CSA Week 11

 Last Saturday morning rain brought in beautiful dark skies with a steak of white light running through. Before heavy rains came in much of the morning harvest was complete with chard, kale, flowers, eggplant and peppers  for Sunday's market. During the the weeks of no rain on the farm we often do a rain dance or call to the rain clouds while we move irrigation pipe from field to field day after day, here Joe is letting the rain clouds know that we've had enough rain for now and to pass over us, no such chance!

On Monday Armando, Joe and Francisco began extracting honey. It took them all day to go through 18 supers that hold 10 frames each. Once they were finished we were able bottle nearly 600 pounds of honey. Pictured on the left, Joe scrapes the wax caps of the frames, which we saved for potential candle making this winter. Armando then takes the frames and slides two of them in an extractor that spins very fast allows the honey to come off and drip out into a bucket that has a screen on top to catch any loose wax, pictured below.

 

Francisco then takes the buckets of honey and pours them into jars, heat seals the caps on and puts on our label. Honey is here!!!

This week's CSA is for all Full and Half Share members as well as our Seasonal Fruit members.

This week's vegetable bounty:

Honey

 Fresh Thyme

Green and/or Yellow Wax Beans

White Sweet Onions

Jalapenos

Tomatillos

Orange Carrots

Mix of dark Red Norland and Adirondack Blue Potatoes

Whole Wheat Flour*

*The whole wheat flour is from our farmer friend, Molly Breslin. Molly, along with her father, grow small grains and dry beans in Ottawa Illinois. Please visit their site for more info Breslin Farms.

The mix of potatoes may be slightly cosmetically challenged but don't let that discourage you from eating the skin as well. These cook well together, drizzled with olive oil and thyme make a perfect side of roasted potatoes.

This week's fruit bounty:

Pristine Apples

White Nectarines

Maverick Orange Melon

Arava Green Melon

The melons this week come from our friend, Peter Klien of Seedling Fruit, in South Haven Michigan. Although he is not organic he does offer the best fruit he can with as little pest control as possible leaving us with great tasting locally grown fruit. Enjoy!

Recipes! Recipes! Recipes!

Flatbreads with Honey, Thyme and Sea Salt

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Really simple homemade Pizza!

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Thyme

Tomatillo Salsa Verde

More pictures of the farm this week.......

Above the chard and kales is Armando prepping more beds for our fall/winter seeding.



Tomato season is in full bloom! Although you don't have any in your share this week we will have some heirloom beauties for sale at our farm stand. Pictured is Michael harvesting some sweet summer tomatoes!

In between all the rain we're surrounded by plenty of mosquitoes. Here, Joe, Elliott and Charlie, gear up with head nets and long sleeves while they harvest Green chard.

Tuesday morning welcomed us with more rain but that didn't stop us from harvesting green beans!

These angelic flowers, Oscar Butterfly Weed, has won me over as my favorite flower this season!

At the farm stand this week:

We will offer our honey for sale along with various cooking greens, herbs, onions, eggplant, chicken, eggs and more! In the next few weeks we will also offer maple syrup. This will be locally sourced from Hilltop Sugar Bush in Wisconsin. Although we have many maple trees that have given us beautiful maple syrup at the farm we don't yet have the licensed kitchen to be able to offer it to you. Until then, we will have a limited supply! If you know you'd like to purchase any please send me an email so that I may have you on our list to save you a bottle or two. Please let me know! tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com

We hope you enjoy this week's bounty!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly along with their crew, Joe, Francisco, Michael, Elliott, Charlie, Sherman, and Armando!

CSA Week 10

We are in mid season on the farm which calls for mowing down expired crops, making new beds and seeding late fall crops such as storage carrots, beets, fall lettuce, turnips and peas! It is also a time of the season when I see Chris and Armando looking at various fields and contemplating next year's season. New fields will be tilled  for our 2012 season to make room for more annual vegetables, flowers and perennials such as asparagus and more fruit trees.

Now that the rain has cleared up the road is being worked on again in full force. We are just as eager as you are to get our intersection open again to make driving to the farm stand more convenient. Pictured above is work being done by Campanella's crew. Some of the soil that is being dug to create  our pond (which will be used for future irrigation of our lower fields) is taken to develop the new roundabout.



This week's CSA share is for Full Vegetable members and Fruit.

Your vegetable harvest this week:

Cherry Tomatoes

Green Beans

Celery

Parsley

Green or Purple Kohlrabi

Acorn Squash

Leeks

Your fruit harvest this week:

Shiro Plums

Red Haven Peaches

Blueberries

Fall Bearing Red Raspberries



Celery! Compare this to what you mostly find at the store and you'll never leave the farm. This tender yet crisp celery stalk has got a great flavor. How about Curried Waldorf Salad tonight?

After the early morning swarm of mosquitoes, Charlie lifts his head net and is relieved that those pests are somewhat gone. Here he's harvesting parsley and is embraced by the scent of this fresh herb.

One of our favorite salads at home is Lazy Days Parsley Salad. The name speaks for itself and is perfect after a long day at work. On the other hand if you've had a lazy day at work and you've got lots of energy for making dinner how about some Tabbouleh!

Lazy Days Parsley Salad

Snap the leaves from a washed bunched of parsley. Spin them or towel dry and toss them in a bowl with a good quality Olive Oil. It's great with fresh squeezed lemon juice, grated Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts. That's all, now just enjoy!

Elliott (wearing my favorite farm shirt) holds a perfect sample of this weeks fruit bounty!

The Shiro Plum in the fruit share is a beauty. This bright yellow fruit offers a mild sweet flavor which makes it great for eating, cooking or canning.

Shiro Plum Jam with Vanilla Bean

Raspberry Brown Sugar Gratin

The Sweet orange flesh of our Summer Acorn Squash is perfect right now and we're happy to harvest it for you for this week's bounty! Enjoy a Acorn Squash Quesadillas with Tomatillo Salsa or Classic Baked Acorn Squash.

Leeks are a mellow version of an onion and can be used in many ways. You'll want to cut the leek just below the dark green leaves. The leaves of the leeks are too tough to eat. After you cut the bottom portion of your leek make sure you give a good rinse to get rid of any hidden dirt. Tomato and Leek Fritatta anyone?

Chris and I are off once again to drive through the night to Arthur Illinois! Our second batch of broilers will be processed and  ready for sale on Thursday! We'll have whole cut up chickens available once again so you could make the best Buttermilk Fried Chicken!

Enjoy this week's bounty!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly and our crew, Armando, Joe, Elliott, Michael, Charlie, Sherman, Francisco and Mike, who has been with us for two years volunteering at our Logan Square Farmer's Market!

CSA Week 9

It was a beautiful day for our farm tour last Saturday! Thank you to all of you who were able to make it. We enjoyed giving you a tour of the farm and showing you where your food is grown!

This week's CSA is for all vegetable members and fruit members!

Your vegetable bounty this week:

Romaine Head Lettuce
Red Leaf Head Lettuce

Green and Yellow Wax Beans

Carrots*

Sweet Corn

Tomatoes

Basil

Green Curly Kale
Shallots
Red and/or Yellow Peppers

*this week's carrots are grown by Harmony Valley Farm, Viroqua Wisconsin. Our carrots are taking their time and should be ready for harvest in 2 weeks!

Your fruit bounty this week:

Yellow flesh Peaches

Nectarines

Golden Plums

Recipes! Recipes! Recipes!

A great way to enjoy your Golden Plums, Sugar Plum Crepes with Ricotta and Honey
Oh my! a great marriage of carrots and avocados, Avocado salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
How do you want to begin your day? don't forget to pick up a dozen of our eggs! Chile and Bell Pepper Frittata
If you don't have a Staub chicken roaster how about a can of beer? Beer Can Chicken!


 

                                                                                

It's a great time of the season for green and yellow wax beans! These can be enjoyed raw or slightly cooked to still hold in their crunch and sweet flavor. Enjoy these ideas found from NPR, Green Bean Salad with Soy Glazed Almonds.

 The weather forecast for this week calls for cool nights into the 50s! Remember the Caldo Verde recipe from our past newsletter? Or how about a warm panini tonight,  Warm Greens and Mushroom Panini.



A healthy snack anytime, beans and tomato make a a great pair in a stir fry or salad. Here is a recipe that you could add fresh beans in this recipe, Tomato Salad with Turkish Tahini Dressing. Enjoy!

Happenings on the farm..................

Here Chris seeds a few new beds of turnips, lettuce, carrots and radishes!

                                                                                      
                                                                                                       
















On Tuesday morning Armando and Joe began the process of extracting honey. I've already had the pleasure to enjoy this delicately sweet honey that the bees worked so hard for this summer, we'll be sure to have it ready for sale next week!

Don't forget to stop by the farm stand on Thursday 4 to 7pm or Saturday 8-2pm. Among the variety of produce we have for sale we also have whole chickens available for sale at $4.00 a  pound and eggs at $5.50 a dozen. Stop by and enjoy the fresh summer bounty and meet your farmers!

Enjoy this week's bounty!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly and our crew, Joe, Armando, Michael, Francisco, Elliott, Sherman and Charlie!

CSA Week 8

Compost!

Right now we have quite a few 500 feet beds of horse bedding, manure, yard waste, dry leaves and vegetable scraps. We finally acquired a very efficient method of turning those fantastic raw ingredients into rich, plant-feeding compost.

We are working with Illinois State University and have been lucky enough to be loaned a compost turner and tractor for a while. In return we give ISU lots of daily records including temperature and CO2 content of the piles, as well as how often we 'turn', or aerate the windrows.

In the first few weeks after creating the pile, we will turn the windrows quite often to expel CO2 and incorporate oxygen to help the microbes breath, grow and eat. As we get better at making good compost this process should take us no more than 90 days to go from raw ingredients to black, earthy compost. Then, we'll spread this nutrient rich fertility liberally on our growing fields for healthy soils for years to come.

Pictured above is Chris lowering the roter attachment that will drill right through the piles.

Here the roter is lowered and is turning the piles towards the center. You can see the steam coming off.

Come out and learn more about what we do here on the farm at our August 6th farm tour. The tour will begin at 10am, please make sure you arrive at least 15 minutes early. The tour will start at 18080 W. Millburn Road. This is the address of our wash/pack facility and has plenty of parking. Please wear good walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. Having water with you and especially for kids is important! If by chance heavy rains came our way the night before or the morning of our tour we will have to cancel and will continue the tour on August 13 at 10am. Please make sure that you send me an RSVP at tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com so we could know how many people to expect. Thank you and we look forward to meeting all of you!

This week's CSA is for members that purchased a FULL vegetable share and/or fruit share!

Your vegetable share this week:

Lettuce Mix

Sweet Corn

Green or Rainbow Swiss Chard

Garlic

Red Sweet Peppers

Savoy Cabbage

Cauliflower

Yellow Crookneck Squash

Fresh dug Red Onions

Your fruit share this week:

Dark Purple Plums

Free Stone Peaches

Blueberries

Recipes! Recipes! Recipes!

Blueberry Yogurt Multigrain Pancakes

Potato, Squash, Goat Cheese Gratin

Sauteed Savoy Cabbage with Scallions and Garlic

Balsamic Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower

Sauteed Swiss Chard with Onions

Happenings on the farm...........

Tuesday we spent the day pulling Cippolinis, Shallots, Red Onions and Yellow Onions from our fields and are curing in the green house. These will make wonderful storage onions that will keep for months, we like to say "all winter long " until we can harvest them again for you.

 

 

 

Armando and Joe had the job of tying tomatoes while the temperatures were well into the 90's with the heat index. This is by far the hottest job on the farm and when they were done they had looked like they had jumped into a lake they were that drenched.

Wagons and wagons were filled with straw bales produced by Tempel Farms row crop division. These bales of straw will be used for bedding for Lipizzan Horses, our chickens and goats.

Our third batch of broiler chickens are growing well. These will soon be put out in the fields and will be ready by October.

We hope you enjoy this week's bounty! Please be sure to RSVP for our August 6th Farm Tour!

Your farmers,

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

CSA week 7

This field of luscious greens is one of our cover crops that we grow for one of our ways of soil building. Pictured is buckwheat and Sorghum Sudan Grass. This heat loving grass provides huge amounts of organic matter to our soil, both hold great amounts of nitrogen in the plant instead of releasing it into the air. We allow it to grow up to 4 feet high and then mow it down. The root mass will double in size as it continues to grow which helps to loosen soil with it's roots. Not only does it benefit our soil but also Honey bees and all pollinators love it too! At the end of the season it will be tilled into the soil and rest all winter until we begin new crops in the Spring.

Come out and learn more about how we grow at our August 6th Farm Tour that will begin at 10am until noon! Please wear good walking shoes and dress for the weather! We do recommend you sending us an RSVP to tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com, thank you! Rain date will be held on August 13.

This week's CSA is for all members!

Your vegetable bounty this week:

Snapper Crisp Green Pepper

Cucumbers

Green Scallions

Beatrice and Nadia Eggplant

 Sweet Corn

Fennel

Salad Mix
Hoophouse Tomatoes
Crimini Mushrooms -grown by our friends at River Valley Mushroom Farm!

Your fruit bounty this week:

Garnet Beauty Peaches

Red Raspberries

Golden Plums



 Crimini Mushrooms, also known as Baby Portabellas, are grown by Eric Rose farmer/owner of River Valley Ranch Mushroom Farm in Burlington Wisconsin. These mushrooms have a a slightly sweet and mild nutty flavor. They are superb in a variety of sauces that can be paired with chicken or tossed into a stir fry. Read more about Eric's organic farm by following this link, Crimini Mushrooms, enjoy this special treat!

 

 

We grow 3 different varieties of eggplant. The dark purple is called Nadia, Beatrice is the lighter purple and the white is our Italian variety called Clara. All have a traditional eggplant spongy texture and a slightly bitter flavor. Explore their flavor in various spices, from curry to a fiery peanut sauce. Enjoy!



 

Our Sweet Corn is grown organically so no pesticide was sprayed.  With all organically grown corn you'll most likely find a worm or two at the tips eating away and who could blame them! We've taken the time to eliminate the worms for you by cutting the tips of them. Your corn is clean and very enjoyable to eat raw or slightly cooked, enjoy!

Juggling Snapper Crisp Green Peppers is our farmer Michael. This is his second year working with us! Most of you have met Michael on Thursdays as he welcomes you to your CSA bounty. He also is at the farm stand every Saturday ready to help you out with any produce we have for sale.

These Snapper Green Peppers have a very mild flavor raw. These can be sliced thin in a salad or slightly sauteed in any stir fry, enjoy!



Ah! These lovely green scallions are growing strong on the farm! I've included a simple recipe for scallion pancakes below. Luckily we harvested the salad mix before the 4 inch rain beat it down on Wednesday morning. Enjoy a salad with some shaved fennel tonight!

Recipes! Recipes! Recipes!

Peach Margaritas with Peach Wedges
Scallion Pancakes
Chicken with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Tomato Soup
Corn Fritatta with Cheese
Roasted Chicken Salad

We hope you enjoy this week's bounty! Next week I'll talk about compost!

Your farmers,

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

CSA Week 6

Waking up to the sounds of whirling fans and window air conditioners you know it's going to be a hot one and at 99 degrees and sunny we're in for a quite a day on the farm. We decided to start our day on Tuesday at 6am instead of 7 to cut down some of time working in the afternoon heat. The early morning chores of chicken and goat duties already led us to changing our wet t-shirts to dry ones for some morning harvest that needed to be done. Now I know that this was not very organic or nutritious for us but a supply of Popsicles were on hand all day to relieve us on such a day!

This week's CSA is for members who purchased a Full Vegetable Share and/or Seasonal Fruit Share.

Your vegetable share this week:

Arugula

Russet Potatoes from our hoop house

Zucchini/and or Yellow Crookneck

Red Beets without Greens

Radicchio

Tomatoes from our hoop house

Basil

White Italian Eggplant

Parsley

Collard Greens

Your Seasonal Fruit Share this week:

Blueberries

Sweet Cherries

Apricots

 

This week's potato harvest was planted in our hoop houses in the early Spring. This is definitely a nice treat for all of us since our field potatoes won't be harvested until at least another 2 weeks.
Pictured on the left is Elliott, Sherman, Joe and Armando digging potatoes in the heat of Tuesday morning. Pictured on the right is Joe, getting dirty and not letting a single potato remain in the soil.

Small and beautiful, your eggplant variety this week is a white Italian called Clara. It ranges slightly in taste and texture then your dark purple skinned eggplant but over all you'll find that it has a pleasantly bitter taste with a spongy texture.

This leaf chicory called Radicchio is a wonderful leaf vegetable that is spicy and bitter. Radicchio is very popular in Italy served grilled and drizzled with olive oil, try this recipe and bring a bit of Italy to your home, Grilled Radicchio Salad.

More recipes to try:

Roasted Beet Salad

Beet Gazpacho

Zucchini Salad with Shaved Parmesan

Easy Stir-Fried Eggplant

Apricot and walnut vareniki

Please don't forget!

For members that are picking up at the farm please remember that Hunt Club and Millburn Road is closed. I was told that a few people crossed this intersection and were not given a ticket last week. Please use the detour going Stearns School Road to Route 45 and north to Millburn Road. Thanks for your patience!

Our farm stand is open on Thursdays between 4 and 7pm and Saturdays between 8 and 2pm. If you're not a CSA member and are curious about what we're growing here on the farm come on out and visit us on these days and see what varieties we have for sale. Each week there will be a few new items and each week we'll have our staples of Red Russian, Green Curly and Lacinato Kales, Collard Greens, Green and Rainbow Chard. We also offer a selection of herbs such as oregano, chives, parsley, thyme and summer savory. Don't forget our pasture raise chicken and eggs are available!

News News News!

Our first farm tour of the season will be held on August 6th, 10 am until noon. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early and wear some good walking shoes. Dress for the weather and bring your camera!

The tour will  begin at our Wash/Pack Facility located at 18080 W. Millburn Road. There is plenty of parking there but I'll still need an RSVP to let me know how many people we could expect. Please send an email to me at tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com. We look forward to showing you how and where your food comes from!

Enjoy your bounty!

Your farmers,

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