Maplewood Organics

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 13- Farm

September 10, 2009

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Week 13

This Saturday is our annual member picnic! If youhaven’t RSVP’d yet, please use your evite to let us know if you’re coming! We hope you’ll be able to find the time to come out to the farm for some fun!

Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Flowers for Special Events

We now arrange flowers for special events! If you're planning an event for this summer or fall or next summer or fall (mid July-September) please keep us in mind! We grow all of our own flowers organically and have very competitive prices! Our bouquets would be done in the style you're receiving in your share. Special requests for certain flowers and colors can be made if booked early for next season! Spread the word!

Garden Progress

The new crops are looking good! Brian seeded down two more rows with buckwheat to hold them until we’re ready to plant the garlic. Brian and I transplanted broccoli too. The plants didn’t look good when we first got them. They had had a rough start. I didn’t think I’d plant them at all. Since they perked up, I decided to give them a try. We’ll use row cover to see if we can get a late crop out of them! Eric and Brian planted a row of fresh kale for the fall yesterday. This is my first time trying it directly from seed in the garden this time of year. It should do well with the cool nights we’re having. We just need a bit of rain now!

Our poor slicing tomatoes were really hit hard with the blight. We’re lucky if we get 20 every week. We’ll continue to offer them as extra choices to you. At least the paste and cherries are still producing well!

Farm News

Photography for our new beef brochure and farm files starts today! We’re excited to have a professional photographer coming out to try to capture all that we do here. This is part of a marketing plan that we made through a grant we received call the Vermont Farm Viability Enhancement Grant. Our brochure is a piece of the plan to more effectively market our 100% grass-fed, certified organic beef that we produce from a rare and exceptional breed, the Galloway. Here’s an excerpt:

"Galloway Cattle ~ A Heritage Breed

Originally from southwestern Scotland, Galloway is said to be one of the most tender and flavorful beef breeds. This uncommon breed of cattle, dating back to 1530, is unrivaled as a grazing breed. Medium-sized, with short legs, well-suited to grazing, and Vermont winters, Galloways grow a naturally dense, insulating coat that eliminates the need to produce undesirable layers of outer fat. Galloways are said to "fatten from the inside out" resulting in leaner, well-marbled carcasses with large rib eyes. Maplewood Organics currently has about 45 head of cattle, including our sire, Junior, breeding stock, teenage calves and yearlings, with plans to grow the herd gradually to fit our land and customer demand."

Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm

Recipes of the Week

This is a clone recipe of the very popular sweet and sour cabbage slaw served at the popular North Woods Inn California restaurant chain. Plan ahead. This salad needs a long marination time. It's good after 48 hours, but even better after 4 or 5 days. This is the perfect make-ahead salad.

•1/2 head red cabbage

•1/2 cup vegetable oil

•1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

•3 Tbsp sugar

•2 tsp salt

•1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt

•1/4 tsp black pepper

•3/4 tsp onion powder

Shred half of the cabbage finely and the other half coarsely. Place in a large bowl.

Whisk together vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt, seasoned salt, black pepper, and onion powder.

Toss the dressing with the cabbage. Scrape the salad with the dressing into a zip-top bag or covered container and refrigerate at least 48 hours or until cabbage turns deep red, softens a bit, and flavors meld. It's even better after 4 or 5 days.

This red cabbage salad and a green salad with a creamy blue cheese buttermilk dressing are served together as a duo along with garlic cheese bread.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Broiled Summer Squash & Tomatoes

CDKitchen http://www.cdkitchen.com

Serves/Makes: 4

2 small zucchini

2 small yellow squash

4 small tomatoes

1 clove garlic

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

salt -- to taste

freshly ground black pepper -- to taste

Scrub zucchini & yellow squash under cold running water; rinse & dry with paper towels. Trim ends and discard. Halve each squash lengthwise; set aside.

Wash tomatoes & dry with paper towels. Cut 1/2 inch thick slice from top of each tomato and, using a sharp paring knife, cut around top in zigzag pattern; set tomatoes aside.

Peel & mince garlic. Set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat; set aside.

Preheat broiler.

Brush cut sides of squash halves with some of the butter. Place cut-side down on a broler rack set 3 inches from heating element & broil 5 minutes. Turn squash & broil another 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir garlic, bread crumbs, and salt & pepper into remaining butter.

Add tomatoes to broiler rack with squash, sprinkle all veggies with crumb mix, & broil another 2 minutes, or just until crumbs are golden brown.

Carefully transfer veggies to platter. Cover loosely with foil and keep warm on stove top until ready to serve.

Red cabbage

Yellow Onions

Red potatoes

Paste tomatoes

Cherry or sungold tomatoes

basil

cilantro

yellow squash

delicata, sugar dumpling or acorn squash

tomatillos

green peppers

flowers

You may order extra basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, mint, and sage this week by 8:00 am the morning of your pick-up by calling 868-5083 or emailing maplewoodorganics@yahoo.com.

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 12- NMC

August 31, 2009

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Week 12

Wow! We’re 2/3 through the CSA already! Only six weeks left after this! We have red potatoes this week! We’ll offer them to you for two weeks. Then we plan to give you a sampling of blue potatoes to try something a little different. Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Flowers for Special Events

We now arrange flowers for special events! If you're planning an event for this summer or fall or next summer or fall (mid July-September) please keep us in mind! We grow all of our own flowers organically and have very competitive prices! Our bouquets would be done in the style you're receiving in your share. Special requests can be made if booked early for next season! Spread the word!

Garden Progress

We’re making good progress on weeds. They slow down this time of year like everything else. There’s much less weed pressure in our new plantings to it’s easier to keep up. The turnips, radishes, lettuce, Swiss chard, and beets we planted recently are all coming in nicely. Eric and Brian transplanted some of the chard to even out the row where the walk-behind seeder missed and clumped. When we’re done weeding out the onions and leeks, we’ll move on to the new carrots and beets planted in the big garden. We’re watching our cauliflower plants to see if we get any side shoots. I never have, but a friend grew some last year in her home garden and had side shoots!

I finally got to make salsa this weekend. Last year I only had extra enough to make 10 pints. I made 36 pints on Saturday. I plant lots of paste tomatoes so that I can put up salsa and sauce for my family for the winter. I’ll have some for sale too, so you can add some to your cupboard for the winter.

Farm News

With the departure of Ellyn last Wednesday, the number of interns has decreased yet again. The only two that remain, Eric and Brian, will be here at Maplewood beyond the end of the CSA. While the amount of hands has declined, the amount of work has not. It seems like we are finally getting control of the weeds, but we still have a lot to take care of and not enough time with the CSA harvests. The current planting of beans is finally dropping off, but the second planting looks as if it could be ready to produce fairly soon. The third and final planting of peas is coming to an end as well. Zucchini, Cucumber, and Eggplant continue to round out the extras, but the latter two give promising signs that they may make their way into everyones share next week. If only we could get some real rain... ~Eric T. Noel, the intern

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Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm

Please keep an eye out for an e-vite for this event in your email inbox soon!

Recipes of the Week

Red Cabbage with Apple

Cook Time: 1 hour

1 medium head red cabbage, washed and shredded

1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

In a Dutch oven or large deep skillet, melt butter; add cabbage and apple slices, mixing well. Add bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Add wine, vinegar and sugar; stir to mix well. Cover and cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Serves 4 to 6.

Ricotta-Stuffed Roma Tomatoes (adjust recipe to the number of tomatoes you have)

20 small to medium-sized roma tomatoes, halved, hollowed-out (using a melon baller), and drained of excess liquid
2 cups ricotta
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as basil and chives
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh-cracked black pepper
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs, such as panko

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Place the halved and hollowed-out tomatoes on the lined baking sheet, open side up. In a medium sized bowl, combine the ricotta, herbs, pepper flakes, fennel seeds, salt and pepper. Pour the bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl.

Using a small, spring-loaded ice cream scoop, fill each tomato half with about a tablespoon of the ricotta filling (the amount will vary based on the size of your tomatoes, but you want the tomato half to be completely filled and the filling to create a slight mound). Take the filling tomato half and invert it (ricotta side-down) into the shallow bowl of bread crumbs, pressing lightly so the bread crumbs adhere to the ricotta. Place the tomato back on the baking sheet, bread crumb-side up. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes. [Note: If you are making these ahead of time (up to 4-6 hours in advance), cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before baking them off later, remove the sheet from the fridge and allow the tomatoes to return to room temperature.]

Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, when the bread crumbs should be browned and the tomatoes softened. If, at 15 minutes, the bread crumbs haven’t browned, run the baking sheet under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

2 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons basil, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon

In medium bowl, combine squash, zucchini, basil, olive oil, lemon juice and salt

Toss ingredients together

Allow to marinate for 20 minutes to 1 hour (time permitting, I have also served mine immediately and it was fine)

Sprinkle with almonds

Serve

celtic sea salt
¼ cup Marcona almonds, chopped

Red onions

Delicata or sugar dumpling squash

Carrots

yellow summer squash

celery

paste tomatoes

cherry/sungold tomatoes

basil

Red potatoes

Tomatillos

Cabbage

Flowers

Trades and extras will include: slicing tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas, and more!

You may order parsley, cilantro or extra basil this week by 8:00am the day of your share pick-up by emailing maplewoodorganics@yahoo.com or calling 868-5083.

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 11- Farm

August 27, 2009

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Week 11

New to everyone this week: red onions, delicata squash and eggplant! Another exciting addition for our half share members this week: tomatillos. And potatoes are back! Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

Ellyn’s last day was yesterday. She leaves for Hampshire College in a week and a half. We miss her already!

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there! We have lots of yellow squash, so if you want extra, just ask!

Flowers for Special Events

We now arrange flowers for special events! If you're planning an event for this summer or fall or next summer or fall (mid July-September) please keep us in mind! We grow all of our own flowers organically and have very competitive prices! Our bouquets would be done in the style you're receiving in your share. Special requests can be made if booked early for next season! Spread the word!

Garden Progress

We got our beets and turnips planted Saturday. We also seeded down two empty beds with buckwheat until we’re ready to plant garlic at the end of next month. We still have some spent crops to pull in the garden by the house. We’re trying to get as many of our fall crops in that garden as possible so we can free up the big garden for composted manure and fall plowing. We plan to hire a rock crusher in the spring to break up the many, many rocks we have in that garden. We’re also working on our weed management plan for next season already. Two family members have recommended using landscaping fabric between all of our crop rows to keep down the weeds. This fabric can be used for 15-20 years if taken care of properly and rolled up at the end of each season. I’m REALLY excited about this possibility. I need to price it out and see what widths are available. Spending a few days at each end of the season to lay it down and roll it up would save us an incredible amount of time during the season and would help us grow even better food for our customers and our family! This is exciting stuff!

Farm News - Beef

We have another steer going to the butcher this week. We process about one animal per month and sell much of the meat to stores and restaurants in the Burlington and Essex areas. We also sell beef in bulk starting at 12 pounds up to the whole animal. We can get it all processed and packaged for you, or you can arrange the cuts you want with the butcher. Go in with another family or two and buy a whole beef! It’s a great way to stock your freezer for the winter and support our farm so that we can keep on producing nutritious food in a way that nurtures the environment.

We celebrated the bulk of our haying being done with pizza last night. Eric’s parents, Richard and Maggie, treated all of us to Swanton House of Pizza pies last night. Thank you! Did you know that they buy their tomatoes and onions locally?

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Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Save the date: Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm – Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Recipes of the Week

Broiled Eggplant with Crunchy Parmesan Crust

This is such an easy way to make a crunchy-crusted eggplant appetizer that you may even feel guilty about the raves it receives. Recipe-tester Barbara suggests topping this dish with tomato sauce. Angelic Organics Kitchen (adapted from Recipes from a Kitchen Garden).

oil for greasing the baking sheet

mayonnaise

eggplant, cut into 1/4-inch slices

freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)

1. Preheat the broiler. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

2. Spread mayonnaise sparingly on both sides of each eggplant slice, then dip the slices in the grated Parmesan cheese, thoroughly coating both sides.

3. Arrange the slices in a single layer on the oiled baking sheet and place under the broiler until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the slices and broil until golden brown and crunchy on top and the eggplant is soft, about 3 minutes more.

Tomatillo Salsa Verde

To cook the tomatillos, you can either roast them in the oven, or boil them. Roasting will deliver more flavor; boiling may be faster and use less energy. Either way works, though boiling is a more common way to cook the tomatillos.

•1 1/2 lb tomatillos

•1/2 cup chopped white onion

•1/2 cup cilantro leaves

•1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

•1/4 teaspoon sugar

•2 Jalapeño peppers OR 2 serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped

•Salt to taste

1 Remove papery husks from tomatillos and rinse well.

2a Roasting method Cut in half and place cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Place under a broiler for about 5-7 minutes to lightly blacken the skin.

2b Boiling method Place tomatillos in a saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove tomatillos with a slotted spoon.

3 Place tomatillos, lime juice, onions, cilantro, chili peppers, sugar in a food processor (or blender) and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed. Season to taste with salt. Cool in refrigerator.

Serve with chips or as a salsa accompaniment to Mexican dishes.

Makes 3 cups.

Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com

Other Tomatillo Ideas

Chop them up with tomatoes and onions to make a delicious pan sauce.

Eat them fresh, like an apple.

Go to our blog for the relish recipe and serve over fish or chicken.

Yellow squash

tomatillos

cherry/sungold tomatoes

slicing/paste tomatoes

potatoes

beans

baby carrots

beets

red onions

basil

a flower bouquet

Extra choices will include peas, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers

You may order extra herbs by 10:00pm the night before your pick-up (either Sunday or Wednesday): parsley, sage, thyme, mint, cilantro, oregano, extra basil. Please also let me know if you'd like a regular bunch or a double-size bunch.

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 10- Farm

August 20, 2009

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Week 10

New to everyone this week: tomatillos and sage! Other exciting additions for our half share members this week: jalapeno peppers and cured garlic. And potatoes are back! Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there! We have lots of yellow squash, so if you want extra, just ask! We can also accommodate extra beans. Let us know by email or phone if you want extras next time.

Flowers for Special Events

We now arrange flowers for special events! If you're planning an event for this summer or fall or next summer or fall (mid July-September) please keep us in mind! We grow all of our own flowers organically and have very competitive prices! Our bouquets would be done in the style you're receiving in your share. Special requests can be made if booked early for next season! Spread the word!

Garden Progress

The eggplant in our greenhouse looks amazing! We just got a tip from another local grower to prune them like we do the tomatoes to force them to fruit. Right now we have big, healthy plants and lots of flowers. I think we’ll try the pruning this week to see what happens. We’re giving our kale and Swiss chard a break to recover and get big. Our late green cabbage is filling in really well. We’ll probably have some to offer in a week or two. Our new plantings put in for fall are coming in nicely. The interns worked really hard last week to prepare two more beds in the garden by the house for turnips and more beets. I’ll plant those on Saturday, our next good biodynamic root day. We’ll also have arugula going in soon. By planting late, we don’t have problems with flea beetles.

Unfortunately, it’s been another bad corn year for us. I’ll do my best to buy in some local sweet corn so everyone can have a bit, but it’ll be a couple weeks yet. Please let me know in the meantime if you DO NOT want conventional sweet corn.

Farm News

We’ve finally had a great weather streak for making hay! Richard has been out in the field almost non-stop mowing, tedding, raking, and baling. Eric and the interns have been unloading and placing hay in the mow. They have one more round to go and we’ll be all set for the winter. Third cut will be grazed by the cattle.

NOFA Summer Conference, Amherst, Massachusetts

We were so busy getting ready for the C.S.A. that we forgot to tell you about the great NOFA conference we had the privilege of attending. We packed as many workshops into three days as we could! We took workshops on everything from cheese making to raising pigs in the forest to building root cellars. We also got to eat lots of yummy local food, go contra dancing, and hear keynote speaker and community farmer Will Allen. I think it’s safe to say it was definitely worth the trek to MA. NOFA is a great resource for anyone who values organic farming and local food systems, if you haven’t heard about them check out their website at:

www.nofavt.org. ~ Ellyn Gaydos

Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Save the date: Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm – Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Recipes of the Week

Tomatillo Relish

large-sized tomatillo (about tennis-ball size), or two smaller ones

1 jalapeno chili pepper, OR 1 red cherry pepper

1/2 a medium-sized onion

1 clove garlic

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp olive oil (approximately)

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 TBS fresh cilantro (or parsley), chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Start by finely chopping the tomatillo, chili pepper, onion and garlic. A food processor will work, but please don't let the vegetables process into a paste...you want some little chunks in there!

Add the chopped vegetables to a container with a tight-fitting lid. A plastic food-storage container is perfect, as the relish will be stored in it! Add the remaining ingredients, and put the lid onto the container. Shake and swirl the container to thoroughly mix the ingredients. That's it, you're done.

Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour before using, to allow the flavors to blend. Immediately before serving, give the container another shake. Use to top hot dogs and burgers, or add it to a sandwich. Makes about 1 cup.

Squash Casserole

6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini

Vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 cup crushed butter crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Other Yellow squash ideas:

Cut into sticks, toss in olice oil and little sea salt and pepper. Grill until tender.

Slice thin and add to your green salad

Make a batch of summer kraut with squash as an ingredient

Pickle it on it’s own

Add it to your next chili

We now arrange flowers for special events! If you're planning an event for this summer or fall or next summer or fall (mid July-September) please keep us in mind! We grow all of our own flowers organically and have very competitive prices! Our bouquets would be done in the style you're receiving in your share. Special requests can be made if booked early for next season! Spread the word!

2 pounds potatoes

3 summer squash

cherry tomatoes

5 slicing tomatoes

2 paste tomatoes

1 head cauliflower

1 pound beans

1 bag of lettuce mix

jalapeno peppers

tomatillos

basil

sage

1 flower bouquet

We're taking a break from kale and Swiss chard to let the plants recharge and grow some more. However, if you still want some, you may make a special request by Sunday night 10:00pm by emailing or calling, 868-5083.

You may also request mint, oregano, thyme, and parsley by the same deadline.

Trades will be available. Please do not trade out your herbs as they are really an extra added bonus.

We're leaving the rest of the peppers on the plant

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 9

August 10 and 13, 2009

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Week 9

This week is our half-way mark. It’s hard to believe that there are only nine weeks left to our regular season CSA. New to everyone this week: jalapeno peppers, beets and cured garlic! Other exciting additions for our half share members this week: cauliflower and leeks. We won’t be offering potatoes for another 1-2 weeks. We’re allowing the skins to thinken up before we dig the whole lot. Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Farm update:
Hannah Gibbons is leaving us today to go back to New York, spend some time with her family and start her senior year in college. We’re going to miss her so much! If you haven’t followed her blog this summer, take some time to check it out now and catch up. Hannah has asked anyone who can, to leave her feedback on her blog. You can join Blogspot and leave comments right on her blog, or you can email her at the address she included in a recent entry. Thank you, Hannah for all your hard work and enthusiasm this summer! Good luck your senior year, and COME BACK TO VISIT!

Brian is back from a visit with family this week and will fill the third intern position now through the end of the season. He came back yesterday to help Eric and Maggie with Sunday’s harvest since the rest of us were still in Massachusetts at the NOFA Summer Conference.

Garden Progress

Our beets are getting nice and big. Ellyn really enjoys harvesting these. We picked a few for our NOFAvore celebration two weeks ago and now have enough for all of our members! Our garlic has dried in the greenhouse for a couple weeks now and is ready to be cleaned up and distributed. We’ll save out enough for ourselves to double our crop for next year. We have to save about 200 heads to be able to do that. If we double one more time when we plant in 2010, we might have enough! We’re just excited to be able to save enough of our own to grow so we don’t have to buy it in.

We’ll have tomatillos soon and more cherry and sungold tomatoes. Unfortunately, it’s been another bad corn year for us. I’ll do my best to buy in some local sweet corn so everyone can have a bit, but it’ll be a couple weeks yet. Please let me know in the meantime if you DO NOT want conventional sweet corn.

NOFA Summer Conference, Amherst, Massachusetts

The conference was great! We’ll be sharing tidbits with you over the coming weeks. One of the most interesting workshops I went to was about producing nutrient dense foods. It really got into soil science and the biological needs of plants. I learned how to monitor the soil and adjust for plant needs. I’m excited to get even more into the nitty-gritty to produce even better quality food for you and for my family!

Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Save the date: Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm – Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Recipes of the Week

Leek and potato pie

1 lb leeks

salt

1 1/2 lb potatoes

1 1/2 oz margarine or butter

1 oz plain flour

1/2 pint warm milk

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper

2 oz Cheddar cheese, grated

margarine or butter, for greasing

1. Trim the leeks, discarding most of the dark green part. Slice thickly and wash under cold running water until completely clean. Cook in boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes or until almost tender. Drain thoroughly, reserving the stock.

2. At the same time, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 20 - 25 minutes or until tender. Drain.

3. While the vegetables are cooking, make the sauce: melt 25 g (1 oz) margarine gently in a small saucepan, sprinkle in the flour and stir over low heat for 2 minutes until straw-coloured. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in all but 2 tablespoons of the milk, then return to the heat and simmer, stirring, until thick and smooth. Measure out 150 ml (1/4 pint) of the leek stock; stir gradually into white sauce. Bring back to the boil, stirring constantly,

then add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Remove the pan from the heat.

4. Heat the oven to 190°C (375°F) Gas 5.

5. Slice one-third of the potatoes, stir them gently into the leeks and turn into the base of a greased 1 /2 pint ovenproof dish. Pour on the sauce; carefully turn vegetables with a fork, to coat thoroughly.

6. Add remaining margarine and milk to the rest of the potatoes, season with pepper, then mash them until smooth. Beat in half the cheese with a wooden spoon. Taste and adjust seasoning.

7. Spread the mashed potato over the vegetables, then sprinkle on the rest of the cheese. Stand the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. Serve hot.

Other Ideas for Leeks:
-Add to an omlete with mushrooms
-Chop up and have with a baked potato
-Add them to a potato fritter

Mediterranean Beet and Yogurt Salad

By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

4 medium size beets,

11/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1 to 2 garlic cloves (to taste)

1/2 cup thick Greek style yogurt or drained yogurt

2 tablespoons minced dill

1. Roast the beets, peel and cut in wedges or slice into half-moons. Stir together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss with the warm beets and allow to marinate for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

2. Place the garlic in a mortar and pestle, add 1/8 teaspoon salt, and mash to a paste. Stir into the yogurt. Stir in half the dill. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the beets and stir some of the marinade into the yogurt (to taste). Toss with the beets, or arrange the beets on a platter and drizzle the yogurt over the top. Sprinkle on the remaining dill, and serve.

Advance preparation:

The beets can be prepared and marinated 4 or 5 days ahead.

Variation: You may substitute chopped or slivered fresh mint for the dill.

roasted

1 head lettuce or lettuce mix

1 head cauliflower

1 bag beans

1 bunch leeks

yellow summer squash

slicing tomatoes

cherry/sungold tomatoes

green peppers

basil

beets

1 garlic bulb

1 flower bouquet

Swiss chard and kale if you want it.

There will be trade options as usual.

Maybe some surprises!

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 8- Farm

August 6, 2009

__________________________________________________________________________________

Week 8

New to everyone this week: cauliflower and leeks! Another exciting addition for our half share members this week: celery and beans. We won’t be offering potatoes for another 2-3 weeks. We’re allowing the skins to thinken up before we dig the whole lot. Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Farm update:

This past Wednesday night, Maplewood showed off its land and enjoyed the good graces of its harvest with company at its "NOFA-vore" event. NOFA, the Northeastern Organic Farming Association came to the farm, set up their wood burning pizza stove, and created a variety of delicious pizzas topped with our fresh vegetables and ground beef. Rain, thankfully, only snuck in at the end of the event, but unfortunately has been in and out ever since. It’s watering our crops, but sometimes preventing us from getting as much weeding at we should, not that any of the interns are complaining! The spotty rain has placed putting up hay at an awkward position, but we were able to put two wagon loads up Saturday evening. The calf we had been bottle-feeding, now has moved to drinking from a bucket and enjoys eating as much delicious grass and wildflowers as the rope she’s tied to allows! ~Hannah Gibbons

Garden Progress

We got an old rototiller last week. It’ll get us through until we find a better used one. Eric spent most of a day fiddling with it, trying to work out some kinks. We hope to have enough dry weather this week to use it where it’s needed. Our new crops of lettuce, carrots, beets, and basil are coming in nicely. They all need to be weeded out this week and mulched where possible. The summer squash should be just exploding in production by next week. We expect the same from our green peppers soon! Unfortunately we’re having a difficult tomato year again. We’ve been hit by blight in our tomatoes and potatoes. Last week the crew worked to remove all of the foliage from the 10 potato rows. First Eric mowed as much as he could. Two rows had to be hand-cut. Then everything had to be raked out and removed with wheelbarrows and a skid steer. Everything is in a pile waiting to be burned when it dries out a bit. We’re just weathering it with the tomatoes, trying to get as much as we can from our 600+ plants. I’m afraid it won’t be much. The cherry and sungold tomatoes look fine though. And the paste tomatoes don’t look as bad as the rest.

NOFA Summer Conference, Amherst, Massachusetts

The interns and I and our friend/member/volunteer, Susie, are off to attend the annual NOFA Summer Conference this weekend. We have 2 ½ days of workshops, speakers, farm tours, and fun! We’ll tell you all about it next week. I am attending for the first time since Madeleine was born (2004) without the kids! Thank you, Hubby! I’m actually feeling nervous! It’ll be great though.

Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may place your name on a waiting list for our winter CSA, which runs October through December. If someone cancels, you have a chance at a share in the order that you signed on. (The total cost to you is $140.)

Save the date: Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm – Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Recipes of the Week

Potato Leek Soup

2 tablespoons of Butter or Margarine
1 clove of Garlic grated
All of your Leeks
2 Potatoes (about a pound)
4 cups of Chicken Broth or 4 cups of hot water with two chicken stock cubes
1/4 teaspoon of Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Pepper
1/2 pint of Milk or Cream

1. Chop Leeks
2. Melt Butter/Margarine in a pan and add chopped Leeks and Garlic, stir frequently for 10 minutes
3. Peel Potatoes and chop into cubes.
4. Add all remaining ingredients to the pan, with the exception of the Milk/Cream.
5. Cook for about 15 minutes, longer if you want softer potatoes.
6. Just before serving, pour the Milk/Cream into the soup and stir well.

Other Ideas for Leeks:
-Add to an omlete with mushrooms
-Chop up and have with a baked potato
-Add them to a potato fritter

Balsamic & Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

8 cups 1-inch-thick slices cauliflower florets (about 1 large head; see Tip)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Toss cauliflower, oil, marjoram, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast until starting to soften and brown on the bottom, 15 to 20 minutes. Toss the cauliflower with vinegar and sprinkle with cheese. Return to the oven and roast until the cheese is melted and any moisture has evaporated, 5 to 10 minutes more.

Tip: To prepare florets from a whole head of cauliflower, remove outer leaves. Slice off the thick stem. With the head upside down and holding a knife at a 45° angle, slice into the smaller stems with a circular motion—removing a "plug" from the center of the head. Break or cut florets into the desired size.

1 head lettuce

1 bag string beans

1 bag peas

1 bunch celery

broccoli

1 bunch leeks

1 bunch basil

1 bunch parsley

1 bouquet of flowers

FREE EXTRAS: Kale and chard if you want it.

Order oregano, sage, mint, thyme by Sunday at 10:00pm.

Trade options will include: new potatoes, beans

Maybe some surprises!!!

Coming soon: beets, storage onions, yellow squash, purple tomatillos, cherry tomatoes

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 7- NMC

July 27, 2009

__________________________________________________________________________________

Week 7

New to everyone this week: celery! Another exciting addition for our half share members this week: broccoli. We’ll let the onions get big now, so no more green onions. It won’t take long for them to plump up. Remember to go to our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345) to view your CSA contents for the upcoming week. You can also find our newsletters posted to that blog. If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Farm update:
We’ve continued to make our way through the rows of cabbage, lettuce and broccoli, tackling the overgrown weeds. The hot muggy days leave us sweating, but the spontaneous spurts of rain will cool us off. "Stewy" a wandering chicken, who hasn’t lived in the coop with the other chickens in months, follows us around the farm as we carry out day to day tasks. Love’s probably too strong a word, but she’s tolerated by the women of Maplewood; the men however, see her as a nuisance, as she pecks at multiple types of berries, poops where she wants, and gets into other mischievous activities, so we’ll see how much longer she’s around for! Our new intern, Brian, brings in extra help, which is always needed on harvesting days! To our utmost displeasure, potato beetle larva keep showing up on the plants, but have no fear, we’re hunting them down so that your potatoes are plentiful! ~Hannah Gibbons

Garden Progress

You will have your first beans next week! Hurray! Our most recent bean planting germinated very well. That means that you’ll have beans for many weeks to come! Yellow squash is coming too. Unfortunately though, our zucchini is dying off. We’re going to pull the withering larger plants this week in hopes of stopping the spread of what I think is a bacterial disease to the smaller plants seeded in a few weeks ago. I will most likely buy in zukes so that you can all have some soon.

It looks like we’ll be getting a rototiller this week. I hope it works well enough to really clean up the gardens by Wednesday evening. The interns will be so relieved to not have to do so much hand weeding.

Our garlic is ready for digging this week. We’ll lay it out in the greenhouse to cure.

Winter CSA – SOLD OUT

You may add your name to the waiting list if you are still interested. Our winter CSA runs October through December. The total cost to you is $140.

NOFAvore celebration at Maplewood Organics

This Wednesday, July 29^th, 5:00-7:00pm –– Dinner, farm tours, relaxed fun!

Join us to celebrate Vermont organic agriculture!

NOFAvore Celebrations are dinners featuring our Vermont Farmers' Fare pizza with local and organic cheeses, meats, and toppings from the farm hosting the celebration.

These celebrations will provide an opportunity to meet other NOFA Vermont supporters in your region, introduce your friends to NOFA Vermont, and tour the host farm.

These gatherings are free and open to all (members and non-members alike).

Please pre-register and get-directions by calling the NOFA Vermont office: 802-434-4122.

Save the date: Saturday, September 12^th, 5:00-7:00pm – Annual CSA Member Cook-out

Recipes of the Week

Baked Broccoli Frittata

1 cup of sliced onions.

½ cup of sliced green bell pepper.

1 clove garlic, minced.

2 tablespoons of butter.

6 medium eggs.

1/3 cup of half and half.

½ teaspoon of basil.

½ teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning.

1 cup of fresh broccoli, cooked, drained.

1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Preheat your oven to 425°F (210°C).

Generously butter a 2 quart shallow casserole or 4 individual baking dishes.

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, sauté the sliced onions, bell pepper and garlic in the butter until tender; cook slightly.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, half and half, basil and lemon pepper seasoning until combined.

Stir in the onion-pepper mixture and broccoli.

Pour into prepared casserole.

Sprinkle with the shredded Monterey Jack and grated Parmesan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until mixture is set (the top will remain moist).

Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Braised Green Cabbage with Onions, Carrots, and a Poached Egg

1 medium head green cabbage, about 2 pounds

1 large yellow onion, sliced into rough 1/3-inch slices

1 large carrot, sliced into ¼-inch rounds

¼ cup good-quality chicken stock, or water

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 egg, poached according to the directions here

Maldon salt, or fleur de sel, to taste

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and position a rack in the middle of the oven.

Peel off and discard from the cabbage any bruised or messy outer leaves. Give the cabbage a quick rinse under cool water, and dry it lightly. Cut it into 8 wedges, and trim away some of the woody core, leaving enough to hold each wedge intact. Arrange the wedges in a 9 x 13 baking dish. They may overlap a little, but you want them to lie in a single—if crowded—layer. If they don’t fit nicely into the dish, remove one wedge and set it aside for later use in a quick sauté, salad, or soup.

Scatter the onion and carrot over the cabbage, and pour the stock and oil over the whole mess. Season with a couple pinches of coarse salt, a couple grinds of the pepper mill, and the red pepper flakes. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and slide it into the oven. Cook the vegetables for 1 hour; then remove the dish from the oven and gently turn the cabbage wedges. If the dish seems at all dry, add a couple tablespoons of water. Cover the dish, and return it to the oven to cook until the vegetables are very tender, about an hour more.

When the cabbage is completely tender, remove the foil over the baking dish, turn the oven up to 400 degrees, and continue cooking until the vegetables begin to brown lightly on their edges, another 15 or so minutes.

Serve warm, topped with a poached egg and sprinkled with plenty of good, flaky Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper.

.

Sorry I'm late this week. I meant to post early before I went away for a camping weekend and never got to it...

1 head Green Cabbage

2 heads broccoli

1 head lettuce

1 quart new potatoes - 2 pounds

1 bag peas

1 pint raspberries

1 bunch celery

1 bunch basil

1 bunch parsley

1 bouquet of flowers

Swiss Chard and kale if you want it.

Trades will include: new potatoes, broccoli, and bok choy