Author: Core Group

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Week #20 — Note from the Farmer — Cauliflower Soup Recipe, Boc Choy recipes, more

Dear CSA Member,

As the season slowly winds down we have had member request for winter coffee shares. If you are interested in ordering coffee for the winter months you can order directly from the marketplace. The coffee is freshly roasted and will keep for the winter stored in a cool dry area.

Other items are available through the marketplace as well such as vegetables & fruit in bulk. (Collard Greens, Lacinato Kale, Red Russian Kale, Curly Kale and weekly apples) These items are great for freezing!
Don’t forget your Honey, Maple Syrup, and Seed Oils! These items are also available through the online marketplace. Order soon as quantities are limited this time of year.

To Order Click Here

This week in your share you will be receiving Boc Choy! A little taste of spring! (as we head into fall) This is just one of the few items that we seed and plant again for the fall. This crop like the mustard, mizuna and arugula do well in cooler temperatures. They will not grow well in the heat of summer. You will also be receiving the first fall harvest of Cauliflower! We hope you enjoy!
I have added some helpful cooking tips and recipes below. One recipe is from a CSA member!

Cauliflower Soup
Judi Katz-Schwartz, Yoo Mi Thompson

Ingredients:
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion (6 ounces), sliced thin
• 1 head very fresh cauliflower, about 1-1/2 pounds
• Salt, to taste
• 5 1/2 cups hot water, divided
• Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1 Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan. Saute the onion in the olive oil over low heat without letting it brown for 15 minutes. This is called “sweating”.
2 Add the cauliflower, salt to taste, and 1/2 cup water. Raise the heat slightly, cover the pot tightly and stew the cauliflower for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Then add another 4 1/2 cups hot water, bring to a low simmer and cook uncovered for another 20 minutes.
3 Purée the soup in a blender (you’ll have to work in batches) to a very smooth, creamy consistency. Let the soup stand for 20 minutes. It will thicken slightly.
4 Thin the soup with 1/2 cup hot water. Reheat the soup. Serve hot, drizzled with a thin stream of extra-virgin olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

Bok Choy- Bok Choy is great sautéed, steamed or even eaten raw.
Try this Apple Box Choy Salad A great fall Bok Choy recipe.

Ancho Peppers- This week you will also be getting Ancho Peppers. Ancho peppers are a mildly hot pepper. They add a little spice to your dish and are great in chili.

Enjoy!
-Candice for Everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #20 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
2lbs. – Potaotes
1 lb. – Carrots
3 heads – Cauliflower
1 bunch – Bella Luna White Turnips
2 – Garlic
1 head – Bok Choy
1 bunch – Watermelon Radishes
3 – Ancho Peppers (Mildly Hot)

Optional Shares this week

MUSHROOM SHARE: Grown by Bulich Mushroom Farm
Portobello

FRUIT SHARE: Grown by Fix Brother and Klein Kill Orchard
1 bag – Bosc Pears & Mutsu Apples

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Week #19 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
1-Celeriac
6- Fingerling Sweet Potatoes
1 bunch- Curly Kale
1 bunch- Red Ace Beets
4 – Shallots
1 bunch- Cherry Radishes
1 bunch- Arugula
1 bunch- Mizuna
1 bunch- Mustard Greens
1 Butternut Winter Squash

Optional Shares this week

MUSHROOM SHARE : Grown by Bulich Mushroom Farm
Crimini

FRUIT SHARE: Grown by Fix Brother and Klein Kill Orchard
1 bag- Anjou Pears and Golden Delicious Apples

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Week #18–Note from the Farmer — How to prepare Turnip & Radish Greens, Turnip Recipes, Mizuna and Mustard Green Recipe

Dear CSA Member,

We finally broke the heat wave this week. It went from 90 degrees all week and now a seasonable 70 degrees. It officially feels like fall! You will start to notice your CSA shares are getting heavier as we continue to harvest the fall root crops such as turnips, fall radishes, and carrots. The greens on the turnips and radishes are beautiful, loaded with vitamins and should be eaten! They are delicious! Below are a few ways to prepare your radish and turnip greens.

Bella Luna Turnips & Greens: These turnips can be eaten raw or cooked. (Don’t forget to use the greens) They taste delicious raw sliced up on a salad, roasted, boiled or added to a soup. Check out these great links below to help you prepare your turnips including the Greens!
4 Quick Turnip Recipes- Click Here
Turnip and Potato Patties- Click Here

Radish Greens: Radish Greens have a peppery taste and can be eaten raw or cooked. You can add them to your Mustard and Mizuna salad or you can make pesto, roast them and more. More ways to prepare these nutritious greens below.
Don’t Toss Those Radish Greens- Click Here

Mizuna and Mustard Greens – Fall Mizuna and Mustard Greens Salad recipe below. Made with a honey vinaigrette salad dressing.
Mizuna and Mustard Green Salad- Click Here

This week is an Optional Coffee Share and Dry Bean Share Week. If you have either of these optional shares please do not forget to pick them up with your CSA delivery.

Check out our Online Marketplace! The Stoneledge Farm online Marketplace offers honey, maple syrup, coffee, seed oils, mushrooms, fruit, and vegetables in bulk. Click Here to login to your account to place your order.

Enjoy!
-Candice for Everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #18 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
2- Broccoli
1 bunch- Bella Luna White Turnips
1 lb. – Carrots
1 bunch- Collard Greens
2- White Onions
1 bunch- Mizuna
1 bunch- Mustard
1 bunch- French Breakfast Radishes
2- Serrano Hot Peppers (VERY HOT USE WITH CAUTION)
1 bunch- Arugula

Optional Shares this week

MUSHROOM SHARE
Shiitake

FRUIT SHARE Grown by Klein Kill Orchard
1 bag- Empire Apples and Bartlett Pears

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Week #17 Note from Farmer– About Sage, Kale, Speciality Radishes, Chioggia Beets, Concord Grapes and Seckel Pears

Dear CSA Member,

Happy Fall! It is the first day of fall and it is 85 degrees! The weather has been hot and dry these past few days and will be 87 on Sunday! We have been preparing for the fall season’s harvests along with cleaning out the fields from summer. Below are some tips on some of the items you will be receiving in your CSA share this week.

Sage: A Southern Europe and Mediterranean herb. Pairs well with poultry.

Kale: It is that time of year again. All the Kale is growing beautifully. This week in your share you will be getting Lacinato Kale also know as “dinosaur kale”. Check out this great link for Kale that was sent in from one of our CSA members. Keep this link handy for the remainder of the season! Click Here

Specialty Radishes: This week you will be getting some specialty radishes. It is the first picking of the fall radishes. The radishes have beautiful greens you can make a small salad with. It tastes great with a sweet dressing.

Chioggia Beets: Italian Heirloom variety beet. When sliced open you will notice beautiful stripes of red and light pink.

FRUIT SHARE MEMBERS: This week you will be getting Concord Grapes, Seckel Pears, and Cortland Apples.
*Concord Grapes– Grown by Tousey Farm Delicious sweet grape. Concords are a slip skin grape. You squeeze the grape and the pulp will slip out. All parts of the grapes are good for you. You can eat the skin, pulp, and the seed if you choose. Try this Concord Grape Muffin Recipe.
*Seckel Pears – Grown by Fix Brothers Farm(small sweet pear.) Let them sit out for a couple days to soften slightly.

Enjoy!
-Candice for Everyone at Stoneledge Farm

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Week #17 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
4-Broccoli
1 bunch- Lacinato Kale
2- Jalapeño Peppers (VERY HOT use with CAUTION)
1 bunch- Swiss Chard
1 bunch- Chioggia Beets
1 bunch- Scallions
1 bunch- Specialty Radish
1 bunch- Sage

Optional Shares this week

MUSHROOM SHARE
White Button

FRUIT SHARE (Grown by Tousey Farm & Fix Brother Orchard)
1 basket- of Concord Grapes
1 bag – Seckel Pears & Cortland Apples

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Week #16 Note from the Farmer — How to Use Celeriac, Celery Root Recipe, Butternut Squash Recipe, and Prune Plum Recipe

Dear CSA Member,

The weather has been cooperating nicely for us. It almost feels like another round of summer! This week we have been busy transplanting crops for the late fall season such as lettuces, kohlrabi, bok choi and more. We also have harvested our winter squash. With the warm sunny days, we have been having it made for a great week to harvest the winter squash. Check out our winter squash harvest on Facebook or Instagram.

Butternut Winter Squash will be in your share this week. Along with Celeriac and Potatoes. Try these great recipes below.

Butternut Squash: Peel your butternut squash with a vegetable peeler and slice in half, and scoop out the seed.
Try this Maple Pecan Butternut Squash recipe.
This tastes even better with a drizzle or Pumpkin Seed Oil, or Butternut Squash Seed oil. Maple Syrup, Pumpkin, and Butternut Squash seed oil are all available through the online marketplace.

 

Celeriac: Celeriac is a root crop that is used a lot in soups or stocks. Very strong celery flavor but, it is not the root of celery. This crop is grown specifically for its root.
You can also try this delicious Potato and Celery Root (Celeriac) Gratin Recipe.
To Peel Celeriac…

Cut off the top just under the stalks creating a wide flat surface to stand the Celeriac upright on a cutting board.
Slide your chef’s knife down the side of the root until all the skin has been removed.
You can slice or dice the celeriac according to your recipe.

 

Prune Plum Recipe: Italian Plum Torte

Enjoy!

Best,
Candice for Everyone at Stoneledge Farm

 

**UPDATE**

Due to the rainy spring we have had the butternut squash will not hold as long as usual.  Please use as soon as possible. 
Fruit Share Members – This week you will be getting prune plums.  They are a cooking plum and are tart to eat fresh.  Below are a few links with recipes on how to use the cooking plums this week.  Enjoy!
Plum Conserve – Click Here (Great to spread on toast)
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Week #16 — What’s in the Bag

FULL VEGETABLE SHARE
1 Butternut Winter Squash
1 bunch- Spinach
1 bunch- Leeks
1 bunch- Purple Carrots
1 bunch- Mint
2 lbs.- White Potatoes
1- Celeriac
2-Ancho Peppers (Mild Hot Pepper)
1 head- Romanesco Cauliflower

Optional Shares this week

MUSHROOM SHARE: Grown by Bulich Mushroom Farm
Oyster

FRUIT SHARE: Grown by Fix Brother and Klein Kill Orchard
1 bag- Prune Plums
1 bag- Fuji Apples

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Week #15 Note from the Farmer — How to Use Cranberry Beans

Dear CSA Member,

We are getting closer and closer to the official start of the fall season but, the tomatoes and peppers aren’t ready to end just yet! We are slowly transitioning from the summer harvest to more fall hearty crops such as beets, carrots, kale, and potatoes. As these field crops are changing so are the leaves on the trees. They are changing from the bright green of summer to a tinted yellow of fall.

We have had many requests for dry beans to be grown here on the farm. We have planted some this season and the beans are now ready to be harvested. Here are some interesting facts about dried beans.
-The United Nations has declared 2016 “The Year of the Pulse” to celebrate and promote the consumption of beans, lentils and peas around the globe and their website has some wonderful recipe ideas to try.
-They are low in fat and high in fibre and protein. Just half a cup of lentils will give you the same protein as 2 cups of rice.
-Beans make you feel full for longer, releasing energy slowly as your body breaks down the complex carbs rather than the quick energy hit you get from simple carbs in sugars.
-Soaking dried beans reduces cooking time. Discarding the soaking liquid and cooking in fresh water may reduce flatulence, but some say this is a load of hot air and loses flavor in the bean. I tried both and didn’t notice an appreciable difference!
These facts came from “Top 10 Things to Know About Growing and Cooking Shell-out Beans”

Try this great bean Fagiloi Recipe: Click Here

Enjoy!

-Candice for Everyone at Stoneledge Farm

UPDATE

Tips for using your Cranberry Beans-
  1. Remove the rubber band from the bunch of dry beans.
  2. Pick off all the pods
  3. Open pod and take out the bean : )
All you need to know for Cranberry Beans (cooking, storing and preparing):  Click Here