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What's happening on the farm right now?
We were out in the cold this morning shelling and sorting hazelnuts. It is a multi step process, with lots of grading and sorting of nut meat from cracked shells and uncracked nuts. First the nuts went through the sheller which sort of separates the nut meat from the shells, then we run them through again to get more shells out, and then they were run through another mechanical sorter that got a few more of shells out and then we sorted them all by hand to end up with the bucket pictured below. It was not the huge harvest that we always hope for, so we'll likely just have them for a couple of weeks. We'll remember next year to do earlier in the season as our hands and feet got COLD this morning.
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We don't have the hazelnut in the online store this week, but will have some bags at market tomorrow.
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We will be at the North Asheville Tailgate Market on Saturdays until December 17th, except for the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 26. Place your pre-orders on Wednesday and Thursday for pick up at market on Saturday.
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PLEASE NOTE: After Thanksgiving, NATM market hours will be 10am until 1pm.
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For those of you with CSA market shares, your balance is updated through November 5. Your balance will roll over to next year if you don't use all your credit by December 17. The CSA discount, however, is for one season only.
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The hazelnut trees are loaded with beautiful catkins this winter, so we'll cross out fingers again for a really big harvest next year!
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While the mountains and fields surrounding the farm have turned grey and dormant, the cover crop in the fields is looking lush and green.
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The chard looking stunning!
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What's available in the store and at market this week?
The rainbow chard is so shiny and bright! I don't think we've ever had a bed of chard look so vibrant at this time of year. The kales are also looking good, although they are not growing very fast so the leaves are getting smaller. We have lots of red butter lettuce, red leaf and panisse. Please wash these lettuces well as we have seen some aphids. We have lots of lettuce mix, a good amount of spinach, daikon radishes, red round radishes, watermelon radishes and baby Japanese turnips. We have just about sold out of our onions. We have butternut and angel hair spaghetti squash. Carrots
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John's Recipe of the Week
John Loyd is our dear friend, neighbor, CSA worker member and a gourmet Southern cook. His delightful cooking observations and delicious recipe offerings appear here each week.
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PEANUT CARROT SOUP – From Bill Neal, who made the world aware of what Southern cooking can be. Think, shrimp and grits and Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill. Note this recipe is for 8.
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| 2 cups of carrots, chopped |
| 2 quarts of chicken stock or another stock you choose |
| 1 cup of smooth peanut butter |
| Chopped scallions or cilantro |
Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in butter until soft. Add 1 quart of the stock and simmer for ½ hour. Puree in a blender or processor until smooth. Whisk the peanut butter gradually into the puree. Add the remaining chicken stock, the cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat without boiling.
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| Serve chilled or hot with scallions or cilantro and/or chopped peanuts. |
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Your farmers, Vanessa and Alex
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Love the flowers. Honor the vegetables. Let the weeds go!
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- Cheri Huber and Ashwini Narayanan
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