Fall Colors Photo Credit: April Jones

Meet Your Food

Braising Mix

Baby Pam Pumpkins: Great for pumpkin pies!

Broccoli

Leeks

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Garlic

Thanks to CSA member Kelly Orr for sharing this delicious recipe.  It’s a fantastic way to use up any greens you might have accumulated from your CSA share over the last few weeks.

Mixed Greens with Potatoes and Leeks

Kosher Salt
2 lbs mixed greens, such as swiss chard, escarole, turnip greens, mustard greens, chicory, broccoli rabe, kale, spinach OR this week’s braising mix
4 TBLS butter or olive oil
2 large leeks, white and tender green, thinly sliced crosswise
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, fresh or canned low sodium broth (or vegetable broth)
Freshly ground pepper
1-2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Cut the greens into 1-inch pieces and wash them thoroughly. Add the greens to the pot and cover. As soon as the water returns to a boil, drain the greens in a colander; pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Add the leeks and garlic and cook over moderate heat until just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the Chicken Stock and bring to a boil. Season generously with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Slice potatoes 1/4 inch thick. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the greens and leeks. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the mixture to a large nonreactive baking dish and press the vegetables down firmly. Dot with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Cover the pan tightly with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle top with parmesan cheese if desired.  Bake for about 15 minutes longer, or until the potatoes are very tender.

Farmer Jones Notes

The Farmer’s notes are abbreviated this week due to tiredness.  It’s been an exceptionally productive few weeks, and once we turn the corner on November, I’ll probably get that nap I wrote about last week.  Meanwhile, make sure to let me know if you are interested in signing up for the 2011 CSA program before Nov. 1st.  I’m already thinking about next season and surely want you to be a part of the April Joy Farm family.

I have only one other announcement tonight.  If you are in need of a last minute pumpkin for the weekend or November festivities, please call me.  My packing shed has a nice selection, (all tucked out of the rain), that I’m happy to have CSA members peruse.  No tricks, just rotund orange treats.

Boo!

April

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Three Workers.  Can You Spot Them? Photo Credit: April Jones

Meet Your Food

Kale OR Mustards

Green Peppers OR Pole Beans OR Shelling Peas

Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato Winter Squash: The winter squash with a funny name, but truly, it’s not a sweet potato.  This variety was cultivated by Ms. Thelma Sanders of Adair County, Missouri.  It is sweet and has creamy, thick flesh (hence the name).

Red Wing Onions

Purple Glazer Garlic

Baby Cabbage OR Rutabaga OR Beets

Farmer Jones Notes

Oh my, I will only muster a short entry this evening, since this farmer is t-i-r-e-d.  The forecast has been calling for seven straight days of rain starting tonight, so you can imagine what we’ve been doing with the last long dry stretch of the fall.  Yes, all things possible, including the largest April Joy Farm pumpkin/winter squash harvest ever, final tilling and cover crop planting, harvesting dry beans and dry corn, thinning beets, rolling up and storing oodles of irrigation lines, and so many more odds and ends.  Even though there is always more to do, I feel very good about the condition of the fields now, as well as the winter storage crops that have been tucked in out of the rain for the remaining CSA season.  We’re down to the last five weeks now, can you believe it?

Please make sure to let me know if you are interested in signing up for next year.  Existing CSA members are first in line for available shares until Nov. 1st, after which time I’ll start accepting new members.  So please make sure to reserve your spot by emailing me or letting me know at pickup.

I’ll be bringing a few Jack O’Lantern Carving Pumpkins to CSA pickup, so you bring the kids (young or young at heart) to pick out the perfect carving pumpkin.  Let the Fall festivities begin!

Pumpkin-ly,

April

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Preserving Sunshine Photo Credit: April Jones

Meet Your Food

Sugar Dumpling Winter Squash: Here’s what the High Mowing Seed Catalog has to say about Sugar Dumpling:  ”developed by Dr. Brent Loy at UNH specifically for semi-bush habit, Powdery Mildew resistance, and exceptionally high sugar content.”  Yum yum!

Kale: You’ll get to try out one of two varieties this week, Russian Red (red stems) or Lacianato.

Green Peppers: The roasting pepper season is coming to an end, so feel free to bring an extra bag this week and stock up.

Basil: If you’ve never made pesto, here’s your chance.

Redwing Onions: A pretty colored onion, with a very classic onion flavor.

Carrots OR Beets: No matter which you choose, you’ll take home a beautiful rainbow colored bunch.

Garlic: Now that we’re headed for winter, I’m planning to bring garlic about every week.  We’ll kick off “garlic season” with a variety named Transylvanian.  This softneck type garlic was bought in Transylvania by a Professor Feur of Brandeis University at a vegetable market in the mid 1990′s.  It has a hot, bitey flavor raw and is very creamy when roasted.

Farmer Jones Notes

It’s been another glorious week of sunshine and mild temperatures at April Joy Farm  What a boon for mid-October farm chores!  Workdays this time of year usually commence around 7:30 a.m. (sunrise).  While that makes for a few hours of chilly noses and ice-cold hands, miraculously the sun warms everything up by 10 a.m. and blesses us with downright delightful harvest weather.

If you haven’t signed up for next season yet and you are interested in doing so, please ask me for a commitment form at pick up this week.  Existing CSA members get first dibbs on my available shares for 2011.  Sign up by Nov. 1st to save your spot!

As you can tell by your share this week, fall is here with the first of the kale, storage onions, and more wonderful squash.  Likewise, you can tell by this week’s picture what I’ve been doing in my spare time.  One of the reasons this time of year is so busy for me is that it is canning season.  We’ve been preserving food, left and right out here!  Saturday I was so lucky to enjoy the company of my Mom.  We made ketchup, froze cauliflower and broccoli, pickled cucumbers, dried basil, mashed and froze sweet potatoes, and if that wasn’t enough, she had the energy to bake two apple pies.  (Of course my folks also raised five incredible children, so this was a veritable cakewalk.)

While I’m bragging about my family, I must add a note about my older sister Anna.  Many of you might remember her great feature articles from last year’s newsletter.  This past week, Anna was honored with the Sustainability Hero’s Award at the White House.  You can read more here (scroll to the bottom).  I am so proud of her!

Well, I am headed off to partake in a Jones family supper with associated campfire and s’mores.  My older brother taught me that there is never enough time to spend with those you love.  So, this week, I hope your April Joy Farm vegetables give you inspiration to enjoy great food in the company of the special ones in your life.

Satisfyingly,

April

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The Usual Thursday Carrot Harvest Photo Credit: April Jones

Meet Your Food

Green Peppers

Broccoli or Cauliflower

Swiss Chard or Spinach

Shelling Peas: Just a handful of peas to make shelling them out of their pods speedy for you.  If you have any sweet corn left over from last week, try cooking the sweet corn, then adding the shelled peas to the hot water for just a few minutes.  Meanwhile, cut the corn off the cob, drain the peas, and toss together with a little butter and one diced green pepper.  It’s a delicious and pretty side dish.

Carrots or Beets

Garlic: We planted next year’s garlic crop last week, using the biggest cloves from this year’s harvest to increase the bulb size of next year’s crop.  So you get the garlic planting spoils, i.e. great cloves (instead of whole bulbs), ready for cooking with this week’s veggies.

Delicata Squash: This heirloom variety of winter squash has thin skin, so like heirloom tomatoes, it doesn’t ship very well.  Lucky for us, it travels just fine from my farm to your table.  Delicata is tender, creamy and sweet.  Cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, add a bit of butter and a bit of brown sugar in each cavity.  Place in a baking dish and cook in a 375 degree oven until fork tender.

Rutabagas: Traditionally a fall and winter crop, rutabagas are similar to turnips.  This year’s rutabagas are very mild, almost sweet.  I slice them raw and mix with carrot sticks, or cube and add to salads.  Alternatively, they can be cooked- adding flavor to soups and stews, roasted vegetables or mashed (see recipe below).

Mashed Rutabaga
Recipe adapted from The St. Paul Farmers Market Produce Cookbook.
1 large rutabaga, about 2 lbs.
2 tbsp. butter
Salt and black pepper
2 tbsp. milk or cream

Peel rutabaga and cut into 1-inch cubes.  Cook, covered in boiling water until tender, about 20 minutes.  Drain.  Mash with a potato masher, or fork.  Add butter, salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in milk.

Farmer Jones Notes

The CSA shares are really starting to look like fall, with the addition of winter squash, garlic and a new addition this year, tasty rutabagas.  The long, full days continue here at the farm, and we’re thankful for the dry conditions.  Although I must admit, I’m looking forward to a nice nap I have planned come the first big rainstorm.

Even amidst all the outside work this time of year, I’m already in the initial planning stages for next year.  Are you interested in signing up for the 2011 season?  I’ll have commitment forms at the CSA pickup location over the next few weeks.  The cost for next season’s subscription will not be due until January.  I am simply asking for a commitment at this time.  Knowing how many of you will join me next year for the CSA season will allow me to plan and understand how many new members I’ll need to fill my shares. Exising CSA members get the first chance to sign up for next season.  After Nov. 1st, I’ll add in new friends from my waiting list and recruit new members.  So please don’t delay!  Let me know soon if are interested in eating 2011 April Joy Farm goods.

Finally, check out the menu from Roots Restaurant’s upcoming 100 Mile Dinner, to be held on Oct. 23rd:

- Shaved baby turnip and King Fisher Farms beet salad with apples
- Columbia River smoked sturgeon with pickled pumpkin and pear butter
- April Joy Farm cauliflower soup with white truffles
- Cattail Creek lamb rillettes with sweet and sour cabbage
- Local salmon with pinot gris braised cabbage
- Pumpkin crème caramel with brown butter madeleines

All the ingredients for this seasonal meal come from within 100 miles of Camas.  At only $45/person, it’s sure to sell out fast!

Hungrily,

April

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The Bright Web of Fall Photo Credit: Hillary Jensen

Meet Your Food

Seedless Table Grapes: Table grapes have a short life here on the farm.  Once they are ripe, you eat up!  This dark skinned variety is called Jupiter, and it’s one of my favorite.  Just like the cider this year, the grapes aren’t quite as sweet, and we harvested almost a full month later than last year.  Nonetheless, they are delicious and I’m grateful they ripened in such a mild summer.

Swiss Chard OR Beet Greens OR Mustard Greens: Any of these fall greens, wilted over roasted fennel, carrots and/or beets, seasoned with a bit of olive oil, garlic and balsamic vinegar makes a great meal.

Green Peppers

Tomatoes: Last of the season.  This week I’m bringing heirlooms, slicers, and some sauce-type tomatoes that are low in water content and have fewer seeds.  They are great for pasta primavera.  Cook your favorite pasta, added lightly steamed broccoli, coarsed chopped tomatoes, diced green peppers, oregano or chives or rosemary, and toss with a light coating of olive oil.  Salt to taste.

Broccoli: You might notice two distinctive types of broccoli in your share this week.  One variety looks very similar to what you might find in a grocery store, with a big tight head.  The other variety is an open-pollinated heirloom type, with loose heads and long stems.  This “old fashioned” broccoli is sometimes termed “unimproved” because of it’s loose form.  However, I find the classic version to have more tender, sweeter stalks.  You be the judge.

Sweet Corn

Carrots OR Beets

Lemon Cucumbers

Fennel Bulb: I love the smell of fennel, and it’s tasty too.

Beet and Fennel Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook
Serves 4-6

Salad:
8 cups mixed greens (use chard, beet greens or mustard greens from your share, thinly chopped)
3 small beets, peeled and cubed
1 small fennel bulb, sliced
1 cup raw walnuts, lighted roasted
1 avocado, cubed
4 green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped basil

Dressing:
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh fennel tops
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place walnuts in a glass baking dish and place in preheated oven, bake for 10 minutes, or until walnuts give off a nutty aroma. Let cool.

Steam cubed beets for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Place in a dish to cool completely. Place all ingredients for dressing into a small bowl and whisk together.

In a large bowl, place mixed greens, beets, walnuts, fennel, avocado, green onions, and basil; top with dressing and serve immediately.

Farmer Jones Notes

I heard the first sandhill cranes earlier this week, so fall must really be here.  The warm weather this week is a real gift, and we’ve been taking every opportunity to clean up beds and get ready for fall cover crops.  The turning of the calendar marks a definite shift in the fields.  We say thank you and goodbye to summer staples like cucumbers, corn, tomatoes and summer squash.  As a result, the farm landscape changes dramatically over the course of a few short weeks.  Like the graceful cranes headed south, it’s a kind of migration towards winter.

These are some of my longest, most physically taxing days on the farm.  Even so, I am constantly thankful for the abundance.

Peripatetically,

April

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