Blue Gate Farm News – Volume VII , Number 19
– October 7, 2008
In
this week’s box:
Tapestry Salad Mix
or
Cucumbers: Suyo Long
or
Spinach Mix:
Fingerling Potatoes: Peanut
Garlic: asst hardneck
Potatoes: German Butterball or Caribe
Sweet Peppers: Ace (green to red), Islander
(purple), Red Knight (green to red) or Sunray (green to yellow)
Sorrel
For
those with the Cheese option: Cranberry Chevre and assorted Chevre
For
those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)
For
those with the Herb option: Basil: Genovese & Thai Magic, Mint mix, Lemon
Balm
Featured Recipe(s) (see
below): French Potato Soup
Savory Bean Spinach Soup
Rain this week: 1.1” (from 10/1 – 10/6)
What’s up on the farm?
This past week was
largely focused on preparations for the Farm Crawl. We were lucky to have a wonderful, sunny (if
a bit windy) day and the people rolled out for a day in the country. The best estimate from the farmers is that we
had over 600 people “crawl the farms.” We
were pleased with the whole day and thrilled to see a number of our members
come through. If you didn’t make it out
this year, don’t worry, there is likely to be a Farm Crawl 2009, so put in on
your calendar for the first Sunday in October.
The weather has
been so warm recently that it’s easy to forget that the seasons are progressing
and we are quickly coming to the end of our CSA season. Our final delivery will be next week, so if
you have a hidden stash of CSA boxes at home, we’d appreciate it if you could
get those back to us. Since it will be
the last delivery, we will bring your produce in grocery bags next week so you won’t
need to worry about holding on to your box over the winter.
We have had a number
of questions about the Winter Share and while we have gone back and forth about
it, we finally decided to put Winter Share on hold for this year. This will allow us to concentrate on getting
the second high tunnel constructed and the beds properly prepared so to be
ready for spring. This was a hard
decision for us, but we feel that it will be the best for the farm and the
members in the long run. We do plan to
re-instate the Winter Share program in 2009. So if you are craving fresh produce during Nov
and Dec this year, we encourage you to visit us (and the many other vendors) at
the Harvest Market on Nov 22 and the Winter Market on Dec 20 in Capitol
Square/Nolan Plaza downtown.
The fingerling
potato crop was very small this year (both in size and quantity) the bag in
this week’s boxes constitutes the entire harvest. They are small, but rather unique potatoes to
toss into soups or mixed roasted vegetables as they cook fairly quickly. We hope you will enjoy this petite potato and
will look forward to a more substantial harvest next year.
Herb Share folks,
you will notice that the basil is rather spotty this week, the cold temps from
10 days ago or so caused this and while its not pretty, it wont affect the
flavor of your basil. This will probably
be the last week for basil, so we wanted to make sure you got it one last time,
even if it is a bit ugly.
Everyone gets to
enjoy a bit of “herb share” in their boxes this week. The large green leaves are sorrel, a tart,
lemony herb that is great in fish, chicken and vegetable dishes. Also a nice addition to pesto and other herb
dips and sauces, we particularly like it in the included potato soup recipe. Store in its plastic bag in the crisper drawer
of your refrigerator.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean
French
Potato Soup
2
C. Chopped Sorrel Leaves, divided (or other strong flavored greens)
3
Tbs. Butter
1
Med. Onion-chopped
1
Qt. Chicken Stock
½
lb Potatoes-peeled and cubed
1
Tsp. Salt
1
C. Milk
2
Tbs. Flour
1
Egg Yolk
1/8
Tsp. Nutmeg
In
a medium saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 4-5
minutes or until softened. Add chicken stock and 1 cup sorrel and cook,
stirring for 10 min. Add potatoes and
salt. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer
for 30 min. Combine egg yolk and flour, then add to milk and mix well. Add egg
mixture, nutmeg and remaining sorrel to soup, stirring to combine. Heat
through, do not boil. Delicious served
with a good, crusty French bread.
Recipe Source: Blue Gate Farm
Savory
Bean Spinach Soup
Makes
6 main-dish servings
3 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can white
or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup converted rice
1/2 cup finely chopped
onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 cups coarsely
chopped fresh spinach or kale leaves
Finely shredded Parmesan cheese
1.
In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine broth, tomato puree, beans, rice,
onion, garlic, basil,
salt, and pepper.
2.
Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for
2-1/2 to 3-1/2 hours.
3. Stir spinach into soup. Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Makes 6 main-dish servings.
Recipe Source: unknown