Karin’s out of town for a well-deserved getaway before the fall push begins, so you’re stuck with a just-the-facts newsletter this week. First, I just want to reiterate that if you want extra pumpkins so your kids don’t have to share, please order them here. We’ll be delivering them next week. If you’d like to visit the farm and pick them out yourself, let me know!

The green beans in your share look a lot different than you’re used to. We grew these a few years ago, but germination has been very poor the past two years. We’re glad to have them back because they are tender, delicious, and grow on a trellis in the greenhouse for easy picking!

The potatoes this week are a purple fingerling variety called Magic Molly. Their deep purple color does not fade when cooked. They’re great diced and fried, mashed, or in potato salad, but they’ll turn soup a purple-ish brown.

The crew hustled last week to harvest all of the winter squash for the year. We have quite a few ground squirrels on the sandy ground across the road, and they have begun to start eating the squash in earnest, so it was good to get it in before any more damage could be done. The squash is pretty good now, but it continues to get more moist and flavorful until its peak, which generally lasts from mid-October through New Year’s. It keeps well on the kitchen counter for several weeks.

For the farm crew,

Janaki

In your share this week:

• Northeaster Green Beans
• Carrots
• Chard
• Cucumbers
• Dill
• Yellow onions
• Parsley
• Green peppers
• Purple potatoes
• Rutabaga
• Squash
• Tomatoes

Greek Style Oven Roasted Rutabaga

Roasted Delicata Squash With Turmeric

Ingredients:

DIRECTIONS:

I’ll keep the message short this week. I’ll be out of town for a few days coming up, and next week you’ll have a special guest newsletter writer. If Mary Oliver returns my calls…

I am going out of state to  meet up with friends who I farmed with years ago in Texas. We’re all scattered to the four winds now, but we try to get together every year and a half or so.

These are the people who told me what kale was, and how to tell when cabbage was ready. We spent a lot of time making food, talking about food, mourning lives we took and then consumed.

There is just something about farming that creates a level of intimacy and of being known that I have never had in any other job. I love the work on this farm, and I think what Jane, John, Dave and Janaki have done out here is amazing. The creativity and the forward thinking is impressive to me, and I am awed to be a part of cultivating so much food for my community. But beyond my own enjoyment of the work and desire for local farming to flourish in the area, I enjoy the people. That’s why I keep coming back.

Right now my mind is a bit filled up with the idea of carrot harvest and leek harvest (oh my goodness, so time consuming but so worth it) and also filled with a to do list before I leave town for a week. But in the midst of days, weeks and years of to-do lists there has been a remarkable fostering of relationships made all the better for sitting around a table filled with steaming bowls of our hard work and cooperation.

For the crew,

Karin

In your share this week:

• Yellow beans
• Broccoli
• Cucumbers
• Cilantro
• Carrots
• Dill
• Garlic
• Leeks
• Sweet peppers
• Jalapenos
• Yellow onions
• Yellow potatoes
• Greens mix
• Cut lettuce mix
• Zucchini

Leeks in Vinaigrette

There are little things I forget about how the season goes this time of year. I enjoy the changes of season, and I am happy that autumn is coming. And even though I’ve had a fair number of seasons now, there are still things I forget and am glad to be reminded of, like looking back at old photos from happy times, or smelling something that matches a memory perfectly.

Three weeks ago, I don’t know that I could have remembered if asters bloom purple to begin with and then fade to white, or start white and get darker as they age. Now, I remember, and I see: most of them start off purple. It seems like it wasn’t so very long ago the sun came in to wake me up and now I roll over in bed until I see a hint of a glow in the east. I’ll get up before her, but I like to see that she’ll join me before too long. I forgot that happened so soon, and it is taking adjusting to.

On my drives to and from the farm I’ve been reminded that this is the time of year that deer start to turn from their red summer coats to their grey-brown winter coat. There are some of each color roaming in the fields in Wrenshall, trying to put on more weight.

It is the season of plenty. This past weekend the Food Farm had a booth at the Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Harvest Fest down at Bay Front. Harvesting and preparing to go was added work for the crew the Friday before, and they did a great job. It was all worth it to hear the compliments about how the food looked, and to see people get excited about well grown, local food.

It was fun to meet a few members at the Harvest Fest. Out of the scores of people that get our summer share I know only a handful of you -and any face I can put with a name is a treat.

That’s what I like about doing the Harvest Fest- it colors in a fuller picture of what the work of farming is all about. Hearing what people are planning for dinner, or talking to them about what the purple peppers are like or letting them know to wait a while before eating their winter squash (yes, it’s coming!) makes the work feel whole somehow.

It’s dawning on me that in some way, except for what I snack on throughout the day (which is a lot) or take home for myself (also a lot) it’s as if I forget I’m working with food. Real food – so real I almost want to capitalize it. All the energy we (mostly the soil and sun) spend to make this food- you get that energy. You take it and turn it into other work like organizing, caring for children or parents or yourself, hiking, preserving, crafting … anything you do. That’s why we do the work on the farm, and I’m glad to have a reason to be reminded of it.

For the farm crew,

Karin

In your share this week:

• Yellow Beans
• Beets
• Broccoli
• Red cabbage
• Carrots
• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
• Greens mix
• Red onions
• Green pepers
• Jalapenos
• Russet potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
  

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Roasted Root Vegetables

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I used a smidge less)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional, I skipped them)
2 tablespoons golden raisins (optional, ditto)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups finely grated carrots (from about a 3/4 pound bundle whole carrots)
3 tablespoons butter, for griddle

Cream cheese topping
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dash of ground cinnamon

Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 200°F. This will keep the pancakes warmed as they’re fried in batches.

To make the pancakes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and, if using, nuts and raisins. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients, stirring until just Incorporated. Let rest for five minutes while you make the cream cheese topping.

To make the cream cheese topping: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and lump-free. Whisk in powdered sugar, two tablespoons milk, vanilla and cinnamon. If you’d like the mixture thinner, add the remaining tablespoon of milk (I did not).

Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet or griddle pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into the hot pan per pancake (to me, this seemed like too little but after experimenting with larger pancakes, I advise you to listen to Joy; It’s a wiggly batter and much easier to and cook in small puddles), flipping once, until pancakes are golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer finished pancakes to a serving dish or tray in the oven, to keep warm while you repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed.

Serve warm with cream cheese topping.

Before I could start writing the newsletter this week, I had to put my kitchen into some semblance of order. I had canned a few beans (and, funny how canning a few makes just as much of a mess as canning a lot of them. Lesson learned.) That was Saturday evening and then I rushed off to many weekend activities – leaving my counter and table full of pots and cutting boards. I have a fairly small kitchen, and it doesn’t take much for there to hardly be room for the cook. Now it’s cleanish, and there’s room to put my laptop down on the table. More importantly, there’s room for my thoughts to roam about without tipping over the dishes in the drying rack.

This past weekend I went down to the Cities to burn my shoulders, catch some live music on a stick and get deep-fried cheese curds for breakfast. I was at the State Fair, of course. One of the highlights for me were the dahlias on display in the Horticulture building. Both of the plant/flower rooms were full of them this year -and it was extraordinary. I couldn’t stop exclaiming out loud at how wonderful they were. There were small ones like little pom-poms and others the size of dinner plates. There were totally spherical ones and ones that looked like pinwheels in a Dr. Seuss book. They are so beautiful -and also so organized in their appearance that they make me think of outer-space, or math or the spiral part at the top of cauliflower.

This time of year the way we harvest starts to change. I suppose I’ve said that in past newsletters. I’m reminding myself more than you all. With the changing harvest, and more and more produce coming down into the root cellar, staying organized is crucial. Even though this is my fourth season I still need reminding of where we put things so they stay out of the way (but not too out of the way), and it takes me adjusting how I think about wheeling pallet boxes into the cooler. The crew is catching on to our little tricks for how to keep things straight during harvest days and wholesale delivery days. We use certain bins for this or that, and certain stickers for other thises and thats. Getting and staying organized takes a certain amount of energy and work, but it is so very worth it. At the end of the day, the time we spend talking about how to do things better with our time or space is more than made up for by how the system can flow.

The fact that anything gets, or stays organized on this farm while I’m working here is because in the 30 years of farming that Jane, John, Dave and Janaki have done (and countless other crew members and volunteers) they have all set systems in place that work well for us. We make little changes from season to season, and big changes (like adding a root cellar, and then expanding it) – and we all get a say in what we think makes sense.

In your share this week:

• Yellow beans
• Kale
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Cilantro
• Cucumbers
• Garlic
• Green mix
• Sweet onion
• Green bell peppers
• Hot peppers
• Red Potatoes
• Daikon radish
• Juliet tomatoes
• Zucchini

Indian-spiced cauliflower soup

• • 2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium potato (about 6 ounces), peeled and chopped
  • 2 teaspoons peeled and chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 fresh hot green chili, chopped (more or less to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder or cayenne (to taste)
  • About 3 1/2 cups cauliflower florets (from about 1/2 a large 2.75-pound head)
  • 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 1 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste (we wanted more)

TO FINISH (ALL OPTIONAL)

• A couple spoonfuls heavy cream or dollops of yogurt
• 1/2 cup cooked basmati or other long-grain white rice
• Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lime wedges
• Toasted pita or naan wedges

Refrigerator Dilly Beans

2 cups of green beans
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
2 ½ tablespoons of sugar
2 cloves of garlic OR 3 tablespoons of minced garlic scapes
1 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt
½ of a medium onion, sliced thinly
2 sprigs of fresh dill
½ teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
¼ to 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (depending on how hot you want them) – you
can also add a whole dried chili if you have one.

You don’t need any canning supplies for this project. You don’t even need special
jars. I reused a jar from store-bought sauerkraut for mine. Use whatever you have
on hand, as long as it’s glass and has a lid. 

Make your brine. This is the longest part of this process (and it only takes a few minutes!) so do this first. Add your water, vinegar, salt, sugar, and garlic (which you’ve minced) to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once it is boiling, turn it off and set it aside to cool down to room temperature.

Trim the beans. You want them all to fit in your jar with about an inch at the top
so the brine covers them completely. You can trim both ends, or just the stem end. I think the pointy blossom end of beans are pretty, so I leave them. It’s up to you.

Blanch the beans. Bring a saucepan of water to a full boil, then dump the beans in
and boil them for thirty seconds. Drain them, and quickly add them to a bowl of
iced water to shock them and stop the cooking process. You want your beans to be
brightly colored and still crisp.

Drain the beans and set them aside. Add your onions, dill, red pepper flakes,
and peppercorns to your jars.

Now add your beans to the jars. They look prettiest standing upright, but don’t
worry about being perfect. The easiest way is to lay the jar on its side, or hold it
horizontally, and place the beans inside.

Go ahead and pour your brine in once it has reached room temperature. Fill
the jar to 1/2 inch below the top of the jar, and put the lid on. Place the jar of dilly
beans in the fridge, and let them sit for at least two days before eating them.

They’ll keep for up to six months in the fridge, but I’ll bet you foldable money that
you won’t have them around nearly that long!