All those peppers!

We have had an abundant amount of hot peppers this season, and we are starting to pick some really nice big & blocky sweet bell peppers of all colors.  We eat the bell peppers fresh in salads and sticks, throw them in anything with pasta, grill them, put them in eggs, quesidilla's, barbecue and fajitas.

I love to make stuffed peppers.  There are so many recipes out there for stuffed peppers, I guess because they are hard to mess up.   I mix cooked rice, ground meat, tomato sauce, a little chopped onion, tomato and peppers and then melt in a little cream cheese and mix in cheddar cheese (or whatever I have) and maybe even some fresh minced sage.  Top them with more cheese and bake them in the oven.  The peppers are wonderful roasted.  I think it is important to have a nice thick filling, if you use too many fresh tomatoes in the stuffing, they will be loose and watery.  Sometimes, you have to drain off the liquid as the peppers bake, otherwise they are more like boiled not roasted.

Any leftover peppers I have, I slice and throw in the freezer.  I just keep adding to the container, they are so great to have in the winter!

I had a couple members making green pepper jelly.  I will add this recipe, I have not tried it yet.  A couple years ago I made a roasted red pepper jelly, it was wonderful.  When we lived in the south, hot pepper jelly was popular, dyed bright red and slathered over cream cheese and a club cracker.  It was pretty good.
 http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pepper-jelly/detail.aspx

On to the farm news and happenings:
The summer heat has caught up to my poor tomatoes and herbs. Many of the tomatoes cooked on the vine in the dry sunshine.  I have some of them covered with cloth and I think it is helping.           
Many of the fall crops are started in the ground.  Yesterday I put our 4 flats of mini napa cabbage called "orangette."  Napa cabbage is one of my favorites, I am looking forward to napa salad. 
The greenhouse is full of starts of kale, cabbage, collards, green onions, lettuce and more herbs.
In the ground is more radishes, lettuce, bok choi, spinach, mustard greens and swiss chard. 
I am starting to pick and cure the winter squash.  So far I have picked a few pumpkins, spaghetti squash, delicata and sweet dumpling (dry sweet flesh).  My poor acorn squash vines died all at once, virus or borer, still not sure. 
We are in the process of putting up one of 2 hoop houses.  It is 20 x 48 and is quite a job to erect.  We should have it up in another week.  Inside we will grow spinach, greens and green onions this fall.  The idea is to extend the season, and we should be able to harvest greens and spinach throughout the winter months.  In the spring, I will start early tomatoes, cucumbers and eggplant.  Planted in mid-March, they will be several weeks earlier than if the ground outside.  We are very excited!
The shares are on the smaller size right not, but soon we will have bulky greens again!
Thanks to all of you for your support, we could not do this without you!!!

Week 10!

We are half way through the season this week.  The hot dry weather ended the green beans, that turned tough and hollow, which was a shame because I got one not so good picking on the late beans.  The heat brought on the peppers and tomatoes.  The next crop of summer squash is just now blossoming.  Started in the greenhouse is the fall crop of lettuce, napa cabbage, Gonzales cabbage, and Beria cabbage, a loose leaf cabbage kind of like collards only thicker.  I will seed more lettuce, Swiss chard and various greens and radishes in the ground soon and hope the crab grass slows. We are ready to put up our 20 x 50 hoop house and our new 20 x 50 greenhouse.  The hoop house we will sow spinach and lettuce and plant green onions in this fall.  It will be our trial year for winter production (I am pretty excited!)

This weeks share includes:
Variety of Tomatoes, Cherokee purple, brandywine, yellow brandywine, Valencia, red zebra and Illini star.
peppers, variety of sweet, green, Italian sweet long, banana, paprika (frying pepper)
hot peppers, jalapenos, cayenne, Hungarian hot wax
Potatoes
carrots
Onions
garlic
let me know what herbs you would like!

Summertime greetings to all, I hope you are enjoying all the summer veggies.  We had a nice vacation to upstate New York, and we are glad to be home.  I was never so happy to see our flat open fertile fields of corn and beans as I was this week.  We have a large share this week, there is so much ready right now!
This week the shares include:
Sweet corn
lemon cucumbers
Tomatoes
Red and green cabbage
carrots
okra
summer squash
green beans
sweet and hot peppers
onions
garlic
We have basil, thyme, sage, oregano, mints, pineapple sage, rosemary and some cilantro and dill ready, let me know if you need any!

Week 6

This week we are moving into the summer veggies!  I have picked a few early cherry tomatoes, and they will all begin to ripen very soon.  I hope everyone is enjoying the produce so far!
This week we should have:
Green beans
Summer squash - mostly Zephyr, a tasty yellow and green open pollinated cross
carrots
potatoes
new onions
cucumber, lemon
beets (if I can find enough larger ones)
cabbage
garlic
herbs, mint, sage, basil, thyme, dill

We use our summer squash in a variety of ways cooked and raw, but this to us it the taste of summer!

Grilled Summer Squash
about 2 med. summer squash, peel on, sliced about 1/2 thick
olive oil, enough to coat
fresh garlic, salt & pepper to taste (or garlic salt & pepper)
cook over med-low heat in a grill wok, stirring when needed until it starts to turn golden

Week 5

A member shared this recipe for Kale soup, I am going to freeze some kale for soup this winter!    Most of the ingredients are in the share this week, and if you would like to come out and get some fresh herbs from the herb garden, just let me know!

Lots of members have made the kale chips.  Some tips they have shared are "don't over do it with the oil" and "sprinkle the salt after while they are warm."

Usually I roast my new potatoes.  Another of my favorite way to cook new potatoes is scrub them, half the larger ones (or quarter) cover and boil them on med-low with onion, garlic, fresh dill, thyme and salt and pepper.  When almost done (but still firm) drain off water and add butter and simmer in butter.  Fresh green beans or sugar peas will make this an even better meal.

Both recipes are from allrecipes.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/savory-kale-cannellini-bean-and-potato-soup/detail.aspx 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/detail.aspx

Share this week includes:

New potatoes 

Carrots

New Onions

sugar peas / snow peas

kale

lettuce

Swiss chard

spicy mustard mix with bok choi 

lemon cucumber

fresh garlic

basil

Savory Kale, Cannellini Bean, and Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3/4 cup diced carrot
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 potatoes, halved and sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups finely chopped kale leaves
• 1 small red chile pepper, seeded and chopped fine
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir the onion until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrot and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes more.
2. Pour in the chicken broth, water, and white wine; stir in the potatoes, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add the cannelini beans, kale, chile pepper, and black pepper, and simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes.

 

Baked Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes. 

Week 4 and 16 to go!

Week 4 and we still have spring greens!  After last week's hot weather the lettuce has a bit of a bite to it.  A little vinegar or something salty will help counteract some of the bitters, and a little sweetness will help balance the tart vinegar.  So try some stronger dressing with the salad, and add a splash of vinegar to the wilted greens (we like balsamic and seasoned rice vinegar). 
This weeks share included:
Large head green lettuce & mixed lettuce
sugar snap peas
snow peas
broccoli
garlic scapes
Swiss chard
radishes
spinach
cilantro and mint
We have lots of herbs that I have been picking at the farm, let me know if you would like any oregano, sage, tarragon, Thai basil, mint (many kinds) or thyme.  Cilantro is in limited quantities, but it is growing quickly (it just bolts so fast!) The dill and basil I put out late and it will be another week before we start seeing any. 
The summer squash is loaded with blossoms and baby's and the green beans are flowering.  Before long comes the yummy grilled squash and backaches from bean-picking!
The potatoes are looking good, I will start to dig some new potatoes to go with the green beans (yum!).  The tomatoes are looking wonderful as well, loaded with lots of early little red zebra's, green zebra's and cherry tomatoes.  My oldest son asks me daily if we have any tomatoes yet.  I almost forgot about the carrots and beets! Another couple of weeks and I will try for those.
For those of you who did not come to the Sunday pick-up at the farm, Mom (Brenda) and I will be at the Charleston Farmer's Market from 6:30-9 am on Wednesday morning.  My permanent spot is on the north side of the courthouse in front of the steps.  This will be my seventh year at the market, and my mom has joined my for most of those years.  She is my most loyal and hard working volunteer, I am happy she can be there peddling produce with me.
See you all soon! 

More bok choy is on the way! This is similar to napa cabbage salad, yummy with sesame seed and sunflower seeds also. I would recomend slicing the larger ribs of the bok choy like celery for this salad.

 Potatoes and garlic are looking fantastic!

Iris and tarragon in the herb garden

Farm Tour and Charleston Farmers Market Growers Associaiton

Happy Spring Everyone!

Things are moving right along at the farm, and we have several crops ready to pick.  The spinach this years is great- it must be this prolonged cool weather.  We are hosting a Charleston Farmers Market Growers Association farm tour this Saturday, May 21 at 10:00 a.m.  The CFMGA pledges to grow 100% of what they sell, no resale of produce.  We will tour the farm and answer any questions you may have about local produce. 
We will have produce ready for a pick-up after the tour (maybe 30 min, depends on the discussions) and you can take your first 2011 share home with you.  For those of you that cannot make it on Saturday, you can pick-up your produce on Sunday afternoon, I was thinking between 1-3 (let me know if it does not work for you).  Once we meet with everyone, and get things started I think it would be a good idea to have you come out to the farm every other Sunday for produce, and I will bring it to town on the alternate Sunday's - we can share the travel expense that way - let me know what you think of that. 
Shares this week should include:
Salad mix (lettuce, baby beet greens, bok choi, spinach, baby kale, baby Swiss chard)
Bok Choi for stir fry, whole babies
Spinach
Lettuce
Asparagus (we should have enough for everyone, if not we will do half of you next week)


Hope to see everyone this weekend!
Kim

Spring has arrived!

It seems as if spring has had a hard time getting here this year.  The soil had a hard time drying out due to the cool weather.  We were lucky to have out potatoes in by the end of March, and over half of the garden is planted. 
In the ground so far:
beets, carrots, peas, potatoes, spinach, onions, leeks, bok choi, pac choi, kale, chard, lettuce, arugula, and raab.
The greenhouse is full of plants, many ready to go out.   We set out 350 cabbage plants last night.  My dad also had the big tractor out to plant the sweetcorn, it is early but we decided to gamble it.  We could have some of the earliest SC in the county, or it could rot in the ground with cool cold weather.  I am hoping for the first.  I have a good feeling and it plants better with the larger equipment, 8 rows at a time. 
Many of our warm weather crop are seedlings and will be ready to go out in a couple weeks.  Everything looks so good so far!
We got some exciting news, NRCS is funding us a hoop house, 20' x 50' and I will be purchasing it this week.  This hoop house will extend our season, primarily for growing greens into the winter.  Last year we purchased 2 low tunnel systems and overwintered mustard, kale, broccoli, cabbage and napa cabbage.  It overwintered and is ready to pick right now.  If I can do that with 2 - 4' x 50' hoops, imaging what we can do with a big one.  We also purchased a used greenhouse, 20' x 50' a few weeks ago from a retiring farm in Casey.  It was the coldest day ever for my dad and Ken and I to load that up.  We have almost outgrown our greenhouse, so this big one is my dream come true 10 times over.  Very exciting. 
All the chicks arrived from the hatchery, and we have a really cool assortment of pullets - egg layers.  We also have 14 turkeys, bronze breasted.  And they have been hatching out of our incubator non-stop for several weeks.  We are overrun with birds right now, and they are smelly, stinking up my sunroom.

We are filling up fast, and have a few spots open, then it will be to wait and see what the weather brings!
See ya all soon!

Groundhog day Greetings!

What a storm!  Our house is surrounded by huge Siberian Elm's planted way to close to the house.  All night long we heard the frozen branches dropping on the house.  Our road is drifted over and no sign of a snow plow. It's hard to imagine in a few short weeks we will be getting ready to plant potatoes, cabbage and broccoli.  However, the greenhouse was 100 degrees just a few days ago because it was so sunny out.  We have 15 flats of onions started on the sun room - they are just popping out.  Next we will start the broccoli and cabbage.  I am skipping all cauliflower this year.  I have tried to grow it for the past 7 years and I have had maybe 3 good heads,  I'm throwing in the towel.  We are going to try some celeriac root and celery, Dr. Gordon Tucker gave me a nice big packet of celery seed he brought back from his trip to China.  I grew celery about 5 years ago and it grew nicely but not very big.  Celeriac root is a really ugly root that grows on top of the soil and is supposed to be great to cook with.   I think they will be best suited for the black soil of the kitchen garden.
Our big mama sheep is getting ready to lamb any day now, she is huge.  It will be our first lambing, and the weather could not be worse!  I hope she hangs on a little while longer.
CSA Memberships are rolling in as people look forward to spring.  If we do the Charleston Farmers market this year, we will be there on Saturday.  It's going to be an exciting busy season!        

Happy New Year!!!

The holidays are past and what glorious weather we had the last week of December.  I was finally able to get outside and see how the veggies are doing under the battered low hoops.  To my amazement, several of the crops are alive and  healthy, especially the kale.  The ground was thawed just enough to dig the leftover carrots, and the abandoned parsnips.  The ground was rock hard until some mid-November rains came so they have been resting in the ground waiting.
Seeds were ordered last week, and the bulk of the seed order is coming from FEDCO seeds out of Waterville, ME.  They offer a huge variety of certified organic and sustainable seed.  I like the candid  information in the extremely detailed black and white paper catalog.
The remaining order will come from High Mowing Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.
We reduced our potato order to 150 pounds and will revisit some french fingerlings (which I hope have improved in the past few years) Adirondack Blue, rose gold and Yukon gold which are my favorite.  Not only are the Yukon's reliable for nice babies and large bakers early on, but they are so buttery and delicious.  There is nothing like new potatoes, so earthy and fresh.
We are trying something new on the farm this year, sweet potatoes.  On a fall visit to a friends farm in southern Illinois, I helped them plant a little garlic and pulled a few lost orange tubers out of the ground.  I have been hesitant to grow them mostly because you order the "slips" or little semi-bare rooted plants (or vine cuttings barely rooted in a tray) and it all seems like a risky hassle.  I like to start everything myself, even the onions I  start exceed the sets I was buying in size and quality.   I went ahead and ordered 100 sweet potato plants, I hope that is plenty for our members and my family, and hope for some seed stock roots for the following year.     

It is going to be a good year.  Right now we are looking at doing a farm pick-up early in the week, then the Charleston Farmers Market and a pick-up there, then depending on how many need to pick-up in Mattoon, a pick-up there possibly Thursday evening.  I am craving spring veggies, thinking about sugar snap peas is a good motivator!  Hope to see everyone soon!

One month old onions from last year, time to start again!