Monthly Archives: August 2022

Summer CSA Week 12, 2022

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Loading up the tractor for a hayride last Saturday.

It was so great seeing so many of you at the farm on Saturday. We hope you enjoyed the pizza, hay rides and exploring the farm. The farm crew loved meeting the families we feed each week!

In your share this week:

Green Beans – Beets – Carrots – Cilantro – Cucumber – Lettuce – Green Peppers – Hot Peppers – Onion – Red Potatoes – Tomato – Zucchini

Taste the rainbow 😉

Guess what vegetable these baby plants will grow up into!

Scroll to the bottom for the answer.

More photos from the pizza party and tour!

The weather was beautiful on Saturday in spite of threatening rain in the morning. The pizzas were not and tasty and covered in farm fresh produce. Thank you to the farm family and extended family for providing the awesome food. The pizza was cooked in a home-built woodfire oven right in the farm house backyard. Have you ever had a breakfast pizza? If you haven’t had egg on your pizza, you’re missing out!

Marinated Green Beans with Cilantro and Garlic

Ingredients

1 tablespoons minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and washed

Salted water to boil

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place minced garlic and chopped cilantro in a large bowl and set aside.
  2. Bring water to a boil and plunge in green beans. Cook just until tender, about 5-10 minutes, do not overcook. Drain well and place beans back in hot pan, turn on stove burner and shake for 30 seconds to dry the beans out. Pour hot beans in the bowl with the garlic and cilantro mixture and stir briefly, then let sit untouched for ten full minutes. Add olive oil, toss and place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 4 hours.
  3. Before you are ready to serve, remove beans from refrigeration and let sit for 45 minutes at room temperature. Add lemon juice, vinegar and pepper. Toss, taste for seasoning and serve.

Based off a recipe from A Family Feast.

Parsnip!

Parsnip is a member of the parsley family. You eat the root of the mature parsnip, which looks similar to a white carrot.

For the farm crew,

Starr

Summer CSA Week 11, 2022

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We’d love to see you this Saturday for our annual farm tour!

In your share this week:

Basil – Carrots – Cilantro – Cucumber – Kale – Lettuce – Bell Peppers – Hot Pepper – Onion – New Potatoes – Tomato – Zucchini

Guess what vegetable these baby plants will grow up into!

Scroll to the bottom for the answer.

Basil, greens mix and young pole beans in the greenhouse.

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 clove garlic, lightly smashed and peeled
  • Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pan
  • 2 pounds think skinned potatoes
  • 1 cups heavy cream
  • 1 cups whole milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon lightly packed fresh thyme leaves
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
  • 3 ounces Gruyere, coarsely grated (1 cup)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub the bottom and sides of a baking dish with garlic; reserve garlic. Brush pan generously with butter. Wash and cut potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick rounds.
  2. Transfer potatoes and garlic to a large pot with cream, milk, thyme, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 1 minute. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
  3. Spoon one-third of potato mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle with one-third of cheese. Repeat layering twice more. Loosely cover dish with parchment-lined foil.
  4. Bake until potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove foil; turn oven to broil. Broil until potatoes are bubbly and browned in places, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Based off a recipe from Martha Stewart.

Rutabaga!

Rutabaga or “swede” is a root vegetable and part of the Brassica family. Did you know that the first Jack O’lanterns were carved from rutabagas and turnips?

For the farm crew,

Starr

Summer CSA Week 10, 2022

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The crew preparing to harvest carrots with THE HARVESTER.

Last week was a big week for the Food Farm crew: we harvested our long awaited garlic! You’ll find more pictures and descriptions of that process below. We also brought out the carrot harvester, which is efficient but requires many hands to run smoothly. Boxes are filled with high summer bounty. New this week you’ll find green peppers and GARLIC! The garlic in the box this week is “green” or not yet cured. It should be left out on the counter with good ventilation so it does not mildew.

Would you like to come see the farm at peak season? You’re in luck! We are hosting a farm tour and pizza dinner on Saturday, August 27th! Come by the farm at 2612 County Road 1, Wrenshall from 4:00pm to 6:00. We’ll be serving pizza hot from our wood fired oven and giving farm tours. Free for all to attend, we’d love to see you!

In your share this week:

Basil – Beets – Cabbage – Carrots – Cucumber – Dill – Green Garlic – Green Pepper – Green Onion – New Potatoes – Parsley – Tomato – Zucchini

What am I looking at?

This is a swarm of honey bees seen near the farm hives recently. When a hive gets large enough it splits into two distinct colonies. During this process, part of the hive leaves as a swarm to find a new home. These swarms are often very docile because they are not guarding honey or a queen, but always be careful around bees, especially if there there is a chance you could be allergic.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

From Claudia Roden’s Mediterranean

Ingredients

  • Cucumber (peeled, seeded and cut into pieces)
  • 2 large tomatoes, seeded and cut into pieces
  • green onion
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • small handful of fresh herbs (parsley, oregano, dill, cilantro) chopped

Instructions

  1. Put cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions into a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to make a dressing. Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. Sprinkle with the herbs and add feta if you like.

Basic Pesto

We have garlic AND basil in the box this week. The only option is to make pesto 😉

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves (no stems)
  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts or walnuts
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Combine basil leaves, pine nuts or walnuts and garlic in a food processor and process until very finely minced.
  2. With the machine running slowly dribble in the oil and process until the mixture is smooth.
  3. Add the cheese and process very briefly, just long enough to combine. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

From NYT Cooking

What is Harvesting Garlic Like?

Step one: Janaki uses the tractor to mow and subsoil the garlic. The subsoiler has big hooks that dig down between the garlic rows, loosening the soil and lifting up bulbs.

Step two: Bring in the farm crew! We pull the garlic and stack it up in piles. These piles are then loaded on a trailer and brought to the wash station.

Step three: Scrub-a-dub. The garlic is washed, removing any dirt that’s still on the bulbs.

Step four: Stack and cure. In order for garlic to last into the winter it must “cure” or partially dry for a few weeks.

Garlic takes at least three weeks to cure. Then, if stored properly, garlic should last through the next spring!

For the farm crew,

Starr

Summer CSA Week 9, 2022

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Emily, Ellis and Janaki packing Monday CSA boxes

We have full and diverse box for you this week. We had all hands on deck to harvest everything in time for Monday deliveries! Annie and Ellis were even helping packing boxes. This week new in the box we have cilantro, dill, onion, hot pepper, and new potatoes. “New potatoes” are young tender potatoes.

In your share this week:

Carrots – Cilantro – Cucumber – Dill – Greens Mix – Lettuce – Onion – Snap Peas – Hot Pepper – New Potatoes – Tomato – Zucchini

Terri harvesting dill in the field.

Georgian Cilantro Sauce

This sweet, pungent sauce is a mainstay of Georgian national cuisine, often served with grilled meat, chicken or vegetables. It’s great way to use fresh summer herbs!

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces dried apricots
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • â…“ cup shelled walnuts (1 ounce)
  • 2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), halved, green shoots removed
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt (more to taste)
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 2 cups cilantro leaves (2 good-size bunches), coarsely chopped
  • 1 ½ cups parsley leaves (1 1/2 bunches), coarsely chopped
  • ½ cup coarsely chopped mixed basil, tarragon, and dill
  • 5 tablespoons walnut oil (or more, to taste) (substitute with unrefined peanut oil, or olive oil)
  • ½ cup soaking water from the apricots, as needed

Instructions

  1. Place the dried apricots in a bowl and pour on the boiling water. Let sit for at least an hour, more if possible, even overnight. Drain over a measuring cup and retain 1/2 cup of the soaking water.
  2. Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and drop in the garlic. When it is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the bowl. Add the walnuts, and process with the garlic. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the drained apricots, the lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne to the bowl, and process to a puree. Add the cilantro and other chopped herbs, and puree, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides several times. Combine the walnut oil and soaking water from the apricots, and with the machine running, gradually add it to the puree. Process until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, and let sit for one hour. Taste and adjust salt. Serve with beans, chicken, meat or fish, grilled or roasted vegetables, or grains.

From the New York Times.

Crushed New Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound (450 grams) baby potatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1 teaspoon parsley or basil
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Boil slightly salted water, then throw your baby potatoes into the pot. Leave them to cook for 15-20 minutes or until they’re cooked through and soft.
  2. Grease your baking tray with olive oil, and get the potatoes out of the pot and onto the baking tray.
  3. Lightly crush the potatoes with a fork or a potato masher, but make sure not to over do it as you don’t want really flat pieces of potato all over your baking sheet.
  4. Using the excess olive oil on the baking tray, light brush the potatoes with the olive oil.
  5. Season with freshly ground black pepper, and sea salt.
  6. Sprinkle with either dried or fresh herbs and garlic.
  7. Bake in the oven for 10-15 more minutes at 200°C (392°F). The baking time depends on the size of your potatoes, so keep checking on them as they bake.
  8. Served Immediately. 

From Little Sunny Kitchen.

Janaki and the farm crew bagging up snap peas. Yes, he is indeed that talll!

For the farm crew,

Starr

Summer CSA Week 8, 2022

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– Sights around the farm: tractors, sprawling fields, and farm house hydrangeas.

New in the box this week we have tomatoes and basil; the perfect pair. Now we really know it’s summer! Janaki has taken a well earned vacation with his family this week. The farm crew is happy to hold down the fort here in Wrenshall. We’re still planting fall brassicas, weeding young plants, and looking forward to the coming preserving shares.

In your share this week:

Basil – Broccoli – Carrots with Tops – Cucumber – Kale – Lettuce – Green Onion – Snap Peas – Tomato – Zucchini

Guess what vegetable these baby plants will grow up into!

Scroll to the bottom for the answer.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad with Tahini Dressing

Ingredients

  • 4 cups chopped kale
  • 1 ½ cup chopped cucumber
  • 1 ½ cup snap peas trimmed
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup quinoa (or 1 cup cooked quinoa. Raw quinoa will give you 3x as much cooked quinoa)

Tahini Dressing

  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
  • 1 tablespoon warm water
  • 1 teaspoon agave nectar (can substitute with honey)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Cook Quinoa – If you are starting with cooked quinoa, skip to step 3! Rinse raw quinoa for 30 seconds in a fine mesh colander. Drain well.
  2. Combine the rinsed quinoa and 2/3 cups water in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 minutes.
  3. Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Season with a pinch of salt. Allow to cool completely.
  4. Make the Dressing – In a small glass bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, tahini, water and agave nectar. If the tahini is difficult to whisk, microwave the mixture on HIGH for about 10 seconds. Salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Assemble the Salad – Place the kale in a colander and run warm water over it while massaging the leaves until the kale softens.
  6. In a large bowl, combine the kale, cucumber, snap peas, tomatoes and quinoa. Toss with the dressing. Serve.

Based of a recipes from Cookin’ Canuck and Cookie + Kate

Views of a greenhouse:

Outside
Inside

Celery!

This is a young celery plant. Celery is related to parsnips, carrot and parsley. Celery is grown for the stalks and leaves, and ground celery seed is used as a spice.  

For the farm crew,

Starr