Sunchokes

AsideFebruary 15, 2016 Goodness GrowsLeave a comment

Jerusalem artichokes, sunchokes, are a member of the sunflower family and are a native plant to North America. I love growing native foods and reintroducing them to our area’s cusine. The benefits of growing natives verses some of our better known grocery store varieties is that we are stewarding the natural indigenous biodiversity in […]

CSA 2016

January 3, 2016February 3, 2016 Goodness Grows2 Comments

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

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.

terms-of-winter-share 2015

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

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Educational Series of Events

March 5, 2015 Goodness Grows2 Comments

(All events are on the farm unless otherwise indicated. To RSVP to any of the classes and events, please check out the Events tab on our Facebook page.)

Tree Tapping (Weather Dependent)follwed by farm tour: Thursday March 12, 2015 at 5:00 pm class is approximately 1 hour $15.00 fee.

Bread Making,Thursday March 19th, 2015 at 4:30pm–Making bread with fresh milled grains can be much different than flour that sits on the shelf for months. Learn how to work with fresh whole grains to make nice loaves of bread with no added gluten or preservatives. Fee includes materials and recipes Take home your work and some flour to make your own at home. Class is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes $15.00 fee.

Soap Making Class Thursday March 26th 4:30pm followed by a farm tour. Learn how to make luxuriosly rich goat’s milk soap. Class time approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. $20.00 includes materials and recipe take home your work.

Rabbit Harvest, Thursday April 2nd, 2015 at 4:30 pm. Learn to humanely and properly skin and dress a rabbit. Class time approximately 1 hour. Class fee is $30.00 take home your work.

Cheese making class Thursday April 9th at 4:30 pm. Learn how to make some simple cheeses with ordinary ingredients. We will learn to make chevre, paneer, yogurt and ricotta. $20.00 fee includes recipes materials and supplies. Take home your work.

Caesar Salad and a look at volunteer time.

June 1, 2014 Goodness GrowsLeave a comment

I love the enthusiasm for everyone to get their volunteer hours in, so here’s the scoop on the schedule for volunteering-

If you want to come to the farm to help Saturday June 7th will be our first farm day of the season. We will be planting, weeding, mulching, milking and making meals for our help, and you are invited. Our days start at 7:30 am with the morning milking and go all day long until evening milking at 7:30 pm. Come for as little or as long as you like.

We can definitely use some help at the markets to distribute CSA’s. You may schedule this type of help at the market closest to you. Please let me know by Tuesday before the market day so we can make sure we are not overbooked with help. We only need one person per market per week to help. Our markets usually go from 9-1 Cumberland is 9:30 – 2:00. We could use help setting up and making sure all of our members get their share.

For those of you who have time during the week, we are picking washing bunching and prepping Tuesdays through Fridays at the farm too, please schedule in advance for this type of help by email.

Of course we love to see those recipes so keep them coming!

We have lots of romaine lettuce to give out this week, along with a farm favorite- Lamb’s Quarter! I will be making Paneer and yogurt to go with the lamb’s quarter in one of my favorite recipes for this time of year- Lambs Quarter Palak Paneer. You may use lamb’s quarter in any recipe that calls for spinach, and this winter I made some spanokopita that was out of this world using lamb’s quarter instead of spinach.

Lamb’s quarter is closely related to Quinoa. It looks very similar to quinoa and I have a hard time telling them apart when weeding. We eat the young greens. They taste remarkably like spinach, and have the same nutrients, only way more nutrient dense than spinach. Good and good for you! So when thinking of some of your favorite spinach recipes, try substituting lamb’s quarter and let me know how it goes.

Strawberries are starting, and you should be seeing some during the next few weeks.

Broccoli will be abundant this week!

My Favorite Breakfast

1-2 handfuls of oatmeal-I haven’t had my coffee yet and getting a measuring cup is too much of a bother.

cover the oatmeal with just enough water to cover the oatmeal

microwave for 1 minute

add 2-3 spoonfuls of yogurt, 1 spoonful of raw sugar,2-3 sliced strawberries.

My Second Favorite Breakfast

2 slices of bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 bunch of kale

2 eggs lightly beaten

put ingredients in hot skillet in the order listed first frying the bacon until cooked, then add kale until wilted then add eggs and cook until they are opaque and no longer runny.

Lamb’s quarter recipes link to a previous post-

https://goodnessgrowspa.com/2013/06/02/week-3-csa-shares/[/embed]

Spanakopita Recipe

3T olive Oil

1 onion chopped

1 bunch scallions chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 pounds of spinach or lamb’s quarter

½ c chopped parsley

2 eggs lightly beaten

½ c ricotta cheese

1c crumbled feta cheese

8 sheets phyllo dough

¼ c olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture.

Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil.Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown.

From Milk to Moz

May 18, 2014 Goodness Grows3 Comments

Our very first week of CSA’s!!!! I have been busy brewing up ways to bring lots of fun to your table this spring, summer and fall. We’ll start by showing you what I have been teaching our farm Apprentices this week.

The guys milking in the morning:) Azalea and Danielle are both really good girls on the stand:)

Cheese curds

These are cheese curds that are ready to be formed and stretched for mozzarella. If you didn’t know, Mozzarella can be one of the more tricky cheeses to make. It can also be kind of messy and here is why-

While stretching the cheese curds, more whey and some cream is released. This is what gives Mozzarella cheese its wonderful melting properties.

We have a great line up for this week, and we are going to do things a little different than in years past. We will pack items that are not for sale, member only items that are exclusively for CSA members. This week you will see some greek yogurt, fresh mozzarella, feta, ricotta or paneer. If you have a preference, email me and I will make sure you get what you ask for.

What else will we get?

Lettuce- I have BEAUTIFUL full head lettuce ready for you to enjoy all week! Red leaf and green leaf will take the stage this week.

Scallions to dress up your lovely salad!

Edible flowers- go on top of the salad, Nasturtium are slightly spicy and violas are delicate and mild.

I hope you all like us on facebook and follow this blog, because this is how I will communicate with you all and as promised you will get your very first bar of goat’s milk soap in this week’s goodies too!

You will get to choose 2 items from the market table as well. That is what’ we are doing new this year. That way you can customize your CSA to reflect your family preference. As the season progresses, you will have more to choose from. Yay for you all!

The early birds will get best picks, so I encourage you to get to market in time to get what you want. For those that will not be picking up at market, I will do my very best to go by the surveys that you all submitted when you signed up. I will make sure you get your favorites and we’ll try to keep the stuff that you don’t like out.

See you soon!

Dawn

Here’s an early season recipe that I love to make this time of year!

Savory Asparagus Cobbler

3 slices of bacon (optional)
3 leeks, white & light green parts only, sliced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 lb. asparagus, washed and cut into 1″ pieces
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. white wine (or chicken or veggie stock)
2 c. whole milk
1 T. cornstarch
salt & pepper
2 T. butter

For the biscuits: (adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

1 3/4 c. sifted flour
3 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 T. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 c. milk

Make up your biscuits first. To a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder and salt and mix until well combined. Using a pastry blender, two forks or two knives, cut in the cold butter until you have small, pea-sized (or smaller) bits of butter covered in flour. Do not let the butter melt, so work quickly. Make a well in the center and add the milk all at once; stir dry ingredients into the milk until you have a sticky, wet dough that is starting to ball up. Pause here while you make the vegetable base.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large, ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven, cook the bacon until it is crispy and the fat is rendered. Remove the bacon to a plate and remove all but 2 T. of bacon grease from the pan. If you don’t have 2 T., add olive oil or butter to make up the difference. If you’re not using bacon, start with 2 T. olive oil or butter.

Add the leeks to the pan and cook for 2-3 mins. over medium heat; add the mushrooms and continue to cook for another 2-3 mins. Add the thyme to the pan and stir, then add the asparagus and cook for about 5 mins. The asparagus should be crisp-tender, not cooked through. Add the wine, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release any good, brown, flavorful bits and allow the alcohol to cook off for about 2 mins.

While the vegetables cook, stir the cornstarch into 1/4 c. of the cold milk until you have a smooth slurry. Whisk in the rest of the milk. After the wine has reduced a bit, add the milk mixture to the pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. As soon as the sauce starts to bubble, remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt & pepper and add the cooked bacon back in, if using. Dot the top of the vegetables with generous scoops of biscuit dough, 5-6 around the edge and 1 in the middle, with room between them if possible (this allows them to cook a little faster); dot the top of each biscuit with butter. Carefully transfer the pan, uncovered, into your preheated oven and bake for 20-25 mins. The sauce will continue to thicken and the biscuits will brown; the cobbler is done when the biscuits are cooked through, though they will be slightly wet or doughy on the bottom because of the sauce. Serve the cobbler immediately.

We did it!

August 16, 2013 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

The 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.

Week 6 Elderberry Flowers

June 23, 2013 Goodness Grows6 Comments

Wow have we ever been getting things done around here! Our gardens are mulched, and we have all of our summer veggies in the ground and running. Some of our beds are getting prepped for the second planting and we are picking like nobody’s business. Busy busy bees are we!

Rob and I have just taken our walk through the gardens, a weekly routine to see what we have to go in our shares. I have been watching the elders come out for a couple of weeks now, and they look like they are ready to go this week.

Elder flower pancakes

8 elder flower umbels
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1 cup flour
1 T baking powder
a pinch of vanilla
coconut oil or butter

Remove the tiny flowers from the stem. Mix all ingredients, except the elder flowers and the coconut oil. When mixed well, add the flowers to the batter and stir well. Melt the oil in a skillet and pour 1/4 c full of batter. Cook the pancakes until the edges are dry and bubbles begin to “pop” at the surface. Turn the pancake over and cook the other side until golden brown. Serve with syrup or fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Red Candy Apple Onions

French Onion Soup

6 large red or yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups of beef stock or chicken stock, or a combination of the two (traditionally the soup is made with beef stock)
1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
8 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Parmesan cheese

1 In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

2 Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

3 To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Leeks

Leek and Potato Soup

3 leeks, cut lengthwise, separate, clean. Use only the white and pale green parts, chop.
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)*
2 lbs potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
Marjoram – dash
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Tabasco sauce or other red chili sauce

Salt & Pepper1 Cook leeks in butter with salt and pepper in a medium sized sauce pan. Cover pan, cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check often. Do not brown the leeks.

2 Add water, broth, and potatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Scoop about half of the soup mixture into a blender, puree and return to pan. Add marjoram, parsley, and thyme. Add a few dashes of chili sauce to taste. Add some freshly ground pepper, 1-2 teaspoons salt or more to taste. Serves 4-6.

Cilantro

We’ll be supplying the cilantro for you to use this week. Did you know that cilantro actually removes toxic heavy metals from your body like mercury?

Peas

For your sir fry creativity and color!

Kale

Kale chips

Ingredients
1 bunch kale, washed and thoroughly dried
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt, for sprinkling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the ribs from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the olive oil and salt. Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.

Summer Squash

3-4 Zucchini Squash and Summer Squash, sliced
3 sprigs of fresh Thyme, minced
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 ounces of Chevre or Feta, crumbled

In a medium bowl, toss the sliced squash, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper together, making sure all of the squash slices are coated.

Heat a medium saute pan and saute the squash on medium high, stirring occasionally until tender, about 10 minutes. You want them to still have a little crunch.

Remove from the heat, and plate. Top with crumbled cheese.

Chevre

Thyme

Thyme for the above recipes 🙂

We have lots of thyme to share, but for now it’s time for me to make some cheese!

Have a great week everyone!

Week 3 CSA Shares

June 2, 2013 Goodness Grows4 Comments

Lamb’s Quarter Pesto Pizza!

This week is so exciting for me! We have a wonderful list of products and recipes on tap for this week. You will start to see more of the products coming to you, and we have only just begun! I have been trying to respect those with special dietary needs, so if you see something that you may have wrote on your dislike list and you want to try it, just message me so I can get it to you.

Here’s what we are getting:

1. Wild Spinach

2. Salad blend of- 3 varieties of lettuce, beet tops, kale, pea tendrils and Mustard Greens

3. Garlic

4. Turnips

5. Cilantro

6. Paneer

7. Yogurt

8. Basil

9. Fresh cut Iris to make you smile until next week 🙂

Now for the fun part, what am I to do with this stuff?

The wild spinach should be used first because it has the shortest storing time. You can still eat it after it wilts, but who wants that? Wild spinach can be used in any recipe that calls for spinach. You can use it in your favorite Quiche recipe, on pizza, with pasta, as a wild spinach dip, and for my favorites, Palak Paneer and Lamb’s Quarter Pesto.

Lambs Quarter Pesto:

remove leaves from stem and wash (there is a slight “dusty” feel to the leaves which is normal and will wash off for the most part)

Blend in blender or food processor
1 1/2 cups of wild spinach leaves

3-4 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil

blend using a wooden spoon carefully to push the mixture into the blades without hitting the spoon
add olive oil as needed to get a paste like mixture while blending

Uses for the pesto:
On Pizza instead of tomato sauce
stuff mushrooms with it and bake
Couscous salad: add pesto to cooked couscous, lemon juice to taste and diced onions, salt and pepper, stir till all is coated and green

Palak Paneer

- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 3/4 cup yogurt
- 5-6 cups fresh wild spinach, torn
- 4 sprigs fresh cilantro leaves
- 8 ounces paneer
- coarse sea salt to taste
1. In a large saucepan heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and saute garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, red chilies (optional ingredient) and onion until brown. Mix in the cumin, coriander, turmeric and yogurt (add more or less to achieve desired creaminess). Add the wild spinach, handfuls at a time until it is cooked down, about 15 minutes total. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. Pour wild spinach mixture into a blender or food processor and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, and cilantro (add more or less according to taste). Blend for 15 to 30 seconds, or until the spinach is finely chopped. Pour back into the saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
3. In a medium frying pan heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, and fry paneer until browned; drain and add to spinach. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Season with salt to taste.
  
  Turnips
  
  Turnips can be used as a substitute for potato in some recipes or along with potatoes. I have also had sweet and sour turnips that were prepared with vinegar and sugar, julienned (cut in thin strips) with carrots. The whole plant is edible bulb and greens, although the greens are better at a young age.
  
  Garlic Turnip and Potato Mash
  
  2 pounds of potatoes peeled and cubed
  
  1/2 pound of turnips sliced
  
  8 cloves of garlic sliced
  
  1/4 cup of milk- any kind of milk will work
  
  3/4 teaspoon of salt
  
  1/8 teaspoon of pepper
  
  2 tablespoons of butter (optional)
  
  Turnip Green Casserole
  
  1 pound of chopped turnip greens
  1 tsp. sugar
  Salt, pepper to taste
  1/2 of (10 1/2 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
  1/2 c. mayonnaise
  2 tbsp. wine vinegar
  1 tsp. horseradish
  2 eggs, slightly beaten
  Bread crumbs
  Grated cheddar cheese
  
  Blend all ingredients together except crumbs and cheese. Spoon into casserole. Cover top with bread crumbs and cheese and bake one hour at 350 degrees. Serves 6 to 8.
  
  Fennel With Turnip Greens
  
  Ingredients
  - 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  - 1/2 bulb of fennel diced
  - 3 turnips (with greens)
  - 1/2 cup chickpeas
  - 1 teaspoon each: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and stone-ground mustard
  Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Dice fennel and add to the pan. Remove the greens (set aside) from turnips and dice turnips, stir into fennel. Continue to cook for 4-5 more minutes or until fennel and turnips soften.
  2. Stir in chickpeas and turnip greens. Continue to cook until greens begin to wilt (I don’t like them 100% cooked so I always let them cook down 1/2 way.)
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and mustard. Pour into pan and stir to coat. Remove from oven and serve while still warm.

Week 2 CSA

May 26, 2013 Goodness Grows9 Comments

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!

First week CSA

May 19, 2013 Goodness Grows6 Comments

Wild and Wonderful Salad!

So exciting to have our first CSA deliveries for the season! We are a little earlier than some of our Farmer’s Markets, so we will be meeting at Rose’s Parking lot in Cumberland, on Thursday from 11:00- 1:00, and City Place parking lot in Frostburg, on Friday from 11:00-1:00. Our Bedford Market is starting on Wednesday from 9:00-1:00, and Wholesome Living Marketplace will be open until 5:00pm for those that need a later pick up time. Our Tuesday pickup at the farm will be from 10:00 am and all day long, we have a refrigerator in the greenhouse to keep things cool and fresh.

Our CSA distributions will be light this week, as we are just getting started for the season. This is only temporary, so don’t be discouraged, it’s normal. As the season progresses, we will be packing much more variety and larger portions to fill your tummies. I wouldn’t want to waste the early season picks anyway, so here’s the line up for the week-

1. Wild and wonderful salad- blend of baby lettuces, mustard greens, arugula, pea tendrils, lamb’s quarters and sorrels.

2. Radishes

3. Eggs

4. Feta

5. Goat’s Milk Soap

6. Cozy cup of tea herbs- blend of mints, chamomile, and balms

7. First pick of the draw- We have many veggies ready for first pick (light)- you will get at least one:)

8. Lilacs to make you smile till next week.

Really exciting to get moving on the CSA’s thank you everyone for supporting local food in our community!