Indoor Farmer's Market in Logan Square, Chicago

Make your way through the snow this weekend!

Join us this Sunday, December 5th! 10am - 2pm.

Tempel Farms Organics

will be at the Logan Square Indoor Farmer's Market

in Chicago at the famous Congress Theatre!

2135 N. Milwaukee Avenue

Please visit the market's website for more info.

Our hoophouse is growing some great produce for you this winter.

With the help of our hoophouses we're able to extend our growing season this winter.

This Sunday we'll bring:

Hoophouse crisp fresh Spinach

Hoophouse sweet Hakurei Turnips

Hoophouse fresh Arugula

(the leaves are so beautiful we couldn't bag them so we kept them in great heaping bunches for you to enjoy!

Hoophouse large Bok Choi

Golden Turnips

Celeriac

Storage Red and Yellow Onions

Golden and Chioggia bulk Beets

Our delicious Eggs

Sweet Aromatic Honey

Pictured below are Hakurei Turnips being harvested from the hoophouse.

Great leaves of Spinach coming your way this Sunday!

Our Spinach is growing well and plenty in the hoophouse.

Pick up a bag or two and eat your healthy greens this winter.

Tempel Farms Organics 2011 CSA is now available.

Find info by visiting our website, http://www.tempelfarmsorganics.com/deliveries/index.

We'll also have information available at the market.

You won't want to miss the early sign up discount!

Enjoy the snow and thanks for coming out to the market!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly

2011 CSA information

Welcome to your 2011 CSA!

Please join us in the coming season and let us share with you the bounty of fresh, local and organically raised vegetables and fruit.

By purchasing a share of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
we form a relationship with you and you get to know the people who grow your food, thereby continuing a farmer to customer tradition that began years ago. Becoming a share holder makes a statement for supporting local family farms that grow the highest quality food.

Your support is also a financial commitment. It enables us to prepare for the needs of the farm so that we can all enjoy the bounty for years to come.

Vegetable Share CSA:

Full shares: offered every week for 20 weeks of the farm's harvest from June 9th until October
20th. Your share is a 5/9 bushel box filled with 7-12 delicious items. $585.00

Half shares: same amount as a Full Share but offered every other week for a total of 10 weeks from June 9th through October 20th. $345.00

Fresh Fruit Share CSA: is offered every week for 16 weeks from mid June to late September. A variety of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, melons, peaches and much more will fill your summer with "in season" sensations! Fruit will be harvested from our farm and fruit grown by Mick Klug Farms who treats his crops with little to no pesticides and always practices sustainable farming methods. Once apple season begins we will augment your box with contemporary and heirloom apples grown by our farm, Mick Klug Farms, Seedling Fruit and other local growers. $275.00

Discounts:

* A $15.00 discount is offered if you will be picking up your share On The Farm. This offer is for Vegetable Shares only please.

** Early Discount sign up! Sign up before December 31, 2010 and receive a $30.00 discount. Applies to Full Vegetable Shares only please.

Your CSA pick up locations, days and times:

On the farm! 17970 W. Millburn Road, Old Mill Creek, Il. 60083 Thursdays, 4-7pm.

Lake Forest! The Vermillion Residence 373 Wisconsin Ave. Lake Forest, Il. 60045 Thursdays 4-7pm.

Vernon Hills! The Collier Residence 98 Sterling Heights Road, Vernon Hills, Il. 60061 Thursdays 4-7pm.

Logan Square in Chicago! The Snyder Residence 3711 West Palmer, Chicago, Il. 60647 Thursdays 4-7pm.

At Tempel Farms Organics, farm managers, Chris and Tania Cubberly, grow a diverse variety of crops. We follow strict guidelines for growing organically and will certify our land in the near future.

A selection of crops we grow: arugula, beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, herbs, hot peppers, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, parsnips, pop corn, potatoes, radishes, rutabaga, salad mix, spinach, summer squash, sweet peppers, sweet corn, swiss chard, turnips, wax beans, winter squash and more!

Each week you will receive an email newsletter that will give insight as to what happend on the farm that week, what produce to expect in your box, a few pictures and plenty of recipes. You will also have first "crack" at our truly pasture raised eggs and broiler chickens reserved separately for you.

To sign up for our 2011 CSA please visit our website, www.tempelfarmsorganics.com. You'll be able to print out the CSA Form to send back to us.

We want you to be proud of our farm and proud of the food you serve at your table. If you have any questions regarding the farm or the food, please send us an email so we can get back to you after the day's work, tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com.

We look forward to meeting you and growing for you this coming season!

Your farmers,

Chris and Tania Cubberly

Farm Stand Open Sat. Nov. 13th!! One more time!

Make plans with us this weekend!

Our very last farm stand of the season will be open to the public

Saturday November 13th

10am until 2pm

17970 W. Millburn Road

Old Mill Creek, Illinois 60083

We'll have a variety of our

organically raised

vegetables,

rich pasture raised eggs &

sweet aromatic summer honey.

Once you crack one of our eggs you'll not only see the difference but will truly enjoy the taste!

A dozen eggs for $5.00

Stop by and do some shopping while your kids visit with our kissing chicken!

Pass our news

to your friends and neighbors

and lets all enjoy the bounty of your local farm.

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly

CSA Week 21

Hello! Welcome to week 21!

This is the final week for our city members!

We've enjoyed growing for you this season and are looking forward to another bountiful year for 2011. Please check our website soon for 2011 CSA updates.

If you'd like to send any questions or comments about this season we'd love to hear from you!

Harvested just for you................

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Lettuce Mix

Green or Red Cabbage

Red Kale Tops

Cherriette Radish

Celeriac

Bulk Golden Beets

Sweet Hakurei Turnips

Spinach

Our first from the Hoophouse.....Baby Bok Choi

Enjoy!

Special Announcement!

We will be holding an "open to the public" farm stand this Saturday, October 30!

Please come and shop for some fresh produce, eggs, chicken and honey!

The farm stand will be the same location as our On Farm Pick Up,

17970 W. Millburn Road

10-2pm

Produce we'll have available:

Arugula

Beets

Broccoli

Cabbage

Orange Carrots

Celeriac

Chard

Herbs

Kales

Lettuce

Onions

Popcorn!

Radishes

Salad Mix

Spinach

Turnips

As we sat around our house with our farm crew for our harvest lunch today I was impressed and inspired by them all. With all our different backgrounds, families and individual goals, we all got to know each other from the time we seeded in the greenhouse in February to preparing the farm for next season in these last months. Thank you Armando, Joe, Michael, Francisco and Wes (not pictured) for a great season!

As if we were on a cover of our own vinyl record.......

Enjoy the bounty of the farm!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly

Don't forget to check out our 2011 CSA posted on our website soon!

CSA Week 20

Hello! Welcome to Week 20!

At least 3 nights a week our son Edward wants us to read, "The Popcorn Book" published in 1978. It's a great kids book filled with facts and myths about..........popcorn! The book states that "Americans (most popular in the Midwest) use 500,000,000 pounds of popcorn each year. 30% is eaten at movies, circuses, ball games and county fairs. 10% is saved for seed and sold to other countries. But 60% is popped right at home."

Our popcorn, a hybrid, yellow variety called Robust has been growing since June. It takes sometime for the cob to dry out enough for the kernels to be ready to pop. We don't have a moisture test for these kernels so our way was to go out every week and strip some kernels from the cob and heat them up on the stove top. A week or two earlier, the test ended up with most of the kernels 'half' popped and fried in the oil which was, I have to admit delicious and crunchy but not quite what we were looking for.

One night Chris brought in a cob and did his weekly inspection. As the oil heated up in a minute or two the kernels started popping and quickly increased to a very exciting 30 seconds of rapid fire! We both screamed, it's ready it's popping, it's ready! Then all of us, even Charlie, sat down and ate some delicious home grown popcorn.

Now, we share it with all of you, enjoy!
Our Method:

Use the stove top. No Microwave!

We use a 2 Quart Sauce Pan with lid.

Use High Heat.

Pour approximately 2 Tbs of good Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Pour approximately 1/2 cup of kernels.
Once you hear the oil start to bubble then shake the pan a bit.
As you hear the popping, shake it continuously, have fun!
Once the popping slows down then turn the heat off.
Pour the popcorn in a bowl.
Enjoy with a bit of melted butter and salt.



As I walked through the kale field it was nice to see these happy grasshoppers enjoying the fall crisp morning air.


The crew spent Tuesday morning stripping the Brussels Sprouts off the stems for your share this week.

The sprouts are a bit smaller then usual but still full of flavor. These plants have endured the extremely warm summer this season and didn't size up the way we would have hoped.

Harvested just for you.........

Broccoli

Spinach

Purple and Green Scallions

Gold Turnips

Popcorn

Beauty Heart Radish

Brussels Sprouts

Tatsoi

Orange Carrots without Greens

Black Turtle Beans*

(grown by our friend Molly Breslin and her father John, Breslin Farms, located in Ottawa, Illinois. This is their first year of transition from conventional to organic row crops. With a focus on biodiversity and sustainability, they concentrate on small grains and dry beans.)

This will be the last share for our On Farm Members, Thank You all! We have so enjoyed getting to know you through recipes, stories, comments, questions, and pictures! We hope that you'll join us for another season of the farm's bounty in 2011. Until then, enjoy the warmth of Winter.

Look for our 2011 CSA information on our website posted soon!

Ideas for the cook in the kitchen.............

Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Shallots

Tips for Preparing Black Beans

Vegetarian Black Bean Chili

Simply liven up your mashed potatoes with Gold Turnips! Also a great intro to your 8-10 month old.

The Beauty Heart Radish may not look beautiful on the outside but we all know that it's the inside that matters. This radish has a crisp texture and a mild to sweet peppery flavor. This radish can be cooked like a turnip, sauteed with any other vegetable or added to a stir fry. With any method you'll want to remove the skin before cooking.

A perfect Fall meal: Keller's Roast Chicken

A wonderful Asian cooking green, Tatsoi. Peanut Asian Noodle with Tatsoi.

Stir Fried Chicken with Ginger and Scallions

We would like to thank the Tempel Farm Family, our CSA members and our crew for growing with us this season and enjoying the bounty and expansion of the farm. We look forward to 2011!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly

2011 CSA- looking for host site

Hello Members,

As our 2010 CSA comes to an end we are already putting together our CSA for 2011.

There will be a few changes to our CSA. One change is that we will be moving our pick up day for ALL members to Thursday, 4pm-7pm. This includes our city members. We will remain selling at the Logan Square Farmer's Market on Sundays but will no longer be bringing shares to this market.

We are looking for anyone interested in being a Host Site for our CSA pick up in Logan Square, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Libertyville and Vernon Hills area.

Responsibilities of a Host Site:

1. For you to have a covered area with lighting (when needed) for members to pick up their boxes: a clean garage or porch would be ideal.

2. The Host Site should expect anywhere from 10 to 30 members at pick up.

3. An adult must be home most Thursdays between 4 and 7pm. You do not have to meet/greet members as they pick up, except for the first 2 and last 2 Thursdays.

4. We will provide a table, paper, pen, chalk board easel and anything else needed.

5. The host will receive a Full Share Vegetable Box.

6. Any shares not picked up will be available for your use.

7. We will be including your address as the Host Site in our CSA brochure and website.

Please email us with any questions, asap. We would like to make a decision before the end of the month.

Thank you for participating!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly

CSA Week 18

Hello! Welcome to Week 18!

I mentioned last week that we were putting on the plastic on our hoophouses. Hoophouse 1 is complete! The carrots have germinated and the spinach has it's first true leaves. Hoophouse 2 should be completed by the end of the week. Just in time to plant in our bok choy, scallions, kohlrabi, more spinach and carrots.

Below is a picture of all the farm hands available to hold the plastic in place as we secure it on.

Here goes the second layer of plastic. As it's being rolled off on this end people on the other side are pulling onto the rope that is attached to the plastic. Within an hour the plastic is secured and the house is ready!

Meanwhile in the greenhouse I have already started to hang flowers and start saving their seeds. As I was taking these pictures I noticed a few too many birds coming in and out of the sides of the greenhouse and going right to the sunflower seeds. Tomorrow I'll be rolling down these sides so that we could have more seeds to put in our mix for our acres of wildflowers for next year.

Here I am drying out flamingo feather flower. You can see the small dark seeds among the dried petals.

After the petals have dried I then sift to separate the seeds. The seeds are then stored in a brown bag in a secure cabinet where they will be waiting until next Spring.

Hanging in the greenhouse are a variety of sunflowers, celosia, ornamental grasses, sorghum, verbena and butterfly weed.

Harvested just for you........

Lettuce Heads

Arugula

Hakurei Sweet Salad Turnips

French Breakfast or Easter Egg Radishes

Baby Spinach

Celeriac

Bulk Golden Beets

Yellow Storage Onions

Asian Pears*

Extended Fruit Share: (last week for on farm members!)

Grimmes Golden Apple

Mutsu Apple

Ida Red Apple

Honeycrisp or Red Cortand or Empire

*Asian Pears are grown by Gail Cox who has a small orchard in Pleasant Prairie. They do not spray their fruit. The fruit is round in shape and has a crisp texture and sweet juicy flavor. Enjoy!

Romaine Lettuce Head!

Romaine and Red Leaf Head Lettuce growing under fabric.

Hakurei Sweet Salad Turnips, no need to peel just slice and enjoy them raw.

A healthy bounty of Arugula!

The rounder radishes on the left are the Easter Egg Radish and the longer red with white tips are French Breakfast Radish.

Ideas for the cook in the kitchen............


Celeriac! A great root vegetable and is a member of the celery family. It can be used in any recipe that calls for celery and is especially good in soups and stews and partners great with potato.

Celeriac Mash

Creamed Spinach

Golden Beet Carpaccio

French Onion Soup

Apple Crisp

Enjoy the bounty of the farm!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly