Sunchokes

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

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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.

terms-of-winter-share 2015

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

 

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Wreaths that make me say “Hello Winter”

We are definitely shifting gears for the holiday season.   Now that it’s colder out, we have been baking lots more, getting our turkeys ready for Monday, and starting to make wreaths for some winter cheer!    The wreaths that we normally do are total mixes of all natural, fresh picked greens.   I like to throw in herbs such as artemesia, lavender, rosemary and thyme for fragrance and color.   Our american holly trees had a great year this year, and are loaded with beautiful plump red berries.

 

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We use juniper for garland, just because it makes a nice, flexible and full band.   Also, we use “machines” to make the wreaths and garland.   The tools are not electric powered, and are rather primitive, but work fine for the amount that we make.   We are making garland to order and 10 and 16 inch wreaths.   We are taking orders for different sizes, but these are the most common.

 

While making the wreaths, we use several different tree varieties.   This makes our wreaths ornate, without the use of a bow.

Wreath

 

But if bells and bows are more your style, then by all means:

Wreath with bow

 

If you want to come see us this winter, this is our winter season schedule:

Under The Son Wed 4:30- 6pm
11 North Liberty St Cumberland
Wehnwood United Methodist
Altoona Thursdays 2-5:30pm
Station Medical Center Every other Friday
Altoona Beginning November 7th 10am-2pm
Mountain City Traditional Arts Frostburg, MD
November 1,15 December 6,20 10am-1pm

We won’t be at markets the week of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but you may order and pick up baked goods and farm products at the farm.

I hope to see you this week!

Beans.

The beans are in!  There’s a lot more too, here’s this week’s haul:

Tomatoes

Eggplant

Beans

Peppers

Cucumbers

Basil

Okra

Zuchini

Patty Pan Squash
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These are the different kinds of beans we grow: Jade- Green, Carson Yellow Wax & Royal Burgundy.  They’re all delicious 🙂

 

 

Basil

We all know basil is great for making Pesto.  Here’s a simple recipe and some excellent ideas for meals and snacks:

Pesto

Ingredients

  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
  • 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • Special equipment needed: A food processor

Method

1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.

2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Yield: Makes 1 cup.

pesto-and-tomato-quesadilla

Pesto quesadilla (above) take one: pesto, tomato and mozzarella between a whole wheat quesadilla.

Pesto pasta with extra protein: Toss steamed, shelled edamame, lightly sautéed spinach (optional) and whole wheat rotini in pesto. The buttery texture of edamame complements pesto surprisingly well.

Pesto tortilla pizza: Top an organic whole wheat tortilla with pesto, reduced fat mozzarella and sliced tomatoes. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit, preferably on a baking rack, until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

Pesto scrambled eggs: cook your scrambled eggs as usual and take the pan off the burner once the eggs are mostly set. Stir in pesto and top with Parmesan and diced tomatoes.

Pesto popcorn: stove top popcorn lightly tossed with pesto and grated Parmesan (optional).

Pesto grilled cheese: layer pesto, mozzarella, and roasted red peppers or tomatoes on good whole wheat bread. Grill. Amazing!

Arugula pesto pizza bagel: Top a 100% whole wheat bagel with pesto, mozzarella pearls and cherry tomatoes. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about ten minutes, until the cheese is melted. Let the bagels cool slightly and top with arugula that has been lightly tossed in lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Avocado pesto pasta: This might not be the prettiest pasta around, but it sure is tasty. Combine roughly equal parts avocado and pesto in your food processor. Add a squeeze of lemon juice. Blend thoroughly. Drizzle in extra olive oil if necessary. If you’re feeling adventurous, blend in some goat cheese, too. Toss with whole wheat pasta.

 

Hoping that everyone is having a great week,

Your Farmer,

Dawn

Back with new stuff to please your plates!

After a much needed vacation, and some great times with family, we are ready to get back on track for the rest of the growing season!

 

Speaking of the rest of the season, we have a whole new line of great organic produce to bring to you all this week!

 

I loved seeing those that came over last week to pick your own, we had lots to clean up, and still have a little left from the early spring season, so if you are in the mood for more broccoli, cauliflower, kale or swiss chard, than you are in luck!   Last Saturday for our family reunion I made a wonderful-

Asian Kohlrabi and Broccoli Salad

1 Kohlrabi shredded

1 cup of broccoli broken into tiny florets

1 Tablespoon of sesame oil

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/4 cup sunflower seeds or pine nuts

1/4 cup dried fruit of choice ( I used dried figs on Saturday, but I have used other fruits too and it seems like any work well)

Combine and chill for 30 minutes.   Serve cold.

So what’s new this week?

From left to right: Fairy Tail, Orient Express, Raveena, and Black Beauty.
From left to right: Fairy Tail, Orient Express, Raveena, and Black Beauty.

Eggplant will begin to appear on our tables as well as Okra, Peppers and serous amounts of TOMATOES!!!!!!

I’m also excited to tell you that our zuchini and squash blossoms are ready to take a place at the table too!

This evening I made a delicious pesto pizza for our crew!

Pesto

1 bunch of basil, large stems removed

2 cloves of garlic

2 T olive oil

2 T sunflower seeds or pine nuts

2 T Parmesan cheese

pinch of sea salt

Add all ingredients to food processor and process on high until well mixed and there are no chunks left.

You can freeze this pesto in ice cube trays for the winter months.   Just fill your ice cube trays with the pesto and freeze.   Once you have pesto cubes, you can pop them out of the tray and into freezer bags with the date and contents labeled.
These cubes will make quick and easy meals for you later on!

We will have plenty of basil for the rest of the summer!

Our green beans are blooming,  but I’m not sure we will see beans until next week.

 

 

 

Whatcha gonna do with all that kale?

Kale and Broccoli
Kale and Broccoli

 

Oh yeah, bring on the kale!   I get a kick out of people talking about CSA and all the greens in the spring.   This is something we haven’t done before, but this year we do have so many greens ready, so everyone is getting their annual dose of kale this week.   Ok, maybe not the whole year’s worth in one week, but it really seems like we have a lot to share this week.   Now what to do with it…..

 

Sauteed Kale

16-24 oz of kale

2 T olive oil

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 cup vegetable stock

sea salt to taste

Heat Olive oil in a large skillet and add the garlic.   When the garlic begins to impart it’s aroma add the kale and stock and sautee for 10-15 minutes over medium heat.

There are many variations to compliment this dish.   Just the other night I added soy sauce, a couple of eggs and ramen noodles to this dish.   It was so delicious!   I think you could also add some chicken breast strips, or bacon and red wine vinegar to make it more interesting.

 

Did you know you can freeze kale too?

Just lightly saute the leaves just until they wilt.   This will help them to fit in a freezer bag better.  Make sure you get all of the air out that you can before it goes in the freezer.    You can add the frozen kale to smoothies, or I like to add it to soups in the winter to give us some great green nutrients when we need it most:)

 

Any juicers out there?

Kale is super nutrient dense, and makes a wonderful juice for those that have juicers.

 

If you have any kale recipes, feel free to share them in the comments section!

Everyone is getting Garlic this week too, along with green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce and 2 choices from the table and CSA exclusive cooler for our 1/2 shares, 4 for our regular and 6 for our large.

 

 

 

Oh my heavens… too cute… baby piglets!

These little pigs are too cute for words!

 

Meet the newest team members!   These little guys will be turning our compost this summer.
Meet the newest team members! These little guys will be turning our compost this summer.

 

I have so much to tell you again about what’s been going on at the farm this spring!   First, we got our piglets for our compost program this season.   We also built another cold frame and planted it with early tomatoes, French Breakfast Radishes, and Beets.IMG_3597

Broccoli and cauliflower under row covers
Broccoli and cauliflower under row covers

 

We have begun planting our early cold season crops and will continue to plant and work the soil as weather permits.

 

Jerusalem Artichokes
Jerusalem Artichokes

 

We harvested all of our Jerusalem artichokes, aka sunchokes this week, and will provide them for our CSA members and Market.   Cooked sunchokes are best when eaten within 2 days. When raw, they store well in your fridge’s vegetable bin, wrapped loosely in a paper towel.

Roasted Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts and Sunchoke

 

1 head Cauliflower

1 pint of brussel sprouts

2-3 sunchokes

3 T olive oil

1 t sea salt

1/4 cup chives

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine all the vegetables, coat with olive oil and season generously with salt.

Spread the vegetables on a sheet tray in an even layer, don’t pile them up. The vegetables don’t need to be spread out but they need to be pretty much in a single even layer. If this is not the case, use 2 trays.

Put the vegetables in the preheated oven. 15 minutes into the cooking process, stir the vegetables so they have the chance to brown all over, and rotate the tray to insure even cooking. Repeat this process after another 15 minutes. Roast the vegetables for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are roasty brown and should smell almost like popcorn!. Check for doneness. This means taste some! If they aren’t very roasty brown, let them go for another few minutes until they are. Season with salt, if needed. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with chives and serve immediately.

I have been making lots of Feta Cheese and our hens are producing lots of eggs this week too…

Straight from the farm, no color added!
Straight from the farm, no color added!

 

 

Happy St Patty’s day everyone! Lettuce pray.

I took a look around today and I saw life.

Cilantro Ready To Be Transplanted
Cilantro Ready To Be Transplanted

Cold Frame

Edible Flowers and Onions
Edible Flowers and Onions
Swiss Chard and Carrots
Swiss Chard and Carrots
Lettuce and Cauliflower
Lettuce and Cauliflower
Germination Tent
Germination Tent
Edible Flowers and Onions
Edible Flowers and Onions

 

Germination Tent
Germination Tent
Cold Frame
Cold Frame
Cilantro Ready To Be Transplanted
Cilantro Ready To Be Transplanted

 

Lettuce and Cauliflower

 

Kale and Broccoli
Kale and Broccoli
Lettuce and Cauliflower
Lettuce and Cauliflower

I’ll leave you with a little poem I wrote for St Patrick’s Day a few years ago:)

Ode to the Potato

Oh we have misunderstood you, dear potato, taking your children but only a few.   We depended on them to provide for us and when they got sick, we fled.

Oh how we massively mistreated you, giving you a bad reputation, slicing you skinny and frying you in oil.

We didn’t see the beauty, your rich history, your diversity and complexity.

How I long to find your real roots, so I may restore you to your former glory.

I will plant you today with your eyes looking up.

I will respect you whole.

 

Baby Squash Blossoms!

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Hello all! We are harvesting our 1st baby squash blossoms… how exciting!!! For those of you who haven’t visited the farm lately, we have been working hard to get our greenhouse production off to a good start!

Levi and the Smokehouse

Rob and the boys have been smoking meat this weekend….

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and I have been baking with our own home grown grains

Bread- Bread BowlOur winter CSA’s are signed up on a monthly basis, so if you missed it, you may sign up for Janurary 2014.   Also , our locally grown, wholesome and fresh organic food makes a lovely gift for the holidays, you may sign up gift shares by clicking the link below:

https://goodnessgrowspa.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/terms-of-winter-share.pdf

This week we will have baguettes, salad greens, baby squash and cilantro.

The baby squash will be great served raw on your salad, or lightly sauteed with cilantro over rice for a nice side dish.

See you soon!

Nothin’ Says Luvin’ Like Bread From The Oven

Nothin says luvin like bread from the oven!
Nothin says luvin like bread from the oven!

I have been baking my heart out and loving every minute of it!   I have some delicious pieces of art that I can share with everyone now….Here’s what I’ve got.

 

 

Rye oh Rye!  bread I developed having those with food allergies in mind.   This is a basic rye recipe with no wheat, milk or egg products.   I also keep this dough away from tree nuts and seeds.   Cost is $4.00 per loaf.

Honey Wheat  combines the aromatic sweetness of honey with our freshly ground whole wheat grown right here on the farm.   Hearth loaf  costs $4.00 and may be topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds or flax seed.

Sprouted Wheat sour dough has all of the wonderful characteristics of the world’s best sourdoughs including a light texture, full bodied flavor and chewy thick crust.   Laced with sprouted wheat berries our loaves boast  added texture.   $5.00 per hearth loaf.

Triple rye sourdough-   Caution! This bread is highly addictive!    I make this bread with rye flour, rye berries and rye sprouts to create a rich, dark bread.   $5.00 per hearth loaf.

Baguettes for subs and sandwiches $5.00

Sourdough Baguettes $6.00.

 

All of my bread is made with freshly milled, organic flour that was grown right here on our farm.   Because we mill our flour on demand, our breads have a distinct fresh ground flavor you will find nowhere else.   Thank You for looking!