Farmin' Ain't Easy This Week's Share Fall CSA 3Weeks Left
Volume 8, Issue 17
17675 SW 14th • Martell, Nebraska • 68404 • 402.794.4025 • [email protected] September 20th, 2017
Now this is purple! I love this “Islander” variety of bell peppers. They have a rich, robust bell pepper flavor and thick, crunch!
This Week’s Share Potatoes Cherry Tomatoes Delicata Squash Onions Peppers Kale or Chard
Farmin’ Ain’t Easy
“Do farmers have a choice?” This was my favorite question from a recent interview featuring Ted Genoways’ and his new book “This Blessed Earth.” The book is a portrait of farming and farm families and I’m excited to dig in — although my stack of “must reads” this time of year totters dangerously from too little attention! In order to write the book, Ted and his wife, Mary Anne Andrei, followed the Hammond family on their farm in York County, Nebraska where they grow row crops and raise cattle. The question of choice is very interesting to me because “our” farm — the small scale, diversified, direct-market, organic farm — is often pitted against larger scale, conventional, commodity farms like the Hammonds’. Many conventional farmers feel under attack, while farms like ours are celebrated and supported by our customers and the media. While Chloe and I are proud of the production practices we use to grow your food, and while we hope that conventional farmers will adopt more regenerative farming techniques, we also feel a bit
guilty about all the support we get because no matter how you do it, farming is difficult, committed, and often thankless work...which brings us back to choices. Neither Chloe nor I grew up farming. We didn’t come from land. We’ve never had Dad or Grandpa telling us how to farm, or felt encumbered by the debt they incurred. We farm at the tiny end of the spectrum where we name our price and get a retail dollar for almost everything we grow, and we sell into a young market where we get to make an impact. All of this gives us tremendous freedom of choice about what and how we grow — we simply aren’t constrained by the need to constantly grow more product for less revenue the way commodity growers are. Everyday we interact with the “real farmers” we’re surrounded by, and everyday I see how little choice they have in their production techniques because they are so constrained by market prices and debt. To be a commodity producer means to be the lowest-cost producer, which does not encourage innovative and “sustainable” practices. I’m not necessarily rooting for this country’s farming practices, but I am rooting for this country’s farmers!
Beets Zucchini Tomatoes
Fall CSA Registration for Fall CSA will open by early October, and the first pickup will be Wednesday, October 18th 46pm at Goldenrod Pastries in College View.
3Weeks Left There are three pickups remaining after this week. The last Mini A pickup is on October 4th, and the last pickup for everyone else is October 11th.
Cooking Ideas and Recipes Spiced Lentil Soup with Delicata and Roasted Beets Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
2 medium whole beets, scrubbed and ends trimmed 1 delicata squash, washed and diced 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup dry red lentils 5 cups vegetable broth 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (I like unrefined) 1 large yellow onion, diced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp. ground turmeric 1 tsp. curry powder 1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper Sprinkle of crushed red pepper Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg 1 15 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk 2 Tbsp. lime juice 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 Tbsp. vegan sugar 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Cooking Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Wrap the whole, scrubbed
2.
3.
4.
5.
beets loosely in tinfoil. Place on a baking sheet. Toss the diced squash in olive oil and scatter on the same baking sheet. Roast at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Stir the squash at 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, transfer the squash to bowl for later and turn over the beets. Allow the beets to cook for an additional 15-30 minutes, until fork tender. Remove when done and allow to cool. Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, bring the lentils and vegetable broth to a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure to watch it or it could boil over. Reduce to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then, remove from heat. In a medium frying pan, heat the coconut oil over low. Add the onion and garlic and sauté a few minutes. Next, add in the turmeric through and including the nutmeg, stirring well and scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Sauté for about 8 minutes, until the onion begins to brown. Once lentils are done, add the coconut milk through and including the salt to the lentils and broth. Also, add the squash and the onion mixture. When the beets are cooled, dice and add to the soup. Stir well to combine. Serve hot, garnished with something green!
•
Oven-Roasted Delicata and Beets
•
Tasty Ways to Cook Greens
•
Preserving Tomatoes
•
Using up Summer Squash/Zucchini
•
Potato and Chard Gratin
Hoophouse 1 has been flipped: The seasons are changing so out with the tomatoes and in with the greens and roots! Still lots of tomatoes in the field, so never fear! — Summer may officially end this week, but summer crops are still cranking.
17675 SW 14th • Martell, Nebraska • 68404 • 402.794.4025 • [email protected] September 20th, 2017
Now this is purple! I love this “Islander” variety of bell peppers. They have a rich, robust bell pepper flavor and thick, crunch!
This Week’s Share Potatoes Cherry Tomatoes Delicata Squash Onions Peppers Kale or Chard
Farmin’ Ain’t Easy
“Do farmers have a choice?” This was my favorite question from a recent interview featuring Ted Genoways’ and his new book “This Blessed Earth.” The book is a portrait of farming and farm families and I’m excited to dig in — although my stack of “must reads” this time of year totters dangerously from too little attention! In order to write the book, Ted and his wife, Mary Anne Andrei, followed the Hammond family on their farm in York County, Nebraska where they grow row crops and raise cattle. The question of choice is very interesting to me because “our” farm — the small scale, diversified, direct-market, organic farm — is often pitted against larger scale, conventional, commodity farms like the Hammonds’. Many conventional farmers feel under attack, while farms like ours are celebrated and supported by our customers and the media. While Chloe and I are proud of the production practices we use to grow your food, and while we hope that conventional farmers will adopt more regenerative farming techniques, we also feel a bit
guilty about all the support we get because no matter how you do it, farming is difficult, committed, and often thankless work...which brings us back to choices. Neither Chloe nor I grew up farming. We didn’t come from land. We’ve never had Dad or Grandpa telling us how to farm, or felt encumbered by the debt they incurred. We farm at the tiny end of the spectrum where we name our price and get a retail dollar for almost everything we grow, and we sell into a young market where we get to make an impact. All of this gives us tremendous freedom of choice about what and how we grow — we simply aren’t constrained by the need to constantly grow more product for less revenue the way commodity growers are. Everyday we interact with the “real farmers” we’re surrounded by, and everyday I see how little choice they have in their production techniques because they are so constrained by market prices and debt. To be a commodity producer means to be the lowest-cost producer, which does not encourage innovative and “sustainable” practices. I’m not necessarily rooting for this country’s farming practices, but I am rooting for this country’s farmers!
Beets Zucchini Tomatoes
Fall CSA Registration for Fall CSA will open by early October, and the first pickup will be Wednesday, October 18th 46pm at Goldenrod Pastries in College View.
3Weeks Left There are three pickups remaining after this week. The last Mini A pickup is on October 4th, and the last pickup for everyone else is October 11th.
Cooking Ideas and Recipes Spiced Lentil Soup with Delicata and Roasted Beets Ingredients • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
2 medium whole beets, scrubbed and ends trimmed 1 delicata squash, washed and diced 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil 1 cup dry red lentils 5 cups vegetable broth 1 Tbsp. coconut oil (I like unrefined) 1 large yellow onion, diced 2 large garlic cloves, minced 1 tsp. ground turmeric 1 tsp. curry powder 1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper Sprinkle of crushed red pepper Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg 1 15 oz. can of full-fat coconut milk 2 Tbsp. lime juice 2 tsp. dried thyme 1 Tbsp. vegan sugar 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Cooking Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Wrap the whole, scrubbed
2.
3.
4.
5.
beets loosely in tinfoil. Place on a baking sheet. Toss the diced squash in olive oil and scatter on the same baking sheet. Roast at 400 F for about 30 minutes. Stir the squash at 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, transfer the squash to bowl for later and turn over the beets. Allow the beets to cook for an additional 15-30 minutes, until fork tender. Remove when done and allow to cool. Meanwhile, in a large soup pot, bring the lentils and vegetable broth to a boil, stirring occasionally. Make sure to watch it or it could boil over. Reduce to low and simmer for about 15 minutes. Then, remove from heat. In a medium frying pan, heat the coconut oil over low. Add the onion and garlic and sauté a few minutes. Next, add in the turmeric through and including the nutmeg, stirring well and scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. Sauté for about 8 minutes, until the onion begins to brown. Once lentils are done, add the coconut milk through and including the salt to the lentils and broth. Also, add the squash and the onion mixture. When the beets are cooled, dice and add to the soup. Stir well to combine. Serve hot, garnished with something green!
•
Oven-Roasted Delicata and Beets
•
Tasty Ways to Cook Greens
•
Preserving Tomatoes
•
Using up Summer Squash/Zucchini
•
Potato and Chard Gratin
Hoophouse 1 has been flipped: The seasons are changing so out with the tomatoes and in with the greens and roots! Still lots of tomatoes in the field, so never fear! — Summer may officially end this week, but summer crops are still cranking.
