Week 13; August 26, 2021
What’s in the box?
sweet corn
potatoes
tomatoes
cucumbers
carrots
onions
greenbeans
yellow beans (medium and large shares)
dill
bell peppers
sweet peppers
basil
garlic
Notes on the box
The beans have FINALLY arrived. This year we tried a new type of beans. Note that they do have “strings” so when you pop off the end with the stem, be sure to pull along the bean to remove the “string". The green beans are pole beans instead of our usual bush beans. We were disappointed with how long it took for them to finally produce beans. We grew them becasue the prospect of having one less crop that involved bending over to harvest seemed appealing. We had heard good things about yields and flavor. However, we feel like we prefer the texture and flavor of the bush beans that we usually grow. So this year might be the only one with pole beans.
Basil can be kept like fresh flowers, in a cup with some fresh water on your counter.
Remove the tops from the carrots for storage. I included a recipe for carrot top pesto from our wonderful CSA member, Janel! Try it out!
Cosmic Wheel Creamery Cheese Shares.
Whole milk ricotta and a 2 year old Deneb! I think this cheese share is extra delicious. The ricotta is thick and fluffy. It is wonderful on toast with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, or on toast with a drizzle of honey. The Deneb has some beautiful holes, which i love. It is also starting to have some of the tyrosine crystals that come with longer aging. I rarely get to age cheeses to the point where they have the crystals, so this batch is pretty special! Hope you enjoy it!
Recipes.
Janel’s Pesto Recipe (for carrot tops and other greens!)
2 cups packed greens (basil, carrot tops, parsley, cilantro, spinach, arugula)
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan (or any hard Cosmic Wheel cheese- Antares works great!)
Juice from 1 lemon (or more if you like)
1/2 cup EV olive oil
1/3 cup nuts (pinenuts, walnuts, pecans, or cashews - Janel likes cashews or walnuts best)
1 Tbsp minced garlic (or more if you love garlic)
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper (no salt if nuts are salted)
Put Greens and Nuts in food processor or high speed blender. Pulse until well combined. Add garlic, lemon juice, and cheese. Turn on High and add olive oil slowly. Scrape sides and add salt and pepper and blen on high until uniform and creamy. Add more lemonjuice, EVO, or water to thin if needed.
Use your imagination! Janel says she rarely makes it the same way twice! Refrigerate or enjoy right away. How to use… the possibilities are endless!
-use as a dip for fresh carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, any veggie or crackers!
-spread on a cold meat and cheese sandwich or on a hamburger
-mix 1 Tbsp pesto with 1 Tbsp EVO and 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice and shake well for a salad dressing for fresh greens
-toss with zoodles or any hot veggies or pasta
Thanks for the recipe, Janel! I’m going to make this pesto with carrot tops and basil to drizzle on my toast with ricotta!
On the Farm.
If you missed the post last week about our friend David Huckfelt playing at the Hungry Turtle Barn in Amery, WI this is a reminder that it’s going to be a beautiful show and we highly recommend that you check it out! Here’s a link to an interview with him from the Farm Table Foundation where you can learn more about what inspires his music and his life and where he says some incredibly generous things about farmers. Here’s the link for info and tickets for the show!
And this week we get to introduce you to Magdalen who’s working with us on the farm! Sometimes people come to the farm and the work and experience imprints itself in a lasting way that makes people want to continue on in the field of farming or in other supportive rolls. While this is her first fulltime experience with farming, we can tell that she’s really caught the farming bug! In her own words….
My name is Magdalen, and I'm 30 years old. I use she/hers pronouns and hail from St. Paul, Minnesota.Ever since I was a small child I've had dreams of living and working on a farm. In 2013, I earned an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies, with an intention to continue education on agriculture, rural and urban distribution networks, and food justice for communities lacking access to nourishment. After completing a course and internship in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Justice through HECUA (Backyard chickens take a LOT of work, y'all), I learned about the Land Stewardship Project and their Farm Dreams/Beginnings programs for farm-curious folks.
I took the leap in 2018 and completed the Farm Beginnings course, and while I learned so much about organic farming and general how-to, I was more lost than before. Which I actually think was good, as the program cautioned against simply jumping into something without a plan. I continued research into high-density urban farming by building a micro farm in my tiny kitchen for growing mealworm protein while constantly hunting around online for farming opportunities that could fit my lifestyle.
The winter of 2020 - which shall be remembered as the year when so many people deeply re-evaluated their choices in life and how they spent that precious time - I decided it was time to make my childhood dream a reality. My mentor from the Farm Beginnings course recommended that I get hands-on working farm experience to better understand what kind of farming I would like to pursue, so I resigned from my full time position of 7 years with a company I still very much love and admire (Peace Coffee) to move to Wisconsin and learn every single thing I possibly could about farming.
I am not surprised that I fell completely in love with every single aspect of Turnip Rock farm life. The good stuff is so easy to love: hilarious and dedicated coworkers, glorious sunrises cresting across the big sky and illuminating the misty fields brimming with wildflowers and honeybees, an inspiring community of farmers and food-justice folks dedicated to solutions and teamwork, fresh and nutritious vegetables, fruits, cheese (oh my GOD the CHEESE), and milk always on hand for creative recipe-crafting and meal-making, and the invaluable mentorship and kindness of Josh and Rama.
The hard stuff is, of course, loved in an entirely different way. When something breaks, or there's a several week drought, or communication breaks down - there's always lessons to be learned, and resilience to be cultivated.
My favorite tasks on the farm include: milking the cows - which is detailed and intuitive work centered around the comfort and care of the herd, harvesting and packing the vegetables for storage - I have learned so much in the way of food safety and preservation, and making team lunch on Mondays. The variety and abundance with which I am able to cook is enjoyable and inspiring.
If I were a vegetable/fruit grown on Turnip Rock farm, I think I would be an heirloom tomato. What can I say, baby, I'm in high demand, mega juicy, and bursting with flavor! And have you seen the crazy way they grow?
In an attempt to wrap this rambling up, I'll pass along a bit of advice. If you are personally interested in or know someone who wants to farm, encourage them to seek employment in the agricultural world. Oh, and learn about non-food farmers and support them too!
Cheers!"
