Sweet Potatoes are not as sweet as you

Dear Shareholders,

This week marks the end of our 20 week season.  You guys have been our first ever shareholders here at Wooden Hill Farms.  What you helped us do here this season fulfilled a dream that the three of us had.  So, thank you for you made it possible.  Feeding you guys and building a community around the farm has been so very rewarding.  We look forward to hearing your comments in the shareholder survey so that we can continue to grow and improve and make your CSA what you want it to be.  Let the hibernation begin.

Sincerely,

Spotty Pumpkin Face Cutey

Okay okay okay, all sappiness aside, we have lots of feelings going into this last week.  First of all, it's quite a share.  You will be receiving the largest sweet potato you've ever seen.  If you've ever seen one bigger, please lie to us and tell us you haven't.  The large sweet potato you'll get is from the very base of the plant.  The normal sweet potatoes actually grow further out along the vines.  You also will be receiving an apple gourd which is ornamental and awesome.  Another feeling we've got going on is SO MUCH EXCITEMENT that we have finally earned our vacation!  You guys know what vacation feels like.  It feels like warm sun on a cool, crisp October day.  The other feeling, of course, is anticipation for the kickin' shareholder picnic/HAYRIDE that will be going on here Saturday starting at 2PM.  Hayride is at 4PM.  Please remember to bring your covered dish to share because we don't want to cook and we've given all our food to you guys.  JK. JK.

This week has been ridiculously good.  We got a lot of end of season stuff accomplished.  We cover cropped lots of fields with winter rye which comes in 56 lb bags that are fun to sit on and make handprints in.  We then disked  that in.  We put the 20 lbs of German Red garlic in the ground today.  The front herb garden has been laid to rest.  We even made an appointment to speak with the accountant and more importantly, take Pico to the vet.  When she sneaks in the house at night, her purr is so loud we think she'll knock down the house.

It brings us great sadness that no one will be reading our ramblings next week.  Clearly, we love to ramble.  Ever played the card game PIT?  Do you like red candles?  Do you think only non scented candles should be burned while one eats?  Did you find the CHILE MINE RESCUE AMAZING?  Have you ever had Halvah?  Do you like Charlton's beard?  Would you be interested in a winter share?  Do you have a heated greenhouse to give us?

THE LAST CROP OF THE WEEK

SWEEEEEET POTATOES

Surprisingly, the sweet potato is only a distant relative to the potato.  The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens.  The softer, orange variety is often called a yam in parts of North America, a practice intended to differentiate it from the firmer, white variety. The sweet potato is botanically very distinct from the other vegetable called a yam, which is native to Africa and Asia and belongs to the monocot family Dioscoreaceae. To prevent confusion, the United States Department of Agriculture requires that sweet potatoes labeled as "yams" also be labeled as "sweet potatoes".  Ah ha, so there it is.  That answers the old yam/sweet potato question.  Our sweet potatoes were dug up on Monday.  As sweet potatoes sit out and cure, especially in warmer temperatures, the starches turn to sugars.  So if you wait a little bit, you'll eat a sweeter sweet potato.  If you get a sweet potato that is blemished, we recommend you eat it ASAP because it will go bad quicker.  Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A and C, beta carotene and fiber.  They are also a good source of copper and potassium.  They are high in antioxidants, they contain anticancer stuff, and will protect your heart, but not from being broken so be careful in love, guys.  Sweet potatoes are an edible tuberous root.  They are native to the tropical parts of South America.  (lots of this we learned from wikipedia:SweetPotatoes)

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Sweet Potato Pudding

1 cup mashed sweet potatoes

1-2 TBSP brown sugar

1 egg well beaten

1 TBSP melted butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c milk

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Combine all ingredients and blend well.  Pour into a buttered bakeware of your choice.  Bake for 30 minutes or until done.  This can be served as a vegetable side or dessert.

Wait....the sun just came out!

Boy has this season flown by...just one more pick-up left after this week! It seems like just yesterday we were all strangers...now we're wondering if you're tired of us yet. In case you are starting to feel like you might miss us too much to go on over the winter, we could arrange to visit your house every Thursday. Don't worry Phoebe, we can bring Meghan along too! On a brighter note, this rain is really starting to get to us, and we think we're starting to show symptoms of cabin fever. We've definitely been wondering to ourselves why this rain couldn't have spread itself out a little bit more over the summer. But hey!- what would the fun have been in that?! Every season is so different from the last. Each year there are new challenges (and some old challenges that we just haven't figured out yet). The rain this week has once again prevented us from harvesting the last row of taters and the sweet potatoes. No worries though, we'll get 'em out of the ground soon.
Now for some business matters...
This week please make sure you get our end of the season shareholder survey. You are welcome to fill it out here at the farm or take it home. We'll have a drop box set up to collect them over the next couple weeks. This is your chance to be brutally honest. It will be anonymous, so you can fold it in half, and then in half, and then in half again, and then give the box a good shake after you deposit your survey. But seriously, we need the constructive criticism, we're tired of you all telling us how fantastic we are.
You guys also might be wondering how next season will work as far as sign-up for the '11 season. Spots for existing shareholders are basically guaranteed for next year. So if you are interested in joining us again, there's no rush to reserve a spot or send in payment. You'll be receiving official invitations and payment information after the New Year. Woohoo!!!!
Speaking of the 2011 season, we'll have some Wooden Hill propaganda( informative postcards) available for you to take and hand out to friends, family, co-workers, or even strangers on the street who you think might be interested in becoming shareholders. Thank you for spreading the word!
Finally...The End of Season Shareholder Potluck! We'll be having the picnic on Saturday, October 16th at 2pm. Please bring a covered dish to share (if you want, bring a copy of your recipe to share with those who fall in love with your dish), and lawn chairs. Toys, instruments and leashed dogs are welcome as well. Any further details that may come up will be posted on the blog.
PHEW!

CROP OF THE WEEK
BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Indeed, butternut is another, and our final winter squash for the season. As with the other winter squash varieties, you can roast or boil butternut and then eat it as is or puree for use in soups and baking. And just a reminder, if you feel like the winter squash is coming at you faster than you can make them into delectable dishes, they do hold for quite a while if stored properly, in a cool, dark, dry space. However, keep an eye our for blemishes as once they start, you should probably get to cookin'. The Butternut is high in fiber, vitamins C & A, manganese, magnesium and potassium. This winter squash is commonly used in Australia and New Zealand as well as in South Africa, where it is often grilled. (some information taken from wikipedia)

RECIPE OF THE WEEK
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
makes ~2 Qts.
2.5 to 3 lb butternut squash
2 to 3 TBSP olive oil, plus extra for butternut
2 onions, finely chopped
10 sage leaves chopped(1/2 tsp dry)
3 sprigs worth of chopped thyme (1/4 tsp dry)
1/4 C chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
S & P to taste
2 Qts. vegetable stock or water
"To Finish"-* all are optional
2 TBSP olive oil
1 head radicchio cut into 1-2" wedges
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
few drops of pumpkin seed oil or olive oil
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425. Halve squash, scoop seeds and brush with oil. Place cut side down on baking sheet until tender (~30 min.). Scoop out flesh. Deglaze pan with 1 C water and reserve.
2. Heat oil in pot and add onion, sage, thyme, and parsley. Stir frequently and cook until onions have started to brown around edges (~15 min.). Add squash, garlic, 1.5 TSP salt, stock, and deglazing water. Bring to boil, then simmer, partially coverd for ~25 min. Add water if you want it thinner, add salt to taste, puree if you like a smooth texture.
3* To finish- heat 1 TBSP oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add radicchio wedges, salt and pepper, and brush with remaining oil. After 4 to 5 min., turn over and brown other side. Remove and sprinkle with vinegar. Chop into bite size pieces.
4. To serve- ladel soup, add radicchio, and drizzle oil. Add parmesan and serve!
(from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Soups)

Mud potatoes

Hope you all are warm and dry.  After the third outfit change before 9 am, we are finally all dry.  We had hoped to dig out potatoes for this share, but due to the weather, were unable to.  That is why we had potatoes on the harvest list yesterday and have removed it.  It should stop raining at 11pm.  That's only 12 more hours.

Here's 2 haikus about you know what:

Huge glass of water

Pours from the October sky

But it's September

Water, water, wa...

Umbrella operator

Puddle between bricks

The return of the salad mix!

Spotty belly!

Konichiwa!  Happy rainy and cloudy week everyone!  That rain is giving our crops a much deserved drink and should give them a nice boost before they get to your dinner plates.  We enjoyed a rain day Monday and got to organizing lots of things that needed it.  We also had time to cook!  We made some delicious potato dishes and finally, after 6 weeks, we made chili with lots of hot peppers and some tomato sauce with herbs and green peppers.  We also got to cooking lots of apple treats including apple sauce, apple rolls and apple pie!  Ain't apple season grand?  We were happy to be able to include a couple apples in your shares a few weeks back.  Apples aren't typically something we harvest for the shares, but we were able to share this year's bounty from our 2 apple trees.  Everybody knows time flies (stink bugs fly too), but we really can't quite believe that this week is our 17th share.  Including this week, we've got just 3 more weeks together for this season  :(    boo......hoo...  We will be having another shareholder picnic though, so we can all look forward to that.   :)    Anyway, next week, we'll be giving out a shareholder survey to get your very, very valuable feedback.  It will be anonymous.  So sharpen your number 2s.  No, you don't have to use a No. 2.  Let's move onto your share info for this week, shall we?

Just as everything is about to turn gold out there, we will be giving you more greens this week.  Tomorrow and Friday in your shares, we'll be giving out salad mix (it's a mesclun mix with mustard greens, baby kale, tat soi, mizuna and other microgreens).  We'll also be including radishes and arugula, aka rocket, in your shares.  We have a couple shareholders who go bananas over arugula.  Us farmers are into it as well, and this fall's crop seems to be extra delicious.  Arugula is high in vitamin C and potassium.  We've been eating whole salads using arugula as the only "lettuce."  Radishes, which Stef despises, are high in ascorbic acid, folic acid, and potassium.  The other very exciting thing in your share this week is the cheese pumpkin.  

CROP OF THE WEEK.

CHEESE PUMPKIN

Cheese pumpkins are one variety of squash known as cucurbita moschata.  A more common variety of cucurbita moschata is the butternut squash.  You will recognize their familial ties because they are pretty much the exact same color.  Cheese pumpkins earn their name because their exterior looks like a wheel of cheese.  They are a medium sized, flattened pumpkin and have a tan, smooth, ribbed exterior.  We are proud to announce that out of the pumpkins we grow, cheese pumpkins, in our opinion,  make the best pumpkin pie.  They are sweet and contain dark orange flesh.  They are also known as the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin.  Anyway, pumpkin pie.  I want to write it one more time.  Pumpkin pie.  This variety of winter squash seems to be more tolerant of hot, dry weather than others.  And with all that heat and dryness this summer, that sure means a lot.  Cucurbita moschata also seems to be more resistant to the nasty squash vine borer.  Cheese pumpkins are high in potassium and beta carotene and are great for people watching their weight.  We hope you enjoy your cheese pumpkin.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

CHEESE PUMPKIN BREAD

Ah ha, thought you were going to see a recipe for pumpkin pie, didn't you?  We've decided not to include one on here because, well, most people already have their favorite tried and true pumpkin pie recipe.  Sometimes they are family secrets passed down from generation to generation.  I don't have access to my family's yet, so what do I know?  I'm just the one who pours the molasses in.  So, instead, here is a delicious recipe from Rodale's Whole Foods Cookbook:

4 eggs

1 cup honey

15 oz. cheese pumpkin puree (Cut cheese pumpkin in half and roast in skin in a pan in a 400 degree oven for 60 minutes or until flesh is soft; peel away skin and puree.  If pumpkin is browning in oven, pour in some water or coat in oil)

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 3/4 c unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c plain yogurt or buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325.  Butter two loaf pans.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and honey.  Whisk in the pumpkin and oil.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the  flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon.  Alternately, add portions of the flour mixture and the yogurt to the pumpkin mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the loaf pans.  Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  If the loaves are overbrowning, tent with foil.  Remove from the pans and cook on a rack.

Harvestnox?!

Hello all ye vegetable lovers!!
If we were to time travel to the past and visit ourselves thinking about this very week as it existed in the future, we would see ourselves excited for the 17th share of our CSA season. However, what we might not have known at that moment, and do know now is that the 17th share marks the official beginning of fall via the autumnal equinox! What makes this even more exciting is that we will have a full moon on this particular equinox for the first time since 1991. And in case you were wondering, this is indeed the true definition of a Harvest Moon. As if this all weren't amazing enough, this past monday was the closest that Jupiter has been to the Earth since 1963! In addition to these fun facts that you can now wow your friends, family and co-workers with, there are a few fun activities that can help you to enjoy the first day of autumn to the fullest extent.
For starters, make note of how the sun rises due East and sets due West. Very interesting, eh? Next, if you can find the time, we recommend going to the North or South pole to watch the sun skim across the horizon. This marks the beginning of a bout of insomnia for Santa, or a very pale complexion for a penguin. Finally, we'd like to remind you to make a date for lunch on the equator, where you can watch the sun pass directly over head. Needless to say, this 17th share marks a very exciting day for us all.
As for news and current events.... The wedding of Dan and Dani Skinner was a great success. They both showed up, which is a good start of course. Both the ceremony and the weather were absolutely beautiful, not to mention that the flowers were a pretty big hit. Meanwhile, back on the farm Stefanie cared for all of the animals and vegetables and partook in the ceremonial exchanging of the tractors. Spotty, Crude, Meghan, and Pico looked on as Charley rode his John Deere off into the sunset and Stef returned the International to its rightful home. And suddenly, all feels well, and just as it should be.

CROP OF THE WEEK
PUPMPKINS!
As you may have noticed this weeks theme is Autumn. Some of you have asked us weekly, and they're finally here. PUMPKINS! Pumpkins can range from an itsy-bitsy 1lb or less to over 1,000 lbs. Hard to believe, right? Wooden Hill has yet to grow one that big. We actually grow two distinct types of pumpkins. We grow a couple varieties that yield the large jack-o-lantern type, as well as a variety called "New England Pie Pumpkin" which are the smaller ones you'll see at the farm. Both can be used for decoration, or for cooking. As for fun facts, you may have guessed that pumpkins are a big seller here in America. In fact, the U.S. produces somewhere around 1.5 billion lbs of this traditional winter squash every year. Pumpkins are extremely versatile. You can put it on your porch, shelf or table for all to admire, you can paint it, you can have a catch with it, you can carve it, you can make it your pet pumpkin, you can use it as a paper weight, you can use it to help you invent the latest in pumpkin chucking technology, and don't forget, you can eat it! They're really good for you too. The seeds alone can be roasted for a delicious snack packed with vitamins and protein. The flesh itself is a fantastic source of dietary fiber and is high in Vitamins A, C, E and B6 among others.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK
PUMPKIN AND BLACK BEANS

(the Halloween colors add a nice touch)
1 onion chopped
2 TBSP olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 cup veggie stock
2 cups cubed, peeled pumpkin
1.5 cups cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
2 TBSP fresh savory or oregano
1 TBSP minced gingerroot
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP soy sauce

-In large pan combine oil and onion. Saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and Bell pepper and saute a few minutes more.
-Stir in stock. Increase heat to bring to a boil. Stir in the pumpkin, black beans, savory, ginger, lemon juice and soy sauce. Cover and reduce heat, simmering for 8-10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender
P.S. If this is a recipe you find you like, you can always use other winter squash and bean varieties to substitute and mix it up a little.

September. Possibly the greatest month of them all.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen!  There's a chill in the air and we are liking it.  Hope you are climbing up the old attic steps and getting your sweaters out of storage.  Or, if you're anything like me, you're just happy that you never got around to packing them away....

A note to a certain shareholder, we DO grow DINOSAUR KALE aka Lacinato, so look for that in the coming weeks.

What a gorgeous week it's been up here at the farm.  It's wedding season for Marley and Charlton.  Nono, they aren't getting married yet, but their friends and Marley's brother is!  Congratulations Dan and Danielle!  Marley will be arranging the flowers for her oldest brother's wedding this weekend.  What an incredible wedding gift.  Here, I grew your wedding flowers.  I am not crying.

Tasks this week included planting our fall crop of lettuce and bok choi, weeding the root crops, harvesting the cheese pumpkins, spraying neem and peppermint oil on the fall brassica crops, etc, etc.  We're also talking about the fall's cover cropping plan and the future farm fields of America.  The mixes that we planted are coming up nicely and should be in your salad bowl in a few short weeks.  We've got arugula, lettuce mix and mesclun mixes for you guys.  Oh!  And spinach too!

A few of you guys have been asking about how long your share goes.  Our 20 week program officially ends October 14th and 15th.  Around that time, you will be hearing plenty about our end of the season picnic, which will be complete with a field gleaning where we'll all get to picnic again and you guys can clean our fields of all remaining crops!  

The variety of winter squash that will be in your share this week is called sweet dumpling.  Like other winter squash, it's most easily prepared by halving it, scooping the seeds out and roasting it in a water bath.  Sweet dumpling is a small variety of winter squash and is mildly sweet.  Due to its shape and size, it is great for stuffing and presenting whole on the table.  Online (at http://inspiredbites.blogspot.com/2008/10/stuffed-sweet-dumpling-squash.html)  I recently found a delicious recipe for sweet dumpling squash stuffed with rice, peppers, onions and garlic.  A sweeter variation I have yet to try is one that includes raisins, apples, carrots and rice.  Let us know any good recipes you find or come up with!

CROP OF THE WEEK

POTATOES

Potatoes are delicious.  Just like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, us 3 farmers believe there is no wrong way to eat a potato.  We heart them.  The variety of potatoes you will be receiving this week is Katahdin, named after the mountain in Maine.  Saturday, I found myself making french fries with this white potato variety.  All I did was fill the frying pan with oil (don't use olive!) and cut up the potatoes into long french fry shapes, with skins on, and gently placed them in the hot oil.  I let them fry for a good amount of time, maybe 10 minutes, but timing will depend on your specific stove and how high you have the temp.  Then I laid them out on a paper towel to cool and sea salted them up and then enjoyed!  Often, during the growing season, we find ourselves having a insatiable desire for potato chips.  After researching this craving, we found out that we are most likely trying to make up for a potassium deficiency.  This is likely due to the ridiculous amounts of water we drink during the hot summer months.  Our body is trying to restore the balance by making us eat potato chips.  

Potatoes are known as a classic carbohydrate - a bulky, starchy food.  Potatoes have vitamin C, potassium!, and vitamin b6.  And remember that by keeping the skins on, you are keeping the most fiber rich part.  Potatoes can offer protection from colon cancer and help improve glucose tolerance.  Potatoes are a part of the nightshade family, and the edible tubers are eaten.  Potatoes are grown by waiting until the plants above ground die, and then by letting the skins cure underground.  If you ever find a green potato, DON'T EAT IT!  Potatoes turn green when they are exposed to the sun and are poisonous.  Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat and corn (info from wikipedia:potato).  Today over 99% of all cultivated potatoes are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to Chile.  Wild potatoes grow all over the U.S. and South America, though.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

POTATO, CHORIZO AND GREENS SOUP

4 TBSP olive oil

2 medium leeks, chopped or 1 medium onion, chopped

5 large potatoes

1 large clove garlic, minced

6 cups chicken broth (can use vegetable)

2 cups water

6 oz. hard cured chorizo, pepperoni or other dry sausage, diced

1 lb mustard greens or kale (or any green), stemmed and thinly sliced.

salt and pepper

In a large saucepan, heat 3 TBSP oil over medium heat.  Add the leeks or onion, cover and sweat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Uncover, add the potatoes and cook until they begin to brown, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the broth and water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat.  Slightly mash the potato until thick, but leave some texture.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 TBSP oil over med. heat.  Add the chorizo and cook until light brown.

Add the chorizo to the soup along with the greens.  Return to a simmer and cook until the greens are just tender, about 5 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

:)

Campfires and Shooting Stars

We hope everyone had a fantastic Labor Day weekend, and that you've all fully recovered from any over indulgence in food and drink. We had a mini-vacation and our last hoorah for the summer with lots of guests from far and wide. Stef went vegan for a few days while Marley and Charlton ate way too much pork...but don't worry, it was pastured pork from our good friends at North Mountain pastures. There were campfires abound, drive-in movies, s'mores, melty trails, fireworks, picnics, kipona, atomic warehouse and yes...lots of shooting stars.
If we were grape growers this dry spell would be exactly what we hope for to make the grapes nice and sweet for the fall harvest. But alas, we are not, and the irrigation schedule has commenced once again. The newly planted and seeded crops require water everyday and even the established crops take their turns getting a drink.
Today we had our hands on a ton of winter squash. Another milestone as we find the fall creeping closer and closer. This weeks share will include acorn squash. Don't feed it to the squirrels. Please note that there may be soft spots on some of the acorns, due to the intense heat and sun last week. It's the squash version of sunburn. This is just cosmetic and the flesh inside will still be tasty as can be. For the unburned half, we give thanks to the shade provided by the weeds. You have just experienced a serious moment in Wooden Hill history, as this will probably be one of the only times you will ever hear us thank our weeds.

P.S. Remember to bring your jars and containers for the Food Bank!

CROP OF THE WEEK


ACORN SQUASH

You guessed it, acorn squash gets it's name from it's distinct acorn shape and ridges. Although acorn squash can also come in shades of white and yellow, the variety grown here is dark green when ripe. The flesh is a yellow-orange color and is high in vitamins A and C and potassium. Like other winter squash, acorn is also a good source of manganese and fiber. For those of you with a sweet tooth this is the ultimate winter squash as its most common preparation is to slice in half, scoop out the seeds, fill with butter and brown sugar, bake and serve as is in the shell. You can find a quick and easy recipe for this just by googling "acorn squash"

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Roasted Squash, Pear and Ginger Soup
adapted from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Soups
1 acorn squash, rinsed
3 ripe but firm pears, quartered, seeds and stems removed
1, 2 inch chunk ginger, thinly sliced
olive oil
sea salt
2 TBSP butter
1 onion, thinly sliced


1. Preheat oven to 425. Cut the squash in half, scrape out seeds, and then cut each half in half again. Bake in oven with pears and all but a few slices of the ginger. Brush with oil, season with salt and bake for 1 hour. If squash is very dry add 1 cup water to pan and cover with foil to create steam. When the squash is tender, transfer everything from pan to cutting board. Add 1 cup water to pan, and scrape to dissolve the juices, reserving the liquid. Scrape the flesh of squash away from the skins
2. To make a stock, bring 6 cups water to a boil. Eventually add the squash skins, remaining ginger and 1/2 TSP salt. Lower the heat and simmer, covered for 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in soup pot. Add onion and cook 10 minutes. Add the pears, ginger and squash, and the reserved deglazing water. Strain the stock into the pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Puree until smooth and serve.