found out later that the judged improved his placing to a purple.

What is our why for participating in the state fair? It isn’t the ribbons. It is the experiences, the people that you meet, and the relationships and community that you build. Last but not least, the skill that our kids learn and gain from these experiences are unique and foundational. So when we are exhausted and weary from the experience, we all know it is worth it. 4-H is worth it. We encourage you to give 4-H a try whether a youth member or an adult volunteer. It’s easy to say you don’t have enough time. Make the time, you won’t regret it. The effort is worth it!

Garden Science

Look at this giant pea pod!

Boxes of Produce

This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list. Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.

Packing boxes

Spinach/Black Seeded Simpson/Red Oak Leaf Mix – You will notice that there has been insect pressure on the spinach eating small holes in some of the leaves. The last crop of these plants are ready to be harvested.

Carrots –You may notice a few carrots where the potato fork may have broken them off in digging. Here are some ways to use your carrots from Martha Stewart.

Cucumbers – Let us know if you would like to make pickles and would like dill. Here are cucumber recipes from Martha Stewart.

Dark Red Beets – Learn more about the health benefits of eating beats from the Mayo Clinic. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Super Sugar Snap Peas – The last week of peas.

Harvesting Dragon Tongue Beans.

Dragon Tongue Beans – We may have one more week of beans. Think about ways to preserve them so your family can enjoy them this winter. Perhaps you don’t have time to can … maybe make them in a soup and freeze the soup for a quick meal.

Potatoes – Red Norlands are great for mashed potatoes. Check out this week’s recipe below for potato bread.

Onion – Cut up and freeze your onion to add quickly to a meal that you are making. I think the dry weather affected their size this year.

Tomatoes – Fourth of July and Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomatoes this week. Let us know if you would like some for canning.

Peppers – A variety from sweet to mild to hot! The variety of peppers this week primarily are yummy pepper, carnival blend and jungle pepper. The hot ones are marked as such and are only in a few boxes for those that have indicated that they like hot peppers.

Kohlrabi – This vegetable can be peeled and cut finely and added to hot dishes or cut like an apple and eaten raw plain or with peanut butter.

Eggplant – Learn how to use this vegetable here.

Purple Cabbage

Zucchini – So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. Check out these interesting facts about this vegetable on LiveStrong. Try this pasta primavera recipe from Martha Stewart.

Summer Squash – Check out these recipes from Farm Flavor.

Hydrangeas, Sedums and Zinnias this week.

Recipe of the Week

Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie

4 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. finely diced onion

1/2 c. finely diced carrot

1/2 c. finely diced celery

3 c. shredded cooked chicken or turkey

1/4 c flour

3 c. low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed

Splash of white wine (optional)

1/4 tsp. turmeric

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chopped fresh thyme to taste

1/4 c. half-and-half or cream

1 whole unbaked pie crust

1 whole egg

2 Tbsp. water

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat, then add the onion, carrots, and celery. Stir them around until the onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
  3. Stir in the chicken or turkey and then sprinkle the flour over the top and stir it until it’s all combined with the turkey and vegetables. Cook for 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth (and wine if using) and stir it around and let it cook and thicken.
  4. Once it starts to thicken add the turmeric, salt, pepper, and thyme.
  5. Add the half-and-half or cream, then stir the mixture and let it bubble up and thicken, about 3 minutes. If it seems overly thick, splash in a little more broth. Turn off the heat.
  6. Pour the filling into a 2-quart baking dish. Roll out the pie crust on a floured surface and lay it over the top of the dish. Press the dough so that the edges stick to the outside of the pan. Use a knife to cut little vents here and there in the surface of the dough.
  7. Mix together the egg with 2 tablespoons water and brush it all over the surface of the crust. (You will have some egg wash left over.)
  8. Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly. To prevent the crust from getting too brown, you might want to cover it lightly with foil for the first 15 minutes of baking time.

Source: Pioneer Woman

Feeling overwhelmed with garden produce?
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Feeling overwhelmed with garden produce?

Wow! The boxes have been heavy the last few weeks. They will continue to be overflowing until the end of September if the weather cooperates. With school starting and schedules changing, this can be overwhelming. Yet, if you can make a little time every so often, these items can continue to feed your family for several weeks into the winter. So, I started thinking about how I would use the produce if I were a shareholder and what might be helpful to you.

  • Quite a bit of the produce we eat plain such as cucumbers, green beans, peas, beets and spinach/lettuce mix. Often times, I make a salad at noon and incorporate many of these vegetables.
  • Or for my noon lunch, I will make a lettuce, tomato and cucumber sandwich. I love bacon…I just don’t have time to make it.
  • I find myself eating kohlrabi and carrots with peanut butter for a snack.
  • I bake a variety of zucchini items, and they disappear fast around teenagers. I also found that I really enjoy Laura’s mom’s Zucchini hotdish.

We try to preserve many of these items for use throughout the year.

  • We can tomatoes for salsa or tomato juice. The juice is eventually made into tomato sauce for spaghetti or pizza.
  • I freeze tomatoes for vegetable soup or chili.
  • When I cook carrots to go with a meal, I will cook extra and then puree the extra in a blender, freeze in ice cube trays and then add a cube or two of carrots to my homemade tomato sauce when I make spaghetti or pizza.
  • I cut up my onions and peppers with my Pampered Chef chopper and freeze them to add quickly to a meal throughout the year.
  • We store potatoes in a cool, dark place and eat them throughout the winter. I also am a true Scandinavian and could eat potatoes with every meal.
  • When the winter squash arrives, I will load up my oven with winter squash. Cook about 9-12 at a time. After I have made them…I will freeze the squash in cupcake tins, pop the frozen squash out of the tins and store them in Ziploc bag in the freezer.
  • As for spaghetti squash, it ranks up there with the zucchini hotdish. Super healthy and light. We make it when we cook spaghetti and offer it as a choice for that meal.
  • Extra green beans are either frozen or canned.
  • When I have extra sweet corn leftover after a meal, I simply cut it off the cob, put it in a ziploc bag and put it in the freezer. Yes, that is all I do.

I know this may seem like a lot. I find if I carve out the needed time to preserve the produce, it helps me with meal preparation long-term. It is affordable, and it keeps us fed, healthy and happy. These outcomes make the extra effort worth it! For now, take a deep breath. See what works for you. If all else fails, I’m sure there is a neighbor that would greatly appreciate some fresh produce!

Garden Science

Did you know that harvest lettuce and spinach by cutting the leaves and more leaves grow back for several weeks per crop? So if you have seen a leaf that looks like it may have been cut. You are right. It was cut in half the week before and has grown more since then.

Boxes of Produce

This list is prepared before we harvest your share. Some guesswork is involved! We do our best to predict which crops will be ready to harvest, but sometimes crops are on the list that are not in the share, and sometimes crops will be in the share even though they’re not on the list. Remember food safety in your kitchen when preparing, always wash your hands before working with your produce and always wash your produce before eating.

Spinach/Black Seeded Simpson/Red Oak Leaf Mix – You will notice that there has been insect pressure on the spinach eating small holes in some of the leaves after we received the rain.

Green Beans – This is our final round of green beans. Think about ways to preserve them so your family can enjoy them this winter. Check out this green bean soup from Hearty Sol.

Super Sugar Snap Peas – I’m hoping for another week of peas. Enjoy!

Carrots –You may notice a few carrots where the potato fork may have broken them off in digging. Learn how we get baby carrots in the grocery store on America’s Heartland.

Dark Red Beets – Learn more about the health benefits of eating beats from the Mayo Clinic. This is an interesting resource from NDSU Extension.

Cucumbers – These cucumbers renewed their production after the last few rains. Let us know if you would like to make pickles and would like dill. Here is a recipe from Pioneer Woman.

Red Norland

Potatoes – Red Norlands are great for mashed potatoes. Check out this week’s recipe below for potato bread.

Tomatoes – Fourth of July and Sun Gold Hybrid cherry tomatoes this week. Let us know if you would like some for canning.

Onion – Cut up and freeze your onion to add quickly to a meal that you are making.

Peppers – A variety from sweet to mild to hot! The variety of peppers this week primarily are yummy pepper, carnival blend and jungle pepper.

Purple Kohlrabi – love the color.

Kohlrabi – This vegetable can be peeled and cut finely and added to hot dishes or cut like an apple and eaten raw plain or with peanut butter.

Eggplant – Learn how to use this vegetable here.

Sweet Corn – Thank you to our neighbors FarGaze Farms for this week’s delicious sweet corn.

Zucchini – So many wonderful ways to use Zucchini. Check out these interesting facts about this vegetable on LiveStrong. Try this pasta primavera recipe from Martha Stewart.

Summer Squash – Check out these recipes from Farm Flavor.

Fresh cut arrangement – Hydrangeas and Zinnias.

Recipe of the Week

Potato Bread – a recipe favorite discovered when I took the 4-H breads project.

Potato Bread

1 package of active dry yeast

1/4 cup of war water

***

1/2 cup mashed potatoes

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup milk, scalded (link to how to scald milk)

1 egg

4 – 4 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Soften yeast in warm water (to speed up the yeast add about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and stir in). Allow the yeast to begin to rise (fun science experiment with the kids). In a separate bowl combine hot potatoes, shortening, sugar, salt, and scalded milk. Cool to lukewarm

Add softened yeast and egg. Stir. Stir in 2 cups of flour. Stir in remaining flour or enough to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes). Here are two links one to show you how to knead by hand and the other with your stand mixer and dough hook.

Place in lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease both sides of your bread. Cover with Saran Wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Let rise until double. About 1 hour. Punch the bread down. Shape in ball, Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into rolls, place on greased baking sheet. Let rise until double (about 1 hour). Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2 dozen.

Note: To Make herb bread add with dry ingredients: ¼ teaspoon of each of the following: marjoram, oregano, thyme and garlic powder and add 1 tablespoon of finely cut onion.