What's in the box?

New Potatoes
Green Beans
Cucumber
Sweet onions
Green Peppers
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Salad Turnips (we ran out before all members received these)
Kale - Medium and Large
Beets - Medium and Large
Squash - Medium and Large

Notes on the box.

The New Potatoes are unwashed. They are "new" because they are uncured which means that their skin is very thin and fragile. You can wash them more carefully at home and not have the skins peel off. Yes! The skin is very tender so no need to peel! Because they are uncured, they do not have the long shelf life of a storage potato. Try to eat them within a week or 2. They are best fresh. Store in the bag in a cool place. New potatoes are so nice and full of flavor. It's a good time to cook them simply by steaming or boiling and then serving with salt and butter and a little bit of chopped fresh parsley. They are also great roasted. And also great all dressed up in a potato salad.

Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.

This week is Circle of the Sun again. This batch was made in early November. It's quite creamy and will make a nice melter. Also is our plain quark. Have you tried this on some baguette with cucumber and tomato? Very Yummy!

Recipes.

10 New Potato Recipes from the Guardian

I'll try to add some more recipes after I get done with cheese making today!

On the Farm.

Our wonderful hard working, sprinkle cookie making, perpetually smiling Jeanne is headed back to school this week. This work is so hard and Jeanne has been a champion. We will miss Jeanne and the amazing worker that she is and all the light that she adds to the day. Pretty sure she could get the melons to ripen if she just stood next to them because of her warmth. Otto and Sadie will miss her very much, too! Wishing Jeanne happiness and success in her endeavors! Thank you for all that you added to the farm and the season, Jeanne!!

Well, we suddenly have 7 more cows in milk this week! We had 4 calves this week and brought in 3 more milking cows. It's quite a bit later than we usually want cows to calve, but we have to be a bit more flexible with calving than a conventional dairy. A conventional dairy plans when they want cows to calve and they give to cows hormones to bring them into heat and then have them bred. We don't use hormones, so we have to observe our cows for signs that they are in heat, which is an art to be sure. Then we call the breeder, but sometimes the timing is a little off. The cow might be in heat on Saturday and the breeder doesn't come until Monday, so we miss the window and have to wait another month. So around this time last year we brought in our neighbor's bull who is the best at knowing when a cow is in heat and is able to breed them right away! Sylvia is a great farmer who raises a heritage beef cow on 100% grass. The calves that come from the bull and our cows are kept for meat instead of dairy. We are happy to have so many more cows in milk, but it means adjusting our cheese making schedule! We are now making cheese every day of the week except Saturday when we go to market. That means we are in the 7 days a week schedule again. We need to get more cheese aging and ready for next season and we will be able to do that now!

Some of you can celebrate the end of summer squash! Congrats, you made it through! Right on it's heels are the cucumbers. Cool damp conditions are not all good for cucurbits. They succumb to powdery mildew and then it's the end for them. So make those pickles now!

If we can get a stretch of some sunny weather we'll be seeing some of the first melons. And this year is footin to make up for the last three!

Fall crops are 80% planted and we are looking good for the next month. !

Enjoy the ride.