Distribution details: wrapping up Fresh Season

***Please read.***

Fresh/Year Round Shares
Last distribution days: Tuesday November 11th and Friday November 14th
Amounts will be doubled with Thanksgiving in mind.

**You Pick Greens**

Kale and Collards will be available until the snow is too deep to find them in the field.

We will mark the areas that are ok to pick.

It is worth mentioning that when the greens freeze in the field they are still fine to eat

upon thawing out.

Bean Protein Shares
There's 1 distribution left for each tempeh and tofu.  Tomorrow is a tempeh day and next week will be tofu, in order to finish in tandem with the weekly pickups.

Animal Protein Shares
The pigs are being processed at Willard's on November 7th.  We'll be in touch with you as soon as we've got the cuts back. The turnaround time is not known. It may require a separate trip to the share barn if they're not back by Friday the 14th.

Winter Shares (for students)
This food will be given out when you return from Christmas/January Break.  Less cooking seems to happen in the weeks leading up to finals, and storage of the food for January will not be a problem as we'll hold onto it.

Kitchen Crafts Shares
First distribution will follow Thanksgiving.  We'll keep in touch with more details.

This week in the share barn you'll find feedback surveys asking about your experience. PLEASE PLEASE, do us the good turn of filling those out, and bringing/mailing them back by Thanksgiving.

want KRAUT?

please RSVP so we know how much cabbage to bring

shredded cabbage 2010

Yes, it's true the cabbage produced very well this year.  It far outperformed our fall asian greens planting of bok choy, tatsoi and mustard greens.

We still have 200 plus large heads.
Here's the opportunity to join fellow members and turn cabbage into sauerkraut.

SATURDAY Morning NOVEMBER 5th

9am sharp-noon (approximately)

1st Presbyterian Church (right on the town park)

We only have the church kitchen for the morning so

the scheduled start is important.

All members will leave with a container(s) of shredded, salted cabbage, which you'll nurture into sauerkraut.
Fresh/Student Shares: up to 2 gallons apiece
Year Round Shares: unlimited

Kraut, once it has reached the flavor you desire, can be frozen, canned or tucked in a cold spot (fridge or root cellar).


You can come with a container (food grade bucket or 1 gallon glass jars).
OR buy a 4 gallon food grade bucket from us for $2.50 that day.
If you're coming, let us know how much you'd like to take home and if you want to purchase a container.

Don't be daunted, if you're curious come!

Our total cost for the workshop (space reservation and salt), is $30.  Voluntary donations accepted.

matt shredding in 2010

It's a great simple, fermenting project.

October Gleanings

Greetings Folks,

For many of us, fall is a time to get things done before the hard North Country weather settles in.
This is especially true in the garden. Even with 2-3 times more land in production over last year,
we find ourselves in much better shape going into winter.  Funny how things go.
Last years flooding threw a major wrench into our cover cropping plan.
Looking around the garden today, barely any open ground can be found, except for where we are harvesting the latest root crops.
Cover crops are an important tool in our soil management scheme.

On Saturday, a dozen or so of you helped in planting over 2,500 garlic and 1,250 shallots
all in a couple of hours. A tremendous effort, many thanks.

planting next to fall cabbage, which is undersown with a living mulch of clover

a few of the jubilant planting crew

Today, we were part of the National Youth Food Summit Day. Locally, GardenShare organized a day of workshops and events at SUNY Potsdam for over 230 high school students from across northern NY.
We gave two workshops on "farming by the foot, not the acre" to future producers and consumers from as far as Westport and Crown Point. My favorite comment from the day was "I wish we had a hands-on opportunity like this near us". Thanks to GS for organizing this event and for inviting us to share the philosophy behind our project.

That's it for now.
Thanks and stay in touch,
bob

Pickling. Daikon Radish and Beets

Daikon is a versatile vegetable that can be grated raw in salads or cut into strips for dipping in sauces.  It also can be stir-fried, grilled, baked, boiled or pickled. We've made an awesome condiment by salting and fermenting as you would for sauerkraut. Daikon also is used in soups (little chunks in miso is great). Peeling the skin is optional, you can simply scrub it clean. 

*****

Here's a recipe from 'Tsukemono: Japanese Pickling Recipes' a book available in the share barn from our lending library. 

1 lb Daikon

1/2 oz. salt

2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp Sichuan Peppercorns (I substitute black peppercorns)

1 pod dried chili pepper

2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce

*Cut daikon into thin matchsticks (~1/6" thick).

*Put daikon in a bowl and cover well with the salt. Place a weight on it and let stand a couple hours 'til liquid rises.

*Rinse off salt briefly, pat dry. Place in a jar that you have a lid for.

*In a small saucepan, put sesame oil and peppercorns.  Slowly extract the aromas over low heat for 5 minutes.  Add chili pepper and soy, bring just to a boil. Turn off heat.

*Add liquid to daikon and shake to coat.

*Let marinate for at least 10 minutes, and dig in!

*****

Beets

When we've got some small beets (and we do this year), we like to pickle them because you can fit many, whole into a quart jar.  We usually can a bunch of these, but here's a quick fridge version to share in the simple tastiness of them.

1 Qt worth of beets

1 onion, or a few shallots, thinly sliced

1 cup cider vinegar

1/4 sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup water

*optional 1 tsp caraway, cumin, peppercorns

*Steam or boil the beets until just tender.

*As those are cooking, add all but the onions into another little saucepan and heat to a moment before boiling.

*When the beets have cooked, drain them in a colander, run cold water over them 'til you can stand to touch them, and slip the skins right off.  They should give easily, and you can trim the ends to your liking at this point.

*Pack them into a quart jar, mixing the onions into the layers.  Then pour the brine over and refrigerate.  They'll last for weeks in the fridge, but you can begin eating them the next day.

*****

Stellar cooks among us!

*Ansley, James and Jordan*     *Chicken and Rice Soup*

*Ben and Adam*     *Corn Flake Chicken and Smashed Potatoes*

*Ben and Adam*     *Fresh Garden Salsa*

*Flip and Bob*     *Gingered Ground Cherry Hot Sauce*

*Flip and Bob*     *Oven Fries*

*Jenelle and Doug*     *Pumpkin Puree for Freezer*

*Leah and Patrick*     *Canning Stash*

*Jan and Lenka*     *Hanza eating Kale Soup*

*Lettie*     *Edamame and Tomato Salad*

*Lettie*     *Maple Braised Green Beans*

*Lew*     *Mixed Veggie Fritata*

*Relani*     *Roasted Squash Medallions with Garlic Herb Sauce*

*Relani*     *Tamales*

What an awesome display of what's possible. 

Excellent job folks!

Here's a favorite recipe from Lenka.

Cheesy Squash

Wash the exterior of the winter squash or pumpkin.

Cut in half using a serrated knife.

Scoop out the seeds.

Put cut winter squash facing down in a pan filled with 2" of water. Bake at 375 F till soft.

Once the squash is somewhat cooled, scoop out flesh from the skin using a large spoon.

Put the baked winter squash into a pot with milk and cook till tender.  5 minutes before the end add grated cheddar cheese.

Puree the mixture to get it to a nice, smooth consistency with a hand blender.  Prepare in thicker consistency if you make it as a side dish, or add more milk and use it as a sauce to spaghetti (our favorite one).

Salt and pepper to taste.

Very easy and tasty.

 

all hail your (food) photos!!!

What do you do with the tomatillos?

How do you cook the winter squash?

Any bubbling ferments or preserved foods around?

What are we all doing, off in our own kitchens, with the same raw ingredients?

This is a call out. A roundup. A photo essay in the making.  We'd like you to pause before a notable meal or two, and take a snapshot. We'll assemble them to share. 
Fixin's don't need to come exclusively from littleGrasse.   
Deadline is Oct 17th.
Remember to include a brief description.

Looking forward to it!