Farm Update

Down on the Farm The Fox 45 piece on the farm was shown on Monday night 9/15.  I thought it came out pretty good.  If you didn't see it and want to, you can go to our Facebook page and there is a link you can click on.  You can get to our Facebook page simply by clicking on "Rousedale farm on Facebook" icon on this page.  Wow!!!I just read what I just typed.  We go to pages, we click on icons, we set up links so you can click some more...10 years ago, I would have had to send out post cards to let you all know where to find the TV story about the farm! We have received 2 inches of rain in the last 18 hours. The farm really needed it bad.  I could almost hear the Fall plants moaning and groaning as I walked through the field.  In the next couple of days they all will be standing straight and have a happy look about them.  (oh my God, I need a break) Vicky has decided she wants to take over the bee keeping on the farm.  She's very focused when she takes something on.  She's been calling Cybil Preston with questions.  Cybil is a certified master bee keeper and the Maryland state bee inspector. We have Cybil's honey in our market.  Cybil is also a friend.  I'm hoping she remains one.  Vicky is reading every book I have on beekeeping.  She is taking even more books out of the library.  And she's learning through doing.  She has been feeding our bees sugar water to build up their stores of honey for the winter.  Those are the jars you see on the front of hives sometimes.  Well, if you take the jars out of their holders before the sugar water is totally gone, there will usually be a lot of bees clinging to the bottom of the jar.  This was the case two days ago and when she shook the bees off the jar, they turned on her. (it was a cold windy day, they are not happy to begin with in those conditions)  I looked out the window at just the right moment to see her sprinting across the front yard stripping her clothes off as she ran. She later explained that bees had gotten inside her hoodie and her pants.  By the time she reached the market she was down to her underwear.  I had a dollar bill ready to stick in the elastic of her underpants.  She said that it wasn't funny.  She was thankful there were no customers here at the time. In the market: Green Peppers Red Peppers Red Beets Golden Beets Red Russian Kale Curly Kale Turnips Radishes Tomatoes Sweet Corn Arugula Salad Mix Spinach(Sat & Sun ) Butternut Squash Red Mini Bell Peppers Jalapenos Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers See you soon!

Locally Yours, Vicky and Steve

Farm Update

Down on the Farm As we begin to prepare for fall here on the farm, many of the summer veggies are slowing down or done completely. Tomatoes are slowing down, onions are done completely. The winter squash is slowing down, zucchini is done completely. Corn is slowing down, garlic is done completely. I am slowing down, but I'm not done completely. We still have Fall broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, lettuce, broccoli raab, and spinach still to come. Our fall planting of potatoes failed to sprout, so unfortunately we will have no more potatoes I still have no idea what happened to the TV piece Fox 45 shot here. I have left messages and emails to no avail. There are a few reasons they may not have run it: 1..The reporter got chicken poop on her high priced shoe and was mortified 2..The producers may have felt my close up shots would scare small children 3..My description of our cucumbers may have been to graphic 4..The glare from the top of my head could have ruined all the shots 5..Every time the reporter said the word Rousedale, I took a drink. In the market: Butternut Squash Spaghetti Squash Acorn Squash Green Peppers Red Mini Bell Peppers Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers Jalapeno Peppers Salad Mix Arugula Sweet Corn Tomatoes Okra Beets Honey Eggs Radishes Sweet Potatoes Remember if you want to can or freeze any corn this year, let us know a few days in advance how much you'll need and we will have it for you. Also we will be doing our organic apple buying trip soon and will be letting you know in the next few weeks what will be available and pricing. See you soon!

Locally Yours, Vicky and Steve

Week 15

Hi All,

Hard to believe we only have a couple of weeks left in this year's CSA. This week red potatoes are back in the share and we have upped the number of mini red peppers. A lot of folks have used them for ka-bobs on the grill. I thought that was a great idea for these sweet little peppers. We will have some nice greens for you this week. A small head of buttercrunch or green star leaf lettuce along with a bag of our salad mix and also a small bag of arugula. The butternut squash has been nice and remember if you want to hold out until the cooler weather to enjoy the winter squash, butternut squash will store for a long time.

This week in your share:

Red Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes

Lettuces

Arugula

Green Pepper

Mini Red Peppers

Jalapenos

Hot Wax Peppers

Beets

Butternut Squash

Radishes

Tomatoes

Sweet Corn

There's a great recipe on our web site for radishes, if you have run out of uses.

Pick up tomorrow 9a-8p

See you then,

Steve

New Recipes

Our friend Jen sent us a few recipes to share.  Enjoy!

*Turnip Potato Mash

Red potatoes

Turnips

{6 potato to 3 turnip ratio- just as a guide}

1/2 cup of heated cream

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup sour cream

salt & pepper to taste

1- slice potatoes and turnips into bite size pieces and cook in boiling water until tender (15 minutes)

2- drain and whip with electric mixer

3- add hot cream, butter, and sour cream

4- blend with mixer (you can adjust the thickness with adding more or less cream if desired)

5- salt & pepper to taste

[I made this without the cream and sour cream and it was delicious. Just a lower calorie option.]

*Garlic Scape Pesto

1 pound of garlic scapes cut into 2 inch pieces

1 1/4 cups grated parmesan cheese

1 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

ground black pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth.

[I made this pesto for pasta. I added kale to the boiling water when I cooked my pasta as part of the dish. Once the pasta and kale were cooked I drained them and added the desired amount of pesto. Then I cut fresh tomatoes and added them to the dish.]

*Chicken Bok Choy Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

1 yellow onion diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups of water

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

6 small potatoes diced

4 carrots, sliced

6 large bok choy ribs with leaves, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 or more skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 bunch of kale

1 bunch of spinach

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil until onion is softened (about 10 mins.). Add all other ingredients EXCEPT chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are slightly tender (about 10 mins.). Now add chicken, continue to simmer until chicken is cooked thoroughly and no longer pink in the center (at least 10 mins.).

[I boiled the chicken in the 2 cups of water on the side, in a separate pot so it was cooked by the time I had to add it to the soup which cut down on the time to make this dish. I also added some ground white and red pepper to give it a kick.]

*Radish Sautee

Radishes

Red or white potatoes

Spring onions

1 tablespoon of butter

salt & pepper to taste

(Use as many of the above as desired depending on how large of a dish you want to make.)

In a skillet over low heat add the butter, salt & pepper, radishes, and onions. Sautee for about 10 mins., until brown and desired texture is achieved. In a separate pot, boil potatoes until soft. After potatoes are cooked, add them to the sautee and mix.

Week 14 of our CSA

Hi Everyone,

Into Week 14 we go and, again, a couple of new items in your shares. Butternut Squash, watermelon and mini red bell peppers. I love to steam the butternut squash, mash it like potatoes, add butter, salt and pepper and then the secret ingredient....a little maple syrup! Bake it until slightly brown on top and enjoy the sweet treat. Speaking of sweet, the mini red bell peppers will surprise you when you taste them. They are incredibly sweet and not a lot of pepper taste. You'll also get a jalapeno in your basket of peppers this week. I've found a lot of customers in the market purchase one or two jalapenos to add to a salsa, etc.

Make sure you have sturdy handles on your bags as this weeks share will have some poundage with the "Sugar Baby" watermelon and large butternut squash.

The summer radishes are large and have some heat to them. They won't blow the top of your head off, but expect a little fire.

In your shares this week:

Butternut Squash

Watermelon

Sweet Corn

Onions

Green Pepper

Hot Wax Peppers

Jalapeno Pepper

Mini Red Belles

Tomatoes

Beets

Spinach

Radishes

Just a heads up....our hours will change a bit for the Fall beginning next week. Your pick up time will not change. Wednesdays 9a-8p.

See you tomorrow!

Steve