Salamander Springs Farm/Permaculture Organics

Permaculture in Practice workshops at Salamander Springs Farm are not posted on social media, etc.  Salamander Springs is an entirely off-grid and remote farm without internet; we appreciate your patience with email replies!  If you would like to get on the workshop notification email list, press "email us" our our Local Harvest home page. Give us your name with your email contact, your city/state and any specific interests.  Susana also teaches for other organizations and conferences in many states and other on-farm events which are sent to the email contact list when possible. Monthly 2-3 hour farm tours are a great introduction to the farm and the principles in practice.  For information on the monthly "2nd Saturday" farm tours, go back to our Local Harvest home page.

Permaculture in Practice workshops at Salamander Springs Farm:

Learnto rely on local resources & energy, to create fertile, living soil with permanent beds, hugelcultur, contour swales, ponds, rainwater catchment, greywater & spring water systems, perennial food polycultures, 3 Sisters cornfields, no-till staple crops (patterned on Masanobu Fukuoka’s work), poultry forage, cover crops… 

Experience a passive solar shower, humanure toilet, solar food dehydrator, earthen floors, building with clay, straw, salvage & local lumber, passive solar tiny house.  

Enjoy wild forage, forest medicinals, veggies, fruits, nuts, grains, dry beans & herbs grown, processed, preserved & fermented on the farm.

Learn about Salamander Springs and Susana Lein in the permaculture documentary film, INHABIT (translated into 7 languages), thepermaculturepodcast.com, articles in Mother Earth News, Orion and Permaculture Design magazines, Cornell University’s Small Farm Quarterly, and in features by organizations for which Lein has taught, including the Stone Barns Center (NY), Southern Sustainable Agriculture and North American Biodynamic Association conferences .  Return to our Local Harvest home page for links to these sites and publications.

Lein received her PDC at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Australia, worked 8 years with small farmers in Latin America and has practiced permaculture for 26 years. She has taught more than 80 permaculture & natural building workshops, on-farm and for organizations in 9 states and 4 countries. Entirely off-grid, Salamander Springs Farmgrows for local markets, stores and restaurants, CSA shares and Local Harvest online store.

For detailed information with photos and ppt teaching slides of Salamander Springs Farm, see www.flickr.com/photos/salamanderspringsfarm/sets.

We'll be back to the Berea Market the following Saturday, April 15, but not certain about April 22.  I will be in NC for a nephew's wedding, so it depends on how comfortable the new farm apprentices feel with taking the reigns!

7th annual Permaculture in Practice Workshop

September 17-18, 2016

at SALAMANDER SPRINGS FARM!

in the beautiful Clear Creek valley south of Berea, KY

Salamander Springs Farm is an entirely off-grid, solar-powered farm & homestead built from scratch since 2002. We produce organic veggies, grains, dry beans, nuts, fruits, flowers & herbs for market, CSA, local stores and online sale–by cycling local energy, nutrients & resources.
Workshop runs Saturday 9 a.m. to Sunday 5 p.m. and includes 4 local gourmet meals, tent camping, yoga, solar shower, compost toilet, spring water, cold tub & waterfall! We provide small group practicums for special interests of participants and detailed handouts based on 25 years of practice.

Learn to cycle local resources & energy to create fertile, living soil without tillage, establish polycultures, perennial and no-till staple crops, poultry forage, diverse cover crops, hugelcultur, contour swales, ponds, rice paddies, rainwater catchment, grey water & spring water systems. Experience off-grid living, humanure, passive solar design, earthen floors, solar electricity, building with salvage, local lumber, clay & straw.  Learn about food preservation, fermentation & solar dehydrating and much more!

Salamander Springs Farm has offered more than 70 permaculture immersion apprenticeships & 80 workshops in permaculture & natural building to provide skills training through hands-on, participatory learning. 

Learn more about Salamander Springs Farm and owner Susana Lein in the 2015 permaculture documentary film, INHABIT, now translated in 6 languages, www.thepermaculturepodcast.com, articles in Mother Earth News, Orion and Permaculture Activist magazines, and online features by farming organizations for which Lein has taught, including the Stone Barns Center (NY) Southern Sustainable Agriculture and North American Biodynamic Association. conferences. Lein built Salamander Springs Farm from scratch on a depleted Appalachian ridge near Berea, KY, and has practiced permaculture for over 25 years. She received her PDC from Max Lindegger, designer of Crystal Waters Permaculture Village in Australia, worked 8 years with small farmers in Latin America and has taught for organizations in 9 states and 4 countries. See Salamander Springs Farm webpage www.LocalHarvest.org/farms/M5606 and www.flickr.com/photos/salamanderspringsfarm/sets for photos & ppt slides on Salamander Springs Farm.

REGISTRATION CLOSES SEPT 10.Sliding scale: $180-$240 covers meals, preparation & supplies.  TO REGISTER by US Mail: send:  NAME, ADDRESS, E-MAIL, TELEPHONE & CHECK payable to  SALAMANDER SPRINGS Workshops, P.O Box 354, Berea, KY 40403

To check availability of spots CALL 859-893- 3360 or email us at: www.LocalHarvest.org/farms/M5606. Register early as workshops fill quickly.  Work trades available for limited income folks. If you can contribute more to help sponsor another thank you!

1 bunch GREEN ONIONS (SCALLIONS)

1-2 # NEW POTATOES

KOHRABI or RADISHES

6 oz bag CHARD or KALE

CSAers,

It was great to see some of you out for our Corn Harvest & Husking Party last weekend!  Thanks to all the harvesters & huskers the corn is all out of the fields and drying down in the crib.  With a couple dry weeks, we should be milling and selling cornmeal at the market and Happy Meadow grocery by the end of the month.  Thanks also to the operators of our 1904 International Harvester corn sheller, much of the popcorn has been shelled and winnowed! 

Hard to believe that this Saturday marks our last CSA pick-up of the season!  As a thank you for being the backbone of support for this the farm, we'll be including some extra sweet potatoes to tide you through the winter!

Susana will be out of state teaching workshops quite a bit this winter, but in between times, we hope to see you at the winter market.  Also look for our products at Happy Meadow Natural Foods.

Cheers to you all,

Susana and crew 

P.S. There is a possibility we'll be joining the 21st century in the next few months by getting internet at the farm, so next season these posts may be more frequent!

Hello CSAers,

Just wanted to remind you as we told all of you at last week's market we will not be at the market this Saturday 29th--last season's apprentices (Jacob & Faye) are having their wedding celebration on Saturday.

We will deliver your CSA share to your door either Friday p.m on the 28th or early Saturday morning 29th!  If you have a preference, give us a call.  

Thanks for hanging with us through this long and rainy season.  Yeah for the sunshine!

Susana, Heather, Lucie and new Salamander Springs Farm WWOOFers, Jacob & Avraham! 

P.S. Because September 12-13 is our Permaculture in Practice workshop at Salamander Springs Farm, we will likely move the CSA pick-up that Saturday to the Tuesday market following that weekend, September 15.

Hello CSAers,

Look forward to seeing you at the market today! Some of you started using your 2015 CSA share at last Saturdays market, but I wanted to let the rest of you know that you can start anytime - unlike past years, when pick-up was tweekly 6 months (mid-May to mid- October).

At the market today we have spring salad greens, a wonderful stir-fry mix with chard, kale, Joi choi and small turnip greens, as well as big bunches of Joi Choi Chinese cabbage which is sweet and succulent briefly stir-fried or sauteed with onions. garlic, meat or other veggies.. also great for Kim Chi!  We also have fresh herbs as well as the dried packaged ones, pepper, okra, and oregano plants (tomatoes sold out last week), packaged cornmeal, dry beans and popcorn, luffa sponges, comfrey/calendula salve, dried chilis, heirloom corn & bean seed... Look forward to seeing you at the market.

A note for the new CSA members - since we are off-grid, remote and not internet connected, we aren't able to write in this CSA blog every week, but you can check out past seasons by the date/month to get an idea of what we'll have through the season--plus great recipes and nutritional information!

Bring your rain jackets...but put out your laundry 'cuz we need the rain!

Susana and crew

Salamander Springs Farm offers a unique “Shopper’s Basket” CSA.  Shareholders support the farm with their membership investment at the beginning of the season and decide how they want use their share during the season, filling their basket each week with the bounty of fresh produce & products. They enjoy a wide range fruits, vegetables, herbs, grains & more from our diverse permaculture farm. We reserve limited items or quantities of produce for freezing or canning and fill special requests for our CSA members.

During the season we invite our CSA members to come to the farm to see how healthy, living soil produces nutrient rich food! for special events such as our monthly farm tours, workshops and gatherings.

2015 CSA SHARES are $650 for 6 months of harvests from May 16 to October 17.  Pick up at the Berea Farmers Market.  To reserve a share, call Susana at 859-893-3360 or press "EMAIL US" on the Salamander Springs Farm website (www.localharvest.org/farms/M5606)

To learn about the farm and the diversity of crops we grow, read our CSA newsletter BLOG from past seasons at http://www.localharvest.org/blog/5606/

Salamander Springs Farm is an off-grid, non-mechanized farm in the Clear Creek Valley south of Berea, built from scratch using permaculture design principles, local inputs and resources. All crops are produced without tillage, purchased fertilizers or pesticides of any kind. Buildings utilize local lumber, clay & fibers, as well aa solar electricity and heating.

View permaculture teaching slides and photos of natural building workshops at Salamander Springs Farm (2001-2014): http://www.flickr.com/photos/28998021@N02/sets/

www.localharvest.org/farms/M5606websitewww.localharvest.org/store/M5606online store

ABOUT COMMUNITY SHARED AGRICULTURE: Recognizing the significant odds against small farmers in an industrial food economy, CSA programs were developed to help communities directly support local farms, sharing in both their risks & benefits. CSA shares are an investment in a stronger and more stable local food economy; they help alleviate the risks and cover the up-front production costs at the most difficult time in the season for small independent farmers. In turn CSA members are provided a direct, transparent relationship to truly healthy food. Shareholders also experience the joys and health benefits of learning new ways of eating locally and seasonally, such as freezing, canning or drying local food for the winter.

Time to fill your CSA Shoppers' Basket, CSA members!

We are looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at the Tuesday's Farmers' Market (3-6 p.m. beside the Berea College Farm Store on N. Main Street).   Use any amount of your share you want.  We'll weigh & add up your selections for you and can keep the tally at the market if you like.  We'll have:

-Green onions (both scallion & knob onion size)

-Leeks

-Garlic scapes!

-Spring salad mix

-Arugula!

-Stir fry greens - flavorful mix of PacCoy, Tatsoi, Kale, Chard, Radish, Pea shoots, scallions & herbs

-Kale & Chard

-Snap peas! (5 oz. bags)

-Radishes

-Parslsy

-Nettles (fresh)!

-Fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, rosemary, peppermint, etc.

-and our dried grains & beans and other processed, dried & value-added products...

Several items are limited so come early for the best selection.  Based on last season's preferences, we will hold back a bag of salad plus some other greens for each CSA shareholder. If you want more than one bag or want us to hold back any other items until you arrive, call us at (859)-893-3360.    

Let us know at the market which items you'll "always" want, if available.  Last season's blog posts are a good reference for the produce in season each week (along with great nutritional info & recipes).  If time is limited, we may only bring some those items at the request our CSA members.

If you have any questions about your Shoppers' Basket CSA share this season, let us know (also see our previous blog post).

We have been busy busy busy with planting!  We are planting the cornfield and the dry beanfield this week.  Most other crops are in the ground now, except the heat loving okra, eggplant and sweet potatoes, which are still hanging out in the cold frame until the cool nights are a bit less cool...

Look forward to seeing you Tuesday,

Susana, Jacob & Faye

"Shoppers' Basket CSAers,

Its been a busy week--everything is wanting to go in the ground at the same time! 

We will be at the First Friday celebration tomorrow night in Old Town from 5-8 p.m. with spring salad greens, scallions (green onions), fresh nettles, the much coveted & delicious ramps (wild leeks) from our forest.  We'll also have some plants for sale and our dried goods.  If you miss the First Friday event, come Saturday morning for the Grand Opening of the Farmers' Market from 9-12 a.m., which is now on the lawn beside the Berea College Farm store on north Main Street.

You are welcome to begin using your "Shoppers' Basket" CSA share this weekend even if the official season is May 27 to October 21.  Over the 5 month season, your $650 investment gives you about $130 worth of produce each month (we're not factoring in the discount for those who paid by April 1).  Months vary between 4 or 5 weeks.  You don't need to use your share equally each week, since less is available during the first weeks of the season, and some of you expressed interest getting more produce to process for winter use.  We will weigh out your items for you and can keep your tally at the market if you wish. 

Because some items are limited, you will want to get to the market early each Tuesday.  If you can't be there early, just call and we'll set aside produce for you.    

You have entrusted us to grow your food this season and likewise we entrust you to equitably divide up & tally your use of your investment over the season!

from your Salamander Springs Farmers,
 Susana, Jacob & Faye, and our newest WWOOFer, Becca

Today is the last CSA delivery and also Salamander Springs Farm's last Farmers’ Market of the season - so if you need to stock up for the winter, today is the day!   Since it is bit a cold and damp from the rain, we will be closing up by 6 pm, so try to arrive before then.  We would love your feedback on the season--what you have liked or not, what you would like more or less...what you have learned...  Feel free talk to me at the market today, send comments by email, or call & come out to the farm!

Winter is coming...with last weekends’ frosts, many crops have died back.  Some are hanging on with row covers, and the low tunnel hoop houses need to be moved back on the fall & winter crops...many staple crops to get out, especially the cornmeal cornfield.   I hope to have cornmeal corn dried enough to shell and grind by early November.  There are also lots of pintos & black turtle beans to shell & winnow & package in the coming months.   As you know, Salamander Springs Farm sells the staple grains & dry beans through the Local Harvest webstore, but you can avoid their fees & charges by ordering it directly from the farm--just give a call!  Also if you'd like to come out for a sunny afternoon in the next several weeks to help with corn harvest, shucking & shelling - in exchange a good meal and perhaps some dry beans or cornmeal corn?

Thank you for supporting Salamander Springs Farm this season!   Salamander Springs Farm will continue to sell at Happy Meadow in Berea & Good Foods Co-op in Lexington.  To show our gratitude for your support, we are loading you up with an extra bounty of produce this week! 

HERE'S WHAT'S IN YOUR BOX:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & CHEESE PUMPKINS!  Choose any 2 at the market: 

“Ponca Baby” Butternuts are a short squat variety suited for today’s smaller families.  They were lucky to be earlier this season, as many of the squash & pumpkins went in late with the cornmeal corn field in the cold rainy spring. 

Cheese pumpkins are actually related to Butternuts, with sweet, nutty flesh--not stringy like orange pumpkins (see my info at the bottom about making pumpkin pie).  These beauties are called “Cheese Pumpkins” because they look like the traditional old rounds of cheese, which were cut similarly in wedges.   Autumn is time for roasted squash, pumpkin pie, and soup.  See my favorite squash/pumpkin soup recipe below!

CABBAGE OR BROCCOLI!   The fall crop is just starting so the heads are still small, but everyone gets one!

SWEET PEPPERS – a wide selection of Bell peppers and flavorful Italian varieties, including Jimmy Nardello's Roasting, Carmen, Corno di Toro sweet peppers, both green & colored.   Sweet peppers are easily chopped & frozen to use this winter and next spring; if you’d like to stock up, we'll have more at today’s market!

SALAD MIX - Tender crisp lettuce mix with Mizuna & flowers - savor the tender crispness of cool fall weather with those homemade salad dressing recipes we posted back in May!  Some of our less hardy lettuces & greens got bit by the frosts this last weekend, but most have recovered.  Time to move the low tunnel hoop houses back onto the fall/winter beds!

STIR FRY MIX:  Flavor-packed mix of Kale, Chard, Dandelion, Daikon, Mustard & Mizuna!

FIGS or JUJUBE DATES!  The fig trees produced about half as many as last year's hotter season; being close to a pond, they didn’t get burned by last weekend’s frosts so we may get few more before a freeze stops them cold.   Jujube “date apples” as their name means in Chinese, taste like little apples fresh, and then wrinkle up nice & chewily like a date as they dry.  They ripen in the dry cold fall and begin to dehydrate into dates right on the tree.  We dehydrate them for long-term use in the solar dehydrator on the farm.  See info below about the nutritional and medicinal benefits of Jujubes!

HARDY CITRUS FRUITS!  What are those little citrus balls in my box, you say?  This is KY’s answer to local lemon juice or zest!  This hardy "Trifoliate Orange” tree produces many of these seedy little fruit every year on its wicked thorny branches.  They are sour, like lemon juice and mostly seeds--it takes a few of them to get a tablespoon of juice!  The most you can expect I guess from a citrus tree this far north...

HEIRLOOM SWEET POTATOES - mix of Bradshaw Red & O’Henry White:  several bigger ones + a bag of tender shoots for stir fries or roasted veggies.  Enjoy the sweet flavor and tenderness of these old time heirloom varieties, whether baked with butter & salt, chopped for stir-fries, soups or last weeks’ easy recipe for yummy oven-roasted “Home Fries.”   Never refrigerate sweet potatoes--these sub-tropical beauties hate cold keep best at room temperature.

ZUCCHINI OR SUMMER SQUASH- savor the last the last tender fruits of the season, harvested before the frost bit--Italian Costata Romanesco zucchini, Patty Pan (Scallopini) or straight neck summer squash.

YELLOW STORAGE ONIONS – down to the smallest ones now; they will store into the early spring.

HOT PEPPERS - Take a selection to warm up with on these chilly fall evenings, and put some flavor in your RECIPES.   We have Límon, Thai, Habanero, Jalapeno, green chilis and Cayenne.  If you are not into hot peppers but want some spice & flavor, we have Sweet Banana & Paprika peppers - or take an extra sweet pepper!

NETTLES, PARSLEY OR BASIL -  select your your choice.  For a medicinal nutrient-rich boost, take a quart bag of fresh nettles; read back to our May 22 posting for the amazing benefits of nettles and how to use them! Parsley's nutritional benefits were also posted in May.  If you'd prefer Basil, we have a couple bags -the last of the season, harvested Saturday night before frost descended to burn the plants!

BREAD & GOODIES from Clementine Bakery - Cheers and gratitude to Drew & Lindsey for a tasty season!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK:

Susana’s favorite Pumpkin Soup!

You can also use Butternut squash for this recipe.  Make ahead for the holidays - it freezes well!
Halve a cheese pumpkin with a big knife along grooves, scoop out seeds, then quarter it (cut more wedges)   Place pieces in roasting pan with some water, cover & roast about 45 min at 375°F.  If it’s a big pumpkin, you can eat some roasted (yummy with rosemary, salt & butter).  Scoop out and save about 6 cups (mashed into measuring cup).

Saute in a soup stockpot about 5 minutes while stirring:
2 T olive oil      

1 medium onion, chopped      

2 stalks celery, chopped    

 2 cloves garlic, minced   

Add:    

2 T freshly grated ginger root

1/2 t turmeric (I also use fresh turmeric. Autumn is also ginger & turmeric season-we just harvested ours!)    

2 t curry powder

1/4 t crushed red peppers  (I dry & crush Cayenne chilis)  

1 t ground cumin    

1 t coriander

Lower flame and saute another 5 minutes.  Add pumpkin and stir to coat with spices.  Cook 5 more minutes while stirring to keep from browning.
Add:  

4 cups hot vegetable or chicken broth mixed with 1T sorghum or brown sugar.
Reduce heat & simmer 20 minutes until soft & creamy.  Mash with potato masher (or purée in a food processor if you want it really smooth).

You can now set aside or freeze in a tupperware until ready to serve!

Reheat gently and stir in:

1/2 cup heavy cream, milk or coconut milk.
Sir over heat a few minutes until warm and serve sprinkled with garnish--cream/chives/cilantro/pecans...   

CHEESE PUMPKIN AS A SOUP TUREEN! You can also roast one of these beautiful cheese pumpkins WHOLE - with a lid cut out and emptied of seeds.  Place it at center of table filled with pumpkin soup!  

PUMPKIN PIE SECRETS!

Do not use Curcubita pepo sp. varieties like the standard orange Halloween pumpkins which cook up stringy, insipid, and watery!  Curcubita moschata sp. varieties like Cheese pumpkin or Butternut squash make a better custard:  they have smooth grained, dense, richly orange colored flesh
and are higher in nutrients and sugars.    

Cut pumpkin or squash into large wedges and oven-roast in a covered roasting pan with enough water to cook until soft (about 45 min.). You can also cube and cook in a pot of water.  Allow cooked pumpkin to completely drain and cool, then puree in a food processor.
For every 2 cups of pureed pumpkin, add 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/2 tsp. salt and other pie spices if you like. You're essentially making a custard;  add 2 eggs, 1 cup whole milk or light cream and 3/4 cup sugar.

Blend well and pour into a deep unbaked pie crust.
Bake in preheated 350° F oven for 45 minutes+ depending on your oven and depth of your pie.  Check the center for firmness of the custard filling toward the end of the baking time.  
Don't let it over cook or scorch.  ENJOY with fresh cream, whipped in a blender.  Happy Holidays!

ABOUT Dried JUJUBE “DATES” from Salamander Springs Farm:
Treasured throughout the Orient and in Asian, Indian & health food stores in the USA, these apple-flavored Chinese jujube fruit contain 18 of the 24 essential amino acids!  Jujube (Zizyphus jujuba) is a drought-tolerant tree hardy as far north as Zone 6.  We harvest fruits as they turn red-brown in October and dry in our solar dehydrator. 
Jujube extract is used in Chinese traditional medicine for it’s detoxifying, anti-carcinogenic properties and for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia.  Jujube saponins have been found to have calming and sedative properties.  Research of jujube extract at Osaka University, Japan, found anti-cancer activity in “decreased viability and differential cell cycle arrest of human hepatoma (HepG2) cells.”

Dear CSAers: 

Next week is the last delivery of the season!   We would love your feedback on the season--what you have liked or not, what you would like more or less...what you have learned...  Feel free to share with us at the market or by email.

We finished the popcorn harvest and started the cornmeal corn with a harvest & shucking party at Salamander Springs Farm last Saturday.  Thank you to all who participated!  We were blessed with visits from friends from FL and Philadelphia Adina Lehrmann, Mark Stanley and Aaron Birke, as well as 2012 farm apprentices Bethany Cook, who has been ever helpful here while continuing to farm in Berea at Lazy 8 Stock Farm, and Brian Wong arrived from Nashville to surprise us!   And our mid-summer WWOOFer David Veltzer stopped for a visit on his way back to NJ from the west coast - you'll get to say hello to him at today’s market! 

“Sowing Winter Wheat & Cover Crops”  - a note from Mirra

    This week we sowed a cover crop of winter wheat, crimson clover, and a mix of mustard, daikon radish and turnip seeds.  Susana and I cast these seeds over the bean field. Since the black bean and pinto harvest, the field has been filled up with cowpea and buckwheat cover crop (except where the chickens are currently situated, pecking and scratching).  There is a real technique to sowing the seed.  It requires a rhythm and a confidence.  Pay attention with each step, so that the field receives even coverage. The work is healing for mind, body, and soul.
    We shook the wheat & other seeds down through the living cowpea & buckwheat plants as we walked through the field, seeking out mature yellowing seed pods for next year’s cowpea crop!
    Buckwheat and cowpeas tag-teamed the field this past season in the effort to constantly feed and protect the vitality of the soil. We sowed them to bring coverage after the chickens scratched out each section of the field. The “ Iron & Clay” cowpeas are really good at thriving in hot summer temperatures, breaking into harder soils and fixing nitrogen from the air to help the soils thrive. Buckwheat is eager to germinate and so it makes way for the cowpea seed. The duo have been awesome helpers.
    Well, it has been another full day here at Salamander Springs Farm, full of the learning that I came here hungry for... Thanks for reading!
-mirra e.

THIS WEEK IN YOUR BOX!

Broccoli!  Our the fall crop is starting to come in so every one gets at least a small head!

Garlic - It is fall planting time for 2014 garlic, and we found we had saved enough for seed to share some extra heads!

Sweet Potatoes - mix of heirlooms Bradshaw Red & O’Henry White:  bigger ones + a bag of tender shoots.  We hope you enjoy the sweet flavor and tenderness of these old time heirloom varieties, whether baked with butter & salt, chopped for stir-fries, soups or especially our easy favorite yummy oven-roasted “Home Fries” recipe, below!   Keep freshly harvested sweet potatoes WARM (about 85-90 degrees) for about a week after harvest to cure their skin for longer storage.  A sunny window (in a paper bag or in a basket covered with a cloth) or the top of a refrigerator is often warmer than the rest of the room.  After that they will keep best at room temperature in your kitchen.  Never refrigerate sweet potatoes--these sub-tropical beauties hate cold!

FIGS!  our 2 fig trees did not produce as early or as heavily as they have in hotter, drier years, but we have been enjoying them the past few weeks and want you to enjoy some fresh local figs, too!

Salad Mix - tender crisp romaine & red sails lettuce with Mizuna & flowers - savor the tender crispness of cool fall weather with those homemade salad dressing recipes we posted back in May!

Austrian Crescent Fingerling Potatoes OR Autumn Roots bunch - last-of-the-season for these tender & creamy little fingers!  OR those of you witrh a potato intolerance will enjoy a hearty mix other autumn roots- Carrots, Daikons & Beets!

Flavor-packed Stir Fry Mix - We put it all together this week:  Kale, Chard, Sweet Potato greens, Daikon, Mustard & Mizuna!

Zucchini - until it frosts, these beautiful Italian Costata Romanesco zucchini keep feeding us some tasty fruits!

Yellow Storage Onions – store up to 6 months because they have more sulfur than the sweet onions you received earlier in the season.  Sulfur can make you cry, but it is good for you!

Sweet Peppers – you can freeze sweet peppers to use this winter so we’ll give you a wide selection this week of our sweet & flavorful Italian varieties of peppers, like the Jimmy Nardello's Roasting, Carmen, Corno di Toro, Bell peppers as well as Paprika Peppers! These are the small red beauties we dry to grind into delicious paprika; a few of you have chosen these in the past.  This weeks’ Sweet Potato Home Fries recipe is a great reason to try them if you haven’t before!

Hot Peppers - Take a selection to warm up with on these chilly fall evenings, and put some flavor in your bean pot or Whippoorwill Peas.   We have Límon, Thai, Habanero, Jalapeno, and Cayenne.  If you are not into hot peppers but want some spice & flavor, we have Sweet Banana & Paprika peppers (see above) or can give you an extra sweet pepper!

Parsley & Basil enjoy nutrient-rich greens & herbs in many dishes.

Clementine Bakery's Bread & goodies  to cheer you!

RECIPE OF THE WEEK: 

Sweet Potato Oven-Roasted Home-Fries!

Forget deep fat fryers - make these healthier, yummier home fries in your oven.  You can use any good organic oil, but the sweet nutty flavor of coconut oil is an excellent choice for your health too!

Preheat oven to 400.  Coat cookie sheets with oil (as many as you need to spread your fries in a single layer)
Wash & slice the sweet potatoes into 1/4” wedges or “fries” (remove any bad spots but do not peel).  The tender young sweet potato “shoots” work really well for this. Place in a bowl and cover with hot (almost boiling) water.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

FOR EACH CUP of sweet potato “fries” you cut up:   mix 1 T melted coconut oil with 1 t salt and 1 T or more diced (or thinly sliced) fresh Salamander Springs Farm paprika pepper, or 1/4 t dried paprika

Drain the potatoes spread on a towel; pat dry.  
Place in bowl and toss with half of the seasoned oil mix.  
Arrange in a single layer on the oiled baking sheets (without pieces touching).
Bake for 15 minutes, flip fries over and bakes another 10 minutes.
Remove from oven and increase temperature to 450 degrees.  Toss with the rest of the seasoned oil and place on the cookie sheets for another 10 minutes,   Flip over and bake 5-10 minutes more of you want.

For “Loaded Home Fries”:  add cheese like pepper jack, crispy bacon (from local pastured pigs!) and caramelized onions on top and put back in oven for 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with chives.  Serve with your homemade ketchup (from the recipe we posted last month...)