AUTUMN THANK YOU'S

Michael and I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to EVERYONE who supported us throughout the 2011 growing season. 

We want to expressly thank all of our CSA customer's from Lake City, Red Wing, and Rochester.  To the restaurants who believe in us - Hope's Harvest, Rabbit's Bakery, and Zzest!  To our farm customer's!   To the families who allowed us to bless them with veg and to my niece, Lori, for delivering said food!  To ALL of the volunteers who gave of their time and energy this past summer - Paul, Theresa, Caryn and Garrit, Luke, Evan and Michelle, Anne, Jason, Erin, Scott, Nick, Mark and Erin, and Will!  To our granddaughter's Bella, Amaya, and Ellie who HAVE to work when they visit so they can play!  To my daughter, Tona, and son-in-law, Alberto, for supporting us and making sure the girls were able to visit during our crunch time!  To Michael's parent's, Bob and Bette, and his sister, Barb, for all the moral support!  Of course to our other family members and friends who were afraid to visit because they might have to work!  We appreciate the moral support from afar!  To everyone who has listened to us, visited the blog, visited the farm or touched our lives in some fashion - thank you!

We also would like to thank the wonderful groups of young, promising, hope filled individuals who visited the farm!  Some of them harvested and then dined on tomatoes and some of them assisted in putting the fields to rest for the winter.  We truly appreciate your efforts!

Finally, a huge thank you to Michael, my husband, who had to put up with a tired, intense, and grumpy wife for six months.  He often heard - "No honey, you can't harvest that.  We have to save it for our CSA customer's!"  "Honey, can you do this for me?"

The 2011 growing season was a challenge and another blessed year of learning and adventures! 

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

EVERYTHING FLORENCE TOWNSHIP FAIR

This weekend!  Saturday, October 8, 2011, from 1pm to 5 pm at the historic Florence Town Hall, 33923 Highway 61 Blvd, Frontenac.  South of the Whistle Stop.

There will be displays by the following:

• Goodhue County Sheriff's Department,
• Goodhue Country Historical Society,
• Goodhue County Public Health,
• Florence Township Planning Commission,
• Florence Heritage Preservation,
• Florence Wizard's 4-H club, and
• Author Ken Allsen will be in attendance!

You can help ID photos for Florence Township timeline and view family histories, photos, and artifacts from the Savage Family, the Wells family, the Witt family, and more. 

Township Historical Characters will be appearing and if you like Karaoke at 3:00 pm you can sing with Duane Earney!

Refreshments are being served!  Jump in your jalopy, get out, enjoy the weather,bump into your neighbor, and learn more about our glorious township - FLORENCE!!!

EAT ORGANIC FOOD!

POTATO LEEK SOUP

Tis the season for comfort food and with local potatoes and leeks available how can a person go wrong with this time honored combination?  Pair it with a nice crusty bread from your favorite local bakery (ours is Rabbit's Bakery in Lake City, MN) and your meal is complete. This recipe incorporates the entire leek plant.  Enjoy!

POTATO LEEK SOUP

Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003

Ingredients
• 1 large or 2 small locally grown leeks, about 1 pound
• 2 bay leaves
• 20 black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs fresh organic thyme
• 2 tablespoons organic butter
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 5 cups chicken stock (we substitute using a veg stock)
• 1 to 1 1/4 pounds locally grown organic russet potatoes, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup creme fraiche or heavy organic cream
• 2 tablespoons snipped chives

1. Trim the green portions of the leek and, using 2 of the largest and longest leaves, make a bouquet garni by folding the 2 leaves around the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme. Tie into a package-shaped bundle with kitchen twine and set aside. (Alternately, tie 2 leek leaves, bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme together in a piece of cheesecloth.)

2. Using a sharp knife, halve the white part of the leek lengthwise and rinse well under cold running water to rid the leek of any sand or dirt. Slice thinly crosswise and set aside.

3. In a large soup pot over medium heat, melt the butter and add the bacon. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is very soft and has rendered most of its fat. Add the chopped leeks and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the reserved bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt and white pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart and the soup is very flavorful.

4. Remove the bouquet garni and, working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender. (Alternately, if you own an immersion blender, puree the soup directly in the pot.) Stir in the creme fraiche and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Serve immediately, with some of the snipped chives sprinkled over the top of each bowl of soup.

GREEN SALSA VERDE

This recipe typically uses tomatillo's, but we needed a way to use our green zebras over the weekend and this is what we did.  When tomatillo's are in season (should be now or shortly) substitute the tomatillo's for the green zebra tomatoes. 

  

GREEN SALSA VERDE

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 POUND GREEN ZEBRA TOMATOES—ROUGHLY CHOPPED
• 4 SERRANO CHILIES, WITH SEEDS
• ¾ CUP FRESH CILANTRO LEAVES (1 BUNCH)
• 2 TABLESPOONS FRESH LIME JUICE
• 1 TSP SUGAR
• 1 TSP SALT

PLACE ALL INGREDIENTS IN A FOOD PROCESSOR OR BLENDER AND PUREE.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
AN ALL-PURPOSE SALSA VERDE, ESPECIALLY GOOD WITH TORTILLA CHIPS, MOST SEAFOOD, AND EGGS.

YIELD: ABOUT 2 CUPS     HEAT: 5