June 26 CSA

Boxes this first week of summer include:
small shares:  2 lbs summer squash (some zucchini, some zephyr), 1 lb. pickling cucumbers, 1 english cucumber, 1 bunch of red onions, 2 garlic bulbs, 1 pint blueberries! (value $18)
regular shares get all the above plus:  a second pint of blueberries, 1/2lb. of basil, 1 bunch carrots (value $32)

Addiebelle is our resident berry picker and eater.  It is hard to keep up with her appetite for whichever berry is in season, but we managed to pick more than she can eat so enjoy!  The bushes were really loaded this morning.

The pickling cucumbers are great for eating fresh.  The skins are tender enough to eat and the seeds are small.  We eat them in salads, on sandwiches, in salsas.  The english cucumbers are amazingly sweet and have very tender skin.  They are also great for salads and great for juicing.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42
Check the above link for info about the nutrition value in cucumbers.

Marinated Summer Squash Salad
you make this 24 hours before you plan to eat it.
no cooking required

-thinly slice zucchini or summer squash into long flat slices and place in a bowl
-mince 2 or 3 cloves of garlic (for 6 medium size squash) and add to zucchini
-sprinkle with salt and black pepper
-coarsley chop or tear a few sprigs of basil and parsley and add to bowl
-drizzle with olive oil
-combine all ingredients and taste to see if you like the amount of salt (add more if you need)
-cover and refrigerate for 24 hours

this makes a fine side dish with any meal; it can also be grilled and served hot or cold

Hoeing Okra this morning

The onion field

June 19 CSA

We are starting to feel like its summer!  The weeds are growing at a rapid pace and we are trying our best to keep up.  The first tomatoes are starting to blush slightly.  We picked the first cucumbers today so they will be in abundance next week and you'll see them in your box.

Your box this week: 
small shares:  1 head of sugarloaf radicchio, 2 lbs. summer squash, 1/2 lb. broccoli, 2 fennel bulbs, 1 bunch long red onions, 2 bulbs of garlic, 1 bunch of rainbow chard
regular shares:  all the same as the small share plus 1 bunch of beets, 1 lb. of cauliflower, 2 english cucumbers

Sugarloaf radicchio is the oblong light green head.  It is in the chicory family so it has a bitterness to it.  It is delicious as a bitter salad green.  It's also great brushed with  olive oil and sprinkled with salt and grilled.  The combination of radicchio, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, fresh pear, and balsamic vinegar as a salad is outrageously good too!
Some of your squash is "baby" size.  We have been cutting those in half lengthwise and sauteeing with some onion, parsley, and salt and pepper.  So Good!
This is the last fennel you'll get.  Try making fennel risotto if you have time.  It is also good grilled.  http://www.food.com/recipe/fennel-pea-risotto-360690
Check out this recipe for fennel. For those of you who don't eat meat, this is great without the chicken!
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/crispy-braised-chicken-thighs-with-olives-lemon-and-fennel

Everything in your box needs to be kept in the refrigerator.

A reminder about the CSA party at the farm on June 29th from 3 to 7.  We are going to grill a bunch of stuff and have all the fixings for tacos.  Please come out and see where your food is growing.  Let us know if you plan on coming so we prepare enough food!  We hope you can make it!

June 12 CSA

Open Garden on June 29th 3-7 come out and see where it all comes from.  RSVP so that we will know how many to expect, we will have light food and drinks, byob

We are finally planting sweet potatoes after getting the field ready between rain storms the last 2 weeks!  I'm excited !  We are planting japanese (purple skin and yellow/white flesh, covingtons (orange), o'henry's (white), and all purple.  We will harvest these in mid to late September.  Farming is a combination of living in the moment and trying to see 3 months in the future and plan a year out...

Anyway, your box this week:
small shares:  1 head of green bibb lettuce, 1 bunch arugula, 1/2 lb. spinach, 1 bulb fennel, 1 bunch red scallions, 1 bunch green garlic, 1 pint strawberries  (value $15.50)
regular shares:  1 head green bibb lettuce, 1 bunch arugula, 1 lb. spinach, 2 bulbs fennel, 1 bunch red scallions, 1 bunch green garlic, 1 pint strawberries, 1 lb. yellow squash, 1 lb. broccoli, 1 bag curly kale (value $29)
All items will keep best in the refrigerator.
Soon to come to all boxes are broccoli, summer squash, beets, and carrots.  This week is probably the last lettuce you'll get for a couple months.

Strawberry Bibb Salad
-wash the lettuce, dry, and tear into pieces of desired size
-slice strawberries and add to lettuce in a bowl along with some crumbled blue cheese
-toast almonds in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat (when you can start to smell them they are toasted);  let cool and add to salad
-make a dressing of:
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp maple syrup
salt and black pepper to taste
-dress and toss the salad and enjoy!

The view from the seats of the transplanter.  Aaron driving.

Addiebelle and Cyril!

June 5 2013

Boxes this week contain:
1 head green bibb lettuce, 1 head romaine lettuce, 1 bunch of yellow onions, 1 bunch of garlic scapes, 1 small fennel bulb, 1 kohlrabi, 1 bag of kale, 1 pint of strawberries.
Regular shares also have:  3/4 lb. of little cauliflowers, 3/4 lb. baby squash and zucchini, 1 bunch of arugula.

Garlic scapes are what would become the flower on a garlic plant.  We remove them so the plant puts its energy into growing a bigger bulb.  It just so happens that they are a delicious treat as well!  They are far milder than garlic cloves but can be used in all dishes that you would use garlic.  They are used well in pesto as well as sauteed or roasted.  We like to saute a couple of them and add to kale.

Everything in your box this week will keep best in the refrigerator.  The romaine should be eaten sooner than the bibb.

ROASTED GARLIC SCAPES with POTATOES
cut 5 scapes into 2 inch long pieces (using all parts but the flat bit beyond the pale yellow/green bulbous portion)
peel 3 to 5 russet potatoes and cut into long 1/2 inch thick strips
combine the scapes and potatoes and toss with olive oil and salt n pepper
roast at 425 degrees for 20 minutes or so (until taters are golden brown and scapes are sizzling)

KOHLRABI and FENNEL SALAD
remove leaves from1 kohlrabi and peel
julienne the kohlrabi
slice 1 fennel bulb thinly, starting at the bottom of the bulb and going up until you hit the leaves
combine the kohlrabi and fennel in a bowl
sprinkle lightly with salt
make a dressing of 1 T extra virgin olive oil, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp. mustard (like dijon), and black pepper to taste
toss the dressing with

the veggies and let sit 30 minutes before eating

First CSA box of 2013, May 29

We are at the beginning. The first vegetables harvested for you! Your boxes all contain: 1 bunch of swiss chard, 1 head of romaine lettuce, 1 head of red bibb lettuce, 1 bunch of spring onions, 1 bunch of green garlic, 1 pint of strawberries. (value $14.50) The regular shares also have: 1 bag of spinach, 2 baby fennel bulbs, 1 purple and 1 green kohlrabi. (value $23)

 The swiss chard needs to be stored in a bag in your fridge until eating it. The green garlic can be used just as the garlic you're used to seeing and using. It is not as strong and can be chopped like an onion as it hasn't started forming cloves yet. Chop up the stalk until it gets hard to cut thru to use in cooking. You can use the green tops to make a broth or stock, straining them out before using the liquid. Use all parts of the green onions except the roots. The kohlrabi needs to be peeled. It is delicious shredded and added to slaw or eaten by itself with a vinegar dressing. It is also great with the fennel. A simple olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and salt dressing is best, I think.

 Chard salad
 lightly steam the chard; cool immediately in cold water. ring out excess water toast 2 T sesame seeds make a dressing: juice of 1/2 orange 1 tsp balsamic vinegar drizzle of olive oil pinch of salt make the dressing and pour over cooled chard; add toasted sesame seeds and toss.

Welcome to the 2013 season a little delayed. The boxes you get your produce in each week are coated in wax to prolong their lives. If left in hot sun, they will melt thus shortening their use. Please store them out of the sun and heat. Each week you need to return your empty box from the previous week. These boxes are not cheap or easily replaced. They have “hinges” so if you want to make them flat when you empty them, carefully unfold them from the bottom without tearing. If you are going to miss a week, you need to let us know by Monday of that week at 6pm. If you are going on vacation and will miss a box, you can let us know you don’t want one that week and either get 2 boxes on another week or have someone else pick it up for you. We need you to stick to the same pick up day each week. It is nearly impossible for us to keep up with the details if there is a lot of change. If the day you’ve chosen isn’t working well for you, please let us know and we can change it for the rest of the season. If you don’t let us know you’ll be missing your pick up and we’ve made you a box, we will bring it back to the farm after market and put it in our cooler. It is up to you to arrange to come get it or pick it up at one of our Saturday markets. WE WILL NOT MAKE YOU A NEW BOX IF YOU MISS PICK UP. The value of the boxes (in monetary terms) will vary from week to week. For the small share you made an investment of $15 a week; the regular share an investment of $24 a week. On some weeks you will get a lot more value than if you shopped at market. Some weeks it will be exactly the same value. Over the course of the season, you will see a significant savings over shopping at market. We will put a dollar value on your box each week so you can see that. We work hard to grow healthy and interesting vegetables as well as tried and true staples. We will provide recipes as much as we can. If you have recipes to share, please pass them our way and we’ll put them on the blog. We will update our blog every week with box contents and recipes. We’ll email a reminder every week as well. Please let us know if we need to add anyone to our list. Please feel free to contact us with questions or concerns any time throughout the season.

We will have an “open farm” day on June 29. It will be for the afternoon and you can come out and see the farm and share some food. We’ll give more details when the time nears. Thank you for joining us for the season! We are excited to begin!

1st CSA Pick-Up Postponed......

Cool Spring. We have been talking and debating when to start the CSA this year, and the next two nights of freeze warnings have made up our mind. We were scheduled to begin the pickups on May 15. We will begin either May 29th, or on June 5th. You will be compensated for the missed weeks, and will be notified when that compensation is made either in market credit, extra produce in boxes, or the weeks missed being added at the end of the year. Those of you requesting eggs: we have a list of your names and will save a dozen for you weekly and you will pay at that time, $4.50/dozen. We appreciate your understanding and please know that we are chomping at the bit to start harvesting and putting together CSA boxes.

 Weather aside it has been a great spring. The greenhouse has functioned well and the plants coming out look great. We heat it with wood, and have burned much more than in years past. I put the last two sticks into the stove last night at 2 am and its on our list today to cut more wood. Garrett an intern from last year came through for six weeks this winter and gave us a huge boost with the greenhouse work. He is off to work in Colorado on another farm now, but the plants he seeded and stepped up are out in the field. The cows moved down the road to another farm that we are leasing and they are enjoying the lush pasture. We have been calving and everyone is vigorous and healthy. The chickens have been a struggle ever since our dog Loretta passed away last fall. She was really good at keeping rodents and varmints at bay. Since then we have been fighting a weasel that keeps weaseling it's way into the coop and stealing chickens heads. We were putting our cats in the coop at night to deter him for a little while. It only worked for so long, but it was cute to see the cats asleep in the laying boxes in the morning. We planted @ 100 apple trees earlier in the spring and are excited of the idea of harvesting that fruit 10 years down the road. The kids are good.....they definitely give us a run for our money daily but they are beautiful and healthy. They enjoy checking the cows, gathering eggs, and watering the greenhouse. Their help with these things doesn't speed up the process but makes it mean that much more. We have two great people working with us this spring. Catherine and Kate will be at markets throughout the season and you will get a chance to meet them and hopefully enjoy them as much as we do.

 In the ground we have transplanted, seeded, cultivated, irrigated, covered, fertilized, foliar fed, and begged to grow kale collards broccoli cauliflower carrots beets peas lettuce fennel squash celery zucchini cucumbers tomatoes potatoes onions garlic strawberries leeks celeriac chard cabbage kohlrabi. It all is doing well, but needs a couple of weeks of heat to get it to your table.

Thanks for your support. In years like this CSA members are especially important to the farm as we wait for the weather to allow us to start harvesting and selling at markets. Feel free to contact us with questions and we will be in touch. Anne Aaron Addiebelle Cyril

Sign up for 2013 CSA!

828-545-2362 contact Anne

CSA SHARE OPTIONS
Full Season Share:
There are 2 share sizes:  "regular" shares are intended to feed a small family (2 to 4 people).  The "small" share is great for individuals and couples. 
The full season share is 22 weeks starting May 15 and ending October 9.
Full season Regular: $525.  Full season Small: $325

Peak Season Share:
This share is great if you want to try the CSA out or if you're planning to be gone early summer.  It is less of a commitment in time and finance.  This share runs for 8 weeks from July 24 thru September 11.  Available in regular or small.
Peak season Regular: $250.  Peak season Small: $175

Extended Fall Share:
This share provides 4 boxes from October 23 thru November 20 (you choose 4 out of 5 dates).  Fall crops include carrots, beets, leeks, cauliflower, greens, sweet potatoes, shallots, winter squash, Irish potatoes.  Most of the veggies in these boxes will store into the holiday season. 
One size only: $120

Eggs:
In the past we have sold egg shares but had difficulty toward the end of the season providing them in 2012.  What we'd like to do this year is take "reservations" and you can pay weekly or monthly for your eggs rather than for the full 22 weeks at once.

Payment can be made by check to: Gaining Ground Farm, 298 Sluder Branch Rd. Leicester NC 28748
Down payment of 1/2 the total is due upon registration.  If you pay in full by March 15, receive a $20 discount for regular shares and a $15 discount for small shares.  Please include a contact number, an email address, and which share you're signing up for with your payment.

Boxes can be picked up at the Wednesday Montford Market between 2 and 6 pm.

You can look thru our blog entries to see what the boxes were like last year.

     Down payment of 1/2 the total is due upon registration. If you pay in full by March 15, receive a $20 discount for regular shares and a $15 discount for small shares.  If paying with paypal the early discount will be paid back in cash at the first pick-up.  Please include a contact number, an email address, and which share you're signing up for with your payment.
    
     Payment can be made by check to: Gaining Ground Farm, 298 Sluder Branch Rd. Leicester NC 28748

     Feel free to email or call with any questions