Dear Friends of B & H Organic Produce,
Hello to September and Back to School. I hope all you teachers and students are ready and eager for the up and coming year.
Fall is in the air and a new season begins for us as well. I am not rushing the end of the season although I am looking forward to the break. If only all the work could be spread out a bit.
If you are new to receiving my emails: I send them out weekly. You can email me to disengage from the list at any time. I will be sending out lists of what we are harvesting for the week, events we are involved with and recipes. I post the emails on our blog http://bhorganics.blogspot.com/ each week so that you can archive the recipes.
The 2nd annual Rt 10 Organic Grower's Tour was this past weekend and it was a huge success. Our interns Lisa and Miriam worked very hard to give a great tour. I don't know what I will do without them. I will post photos on the blog. We had a great turn out of new faces and very interested listeners. We are so grateful for all of you.
Our last event of the season is coming up on September 11th. (see attached flyer). This will be a seasonal cooking class instructed by Bonnie Showalter a longtime friend and yoga teacher. This is fresh local food at it's finest with a focus on flavor and especially preserving the energy of the food you eat. Please contact me if you are interested we are keeping the class small so reservations are required.
What we will be bringing to market this week:

• kale
• chard
• peppers
• basil
• boc choi
• lettuce
• salad mix
• eggplant
• carrots
• winter squash
• garlic
• flowers
• tomatoes
• potatoes

Recipes:
These recipes came straight from my October 9th 2009 blog. I felt is was appropriate even now and made my stomach grumble when I read it.
Many of these recipes were submitted by our CSA members. The others I found by just googling "Eggplant Kale Recipe".

• "hey, i made this last night, with B&H potatoes, onion, garlic, and kale of course! very good. " - a West Lawn Member.
  

  http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/potato-kale-soup-recipe
  
• "This is for your request for kale recipes. I actually did use this for the beet greens, but I'm sure they're interchangeable. It does take a LOT of greens. I used both the tops of the beets you gave me, plus the separate package of beet greens. I also lightened it a bit with part-skim ricotta. Even the 6 year old ate it up." http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/beet-green-gratin-recipe/index.html
• Eggplant Parmesan with Homemade Kale and Mushroom Tomato Sauce served over Spaghetti Squash. I winged this one. I breaded the eggplant with panko to lighten them up a bit. I sweetened the sauce with fresh apple cider from the market. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/EGGPLANT-PARMIGIANA-WITH-BELL-PEPPER-AND-KALE-50036604
• I made a Kale and Potato Coconut Korma. For an extra treat serve this over spiced lentils. I actually used store bought sauce from Palace Foods http://palacefoodsinc.com/ (which is a local Reading company). But I found this recipe too. http://thebuddingcook.blogspot.com/2008/07/vegetable-kurma.html
• And this is what I will be making on Sunday night. I love this blog by the way: http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=294

Well I think this should keep you all busy for a while.

We will not have Thursday deliveries this week. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Thank you again and have a great week,
Erica

Rt 10 Organic Grower's Tour

Dear Friends of B & H Organic Produce,
Rt 10 Organic Grower's Tour
This is a not to be missed event. This Saturday August 28th at Sugarbush Nursery, B & H Organic Produce and King's Herb Nook.
A unique chance to have a free tour and one on one information from Organic growers in your own backyard. Tours and lectures are at 11 am, 1pm and 3pm. You can attend any of the events you choose and receive 15% off of selected items at each location. If you attend all 3 events you will be registered to win a $25 gift certificate to one of our businesses.
Sugarbush will be featuring: Invasive plant identification
King's Herb Nook will be giving herb walks
B & H Organic Produce: I along with my interns will be giving a tour and discussing the many mulching techniques we have tried this season.
Again it is a free event and we would love to see you there. See the attached flyer below for more information.

What we will be bringing to market this week:

• potatoes
• garlic
• tomatoes
• flowers
• eggplants
• salad mix
• lettuce
• peppers
• basil
• swiss chard
• kale

And recipes for this week come from the archives of our blog.

• Honey Baked Tomatoes: I heard this one on the radio and had to try it: http://www.whyy.org/91FM/chef/recipe235.html Excellent!
• Roasted Tomatoes: this is a play on the above recipe. I make a big batch each week and eat it on everything.

  Roasted Tomatoes Recipe

  Mix chopped paste tomatoes (1 quart), garlic (2 cloves), basil (1/2 bunch), olive oil (1/4 cup), salt and pepper (to taste). Place on a Cookie sheet and bake at 200 all overnight. These tomatoes may be stored in a zip lock bag in your refrigerator for 6 months! If you chop it all small enough you can freeze it too.

• B & H Salsa

  3 white onions with greens, 3 lb heirloom tomatoes, 6 hot peppers, 3 bell peppers, 12 cloves garlic.

  Grill all of these ingredients as is until charred. Place everything in a food processor and blend until smooth. Boil down in a stock pot until desired consistency (about 3 hours). Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 tbspn honey. While this is cooking down blend 3 bunches of cilantro (from Rosie at market) with the juice of two limes. When salsa is at desired consistency add the cilantro - lime mixture and serve.
  

Thank you all so much and have a great week,
Erica

Let it Rain!!!!!!!

Dear Friends of B & H Organic Produce,

The pictures here: 1- our unplugged tent set up at the Taste of West Reading
2- Miriam our intern. Whom I would be lost without. Say hello to her at market this week.

What an exciting weekend. We had 2 very busy fun filled days at market this weekend and then to top it all off last night was The Taste of West Reading. I had no idea what to expect but the wonderfully motivated people of the West Reading Main Street really put on a gala. It was beautiful. Thank you all so much for all of your hard work and to the chefs as well. I had a great time.
Not to be missed will be the Route 10 Organic Grower's tour on Saturday August 28th. This is a great event that we host each year with Sugarbush Nursery and King's Herb Nook. A free educational event! We each gives tours at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. We will be supplying snacks, and there will be 15% off of our products for the participants of the tour. This year Emily's restaurant will also be participating by using our produce for one of their dinner specials. Please open the flyer below for more information. Tickets do not need to be purchased ahead of time.

This is what we are harvesting this week:

• garlic
• tomatoes
• eggplants
• summer squash
• cucumbers
• fresh cut flower bouquets
• salad mix
• lettuce
• arugula
• peppers
• basil
• kale
• potatoes
• kale
• chard

And since I hardly ever mention it: We sell meat as well.
We raise beef and chicken on our farm. If you have been to the farm recently you could not have missed our chickens. (They are certainly eager this year. And eating lots of organic tomatoes whether I like it or not.) Our meat is raised without hormones or anitibiotics, all the meat is free range. All meat is frozen and sold in cuts (except whole chickens). We bring a limited selection of meats to market each week because it is a lot to haul around. We do not bring the chicken to the Elverson market because of labeling. The meat is sold all year in our store Hartz Natural Foods which is open Monday through Saturday 9 am till 3pm. You may see a list at our website www.bhorganicproduce.com.

Recipes for this week:

I decided to choose Eggplant for the main ingredient this week because it is common for customers to ask me how to prepare it. I simply googled "Eggplant Recipes" and came up with so many options. However, this one site seemed to have it all including preparation tips; http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_eggplant_recipes there is something for everyone here.

And Papillon served an amazing Ratatouille at the Taste of West Reading using all my veggies. He serves this as well as an amazing heirloom tomato salad that everyone raves about. Now is the time to get over there and see what wonderful things he does with our produce.

I am sorry that we will not be doing weekly deliveries this week. Market was so busy this weekend I need to recharge my batteries.

Have a super week,
Erica

Dear Friends of B & H Organic Produce,
Welcome to August. I can hardly believe it is here already. In the early morning I can already feel a change in the air and a definite change in the light. I love fall, but will be sad to see the garden go dormant. Personally, I would love summer all season, but I know the soil needs a rest too. In the next few weeks we will be working on putting our open ground to rest for the season. Our final till, cover crops and then our fall fertilizer. All in preparation for another wonderful year ahead.
This week at market we will have:

• fresh cut flower bouquets
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• summer squash
• garlic
• salad mix
• eggplant
• peppers
• basil
• kale
  
• chard

This weeks recipes will be raw. In honor of the Raw Food Challenge for August and also in honor of my husband fasting this week.

Fresh Juices: this is what my husband Mike has for his menu tomorrow.

• Bloody Mary: Tomatoes, parsley, lemon, carrots, cucumber and beets!!!!!!!!!
• Cucumber Mint: just cucumbers with a hint of mint
• Carrot Beet Ginger: pretty standard.

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=460045

Greenie Guacamole: this uses raw swiss chard and gives tips for how to breakdown the bitterness.
http://goneraw.com/recipe/greenie-guacamole

A tip for this week: How to freeze whole tomatoes. This is a blessing for me- I have limited time and a home without air conditioning. This way I can make my sauces, salsas, catsups and pastes in the winter when I need to heat my house. http://www.ehow.com/how_5077856_freeze-whole-fresh-tomatoes.html

Thank you all and have a great week,
Erica

Dear Friends of B & H Organic Produce,
What another amazing week. The support from our customers makes every long day completely worth while. Thank you all for your love of vegetables!
There was quite a few talk about local produce at markets this weekend. It is important to know that not all Farmer's Markets and Roadside stands are created equal. Be sure to ask your farmer if they grew the produce and if not where they bought it from. Yes, it is true roadside stands and farmer's markets often buy in their produce. You can be sure that the farmer's at the West Reading Farmer's Market grow all their own produce. Ask us we are proud of it!!!!!!!!!!
Have you tried Papillon Brasserie in West Reading? I am sure you have heard me talk of this before but now that we are in the height of the season I find it necessary to remind you. Chef Phillip Davis bases his menu on what B & H Organic Produce is harvesting each week. He is a talented chef whom supports his local farmers and especially B & H. Taste the food while it is in season and get ideas for how to prepare seasonal produce. http://www.papillononpenn.com/
Two noteworthy events coming up:

1. Taste of West Reading is Sunday August 15th. You can easily purchase your tickets on line at this link: http://www.westreadingmainstreet.org/calendar.htm This is a unique event where the chefs of the West Reading restaurants will be using fresh produce from the West Reading Farmer's Market. Rumor has it they will be auctioning off a trip to B & H Organic Farm at the event. You wouldn't want to miss that.
   
2. This is a personal note because I love their peaches. Frecon Farms is hosting their 3rd Annual Peach Festival August 7 & 8
   Our juiciest time of year, celebrate the summer harvest with a full day of peach favorites, food and tastings & our annual peach recipe contest & wine release. http://www.freconfarms.com

Here is what we will have at market this week:

• fresh cut flower bouquets
• potatoes
• tomatoes
• eggplant
• tomatillos
• cucumbers
• summer squash
• salad mix
• lettuce
• beans
• basil
• peppers
• kale
  
• chard

And here are 2 recipes for this week:

1. Kale and Avocado Salad- My favorite Kale Salad, I eat this a lot and it won best in show at our annual farmer's potluck last month. I improvise when I am making it but here is the recipe: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-617/Healthy-Recipe-Kale-Avocado-Salad.html
2. Heirloom Tomato Pie- A customer mentioned this at market and although I have eaten it I have never made it. I will be making this tart this week. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Heirloom-Tomato-Tart-105214

We will be doing a midweek delivery this week. I apologize that the selection is small. I like the idea of doing these deliveries but the market has been busier than I had anticipated. That is a good thing! Here is what we will have this week:

• flower bouquets $5
• Potatoes #2 bag- $3.50
• Tomatoes- 1 quart mixed heirlooms and red tomatoes- $3.50
• basil $2
• Peppers- green and purple quarts $3.00
• curly kale- $2.50
• swiss chard - $2.50

Please email me by Wednesday evening with your order.
Thank you all again and have a great week.
Erica