Maplewood Organics

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 6- NMC

July 20, 2009

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Week 6

New to everyone this week: broccoli, carrots, green cabbage! More exciting new additions for our half share members this week: peas, new potatoes, basil, fresh garlic, and raspberries. 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 News

We still haven’t found a used rototiller. We’ve had a couple leads, but no luck finding the right size. So we’ve been doing even more hand weeding and weeding with our "action hoes". We’re somehow finding time to do our every-other-day harvests, plant crops and do other maintenance to the gardens like put up more pole teepees for the pole beans to climb.

We are happy to announce that we’ve found an intern to take over Hannah and Ellyn’s positions when they leave for college next month. His name is Brian. He, like Eric, is in need of some agricultural experience in order to join the Peace Corps. He’ll be starting part-time soon commuting from South Hero until Hannah and Ellyn leave for school. Please welcome him to the farm!

Garden Progress

Weeding, weeding, more weeding! The gardens are actually looking pretty good. I’m hoping to catch up and have them looking even better by the time we host the NOFAvore event on the 29^th. More beans went in the ground this week, our third bean crop. We should start picking our first planting of beans within the next two weeks. With some heat, we’ll be picking sooner! We have baby beans on all the plants. I also noticed baby zucchinis and yellow squash blossoms. It’s about time! The eggplant and pepper plants in the greenhouse look AMAZING! I’d like to put up another greenhouse or two so that we can always grow eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, and melons in a greenhouse somewhere. I’ll add them to my wish list. Beets are starting to get big. Our winter squash is in bloom. We’ll be planting more lettuce mix this week. We planted some two weeks ago, and it’s finally starting to look like something.

Winter CSA – Only THREE spots left!

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Last year we had a waiting list. Sign up now for our winter CSA which runs October through December. The total cost to you is $140. A $50 deposit holds your spot!

Save the Dates

CORRECTION: Wednesday, July 29^th, 5:00-7:00pm – NOFAvore celebration at Maplewood Organics – 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.

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

Recipes of the Week

1 head of green cabbage, chopped

3 carrots, shredded

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 or 3 radishes, shredded

1 medium onion, chopped

1 or 2 beets if desired, shredded

Sea salt (NOT table salt), Redman or Celtic sea salt work well, about 2 tablespoons

Summer Kraut

(what you put in this changes as the summer goes on: peppers, zucchini, squash, string beans)

Combine all ingredients in large glass bowl. Stir well to distribute the salt. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to sit all day on the countertop. At the end of the day, pack the kraut into quart jars. Press down the vegetables so the juice comes over the top. Put lids on the jars. Leave jars on countertop for at least three days, up to two weeks to allow the vegetables to ferment. Start tasting the vegetables after three days and put jar in refrigerator when the kraut is done the way you like it. When fermenting is complete, you may add water to the jars to dilute the juice if you find it too salty. Kraut will keep in the refrigerator for several months.

CREAMED POTATOES AND PEAS (from cooks.com)

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. milk

1 1/2 c. cooked new potatoes, cut in half if lg.

1 pt. fresh new peas, cooked and drained

Melt butter in medium saucepan; blend in flour and salt. Add milk; stir and cook until thick and bubbly. Add cooked potatoes and cooked peas to hot mixture; heat through. Garnish with little chopped pimento, if desired. Pour some butter over the top just before serving for a richer flavor.

For creamed potatoes, just leave out the peas.

Curried Carrot Salad with Nonfat Yogurt

Bon Appétit | May 2009

Use a mild (sweet) curry powder.

Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutest

3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

1 large green onion, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

3/4 to 1 teaspoon curry powder

1 pound carrots, peeled, coarsely grated

1/4 cup dried currants

Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add carrots and currants; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

1 head of lettuce

1 pint raspberries

1 quart of potatoes (aout 2 pounds)

1 head early green cabbage

1 bunch carrots

peas

1 bulb fresh garlic

1 bunch basil

1 bunch parsley

1 flower bouquet

Extra choice items: lettuce, bok choy, radishes, Swiss chard, kale

Please preorder the following herbs: oregano, cilantro, sage

Trade options: beet greens, radishes

Maybe some surprises!

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 5- Farm

July 16, 2009

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Week 5

More greens this week! Yum! We have some exciting new additions too: peas, new potatoes, basil, fresh garlic, and raspberries. We’ll let the onions get big now, so no more green onions. It won’t take long for them to plump up. I’ve started posting our newsletter online on our Local Harvest website blog (

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345). If you want to look back at recipes, you can look there!

Farm News

Day to day tasks continued to keep us busy this past week! Our rototiller took a turn for the worse, and its break down has forced us to weed in between the tomato rows. We needed to prepare them for their first level of rope, to support the green tomatoes already beginning to grow. On Friday, everyone’s favorite workout, hay baling, occurred for the second time this season, with the help from a neighboring young farmer, Jake. We’re continuing to harvest much of the same delicious fresh veggies, like heads of lettuce, which seem to grower bigger and bigger by the day. New additions like carrots, broccoli, green cabbage and more are all coming soon; we just have to let good old mother nature work her wonders so they’re ready for your table!

~Hannah Gibbons
Garden Progress

Some of our rows are a little soggy after the weekend rain. We got pretty muddy harvesting potatoes on our knees and bottoms, squishing down the rows as we went. We all finished weeding the tomatoes and have started placing the twine supports around the tomatoes and posts. Hannah and Ellyn wound more twine on our reel this afternoon so we can finish the first level of the project Monday afternoon. Eric’s mom, Maggie, has been a weeding whirlwind whizzing down row after row clearing out the pesky plants we don’t want to allow all the sun and nutrients to go to our crops. This week we will focus on our third planting of peas, our pumpkins and our beans. It looks like Eric may have found a used rototiller for us in Berlin, Vermont. I sure hope so! We need one so badly.

Winter CSA – Only THREE spots left!

Don’t wait until it’s too late! Last year we had a waiting list. Sign up now for our winter CSA which runs October through December. The total cost to you is $140. A $50 deposit holds your spot!

Save the Dates

CORRECTION: Wednesday, July 29^th, 5:00-7:00pm – NOFAvore celebration at Maplewood Organics – 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.

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

Recipes of the Week

For the noodle salad

Radish and Sesame Soy Noodle Salad (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes)7oz whole wheat noodles, cooked according to packet instructions and drizzled with groundnut oil to prevent sticking
7oz radishes, washed and quartered
½ cucumber, halved lengthways, de-seeded and chopped
1 small handful black sesame seeds or toasted sesame seeds
fresh coriander sprigs, to garnish
For the sesame soy dressing
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
3 Tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar or balsamic vinegar

1. Place the noodles, radishes and cucumber into three separate bowls and transfer to the fridge to chill for at least one hour.
2. For the dressing, combine all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.
3. To serve, transfer the noodles to a large serving dish, layer with some radish and cucumber and scatter over the black sesame seeds. Spoon the dressing over the noodles and garnish with coriander sprigs. Serve immediately.

Eat Michigan Salad (You may substitute any lettuce for the butter lettuce. Also other dried fruit and nuts for the cherries and pecans. I would probably use raisins or cranberries and walnuts.)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper to taste

3 heads butter lettuce - rinsed, and torn

1/2 cup dried cherries

2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into matchsticks

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

3 ounces chopped candied pecans

1. In the container of a blender, combine the mayonnaise, maple syrup, vinegar, and sugar. Cover and blend on low speed. Gradually pour in the vegetable oil while mixing until fully incorporated. Taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a large serving bowl, combine the lettuce, cherries, apples, goat cheese and candied pecans. Toss with just enough of the dressing to coat, then serve with the remaining dressing on the side.

Bok Choy Chicken Soup

3 cups chicken broth

10 leaves bok choy, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 garlic clove, peeled, chopped

Bring the chicken broth to boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the seasonings (the red pepper flakes, soy sauce, Asian sesame oil), and the chopped garlic.

Add the bok choy. Simmer for up to 10 minutes, until the bok choy leaves turn dark green and are wilted and tender. Serves 4 to 5.

1 Head of Green Lettuce

1 Head of Red Lettuce

1 Head of Bok Choy (Let me know if you want more the day before!)

1 Bunch of Radishes

1 bunch of Beet Greens

1 bulb FRESH GARLIC (not cured/dried)

New potatoes - about 2 pounds

Peas - your first taste...more to come

1 bunch Basil

1 Bunch Dill

Trade options: lettuce, bok choy, beet greens

Maybe some surprises!!!!

CSA Newsletter

Volume 5

Issue 4- Farm

July 9, 2009

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Week 4

New to some of you this week are bok choi, a delicious green used in a lot of Chinese cooking and beet greens. Recipes are on the back. We’ve also included your first flowers, an extra bonus in our CSA package. Coming soon: peas, raspberries and new potatoes!!! I hoped to have new potatoes this week, but I think it’ll be one more week. Maddy and Calvin tasted the first dozen raspberries Sunday, so we should have at least a little bit for you next week and then they’ll really come in! The canes are loaded!

Farm News

Each summer week brings new planting and harvesting to Maplewood. Kale seedlings wait to grow in 30 half barrels filled with compost lining the strawberry patch. More mixed lettuce seeds were just planted in the garden, which grew for the gourmet lettuce mixes you’ve been receiving since the beginning of the season. The pole beans are living true to their name and are beginning to twine themselves around the poles that were posted for that very purpose. We unfortunately lost one of our calves to an illness, but our other little baby cows seem to be doing very well and are enjoying the green pastures just as much as the older ones! ~Hannah Gibbons

We seem to be getting just about the right mix of sun and rain here and everything is growing well. The cooler weather is slowing some crops down, but overall, the fields are in good shape! We don’t use black plastic as mulch here and don’t have the right size tractor and implements to use in the vegetable gardens, so most everything is done by hand. Until last week we had a small rototiller that we used to cultivate between our rows and to ready any new planting beds. Unfortunately, last week the engine seized. Eric doesn’t think it’s worth fixing. So we’re looking for another one to finish our season. Our favorite weeding tool is the Action Hoe, a stirrup shaped hoe that cuts the root below the soil surface. We also do a lot of hand weeding up close to our crops. Just ask the interns what they do most on the farm! We try to mix it up with succession plantings of crops we want continuously (or at least for many weeks), mulching, and of course harvesting and preparing your vegetable shares.

Two Farm Blogs

Remember to check into Hannah Gibbons’ blog at

www.myorganicsummer.blogspot.com to follow what’s happening on the farm this summer. Also go to http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M13345 and click on "Read Our Blog" every week to see what’s coming in your CSA share.

Winter CSA – Only FIVE spots left!Don’t wait until it’s too late! Sign up now for our winter CSA which runs October through December. A $50 deposit holds your spot!

Save the Dates

Tuesday, July 29^th, 5:00-7:00pm – NOFAvore celebration at Maplewood Organics – Dinner, farm tours, relaxed fun!

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

Recipes of the Week

Suggested uses for Prize Choi (Bok Choi, pak choi):

                    
The green leaf takes longer to cook than the thicker, white stalks, so they’re often cooked separately
                  

• Baby leaves (very fine stalks) are great in salads just like winter spinach.
• More mature leaves also work well, shredded, in salads. Chop off the stalks and save them for a stir-fry or soup.
• In a stir-fry, cut off the stalks and slice. Cook for a couple of minutes before adding the leaves for 2 minutes.
• Use them braised, roasted or add to a soup for the last few minutes of cooking.
• For a quick recipe, chop the bok choi and steam for 3-4 minutes. Serve with soy sauce.

Below is a delicious way to serve greens, whether collard, kale, or beet.

Beet Greens Recipe

While this recipe calls for discarding the stems, if you want you can use them too if they aren't too woody. Just cut them into 1-inch segments and add them to the onions after the onions have been cooking for a minute.

1 pound beet greens

1 strip of thick cut bacon, chopped (or a tablespoon of bacon fat)

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup of water

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/6 cup of cider vinegar

Wash the greens in a sink filled with cold water. Drain greens and wash a second time. Drain greens and cut away any heavy stems. Cut leaves into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

In a large skillet or 3-qt saucepan, cook bacon until lightly browned on medium heat (or heat 1 Tbsp of bacon fat). Add onions, cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occassionally, until onions soften and start to brown. Stir in garlic. Add water to the hot pan, stirring to loosen any particles from bottom of pan. Stir in sugar and red pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.

Add the beet greens, gently toss in the onion mixture so the greens are well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-15 minutes until the greens are tender. Stir in vinegar. (For kale or collard greens continue cooking additional 20 to 25 minutes or until desired tenderness.)

Serves 4.

STIR-FRIED BOK CHOY

1 head 2 tbsp. 1 1/2 tsp. 1 1/2 tsp. 1 tbsp. 1/2 tsp. 1 tbsp.

bok choy water soy sauce oyster sauce vegetable oil salt unsalted butter

Garden Progress

Beet greens

Radishes - for sure

Bok Choi

Red head lettuce

Green head lettuce

Green onions

New potatoes (most likely...maybe one more week)

Dill

Flower bouquet

FREE EXTRAS (take it or leave it): Kale and Swiss Chard

Trade items: lettuce, beet greens, bok choi

Beet greens

Bok Choy

2 heads of lettuce

green onions

garlic scapes

radishes

dill

FREE EXTRA choices: Swiss chard, kale

Trade items: lettuce

I made the mixed greens recipe from our newsletter last night...My family gets the same share as yours! I made a few changes/substitutions and it was so delicious!

I used both chard and kale.

In place of balsamic vinegar: apple cider vinegar

Instead of sugar: honey

no pine nuts: sunflowers seeds

1 heaping pint of strawberries

1 pound rhubarb

garlic scapes

lettuce mix and/or head lettuce

baby kale (next time will be available as free extra choice)

baby chard (next time will be available as free extra choice)

green onions

chives

oregano

Trades: extra lettuce for salads

Gourmet lettuce mix

Baby Swiss chard

Baby mixed kale

rhubarb

1 heaping pint strawberries

chives

oregano

small side of spinach (for use on grilled cheese and in salads)

Trades will include: extra lettuce mix

We're just two weeks away from our first CSA delivery. We're working full tilt to get all that good food ready, seeding, transplanting, weeding! Everything looks great and is growing well, aside from the first planting of spinach that got hit with frost a week or so ago. Please check in frequently to view our intern's blog at http://myorganicsummer.blogspot.com/.

We're still searching for our third intern! We need someone who can start in May or June and stay through October 31st at least. Anybody out there with a little experience? We need you!

This intern will mostly work in our gardens, but will also be involved with the cattle and the chickens. Come live and learn with us! Eat great home-cooked organic food! Send me a message or give a call if you're interested!

Eric and I have been working with a business planner and a marketing specialist to improve our farm business through a grant we received called the Vermont Farm Viability Enhancement grant. We are so excited to be starting a logo and marketing materials make-over! Tim Newcomb has been hired to give us a new look. We can't wait to see what he creates for us! We've also shortened our name to Maplewood Organics. Our former name was really a mouthful and "natural" has gotten kind of a bad name. Keep checking back for updates! You'll be the first to see our new look!

Eric and I picked up the rest of the potatoes in the field today, probably about 200 pounds or so mostly reds. I bagged up what I washed over the last few days, about another 200 pounds. Only about 3000 more to go!