Week 21, One more to go!

Hi everyone,
I can't believe we only have one week left! The season has really flown by for me.
I hope you've enjoyed taking part in our CSA and have had a bounty of fresh vegetables all season long... We still have some nice goodies to wrap things up.

Here's what's in your bags:
Salad mix
Acorn squash
Delicata squash (yellow with greenish stripes)
Yellow and Red onions
Garlic
Kale
Beets
1 or 2 tomatoes (if they seem a bit pale or unripe, just let them sit on a counter or windowsill for a few days before using, and they should ripen up)
Green or Purple pepper
Red Maria potatoes
Bulb fennel

You can use the delicata right away, since they aren't the best keepers, but it's often best to let the acorns ripen for a few more weeks before eating- they get sweeter and smoother with time. But they are fine to cook if need be.

And for the fennel bulb, I don't have tons of experience, but there are lots of recipes online, and if you're not keen on licorice, give it a try anyways, as the flavor changes when cooked. It becomes quite mild and almost nutty-tasting. Here's one recipe that looked good: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roasted_fennel/

And if you haven't tried roasting beets in the oven, make sure you give it a go. You can peel and cut up the beets before hand, or put them in there whole, and slip the skins off once cooked. Either way, it's much easier than boiling (and tastier, too!)

If you have any thoughts, comments or general feedback about your CSA experience, we'd love to hear them. We work very hard to provide a good food experience for our customers, but it helps us to get better if we know how things are on your end! Feel free to email me at sarah_ziegi at yahoo dot com  or email Lucky Moon at luckymoonfarm4976 at gmail dot com

Sarah V
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 20 and October Harvest

Hi everyone,
The nights are getting just a touch of frost, and the trees are in their full glory- it's a beautiful time of year. It's been a bit wet and gloomy lately, but 'tis the season. I do love the late season vegetables, though. They have such substance and flavor!
Your bags this week include:
Red Cabbage
Spinach
Carrots- White Satin, Purple Haze and Yaya varieties, in white, purple and orange 
Snow Peas
Pie pumpkin
Tomatoes- I think we picked the last 150 pounds of them today; we're going to rip the vines out soon.
Parsley
Leeks

Lots of great meal possibilities! I'll include some recipes down below, but first: the pie pumpkin.

Now lots of people assume it's a terrible headache/mess to cook a pumpkin, but it's really not! I find it one of the more simple and satisfying cooking jobs of the season. If you want to see my more thought-through blog entry on this topic, click here.
But here's the basic method:
I usually make sure my pumpkin doesn't have any major dirt on it, but it doesn't have to be pristine, either. In the past, I've often cut my pumpkin in half and scooped out the seeds before baking it, but it's really ok to simply bake it whole after piercing it with a fork a few times to create steam vents. That's what I've been doing lately, and the only difference is it takes slightly longer, and scooping out the seeds is a little more difficult once the innards are all soft and cooked, but it is safer than cutting through a squash with a very tough rind while it's still raw.
If you do cut it in half first, I usually bake the sides face down in a glass casserole dish at 350 degrees for about an hour or so. It's best to do this on a day when you'll be around the house, since the baking time will vary on the particular squash or pumpkin and you'll want to check on it occasionally. Once the pumpkin is very soft and the skin is easily pierced by a fork, remove from the oven and let it cool for a while. Once it's comfortable to handle it, I get a spoon and scoop and scrape out all the great cooked pumpkin filling from the rind into a bowl. Depending on your squash, you might want to puree it in a blender or food processor, but most of the time, my pumpkins are smooth enough that all I have to do is mash it up a bit with a fork.
At this point, you have pumpkin puree ready to use in pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin soup (I could go on :>) OR you can put it all in some containers and freeze it once it's cooled off completely. Squash and Pumpkin freeze and thaw and refreeze very well, and keep their flavor quite well throughout the whole process, so save some for a day when you feel like baking!

So don't waste that beautiful pumpkin! Stick it in the oven, and I promise, it won't be a headache :>) Just great, tasty food to enjoy throughout the winter.

Now for some recipes:

Sauteed Spinach w/ Roasted Garlic, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Feta
Spinach (~10 oz)
3 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup sherry (I read that apple juice can be used as a substitute)
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup feta
salt & pepper to taste
1) Over medium heat, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until golden brown, about 2 minutes.
2) Add sun dried tomatoes, then add sherry and lemon juice and reduce by a third (about 3 minutes)
3) Add butter, and toss until it melts, then add the spinach. Cover and stir occasionally until slightly wilted and warm (about 3 minutes). Add feta and cook until slightly melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

And in case you still have that red cabbage from last week, here's a recipe from someone in the CSA that comes highly recommended!

Autumn Salad (serves 4)

4 tsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

2 tsp. honey

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

3 medium sweet-tart apples (Braeburn, Empire), quartered and thinly sliced crosswise

1 1/2 c. thinly sliced red cabbage

1/3 c. crumbled mild blue cheese

1/4 c. thinly sliced red onion

1/4 c. coarsely chopped toasted walnuts

Whisk oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in large bowl. add remaining ingredients, tossing to combine.

(from Prevention, October 2010)

Cauliflower and Spinach Gratin
serves 8
1 head cauliflower, broken into small florets
~ 10 oz fresh spinach
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs, divided
Alfredo sauce, ~ 13 oz
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp basting oil
1 Tbsp olive oil

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees, add cauliflower and spinach to a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup bread crumbs, alfredo sauce, mozzarella cheese. Mix well, set aside.
2) Make topping: Combine rest of bread crumbs and basting oil in a small bowl. Set Aside.
3) Grease baking 13x9 baking dish with olive oil, add vegetable cheese mixture to dish.
4) Bake 40 mins, uncovered, stirring halfway through baking time. Remove from oven, sprinkle with topping, return to oven and bake 15 mins, until topping is light golden brown.

Week 18

Hi everyone,
So I've been a little lax about the blog lately- sorry about that, but unfortunately, I don't foresee much improvement anytime soon. Between working at the farm, a second part-time job, keeping up with my own gardens and organizing a local dance festival coming up in a few weeks, I'm kinda swamped.
But I can at least post the week's veggies....
Here we go:
Salad Mix
Arugula
Red Marble Onions (Cipollini type)
Summer Squash
Beans
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Edamame (aka soybeans)
Eggplant
Purple Viking Potatoes (purple-pink skin with white flesh)
Spaghetti Squash (it really does look and taste a lot like spaghetti! I was skeptical, but it's true!)

For the edamame, the way I often cook and it is to boil the pods in salted water for 5 to 6 minutes, until tender, then drain, salt and eat them right out of the shell. A very tasty snack. Andrew, my husband, eats whole platefuls of them at a time :>)

-you can also boil them, then shell them and use them in any dish that is nice with lima beans. I use them in a simple stew made of tomatoes, onions and corn. They're sweet and not too starchy.

Here's a link to another blog with some fun ideas for using edamame.

For spaghetti squash, and really any type of winter squash (the kind with a hard rind- like butternut, acorn, pie pumpkins, delicata, hubbard, etc), The basic method is to cut them in half, remove the seeds and stringy stuff right in the middle, then bake them face down in a casserole pan at 350 degrees until the flesh is tender. Spaghetti squash is supposed to be stringy; so stringy it looks like spaghetti, but most of the others will cook into a nice smooth puree.

Here's another blog with a tasty recipe for spaghetti squash-

That's what I've got this week-
Thanks!
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm

CSA Week 16!

Hi Everyone,
Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of weeks- things have just been too busy to fit in a blog post. But I'll try to at least keep up with the veggie list even if I don't have time to write more!

So I'll get right down to it.
Your bags include:
Salad mix
Summer squash (enjoy it while it lasts!)
Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Red potatoes
Baby Bok Choy
Summer Savory (an herb, especially good with beans)
Yellow onions
Sweet Pepper
Carrots
Beans

The baby Bok Choy is really tender right now, and would be a great last second addition to a stir fry, but only cook it for a very short time! It won't need much.

We've had a bumper crop of peppers this year, and we've given out a lot of sweet peppers and a few hot ones as well. I really like the varieties we offer, but sometimes telling the hot from the sweet can be a little confusing, especially since a few of ours don't look their type.
So let me introduce you to our hot peppers:

 From left to right: 3 Hungarian Hotwax, ranging from yellow to orangey-red, 2 poblano peppers, 2 Jaluv an Attitude peppers (1 green, 1 red) and 1 Czech Black pepper

Hot peppers are rated according to the Scoville scale of hotness, named after Wilbur Scoville. You can see a nifty chart on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale

 Hungarian Hotwax, (rated 700-3,000 scovilles), range from yellow when less ripe, to a bright orange-red when fully mature. The hotness really varies-

 

The classic Poblano Pepper- this is the pepper most often used to make Chiles Rellenos. They range from 900 to 2,500 scovilles.

 

 From left to right, a green Jaluv an Attitude, a red Jaluv an Attitude, and a ripe Czech Black. The Jaluv an Attitudes are a cross between a chile and a jalapeno, and the heat is right about jalapeno level. The Czech Blacks, (which are black before they turn red) are just a little less spicy than a classic jalapeno.

To confuse matters, we have a few sweet peppers that are a little incognito: the three below are Cubanelle, Jimmy Nardello's and Carmen. Cubanelle isn't super sweet, but it's meant to be a fry pepper; especially good with onions. But just because they're red and pointy doesn't mean they're spicy!

 

cubanelle

Jimmy Nardello's

Carmen

 Hope this helps you enjoy your peppers without getting an unexpected surprise! Remember whenever working with hot peppers to use gloves, and be careful not to touch your eyes or face! It's really really not a fun experience... believe me. But they're oh so tasty once they're cooked up! I love hot peppers...

Well, that's it for tonight.

Sarah
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 13, but it's not unlucky at Lucky Moon!

Hello,
Another week, another bag of lovely veggies.

I wish I was able to get this out sooner and that I wrote it not quite so late a night so I could be more coherent, but so it goes.

So it's late Thursday night, and you've probably figured out most of the veggies in your bags, but here's a list in case:
Broccoli
Summer Squash
Sweet Pepper (some are pointy and red, but they're still sweet!)
Cucumbers (this is probably it for the cucs- they've been hit with disease and didn't like the dry summer)
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Onions
Beans
Dill (good with fish, meat, soups, pickles, salads, couscous, quinoa, etc)
Carrots: white, orange and purple-striped ("White Satin, Shin Kuroda and Purple Haze" to be exact)

It's best to keep the broccoli, carrots, summer squash, cucs, beans and dill (and the pepper, if you're not going to use it right away) in the fridge, inside a tied plastic bag, preferably with a piece of paper towel in there with it to absorb extra moisture. We send stuff home to you with as little packaging as possible to save resources, but it's great if you can empty out those mesh bags at home and put the veggies that need it into a plastic bag and into the fridge as soon as possible. Your food will taste a lot better if you can take these little steps to create their ideal storage environment.
The tomatoes and onions are probably happiest on a counter top out of direct sun until you can use them.

Just a note that the garlic is really beautiful this year, and though you'll be getting more garlic through the CSA, Sue has some braided up for sale, and they look really nice. They make great gifts, and they're useful and delicious! Hard to beat that combination....

Thanks for supporting your local farms! We appreciate you-

Sarah VanNorstrand,
for Lucky Moon Farm

Week 12 Bounty

 Hi everyone,
So we're getting rain! Wahoo! It's such a relief at the farm- there's nothing like waking up in the morning to the delicious sound of a good, steady rain. The vegetables are really soaking it up, greening up, and putting out new growth. It's great!
Of course, not all the damage can be undone; for many of the crops, they needed rain at a certain period of their growth to bulk up, and they didn't get it. Crops like onions and potatoes were especially effected.  But luckily there are lots of other good things to go around.

For instance, your bags this week:
Broccoli
Eggplant
Sweet Bell Pepper
Hot Peppers (all mild-medium intensity)
Cucumbers
Summer Squash
Beans
Cilantro
Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes

Lots of lovely veggies! And so many meal options-

Also, we've been spending a few of the wet, rainy days cleaning and braiding up the garlic that's been drying since mid-July. Sue makes some really beautiful 10-bulb braids and has them for sale at the farm right now for $16. The garlic is really top-quality, and the braids make excellent presents. I give a few away at Christmas, and I'm planning on using a braid as part of a wedding present for some friends of mine this weekend. Useful and aesthetically pleasing! I can also bring braids back to Manlius if anyone who picks up at my house is interested in buying one. Send me an email if you're interested: sarah_ziegi at yahoo dot com.

Sue's look nicer than this, but it was the closest I could find in a stock photo...

One CSA member told me that they're using their eggplant to make Baba Ganoush- (don't quote me on that spelling) but it's a super tasty Mediterranean dip or spread and it's awesome with pita. I'm sure there are tons of recipes online, but I'll let you do your own browsing.

Here's an interesting recipe- I haven't tried it, but if you're feeling adventurous:

Fresh Tomato Popover Pie- Kristen Byers
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
3 Tbsp oil, divided
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tsp basil
2 C. shredded mozzarella (8 oz)
1/4 C. Parmesan
1 1/4 C. sliced mushrooms

To prepare crust:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat an ovenproof 8" skillet in the oven for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, mix flour, milk and eggs until well blended. Remove skillet from the oven and add 1 Tbsp oil. Pour batter into skillet and bake 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 10 minutes more. Remove skillet from the oven and set aside. Crust should be puffed golden, then fall slightly as it cools.

To prepare filling:
Core and cut tomatoes into 1/4" slices, set aside.
In another large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbsp of oil until hot. Add zucchini and cook until sightly softened, 1 - 2 minutes. Push to one side of skillet. Add mushrooms, then sprinkle veggies with basil and cook for 3 - 4 minutes, stirring frequently but still keeping mushrooms and zucchini separated. Remove from heat.

To assemble: preheat broiler
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the crust. Line the edge of the crust with tomato slices, overlapping slightly. Arrange zucchini and mushrooms in center of popover. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Broil 3 - 4 " from the heat for 1 - 2 minutes. Makes 4 -6 servings. 


All the best,
Sarah VanNorstrand
for Lucky Moon Farm