Blessing Falls Family Farm

Pea Shoots

New things on the farm in the last week
1. First week for pea shoots in some shares.
2. New deer/rabbit fence around our fall garden area! So happy to have protection from the wildlife!

Deer fence, 8 feet high

Another busy week is coming up with several projects on the schedule. We will put in a new water line for our fall area, lay new black plastic mulch rows where pumpkins and squashes will be planted, and work will begin on the deer fence for the summer area!

This week we are offering fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns or dinner rolls to our Wednesday members for purchase. Members should look for details in their weekly CSA email.

Expected harvest this week:

Full Share: Tomatoes (double portion), Melon, Pears, Sunflower sprouts, Potatoes, Cucumber, Eggplant, Okra, Shallots, Rosemary, Sweet potato leaves (double portion), Black eyed peas or pea shoots

Half Share: Tomatoes, Melon or Pears, Sunflower sprouts, Eggplant, Okra, Squash, Shallots, Rosemary, Basil, Sweet potato leaves (double portion)

Summer CSA Week 6 Share

Recipe

Here’s a recipe from some farming friends of ours that uses a lot of tasty, summer veggies.

Greek Caponata

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. Butter
1 onion (or a few shallots)
3-4 small potatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 zucchini (or yellow squash)
2 small eggplant
2 tomatoes (or a couple handfuls cherry tomatoes)
2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 handful fresh basil, loosely chopped
1/2 t. Dried oregano
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Peel and chop onion and potatoes. Slice eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes into about 1/4 inch pieces. In a heavy skillet, add olive oil and butter until melted. Add potatoes, onions and garlic. Cook until lightly browned and tender. Add zucchini, eggplant, and fresh tomatoes and cook until veggies are tender. Add diced tomatoes, basil and seasonings and simmer for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve over pasta and garnish with fresh basil and Parmesan.

We hope you enjoy this meal and this week’s produce, beef, and eggs!

Work this week continues on the deer fence and fall garden preparation.  We’re also harvesting pears.  These are excellent, peeled, for fresh eating or making into pear sauce, cakes or other tasty treats!  We also returned to our previous method for growing sunflower sprouts and they are looking better this week.  The heat may be affecting them some but it looks like they’ll be ready for shares this week.

Here’s our expected harvest for week 5 of the Summer season CSA:

Full Share: Tomatoes (double portion), Melon, Sunflower sprouts, Potatoes, Okra,  Sweet potato leaves, Eggplant, Squash, Pears, Basil, Garlic, Black eyed peas or extra sweet potato leaves

Half Share: Tomatoes (double portion), Sunflower sprouts, Sweet potato leaves,  Cucumbers, Pears, Basil, Garlic, Black eyed peas

Blessing Falls Summer CSA Week 5, Full Share

Recipe

Here’s a good meal with the tomatoes and okra in this week’s shares

Jambalaya

1/2 lb. smoked sausage, sliced
1/2 lb. smoked ham, diced
1/2 lb. cooked shrimp
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. matchstick carrots
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms or sm. can mushroom steak sauce
2 cans vegetable broth
2 cans chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2 c. fresh or frozen sliced okra
1/2 t. worcestershire
1/2 t. garlic powder

Heat olive oil in a stock pot. Saute onions and carrots until they begin to soften. Brown sausage and ham. Add mushrooms and saute until soft. Add broth, tomatoes, okra, worcestershire, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add shrimp and heat through. Serve over rice.

This is a busy week on our farm. After suffering lots of damage from deer this year we have purchased a deer fence that we’ll be working to set up around our two garden areas. We’re very excited to get started on this project and look forward to having safety from deer and rabbits for our fall season. We planted our fall tomatoes and eggplant last week and they’re looking great! Our fall cucumbers, melons, sweet potatoes, squashes, peppers, okra and popcorn are also growing well. We have much more planting ahead of us in the next few weeks and look forward to a great fall season. Contact us to sign up for home delivery of farm fresh produce and eggs throughout our 12 week fall season.

This week’s expected harvest:

Full share: Sunflower sprouts*, Potatoes (double portion), Shallots, Garlic, Cucumber, Black eyed peas or sweet potato leaves, Cherry tomatoes, Heirloom tomatoes (ripe and green), Okra (double portion), Basil, Lemon grass,

Half share: Sunflower sprouts*, Potatoes, Shallots, Squash, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Okra, Basil, Lemon grass

*Sprouts were unavailable due to poor growth after we adjusted our growing method. We’re returning to the old method for next week and adding more potatoes and okra to round out the shares this week.

This week full shares will receive heirloom tomatoes grown by Skinny Lane Farm and Yukon Gold potatoes grown by Taylor Farm. You may also receive sweet potato leaves! They are a great summer substitute for spinach and greens.

Recipe

Here’s a great summer salad we made a couple weeks ago. Another way to enjoy your cherry or Sun Gold tomatoes and basil.

Marinated Mozzarella, Cherry Tomato, and Basil Salad

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil
1 pound ciliegine mozzarella (cherry-size mozzarella “pearls”)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (regular, white, or golden – we used white)

Directions
Combine the oil and basil in a bowl. Add the mozzarella and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and let marinate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Add tomatoes and vinegar to the mozzarella and toss to combine. Season to taste with more salt and pepper if desired, and serve immediately (original link at Serious Eats)

Here’s another recipe that looks amazing, if you love Italian food. We have not tried this but a relative (of Italian descent!) recommended it. Great way to use your eggs, tomatoes, garlic, and shallots. This makes a big pot full, but you can scale it down as needed.

Italian “Eggs in Purgatory”