Blue Gate Farm News – Volume X, Number 4 – December
15, 2009
In
this week’s box:
Carrots: Amarillo (yellow), Blanco (white), Bolero
(orange), Cosmic Purple (red-purple), & St Valery (orange)
Kale Mix: Beedy’s
Potatoes: Banana Fingerling and/or German Butterball
(small)
Radishes: Easter Egg Mix
Shallots: Bonilla (tan) and Prisma (red)
Spinach Mix:
Tapestry Salad Mix
For
those with the Cheese option: Robiola & Plain Chevre
For
those with the Egg option: one dozen free-range eggs (assorted colors)
For
those with the Honey option: choice of liquid or comb
Featured Recipe(s) (see below): Sesame Spinach
with Ginger and Garlic
Thai Spinach Dip
Herb Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
Precipitation so far this month:
18” of snow
What’s up on the farm?
Surprisingly (to
Jill, anyway), here we are at the final delivery for the Winter CSA season. It seems a little hard to believe, though the
weather of the recent week makes it easier to comprehend. We did receive the full force of last week’s
storm here on the farm and it brought along some unexpected results. Normally snow does a great job of sealing up
the high tunnels at ground level and help to keep them insulated. However the 50 mph winds that followed the
snow scoured it from the north sides of the tunnels and then drove the
succeeding below zero temperatures right inside. In the four winters that we’ve had tunnels we’ve
never seen cold damage like we received last week. All of the crops were at least damaged and
many of them were destroyed. We were
able to salvage enough to make today’s delivery, but it will not be the bounty
that we all have come to expect. We
tried to be very careful in harvesting, to sort out any cold damage (especially
in the greens) but it is possible that we may have missed some, so just keep an
eye on them and anticipate that they may not store as long as they normally do.
Besides hunkering
down for the cold we have been attending to wood-cutting and fire tending chores
and the additional animal chores that come with cold weather. We have also been working on a variety of Christmas
gifts as we are determined that the majority of this year’s gifts would be
handmade and/or farm-raised. So the
smells of drying wool and fiber dye have been mixing with that of baking bread and
other goodies. Other recent appearances
around the farm have included a number of fun animal sightings including
pheasants, a large flock of wild turkeys, a bobcat, snow geese and lots of
hungry birds.
What happens next?
We’ve already been getting questions
about signing up for the 2010 Summer CSA season. So here’s the plan: We will send
an email announcement to veteran members in mid January and you will have until
early February to sign up (a $50 deposit will be due shortly thereafter). We will then open any remaining slots to the
names on our waiting list. Membership
balances will be due on May 1, with deliveries beginning late May or early
June, depending on the weather. It seems
like a long way off, but between now and then we will continue to keep in touch
with a monthly newsletter, which you can look for around the first of each
month. And remember, you are still
welcome at the farm anytime. Come on out
for a wintery tromp through the woods or a little sledding with Blue. We’d love to see you, just give us a call to
make sure that we will be on-farm that day. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season
and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
So what’s new in the boxes this week?
Spinach should be the only thing that we’ve not had yet this CSA season. Ours is a mix of four spinach varieties
including
Fingerling Potatoes are a fun ‘little’ treat, smaller than normal,
these would be a quick roasting potato. No need to peel, just a quick wash and they
are ready to go. Store just like larger
potatoes in a dark, cool (but not cold) location.
DM Farmers Market ‘Winter Market’, Saturday - December 19th from
That’s about it
this week (and this year), if you have any questions or comments be sure to let
us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and Blue)
Sesame Spinach with
Ginger and Garlic
1 garlic clove
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh gingerroot
1 bunch trimmed fresh spinach (or Swiss Chard)
Mince garlic and in a small dry skillet toast sesame seeds
over moderate heat, stirring, until golden. In a heavy
6-quart kettle heat oil over moderate heat until hot but
not smoking and cook garlic and gingerroot, stirring, 30
seconds, or until fragrant and golden. Add spinach by
handfuls, stirring, and cook until just wilted.
Serve spinach sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Recipe Source: Gourmet September 1997
Thai Spinach Dip
1 cup chopped
fresh spinach
1 8-ounce
carton dairy sour cream
1 8-ounce
carton plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup snipped
fresh mint
1/4 cup finely
chopped peanuts
1/4 cup peanut
butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon soy
sauce
1 to 2
teaspoons crushed red pepper
Vegetable dippers (such
as peeled baby carrots, zucchini slices, and/or cucumber sticks)
1. In a medium bowl combine
spinach, sour cream, and yogurt. Stir in mint, peanuts, peanut butter, honey,
soy sauce, and crushed red pepper. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. Serve
with vegetable dippers. Makes about 2-1/2 cups dip.
Recipe Source: Better Homes and Gardens
Herb Roasted Fingerling
Potatoes
1 lb fingerling potatoes cut
in 1 inch pieces (just wash, no need to peel)
1-4 cloves garlic, chopped
3-4 tbs of your favorite
fresh herb: chopped parsley, rosemary, thyme, dill, ect.
3-4 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat potatoes with other ingredients and spread out on a shallow baking dish.
Roast until tender, 40-45 minutes. Makes 2-4 servings.
Adapted from a recipe in From
Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-fresh Seasonal Produce