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News from Farm:
We spent the day in West Asheville today shelling and sorting our hazelnut crop. It looks to be a record one this year. The hazelnuts don't require a lot of work most of the year but picking them up, shelling and sorting them is labor intensive! I don't really want to think about it but we have probably handled each nut 3-4 times by the time it's ready to sell in its little bag. Each year we improve and refine the process but it still took 6 of us 5 1/2 hours. It turned out to be a beautiful day though and it was great to get off the farm with this crew and do something different. We're going to miss them when they are gone.
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A reminder: We will be at the River Arts District Market until November 3rd. We will be attending and delivering to the North Asheville Tailgate Market until December 18th. We will be going to Cecilia's at least up until the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
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Below: Cabbage is my favorite vegetables to grow because it is just so beautiful!
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What's available this week??
The wait is over! Popcorn is ready to pop to perfection. We also shelled our hazelnuts today, so they are available on line and we'll have them at market on Saturday. Lots of lettuce mix and a good amount of head lettuce. We have some gorgeous purple daikon. These daikon are mild and add lovely color to your salads and kimchi. Speaking of kimchi, we have lots of cabbage that is great for fermenting, not to mention eating fresh. We have carrots and beets, kale and collards. Several kind of winter squash, including, for the first time this year, tetsukabuto. This one is cross between a butternut and a kabocha, dark orange sweet moist flesh and stores for months and months. Lots of onions, red, pungent yellow and sweet. Potatoes. Mixed flower bouquets. Several veggies are reaching the end so we are just bringing them to market, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant.
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Our last planting of sunflowers has been spectacular.
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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. |
“You learn how to cook so that you don’t have to be a slave to recipes. You get what’s in season and you know what to do with it.” Julia child
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We want to remind you that a good bit of our produce that we have on hand can be stored for future use. Check on line on how and how long things will keep. Main thing; is to store properly and to check as time goes by on spoilage.
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Here are a couple of quick, but tasty, recipes for this week.
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CHOPPED BEET, GREENS AND RED ONION SALAD – From “Lee Bailey’s Country Weekends.” Long before Martha Stewart became the maven of entertaining, Lee Bailey had made a career out of stylish living. He wrote food articles in many publications and published 18 books, “Country Weekends”, being one of the best. One can use canned beets in this, but should be quite ashamed about it. Serves 6.
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6 to 10 beets, according to their size
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Enough greens, like lettuce or endive, for the beets
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1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thin rings
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Cut the tops off the beets and cook them 30 minutes. Cool and peel and then cut into medium sized chunks.
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Wash the greens and dry them.
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Toss beets, greens and onions together and dress with a strong vinaigrette adding pepper if you like. The vinaigrette I used in August would work well. Paul Newman’s brand isn’t bad either.
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FARM STYLE BRAISED KALE – From “The Greens Cook Book”. When we ate a Greens in San Francisco, we had no idea that vegetarian food could be this good. Green’s is strong on local food and seasonal cooking and were assisted in getting going by the San Francisco Zen Center. The book is still in print. Note a tip of the hat to bacon, which you can leave out, or substitute something like Belinski’s sausages if you like, though the bacon flavor is important in this dish.
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1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 small onion, finely chopped
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1 pound of kale, stems removed, and roughly chopped
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1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
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Sauté bacon in a large skillet until crisp, crumble and reserve.
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Add butter to the bacon drippings in the skillet. Cook the onion over medium-low heat until golden, about 5 minutes.
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Meanwhile, rinse the kale in cold water.
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Add the kale to the skillet, with just the water that clings to the leaves. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
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Add salt and pepper to taste, the allspice, and the vinegar.
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Sprinkle with the reserved bacon and garnish with the lemon slices.
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Another photo of the crew because they are so darn cute.
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Thanks for reading and best wishes.
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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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