Blessing Falls Family Farm

Austin Fall CSA – Week 11

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Mark

As the end of the Fall CSA season nears, some of the varieties we had way back in early spring make an encore appearance. Chinese Cabbage and Swiss Chard are back in season. These are not the same plants from spring – those did not survive the blazing summer. These are new plants that we started in the greenhouse back in August, transplanted in September/October and are now ready for your family table. The mild fall weather is similar to early April, when our Spring CSA harvest began. The days will soon turn colder and the hours of daylight continue to decrease, meaning the harvest will soon end. Until then, enjoy the fresh greens and other mild-weather loving varieties.

Here’s this week’s expected harvest:

Full Share: Kale , Mizuna, 2 Spaghetti squash, Romanesco greens, Cucumbers and/or Summer Squash, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, 2 lbs. Green Tomatoes*, Beans or Eggplant, Winter Squash or Pumpkin

Half Share: Kale(double portion), Mizuna, Spaghetti squash, Romanesco greens, Cucumbers and/or Summer Squash, Chinese cabbage

Mid-Season Share: Kale(double portion), Mizuna, Spaghetti squash, Romanesco greens, Cucumbers and/or Summer Squash, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, 2 lbs. Green Tomatoes*, Pumpkin

*You can use the green tomatoes in recipes or set them on the counter/window sill and they will eventually ripen. It may take a few weeks and they won’t be as flavorful as summer tomatoes, but should still be a lot better than grocery store tomatoes in winter.

Some of the produce this week comes from our friends at Bernhardt’s Farm and Skinny Lane Farm, both in Elgin.

Blessing Falls Farm – Fall CSA Season Farm Share, week 11. Clockwise from top left: Romanesco greens, rainbow chard, Mizuna, Portuguese kale, curly kale, green tomatoes, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, scallop squash, beans, Chinese cabbage, pie pumpkin

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The Lean Farm – Book Review

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Mark

Author Ben Hartman applies modern manufacturing benchmarking and efficiency methodology to small farms. Written in a warm, friendly style, The Lean Farm is neither a boring textbook on efficiency and waste nor a rambling tale of personal anecdotes. It’s an encouraging guide to turning a hobby or break-even family farm into a sustainable, profitable, enjoyable business. Hartman’s goal is not sterile “factory” farms but productive farms where waste is minimized and the harvest is maximized. Efficiency gives the farming family time for a balanced lifestyle and frees up time and resources for expanding into other farming endeavors.

The main target audience is experienced farmers. Those who have farmed for several seasons will be challenged to examine their routines and practices, looking for ways to cut waste, reduce time spent on tasks, and improve the quality of the harvest they provide for their communities. In considerable detail, it covers the whole spectrum of farm tasks, from planning plantings to and the marketing and sale of the harvest. New farmers and those at the hobby scale may find many of the details beyond the scope of their experience. However, any who aspire to full time farming will benefit from increased awareness of the many ways that waste can creep in to ‘simple’ farm tasks. The book will encourage all readers to look beyond the first ‘simple’ way to get things done and consider several ways to accomplish goals, being mindful of waste and the time costs.

The last chapters apply specifically to Hartman’s farm and will be the most helpful for starting farmers. Ben and his wife farm less than one acre, yet are able to comfortably support their family. An inside look at how they work and apply the ‘lean’ principles will inspire every farmer.

More details and reviews at Amazon

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Austin Fall CSA – Week 10

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Mark

Another 8 inches of rain last weekend has not seriously harmed the garden so far. And it may spark the summer garden into yielding a few more eggplant and peppers.

Here’s the expected harvest this week:

Full Share: Squash, Cucumbers, Kale (double portion), Mizuna (double portion), Spaghetti squash, Lg. Black Futsu or odd pumpkin, 2 mini pumpkins, Large Pumpkin, Eggplant, Rosemary

Half Share: Squash, Cucumbers, Kale (double portion), Mizuna, Spaghetti squash, Black Futsu Pumpkin, Rosemary

Mid-season Share: Squash, Cucumbers, Winter squash, Kale (double portion), Mizuna (double portion), Spaghetti squash, Black Futsu Pumpkin, Rosemary

Remember your pumpkins and winter squashes will store well for several weeks. Enjoy them now as decorations now and later in your meals. Large pumpkins can easily yield several pies for the holidays – see the link below.

Fall CSA Week 10 – Full Share, Blessing Falls Farm

For recipe ideas, see these recent Fall Feast photos and recipes.

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Fall Harvest Feast Recipes

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Mark

Last week we feasted on several fresh vegetable varieties from the garden along with beef from our farm-raised 100% grass fed cattle. The main dish was Pumpkin Stew. We used one of our Long Island Cheese Pumpkins, weighing about 12 pounds, and 3 pounds of stew meat from our grass fed beef. Kale Apple Salad and Sweet Potato Chips accompanied. We used our Kale and store-bought apples, along with various remnants of our sweet potatoes. These chips are a good way to use sweet potatoes that are blemished. Simply use the good part and compost the broken or bruised parts. Dessert was, of course, Pumpkin Pie which can be made from the same stew pumpkin.

Pumpkin Stew Recipe (source)

Pumpkin Stew with a Long Island Cheese pumpkin

Ingredients
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 cup water
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium carrots, sliced
1 large green pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pumpkin (10 to 12 pounds)

Directions
1. In a Dutch oven, brown meat in 2 tablespoons oil. Add water, potatoes, carrots, green pepper, garlic, onion, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 2 hours. Stir in bouillon and tomatoes. Wash pumpkin; cut to 6 to 8 in. circle around top stem. Remove top and set aside; discard seeds and loosen fibers from inside.
2. Place pumpkin in a shallow sturdy baking pan. Spoon stew into pumpkin and replace top. Brush outside of pumpkin with remaining oil. Bake at 325° for 2 hours or just until the pumpkin is tender (do not overbake). Serve stew from pumpkin, scooping out a little pumpkin with each serving. Yield: 8-10 servings.

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 2-1/2 hours Bake: 2 hours

Kale and Apple Salad

Farm fresh kale and ripe red apples (not from our farm) make a great salad to complement the stew.

4 c. kale, sliced in thin ribbons
1 honeycrisp apple, diced
1/4 c. cheddar, diced (optional)
1/4 c. pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

Dressing:
2 T. olive oil
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 t. honey
salt to taste

In a salad bowl, sprinkle kale with a little salt, and massage it in well. Let it sit while chopping apple and cheese. Add apple, cheddar, and pumpkin seeds to kale. Mix ingredients for dressing, adjusting according to taste. Pour over salad, and toss well. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving to allow kale to mellow.

Sweet Potato Chips

Chips from Blessing Falls’ farm grown sweet potatoes

These were a hit with everyone, even the youngest children. Save you big sweet potatoes for baking or casseroles and turn your smaller ones into delicious “potato chips.”

Slice sweet potatoes as thin as possible. 1/8 inch thickness or less is best. Deep fry sweet potato slices in vegetable oil at 375 degrees for about 2 minutes or until slightly darkened in color and crisp. Drain chips on paper towels to remove as much oil as possible. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Pumpkin Puree (Pie Filling from Scratch – source)

Pumpkin Pie from farm grown pumpkin (recipe)

Pie from Blessing Falls’ farm grown pumpkin (recipe)

With the Pumpkin Stew above, you will have already removed seeds from the pumpkin. After the stew is cooked and served, you’ll have plenty of pumpkin ‘meat’ left. Cut up the pumpkin into 10 to 15 pieces. Scrape out a thin layer where the stew soaked into the pumpkin. Then bake the pieces at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Then scrape the super soft ‘meat’ off the skin and puree in a blender or food processor. See the link above for all the details. Our 12 pound pumpkin yielded 16 cups of puree/pie filling. That was after some of the pumpkin was taken with each serving of stew. With 2 cups filling per pie, one large pumpkin can feed your family for quite a while! Remember the puree/filling can be frozen so you’ll have plenty for the entire fall and holiday season.

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Austin Fall CSA – Week 9

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Emily

We finished spreading compost and planting the winter cover crop just as the rains began to fall last week. We were blessed with 9″ of rain, most of which soaked right in to this thirsty land. As we continued preparing this ground for spring and summer planting next year, our fall garden remains very productive.

Here’s what we expect to harvest for Fall CSA farm shares this week:

Full Share: Cucumbers, Kale (double portion), Butternut squash, Summer squash, Mizuna (double portion), Sweet potatoes, Spaghetti squash, Winter luxury pie Pumpkin, Black Futsu pumpkin, Beans

Half Share: Cucumbers, Kale, 2 Acorn Squash, Summer squash, Mizuna, Sweet potatoes, 2 Mini Pumpkins

Mid-Season Share: Cucumbers, Kale (double portion), Summer squash, Mizuna (double portion), Sweet potatoes, Spaghetti squash, 2 mini pumpkins, Winter luxury pie Pumpkin

Fall Season CSA – Week 9 Full Farm Share

We’ve been enjoying our sweet potatoes this week. Two of our favorite things to make with them are sweet potato fries and chips. There are many different ways to make them and season them, from frying to baking, tossing in brown sugar and cinnamon, smothering in cheddar or Parmesan cheese or simply salting. They are delicious every time!

Remember that your winter squash and pumpkins can be stored for weeks. Our shares have a lot of large vegetables this time of year. Don’t feel pressured to use them all this week – we hope you’ll keep some for later. Even after the CSA season ends later in November, you can enjoy our naturally grown, healthy vegetables throughout the winter. There are many ideas on the web for storing winter vegetables – here’s one.

Recipe

Here’s a delicious pumpkin pie recipe that I tried with my mini pumpkins this week! You can make it with about 3 mini pumpkins, your Long Island cheese pumpkin or winter luxury pumpkin. It’s also great made with butternut squash instead of or in addition to pumpkin! This was my first try at making pumpkin pie and it was so easy! If you’re short on time you can use a refrigerated or frozen pie crust instead of homemade – it’ll still be great. One thing I will change next time will be to use less sugar. Just 1 cup rather than the 1 1/4 the recipe calls for. Your pumpkin adds some natural sweetness and less sugar will bring out the pumpkin flavor. I hope you enjoy making this simple pie like I did!

The Great Pumpkin Pie Recipe

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Compost and Winter Cover Crop

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Mark

In the last several weeks we’ve bought 2 truckloads of compost for our main spring/summer garden. This year was the first attempt to grow on this 1 acre plot. We realized the top soil was thin in many areas which led to less healthy plants and a diminished harvest. So we’re adding a lot of compost while waiting on fall rains. As rain finally entered the forecast last week, we quickly sowed a cover crop of winter peas and oats into the spread compost.

Composted turkey litter ready to dump

All 70 cubic yards ready for spreading

After spreading the turkey litter compost, the mushroom company called to say their truck was finally repaired. So, figuring a farm can never have too much compost, we ordered a load. In the meantime, the turkey litter compost was spread over our thinnest soil areas.

30 yards of Mushroom Compost

Mushroom compost conveyed out of the trailer by special moving floor mechanism.

All Mushroom Compost out of the trailer and ready to spread on top of the other compost

The mushroom compost was also spread with the tractor, giving us 100 cubic yards of compost over about a third of an acre. We then waited until good rain was in the forecast. That’s the time to sow and till in crops to cover the soil over winter.

Both composts spread with tractor. Still somewhat uneven but lightly tilling in the cover crop seed should make it right

Winter Peas and Oats tilled in as rain nears.

Winter Peas and Oats tilled in on a gray cloudy day as rain nears

We were blessed with 9 inches of rain a couple days after tilling in the cover crop. So we hope to have a thick cover of oats and peas over the winter and early spring. We’ll till that in before we begin early spring planting in February. Now we’re feverishly finishing the high fence around this acre so that the sprouting oats are peas are not devoured by deer.

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CSA Member Fall Harvest Day

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Mark

CSA members came out for ‘farm day’ earlier this month to help themselves to the surplus harvest. Great opportunity to grab a basket full of fresh squash and cucumbers. All the kids enjoyed picking vegetables for their families to take home.