Cavolo Nero and Chilli Chips

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Ingredients1 long red chilli 1 bunch Cavolo Nero (or another flat variety of kale such as red Russian), well washed extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

Method 1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Toast chilli in a frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes or until quite dry and just starting to colour. Using a mortar and pestle, pound until quite fine, adding a little sea salt if necessary to help grind it. You want the chilli mixed with 1 tbsp salt (or to taste) by the time it’s made, so you’ll have plenty of this chilli salt for other uses, too. 2. Remove the central spine from cavolo nero, then tear or cut into pieces roughly 5cm wide and 10cm long. Place in a bowl, add a few drops of oil and, using your fingertips, very lightly toss each leaf until lightly coated. Sprinkle with a little chilli salt – not too much – and lay leaves out on oven trays lined with baking paper. 3. Bake cavolo nero for 5 minutes or until it starts to change texture and become crisp. If it goes brown, it is scorched and probably won’t taste so flash, so it is best to check it often. Remove from the oven, cool for a minute, then very gently transfer to a platter. Serve immediately as it won’t keep.

Recipe credit -  SBS website

CSA Autumn Share 2013 - Week #9 (27 April - 1 May)

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WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items being harvested this coming week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavour to divide the harvest fairly.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.

NOTES ON THE SHARE Beetroot - Harvesting 'Detroit Red', 'Bulls Blood' and some 'Golden Detroit'. Broccoli – Another of our broccoli plantings became ready for harvest last week...hence the surplus in last weeks boxes.  This week we will be checking for side shoots and waiting for the next planting to head up which may be in two weeks.   We hope to get some side shoots in all the boxes.  There may be green cabbage moth caterpillars...although we have only seen a few while harvesting. We have seen aphids, though and are trying to not harvest those heads.  If you do spy them, you can submerse the head in a salty water (cover the heads with a plate to keep them under.)  The aphids usually float up. If the aphids do take over the plantings, we will be tilling them in. Capsicum – We are continuing to find a few red capsicums.  We have been putting these into boxes and will continue as they start to turn red.  Just leave them out on the counter and they will turn completely red in a matter of days. Carrots – Big bunches of mixed baby carrots.  You can roast or steam these whole. Varieties include 'Atomic Red', 'Deep Purple' and 'Solar Yellow'. Cauliflower - The plantings of 'Green Macerata' and 'Sicily Purple' cauliflower are beginning to produce heads ready for harvest.  These plantings are not coming on uniformly so we are uncertain how many heads will be ready each week.  We are keeping a list of who has received one and who has not.  Expect a head over the next three to four weeks. Celery – 'Tall Utah' Chillies - We will include chillies in your box if you request them.  Please email us if you would like them. Garlic – As we come to the end of this seasons shares, we are cleaning out the garlic we have.  Three of four bulbs in every box. Kale - 'Nero di Toscana' and 'Dwarf Blue Curled' - Bunch in every box Parsnips - 'Hollow Crown'. Peas - We have started harvesting 'Oregon Giant' Snow Peas.  We are uncertain of what the first harvest will be.  If you do not receive some this week, expect some over the next three weeks. Pumpkin – 'Hercules Butternut' or 'Queensland Blue'. Red Onions - 'California Red'... again we do not want to store onions over the winter.  So your share will include some extras. Baby Silver beet - 'Red Ruby'.  This is a lovely alternative to lettuce as a green under roasted vegetable, a great addition to soups or just lightly steamed. Sweet Corn - There is a small amount of sweet corn ready for harvest.  There is a final planting that Peter thinks will ripen.  So if you do not receive some this week, we hope you will i the next few weeks. Watermelon - We have found a few watermelon hiding in the grass...enough for the full shares.  Truly the end of the season now!!

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING Crops are greatly effected by daylight. Our daylight hours have reduced to 11.5 from 16 during the summer. We see this as growth slowing down...and then just stopping.  It is not only the cold, that slows them.  It is the daylight.  As growers, we try and time the seeding of the crops, taking this into account.  Sometimes we have a crop, ready to harvest, which will just slow down.  Sometimes we have that crop ready, and then the days heat up and the crop pushes on.  Sometimes, the crop is just lagging behind.  We are currently waiting and watching all we have planted.  As the day length approaches 10 hours, nothing will grow anymore.  And so we wait and watch and hope that all that is planted will either hold on or finish ripening.

SEASONAL EATING - SHARING INSPIRATION Please keep sharing your inspirations.  As we really shift away from the light hungry, heat loving plants, I feel grateful to have had a summer harvest which blessed us with pumpkins, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn - Which made the soil warm enough to grow our root crops for harvesting through the winter - and compost still rotting with the warmth.  True seasonal eating has lost its definition, due partly to the fact that the grocery stores and fruit and vegetable shops seem to have everything, all the time.  It is great to be a part of the re-awakening of eating with the season and I am enjoying compiling what that looks like for so many different families. So, please, delight us with your fig delicacies, your kale chips, your silver beet stews and your pumpkin, spinach and ricotta lasagnas!

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Pumpkin and Autumn Green Cannelloni Delicious Hearty Pumpkin Soup Kale Chips Lentils, Monastery style Green Bean Salad - Try substituting broccoli for green beans and from Martha Stewart this delicious Celery, Fig and Gorganzola Salad

You can find more recipes by searching key ingredients on our website recipe page.

Pumpkin and Autumn Green Cannelloni

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IngredientsOlive oil 750g pumpkin, peeled, cut into 2cm pieces 1 large red onion, halved, cut into thin wedges 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves 250g spinach, baby silver beet or nettle (I use a combination), lightly wilted 300g fresh low-fat ricotta Sprinkle of nutmeg 1 x 400ml tomato passata 1 tbs chopped fresh basil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 4 fresh lasagna sheets

Method 1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a shallow ovenproof baking dish. 2. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place the pumpkin and onion, in a single layer, on the lined tray. Spray lightly with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with thyme and season with pepper. Bake in oven for 40 minutes or until the pumpkin is golden and tender. Set aside to cool slightly. 3. Wilt your greens. Place over a strainer and squeeze out any extra water. 4. Place the pumpkin mixture in a bowl and use a fork to coarsely mash. Add the wilted green and 250g of ricotta. Season with nutmeg, pepper and salt. Mix until well combined. 5. Combine the tomato passata, basil and garlic in a medium bowl. 6. Cut each lasagna sheet in half. Spoon 1/3 cup of the pumpkin mixture along the centre of each sheet. Fold the sheet over to enclose filling. Spread 80ml (1/3 cup) of the tomato mixture over the base of the prepared dish. Place the cannelloni in a single layer in the dish. 7. Pour the remaining tomato mixture over the cannelloni. Season with pepper. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until bubbling. Set aside for 5 minutes to stand.

Leek and Nettle/Spinach/Silverbeet Tartlets

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I adapted this recipe from Linda Woodrow's Leek Tartlets with Olive Oil Pastry  (I used to use a short crust pastry but tried her yogurt, olive oil pastry and much preferred it.)
You can use spinach or 'Perpetual Gator' silverbeet as a replacement for the nettles.
Makes 6 large muffin sized tarts. Recipe doubles fine.
The Pastry:
Into a food processor or a bowl, put 1 cup of wholemeal plain flour and a good pinch of salt.
Put a couple of good dessertspoons of low fat Greek yoghurt in a cup, then top it up to half full with olive oil. You want it about half and half – ¼ cup of each. You don’t need to mix them.
Tip the cup all at once into the processor or bowl and blitz them together.  In a food processor it’s just a couple of seconds, but you can do it just by stirring.  Knead just enough to combine into a dough.  It needs to be quite moist so don’t add any more flour than necessary, and don’t overwork the dough or it will get tough.  Put the dough in a plastic container in the freezer to cool while you make the filling.
The Filling:
Sauté 2 cups of chopped leeks (white and pale green part) in a little butter or olive oil.  Do this over low heat for about twenty minutes which caramelises the leek.  When they are almost done, add 1 cup chopped nettles.
Beat together:
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup white wine or 1/4 cup milk or 1/4 cup cream or 1/4 water with a squeeze of lemon
  • a dessertspoon of lemon thyme
  • a good grating of black pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Assembling and Baking:The pastry is quite fragile.  The easiest way to roll it out is to put a sheet of greaseproof paper on your bench top, put the ball of dough on it, and cover with another sheet.  Roll the pastry out between the two sheets, turning once or twice to un-wrinkle the paper. You can then peel the top sheet of paper off, cut the dough to fit your muffin tins, flip the lot and peel the other sheet off. Roll the scraps out between the greaseproof paper again.
If you have a round bowl the right size to fit the muffin tins, use it to cut your rounds.  I do not so I cut the dough into squares which then stick up out of the tins.
Grease the baking tins lightly, line with pastry.  You can pre-bake empty for five minutes or just put a few dessert spoons of the leek and nettle mixture into each cup, pour the egg mixture, dividing between the cups and top with parmesan cheese.
Bake in a medium oven for around 20 minutes till the pastry is golden.

Quinoa, Roasted Veggies, Marinated Chickpeas and Feta Salad

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Ingredients1 cup raw chickpeas 1 medium whole Butternut squash or 1/4 to 1/3 of a Queensland Blue squash 3 carrots 2 beetroot 1 cup red quinoa balsamic vinegar extra virgin olive oil 100g feta lemon thyme salt and pepper

Method 1. Night Before: Soak 1 cup of chick peas over night. 2. 1 1/2 hours before serving: Drain the chick peas and refill with water.  Add a 3 cm piece of Kombu.  Boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 1 hour or until tender. 3. Vegetables: While the chick peas are boiling, peel 1 medium whole Butternut squash or 1/4 to 1/3 of a Queensland Blue squash and cut into 1 1/2cm cubes.  (I prefer these squashes because they remain whole even when roasted.) Peel carrots and cut into match sticks. Peel beetroot and cut into 1cm cubes. Place all on a roasting tray. Lightly sprinkle with olive oil, salt and fresh thyme. 4. Roast in a 180 oven for about an hour, turning occasionally so that all sides brown. 5. Quinoa: Rinse and drain 1 cup red quinoa.  Place in a saucepan with 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock.  Cover.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the quinoa seed has split, a little white "tail" comes away from the kernel. This is the sign that the quinoa is soft.  Place in a bowl to cool. 6. Marinade: 1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil Dessert Spoon fresh lemon thyme 1/2tsp salt and generous grind of cracked pepper 7. Greens: Use seasonal greens.  Mixed lettuce, spinach, rocket, beetroot greens, mizuna.  Rinse and spin dry.  This salad is delicious with as few or as many as you have. 8. Remove vegetables from the oven and allow to cool. 9. Assembling: Once chickpeas are tender, drain and mix immediately with the marinade.  As they cool, they soak up the marinade.  If there is no marinade left in the bowl with them, make a bit more.

Once cool, add about 100grams of feta cheese cut into 1 cm cubes. Stir to coat with marinade and let sit for ten minutes.

Place greens in bowl.  Top with quinoa, then roasted vegetables then chickpeas and feta.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

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Ingredients1/4 cup (60ml) butter 2 leek 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 red birdseye chilli, finely chopped (optional) 1 cinnamon stick 3cm piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced 1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds 1 apple 2 carrots 1.5kg pumpkin (Buttercup varieties work well for soups.  They have a richer flavour) 1/3 cup (70g) red split peas (optional) Fresh thyme, coriander and/or parsley Salt, Pepper and Cream

Method 1. Peel, seed and cut the pumpkin into 3cm pieces.  Lightly coat with olive oil and roast in a 220 oven for about 45 minutes or until golden.  Take care to turn the pumpkin a few times while roasting. 2. Thinly slice the white of the leek. Peel and coarsely chop the carrots. 3. Put butter, leeks, carrots, garlic and thyme into a large soup pan and lightly saute for about 5-10 minutes. 5. Place a cast iron fry pan on high heat and roast the cumin seeds.  Then grind them in a mortar and pestle. 4. Peel, core and slice into 1 1/2 cm cubes the apple.  Add apple, cinnamon, cumin and ginger to the leeks. Saute for another few minutes to release the flavour of the spices. 5. Add stock and split peas and gently simmer for about 20 minutes or until the lentils and carrots are tender. 6. Add in the roasted pumpkin and simmer for another five minutes. 7.  Blend.  Adjust seasonings for taste.  You can add more cinnamon, more chillies, more salt and pepper, or even a dollop of honey. 8.  Serve with a dollop of double cream and a sprinkle of coriander or parsley.

Delicious Hearty Pumpkin Soup

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This recipe comes from "A Spoonful of Country - Cooking from a Cootamundra Farmhouse" by Catherine Bragg Often 'starting-out cooks' don't have a large array of cooking equipment, especially essentials like food processors.  This is a good recipe for a wonderfully flavoured soup that doesn't need blending.

Ingredients butter 1 onion finely chopped 600g pumpkin, peeled and cut into small chunks 1/2 tsp sugar 1/2 cup soup mix (a mixture of lentils, chickpeas, barley, etc) 2 cups chicken stock 1 cup water 2 tsp tomato paste salt and pepper

Method 1. Melt a small knob of butter in a large saucepan.  Add onion and pumpkin, stir and cook for 5 minutes, then sprinkle in the sugar. 2.  Add the soup mix, stock and water, and bring to a boil. 3.  Simmer gently for about an hour until the vegetables and beans are tender. 4. Add tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste and mash the pumpkin pieces lightly with a fork, so it becomes a chunky hearty soup, adding a little extra stock or water if it becomes too thick. 5.  The soup is extra good with sippets, little squares of bread fried in oil and butter till crisp, sprinkled on the top.

 

Nutty Kale Chips

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Ingredients1 large bunch of  kale 1 cup almonds or cashews, (soaked 2 hours) 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped 3-4 tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice 1 tbsp maple syrup 2 tbsps nutritional yeast 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method 1. Rinse the kale and spin dry. Remove the stems and tear into bite size pieces. Let the kale air out as much as possible before coating. 2. Blend the ingredients for the cheesy seasoning in the Vita-Mix until smooth. 3. Transfer kale and seasoning to a large bowl and mix well using your hands to ensure the leaves are well coated. 4. Place the kale on the dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate at 118 degrees overnight or until coating is dry. Slide onto mesh screens and dehydrate until totally crispy.

TIP for keeping Kale Chips Crunchy. Take a small fabric bag, sachets for jewelry or aromatics work well, and fill it with uncooked rice.  Place the it in an airtight glass container with a lid and seal up the kale chips. The rice soaks up any extra moisture in the container, keeping your kale chips crunchy for days!

Hearty Tomato Soup

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Ingredients2 cups chopped carrots 2 cups chopped celery 3 cups diced onions 6 cloves garlic, minced 12 cups chopped fresh tomatoes 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 cups stock 2 Tbsp salt 2 tsp. sugar 2 bay leaves 4 cloves 12 fresh basil leaves

Method 1. Roughly chop all the vegetables. It doesn’t matter what they look like because the soup will be blended later, but make sure the carrots, onions and celery are all about the same size so they cook at the same rate. 2. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add in the carrots, celery, onions and bay leaves and cook until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook another 5 minutes, but don’t let the vegetables brown. Add in the tomatoes,  stock, sugar, salt, basil and cloves. Allow to simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down and the carrots are soft. 3. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes. 4. Puree the soup, either with a stick blender or in batches in a conventional blender. 5. Once the soup is all pureed, push it through a sieve.  You want to get out the tomato skins and seeds, but push through the rest of the vegetables. If you use too fine a mesh strainer, you will just end up with tomato juice. If you can skin and seed your tomatoes before making the soup you don’t have to strain it. But this is time consuming and I found it just easier to strain. 6. Put all the strained soup back in the pot and add the salt and sugar to taste. Even though my tomatoes were very ripe and sweet, I almost always add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to tomato soup or sauce because it helps balance out the acidity of the tomatoes and bring out the natural sweetness. 7. You can serve as is, or add cream to make a 'bisque'.

Lentils, Monastery Style

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This is a hearty soup which, when served with some corn bread, makes a complete meal!  It comes from my well loved copy of Frances Moore Lappe's  Diet for a Small Planet. Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil 2 large onions 2 large garlic cloves 1 carrot, chopped 1/2 tsp thyme and marjoram 3 cups seasoned stock 1 cup brown or green lentils salt to taste 1/4 cup parsley, chopped 1 500g jar of tomatoes 2 cups chopped spinach or silver beet 1/4 cup dry sherry 2/3 cup grated Swiss cheese

Method 1.  Heat oil in a large pot and saute onions, garlic and carrots for 3 to 5 minutes. 2.  Add herbs and saute for another minute to release the flavours. 3. Add stock, lentils, salt and tomatoes and cook, covered until lentils are tender, about 45 minutes. 4. Add sherry, parsley and silver beet and continue to simmer until silver beet is tender. 5.  To serve, put 2 tbsps of cheese in each bowl and fill with soup.  Serve with corn bread or muffins.

CSA Autumn Share 2013 - Week #8 (20 April to 26 April)

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WHAT’S IN THE BOXThe following are the items being harvested this coming week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavour to divide the harvest fairly.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.

NOTES ON THE SHARE Basil - A bunch of tops in every box.  There are some leaves showing signs of colder weather...black spots. Bok Choy - Harvesting bunches of tender baby bok choy. Beans - This is our last bean planting for the season - and as it is getting cooler, we are unsure of the amount of beans that will be ready for harvest. We hope to get some in every box. The varieties are the yellow 'Cherokee Wax' and green 'Strike'. Broccoli – We have three varieties being harvested - 'DeCiccio', small, sweet side shoots which can be used stem to floret, 'Belfast' very tight medium size heads and 'Marathon' which have large heads.  Expect a few heads in every box.  There may be green cabbage moth caterpillars...although we have only seen a few while harvesting. Carrots – Big bunches of mixed baby carrots.  You can roast or steam these whole. Varieties include 'Atomic Red', 'Deep Purple' and 'Solar Yellow'. Cauliflower - The plantings of 'Green Macerata' and 'Sicily Purple' cauliflower are beginning to produce heads ready for harvest.  Expect a head over the next three to four weeks. Chillies - We will include chillies in your box if you request them.  Please email us if you would like them. Garlic – Bulb or two in every box. Leeks - 'American Flag' Parsley - Harvesting curly and Italian flat leaf Potatoes - 'Pontiac' or Nicola' Pumpkin – Harvesting 'Anna Swartz' and 'Queensland Blue'.  'Anna Swartz' is a buttercup variety which is drier and more flavourful.  This is delicious in soups and curries. Baby Rocket - Tender and young Silverbeet - 'Red Ruby' Spinach – 'Long Standing Bloomsdale'

ROTATING As the farm transitions into Autumn, the warm weather crops are finishing.  While they are still producing, we will harvest them and rotate them through the boxes.  If you have received these in the past two weeks, you may not see them again until next season. Patty Pan Squash – 'Jaune Et Verte' - scallop, small, round summer squash.  Delicious baked, grilled or stir fried. Pimiento de Padrons – These sometimes hot, sometimes not chillies are a wonderful entree...enjoyed by child and adult! Zucchini– 'Nero de Milano' and 'Romanesco'.  We are also harvesting 'Golden Crookneck', a summer squash.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING With many areas of the farm tilled now and awaiting the germination of cover crops, cold weather crops are dominating the landscape.  The next planting of broccoli is heading up and we are harvesting the first of the cauliflower.  We are trialing three varieties of cauliflower - green, purple and white.   Many "greens" are glowing against the cloudy skies - Silverbeet, Spinach, Bok choys, Mustards, Rocket, Raddichio, Lettuce, Tatsoi, Kale and Fennel (not a green but the feathery tops look great!).  There are different varieties of turnips growing, more parsnips, radishes, carrots and beet root.  And the Kol Rabi's are beginning to plump up.  And there are also many small pea pods on the planting of snow peas.  They may be ready for harvest next week.  The last remaining warm weather crop will be our final planting of sweet corn which has tasseled and is full of ears.  We are hoping that they do finish their developing.  While the remainder of the warm weather crops are succumbing to powdery mildew, the cold weather crops are thriving.

We have taken a photo essay of what's growing and will be posting that on the website in the next few days.  If you receive the newsletter, it will come to you directly.

FARM TOURS The farm is open from 8am-11am on Saturdays for members to walk around and see your food growing.  Each week the landscape changes as crops grow, are harvested and then tilled in.  Please email us if you need directions. If you are not a member and would like to tour the farm, please join our mailing list (box in the right hand margin) to be informed of the next farm open day.

SEASONAL EATING - SHARING INSPIRATION Please keep sharing your inspirations.  True seasonal eating has lost its definition, due partly to the fact that the grocery stores and fruit and vegetable shops seem to have everything, all the time.  It is great to be a part of the re-awakening of eating with the season and I am enjoying compiling what that looks like for so many different families.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Spinach and Chicken Curry Blue Cheese, Proscuitto and Rocket Bruschetta Bok Choy, Broccoli and Chicken in a Spiced Sauce We will be adding two soup recipes at the beginning of the week. One with spinach or silver beet and the other with pumpkin.  You can find those on the home page of the website  or search by key ingredient on our website recipe page.

 

CSA Autumn Share 2013 - Week #7 (13 April - 19 April)

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WHAT’S IN THE BOXThe following are the items being harvested this coming week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the harvest.  Please read the  Notes on the Share(below) to know which items we "rotate" through the boxes.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavour to divide the harvest fairly.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.

NOTES ON THE SHARE HARVESTING Beetroot – The golden beetroot can be eaten raw or roasted. The colour stays brighter when they are raw. Broccoli – We have three varieties being harvested - 'DeCiccio', small, sweet side shoots which can be used stem to floret, 'Belfast' very tight medium size heads and 'Marathon' which have large heads.  Expect a few heads in every box.  There may be green cabbage moth caterpillars, as this is organic broccoli. Red Cabbage – 'Red Rock' Carrots – Big bunches of very baby carrots.  You can roast or steam these whole. Celery – Harvesting 'Tall Utah'.  This next celery planting is much more succulent then the ones in the summer.  Lovely raw. Chillies - ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’ and/or ‘Long Thin Cayennes’ . Please look at the pepper post to identify. Coriander – Bunch in every box. Garlic – Bulb or two in every box. Lettuce– Harvesting 'Brown Mignonette', a boston lettuce, and 'Red Romaine', a cos.  The heat of the past weeks have caused two lettuce plantings to be ready at the same time.  We will harvest them this week before we lose them and there may be no lettuce next week. Red Onions – 'California Red'. Parsley – Harvesting 'Italian flat leaf' and 'Curly leaf'. 'Perpetual Gator' Spinach – This is more a silverbeet then a spinach and it is tender and slightly lemony. Pumpkin – Harvesting 'Anna Swartz' and 'Queensland Blue'.  'Anna Swartz' is a buttercup variety which is drier and more flavourful.  This is delicious in soups and curries. Japanese Turnips – Also known as 'Hakurai' turnips, these lovely white 'salad' turnips are mild and sweet, even when raw.  Their greens are also very edible with their mustardy flavour.  You do not need to peel these turnips - just a light scrub will do. Turnips are a cousin to cabbage, and boasts two phytochemicals, indoles and sulforaphane, that may help fight or prevent cancer. They are also a good source of vitamin C and insoluble fiber. We are growing these for the first time and the first seeding was a double what we needed for a week.  So you get them for a second week while they are still young and tender. ROTATING As the farm transitions into Autumn, the warm weather crops are finishing.  While they are still producing, we will harvest them and rotate them through the boxes.  If you have received these in the past two weeks, you may not see them again until next season. Capsicum – There are capsicums on the bushes....we have only harvested 7 in the past two weeks.  Not sure when they will start breaking!  They will turn red if you leave them on your counter. Patty Pan Squash – 'Jaune Et Verte' - scallop, small, round summer squash.  Delicious baked, grilled or stir fried. Pimiento de Padrons – These sometimes hot, sometimes not chillies are a wonderful entree...enjoyed by child and adult! Zucchini– 'Nero de Milano' and 'Romanesco'.  We are also harvesting 'Golden Crookneck', a summer squash.

SEASONAL EATING - SHARING INSPIRATION Please keep sharing your inspirations.  True seasonal eating has lost its definition, due partly to the fact that the grocery stores and fruit and vegetable shops seem to have everything, all the time.  It is great to be a part of the re-awakening of eating with the season and I am enjoying compiling what that looks like for so many different families.

FARM TOURS The farm is open from 8am-11am on Saturdays for members to walk around and see your food growing.  Each week the landscape changes as crops grow, are harvested and then tilled in.  Please email us if you need directions. If you are not a member and would like to tour the farm, please join our mailing list (box in the right hand margin) to be informed of the next farm open day.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS We enjoyed the following recipes that I found on the internet. Red Cabbage, Fennel and Apple Slaw Roasted Japanese Turnips and their Balsamic Greens Braised Red Cabbage with Fennel and Apple Pumpkin and Spinach or Curry

You can also search by key ingredient on our website recipe page for many more ideas.

Kimchi

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Sandor Ellix Katz, author of 'Wild Fermentation", has a self-described "fermentation fetish" .  This kimchi recipe is based on his. Kimchi is a spicy Korean pickle, made in an impressive variety of styles.  It is prepared by fermenting Chinese Cabbage, radishes or turnips, scallions, other vegetables and often seafood, with ginger, hot red chili pepper, garlic and often fish sauce.

Ingredients 500 grams chinese cabbage 1 whole daikon radish or several red radishes 1 to 2 carrots 1 to 2 onions and/or leeks, bunch of scallions, or shallots 3-4 cloves of garlic 3-4 hot red chilies 3-4 tablespoons of fresh, grated ginger

Method 1.  Mix a brine of about 1 litre of water to 4 tablespoons of salt. Stir well to thoroughly dissolve salt.  The brine should taste good and salty. 2.Coarsely chop the cabbage, slice the radish and carrots, and let the vegetables soak in the brine, covered by a plate or other weight to keep the vegetables submerged, until soft, a few hours or overnight. 3.  Prepare spices: Grate the ginger; chop the garlic and onion; remove seeds from the chilies and chop or crush, or throw them in whole.  Kimchi can absorb a lot of spice.  Experiment with quantities and don't worry too much about them.  Mix spices into a paste. (If you wish you can add fish sauce to the paste.  Just check that it has no chemical preservatives which function to inhibit microorganisms.) 4.  Drain brine off vegetables, reserving brine.  Taste vegetables for saltiness. You want them to taste decidedly salty but not unpleasantly so.  If they are too salty, rinse them.  If you cannot taste salt, sprinkle them with a couple of teaspoons and mix thoroughly. 5. Mix vegetables with the chili, onion, garlic paste.  Mix everything together and stuff it into clean litre sized jars.  Pack it tightly in to the jars, pressing down until brine rises.  If necessary, add a little of the reserved vegetable-soaking brine to submerge the vegetables.  Weight the vegetables down with a small jar filled with brine. 6.  Ferment in your kitchen or other warm place.  Taste the kimchi every day.  After about a week of fermentation, when it tastes ripe, move it to the refrigerator.

 

Roasted Japanese Turnips and their Balsamic Greens

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Here is a great recipe from Antoinette Sharp's "Cooking Spree" As she writes, "Turnips have never appeared solo in our house, but always as part of a roasted vegetable medley or a soup or stock. Wanting to keep this simple though, I roasted these pretty little things with a bit of olive oil, a scattering of thyme from the garden and flaky salt and white pepper. When they were done, they’d sit on a bed of turnip greens drizzled with balsamic."

Roasted Japanese Turnips and their Balsamic Greens

 

CSA Autumn Share 2013 - Week #6 (6 April - 12 April)

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WHAT’S IN THE BOXThe following are the items being harvested this coming week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the harvest.  Please read the  Notes on the Share (below) to know which items we "rotate" through the boxes.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavour to divide the harvest fairly.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.

NOTES ON THE SHARE IN EVERY BOX Basil – Basil plantings are being pulled up before they are tilled in.  Big pesto bunches in every box. Beetroot – Bunch in every box.  The golden beetroot can be eaten raw or roasted. The colour stays brighter when they are raw. Broccoli – We have three varieties being harvested - 'DeCiccio', small, sweet side shoots which can be used stem to floret, 'Belfast' very tight medium size heads and 'Marathon' which have large heads.  Expect a few heads in every box.  There may be green cabbage moth caterpillars, as this is organic broccoli. Green Cabbage – 'Golden Acre' - a head in every box.  This week will be the last harvest of green cabbage for at least 5 weeks. Carrots – Big bunches of very baby carrots.  You can roast or steam these whole. Chillies - ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’ and/or ‘Long Thin Cayennes’ . Please look at the pepper post to identify. Fennel – Harvesting 'Zefo Fino'. Leeks – Harvesting American Flag. Lettuce – Harvesting 'Brown Mignonette', a boston lettuce, and 'Crisp Mint' or 'Freckles', a cos, for the full shares. Parsley – Harvesting 'Italian flat leaf'. Potatoes – Bit larger portion in every box. Pumpkin – Harvesting 'Australian Butter'. Thyme – Bunch in every box. Japanese Turnips – Also known as 'Hakurai' turnips, these lovely white 'salad' turnips are mild and sweet, even when raw.  Their greens are also very edible with their mustardy flavour.  You do not need to peel these turnips - just a light scrub will do. Turnips are a cousin to cabbage, and boasts two phytochemicals, indoles and sulforaphane, that may help fight or prevent cancer. They are also a good source of vitamin C and insoluble fiber. ROTATING As the farm transitions into Autumn, the warm weather crops are finishing.  While they are still producing, we will harvest them and rotate them through the boxes.  If you have received these in the past two weeks, you may not see them again until next season. Lemon Basil and Purple Basil – We have both.  If you would like a bunch, please email us.  The lemon basil is lovely in salad dressings, marinades and vegetable pastas...to mention a few dishes.  The purple basil has a subtle basil flavour and adds a great colour to many dishes. Capsicum – There are capsicums on the bushes.  We harvest them when they are 'breaking' - not completely red.  They will turn red if you leave them on your counter. Cucumbers – Small, round 'Lemon' cucumbers, medium size cucumbers 'Marketmore' and 'Straight Eight' and large Chinese climbing cucumbers 'Suyo'. Eggplant –  Please look at the eggplant post to identify. Patty Pan Squash – 'Jaune Et Verte' - scallop, small, round summer squash.  Delicious baked, grilled or stir fried. Pimiento de Padrons Zucchini – 'Nero de Milano' and 'Romanesco'.  We are also harvesting 'Golden Crookneck', a summer squash. CLEANING OUT The following are plantings that we are finishing in order to prepare the soil and sow a cover crop. Expect at least one of the following in your box this week. Red Cabbage – 'Red Rock' Corn –  'Ruby Queen' Radish - 'French Breakfast' Rocket Spinach Baby Silverbeet

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING This week saw whole sections of the new land being cleaned out.  In the next few days, Peter will till in compost and in a few weeks, sow cover crops.  Cover crops protect the soil from winter erosion, put a variety of nutrients back into the soil and add humus to the soil when they are tilled in in the Spring.

The Autumn harvest snow and sugar snap peas are all flowering.  We have several varieties of cauliflower growing well with the green and the white all starting to head up, more plantings of broccoli are coming on, a variety of greens such as Bok Choys, Mustards and Mibuna are all growing well and plenty of root crops to add variety to the boxes.

The garlic that will be ready for harvest in late November has been planted as have the Spring share broad beans and over wintered cauliflower.  These may all be ready for harvest in October...7 months later!  We will be adding information about the Spring Share on our website in the next fortnight.

We have also begun working out our crop rotation for the next three years.  We take the information we have about the harvest of crops, the feedback about which crops members would like more of and which crops they did not enjoy, plan what we will be planting next year and then work out where it will be planted.  Crop rotation "means variety and variety gives stability to biological systems." (Coleman, The New Organic Grower).  We thank the members who filled out the surveys during the summer share.  We will be sending another out in the next week.  The survey takes 5 minutes and really helps us to know what you would like to be eating.

ESKY'S Please keep putting out your esky's.  Peter is happy to put your vegetables in one to preserve the freshness of the food until you return home.  Leave them in the shade and leave a note if you think he would not spot it.  We have also been told that water frozen in juice bottles with card board on top in an esky is an excellent way to protect the tender greens and keep everything cold and crisp.  Thanks for the advice!

FARM TOURS The farm is open from 8am-11am on Saturdays for members to walk around and see your food growing.  Each week the landscape changes as crops grow, are harvested and then tilled in.  Please email us if you need directions.

SEASONAL EATING - SHARING INSPIRATION Please keep sharing your inspirations.  True seasonal eating has lost its definition, due partly to the fact that the grocery stores and fruit and vegetable shops seem to have everything, all the time.  It is great to be a part of the re-awakening of eating with the season and I am enjoying compiling what that looks like for so many different families.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS We enjoyed the following recipes that I found on the internet. Red Cabbage, Fennel and Apple Slaw Roasted Japanese Turnips and their Balsamic Greens Braised Red Cabbage with Fennel and Apple Pumpkin and Spinach Curry Beetroot, Rocket and Feta Salad

You can also search by key ingredient on our website recipe page for many more ideas.

Individual Turnip Gratins with Toast Fingers

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This recipe comes from "The Greens Cook Book" by Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown. These gratins can be slid onto a plate and served with toast fingers to soak up the cream.  The nutty flavour of the Gruyere and the savory thyme balance the sweetness of the turnips.  The turnip greens, which are slightly peppery, would also be good stewed in butter and served with the gratins.

Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds medium turnips Salt Pepper 1 1/2 tsps thyme leaves, chopped 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 2 to 3 slices Country French Bread Chervil or thyme leaves to garnish

Method 1. Peel the turnips, and slice them into thin rounds.  Bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, and cook the turnips for a minute to remove any bitterness.  Pour them into a colander to drain. 2. Preheat oven to 375F (230C). Butter shallow, round gratin dishes that are about 5-6 inches across.  Cover the bottom of each with an overlapping layer of turnips, and season with salt, freshly ground pepper and some of the thyme.Make a second layer of turnips and seasonings, ending with cheese.  Pour the cream over the top and bake. 3. Check after 15 minutes and baste some of the cream over the top if it has not yet begun to boil.  Remove gratins when most of the cream has been absorbed and there is a golden crust over the top, about 30 minutes in all.  Set them aside to cool for a few minutes. 4. Toast the bread and slice it into lengths about 1/2 inch wide. 5.  Slide a rubber spatula around the edge of each gratin, reaching across the bottom, then slide it out carefully onto a serving plate.  Garnish with the fresh herbs and the toast fingers.

 

CSA Autumn Share 2013 - Week #5 (30 March - 4 April)

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WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items being harvested this coming week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the harvest.  Please read the  Notes on the Share (below) to know which items we "rotate" through the boxes.  If the harvest of a crop is not enough for every member, we keep track of whom has received it and whom has not so as to keep the shares even.

The picture represents a full share box and is not exactly what every box will contain this week.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavour to divide the harvest fairly.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies.

NOTES ON THE SHARE Basil – We are preparing whole areas of the farm for cover crops.  Basil plantings are being pulled up before they are tilled in.  Big pesto bunches in every box. Lemon Basil and Purple Basil – We have both.  If you would like a bunch, please email us.  The lemon basil is lovely in salad dressings, marinades and vegetable pastas...to mention a few dishes.  The purple basil has a subtle basil flavour and adds a great colour to many dishes. Broccoli – We have two varieties which are heading - 'DeCiccio' which have smaller heads and 'Marathon' which have large heads.  There may be green cabbage moth caterpillars, as this is organic broccoli. Green Cabbage – Still harvesting 'Golden Acre'.  If you would not like any, please let us know. Red Cabbage – Harvesting 'Red Rock'. Carrots – This next planting of carrots are some of the ugliest carrots we have grown.  The varieties are 'Scarlett Nantes', 'Deep Purple' and 'Cosmic Purple'.  They are still great to eat and juice but the soil in which they were planted must have been too rich and/or trying to keep them cool during the heat waves of the summer has caused them to branch out....as opposed to sending down a single tap root searching for water.  So everyone will receive a bunch of WILD carrots - bagged to try and contain them!  Our next planting of carrots which are lovely and straight, will not be ready for two to three weeks.  If you would prefer no ugly carrots for the next few weeks, please email us. Chillies - The harvest of ‘Padron’ chillies will continue to appear in some boxes. There are ‘Hungarian Hot Wax’,  ‘Long Thin Cayennes’ and ‘Thai Hot’ or ‘Bird’s Eye’ being harvested.  Please look at the pepper post to identify. Coriander – Bunch in every box. Cucumbers – We are harvesting the third planting. There are small, round 'Lemon' cucumbers, small pickling cucumbers 'Sumter', medium size cucumbers 'Marketmore' and 'Straight Eight' and large Chinese climbing cucumbers 'Suyo'. Eggplant –  Please look at the eggplant post to identify.  We rotate the harvest. Garlic – Bulb in every box. Lettuce – Harvesting 'Crisp Mint' a Romaine lettuce and 'Perella Rougette' for the full shares. Mesclun – Harvesting another mesclun planting. Onions – 'California Red' onion(s) in every box. Parsley – Harvesting curly leaf. Parsnips – We have started harvesting big parsnips 'Hollow Crown'. Patty Pan Squash – The variety is 'Jaune Et Verte'.  They are scallop, small, round summer squash.  Delicious baked, grilled or stir fried.  We are rotating the harvest of these each week. Silverbeet – Bunches of 'Ruby Red' or 'Perpetual Gator' in every box. Tomatoes – Romas and 'Marglobes', 'Principe Borghese' and 'Sun Gold'.  The tomato harvest is dwindling...even with a second planting.  Their season is almost done. Pumpkin – Harvesting 'Australian Butter' and 'Butternut' pumpkins. 'Tiny Tim' Pumpkins – We planted a few of these tiny little pumpkins just as an Autumn treat.  They are apparently edible but we just like them as a seasonal display.  Happy Autumn!! Zucchini – Harvesting 'Nero de Milano' and 'Romanesco'. The zucchinis are slowing down and we are rotating the harvest.  We are also harvesting 'Golden Crookneck', a summer squash.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING The melon and watermelon have finished.  There are many huge melons on the plants but we are not sure if they will ripen as the nights have really cooled down and melons like balmy nights!  It has been a wonderful season for both melons and watermelons!

We have planted a variety of broccoli which is all heading up now...every single plant at the same time!  I have never seen anything like it...so uniform and perfect.  With that and our other two varieties which are producing, we are about to have a great amount of broccoli.  Not sure if the 'Belstar' will be ready this week or next but get your broccoli recipes ready!

We have finished with one bean planting and we have one more which we are hoping will produce.  The cold nights keep the warm weather plants from producing flowers.  Without flowers, there are no fruits...or beans in this case. We are not sure if this last planting will produce or not...

We have two more corn plantings which we hope will keep growing.  One has already tasseled and pollinated but the ears are not ready.  The other has not tasseled yet.

There is a planting of cauliflower just beginning to head up and a planting of 'Romanesco' broccoli which may start heading up.  'Romanesco' is that lovely Esher-esc plant that has whirls of lime green spirals.  It is classified a broccoli but grows like a cauliflower and can be used as you would either.

The kale plantings are growing as are the silverbeet.  And the re-plantings of Asian greens have sprouted and have true leaves. Baby bok choy in three weeks!!

ESKY'S Please keep putting out your esky's.  Peter is happy to put your vegetables in one to preserve the freshness of the food until you return home.  Leave them in the shade and leave a note if you think he would not spot it.  We have also been told that water frozen in juice bottles with card board on top in an esky is an excellent way to protect the tender greens and keep everything cold and crisp.  Thanks for the advice!

SEASONAL EATING - SHARING INSPIRATION Please keep sharing your inspirations.  True seasonal eating has lost its definition, due partly to the fact that the grocery stores and fruit and vegetable shops seem to have everything, all the time.  It is great to be a part of the re-awakening of eating with the season and I am enjoying compiling what that looks like for so many different families.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon Thai Salad Dresssing Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon Basil Sauce Pickled Red Cabbage Roasted Parsnips, Beetroot and Carrots

You can also search by key ingredient on our website recipe page for many more ideas.

Classic Greek Salad

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The classic Greek salad - The taste is carried on the freshness of the vegetables and the flavour of the olives, feta and olive oil.  I still remember traveling through Greece consuming this salad for breakfast, lunch and dinner - using fresh bread to mop up the left over juice. Ingredients I whole tomato cut into 1/8's 6 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 large cucumber, skin forked, quartered lengthwise, chopped 1 small red onion, chopped 1 small red capsicum, chopped 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved 100g Greek feta cheese, cut into cubes 1 1/2 tblsps olive oil 1 1/2 tblsps lemon juice 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

Method 1. Place oil, lemon juice, garlic and oregano in a screw-top jar. Season with salt and pepper. Secure lid. Shake to combine. 2. Combine tomato, cucumber, onion, capsicum and olives in a large bowl. Top with feta. Drizzle with oil mixture. Serve.