Week 7 and it's hot, hot, hot!

Hello again,
Hope you all are finding fun and effective ways to beat the heat. This summer is shaping up to be quite the scorcher. We just made some milkshakes with vanilla ice cream and a dollop of Nutella. Pretty decadent, but oh so good.

Everything's thirsty, and a nice, grey, rainy day would be a real blessing right now. The irrigation is running every day at the farm right now, and luckily they have a nice, deep, strong well which is making it possible to keep things growing.

Your bags this week:
Red pearl onions
Salad mix
Snow peas
Sugar snap peas
Basil bouquet (w/ possibly lemon, cinnamon, red and/or speckled basil)
Beet greens

Cinnamon Basil

Andrew (my husband) and I had some of the basil the other night. I made up some fresh pesto (super easy with a simple food processor) while he carmalized some onions with a (tofu) Italian sausage. We tossed it all with spaghetti, and it was really good. I make pesto with basil leaves, olive oil, walnuts (a poor man's pine nuts :>) garlic and Parmesan cheese. Actually, we didn't have any Parmesan, and it was good without it, too. 

If you're not sure what to do with beet greens, you can treat them like spinach or Swiss chard or any of the other greens. It is also nice mixed in with salads or cooked up lightly (less cooking is more with greens) with some red wine vinegar or vinaigrette splashed on top.

One more word- the heat these days is especially bad for delicate vegetables after they've been harvested. We work very, very hard to cut the veggies as quickly as possible, rush them to a sink of cold water to cool them off and revive any ones that succumbed to wilting, spin them, weigh them, pack them in bags and then run them down to the walk-in cooler before they have any second thoughts. When you pick them up, we pass the baton to you, so the sooner you can get them home and into the fridge, the nicer your veggies will be when you're ready to eat them. 

Thanks for taking part and for experiencing this season with us. With farming, you never know what might happen and it's great to have customers who are willing to ride the ups and downs with us.

Be well and keep cool!

Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 6, Happy 4th of July!

Hi everyone
Hope you all had a really nice 4th of July, with friends and family and good food!
Things are very dry at the farm and we'd love some rain, but Sue and Claude are working hard to keep everything irrigated that can be.

Your bags this week include:
Some lovely carrots (Nelson, one of my favorite varieties!)
Salad Mix with swiss chard and asian greens
Arugula
Snow peas
Sugar Snap Peas
Garlic (it's ready surprisingly early, but we're going with it :>)

a pretty bagful!

baby swiss chard

Peppers in their very own pepper sauna! They love it!

 Here are some recipes to try:
Sauteed Spinach w/ Roasted Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta
-Kelli Johnson
 ~10 oz spinach
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 c. sherry
1/4 c. lemon juice
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 c. feta
salt & pepper to taste

1) Over medium heat, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden brown.
2) Add sun-dried tomatoes. Add sherry and lemon juice and reduce by a third (~ 3 mins).
3) Add butter and toss until it melts. Add spinach. Cover and stir occasionally until spinach is slightly wilted and warm (~ 3 mins).
4) Add feta and cook briefly until slightly melted, ~ 30 seconds. Add salt and pepper to taste

Potato, Red Onion, Arugula and Brie Pizza
-"From the Earth to the Table" cook book
Makes enough topping for one 14 inch pizza or two 8-10 inch pizzas

Pizza dough, either homemade or dough from the store (check in the section with the cheese)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. sliced red onions
salt and pepper
12 oz red potatoes, thinly sliced
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
6 oz Brie, thinly sliced
1 c. loosely packed arugula leaves
1 medium red bell pepper, charred, peeled and finely chopped

1) Prepare pizza dough. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. In a deep, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olice oil and saute the onions until crisp-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
2) In a medium sauce pan, blanch the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water until crisp-tender, ~ 3 mins. Cool in ice water to stop cooking, drain and pat dry.
3) Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the dough. Layer the potatoes evenly on top, followed by the onions and slices of Brie. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4) Bake the pizza for 12 to 15 minutes on the top rack. Scatter the arugula and red pepper on top and serve immediately. 


-I listed these a couple of weeks ago, but they're pertinent again this week-

Quinoa Risotto w/ Arugula & Parmesan, from the New Mayo Clinic cookbook
Serves 6 as a side, double to serve as the main dish

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
2 1/4 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or broth
2 cups chopped arugula (~ 3 oz)
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1) In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook about 1 minute, stirring occaisionally. Do not let the garlic brown. 
2) Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite, but slightly heard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer. 
3) Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Carrot-Walnut Salad from Flat Belly Diet Cookbook
Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt
4 large carrots, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely

1) Soak the raisins in hot water for 20 minutes to plump them. Drain.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, honey and salt.
3) Combine the carrots, walnuts, parsely, raisins and dressing in a medium bowl and toss to coat.




That's it for now-
Be well!
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm

2012 CSA Week 5

Hello all,
Hope you're doing well and are having a great start to your summer.  And the summer weather keeps coming on- great for some things, and tough for others. But the weather is one thing quite definitely out of our control. Probably a good thing, actually. :>)

Your bags this week:
Salad lettuce mix
Young spring onions
Snow peas
Beet Greens with baby beets

If I got this lovely bag of vegetables, I think I would try cooking up a stir-fry. The trick with stir-frying (not that I'm a master at it or anything...) is to have the pieces of vegetable cut up ahead of time, and to have the pieces of each type of veggie be relatively the same size. The onions could be diced, the snow peas can go in whole or halved, and the baby beets can be cut into slivers since they are less tender and won't cook as fast if they are left in bigger pieces. And use pretty high heat, if you can. You want things to cook pretty quickly, so they still are a little crisp when you eat them. 
A quick and tasty dinner with some soy sauce, rice and some Sriracha, my favorite Asian hot sauce.

Things on the farm are progressing well. A bunch more cabbage went in this week, and the tomatoes outside and the ones in the greenhouse got pruned and tied up as well. They're certainly loving this hot weather!

Here are a few pictures from around the farm this week:

(inquisitive chick)

Be well,
Sarah VanNorstrand

PS: we're potentially going to be putting around a survey to our CSA members to see what people think about the option of having access to other products from other area farms, including cheese, meats, oils and more. 

CSA Week 4

Hello everyone,
Hope you're all faring well despite the heat wave. It's been a hot couple of days on the farm, but through copious amounts of water, Gatorade and some sneak-attack hose-spraying, we managed to harvest your veggies and stay decently hydrated. 
The weather hasn't been doing the spring crops any favors, but the heat-loving veggies are flourishing. The tomato plants are dark green, bushy, and growing like crazy. A lot of them are setting fruit already! I'm starting to get really excited about the first tomatoes- and zucchini and peas and beans and corn... I love my job.

Hey, it's strawberry time! We don't have strawberries at Lucky Moon, but there are places to pick your own or buy locally grown ones this time of year. A website I use to search for u-pick places is www.pickyourown.org. It's a bit slow sometimes, but it has numbers and addresses for places all over the US and quite a few in Madison and Onondaga counties. Click on this link to go to the Central New York page. Depending on your browser, you may have to scroll down. But Tre-G, Navarinos and lots of places in Baldwinsville offer u-pick berries. Could be a fun outing for the family with wonderfully sweet berries thrown into the bargain! Picking berries is one of my fondest memories of childhood. It's not really summer til you've had that strawberry right in the field, warm from the sun. I'm hoping to got picking this weekend myself and make some jam and freeze a bunch of berries for the winter.


Here's what's in your bags this week:
Salad lettuce
Arugula
Carrots (really nice and sweet ones!)
Spinach or a Spinach and Baby Swiss Chard mix- they work well cooked together or mixed into a salad

Here are some recipes to try:

Quinoa Risotto w/ Arugula & Parmesan, from the New Mayo Clinic cookbook
Serves 6 as a side, double to serve as the main dish


1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
2 1/4 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or broth
2 cups chopped arugula (~ 3 oz)
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 cup thinly sliced shitake mushrooms
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper


In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and saute until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and quinoa and cook about 1 minute, stirring occaisionally. Do not let the garlic brown. 


Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the quinoa is almost tender to the bite, but slightly heard in the center, about 12 minutes. The mixture will be brothy. Stir in the arugula, carrot and mushrooms and simmer until the quinoa grains have turned from white to translucent, about 2 minutes longer. 


Stir in the Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.


Carrot-Walnut Salad from Flat Belly Diet Cookbook
Makes 4 servings


1/2 cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1/8 tsp salt
4 large carrots, grated
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely


1) Soak the raisins in hot water for 20 minutes to plump them. Drain.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, lemon juice, honey and salt.
3) Combine the carrots, walnuts, parsely, raisins and dressing in a medium bowl and toss to coat.


All the best!
From Sarah, 
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 3, 2012

Hello!
I love this time of year. I know I have begun quite a few blogs like that, and all from very different seasons, but really, this is when I remember why I live here. Early summer in Central New York is simply beautiful. The trees are all leafed out, the roses are blooming and the vegetable gardens are starting to fill out. Now, we've certainly had plenty of confusing weather lately; crazy hot, then cold and rainy, then hot and dry, then rainy and warm... it's been a bit stressful for the plants, but they seem to be adjusting.

And we're at week 3 of the CSA already!

Here's the list for this week:
Salad mix (a wide variety of lettuces, beet greens and asian greens)
Swiss Chard or Spinach
Carrots (They're small, but very tasty!)
Pea Shoots for sauteing or stir-frying
Garlic Chives (also great for sauteing or stir-frying)

Remember that we submerge the greens in cold water at the farm after harvesting to keep them from wilting, but we recommend you wash them a second time at home right before using them. And to avoid the infamous soggy salad, investing in a simple salad spinner is a great idea. This spins the salad around to whisk off excess water and gets it just right to put in the salad bowl. You can find these at most grocery stores (I saw them at Wegmans this week) and also many hardware stores.
This is the kind I have at home (OXO brand), and it works great:

 Here's a recipe from one of my favorite authors, from one of my favorite books. And that would be Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It's a great summer read if you're looking for something... if you think it's not your kind of book, I thought so too, at first. Give it a try- I'm really glad I did! This uses Swiss Chard or Spinach, so goes well for this week. On the book's website, she lists some other recipes, separated by season. Check it out here.

Eggs in a Nest

(This recipe makes dinner for a family of four, but can easily be cut in half.)  

2 cups uncooked brown rice 
Cook rice with 4 cups water in a covered pot while other ingredients are being prepared.  

Olive oil – a few tbsp
1 medium onion, chopped, and garlic to taste
Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil in a wide skillet until lightly golden.  

Carrots, chopped
½ cup dried tomatoes
Add and sauté for a few more minutes, adding just enough water to rehydrate the tomatoes.  

1 really large bunch of chard, coarsely chopped 
Mix with other vegetables and cover pan for a few minutes. Uncover, stir well, then use the back of a spoon to make depressions in the cooked leaves, circling the pan like numbers on a clock.

8 eggs 
Break an egg into each depression, being careful to keep yolks whole. Cover pan again and allow eggs to poach for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Week 2 June 2012

Hi everyone,
Hope you enjoyed your first week of veggies and are ready to start week 2! As this is just the beginning of the season, you will be getting lots of tasty greens. But there are so many different ways to eat them! Last year I did a short write-up on my favorite cook book from the Moosewood Kitchen in Ithaca, NY. They have some excellent recipes and suggestions for using all sorts of produce, but with a special emphasis on greens. Check it out at: http://www.luckymoonfarm.blogspot.com/2011/06/week-2-2011-season.html

Here's what's in your bags this week:

Salad Mix, with pea tendrils! These are the growing tips of pea plants, and they are very tender, with a light, pea-like flavor that's really quite nice in salad. It also includes beet greens (which are actually dark red in this mix), spinach and a wide variety of lettuces.

Arugula (light green leaves with a real zippy flavor)

Spinach

Radishes

Bronze fennel (an herb that tastes like licorice)

I've not used fennel myself, but I've heard it's good cooked with fish or in pizza dough. Look it up in a cook book, or on Allrecipes.com to see what you can find! It might become your new favorite recipe...

Remember to eat well and take care of yourself and your family!

Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm