Tuesday 29 July 2014

Week #5 - 2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - Cucumbers are Cool (on the inside)

Our cucumbers are exploding with fruit (yes, they are a fruit) so I thought I would share with you some thoughts on what to do with them over the next few weeks. Did you know that cucumbers are in the same family as watermelons and cantaloupe? Another cool fact (no pun intended) is that the inside of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature... now you know where the phrase "cool as a cucumber" came from! 

There are generally two kinds of cucumbers, pickling and slicers. In your box you will only find slicing cucumbers. Pickling cucumbers as the name suggests are used to make pickles! Slicers can be eaten in many different ways. Our returning customers will know that our favorite is making tzatziki - a greek yogurt based dip made with cucumbers, garlic and dill. Recipe here!

For more info about cucumbers and their nutritional value, recipes, etc. follow this link.

So... What else is in the Box this week?

  • Mixed Lettuce with Spinach
  • Cucumber - New
  • Beets
  • Broccoli or Cauliflower
  • Turnip for the full shares
  • Beans - yellow and green - New
  • Kale
  • Peppers - New (gave everyone a taste of the peppers as they ripen up - this week, there is a mix of sweet green peppers, purple "musto gusto", jalapeno, & yellow hungarian wax)
  • Potatoes
  • Peas
  • Basil
  • Parsley
  • Chives
  • Oregano
  • Dill
  • Cilantro for the full shares
  • Swiss Chard for the full shares

We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (ice cream pails, plastic containers, etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 



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Tuesday 22 July 2014

Week #4 - 2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - New Potatoes - Simply Exquisite

This week has been another busy one on the farm. Our four new piglets are settling in nicely, and all the birds are now finally big enough to be outside on pasture. Grace our cow is due to calve any day now so we are keeping a close eye on her. We got our new sign up (check out our facebook page for pics), we have visitors from BC staying with us and our oldest son got his driver's license! We've had a great week... how about you?
 
This week you will find a feed of new potatoes in the CSA box! There isn't much better than the first taste of potatoes each summer.  New potatoes are picked before their sugar content has converted to starch making them taste almost like a whole new vegetable. We are growing the red Norland potato as well as the yellow Yukon Gold this year.  
 
New potatoes are simple to cook. Scrub them clean of dirt, boil them and smother with butter... Yum! No need to peel them, the skin is so tender and nutritious. An alternative is to roast them. Again, wash and cut into bite size pieces, toss with olive oil and herbs such as the fresh rosemary you will find in your herb cup and roast for 40 min at 450F.

So... What (else) is in the Box this week?
  • Rosemary New!
  • Dill New!
  • Basil
  • Cilantro
  • Chives
  • Peas
  • Mixed greens - includes lettuce and spinach
  • Beets
  • Turnip
  • Kale
  • Potatoes New!
We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (ice cream pails, plastic containers, etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 


Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter at @FenezFollies

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Week #3 - 2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - Herb-alicious

What a week of wild weather! Wind, rain, heat and then cold... our poor plants (and animals) don't know what season it is! So far we've been managing with no major losses but it would be helpful to get some consistently warm and drier weather pattern. 

Each week you've been given a bundle of various herbs in your CSA box.  For some these are familiar items that you use every day, for others you may be less aware of each herb and what you can use them for. This week, I thought I would spend some time identifying each herb that you might find in the box and some its potential usage.

Basil:

Basil comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, we will have a few varieties but the ones that you are getting right now and is the most popular is the Genovese Basil.
Basil has a wonderful aroma and is very versatile. Throw it in pasta sauce, chop it with garlic, nuts and olive oil for a quick pesto, and of course you will need it to make wonderful salsas when our tomatoes begin to ripen.


Oregano:


This leafy friend can be thrown into anything Italian. You will likely be familiar with the dried variety as it is commonly called for in many recipes. However, you can't compare the zip and zest you get from using fresh oregano with the dried variety!


Cilantro

Cilantro and Coriander are actually the same plant. Eat the leaf as you will find in your CSA box right now and its Cilantro, while later when it goes to seed, those little
pods when ground up make the spice called coriander. Both are yummy! I find you either love cilantro or hate it. If you enjoy the taste, there isn't much you can't add it to. We throw it in salad, salsas, tacos, pasta sauces, soups, you name it. You don't need a lot as it is quite intense however, if you really enjoy the flavor... a lot won't ruin a dish either! Cilantro is difficult to grow. It goes from a small undersized plant to a large plant that has bolted and flowered overnight. It dislikes the heat and is generally finicky. 

Parsley:

We have tucked both the curled version as well as the flat Italian into your boxes lately. Parsley is well known and in my opinion wasted as a garnish! It again is often called for in recipes and can be added to almost all dishes to add flavour, colour and zest. Parsley is very good for you, delivering a significant dose of Vitamins K and C - amongst others. Parsley also is very easy to grow both inside and out. A small pot on your window sill will provide parsley all year round for your table.


Chives:

Chives are essentially small edible onions. They have beautiful flowers making them a great perennial to add to your flower bed which has the fringe benefit of provide tasty leaves (long hollow tubes) that you can add to many dishes. Cut some into your salads, soups, garnish that baked potato with a few bits of chives, or eat as my children do... plain from the garden. The plant will endure quite a bit of pruning of leaves and still grow quite well. 

A little later in the year we will tuck in some rosemary and sage... these are so pretty in the garden, I hate to pick them! The sage flower is really quite lovely and the rosemary plant provides such wonderful texture to your garden. Add to that, they taste wonderful! 

So... What's in the Box this week?
  • Swiss Chard
  • Zucchini - for full shares only this week. (new)
  • Lettuce
  • Beets 
  • Broccoli (new)
  • Turnip
  • Rhubarb
  • Kale
  • Peas (new)
  • Basil, Oregano, Chives, Cilantro, Parsley
We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (ice cream pails, plastic containers, etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 



Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter at @FenezFollies

Tuesday 8 July 2014

Week #2 - 2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - Kale Chips!

Welcome to week #2! We hope you enjoyed your first box of goodies and are anxiously awaiting some more.

Despite the weather, the veggies are doing alright although a few are showing signs of stress (yellowing at the roots). Luckily the fact we have hilled our rows and plant primarily in mulch or straw bales, means that the plants are not sitting in water! Our animals however, are not as lucky! Everyone's looking for high, dry ground! That being said we are soooo much better off than people along the Assiniboine and other tributaries so we are grateful for that and hope that everyone gets through the next few days safely and with minimal damage. 


Today I thought I would talk a little about kale. It is often a leafy green that some people are not familiar with. Kale is a brassica, so in the same family as broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. This means that the cabbage moth/worm love kale and we have to grow it under cover to save it from being eaten! After last week, you will know that kale is very good for you and is considered one a powerhouse vegetable. Fresh, tender kale leaves can be used like lettuce in a salad, can be cooked or steamed like spinach or my favorite... can be made into Kale Chips! This healthy but tasty snack is even a hit with our kids. 


Rip the kale into bite size pieces, toss with oil until fully coated, lay out on a cookie sheet or dehydrator tray and then season with whatever combination of spices you wish - garlic & salt and pepper are good or add some cayenne pepper for a little more zip! If you want to get creative, try curry! Pop in the oven at 250F for 4-6 hours or until dry and crunchy or in the dehydrator (if you have one).  While the dehydrator is the healthier choice as the plant remains "alive" and the nutrients don't degrade, my kids actually enjoy the oven dried version best! 

So... What's in the Box this week?
  • Radishes
  • Swiss Chard
  • Lettuce
  • Beets
  • Turnip
  • Kale
  • Basil
  • Oregano
  • Chives
  • Parsley (flat and curled)
  • Cilantro 
As always in the beginning of the growing season you will again enjoy a lot of fresh greens this week. A note about the best way to preserve the life of the greens as if you don't take some care you may find them wilted! As you will have discovered we put everything we can (with their ends) into water to keep it as fresh as possible. When you get home, be sure to put the greens in the crisper or in a plastic bag in the fridge as soon as possible. To freshen up any greens, submerge completely in icy cold water. I find adding some lemon juice to the water also helps. Keep the greens there for a while - 5-10 minutes and it should freshen things considerably. If you can be sure to spin after in a lettuce spinner or dry off as well as you can before putting back in the fridge. The dryer the better if you are storing in a plastic bag. 

We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (ice cream pails, plastic containers, etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 



Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter at @FenezFollies

Tuesday 1 July 2014

Week #1 -2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - Powerhouse Vegetables with a side of Rhubarb

This week marks the official start of the Fenez Follies Farm CSA season.  This week each of our shareholders will receive their first box of bounty from our farm.

For those of you who are new to this, each week we share a blog about what is in each box and share a bit of information and tips on what you might be able to do with the treats you find in the box.

This week I came across this article from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which ranked common fruits and vegetables by how nutrient dense they were. They tested over 45 different foods and shared their scores. I was surprised to see watercress top the list with a amazing score of 100 out of 100! 

I wasn't at all surprised however to see some of the other foods who made it into the top 10... and even more excited to see that this week's box contains five of those top 10 foods! A powerhouse in a box! Your best nutrition this week will come from chard, beet greens and the lettuce in the box. The parsley, kale and chives also are all within the top 15 too!  

This week you will also find some rhubarb stalks in the box. For those not familiar with what to do with rhubarb... well the sky is the limit! Rhubarb makes yummy cobbler or jam, is wonderful in muffins, cakes, pies, or cookies... heck I've even seen recipes for rhubarb pickles or wine! It has a tart taste which can be sweetened with sugar or by mixing with other fruit such as berries. If you need a little help with some ideas or details, check out the Rhubarb Compendium for a great collection! 

So in summary... What's in the Box this week?


  • Swiss Chard
  • Lettuce
  • Beets
  • Rhubarb
  • Kale
  • Oregano
  • Chives
  • Italian Parsley
  • a taste of cilantro
  • Basil
  • and as a special homemade treat.... Farm Fresh Yogurt Cheese
The cheese is made from our very own goats milk! It is a creamy spreadable cheese similar in texture to cream cheese. If you are interested in how its made, I've previously blogged about that and you can find that post here. Enjoy! 

Notes to our CSA Share holders: 
We pick the vegetables within 24 hours of the box being delivered. We do rinse the produce but it would be prudent to wash all vegetables when you get them home. Keeping the herbs (ends) in a cup of clean water will keep them fresh longer.

Please return your empty box along with all re-usable containers (pails, cups, bags etc) so that we can reuse them all over again. 



Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter at @FenezFollies