Hello!
Welcome to week 7!
Our trip to Arthur, Illinois went well. Not much, if anything, has changed over there which is good. It has this natural feeling there where everyone waves hello. At the Red Hen Restaurant the locals there have a large communal table where friends come and go and talk about the day.
It was also good to see lush vegetable and flower gardens that the Amish plant by their homes. I would even say it's close to a true farmette. With all the acres of tall green corn and soy beans growing around their bright white homes these vegetable and flower gardens makes this scene more "lived in".
Our pasture raised, organically fed chicken is now available for purchase on Wednesdays during our on farm CSA pick up (4 - 7pm), Saturdays at 61st Street Farmer's Market (9-2pm) and Sundays at Logan Square Farmer's Market (10-3pm). We sell them whole, frozen for $3.45 a pound and whole cut-up, frozen for $3.75 a pound. Come out and enjoy what real chicken should taste like!
Other news............
In the news twice in one month!! NBC nightly news, with Brian Williams. The show is called Making a Difference. It was based on making healthy eating more affordable for people using LINK/food stamps. Although the Connecticut farm dominated to show, Tempel Farms Organics made the cut for the show!
We were also front page in the Gurnee Review Newspaper! It was really great to have this article written about the farm. The community here really needs a local source for organic healthy food and we're proud to be able to offer it.
It's been sunny and hot! The tomatoes are just starting to ripen and same with our peppers. I would predict in a week or perhaps two you will be seeing these beauties in your share.
This weeks bounty:
Fresh Dug Cippolini Onions
Fennel Bulbs
Green and Yellow Wax Beans
New Red Potatoes
Chives
Cucumbers
Large Red and Gold Beets without greens
Sweet Corn*
This weeks fruit share:
Brightstar peaches
Blueberries
Yellow Plums
Your cippolini onions are an Italian variety, flat, pale yellow with thin skins. These should be used right away or stored in your fridge in a plastic bag. These are your cooking onions and are fantastic roasted. They make a great caramelized onion. Pair these up with your fennel on the grill, break apart some fresh mozzarella on your plate and enjoy being the chef of your kitchen.
Cucumbers are thriving and all I have to say is that it is your duty to eat as is or begin pickling! Great recipe on our website, http://www.tempelfarmsorganics.com/.
New Red Potatoes! It's great to see these first potatoes being dug from the ground. As you will see their skin is fresh and very delicate. They may not look so pretty but their taste will make you forget about how they look. My advise.... grill, mashed or salad. Enjoy!
Where are the beets? I know, these are huge!! and full of flavor. I know I have juicers out there that are going to be very satisfied! The greens are gone because the heat has really wilted them away but left us with a wonderful vegetable.
These delicious Brightstar Peaches will help quench your thirst this summer and leave you with memories to remember this winter.
Grilled Salmon with quick Blueberry Pan Sauce......... I'm not a nutritionist but we all can hear our mothers telling us how healthy they are for us! If you can't seem to eat this superfood right away then store them in your fridge unwashed in it's container. I on the other hand can't store these. They go right under the water for a rinse and then half of them get mashed for Charlie and mixed with yogurt. The rest are dealt for us to top Chris's homemade ice cream!
Just a reminder............
Our Second Annual Farm Tour will be August 7th at 1pm. If you haven't done so already please email me to let me know that you will be able to make it. I need a head count and car count please! Bring a friend! I'll post additional information about the tour, where to meet, what to bring....in a later newsletter.
Pasture Raised eggs and chicken, organically raise but yet not certified are available for purchase on Wednesdays during the On Farm Pick Up between 4 and 7 pm, Saturdays at 61st Street Farmer's Market and Sundays at Logan Square Farmer's Market.
Your farmers,
Tania and Chris Cubberly
As you can see my blogger skills are not perfected yet! I can't seem to keep the spacing that I want in between paragraphs and setting the pictures where I want them. As the weeks of newsletters go by I'm sure that by week 20 I should have this down. Thanks for your patience!
