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Localvore Members
& Regular Veggie Only Share Members
take a LIGHT GREEN BAG
This week your bag will contain:
Mesclun Mix; Green Beans Mix; Beets; Zucchini; Carrots; Celery; Cucumbers; Napa Cabbage; Onions; & Sage
Localvore Offerings Include:
Aurora Farms Vt Organic White Flour
Pa Pa Doodles Farm Fresh Eggs
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
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Small Veggie Only Members
take a YELLOW BAG
containing:
Mesclun Mix; Green Beans Mix; Beets, Zucchini; Carrots; Cauliflower; Garlic Scapes
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Save the Date!
August 18th & 19th
Pete's Greens
Annual Farm Picnic &
Kingdom Farm and Food Days
See below for more information about this exciting annual event.
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Pete's Musings
Farm
is starting to click along on all cylinders. It is pretty amazing how
long it takes to get really skilled at growing 40 or so different
vegetable crops. And I wouldn't say that we are really skilled at all of
them yet but we're getting better all the time. But it takes a constant
commitment to education, analysis, considering new techniques,
experimenting, and taking notes so you don't make the same mistakes
twice. Really a lifelong challenge but I guess if it weren't a lifelong
challenge it might get boring at some point.
Later
this week we are seeding very large plantings of carrots and beets for
winter storage. We were shy on carrots last winter but we don't plan to
be this time around. Our onion and potato storage crops continue to be
the finest we have ever grown and storage cabbages are being planted
next week. We're freezing zukes this afternoon for winter dispersal.
All this preparation for winter and we've barely hit high summer!
That's farming in a season as short as we have here in Vermont.
 Our
greenhouses are doing well with a bumper crop of tomatoes. Most of the
plants are now 14 ft. tall and will have to be lowered next week so that
we can continue to trellis them. We're a little disappointed in how
late our peppers and eggplant are, usually we have a good crop by now.
And we have the most gorgeous melon patch in a greenhouse that has not
set a single fruit! Bees and flowers everywhere but no fruit being set.
Good example of a crop that will require more research this winter.
Fortunately we have softball size melons fattening up outdoors.
In
other news we enjoyed the epic "Milagro Beanfield War" projected onto
the side of our building last Saturday night. Big screen, 20 ft. by 20
ft, think drive-in. One of the best movies ever made as it includes
farming, poor people facing down rich people taking over their town, and
a bulldozer going over a cliff. It's an old enough movie that I think
the bulldozer actually did go over the cliff. Anyway we'll probably be
showing a movie every other Saturday night so stay tuned. ~Pete
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Storage and Use Tips
Most
of you are probably pretty familiar with this week's offerings. But
there's a chance some among you aren't yet acquainted with these below.
Garlic Scapes - (Veggie Only Members)
The curly soon-to-be-flowering-if-we-didn't-pick-them stalks that a
garlic plant sends up at this time of year are a short season delicacy.
With a mellow green but garlicky flavor, they can be eaten raw or cooked
and are delicious added to many dishes. Add to stir fry recipes, pasta
dishes, guacamole, salsas, vegetable dishes. They are also good in
salads and on bruschetta & pizza and so many more ways. You can
also make a mild pesto with scapes.
Napa Cabbage - (Regular Veggie/Localvore Bag)
The flavor of Napa cabbage is somewhat milder and a bit sweeter than
that of regular green cabbage. It is delicious raw or cooked, and can be
substituted for regular cabbage in most recipes. It is extremely
popular in China partly because of its versatility. It also keeps very
well after chopping. I will often prepare Napa salads in advance,
slicing the Napa, shredding carrots and adding other stuff like radishes
or salad turnips and then I'll put the whole thing in a bag in fridge.
Later when I want salad, I dress the mixture and eat. The salad blend
will keep fine like this for several days. Store uncut Napa heads in a
sealed plastic bag in your refrigerator.
Sage - (Regular Veggie/Localvore Bag) This
herb is very good in stuffings, beans, potatoes, risotto, cheeses, and
tomato sauces and pairs well with fatty meats such as pork, sausage,
goose, and lamb. Complementary flavorings include onion, garlic, thyme,
oregano, parsley, bay leaf, and rosemary. Sage can easily overpower a
dish. Use with a light hand when experimenting. Though it has a strong
flavor, it is an aromatic and will lose some of its flavor when cooked,
so for fullest flavor, add it at the end of the cooking process. Wrap in
paper towels and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Use within
4 to 5 days. Sage can also be preserved for later use by freezing
freshly washed leaves in ziploc bags (they'll keep for about a year),
drying (will be good for about 6 mos), or covering with olive oil and
refrigerating (will be good about 3 weeks).
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Changes to Your Delivery?
If you will be away some upcoming week, and need to make changes to your share delivery, let us know
at least 1 week before the change. You can have your share donated to
the Food Pantry, or you can skip your share delivery and you will retain
a credit on your account toward the purchase of your next share.
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Save the Date!
Saturday August 18th is Pete's Greens Annual Farm Party
& Kingdom Farm & Food Days Too!
Please mark your calendar and join us in August 18th for our annual
farm picnic. Pete and others among us will be giving tours of the farm
and our new building. We'll have some great live music. And we will cook
up some great feast for the occasion!
We welcome CSA members, neighbors, friends, and anyone else to visit
the farm and learn about what we do, how we grow, where we process and
store vegetables.
Our farm event happens within the action packed weekend Kingdom Farm & Food Days.
On Saturday many other nearby farms will be open to visitors. The Craftsbury Outdoor Center will offer bike tours
that begin and end at Pete's Greens (ending in time for the big picnic
shindig). The bike tour is routed along many other farms and food
producers in our neck of the woods. There's a shorter family length
tour and a longer one from stronger riders.
On Sunday August 19th the events continue at High Mowing Seeds.
High Mowing Seeds trials garden will be open for self-guided and
hour-long guided tours throughout the day. There will be many workshops
on seed saving, pest and disease identification, fermenting fresh
vegetables, and more!
The New England Culinary Institute (NECI) will present
an amazing array of locally produced food in Sunday afternoon’s Local
Foods Showcase. This dinner has become very popular among visitors who
know they will taste some of the finest Vermont-made food products and
culinary delights prepared by NECI students and chef Ryan O’Malley.
Many more event details will be available in next couple weeks.
Please mark your calendars and come out and join us for a great weekend celebrating Vt Agriculture.
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Oustanding in the Field 2012 at Pete's Greens
Wednesday September 5th - Tickets on Sale now
For the last two years our farm has provided the scenic
backdrop for an exquisitely beautiful, memorable meal prepared by Chef
Eric Warnstedt of Hen of the Wood Restaurant. Each year, the touring
team at Outstanding in the Field make their way across North America,
bringing their signature long community table to fields, gardens and
vineyards near and far. The mission of the organization is to re-connect
diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the
local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it. Outstanding in the
Field connects a passionate chef with a farm and then provides all the
infrastructure to make a picture perfect meal happen in very rural or
remote places.
We feel lucky that OITF staff and Eric conspired to make it happen
again here at the farm. Dining at Hen of the Wood is among my top
dining experiences anywhere. Having Eric and his outstanding crew
prepare a meal as part of the Outstanding in the Field experience makes
it that much more special. A place at the table includes a five course
meal with wine pairings, all gratuities, producer discussions, cocktails
before dinner and a tour of our farm with Pete.
Tickets are available.
Visit the Outstanding in the Field website for event details or to order tickets.
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Localvore Lore
Over the course of this share, you'll receive several types of flour. The Vermont Organic White Flour
you are receiving this week was organically grown in Charlotte by Tom
Kenyon at Aurora Farms (home of the Nitty Gritty Grain Company). Tom and
Randy George of Red Hen Baking Company collaborated to grow this flour,
and the first successful crop was harvested in the Fall of 2009 (after a
couple failures in prior years). The quality of the flour and the
success of the crop was worthy of celebration! Prior to the 2009
harvest, we had nothing like it available to us that was grown locally
here in Vermont. It's a lower protein flour, more of an all purpose
flour than a bread flour, though still with enough protein and gluten
strength to bake breads (Red Hen's Cyrus Pringle bread uses this flour).
I am thankful for the opportunity to have a good, very local organic
white flour on hand to bake with, one that I know has been grown
organically and that performs so well to boot. It is my go to flour for
most dessert baking - cookies, brownies, cakes etc. I like the added
nutrients of whole wheat flour, so I do mix this flour with others in
most non-treat baking. I mix it with whole wheat flour for bread and
pizza dough, and with whole wheat pastry or a sifted wheat flour for
muffins, pancakes and biscuits. There is a nice article in the Spring
issue of Local Banquet about the partnership between Tom and Randy that
brought this flour into existence for us to enjoy. Read the article
here. This year's wheat is still in the field. We are hopefull that
the weather will cooperate and give us another good harvest.
Personally, I'd be sad not to have this in my kitchen.
The eggs come from "the girls" at Pa Pa Doodles Farm of course. This flock is lovingly tended by our own Deb Rosewolf.
Oh
how I love the cheese in the share this week. Every time I taste it
after I have been away a while, I am reminded what a great cheese it is.
Cabot Clothbound Cheddar
is a multi award winning cheese, judged best cheddar in many
competitions, including winning the American Cheese Society's Best in
Show Award in 2006 besting some 940 other cheeses from around the
country in that year's competition. And it has earned both a gold and
silver medal at the World Cheese Awards taking home the title of the
Best US Cheddar. The cheese starts out at the Cabot Creamery.
Immediately after the wheels are unmolded from their cheddar hoops at
Cabot, they are loaded into a truck and delivered to the Cellars at
Jasper Hill. For the next 10-14 months they remain at Cellars, lovingly
tended. During the aging process a bloomy rind is allowed to develop
which flavors the cheese. The cave environment is carefully monitored to
age the cheese perfectly. The result is a traditional English type
cheddar, with a slightly craggly texture, and flavors that are both
sweet and nutty.
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Recipes
Roasted Beet Salad with Beet Greens and Feta
This
one comes from Bon Appetit anmd it's delicious every time. Beet greens
are combined with roasted beets, capers and feta in a Greek-inspired
salad. You can sub in goat cheese or blue cheese too if you don't have
feta, or go cheese-less.
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (can get by with 2-3 TB)
2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (balsamic ok too)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
7 medium-large beets (about 3 inches in diameter) with greens
1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped drained capers
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
*substitutes -if you don't have feta, blue or goat cheese will do, or skip cheese altogether
*optional - toasted chopped walnuts or pine nuts are excellent additions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk oil, vinegar and garlic in small bowl to blend. Season dressing generously with salt and pepper.
Cut
green tops off beets; reserve tops. Arrange beets in single layer in
13x9x2-inch baking dish; add 1 cup water. Cover; bake until beets are
tender when pierced with knife, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Peel beets
while warm. Cut beets in half and slice thinly. Transfer to large bowl.
Mix in capers and 1/4 cup dressing. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut stems off beet greens; discard stems. Wash greens. Transfer greens,
with some water still clinging to leaves, to large pot. Stir over high
heat until just wilted but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain
greens; squeeze out excess moisture. Cool; chop coarsely.
Transfer greens to medium bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Arrange beets in center of platter. Surround with greens; sprinkle with feta. Drizzle with any remaining dressing.
Zucchini Chile-Cheddar Mash
This recipe from EatingWell July/August 2011 creates a very tasty dish a lot out of a few very simple ingredients.
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/4 pounds zucchini (2-3 medium), halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, drained (or some salsa)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (even 2 oz is plenty to give good flavor)
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and
onion; stir to coat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very
soft and lightly browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in chiles and salt;
cook until heated through, 1 minute more.
Transfer
to a medium bowl. Mash a bit with a potato masher until chunky, not
completely smooth. Stir in cheese and serve immediately.
Zucchini Cheddar Not Just for Breakfast Biscuits
Serve these tender delicious biscuits up with a big salad. From Andrea Chessman's Serving Up the Harvest.
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 tsp salt
4 ounces good quality bacon
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 TB baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp freshly grated ground black pepper
4 TB cold unsalted butter
1 cup grated Cheddar
3/4 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1.5 tsp lemon juice added)
Combine the zuc and salt in a colander and set aside to drain for 30
mins. Squeeze out any excess moisture and place in small mixing bowl.
You should have around a 1/2 cup.
Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, around
10 minutes. Remove and set aside on paper towels to drain.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda and pepper into a large
bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add
the cheese, bacon, and buttermilk to form a stiff dough. Transfer dough
to a lightly floured board and knead briefly till dough is a bit
smoother. Pat out or roll out to 1" thick. Cut biscuits with 3" cutter
or slice into squares and place on a baking sheet 1" apart.
Bake for 15 mins or until golden.
Spicy Asian Slaw with Napa Cabbage, Carrots & Ginger Dressing
This
recipe Aadapted from Gourmet Magazine is a winner. Such a flavorful
dish, total crowd pleaser at potlucks and travels really well. Don't
worry if you don't have cilantro or even the scallions handy. This
salad is tasty all the same. Great with toasted almonds too.
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tsp grated lime zest
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 serrano chile, seeded and membranes removed, finely chopped
1 small Napa cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise, cored, and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
4 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
In
a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, sugar, ginger, sesame oil,
canola oil, lime zest, lime juice, and chile. Set aside.
Separate the cabbage leaves into a large bowl. Add carrots, scallions, and cilantro, and toss well.
Pour the dressing into the cabbage mixture and toss again. Let stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally.
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