Week #9 - FFF CSA Blog - A Time to Be Grateful

Hope everyone has been doing some bicep curls this week! As these CSA boxes get heavier and heavier, you are going to need some well developed muscles to lug them around. Each box is full of wonderful goodies!

 
Harvest time is one of my favorite (and definitely the busiest) times of year! Every day we are faced with a virtual cornucopia (I love that word) of treasures from our gardens. No longer do we go out with a simple pail or bowl to collect natures' creations.. Now we bring wheelbarrows full of goodies on each walkabout! 

This time of year so full of nature's gifts always makes me so grateful for the full, rich life we live. Hearing about the horrible experiences and living conditions elsewhere in the world, I am struck by a significant sense of good luck that I was born in this part of the world.  As we wheel our carts of food out of the garden, I know that there are so many others that have much less. I have no wise and sage words to fix what ails the planet but suggest a good start might be to give freely of our gifts and  always be kind!

So what does your cornucopia of goodness include this week?

Kale

Peppers (assorted sweet and hot)
Potatoes
Cucumbers
Carrots
Zucchini
Swiss Chard
Herbs (Basil, Parsley, Chives, Oregano)
Cauliflower
Ground cherries
Spring onions
Squash (assorted )
Tomatoes (a rainbow of varieties)

We have soaked the cauliflower overnight to ensure you have no "stowaways"

a.k.a. caterpillars.

Week #8 - FFF CSA Update - What is a "peck" anyway?

We all know that Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. You may not know that a peck a dry measure that equals about a 1/4 of a bushel.



Sweet Bell Peppers
 

Serrano Chiles

While you won't find that many peppers in your CSA box this week, there is a variety of peppers that are flourishing in our fields and thus have or will make their way to you over the next few weeks!
I thought it might help to walk through some of them to help you decipher the sweet from the hot (an important distinction for most of us).  Throughout this blog update you will find pictures of the different kinds of peppers we are growing this year.
 


Jalapeno

Sweet Bell Peppers: (we grow green, red, purple, orange and yellow)


Habenero

Serrano Chiles: long green chile (light green)
Jalapeno: short, dark green chile
Habenero: green to orange - pepper looks like its been crumpled - very hot
Red Chiles: - long, thin chiles - can be eaten either fresh or dried.





Medusa Peppers

Red Chiles

A couple of other items of interest related to this week's box.... bitter cucumbers? I have been researching this topic as it was driving me crazy and I thought I would pass along what I found. Every once in a while we would come across a bitter cucumber from the garden and I was trying to figure out whether the bitter ones are smaller? Larger? Less green? How can you pick them out?

Well what I found out was that the bitterness is caused by a actual chemical that is found in the stem, leaves and skin of the cucumber. Every once in a while the bitterness leaches into the flesh of the cucumber. Not a lot is known concretely about why this happens to one cucumber but not to others. However, when you are cutting a cucumber and discover that the stem end may be a tad bitter... keep cutting and you will likely get past the bitter part as it rarely affects the whole "fruit". You can also just peel a larger part of the skin and outer flesh off as the bitterness often is only around the outside.

Ground Cherries - each of you have a small sample of ground cherries in your boxes this week. These little nuggets of goodness come wrapped in their own paper husk. This berry grows on a bush and is in the nightshade family (same as tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos). You know they are ripe when they fall off the plant, the husk gets brown and papery and the berry is a deep yellow. Hope you enjoy!

What's in this week's box? Thanks for asking...
 Kale
Peppers - assorted - both sweet and hot!
Potatoes
Cucumbers
Carrots
Zucchini
Swiss Chard
Herbs (Basil, Cilantro, Chives, Parsley, Oregano)
Broccoli - for the half shares
Cauliflower - for the full shares
Ground cherries - a little taste for everyone!
Spring onions
Squash - assorted (spaghetti squash, sunshine, scallop and acorn)
Tomatoes - while most are red... you will find some purple and yellow tucked in!

Hope you enjoy your treats this week!
 

Week #7 - FFF CSA - Think Purple!

Are you a one eyed, one horned flying purple veggie eater? This year we grew a few new purple veggies… besides the obvious purple kale, beets, turnip and eggplant we also grew purple beans, tomatoes, carrots, kohlrabi and peppers!

 

Over the past few weeks, we've tucked some purple beans into our CSA boxes. As many of you likely have discovered, they are magic beans… purple when raw but they turn green when cooked. This week you will find purple carrots to try and some of you will even find a purple pepper!

 

Last month CBC reported on research that has been done citing that people who eat purple vegetables and fruits have reduced risk of high blood pressure and lower cholesterol and are less likely to be overweight.

Why so special? Purple vegetables have a plant compound called anthocyanin in them. Its what makes them purple! This compound apparently is good at collecting all those free radicals in the system and is great for soothing inflammation. It is also reported to boost the immune system and improve memory and brain function.

Wow! Who knew! Never mind telling your kids to eat their greens! Think purple!

Next year we will have to try purple cauliflower and potatoes! What do you think? Would you eat a purple potato?

What's in this week's box?

 

Kale

Lettuce

Peppers - assorted (some purple!)

Potatoes

Beans

Turnip

Cucumbers

Carrots (purples ones!)

Zucchini

Swiss Chard

Herbs (Basil, Cilantro, Chives, Parsley)

Broccoli or Cauliflower (for full shares only)

Week #6 - FFF CSA - Extending the harvest

Whether you are a CSA share holder or just have your own garden from which you harvest your own vegetables, you will sometimes get into situations where you have too much of one thing or not enough time to cook or use something right away. Today's blog is going to be focused on some tricks and ideas you can do so that that lovely produce doesn't go to waste and in fact you can extend your season of enjoying them all into the winter months.

Drying

While nothing beats fresh herbs sometimes you just can't use them in time. Instead consider drying them either by hanging them in a cool, dry place (upside down) or drying on very low heat on a cookie sheet in the oven. Once they are fully dry, you can crumble and re-fill those spice jars with the intense flavours of fresh dried herbs. You can also dehydrate or dry other items such as tomatoes, melons, berries, etc.

Freezing

Our CSA shareholders have been getting loads of fresh beans. If you are actually tired of beans or want to save them for later - freeze them! Wash and trim the ends and cut to the desired length, then blanch them (dip in boiling water) for 3 minutes.  Blanching is an important step as otherwise the beans will lose color and nutrients after only 4-6 weeks in the freezer. Blanching stops enzyme action that causes them to lose freshness and flavor. (Note: each vegetable may have a different time period that it should be blanched for best results). Directly after blanching, immerse in or run under cold water to cool them quickly and stop them from cooking. Then you can freeze them knowing that they will last long into the next season.

You can freeze lots of other veggies - also after blanching - such as cauliflower, broccoli, peas, carrots, etc. As mentioned there are different time periods of suggested blanching so take a look at this link for the right time:  How long should I blanch?

Pickling

You can also pickle just about anything these days - beans, carrots, of course cucumbers are frequently pickled but I've even heard of pickled cauliflower, beets and onions. I am in no way an expert in pickling so I don't speak from first hand experience. There is a tonne of resources on the internet on recipes and how to guides for pickling... take a look and give it a try!



Storage

There are all kinds of tricks about storage and I will pass along only one today... produce bags! I am not in anyway employed by the company or paid for this endorsement... I've just used and like these bags. At most supermarkets you can pick up produce bags - usually in with all the other zip lock bags. These bags are plastic ziplock bags specially designed with holes that allow moisture out and therefore keep produce fresh much longer. We use them all the time and they do work! The other trick is to store your veggies uncut and unwashed - hence dry and only wash and cut once you are going to cook or prepare them.

OK.... What's in this week's box? Week #6 FFF CSA box holds the following treasures:

Lettuce
Kale
Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Oregano)
Carrots
Zucchini
Potatoes
Beans (yellow & green)
Turnip
Cucumber
Peppers (jalapeno or banana peppers - its a surprise)
Swiss Chard

So I want to go on record.... I'm sorry for complaining about the heat... I really am! Please tell the heat to come back! I'll be more grateful! I'm sure you all agree that its been a tad cool these past few weeks. Here's hoping we are not done with heat for the summer!

Our garden is growing well despite the cool temperatures. The frequent but not too heavy rains are helping! We have tonnes of tomatoes ripening on the vines and we are really excited about our watermelons that are growing so fast!

Anyway, that's all for now... take care until next time! Happy eating!

Week #5 - FFF CSA - As cool as a Cucumber!

Did you ever wonder where the saying - "as cool as a cucumber" comes from? Did you know that the inside of a cucumber can be up to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature? Cucumbers while commonly referred to as a vegetable are actually fruit and are related to zucchinis, squashes and pumpkins.

Our cucumber plants have begun to explode with fruit and experience tells me that we will all soon have an over abundance of these green torpedoes! While you can't beat a fresh garden cucumber simply sliced and gobbled up from the cutting board... eventually we all need to think of other uses.  Tzatziki is a great way to use cucumber! Made from shredded cucumber, yogurt, garlic, and herbs, tzatziki is a greek sauce great for dipping with pita or other vegetables. Tzatziki is the
traditional sauce found in gyros or served with soulvaki. We prefer our tzatziki a little thicker than most so use a recipe with some sour cream:

http://greekfood.about.com/od/dipsspreadspures1/r/Tzatziki.htm

You can use mint or parsley instead of dill as well depending upon your preference.

So what you really want to know is...

What's in this week's (Week #5) CSA box
Lettuce (mixed greens)
Kale
Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Oregano)
Carrots
Zucchini
New Potatoes
Beans (yellow, green, purple)
Beets

New this week!
Broccoli (for full shares only this week)....don't worry there will be some for everyone...
Turnip
Cucumber

We have started milking this week so days begin with the routine of milking five goats and hopefully one cow. Grace - our cow is new to milking and we are still working out a routine that is going to work for all of us. I'm looking forward to making cheese and soap again!

Again a reminder that we need all pails and cups back so we can wash and re-use. Also if you have extra large containers that you are going to recycle... give them to us and we will use to keep your veggies fresh! Thanks!

Week #4 - FFF CSA - Peas... glorious peas!

Have you ever had the experience where you eat something fresh from the garden and you don't recognize it as the same food you get at the grocery store? No? Well, then you haven't eaten peas straight from the garden! Garden fresh peas are sweet nuggets from heaven. Even those people who swear they hate peas... if I can manage to get them to try peas straight from the plant, they always have to admit that they are wonderful!

So there is no debate on how yummy they are! However, at least in our house, there is much debate on how to eat them.... shell them or not? Cook them or not? Everyone has a different opinion on the best way to eat peas. My opinion for what it is worth is they are best shelled, warm with sunshine, slurped out of the shell before you even go indoors!

Need more ways to eat your peas...? Check out this link (and click the arrow beside "1 of 4" )

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/16-ways-to-use-fresh-peas.html?page=1

What's in the Box? Week #4

Lettuce (mixed greens)

Swiss Chard
Kale
Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Chives, Cilantro)
Carrots
Zucchini
Peas

New this week:

New Potatoes
Banana peppers (not super hot, more of a sweeter pepper)
Beans (purple and green) (did you know that purple beans turn green when you cook them?)

Please remember to wash/rinse your vegetables. While we don't use any chemicals, we do use all natural fertilizer (a.k.a. manure) so its always advisable to give everything a rinse.

So Philip is finally home from Japan, arriving Monday night with lots of souvenirs and more stories. His sleep/awake clock is a bit wonky but he's glad to be home and boy, we are happy to see him!

We have had almost 3 inches of rain over the past week or so which means that we haven't had to water and most plants are happy! Of course the weeds are happy to and growing faster than everything else. We have tons of tomatoes on the plants so when these start to ripen, boy will those boxes be heavy!

Just a reminder that we really need the ice cream pails and plastic cups back from you in order to reuse and keep next weeks' vegetables cool and fresh!

Week #3 - FFF CSA - Herbs 101

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 (my personal favorite):

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
Chives or Sweet 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: (OK, maybe this is my favorite!)

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!

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.


So...

What's in the Box? Week #3

This week we everything you had last week... plus.... PEAS! yum!

Lettuce (mixed greens)

Swiss Chard
Kale
Herbs (Parsley, Basil, Chives, Cilantro, Oregano )
Radishes
Beets
Carrots
Zucchini
Peas

Please remember to wash/rinse your vegetables. While we don't use any chemicals, we do use all natural fertilizer (a.k.a. manure) so its always advisable to give everything a rinse.

So Philip is on week two in Japan and is having a great time. He is enjoying the Japanese cuisine very much! Wandering through the farmer market out there, he discovered that cantaloupes are $30 in Japan! Also they buy their eggs in groups of 10s instead of 12s? These can be purchased in bags, buckets or cartons. Honey is $37/kg! Very interesting! Philip is bringing home all kinds of ideas on what we should grow next year. Saturday he is going to a farm.  Hopefully he doesn't try bringing home any stray animals he finds.

The garden is growing quite nicely. It has enjoyed the frequent rains and the sultry heat. (so have the weeds by the way!). We have quite a few green tomatoes and tons of tomatillos coming. When the beans form we will have tons as the plants are covered with flowers. We are growing both green and purple beans this year. Did you know that purple beans actually turn green when you cook them?

Well that's all for now... see you in a little while.