Blessing Falls Family Farm

Believe it or not it’s already time to start preparing for our fall garden! This week we are working to till our fall plot and plant more cover crop of black eyed peas that will grow thick to keep weeds from growing. The peas will also add nutrients to the soil before we begin planting in mid July.

Here’s our expected harvest for Week 11:

Full Share: Cucumbers, Blackberries, Tomatoes or Cabbage, Beans (double portion), Squash, Eggplant or Peppers (Italian Sweet or Bell), Okra or kale, Shallots, Onions, Rosemary, Dill, Garlic, Basil, Turnips or Rutabagas

Half  Share: Cucumbers, Blackberries, Beans (double portion), Shallots, Onions, Rosemary, Dill, Garlic

Week 11 Full Share

Recipes

This week we’d like to share two recipes that we love to make for a delicious summer dinner. Our easy one pot pasta takes only about 15 minutes to make and is perfect for the nights that we’re out late in the garden. Combine that meal with a refreshing, homemade strawberry, lemon, basil slush for the perfect ‘basil two ways’ dinner!

One Pot Pasta

I love this recipe because you can add almost any veggie to change it up each time you make it. So far we’ve used yellow squash, kale, chard, tomatoes and asparagus in this recipe. You could also use beans, okra, eggplant or zucchini.

Ingredients
4 cups of water
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 sausage links, sliced into bite size pieces
3 sprigs of basil, washed and chopped
1 16 oz. box of pasta (we like penne)
1-2 cups of any combination of veggies you’d like to use, chopped (squash, zucchini, kale, chard, beans, tomatoes, eggplant, okra)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large pot except for cheeses. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until pasta is tender and water has cooked away, – about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cheeses and serve!

Strawberry, Lemon, Basil Slushes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
2 sprigs of basil, roughly chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
2 cups ice

Blend all ingredients together in blender. Add extra water, ice and sugar as needed. Enjoy!

The record-setting rains of May have ended.  We’re starting to catch up with outdoor chores of mowing, shredding, and hopefully tilling and planting later this week as the soil dries out.  Last week the rain kept us inside catching up on routine maintenance of the tractor and website work.

Bell Peppers mean Summer is near!

Here’s our expected harvest for Week 10:

Full share:  Zucchini or squash, Beans, Turnips, Okra or bell peppers, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Cabbage, Basil, Dill, Cilantro flowers, Kale or chard, Lettuce, Shallots, Onion, Garlic

Half share:  Zucchini or squash, Beans, Turnips, Cucumbers, Basil, Dill, Cilantro flowers, Kale or chard, Shallots, Onion

Week 10 Full Share

Recipe

Here’s a super easy, family favorite recipe! You can use your greens in this recipe and it’s easily adapted to include almost any veggie or herb! Add onion or shallots for some extra flavor too!

Sausage and Penne Pasta

Ingredients:
1 box Penne Pasta
1 package Eckrich sausage links
1 Tablespoon crushed garlic
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 bunch Swiss chard or kale
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:
Cook and drain pasta. Meanwhile, slice sausage and brown in skillet with olive oil and garlic. Wash greens and tear into smaller pieces if necessary. Add greens to sausage a little at a time (they will cook down so you can continue adding more). You may need to add a little more olive oil as you add the greens. Add sausage and greens to pasta. Salt to taste. Sprinkle with Parmesan after serving.

Some of the garlic harvest that will be in shares for a few weeks.

Though the rain continue to fall, we’re still able to get into the garden enough to keep things on track.  Last week we pulled up all garlic and onions so that they won’t rot in the super-saturated soil.

We also planted melon, squash, and cucumber seedlings where seeded crops got washed out.  These transplants should help us make up for lost growing time due to the heavy rains all month.  There’s still plenty to harvest now and we anticipate these new plants will sustain the harvest through the coming summer months.

We took a couple calves to the market for customers eagerly awaiting grass fed beef.  And our ninth calf of the season was born last week.  So far, all nine have been born healthy and without complication – a great blessing indeed!  We’re expected two more this spring.

Here’s the expected harvest for week 9:

Full share: Beans and Lettuce (double portions each), Cucumbers, Squash or Zucchini, Tomatoes or Blackberries, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Cabbage, Turnips, Bell peppers, Basil, Onion, Garlic

Half share: Beans, Lettuce, Cucumbers, Squash or Zucchini, Carrots, Swiss Chard, Cabbage, Basil, Onion, Garlic

Blessing Falls CSA Week 9 Full Share

Here are a couple recipe ideas for fresh basil.  We posted these a couple years ago and they’re still family favorites.  And here’s an idea for turnips: Mashed Turnips and Sage.  We had this just last night.  Some in the family liked it and others, well, not as much.  Some thought it tasted pretty close to mashed potatoes while a couple others felt it was tainted by too strong of a turnip taste.   Try it and let us know!

And look what’s growing on in the garden now…

Looking forward to melon season!

One of several green bean varieties

Well, it’s been another week of rain on the farm and we’re beginning to see some of the advantages and disadvantages of the wet weather. While our tomatoes are flourishing and beginning to ripen, some of our carrots have begun to rot in the soaked ground. We are waiting for a few dry days to be able to do some much needed maintenance in the garden as well as plant crops that were supposed to go in the ground over a week ago. Though we normally jump for joy at the sight of clouds during Texas summers we are longing for days of sunshine. As a farmer you never know what will change in the weather from season to season and we are so grateful to have the support of our CSA members providing income early in the season so that we can quickly adapt by replacing plants that are damaged in the floods.

Here’s your week 8 harvest:

Full share: Carrots (double portion), Onions, Squash, Tomatoes or Blackberries, Beans, Cucumbers, Chard, Kale, Lettuce, Turnips, Cilantro flowers, Dill, Basil

Blessing Falls CSA Spring Week 8 Full Share

Half share: Carrots, Onions, Beans, Cucumbers, Chard, Lettuce, Turnips, Cilantro flowers, Dill, Basil

Recipe: Carrots and Dill Pesto

Here’s a great recipe idea for this week’s carrots and dill.  We like to add half an avocado and a couple tablespoons of mayo to the pesto.  One variation as a side dish is to chop the carrots and toss all of it with some cooked pasta.   You can take it even further and add diced ham or chicken and serve it as your main dish.

Roasted Spring Carrots  (source)

Takes under 30 minutes to cook + serves 2 people as a main and 4 people as a side.

Ingredients:
15 – 20 baby spring carrots, or 10 large carrots
1 tablespoon ghee, olive or coconut oil will also work
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub your carrots, trim the ends, the tops and pat dry. If your carrots are teeny baby ones like mine, keep them whole. If they’re larger, halve them. Place the carrots on a baking sheet or oven safe roasting dish. Drizzle the ghee or oil over them, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and pepper and toss, to coat evenly.

Roast for 25 – 30 minutes, flipping half way through.

Lemony Dill Pesto (same source as Roasted Spring Carrots)

Makes approximately 1 cup

Ingredients:
2 cups loosely packed fresh dill
3 – 5 cloves garlic {depending on how you take your garlic}
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
pinch black pepper
juice from 1 lemon, about 2 full tablespoons
3 tablespoons of shelled pumpkin seeds + more for garnish

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until a smooth, yet slightly chunky pesto forms. Drizzle on top of the carrots or eat it out of the jar with a spoon!