Blessing Falls Family Farm

Although hot, summer weather will very likely continue in central Texas for several more weeks, this is the final week of our “Summer” CSA season.  Our Fall season starts next week, running 12 weeks through mid November.  Our greenhouse is full of tender seedlings of kale, Swiss Chard, cabbage, and other greens.  Our Fall garden is already half full of various squash, pumpkins, and green beans we planted several weeks ago.  The sweet potato patch continues to thrive since planting several months ago.  The first several weeks of the “Fall” season we expect our Summer okra, tomatoes, melons, eggplant, etc. to continue, adding squash, pumpkins, and sweet potatoes near the middle, with the greens and lettuce ready to harvest later as the weather cools in October and November.  We’ll continue to add sunflower sprouts weekly until the garden greens are ready.

So for this 10th week of summer, here’s our expected harvest, though there will likely be changes throughout the week depending on conditions:

Full share
Sunflower sprouts (double portion), Melons (double portion), Okra (double portion), Squash or cucumber, Eggplant or black eyed peas, Tomatoes or pears, Basil, Garlic, Shallots, Sweet potato leaves (double portion)

Half share
Sunflower sprouts (double portion), Melons (double portion), Okra, Basil, Garlic, Shallots, Sweet potato leaves (double portion)

Some of the okra and melons this week are from our friends at Bernhardt’s Farm

Blessing Falls Farm CSA Full Share, Summer Week 10

We hope you’ve enjoyed the sweet potato leaves the last several weeks.  Some are calling these greens another “superfood”.   This from Prevention magazine:

Sweet potato greens as food may be getting more affection soon, thanks to a new analysis published in the journal HortScience that found the leaves have 3 times more vitamin B6, 5 times more vitamin C, and almost 10 times more riboflavin than actual sweet potatoes. Nutritionally, this makes the greens similar to spinach, but sweet potato leaves have less oxalic acid, which gives some greens like spinach and chard a sharper taste.

Recipe

That same article at Prevention recommends preparing greens like this:

Sautéed Sweet Potato Greens

1 lg bunch sweet potato greens (about ½ pound)
½ sm white onion, diced
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1½ Tbsp maple syrup
1. REMOVE sweet potato leaves from stems and set aside. Remove smaller stems from the larger, tougher stems. Discard the larger stems and roughly chop the smaller stems.
2. HEAT olive oil in medium-sized pan over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté until just softened, about 3 minutes.
3. ADD stem pieces and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. ADD leaves, salt and pepper to taste, and maple syrup. Sauté until leaves are wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve.

Rain and cooler weather are in the forecast!  We’re looking forward to that as summer winds down.  The Fall CSA season begins in two weeks.  We have just a few whole/half shares of Fall produce remaining available, so let us know soon if you’re interested in the Fall season.

Here’s the expected harvest this week:

Full Share: Tomatoes, Pea shoots, Pears, Spaghetti squash, Melon, Eggplant, Sweet potato leaves (double portion), Okra (double portion), Black eyed peas or peppers, Garlic, Shallots, Rosemary, Basil

Half Share: Sunflower Sprouts, Cucumber or Squash, Spaghetti squash, Sweet potato leaves, Okra (double portion), Garlic, Rosemary, Basil

Blessing Falls Summer CSA, Week 9 Share

Recipe

Try out this super simple spaghetti squash Alfredo with your squash this week!

Cheesy Spaghetti Squash Casserole (source)

Ingredients:
2 spaghetti squash
1 jar (10-15 oz) Light Alfredo Sauce ( or try out MOMables Homemade Alfredo Sauce)
1 and 1/3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
1. Place squash on a rimmed baking sheet. Make 2-3 vents in the squash by poking deep slits with a sharp knife. Bake in oven for 60-65 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes.
2. Cut squash in half, length wise, and scoop out seeds.
3. With a fork, shred the inside of the squash, forming your “spaghetti noodles”. Season with a little salt and pepper.
4. Now add in 1/4 cup of Alfredo sauce to each squash half. Mix well until all your squash noodles are covered. Top with 1/3 cup of shredded cheese.
5. Place squash under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until bubbly and melted.
(Serves 4)

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.