Farm Newsletter Week 14

September 24-30, 2023    |    “B” Week

Melinda Fluckinger scored a Finalist spot with this winning entry in last week’s Chopped Challenge Qualifier. This was our favorite entry. Those are collard greens wrapped around the rolls.

What’s in the Box this Week?

HEAD LETTUCE (Crisphead) ~ To store: Store unwashed lettuce in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. To store lettuce that you have already washed and dried with a spinner, place back in a plastic bag with a dry paper towel in the bag, and place the package in the vegetable crisper bin. Use within 4 days. To prep: Slice the head at its base with a knife and  let the leaves fall open. Discard any damaged or leathery outer leaves and tear large leaves into bite-size pieces. Wash leaves in a basin of cold water. Dry in a salad spinner.

PURPLE HAZE CARROTS with tops ~ To store: Remove the green tops as soon as you can, leaving about an inch of stems. Refrigerate these carrots in a plastic bag. You can also store them in a bin of water (like celery) to keep them crisp, changing out the water every few days. Save the tops in a plastic bag. To prep: Organic carrots don’t need to be peeled. Boil 2-inch cubed carrots in rapidly boiling salt water, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes. Fresh carrot tops can be chopped into a green salad or stir-fry too! The greens can be dried and used as an herb like parsley. To freeze: Blanch cut coins for 3 minutes in boiling salt water, dunk in cold ice water for 3 minutes, drain, let dry, and pack in airtight container.

CELERY ~ To store: You can wrap your celery tightly in foil and place it in the fridge. This will keep it crisp for weeks. If you don’t want to use foil, try chopping the celery into smaller stalks and putting them in a bowl of water in the fridge. To prep: Rinse well. Cut a half-inch off the base. Cut the tops off the celery. Save these for your freezer scrap bag and make broth later! You can also save the tops and use them for salads, for dried herbs, or DIY celery salt. To freeze: Chop celery to desired size. Blanch in boiling hot water for 3 minutes. Plunge into ice water for 3 minutes. Drain. Lay celery on a cookie sheet and flash freeze in a freezer. Place frozen celery into a Ziplock container.

TATSOI ~ This mild, mustardy leaves often show up in mixed salad greens. To store: wrap the leaves (4) in a damp paper towel, and store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Prepare fresh tatsoi by separating the leaves and washing them. Serve raw or lightly cooked. Use tatsoi anywhere you’d use spinach. Lightly steam or sauté it, wilt the leaves with a warm dressing, or add them to a soup at the end of cooking. I like adding a sesame vinaigrette.

Lindsey Simpson scored a Finalist spot with this winning entry in last week’s Chopped Challenge Qualifier

CILANTRO ~ To store: For short-term storage, stand upright in a container with an inch of water. Then cover the herbs loosely with a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. To prep: Chop the stem and leaves with a butcher knife. The stems can be eaten too. To freeze: Not recommended.

YELLOW SWEET ONIONS (2) from Riehm Farms ~ storage onions may be kept in any cool, dark, dry place with adequate air circulation for several months if they are cured. Do not store them next to potatoes.  To prep: Peel the onion’s skin and cut off the roots and top. Save your papery onion skins in a bag in your freezer reserved for making vegetable stock. If you encounter a little rot in your onion, just cut away the bad sections. If there are a few black spots, rinse the whole onion in cool water and rub the spots off with your thumbs. To freeze: Cut or slice onions to desired size and place in freezer Ziplock bag. Remove all the air and seal. It helps to freeze them in 2-3 cup increments.

TIP: Cut the spaghetti squash down the “belly button” of the squash to get the longest spaghetti strands.

RED GLOBE TOMATO (2) ~ The basic slicer tomato. Store these on the counter until ripe. Then transfer to the fridge to keep them from spoiling. Tomatoes can be frozen whole in a Ziplock bag with their skin on. These will have a lot of juice in them. They are great for canning whole tomatoes or making juice, FYI.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH (1) ~ This variety of winter squash has unusual string-like flesh, which looks like spaghetti when scraped out with a fork. They are often baked or boiled and then the mildly sweet flesh is scooped out and topped with spaghetti sauce. To store: Store in a cool, dry, dark place at around 50 degrees, but make sure they do not freeze. To prep: Stand the squash up and slice in half lengthwise around the “belly-button.” Scoop out seeds. To use: To bake, place squash halves facedown on a cookie sheet. Add a 1/2 inch water to the pan to avoid drying out. Bake at 400 degrees. Squash will need about an hour— 90 minutes to cook, depending on size. Cook until tender. Flesh is done when it scoops out easily in spaghetti-like strings with a fork. Serve hot with butter and parmesan cheese or your favorite tomato sauce on top. To freeze: Let the cooked squash cool to near room temperature and then transfer the noodles to Ziplock freezer bags. Store for up to 8 months in freezer.

CUSTOMER PHOTO OF THE WEEK!

Brian Hammer submitted this amazing Chicken-Fried Melt Sandwich with bacon-braised collards. It should have won him a spot as a Finalist in our Chopped Challenge.

This week, I awarded the Photo of the Week to Brian Hammer. Brian submitted this photo for the Collard Challenge.  Fresh sourdough “melt” style sandwich with buttermilk fried chicken thigh and bacon braised collards. Quick pickled jalapenos from the garden added some acid and spice to cut the rich. Roasted leek and garlic smashed potatoes on the side.

He included this in his caption: “Unfortunately I cannot make it on 10/13, so do not consider me for the entry…even though there’s never been a SLF event that I’d rather attend!” We would like Brian to know that his entry was our #2 choice, and he would have won a spot as a finalist if he were able to attend. As a consolation prize, we are awarding him with this week’s “Photo of the Week.” Brian always offers us such delicious, accessible, everyday, calorie-loaded awesomeness. Thank you for sharing your gifts and inspiring us every week.

Clara Eckel scored one of the finalist spots in the Chopped Competition with this entry.

WEEK 14 ADD-ON SHARES: We are Week “B” 

Odd-numbered weeks of our CSA season (week 1,3,5) are called “A” weeks. And even-numbered weeks (week 2,4,6) are called “B” weeks. If you have any kind of non-veggie, bi-weekly share, you have been assigned to either “A” or “B” week for the season. If you get a cheese share, it always comes on Week “A.”

Fruit Share (not organic):

JONATHAN APPLES ~ (via Quarry Hill Orchard) – The Jonathan apple is a medium size apple, that has a thin red skin, with a sweet taste that can often have a tart tang to it. The Jonathan apple is a wonderful apple for fresh eating but also makes for a great freezing as well as cooking apple.

CRIMSON CRISP APPLES ~ (via Quarry Hill Orchard) Billed as a better version of Honeycrisp, the CrimsonCrisp has roots in Golden Delicious, Red Rome, and Jonathan apples, among others. It is a firm, deep red-purple, and crunchy apple. Its crispy yellow flesh holds a sweet-tart flavor, making it a great fresh-eating apple as well as a good juice or cider variety. Store these in your fridge crisper.

ASIAN PEAR ~ (via Quarry Hill Orchard) -Asian pears are best suited for both raw and cooked applications, including baking, steaming, and poaching. When raw, the pear’s crunchy texture, juicy interior, and sweet flavor are showcased when consumed out-of-hand. The flesh can be eaten peeled or unpeeled, and it is frequently sliced and added to green salads, grated into coleslaw, cubed for fruit salads, or juiced to flavor beverages, marinades, and sauces. Store in the fridge in a plastic bag. It will store for 4 weeks.

Ice Cream Flavor of the Week:

Chocolate Peanut Butter from Knueven Creamery.Be sure to stop by their truck at each of the pickup sites to grab your milk and ice cream order.

Coffee Flavor of the Week:

Bella’s Breakfast Blend: Maddie & Bella Coffee Company  mellow, sweet, uncomplicated

7-DAY CHOPPED CHALLENGE: Spaghetti Squash Starter

Our Final Qualifying Round for the Chopped Championship

It’s our next CSA Challenge, and this one features another tricky ingredient: Spaghetti Squash.

How it works:

1. Create an appetizer/starter course that features spaghetti squash in some way. NOTE: It MUST be a starter AND prominently feature spaghetti squash as a main ingredient in order to qualify for judging!!
2. Take a photo of the finished product and post it by October 2nd at 8 PM in the private Facebook group (or email it to me).
3. Hashtag it #squashchoppedchallenge so we can find your entry!
4. You can only enter this week’s challenge ONCE.

Now this challenge is ALSO our final qualifying round for the “CHOPPED: SLF Edition” competition, happening at Cork and Knife Provisions on October 13th.

Four winners will be chosen from this week’s challenge, and they will face off for 2 rounds in our own rendition of the famous “CHOPPED” TV cooking show at Cork & Knife’s kitchen and dining room on October 13th. In each round, our contestants will have to create an appetizer, main, or dessert in 30 minutes, using the mystery ingredients provided at their station.

Don’t worry! SLF members will be invited to attend this ticketed event on October 13! Guests will watch the competition unfold, cheer on their favorite contestants, order bevs and snack on the light menu, and listen to the rounds of judging.

The winner of the Chopped Competition on October 13 receives the enviable title of “SLF Chopped Champion” as well as a sweet prize package.

If you think you’d be a great contestant for Chopped: SLF on October 13, then please submit an entry for the Spaghetti Squash Starter Challenge by this next Monday, October 2nd!

(PS: If you don’t want to compete in the Chopped Competition, you can still participate in this Challenge — just make sure you tell us in your post that you don’t want to be considered during judging).

Kurt celebrated his birthday on Tuesday. His mom bakes him a Black Walnut cake every year. Seated to the right is brother-in-law Derek, who shares a birthday month.

FARMER KURT’S FIELD NOTES

Thanks for all the birthday wishes last week. And thanks for all the baked goodies, the cupcakes, the apple pies, the beer… I feel spoiled.

We’re beginning to move into the fall crops now. My guys are pulling up plastic mulch from beds, and I told them to take down the cucumber trellises. Glen started prepping ground for fall cover crops. I’ll be throwing up beds back by the asparagus acreage, as this is where the fall garlic will be planted at the end of October.

I’ve still got a LOT of peppers out in the field. I decided to give you a break from them for this week’s box, so you could catch up with your fridge overload. (Hope that was a good move). I’ll be back next week with peppers again, but I think there is such a thing as TOO MANY peppers. It’s always an art trying to balance how much produce to give you. I don’t want you drowning in produce, because I don’t want you to feel like you’re wasting food. It’s got to be just right.

We co-own this larger box truck as members of the GRO cooperative. We’ve decided to get it repaired and use it next year as our new truck.

I had to upgrade to a bigger box truck for a couple weeks there during our CSA deliveries to PBurg and Sylvania. (Did you notice?) We used the box truck from our cooperative Great River Organics. All the tomato boxes, corn, and melons left me with very little space indeed. Corinna and I have been wondering if we should invest the $50 grand to buy a bigger box truck for next season. I think we’re going to hold off though. As  members of the co-op, we technically co-own this GRO truck. It’s been out of commission most of the year due to engine troubles. But if I invest ten grand for a new turbo, that will be a wiser move.

We had a rookie farmer visit our packing process last Wednesday and see how it all works. Rod and his wife want to start a CSA out in Holland, MI, next year, and they are trying to learn how to run a CSA. It’s so important to me that we farmers support one another. There are so few of us left! Whatever I can do to mentor another farm, I’m all for it! Corinna will be busy in the off-season, coaching a group of 20 farmers from around North America on how to build their marketing system to strengthen their farm business. I am so proud of her, and how she shares her experience with our CSA to help other farmers become profitable.

Noah and John will seed spinach for winter high tunnel production this coming week. This is the HT area currently NOT covered by the tunnel –i.e. bare ground. I’ll be taking down the heirloom tomato plants inside the high tunnels next week, and then we’ll roll the tunnel over the seeded spinach. Heirloom tomatoes are done. It was a great run. Same for the romas and globes — I may have one more picking there, and we’ll say good-bye for the season. For that reason, I’m putting bulk tomato orders in the online store one more week — but this is your last chance. I know Corinna needs to make pizza sauce this week, and she is running out of time!

You’ll notice that I put fennel into the online store this year — instead of into your CSA box. This was a tough call. We’ve always forced it on you in years past. LOL. But I’ve noticed that a lot of members end up throwing it away. It IS a very particular flavor profile, so I don’t blame you! Moving forward, we’ve decided fennel will not be included in the CSA box plan anymore. Instead, we’ll have it in our online store for a few weeks, and give those of you who are lovers of this licorice-flavored bulb to buy it or freeze it for winter.

Congratulations to our 4 Chopped finalists who were selected last week, Lindsey Simpson, Clara Eckel, Christine Zychowicz, and Melinda Fluckinger, you had some pretty beautiful meals you threw together with my collards. This week, Corinna has spaghetti squash up her sleeve for the final Challenge. She’s not making it easy for you, is she?

A view of the Field to Table Dinner

The farm dinner on Friday was a memorable one. The 5-course meal was cooked outside over an open coal fire by Chef Joseph of Cork & Knife Provisions. Their team always does outstanding work. This year there was even a guitarist who played during dinner, and a campfire afterwards, which I stayed at until 10:30 PM. The best part of the evening came when Elon Musk’s StarLink chain of satellites decided to parade by over our heads during the dessert course. It caused quite a sensation!

Some of you are asking about when the CSA is over and how to sign up for next year. We go through the last week of October. In a few weeks, we’ll be asking you to renew your CSA for next season. Corinna and I need to spend some time this week running the numbers and figuring out how many shares we will have before we finalize our pricing. Our H2A labor hourly rate will be jumping again next year, so we have to build that into our budget. Stay tuned for details on how renewal works. I know Corinna does a good job keeping you in the loop.

That’s all for this week. I’m taking Corinna to the Toledo Market this Saturday. Want to get those pretzel croissants from All Crumb!

Kurt

Tammy Koepfler shared this exit strategy with cherry tomato — a quinoa casserole!

WEEK 14 ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Save the Date! Our Farm’s “Chopped! SLF Edition” Cooking Competition will take place at Cork and Knife’s beautiful location in Toledo, on October 13th. Our contestants for this competition will be chosen from this week’s Collards Comfort Foods Challenge. We’ll sell tickets to the live event, where you can watch our finalists duke it out for the coveted prize of “SLF Chopped Champion.” Details will follow in next week’s newsletter on how to order tickets for this event. It will be limited to 50 people, so keep that in mind!!
2. Last week to order Canning tomatoes (30 lb for $30) from the farm. To place your order, please go to the online store. If you cannot fill it out, then email me your order. Tell me how many boxes you want and what type (Roma or Globe), and what your pickup site is. I’ll send out an email a few days before your pickup to let you know they are coming. .Payment is expected at the time of pickup.You can choose from these two tomato canner products:
   1. ROMA TOMATOES — you’ll get 30 lbs of these classic, oval-shaped, paste tomatoes. These are best used for sauce and salsa, since they have a lower water content. 
   2. GLOBE TOMATOES – you’ll get 30 lbs. of the classic round tomato. These are best used for canning whole tomatoes. 
   3. GOLDEN ROMA TOMATOES — you’ll get 30 lbs. of the orange roma tomatoes. These are priced a bit higher at $35.
3. You can order additional items from the Shared Legacy Farms online store. Our store link is super easy to remember: www.sharedlegacyfarms.com/store. Just be sure to select the right pickup site that coincides with your pickup location. If the pickup option is greyed out or not available, it means you missed the window to order. You need to place your order 36 hours before your site. We harvest the product on Monday and Wednesday mornings — early. This week, the store will have: 

DIY Veggie Bouillon Cubes

Last year, CSA member Nike Mendenhall passed me a photocopy of a recipe from a cookbook for DIY Veggie Bouillon cubes. I think it was called a Veggie Starter Cube.  It involves chopping/simmering a mixture of veggies, pureeing them in a food processor, and then freezing or dehydrating the puree into bouillon cubes. I thought it was SO cool, and I wanted to make sure I brought it up this year. It’s a different take on the “veggie broth” exit strategy that we normally teach you — the one where you take your freezer veggie scraps, throw them in a pot of water and simmer all day — then freeze the cubes. The downside to that strategy is that it takes up a lot of space.

The bouillon cubes are like a concentrated veggie base that you can freeze — without all the water — and it takes up very little space. You just add the water later before cooking.

There are four main elements to homemade vegetable bouillon cubes: vegetables, aromatics (seasonings), fat, and salt. They can be a great way to avoid all the ‘sketchy’ ingredients like MSG. Instead, you can create all-natural, veggie-packed, flavor-enhancing cubes to power your future soups and sauces.  I’ve seen LOTS of different variations of this online ever since. I asked Cadie to make a video of this exit strategy for you because I think it could be a great way to store away the all-natural flavors of the farm (and avoid that harmful MSG).

I’m including a basic recipe below, but feel free to add in other things like Cadie does — parsley, soy sauce, tomato paste… You could even try zucchini or potatoes.

Recipe for 20 one-ounce cubes:

3/4 lb. yellow onions

1/2 lb. carrots

1/3 lb. celery (or try celery root)

1 Leek, chopped

handful parsley

2/3 cup fine salt

1 3/4 t. olive oil

Start by washing the carrots, celery, and leek. Cut the vegetables, including the peeled onion into fairly small cubes. Place the onion and carrot in a nonstick frying pan.

Now add the celery and leek. Pour over the oil and cook for about 15 minutes. Add the salt and parsley.

Continue to cook for around 5-6 minutes, stirring every so often. Transfer them to a food processor once they are soft.

Blitz until you get a fairly even purée. Pour this purée back into the pan and cook for another 15 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring often to get the mixture to dry out without burning.

As soon as the mixture is nice and dry, transfer to a rectangular baking pan lined with parchment paper. Level the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon and cover with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Let this set in the freezer for 10-12 hours.

(Alternatively, you can dehydrate the puree until solid)

After this time has passed, remove the parchment paper from the solid mixture (which won’t be completely frozen due to the salt) and divide it into 20 small cubes of around 1 oz each.

To use the vegetable bouillon cubes:

Dissolve one 1-oz cube in 4¼ cups of water. Stir well to make it dissolve completely.

Christine Zychowicz scored a spot as a finalist in the Chopped Championship with this entry last week.,

WEEK 14 CSA RECIPES

Members: You can download these recipes as a PDF here.  These recipes are designed to inspire you to use your box this week! Please check inside our private Facebook group to find your fellow members sharing ideas for what to make with their box! Share a photo and you might be featured in next week’s newsletter!

Tatsoi Asian Greens Salad
Tatsoi Salad with Seasame Ginger Dressing
Cilantro Lime Shrimp
Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce
Cheesy Pesto Chicken Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash
Breakfast Spaghetti Squash
Asian Cucumber and Carrot Salad
Thai Carrot Soup
Vegetable Soup
Celery and Potato Soup
Grilled Parmesan Potatoes and Carrots
Apple Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
Fresh Pear Bread
Caramelized Pear Steel Cut Oats