All posts by Semra Fetahovic

January at the Farm

cats, farm planning, lamb stew, preserving, rocky

Well, Hawaii (see post below) is but a memory now (a nice memory), and it is back to work on the farm.

January is always busy for us. The last 4 years we have helped teach a full day CSA Mini-School at the Great Plains Growers Conference on the first weekend of January. Gearing up to spread the good word about CSAs takes a lot of our focus that first week. The minute the conference is done we dive into the seed and equipment order, with a self-imposed deadline of 1/15.

The seed order has become easier over the years, as computers and the internet are incredibly helpful. But spending $3,000 on thousands of tiny DNA packets still requires organization and planning. This year’s order is on its way, with the hope that all the seeds we want are still left. The growth of organic vegetable growing has been a boon to the seed market, but does occasionally create shortfalls. We should be in pretty good shape though, as our order is usually timely.


Ordering the seeds


Thank heavens for spreadsheets

Once the seeds have been ordered, we work at getting all our other purchases to begin moving towards the farm. From potting soil compost, to a new mower, now is the time to get ready for the season. The first week of February is coming up soon, and that is when we start up the greenhouse, seeding the onions.

With the early planning done, and the greenhouse requiring limited tending, we are able to fill our days in late January and February with the fun of home remodeling (for the 8th year). This year’s work will include tear out and insulation of our living room and office walls, electrical work, drywall and painting, replacing our wood burning stove with an efficient one, and other tasks if time allows. We are looking forward to completion of this “final” stage of work.

Rocky and the cats are surviving the winter. The cats are going a little stir-crazy though, as they stay inside a lot in the winter, and start getting on each other’s nerves. Their favorite spot is under the wood stove. Cozy.

Rocky on the other hand, can take the cold like the Great Pyrennes/Anatolian Shepher cross that he is. Laying on a frozen pond is just fine with him.

The farmers stay cozy too. How can we not, with a stocked larder and freezer. One reason I got into canning and preserving was that, hard work though it is, it has a big payoff. Some folks seem to think you can’t eat well with local food in the winter—it is the time that we actually fatten up on local fare. The recipe below is a delicious example of it.


A well stocked larder

Lamb Meatball Stew
The meatballs are an excellent way to make lamb stew, without the need for a cut of meat. You can season the meatballs to suit your taste. The carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic and herbs are all part of our winter stores.

Ingredients:
1 lb Parker Farm ground lamb
1 tbsp roasted garlic puree (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 medium carrots
2 to 3 medium onions
1-1/2 lb potatoes
1 tbsp dried mint
1 tbsp dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart chicken, turkey, vegetable or other stock
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour

Method:
1. Mix the garlic puree, salt, and pepper with the ground lamb and shape into small meatballs (30 or so).
2. Brown the meatballs and then set side.

3. In the same pot, saute the onions and carrots for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, salt, pepper, and herbs and cook for 3 minutes more.

4. Add the meatballs back to the pot along with the stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are tender.
5. Make a roux with the butter and flour—melt the butter in a small pan, add the flour, stir constantly for about a minute. Add the roux to the meat and vegetables and blend in.
6. Let the stew simmer for 3 to 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
7. Serve hot with bread and butter and a cooked green (ours was kale with an olive oil/mustard sauce).
8. Enjoy winter eating.

December Vacation

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We do our best every year to push our farm work to the back burner in December, and save time for some serious rest and relaxation. Vacation travel has been sparse the last several years, so this year we made plans to visit Kauai, Hawaii and some free family lodging.

It was a wonderful week, complete with sun every day, great beachs, snorkeling, amazing flora and fauna, and local food that included tropical fruit and fresh seafood. We were able to cook at our accomdations, so we visited the market each day, and prepared many of our meals “at home.” Here are a few photos we took. Aloha.


Rebecca along a north shore beach


Breakfast


Taro fields


After a day of paddling an
outrigger with Rebecca’s
Aunt Phyllis


The everpresent wild rooster

Your Thanksgiving Share

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The Thanksgiving share harvest continues into it’s third day on Friday as we reap the last of the 2010 vegetables from the fields. While we unfortunately have to scratch brussel sprouts from the list (too many aphids on them to make them palatable), we have a quality crops of 13 items.

Lettuce: Small to medium sized heads, crisp and delicious.

Endive: A bitter green that adds a nice bite to a late Fall salad. If you saved any strawberries from the Spring try our Week 4 recipe of Garlic and Strawberry Dressing over Endive.

Kale, Collards or Arugula: Kale (or Collards) with Vinegar and Egg is an awesome side dish to add some greenery to a Thanksgiving meal. The last few frosts have sweetened up both of these greens. The arugula has a bit of a kick this time of year, so you may want to use it as you would a herb in your salad, chopped somewhat fine.

Asian Greens: Chop them up and add them fresh to your salad, or stir-fry a light meal on either side of the holiday.

Butternut Squash or Sweet Potatoes: Recipes abound here in the cyber world. Or use a family
favorite, if you have one. Roasting, mashing, soup and pie are all options.

Bulb Fennel: A favorite of ours. We only grow it in the Fall, as that is when its flavor is the mildest. Treat it as you would celery. It is delicious cut into pieces and added to a salad dressed with a red wine vinaigrette. Check out the recipe below for another yummy dish.

Broccoli or Spinach: The last of the hearty broccoli, still as flavorful as ever. Or do you want some of our lone spinach crop of the year?

Roots assortment: The carrots, radish and Hakurei turnips will make a diverse crudités platter for your Thanksgiving guests. A little beet grated onto your salad adds a beautiful color.

Kohlrabi: Fall kohlrabi is the best, sweet, juicy and crunchy. Just trim the top and the root end, peel it, and cut it as you like. It is another staple crudités item, or a great addition to roasted vegetables (see recipe below).

Cabbage: We like it as a raw addition to the Thanksgiving meal. Think cole slaw.

Leeks: Use them wherever onions are called for, or in the recipe below.

Garlic: Everyone needs some garlic if they’re doing any cooking.

Cilantro: Fresh as can be for topping a salsa appetizer, or as an addition to a creamy dressing.

Roasted Fennel, Leeks and Kohlrabi
While harvesting the bulb fennel today, and being soothed by its aromatherapy, our apprentice Emily said how she thought the fennel would be great roasted. So, not being one to let a good idea go to waste, I decided that tonight’s dinner should test her theory. The result (with the addition of leeks and kohlrabi) was a warm, savory and hearty dish. Add what you want to this, potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic…


trim the top and core the root

Ingredients
2 medium fennel bulbs
2 medium leeks
1 medium kohlrabi
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp butter


cut the fennel like you would celery

Method
Cut the tops off the fennel bulb and core out the root. Chop in half, and then crosswise to make celery like chunks.
Clean and chop the leeks into ½ inch slices and rounds
Peel the kohlrabi and chop into ½ inch size chunks
Mix vegetables with salt, oregano, thyme and olive oil
Spread on a baking sheet and top with butter
Bake at 375°F for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring once.

The Wedding of Rebecca and Tom

wedding

Hello good friends. Not our normal post here, as we would like to let everyone know that on Noveber 6, 2010 we got married.

arriving at the Ratcliff’s

The Officiant, John Erb

John is a good friend who made wine with Tom for many years in the Finger Lakes region of New York state. He is also a Catholic deacon with an anti-establishment bent.

John 18:37 Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”

John said he wished to express how he felt that we were living, rather than simply speaking a life of caring for the earth, living a life of love outside the status quo, and sharing our life with the community.

the wedding procession with flower
girls Pearl and Josephine

Here Comes the Bride

First Reading:
Not sure, but we feel that this may be a true story.

Excerpt from Aristophanes’s Speech from Plato’s Symposium
Translated by Benjamin Jowett

Aristophanes professed to open another vein of discourse; he had a mind to praise Love in another way, unlike that of either Pausanias or Eryximachus. Mankind, he said, judging by their neglect of him, have never, as I think, at all understood the power of Love. For if they had understood him they would surely have built noble temples and altars, and offered solemn sacrifices in his honour; but this is not done, and most certainly ought to be done: since of all the gods he is the best friend of men, the helper and the healer of the ills which are the great impediment to the happiness of the race. I will try to describe his power to you, and you shall teach the rest of the world what I am teaching you.

… the primeval man was round, his back and sides forming a circle; and he had four hands and the same number of feet, one head with two faces, looking opposite ways, set on a round neck and precisely alike; also four ears, two privy members, and the remainder to correspond. He could walk upright as men now do, backwards or forwards as he pleased, and he could also roll over and over at a great pace, turning on his four hands and four feet, eight in all, like tumblers going over and over with their legs in the air; this was when he wanted to run fast.

Terrible was their might and strength, and the thoughts of their hearts were great, and they made an attack upon the gods. Doubt reigned in the celestial councils. Should they kill them and annihilate the race with thunderbolts, as they had done the giants, then there would be an end of the sacrifices and worship which men offered to them; but, on the other hand, the gods could not suffer their insolence to be unrestrained. At last, after a good deal of reflection, Zeus discovered a way. He spoke and cut men in two, like a sorb-apple which is halved for pickling, or as you might divide an egg with a hair …

Each of us when separated, having one side only, like a flat fish, is but the tally-half of a man, and he is always looking for his other half. And such a nature is prone to love and ready to return love, always embracing that which is akin to him. And when one of them meets with his other half, the actual half of himself, whether he be a lover of youth or a lover of another sort, the pair are lost in an amazement of love and friendship and intimacy, and one will not be out of the other’s sight, as I may say, even for a moment: these are the people who pass their whole lives together, and yet they could not explain what they desire of one another. For the intense yearning which each of them has towards the other does not appear to be the desire of lover’s intercourse, but of something else which the soul of either evidently desires and cannot tell, and of which she has only a dark and doubtful presentiment.

There is not a man of them who when he heard the proposal would deny or would not acknowledge that this meeting and melting into one another, this becoming one instead of two, was the very expression of his ancient need.

And the reason is that human nature was originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called love.

with our witnesses, Jessica and James

Second Reading:
Readings from our journal that we are trying to keep. We looked back at the days before our engagement to see if there was anything that prompted it.

Thursday, September 30
Weeded cabbage, rolled up irrigation, mowed, sprayed Bt on brassicas. Found 2.7 lb baby puffball mushrooms, also some oyster mushrooms. Mushroom bisque, froze extra, bought tickets to Kauai.

Friday, October 1
Harvest sweet potatoes, many jumbos, cherry tomatoes, wash last of pumpkins. Mushroom quiche, okra & Caesar salad. Spices from Angela Farnung.
Smudging ceremony

Saturday, October 2
CSA day, harvest last beans. Forecast for frost tonight. Harvest rest of sweet potatoes, also green peppers, eggplant and tomatoes. Sonic for dinner. Watch “The Lady Vanishes”
Sunday October 3
Frost on grass, not too much damage. More frost predicted tonight. Froze beans, peppers and eggplant. Got engaged! O’Henry sweet potatoes, pork chops with apples, Roma beans and last bottle of 1999 homemade champagne. Brought in houseplants.

dinner with John, Brooke and Dan


The Bride at Bad Seed

So there you have it. It was a beautiful day.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 24

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Another Season Eaten Up
Hard to believe that it has been 24 weeks since we first handed out shares for 2010. And while our bones and muscles feel it, our brain sees it all as having flown by. We want to thank everyone for there support, input, encouragement, and camaraderie. Community is the first word in CSA, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

The Last Share
We feel it is important to remind everyone of how to store items from the last several shares, so that they will last if you do not eat them right away. Sweet potatoes, for example, are from a tropical plant, and should not be refrigerated. Keep them in a warm, dark area that is over 55 deg F. They can keep until the spring if treated that way. Store your winter squash the same way.

If you happen to get a cabbage, you can store it in a bag in your crisper for at least a month. We store ours in the packing room cooler (after it has been turned off), and can enjoy cabbage for months. Try some cole slaw at Xmas.

Any root crops will keep a long time too. Simply cut the greens off of your winter radishes, kohlrabi, turnips or beets, before storing them in a bag in the crisper.

Butternut Squash-White Bean Stew
We got this recipe from Relish Magazine. Rebecca happened to recover it from the recycle bin, as it was apparently a supplement in The KC Star. To say this stew is hearty is an understatement. Leeks are an excellent substitute for onions in this dish, and sweet potatoes can take the place of the squash.

A 2-pound whole squash yields about 4 cups of cubes. Look for tomato paste in a tube, so you can use a tablespoon at a time. Serve with cheese toast.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup slivered onion
3/4 cup thinly sliced celery
3 cups mushrooms, halved
4 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash
1 (14-ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Instructions
1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables start to brown, about 8 minutes.
2. Stir in squash, tomatoes, garlic, water, tomato paste, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Uncover, stir in beans and simmer until stew consistency, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, if desired. Serves 8.

Recipe by Jean Kressy
Nutritional Information
Per serving: 150 calories, 4g fat, 0mg chol., 5g prot., 24g carbs., 7g fiber, 420mg sodium.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 23

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Herbs are Great
We heard that the last time we had sage in the shares there were a lot of bunches that made it to the swap box instead of to folk’s homes. While you may not have an affinity for sage, we hope that you reconsider these last few weeks of the season.

Sage is an old, traditional herb (thus said the old sage.) While it is available most all year round from the garden, we save it for the time of year when winter squash and pumpkins are handed out, as it is an idea seasoning for these cucurbits. In past blogs and newsletters we have highlighted its culinary benefits, like in sweet potato ravioli with browned sage butter, or simply with sweet potatoes, as a substitute for sugar and marshmallows.

Lemongrass is another herb choice this week. A plant suited to the tropics, we were able to get an OK harvest this year. Its wonderful aroma is obvious, but how to utilize it in a dish might not be. These little plants pack a lot of flavor and to get to it all you have to do is grate the bulbous root end (after cutting off any root hairs.) Our favorite use is in Lemongrass Chicken. But search the web and you are sure to find many recipes.

The Trencher Strikes
Sorry if this blog is short, but it has been a busy couple of days. You may know that we recieved some stimulus funds to improve our irrigation system—75% cost share on the 2,300 feet of irrigation pipe, as well as 4 solar panels.

With 2 days of trenching behind us (see photo below) we have weathered the trencher hitch coming off our truck on the way to the farm (all is OK), a very wet day of work on Monday, and severing our internet line. We are fortunate enough to have Rebecca’s dad next door so we can borrow his Droid and have a hot spot for an hour to compose this latest installment.

Many thanks go out to our farm crew for putting pipe into the ground today, and especially to Tom Parker, a busy farmer and experienced water line installer, who assisted us today. We plan on being even better prepared in the future for all those hot, dry Missouri days that we know we will see.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 22

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Relish the Share
The two light frosts of Saturday and Sunday brought all of the peppers out of the field and into your shares. We hope that you are not overwhelmed by the harvest and put them to good use.

There are many things to do with green peppers. This week we have a green pepper relish recipe. You won’t have enough peppers to make it worth your while to can them, so don’t stress about that. Just keep it in your fridge and use it over the next several months on burgers, in egg salad, potato salad, or in your homemade thousand island dressing.

An option for the peppers you can’t use right away is to freeze them. Peppers are unique in that you don’t have to blanch them before freezing. Simple clean them of the stem and seed, cut them into chunks, and freeze them. It is best to first freeze them on a cookie sheet and them put them in a freezer bag or other suitable container.

Fajitas are another wonderful use of peppers. Or check our Week 21 of 2005 newsletter for 3 other tasty pepper and onion dishes. You can use your leeks instead of onions if you haven’t eaten them already.

Hot Peppers
The fulls get a shot at some more hot peppers this week, as they were also harvested to beat the cold. The first hot pepper primer was in this year’s Week 13 blog. This week there are a few new ones for you. The ones in the foreground of the photo below are cherry bells. They are the ones you see stuffed with cheese and prosciutto at the Italian delis.

The ones in the background are poblanos. Also known as an ancho pepper when it is dried, they are quite spicy and the pepper of choice for chile rellenos. Unfortunately these peppers never sized up, but they can still be used for this wonderful dish.

Green Pepper Relish
If your are thinking of canning your pepper relish, or doing some other preserving, I suggest this National Center for Home Food Preservation Publication 8004, page 10. The recipe below is adapted to fit the quantity of peppers in your share.

Makes about 3 half pints.
About 6 medium peppers (1.5 lb +/-) a mix of green, red and hot to suit your taste (including juice)
2 medium onions
3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups white vinegar (5%)
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp salt

1. Combine all ingredients. Boil 30 minutes, uncovered.
2. Pack into jars, to 1⁄2 inch (1 cm) from top.
3. Remove air bubbles by running a plastic knife or spatula between the food and
the jar. Then wipe jar rims with a clean, damp cloth and secure lids and ring
bands.
4. Let cool and then store in the fridge, or process pints in a boiling water bath as prescribed in Table 6 of the guide.

What to Do With Your Share—Week 21

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Pumpkins
For the first time in several years (back when we had less members) we are able to give everyone in the CSA a pie pumpkin. Our cultivation of the crop, along with a warm, dry stretch in June/July did the trick.

These pumpkins are not Jack o’ lanterns so don’t let the small size discourage you. They are meant to be eaten. A hearty soup, casserole, or creamy pie is the reason for the season with these. We hope you enjoy them.

Pumpkin Pie
Rebecca put her baking skill to work this weekend, making a pumpkin pie that tasted like it could have been served at the first Thankgiving. The recipe below is from the 1961 edition of the New York Times Cookbook.

We used a small/medium pumpkin and got exactly 2 cups of pumpkin puree out of it. It was more than enough to fill a store-bought 9 inch pie shell. As some of the pumpkins may not give you a full 2 cups, we recommend seeing how much pumpkin you have first, and then adjusting the ingredient amounts down some if need be.

Ingredients:
Unbaked 9-inch pie shell
2 large or 3 small eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp molasses or sorghum
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 to 2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves or allspice
2 cups cooked pumpkin
1-1/2 cup milk, light cream or evaporated milk

Method:

  • To cook the pumpkin: cut in half and scoop out the seeds, place face down on a baking sheet, poke pumpkin skin with a fork or knife, add some water to the baking sheet and bake at 350 deg F for 40 minutes or until tender. Let cool and scoop out pumpking pulp. You can run the pulp through a food processor if you want it to be smoother.
  • Prepare the pie shell with a fluted standing rim. Brush lightly with egg white or shortening.
  • Preheat oven to 450 deg F
  • Beat eggs with the sugar, sorghum, salt and spices until well blended. Add the pumpkin and milk and mix well. Adjust the seasonings.
  • Turn the mixture into the prepared curist and bake on the lower shelf of the oven for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 400 deg F and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, or about 30 minutes longer.
  • Let cool. Serve with whipped cream topping.

If you have extra pie filling you can fill small custard cups and bake them along with the pie.