A Little Vegetable Education

Strawberry season is all but over...that is the June bearing ones.  Later in the fall we should be getting some ever bearing but they don't produce much.  Tomatoes in the green house are picking up.  As you can see we are now getting green beans.  And in a few weeks we will be getting some potatoes.

These long white and green vegetables are leeks.  The leeks can be eaten just like dried garlic.  Only drawback is that it won't keep long.  Andy says that we should keep it in the refrigerator until we use it.  (That sounds and seems so funny coming from him.)

 

There are still Summer and Fall Shares available.  Please let your friends know that they can join now and get in on all this goodness!  Andy hopes that if you are planning on participation in the Summer Share, you will get the information and payment to him as soon as possible because the Summer Share starts in about three weeks.  Don't miss out by waiting to long.

Recipe Of The Week: Green Bean Soup

Green Bean Soup

 

1 cup of chopped onions or leaks

2 Tablespoons of butter

2 cups of cut green beans

1 1/2 cups of diced potatoes

1 cup of sliced carrots

1 cup of uncooked macaroni

2 quarts of water or broth

1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon of basil

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

 

Saute the onions or leeks in the butter in a large kettle.  When they start to brown add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil then simmer approximately 45 minutes.

Visit The Farm Day

Saturday June 29, 2013

11:30-3:00

 

The date has been set to visit the farm.  Again this year Cedarmore Farm and Highland Haven Farm will jointly hold See The Farm Day.  Highland Haven Farm (Lizzie's brother's farm) has dairy products, meat chickens and turkeys.  They are about 1/2mile down the lane. From 11:30-3:00 we will be able to tour the farm and Andy and Lizzie will be around to answer all of our Englishers questions and we can take buggy and wagon rides.  At the very same time Highland Haven Farm will be doing the same thing at their farm for their customers.  You will be able to split your time between the two farms if you are customers of both.  Then at 3:00 Highland Haven will have someone speaking about the legalities of raw milk herd shares in Ohio and other related topics.   You are welcomed to stay at Cedarmore Farm until 4:00.  At 4:00 we will all get to join together and have refreshments at Highland Haven Farm.    Andy and Lizzie ask that if you plan to stay for refreshments that you bring something to share.  It can be a dessert or any side dish.

 

See The Farm 11:30-3:00

Speaker at Highland Haven 3:00-4:00

Refreshments at  Highland Haven Farm

 

 

Please let Andy and Lizzie know if you are coming to see the farm and if you plan to stay for the meal.   Andrea, the coordinator of things at Highland Haven Farm, has set up an online form.  Click here to fill out the form.
 

Hope to see you there on Saturday, June 29!

A Good Soaking Rain Is Good For The Farm

Hillsboro has been getting lots of rain.  When Andy was writing the newsletter there was a nice steady soaking rain.  That is good because he doesn't need to set up the irrigation system yet.  That helps with not having to spend the money for the fuel and give him a little work break.  But once the weather turns dry and hot he will need to set the system up.

 

the strawberries are still producing, but not as heavy any more.  He is not sure what will be available for next week, but he promises to give us what he has.

 

Next best thing...the tomatoes are starting to ripen.  We got a beautiful vibrant red one today. since they are being grown in the greenhouse we should be getting some of those over the next two or three weeks.

first tomato of the season

 

 

If you are not taking advantage of the baked good share...you are missing the boat!  There are chocolate and peanut butter...oh my goodness are they delicious!!

 

As the CSA season progresses the menu changes also, which is the fun part of the CSA.  You get what  is in season.  And you learn to eat new things.

 

 

Recipe Of The Week: Zucchini Cookies With Lemon Glaze

Zucchini Cookies With Lemon Glaze

 

2 cups of flour

3/4 cup of butter

3/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 beaten egg

grated rind of one lemon

1 cup of shredded zucchini

1 cup of walnuts or pecans

1 cup of powered sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoon of lemon juice

 

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Beat n egg and lemon rind.  Stir in flour mixture until smooth.  Stir in zucchini and nuts.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Drizzle with lemon glaze while still warm. 

 

To make glaze...mix powered sugar with the lemon juice until smooth. Makes about 2 dozen.

cookies.

Sweet, Sweet Strawberries

Strawberry season is at it's peak.  And that means that we will be getting two quarts in our boxes!!!!  Thank heavens there are a few other organic growing Amish farmers in the area that want to help with the CSA.  When Justin and his son unloaded the delivery van I noticed that several people took advantage of ordering extras.  There should be extras to order again next week so if you are interested just email cedarmorefarm@tdisp.com with your order.  They are $4.00 a quart or $3.50 a quart if you order 10 or more.  Andy hopes that we will get one more quart in our boxes next week before the strawberry season comes to a close.

 These are scapes. Lizzie uses them in stir fries or just about any other way you can use green onions.  They actually grow out of the tops of the garlic plants.  If they are pruned off the top it actually helps the garlic grow bigger and then you get nicer garlic bulbs.  A lot of farmers throw them aside not realizing they can be eaten.

 

The kale (green ruffly leaves with purple stems) is a little bug eaten.  That is good and bad.  Remember that these vegetables at Cedarmore Farm are grown organically.  There has been a problem with flea beetles.  The leaves are totally fine to eat.  They just don't look so good.  Andy hopes you understand that there just isn't anything that he can do about it at this point.



Recipe Of The Week: Steamed Scapes

Steamed Scapes

 

Steam and serve in dishes instead of asparagus.  Other uses:  add scapes to quiche or omelets, stir in scapes with other veggies, add raw to salads, combine with mayonnaise to add zip to sandwiches.

 

 



Strawberries Are Here!

Andy is so excited (and so is Justin, the driver) about having strawberries in our boxes this week!  Andy was just sure they wouldn't be ready until next week.  He is not complaining and neither am I.  When he looked back at his records from last year, the strawberries were even two weeks earlier then now.

 

This week we have a large head of Chinese cabbage and a head of lettuce.  Some of the boxes have a small bunch of asparagus and a few zucchini.  If your box didn't have these you will most likely be getting some next week.  Andy tries extremely hard to even things out the best he can.


 Please Andy writes  the newsletter a few days before the boxes are packed.  So he is really trying to predict what we will be getting.  That hand written newsletter is then hand delivered to Rue and Susan.  They type it us and print it for Andy and then they hand deliver it back to Andy and Lizzie so they can put one in every CSA box.  It is not as easy as it might sound.

We love the egg share!

This weeks baked good is a cherry pie!

 

Zucchini relish is something new to me.  I guess I will be trying it on just about everything.

 

FYI...One of the neighboring farmers who also grows using the same organic methods as Cedarmore Farm, have some extra strawberries.  If you would like to order some for next week, please email the farm at cedarmorefarm@tdisp.com with your order.  They are $4.00 per quart or $3.50 a quart if you order 10 or more. On extra orders like this they will keep a tab on what is ordered and then bill you at the end of the month.

Recipe Of The Week: Strawberry Pizza

Strawberry Pizza

 

3/4 cup of softened butter

1/2 cup of powered sugar

1 1/2 cups of flour

8 ounces of cream cheese

1/2 cup of powered sugar

1/4 cup of whipping cream

4 cups of sliced strawberries

1/2 cup  of pineapple or orange juice

1/4 cup of powered sugar

1 Tablespoon of corn starch

1 teaspoons lemon juice

 

Cream butter and sugar.  Mix in flour and press into a greased 12 inch pizza pan.  Bake at 300 degrees for 25-28 minutes or until light brown.  Cool.  Mix cream cheese and powered sugar.  Whip the cream and fold into cream cheese mixture.  Spread over cooled crust.  Arrange berries on top of this mixture  Bring remaining ingredients to a boil.  Boil for one minute and when it is slightly cooled poor over berries.  Chill for one hour.

Green Goodness

With our CSA boxes each week there is a weekly newsletter that Andy writes out long had and then Rue and Susan...the 'Englishers' down the road type and print it out what Andy has written about.  This newsletter then makes it way back to Cedarmore Farm in time to be folded and placed in each CSA box.

 

So...last week at the time of writing it was raining. Then a little stretch of dry weather came and Andy and his helpers scurried out to the fields where they were able to get some work done.  They have just finished their second planting of beans and they were able to get down some mulch so that the tomatoes, cantaloupes, cucumbers and sweet potatoes can be planted. It has been more wet than normal but if they are able to get just a little window where they can plant it isn't too bad.

 

 

For those of you that are new...the green leaves with the colored stems are Swiss chard (my all time favorite vegetable)

 

A little faming mishap...way back in February on one of those cold wintery night, there was a farmer that forgot to wake up to stoke the fire to keep the greenhouse plants nice warm...oops, no broccoli now for our boxes.  But the good news is that there has been a second planting and it should be ready to harvest in a few weeks.  And the strawberries should be ripe about then also.