To all our CSA Members and loyal market customers and supportive friends and family; we wish warm Holiday blessings to you and your families. 

We want to take this time to deeply thank you all for your support and patronage of our farm last season. As a new farm we didn't know what to expect, and were happily blessed with all our your support. You really helped cheer lead us through a  rewarding first season as beginner farmers and all deserve a pat on the back!  At times we wondered what we were thinking; are the long hours and sore backs worth it,  but your many words of encouragement and praise really helped keep us on track. We truly love what we do, and your support helps to keep the vision going. 

Thank you. 

While we know some of you were disappointed with some of the crops that failed or didn't do well, or that you were unfamiliar with, or just plain didn't like, you stuck with it along side us. Many of you expressed that we introduced you to new veggies you may never have tried before, and found you loved. We appreciate any feedback from last season in planning for next season, so please don't hesitate to let us know at any point throughout the seasons what you think of the food we grow for you, whether good or bad. It really helps us know what to grow- and what not to. 

As we approach the new year, we want to remind folks that when you sign up and make a payment by January 20th you get 10% off your share price. Shares are filling up quickly, so don't wait; sign up to reserve your share before they sell out, especially egg shares, which will be more limited than veggie shares! 

Remember that we are more than happy to arrange payment agreements, and that our Oswego and Regional Market pickup locations allow you to build your own box from that week's harvest, giving you the option of selecting the produce you like best. We are also hashing out details to offer a meat share, working cooperatively with other local farmers, so keep an eye out for that update when we get the prices and sign ups on the website.

If you would like to help promote our CSA, we have flyers available, we can either mail to you, or can be picked up at our booth at the Regional Market.  If you would like flyers mailed, please just shoot us a quick email, and we will happily get some to you. 

Our booth at the Regional Market in Syracuse is in Shed F and we will be moving to Shed C after the first of the year until the end of April. We will have escarole and red pac choi from our high tunnel until the end of the year as well as our eggs and great organic produce from other local growers, such as onions and potatoes from Grindstone Farm; beets and winter squash from Wiley Fox Farm; carrots and parsnips from Remembrance Farm; apples from Knapp Farm, along with other non local organic fruits and veggies from Grindstone Farm's store. While we would love for it all to be our crops we grew just enough for our CSA with little left for storage, and are happy to keep providing organic variety at the market through the winter and help out our friends at Grindstone Farm.  Stop by Saturdays from 7-2 and support local producers from all over CNY.

We will NOT be at the market Saturday January 3rd.

As we take inventory of the past season, we anxiously await February when we start planting seedling for spring plantings, and getting our hands back in the earth, growing for you; our valued members. 

We wish you all a very merry, healthy holiday; and look forward to growing for you in the spring!

Much love from your family farmers at Freedom Rains Farm.

I'm sharing this wonderful speech by "Lunatic Farmer" Joel Salatin because it's one of his best ever. 
The shifts he speaks of are not impossible, and in our years farming just in the past year there has been an explosion of awareness about our food systems, the increase in small organic/ sustainable farms, and the growing push nationwide to label GMOS. 

While he is a national farm super star, there are countless others behind the scenes farming in the same manner; growing soil. 

In these final harvest weeks in CNY I just want to give a shout out to many of our fellow farmers; and their customers, community and home gardeners,  who are making a huge difference one meal at at time.

Roll call: Grindstone Farm, Pulaski NY
              Gingerich Farm, Williamstown NY
              Schuler Heritage Farm, Hannibal NY
              Long Horn Ranch in Bernhards Bay NY
              Main Street Farms, Homer NY
              Monarch Farm, Scott NY
              Lucki 7 Livestock, Rodman NY
              Vrooman Family Farm, Pulaski NY
              Windy Ridge Farm, Clyde NY
              
... and so many countless more. 
              

It has been a long, productive 22 weeks and we thank all our members for support this growing season. After battling tech the past few days our website is finally back up and running, and CSA share options are available. We have added a Thanksgiving Box to go out the week before Thanksgiving, to include traditional Thanksgiving feast foods. Also the off season Egg Share running Nov thru May. As egg production invariably drops off in the winter months- these shares are limited, and will only be delivered to select drop sites. These two share options can be found under the 2014 season. If you are an existing member with an account and experience any difficulty signing up, please don't hesitate to contact us. You can sign up through your existing account by signing in. However it seems some of the user friendliness of the system for existing members is not what it should be, and we will keep working to correct this, but we would be happy to add your shares manually for you if it's giving you the run around. We are still learning to use the full capacity of the Small Farm Central CSA program we are using.

As the season winds down slowly, we've stripped many crops from the fields, but there is still great lettuce, red pac choi, escarole, kale and leeks growing in the high tunnel, and some romanesco broccoli and orange cauliflower, carrots and a bit of spinach and turnips in the fields. Providing we don't get hammered with freezing temps and snow in the coming week or two, many of these items, plus daikon radishes and our eggs will be available from us, along with many of Grindstone Farm's amazing offerings at the Regional Market this month in our new indoor spot in Shed F. And the forecast looks good so far this week.

Grindstone Farm still has a few free range turkeys available for this holiday season, which we now have for sale on our website as well as their own. If you've never had a true free range turkey, now's your chance to try. The flavor puts grocery store turkeys to shame- when birds move and eat the protein they need (bugs that will otherwise spell trouble for crops) the taste is deeper and more complex than the caged force fed ones most stores carry for dirt cheap. These turkeys were brooded and cared for as polts (turkey chicks)  by us at our farm until they were big enough to be set out to pasture. They also have some of their pigs available by the 1/2 or the whole. Think of stocking your freezer with some great cuts of pastured pork. These guys have been pastured around the organic fallowed fields since May and supplemented with much of the organic food wastes from our two farms. Again, if you've never experienced pastured pork's flavor, the contrast is striking from your run of the mill pork chops from the supermarket. 

Small Farm Central (http://www.smallfarmcentral.com/) the host of our CSA management program put together a review of their CSA Farm members nationally, and we thought some of you may be interested to see some of their 248  CSA farm customer's  numbers from across the country. Here is a link to the pdf: https://s3.amazonaws.com/StaticSFCFiles/2014_CSA_Farming_Report.pdf  We are currently going over our own numbers from the season as well, and their system makes it very simple for us to compile our data. We also ask that if you haven't done so already that 2014 members take a moment to fill out this short survey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6VGGSP   I recently became aware of a new CSA Discussion group on Facebook, that we invite you to join in on a multinational discussion of recipes, storage tips, etc. of CSA members and farmers. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1450657578555924/

Some our Farm's numbers we'd like to report: our total CSA membership was 132 members total, higher than our initial goal of 100. On average 54 dozen eggs went out to members every week, that's 1188 dozen eggs, or 14,256 eggs. Lets all give a huge thank you to our hard working hens!!!


In addition to aforementioned field and high tunnels crops, the cover crops, and garlic is getting a nice start before they're under a blanket of snow. Some of the wheat may be left for a grain crop next summer, while others will be turned under for spring planting. Information on the benefits of these and other cover crops can be found here: http://rodaleinstitute.org/our-work/research/

      While the CSA Season has drawn to a close, the work goes on, from washing and storing totes, and getting all the row covers put away til spring, we will continue into the winter helping out at Grindstone Farm, with harvesting, packing, field cleanup, etc. We'll be keeping busy! If any workshare members would like to put in a couple final hours this coming week, we have a few fall tasks we could use a hand with, such as the tote washing, and planting garlic for garlic greens in the spring! Email, or call us ASAP if you'd like to come up to the farm, and take some more produce home too. 

We wish all our members a warm and restful winter, and look forward to the spring and another season growing great food for our members!

Many blessing and much love from our farm to your tables!

                  Here we are at week 21 with only one more week left after this. We lifted the rest of the bed of daikon radishes with the help of a couple work share members. With the snow warning Sunday night, we figured they'd be safer in storage, however we are giving CSA members a break from them this week.  The total after thinning and thinning and thinning this bed for over a month was close to 1200 lbs! Some have been sold to Grindstone Farm and Syracuse Real Foods Co-Op this week, but there will be plenty for members next week.

Next week we will be offering 1 lb jars local honey in shares from Bender's Busy Bees. This honey is raw and bees are untreated with antibiotics or other chemicals (yes, they use them on bees too) and the bees will have a temporary home here next season if all goes as planned. Duane and Linda Bender were my neighbors at the Pulaski Farmer's market last year and suffered a terrible loss of their hives from the intensely cold winter we had. They are working on getting replacement colonies for next spring, and think they'd be happiest on an organic farm, and we'll be happy to host those lovely buzzers! If you'd rather not have the honey due to allergies or personal preference, please contact us so we can substitute the honey with produce.

Many member are sad to see the reason come to a close, and were wondering how to get their local organics until next season starts. My suggestion is this, for those who can make it; Saturdays at the CNY Regional Market. We will continue vending there through the winter as I have done for the past 2 winters for Grindstone. We still have eggs and some crops growing in the high tunnel and will be bringing Grindstone Farm's high tunnel crops until the end of November when they usually clear them out and uncover them. We'll also be bringing many of the items for sale on their online store, both local and non local and ALL organic. There are also many other great farms there throughout the winter months, with storage crops, greenhouse veggies, meats and dairy.  If the market is out of the question, consider Grindstone Farm's Healthy Boxes which are delivered to most of the same place our CSA delivers to. You can sign up for weekly eggs from us on the website from the interim months of Nov- May. This option is available for Regional Market and On Farm pick ONLY, or can be coordinated with your Grindstone Farm win

After reviewing some of the responses to the survey we put out last month, I'd like to clear up a few things. First an apology for not keeping up as well with the blog and harvests as promised. It has been a task on top of farming to get photos posted and a worthwhile blog written up, especially towards the end of the season while we are busy tidying up for winter, getting the last crops out of the ground and all the nuances that go with having three children in school. I did do my best to get a general harvest list out to members throughout the season, and while not exactly what ended up in boxes, it was the best we could do since often times items going into shares changed at the last minute due to quality and availability. 

Also it seems from some of the responses that perhaps many folks were just not sure what a CSA is. While there is a member agreement that has to be acknowledged prior to signing up, who really reads those things any ways? Some of the crops that didn't do well, or we didn't grow were sourced from Grindstone or Gingerich organic Farms, such as onions, sweet potatoes, the cabbage, blueberries etc. However,  this is a unique arrangement compared to many other CSA's  which only offer what they grow and does well. This, having been our very first season in production on our own; had its ups and downs. Some crops did better than expected, some far worse than we'd hoped. 

                  For those unfamiliar with Rutabaga, they are a  sort of turnip and sweeten in the cool night frosts. They can be stored in the crisper bagged in the fridge for a month or more. Great addition to soups, or roasted veggies, or on their own. My mother always makes them at Thanksgiving mashed with butter and caramelized onions. Martha Stewart takes a different spin on mashed rutabaga here: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Mashed-Rutabagas-Martha-Stewart-192969

It's been quite the twist in weather the last month. From dripping with sweat and taking a dip in the pond, to searching for my winter hat and closing up the greenhouses, covering crops to protect from frost, to uncovering them to vent out the heat, to covering back up to protect some newer plantings from the wild turkeys. We have been blessed with quite the Indian Summer; nature making up for the late start to spring.  We were able to get all our garlic planted for next year's harvest over the weekend, and planted more than twice what we planted last year, so we can look forward to more garlic next season than we were able to offer this year.

 Autumn is most certainly my favorite time of year here in Central New York. The days shorten, yes, but the colors deepen, become more saturated. The crisp harvests of this time of year, the season long maintained fruits of our labors. The tiny seeds planted after the last frost of spring, cautiously watching the first frost of autumn. 

I've been way off schedule writing the weekly blog as the season winds down we've been focusing on readying for the winter, and planning next season. With three more weeks of CSA there are some great crops to look forward to. Carrots, peppers, rutabaga, brussels sprouts, potatoes, winter squash,  leeks, daikon radishes, onions from Grindstone, apples from Knapp farm,  and sweet potatoes and cabbage from Joseph Gingerich,  and a selection of various greens; are some of the crops to look forward to in shares in the final weeks of the season.

While the Oswego and Rome Farmers Markets ended last week, the Regional Market goes year round, and I will continue going there with some of our storage crops after the end of the CSA as well as early winter harvested high tunnel crops from both us and Grindstone Farm, eggs, and other organic produce that Grindstone buys to distribute in their healthy boxes. Even as the season draws to a close, you can continue buying great organic food and supporting local agriculture by going to the market in Syracuse or ordering from Grindstone Farm's website. There will still be no delivery charge if you place an order to pick up at the market during the off season. 

We have had mountains of positive feedback from our members this year and I'd like to take a moment to thank all our members who put their faith in us in our first season as beginner farmers. The most important thing is that you are happy with the food we grow for you. None of this season would have been possible without the overwhelming support of our friends at Grindstone Farm and our families. So a huge thank you to all who have supported us and helped make our first season a successful one.  We've thrown together a short survey if you could take a moment to answer the questions in order to better plan for next season. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6VGGSP

We have also been working on getting the CSA sign ups ready for next season. At this point we'd like to offer present CSA members a chance to sign up before we open up to the general public. You can do so by signing into your account and selecting the 2015 season of your choice. While we expect to grow the farm, CSA memberships will be limited to our level of production and land, and we have had quite a  few folks inquiring about signing up for next year already. So you can secure your share now, and if you pay by the end of January still get the early bird 10% discount.  We do plan on adding a few more laying hens to the flock, however, egg shares will be limited. 

At the last CSA-CNY meeting earlier this month,  we discussed holding off on the Fall Potluck previously planned for this weekend. With the weather getting cooler and not a whole lot to see on a farm tour at this point in the year, we've decided to hold it somewhere indoors in early November. To determine how much space will be needed please contact CSA-CNY via their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/CSA-CNY/70481797444 so we can plan accordingly. Once we do, we will send out invitations to members. Also, we would love to see more folks involved in the planning group, especially if you have ideas or concerns to be addressed. Going into the quieter winter months we should be back on a more normal schedule with the meetings on the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm at the Friends Meeting House on Euclid Av in the university area of Syracuse. 

As the season winds down and we start harvesting some of the longer term crops such as the daikon radishes which you've already started seeing, and the rutabaga we will be starting to harvest after a few frosts, and the brussels sprouts, we know some of these may be unfamiliar or just not quite any one's favorites. All are great roasted with a a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Daikons can be pickled and added to rice for a quick tasty lunch. I've been enjoying them sauteed with greens, especially the dandelion greens. Travis pulled a 7 pound radish out of the bed last week, so look for a recipe and try it, there will plenty more radishes to come. A customer recently told me that she uses daikon radishes medicinally to dissolve fat in the blood. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but my theory is that if it's fresh and organic it's got to be really good for your body. They can be stored for quite some time in the fridge (at least a month or more.) Unfortunately there will be no fall beet crop this year, but there will be plenty more carrots, which are so sweet and tender you don't need to peel them. I roasted some of the little ones whole with some chicken the other night. They are also a favorite in the kids lunch boxes. If you have a favorite way of preparing daikons, brussels sprouts or any other later season produce, please share in the comment section below or on our facebook page.

 While there has been much talk about decreased numbers and die offs of beneficial pollinators across the nation, we've found several monarchs across the farm, as well as a swarm that took up residences in Dick and Vic's (Grindstone's farmers)  house on the farm. While I know there is a concern for the drop in pollinators, it is reassuring to see them settle here, and no surprise since we don't use pesticides or GMOs to drive them off. It may also serve as proof that organic production will save them from extinction. A fellow organic farm in Fenner; Hartwood Farm has reported I believe three swarms of honeybees on their farm this season as well. 

The monarch butterfly pictured below built it's cocoon inside the barn and when it was discovered, Dick told Freyja she needed to keep an eye on it and let him know when it emerged. To which she responded "I can't be here all the time." They were both in the barn when Freyja noticed it flapping and drying it's wings Friday afternoon. 

Well, after griping about the cool temps all summer, here we are the first week of September swimming in 80 degree humidity. The eggplant love it! We happily were able to harvest enough to send out to a handful of ping tung and travatia varieties to members and will be cycling them through by POD. We also harvested the first of the celery, with more to come as well. Many of the tomatoes, however seem to be tapering off and we doubt we'll be sending them for much longer. But as some crops fade away, new ones come in. Last week we sent the first of the winter squash to regular shares and potatoes to everyone, and there are many more to be harvested. 

Academic shares started this week adding about 15 new CSA members to the farm. Welcome to our new farm members!

Sometimes I feel like writing the blog is a bland chore as the repetition gets to me; farm update, harvest, recipe, repeat. I do enjoy writing and finding the time to write anything beyond the dole drum necessities with all the other demands of farm life is tough. I do hope I don't bore the tears out of you all too! Perhaps when the season ends I'll have time to get to more of the philosophical end of farming I'd like to incorporate into the blog, as there are many folks who enjoy reading it who aren't CSA members and would like to know more than CSA updates. 

Speaking of CSA updates, we are still planning our Fall Harvest Potluck for October 19th. Unfortunately there will not be the option of pick your own carving pumpkin as the excessive wetness in the fields  rendered many of our plants and their amazing oranging fruits to rot. But fear not as the carving pumpkins were planted in a different wetter field than the pie pumpkins and they are looking great, we've even harvested some, but felt like August was a little over kill to start sending out pie pumpkin, although a few did find homes from the Regional Market last Saturday. 

Some of you may recall Freyja's tiny pepper plant from way back in March or April. She picked her first pepper from it the other day. Man, was she proud. We are finally starting to see some peppers of a worthwhile size and have found two of the mini sweet peppers with color.  In many ways I do hope this heat lasts and we have a great Indian Summer so we can harvest some peppers before the frosts come. 

While washing the lovely  beets this week, we found this little guy! It's now in the kid's bug cage and we hope to see a monarch emerge soon if it's still alive in there after being manhandled in the harvest. If it makes it, rest assured I'll keep you updated with some pictures! The odd thing is most of the time monarchs make their cocoons on milkweed where they feed, not beet greens!  I've been scouring the milkweed we left in the hedgerows for the monarchs; the  one caterpillar we don't mind having around, for one due the fact that they eat solely the one weed, and for two the fact that their numbers have been dropping drastically like the honeybees due to overuse of herbicides killing their food! http://www.nationofchange.org/new-report-shows-monsanto-major-culprit-record-decline-monarch-butterflies-1391179118 We are happy to offer a home to these beautiful beneficial insects. Our Sunflowers are constantly buzzing with several different kinds of bees, laden with pollen,  and a bumble bee colony has made a home in the kids' climbing tree, much to their dismay.  We would like to add a few more laying hens and a honeybee hive or two to the roster for next season. Some of the fruiting crops that didn't do well, such as the carving pumkins seemed to be a matter of pollination, and honeybees give both fruit and their wonderful sweet honey, so they're kind of a two for one deal providing they stay alive. Many of our bee keeper friends lost a bulk of their hives last winter, so getting someone to bring hives to the farm just wasn't a possibility. If we have our own though, they have agreed to process the honey for us!

This week's harvest included: lettuce, kale, swiss chard, red radishes, baby daikon radishes (the long white ones) beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, the last of the fennel, some summer squash that we sent to the new share members as the new planting is just starting to come in and we figured everyone else might be getting sick of them, and celery and eggplant.  The daikons will get bigger, and what we sent out this week is just a bit of thinning that needed to be done. They are an Aisian cooking radish enjoyed in soups, kimchees and the like. They can also be shredded or sliced and enjoyed in a salad raw, and their large greens make a wonderful pot green dish as well. 

Out in the fields, the daikons are plumping up, winter squash filling in and getting color, and we've spotted several rutabagas nearly the size of volley balls! We did not plant traditional cabbage as traditionally it just has never done well, but our chinese cabbage is looking great and we anticipate sending some out next week. There are many more beets to look forward to, so if you missed them this week, there will be more! We are prepping our high tunnel for fall plantings including leeks and red pac choi. The farmer's markets are starting to fill with apples; a sure sign fall is on it's way. Grindstone Farm will start getting their local organic apples from Knapp Farm starting with Mackintoshes, so if you're interested check out their website for availability and pricing. We plan on going in on an order with them to get you some of Knapp's wonderful apples in the coming weeks.

This week's recipe:  from Naturally Ella: A mouth watering Daikon recipe using Kale as well I can't wait to try (wish my family's taste buds would become more adventurous!)
 http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Roasted-Daikon-Radish-and-Kale-Spring-Rolls-with-Tahini-Honey-Dipping-Sauce-Naturally-Ella-289028

ROASTED DAIKON RADISH AND KALE SPRING ROLLS WITH TAHINI-HONEY DIPPING SAUCE

Recipe type: Vegetarian Main Course

Prep time:  10 mins
Cook time:  20 mins
Total time:  30 mins

Serves: 2
 

• 1 large Daikon Radish
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 1 handful of Kale (I prefer curly kale)
• 4 oz brown rice noodles
• 6-8 spring rolls wrappers
• Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon honey
• ½ teaspoon chile flakes, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350˚.
2. Slice radish in to 2 strips and toss with olive oil and salt. Roast until tender, 15-20. While is roasting, destem and roughly chop the kale, set aside.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook brown rice noodles until tender, 4-6 minutes. Drain and set in your assembly station.
4. Once radishes are ready, set up your spring roll rolling station with the water, radishes, kale,rice noodles, and a place to roll/cut each spring roll.
5. Soak the rice paper for 10-15 seconds (you don’t want it too soft when taking it out of the water.) Place rice paper on a cutting board and load with veggies and noodles. Roll, tuck, and fold in sides as you go. Continue with remaining ingredients.
6. Once done slice in half and serve.
7. To make the tahini sauce, whisk ingredients together and taste. Adjust according to desired taste.

We hope everyone has been enjoying their shares so far. It's been a long and rewarding season for us growing for you, and still two more months of great organic goodness to come. 

            Here we are the last week of August with the summer winding down and school about to start for our little ones and many of yours as well. We have several new members of the farm for the remainder of the season as Academic share members and welcome you all! A few important points for Academic members who will start picking up their shares next week: Please bring bags or other containers to bring your share home in and leave the grey tote at your drop site to be picked up later. We will gladly reuse egg cartons and pint containers too. If any new (or old members) have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

        Almost September and we have just started really picking tomatoes. This has not been an average season with the cool temps at night (it was 46 degrees up here when we got up this morning!) many crops I know folks were looking forward to just did not do well. These include the melons, eggplant and peppers...While we hope to get peppers before the first frost (which usually comes late September) and can cover them  with row covers to protect them afterwards, we can't guarantee anything. But the peppers at least have fruit on them; small but there. However many of our fall crops are growing beautifully. We sent Regular shares the first of the winter squashes; acorns and delicatas, and there will be more to come for all members. I just want all members to know that we are doing our best to get you the best variety available on the farm, and we did plan on better cool weather crops after last winter and the Farmer's Almanac calling for a very mild summer, we felt this would be the best way to go, and the season has proven this judgement correct.  

     This week Regular shares got summer squash, and other have the past few weeks that it seems some folks are unfamiliar with. They are flat, white, saucer shaped patty pans and can be used just like any other summer squash. The heirloom tomatoes everyone got this week were the first ripe picking we've done, and although the plants and fruit look healthy, they seem to not hold very well, and we apologize if anyone was disappointed with them. With all the rain they do tend to crack by the stem and this can lead to rot very quickly. We grow heirlooms for their flavor and to continue the genetics of old varieties by saving the seeds. So if you got tomatoes that seemed "rotted" at the stem, simply cut out the core and any bad spots and use as normal. This is just one of the challenges of growing! Even in the past while working for Grindstone and planting the heirlooms in the high tunnels, they still cracked even though they were protected from rain. Some of the smaller slicer varieties, such as the Rose, moskvich and valencias did much better than the brandywines, striped germans and purple cherokees. But the cherry tomatoes just keep coming, healthy fruit, sweet little globes of goodness. 

      So please keep in mind that while we intend to get our members the highest quality we can offer, we also want to offer the variety of what we grow, and this may include lesser quality at times. We hope everyone was happy with their shares this week with a little bit of summer and the beginnings of fall flavors. 

     With 9 weeks left to the CSA, there are plenty more tastes to experience, with celery getting bigger every day, the beets bulking up, and the carrots and daikon radishes being thinned so they can grow larger. Many of these crops sweeten up in the cooler temps, so the mild weather is good for something!

      Also there has been a bit of confusion about when the CSA ends. On the website it says to Nov 1st, which will be the last delivery to the Regional Market on Saturday. The last week of the CSA  is the last week of October.  Our Oswego and Watertown Market pick up folks will have to pick up their shares at an alternative site for the last few weeks of the CSA season as both Markets are scheduled to end before the end of the CSA, but last season they both were extended, so we'll have to see what the market directors decide in October. 

We are considering a fall harvest share, which will depend on the final harvest of storage crops such as winter squash, potatoes etc, as well as production in the high tunnel. If we do this, it will most likely be on farm pickup or Regional Market pick up options only. We also would like to continue the egg share option into the winter for the same pickup options. As we get into October, we'll let everyone know what we decide on this. If this is something you'd be interested in we'd love to hear feed back from you. 

This week's recipe comes from my Grandmother's Kitchen. Some of my fondest childhood memories of my grandma are from her kitchen;  the smell of dill that always lingered there. The salty taste of this dill pickle recipe brings me back to that steaming kitchen with the vinegar stinging the eyes and watering the mouth. I haven't found a dill pickle on the market, either in Grocery stores or at farmer's market that are anything like this very simple recipe, and make them every year to enjoy through the winter. If you don't want to can them, you can always use this recipe for refrigerator pickles too.  Just let them set for at least three days before eating to allow the flavor to soak in. 

While I know we haven't sent dill, and most likely won't as rain washed out most of our planting, and the surviving plants did not do well with the excessive moisture, I'm sure you can find dill locally at one of the many great framer's markets in Central New York.  

Katherine Mahardy's Dill Pickles


Ing: 2 lbs of pickling cucumbers
        4 cups white vinegar (you can use apple cider vinegar, but the taste is just not the same)
         1 cup pickling or sea salt (DO NOT use iodized salt)
         3 quarts of water
         Dill and several cloves of garlic

Step 1: Place washed cucumbers in ice water in the fridge overnight; this ensures crispness.
 Step 2: sterilize jars in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
Step 3: Bring Vinegar, water, and salt to a boil in a NON METALLIC pot (I use an enameled cast iron pot for this)
Step 4: Place dill on the bottom of the jar and pack tightly with cucumbers.  (If pickling whole, I've found that poking them a couple times with a fork helps keep them firm. Or you can slice them into spears or coins.)  Top with a peeled clove of garlic or two or more.
Step 5: Ladle  hot liquid over until filled to the top of the veggies. Using a non metallic spatula, or chopstick, poke the cucumbers to release air bubbles. Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp cloth and secure lids. My grandma never put them back into the water bath after this and we ate some of her pickles three years after she passed away and they were still crisp and no one got sick, but USDA recommendations are to place back in water bath for ten minutes of boiling to ensure a good seal. Generally the boiling liquid is enough to seal them. Whether you're canning for storage or for eating in a few months from the fridge, allow jars to set until cool. Lids should pop and seal. 

You can use this recipe to pickle all sorts of food, from hot peppers, to cherry tomatoes (just omit the dill) and enjoy your season's share in the cold winter months. 

Another recipe is one I created years ago, experimenting with ways to get my kids to eat winter squash. Again pretty basic and leaves room for alterations. This recipe works well with every winter squash we grow. 

I cut a squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Poke the flesh several time with a fork. Place 1 tsp of butter in each 1/2. Add either a peeled and diced apple, or pear, Sprinkle with brown sugar or maple syrup to taste, and season with cinnamon, fresh grated ginger, nutmeg, or a basic pumpkin pie spice. Cover with aluminum foil.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the squash until tender enough to scoop out with a spoon. 

Apologies to everyone for not getting this out last week. It was a very busy week and we were unsure about a few items we planned on getting in boxes from Grindstone and Gingerich Farms. Regular share got either sweet corn or watermelon from Gingerich last week. 

Here we are, half way through the CSA season, and what strange weather it been this season... From deep freeze well into the end of March to record heat to record rain, to record cool temps. I've joked with Travis several times since the polar vortexes in early March, that if  we made it through this crazy weather this summer, we'd weather any season the future brings. And so far so good. While we have lost a few crops to pests; such as the radishes and turnips to root maggots, and a couple beds of lettuce and chard to woodchucks we've fared well. While we have close eye on our tomatoes that seem to be taking forever to ripen for late blight that's been spreading again through the region, everything else going into the fall looks great!

It may be time for another table and a larger vehicle for the farmer's markets! Overflowing with abundance; we are blessed. 

This week's harvest includes:  
beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, sweet onions, pickling cucumbers, radishes, basil, summer squash, dandelion greens, kale, chard, collard greens. We will hold off a couple more weeks lifting beets, carrots, and potatoes while we finish picking the summer squash and some of the greens while they are still producing. The latter will hold in the soil and just get bigger and sweeter in these cool temps and bountiful rain. 

  The eggplant, peppers, and heirloom tomatoes are still taking forever to ripen up with these cool nights and lack of sun. If only the August sun would come back for a week or so to encourage these guys to come on!

Again, a reminder to folks who have gotten cherry tomatoes to send their pint containers back for reuse. 

If you were lost on what the fennel was, and haven't used it yet, here are the recipes I intended to share last week. If you already ate it and these recipes make you wish you'd saved it, fear not as there will be more in the coming weeks. For some tasty fennel recipes click these links: 

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&productId=714110

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Fennel_-Avocado_-and-Mint-Salad-509436

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Baked-Fennel-with-Parmesan-and-Thyme-Martha-Stewart
 

A few reminders: If you are interested in a pastured Turkey for Thanksgiving, there are still some available for preorder from Grindstone Farm, as well as hogs by the whole or 1/2. While we decided that raising livestock for meat was more than we could handle, Grindstone continues with the tradition offering this wonderful humanely raised meat for their customers. Go to their website: www.grindstonefarm.com for pricing.

Also, if you have that friend or family member who's seen and tasted some of the veggies from your share and says "I wish I had done this" you can spread the word that we still have limited spaces for our 9 week "Academic" share available. Sign ups close NEXT WEEK for this option. This starts the first week in September and goes to the last week in October. There are regular and small options available, however, the small option is being a hassle on the website making it so no matter what you sign up for it adds this.  So I have disabled this option, and folks interested in the small 9 week share will have to contact us directly to sign up. 

Those interested in making some pickles, you can order 5 lb increments of pickling cucumbers for $8 from us to be delivered with your CSA.  

Week ten of CSA and we have been busy busy busy. Trying to beat the rain in many instances to get to the fields, then battling the heat. I did take some time to shoot some photos as did Gavy this week. 

The blog is a bit late this week as we were trying to better define what to expect in your shares for everyone. We realize that many people plan their week's menu around the veggies in their shares, and it is tough to give exact items before we start harvesting. But we will be trying going forward into the second half of the season to give a better "list". So start looking for the blog Tuesdays now rather than Mondays!

We have been anxiously awaiting some of our warmer weather crops probably as much as many of you. Although not producing to a level to get in everyone's shares, there are some eggplant and peppers starting to come on and allisa craig sweet onions getting near harvest. The fennel and celery are filling out, and the tomatillas are filling in. The winter squash keeps getting bigger and bigger and the carrots we thinned will allow the remainder to grow a bit more while the next plantings need weeding. We will start rotating them through by pod as they become more abundant, like we are doing with the cherry tomatoes and broccoli. 

Also, we are sending out pickling cucumbers to members this week; in the following weeks you can let us know if you like to order some in bulk to make pickles. We are working on creating an online ordering along with the CSA store, so log in to your account and let us know if it works!Unfortunately, our dill is not coming on as quickly as the cucumbers, but they are a long harvest crop, so we hope to get you dill pickle ingredients soon. 

Again, a reminder that we will no longer be picking the snow peas. If you'd like some to stock your freezer with peas, or  kale, CSA members;  please contact us to come to farm and pick all you'd like.  We will be harvesting some of our potatoes soon as well; work share members this would be a great group harvest to come help out on. Once we decide when, weather permitting, we'll be sending emails out to let all workshare's know the date. 

Some of Gavy's photographs. The last one of the bee I told her if she could capture a busy bee she'd be a great photographer someday. What do you think? 

This week's recipe is a twist on traditional summer squash uses to make a great breakfast or anytime meal. (We eat eggs in our house for more than just breakfast!)


Zucchini Breakfast Casserole Recipe


from www.simplyrecipes.com

• Prep time: 25 minutes
• Cook time: 40 minutes
• Yield: Makes 6-8 portions.

INGREDIENTS

• 6-8 eggs
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other hot chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups grated zucchini (from 2-3 fresh zucchinis)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (from 4-5 fresh tomatoes),
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh basil (from about 20 leaves)*
• 4 cups cubed day-old bread (from about 4 slices)
• Olive oil

*Chiffonade basil by stacking a few leaves on top of each other, roll them up like a cigar, slice thin, starting at one end of the cigar and working your way down.


METHOD1 Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl beat the eggs. Add the ricotta and beat until smooth. Mix in the grated Parmesan cheese, Tabasco, salt and pepper.

2 Prepare the vegetables and bread. Once you chop the tomatoes, squeeze excess moisture out of them by pressing them in a sieve, or wrapping in paper towels and squeezing. Add the tomatoes, basil, and zucchini to the egg mixture. Moisten the bread cubes with a little water then squeeze out any excess moisture using paper towels. Mix the bread cubes into the egg mixture.

3 Coat the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish generously with olive oil. Pour the egg vegetable mixture into the baking pan and even it out in the pan. Place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. The casserole should puff up and brown lightly. If it hasn't after 30 minutes at 350, increase the heat to 425° and cook for 5-10 minutes further. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

As always we encourage members and friends to share their favorite recipes and preserving ideas here in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

We hope everyone enjoyed their shares last week. While we didn't have enough cucumbers to go around for regular shares, folks who didn't get them got some tasty broccoli florets. As more crops start coming in, you will likely start seeing less greens in your boxes. 

 While we understand that for new CSA members all the greens might be overwhelming, we also know many folks would like more of them. If you're one of those people who wants more kale, and you're a CSA member, you are welcome to u pick for free. Just contact us and let us know if you'd like to come pick! If you're not a CSA member but would like some kale, please contact us at [email protected] for pricing.  Also same with the snow peas; we will likely stop picking them after this week.  Both crops can be blanched and frozen for later use. You could always work this into your trip to pick some blueberries from Grindstone Farm too.

For those who are new to CSA's and our's in particular; please keep in mind that we are new to this too! While we've managed someone else's farm and CSA, doing it on our own is a completely different experience; one we wouldn't trade for the world! With our first CSA season nearly 1/2 way under our belts, there are many lessons we've learned. And we hope you've learned something new as well, about seasonality of our local food shed, and the many wonderful uses of fresh greens, and garlic scapes, and enjoyed an abundance of salads with your families. While all farmers in our region got off to a slow start after the long drawn out winter, I think we can all agree so far that we couldn't ask for a better summer. (A wee bit less rain would suit us fine though) And we couldn't ask for a better customer base. 

Last week's muggy heat and rains have really spurred the tomatoes to start ripening, and the cucumbers to bulk up. More and more summer squash coming on and the patty pans are starting to finally fruit too. Adonia and Travis picked some early tomatillas and hot peppers this morning, but the rain has impeded our plans to pick tomatoes and beans, which both tend to get soft and rot quicker if picked wet.  The lunch box peppers (small sweet peppers) are fruiting, awaiting some more sun and heat to ripen up to their orange, red and yellow hues. The pickling cucumbers are starting to come on, and soon we anticipate being able to get enough to members to do one batch of fridge pickles at a time, or offer them in bulk to members. 

We harvested all of our garlic last Friday as well (with a hand from one of our workshare members). While we only planted one bed as time, money, and weather permitted in late October of last year; it all looks great, with big bulbs and great flavor. We are not sure the variety though, so don't bother asking.  It is now drying in the greenhouse, waiting to be cleaned and bundled. 

This week's harvest will include:
lettuce
kale
collards
broccoli
cucumbers
summer squash
cherry tomatoes
green tomatoes
mixed herbs (basil, sage, oregano, lemon balm, or thyme)
green and purple string beans.
All shares will get some garlic as well!

Zoodles or Squoodles
I've heard a lot of rave about using summer squash instead of pasta for paleo, gluten free, seasonal dishes. Someone brought a raw dish with this in mind to our open house potluck last week. While there's lots of tools out there, julienne peeler, spiralizers, etc; here's a link to a simple method of making them. You can blanch them and freeze them for a treat later when the snow flies too! In baked dishes, soups and desserts (chocolate zucchini muffins anyone? http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Chocolate-Chunk-Zucchini-Muffins-478649 ) the possibilities are as endless as pasta!
 http://nomnompaleo.com/post/5695132949/zucchini-spaghetti-zoodles-meatballs

 I'm sure you could use a good old fashioned peeler as well, might just take a bit longer. I shred mine and freeze for soups and baked goods in the winter months. Try mixing the zoodles, or summer squoodles with some oil and vinegar with some of your other fresh veggies from this week's share for a pasta-free pasta salad for your next picnic!

tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to
For those members anxiously awaiting those wonderful juicy ripe slicing tomatoes, here are some ideas for how to use your green ones until ripe ones make it your way:

the ever popular fried green tomato: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Fried-green-tomatoes-305007

salsa verde:http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Salsa-Verde-with-Green-Tomatoes_-Avocadoes_-and-Cilantro-571672

green tomato gratin:http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Green-Tomato-Gratin-480783

Green tomatoes have a tangy taste and can be used in many many ways. Use instead of eggplant for an eggplant parm style meal, chop and add to a frittata, pickle them in brine or vinegar. Just as ripe tomatoes have a wide range of flavor and uses, so do the green ones! And the sweet cherries, well, you're lucky if you get some before your kids eat them all!

Please share your favorite recipes with other CSA members via the comments section or on our facebook page! 
Also, we are starting to pick some pickling cucumbers, and with the tomatoes coming on, we'd like to try and do a canning workshop or two. If anyone has commercial kitchen space (or home kitchen space to accommodate a dozen or so people) available to host such an event, please contact us. If we can figure out a place and time, we will schedule a canning workshop for members. Or cooking in general. I know many folks just "don't know" what to do with many of their veggies and throw them in the vita mix. While that is a great way to get the most out of your veggies; texture, distinct flavors, cooking styles and processes are an art/ science, and I think we can all learn a great deal from one another. I learn new ways to prepare old veggies at nearly every farmer's market from my customers.