Hello Friends,

Another mild week to harvest our gorgeous fall crops…how pleasant! It is already near the end of Tewksbury Grace Farm CSA! Oh nooooooo! Tomorrow will be week A half share members’ last pickup and delivery for the season. Full share members and B week members will look forward to the last delivery on December 4th. We hope to have a winter delivery in late January to those CSA members interested in stocking their winter pantry with healthy organic foods. We will contact you after the holidays to see if you are interested, and for what is most likely a one-time delivery. It will be chock full of delicious items like potatoes, winter savoy, pickled ginger, dried beans, tomato salsa, dried shiitake, onions, fruit jams, fruit leathers, red cabbage, and much more .

As our season draws to a close, we want to thank all of our members again for supporting our farm. We are proud to bring you delicious, healthy food, grown with respect for the environment and all living things that share this place with us. As a Tewksbury Grace Farm CSA member, you have made a choice to eat food that comes from a small-scale, sustainable farm. We hope you have enjoyed all the unusual and heirloom varieties of vegetables that we feature. By being part of our CSA, you have chosen mindful and healthful eating over convenient eating; you are saving money and creating family time by not eating out as much; and you are reducing the need for the industrial agriculture model and all of its problems. Thank you!

NOTE: Half share members will have a FROZEN item in your bag this week so please plan to pick up your bags promptly!

The farm is starting to wind down as we harvest the last of the field vegetables this month. We have another beautiful bag of produce this week for you to look forward to:

·Red cabbage -- big and robust flavor

·Brussel sprouts - - are these phenomenal or what? You can pick the sprouts and store them in a bag if you don’t have room for the stalks in your fridge.

·Kale bunch - - spectacular array of purple and dark blue leaves.

·Leeks - - please make sure to use these in something besides potato leek soup! They are wonderful just lightly sautéed with any vegetable. They have a sweet nutty flavor that can get lost in heavier dishes.

·Fennel - - this is the last of Leah's favorite Italian vegetable. We are including a link for a fennel relish recipe in the rare event that you may have a fennel left him last time! We are having fennel stock canned this month for soup making later this winter. http://foodinjars.com/2013/06/grated-fennel-relish-recipe/

·Sweet potatoes - - the absolute best way to have these is to: 1. Scrub them gently. 2. Trim off as little skin as possible 3. Cut into chunks and, 4. Roast at 400 with butter and salt and pepper, turning occasionally until roasted a caramel brown (45-60 min). Just out of this world. You will find many colors of the rainbow in your sweet potato bag.

·Red and yellow onions

·Savory seasoning jar - - this is a blend of our own dried herbs, mixed with salt and pepper and used as a tasty seasoning on most foods.

·Frozen heirloom tomatoes (half share members) OR Turnip/radish bunch and Hon tsai tai (a dark Asian green –chop and flash sauté for just a few moments until slightly wilted) for full share members

·Colorful cauliflower mixed bag

·Mini salad in a bag - - a blend of small head lettuces with some chard leaves, parsley, & a mint sprig, to make a lovely herbal salad.

Wishing you a happy family holiday next week. With this round of TGF produce coming your way, combined with your culinary talents, we’re certain that you will have the tastiest and loveliest food dishes to share with your loved ones!

Leah and Johnny

Hello friends,

Lucky for all of us that the top secret military blimp didn't land on our farm and take out the precious Brussel sprouts ! It did, however, crash land at the end of our road, and it was just like an X Files case with lots of bright lights and people in white clothing crawling around!

It has been a pleasure to harvest vegetables in this week - it could be snowing , sleeting, or freezing rain -- not nearly as smile-inducing as 70 degrees in November! Just a reminder when picking up your bags to please check for your names on your bags. Sometimes there are differences between half and full share bags. Another reminder -- we often bag items together to save on packaging.

We have lovely bags in store for you this week with late season crops like Brussel sprouts, spinach, arugula, and savoy cabbage. A fun and tasty treat this week will be a sampling of Tewksbury Grace Farm heirloom popcorn. Addictive!

Here is a sample note from one our culinarily gifted CSA members, where he listed what he did in the last couple of weeks: So far: roasted fennel with tomato, garlic and cannolini beans, stir fry (bok choy, lemongrass, garlic, ginger) with sticky rice (lemongrass, ginger, kaffir leaves), potato and leek soup, curried squash and apple soup (using the french pumpkins from our own garden), a hearty borscht (cabbage, beets, onions, celery, potato, tomatos, garlic etc plus kielbasa from Beaver Run), and a super aromatic tom kha gai (lemongrass, ginger, onions, and kaffir leaves with coconut milk and shrimp). I have to say it again, those potatoes are totally mind-blowing--they were the star of the borsht (and not even trad ingredient!), and finally made gobi taktakin last night with the cauliflower, red onion and cilantro!).

Wow! Safe bet to say that they are eating some mighty tasty and nutritious foods!

Please note you have two FROZEN items in your bags this week. Please pick up promptly to put up perishable food.

Look forward to these delicious and nutritious foods this week :

·Savoy cabbage

·Spinach

·Leeks

·Head lettuce

·Arugula - - this is gorgeous, spicy, and very green. Excellent in salads or lightly sauteed.

·Heirloom popcorn

·Brussel sprouts - - check out these Mongo sprouts! Our favorite way to have them is sauteed in browned butter for just a few minutes . Turn the heat off, add a couple tablespoons of orange juice and cover with lid to steam. Stir, season, and eat. Crazy good.

·Celery

·Frozen heirloom tomatoes - - excellent for soup making or any tomato sauce recipe.

·Frozen rainbow raspberries

·Large red onion

·Rainbow carrot bunch -- the orange variety in this is called Mokum, an especially sweet and tender carrot.

·Fennel - - 1/2 share members OR

·Sweet potato medley - - full share members (don't be fooled by these odd-looking root specimens. These will knock your socks off, and are a sample of more to come. Scrub tubers, leave as much skin as possible, cut into chunks, and roast with butter and salt and pepper at 400°. Terrific!

It is our pleasure to help you eat healthy and happy organic fruits and vegetables. Aloha from your farmers,

Johnny and Leah

Hi Friends,

Are you ready for an Asian cooking party? This week we have all the ingredients for a delicious Thai dish – ginger, cilantro, lemongrass, shiitake!! Oh my. Add coconut milk and hot pepper, and you have a heavenly and fragrant meal. Also this week is the first of the big, fat succulent celery. We leave on most of the leaves – excellent for stock or juicing. We had a hard freeze this weekend, with a low of 23 degrees. We hustled getting out the last of the tender crops, and double covering remaining crops to withstand the cold.

We had a bit of rain a couple of weeks ago that forced out a small, final flush of mushrooms, so you will find these tasty, late-season shiitake perfect for any dish. Last week we harvested nearly 450 lbs of assorted rainbow sweet potatoes, which are now curing in our greenhouse to sweeten up properly. Thanks to a healthy population of black snakes and birds of prey on our farm, we had less than 5 lbs damaged by rodents!! We are grateful for all the vital components of a healthy ecosystem that ensure our diverse and abundant harvests.

Check out this week’s fresh, nutritious goodness:

·Cauliflower Mix – rainbow of colors

·Green and Purple Chois

·Fresh Baby Ginger (read insert for care…make sure you are using up this unique and flavorful treat).

·Salad Mix (So crisp and aromatic. Last of the season, with head lettuce on deck for next time)

·Fennel – big and beautiful. Use fronds for stock or salad.

·Lemongrass – pound gently and steep in broth or coconut milk. Or make a lemony tea with it.

·Radish/salad turnip mix

·Potatoes (a mix of our hand-dug heirloom varieties)

·Celery (the real deal… no sissy California celery here)

·Cilantro (harvested right before the “big freeze”)

·Large Sweet Potato (a small taste of things to come, and they will come in many colors and flavors!)

·Red and yellow onions

·Shiitake

Enjoy,

Johnny and Leah

Hello Friends,

Hurricane Joaquin was good to our farm. We got 3 inches of gentle rain that soaked right in, ending our droughty spell. We are starting the big job of digging sweet potatoes this weekend. They will need to cure for 2-3 weeks in our greenhouse to become sugared up and storable. We have an absolutely lovely bag for you this week, with lots of fall colors and flavors, and a taste of aloha with our first round of fresh baby ginger (see attached instruction slip). Also big this week is the return of our fresh herbal salad mix, which has a variety of sweet and bitter lettuces and herbs. We recommend adding walnuts, feta cheese, dried fruit and tossing it all in a favorite vinaigrette to help coat all the salad.

Looks like it might rain tomorrow so make sure to pick up your bags asap, and have your coolers under shelter. You will have one paper bag and one large plastic bag this week. In your bags this week:

·Cauliflower Mix (beautiful mix of white, orange, and green)

·Onions – red and yellow

·Elderberry Jelly

·Fresh Hawaiian Ginger

·Our World Famous Salad Mix!!

·Kale Bouquet

·Joi Choi

·Shell Beans -- A mix of fresh white cannellini and cranberry beans (read attached instruction slip). The pods look a bit rough, but the beans inside are lovely. Don’t overlook these unusual and creamy treats!

·Romanesco -- WOW! Gorgeous and unusual; use like cauliflower or broccoli (full share)

·OR Radish/Hakurei turnip and Sweet Pepper bag (half share)

·Red and Gold Beet Mix – don’t forget to use the tasty and nutrient rich leaves!! Saute like spinach.

·Leeks – the nicest leeks we have ever grown. We struggled for years to grow these organically, and finally triumphed over a pest that used to love them literally to death!

·Fennel – Leah’s favorite Italian vegetable. Very versatile. Excellent fresh or pan roasted. Make sure to use the fronds chopped in salad, or simmer the whole top to make a sweet anise soup stock.

·Tomatillos and Tomato bag – last of both of these summer fruits. Tomatoes aren’t as stellar as in August, but still good for local organic tomatoes!

Happy eating and aloha until next time,

Your farmers Johnny and Leah

Dear Friends,

Goodbye summer, hello autumn. We enjoyed this beautiful transition under sunny skies and fairweather clouds….aahhh, dreamy. On the other hand, you may have noticed how DRY it is, and we are gnashing our teeth about it. Though we irrigate our crops during droughty times, absolutely nothing beats rainwater. So, be delighted and grateful when it rains again….all the fresh farm food you will be eating this fall depends on it!

As the cooler weather moves in, the tropical crops (tomatoes, eggplants, snap beans) shiver at night and give their last hurrah. You will begin to see more of the brassicas (e.g., cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts, kale, kohlrabi…) in your bag, as these crops love the coolness. New this week are the fresh shell beans; we have two varieties: Italian and white cannellini. Yum, these are some of our favorites. We will include instructions, but these are the fresh beans our grandparents ate. So creamy and unique!

Occasionally we will provide info for our members about local restaurants and stores that feature Tewksbury Grace Farm foods, and in general support local agriculture (therefore, our values!). This week, find a couple of cards stapled to your bags. This list is not inclusive, but Big shout out to:

Bullfrog Brewery – always a big supporter! Williamsport

Kathy’s Café – long-term friend and customer. Hughesville

Local Fare – new store featuring local goods/foods. Montoursville

SawHorse Café – new café featuring farm to table foods. Williamsport

Wanderlust Café – fresh, vegetarian café, using local and organic. Bloomsburg

Cherry Alley Café – hometown Lewisburg, long-term TGF supporter.

Inn at Turkey Hill – offers locally sourced foods. Bloomsburg

When you support family-owned businesses like these, you support the whole community!

NOTE: Frozen berries in the bags this week!!!!; pick up your bag asap.

In your bag this week:

·Fresh shell beans – Italian variety called Ligua de fuoco. Read instructions.

·Heirloom tomatoes (last! Sniff, sob)

·Sungolds (ditto)

·Joi choi/purple pac choi

·Frozen red, black and gold raspberries

·Ruby currant jelly

·Cauliflower (some of the cauli is white and yellowish – don’t worry, this has only been exposed to more sunlight. Very fresh and crisp).

·Large yellow or red onion

·Rainbow carrots

·Snow peas

·Basil

·Snap beans – half share members OR

·Potato medley – full share members

·Tomatillos

·Eggplant and garlic – half share members OR

·Microgreens – full share members

Wishing you a healthy and happy week. Enjoy!

Leah and Johnny

Greetings from Tewksbury Grace Farm,

Is everyone glad that heat wave is over or what??? We are, and the farm is as well. It has been hot and dry, and we’ve been babying our crops until this beautiful rain finally brought relief in the last 24 hours. On the up side, the hot weather has made for a colorful, sweet, and delicious summer bag this week, filled with lots of tomatoes, beans, eggplant and more. With the cooler weather now, our fall salad, broccoli and Brussel sprouts (among other crops) will really begin to flourish.

Also in your bag is another round of our amazing potato chips, as we wanted all our CSA members to sample them. They are addictive, especially on a big fat ‘mater sandwich with basil and mayo! If you are a Full Share member or a Week B Half Share member, you have a delivery this week. So get ready for the goods!

Note! B Half share members – please pick up your bags asap as there will be frozen berries in your bag this week!!

• ·Heirloom Tomatoes (Absolutely delicious!  Plan to eat soon as the hot weather has made them perfectly ripe.)
• ·Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
• ·Snap Bean Medley (Rattlesnake, Golden Bacau and Dragon Tongue varieties – a nice big bag, best when minimally cooked, with butter.
• ·Eggplant – Italian or Asian varieties
• ·Onions (red and yellow)
• ·Large Garlic
• ·Black Raspberry Jam
• ·Rosemary Potato Chips
• ·Frozen Red, Black and Gold Raspberries (Half Share Members) OR Red or Green Cabbage (Full Share Members)
• ·Tomatillos (these sweet-tart fruits are tasty – use in fresh salsa, roasted with olive oil, or sliced thinly and added to open face tomato melt).
• ·Carnival Winter Squash (Half Share Members—don’t let this be a table ornament! Prep, then bake with butter and maple syrup for a creamy sweet meal) OR Stir Fry Bag (Sweet Pepper, Snow Pea, Summer Squash -- Full Share Members)
• ·Large Sweet Red Carmen Pepper

Enjoy!

Leah and Johnny

Late Summer Greetings CSA Friends!

It’s finally here, your first CSA delivery of gorgeous produce and other Tewksbury Grace Farm items! This has been pretty decent farming season for us: started off dry, then got quite wet, and now we’re back to being a bit dry. We roll with Nature’s punches! And we have some new and tasty items for you this year…..first is our very own organic potato chips !!! Boasting a variety of unusual potatoes, cooked in local, organic canola oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and rosemary. We are excited to offer you this new farm snack! Also, you are getting the first of the heirloom tomatoes (they took their sweet time this summer), and they are delicious. The snap beans are to die for…so tender…just need to be barely sautéed in a bit of butter or olive oil. We had a perfect small flush of shiitake over the weekend, and are pleased to get you some on the first delivery (the shiitake logs were temperamental this year, and did not perform well during the dry spring). As usual, it was quite challenging growing our winter squash, as we contend annually with serious pest issues…but we managed to get a small crop, one of which is included in this delivery.

NOTE: you are receiving frozen berries in your bag this week…please plan on picking up your bags asap so you can get them back in the freezer (if not using right away). This year we vacuum sealed the raspberries (what a gorgeous trio of colors) to keep them perfect.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE!: Every delivery, each member will have TWO (2) bags with your names labeled on them. Make sure to get BOTH bags with your name.

We have lots of great items in store for you as the fall progresses – salad greens (and you know how incredible our salad mix is, eh?) are in the ground now after the heat of summer, the Brussel sprouts are growing tall, the popcorn is drying on the stalk, the Hawaiian ginger is fattening up, the sweet potatoes are vining like mad…..oh yeah, it’s gonna be a dynamite CSA this year!

You will find several tags on your food this week, describing the contents and how you should eat them – please read so you know how to ensure the heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes are ripe. These are this week’s tasty items:

• ·Shiitake – sooo tasty simply gently sautéed in butter with seasoning.
• ·Frozen red, black and gold raspberries
• ·Microgreens
• ·Sungold cherry tomatoes – sweetly addictive; mixed ripeness
• ·Rhubarb jam (Leah’s favorite)
• ·Red and yellow onions
• ·Red hot pepper (in with onions)
• ·Potato assortment
• ·Rosemary potato chips!
• ·Snap beans (mostly Rattlesnake variety, with a few Golden Bacau)
• ·Carrots
• ·Carnival sweet dumpling winter squash (very colorful and very sweet variety…don’t let this be a table ornament!! These are delicious cut in half, deseeded, patted with butter and seasoning and roasted to perfection).
• ·Basil and rosemary bunch
• ·Heirloom tomatoes (drum roll!. Read instruction sheet with bag if not familiar with heirlooms).  Mixed ripeness.

For home deliveries, please remember to have your large cooler ready with an ice pack. We look forward to providing you with the best in local, organic fresh and value-added foods. Wave if you see the farm’s little green car zipping around Lewisburg or Muncy!

Much aloha,

Leah and Johnny

P.S. included in your bag is a unique and lovely Turkish Orange eggplant. While these are not good eating and are considered more ornamental, we wanted you to be as impressed as we were by this vibrantly colored fruit!

Hello Friends,

DANG!  It has been a cold week.  We did a lot of our harvesting before the hard freezes, but the cold weather has been great for some of our crops.  This week is the premiere of our Brussel sprouts, which sweeten when they get a light freeze, as their starches are converted to sugars.  You will also get some carrots that are a late season treat for us, as they barely had enough time to mature to a reasonable size… but oh so sweet!

Also new this week is some heirloom popcorn that we trialed this year…we have been sampling a lot while shelling it…yummy! And so beautiful.

This is our farewell CSA delivery, so we have lots of lovely items. We can assure you that if you dine on TGF vegetables and fruits during the holidays, you’ll always feel healthy and satisfied. Thanks for your pledge to our farm this fall season!

 Please note that we often combine different items to save on packaging. Every delivery, please remember to pick up TWO bags with your name on them. We will try to have them stapled together.

Here is what you will find…

• Joi Choi– a big juicy stir fry Asian choi.
• Blackberry Jam or Elderberry Jelly  – practically wine in a jar…both rich berry delights.
• Ruby Currant Jelly – reminiscent of cranberry.
• Head Lettuce -different varieties of bibb and romaine.
• Popcorn – both on the cob style and loose. A new keeper in the TGF fall foods inventory! Make sure to read the how-to-prepare label. Really pleased with this fun new crop.
• Sweet Potatoes – in the onion bag. Our harvest this year was small, sadly .…on the up side, not a single tuber was gnawed on by any pesky critters…a resounding thank you to our resident black rat snakes and milk snakes. So here’s the deal: b/c we could only include a sampling of sweets and we want you to taste them by themselves, we highly recommend simply washing the tubers, slicing them into thin small medallions (LEAVE the skin on! It adds superior flavor to the cooked sweet, not to mention rich in vitamins). Sauté on high heat with minced onions, olive oil until seared and tender. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt and cracked peppercorn. Perhaps a pinch of rosemary. Oh. My. Goodness.
• Brussel Sprouts- fresh and tender. We recommend browning butter in a skillet, throwing the plucked sprouts and sesame seeds in and rolling around on high heat until slightly seared. Add a bit of fresh orange juice. Simmer one minute. Turn off heat and let steam for 2-3 minutes until bright green and tender. Yeah.
• Cabbage Medley – a stunning trio of a purple green savoy, a super crinkle savoy, and a small red cabbage. All will keep for several weeks in the fridge as you find delicious ways to cook or slaw them.
• Yellow Onions
• Radicchio/Endive bunch – This is a bitter green medley…pale green leaves with lovely red flecks. A true Italian traditional winter ensalata. We would recommend chopping these greens (use all but the very ends!) and adding them to browned garlic and onions (just enough to wilt), tossing with fresh pasta and olive oil and parmesan and chopped sundried tomatoes. Add a healthy dose of seasoned salt and pepper. Mange!
• Microgreens – last indulgence of these specialty greens as winter rolls in.
• Carrots – a gorgeous rainbow medley of carrots…so sweet and crisp. On the small side…again, due to our dry late season conditions. Really should be eaten raw!

Enjoy! And aloha until 2015,

Johnny and Leah

Hello Friends,

The week started off with a windy Sunday, when we were trying to add protective agricultural row cover over our crops in anticipation of colder weather; imagine billowing giant sails and two farmers trying to tame them!.  Our late-summer planted radicchio makes its fall debut this week; this is an Italian chicory-style radicchio with long green and gorgeous red leaves.  You will still get tastes of warm weather with the last of the fresh ginger (remember to put in the freezer if you are not using it soon – you can then grate it frozen into savory dishes. We always recommend preparing ginger fresh though! We are making a batch of candied ginger this week for tea and snacking), cilantro (can you believe it!) and frozen heirloom tomatoes.  We are being pushed into the barn earlier every day with the longer nights and time change upon us.  Please note that we often combine different items to save on packaging. Every delivery, please remember to pick up TWO bags with your name on them. We will try to have them stapled together.

Here is what you will find…

• Ginger– Fresh baby ginger. Please read bag label on how to prepare. Use soon. Amazing and beautiful island treat! Last of the season.
• Black Raspberry Jam – practically wine in a jar…a rich berry delight.
• Head Lettuce -different varieties of bibb and romaine.
• Parsley
• Fennel – two small bulbs each. The lack of rain in Sept. really stalled the growth on these gems, so sadly they are small. Fennel is probably Leah’s favorite Italian vegetable. … so crunchy and juicy and licorice-y. Plan on using the fresh fronds chopped in salad or simmered in a tasty soup broth.
• Spinach Bunch
• Winter Squash – don’t let these eye-catching squashes remain a table decoration! These are not meant to store long. They are sweet and nutritious – cut in half, de-seed, add butter and a drizzle of maple syrup and roast in the oven until tender. Mmmmm.
• Yellow Onions
• Frozen Tomatoes –back when we had lots of field fresh heirloom tomatoes (sigh), we chopped up extras and froze them in anticipation of our fall CSA members! Great for soupmaking or a fresh sauce.
• Gold Beets –alas, the beet leaves are not as lush as spring….mostly beet, less leaf this time. Still delicious.
• Dried Shiitake –we always recommend storing dried products in airtight mason jars. Many ways to use these. Intense flavor.
• Red Joi Choi –beautiful. Best chopped and flash sautéed with oil of choice and seasoning.
• Radicchio – These rank a close second to fennel in how much we love them! We would recommend chopping these greens (use all but the very ends!) and adding them to browned garlic and onions (just enough to wilt), tossing with fresh pasta and olive oil and parmesan and chopped sundried tomatoes. Add a healthy dose of seasoned salt and pepper. My goodness.
• Cilantro – snuck in late this fall...no hard frost to burn them. Lucky us.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Hello Friends,

We had a frost scare on Sunday night that had us scrambling to harvest all of our warm season crops.  So we brought in all the peppers, summer squash and sweet potatoes.  We didn’t get the frost, but it is certainly imminent.   The sweet potatoes need at least two weeks to cure in a very warm, humid environment, so we have them set up in the greenhouse with some Hawaiian ginger that is also enjoying the tropical atmosphere.  Meanwhile, out in the chilly fields, the Brussel sprouts are fattening up, tantalizing us with their growing sprouts. We have heirloom popcorn drying on racks. Please note that we often combine different items to save on packaging. Every delivery, please remember to pick up TWO bags with your name on them. We will try to have them stapled together.

NOTE: There are frozen raspberries in your bags this week…please plan to pick up your bags asap or, if home delivery, getting your bags in and unpacked asap.

Here is what you will find…

• Microgreens – slightly spicy, crunchy blend. Use soon.
• Cauliflower Medley – wow, these colors rock! Please note that since we cut up the caulis to give each of you different colors, that these will not keep as long as usual…plan to use soon.
• Sweet Peppers – sharing the cauli bag.
• Salad Turnip / Radish Mix
• Ginger – Fresh baby ginger. Please read bag label on how to prepare. Use soon. Amazing and beautiful island treat!
• Summer Squash or Red Onion –last of the season…on the small side. Use soon.
• Savoy Cabbage –our Dutch neighbor calls these beauties the”Cadillac” of all cabbages! Great fresh in slaws, cooked, or just about any ole way!
• Ruby Currant Jam
• Arugula Bunch
• Head Lettuce – different varieties of bibb and romaine.
• Kale –a particularly lovely crop of fall kales.
• Kohlrabi
• Celery – Holy celery!! This is some crazy big beautiful celery – this is what REAL celery tastes like! Has been growing for 7 months – from seed to harvest! We leave a lot of the leaves on – these are great chopped and added to soups and stews.
• Frozen Raspberries –we have been harvesting this amazing fall crop of red raspberries, so these have been just picked and frozen in the last 3 weeks. Our bramble patch is having an exceptional fall yield…a bit unusual. They are very sweet and like little Vitamin C drops.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Hello Friends,

Here it comes… the first big, delicious, nutritious, spectacular, fantastic delivery of our Fall CSA!  Do you think we are excited?  Yes, we are -- and you will be too when you open your two bags! Be ready to prepare and taste some lovely organic foods. Please note that we combine different items to save on packaging. Every delivery, please remember to pick up TWO bags with your name on them. We will try to have them stapled together.

Here is what you will find…

• Microgreens – slightly spicy, crunchy blend. Use soon.
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower Medley – wow, these colors rock!
• Salad Turnip / Radish Mix
• Shell Beans – Read bag label on how to prepare. Please note that there is some external bug damage on some of the pods…this should not affect interior beans-- just looks bad. Evidently, a mystery bug also likes fresh shell bean pods too!
• Ginger – Fresh baby ginger. Please read bag label on how to prepare. Use soon. Amazing and beautiful island treat!
• Summer Squash
• Red Cabbage
• Large Sweet Pepper
• Elderberry Jelly
• Arugula Bunch
• Bibb Head Lettuce
• Joi Choi – Asian braising green
• Large Yellow Onion

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

This is the last delivery for our Summer CSA; we have an exciting line up to say farewell to summer!  Thank you for supporting our farm!  We are so happy to announce that we got .8 inches of rain this week, which was huge for all our fall crops….the farm looks spectacular, and still has much more food to harvest. Fall CSA customers will receive instructions shortly; remember that those fresh veggies will start next week and run every other week.  Thank you all again for supporting local farmers, and we hope you continue to eat well and thoughtfully.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom Tomatoes  -- A few ‘toes left…..mixed ripeness in the bag, so please check carefully to cut up only ripe ones and let others stay in the bag until ready.
• Large Parsley Bunch  -- you’ve heard it before, but parsley is a super food and ranks top in nutritional value. Excellent in tabouleh, fresh in salads, or cooked in any way.
• Summer Squash – 2 each. We marvel that these tender beauties are still fruiting….summer squash doesn’t like cool weather, so we are pleased these are still producing.
• Colorful Cauliflower medley – a sample of what is coming up later this fall. A stunning group of colors – lime green, white, orange or purple florets.
• Broccoli – beautiful harvest.
• Fresh Baby Ginger – Say what!!? The first of our fall harvest of this special island ginger! We get organic seed from the big island of Hawaii and grow baby ginger here. Make sure to read the enclosed label to learn how to use fresh baby ginger.  
• Radishes – first fall picking.
• Microgreens – beautiful, super healthy baby greens. These are delicate and not intended to last long, so please use soon.

Enjoy! Johnny and Leah

Autumnal greetings from your DRY farm. We have been hoping for rains, but they keep missing us. Looks like we will be finishing up Sept. with only 1 inch of rain for the whole month. Most vegetables like 1 inch/week, so you can see how far behind we are. Though we have been irrigating, nothing beats a soaking rain to boost crops…so think RAIN!

Hard to believe, but this is the last week for A half-share members for the summer season. Full share and B half-share members still have one more week left. The fall brassicas (e.g., broccoli, kale, romanesco, cauliflower) are ripe and ready for harvest. You will find some lovely examples of them in this week’s bag. Full share members will receive  Romanescoes (similar in taste and texture to cauliflower…prepare the same way) this week, and there happens to be this very cool YouTube video about the mathematical perfection behind the whorls that make up this unique gorgeous vegetable (and caulis too!)….check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahXIMUkSXX0 Half share members will receive broccoli, and it is one of our favorite vegetables on the season.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom Tomatoes  -- A few ‘toes left…..mixed ripeness in the bag, so please check carefully to cut up only ripe ones and let others stay in the bag until ready.
• Cherry Tomato Mix (half shares)-beautiful blend OR
• Italian Shell beans (Full shares) – please read included recipe label to learn how to properly store and cook these amazing fresh beans…you are in for a treat. Small crop this year, and this is the only offering of this variety.
• Sweet Fry Peppers (full shares) OR
• Tomatillos (half shares)
• Kale Bunch – very tender….perfect first picking.
• Summer Squash – we marvel that these tender beauties are still fruiting….summer squash doesn’t like cool weather, so we are pleased these are still producing.
• Colorful Cauliflower medley – a sample of what is coming up later this fall. A stunning trio of colors – lime green, white, and orange florets.
• Romanesco Head (full shares) OR
• Broccoli heads (half shares)
• Small garlic (will be loose in the large paper bag)

Enjoy! Johnny and Leah

This week’s bag features the last of the hot season vegetables like snap beans, tomatillos, peppers. Tomatoes are also nearly done…but on a positive note, the fall brassicas, like broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, all look lovely. Kale should be on the menu for next week too, and we are excited about fresh shell beans coming in. We have been diligently covering up shell bean beds at night as deer love them, and will take out a season’s crop in just a night or two. Lettuce and arugula will soon be making their first appearance.

PLEASE NOTE!! HALF SHARE members have FROZEN berries in the bag this week, so please make sure to pick up/take in your bags asap and put berries back in freezer.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom Tomatoes  -- Mixed ripeness in the bag, so please check carefully to cut up only ripe ones and let others stay in the bag until ready.
• Cherry Tomato Mix –beautiful blend.
• Gold and Red Beets (full share) or
• Frozen Blackerries (half share) picked at peak of plumpness and freshness, then frozen. Great in yogurt, juices, cereal.
• Snap beans – last of the season, tender and tasty Rattlesnake (green with purple stripes) and Golden Bacau, a flat Italian yellow bean. We like these flash sautéed in a fine olive oil, with a dash of seasoning…addictive!
• Sweet Fry Peppers- Blend of Fushimi, Carmen red Italian sweet peppers and small lunchbox style yellow, red and orange sweets. Great raw or cooked.
• Yellow Onions
• Eggplant (full share) or
• Summer Squash (half share)
• Tomatillos – Last of the season. Fruity taste – excellent chopped and cooked with eggs, tomatoes, squash, or fresh in salsa.
• Mint Bunch

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Another great bag coming your way this week!  Though tomatoes have peaked, we should still have them for 2-3 more weeks (barring an early frost…gasp! Say it isn’t so!) We hope you have been enjoying the wide variety of colors, flavors, and shapes.  Remember to check out Tewksbury Grace Farm’s Fall CSA!!!! At http://www.localharvest.org/blog/20370/  Why?? Because we care deeply about proper agricultural stewardship, the best in nutrition and flavor of our foods, and the commitment to minimal adverse impact on all living things in our farming operations….just to name a few! Thanks to all of you who have already signed up.  You will continue to eat well, and with your food choices, make a big daily difference in the world.

PLEASE NOTE!! There are FROZEN berries in the bag this week, so please make sure to pick up/take in your bags asap and put berries back in freezer.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom Tomatoes  -- So many lovely and sweet varieties (remember that green varieties are ripe). You will find all kinds of unusual and shapely tomatoes. These are RIPE, so plan to eat in the next few days. Remember that tomatoes do NOT like to be refrigerated!
• Savoy Cabbage (full share) or
• Red Cabbage (half share)
• Snap beans –tender and tasty Rattlesnake (green with purple stripes) and Golden Bacau, a flat Italian yellow bean. We like these flash sautéed in a fine olive oil, with a dash of seasoning…addictive! Harvest is nearly complete on snap beans.
• Sweet Fry Peppers- Blend of Fushimi, Carmen red Italian sweet peppers and small lunchbox style yellow, red and orange sweets. Great raw or cooked.
• Frozen Blackberries- picked at peak of plumpness and freshness, then frozen. Great in yogurt, juices, cereal.
• Hot Peppers –   a mix of jalepeno-style peppers
• Rosemary Sprigs

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Hi Friends,

Already we are approaching the end of our summer CSA, with only 4 more deliveries!  If you are interested in continuing to eat nutritious organic foods, and supporting our sustainable farming practices, then rejoice, because we are offering again our Fall CSA.   The weather has continued to be agreeable for us and our crops.  Many of the fall foods we are growing are excellent for winter storage, and with proper care, should last many weeks.  We will continue to deliver just like during the summer, with drop-offs at the Lewisburg Family Dental Practice, Muncy and Lewisburg home deliveries.  Times will be roughly the same. 

 

The Nitty Gritty…

4  Friday Delivery Dates – Oct 10, Oct 24, Nov 7 and Nov 21

Cost – $260 ($65 worth of produce and homemade items each delivery) Email as soon as possible if you are interested (tewks1@aol.com)   Then send us a check for $260 by Oct. 1.  If it is easier for you, send us a $130 check dated Oct. 1 and a $130 check dated Nov. 1.  Please get back to as soon as possible, so we can make plans.  We are having an abundant season, so send this along to any others you think might be interested.  Please make payment to:

Leah Tewksbury

168 Yeagle Rd

Muncy, PA 17756 

The Goods…

During the four Fall CSA deliveries, we hope to offer some of the following items, dependent on growing conditions:

• Onions – yellow and red
• Jams and jellies: blackberry, raspberry, currant, rhubarb, elderberry, and strawberry
• Dried and fresh beans
• Broccoli
• Fennel
• Lettuces
• Radicchio
• Arugula
• Spinach
• Frozen berries
• Cauliflower
• Cabbage
• Dried and fresh shiitake
• Radishes
• Sweet potatoes
• Dried herbs
• Kale
• Heirloom Tomato Sauce
• Celery
• Fresh Baby Ginger
• Dried Tomatoes
• Red and Gold Beets
• Turnips
• Winter Squash

This is a great opportunity to continue to eat healthy and eat local.  We look forward to hearing from your soon!

Peace,

Johnny and Leah

Nothing says summer like the items in your bag this week!  These are some of our favorite foods, and the ways you can prepare them are endless.  We continue to receive abundant rains, and our fall crops look fabulous…..which leads us to – look for info very soon regarding Tewksbury Grace Farm’s Fall CSA!!!! We have lots going on to provide the best organic produce (e.g., celery, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and much more) for those chilly autumnal days that lie ahead. Don’t miss out on continuing to eat fresh, local and organic vegetables, shiitake and berries.

For those of you who may have not read last week’s letter…

A local restaurant, the Inn at Turkey Hill in Bloomsburg, that features our vegetables and fruits extensively on their menu, is hosting a special chef’s series event that focuses on the quality produce from our farm. If you like eating scrumptious organic foods, check out the link below to find out more about this fabulous food event scheduled in September. Hope to see ya there!

http://www.innatturkeyhill.com/menu.html#chef-series

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom tomatoes  -- So many lovely and sweet varieties. You will find all kinds of unusual and shapely tomatoes. These are ripe, so plan to eat in the next few days. Remember that tomatoes do NOT like to be refrigerated!
• Large Red Onion
• Summer Squash (full share)– come in a variety of colors and shapes. Use like zucchini. Eggplant (half share)-  A mix of unique colorful eggplants; try lightly sautéed in olive oil or roasted.
• Snap beans –tender and tasty Rattlesnake (green with purple stripes) and Golden Bacau, a flat Italian yellow bean. We like these flash sautéed in a fine olive oil, with a dash of seasoning…addictive!
• Sweet Fry Peppers- Blend of Fushimi, Carmen red Italian sweet peppers and small lunchbox style yellow, red and orange sweets. Great raw or cooked.
• Sungold Cherry and heirloom cherry Tomatoes- Ka-Pow!  A juicy, sweet explosion your mouth.  In your bag you will find sun gold varieties (which should be a deep orange when ripe), as well as a few unusual green (if there is a green tomato in your bag, it is ripe!), striped and other colored heirloom cherries.
• Tomatillos –   check out recipe below. Also tasty sautéed with scrambled eggs.   
• Basil/Parsley Bunch

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Charred Salsa Verde

·small red onion, halved

·3-4 cloves garlic, peeled

·Sweet fry peppers, rough chopped

·1 jalapeño, rough chopped

·Tomato, quartered (or use handful cherry tomatoes)

·Tomatillos, halved

·2-3 sprigs cilantro and juice of one lime

·Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper

·Optional: eggplant and squash, chunked

Place all vegetables in pan and apply generous drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Broil until slightly charred, turning once or twice. Place charred vegetables in food processor with cilantro and lime juice and blend. Serve warm with tortillas and dollop of sour cream – Yummy!

Summer is peaking at the farm! The recent rains produced a giant flush of mushrooms, so everyone gets a full pound of shiitake this week. Prepare to grill, sauté, and roast these tasty and nutritious fungi! Take a gander at our informative shiitake label for more information. Also, look for a pretty eggplant, which may be white, striped, magenta……we like to slice eggplant into thin medallions, brush generously with olive oil and spices and place under the broiler until tender (turning once).

Also, a local restaurant, the Inn at Turkey Hill in Bloomsburg, that features our vegetables and fruits extensively on their menu, is hosting a special chef’s series event that focuses on the quality produce from our farm. If you like eating scrumptious organic foods, check out the link below to find out more about this fabulous food event scheduled in September. Hope to see ya there!

http://www.innatturkeyhill.com/menu.html#chef-series

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom tomatoes  -- So many lovely and sweet varieties. You will find all kinds of unusual and shapely tomatoes. These are ripe, so plan to eat in the next few days. Remember that tomatoes do NOT like to be refrigerated!
• Red Onions- gorgeous red onion just coming into harvest.
• Summer Squash – come in a variety of colors and shapes. Use like zucchini.
• Snap beans –tender and tasty Rattlesnake (green with purple stripes) and Golden Bacau, a flat Italian yellow bean. We like these flash sautéed in a fine olive oil, with a dash of seasoning…addictive!
• Sweet Fry Peppers- Blend of Fushimi, Carmen red Italian sweet peppers and small lunchbox style sweets. Great raw or cooked.
• Sungold Cherry and heirloom cherry Tomatoes- Ka-Pow!A juicy, sweet explosion your mouth. In your bag you will find sun gold varieties (which should be a deep orange when ripe), as well as a few unusual green (these are supposed to be green when ripe!!), striped and other colored heirloom cherries. These are ripe!
• Shiitake Mushrooms –of course keep in fridge, but plan your menu to include these this week!                                                                                                 
• Eggplant

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Tomatoes  are finally making their debut as they try to color up in this cool cloudy summer we’ve been having. Let the tomatoes sit in their bag for a couple of days to further ripen and deepen in color. They get sweeter as they ripen! This week also is the first round of our delicious pole snap beans; we grow two favorite varieties called Rattlesnake and Golden Bacau. Both are very tender, and need only minimal cooking. Also this week, our shiitake orchard fruited some lovely mushrooms for us, and you will find them in your bag.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Heirloom tomatoes geez, finally. Let ripen in bag to deep color (maybe orange, purple, pink….tomatoes are ripe when tender to touch.)
• Walla Walla and large red onions- gorgeous red onion just coming into harvest.
• Summer Squash – come in a variety of colors and shapes. Use like zucchini.
• Snap beans –tender and tasty Rattlesnake (green with purple stripes) and Golden Bacau, a flat Italian yellow bean. We like these flash sautéed in a fine olive oil, with a dash of seasoning…addictive!
• Sweet Fry Peppers full share- these long green peppers are a variety called Fushimi. Chop and fry with onion and squash for a tasty dish (these are not hot). Also Carmen red Italian sweet peppers and small lunchbox style sweets.
• Or Rainbow Carrot bunch half shares.
• Sungold Cherry and heirloom cherry Tomatoes- Ka-Pow!  A juicy, sweet explosion your mouth.  In your bag you will find sun gold varieties (which should be a deep orange when ripe), as well as a few unusual green (these are supposed to be green when ripe!!), striped and other colored heirloom cherries. Let these stay in the bag for a 3-4 more days to fully ripen – you will notice subtle differences in their coloring, as well as slightly tender to the touch.
• Shiitake Mushrooms
• Red cabbage

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Wow, what a rain event we had this week! Our farm recorded 5 inches of rain in 30 hours -- more than in the last 2 months. Fortunately, not a drop ran off the farm. Because you support our type of sustainable farming methods, all the rain and soil stayed here on the farm. If you noticed the local rivers raging chocolate brown this week, you may have felt the same stab of sorrow and frustration we feel at the millions of tons of PA’s finest topsoil washing into waterways and ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay, due to industrial farming practices (we won’t even talk about the synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, pesticides that also flow in that topsoil too….) So, thank you for supporting ecologically healthy farming practices!

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Eggplant (full share) or Savoy Cabbage (half share)- A mix of unique colorful eggplants; try lightly sautéed in olive oil with our Walla Walla onions. Eggplant storage is a bit tricky – they don’t like the cold of a fridge, but also don’t like it too warm – ideal storage is about 50 degrees…so always best if used as soon as possible for utmost flavor and freshness.  Savoy cabbage is great sliced raw on a sandwich, or shredded in salads. Just gorgeous curls on this fine savoy.
• Walla Walla Onions- Use soon, as they are not a storage variety.  Try a thick juicy slice on your favorite sandwich! These are almost done for the season.
• Basil/Cilantro bunch- Excellent chopped into fresh salsa, using our tomatillos too.
• Red and Gold Beets– The beets are a gorgeous array of colors.  Beet greens are our favorite, prepare like spinach. Roast beets in olive oil for a tasty meal.
• Summer Squash – come in a variety of colors and shapes. Use like zucchini.
• Tomatillos- we really love these. Remove paper husk. Tomatillos will come in green to yellow colors. Use diced in a fresh salsa, or cut in half and roast with sea salt and pepper until carmelized.
• Sweet Fry Peppers- these long green peppers are a variety called Fushimi. Chop and fry with onion and squash for a tasty dish (these are not hot). You may see a couple of yellow or red sweet peppers in the mix as well (these plant varieties  are coming in later, so just a few now).
• Rainbow Carrot bunch
• Sungold Cherry and heirloom cherry Tomatoes- Ka-Pow!  A juicy, sweet explosion your mouth.  In your bag you will find sun gold varieties (which should be a deep orange when ripe), as well as a few unusual green (these are supposed to be green when ripe!!), striped and other colored heirloom cherries. Let these stay in the bag for a 3-4 more days to fully ripen – you will notice subtle differences in their coloring, as well as slightly tender to the touch.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah