Around the Farm with Pete
Another cold, slow spring. So far not as bad as last year during which it was very cold and very wet and that persisted into June. But things don't grow much when it's cloudy and highs in the 40s. The 10 day forecast has lots of highs in the 40s, long range forecasts around here are notoriously unreliable so hopefully it evolves warmer.
Greenhouses are jam packed. Due to record demand for our food we've been filling every square inch. That bounty will begin to kick in in earnest in the coming weeks.
We planted early potatoes on Sunday on a sunny south slope. 7 acres of onions will begin to be transplanted today. We have two seedings of carrots germinated and a beautiful acre of beets coming up. 3 plantings of baby greens are in outdoors and the first is slowly chugging towards being ready. Year in and year out we harvest our first baby greens outdoors on 5/5. But not last year and not this year, it's just been too chilly.
I went to an auction in NH last week. More precisely I went the day before the auction to preview the offerings. It was at a vegetable farm and the auction itself was virtual to avoid a crowd gathering. It was interesting to bid online and on the phone. A bit nerve wracking until I realized that the auctioneers interest is in making sure everyone has time to bid as high as possible. So it wasn't rushed or stressful and it was nice to do other things while the auction played on the computer rather than have to spend the whole day at the auction. My 5 year old and I were cracking up listening to the auctioneer and especially the auction helpers who scream each time they get a new bid. Made for a very entertaining couple hours. I bought a potato seed cutter which we've really needed, and part of a green bean harvesting setup so that we can start growing beans more efficiently. And we purchased piles of tools from the farm shop that will bolster our shop. All in all well worth the time and effort.
Thanks to all you new faces for joining Good Eats. We're working hard to grow the best and most diverse selection of veggies possible.
-Pete
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Using a tine weeder on our garlic field
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Fancy / Localvore
Mesclun
Purple-top Turnips
Black Radish
Sweet Potato
Onion
Red Russian Kale
Pac Choi
Basil*
Green Garlic
*Your basil will be inside your bag of mesclun*
Take a purple bag!
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Everyday Standard
Mesclun
Cilantro
Sweet Potato
Carrots
Celeriac
Green Garlic
Take a yellow bag!
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Lean & Green
Mesclun
Red Leaf Lettuce OR Romaine
Mustard Greens
Broccoli Rabe OR Chard
Carrots
Baby Cucumbers
Take a green bag!
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It's a Meat Week!
This month your meat share will include:
- Jasper Hill Meats Andouille Sausage- This is a fully cooked pork sausage with andouille seasoning.
- Jasper Hill Meats Canadian Bacon Ends- These will be great in a stir fry, fried rice, scrambled with eggs, or anywhere that you feel needs a smokey, meaty flavor.
- Pete's Pastured Chicken- These organic chickens were raised right here at Pete's Greens! They have an amazing depth of flavor thanks to the pasture they were raised on!
- McKnight Family Farm Ground Beef- McKnight Family Farm is located in East Montpelier. They are known for their raw cow's milk, and for their delicious organic beef!
Your meat shares will be packed separately in orange bags in one of the coolers at your pickup site!
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Pantry/ Localvore Shares and Pantry Add-Ons
This week's pantry/ localvore pantry items are Frozen Raspberries, Cornmeal, and Applesauce. Please read more below.
Cheese Shares: Cheese is OUT of the bag. This week's cheese share is Savage from von Trapp Farmstead. The cheese is labeled with your name.
Egg Shares: These are delivered OUT OF THE BAG. You'll find your dozen labeled with your name.
Bread Shares: These are delivered OUT OF THE BAG. This week's bread share comes from Elmore Mountain Bread.
Milk Shares: These are delivered OUT OF THE BAG. They are in a cooler. Our milk share comes from Sweet Rowen Farmstead in West Glover. Paul used to work at Pete's Greens years ago, but now he is milking a small herd of heritage Lineback cows. His milk has a delightfully grassy flavor, as his cows are pasture-raised. He leaves it cream-top, and pasteurizes it over very gentle heat in order to reduce human interference as much as possible! This milk is bottled fresh for you on Tuesday nights! These are delivered OUT OF THE BAG. They are in a cooler.
Store orders: Everything ordered from the store is packed separately.
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A Few Notes...
- We have updated the automatic payment settings in Farmigo. If you are set on autopay, your card will be charged when your balance falls below $25, rather than waiting until your account falls below $0.
- To help us plan out our veggie availability and schedule with our non-veggie producers, we need to have all orders for the coming week placed by Friday night of the next week's delivery. The Sunday night deadline is just too tight for us!
- If you ordered any bulk items in the store this week, they will be OUT OF THE BAG. They will have a label with your name on it. Store orders must be placed by Friday night of the week before delivery.
- Continuing your Good Eats CSA into the summer? No changes are necessary to your member account! If you are on auto-renewal, your deliveries are ongoing no matter what season we are in. No waitlist is necessary! We encourage new or returning members to let us know if they want to switch their share as soon as possible as space may be limited at some sites or for some shares. If you are interested in helping us spread the word about our CSA, let us know!
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Need some help getting the hang of our online member portal?
Check out our tutorials below!
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- Smitty's Frozen Raspberries: Frozen Raspberries from Smitty's Farm in Derby VT are bringing you the fresh, sweet taste of summer! Greg Smith has over 5 acres of berries, including raspberries, that are organically grown.
- Nitty Gritty Cornmeal: Nitty Gritty Grain Co. is a family business run by Tom Kenyon in Charlotte, VT. They grow organic wheat and corn. This cornmeal comes from heirloom and organic hybrid varieties that give this mix a robust flavor and texture. It's also great for pancakes and muffins!
- Champlain Orchards Applesauce: This is an unsweetened fresh applesauce made at Champlain Orchards. The applesauce is not canned, and therefore needs to be kept refrigerated!
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STORAGE TIPS
- Mesclun: Store your mesclun in an airtight food storage container lined with a paper towel.
- Sweet Potatoes: Store your potatoes in a cool, dark place in your kitchen or in a paper bag in your fridge. They will keep longer if refrigerated but if you plan to use them within the next week they should be fine at room temp.
- Basil: Welcome back, basil! It's a sure sign of the seasons when basil starts to appear. Who else is excited to have it back?! Use basil as a way to add extra flavor to your pizza or pizza sauce. It's also a staple in Thai, Vietnamese, and Laotian cooking. It's best to add basil in to your dish near the end of the cooking process so it retains its maximum essence and flavor.Basil should be kept in a plastic bag or kept stems down in a glass of water with plastic over the leaves for about a week with regular water changing. Keep your basil out of the extreme cold as it could damage the fragile leaves. Your basil will be packed in the same bag as your mesclun. Don't forget to take it out when you get home!
- Cilantro: Store your cilantro standing upright in a jar of water, covered with a plastic bag in your fridge. This will keep your cilantro fresh for weeks!
- Red Russian Kale: This kale variety is tender and cooks up very nicely without much fuss, or enjoy it fresh in a salad or on a sandwich! Store your bunched greens wrapped in plastic in your crisper drawer.
- Pac Choi: Bunched pac choi coming your way with week! Part of the cabbage family, it packs in nutrition with high scores for vitamins A and C and calcium. Pac Choi is mild enough to be chopped up for a salad, particularly if you give it a quick wilt in a hot pan. It's also great in stir-fries and sautés and in asian soups (and other soups too). As leaves become more mature they are more often served cooked. Pac Choi has a mild flavor. The leaves taste similar to Swiss chard and the stems (called ribs) are deliciously crispy and can be substituted for celery in recipes. Store your pac choi loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.
- Green Garlic: Green garlic is garlic that is still fresh, and not cured. It is actually the result of thinning out our garlic rows! Keep this in your fridge and use as you regularly would use garlic.
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RECIPES
We know a lot of you are baking and cooking up a storm these days! If that's you and you've found a great way to use your CSA ingredients, we want to know! Share with us in our Facebook group or email us your recipe (pictures, too)! We'd love to feature it in a future newsletter, and to know what our members are eating these days.
Stir Fry:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Asian chile sauce (sriracha, sambel)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 6 ounces Canadian bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
- Kosher salt
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 heads baby pac choi, trimmed and chopped
- 4 cups cooked brown rice, for serving
To Prepare:
- Combine the soy sauce, Sriracha and sugar in a bowl; set aside. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the Canadian bacon; cook, stirring, until crisp and browned around the edges, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add 1 more tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet, then add the mushrooms and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start browning, 4 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, the bell pepper and red onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pepper is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
- Add the garlic, pac choi, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the pac choi is just wilted, about 2 minutes. Return the Canadian bacon to the skillet, add the soy sauce mixture and stir to combine. Serve over brown rice.
Gumbo:
Ingredients:
- 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil, divided
- 1/2 can diced tomatoes
- 1/4 c. flour
- 1/4 c. Water
- 1/2 head of celeriac, small-diced
- Six Large Garlic Cloves, smashed and diced
- 8 c. Chicken Broth
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Two Large Onions, rough chopped
- Three Medium Sweet Potatoes, chopped into 1/2 in. cubes
- Link Sausage, sliced thin
- Salt to Taste
To Prepare:
- Turn oven to 425.
- Pour 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil into dutch oven. Add canned tomatoes to dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, adding 1/4 cup water. Reduce until the tomatoes release all liquid and the mixture thickens a bit.
- While that is cooking, chop the celeriac and garlic. Set aside, separately.
- Chop onions and sweet potatoes. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and a healthy pinch of salt. Toss and spread flat on the pan. Roast for 30-35 minutes, until sweet potatoes have begun to brown.
- When the tomatoes are done, set aside
- Add 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil back into the dutch oven. Add the celeriac and cook until soft, then add the garlic.
- When the garlic is fragrant, add the flour and stir constantly with a whisk. Continue to stir as the roux darkens. I will sometimes stir for up to ten minutes. If the mixture is too clumpy, add a bit more oil.
- Once the roux has darkened a bit, add the tomatoes back in, while still stirring to incorporate the roux.
- Add the chicken broth, Add the bay leaves, sweet potatoes, onions, and sausage
- Salt to taste and cook for 30 minutes
- Pull out the bay leaves.
- Serve over rice
Turnip Cakes:
Ingredients
To Prepare:
- Add the grated turnip and 1 cup water to a wok or large pan, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so the turnip does not brown. The turnip will produce liquid, some of which will evaporate. You will have liquid left in the wok with the turnip that you will also use. Scoop the cooked turnip into a large mixing bowl to cool. Pour any remaining liquid in the wok into a measuring cup, and add water until you have a total of 1 cup of liquid. Add it to the mixing bowl with the cooked turnip.
- Clean your wok or pan and place it over medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons oil. Add the shrimp, mushrooms, and sausage, and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped scallion and remove from the heat to cool.
- Add rice flour, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and white pepper to the mixing bowl with the turnip and cooking liquid. Mix well until the dry ingredients are well-incorporated. Add in the cooked shrimp, mushrooms and sausage, and be sure to scrape the oil from the pan into the batter. Mix well and let sit for 15 minutes.
- Give the batter a final stir, and pour it into a well-oiled loaf pan. Place the pan into a steamer with plenty of water and steam over medium-high heat for 50 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the steamer and let your turnip cake set for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, loosen the sides with a spatula and turn it out onto a cutting board. It should come out quite easily.
- Use a sharp knife dipped in water to slice ½-inch thick pieces. Add a couple tablespoons oil to a non-stick or seasoned cast iron pan over medium heat. Fry the cakes on both sides until golden and crispy. Serve with oyster sauce!
Celeriac and Apple Soup:
This is a family recipe from Pete's wife, Eloise.
Ingredients:
- 2 cup cream
- 2 bulb of celeriac
- 3 Tsp butter
- 1 onion diced
- 2 apples peeled and cut in pieces
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 1Tsp of thyme
- Salt and pepper
To Prepare:
- Cut the celeriac in cubes.
- In a big pot, melt the butter and cook the onions, celeriac and apples until it’s golden.
- Add salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth, cream and thyme.
- Cook for 30min or until the celeriac is soft. Put it in a blender until smooth. Check the seasoning.
Sweet Potato Curry and Mustard Greens:
Ingredients:
To Prepare:
- Bring 2" of water to a boil in a steamer with a tight fitting lid. Peel and slice sweet potatoes into ½" slices so they will steam quickly (7 minutes).
- While steaming potatoes, slice onion and garlic. Heat 1 TBS broth in 12 inch skillet. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent. Add 1/4 cup broth, garlic, curry powder, turmeric, and mustard greens. Stir occasionally until mustard greens are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for another 5 minutes.
- Mash sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. If you need to thin potatoes more you can add a little broth. Serve mustard greens with mashed sweet potatoes.
Vegan Raspberry Cornbread:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/3 cup applesauce
- 2/3 cup raspberries, thawed
To Prepare:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a 8 x 8 pan, or a 9 inch round cake pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder and stir.
- Now pour in the almond milk and applesauce. Stir until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle raspberries over the top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Homemade Pesto:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup olive oil
To Prepare:
- To make the pesto, combine basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor; season with salt and pepper, to taste. With the motor running, add olive oil in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
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