Welcome to week 17 of the P&C CSA!

Here’s what’s in the box:

• Red Torpedo Onion
• Radishes
• Eggplant – I’ve learned to love eggplant for its ability to take on the flavor of other veggies in a dish while also adding some bulk.  Check out the ratatouille recipe from a couple of week ago.
• Garlic
• Zucchini
• Kohlrabi – you can peel these and eat them raw, chopped or grated in a salad or sautéed in a stir-fry.  Check out the empanada, sandwich, and quick-snack recipes below!
  
• Sweet Peppers – sweet red bell ‘lipstick’ peppers and a few of you got more of the long curled sweet ‘Jimmy Nardello’s’
• Tomatoes – a couple of heirloom slicers and a handful of over-sized orange grape tomatoes
• Baby Butter Lettuce
• Asian Pears – Once again, from the Lebanon farm!
• Chanterelle Mushrooms – these were wild-harvested in the Oregon Coast Range by a generous friend of ours.  You’ll want to store them in the fridge, but with adequate air-flow.  Here’s a link to a good resource for handling tips: http://www.wild-harvest.com/pages/chanterelle.htm.  Here’s a link to some great recipes: http://www.forestmushrooms.com/recipe/chanterelle.html

Farming is obviously very seasonal work.  The spring is full of planting and preparing the soil, the summer focus is on the bounty of sun-ripened fruit, and usually the fall marks a shift toward a slower pace as the growing season nears its end and the storage crops are brought in from the field for winter enjoyment.  Our decision to pick up and move the farm to Lebanon has us scrambling a little to sustain the work hours we experienced earlier in the season.  There’s field clean-up and winter prep. to do on Grand Island and spring prep. to think about in Lebanon.

Here’s a quick rundown of projects we’ll be focusing on as we move into the next growing season on the new farm:

• Organic Re-Certification: We’ll need to begin the process to re-submit our organic certification application with Oregon Tilth.  We’re committed to keeping our organic status!

• Water Rights: We’ve been lucky to have irrigation sources taken care of in the past.  The new farm has an irrigation well but it needs to be officially approved by the Oregon Water Resources Department so we’ll be working submitting our application for water rights too.

• Tractor & Implements: We’re hoping to purchase a tractor sometime prior to the spring planting period.

• Hay for Sale: 3000 bales of Timothy/Alfalfa hay were included in the lease agreement for the new farm, so we’re in the hay-selling business!

• The Big Move: We’re planning to move our wash station and cooler to the new farm in early November to make way for the sheep that will be living in its current location.  Of course moving entails loading, hauling, and unloading, but we also need to prepare a space at the new farm.  We’ll need to figure out how to move our irrigation pipe down south as well.

• Farm Plan: We’ll be re-evaluating our farm plan and goals to incorporate the new, larger farm.  We’ll decide who we’re growing for and what we should be growing.  We’ll also work on a more specified planting plan for next year’s growing season.

• Planting Garlic: Garlic will be the last thing we plant as we head into the winter.  We’ve heard your pleas and we’ll be planting a lot!

• Orchard & Berry Care: We’ll be calling on a consultant friend to help us evaluate the current state of the fruit trees on the property and give us pruning and disease/pest prevention suggestions.  We’ll also be weeding and re-training the berry canes.

• Buying the Farm!: We are, of course, just leasing this new farm for the year.  As we continue to get to know it and confirm that it’s a good fit long-term, we’ll have to eventually figure out how to buy it outright.

I’m sure there’s more but these are the big projects that come to mind.  Needless to say we’ll continue to be busy as we move into next year.  We’re extremely excited to have the opportunity to grow the farm and are thankful for the community support that has helped get us this far.

With so many projects on our to-do list, we’re certainly not forgetting about the next 8 weeks of this season.  We still have two months of veggies to enjoy!  Of course the Saturday Market will close for the season at the end of October but we’ll let you know the new pick-up details before it closes.

Also, we’ll be hosting an Open House and Pumpkin Patch event at the farm on Sunday October 17^th from 3pm to 5pm.  We hope you’ll mark your calendar and plan to come out to tour the field and choose a pumpkin!

Enjoy the veggies this week!

Your farmers,

Jeff Bramlett and Carri Heisler

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Recipe inspiration for this week’s vegetables:

Kohlrabi & Squash Empanadas

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 inch of ginger, peeled and grated
2 medium kohlrabies, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 large summer squash, cut into small cubes
2 large scallions, both white and green parts, finely cut
1 radish, minced (optional)
1 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 T. butter
salt and pepper to taste
dash of freshly grated nutmeg
1 box of pre-made pie crust or one batch homemade
1 egg

In a medium skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and ginger to brown.  Add kohlrabi cubes, a pinch of salt and some pepper. Toss well and cook 3 or 4 minutes until kohlrabi are softening a bit.  Add squash cubes and continue to cook for 4 more minutes.  Add scallions, radish, nutmeg and another pinch of salt and pepper.  Mix well and cook for one minute before removing from heat.  Set mixture to this side to cool.

Roll out dough to be a little thinner than pie crust typically is.  If you are using pre-made crust from the store, run your rolling pin over it once or twice.   Using a cereal bowl or large circular cookie cutter, cut out 6 inch-ish circles from the dough.  It should yield about 15, give or take depending on your cutter and dough thickness.

Pre-heat oven to 425F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.   Prepare egg wash by beating egg with a teaspoon of water and set to the side along with a small bowl of water.

To make the empanadas, spoon one tablespoon of kohlrabi and squash mixture into the center of a circle of dough.   (It’s better to have less filling than too much or the empanadas won’t hold together. Feel out the right ratio that allows you to close off the dough without any filling popping out.)   Dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it around the outside edge of the dough.  Fold dough over the filling to create a half circle.  Press down edges.  Carefully pick up the dough pocket and pinch edges (see photo) to seal them tightly.  A fork can also be used to crimp the edges if you want a less tedious method.

Repeat above process to finish all the empanadas, laying them on the lined cookie sheet when done.  With a fork, prick the tops once and brush with egg wash.   Bake for 8 minutes and turn over.  Bake another 5 to 7 minutes until deep golden brown and flaky.  Best served straight from the oven.

(makes approximately 15 empanadas)

From Straight from the Farm, http://straightfromthefarm.net/2007/06/17/something-original/

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Kohlrabi Sandwiches

unsalted butter, softened
thick-sliced kohlrabi
pumpernickel bread
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Generously butter 2 slices of bread and make a sandwich with the kohlrabi as the “meat”.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

From “From Asparagus to Zucchini, A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce,” Madison Area CSA Coalition

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South-of-the-Border Kohlrabi Snacks

peeled kohlrabi
chili powder
fresh lime juice

Slice the kohlrabi into rounds (not too thick).  Dip the lower third of each round into lime juice, then into chili powder.  Makes any number of servings.

From “From Asparagus to Zucchini, A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce,” Madison Area CSA Coalition