FFF CSA - Week 4/12 - What's in the Box? - Preserving Herbs

... and we are on to Week #4 of our twelve week CSA share and all our smart shareholders are munching on yummy veggies that they didn't have to lift a finger to grow! 

The new items this week include sweet garden peas and broccoli! Are you someone who thinks they don't like broccoli??? Promise me you will try some fresh out of the garden... and you will change your mind! Garden fresh broccoli tastes so mild and delicious its almost like a different food from that which you often get from the grocery store! 

This week's box comes with the usual bundle of herbs and I thought I would spend some time talking about how to use these gems each week! There are so many options! 

Eat fresh! Remove the leaves from the stems, chop or mince as desired and add them to salads, soups, sauces, or smoothies ... or any other recipe!

Dry! Hang the herbs in bundles in a cool, dry room until the leaves are dry and brittle. Strip the leaves from the stem in a bag or bowl, crush somewhat to create smaller flakes and you are ready to use! Note: it's important to be sure that the herbs are completely dry before you store in jars or bags or they may develop mold. If you have a dehydrator and want to speed the drying process, lay the herbs in the tray in one layer and dehydrate at 90-95F.

Freeze! Prepare the herbs as if eating fresh and then place in small freezable containers and cover in oil. My favorite tip is to place chopped herbs in ice cube trays and freeze. Then I put the small serving size cubes in a labelled ziploc bag ready to grab for any recipe I need! 

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

• Swiss Chard
• Lettuce
• Baby carrots
• Kale
• Zucchini or Cucumbers
• New Potatoes
• Broccoli New!
• Onions New!
• Beets New!
• Peas New!
• Bouquet of various herbs including: 
• Chives
• Parsley (flat and curled)
• Cilantro 
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Oregano

Note: 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. (unless of course, you are drying them for storage later.)

Reminder: 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

Week #7 - Plant therapy

I hit it! I hit the wall! 

Even though this winter has not brought particularly bad weather... each February usually just after Valentines Day, I hit the "I'm totally done with winter wall!

On Monday our seed order came in and the urge to dig in the soil and plant something was palpable! The yearning for the smell of freshly turned earth and sunshine on my face was overwhelming. 

So yesterday, I turned to a little bit of plant therapy.... Got some pots out and some soil and started playing! Planted some herbs, lettuce, some spinach and some edible flowers. Put some calendula in as I'm hoping to use the petals to dye our soaps and violas to add to our salads. 

Can't wait to see the green shoots pop out of the rich dark soil, reaching for the sun. It's not the same as digging in the garden but it will have to suffice for now.... spring is just around the corner!

What do you do to get through the winter months? 

In every nook and cranny....

FFF Photo a Day - Day 300

At this time of year, the house is full of drying bundles of herbs, peppers and greens, hanging off every available hook, in every nook and cranny....

Harvesting Coriander

FFF Photo a Day - Day 286

One of my favorite herbs is cilantro! I love the smell, colour and taste of the green leafy herb. Even better is when left to go to seed in the fall, it turns into coriander which is one of my favorite spices! 

Simply shaking the plant over a large container or running your fingers through to harvest the small pods, results in a small harvest of tiny fragrant pods which when ground into a powder makes a fresh, wonderful jar of coriander to remind you of summer... all winter long! 

Rescue mission

FFF Photo a Day - Day 281

With frost a more regular occurrence we rescued our rosemary plants and brought them inside for winter. They smell so good!

Harvesting herbs

FFF Photo a Day - Day 262

Today felt like summer but the fall is upon us and I was busy harvesting herbs to dry. Here my bundles of oregano wait  for a place on the drying rack...

Week #1 -2015 FFF CSA - What's in the Box - The First Edition (of the Year)

This week marks the official start of the Fenez Follies Farm CSA 2015 season.  This week each of our shareholders will receive their first box of bounty from our farm. In the beginning of the season, the boxes are light and full of green leafy vegetables. As the season progresses, the boxes get heavier and dense with food as it becomes ready. By the end of the season, you will need a good strong back to haul the squash, pumpkins, potatoes and tomatoes away!

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 you will 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! 

Given this is the first box of the season, we've slipped in some treats for you and some feathered friends! For you, there is a sample bag of our very own Goat's Milk Caramels! These are a new creation on the farm and I'd love to know what you think! While goat milk is yummy enough, we were looking for a even more delicious way to use all the milk that our lovely nanny goat, Chocolate gives us! Given that these are made with milk, we ask that you keep them refrigerated... if they even make it that far! Interested in having more, check out our Product page for more info! 

For your feathered friends, we've created a bird seed heart to hang in your tree to feed the birds! Why? Well, mostly because I saw it on Pinterest and thought it was a neat idea to try.... :) 

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

• Swiss Chard
• Kale
• Radishes
• Rhubarb
• Lettuce (mixed greens in bag)
• Spinach (in bag)
• Zucchini (for full boxes) 
• Beets (remember you can eat the beet greens too!)
• Herbs in the red cup: 
• Oregano
• Chives
• Parsley
• Cilantro
• Dill
• and as a special homemade treat for you and the birds!  

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 important to wash all vegetables before you eat them. 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

Herbs are for the bees!

FFF Photo a Day - Day 161

If you like bees in your garden (and who doesn't) you may consider planting a few herbs that attract these pollinators! 

Both chives and rosemary are perennial herbs whose flowers attract bees. 

Sure enough, tonight I found several checking out our chives! 

After the rains...

FFF Photo a Day - Day 145

The gardens are happy after the big rains last weekend. Snapped this pic tonight in the front herb garden....

Parsley post

FFF Photo a Day - Day 35

The other day we ran out of dried parsley in the jar in our spice cupboard! It reminded me that I have yet to process all the drying herbs that are hanging in my basement! 

In the fall, we put all our perennial herbs in pots to grow inside and harvest all the annuals to dry. 

This extends the harvest, saves on the grocery bill and gives us a hint of summer in the midst of the snow. 

My jar is full once again! 

A remedy for the winter blues!

Day 11 - FFF Photo a Day

We are always looking for ways to extend our season and try to bring many of our herbs in over the winter. 

We hang and dry our oregano, parsley and basil and pop our rosemary into pots in front of our sunny southern windows. 

It is wonderful to add fresh rosemary to our meat dishes in the cold winter months. 

When I'm feeling down, I bury my face in our rosemary plant and breathe deep! Instant pick me up!

Week #7 - 2014 FFF CSA - What's in the Box

What started as a wet year has turned decidedly less moist! Watering is becoming a full time job as everything is looking parched. The nice thing is that this kind of weather slows down the mowing and weeding.... so trade offs everywhere. This is an exciting week of for all tomato lovers as your first lovely gems of the season have finally matured. We grow many different varieties and I hope you enjoy exploring the different colours and flavours as the weeks go on.

As the summer trundles along, we inevitably must turn our attention to the coming fall and winter and I encourage all of you to think about how you can continue your enjoyment of your veggies into the colder weather. At the risk of being called lazy, I thought I would simply link you back to my blog last year where I walked our shareholders through a number of ways that you can extend your harvest from freezing, drying and pickling. 

I'm busy drying our first crop of basil plants for you all so that you will have some dried basil through the winter and we will do the same with our cilantro/coriander plants a bit later in the season. So check out what you can do today to eat better tomorrow by checking out last year's post here.

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

• Swiss Chard
• Romaine Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Tomatoes New!
• Beets
• Broccoli for full shares
• Turnip
• Kohlrabi for full shares
• Beans
• Ground Cherries for full shares New!
• Kale
• Carrots
• Peppers (mostly hot)
• Onion New!
• Potatoes

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

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