CSA 10/30

Hello CSA Members,

Well here we are at the end of another wonderful season.  I want to thank you all so much for your support.  Without you it would not be possible to do what we do.  Your trust in us means a lot. 

For those of you whom joined our late season CSA it will begin on Wednesday November 6^th.  For everyone else we will be sending out emails in January about our CSA for the 2014 season.  As a previous member you will receive the CSA email before anyone else.  We are looking forward to a great 2014 season.  The West Reading Farmer’s Market continues on until the end of November, so please come see us there. 

We had a few nights of heavy frost and freezing this week so you will see this list has declined for this week.  We were able to weather most of it. 

We are very sorry about running out of broccoli last week.  I had hoped to give all of you whom missed broccoli a chance for this week but with the cold we will not be able to pick broccoli this week.  Broccoli will come back for the last season CSA. 

You can order by replying to the email or by emailing bhorganicscsa@gmail.com.  The orders must be in by Tuesday at 2 pm.  Processing the orders takes some time so I would appreciate no late orders.

This week’s Harvest:

   Full shares order 8 items.  Half Shares order 4-5 items (depending on how much you want.)

·       Salad Mix – 8 oz

·      Italian Flat Leaf Parsley – 1/8 lb

·      Garlic – ¼ lb.  Purple Stripe.  This is individual cloves and very sweet.  You may order 2.

·      Tomatillos 1 lb. You may order 2

·      Lettuce- Romaine or Red Leaf– 1-2 heads. You may order 2

·      Beets- Red, Golden or Chioggia 1.5 lb

·      Collards – ¾ lb

·      Carrots, no tops – 1 lb 

·      Hot peppers, mixed – ½ pint. You may order 2

·      Sweet Peppers – mostly green but turning.  1 lb. You may order 2

·      Komatsuna (a mild mustard green) ¾ lb. You may order 2

·      Frisee – 1 head. You may order 2

·      Daikon Radishes – 1- 2 roots with greens. 

·      Dandelion – ½ lb

·      Swiss Chard – ¾ lb

·      White Turnips – ¾ lb

·      Kale – ¾ lb

·      Watermelon Radishes – 1.5 lb

·      Garlic Chive – 1/8 lb

·      Radicchio, tall or round – 2 heads

·      Yams – 2 lb – We will be ordering these in from another local organic farm. 

Extras: You must order these items in your regular order to get the extras. 

·      Tomatillos – 1 lb

·      Garlic – purple stripe – ¼ lb

·      Hot peppers, mixed – ½ pint.

·      Sweet Peppers – mostly green but turning.  1 lb.

What crops we think have a high energy this week:

·      Garlic

·      Komatsuna

·      Radishes

·      Turnips

·      Lettuce

·      Beets

·      Dandelion

·      Frisee

·      Radicchio

·      Swiss Chard

Recipes:

Peppers.

We did not have a great red pepper year.  However, we were able to harvest quite a bit of peppers before the freeze this week.  I have been pleasantly surprised to find that peppers freeze very well.  I don’t do anything to them.  I just throw them in a freezer bag and pop them in the freezer.  When I want to use them in the winter I take them out of the bag, cut off the stem, remove the seeds and they are still a bit crunchy.  This works for the bell peppers, sweet Italian peppers and hot peppers as well.  Now is the time for stock piling peppers for winter and they are the easiest things to store. 

·      16 great recipes for sweet peppers http://www.kitchendaily.com/read/16-best-bell-pepper-recipes

·      Sweet Pepper Poppers.  These can be done with frozen peppers and hot peppers as well.  A great Paleo treat. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/sweet-pepper-poppers.html

·      And leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with some new ideas. http://www.marthastewart.com/275370/bell-pepper-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#332260

Don’t forget most of the peppers will ripen if kept in a bag for a few days.  Here is how: http://www.thekitchn.com/good-question-how-to-ripen-pep-67761

And if you don’t have a ripe tomato, bananas and apples give off quite a bit of ethylene as well. 

We really appreciate you and could not do it with out you.

Thank you,

Erica

CSA 10/23

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Hello CSA Members,

So I know it is cheesy to say but I can’t believe the CSA is almost over!  There is only 1 more week after this week.  So if you are storing any of our waxed boxes in your car trunk or garage or basement this week would be the time to return them.  Although, judging by the number of boxes left I can tell most of you have been very kind to not take the boxes home. 

We will definitely be getting a frost this week.  I would love to see the warm weather continue but I am going to love Thursday morning to see all those obnoxious summer weeds die in the cold. 

We still have quite a few things in the fields and are happy to offer another week of a long list of produce. 

You can order by replying to the email or by emailing bhorganicscsa@gmail.com.  The orders must be in by Tuesday at 2 pm.  Processing the orders takes some time so I would appreciate no late orders.

This week’s Harvest:

   Full shares order 8 items.  Half Shares order 4-5 items (depending on how much you want.)

·       Salad Mix – 8 oz You may order 2

·      Italian Flat Leaf Parsley – 1/8 lb

·      Marjoram – 1/8 lb You may order 2

·      Garlic – ¼ lb.  Purple Stripe.  This is individual cloves and very sweet.  You may order 2.

·      Tomatillos 1 lb. You may order 2

·      Winter Squash, Butternut – 1 fruit.  

·      Lettuce- Romaine or Red Leaf or Butter head – 1-2 heads. You may order 2

·      Teenage Pac Choi - 2 heads. You may order 2

·      Beets- Red, Golden or Chioggia 1.5 lb You may order 2

·      Collards – ¾ lb

·      Carrots, no tops – 1 lb 

·      Beans- yellow stripe, green or French– ¾ lb

·      Potatoes, white – 2 lb

·      Eggplant, mixed sizes and colors – 1.5 lb.  This is the last week and we may have limited quantities. 

·      Hot peppers, mixed – ½ pint

·      Sweet Peppers – mostly green but turning.  1 lb.

·      Komatsuna (a mild mustard green) ¾ lb

·      Frisee – 2 head.

·      Radishes – 3/4lb

·      Broccoli – ¾ lb

·      Daikon Radishes – 1- 2 roots with greens. 

·      Arugula – ½ lb

·      Spicy Mix- ½ lb

·      Dandelion – ½ lb

·      Swiss Chard – ¾ lb

·      White Turnips – ¾ lb

·      Kale – ¾ lb

·      Watermelon Radishes – 1.5 lb

·      Garlic Chive – 1/8 lb

·      Radicchio, tall or round – 2 heads

Extras: You must order these items in your regular order to get the extras. 

·      Beets, golden or red – giant still sweet, no tops. – 2 lb

·      Tomatillos – 1 lb

·      Garlic – purple stripe – ¼ lb

·      Lettuce- Romaine or Red Leaf or Butter head – 1-2 heads.

·      Daikon Radishes – 1- 2 roots with greens. 

·      Marjoram- 1/8 lb – You don't have to order this in your regular order.

What crops we think have a high energy this week:

·      Garlic

·      Salad Mix

·      Arugula

·      Spicy Mix

·      Komatsuna

·      Radishes – all 3 kinds – daikon, regular and watermelon

·      Turnips

·      Lettuce

·      Beets

·      Dandelion

·      Frisee

·      Radicchio

·      Pac choi

·      Swiss Chard

·      Beans

Recipes:

RADISHES! 

Why oh why do we need to grow so many varieties of radishes?  I think it is because they are so fun to pick.  When you approach a radish plant you mostly just see the greens but each time you pull one it is a surprise.  They are very versatile to eat.  And they will store for a very long time.  Radishes, minus the greens, will store up to 4 months in your refrigerator.  I keep mine in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. 

Don't forget all the greens are edible too.  In fact I recently visited a farm that supplies most of the fancy restaurants in Philadelphia and they only grow the radishes for the greens. 

The varieties we grow: 

·      French Breakfast – (Do they really eat them for breakfast?) – long red with a white tip.

·      Purple plum – purple is my favorite color.

·      Rudolf – a perfect round red.  Last year we even had them at Christmas time out of the greenhouse.

·      Daikon – Long white.  An extremely medicinal radish. 

·      Watermelon – They don’t taste like watermelons.  The name comes from the color.  They have a slight green rind and a hot pink center.  They are seedless. 

Here are 9 health benefits of radishes including soothing sour throats and clearing sinuses.  Daikon in particular is good for clearing out stagnant energies in the body. http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/14/9-reasons-to-eat-your-radishes/

·      13 different recipes including radish tacos: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/popular-ingredients/radish-recipes-00100000099069/index.html#15

·      10 recipes including radish curry: http://dancinggecko.wordpress.com/2009/03/21/10-tasty-radish-recipes/

·      Recipes for Radish greens including radish green pesto: http://www.thekitchn.com/dont-toss-those-radish-greens-145724

And my all time favorite:

Radish Salad with Goat Cheese

• 5-6 large radishes, Shredded
• 2 tablespoons Goat cheese, crumbled
• juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste
• drizzle of olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix the radish slices and Goat Cheese together. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Top with salt and pepper and feta. Serves 2 as a small side.

·       Radishes loose their bite when shredded.

·       This salad will store well and gets better when it sits.

Have a great week!

Thank you,

Erica

CSA 10/16

A bat hanging in our pepper plant.

Hello CSA Members,

We are pleased with another week of fall weather even if it rained like crazy for several days.  The strawberries are finished planting, the greenhouse is planted for January harvest and now this week we begin preparing for frost.  Technically the frost date is October 15^th.  This means that any day now we can get a frost.  In 2008 we had our first frost on October 8^th and then we didn’t have another one till November.  Frosts can come at anytime so be prepared for your gardens.

We have been trying to bring in as many root crops as possible the last week.  This week we will cover all the greens with floating row cover as frost protection.  If you come to the farm in the next month you will see most of the fields covered in white tunnels.  With this cover we are often able to keep crops growing way into December. 

Frost will make some crops bitter and others much sweeter.  Greens and root crops benefit from a frost, which crystallizes the sugars in the plants.  I have actually eaten turnips after a frost that taste like candy.  Yum! 

You can order by replying to the email or by emailing bhorganicscsa@gmail.com.  The orders must be in by Tuesday at 2 pm.  Processing the orders takes some time so I would appreciate no late orders.

This week’s Harvest:

   Full shares order 8 items.  Half Shares order 4-5 items (depending on how much you want.)

·       Salad Mix – 8 oz You may order 2

·      Italian Flat Leaf Parsley – 1/8 lb

·      Chives – 1/8 lb You may order 2

·      Marjoram – 1/8 lb You may order 2

·      Garlic – ¼ lb.  Purple Stripe.  This is individual cloves and very sweet.  You may order 2.

·      Tomatillos 1 lb. You may order 2

·      Winter Squash, Butternut – 1 fruit.  

·      Lettuce- Romaine or Red Leaf or Summer Crisp or Butter head – 1-2 heads. You may order 2

·      Teenage Pac Choi - 2 heads. You may order 2

·      Beets- Red, Golden or Chioggia 1.5 lb You may order 2

·      Collards – ¾ lb

·      Carrots, no tops – ¾ lb 

·      Beans, yellow stripe, green or French– ¾ lb

·      Potatoes, white – 2 lb

·      Eggplant, mixed sizes and colors – 1.5 lb.

·      Hot peppers, mixed – ½ pint

·      Sweet Peppers – mostly green but turning.  1 lb.

·      Komatsuna (a mild mustard green) ¾ lb

·      Frisee – 1 head.

·      Radishes – 3/4lb

·      Broccoli – ¾ lb

·      Daikon Radishes – 1- 2 roots with greens. 

·      Arugula – ½ lb

·      Spicy Mix- ½ lb

·      Broccoli Raab – ¾ lb.  This is the leafy type with small heads.  Very tasty. 

·      Dandelion – ½ lb

·      Swiss Chard – ¾ lb

·      White Turnips – ¾ lb

·      Malabar Spinach – ½ lb

Extras:

·      Mint 1/8 oz

What crops we think have a high energy this week:

·      Garlic

·      Salad Mix

·      Arugula

·      Spicy Mix

·      Eggplant

·      Komatsuna

·      Broccoli Raab

·      Radishes

·      Turnips

·      Daikon Radish

·      Lettuce

·      Beets

·      Dandelion

·      Frisee

Recipes:

Collard Greens.

I am sure you noticed above that we do not have kale this week.  I wanted to give a bit of a rest to grow a bit more for the last 2 weeks of CSA.  I find collard greens to be a great substitution.  In fact I can barely taste a difference in flavor and find the texture to be the same. 

Collard greens are not just for Southern cooking.  They will work perfectly for you smoothies and make excellent chips as well.  This is a great chance to try something new. 

·      Collard Chips: http://inspiredrd.com/2012/04/like-kale-chips-try-collard-chips.html

·      Collard greens in a smoothie: http://www.incrediblesmoothies.com/green-smoothies/beyond-spinach-tasty-greens-for-your-green-smoothie/

·      Portuguese Green Soup: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Portuguese-Green-Soup-Epicurious?columns=4&position=7%2F28

·      Minestrone with Collard Greens: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Minestrone-with-Collard-Greens-and-White-Beans-Martha-Stewart-194383

·      Sautéed Collard Greens: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Collard-Greens-15805

·      Raw Gingered Collard Greens: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/rawfoodsrecipes/r/Raw-Collard-Greens-Recipe.htm

·      Cajun Collard Greens: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/sidevegetabledishes/r/Collards.htm

·      Peanut Butter and Collard Greens Soup: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/soupssalads/r/peanutsoup.htm

Have a great week!

Thank you,

Erica