November 6th, 2014

Here we are at week seven all ready. November is a month of feast or famine. Generally we freeze near the beginning of the month wiping out all our summer crops, but we just squeaked by with a little covering of frost blanket Monday and Tuesday mornings to prolong our harvest just a little longer into the month.
November is Persimmon month! Who doesn’t love persimmons? Probably those who haven’t tried them….OR, those who have eaten them under or over ripe. Fuyu Persimmons (flat shape) are my favorite. I love them chopped in a salad, as we did last night…Well most of them didn’t make it to the plate as we had a family dinner and my mother and I proceeded to keep stealing them out of the bowl. I hope nobody else wanted them. They are great eaten like an apple or sliced and drizzled with a little sweet balsamic vinegar. Hachiya Persimmons (conical shape) are best when they are soft and made into puddings or breads. Some like to “suck” the pulp right out of the skin, but make sure they are very soft for best flavor! Both varieties are great sliced thinly while they are still firm and then dried. They are like a sweet treat chip! Both can keep a long time, even up to Christmas if kept in a cool place, but not refrigerated. Strangely, cats and dogs seem to enjoy them as well! Haha, how would I know that? From experience, KEEP OUT OF REACH FROM PETS! They will slurp the persimmon pulp right out of the skins and leave you nothing for your Thanksgiving dinner! dirty little stinkers!
Also this week we have sweet potatoes, small Granny Smith apples, cherry tomatoes (may be the last week for these), arugula, the last of our sweet bell peppers, mixed greens, cilantro, and a few other miscellaneous items.

What to look forward to the last two weeks of your shares? Pie pumpkins, just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, leeks, turnips, broccoli, abundant greens, more persimmons and winter squash. We are hoping for ginger root and lemongrass in one of these weeks. Great for Thai foods or just making a tea to sip in the evening after dinner. We have also reserved one of our garlic braids for your last basket! Happy Fall, Ya’ll!

October 30th

Burr…Those cooler mornings we have had this past week reminds us that our first freeze is near. Forecast for this weekend shows 31 degrees, so we will be bringing out the frost covers to extend out season just a little longer.
This week we planning on peas, but found a pest has devoured them…..Oh dear, that pest is related to me…my daughter. But, our shares will be full of red potatoes, rome beauty apples (great for applesauce), pak choy, broccoli or greens, garlic, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, roma and slicing tomatoes, sweet peppers.

October 23rd

Some “for sure” produce this week.

Nothing says fall like apples!  This week we are loading you up with apples.  Make some juice, bake a pie or just have a snack!  Most apples will be winesap.  These are great keepers and excellent for cooking.

More pomegranates!  I love to add these to salads as well as eat raw.  This share is almost a fruit share…..

Greens!  Several mixed greens as well as a bag of salad green.  Are you sick of cherry tomatoes yet?  Well don’t be, because before you know it they will be gone with the colder days of fall and frosts…Whenever he shows his face!  So, yes more cherry tomatoes this week.

Herbs this week will be basil and fennel leaves.  Add fennel to anything you roast for a great interesting flavor.  You can also dry it, make tea (which is good for belly aches) or toss with salads.

Of course more items will be added when we put the baskets together.

October 16th, 2014

A loaded share this week!  Robust and packed with a wide variety of some new and fun produce I’m sure you will enjoy for fall cooking!

We have Sweet Potatoes for your shares this week!  Plan on using these sweet beauties up soon.  Our sweet potatoes are fresh and they do not last long, so plan on using them up within the first few weeks for best flavor and of course, they are healthier right after coming out of the ground.  Have you checked out the price of produce in the grocery store?  I rarely buy much produce, but occasionally will check out the prices.  Right now sweet potatoes are $4 a pound!  eek!  And that’s not even organic! Some of our Sweet potatoes weigh over 4 pounds…..A $16 sweet potato???  Oh my…

Turnips are looking so beautiful this week and will be ready for this weeks share.  If you don’t like turnips, you haven’t had sweet fall white turnips.  The greens are also great for sauteing, so don’t waste them.  And so good for you too!  Roast them with other vegetables like winter squash, carrots, roma tomatoes or parsnips.  Drizzle them with a little olive oil, sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves…ummmm

Butternut winter squash is harvested and will be added to your basket as well this week along with mixed salad greens, peanuts, tomatoes, bell peppers and some other miscellaneous produce and herbs (thyme, cilantro & tarragon).

October 9th, 2014

Wow the weeks are zipping past us!  I hope everyone is enjoying the fall harvests so far!  This week we are planning for tomatillos, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, summer squash, onions (this will be the last of the onions) Santa Fe peppers (hot), garlic,  green beans, basil and chard.

We are busy this week putting in more greens, brassica and garlic.  Over 50 tasty varieties of garlic go into the ground on and as close to the full moon as possible.  Harvest for most garlic varieties begins early June. Look for Extra Early Chinese Pink!  It’s my favorite and is truly early, being harvested in May!

Winter squash is being harvested for later weeks, along with more potatoes.  Sweet potatoes may be in next weeks shares along with apples!  Don’t you just love fall foods?  Greens will start to become a part of your weekly shares as the cooler weather is favored for these crops.

Here is quick help for seeding your pomegranates.  Cut the pomegranate into two horizontal pieces.  Hold one half over a bowl with the cut side against the palm of your hand and use the back of a wooden spoon or a rolling pin to gently knock on the pomegranate skin.  Continue beating with increasing force until the seeds start coming out naturally and falling through your fingers into the bowl.  When all seeds have been removed, sift through the seeds and remove any bits of white skin or membrane.

October 2nd, 1014

Thanks the Chelsea last week for putting the baskets together while I was out of town!

This week we will be pulling Yukon gold potatoes out of the ground.  They look great!   These are great roasted with rosemary and little butter and sea salt.  We are planning on beets, bag of mixed greens, Israeli Melon, eggplant, pomegranates and hopefully some summer squash.   I will post a great pomegranate and eggplant recipe on the sidebar later, so keep an eye out!  Tomatoes, slicing and roma.  Pumpkin!

MAKE SURE YOU CHECK OUT THE EXTRA BOX THIS WEEK!  There are extra melons, beans, carrots and hot peppers!

In later weeks to come we will be having lots of spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, potatoes, assorted winter squash, green onions, varieties of lettuce, persimmons, apples, pears, quince………

September 25th:

This week Chelsea is in charge of shares…Same time, same place, new food!

This week will be loaded with some yummy staples for the pantry.

Garlic, gourmet cipollini onions and shallots!  Fresh Bay leaves you can use fresh or dry for later use.  Spaghetti squash and possible summer squash.  A mix of kale for juicing, sauteing or making kale chips or kale salad (we’ll post a recipe).  Slicing tomatoes and possible cherry tomatoes.  Fresh Carrots (silly, of course fresh) great cooked in some honey.  We are sending you with a small sample of our local honey to try as well.  Beans if we are lucky this week, but they are few and far between right now!  Grilling peppers (Ancho & Santa Fe) and sweet peppers.  Cilantro and beet micro-greens are growing now for you in week two!

This week our herb will be Stevia.  It’s 400 times sweeter than sugar!  So much better for you.  It’s great added to smoothies green or fruit.  If you don’t want to use it right now, dry it on the stem and once dry, crumple the dry leaves off the stem and save for later.  Remember, a little goes a long way!

Sometimes when we put together a share, there may an item missing.  This could be because it wasn’t ready like were hoping for or some other reason.  But don’t worry, we will make up for it!

As the week goes on we’ll add to the list!

We thought an exchange box would be a fun addition to our shares!  Each week we will have a box that members may leave something or take something for times you may find something in your share that you have a strong dislike for and someone else may enjoy more.  Also, we will have an extra box…This box may not be there every week, but at times you will find some produce that may be an extra that you are welcome to take. Things like an extra melon that was ripe that week and couldn’t wait till next week, an extra bag of green beans, or maybe just items we only had a few of and didn’t include in our shares.  One item please, so we are fair to other share holders!  See y’all soon!

September 18th:

Week one of our fall Shares will be loaded.  These baskets will make you eat healthy, feel better and give you new inspiration…  We will include some great recipes we love and I’m sure they are something you haven’t tried!

Week one includes a mix of micro-greens.  These are loaded with flavor, nutrition and leaves you feeling good!  Add micro-greens to salads or sprinkle over a sandwich.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE rinse these guys!  They always have a few seeds and dirt that sticks to them.

A mix of garden greens, the first this fall.  Tender butter-crunch lettuce and hardier romaine, spinach, and other tasty salad greens and of course some delish mixes of cherry tomatoes. Add your microgreens over the top if you wish!

Tomatoes, Onions, jalapeno.  Sounds like salsa time!
Tomatillos! Hey I have a great panini recipe to share with you later this week you could use your Tomatillos in.
Looks like you will get a mix of tomatoes, slicing and San Marzano. San Marzano tomatoes are great for making salsa, sauces or just slicing then drying and using them later in the winter for “Sun Dried Tomatoes” It’s easy! Just slice, dry in a food dehydrator or in a very low temp oven and when you want to use them, you can soak them in olive oil for 24 hours! They’re great!

Summer Squash will also be on the menu this week. Make zucchini bread, grill or saute!

Eggplant! Have you ever tried little fingers eggplant? It’s one of my favorites.

Looks like Melons!!!  Peaches!!!