Working Hands Farm CSA 2013 Week 4

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Hi friends,

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Welcome to Week 4 – Month 1 – we can hardly believe it.  We’ve been busy this past week/weekend trellising the tomatoes, weeding, and digging up new ground for new succession plantings of carrots, parsnips, beets, greens, winter squash, corn and pumpkins.  Sun up to sun down.  These longer days mean longer hours for your farmers (don’t get us started on our to-do lists) and it feels incredible to check a few things off before the next thing sneaks on to the list…

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All of the beans, and second plantings of cucumbers and squash we planted the week before have happily come up in the garden with all the sunshine and warm soil.  Both the sweet & storage onions are beginning to bulb out as well as the garlic (there will be more garlic scapes this week!)  The tomatoes & tomatillos all have there first rounds of flowers as well as the first few flowers on the peppers.  The snap peas keep producing like champions of the garden and have proved to be the perfect garden snack through all its phases (small & tender to juicy & big.)   And, oh yeah, red raspberries are happening!   And it’s just the beginning…

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Dreams of Tomato, basil.. anyone..?

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With so much bounty already this season our farmer minds have turned to thoughts of preserving.  With greens, berries, cabbage, and many other delicious veggies, making there way into our daily lives, we wonder what to do with it all.  Fresh is best but preserving delicious veggies and fruits, to enjoy long after the growing season is finished, can be just as nutritious, exciting to your taste buds and more sustainable, if you’re looking for ways to utilize extra/leftover weekly veggies.  (Plus, it’s a better option than buying processed foods at the store that include preservatives, additives etc…)

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There are many options if you find yourself with a little extra bounty in your fridge each week or if you just want to try something different.  Fermenting, dehydrating, freezing, canning & traditional techniques (such as using salt, oil, sugar, vinegar etc) are all glorious ways to preserve and enjoy the bounty.  We have included some great resources below for your journey with food preservation.  Some of our favorites over the years include fermentation, quick pickling of extra goodies, making krauts or kimchee with salt (a traditional method), freezing herbs for the winter & sun drying tomatoes in the window of our truck on a sunny day (a little sea salt, pepper, olive oil… delicious!)

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Helpful links:

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Food Preservation –OSU Extension Services a great source of information for many things.  This link has pdfs for preserving fruits, vegetables, meat, pickling, drying etc.  They also offer workshops & classes and can contact your local Extension office for a schedule.

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Freezing Fruits & Veggies – Another great article from OSU about freezing your fruits & veggies.

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Best Way to Preserve Vegetables – An article on Mother Earth News that includes preferred methods of storing common garden produce.

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(pounding) Stakes and maters for breakfast on Sunday…

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Preserving at home is fun and easy as pie – did you know that expression comes from eating pie, not the making & baking part of it hehe – especially after the first couple of times.  Growing up my mom always had a pantry full of jams, jellies, relishes, pickles, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes etc – not to mention a freezer full of veggies, homegrown meat & berries – and it makes me so happy to see my own pantry full of garden grown goodies.  Here are some go to books for all your preservation adventures…

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The Fermentation Bible:  Wild Fermentation – by Sandor Ellix Katz  Fermentation makes foods more nutritious, as well as delicious. Microscopic organisms transform food and extend its usefulness.  Hundreds of medical and scientific studies confirm what folklore has always known: Fermented foods help people stay healthy.

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Many of your favorite foods and drinks are probably fermented. For instance: Bread, Cheese, Wine, Beer, Mead, Cider, Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Pickles, Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Salami, Miso, Tempeh, Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Yogurt, Kefir, Kombucha.

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Preservation using Traditional Techniques: Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning – this book was written by gardeners and farmers of Centre Terre Vivante in France that uses traditional techniques (using salt, oil, sugar, alcohol, vinegar, drying, cold storage & lactic fermentation). This book is also the antithesis of many canning or preserving books you can find out there.

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Homemade Kimchee!

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Some go to Canning, Preserving Books:

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Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round

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Sunset books:  Home Canning, Preserving, Freezing, Drying  

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Ball Blue Book of Preserving

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The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest

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Ball Complete Book Home Preserving

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Canning for a New Generation: Bold, Fresh Flavors for the Modern Pantry

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We have most of these books in our kitchen library so feel free to ask any questions (we just might have an answer.)  More importantly, if any members have any other great books or go to recipes for preservation of fruits and veggies feel free to email them our way or post them to our facebook page.  We’ll be including a great “stock cubes” recipe this week written by one of our wonderful CSA members.  Preservation is a great thing to keep in mind as the greens keep coming and the first tomatoes ripen on the vine… you’ll want to savor the farm flavors year round!

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Let us all continue to share in the bounty and share the knowledge that each one of us possesses.  Thanks to you all for our own success here on the farm.  Your encouragement, feedback and general thoughtfulness are what help these two farmers get up when the sun first rises.

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Can you find Farmer Brian?

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You guys are CRATE!  Keep up the good work returning your crates, egg cartons and berry boxes!  It makes harvest days that much easier when your farmers have all that they need.

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Enjoy the week, stay inspired & we’ll see you soon!

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Your farmers,

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Jess & Brian

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dirty hands, clean hearts

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