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!

TOOLS OR TOYS



1953 FORD 8N - Michael's new toy!
Or as he says -- my new tool!

 Depending on how you look at it, tools can be toys and reduce work all at the same time.  Unless it's a new tool, or a new/old tool, and you didn't spend much time as a kid using this tool.  Then the tool can be a challenge!! So, to help out on the farm, to save our backs and to turn our compost rows we broke down and purchased a 1953 Ford 8N tractor.  A classic.  4 speeds.  No power steering.  Small. 

The kid who didn't get to spend much time using a tractor is Michael.  He didn't kill, maime, or injure me pulling out posts from the tomato field.  Although he did manage to run over my camera bag and barely missed the pipe for the septic system!  Whew, all in all, a job well done and with more time in the tractor seat he will soon be a whiz! 


Hooking up to the tiller from Ripleys.
Unfortunately, the drive shaft was too long!
So back to the drawing board.
Maybe this weekend instead.


There you have it - tool or toy?  I think toy too!  My turn's coming!

COLOR IN THE BROWN

Fall is a time of transition.  Crops are harvested, fields put to sleep for rejuvenation, squirrels and birds are busy gathering and storing, and color goes from greens to browns.  As we worked in the fields, over the weekend, little splashes of color jumped out at us.  Hiding in the browns of the sleeping Black-Eyed Susans and Purple Coneflowers was one lone, exquisitely orange Indian Blanket. 

Nestled next to the head of a Purple Coneflower a tiny, periwinkle blue Flax.

Finally, tucked in the grass by the Bella Garden - can it be?  Yes a confused Common Blue Violet.  Maybe it was the common part of her name that made her spring back to life in the middle of October.  But there is nothing common about her beauty even if she is a little ragged around the edges.  She brings hope for a bountiful and colorful spring.

PUMPKINS - THE HOW TO MAKE THE SCARIEST EVER!!

Tis the season for all those orange globes with the obnoxious, scary faces to adorn doorsteps, barns, yards, and more!  On our TIP OF THE WEEK page are several links to create the best Halloween Pumpkin you've ever done!!!  It's a whole new art form.  So check it out, enjoy, get the family involved, and please send us pictures of your creations. We will proudly post pictures of your masterpieces for all to see!!!!  It's easy - solntyne@yahoo.com.

Happy Carving from all of us here at SOL 'N TYNE - Michael, Deb, Amber Jo, Annie, Dani, Tugboat, Col, and Olive!

LEGUMES

Bumble Bee, Hidasta Red, Cherokee Trail of Tears....what are they?  Indian lore or bugs?? They are beans or to be technical, some of the thousands of  legumes.  Legumes which include beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts are an ancient food item.  They are versatile, easy to grow, easy to store, affordable, and packed with essential nutrients.    Beans are second only to cereal grasses in their importance in our diets.  Beans are high in protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates, low in calories and sodium.  In fact beans are the richest source of vegetable protein, 21 to 27 percent when cooked.   The benefits of beans go on and on, other facts:

1. They are full of complex carbohydrates, but have a low or moderate glycemic index.  The complex carbs in  dry beans are digested more slowly than those in simple carb foods like bread, keep you more satisfied and less hungry.
2. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, such as high amounts of Vitamin B, potassium, zinc, iron, calcium, and magnesium.
3. They add more fiber to your diet to improve your digestive tract.
4. Finally, they are also rich in flavor and blend well with dark, leafy greens, tomatoes, peppers, chiles and are used in soups and pastas.  In fact, there are whole books dedicated to cooking beans.  Our favorite book is - BEANS by Aliza Green. Black Bean and Hazelnut Cakes, yummy sounding huh?  Yep - the book is packed with gastronomic delight.

Beans were so important in our ancient worlds that four major legumes lent their names to a prominent Roman family.  Fabius comes from the faba bean, Lentulus from the lentil, Piso from the pea, and Cicero from the chickpea! 



Calypso bean from 2009 harvest.



We have begun our bean harvest.  Bumble Bee, Hidasta Red, Cherokee Trail of Tears, Brockton Horticulture, Black Valentine, Ideal Market - names as rich and colorful as their heritage.  All of these beans have long histories and stories to go with them as they are all heirloom varieties passed down from generation to generation and as you can tell from the names - some of them left a trail of tears from the Smoky mountains to Oklahoma in 1839.

We will have them available for purchase in mid November.  Watch the WHAT IS AVAILABLE page above to see variety and use. 

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.

FIRE-ROASTED PEPPER CREAM SOUP

We'll be honest, we have not tried this soup, but from the ingredients list it looked really yummy.  So we are asking that after you take the first bite you let US know how it is!

FIRE-ROASTED PEPPER CREAM SOUP

(Taken from the All New Square Foot Gardening Cookbook)

Serves 4

12 medium sweet, mild red peppers such as bell or banana peppers

 (or you can use any color pepper, it will be just as flavorful, but not quite as colorful).

Oil

1 large super sweet onion, chopped

3 T butter
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half/half
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

To roast peppers - Prepare a fire in a grill or preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Coat the peppers with oil.  Roast, broil, or grill over indirect heat, turning occasional;y, for about 15 to 20 minutes.  Until the peppers are tender and the skins are blackened in places. Put the peppers into a large plastic bag and close the bag.  Let stand for 15 minutes.  Take the peppers from the bag and remove pepper stems and discard the cores and seeds.  Peel the skins.

Saute the onion in the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat for 8 minutes until tender.  Add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes longer.  Add the peppers and chicken broth.

Bring to a boil; simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  Add the cream.

Transfer to a food processor or blender and puree in batches.  Return the soup to the pan and heat through.

OUR NOTES:  As I typed the recipe a couple of things we would do as we prepared this recipe:  We would use Pacific Veggie Broth and add more garlic (cuz we are garlic lovers). 

Have fun with this, let us know how it is, and any additions or changes you made!!!  Thanks and enjoy this beautiful fall day!

29 DEGREES

But beautiful.  



Pistau Basil sprinkled with frost.



36 DEGREES

It's 8:14 pm and 36 degrees at the house.  In the Amaya garden snuggled under row covers are our fall carrots, lettuce, cilantro, beets, and scallions.  Other veg, in the Bella garden, hoping to make it through the night, with modified covers, are habaneros, krimzon lees, and jalapenos peppers.  The Yuli herb garden is scantly covered.   Harvested, piled together, and double covered, from the Amaya garden, are the remainder of the butternut, honey bear acorn, sweet dumpling, galeux de eysines, and musquee de provence squash.  That squash pile, is really big!!!

It is the time of year to start letting go.  As dusk approached and the cold started settling in, our neighbor rolled by on the road with the biggest combine ever and turned into our tiny, three acre bean field he rents from us!!  The dust from the combine rolled into the air, the lights shined through the trees, the horses started running, and you could smell fall....smell it!!!  Ahh, life is good.

TASTE OF THE DAY - TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE

The yummy looks and sounds of gastronomic delight were heard all day long today at Johnny Appleseed Days in Lake City.  The taste of the day was Michael's TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE taken from The Great Salsa Book by Mark Miller.  Simple and quick to make but exploding with flavor!  Here it is:

TOMATILLO SALSA VERDE

(from The Great Salsa Book by Mark Miller and slightly modified)

Heat scale: 5 (Scale 0 to 10)

1 pound Tomatillos, husked, cleaned, and roughly chopped.
3 serrano chiles, with seeds (Today Michael used 4 jalapenos without seeds.)
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (1 bunch)
2 T fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tsp sugar (In Michael's hurried state this morning he misread and added 1 T sugar)
1 tsp salt (same as above tasty mistake - Michael added 1 T salt)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree.  Done!  Ready to serve and yields about 2 cups.  An all-purpose salsa verde is especially good with tortilla chips, most seafood, and eggs!