In your share, plus a recipe:

Our fall crops are coming on so we again have lettuce and greens. 

• Roma tomatoes (for sauces)
• Thyme and margoram
• Red onion
• Pepper
• Baby bok choi (for stir fry)
• Lettuce
• Cantaloupe

 My favorite quick tomato sauce:

Saute 1/2 of the red onion in 1/4 cup of olive oil (you can add the chopped green pepper if you like at this point). Add 2-4 cloves of chopped garlic after the onion is soft and fragrant. Also add 1 tbls. of chopped thyme and margoram. When the garlic is fragrant, add all of the chopped tomatoes--should be about 2-3 cups. 

Cook down  the tomato sauce for 45 minute to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until it is not as watery and the tomatoes have started to break down. For a smoother sauce, pulse it in the food processor, or just leave it to keep it chunky. If you want to add meat balls the 45 minute mark is a good time to let them cook in the sauce. My favorite meatball recipe is, of course, on Epicurious--I usually cut this in half and use only elk (or hamburger):

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spaghetti-and-Meatballs-351190

Also I promised to give my aunt Judy's salsa recipe. I receive permission to post it when I was back visiting my family in Colorado this week. It is very close to Seth's Grandma Irma's recipe, who is from Durango, Mexico. That really is the best salsa I have ever tasted, but she would never let me have her recipe! 

2 chopped (roasted either under the broiler or on a grill) green chiles

2 cups of chopped tomatoes (or a 16 oz can)

2 teaspoons of chopped garlic

2 scallions

1 tbls chopped cilantro

1 tbls of fresh lime juice

1 tsp of sea salt (or to taste)

Blend or pulse for about 15 seconds in the blender or food processor. serves about 20 people.

Update from the farm...

One of the things that I love about farming is the cyclical nature of it. It seems like yesterday that we were working our tail off trying to get everything planted and here we are now trying to cover crop and close everything down for the season. One of the goals for our farm is to put enough food away during the winter to off set our grocery bill and to savor the taste of summer when it is 20 below outside. Last year we canned 32 quarts of tomatoes and this year we are well on our way to that.

From the Greenhorns- A young and beginning farmer organization (not that I am young, but hey...)

Below is a picture of the concord grapes that Ben so lovingly planted two years ago. This is our first year that we will have grape jelly (two whole jars) from them. The freezer is full of beans, pesto, peas and edamame for the winter. Ben's other effort on the farm is our broiler (meat) chickens. They will be slaughtered this weekend and put in the freezer. We are thinking about growing out and selling some turkeys for next year, so keep that in mind for Thanksgiving 2012.

Grapes before....

Grape jelly after... The other stuff is apple butter from our apple tree.

Our farm theme song...

Hello again!

I have taken a brief hiatus from the farm blog due to travels and general burn-out from the harrowing schedule of the farm. If we had a farm theme song Red Clay Halo by Gillian Welch and David Rawlins would be it..not that we have red clay here--but our hands and clothes are perpetually muddy! Just look at how fast David Rawlins put that capo on...wow!

Frost on the farm!

We greeted Labor day with a frosty morning. We have used many season extension techniques on the farm, but we cannot cover the entire farm! The frost got most of our beans, winter squash, cucumbers, summer squash.

Frosted cucurbits...

We are turning our sites towards fall. All of our fall crops are planted and your food shares should go for another month, as long as the weather holds.

The fall crops are starting to come on and you should have lettuce and greens again next week.

Here are some recipes to use your goodies this week.

One of our favorite recipes for cooler nights is roasted root vegetables:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut potatoes, carrots, beets, onions (or leeks) into 1/2 to 1" pieces and peel garlic cloves. Put them in an iron skillet or baking dish. Toss with olive oil and fresh thyme and/ or rosemary.
Place in the oven and cook for 45-50  minutes, or until tender and crispy on the outside.

If you haven't cooked winter squash before--this is the perfect time for it. It sweetens up after the first frosts. Cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, place several pats of butter in the cavity and sprinkle with brown sugar or maple syrup. Bake at 350-375 for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Or until soft.

This weeks share...

Hello from the farm desk!

This week in your share, you will find:

• Potatoes
• The first of our cherry tomatoes (more next week along with standard tomatoes.)
• hot peppers/ chilis
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Green beans (well actually purple, yellow wax, and italian--but they all cook and eat the same as green beans--steam them until just tender toss with butter and salt

Here are some ways to use your produce this week.
pico de gallo--or fresh Mexican salsa
Coarsely chop cherry tomatoes;  add a tablespoon of cilantro; 1 tblsp. onion (hope you still have some left from last week); 1 garlic clove, juice of 1/2 a lime, 1 hot pepper--if you like it hot, otherwise 1/2 or none.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve it with chips or over burritos, tacos, etc.

Another option to use most of your produce this week is a coconut milk curry. This recipe is available on the Thai curry paste jar or the coconut milk can, which is available in the ethnic section of most grocery stores.
1-4 Tbls. Thai curry paste (green is my favorite with chicken, shrimp, or vegetarian--red goes well with red meat).
1 can Coconut milk
Thai fish sauce (optional)
1/2 to 3/4 cup of broth (chicken or vegetable)
cilantro and basil
potatoes
Thai chili (small green one)
carrots
meat of your choice (or vegetarian is great too--add beans or peas-if you have some left over)
Steam carrots and potatoes until just tender. Sear meat until brown on the outside-set aside. In a large skillet or wok, combine curry paste and coconut milk over medium to low heat. Heat and combine thoroughly. Add a splash of fish sauce, the broth and your veggies and meat. Cook for 15-20 minutes to combine flavors. Serve with cilantro and basil garnish.
 Bon appetite!

In your share this week-and garlic harvest

In your share this week:
Radicchio
Beets
Basil
Summer squash
Cauliflower
Sweet onion

This past weekend was the garlic harvest. We ended up growing some beautiful big garlic this year. Now it just needs to cure for a week or two and you will start receiving some in your share. We hold the bigger bulbs back for seed to replant in October, but have plenty left over this year to provide for your eating pleasure.

Garlic to plant and garlic to eat...The big stuff on the left we will plant this year.

For those of you not familiar with Radicchio, it is an Italian chicory with a nutty flavor. I will sometimes serve it as a warm salad with roasted beets (see previous entry on how to do this), goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. This is a way to use both the beets and Radicchio in one dish. Another great recipe from Epicurious (Say, I should try to get advertising from them, I refer their recipes so much!) uses it marinated in balsamic with fresh ricotta.

Balsamic-Marinated Radicchio with Fresh Ricotta
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Balsamic-Marinated-Radicchio-with-Fresh-Ricotta-352870

Steam the cauliflower and serve with just some butter and salt. Seth loved it this past weekend. In fact you are lucky to be having some in your share--he would have it every day if he could! It looks like the summer stuff is finally kicking in. Next week we should have the first beans and cucumbers of the season.

Your share this week:

New Potatoes
Shell peas
Carrots
Leeks
Chard
Dill
Margoram

What's that stuff on my potatoes?
The new red potatoes in your share have a bad case of scab. We harvested them early because of this. Scab is a superficial fungus that affects the surface of the potatoes. Certain varieties are more susceptible, thus we will not be growing these Red Norlands next year. You can peel the worst part off or just scrape it off when you wash them because the skin is so flaky with the new potatoes. It does not affect the flavor at all. We thought we would let you know though, so that you are not left wondering.

Recipes for your goodies:
New Potato Salad with Bacon, Shell Peas and Dill
We tried this this pastweekend and it was wonderful with the flavor of new potatoes. Wash and quarter the bigger potatoes--some you will not need to cut at all. Stem them in a pot until tender. While the potatoes are steaming, shell the peas and cook four slices of bacon.
Add potatoes, peas, bacon to a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of mayo and 1 tbls. of mustard and dill (more to taste if you like). Mix it well and add salt and pepper to taste.

What is the huge beautiful leafy green in your share this week? Chard!
Chard is a great side dish to lamb chops, elk steaks and other strong red meats- or any other Italian meal. I have pasted a recipe below from Epicurious that calls for both chard and leeks (both of which you have in your share this week.)
Seared Rainbow Chard with Leeks
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Seared-Rainbow-Chard-with-Leeks-103721

Your share this week:

• zucchini
• broccoli
• sugar snap peas (you do not have to shell them-just eat the pod)
• baby beets
• sweet baby carrots
• new onions
• mint

The farm is really kicking in!

I am sure you will soon be sick of zucchini, but for now, enjoy the young and tender stuff. Saute it in a bit of butter and add some salt and pepper.

I love roasting the beets. Cut off the greens, and long tips, toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 375 for 40 -45 minutes, or until tender. The bigger beets you may have to quarter. You can add the onions and carrots to this mix too, but the carrots are pretty yummy all on their own!

For those of you drinkers out there, Ben and I made some really tasty mint juleps the other night. A very refreshing summer cocktail.

4 fresh mint sprigs
2 1/2 oz bourbon or Irish whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Crush mint leaves, powdered sugar, and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.

Our tasty mint juleps.

For those of you who are not into cocktails, use the mint to make peppermint sun tea. Wash the mint and place it in a big jar with water. Set it out in the sun for a day. strain off the mint leaves and keep it in the refrigerator for a refreshing drink.

A word about our production practices:

I wanted to take a moment to write about how we are trying to do things here at Nana Louie farm. We are non-certified organic--meaning we follow the National Organic Standards, but we have not gone through the formal certification process. Organic not only means producing without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, it  also means taking a wholistic long-term approach to soil and pest management. Two of the practices that we have employed this year are cover cropping and farmscaping. Cover crops are planted but not harvested in any way. They are turned into the soil at the end of the year to help build soil and nutrients without using synthetic fertilizers.

This picture is of our buckwheat cover crop. Ben's bees love this stuff too!  

Farmscaping is planting plants and flowers that attract beneficial insects. We have built a few beds in the middle of our cropped beds and planted yarrow and cleome, both of which attract parasitic wasps and other "good" bugs that eat our "bad" bugs.

Yarrow in the foreground attracts beneficial insects. So far no good though. Seth and I attempted to collect insects the other day and only found the "bad" bugs.  Maybe next year!

Before and after on Nana Louie Farm

Here are some before and after pictures of our spring block.

Here are before and after pictures of our summer cropping ground.

And finally, our tomato hoop house! Lots of tomatoes on these plants...hopefully they will start to ripen soon.

Recipe for this weeks share. I made this recipe up this weekend and I have to say, I am rather proud of how awesome it tastes. Try it out and let us know what you think.

Pesto, pea, broccoli raab, pasta salad.
Penne pasta
1 bunch of broccoli raab
Shell peas
1/4 cup pesto (make pesto from your basil this week--see the following recipe--you will have some left over and it will last in the refrigerator for at least 2 -3 weeks).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pesto-107030

Bring pasta water to a boil. Submerge broccoli raab cook for just a few minutes, take out with a slotted spoon and run under cold water.  Add pasta to boiling water.

While pasta is cooking, shell peas and chop broccoli raab.

Drain pasta, add pesto, broccoli raab, and peas. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Share delivery #3 plus Hail at Nana Louie farm

In your share this week:

Romaine lettuce (Yummy Caesar salad!)

Basil

Mint

Braising mix (in the bag)

Broccoli Raab

Salad/ Japanese turnips

What is Broccoli Raab? 

Broccoli Raab is a spicy mustard green that looks like small broccoli heads. I love it steamed and put in a pasta salad with olives, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, or just sauteed with pasta, garlic and parmesian (and that basil). Can you tell we eat a lot of pasta? It is an easy middle of the week meal.

Here is another side dish of broccoli raab if you are feeling more adventurous:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Micro-Quick-Hot-Sweet-Salad-of-Broccoli-Raab-and-Carrots-106236

The stuff in the bag is another braising mix--very tender, it does not need to be cooked for long. One of our CSA members, likes it with sauteed with garlic and olive oil as a side dish

The turnips are one of my favorite spring items. Slice them and cook them in butter until just tender. Add salt and pepper and serve as a side dish. You can add the greens at the very last minute. They are sweet and yummy. 

Caesar salad is another summer favorite. I made homemade croutons tonight with old french bread tossed in olive oil and baked until just browned under the broiler. We added some smoked salmon, parmesian cheese, caesar salad dressing and top with lemon juice. It makes a nice light dinner. 

Enjoy! Are you sick of greens yet? Rainy Springs bring lots of greens. Peas and broccoli next week! Maybe even some baby beets. We had a hail storm that set us back a little bit today. You will notice some shredded leaves on the lettuce. It is still just as tasty. Our spinach, chard, and other leafy greens were quite shredded.. Pics tomorrow.

Delivery #2!

In your share this week:
Rhubarb; BokChoi;  oregano; radishes; spinach; spicy lettuce mix; scallions

This will be the last of the scallions and radishes until fall. It is getting to hot for them!

Rhubarb crisp is perfect for this time of year. My favorite recipe uses apples:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Rhubarb-Crisp-1568

BokChoi is an asian green with very succulent leaves and is great with stir fries. I found a great recipe on epicurious with Bok choy and grilled chicken with radishes--one way to also use the radishes. Some of the ingredients we just do not have yet (orange peppers).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Asian-Chicken-with-Bok-Choy-Shiitake-Mushrooms-and-Radishes-359329


The lettuce has some spicy mustard greens in it--something I am not sure every one loves, so please let us know.

Enjoy your stuff this week!

Tammy and Ben

Rhizobium and remay

Season extension is critical in Montana. We have high tunnels, low tunnels all to keep the warm in at night and the day time temperatures up! The white stuff covering our crops in this picture is call "Agribon" or "Remay". It is a cover that lets water and air in, but keeps out stuff like insects. We are using this cover because we want to keep out a few insects that love to munch on greens such as mustards, arugula, and other brassica related crops.

I also attached a picture of one of our peas that we used for a cover crop this year to put Nitrogen into the soil. Those "bumps" all over the roots are a bacteria called rhizobium, and they help the pea plants fix Nitrogen from the atmosphere. In other words peas, with the help of this rhizobium, make their own nutrients. When we turn it into the soil we get food for the next crop--which happens to be our peppers and eggplant this year.

Our first delivery!

In your share this week:
green garlic; braising greens (spinach and chard); Caesar salad mix, French breakfast radishes, scallions, thyme, and sage. We have washed everything, but it is always good to wash again.

There is a lot of sage in here, so if you do not use it all, you can dry it and use it that way.   My favorite web site to find recipes is:
http://www.epicurious.com
Here is a great recipe to use all of that thyme --you can put some sage in there as well:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roast-Chicken-with-Lemon-and-Thyme-102159

Use the braising greens and green garlic for a quick lite meal by sauteing in olive oil (generous helping of olive oil) and toss with pasta, salt, and pepper. Add vegetables (or sausage) if you like. Top with parmesian and voile dinner is served!

More pictures in a few days. It was another productive weekend! We got a low tunnel built for the melons and our drip irrigation set up!

Spring planting done! Well, almost...

We had a very productive week and finished our spring planting, with the exception of the flowers which we should finish this weekend. So potatoes, corn, tomatoes, squash, melons, beans are all in. Be sure to to send good growing vibes our way! Seth planted his crop of edamame (pop out soy beans). He will be in charge of this crop and keep the money from its sales. Check out the roof top photos that Ben took this weekend.

Spring..finally!

We haven't been on here much lately, because we have been busy, busy, busy. Here are a few pics of our hoop house with tomatoes, rainbows over the garden, and the flowering pears. Our hope is to get everything planted in the next 2 weeks, as long as the weather cooperates. With the cold Spring, our first delivery will likely be pushed back a week--to June 22nd for Butte folks.Next time we will post some pictures of how our plants are coming along.

A little help from our friends

A few weeks back our neighbor came over to help us spread 30 yards of compost and topsoil on the gardens. He said, "While your at it, go rent a rototiller for the bobcat." Thanks to Curt's help we were able to get everything spread and tilled in one (long) day! Something that would have taken at least 3-4 solid days to do. We are thankful...and Seth got a ride too! Now we are planting, planting, planting....

What a difference a few weeks of sun make!

The plants in the greenhouse are exploding and ready to sink their roots into some "real" dirt. We are busy picking rocks, spreading compost, and will be tilling this week.

In the mean time Seth has been enjoying the dirt mounds on the farm-I almost hate to put them on the fields.. Ben has been making (and finishing) chairs and we are enjoying the sun!

Spring in Montana

Well it is snowing on Mayday, but our plants are nice and cozy in the sunroom Ben built. Some of them will be planted out in a few weeks--others will have to wait until late May.