048 Heritage turkey from pasture to plate, vegetable gardens best tomatoes, worming pigs

This “longer than usual” CoopCast includes…

Updates from around the farm:

• Heritage Turkey for Thanksgiving - yum!!!!
• Losing a chicken and a farmers “instincts”
• Prepping for winter by moving chicken fencing (poultry netting) and pig fencing

A trip to the cold Veggie Patch to discuss some HOT tomato choices:

• Review of our top 2012 tomato varieties
• A brief lesson on determinate and indeterminate tomato plants as well as heirloom and hybrid.

In the CoopCast Community

• Josie asked about worming pigs?
• Lots of people have been asking “when is sign up for X, Y or Z”?

Homemade salsa - ¡Olé!

Nothing like fresh salsa

Our first frost is due in just 36 hours here on the farm and that means we have been in the garden picking all the last tomatoes, peppers and anything you can imagine that’s left.  An that’s a LOT of tomatoes to be sure.  We have been making delicious sauce, stewed tomatoes and salsa for a few months now…  and will use this final harvest for a big batch of extra hot salsa.

So how do we make homemade salsa - it’s actually really easy!

• We start with a really big pot on the stove and to that add all sorts of tomatoes cut up into quarters.  We add skins, seeds, the works.  Lots of different varieties of tomatoes make for more subtle flavors in the salsa.
• Next we add the flavor and heat.  That’s lot’s of peppers and onions in big chunks like the picture above.  Again, variety is the spice of life.
• Finally garlic.  LOTS of garlic.  Cloves and cloves of garlic.  Right into the pot without wasting time chopping them.
• Turn the pot on low and let the mixture cook down.  The volume should reduce to about half.  At this point we use a hand held immersion blender and use that to make the entire pot the same consistency.  No lumps at all.
• Continue to cook the pot down until it’s like very runny ketchup.  (If you like thicker salsa - keep cooking, thinner, stop earlier)
• Next take the juice of 6-7 fresh limes or the equivalent lime juice and add to the sauce.
• Now take your best tomatoes and chop into small pieces and add them to the mixture stiring them in until you have almost doubled the mixture again.  You can also add chopped onion and peppers at this stage if you would like them as chunks when you are dipping later.
• Now is also when you can add other spices or cilantro as well.
• Make sure you taste the salsa and get it where you like it in terms of heat.
• Add the salsa to 1quart jars and can for 15 minutes at 11psi of pressure in a pressure canner.

That’s it - super simple.  And some of the best salsa you can expect to have.

033 A great farm animal becomes sausage, growing potatoes in the vegetable garden, getting attached to livestock when farming

Updates this week on the farm:

• We learned that Ollie is no more on the farm we took him to,
• Hay and livestock trailer,
• The seasons final chicken processing,
• 5 gallon bucket waterer gauge,
• And a question - what makes you happy when farming?

In the Veggie Patch:

• Tomatoes and canning,
• Succession planting,
• We discuss the results of the above ground potato growing method (from coopcast 014)

Questions, Conversations and Ruminations:

• We get asked all the time “Don’t you get attached to your animals?”
• Can you care about the animals you eat for meat? 
• Is it better to not like them? 
• Is that why we’ve gone to a system of mistreatment?

For the feed, head on over to the CoopCast RSS feed.

Second to last CSA share for 2011

As the boxes got assembled this week, we couldn't help but note how much they "look like Fall". It's kind of bittersweet to see the growing season coming to an end - it was the craziest, busiest growing season we've ever experienced but there is still such a reward in harvesting what you've grown each week. Now that we've evaluated the state of the garden, we can confirm that NEXT week is the last week of shares.

Second to last share

So let's see what's in the second last box of the season:

1. Tomatoes - yes - more...  mmm...  savor them before they are gone for another year!
2. Kale - it's the time for soups - add some kale to sneak extra vitamins in to your favorite soup
3. Edamame- edible soybeans are really good and these guys are at their peak right now. Boil for 5 minutes, add salt and pinch the soybeans into your mouth (throwing away the pods). You can also remove the beans from the pod after boiling and use in some of the recipes you find online.  Here's our simple version.
4. Green and purple beans- we planted a second planting of beans mid-summer so that we could enjoy them now- so enjoy! Eat fresh, cooked or blanch and freeze them to enjoy later.
5. Delicata squash- These are the long, striped squash in the box. We started growing this variety last year after seeing them featured a lot at Wegmans. Check out Wegmans website for some great recipe ideas. Andy does not like winter squash - but DOES like this variety a lot!
6. Sunshine Kabocha- This is the orange, pumpkin-looking squash in the box. This is our first year growing this variety and we haven't tried it yet ourselves. However, it won several best flavor awards last year, so see what you think. It can be prepared like an acorn squash or you can scoop out the flesh and cube it to use in a recipe.
7. Yellow onion - one more onion from the garden this year!
8. Drying beans - That container of odd looking, dried pods is not a mistake. Open the pods to find some of the black beans and kidney beans we grew this year. Remove them from the pod and let them dry flat for a few days before storing in a container until needed. Make a mixed-bean chili or taco soup.
9. Colored sweet peppers- orange and red peppers have been ripening this week. Check to see what color you received.
10. More parlsey - we have lots of parsley right now- so we're sharing it with you- enjoy!

A share you don't WANT to share!

Why would I say you don't want to share this share?  Well, mainly because all the weather extremes of this season that we have been able to manage are finally weighing in on the gardens.  In reality many of the plants look like they are in mid-September, slowing down like they normally would.  We are guessing it's because they "rushed" to produce with the extremes (plants do that) and now are spent.  What that really translates to is an encouragement to enjoy this share and the next because that may conclude the CSA for this year...  well...  sorta ;)



So - what's in the box?

-Tomatoes - cherry tomatoes and a mix of standard tomatoes

-Cabbage- The weather conditions each year dictate what does well and what doesn't.  It's been a great year for cabbage...so here's another head of cabbage.  Have you tried creamy cole slaw or the fresh slaw recipe we posted?  Both are great options for Labor Day parties.  You might also try this cabbage tomato pasta toss recipe.  We've served it hot and also cold as a side dish - another Labor Day party option.  Looking for other cabbage options?  Check this out.

-Summer Squash- you'll either see zucchini or yellow squash in the box.  This looks to be the last of it for this year so enjoy!  Did you know you can make zucchini bread and freeze it?! (Or zucchini-blueberry muffins that you bring to the farm to share - mmmm)

-Tuscan kale - this type of kale is commonly used to make kale chips.  Try out the recipe!

-Beets- It's also been a great year for beet.  This variety is called bull's blood - notice the dark burgundy leaves.  They are supposed to be excellent as sauteed greens.  And thanks to CSA member Kelly for sharing the beet hummus recipe below.  We're going to try it out this week too!

-Onions - You have two different onions this week- a milder white onion and a more onion-y yellow onion.

-Garlic- This is the fourth of the 4 varieties we grew this year.  This is a smaller type of garlic called NY white.  It is small but very flavorful - a very mild garlic flavor per clove!  This is a "softneck" variety and is best when you cut the tops off each  clove and roast in the oven with a little olive oil on it.  Then squeeze the roasted cloves out onto a slice of bread.

-Hot peppers- This week you have a container of three types of hot peppers.  You'll see several green jalapenos, a yellow hot banana pepper and a hot red peppino.  The peppino is quite hot so it is best used in a large pot of chili or soup.   The jalapenos are not as hot as some people think, particularly if you remove the seeds.  They are a great addition to nachos, corn bread, and even mac and cheese.  You could even pickle them!

-Parsley - Flat italian parsley is a great addition to so many soups, stews and sauces and there's no need to buy it fresh in the winter.  Chop it, add it to ice cube tray, cover with water and freeze. Once frozen, store the cubes in a freezer bag or old yogurt container.  Pull out a cube of parsley to add to anything you make all winter!

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Beet Hummus Recipe (Thanks CSA member, Kelly)

1/2 pound beets (about 4 medium ) cooked, peeled, cubed

2 Tbsp tahini sesame seed paste

5 Tbsp lemon juice

1 small clove garlic, chopped

1Tbsp ground cumin

1Tbsp lemon zest (zest from approx 2 lemons)

Generous pinch of sea salt

Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender and pulse until smooth. Taste and adjust ingredients and seasonings as desired. Makes two cups.