The Depot Farm

Low in calories, high in taste, this recipe is great as a side dish or the main course!

Cut carrots and butternut squash into slivers about 1/8 inch by 2-2 1/2" long ( about 1 cup of each). Dice some onion (1/4 cup) and red peppers (1/4 cup); add ingredients to a pan along with  some edible pod peas (a hand full) and some fresh shelled sweet peas. Add a little veggie stock and cook 3-5 minutes. In another sauce pan, heat 1/2 cup veggie stock and add flour or corn starch mixing until lump free and making a "gravy consistency" sauce. pour veggies over the white sauce; season with garlic powder, salt and pepper and heat an additional 2 minutes. Serve.

This soup is simple, yet filling and tastes great!

Cook 1/4 cup chopped onions and 1/4 cup finely chopped carrots in a pot with a little vegetable stock for about 5 minutes or until onions are transparent. Add 1 can lentil beans, 1/4 teaspoon tyme and 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer 1/2 hour. Serve with crackers or toasted bread. Enjoy!

With snow and cold finally here; we've turned our full attention to inside work and planning. Inventory has been completed, gardens have been tentatively laid out, seeds and supplies ordered and paperwork updated. Our CSA info should be ready by the end of the month and sent to existing customers and posted for new clients to review. As we budget our expenses for the coming season we will be looking to upgrade and add to our equipment. A small pony tiller along with a new, larger trailer would be beneficial in the fields and make some tasks easier. While we always add/replace some hand tools each year, we also look at what will get us the most "bang for the buck". Now is the time to compare and shop for items before we get busy and have limited time to evaluate them. Winter pruning and fence repair will begin next month along with reorganizing the tool shed and cold frame. Before too long, the new season will be upon us!

 With Thanksgiving just around the corner, here is a great side dish for the feast, or as a main meal for vegetarian friends.

1 package cheese tortelinni

1 can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh spinach

1 1/2 teaspoon basil

2 garlic cloves (chopped and crushed)

2 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

While the tortelinni is cooking, add tomatoes, spinach and garlic to a saucepan and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the milk, parmesan cheese, basil and flour to the pan and heat on medium until mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Drain tortelinni (do not rinse), add into the sauce and stir to coat.

The growing season is coming to an end. Temps in the low 30's at night and a couple inches of snow last week has killed most crops not protected with row covers. The CSA ended a couple of weeks ago and I would like to thank all that participated. Your support and patronage made it an exceptional year! We still have a few more weeks at the farmers markets where we will be offering leaf lettuce, kale, carrots, beets, turnips, broccoli and squashes. Cleanup of the gardens continue as we put the beds to rest for another year. We are composting the plant debris and adding leaves and straw to the bare beds to prevent soil erosion over the winter. Soil tests have been taken; fencing and hoops were removed and stored along with all the tools. While the primary task of planting and harvesting may be ending, winter affords us the time to plan for next year, perform maintainance and to get to projects that were put on the back burner completed.

  Some crops don't need to be processed to preserve them for the winter. Winter squash will keep 4-6 months easily with a little prep before storing them away. Only choose blemish free fruits that are ripe completely for longer storage. Leave the stem on the squash, cut to 1/2 inch length and check for any bruising or soft spots. The skins of the fruit are still quite soft yet and require curing to harden the shell completely. Gently clean the fruit off and wipe them with vinegar. Place in a single layer outdoors in a shady area and allow them to "cure" for 2-3 weeks. Don't cover them except to protect them from a frost; allow the air to circulate. To store them; wipe away any moisture on the skin, stack gently in baskets so as to not bruise or puncture the shells and place in a cool location. Inspect the fruits every 2-3 weeks throughout the winter and discard any that seem soft or discolored. Don't allow them to freeze.

  This recipe is great on a hot day. No cooking; quick and easy and keeps in the fridge. Put the following ingredients in a blender or food processor:

• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 cup onion
• 1/2 cup sweet peppers
• 2 or 3 cloves fresh garlic
• 1/2 can cooked spinach
• 3 or 4 mushroom caps
• 2 sprigs fresh basil leaves chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano leaves

Drain spinach and beans before adding to blender (use a little veggie stock if mixture seems too thick after mixing) and blend all ingredients on puree until smooth.

Cool in covered container until ready to serve.

To serve: pour into bowls. Garnish with small sprig of basil and nasturtium flower. (add a dollop of sour cream if you like!)  Add some French bread and fresh green salad and enjoy!

  This is a staple salad at my house in the heat of the summer. Mix together chopped zuchinni, sweet onions, carrots, celery, eggplant and cherry tomatoes in bowl with a little olive oil and season with fresh basil and oregano. Chill well and serve with ice tea and and thinly sliced french bread. Enjoy!

  I am finally updating the growing season this year. Although it has been extremely wet, the early crops did remarkably well. Lettuces, radishes, bok choy and chard seemed to thrive this year. While the last of the peas were harvested last week, the beans and summer squash are coming into stride. Cucumbers should be ready in a week or two, followed by tomatoes a week later. All the winter squashes are growing well ( no sign of cucumber beetles), along with the white corn and the leeks. Onions and garlic are ready to start harvesting as well as beets. We've been mulching heavily to control weeds and conserve the moisture. Row covers on the broccoli has kept the cabbage moths at bay. Soy beans and celery look good as well as the dry beans. We are beginning to plant our fall crops (turnips, rutabagas, daikon radishes) as well as a cover crop of buckwheat in areas to be left fallow. Although it is too early to plant our fall lettuces and spinach, we will begin preparing the beds as they open up in anticipation of planting later in August and September. Seems like there is always something to do.

 One thing I enjoy is a simple veggie drink once or twice a day, extra vitamins never hurt. I simply chop one cucumber (including skin), A stalk of celery, a hand full of lettuce, 1 clove garlic and 4-5 cherry tomatoes ( add a pepper if you want to make the drink sweeter.) Place into a blender with about 1/2 cup of water and blend the mixture. I strain the liquid through a sieve to remove the pulp and pour into a glass and enjoy. It's a great pick-me-up to start the day.

  We have been busy planting our early crops as well as starting seeds in the green house for successive plantings. Another week when the weather is more predictable, we plan to begin to begin warm weather plantings in the ground of squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and celery. Compost has been worked into the soil as well as other amendments as needed. We plan to place row covers over our seedlings to protect against insects and well as lessen transplant shock for a few weeks. Later in the year we will add straw mulch to conserve water and lessen weed growth.

  The farmers markets opened last week (Alden and Holland) with fairly steady crowds for the first markets of the year. We were the first farm selling leaf lettuce, asparagus, radishes, spinach and kale. It was also the first week of our CSA pickups. It was good to see old friends and new ones; everyone was glad to get the first farm fresh produce of the year.

  Chop some onion, peppers and broccoli florets into 1/4 inch pieces. Crush 3-4 cloves garlic and cook all in a saucepan with a little vegetable stock until tender. Add chopped spinach and diced tomatoes to the pan and heat through. Place cooked rotelli in a casserole dish; pour mixture from the skillet over pasta and mix. Add cheese and a little more veggie stock if you like. Season with oregano and basil and place  covered in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!  note: I use about 1/2 cup of each of the ingredients and 2 cups pasta to make 2-3 servings. Adjust the quantities to your needs.

  March is always time of transition on the farm. Warmer temps melt the snow and turn any bare patch into mud. Optimism is in the air. While having started some long season vegetables indoors, it's still too early to propagate most yet. Basic maintainance and repairs on the equipment continue and some pieces are being replaced after a long life. The overall hard winter (snow and extreme cold) has created a large amount of repair work to the fences and the cold frame. The snow is still too deep to attempt any projects outside of the plowed areas in the yard. If you walk off the beaten down paths, you sink into 2 1/2 ft. snow. Spring will be here soon enough. I'm content doing what I can when the weather allows.

This year's CSA signup is progressing ahead of schedule, most people from last year are returning again, and some new faces are joining our family. I always look forward to renewing friendships and making new ones. We have added some new varieties this year and will try some different veggies to add to the mix. Feedback from our members always help guide our planting. Being a small farm, we try to cater to our member's tastes. Variety and selection help to keep the weekly pickups fresh with different foods and textures throughout the season. Happy growing!

To break away from the normal salads made with raw lettuce, I broil or grill my romaine lettuce to add a different texture and flavor for variety. Using romaine hearts, I slice them in half lengthwise leaving to core to hold the leaves together. Baste the cut edges with a creamy salad dressing like Ranch or Caesar. Place on the grill cut edge down or in the broiler basted edge up. Broil for about 2 minutes, watching them carefully (they will burn quickly) until the edges are browned. Transfer onto plates and drizzle a little more salad dressing over them. Serve with toasted garlic bread.

Hi All! This is an easy recipe for Vegan Pea Soup. It's great to make on a cold, snowy day when all you want to do is sit by the wood stove and stay warm.

Chop 1/2 onion and 1celery stalk; cook in a little vegetable stock for about 5 minutes or until tender. Open and drain 1 can sweet peas. Put 1 1/2 cups veggie stock in a blender; add peas, the cooked onion and celery pieces and blend until almost smooth (add more stock if too thick). Return to pot, season with pepper and heat on medium stove until warm. Serve with crackers and parsley garnish.