CSA week 13: A big weekend and a glance at the growing season

In their shares this week, members will receive the following vegetables: Onions, cauliflower, green beans, beets, slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, hot peppers, dill and cilantro and either broccoli, summer squash or eggplant. Each CSA member will also receive a small flower bouquet.

This newsletter includes a roundup of news from the farm as well as information and recipes. Feel free to jump to the bottom of the newsletter to find the section titled, “This week’s veggies and recipes.”

News from the farm

After Labor Day, it is easy to think that the growing season is over, but in many ways, September and October are the most fruitful times for farms in Northern Minnesota. For us, it is also a time to begin putting up our own produce for the winter months. We will make pickles, sauerkraut, and dilly beans. We will blanch and freeze kale, collards, and other leafy greens. We will store onions, garlic, and winter squash. If we do it right, we will be able to eat from the bounty of our farm well into the winter months and into early spring even.

With just four weeks remaining for our summer CSA, we thought it would be a good time to look at what remains for the rest of this year’s growing season, including a look at what’s in the field as we ramp up for the most productive time of the year.

In a year that started with so much uncertainty, it has proven to be one of our most abundant and productive years ever for the farm. The early season water, coupled with long hot growing days, has been a boon for many of our plants, though not all of them. Some plants did not like the early wet spring. We are particularly sad about the low yield of our potato beds. They are a favorite of our customers and of ourselves. We will still have potatoes this year. We anticipate giving them to CSA members in the last two weeks of the growing season. We will also have ample potatoes to give with our fall share, which lasts for three weeks in October. We will be having sign-ups for fall shares available soon.

Carrots have also been a disappointment this year. While we planted more carrots than we ever have, the yield has been low, and the quality has not been what we would like.

But every season has winners and losers, and this year there have been plenty of winners. We are most excited about how well things have done in our new high tunnel. Our tomatoes are healthy, beautiful, and productive. We harvest upwards of 20 pounds of cucumbers almost every day. We have also seen great success with the hot peppers and specialty peppers we are growing in the high tunnel.

One of the things that worked very well in the high tunnel was planting crimson clover underneath the tall vining plants. It serves as what is called a living mulch, choking out weeds, keeping moisture in, and providing nitrogen to the plants. It’s been very exciting.

Another plant that we hope to harvest later this year is ginger, which we grew in the high tunnel underneath the tomatoes. We are not sure that we’ll have enough to give to CSA members, but it has been a fun experiment to see how it does.

Out in the field, there is still much growing and much to be harvested. Our onion crop looks amazing, and our garlic harvest is massive. Soon we will be offering bulk shares of garlic for purchase, as well as giving CSA members garlic both in the summer and fall shares.

Our winter squash and pumpkins look exceptional this year. Their big broad leaves are starting to die back, exposing beautiful pumpkins and squashes. Those are mainly for fall shares, but we do hope to give at least some winter squash with our summer share.

We also have lots of cabbage and amazing fresh herbs. This week we will give members what we hope is a healthy amount of green beans. Our first planting of green beans did not yield much, but the second planting is looking strong, healthy, and productive.

This was also a very big year for flowers at the farm. With our new high tunnel, we were able to expand the varieties of flowers that we grew and to start many flowers earlier. The result was an explosion of early-season color, including sweet peas and snapdragons. It will also mean that we will have some beautiful flowers blooming later into the fall season, protected from the cold nights.

Heather Marie and Kristina have been so inspired by the success of flowers this year that they are exploring the idea of doing a flower CSA next year, where people can sign up to get weekly deliveries of flowers or have a punch card to get flowers when they choose during the growing season.

Needless to say, as the season winds down, it is easy to feel both tired and overwhelmed but also grateful for all that we have. And one of the things we are most grateful for is the people we have gotten to know. They include our family and friends, our coworkers, including Kristina and our two interns, Olivia and Amelia, and everyone who comes to our farm stand and all of our CSA members who have supported us for so many years.

We hope that you, too, are finding this to be a satisfying growing season. As always, we welcome your feedback on how we could do things even better as we look to the future.

Raise the Roof! Meal tickets selling fast

Description: Join us on September 7 from 4 to dusk for a community celebration and fund-raiser. We have limited meal tickets left for our farm-to-table buffet, but it’s free to listen to music. We’ll also have our farm stand open. We will not be serving alcohol, but guests are welcome to bring whatever beverages they would like to consume.

At a glance

• Date: September 7
• Time: 4 p.m. to dusk
• Location: Rising Phoenix Community Farm, 3399 County Road 6, Barnum
• Cost: There is a fee for the farm-to-table buffet meal (ticket required) featuring Rising Phoenix vegetables and Y-ker Acres pork prepared by our friends at Denham Run Bar and Grill. 
• Free: Attending the event and listening to the music is free, though a donation is appreciated.
• Facebook event posting: https://www.facebook.com/share/pUbCUu4GSbrVJY9u/

About the Pavilion:

• We are hoping to raise money to construct a multipurpose pavilion on our property. 
• It will be used for future community celebrations and will be the new home of our weekly farm stand. 
• We eventually also hope to construct a pizza oven on the site.
• Fundraising goal: $5,000

This week’s veggies and recipe

Tomato-Green Bean Salad With Chickpeas, Feta and Dill

• Kosher salt and black pepper
• ¾pound green beans, preferably slender haricots verts, trimmed
• 2tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 small lemon
• 1tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1garlic clove, minced
• 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1pint cherry tomatoes, mixed colors, halved
• 2cups cooked chickpeas (from 1 cup dried chickpeas or 1 15-ounce can), cooled and drained
• 4ounces feta, crumbled (½ cup)
• 2 to 3tablespoons roughly chopped dill, for serving
• Pinch of dried oregano, for serving

Step 1:
Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, then the green beans. Cook until the beans are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer the beans to a large bowl of cold water. Drain them in a colander and blot the green beans dry with a kitchen towel.

Step 2:
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, a pinch of salt, and some black pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil.

Step 3:
Make the salad: Add cherry tomatoes, green beans, and chickpeas to a large salad bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Add feta and toss once more. Let the salad marinate for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.

Step 4:
To serve, sprinkle generously with dill and oregano.

Cauliflower Salad Sandwiches

NYT Cooking by Ham El-Waylly

Heather-Marie made this recently and it reminded us of loaded tuna salad.  Great in a hoagie roll or on top of greens for a large salad.

• 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cored, halved and cut into 1-inch slices
• 6 tablespoons neutral oil
• 5 teaspoons curry powder
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup/4 ounces raw walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tart, crisp apple, cored and chopped into ½-inch pieces
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced, plus more to taste
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ½ cup strained yogurt, like Greek or skyr
• ⅓ cup raisins
• ½ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped
• ½ cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise

Preheat your oven to 450°F and position a large, rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack.

In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of curry powder, and a generous pinch of salt. Mix to separate the cauliflower into individual florets and ensure they are evenly coated with oil. Carefully spread the florets onto the hot baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, or until tender and charred in spots. Turn on the broiler to high and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is deeply browned and charred.

While the cauliflower roasts, toast the walnuts. In a small skillet over medium heat, add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil, the walnuts, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the walnuts are lightly toasted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining 3 teaspoons of curry powder, turn off the heat, and cook for another minute until fragrant.

In a large bowl, combine the apple with lemon zest, lemon juice, and a generous pinch of salt. Add the mayonnaise, yogurt, raisins, cilantro, parsley, and the walnut mixture, including all the oil and curry. Stir to mix thoroughly. Add the roasted cauliflower and toss until well combined. Adjust seasoning with salt as needed. (This cauliflower salad can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

Divide the salad among the rolls, pressing firmly to close. Serve the sandwiches immediately, or within 12 hours if refrigerated.