EDUCATION

Education.  It's important right?  We need to know things.  Well here's a question for you -- if you asked your children where your food comes from, what would they say?  I asked Bella (our 8-year-old granddaughter) - her answer "The store."  More specifically - a carrot - she said "The ground."

Education, it's important right?  It also starts at home.  Introduce your children to real, natural, locally grown food - it's fun!!!  Visit your local farmer's market for a visual and tasty treat!!!  The colors are astounding, the taste is incredible, and the people you meet are the hardest working, most helpful, generous people you will encounter in one spot!!!  The diversity in product and people are endless. 

We know it is the very end of the market season, but this weekend go for a family outing and visit your local farmer's market!  You won't be disappointed.  Take the opportunity to show your children where food really comes from and how good tasting natural, locally grown food is.  The growers and vendors you will meet love to answer questions.  Education, it starts with us and you.  Let us know how fun it was!

MARKET SEASON - IS IT OVER?



Our final day at the Lake City Market.



Last week, at Johnny Appleseed Days, was suppose to be our final market in Lake City, but with a forecast in the 80's, plenty of help, and produce available, we made an executive decision to do one more Lake City Market.  How could we go wrong?  We enjoy all the vendors, we knew that Amaya and Noelia would enjoy helping, and we also knew Highway 61 was going to be bustling with people getting out of Minneapolis and beyond to enjoy the Mississippi river fall colors.  We were not disappointed. 

In the next weeks we will post a recap of our growing season.  What we have left to do this fall, what we learned, and what our goals and expectations are for 2011.  We will also post a recap of the Lake City Farmer's Market in pictures!  If you are reading our blog for the first time, and you live in our area, we hope you will keep the Lake City Farmer's Market in mind for 2011!!! 

So yes, this was our final market for the 2010 growing season (other vendors may be in Lake City on Saturday mornings for the remainder of October).  We still have produce available which can be picked up at the farm or delivered via Michael to Rochester.  See the page heading above - WHAT IS AVAILABLE.  That said, here are a few pictures from last Saturday, October 9.  Enjoy your day, the beautiful weather (remember almost a year ago today, we woke up to inches of snow), and we hope you have locally grown produce and fruits piled on your kitchen counter, or locally produced eggs and meats stored in your larder for the days to come!!! 



Michael paying Margaret for the pie pumpkins.





Dogs are always a hit with the girls.   Here Amaya

and Noelia admire a handsome Sammy that came

to visit the market.





Noelia carrying her pie pumpkin.

TOP 10 REASONS TO BE A MEMBER OF A LOCAL CSA

1)  Do you like the taste of a spring radish, crisp lettuce greens, or peas that actually snap because they were just harvested?  Or what about the taste of a ripe-off-the-vine tomato, beets that are bursting with flavor, scallions or bulb onions that when you dice them fill your kitchen with appetizing aroma?  That would be our number 1 reason for becoming a member of a CSA.  Not only is your food fresh, flavorful, and colorful, but it is dense and rich with nutritional value!

2)  Do you like to know where your food comes from?  That would be our number 2 reason for becoming a member of a CSA - you know your food just made a short trip to your table.  The shorter the trip, the less time from harvest to your table, the richer the flavor and the more nutrient dense the food.  Right from our field to your table - naturally!

3)  Do you like to know who is growing your food?   How many people do you want handling your food, one or two, or the many that handle your food on the way to your local grocery store chain. That would be our number 3 reason for becoming a member of a CSA - you have a direct relationship with us, your grower.

4)  Do you like to grow your own food, but do not have the time or room to grow everything you want?  A sophisticated CSA farmer/grower should be willing to sit down with their members and find out what additions you would like to supplement your existing garden.  So reason number 4 - you can broaden your food choices without the hassle.  Let your grower do that for you!

5)  Do you like experimenting with new seasonal food choices or on the flip side you like traditional, seasonal food choices?  Either way a good CSA will provide you with recipes and alternative ways to use your weekly baskets.  Plus you can provide feedback and let your grower know if that particular seasonal food type works for you!  That would be reason number 5 to become a member of a CSA!!  As a member you can provide us with a list of your favorite seasonal foods, the foods that turn your nose up in disgust, and seasonal foods you might be interested in trying!!

6)  Do you like your food to be free of insecticides, pesticides, and not genetically modified?  Whew that's a big one - and impacts on our health are huge!!!  Our number 6 reason to become a CSA member - you are taking a big step to ensure your health choices are your own and you know exactly what you are getting!!

7)  Do you like to do a small part in protecting your environment?  Our number 7 reason for becoming a CSA member - small growers work hand-in-hand with the land.  We give back to the land naturally and our growing methods provide places for wildlife to flourish, flora and fauna to flourish, and beneficial insects to flourish.  We also protect seed diversity by growing many varieties instead of a huge monoculture of one variety.

8)  Do you like to have your children experience fun things?  Our number 8 reason for becoming a CSA member.  We encourage families to come to the farm and help plant in the spring, pull weeds in the summer, and harvest at any time!  What a fun way to introduce yourself and your children to where their food comes from!  Plus if you guarantee us a certain number of hours per week, we can provide you with a better price on your CSA membership!  Win-Win.  We like that!

9)  Do you like to buy your food locally?  Did you know that the average food travels around 1500 miles from some farm to your plate?  1500 miles!!!  Think about that for a minute.  Your lettuce you just bought in a bag at Hyvee, 1500 miles and it's in a bag!  Not to mention the countless trucks it's been on and the hands that have touched it. Our number 9 reason for becoming a member of a CSA - your food would only travel, at the most, 42 miles.  Our furthest drop point is in Rochester.  We are pushing very hard to have only a 15 mile radius tops!!!  Picked same day or one day in advance and delivered the next!  Now that's local and fresh!!!

10)  Do you like to try new things and take risks and even if you don't?  Our number 10 reason for becoming a member of a local CSA.  You and your grower are in it together!!!!  Bumper crop of tomatoes - awesome.  Failure in potatoes - well there is always squash for back up!!!  Your membership allows you to share in the full reward of a bountiful harvest and you also share in the small risks with your grower.  By investing in the farm through a share purchase you help us have the resources to plant the great foods but like with any investment there is risk. UnlikeWall Street our risks just mean a bit less variety in the food for that season.

YOUR HEALTH

Finally, a doctor who gets it.  Dr. Maring from Kaiser Permanente in California started a farmer's market in 2003.  But guess where you can go to get the local veg?  Right outside the hospital!!!! 

He went one step further and started his own blog chock full of recipes, sound health advice, how to use veggies, and much more!  If every physician in this country followed Dr. Maring's example, there would be a health and food revolution like no other!  Here is the link to his blog/website. Dr. Preston Maring. It is also on the left hand side of this page under the heading Cooking, Growing, and Health.

We found out about Dr. Maring through a link to an article in the New York Times that came across our facebook page.  This is an excerpt from the NYT article regarding Dr. Maring. "But increasingly, his reputation and perpetual motion revolve around his conviction that in the health professions, the kitchen must become as crucial as the clinic. Food is at the center of health and illness, he argues, and so doctors must make all aspects of it — growing, buying, cooking, eating — a mainstay of their medical educations, their personal lives and their practices."

Wow! 

SOL 'N TYNES FINAL FALL FLING FOR 2010

Come join us at Lake City's renowned Johnny Appleseed Days on Saturday and Sunday, October 2nd and 3rd.  We will be there on Saturday from 10am to 5pm and on Sunday from 11am to 4pm.  SOL 'N TYNE will have bountiful produce, colorful jellies, and information related to the 2011 CSA program we are offering.  Look for us in Patton Park under the SOL 'N TYNE -Natural From Field to Table Banner!!!

Image courtesy of mhl.org



Because I was introduced to Johnny Appleseed as a grade schooler, I thought it would be wise to refresh my memory. Boy was I astounded at what I found.  Expand your mind and discover what an amazing man Johnny Appleseed was by clicking on the Wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Appleseed.   

At the, two day, Johnny Appleseed Festival there will be fresh apples and apple products, Apple Pie Sales, Arts and Crafts Fair, Children's Activities, Pancake Breakfast, Chili Cook-Off, Kid Pedal Tractor Pull, Petting Zoo, Wild Wings Annual Fall Festival, and much more!! That said, here is the link to the weekend activities sponsored by the Lake City Chamber of Commerce!!!  http://www.lakecity.org/johnnyappleseed.html 

Rain or shine Johnny Appleseed Days will be a fun, activity filled event!!!  See you this weekend and dress warm!

THANK YOU FUNKY SIDEWALKS!!!

Good weather, great people, and lots of interesting items equals a successful Funky Sidewalks this past Sunday in Lake City!  Thank you Jill from Treats and Treasures, http://www.treatsandtreasureslc.com/, for organizing such a wonderful event.  We talked to people from Iowa, St. Paul, Lake City, Owatonna, Little Falls, and beyond!  We met people we knew, made contacts with new people, and totally enjoyed the day. 

We had help and boy did Bella make the rounds.  By the end of the day she had hit all the vendors and did some serious bargain shopping for her sisters, her mom, her dad, and made several trips to Treats and Treasures to keep Michael and I well in the chocolate!

We had brave souls - yes this young man bit into a Ho Chi Minh, a yellow cayenne!!!  He tried super hard not to let his eyes water!!! We were all rolling with laughter and he was a great sport about it all!!  Thank you for sampling and see ya'll at the next great Lake City Event!

THURSDAY - SEPT 2

Good morning!  It is a wet, dark, very cool morning and we are headed outside, between rain storms, to finish gathering for today's final market in Rochester.  Future produce will be fall related and can be obtained by ordering and pick up at Carson Framing on Thursday's from 3pm to 6pm.  Please call me no later than 5pm Wednesday to place your order.  We will update the blog Wednesday morning on what is available.

That said, today we are bringing the following:

FRESH PRODUCE

Tomatoes - Sudduth's brandywine, plum lemon, and red zebras.

Peppers - sweet and hot

Squash - summer and butternut and a frenchie variety

Zucchini

Potatoes - Sweet (They are superlicious - we enjoyed some grilled with onions, olive oil, and garlic last night.)

Herbs - Rosemary, lemon thyme, basils, sage, oregano

BUTTERNUT BASIL SOUP

(from the Minnesota HomeGrown cookbook)

1 large butternut squash
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 T butter
2 T olive oil
3 gloves garlic, chopped
4 tsps dried basil
1 quart veg stock
4 slices American or soft cheese
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Brown sugar, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Scrub the butternut squash and microwave for 3 minutes to soften for cutting.  Place on a cutting board and cut in half.  Do not remove seeds.

Place the halves, cut side down, on a buttered baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree oven until soft.  Meanwhile, saute onion with butter and olive oil in your favorite soup pot until translucent.  Add garlic and dried basil.  Stir for one minute and enjoy a deep whiff!

Quickly add veggie stock and let simmer.  When the squash is done, remove seeds and process or mash the pulp until it's smooth, adding a bit of broth if necessary.  Combine the puree with the broth and add sliced cheese.  If the soup is too thick because the squash was dry, adjust the texture of the soup by adding more broth.  Stir in balsamic vinegar.

Taste the soup and add up to 2 tsp of brown sugar to enhance the flavor of the squash.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

See you at the corner of 4th and Broadway at 4pm.  In Lake City on Saturday morning from 8am to noon, and this Sunday, Sept 5, from 9am to 5pm in Lake City for FUNKY SIDEWALKS!

FUNKY SIDEWALKS - SUNDAY, SEPT 5

On Sunday, September 5, 2010, from 9am to 5pm in Downtown Lake City on Lyons Ave there will be FUNKY SIDEWALKS. 

Artists, Artisans, Farmers Market, Antiques/Vintage Items, Music, and more!!!

Come join the fun and support your local grower, your friends, your family, your neighbor, and celebrate the end of summer.

Look for the Sol 'N Tyne banner on the corner. We will be attending with fall produce, salsa, hot pepper jelly, and ??????-TBD!

This event is sponsored and organized by Jil at Treats and Treasures. 

treatsandtreasureslc.com

THURSDAY - AUGUST 26

Tonight, the moon is just past full and a yellow orb in the dark evening sky and along with it are the chilling temps.  It's hard to think about produce on an evening like this, with the feel of fall in the air, but tomorrow is market day in Rochester and here's the list.

Here ya go:
Tomatoes - Brandywine, Gold Medal, Plum Lemon, Green Zebra, Red Zebra, Opalka, and Green Grape.
Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Cucs.
Sweet Peppers - lots of bells turning color.
Hot Peppers - jalapenos, long red cayenne, Ho Chi Min, habanero, mustard habanero, and Krimzon Lee

I may have another surprise, depending on how much I can get done in the morning.  I am going to go hunting for sweet potatoes!  See you at 4 until 8 at the corner of 4th and Broadway.

With the cooler air and feel of fall here's a recipe that combines the end of summer veg into a warm, nourishing dish.

Zucchini Tomato Bake

Makes 4 to 6 serving

3 T chopped onion

3 T butter or bacon grease

2 medium zucchini, sliced

2 cups chopped tomatoes (any kind)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Saute' the onion in the butter in a skillet over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes until tender.  Add the zucchini and tomatoes and cook for 5 mintues until tomatoes loose their "raw" look.  Add the salt and pepper.  Spoon the mixture into a 1 1/2 quart greased baking dish.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan and Cheddar cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted.

THANK YOU LAKE CITY!!!

What a fun, wonderful, awesome, stupendous, encouraging, supportive, friendly, and inviting market!!! We will be set up again next Saturday and looking forward to it.  Thank you to all the vendors and customers!!

There were preserves.  The Hot Blueberry jelly was phenomenal!!!

How bout homemade baked goods!!!

Antiques and collectibles for all ages!!!

For the feathered friends in your life - fancy birdhouses!

Joyful music from Wendy (Wendolina) who travels all over the world with her amazing voice. 

Plums, raspberrries, and more.....

....and of course fresh produce.

GOOD MORNING LAKE CITY

We will be in Lake City this morning from 8am until noon across from Fiesta Foods.  If you can't find us there check across from Hope's Harvest!  Look for the FRESH TOMATO sign! 

THURSDAY - AUGUST 19

Did I say tomato?  Oh ya and lots of them!!!  See you Thursday, 4pm to 8pm, at the corner of 4th and Broadway!!!

Other good stuff:
Peppers hot - think salsa!
Peppers sweet - think stuffed with tomatoes!
Zucchini - think bread!
Squash summer - think BREAD, yes I said BREAD - see the recipe below!
Cucs - think tomato and cucs!
Cabbage - think slaw!
Flowers - think beautiful!
Cuttings - basils, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley

BUTTERSCOTCH SQUASH BREAD

Makes 1 loaf

(from All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook)

1/2 cup oil

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup grated yellow squash (1 medium-large squash)

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oats
1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the oil and sugars in a large bowl until well mixed and creamy-looking.  Add the eggs and mix well.  Add the squash and vanilla and mix well.

Combine the flour, oats, pudding mix, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl and mix well.  Make a well in the center.  Spoon or pour the squash mixture into the well.  Mix until no white streaks of flour remain.

Spoon the mixture into a greased 9 or 10-inch loaf pan.  Bake for about 1 hour.  Cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove and cool completely.  While it is cooling please drive out to 30648 Cty 2 Blvd and share!!!!  

GOOD MORNING COOLNESS

After yesterday, today feels like heaven with the exception of the excessive amount of wind and rain we received early this morning.  Wells Creek is running brown and rising quickly and we witnessed a huge log whistling by in the rising waters.  The gardens took, yet, another beating but all buildings are intact. 

Thank you to all who supported us last night at market in Rochester.  We will do our best to continue to salvage our tomato harvest and continue bringing in product on Thursdays.  A reminder that you can also purchase tomatoes at Rochester Produce rochesterproduce.com or head over to ZZEST zzestmarket.com and enjoy them, already prepared, from their fabulous menu. 

It's quiet now and the sun is sneaking peeks between the clouds but the forecast holds additional interesting weather for today.  Enjoy the coolness and happy Friday.

Rogue Canna Lily that "appeared" in the onion row.

THURSDAY - AUGUST 12

It's gonna be a scorcher tomorrow, Thursday - August 12,  but we will be at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Rochester from 4pm to 8pm with bell's on!  Kidding, but we will be there and bringing the following:

TOMATOES:
Brownberry Cherry - sweet, delicious with every bite - brown cherry tomato.
Stupice - not stupid, but STUPENDOUS - small, red tomato with great flavor.
Wisconsin 55 - Excellent, all purpose tomato and great for canning.
Green Zebra - they are ripe and lots of them with a sweet zingy flavor.
Green Sausage - Rich, sweet flavor - great for making sauces!
Gold Medal - Questionable....if not check with ZZEST.
Cherry Roma - Great fresh or dried.  Addictive, with a sweet/spicy flavor.
Chalk's Early Jewel - Good flavor balance.
Giant Syrian - Very meaty, few seeds and excellent flavor.
Sweet Pea Currant - Excellent clean tomato flavor.  Great as a garnish or mixed with pasta and garlic!

PEPPERS - SWEET

Tolli's Sweet Italian - Great added to tomato sauces.
King of the North - Bell , great sweet flavor.

PEPPERS - HOT
Jalapeno
Ho Chi Min - yellow cayenne


OTHER PRODUCE
Squash
Zucchini - (Please see previous blog post for recipe using zucchini, tomatoes, and basil.)
Cucs
(You can make the best refrigerator pickles - fast, easy, super tasty, and last for at least a month in the frig.  Cucs and onions and seasonings - white vinegar, mustard seed, celery seed, sugar, and kosher salt.  Takes no time at all.)
Green Beans
Cabbage - Gonzales (green), Caraflex (green - cone shaped), and Super Red 80 (red)

(We made an awesome slaw with green cabbage and carrots, almonds, green onions.  The dressing was cider vinegar, olive oil, sugar, and salt.)
As always - herbs for clippings.

If you do not see something you are interested in give a shout and we'll see if we have it to bring along.  651.388.6378

THURSDAY - AUGUST 4

Tomatoes are NOT on the vine - they are turning red faster than we can pick!  The following list is coming to town Thursday - August 4.  Remember from 4 to 8 at the corner of 4th and Broadway - Rochester.

TOMATOES - Black krims, brownberry cherry, giant syrian, chaulk's early jewel, and a handful of speckled romans.
MINI-CABBAGE - Gonzales (green), Caraflex (cone shaped green), and Super Red 80 (red).
ONIONS - Scallions and red
BEANS - green
CHARD - swiss, ruby red, and five color
KALE - dwarf blue and red russian
PEPPERS - sweet and hot
CARROTS - scarlet nantes and cosmic purple (yes they are purple on the outside but orange when you cut them open - sweet and juicy).
BEETS - bulls blood beet
SQUASH - summer
ZUCCHINI - black beauty
CUCUMBERS - early fortune
TOMATILLO'S - Potentially, there is a lot of fruit - not sure if they will be quite ripe.  If not this week - next week for sure.
CLIPPINGS - We do fresh clippings directly from the plant -- parsley, many basil varieties, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage.

FLOWERS - limited number of bouquets.

THURSDAY - JULY 29

Produce coming to Carson Framing parking lot on Thursday - July 29 from 4pm to 8pm:

Peppers, mini cabbage - green, red and caraflex, green beans, beets, onions, carrots, summer squash, cucs, kale, swiss chard, and a very limited quantity of  tomatoes.  Also cut flowers prearranged and ready to put in a vase.

See you there at the corner of 4th and Broadway - Rochester!