CSA Week 3

Special Announcement!

The work on the first roundabout on Wadsworth Road and Hunt Club is near completion! However, they will begin the second roundabout on Millburn Road and Hunt Club Road and are scheduled to close that intersection on July 9th. This will cause a major detour for many of you that travel from the East to arrive at the farm. The detour for those that travel from the Highway will be to go Grand Avenue West Exit then North onto Hunt Club Road and West onto Stearns School Road to Route 45, travel North to Millburn Road and then East to the farm. For those that are traveling from Wadsworth area the detour will lead you to travel the same route through Stearns School Road.

I expect this closing to cause delays on Route 45. Please be patient, listen to some good music in your car and know that once you arrive on the farm you'll be greeted with healthy and vibrant selection of vegetables, eggs, flowers and chicken waiting for you!

This week is for all CSA members, Full and Half Shares of Vegetables as well as our Seasonal Fruit Shares.

Your Vegetable Share this week will include:

Kohlrabi

2 types of lettuce, Red Curly and Red Butterhead

Fresh Cut Parsley

Fennel

Broccoli

Red Beets with Greens

Shelling Peas

Sorrel

Fresh Cut Summer Savory

Zucchini and/or Yellow Crookneck Squash

Your Seasonal Fruit Share will include:

2 pints of Raspberries

1 pint of Sweet Cherries

As we start up our Fruit fields this year on the farm and watch last year's plantings grow I await in anticipation for our production to go into full bloom. In some cases it will be a few years until we see enough fruit to fulfill our Fruit Shares. We were able to harvest a good amount of strawberries this season and were happy to share them with you.

In the meantime, I order our fruit from a few chosen fruit farmers that we know and trust their growing practices.  My recent conversation that I had with Mick from Klug Farm was one that shows that even fruit farmers have had a rough start with the cool Spring and with the amount of rainfall that Michigan has had this early Summer has put some of his crops in jeopardy. One crop being his Early Sweet Cherries. It seems you can never have just the right amount of rainfall for your crops, though I always say that you can always irrigate if there isn't enough but too much can cause not only flooding in your fields but can also cause the fruit to split. This is what happened with most of Mick's Early Sweet Cherries. He was able to get into the trees and harvest enough to fill pints for our members for this week's shares.

Summer seasons always leave us with great memories and lasting taste of sweet fruit that we desire for all Winter long. Let's enjoy it while it lasts!

Recipes, Ideas and more!

Fennel is closely related to parsley and dill and is a favorite around Italy. To enjoy its slightly sweet and crunchy texture you can eat this raw by slicing the white bulb in slivers and dressing it with olive oil and a bit salt. The tops of the bulb is called fronds which can be removed for better storage space. The fronds make a lovely bouquet on your table or feel free to use some of it's feather greens with your roasting chicken.

The fresh shelling peas are a perfect snack that may not make it to the plate for dinner. These can be easily pealed by pulling back the strip in the middle and breaking apart the shell with your thumb. The glorious peas don't stand a chance as it takes not even a second to eat them. Enjoy!


Summer Savory, a fresh herb rarely seen at grocery stores. This versatile herb is related to rosemary and thyme that could be added to your poultry dishes, soups, oils, egg dishes and veggies. If you have a spare glass jar around you could create your own oil by putting in a few sprigs of Summer Savory and add a high quality oil to it. This will make a great tasting dressing for any salad. You can also try adding this to your zucchini either roasted or sauteed adding some Parmesan on top.

Roasted Fennel

Sauteed Spinach with Fennel and Onions

Shredded Beets with Greens and Sliced Oranges

Broccoli Slaw

Sorrel Soup   





Joe harvesting beautiful bunches of parsley



First harvest of broccoli this season!







Once our broiler chickens are fully feathered they are transferred from our brooder to the vast pasture fields.




Michael taking great care as he transports the broilers out to pasture.



Our hoophouse tomatoes are growing strong and should ripen in a few weeks!



Chris harvesting a bounty of Yellow Crookneck Squash.

  

A close up of Yellow Crookneck Squash.



We hope that all of you are enjoying the bounty of the farm! Remember to stop by and visit us on Saturdays from 8 until 2pm. Our farm stand will be open offering a variety of vegetables, fresh cut flowers, pasture raise eggs and chicken! We are all working hard to offer local, organically grown healthy food so please help us spread the word and tell those you know that we'll be open rain or shine and even during the road closing! Thank you!



Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly and our crew: Charlie, Mario, Joe, Fransisco, Elliot, Sherman, Armando and Michael!





CSA Week 2

Welcome to week 2 of your CSA!

Please remember that this week is for customers who ordered a Full Vegetable Share and/or Seasonal Fruit Share. If anyone has any questions please email me at tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com.

Your Vegetable Share will include:

Green Scallions

Romaine Head Lettuce

Crispino Iceberg Lettuce

Asparagus*

Fresh Cut Dill

Dandelion Greens

Zucchini

Chinese Cabbage

Purple Kohlrabi

Garlic Scapes

Your Seasonal Fruit Share:

As fruit slowly recovers from too much rain and much needed sunshine

let's all enjoy another week of Strawberries!

                                   Many of you have been asking when our broiler chicken will be ready so I'm pleased to let you know that on Tuesday night we'll be leaving once again 4 hours south to Arthur located in Central Illinois. It is the only USDA inspected and also Certified Organic facility located in the entire Illinois State.

We'll be arriving back home on Thursday afternoon which will allow us to offer our "On Farm" members to purchase broilers! We will also have our broilers available for sale at our farm stand on Saturdays between 8 and 3pm and at our farm stand at the Logan Square Farmer's Market on Sundays between 10 and 3pm.

Recipes to enjoy!

There are so many good reasons why we choose to to belong to a CSA. I think that one of the reasons why I joined one years ago when I wasn't farming was to be introduced to food that I wasn't so familiar with. I remember one of the items being Dandelion Greens! A traditional Greek recipe, Horta Vrasta, is the best way to try this type of bitter green, enjoy!

As warmer weather comes around our pak choi doesn't fair too well in the heat so I hope that all of you enjoyed it. What comes next in line to pak choi is our Chinese Cabbage, Bilko. This cabbage is great in stir fries and makes for great wraps.

A Method for a classic Chinese Cabbage stir fry:

As the oil heats up in your pan, toss in a nice handful of thinly sliced ginger and chopped up Garlic Scapes.

Let this cook down for about a minute, constantly stirring. Then add your chopped up cabbage and let this cook down until you see it wilt. Add a bit of salt to enliven the flavor. This is a very simple dish that can be a side and makes for a wonderful pairing with chicken.

Purple Kohlrabi, a member of the brassica family, that mimics the flavor of a broccoli stem and cucumber.

This can be enjoyed raw or roasted/steamed/sauteed with a drizzle of fresh squeezed lemon juice. As you peel away the purple skin you'll discover it's greenish flesh. Simply cut, slice, dice as you wish and enjoy it's crisp texture. A fun treat for adults and kids: Roasted Kohlrabi!

Each week we would like for you to enjoy a fresh herb to accompany any meal. This week our dill is ready for harvest! How about Lemon and Dill Chicken with a side of Asparagus for dinner tonight?

Here is what happened on the farm since last week!

As Armando was taking care of his bees I spied in on him to see when the honey would be ready. Looks like the end the July!

  

Michael moving the electric netting so our layer chickens have more pasture to run on.

Mario working the wheel hoe down the onion bed.

Charlie, Elliott and Sherman hand weeding once again!

Tomato plants growing well!

Our farm stand will be open Saturday 8-3pm
17970 W. Millburn Road

Also on Sundays, 10-3pm at the
Logan Square Farmer's Market

Enjoy your bounty! If you have any questions or comments please send us an email,

we'd love to hear from you!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly and our crew: Armando, Joe, Michael, Fransciso, Mario, Charlie, Sherman and Elliott!

Our farm stand will officially open on Saturday June 25!

8am until 3pm

17970 W. Millburn Road, Old Mill Creek, Illinois

Under the grass roof!

Please join us and discover a variety of produce harvested just for you. We will aslo have our farm fresh eggs available by the dozen. Come join us and meet your local farmers!

 

 

Tempel Farms Organics

CSA Week 1

Welcome to your first week of our Vegetable and Fruit 2011 CSA!

Pick up is Thursday, June 16th between 4 and 7pm.

Locations:

On the farm: 17970 W. Millburn Road, Old Mill Creek

Lake Forest: 1490 N. Green Bay Road, Lake Forest -pull up to the gates and they will open for you.

Tempel Steel - Chicago location

Logan Square: 3711 W. Palmer, Chicago

Despite the cool wet Spring that set us back a few weeks we are ready to share the farm's bounty. I would like to remind our customers who are picking up on the farm to please bring your own container to bring home your produce and/or fruit. For those of you that are picking up at our different locations off the farm your produce and/or fruit will already be packed in boxes. You may take the boxes home or you could bring your own container and leave the box behind. We will be reusing these boxes all season so please remember to bring them back weekly. They break down easily and could be stored flat taking little room.

When picking up your share remember to take what you ordered. If an extra vegetable or fruit box goes missing one of our customers who signed up for it will have missed that week's share. The vegetable and fruit boxes are clearly marked so you'll know what you're taking. Each pick up area will have a sign in sheet to check off and will also note what you have ordered. If you seem to think the order is wrong please contact me, not your host site, by sending  me and email at tempelfarmsroganics@yahoo.com. I check our emails every early morning and late evening.

Eggs will be available for sale on the farm starting this week. We do have a limited quantity right now until our new flock start to lay in a few weeks, first come first serve. For our customers that are picking up at our other locations you are able to pre order your eggs by sending me an email by Tuesday night of each week. You may ask for a weekly or bi-weekly standing order. Details of payment arrangements will be sent via your confirmation email.

This week's bounty!

Vegetable Share will include:

Spinach, Green Swiss Chard, Asparagus*, Hakurei Turnips, Red and Green Head of Lettuce, Pak Choi and Garlic Scapes!

*The Asparagus is not grown on our farm. This Asparagus crop is grown by Mick Klug, our farmer friend in Michigan.

Fruit Share will include:

2 quarts of Strawberries and 1 pound of Rhubarb!

Rhubarb a fruit? No, it's a perennial vegetable that is often paired with Strawberries so I couldn't resist  not to include it in your Fruit Share this week.

Recipes to try:

Asparagus, Goat Cheese and Lemon Pasta

Sauteed Green Swiss Chard with thin slices of Onion is always delicious but if you're up to trying something new, Barbecue-steamed Green Leaves

These beautiful curly greens are used the same as you would with any garlic recipe,

 Garlic Scapes with Pak Choi

The Hakurei Turnips show their true flavor by serving them raw, though lighlty steamed with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice would make a great side dish too. There is no need to peel these turnips, just rinse and slice as you wish.

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COMPOTE

 This is a great sauce that you can use for breakfast over pancakes or yogurt, a great topping for your kid's pb sandwhiches, or top of your ice cream and make it a special treat!

Ingredients 

1 pound strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1 pound rhubarb, trimmed

1 lemon
3/4 cup granulated sugar

Method:

1. Select about 4 ounces of the smallest strawberries and cut lengthwise into quarters. These will be added raw to the cooked compote; set aside.

2. Cut the remaining larger berries in halves or quarters so that the pieces are about the same size. (You should have about 2 1/2 cups.) Place them in a medium saucepan.

3. With a paring knife, pull away and discard the strings that run the length of the rhubarb stalks. Cut the stalks into 3/4-inch pieces (you should have about 3 cups) and add to the saucepan.

4. Use a fine grater or a Microplane to zest the lemon. Add 1 teaspoon of the zest to the pan. Squeeze 1 tablespoon of juice and add it to the pan. Add the sugar and stir to coat the fruit.

5. Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often to dissolve the sugar. By the time the sugar has dissolved, the fruit will have released a lot of juice. Boil for about 4 minutes to reduce the liquid somewhat, then reduce the heat and simmer for another 2 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft. Don’t worry if some of the rhubarb falls apart.

6. Take pan off the stove and stir in reserved strawberries. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate in a covered container until cold. (This makes about 4 cups of compote, but the extra will keep for a couple of weeks)

Here is what happened on the farm in the past few weeks:

  

  



Overhead irrigation on direct seeded beds.




Elliott and Mario hand weeding the bed of Spinach.





Greenhouse work: potting up seedlings into larger cell flats.



A bee swarm happened here on the farm.



If you're coming to the farm to pick up your shares don't forget to stop and say hello to our pigs, chickens and goats!

When visiting the animals please be aware that some of our fencing is electrified for their protection. To be safe, please don't touch the fence or attempt to hang on them!

Enjoy your bounty!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly and their crew: Armando, Joe, Michael, Francisco, Mario, Sherman, Elliott and Charlie!

CSA begins June 16th

Just a Reminder........

Our Vegetable and Fruit CSA will begin on Thursday JUNE 16th!

Pick up is between 4 and 7pm.

Folks that are picking up at the farm should bring their own bag, box, basket, cooler or other container to put your vegetables and fruit in. We'll have some on hand just in case you forget. All other pick up locations will have boxes already made waiting for you.

Our days here at the farm have gone from layering on hoodies and jackets to light cotton t-shirts. We look forward to whatever the weather gives us and do our best in planting this season so that all of you will enjoy a great bounty from the farm.

It was great to see so many familiar faces and continue conversations from last October at the Logan Square Farmer's Market this past Sunday. Just to give myself a little stardom, I was interviewed by NPR that day, here is the link.

We look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly



May News

If you sat beside a table of farmers talking about the weather you'd hear the one question they had in common: When will we get a break from this cool, wet and windy Spring? A few days ago on the morning edition of NPR, National Public Radio, they talked about home gardeners not being able to plant because it's been too wet, that even conventional row cop farmers have not been able to plant their corn where normally corn would be in the ground by May 1st.

Same is true for us as well. We've kept up on our end as far as keeping on schedule in the greenhouse seeding hundreds of vegetable and herb plants, hardening them off outside preparing them to be planted  in the ground and then the waiting game began. Yes, there were days between rain but the temperatures remained so cool and cloudy that the soil didn't have a chance to dry up and then again fell the rain. As we found the breaks in the weather we all dashed out into the fields like kids running out of school for recess to play.

It is at this point that we see that we  have no choice but to post pone our first CSA pick up. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, June 16th to be your first pick up of the season. We are just as eager as all of you awaiting local, organically grown, fresh produce and fruit! Please send us an email if you have any questions.

Our day-old egg layer chickens that arrived to us in February are growing very well. They are now 15 weeks old and will soon begin to lay their first eggs. The egg laying cycle begins when they are about 18 weeks old.  Their first eggs, called pullets, are small at first and then begin to size up as the chicken matures. This season you'll notice that we've added a few different varieties. Below to the left is a Black Star followed by an Isa Brown pictured under them is a lovely Barred Rock. Although they are so different from each other they all lay wonderful brown eggs. These chickens live close to our grass-roof pick up location on the farm so everyone will be able to enjoy visiting  them.

 

New this season..............

Our fruit division is expanding!  Gooseberries and currents were planted this week, a few hundred raspberry bushes were planted last week and a total of 200 apple trees, 13 varieties, were planted the second week of May. There are also many many blueberry bushes that are waiting for the soil to dry up so that we could plant them along side our already existing bushes that were planted last season. 



We prepped the fields in April by spreading compost on the Apple beds.



After the compost is tilled in we dug the wholes for the trees.



Joe, who is in charge of our fruit division, planted and watered the first apple tree. 199 more to go!

Also new this season.....

Next week I'll talk about our multi breed pigs and......

our hoop house tomatoes!

Please remember to mark your calendars for June 16th as your first Vegetable pick up! Next week we'll let everyone know the date for the first fruit pick up. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to send us an email, we'd love to hear from you!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly





April News





Ambition,

" is the desire for personal achievement. It provides the motivation and determination necessary to achieve goals in life. Ambitious people seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority." -Wikipedia. 

With our ambition strapped to our backs we opened our doors and fired up the heater in our greenhouse on March 2. The first day is always very exciting as our long Winter's anticipation can now rest. With our seed flats clean and tables ready we tare open our potting bag and smell the great rich soil that stimulates us for our third growing season here at Tempel Farms Organics.

With endless flats of seeded onions, shallots (Ambition), kale, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and more our greenhouse fills up pretty quick with the sea of green. At the same time of seeding these flats we prepare the beds in our hoophouse where we'll start our early tomatoes and peppers along with early greens. While these growing homes are busy inside it is just as busy outside too.  You could hear the tractors starting up and the clanking of adjusting implements, tightening nuts and bolts and checking for any leaks are all being tuned up.

 

As our tomato plants size up we transplant them in the hoophouse and soon to follow will be our pepper plants along with early greens. Early tomatoes especially in our climate is very rewarding as we dress up our salads and sandwiches with it's summer flavor!

They are only a few inches tall now but I'll post pictures as they grow and soon this hoophouse will look like a jungle!

 



Our CSA is still open!

Thank you for those of you who have joined already! Many of you are returning members and we look forward to seeing you again, sharing stories and recipes. For those of you have questions feel free to send us an email and we can help you make a decision with which share to purchase for you or your family. You'll find plenty of information on our website!


Here is an open trailer that we harden off our flats of seedlings before they are transplanted in the ground. On the trailer we have kales, collards, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi and all our early brassicas. 

Waking up to 2" of snow was exciting for the kids but didn't allow us to continue any field work!


Your first vegetable pick up is scheduled for June 9th. This date may change due to weather. If your first pick up is pushed back a week I will send out plenty of notice to let you know ahead of time. This doesn't change the number of shares you will receive this season it will only extend it one week later.

Our first Seasonal Fruit Share has not been schedule yet. We will have a date by the third week of May and will send out a newsletter so that you could mark your calendars!

What's New on The Farm?

 Goats! Yes, in mid March Chris and I picked up two dairy goats from a friend farmer nearby. Both goats are a year old and expected to kid between mid April to May 1st.

After a few weeks of being settled in their new home our brown doe, Ofelia, kidded on Sunday April 10! If you remember that day the temperature rose to 82*, so far the warmest day of the year. It was a beautiful day to welcome two kids, one doeling and one buck.

 

Then just the other day our white doe, Mar, kidded on April 19 during the thunderstorm. She delivered 2 kids, one doeling and one buck. Everyone is healthy and are already budding around!

                          

All six goats will give us plenty of hands on learning experience so that we could get to know this type of livestock, their milk and it's uses. 

Coming up in your next newsletter!

 We're excited to share news about a few added varieties of our egg laying chickens! Isa Brown, Barred Rock, Araucana, and Black Star.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you again and getting to know our new members this season! Please email us with any questions and we'll be happy to get back to you.

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly

Tempel Farms Organics