Interesting tidbits for the day....

*The contents of the boxes were overwhelming, it took 9 extra crates to haul all the melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes...

*It helps the crew to remain on time if the driver remembers that boxes need to be returned before delivery day...OOPS! Yep, with the wedding last week, I kept the boxes at my house so as not to add "one more thing" for the family to have to work around with all the company. Yeah, that doesn't work so well when produce is picked but can't be packed in the normal time! This was just one factor in my tardiness today, but goes to show you all that even we make mistakes and forget to return our box(es!).

*Those "strange" white objects in your boxes are 1 of 3 things...there are rutabaga, white radishes, and white eggplants in there! You should be able to figure out which is which with a slight bit of investigation. I hadn't seen the radishes or white eggplant before, so they are a nice surprise for me as well as you.

*If you have recipes to share, send 'em my way. With some of these foods, I am as clueless as you, and sure, I can go look up recipes, but they just aren't the same without a story of "my kids loved this" or "my husband won't save any for anyone else!". Those things just make a recipe worth trying, in my opinion :o)

*Wondering what that funky little light green thing is that looks like it has legs? [if you have children in your life and have had the chance to watch a movie or two, my family thinks it looks like one of the characters off of Monsters, Inc.] Well, if you knew what it was, great! You are farther ahead than many. If not? Don't feel bad, until this year, I didn't know either. It is kohlrabi. I have heard of people eating it raw, frying it, or just looking at it, wondering what it is supposed to be. It is quite the nutritious food. I will let you look it up for yourself, but also tell you that according to one source I found, a 3.5 ounce serving has more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C! Pretty cool, huh?! I thought so, anyway.

Ok, enough for now. I am off to bed for the night, recipes and pictures are on my priority list for tomorrow...

Stacy


P.S. This isn't so much of a tidbit, but for the folks that pick up their boxes at Amazing Grains, it has been asked of each of you, via a bright pink sign in the box area, to PLEASE fold down the boxes and stack them neatly so as to keep that area safe. Empty boxes stacked together become quite a hazard with little effort.

Also, please do not leave boxes there, empty or otherwise. Their storage space is very limited, and imposing our things on them could easily become a burden. They are great hosts, and we all appreciate the convenience of their service to us.

Updates for week of August 31...

And now....back to our regularly scheduled program. All delivery times and locations will be back to normal, except Thief River Falls, I have to talk to you guys about where... look for an email shortly!

I am not sure of the details of the boxes this week, I didn't get to the farm this weekend to discuss plans, as I was out of town.

This week, your boxes should be "back to normal". Last week was quite an adventure, and many things were not as they should have been, but everyone got a taste of produce, and it didn't rot in the garden. We have learned many lessons and can only improve. We hope to never have to repeat a week like that one.

I have to share a comment that someone told me earlier this summer... "make all the mistakes you can the first summer so you don't ever have to make them again". I have a new appreciation for that comment, I just wish I could remember who it was to give them the proper credit!

If you have comments for us from last week, please pass them along to me as soon as you can. It is our goal to make sure we do the best we can, and we want to work to correct some of the mistakes that were made.


Stacy

P.S. I will hunt for some new recipes once I find out what is in the boxes this week!

Weekly update for August 24th...

We finally have the schedule pinned down as much as we can! Sorry this is so late, I sent it from my phone earlier and apparently did something wrong as it isn't showing up here :(

I expect to be an hour or less late for Crookston and Grand Forks deliveries for this week.

Farm pick ups will be as normally scheduled, except for they will be on Tuesday (tomorrow) instead of Thursday.

The TRF deliveries, we are shooting for delivery between 10:30 and 11.

None of our times are exact, they are all truly a "best guess". If we are really on the ball, we may even be closer to our normal times, but we are not counting on that. When in doubt? Call me (Stacy)!


Interesting tidbit from last week: John weighed one of the full share boxes...and it came in at 26 pounds of produce! Imagine what that would cost in the store or at the farmer's markets! [Note here for those who don't know me well... I am very "frugal", aka CHEAP! I love good, wholesome, natural foods, especially locally grown, but I don't like high cost. ]

In the box this week:

expect it to be a repeat of last week, but we are hoping to add a special item this week...


Stacy

Weekly update for August 17/19th deliveries

IMPORTANT! PLEASE NOTE:

The Lambrights have a wedding in their family the week of August 23rd. Due to the number of demands on them all next week, there will be some changes to the deliveries. We have deliberated all summer as to how to handle this week, but the final decision is that the produce won't wait, so we might as well pick and ship as usual...mostly.

1. We are doing all the deliveries on Tuesday. We have to hammer out the times yet, they will be later than normal. Please call Stacy with any questions. I hope to update the blog later this week with the best details we can provide.

2. Because of the wedding preparations, the normal crew will not be picking. It will be a crew of visitors. We are not expecting them to be as diligent with picking and cleaning as they will be arriving after traveling all night, and will commence picking almost immediately. There may be items that slip by that normally wouldn't make it to the boxes.

3. We are not counting on everything running quite as smooth as normal, even though that is our deepest wish. We are expecting the produce to be a bit dirtier than normal, as the process will be hurried, and we will have to take some short cuts to make the day go as smooth as possible.

4. The times we set our a "best guess". They are not exact times. Please be patient with us as we try to meet the deadlines of that day, it will be a scramble to get it all done smoothly.

5. I apologize for the duplication of information, but I will be doing my best to make sure no one misses these changes. I will be working on an email when we have times pinned down a bit better.

****************************************************************

Now, for the regularly scheduled info:

The corn took a beating in the high winds last week, many of the stalks were laying over. We are hopeful that we will get a good taste of corn before it is too late.

The gardens are quite wet with all the rain the last several days, and picking is a bit more tedious than usual.

We will have extra items with us and available for purchase separately these next several weeks, as the gardens are plentiful. Look for cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, and beets as the likely items.


For those who have been returning your empty boxes each week, thank you! For those who forget, please do your best to return them soon or get back to me with the details. A box does fall apart from time to time or get recycled accidentally. That is part of life, but it helps us keep costs down if they are all accounted for at the end of the day.



The box contents this week, if all goes as planned:

Cherry tomatoes
Tomatoes
Dill
Cucumbers
Zucchini
2 kinds of kale
radishes
peppers
bunching onions (these are the small ones again)
corn
Swiss chard
Beets
Carrots

Thank you for all the great feedback these past few weeks! I am looking for new recipes from anyone who has them :o)

Stacy

Even more recipes!

These recipes were all shared by some very special members of LFF CSA. They are almost like grandparents to my children. Always a story to tell and a cookie or treat to share with the little ones (ok, big ones too!). I trust that these recipes are wonderful, I haven't tried them yet myself, but if it comes from their kitchen, I am all for it :o)

Stacy

ZUCCHINI PIE

4 Cups thin sliced zucchini

½ cup chopped parsley

1 cup chopped onion

¼-½ cup butter

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

3 eggs

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon basil

¼ teaspoon oregano

1 8 0z. Tube Pillsbury crescent rolls

1-2 teaspoon Grey Poupon mustard

Cook and stir zucchini and onions in butter for 10 minutes. Stir in Parsley, salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil and oregano.

In a separate bowl, combine 3 eggs beaten and cheese. Stir into zucchini mixture.

For the Crust:

Line a 10 in pie pan with crescent rolls. Spread mustard over crust.

Pour zucchini mixture into the prepared crust. Bake @ 375 ° for 18-20 minute. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Note: Foil may be added to cover crust only for the last 10 minutes of baking time to prevent burning.

Cabbage/Carrot Dish

2 cups carrots

1 cup celery

1 cup onions

3 cups cabbage, chopped

1 Tablespoon sugar

¼ cup salad oil

½ cup water

1 ½ teaspoons salt

Stir together and boil 12-15 minutes

Serve hot

Zucchini Medley

¼ pound ground beef

¼ cup butter

1 onion, sliced

1 pound zucchini, sliced into rounds

1 small pepper, cut in strips (red or yellow)

1 large tomato, cut in wedges

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon allspice

Shredded cheddar cheese or any kind you like

Brown hamburger In another pan cook until tender the butter, onion, zucchini, pepper and tomato;.

Add salt, sugar, pepper and allspice and cook a bit more. Add browned hamburger and put shredded cheese on top.

This is a pretty forgiving recipe. I made it without ground beef and cheese and put in a little kale, used a little more tomato.

　

Grilled Veggies

1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil

1/4 cup cider or red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 tsp. dried oregano

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 medium zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch slices

4 medium yellow squash, cut in 1/2 inch slices

2 medium red onions, quartered

1 large sweet red pepper, cut in 2 inch pieces

1 large sweet yellow pepper, cut in 2 inch pieces

Mix first 7 ingredients. Marinade veggies an hour or more. Grill or bake in oven.

Art/Viola

had enough zucchini? I have a new recipe for you to try!

This recipe comes from a dear friend of mine who lives in the wonderful state of California, where green happens all year long. She is also the mother to a large family, so this recipe has been "tested and approved".

Zucchini pancakes
by P.M.

1/3 cup milk
2 cups zucchini cut up
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar or other sweetener
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (I sometimes sub half rolled oats)
2 tsp baking powder

Place milk, zukes, egg, salt, sweetener, cinnamon and allspice in the blender. blend for 10 seconds with VitaMix (may need more or less with your blender). While blender is still running, add flour and baking powder. run for 5-10 seconds until mixed. Cook at usual. If batter is too green (mine usually isn't green at all), you can peel the zukes first.

URGENT NOTE FOR THURSDAY DELIVERIES!

The deliveries *WILL* happen, but they will be several hours late, due to the rain. I am trying to call everyone, but hope that many will check here on their own. The produce is so bountiful right now, that some of it HAS to be picked or wasted, so they are not skipping a day at the farm. They are just giving the rain time to settle before stepping into the mud.

Weekly update for August 10/12 deliveries.

It seems we have the right weather for produce now, hot and humid. After a brief talk with Edna this morning, she said there are almost too many things to fit in the boxes! I know this is welcome news after the first several weeks of light weight boxes.

I mis-spoke last week when I said the weather had been great. I missed that the farm had had VERY heavy rains, and that the tomato plants were terribly damaged and have now all blighted. The tomatoes are still hanging on, we are hoping they can ripen before they spoil. They are plentiful, so we are not yet worried about the crop, we are just cautious about the typical "overflow" of tomatoes that is so common. There just may not be as many as we all would have liked.

For those who wanted canning or "bulk" shares of cucumbers, beans, or tomatoes, please contact me ASAP so that we can plan for them. Between the two farms, there are more than we could ever fit in the CSA boxes in a week. There isn't enough that everyone could get 50 pounds of something, but we will work through this, first come, first serve, and do our best.

Prices are:
Cukes-
3 for $1.00 or .50 per pound for the larger size for spears and slices
Pickling cucumbers (under 6 inches long) $1.00 per pound

Beans-
If you pick them, $1.00 per pound
If we pick them, $1.50 per pound

Tomatoes-
canning/paste tomatoes .50 per pound
slicing tomatoes $1.00 per pound


Now, for the boxes this week. We expect to find:

cucumbers
zucchini
summer squash
beets
carrots
Walla Walla onion (just one for now)
green beans (they are getting big and woody fast, this may be the end of them already :( )
peppers
tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
Ithaca lettuce

and we are hopeful, but not counting on:
eggplant
yellow beans
and possibly, just possibly...our first taste of sweet corn!!!

See you all soon!

Stacy

P.S. YIKES! I almost forgot! Poultry Acres has informed me that their young pullets have started laying eggs! For those who would like to get farm fresh eggs, you can start ordering them now. They also have plenty of chickens ready for butcher.

wondering what to do with those rutabagas???

I have been wondering myself! They are a new addition to our diet (as well as the Lambright's!). A bit of research has told me that they are a cross between cabbage and turnips. They have been dated back to the early 1600's! Interesting, huh? These wonderful root crops are a great long term storage item, as long as they can be kept cool. That works great for those who just aren't ready to try them yet. A few ideas have been shared by members of the CSA, so I thought I would take a moment to pass on what I have learned:

you can boil them and mash them the same as potatoes

you can cube them and add them to soups, stews, or hot dishes/casseroles

you can mix them with mashed potatoes if you don't much care for the flavor on their own

according to Wikipedia, you can make a traditional Scottish dish called Clapshot by combining mashed potatoes, rutabaga, chives, butter or drippings from your meat, salt, pepper, and sometimes onion

another suggestion on Wikipedia was to mix them with carrots and mash...the picture had a beautiful color!

Edited to add: oh yeah! I almost forgot the one that really is common around here in the fall...PASTIES! I have only seen them with potatoes, but there are recipes all over the internet that use rutabaga in them. Who knew?!?!

beans, beans, everywhere!

Just a fast note to everyone...the green beans out at the farm are growing wildly. There are extras that can be purchased for $1.50 per pound, or if you are frugal and hoping to save some money.. you can go out and pick them yourself for $1.00 per pound!

If you want to do some canning or freezing, they do have to be picked F.A.S.T. As in probably before Saturday evening. These will NOT last until the regular delivery day on Tuesday, they are getting very large already.

Should we hit the point that there are more requests than beans, there are other farms in the Amish community who are also overflowing with beans. We should be able to meet your needs.

Stacy

mobile blogging test

Checking to see if I got things all in order to update and send pictures from my phone.

Summer is busy

I am working hard to catch up to all the requests, but it is taking longer than I expected. I am working on recipes, I will add them to this main page of the blog as well as the recipe page as soon as I can get it done. If you have a favorite recipe, please share it. Many people are asking for new recipes. I have gotten a lot of great ideas, I just need time to type them out :o)

I am off to can my own green beans today.

Stacy

Updates for the week of August 3rd..

Short and sweet this week!

Things are looking pretty good in the garden. There are still some stragglers, but most items are growing well. The bugs have been tamed, or so it seems, for now and the weather has been favorable this past week.

In the box this week, we expect:
Green Beans
Yellow Wax Beans
Cucumbers
Dill (may be baby stuff again, but we have to have some for all these cukes!)
Zucchini
Buttercrunch lettuce
Curled Kale
Potatoes
Rutabaga
Cherry Tomatoes!


Now, just to give everyone a "head's up".....the Lambright family has a wedding the week of August 23rd. We are hoping to get all deliveries and pick ups done on Tuesday that week, as they will have a lot of company and work to do with the wedding being on their farm on Wednesday!


Now, I have been slacking with recipes, but please check out the recipe page for some fun ideas for the zucchini.

Stacy

P.S. I haven't forgotten the pictures, I still haven't learned all the details of my camera.