TOMTEN FARM

2 Lettuce (Red Rosie Romaine, Canary Tongue, Butterhead)
Asian Greens Mix (baby Mizuna, Tatsoi, Ruby Streaks, Red Rain, Japanese Mustard, and Fun Sen)
Bok Choi
Red Meat Radishes
Carrots
Cabbage

What a weird weather week. After frantically covering as many of our vegetables crops as was possible to avoid major damage during the cold front that got down to 21 degree lows, we now have what feels like spring weather again. Although it is nice to work in we are somewhat concerned that a few of our crops will be confused and start going to seed, especially crops that head up like lettuce, chicories, and bok choi. After an extremely dry stretch, this rain and warm weather will be very helpful though in bumping up our carrots, leeks, salad mix and beets for the near future. This is Virginia after all, where the weather seems ever shifting.

Today we moved our Turkeys to their final piece of pasture before they are processed for Thanksgiving. All in all they have been a good batch of Turkeys, foraging well and for the most part staying within their fence.  After lots of contemplation, we have decided that this will be our last batch of Turkeys, even though we enjoy raising them. On Tomten Farm, we have very limited pasture and crop land, so we have to be creative about how to maximize our space. Turkeys are not the most efficient use of our pasture. We can raise 200 meat chickens and grow our layer hen flock a bit using the same amount of pasture that it takes to raise 32 Turkeys. This will mean more profits in equal or less work hours and pasture footage used.

We hope you enjoy this second to last share for 2013. Please check out the recipes below and have a great week…Brian and Autumn

Bok Choy Recipe

watermelon radish + carrots salad with sesame vinaigrette

Gingered Soba Noodles with Watermelon Radish, Broccoli & Cabbage

Arugula
Lettuce Head
Baby Beets
Baby Carrots
Fennel
Bunching Greens
Garlic Head

seminole, thai kang kob, musquee de provence, burpee’s butterbush, and jonathon cushaw

Salad Mix (lettuces and chicories) or Mizuna
Pumpkin/Winter Squash (White Cushaw, Butterbush, Thai Kang Kob, Seminole, & Musquee d’ Provence)
Parsley, Oregano, and Rosemary
Leeks
Collard Greens or Kale
Green Peppers (Bell, Frying (Pasilla & Italian), and Cubanelle)
Green Tomatoes
Little Something Extra

What a wonderful workday we had this weekend. Thanks to everyone that joined in the garlic planting. Accomplishing the whole task in one day was pretty inspiring. With only the two of us farming full time, we have had to get used to many of our tasks taking place over extended periods. Sometimes it is really rewarding to just get it all done in one go. So the garlic and shallots are planted and we are looking towards 2014 as a new and even better season here at Tomten Farm.

We have four more weeks till the CSA season ends and still lots of good things coming your way. This week is quite a mix of produce. We are giving our once a year portion of Pumpkin and Winter Squash. We do not grow much of this crop, because it takes up lots of space and is notoriously difficult for us; hence we have very low yields. We are a bit stubborn sometimes and will only try heirloom varieties that we want to eat and with winter squash it turns out squash bugs really like to eat them too. So until we figure this crop out well, we have very little. Each share member will get one or two types. If you have any questions about what you have, please let us know and we can suggest cooking preparations or what have you.  The green peppers were all pulled from the plants before they had ripened, so you will get an assortment of Bells and Italian Long (great for stuffing), Chilaca (great for frying and salsa with recipes and explanation below), and Cubanelle (great raw and stuffed).  Peppers can also be frozen and used during the winter. Please check out the recipes below and enjoy the share…Brian and Autumn

Stewed Cushaw and Yummy Deliciousness Cushaw Coffee Cake

Roasted Butternut and Chilaca Pepper Soup

Pumpkin and Winter Squash Recipes

Salsa de Chile Chilaca

Chilaca Chile Snack

Farro and Sausage Stuffed Peppers from “Sauce”

Italian Stuffed Peppers: A Package Meal

Vegan Italian Stuffed Peppers

Asian Greens Mix (Mizuna, Tatsoi, and Turnip)
Carrots
Cabbage
Daikon Radish
Red Meat Radish (watermelon radish)
Japanese Red Mustards
Scallions
Cilantro

This is a great time of year. Halloween is here and its garlic planting time, a big job and the last planting we do for the year. In addition the leaves are full swing into changing color; which is definitely the most beautiful visual displays we get all year. Our property is surrounded by dense woods, so most of the year we have limited sightlines and everything is a heavy green; but right now the woods begin to open up, the vistas lengthen, and the colors of the leaves set against the blue skies are nothing short of spectacular.

This week’s share includes carrots for the first time in a long time. We love growing carrots and hope over time, as we learn about our land, that our carrot season and availability will grow. For now though, we are learning and so thanks for being patient.  Our Japanese mustards are a fall favorite for some and a bit intimidating for others. With a hint of horseradish flavor and a silky texture, they are a crop that improves with cold weather and can be used in a diversity of cuisines from Japanese to Indian or Southern. For more information and cooking suggestions, check out this blog post about Red Mustards: http://lopezislandkitchengardens.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/red-mustard/ or this recipe for a traditional mustard pickle http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pickled-Mustard-Greens or this delicious mushroom soba and miso soup http://noteatingoutinny.com/2010/11/29/mushroom-soba-miso-braised-mustard-greens/  Have fun with this week and enjoy the share…. Brian and Autumn

Fennel
Escarole
Celeriac
Swiss Chard or Kale
Tomatoes (heirloom slicers or sauce)
Sweet Peppers (Giallo de Asti, Corno di Toro Rossa, Carmangola, and Lipstick)
Salad Mix

So we are about to get hit by a real cold front, meaning we have to get ready and protect our fall and winter crops by closing up our greenhouses, covering weather sensitive crops, and giving up on the summer plantings. We will do our final nightshade and cucurbit harvest this week to get any remaining fruits off of the plants, including the last of our winter squash, they will be stored inside where they can cure and ripen, making them even more tasty. We do have a small planting of tomatoes and sweet peppers under cover in hoophouses and it’s likely they will continue producing a little bit; but when the cold comes you never know, so enjoy them while they last. This is a very urgent time of year because we have a finite period to get things done. Over the next two weeks we need to prep beds for our Garlic and Spring Onions, adding compost and other amendments to get it ready. Plus we have to clean up any open cropland so we can plant cover crops (our main method of adding organic matter into our crop land) of winter rye, Austrian winter peas, clover, and vetch.  The next few weeks is our open window and then it gets a bit too late as the day light is quickly diminishing.

This week our share includes fennel (probably our best planting ever) as well as celeriac (we did a small trial this year), and escarole is back (one of our favorite crops). Please enjoy all of the recipes below and enjoy the share….

Raw Shaved Fennel, Celery Root and Apple Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Creamy Celery Root Soup

Celery Root Mash with Dill Oil

Sweet and Sour Peppers Stuffed With Rice or Bulgur and Fennel

Escarole Recipes: I don’t usually glean from Martha Stewart, but this link has 20 brilliant recipes for using this very versatile leafy green. http://www.marthastewart.com/286399/escarole-recipes/@center/1009854/winter-produce

Collard Greens
Poblano Peppers
German Butterball Potatoes
Hakurei Turnips
Scallions
Dill
Salad something (TBD)

On Tomten Farm we have two cats, both around one year old. They joined us on the farm, just as we were getting started and definitely run the farm. It is amazing to see the endless things they explore and as we work in the fields it reminds me of all the diverse spaces we have on our land. This time of year as we stop planting and the days shorten, we tend to the crops we have going for the Fall and over the Winter into Spring; but we also tend to the other spaces on the farm which are vital for it to run healthily, yet get overlooked through the Spring and Summer. Our woods for example are not passable in the summer because they are so overgrown (we need goats, but need fencing first), so through the winter we need to collect fallen trees for firewood (so we can heat our greenhouse), clean up our tree lines from invasive plants (so we can pasture our poultry next spring), and clear trails through the woods (to keep it healthy and passable). Besides the woods, we have multiple barns, a packing shed, small outbuildings, fruit and nut trees, fencing, crop storage rooms, and so much more that needs our attention. As new farmers, it is easy to forget that maintaining all these elements makes for a healthy and vibrant farm. So this is the season where we redirect some of our attention to the bigger picture. Don’t worry we will still tend to our crops too.

This week combines some of our favorite things together. Enjoy the Poblanos before they are gone, as we never know when that first frost will hit. Plus with the cooling weather, peppers develop more complexity and flavor. We have been waiting for a good stand of collard greens all season and our patience has paid off, the plants are tender and bountiful. They are delicious on there own or paired with eggs, potatoes, peppers, pork, or all of the above.  We have added a bunch of recipes below, hoping to inspire some great meals. Enjoy the share…Brian and Autumn

Potato and Collard Green Hash

Mushroom-Poblano Frittata

Potato and Turnip Salad with Dijon-Dill Dressing

Cook the Book: Collard Greens with Poblano Chiles and Chorizo

Salad Turnips in Mustard Dill Butter by Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

Use sweet salad hakurei turnips or radishes interchangeably in this recipe. No need to peel them. Make extra mustard/dill butter to cook with fish if you like.

1 bunch white turnips sliced into 1/8 inch coins
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 small handful of dill, finely chopped
Cracked black pepper and salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste

Mix mustard, butter and dill. Set aside. Heat a couple teaspoons of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add turnips, stir to coat and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes, until slightly tender but still a bit crisp. Add butter mixture and toss to coat. Cook an additional few minutes, stirring occasionally to evenly distribute butter mixture. Remove from heat, sprinkle with black pepper, salt, lemon juice and extra dill, if desired.

Arugula
French Breakfast Radish
Broccoli Raab
Garlic
Tomato
Summer Squash
Eggplant
Okra
Black Twig Apples

Brian and I are headed out of town this weekend, down south into Georgia. It is rare that we are away from the farm. So in order to be able to leave we had to get a lot of things organized and it feels great. A huge amount of time was spent with irrigation, because at this point we have been without rain for about a month. It is nice though to have things in order, if just for a few days as we have to start thinking about next year already. This may be the last time we give you okra, eggplant, summer squash or tomato this season. Heading into fall with shorter days and chilly evenings, means summer crops are coming to an end. We hope you celebrate the last moments of summer as well as the beginning of fall with this week’s share. The apples are very ripe and crisp, a special treat both raw and cooked. We are so happy that we happened upon these two old Black Twig trees. A true southern heirloom tree, we couldn’t have been luckier. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share…. Brian and Autumn

Stewed Eggplant and Okra http://eatingappalachia.com/2010/10/07/stewed-eggplant-okra/

Sicilian Style Broccoli Rabe with Eggplant and Capers http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/11/sicilian-style-broccoli-rabe-recipe.html

Apple Arugula and Radish Salad with Cider Vinaigrette http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/arugula-apple-and-radish-salad-with-cider-vinaigrette-recipe/index.html

Asian Salad Mix (mizuna, tatsoi, arugula, baby turnip & mustard greens)
Thai and Asian Eggplants
Napa Cabbage
Southern Mustard Greens
Red Leaf or Butterhead Lettuce
Onion
Cilantro
Chiles (Datil (super spice, yellow), Cuban Hat (med spicy, red), Aji Dulce (mild, orange))

We hope everyone enjoyed the first week of the fall share. The weather has helped our greens grow big and beautiful, so they were a pleasure to harvest. When the season starts shifting we get renewed energy as do the fall crops, which enjoy the cold nights and mild days. Its as if the whole farm relaxes just a bit. This past week we also processed a small batch of our meat chickens and they look wonderful. So after a two month hiatus we have chicken available again. Each year we process poultry 8-10 times and it seems after almost two seasons we are starting to get a rhythm, which makes the whole experience more smooth, pleasant, and quick. Having a diverse farm operation is central to our ideas about healthy and sustainable land management, but it also means we switch focus throughout each week between these different enterprises. One of our greatest challenges as a small diverse farm with two workers is to put systems in place which help us efficiently manage our time. This past week for example left little time for our crop management or deer fencing needs (we are being inundated with deer eating our crops); because we were processing poultry (1 full day), harvesting (2 full days), planting overwintered crops (1.5 day), and going to market (1.5 days). So this week we will be switching gears and focusing on protecting and tending to our crops.

 This week’s share has a definite Asian focus, with a lot of different green vegetables. We are excited that the napa cabbages and mustard greens are ready. The latter has a very spicy quality that is delicious sauteed with chiles, onions, and then braised in a little broth. The Asian salad mix is sweet, tender, and has a little kick. Excellent for making a simple green salad with a touch of rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. The cold nights are slowing down our chile production, so we wanted to make sure everyone got another taste of our tropical habanero family chiles. The yellow chile (Datil) is extremely hot, so use sparingly; but the orange (Aji Dulce) is sweet and mild and the red (Cuban Hat) is about as hot as a jalapeno. For anyone not familiar with the Thai Eggplants (small and round), they are commonly used in green curry recipes, although we think they work well in most curries. There are a number of recipes from our blog post ‘Weekly Share Sept 2 – 8’ that can be helpful or check out the eggplant salad recipe below. The other two recipes come highly recommended from our friends at the Kitchen Garden. Enjoy the share…..Autumn and Brian.

Northern Thai Eggplant Salad Recipe http://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipe/northern-thai-eggplant-salad

Asian Cabbage Slaw from The Kitchen Garden

This recipe is an adaptation for cabbage of Thai green papaya salad (som tam) and makes a refreshing and fat-free alternative to mayonnaise-based salads (not that there’s anything wrong with mayonnaise!).

1/2 to 1 head cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, grated
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small hot red or green chili, minced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Thai basil, spearmint (optional)
1-2 scallions, chopped
¼ cup roasted shelled peanuts, ground or chopped fine
Juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp light colored vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp fish sauce (optional)

Mixed thinly sliced cabbage and grated carrot in a large bowl with the garlic, chili, cilantro and other herbs if using.  Add the lime juice, salt, sugar, vinegar and fish sauce and stir well (the volume of salad should decrease within minutes as the cabbage sheds its liquid).  Refrigerate until needed.  Just before serving garnish with the ground peanuts and chopped scallion.

Asian Chicken Soup with Greens 

For the broth:

1 whole chicken
1 head garlic, peeled and smashed
2-3 scallions, cut into large pieces
½ bunch cilantro, leaves, stems and roots, washed
2 inches ginger root, cut into thick slices
1 Tbsp salt & pepper to taste
For the soup:
4 oz. cellophane rice noodles or egg noodles
½ lb greens (bok choy, mustard greens, pea shoots, spinach)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sweet rice cooking wine or mirin
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro, for garnish

Rinse the chicken thoroughly, remove giblet bag and place in a large pot with cold water to cover by 2 inches (around 2 ½ quarts of water).  Add garlic, cilantro, scallions, ginger, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer very gently for 1 ½ hours, or until the meat falls off the bone.  Remove chicken carefully to a colander and allow it to cool.  Strain the stock and skim the fat that rises to the surface.  (If you make the stock in advance, refrigerate it overnight and remove the congealed fat the next day.  You can also use a special device for separating fat that looks like a big measuring cup with a spout that pours from the bottom).  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull off all the meat and shred it with your fingers.  Use a nice handful of the meat for the soup and save the rest for another use (Vietnamese chicken salad, perhaps?).

Meanwhile soak the rice noodles in warm tap water for 15-20 minutes, drain and set aside. If using egg noodles, cook them in boiling water until al dente, drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.  Wash greens and cut into fairly large pieces.  Bring the stock to a boil and season with the soy sauce and wine.  Taste and adjust salt if necessary.  Add greens and chicken and cook for 2 minutes. Place a handful of noodles in each soup bowl.  Pour soup over noodles and serve garnished with chopped cilantro.

Variations: This soup can easily be made into wonton soup.  Get some wonton wrappers from the store (usually sold next to the tofu).  For the filling mix together ½ lb ground pork, 2 finely chopped scallions, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp rice wine, salt & pepper.  Follow directions on the package to fill them.  Boil with the greens in the hot stock until they float.

You can save yourself the trouble of dealing with a whole chicken by using ready-made broth and boneless chicken.

Salad Mix (lettuce & chicories)
Scarlett Queen Salad Turnips
Red or White Russian Kale
Deer Tongue or Magenta Lettuce
Lipstick, Corno di Toro, or Carmagnola Sweet Peppers
Summer Squash or Zucchini
Garlic
Cilantro
Jalapenos

Welcome to our Fall share! We have had a wonderful week on the farm cleaning up summer crops (tomatoes & watermelons) and focusing on transplanting and direct seeding our winter crops so we can keep growing food for you all. At this point all the planting we have left is our overwintered crops such as spinach, carrots, cabbage, chicories, and broccoli and some late fall cut greens, like arugula and salad mix. Even with the planting winding down, there is much to do managing all the crops that are growing, keeping them healthy, watered, and weed free. With such a rainy summer we never setup most of our irrigation so for the past few weeks we have had to throw stuff together in order to keep the small starts happy. But the weather this past week has been close to perfect, so we cannot complain and it even looks like we might get rain this weekend, so yippee.

For this weeks’s share we are excited to bring you a lot of new crops. The salad turnips are delicious and beautiful eaten raw or cooked plus don’t forget about the greens, as they are so sweet and tender. We are super excited to bring cilantro, all season we have had such disappointing cilantro crops but now it looks fabulous and tastes wonderful, especially with the squash and a little jalapeno. Or think about a tasty frittata made with squash, sweet pepper, and kale or turnip greens served alongside a green salad with quick pickled turnips. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

Turnip Slaw 

Charred Corn and Zucchini Tacos

Arugula
Eggplants (Dancer, Prosperosa, and Striped)
Potatoes (Yukon Gold or Kerr’s Pink)
Peppers (Anaheim, Poblano, or Cubanelle)
Onions (Candy)
Black Eyed Peas or Borlotto Beans
Okra or Swiss Chard

This is the last week of our Spring/Summer 2013 Share. We hope you have enjoyed the season and produce as much as we have. To mark the end of our main season, we are having an open house this coming Saturday Sept 14^th from 2-5pm at the farm. We will give two tours; one of our vegetable crops and one of our pastured poultry as well as have a short demonstration about crop cultivation from hand, to hoe, to tractor. Please take a leisurely afternoon out in the country and come see what we do. Stroll the grounds, check out our fall crops working to get bigger, visit our pond and wetland, check out the ducks, and enjoy our organic heirloom apples and figs right off the trees. Let us know if you think you can come out, we would love to have you.

This week at market I was reminded of how limited many people feel by eggplants, because we farmers have so many right now and not enough people are buying them. This is such a remarkable climate for eggplant and in August and September the plants really thrive, so we need customers to delve into the versatility of the eggplant and learn to love them. Indeed they do need to be cooked and sometimes this takes a bit of preparation, which not everyone has time for on a regular basis. Plus many people just do not like them. As a child who hated eggplant, it took me many years to learn to love them and realize what I hated was the overgrown, spongy and mushy texture which is so prevalent in American cuisine using the large mondo eggplants. But there are so many different ways that eggplant can be cooked, prepared, and served, that now I am one of its biggest fans. I love this time of year because peppers, eggplant, and okra are in true form and they were meant to grow here in Virginia, as a farmer I really appreciate what thrives in this environment and on my soil. These three crops are all truly underused and underestimated vegetables that can serve as the main part of many meals, not just a small side. Check out this great article by Mark Bittman about eggplant: Meaty and Mighty Praising the Versatile Eggplant as well as the recipes below for new or old ideas. The peas/beans need to be shelled ( a little work) and they are our first trials of different varieties of shelling or dried beas and peas so let us know what you think. Enjoy the share….Brian and Autumn

Mutabal (Syria, Lebanon) from Evrim Dogu, Sub Rosa

Often called baba ganouj, I refer to the recipe with tahini by the traditional name “mutabal,” and the eggplant dip without tahini as baba ganouj (or eggplant salad). Another wonderful variation is to add yogurt instead of tahini and leave out the lemon.

2 large/4 medium/ or 6 small eggplants (large are best for use of flesh)
Tahini (I use Chef Ramzi brand)
Juice of one lemon
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Salt
Olive oil
Tomatoes, parsley, etc to garnish

Boil the eggplant, or if you have a gas stove perforate the eggplant and place directly on the flame, max high. By all means if you have charcoal or a wood fire going, bury in the coals for 20-30 min. Turn them every so often and only take off (or out of water/fire) when the eggplant feels absurdly soft, test with fork. Strip off the skin. De-seed if possible. Using your hands, potato masher, a blender, or food mill/processor turn into a creamy wonder. Add tahini, lemon juice, and garlic smashed in small salt. Use eggplant’s left over juices if necessary for consistency. The amount of tahini will differ from person to person. Start with 3-4 tablespoons and go from there. Blend until of one consistency, Garnish with chunks of tomato, chopped parsley, and a generous lathering of olive oil. Enjoy!

Caponata from The Kitchen Garden

Lots and lots of olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 head garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp chili flakes or fresh hot peppers, to taste
1 pound peppers, cut into large chunks
1 pound eggplant, cut into large chunks
1 or 2 ripe plum tomatoes, chopped
salt & pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp capers
3 Tbsp chopped Kalamata olives
Few sprigs chopped basil and parsley

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat about 4 Tbsp olive oil in a heavy pot or Dutch oven with a lid that can go in the oven. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft.  Add the pepper flakes and peppers and sauté over medium heat 5-10 minutes.  Add eggplant and sauté another several minutes. You may want to add more oil to make sure everything is generously anointed.  Add the tomatoes.  Cover the pot and put it in the oven to bake for 20-30 minutes.  Everything should be very, very soft.  Season with salt, pepper and the other seasonings.  Adjust sweetness, salt and acidity to taste.  Serve it warm on fresh crusty bread or at room temperature the next day.  Makes a great pasta sauce, too. (The original version contains chunks of celery, too.  If you like celery, you can add it when you add the tomatoes.)

lebanese-style stuffed eggplant from Smitten Kitchen blog