Goodwill at Homefields Farm Gift Boxes

 

It is gift box making time here at the farm, as we listen to Christmas carols and smell the aroma of freshly-roasted coffee. Quite a hardship to be sure :-)
The boxes make a nice gift for family, your customers, clients or staff, and support and tell the story of the farm progarm at the same time.

Wilbur Buds, fresh coffee, peanut butter pretzels and apple butter, mm, mm. (small  gift box)

The small gift box includes a packet of College Coffee Roaster’s custom blend, “Goodwill at Homefields Farm” coffee, an eight-ounce bag of tasty Wilbur Buds, one eight-ounce jar of the local Kauffman's Apple Butter and a bag of Snyder's of Hanover Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches.Price: $18.95

 

The large gift box features more Lancaster County premium flavors. It includes a 1/2 pound bag of “Goodwill at Homefields Farm” blend coffee from College Coffee Roasters, an eight-ounce bag of yummy Wilbur Chocolate Buds, a ten-ounce jar of Kauffman's Apple Butter and a ten-ounce Kitchen Kettle Village Pear Butter, (a delicious Lancaster County treat that spreads easily on bread and crackers) and a bag of Snyder's of Hanover Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches. Price $26.95

 

Order deadline is Dec 6^th Place orders by emailing sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org or call us at 717-871-3110. Please Pick up Gift Boxes at the farm on Dec 16^th and 17^th between 9:00am – 4:00pm.

 

Thank you for supporting the farmers and the CSA program.

Your farmers

Happy Thanksgiving from the Farm

Hello from the farm,


Today can be best be summed up as raw, but your farmers are in great spirits as we work on gift boxes in the barn--possibly because our bellies are still full from our end of harvest party yesterday in the barn. The meal featured the farm-famous Swope oniony mac n cheese, stuffing, our farm's sweet potatoes in sweet potato pudding, roast chicken and apple and pumpkin pie.  No one departed hungry.




The make-shift kitchen in the barn turned out some great farm food

 

A game of Track-ball in the greenhouse--nice catch Law Reh!

What your farmers are thankful for

1. Ample sunshine and rain to grow abundant crops this season, resulting in a record potato harvest, great greens of all kinds, and excellent pumpkin and butternut squash.

2. The five families who founded Homefields and invited Goodwill to operate the farm program here, and the current workings of the Homefields board to secure the new land and continue to promote their dream.

3. The trainees, Matt, Scott C, Brad, Patrick, Glen, Brian, John, Cameron, Del, Mike, and others who worked hard and reliably to make the harvest happen

4. The farm staff: Kim, Marci, Law Reh, and Elizabeth for deftly applied skill and perserverence.

5. The advisors and good neighbors: Butch, Bob, Tom, Ed, Kurt, Bruce, Bradley, Bob Haverstick, Lance, Rebbeca, Brandon, and Flanagan Welding for counsel, tools, and donated skills.

6. You, as farm members and friends for believing in the farm and its mission and ecouraging us in our work.

7. An accumulation of experience--successes and failures alike that have made us the seasoned farmers that we are today

8. The men who worked together to make the potato digger a reality this year--otherwise we would still be digging frozen potatoes :-)

9. Bob, for skillful use of talents and time to construct the weeder which promises to revolutionize our weed control situation next year.

10. For winter, which allows us to switch gears and gain perspective before the rigors of the growing season present themselves in March.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving,

Your farmers 



 
This week, the final harvest week, your farmers are grateful for the sun when it chooses to shine as we prepare for garlic planting next week, changed the spades on the spader, worked on the blueberry mulching and prepared for gift box making.  It's amazing how many vegetables can be grown into November and even beyond perhaps, weather depending.   

 

Great job on the blueberries everyone!

 
 
Gleaning the Fields: as a farm shareholder, you are invited to glean the fields for your family's use from Monday Nov 18th until there is nothing usable remaining (probably around Christmas time). There will continue to be dill, cilantro, turnips, radishes, napa and bok choi and others afield after this final harvest. 
 
Gleaning Hours: 
Mon-Fri  4pm-dusk
Sat: dawn-dusk
Sun: Closed.

Please bring your own harvest supplies--bucket/bag, pruners, trowel etc. 
 
 

                                                    Law Reh cuts the cilantro

As our fourteenth season winds down we are grateful for the cooperation of the weather and the hard work of the farm crew that planted, tended, and harvested the thousands of pounds of crops.  In early spring we planted an additional one hundred blueberry plants to give abundant blueberries in the years to come. We also re-established a rhubarb planting of several hundred plants from seed as an experiment, one that looks like it will go gangbusters next season already.  Hold on to the rhubarb!

We started as a pick up site for Abendessen bread shares and Hillacres Farm cheese shares in addition to the North Star Orchard fruit share that began last year.  We are pleased at how these shares compliment what we harvest and support other farms. There was a great article in the Sunday paper's Good Life magazine about the farm that was well written and captured the story of our farm. Many people learned about the farm this way and were inspired by three organizations working together to make this place successful.

 The potato digger that we constructed over the winter hit the field and did outstanding work: helping us to get in the 8,000lbs of potatoes that we dug this year.  We are very thankful to Bob Mclure for the weeder that made the first field test last week with outstanding results. We expect to have highly improved weed control next year--always a an extreme challenge on an organic farm, especially in a very wet season where the weeds just have far too much encouragement!  Goodwill funded the purchase of a rototiller that will prepare the soil better for small-seeded crops such as carrots, cilantro, beets and lettuce so that we will have increased germination, growth and harvests of these crops and others.

 It was a season in which the calendar and the weather seemed at odds with each other. We had July weather in September and September weather in June, rain in July instead of September.  Despite the quirky conditions we are very happy with the abundant and high quality harvests that continue to come in. The harvest highlights were the potatoes going gangbusters, the sweet potato mulch experiment succeeding, great greens, autumn beans and a super pumpkin and butternut squash harvest in addition to many other crops that did well.

The farm staff and trainees, both seasoned ones and green foots alike, were reliable, dependable and hard-working to bring in the fresh weekly harvests for the farm members. Working together in the field and in all weather conditions gives the farm a close family feel-- like a large extended family as we work together to pull off this thing called CSA farming. We expect that next season will be even better as we continue to refine our methods and learn new ways to work around the numerous challenges that pop up daily when working with living systems. Thank you for being a part of the farm this season, for appreciating the food and work that we do, and for lauding our efforts. 

 

Looking forward to seeing you for the 2014 farm season in June! 
 
 
 

 

 
 
EARLY BIRD SHARE SPECIAL:
There is an early bird special for 2014--save $20 off of your share if you sign up before Jan 15th.  http://goodwillathomefieldsfarm.csasignup.com/members/types

PS: don’t forget about that butternut squash that’s rolling around in your trunk J

 

 

Gift Boxes at the Farm:

The Gift boxes are back! Each year as the fields get colder and colder, then frosty, then frozen, and your farmers do too, we look forward to the aroma of freshly ground coffee and chocolate as we make gift boxes for Christmas time using locally produced goods.

The small gift box includes a packet of College Coffee Roaster’s custom blend, “Goodwill at Homefields Farm” coffee, an eight-ounce bag of tasty Wilbur Buds, one eight-ounce jar of the local specialty Kauffman's Apple Butter and a bag of Snyder's of Hanover Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches.Price: $18.95

The large gift box features more Lancaster County premium flavors. It includes a 1/2 pound bag of “Goodwill at Homefields Farm” blend coffee from College Coffee Roasters, an eight-ounce bag of yummy Wilbur Chocolate Buds, one ten-ounce jar of Kauffman's Apple Butter and one ten-ounce Kitchen Kettle Village Pear Butter, (a delicious Lancaster County treat that spreads easily on bread and crackers) and a bag of Snyder's of Hanover Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches. Price $26.95

Order deadline is Dec 6^th Place orders by emailing sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org or call us at 717-871-3110. Please Pick up Gift Boxes at the farm on Dec 16^th and 17^th between 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Thank you for supporting the farmers and the CSA program.

 

 

 

           The harvest season fades to a close as the days grow short and brisk

Suggestions for the Harvest
Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Chunks: My wife roasted some sweet potatoes, chunked and coated with coconut oil and sea salt, in a baking dish at 400 for 1-2 hours until soft and crispy-edged and they went over like melt-in-your-mouth chocolate confections.

Napa Cabbage: at its finest for kimchee making. See the recipe a few newsletters back, or search it on our farm blog, or find your own recipe online.

Bok Choi: this Asian cabbage was made for stir fries with soy sauce, peanut butter, or chicken or a combination of all three.
Butternut squash: your farmers find that the butternuts and Long Island Cheese squash are tops when it comes to baking and cooking winter squashes and pumpkins. Did you know that canned "pumpkin" at the store is usually squash due to its superior flavor and texture?

Black Radishes:

Black Radish Russian-style

First peel the black skin off. In a bowl, grate the radishes, chop or mince green scallion, grate a carrot and dice fresh cucumber...mix together with sour cream If you want more of a spicy tang, use less carrot and cucumber, if it's too spicy then use more carrot and cucumber. Use as a salad or eat on crackers. --adapted from chowhound.chow.com

Popcorn: our popcorn is very tasty--put oil in heavy bottomed pan and heat up the oil. Put a test kernel in when you think the oil is hot. When that one pops--pour in popcorn enough to cover the pan bottom and shake. Put a lid over the pan--but not tightly, so that steam can escape. Shake the pan as corn pops until popping slows. (it must be said that everyone seems to have a different method that works for them--and only them, perhaps ;-)

All Winter Squash: these hard squash will keep in cool and dry storage for months. Great for apple and squash bake, curried or sweet soup.

Cilantro: great in a sandwich, soups, salads, recipes from around the world Dill: great for pickling or with potatoes.

"Dessert Turnips": Our pet name for the sweet and mild white Hakurei salad turnips is dessert turnips. These are not your ordinary firm and strong purple top turnips. They are best eaten raw like carrot sticks with or without some kind of dip. Growing up, we had carrot, celery and turnip sticks at holiday meals.

Arugula: Yes, the arugula is back—cheers from all corners. This spicy green's nutty flavor jazzes up a salad or sandwich really well! Kind of zingy for most people--use as your palate prefers.

Ornamental/Flour Corn: feel free to shell your corn from the cob sometime and bring the kernels in to grind in the mill that we have here. Run it through once to grind coarsely and then tighten it up and run through again for finer grind for cornmeal for cornbread, cornmeal pancakes, muffins etc.

Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the farm favorite for French-fry making, hands down. Potatoes are a wonderful source of nutrients, versatile to cook with, and very satisfying to the eater--they even help you sleep well at night. (Potatoes not Prozac book)

Chard: Remove the lower portion of the stalk as it is usually tough. Sautee leaves in butter, olive or coconut oil, add salt, and red pepper, top with Parmesan cheese.

Mustard Greens: Known for their pungent flavor, these greens can be added to a salad for a mustardy hot punch, or can be added to soups or stir frys. Flavor mellows when cooked. Tatsoi: A mild green that is great raw in salad or cooked. We think of it as fall spinach.

Purple Mizuna: a unique mustard green from Japan that has mild flavor and is great in salad for color and flavor. Senposai: has a sweet and tender cabbage like flavor. Makes a great outer wrap for veggie wraps. Use raw or cooked.

Senposai: very kale or leaf cabbage like and can substitute for either.

 
 
Thank you:   I don't think words can say quite enough thanks for all that people gave and did to make the farm and harvest work out this season. Thank you Elizabeth for a super job directing, scheduling and working with trainees, Law Reh for Swiss-watch like work in the field, harvest, and with equipment, Marci for excellent harvest day help in the distribution area, Bob for both potato digger and weeder innovations, Butch for the shade canopy on the transplanter and many repairs and fixits, Tom for tools and counsel, Flanagan welding for donated weldling time, Brandon, Lance and Rebecca for keeping the place in order! Thank you to Homefields for hosting the farm program on their farm, and Goodwill Keystone for operating the farm program.  

See you soon and keep warm,

Scott for all of the farmers--Elizabeth, Law Reh, Marci, Brad, Scott, Patrick, Brian, Matt, John, Cameron, Del, Mike and Glenn
 
 
 

Notes from Your Farm: Extra Give, Gift boxes, Survey and More

Hello from the farm,
These have been glorious and golden days at the farm as the autumn sun turns everything harvest gold, crimson, and rich brown. Your farmers have been reclaiming the blueberry patch from the over-eager weeds that posed as trees thanks to the super abundant moisture of summer. We are grateful for the local arborists who give us wood chips to use for mulching the blueberries. We're pleased to see that we'll probably have a nice batch of true baby carrots to harvest next week from a late successful planting. The spading tractor remained unusable for fieldwork into this week due to the ordered part going to a farmer in York county by mistake, but it is freshly repaired as of late yesterday. The most excitement was that the weeder that we have been working on saw action this week:

The weeder--awaiting the first field test....

The judges--"let's see this thing work!"

the test bed--one tough customer, complete with thistle

Mr. Bob astride the weeder

Well....????

The verdict:"Great"

Three cheers and heaps of thanks. Thank you Bob!

The Extra Give: The Extra Give event is coming up Nov 22nd. This is a chance to give to your favorite Lanc. county organizations and win extra funds and partial matching for it as well. Homefields will be one of the featured non-profits and you can watch the dollars accumulate in real time on the Extragive.org web site. The money donated to Homefields will help fund the new land that Homefields is saving from development and securing for future farm use.


Gift Boxes at the Farm:
The Gift boxes are back! Each year as the fields get colder and colder, then frosty, then frozen, and your farmers do too, we look forward to the aroma of freshly ground coffee and chocolate as we make gift boxes for Christmas time using locally produced goods.

The small gift box includes a packet of College Coffee Roaster’s custom blend, “Goodwill at Homefields Farm” coffee, an eight-ounce bag of tasty Wilbur Buds, one eight-ounce jar of the local specialty Kauffman's Apple Butter and a bag of Snyder's of Hanover Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches.Price: $18.95

The large gift boxfeatures more Lancaster County premium flavors. It includes a 1/2 pound bag of “Goodwill at Homefields Farm” blend coffee from College Coffee Roasters, an eight-ounce bag of yummy Wilbur Chocolate Buds, one ten-ounce jar of Kauffman's Apple Butter and one ten-ounce Kitchen Kettle Village Pear Butter, (a delicious Lancaster County treat that spreads easily on bread and crackers) and a bag of Snyder's of Hanover Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches. Price $26.95

Order deadline is Dec 6^th Place orders by emailing sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org or call us at 717-871-3110. Please Pick up Gift Boxes at the farm on Dec 16^th and 17^th between 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Thank you for supporting the farmers and the CSA program.

Suggestions for the Harvest

Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Chunks: My wife roasted some sweet potatoes, chunked and coated with coconut oil and sea salt, in a baking dish at 400 for 1-2 hours until soft and crispy-edged and they went over like melt-in-your-mouth chocolate confections.

Napa Cabbage: at its finest for kimchee making. See the recipe a few newsletters back, or search it on our farm blog, or find your own recipe online.

Bok Choi: this Asian cabbage was made for stir fries with soy sauce, peanut butter, or chicken or a combination of all three.
Butternut squash: your farmers find that the butternuts and Long Island Cheese squash are tops when it comes to baking and cooking winter squashes and pumpkins. Did you know that canned "pumpkin" at the store is usually squash due to its superior flavor and texture?
Black Radishes:

Black Radish Russian-style

First peel the black skin off. In a bowl, grate the radishes, chop or mince green scallion, grate a carrot and dice fresh cucumber...mix together with sour cream If you want more of a spicy tang, use less carrot and cucumber, if it's too spicy then use more carrot and cucumber. Use as a salad or eat on crackers. --adapted from chowhound.chow.com

Popcorn: our popcorn is very tasty--put oil in heavy bottomed pan and heat up the oil. Put a test kernel in when you think the oil is hot. When that one pops--pour in popcorn enough to cover the pan bottom and shake. Put a lid over the pan--but not tightly, so that steam can escape. Shake the pan as corn pops until popping slows. (it must be said that everyone seems to have a different method that works for them--and only them, perhaps ;-)

All Winter Squash: these hard squash will keep in cool and dry storage for months. Great for apple and squash bake, curried or sweet soup.

Cilantro: great in a sandwich, soups, salads, recipes from around the world Dill: great for pickling or with potatoes.

"Dessert Turnips": Our pet name for the sweet and mild white Hakurei salad turnips is dessert turnips. These are not your ordinary firm and strong purple top turnips. They are best eaten raw like carrot sticks with or without some kind of dip. Growing up, we had carrot, celery and turnip sticks at holiday meals.

Arugula: Yes, the arugula is back—cheers from all corners. This spicy green's nutty flavor jazzes up a salad or sandwich really well! Kind of zingy for most people--use as your palate prefers.

Ornamental/Flour Corn: feel free to shell your corn from the cob sometime and bring the kernels in to grind in the mill that we have here. Run it through once to grind coarsely and then tighten it up and run through again for finer grind for cornmeal for cornbread, cornmeal pancakes, muffins etc.

Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the farm favorite for French-fry making, hands down. Potatoes are a wonderful source of nutrients, versatile to cook with, and very satisfying to the eater--they even help you sleep well at night. (Potatoes not Prozac book)

Chard: Remove the lower portion of the stalk as it is usually tough. Sautee leaves in butter, olive or coconut oil, add salt, and red pepper, top with Parmesan cheese.

Mustard Greens: Known for their pungent flavor, these greens can be added to a salad for a mustardy hot punch, or can be added to soups or stir frys. Flavor mellows when cooked. Tatsoi: A mild green that is great raw in salad or cooked. We think of it as fall spinach.

Purple Mizuna: a unique mustard green from Japan that has mild flavor and is great in salad for color and flavor. Senposai: has a sweet and tender cabbage like flavor. Makes a great outer wrap for veggie wraps. Use raw or cooked.

Senposai: very kale or leaf cabbage like and can substitute for either.

Thank you
Thank you to Bob McClure for the excellent weeder for next season!, Tom and Butch for tools and support, Flanagan Welding for donated welding, Bob Haverstick for hydraulic expertise. Thank you to farm staff and farm crew for the radical berry patch transformation--it's outstanding.
See you for the final harvest next week,

Your farmers

Your farmers

Farm season survey, gift boxes, frosty farm

Hello from the farm,


These fall days are glorious for your farmers to work in! This week we've been putting a lot of things to bed for the winter. Law Reh (especially) and the farm crew have done an amazing job getting the overgrown blueberry patch cleaned out. We repaired the plumbing problem that was sending water across the parking area. The tractor, whose lift arm broke early this season, experienced the same breakdown once again. Thanks to Butch Bixler, we successfully tracked down an exaact original rod in Dallas, TX that should give us years of reliable use.
Our farm survey has been online for a few seasons, but this year we would like to give you paper to touch and to put your thoughts on for our planning for next season. We value your insights on this farm and food, thank you for taking the time. We are getting ready for making our gift boxes for Christmas and will have more information about them next week. Among other goodies, they contain Wilbur Buds and College Coffee Roasters coffee. 'Nuff said for now...



The morning frost paints the farm and crops icy white





Farmer Elizabeth is contemplative after mowing down the early morning frozen, blackened, eggplant foliage





The first tree of the bald cypress trio is showing its fall color. Bald cypress is one of the few conifer species that loses its needles for the winter.





The signs of the season are all around...



Suggestions for the Harvest


Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Chunks: My wife roasted some sweet potatoes, chunked and coated with coconut oil and sea salt, in a baking dish at 400 for 1-2 hours until soft and crispy-edged and they went over like melt-in-your-mouth chocolate confections.

Napa Cabbage: at its finest for kimchee making. See the recipe a few newsletters back, or search it on our farm blog, or find your own recipe online.

Bok Choi: this Asian cabbage was made for stir fries with soy sauce, peanut butter, or chicken or a combination of all three.

Butternut squash: your farmers find that the butternuts and Long Island Cheese squash are tops when it comes to baking and cooking winter squashes and pumpkins. Did you know that canned "pumpkin" at the store is usually squash due to its superior flavor and texture?
Black Radishes:

Black Radish Russian-style

First peel the black skin off. In a bowl, grate the radishes, chop or mince green scallion, grate a carrot and dice fresh cucumber...mix together with sour cream If you want more of a spicy tang, use less carrot and cucumber, if it's too spicy then use more carrot and cucumber. Use as a salad or eat on crackers. --adapted from chowhound.chow.com

Popcorn: our popcorn is very tasty--put oil in heavy bottomed pan and heat up the oil. Put a test kernel in when you think the oil is hot. When that one pops--pour in popcorn enough to cover the pan bottom and shake. Put a lid over the pan--but not tightly, so that steam can escape. Shake the pan as corn pops until popping slows. (it must be said that everyone seems to have a different method that works for them--and only them, perhaps ;-)

All Winter Squash: these hard squash will keep in cool and dry storage for months. Great for apple and squash bake, curried or sweet soup.

Cilantro: great in a sandwich, soups, salads, recipes from around the world Dill: great for pickling or with potatoes.

"Dessert Turnips": Our pet name for the sweet and mild white Hakurei salad turnips is dessert turnips. These are not your ordinary firm and strong purple top turnips. They are best eaten raw like carrot sticks with or without some kind of dip. Growing up, we had carrot, celery and turnip sticks at holiday meals.

Arugula: Yes, the arugula is back—cheers from all corners. This spicy green's nutty flavor jazzes up a salad or sandwich really well! Kind of zingy for most people--use as your palate prefers.

Ornamental/Flour Corn: feel free to shell your corn from the cob sometime and bring the kernels in to grind in the mill that we have here. Run it through once to grind coarsely and then tighten it up and run through again for finer grind for cornmeal for cornbread, cornmeal pancakes, muffins etc.

Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the farm favorite for French-fry making, hands down. Potatoes are a wonderful source of nutrients, versatile to cook with, and very satisfying to the eater--they even help you sleep well at night. (Potatoes not Prozac book)

Chard: Remove the lower portion of the stalk as it is usually tough. Sautee leaves in butter, olive or coconut oil, add salt, and red pepper, top with Parmesan cheese.

Mustard Greens: Known for their pungent flavor, these greens can be added to a salad for a mustardy hot punch, or can be added to soups or stir frys. Flavor mellows when cooked. Tatsoi: A mild green that is great raw in salad or cooked. We think of it as fall spinach.

Purple Mizuna: a unique mustard green from Japan that has mild flavor and is great in salad for color and flavor. Senposai: has a sweet and tender cabbage like flavor. Makes a great outer wrap for veggie wraps. Use raw or cooked.

Senposai: very kale or leaf cabbage like and can substitute for either.

Enjoy the fall bounty,


Scott

Hello from the farm,

The frost arrived at the farm this morning, and was lighter than expected. Although the weather folks would have you think that the growing season is finished with the first frost or freeze--au contraire, it is only the end of the warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, watermelons and cantaloupes.

Cold season crew members: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, carrots, beets, kale, chard, senposai and such laugh at the cold and even get sweeter as their starches turn to sugar.


This week we made a lot of preparations for the cold weather--got all of the butternut squash out of the field to keep them from being freeze damaged, put up lights in the distribution area and over top of the wash sinks, brought in irrigation tubing and winterized outdoor plumbing systems. We welcomed back Elizabeth from her vacation and also got to give some attention the landscape areas which get skipped over in favor of vegetable care and harvest during much of the growing season. We mowed down the now derelict tomato patch with some satisfaction :-)




Lighting the way for vegetable washing on these darker days. Thank you Butch!




The distribution is now nicely illuminated for the days that turn to evening to quickly now. Thank you Butch!





Resident artist Bradley stopped by the other week for some pumpkin transformation.



Suggestions for the Harvest

Sweet potatoes: wow, these sweet potatoes are super good.

Oven Roasted Sweet Potato Chunks:
My wife roasted some sweet potatoes, chunked and coated with coconut oil and sea salt, in a baking dish at 400 for 1-2 hours until soft and crispy-edged and they went over like melt-in-your-mouth chocolate confections.

Butternut squash: your farmers find that the butternuts and Long Island Cheese squash are tops when it comes to baking and cooking winter squashes and pumpkins. Did you know that canned "pumpkin" at the store is usually squash due to its superior flavor and texture?

Black Radishes:

Black Radish Russian-style

First peel the black skin off. In a bowl, grate the radishes, chop or mince green scallion, grate a carrot and dice fresh cucumber...mix together with sour cream If you want more of a spicy tang, use less carrot and cucumber, if it's too spicy then use more carrot and cucumber. Use as a salad or eat on crackers. --adapted from chowhound.chow.com
Popcorn: our popcorn is very tasty--put oil in heavy bottomed pan and heat up the oil. Put a test kernel in when you think the oil is hot. When that one pops--pour in popcorn enough to cover the pan bottom and shake. Put a lid over the pan--but not tightly, so that steam can escape. Shake the pan as corn pops until popping slows. (it must be said that everyone seems to have a different method that works for them--and only them, perhaps ;-)
Winter Squash: these hard squash will keep in cool and dry storage for months. Great for apple and squash bake, curried or sweet soup.
Cilantro: great in a sandwich, soups, salads, recipes from around the world
Dill: great for pickling or with potatoes.
"Dessert Turnips": Our pet name for the sweet and mild white Hakurei salad turnips is dessert turnips. These are not your ordinary firm and strong purple top turnips. They are best eaten raw like carrot sticks with or without some kind of dip. Growing up, we had carrot, celery and turnip sticks at holiday meals.
Arugula: Yes, the arugula is back—cheers from all corners. This spicy green's nutty flavor jazzes up a salad or sandwich really well! Kind of zingy for most people--use as your palate prefers.
Ornamental/Flour Corn: feel free to shell your corn from the cob sometime and bring the kernels in to grind in the mill that we have here. Run it through once to grind coarsely and then tighten it up and run through again for finer grind for cornmeal for cornbread, cornmeal pancakes, muffins etc.
Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the farm favorite for French-fry making, hands down. Potatoes are a wonderful source of nutrients, versatile to cook with, and very satisfying to the eater--they even help you sleep well at night. (Potatoes not Prozac book)
Chard: Remove the lower portion of the stalk as it is usually tough. Sautee leaves in butter, olive or coconut oil, add salt, and red pepper, top with Parmesian cheese. Mustard Greens: Known for their pungent flavor, these greens can be added to a salad for a mustardy hot punch, or can be added to soups or stir frys. Flavor mellows when cooked.
Tatsoi: A mild green that is great raw in salad or cooked. We think of it as fall spinach.
Purple Mizuna: a unique mustard green from Japan that has mild flavor and is great in salad for color and flavor.
Senposai: has a sweet and tender cabbage like flavor. Makes a great outer wrap for veggie wraps. Use raw or cooked.

Goodbyes
Tomatoes: goodbye until next season.
Onions: If you have onions remaining at home, they will keep for several months in cool, dark, and dry storage.

Keep warm,

Your farmers

Post Deluge Harvest, Can you eat a Pumpkin? Black Radishes, Napa cabbage and Kimchee

 

 



Hello from the farm,

 

 

Things are drying out from last week's downpour which resulted in about seven inches of rain here, fields that were the consistency of chocolate pudding to work in,  and the pictures below.  It was great to see that our waterways are up to the task and did an excellent job of directing the water around the vegetable growing areas.  Farmer Elizabeth is on a well-deserved vacation so it is a mantribe this week. One member of the farm crew said that "it's going better than he thought" in her absence. Although things have not fallen apart, she is missed and we look forward to her return next week.  

 

Can you cook and eat a pumpkin?  I'm accustomed to roasting the seeds and I've often read that you can eat pumpkin, but I had not tried it until last evening.  Yes, I found it worthwhile, and here is a simple way to do it:

+ poke a few holes in the top of the pumpkin for steam to escape. 

+ place pumpkin on baking tray in 350 degree oven for an hour or until soft

+remove, cool it enough to handle, cut in half and use a large spoon to scrape up seeds and remove pumpkin flesh from rind.   Use for pumpkin bread, curried soup, or a sweet soup or anything that calls for pumpkin puree. 

 

 

Your farmers geared up for whatever may come!



water coursing along the pick your own field



The River Homefields running pell mell along the blueberry patch

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

Napa cabbage:  this Asian cabbage is nutritious and lighter and crispier than standard cabbage. It really shines in kimchee, and here is a recipe.  It is not difficult to make. 



Who is that kimchee maker? 

Kim Chee Recipe:

This Korean spicy "sauerkraut" of a sort is outstanding. It is enjoyed in Korea and Japan. I like to get it from the Viet My Asian grocery across from McCaskey High School--the brand they carry is Kimchee Pride from NYC and the favorite of the kimchee I've purchased.

1 large head Chinese (celery or Nappa) cabbage
Salt--non iodized, esp. sea salt preferred.
4 green onions (including tops) --regular onions are too strong and smelly!
1 clove garlic, minced
1 dried hot red chili (about 2" long), crushed--you can substitute paprika so moderate the heat--keep adding and tasting until it reaches the bliss point.
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1. Cut cabbage into pieces, 1-inch long and 1-inch wide.
2. Sprinkle 2 Tbs salt on cabbage, mix well, and let stand 15 minutes.
3. Cut green onions in 1-1/2 inch lengths, then cut lengthwise in thin slices. Wash salted cabbage three times with cold water. Add the onions,garlic, chili, ginger, 1 Tbs salt and enough water to cover. Mix well.Cover and let stand for a few days.
4. Taste mixture every day. When it is acidic enough, cover and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 1 quart. --from http://www.cheriestihler.com/recipes/kchee.html


Black Radishes:

Black Radish Russian-style

First peel the black skin off. In a bowl, grate the radishes, chop or mince green scallion, grate a carrot and dice fresh cucumber...mix together with sour cream If you want more of a spicy tang, use less carrot and cucumber, if it's too spicy then use more carrot and cucumber. Use as a salad or eat on crackers. --adapted from chowhound.chow.com
Popcorn: our popcorn is very tasty--put oil in heavy bottomed pan and heat up the oil. Put a test kernel in when you think the oil is hot. When that one pops--pour in popcorn enough to cover the pan bottom and shake. Put a lid over the pan--but not tightly, so that steam can escape. Shake the pan as corn pops until popping slows. (it must be said that everyone seems to have a different method that works for them--and only them, perhaps ;-)
Winter Squash: these hard squash will keep in cool and dry storage for months. Great for apple and squash bake, curried or sweet soup.
Cilantro: great in a sandwich, soups, salads, recipes from around the world
Dill: great for pickling or with potatoes.
Fall Cabbage family crops: the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are starting to mature.
"Dessert Turnips": Our pet name for the sweet and mild white Hakurei salad turnips is dessert turnips. These are not your ordinary firm and strong purple top turnips. They are best eaten raw like carrot sticks with or without some kind of dip. Growing up, we had carrot, celery and turnip sticks at holiday meals.
Hakurei turnips (the white ones) Scarlet Queen are red and not as mild as Hakurei
Arugula: Yes, the arugula is back—cheers from all corners. This spicy green's nutty flavor jazzes up a salad or sandwich really well! Kind of zingy for most people--use as your palate prefers.
Ornamental/Flour Corn: feel free to shell your corn from the cob sometime and bring the kernels in to grind in the mill that we have here. Run it through once to grind coarsely and then tighten it up and run through again for finer grind for cornmeal for cornbread, cornmeal pancakes, muffins etc.
Sweet Peppers: almost finished for the season. Notice we didn't say bell peppers. There are other shapes that are sweet, too. Diced sweet pepper is great on a salad, or pepper strips on a relish are sweet and tasty, too. They also freeze well in strips or dices after core and seeds are removed.
Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the farm favorite for French-fry making, hands down. Potatoes are a wonderful source of nutrients, versatile to cook with, and very satisfying to the eater--they even help you sleep well at night. (Potatoes not Prozac book)
Eggplants: Asian eggplants are mild and sweet; dark Italian types are probably what you grew up with. Slice and put on the grill rubbed with oil, soy sauce, and miso paste. Tasty and easy to use.
Chard: Remove the lower portion of the stalk as it is usually tough. Sautee leaves in butter, olive or coconut oil, add salt, and red pepper, top with Parmesian cheese. Mustard Greens: Known for their pungent flavor, these greens can be added to a salad for a mustardy hot punch, or can be added to soups or stir frys. Flavor mellows when cooked. Tatsoi: A mild green that is great raw in salad or cooked. We think of it as fall spinach.
Purple Mizuna: a unique mustard green from Japan that has mild flavor and is great in salad for color and flavor.
Senposai: has a sweet and tender cabbage like flavor. Makes a great outer wrap for veggie wraps. Use raw or cooked.

Goodbyes

Tomatoes/Peppers/Eggplants: these heat-lovers are slowing down and getting smaller and more sparse. Frost will likely take them out in the next week.
Onions: If you have onions remaining at home, they will keep for several months in cool, dark, and dry storage.


Enjoy the October bounty,


Your farmers
.

Stay dry and enjoy those hearty warm meals of fall,

Cornmeal, Cornbread, GMO and Pawpaws

Hello from the farm,


Well, we've switched seasons since last week and the pump appears to have regained its prime. We are relishing the rain and even enjoyed being caught in the driving rain afield on Monday when we all made a run for the barn.
Even we are amazed at the amount of food that we are harvesting today, and there are still five more harvests after this week. This week we finished digging the sweet potatoes, harvested more squash, dealt with hydraulics, a broken hot water heater, and continued preparations for the gift box project coming up. We also removed the peach trees in the pick your own field to give more space for Sungold cherry tomates, cut flowers and herbs. We were hopeful about the peaches, but discovered that organically grown peaches in this humid climate were not the quality fruit that we wanted.



pick your own plantings will be increased in this space next season

On Cornmeal and Grinding:

Many of you have asked how to grind and use the cornmeal, so here is what we have been doing for several years that we are pleased with. When you are finished decorating with your ornamental/flour corn:

-pick out a row or two with your fingers, table knife or spoon.
-the remaining rows twist laterally off pretty easily then
-bring your corn kernels to the farm
-run them through the mill coarsely
-run them though again on fine by tightening the nut on the back side of the mill to create more pressure.


Lorena’s Kickin Cornbread (the best cornbread ever in my unbiased opinion)
1c butter
¾ c sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2c milk
2T lemon juice
1t baking soda
2c corn meal
2c flour
1t salt
1c cheese grated

Melt butter, remove from heat, stir in sugar.
Add eggs, beat well.
Combine milk and lemon juice, add to batter.
Stir in cornmeal, soda, flour and salt, and cheese
Pour into greased 9x13 pan.

**chill for one hour in fridge before baking to allow cornmeal to soften**

Bake 30-40 min at 375 degrees.


The Dirt On GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms)

We receive a lot of questions about GMOs here at the farm. We have not grown any here and have no plans to at this point. So far, they are pretty much limited to commodity crops such as corn, soybeans, rice and cotton, what I think of as "industrial" crops.

You are probably aware that people throughout history have done basic plant breeding simply by selecting the reddest/tallest/spiciest/disease resistant types each year--whatever traits were important to them. Dog breeds would be another example--tall/short/color/strength/retrieving traits were encouraged by people.
Is GMO evil or a Pandora's box? Honestly, I'm not sure. It is in some ways an extension of what has been going on naturally for thousands of years in people's backyards. GMO may have legitimate application for helping the tomato plant fend off the late blight disease which annihilates a farmer's tomato crop, by finding the resistant gene and incorporating it in a lab environment whereas traditional breeding techniques might not be able to succeed because of bringing in unwanted characteristcs simultaneously. Where I think GMO technique crosses the line ethically is when it allows an herbicide to be applied to a crop without harm or implants transgenic material--like mammalian genes in a vegetable crop. So your farmers will keep our ears to the ground to see what unfolds, but we will not be planting any GMO crops in the foreseeable future.


About Pawpaws:

young pawpaw clusters


Eight years ago we planted pawpaw seeds from fruit that we gathered down by the river. This year they are starting to bear decently. What is a pawpaw? It is the only member of the tropical custard apple family (such as cherimoya) that can grow in our cold climate. A tree fruit, it is green-skinned and somewhat the shape and size of a green mango. It is native to most states east of the Mississippi River and five states have towns named Pawpaw. What does it taste like? Well, cut it in half, spoon out the soft yellow custardy flesh and try it--kind of like banana/avocado/vanilla--it's unique. Is it good? Yes, according to many people, no according to others. I like them and eat them daily. Give them a try, don't eat the skin or seeds, in fact, bury the seeds in a wooded edge or backyard where you'd like to have a native tree with September fruit.


Watermelon Radish:


These are our favorite radishes--they are eye-catching and fairly sweet and mild compared to most radishes.


Popping our Popcorn in the Microwave: We did it! After a few varied attemps at popping and burning corn in the microwave here in the barn, we know how to do it.
Shell the corn off of the cob
place a 1/4 c. in a small plain paper bag
close the bag and put the fold underneath as you place in the microwave
put on Popcorn setting or 2 minutes and observe--if it stops popping, starts smoking or a burnt odor starts to form, it is time to be done!

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest
Popcorn: our popcorn is very tasty--put oil in heavy bottomed pan and heat up the oil. Put a test kernel in when you think the oil is hot. When that one pops--pour in popcorn enough to cover the pan bottom and shake. Put a lid over the pan--but not tightly, so that steam can escape. Shake the pan as corn pops until popping slows. (it must be said that everyone seems to have a different method that works for them--and only them, perhaps ;-)
Winter Squash: these hard squash will keep in cool and dry storage for months. Great for apple and squash bake, curried or sweet soup.
Cilantro: great in a sandwich, soups, salads, recipes from around the world
Dill: great for pickling or with potatoes.
Fall Cabbage family crops: the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are starting to mature.
"Dessert Turnips": Our pet name for the sweet and mild white Hakurei salad turnips is dessert turnips. These are not your ordinary firm and strong purple top turnips. They are best eaten raw like carrot sticks with or without some kind of dip. Growing up, we had carrot, celery and turnip sticks at holiday meals.
Hakurei turnips (the white ones) Scarlet Queen are red and not as mild as Hakurei
Arugula: Yes, the arugula is back—cheers from all corners. This spicy green's nutty flavor jazzes up a salad or sandwich really well! Kind of zingy for most people--use as your palate prefers.
Ornamental/Flour Corn: feel free to shell your corn from the cob sometime and bring the kernels in to grind in the mill that we have here. Run it through once to grind coarsely and then tighten it up and run through again for finer grind for cornmeal for cornbread, cornmeal pancakes, muffins etc.
Sweet Peppers: almost finished for the season. Notice we didn't say bell peppers. There are other shapes that are sweet, too. Diced sweet pepper is great on a salad, or pepper strips on a relish are sweet and tasty, too. They also freeze well in strips or dices after core and seeds are removed.
Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes are the farm favorite for French-fry making, hands down. Potatoes are a wonderful source of nutrients, versatile to cook with, and very satisfying to the eater--they even help you sleep well at night. (Potatoes not Prozac book)
Eggplants: Asian eggplants are mild and sweet; dark Italian types are probably what you grew up with. Slice and put on the grill rubbed with oil, soy sauce, and miso paste. Tasty and easy to use.
Chard: Remove the lower portion of the stalk as it is usually tough. Sautee leaves in butter, olive or coconut oil, add salt, and red pepper, top with Parmesian cheese. Mustard Greens: Known for their pungent flavor, these greens can be added to a salad for a mustardy hot punch, or can be added to soups or stir frys. Flavor mellows when cooked. Tatsoi: A mild green that is great raw in salad or cooked. We think of it as fall spinach.
Purple Mizuna: a unique mustard green from Japan that has mild flavor and is great in salad for color and flavor.
Senposai: has a sweet and tender cabbage like flavor. Makes a great outer wrap for veggie wraps. Use raw or cooked.

Goodbyes Onions: If you have onions remaining at home, they will keep for several months in cool, dark, and dry storage.
Beets: I have fond childhood memories of eating these still warm from being blanched, prior to them being turned into pickled red beets. Great roasted with olive oil, grilled with oil and balsamic vinegar, or grated in salads.
Watermelon: These did better than expected, but not as well as hoped for. A friend from Lancaster South Rotary told me that watermelon growers in Delaware lost 3/4 of their melons. June was cool and cloudy and the honeybees slept in and did not pollinate the watermelon's morning access-only flowers.
Cantaloupes: We hope to have enough for everyone to get some across two or three week's time. A super great taste of summer. Try eating with a just a bit of freshly ground black pepper.
Cucumbers: The crop was really good this year--now finished Cabbage: We'll keep finding a few of these over the next couple of weeks. Cut into wedges and serve with a sprinkle of salt, make sauerkraut.
Summer squash/Zucchini: These are finished as well (some people cheer) stir fry, grate and use for zucchini bread or freeze for later.
Beans: The beans did well, and there is a chance we will have fall beans as well! Scallions: Goodbye until next year.
Bok choi and Napa: These have run their course and we will see them again in October and November--a great time to make kimchee with the cool weather.

Stay dry and enjoy those hearty warm meals of fall,


Your farmers