Maysie's FarmMaysie's Farm Newsletter: Fresh from the Fields
October 2008

October 31, 2008
OOPS! We had a miscommunication with Ben Stoltzfus regarding the Thanksgiving turkeys. The turkeys will be delivered to Maysie's Farm FRESH (not frozen) on Friday, November 21 and Monday, November 24. After that, he will freeze the turkeys, so if you order one for December, it will arrive FROZEN (probably on December 22).

If you're interested in ordering a turkey, put a note in Ben's folder in our store with your NAME, TELEPHONE NUMBER, and DATE YOU WISH TO PICK IT UP (11/21 or 11/24) along with a $15 deposit. You can still order turkeys up through at least next week. If you already ordered a turkey, note that the pickup dates have slightly changed. Drop a note to Ben in his folder or call him at 717-768-3437 and let him know which date you want yours (11/21 or 11/24).

Another mistake I made in yesterday's update - the Community Shopping Night at Ten Thousand Villages will take place on Friday, DECEMBER 12 (not the 5th)! NOW you can mark your calendars!

And finally, Sam has made a decision about the last pickup dates. The last REGULAR pickup will be on Monday, November 10. However, in anticipation of milder weather this coming week, he is hoping to have more crops coming on later in November, so we will also have pickups on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 and MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24. These will be more or less "gleaning days," with no guarantee that there will be much to give out. If you would prefer not to even come out those days, just let us know so we can plan the distribution better.

As of now, we plan on having the store open on Fridays throughout the winter, for Ben Stoltzfus pickups and salmon.

I hope I haven't confused you too much! Let me know if you have any questions!

~ Colleen

October 30, 2008
Greetings!

When is the last CSA pickup? That should be an easy question to answer, but it depends largely on the unpredictable weather. The original ending date was the week of Thanksgiving, and after skipping that week in July Sam had hoped to add on an extra week after that. But we've had two weeks of cold weather and freezing nights, and the crops are just not growing very fast. So right now we're aiming to go until mid-November - stay tuned for the exact last date. I'll give you at least a week's notice.

Ben Stoltzfus is still accepting Thanksgiving orders for his organic, pastured turkeys. They cost $3.75/lb and average 14-18 lbs. He will deliver them frozen to Maysie's Farm on Monday, November 24. If you'd like to order one, place a $15 deposit along with your name and telephone number in Ben's folder in our store. He's also accepting orders for a December delivery.

The Farmers' Market at Anselma Mill has a new day and time. There is no more Wednesday market. As of November 8 the market will be open every Saturday from 1-4pm through mid-December. The produce vendors (including Maysie's Farm) will not have as much to offer, but there will be artisans and craftspeople selling there. You may want to keep that in mind for holiday shopping!

And speaking of holiday shopping, there will be a Community Shopping Night to benefit Maysie's Farm on Friday, December 5 from 5-9pm at Ten Thousand Villages at Main Street in Exton. Enjoy local wine and cheese while you shop for a good cause!

And speaking of wine... CSA member Matthew Cain has begun a business importing ecologically friendly wine. Not only are these wines organic, but they are shipped responsibly in a unique packaging that is less harmful to the envoronment. Yellow+Blue Wines are now available in PA Wine and Spirit Stores. Go to www.ybwines.com to learn more.

Thanks to Annmarie Butera for this week's recipes, which come from Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines. Maybe they will encourage you to take more mustard greens!

Wilted Mustard Green Salad with Bacon (serves 2)

1/2 pound mustard greens, stemmed, leaves cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 small onion, chopped
1 1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 slices of bacon, cooked unitl crisp and crumbled

Wash the greens. Spin them dry and put them in a large heatproof bowl
Heat the oil in a skillet with the mustard seeds and cook over moderate heat for 2- 4 minutes (until the poppiing subsides- (partially cover the pan to keep the seeds from popping)
Add the onion and cook the mixture stirring until the onion is softened.
Remove mixture from heat. Stir in vingear and bring the mixture to a boil.
Drizzle the dressing over the mustard greens and toss the salad. Add bacon, salt and pepper and toss again.

Sauteed Mustard Greens with Garlic (serves 6)

3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 lb mustard greens (2 bunches), stems and center ribs discarded and leaves halved
1/2 cup water
Mash garlic to a paste with â teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a 5-quart pot over moderately high heat until hot and sautŽ garlic paste until fragrant. Add half of greens and toss with tongs to coat with oil, adding remaining half as greens wilt. Add water and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Continue to cook, uncovered, until greens are just tender and most of liquid is evaporated. Season with additional salt.

See you at the farm!

~ Colleen

October 22, 2008
Greetings!

Well we've certainly had a change in the weather! Sunday night brought a hard frost, which signaled the end of the remaining peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, basil and flowers. The cabbages, root vegetables, and most of the lettuces and greens are fine. In keeping with the season, you're picking a pumpkin from the Below Lawn this week (and hopefully next week). There are also still cornstalks available against the barn for decorating.

As many of you know, Michael Pollan is one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend any of his books, especially his recent "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "In Defense of Food." If you're not up for reading an entire book right now, he wrote an article in the New York Times on October 9 that I think you'll find most interesting (he's also recently been heard on NPR). It is an open letter to the next U.S. President stressing the importance of food issues. In the article he examines how we currently grow, process, and eat food in America and how this has to change. The article is a little lengthy, but well worth it! Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=Pollan&st=cse&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Here is a perfect October salad recipe. It is from the current issue of Natural Health magazine:

HARVEST SALAD (serves 10)

2 cups corn bread, diced into 3/4-inch cubes
8 cups salad greens (lettuce, spinach, escarole, radicchio), washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 small apples, cored and diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted

DRESSING:
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons low-fat buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients and refrigerate until serving time.

2. Spread the cubes of corn bread out onto a jelly-roll pan and drizzle with 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool.

3. At serving time, toss together salad greens, fruits, nuts and corn bread along with the dressing in a large salad bowl.

See you at the farm!

~ Colleen

October 7, 2008
Greetings!

There are several local events happening in the next week or so that will be of interest to you! First of all, don't forget about our LAST Full Moon Potluck Dinner of the season happening this Sunday evening, October 12, beginning at 6pm. The weather forecast is looking good (warm!) and the evening should be a good time. There's a sign up sheet in the barn, but come even if you forget to sign up! Bring friends, family, and a potluck dish to share.

The Phoenixville Area Time Bank (a local nonprofit that has members sharing their skills to build community) is hosting their annual Dance Party featuring Chico Huff and Friends on Saturday, October 11, at the Phoenixville Moose Lodge. They are offering a special price of $20/ticket for local CSA members. See the attached flyer for more details. Ê

Then on Monday, October 13, from 6-8pm, the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia is sponsoring a panel discussion on How To Be A Farmer-Friendly Business. If you want to learn more about how local food systems work, or learn specifics about how to source local foods for your business, come out to this event at Camphill Kimberton Hills. More details are on the attached flyer.

Finally, Annmarie Butera will be offering her LAST cooking class of the season at Maysie's Farm on Saturday, October 18 from 11am-1pm. Southeast Asian cuisine is featured; the menu includes Lemongrass Soup, Spicy Salmon Cakes with Sambal, Stir Fry with Tamarind Gravy, Jasmine Rice, Crunchy Sweet and Sour Salad, and a Fruit-Yogurt Parfait. The cost is $20 for CSA members. Contact Annmarie at ambutera@verizon.net to register.

The winter squash is starting to come in! The following recipe appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer last year (I think) and is from The Omega-3 Cookbook:

STUFFED ACORN SQUASH (2 servings)

6 ounces mixed wild and white rice
1/3 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion, very finely chopped
1 each, medium red and green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 handful fresh parsley, chopped
2 acorn squash, with tops sliced off

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook the rice until tender - about 20 minutes. Rinse and drain well. At the same time, pour boiling water over the raisins and leave for 20 minutes. Drain. Put the oil into a large skillet or wok and gently saute the onion and peppers. Add the rice and stir well, until covered with oil. Add the raisins and pine nuts and continue stirring for 10 minutes. Add the parsley and stuff the mixture into the squashes. Place in a large baking pan and add about 1 inch of water. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes, until the flesh is tender.

See you at the farm!

~ Colleen

 
October 1, 2008
Greetings!

Wow! It's hard to believe that it's October already! Don't forget about our last Full Moon Potluck Dinner coming up on Sunday, October 12 beginning at 6pm. We're planning on a bonfire that evening to help us keep warm. Everyone is invited - just bring a potluck dish to share. There should be a sign up in the barn at your next pick up.

And the beginning of October signals the possibility of the first frost. Our average date of first frost in this area is October 4. However, Mother Nature doesn't go by our calendar - some years it sneaks up on us at the end of September, and last year the first frost was on October 29! The first frost will mean the end of summer crops like squash, peppers, tomatoes, eggplant (they're slowing down already with the cooler nights). Basil will also die when the temperature dips to about 34 or 35 degrees. With this in mind, we encourage you to HEAVILY harvest the basil while you can! Please take as much of it as you can possibly use! Pesto time! I'm including a recipe at the end of this email.

Were you puzzled by the kohlrabi? According to the CSA Cookbook, many botanists believe that kohlrabi is a hybridization of cabbage and turnips. Some people think it tastes like broccoli. After washing it, trim away any woody or tough portions of the skin, and eat it cooked or raw. It can be grated raw into salads or coleslaws, or steamed, sauteed, added to soups, stews, or stir-fries, marinated, or mashed. It's versatile - go ahead and experiment! Here's a simple recipe from the cookbook:

SAUTEED KOHLRABI (2-4 servings)

2 kohlrabi
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tablespoons butter or light oil
1 Tablespoon fresh herbs

Grate kohlrabi, place in colander and sprinkle with salt. Let stand 30 minutes to drain. Heat butter over medium heat, add onions and saute onions a few minutes. Stir in kohlrabi, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 10 minutes. Increase heat to medium and cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs.

There are lots of pesto recipes out there. Omit the cheese and freeze batches in plastic bags (add the cheese when you use the pesto). This is a great way to get a taste of summer in the months ahead! Here's a good recipe from Cooking Light magazine - it makes enough pesto to cover a pound of pasta:

CLASSIC BASIL PESTO

2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 Tablespoon coarsely chopped walnuts (I use pine nuts)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced

Combine all ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth. Serve over a pound of hot pasta.

See you at the farm!

~ Colleen

 

Wish List
Looking to get rid of any of the following items? Maysie's Farm will put them to good use! The first three needs are for our new "office," which is (still) under construction in the old "staff room":

• Wooden file cabinets
• Small electric range/oven
• Sink base, under-counter cabinets, wall cabinets and a short length of countertop material
• Picnic table(s)
• Large outdoor canopy
• Solar powered walkway lights (ideally to match the two donated by Martha Thomae)
• Straw bale chopper (for mulching large areas)
• Assistance building a bio-diesel production system or a compost tea brewing system
• Diesel station wagon or delivery vehicle for use as our produce hauler (for the Farmers Market and our Farm and School partnership) that we could run on bio-diesel or vegetable oil
• Housing for potential Farm Manager
Please contact Sam at (610) 458-8129 if you can donate any of these items.

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