Some warm season items are finally trickling in  -- tomatillos, peppers, eggplant. The heirloom tomatoes teach us patience; the plants have lots of lovely fruit on them, but we are still a week or two out….but boy, will they be worth it! Like island fruit. Wishing for some rain….the cool weather has been delightful, but we are irrigating. Wonderful harvest this week; hope you enjoy it! 

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Eggplant (full share) or Red 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.  Red cabbage is great sliced raw on a sandwich, or shredded in salads.
• 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.
• Parsley bunch
• 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.
• Hot Peppers
• 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 oddball sweet peppers in the mix as well (these plant varieties  are coming in later, so just a few now).
• Cucumbers- last of the season!!! these are some cool customers. Crisp, refreshing, juicy. We don’t use that awful wax like they use on cukes in the stores….so, our’s don’t last as long in the fridge…..use soon, and prepare for awesome. We like them lightly peeled, cut up, and dipped in organic Vegenaise with LOTS of cracked pepper. Like candy.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Endlessly beautiful, this summer. We are continuing to plant for fall, and we welcomed the rains this week. Though the cool weather is delightful for us, we worry a bit about our temperamental tomatoes….cool weather and rainy, cloudy days are ripe for late blight, a real foe for tomato plants.

Wonderful harvest this week; hope you enjoy it! 

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Savoy Cabbage (full share) or Red Cabbage (half share)- Savoy is a beautiful green cabbage with crinkly leaves; juicy and sweet. Excellent in slaws or cooked.  Red cabbage is great sliced raw on a sandwich, or shredded in salads.
• 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.
• Carrots –rainbow varieties.
• Kohlrabi– Green or purple varieties.
• Summer Squash – come in a variety of colors and shapes. Use like zucchini.
• Fresh Herb Medley- Lavender, mint and lemon verbena.  This is a beautiful bouquet that can be used to make some tasty summer drinks.  Look for more information  -- lavender lemonade recipe -- attached to your bag. Make a hot or cold mint tea – very refreshing. Also tasty in Asian dishes.
• Cucumbers- these are some cool customers. Crisp, refreshing, juicy. We don’t use that awful wax like they use on cukes in the stores….so, our’s don’t last as long in the fridge…..use soon, and prepare for awesome. We like them lightly peeled, cut up, and dipped in organic Vegenaise with LOTS of cracked pepper. Like candy.
• Basil bunch
• Frozen Berries- A mix of red and black raspberries, picked at their peak and flash frozen. Perfect in yogurt, cereal or drizzled with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Today was the best day EVER to harvest!: clear, warm, dry and breezy.  The farm looks fantastic with our wildflowers in full bloom, and the vegetable plants totally rocking out!  So many things came together to make this week’s harvest happen. 

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Di Bue Cabbage (half share) or Red Cabbage (full share)- Di Bue, an Italian variety of cabbage that is sweet and crunchy; also known as “lettuce cabbage” b/c its leaves are so tender and succulent. Best eaten raw in fresh slaw or salads.  Red cabbage is great sliced raw on a sandwich, or shredded in salads.
• Allium Medley- Varsity onions (small cippolini -style sweet onion), scallions and a large Walla Walla sweet onion. All these types of alliums should be used soon, as they are not storage varieties.  Try a thick juicy slice on your favorite sandwich!
• Head Lettuce (half share) or Beet Blend (full share)- Head lettuce comes in many colors and shapes. Remember to rinse before use. Beets are a gorgeous array of colors.  Beet greens are our favorite, prepare like spinach. Roast beets in olive oil for a tasty meal.
• Kohlrabi– Two this week. Green or purple varieties.
• Green Radicchio or Summer Squash – this is the last of radicchio until fall (sniff, sob.) Those with radicchio in their bag will find a labeled band on a green head. In Italian, the green varieties are called “blanco”, and are a tasty variation on their chicory cousin, the red radicchios.There are many ways to prepare this bitter green – a quick look on the web will bring up many choices.
• Fresh Garlic- small bulb
• Rosemary Sprig- Oh, that smell!!
• Basil
• Hot Peppers – first of the season. Excellent spicy flavor fresh or sautéed.
• Cucumbers  -- these are some cool customers. Crisp, refreshing, juicy. We don’t use that awful wax like they use on cukes in the stores….so, our’s don’t last as long in the fridge…..use soon, and prepare for awesome. We like them lightly peeled, cut up, and dipped in organic Vegenaise with LOTS of cracked pepper. Like candy.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Cheers to another week of amazing weather in the central PA valley! We’ve had a nice round of rain on the farm, though we did have another water truck delivery to keep our precious vegetables living the spa life. The heirloom tomato plants are looking luscious…growing big and bushy and fruit-laden. Begin the anticipation!

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Snap Beans- Beautiful medley of colors and flavors.  Best eaten flash sautéed with olive oil or steamed.
• Shiitake Mushrooms–  Oh yeah…a small flush this time, but enough to add to any dish.
• Di Bue Cabbage– An Italian variety of cabbage that is sweet and crunchy; also known as “lettuce cabbage” b/c its leaves are so tender and succulent. Best eaten raw in fresh slaw or salads. 
• Walla Walla Onions- No reason to cry about these onions.  Can you say sweeeet? Stalks are juicy and succulent as well -– chop up high on the stalk for frying.
• Head Lettuce- Come in many colors and shapes. Remember to rinse before use.
• Kohlrabi–  Green or purple varieties.
• Red Radicchio – full share  -- Rock with the Radicchio, featured as the number one item on the Inn at Turkey Hill Menu (http://www.innatturkeyhill.com/menu.html). Slice lengthwise into quarters, brush generously with olive oil, balsamic, sea salt, then broil or grill until just seared. Oh my goodness, say yum!
• or Beets – half shares–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.
• Fresh Garlic- Tastes as great as it smells!  This garlic was just harvested and has not been cured, a real treat.  Being fresh, this will not store long in your fridge, so use soon.
• Apple mint- You may remember this from your salad mix; great added to Asian spring rolls, salads, coconut soups, or made into a tea.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

As you will see in this week’s bag, we have transitioned into more summer foods.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Snap Beans- First of the season, beautiful medley of colors and flavors.  Best eaten flash sautéed with olive oil or steamed.
• Hakurei Turnips–Hakurei are also known as a salad turnip – very mild and juicy and best eaten raw!
• Kale Bunch–
• Sugar Snap Peas- We like them wok fried in Asian dishes. The green sugar snaps are addictive eaten raw!  Last of the season.
• Scallions- mince and fry as a fresh garlic. Delicious onion/garlic flavor.
• Parsley Bunch–  Most nutritious item in the bag!  Wonderful chopped fresh in tabouleh salad. 
• Summer Squash– Comes in many shapes and colors.
• Carrots- First baby carrots of the season.  Some may be rainbow colored.
• Basil- Viva Italia!
• Red and Gold Beet Mix- Gorgeous array of colors.  Beet greens are our favorite, prepare like spinach.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

We just had a perfectly wonderful 1.6 inches of rain fall on the farm this afternoon….big early July jump on all our hot weather plants.  As you can imagine, the recent sweltering weather has done in most of the spring greens, but the segue means cucumbers, summer squash, gold beets, and Walla Wallas on deck.

A lovely bag of produce is coming your way tomorrow, but of course. This week we are featuring radicchio again. When we went to Italy 2 years ago, Leah was beside herself in the fresh markets, and came home with lots of types of Italian varieties to trial here on our farm. We have several types of radicchio planted; your’s will be labeled on the twist tie around the head. It may be a large light green head, or a green and red-flecked head, or more of the traditional red palla di fuoco that you see in stores. Each kind is delicious! Peas are saying goodbye for the season, so enjoy these green pearls now.

Pole beans are going in the ground, as are the first rounds of autumn brassicas, like cauliflower, romanesco, broccoli, savoy….yum. Stay tuned for what’s happenin’ on Tewksbury Grace Farm!

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Head Lettuce- coming in various colors and shapes. There is a crunchy iceburg- style head in the bags this week. Head lettuce is fragile, so we don’t wash this green. Please rinse gently right before use.
• Kohlrabi (full shares) or Hakurei Turnips (half shares) – Kohlrabi is a stunning purple (or green) cole vegetable. Best peeled and eaten raw…we think!  Hakurei are also known as a salad turnip – very mild and juicy and best eaten raw!
• Shell Peas– Pod and then eat raw, so sweet…last round!
• Sugar Snap Peas- We like them wok fried in Asian dishes. The green sugar snaps are addictive eaten raw! Nearly done in the field.
• Scallions- mince and fry as a fresh garlic. Delicious onion/garlic flavor.
• Radicchio– slice thinly and use in salads, or cut into quarters, brush a solid shmear of a sweet balsamic and olive oil on cut side and then sear quickly on a grill (in a grill basket) or under the broiler…heavenly.
• Fennel– we include the fronds. These can be chopped and eaten raw insalata, or you can simmer the fronds for a sweet soup stock. The bulb is best eaten raw, thinly sliced into fresh summer salads – with red onion, tomatoes, cukes.

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Summer greetings! Now that we have reached the zenith of solar tip, we welcome you to the most important email you'll get all week: what you're eating for health, and how you are planet hero! Supporting our small sustainable farm is a significant contribution in reducing the pollution, carbon footprint, and species loss (JUST to name a few) associated with all industrial agriculture.

A lovely bag of produce is coming your way tomorrow. This week one of our features is radicchio. When we went to Italy 2 years ago, Leah was beside herself in the fresh markets, and came home with lots of types of Italian varieties to trial here on our farm. We have several types of radicchio planted; your’s will be labeled on the twist tie around the head. It may be a large light green head, or a green and red-flecked head, or more of the traditional red palla di fuoco that you see in stores. Each kind is delicious! The peas are really putting out some super sweet peas…we think you will agree.

We didn’t get as much rain as we hoped for this last week, so the first water truck of the season is arriving bright and early tomorrow to offload 5000 gallons for weekend irrigation…we hope it rains again soon!

Half share members this week will find our handy kitchen magnet inside your bag, as well as some info about area good-food, good-works places. Thanks to all who were able to make it to the farm on Sunday…it was a very beautiful evening.

Here’s what’s in the bag this week:

• Head Lettuce (coming in various colors and shapes)
• Kohlrabi – stunning purple cole vegetable. Best peeled and eaten raw…we think!
• Shell Peas– Pod and then eat raw, so sweet.
• Sugar Snap Peas- Medley of lovely purple, green and yellow snap peas. We like them wok fried in Asian dishes. The green sugar snaps are addictive eaten raw!
• Scallions- mince and fry as a fresh garlic. Delicious onion/garlic flavor.
• Radicchio– slice thinly and use in salads, or cut into quarters, brush a solid shmear of a sweet balsamic and olive oil on cut side and then sear quickly on a grill (in a grill basket) or under the broiler…heavenly.
• Hakurei turnips – also known as a salad turnip – very mild and juicy and best eaten raw!

Bonus... Cilantro bunch :) 

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Hi Friends,

Another great growing week on the farm!  We hope you all will be able to attend our farm tour on Sunday – the farm looks really beautiful with all the rain we’ve received.  Show up anytime between 6-8:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to see a unique organic farming system and integrated  wildlife habitat. In this week’s bag you will find several types of fresh-eating and cooking greens – this is the green  part of the vegetable growing season! Please look carefully at each head of greens in the large bag; on the band is a label identifying what item it is – this is important to know since  bitter cooking greens like escarole look very much like sweet head lettuce.

Also in your bag this week you will find a handy fridge magnet that describes proper vegetable care. We provided these magnets back in the day, and decided to make another run of them for our newer members.

Periodically we will staple information on your bags about some of our favorite local farm- supporting restaurants or sustainable local farm products. This week you’ll find a business card from Wanderlust Café, our completely favorite new restaurant out of Bloomsburg. If you’re looking for excellent, high quality handmade fresh foods and juices, check them out. At our farm tour this weekend, we will have some of their feature almond dip and hummus (with our veggies to dip with, naturally!).

The weather conditions have been optimal for salad this spring…as we’re sure you can attest, since the salad greens have been spectacular, eh?! So, another week or two before the heat of July closes out the salad mix season. The very first of the sweet shell peas are trickling in…looks like a perfect crop, so look for these green pearls coming soon (full share members get a taste of them this week…remember, pod peas and taste raw first! You’ll be hooked.) Here’s what’s for dinner:

• Our Extraordinary Salad Mix (over 20 different types of greens and herbs)  - We like to tear up the larger pieces and then toss the mixture well with a vinagraitte dressing, walnuts, cranberries and goat cheese.
• Microgreens – chock full of vitamins and minerals, use on sandwiches, pasta, fresh spring rolls. Plan to use soon! Microgreens do not store long.
• Joi Choi– Rough chop succulent Joi Choi and flash sauté with sesame oil and seasoning. Serve with rice.
• Garlic Scapes- mince and fry as a fresh garlic. Delicious garlic flavor.
• Escarole or Napa Cabbage– Escarole- Natacha variety. Best rough chopped and flash sautéed with olive oil and seasonings, white beans, fresh pasta and parmesan.  Napa Cabbage- Asian green, chop and eat raw or lightly sauteed.
• Head Lettuce– unusual variety called Celtuce. Notice the thick stalk at the base of this head lettuce…this is succulent and should be chopped with the leaves for salad.
• Shell Peas or Sugar Snap Peas – Full shares get shell peas (Pod, eat with gusto).     Half shares get our sugar snap pea medley of lovely purple, green and yellow snap peas. We like them wok fried in Asian dishes.
• Hakurei turnips – also known as a salad turnip – very mild and juicy and best eaten raw!

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Hi Friends,

This is the second week of our CSA, so if you are a “B” week member… welcome!  The cool wet weather has been great to work in, and our salad mix, peas and other greens have flourished.  In this week’s bag you will find the following:

• Our Extraordinary Salad Mix (over 20 different types of greens and herbs)  - We like to tear up the larger pieces and then toss the mixture well with a vinagraitte dressing, walnuts, cranberries and goat cheese.
• Asparagus
• Joi Choi or Chard bunch – Rough chop succulent Joi Choi and flash sauté with sesame oil and seasoning. Serve with rice. Chard can be used like kale in many fresh or sautéed  dishes.
• Ruby Currant Jelly  -- similar to a sweet cranberry flavor.
• Kohlrabi – stunning purple cole vegetable. Best peeled and eaten raw…we think!
• Cilantro bunch – excellent in salsas and Thai dishes.
• Sugar snap peas – lovely purple and yellow snap peas. Look for the tender green variety next week for a gorgeous trio of colors and flavors.
• Fresh Rosemary sprig and Thyme bunch – some of our most favorite herbs. The thyme sprigs should be chopped finely, removing any larger stem pieces, and sprinkled as a savory flavor over roasted meats, pastas, scalloped potatoes. Rosemary is delicious seared on the grill with kebobs or cooked with French fries.
• Hakurei turnips – also known as a salad turnip – very mild and juicy and best eaten raw!

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah

Hi Friends,

First delivery of the season, and we are excited by a new season full of possibility and flavor!  This is week A, so check your schedule if you are a half share to see if you are getting a delivery.  If you are a full share, you are lucky to get a bag every Friday for the next 18 weeks!  This May has been just as crazy as every other May we have experienced.  We have been busy planting, planning, mowing, cutting, dealing with extreme weather conditions, and now harvesting.  Our farm was hit by a hailstorm a couple of weeks ago; some of our early greens were destroyed during this powerful storm. This event jumpstarted a backburner vegetable we’ve been wanting to try: microgreens! We are excited to bring you some more unusual items that you can’t just get anywhere.  We try to label or describe as many of the items as possible, but if you get something in your bag and just don’t know what it is, please send us an email and we’ll I.D. the UVB (unidentified vegetable in the bag).  Also the internet is a good resource for recipes for any of the items we put in your bag, but if you have a particularly good recipe, please add it as a comment below this blog listing.  So, now the time we have been waiting for… what’s in the bag?  Chock full of flavor, vitamins and nutrition, we are featuring:

• ·Our Extraordinary Salad Mix (over 20 different types of greens and herbs)  - We like to tear up the larger pieces and then toss the mixture well with a vinagraitte dressing, walnuts, cranberries and goat cheese.
• ·Asparagus
• ·Microgreens – chock full of vitamins and minerals, use on sandwiches, pasta, fresh spring rolls. Plan to use soon! Microgreens do not store long.
• ·Blackberry Jelly  -- enjoy this fruit, as the 2014 season for our blackberries looks grim….many of the berry crowns were set back hard by the severe winter.
• ·Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms – From our first oak-log flush of the season. This batch is on the dry side, so exceptionally tasty. Do not be alarmed when you see a whitish film on mushroom caps – this is a natural spore print from the shiitake. Read our cool label to learn about shiitake!
• · Dried Blue Coco Beans w/ fresh bay leaf – these creamy beans were grown last fall and dried. Soak overnight. Make sure beans are well covered with water and simmer gently with bay leaf until tender, adding water when needed.  Drizzle olive oil and season with salt and pepper – dee-lish.  Bay leaves are from our big bay plant!
• ·Dried Heirloom Tomatoes – Rich in flavor. Soak until tender and add to omelettes, pizza, pasta.
• ·Radishes

Enjoy!

Johnny and Leah 

Hi Friends,

This is the final delivery of the season (sniff, sob); we have seen a fine fall harvest for our CSA family, and hope you have enjoyed all the many types of fruits, vegetables, and shiitake we’ve grown for you! When you pick up your share, please be sure to get both of your bags, which will be labeled with your name.  Please pick up your delivery as soon as possible, because we will have frozen blackberries in the bag!

We spent the last two weeks covering our vegetables with double and triple row covers to keep them alive during the cold nights.  Nature was cooperative, and we will be bringing you some wonderful, fresh produce this week.  Although the cold weather was challenging for some of our crops, for others, it was a benefit.  Our carrots have sweetened in the cold weather, with their starches turning to sugars. Our cabbages have hardly noticed the lower temperatures.  We’re sure you’ll enjoy the harvest this week, and we hope you can feature some of our items in your Thanksgiving dinner.   This week’s bags will include…

• Green Cabbage (a nice juicy, crunchy slaw style)
• Purple Savoy Cabbage (a beautifully colored crinkle head)
• Potatoes (a mix of purple and yellow. Purple sweet potato in same bag.)
• Red Onions
• Small Garlic (in onion bag)
• Spinach (a dark green trophy! We rinsed the bunch once, but you will need to rinse again. VERY tasty just wilted, with a drizzle of sesame oil and seasoning. Powerhouse of vitamins.)
• Winter Squashes (one acorn, one sweet dumpling – we like these best just cut in half, roasted in the oven with a dollop of butter and drizzle of maple syrup. Don’t let these become counter ornaments! East soon – these varieties do not store well.)
• Mixed Daikon Radish and Turnip bag (cut these roots mandolin thin, and marinate them in a sweet vinegar sauce in the fridge. Eat as a salad condiment.)
• Dried Heirloom Tomatoes (we dehydrated these heirloom tomatoes just as soon as we brought them in warm and sun-kissed from the field…VERY sweet. You can eat these as they are, or rehydrate in warm water. Excellent on pizza and lasagna.)
• Frozen Blackberries (plan to put these in the freezer asap unless you eat them over the weekend. Perfect blended with Greek yogurt.)
• Strawberry Jam (we had only a small batch of this delicious spread made, so you all are the happy recipients!)
• Carrots (a taste of rainbow colored fall carrots. Quite sweet.)
• Kohlrabi (1 large, 1 small)
• Korean Purple Sweet Potato (inside top of potato bag…hmmmm?, you might be saying about this unusual tuber. This is an interesting, very pretty –inside -- heirloom Asian sweet potato cultivar that we trialed this year. Slice thinly and fry quickly with a few bread crumbs, olive oil, and seasoning until lightly crisped. Unique!)

Best wishes and aloha until the 2014 farm season!

Johnny and Leah

Hi Friends,

Welcome to the second delivery of our Fall CSA…you are in for another share of amazing cool season foods.  When you pick up your share, please be sure to get both of your bags, which will be labeled with your name.  As we write this, the season’s first frost settles upon us…finally putting to rest the last of the warm season crops, like basil, tomatoes and eggplant. We have the rest of the farm snuggled comfortably under frost protection row cover, to extend the growing season for several items that you will continue to receive. A reminder that anything we provide bagged in plastic needs to be refrigerated, and anything in paper (with the exception of shiitake), should be stored at room temperature. This week’s bags will include…

• White and Red Salad Turnips (eat these raw, or only slightly cooked)
• Radishes (you will find a variety bunch, with Daikon, red and gold radishes)
• Kohlrabi
• Head Lettuce (2 different kinds)
• Lime Green Cauliflower (gorgeous)
• Heirloom Tomatoes (we said the last of these delicacies last time, but we were able to find a few more for each share. Use soon.)
• Shell Beans (this is a mix of white Cannellini beans and the Italian Fuoco beans. Follow instruction card stapled to big brown bag. Use soon as fresh shell beans are perishable. Even if the pod begins to degrade, still shell the beans inside. Must be refrigerated until use!)
• Sweet Fry Peppers
• Hon Tsai Tai (tall Asian greens, excellent barely sautéed or raw in Asian salad)
• Fresh Baby Ginger! (follow instruction label. Just harvested from our greenhouse tonight after growing for 7 months.Some aloha right here in central PA. Beautiful!)
• Shiitake (late flush that provided dense, dry mushrooms loaded with flavor.)
• Parsley bunch (very nutritious – eat raw or cooked.)
• Cilantro bunch (harvested before this frost! Excellent in Mexican and Thai cooking.)
• Flat Salad Cabbage (half head each, as these are large, succulent cabbages. Very sweet, loose-leafed and crunchy)

Happy Eating,

Johnny

Hi Friends,

Welcome to the first week of our Fall CSA.  During the next two months, we will be bringing you a wide variety of our favorite vegetables, and hope you enjoy them as much as we do!  Each delivery (bi-weekly) you will receive two bags.  If you are picking up your share, please be sure to get both of your bags, which will be labeled with your name.  For this first delivery, we are in a “sweet spot,” with one foot in the last of summer (tomatoes, peppers and eggplant) and another foot in fall (broccoli, cauliflower and radishes.)  So you are in for a real treat!  This week’s bags will include…

• Arugula  --we LOVE this spicy green, and eat it raw in salad or topped on pizza.
• Lemongrass  -- a first for us! Excellent in Asian cooking. Look up how to use best, but we would pound stems lightly and simmer in coconut milk for soup or sauce, then discard. They impart a tangy citrus flavor.
• White Salad Turnips
• Radishes
• Kohlrabi
• Head Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Heirloom Tomatoes  -- the last of these delicacies. These are quite ripe, so plan to use right away. If unable to, then chop up, and throw into the freezer for later use in a winter soup.
• Onions
• Garlic
• Shell Beans  -- this Italian variety is gorgeous, as well as delicious. Follow instruction card stapled to big brown bag.
• Sweet Fry Peppers
• Eggplant  -- last of these summer beauties
• Rhubarb Jam (small jar)

Happy Eating,

Johnny

Hi Friends,

This is the final delivery of the 2013 Summer CSA! This was a fairly good growing season, though it became more challenging in late summer with this extended drought.  We hope you have enjoyed all the different varieties of produce we grew for you…several new vegetable trials we will keep in the line-up.  If you are part of our Fall CSA, you’ll be getting more of our food in two weeks.  If you aren’t in the Fall CSA, we hope to have you back for the 2014 season. Thank you for supporting our farm and our growing practices.

This week in your bag…

• Heirloom Tomatoes (the little green grape one is ripe!)
• Head Lettuce
• Parsley (chop and mix in with lettuce for a super nutritious salad)
• Shiitake Mushrooms (finally! With so little rain, our logs have been quiet most of the season.)
• Large Red Onion
• Elderberry Jelly (this is our first year harvesting these berries, so we are excited for you to try this new jelly.)
• Eggplant
• Salad Turnips/Radishes (small bunch)

Peace,

Johnny

Hi Friends,

We are grateful for the rain that finally came last week…all our fall plantings really perked up. We got 1.5 inches rain….the same amount as the farm had received over the last 7 weeks!!  The ginger and figs have been moved into the greenhouse as the nights have been cooler.  We’ve sampled some of the sweet potatoes and they look fabulous, although we won’t be harvesting them for a couple more weeks. 

This week in your bag…

• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Snap Beans (mixture of Rattlesnake and Golden Bacau – very tender and juicy.)
• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
• Red Onions
• Garlic
• Sweet Fry Peppers (Fushimi and Carmen Red)
• Rhubarb Jam (Leah’s favorite!)

Peace,

Johnny

If you are interested in eating 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, though it is quite dry (think rain!).  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 LOOP garage, Muncy and Lewisburg home deliveries.  Times will be roughly the same. 

The Nitty Gritty…

4  Friday Delivery Dates – Oct 11, Oct 25, Nov 8 and Nov 22

Cost – $240 ($60 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 $240 by Oct. 1.  If it is easier for you, send us a $120 check dated Oct. 1 and a $120 check dated Nov. 1  We have a limited number of shares available, so sign up soon!

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

Hi Friends,

We have been enjoying the glorious rain we received over the past 2 days! Hooray! Our heirloom tomatoes continue to be spectacular and supersweet from the dry weather this summer. We have been eating them everyday.  In your bag you will find several different varieties, with different colors, shapes and flavors.  We grow over 30 distinct varieties that are not grown commercially.  Local tomato season only lasts a limited time, so ENJOY!

If you haven’t signed up for our Fall CSA, this is your last chance.  We have some great crops coming on.

This week in your bag…

• Heirloom Tomatoes
• Snap Beans (mixture of Dragon, Rattlesnake and Golden Bacau – very tender and juicy. Leah simply sautéed them in browned butter and Italian salt until tender; they are so tasty!)
• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
• Yellow Onions
• Garlic
• Cilantro
• Eggplant (come in a variety of shapes and colors – do not need to be salted or peeled. Leah simply cuts into chunks and fries it up with onion, sprouted corn tortillas, peppers, brown sugar and hot spices, and serves over rice with sour cream dollop and lime juice)

Peace,

Johnny

Hi Friends,

We are enjoying this much cooler weather on the farm, though the conditions on our farm continue to be dry and drier (we’ve gotten only 1.3 inches of rain total in the last 6 weeks…boo hoo).  We have had numerous loads of water delivered to the farm for irrigating and the crops have benefitted, but we REALLY need some rain! 

We have included in your bag this week an announcement of a special dinner at the Inn at Turkey Hill in Bloomsburg (we’ve supplied much of the Inn’s seasonal produce for many years now).  The Inn’s executive chef, Matt Revak will be featuring our vegetables for a unique multi-course dinner, including dessert, paired with selections of PA wines.  We will give a short presentation about our farm and our farming techniques during the hors d’oeuvres and cocktail portion of the evening.   If you are interested, please be sure to make a reservation, and let us know you are attending so we can be sure to stop by your table and say hi. 

Incredibly, there are only four deliveries left for our summer CSA (including this delivery), but have no fear… information on our fall CSA will be emailed out this weekend, so check out the delicious fall options that will be available in Oct and Nov.

This week in your bag…

• Heirloom Tomatoes (an assortment that comes in several colors, shapes and shapes. Their colors will continue to deepen as they ripen)
• Basil Bunch
• Snap Beans (mixture of Dragon, Rattlesnake and Golden Bacau – very tender and juicy. Leah simply sautéed them in browned butter and Italian salt until tender; they are so tasty!)
• Red Cabbage --half share or Green Loose wrap Cabbage – full share (we love this tender cabbage…it is like a crunchy lettuce.)
• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
• Pepper
• Eggplant (come in a variety of shapes and colors – do not need to be salted or peeled. Leah simply cuts into chunks and fries it up with onion, sprouted corn tortillas, peppers, brown sugar and hot spices, and serves over rice with sour cream dollop and lime juice)
• Summer Squash

Peace,

Johnny

Hi Friends,

Heirlooms!  That’s all I’ve got to say…

OK, I have a few other things to say!  If you enjoy our heirloom tomatoes at home, dine on them at some of our favorite area restaurants that feature these beauties.  Kathy’s Café in Hughesville is preparing our tomatoes in a variety of ways.  Leah thought her open-faced tuna melt served on top of a big slice of heirloom tomato, then broiled, was fabulous. You will find a business card on your bag this week for The Grist Mill, the bakery brainchild of Kathy’s Café – check it out if you are looking for fabulous pies and pastries (they made some killer blackberry pies this summer with our berries).  Cherry Alley Café will be making their delicious stuffed heirloom tomato plates.  The Stream Café, a new restaurant in downtown Lewisburg, also is featuring our products, prepared fresh and tasty.  Be sure to stop by sometime and check them out – they do their best to support local farmers. 

This week in your bag…

• Heirloom Tomatoes (an assortment that comes in several colors, shapes and shapes. Their colors will continue to deepen as they ripen)
• Basil Bunch (a must have for a thick tomato sandwich with mayo and cracked pepper, preferably on Gemelli bread!)
• Snap Beans (mixture of Dragon, Royal Burgundy, Rattlesnake and Golden Bacau – very tender and juicy)
• Red Cabbage
• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
• Head Lettuce (remember that these are tender and not rinsed)
• Summer Squash
• Eggplant (come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. These are tender delicious eggplant, and do not need to be salt-soaked to drain bitterness or be peeled. Beware their prickly caps!) This week we cut them into large medallions and broiled them with olive oil and seasoned salt – and ate them right of the pan!.

Peace,

Johnny