Tag: Fruits

CSA 2016

Goodness Grows2 Comments

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Instructions:   Here you will find three links to pages for you to print, fill out, and mail with your deposit to-

Sign Up Sheet

CSA Agreement

New Member Survey

Goodness Grows

5360 Bedford Valley Rd.

Bedford, PA 15522

You may also email your documents to goodgrows@gmail.com and I will contact you to make payment arrangements that best suit your needs.

Our CSA:  We offer the area’s only 100% certified organic CSA from May – October (see below about our winter shares.)  With the addition of our commercial kitchen certification, we can start our year strong, and end it that way as well! Early on, we will see products from our small grains, such as breads and baked goods, soy products such as vegan sausage and gluten free cookies, and animals products such as cheese, meat, and eggs.  Please note–these animal products are not available to the public–only shareholders get to enjoy the goods from the barn!  We are the only farm in the area to offer certified organic fruit and grains in our CSA packages.  The great variety, combined with our extended growing season, makes our certified organic CSA a fantastic value.

The Basics: Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) agreements are a unique relationship between farmer and consumer.  CSA members pledge their support to a farm, through financial contribution and volunteer efforts, and receive weekly produce in return. As a shareholder, you become a contributor and partial owner of the farm’s harvest.  Modest participation in farm activities will increase the bond between farmer and consumer, and this is our aim through our CSA program. This arrangement gives our farm more liberty to offer a wide variety of products, including meat and dairy. You own the goat, you feed the chickens (so to speak), and you reap the rewards!

Contribution:  The cost for a ‘half’ share is $265 plus five hours of volunteer work, a ‘regular’ share is $465 plus ten hours of volunteer work, and a ‘large’ share is $715.00 plus fifteen hours of volunteer work. For a description of the volunteer requirement, see below. For your contribution, you will receive lots of great fruit and veggies (along with occasional eggs, cheese, or meat, if that floats your boat) at convenient pick-up locations in the greater Cumberland, Maryland and Bedford areas.   A half share will feed 1-2 people (we really do not recommend a half share for families larger than that), a regular share can comfortably feed a family of 3-4, while a large share is perfect for families of 6+ people or folks who do lots of canning and preserving.  A deposit of $165 for a half share, $265 per regular share, and $375 for a large share is due by April 15th.  If you pay the entire balance in full by March 15th, you will receive a 5% discount.

Volunteer Hours: Being part of a community farm offers rich experience as well as super fresh, healthy food!  Becoming a farm volunteer will give us the time to get to know you, and gives you the time to get to know where your food comes from.Volunteer hour requirements are for the whole season.   Our volunteer requirement is very flexible and can be tailored to your individual needs. We understand that not everyone can spend several hours weeding on their hands and knees, and that sometimes, there are physical limitations, time constraints, etc. You can do anything from helping in the fields, to helping bundle CSA bags, to lending a hand at the market, or participating in our CSA Advisory Committee–there are many possibilities. Also, if you want to bring a friend or the rest of the family, their hours will count toward fulfilling your volunteer requirement! Please feel free to let us know about your particular wants and needs, and we will do our best to accommodate them!

Pick-up:  We will be posting precise locations shortly after we receive all applications (by April 15th) in order to ensure convenient arrangements for all of our members.  Tentatively, we have planned the following pickup locations & time frames:

  • Bedford on Wednesdays at the Farmer’s Market, 9:00am-1:00pm and at the Wholesome Living Marketplace, 3:00pm-5:00pm
  • Cumberland, Maryland on Thursdays at the Downtown Farmer’s Market, 9:30am- 1:00pm
  • Everett on Saturdays at the Farmer’s Market at the Mason Temple Parking Lot, 9:00am-1:00pm
  • Goodness Grows, flexible days and hours
  • Contact us for other locations…We will be willing to arrange group drop off points at other destinations provided we can get enough interest!

Planned Offerings:

We highly encourage you to come pick up your bags at the market, if at all possible, so you can take advantage of the market-style choices when available. If you are unable to do so, you can still pick up a pre-packaged bag full of the very best of the week’s products at your regular location.

Planned offerings include breads, tofu and other soy products, meats, dairy items, eggs, apples, black raspberries, peaches, strawberries, beans, peas, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce (varieties), mesclun, herbs (varieties), tomatoes, winter and summer squash, peppers, nuts (yes, nuts!), cucumbers, onions, garlic, potatoes, corn, beets, radishes, sprouts (varieties), spinach, eggplant, melons, turnips, tomatillos, zucchini, kohlrabi, swiss chard, sunflower seeds, and more! Each week, you can expect to see 5-8 different items in your bag.

Food Allergies and Dietary Restrictions: We are aware that many people have dietary needs that do not encompass all that we have to offer. For this reason, we have our survey for each member to fill out. We do our very best to substitute items you cannot enjoy for items that you CAN enjoy. We have even grown specialty crops in our trial gardens for our vegan members and those with a delicate digestion. Please let us know if you need to refrain from any items so we can keep them out of your bag and prevent cross-contamination, particularly with nuts and other severe food allergies. Within the five years that we have offered our CSA program, we have never had an issue of cross contamination with allergens in anyone’s bags. We have also been able to successfully introduce new foods to those with restricted diets to expand their limited menus because of the bountiful variety of items we grow for our members.

To sign up,  download the registration forms to print and mail below.   If you would like to pay by credit or SNAP benefits, please email or call me so we may arrange payment.   Thanks so much and we look forward to a fantastic season working with you.

 

Winter Shares!!!   

We have been working on a way to provide our loyal customers with local certified organic farm fresh foods through the winter, so by popular demand we decided to offer our winter CSA package.   The winter shares are on a month by month basis, and will be going to Mountain City Traditional Arts in Frostburg, MD two Saturdays a month.  We will have a local farm pick up on Fridays.  April will be our last month for winter shares.   You may sign up anytime before the first delivery of the month.   Click on the link below for more details.

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Winter-csa-share-sign-up-sheet-for-2015

 

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Week 16- Parsnips

Goodness Grows6 Comments

parsnips

 

We have some beautiful parsnips for your pot this week along with a recipe for caramelized parsnip skillet, I have saved the last of the celery for this occasion.     For those of you who haven’t had parsnips before, they are delicious!!!!   Parsnips are closely related to carrots, but they are much sweeter, and they do not store as well.   This may be why you don’t see many parsnips at the grocery store.   They can get “rubbery” relatively quickly.   Also, proper harvesting of parsnips require the soil to not be washed off.   This helps to keep them crisp.   We will be brushing off the field dirt before we pack them, but you will need to wash your roots before you cook them.   Enjoy-

Caramelized Parsnips

1 bunch of parsnips sliced

1 bunch of celery with leaves chopped

2 T butter

1/8 t nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in skillet and add the parsnips, celery, and seasonings.   Sautee for about 20 minutes on medium heat or until parsnips begin to brown.   Serve hot.

Canning Tomatillos

Wash and rinse canning jars; keep hot until ready to use. Prepare lids according to manufacturer’s directions. Remove the dry outer husks entirely from the tomatillos and wash the fruit well. Leave whole; do not peel or remove seeds. Add enough water to cover the tomatillos in a large saucepan and boil them gently until tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to the hot jars, 1 T of lemon juice for pints, 2 T lemon juice for quarts. Fill hot tomatillos loosely into hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Cover with the hot cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.

Option 1—Process in a Boiling Water Canner:
Pint jars………………………………………40 minutes
Quart jars……………………………………45 minutes

What’s in the bag-

Tomatoes!!!

Peppers

Parsnips

Celery

Melons

Tomatillos

Apples

Have a great week everyone!

Week 15- Back To School With Apples

Goodness Grows8 Comments

So we’ve got some Ginger Gold apples ready to go into your bags this week.   These are an excellent fresh eating variety that mature earlier in the season than most.   I also have some New England Pie pumpkins coming your way too, along with some wonderful pumpkin recipes everyone should try.

Pumpkin Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe sounds a little off, but one evening last summer, I was short on spaghetti sauce for our supper.   I did have a pumpkin that needed to be used, so I improvised and this is what I came up with.   My family and helpers LOVED it!!! Everyone had seconds, and I had enough for everyone, because pumpkins go a long way for a meal!

2 peppers with seeds removed and sliced in half

1 onion

1/2 a pie pumpkin seeds removed

5 tomatoes peeled

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons of oregano leaves

1/4 cup of basil

salt and pepper to taste

In a roasting pan place onion, peppers and pumpkin face down, I add a little water to keep them from drying while roasting.   Roast these veggies until the pumkin is soft, about 1 hour.   In the mean time, place the remaining ingredients on the stove and simmer for the same amount of time.   When all ingredients are done, mix in small batches in the food processor and puree until all ingredients are combined.   Serve over spaghetti noodles or rice.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

We all snacked on the seeds while we waited for the spaghetti sauce to cook.   This is my usual recipe, but I have added garlic powder, cinnamon or cardamon for extra flavor. Pumpkin seeds Olive oil Sea Salt On a cookie sheet place the pumpkin seeds.   Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.   Roast at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes.

New England Pumpkin Pie

Here’s my relationship with pie- I love to eat it, but making it is a very different story.   My mom started making pies long after I was out of the house, as my younger siblings grew more independent.   The pie crust is intimidating to me, as far as time commitment goes, so I usually cheat and buy store made pie crusts- that’s my confession.   I have no trouble throwing together nearly anything from scratch, but pie crust is a hurdle that I may cross one day, just not today!

I will give you a recipe that makes a wonderful pie filling, but the crust is entirely up to you.   If you have a favorite recipe, by all means use it.   Or you can opt for the easier softer way of purchasing your favorite brand of ready made crust like I do.

1 roasted pumpkin mashed (instructions for roasting are in the first recipe)

1 cup of sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground mace

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can evaporated milk

3 eggs

Blend ingredients together and pour into pie shells.   I believe you will get 2 9 inch pies from this recipe, depending on the size of the pumpkin.   You could also make lots of little serving pies with the filling if you like, but the baking time will be much shorter.

Bake at 425 for the first 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for an additional 45 minutes for a 9 inch pie, 20 minutes for a single serve pie.

New England Pie Pumpkins and Acorn Squash

Acorn Squash

This is my family’s favorite in the garden right now!   I usually slice the squash in half, remove the seeds and roast the squash until it is soft.    Scoop out the flesh from the skin, mash it and serve like mashed potatoes.   I add a little butter, milk and salt to give it a creamier, savory flavor.   The boys love it, and so do I because it’s a healthier alternative to white potatoes.

 

Fried Green Tomatoes

This recipe brings back really good memories about my grandparents, with whom I spent most of my youthful summers.   I always loved it when Grandma made this for us grandchildren, I hope you enjoy it too.

Just like the fried squash blossoms, you will need 3 ziplock baggies- 1 with flour, 1 with eggs, and 1 with seasoned bread crumbs.   Slice your tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices.   In a skillet heat up about 4-5 Tablespoons of oil, then in this order shake the tomato slices until covered in the flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.   Saute about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.   Serve hot.

 

What we are getting this week-

1. New England Pie Pumpkin

2. Apples

3. Tomatoes- red and /or green for the “fried green tomato recipe”

4. Peppers

5. Tomatillos

6. Acorn Squash

7. Flour- Wheat or Rye and you can contact me if you have a preference:)

8.   Basil for the spaghetti sauce recipe

Have a great week!

 

Your Farmer,

Dawn

We did it!

Goodness Grows5 Comments

Yesterday morning the heavens opened up, angels sang glorious tunes and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture handed me my Commercial Kitchen Certification.

I have been working really hard to get all of my ducks in a row this year.   We have had 3 visits from the PA dept of Ag, and 2 from the USDA this year.   We have been certified as a commercial Kitchen, approved as a farm producer to accepts Farmer’s Market Nutrition vouchers from seniors,  mothers and children, we have been approved to accept snap benefits from low income families.   Whew!

 

Did I mention that I greatly underestimated how much time it takes to cube all of that lamb?

 

I am not a person that relies on excuses to get by in life, but the last 2 weeks have been a real blur to me.   I may have messed up some bags, I know I didn’t get my blog out on time, but really, I am so glad that I have finally reached my goals so I can focus better on our CSA’s.   In my original plan, many of these things were to be done before our picking started, but our government just doesn’t operate like that.   Se la vie!

 

The nights have been cold.   Our tomatoes didn’t do what they told me they would do this week, so many are still on the plants waiting for that perfect color.   I am trying to substitute other items.  I personally have had enough of the squash, but it’s doing so well and refuses to quit!   I’ll leave you with a recipe this week and look forward to Sunday’s blog to get back on track.

 

Patty Pan Pizza

IMG_2665The wonderful shape of these squash lend to a Pizza that contains no gluten and low carbs.

 

Slice the patty pan squash through the center.   Sometimes I slice the stem end so the squash sits flat on the pan.   Add your favorite pizza toppings, I used pesto from the basil in our CSA’s this week, but regular pizza sauce works well too.   Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

 

Black Raspberries for Week 7

Goodness Grows1 Comment

Oh yeah baby, black raspberries it is for our shares this week along with some other lovely items for you to enjoy!

Black Raspberry Cobbler

1 cup black raspberries

1 t minute tapioca

3T sugar

1 cup milk

1 egg

 

1 cup flour

1 T baking powder

2 T sugar

1/2 t vanilla

 

Combine  black raspberries, tapioca, and sugar in a 8×8 baking dish and set aside.   In a medium sized mixing bowl combine milk, eggs, vanilla, sugar, baking powder and flour.   Pour batter over the berries and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.   Serve warm with milk over it.

Some other things you can expect to see this week are:

Summer Squash- mixture of Yellow Squash, Zuchini and Patty Pan Squash

Salad greens

Carrots

Peas- probably the last week for them.

Cut flowers of zinnias, calendula, echinacea, snaps and larkspur

Barley – if we can get a good dry day this week, we’ll be harvesting the barley for our CSA’s first!

Also, I picked 2 cucumbers last week.   I picked five cucs today.   I may be up to my elbows in cucs very soon, and if it happens by Tuesday, you’ll get some cucs to cool you off this week!

 

See you all very soon!

 

Dawn

 

 

 

 

Week 2 CSA

Goodness Grows9 Comments

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Garlic

Yes, that’s right, we are picking garlic for this week, and you get stems and all.   Before you throw out the stems, don’t do it, they are good to eat, no lie!    I like to slice them and fry them with eggs, or meat and the flavor and texture is superb!   This will possibly be one of the first experiences with fresh food.   The super markets don’t have tops because they don’t store, or ship well.   But really, they are great, and a bonus for getting fresh picked produce!

 

Turnip Greens

Turnip greens top the list in vitamin content, and are among the highest containing calcium of all leafy greens.   Here is a quick and simple recipe to help you use your turnip greens.   For those with half shares, just cut the recipe in half, and those with large families, you can double it.   I have also added small amounts of bacon and maple syrup to this recipe as a variation.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds turnip greens, washed, stemmed, and chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Directions
Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.

Add shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until tender and fragrant. Add the washed and cleaned turnip greens. Mix together. Cook until they have wilted down, about 3 minutes. Add pepper to taste.

In a small bowl, whisk the Dijon mustard with the chicken stock. Add to the wilted greens and cook until the liquid has all but evaporated. Add the toasted pecans and serve immediately.

Pea Shoot Walnut Pesto

You will receive pea shoots in your CSA this week too.   This may be another new food to try, they taste just like peas, and contain the very same nutrients as peas do.

1/2 c Walnuts

1/2 Garlic clove

1 T Parmesan Cheese

1/2 c Pea Shoots

3T Olive oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the garlic and pea shoots in a blender and process until smooth.  Add the toasted walnuts and blend briefly.  Do not over process, as the nuts will take on a floury consistency.  Turn the pea shoot mixture into a bowl then add the Parmesan.  Gradually add the olive oil until you have reached a thick coating consistency.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with cooked pasta.

 

Salad

We’ve got some wonderful salad blend coming your way too-yum!   The salad is again a blend of lettuce and greens we started early this spring.

 

Yogurt

Remember this recipe from the farm meet and greet?

Yogurt and Chive Dressing

2 cups of yogurt

2 T fresh chopped chives

2 T lemon Juice

2 T sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.

 

I am also including Chives so you can make it.

Our Iris garden is ready to share, and our peonies may be popping out this week too!

We have some exciting things coming on, again on a first pick status.   I will try to make sure that all of you get some asparagus and now we are picking small quantities of strawberries, and kale is coming to those who received asparagus last week.

Another rotation I need to make are eggs.   Rob wanted to squeeze the chickens last week to get enough for everyone, but I wouldn’t let him.   Instead, we will be rotating the weeks by location and our first rotation will be Goodness Grows and Frostburg for this week.   Bedford will be next, and Cumberland will follow.

Also, we can reuse the bags from last week for week 3 delivery, please return them for reuse.   Thank you in advance for helping us recycle the bags!

Till then take care!

Plants are growing even though it’s snowing.

Goodness Grows4 Comments

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One for the onions, one for the carrots, or something like that. Really, though I’m a little anxious to get planting, this weather has been a really good things for our future fruit this year. Last year at this time, everything was blooming, and as a result we were left with out some of our favorite fruits including service berries, cherries and grapes. Other trees that took a hit last year were the walnuts. Mother nature knows what she is doing, and I feel it’s going to be a great year for some of the early bearing fruits….can’t wait!

Garlic in the Cold Frame

Garlic is growing in the cold frame along with some other tasty treats…. like cauliflower!

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Strawberries are blooming in the greenhouse.   It takes an average of 21 days from bloom to berry.

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Cabbage, Kale, Broccoli and Kohlrabi patiently wait for the ground to warm up so they can go outside.

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The Pepper plants will need to wait longer, but they are not ready to go yet.

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Elderberry buds!!!!

I really am looking forward to a great season full of yumminess!

Worm Compost

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We are using Silas’ worm castings to mix in our seed starting soil.   Silas has been raising composting worms for a year now, and he has quite the collection of red wigglers to show for it.

Last year, Levi and I did an experiment to see if worm castings improved the quality of the plants we were starting in the green house.   We experimented with sunflowers, because that is Levi’s favorite plant to grow.

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We used 4 different mixes and preparations to start the sunflowers, and were happiest with the soil mix that included worm castings.   From that point forward, we have been using worm castings to start our seeds.   The top left corner are seedlings with worm castings in the soil.   Clockwise we have plain peat moss mixed with vermiculite, down from that is uncooked compost (note the weed issue, among other things)   and at the bottom left is plain sterilized compost without worm castings added.

 

What a difference worms make when you are trying to grow healthy plants for food!

Subscribing To a Farm Share Of Goodness Grows

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This is such a lovely time of year!

Tomato plants snugly tucked in the greenhouse warmth.
Tomato plants snugly tucked in the greenhouse warmth.

 

Totally filled with anticipation, I am truly excited to meet our newest shareholders this year.   People are beginning to introduce themselves to our farm, with interest in subscribing to our products during the growing season.   We have many medical professionals getting their entire offices involved this year, which really hits home to me that what I’m doing for my community is really beneficial on so many different levels.   The concern for a healthy nutrient dense lifestyle with freshly harvested food items has been a buzz in our community, and I’m one of the few you can find available.

Of course, I am also very glad to see our loyal return shareholders renewing our agreement, I have missed seeing you all on the weekly basis.   I am looking forward to working with you all again this year.   It gets quiet during the winter, and the preparations for the growing season bring to mind the weekly interactions of friends that can enjoy our products season long.

So things are picking up on the CSA front of our farm.   I have promised all those who wish to renew from last year that they have a spot for 2013.   We have also had some new people join us this winter.   That leaves 18 spots available for the 2013 growing season.   I wish I could provide more, but I feel that I need to make absolutely certain that I can provide top notch quality and variety for everyone, and this is the limit I have set for our farm.

The 18 spots will be filled on a first come first serve basis, and our deadline for signing up is March 15, 2013.

So if you are reading this with interest in signing up for our 2013 CSA share,   You may print the following forms, fill them out and mail or drop them off to us at the farm.

https://goodnessgrowspa.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/goodnessgrowssignupsheet.pdf

https://goodnessgrowspa.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/goodnessgrowssurvey.pdf

https://goodnessgrowspa.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/goodnessgrowscostpershare.pdf

https://goodnessgrowspa.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/goodnessgrowswhat-to-expect-1.pdf

 

Now it’s time for me to get back to it, sorting, starting and sprouting seeds for our yummy veggies this year!