Hello folks,

If you’re signing up now and want to use the automatic payment form, just ignore the fact that it says the first payment will come out the first of March since that date has passed. We’ll just take the payments out beginning with April 1st and continuing until July 1st. Or, if you want to make other arrangements, just let me know. Just 5 shares are still available.

The yellow and walla walla onions are up in the greenhouse, I’ll get some photos of them up when they look a little more interesting than germinated seeds.

Next week, being the first week of March, is the traditional week to fire up the greenhouse here at Hog’s Back Farm. I’ve been in there this week cleaning up from last year and chiseling frozen potting mix into the tubs so that we’ll be able to make soil blocks next week. We’ve had some nice sunny weather lately which can make it nice and toasty in the greenhouse without any supplemental heat. Next week we’ll be seeding around 10,000 onions and shallots for the 2010 season. These will spend several days in our germination chamber where the temperature stays steady around 80° until they germinate. Then they’ll be taken out and placed on benches in the greenhouse.

We still have 10 shares available for the 2010 season, visit the signup page to claim your share of the onions and everything else. We will put up a post when shares are sold out, so if you don’t see a more recent post that says that then we still have shares available.

Share sales have been brisk this last week and we still have shares available. As of today we have about a dozen shares unspoken for, click on the signup tab of the website and download the 2010 brochure and signup form to sign up. There’s also a link to the signup form in the previous blog post.

This winter season has been unusual in how many mornings we’ve had hoar frost covering the trees. It  tends to happen on cold nights when we have a little bit of fog. When the fog rolls in the water vapor in it crystallizes on the trees which are actually colder than the air temperature of the fog, it’s also called radiation frost, but that sounds a little less inviting. When I went out on Saturday morning it was unusually heavy, more than an inch of frost in some patches. The sky was a very deep blue so it was breathtaking. It was cold, probably around 5°F. It was a lot like the trees were all made out of very large thick white pipe cleaners.

Oscar and I disturbed three deer who were looking for some food, it’s been a tough winter on the deer who aren’t near a patch of standing corn. Oscar found a set of fox tracks and followed them all over the field and through the woods, but never found their owner.

Frost on wild grapes

Looking straight up with frost falling off the trees

Frost on one of the piles of tomato cages with the farm buildings in the distance

Sun coming through the frost in the woods

Hello everyone, time to get some new content here on the blog. We finally have the 2010 brochure available on the website here. We’ll get the rest of the website updated in the next couple of weeks. Shares will be quite limited this year since we aren’t expanding our number of shares. We have about 30 shares available for new members and had about 75 people on the email waiting list. So if you’re reading this and would like a share you should print the brochure, fill it out and send it in right away. I will post here on the blog when shares are sold out.

Many folks ask us why we don’t do more shares if we have people interested. To explain this I have to go into how we plan our shares for the farm. In early January I do the planning for the farm for the year. I set the number of shares we’re going to sell and plan our plantings accordingly. From this planning we can compile our seed orders for the year. If we’ve planned on 170 shares and have seed ordered and planting schedules in place for that amount we can’t sell 200 shares or everyone’s share gets diluted. I’ve also decided that we’re going to stay in the 160-170 share size range for a couple of years to see if it’s the size we want to stay at. As we get larger than that we start to lose sight of some of the details and we never seem to get caught up.

The long winter continues with more snow today. We have all about had it with winter by now and are fantasizing about salads. I finally got out on my cross-country skis last Friday while we were having another bout of light snow. It was great to get out into the woods, I jumped a couple of roughed grouse and disturbed a flock of about 40 wild turkeys while they were enjoying their breakfast.

View from the high-line wire, out across the coulee

Fresh tracks in the snow

Roasting peppers is remarkably easy and quick and brings out the best in almost any pepper or chile.  Once you find out how easy it is, you will never buy the watered down roasted peppers from a can or jar.

The ultimate way to do it is over an open charcoal or gas grill, but you can still do it in your kitchen if you don’t feel like ’sparking up the barbie’.

Inside, you can do it in one of two ways:

Using your ovens broiler,  place lightly oiled peppers on a baking sheet on the highest rack in the oven.  Turn frequently until the edges are charred.

Or, you can roast them straight over the flame on one of the burners- which is my favorite way:  place the pepper right over the burner in the flame, turning every minute or so with a pair of tongs, until the pepper is charred.

Once charred, place the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel to steam, this releases the skins further and deepens the roasted flavor.

Once cool, rub the blackened skin with a napkin or towel to remove- then slice or dice as needed.  Try to avoid running under water, as this washes much of the flavor off. 

Enjoy!  PJW

I’m a chef instructor, and I often talk to my students about the ’seasonality’ of food and how we have somehow lost this in our culture.     

Does anyone remember the time before our the modern grocery ’superstores’ that provide a full compliment of produce 12 months out of the year?  

I’ve always said food simple tastes better when picked at the height of ripeness and shipped quickly.  Few vegetables drive this point home better then the sweet corn we feast on locally in  August.

Like me, many of you have been enjoying the sweet succulent corn on the cob that’s been showing up in the shares lately, and its at this time of the year that I feel both fortunate as well as a sence of forboding, as I know full well this wonderful time only comes around once a year.  Come early September, the freshest of the corn will become more and more scarce, and, we will have to wait again until next Aug for local sweet corn.

Of course, the best corn is eaten straight off the cob, but if your looking for something a bit more creative, heres something- having spend some time in the south, I’ve always loved succotash, especially how shockingly simple it is.  Below is a good recipe-  my favorite herb for this is marjoram- if you can’t find it use oregano or thyme.

PJW

Southern Succotash

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 med white onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 ears fresh corn kernels, cut from the cob
• 2 cups green beans, cut ¼” across (diced)
• 1/2 c dried black eyed peas, cooked (or use 1-14 oz can, drained)
• 4 fresh tomatoes,  chopped, seeded and drained
• 1 Tbls chopped marjoram, thyme or oregano
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbls tabasco
• 2 Tbls red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoons white sugar

 DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add onions and garlic, cook 2 min until soft
3. Stir in corn and green beans, cook until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook 5-10 minutes for flavors to develop

As the Washington Post calls this the ‘Summer of Food Docs.’, surly everyone’s heard of the latest foodie movies out there that have been spreading the local/sustainable gospel via the silver screen.  Here’s a quick take on two must-see food films:

Food Inc.

http://www.foodincmovie.com/

This film, the first mega release movie since Eric Schlosser’s now famous ‘Fast Food Nation’, is a well-made documentary intended to raise our awareness about where our food really comes from.

A documentary film about the modern agricultural industry, the movie argues that large-scale agriculture produces inexpensive meat and vegetables, but imposes high costs on the environment and Americans’ health.

Much of the film takes aim at corporate giants behind the U.S. food supply.  In the film, Michael Pollan, one of my favorite authors and advocates for what he calls a better ‘Food (not Farm) Bill’, says “the pastoral illusion we’re spinning in the way we market food… You would think it comes from farms and that ranchers with big hats are producing the meat.”

In fact, say Pollan, America’s food comes primarily from enormous assembly lines, where animals and workers are being abused.

There are benefits to the current system; as Pollan points out, Americans spend less than nine percent of their income on food — less than any other people in history. But, he adds, the benefits have come “at an exorbitant cost, because the system depends on cheap fossil fuel to work. The system depends antibiotics to work. The system depends on abuse animals to work. And if people want to pay those costs for cheap food, that’s great, but let’s tell them about the costs first.

For the squeamish, take caution, however, as there might be parts that make you uncomfortable, such as some of the realities of modern day ‘CAFO’s, or, ‘confined animal feeding operations’.

In the end, my take is that the more this message is thrust into a mainstream debate about where our food comes from, hopefully, the better we can address the problems that do exist in our current food system.

Fresh

http://www.freshthemovie.com/

As this film was limited release, I actually purchased it for $20 on-line to do a screening for my culinary students at the Arts Institute.  FRESH is another movie about modern food production and supply, how messed up it is, the ramifications of industrial agriculture, and what we need to do to fix it. Not only is the film informative and captivating, it’s also quite emotionally powerful and I was moved to tears at one point.  I think this film gives us hope that we can find a better way.

My favorite part of both films features Joel Salatin of Pollyface Farms.  Joel is a very colorful and opinionated farmer in Virginia who raises grass-fed beef cattle, pigs and chickens, and has been nationally recognized as an advocate for local food/farming systems.  He was featured in Michael Pollans Book ‘Omnivores Dillemma’.  Btw, his book, ‘Everything I Want To Do is Illegal- War Stories from the Local Food Front’ is brilliant and highly entertaining.

Joel Salatin of Pollyface Farms

Anyway, I hope you all get a chance to see these important films, and further spread the word!

PJW

Why do you CSA?

We have been enjoying a CSA every summer for the past 5 years.  In fact, I can’t really remember what it was like before the CSA.  I am often asked, after I explain to people what a CSA is (there are still those out there), why I get a CSA- what’s the benefit?

I could say that it supports the local agricultural community and keeps my dollars local.

I could say it supports a system that has less impact on the planet as David uses no artificial fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides.  Supporting such a food system is the environmentally correct thing to do.

I could say that because of David’s practices, his vegetables have no chemical residue, are more natural grown as nature intended and are likely to be healthier than conventional produce.

I could say being a member of a CSA farm brings more spiritual connectedness to the earth, and those that reap its benefits.

This is all true, but the real reason why I keep coming back for more is really because David’s vegetables taste better.

Growing up on a farm, I have memories as a child that an apple always taste better sitting against an apple tree in an orchard.  I remember instinctively that a tomato is never as sweet as when you’re standing in the garden, the bugs are buzzing around your head and the juice is running down your chin.  This just makes sense to me.  Theres an old saying in Iowa, (and surely elsewhere) that one should bring their water to the boil before you pick the sweetcorn.

For obvious reasons, the CSA doesn’t deliver strawberries in Aug, pickles in June, or tomatoes in May.  When you eat things in season, you are rewarded by enjoying fruits and vegetables at their height of flavor and nutritional value.  I don’t buy fresh tomatoes year round so I can better appreciate their succulence during the 4 to 6 weeks in late summer they’re available.  Yet there is little in the world of produce that isn’t available to us in the supermarket year round.

As a Chef, I have always tended to seek out local farmers solely because the golden rule of cooking has always been (and will always be):   Start with the freshest possible ingredients harvested at their height of ripeness. Not necessarily because it was trendy or I necessarily wanted to do business locally.  In fact, it was more of a pain to deal with local farmers, as their deliveries’ were always late, their vegetables were always sandy, the lettuce had bugs in it, their prices were always higher.  Additionally, most of them also liked to stay and ‘chat’ during a busy lunch hour.  Plus, instead of one or two vendors I would have to deal with 8 or 10.

But to me it was worth the extra effort as in the end it simply made my job easier as a Chef.  As an apprentice in New York, a mentor once told me this about cooking ‘Its not what you can add to the dish, it’s what you can draw from it.’  Meaning, start with the freshest possible ingredients and do nothing but bring out their natural flavor.  This is why David’s turnips are best enjoyed right out of the bag, or his spinach is the best you’ve ever had drizzled with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

So, I would like to hear from my fellow members- Why do you CSA?  We would love to hear your comments!

PJW

Here’s a couple of kale recipes I’ve received from members in the last week. Feel free to email me with recipes and I’ll post them here.

Here’s a recipe our family loves for kale. The recipe is from Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s The Italian Country Table. I’ve slightly abbreviated it.

Melting Tuscan Kale

2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
Leaves from 3/4 to 1 lb. kale or chard, de-stemmed and chopped
About 1-1/2 cups water

1. Heat oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion for about 3 minutes, til golden, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Add greens and garlic and cook over medium to medium-low heat until wilted.
2. Add 1/2 cup water and cook 5-10 minutes or until almost dry. Add another 1/2 cup water and repeat. Do this until you reach the desired tenderness. I usually end up doing it 4 times (using 2 cups of water). The greens should be moist but not soupy when done. They can be covered and held up to an hour before serving. Serve warm or hot.

Farfalle Pasta with Winter Pesto

Ingredients

12 ounces Whole Foods Market™ Organic Farfalle pasta
1/2 pound fresh spinach or kale greens (about 1/2 large bunch)
2 cloves garlic
2/3 cup toasted walnuts (or pine nuts)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound ricotta salata cheese, grated

Method

Prepare pasta according to directions, reserving 1/4 cup liquid when draining. Meanwhile, rinse and dry the greens well. Remove any thick stems and coarsely chop. Pulse garlic in a food processor until chopped. Add nuts, salt, pepper and about a third of the greens. Pulse, adding remaining greens in batches until finely chopped. With motor running, slowly add oil. Cook pasta. Toss the pasta with cheese and pesto, thinning with reserved liquid as needed.

Foolproof Hogs Back Egg aioli
For anyone squeemish about making fresh mayo- this version pasteurizes the egg and assures the mayo won’t break.  Also, you really need to use Hogs Back eggs or, at the very least, a local cage-free egg.  Using commercially produced ‘battery’ eggs is not an option.
 
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Hogs Back egg yolks
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2-3/4  c olive oil
 

1. In a medium metal bowl, whisk egg yolks until creamy, then, whisk (continously) over simmering water for about 1-2 minute until pale
2. add lemon juice, and garlic, then, whisking, slowly add the oil in a stream
3. whisk until thick-
4. Alternatively, (and much quicker) in a food processor, add the eggs after whisking them over the water bath, then add juice, garlic and slowly drizzle the oil into the bowl while running.
5. keeps 4-5 days in covered in fridge