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!

CSA Week 5

As I step out early Monday morning to milk the goats I see in the distance the dark sky. I race with Edward to the milking area and think that I could milk both goats before it starts to rain. Just as I'm half way through milking Ofelia the wind started to pick up quickly and then the rain began. I lead Ofelia back to her barn space as Edward follows beside us and  latch on the hook to their fence. Before I knew it Edward and I ran into the barn and took cover from the storm that quickly took down trees, roofs and power lines.

Most chickens survived although their 20 by 10 foot pens were destroyed. Electric fencing lay under old broken trees that allowed the chickens to scatter about the farm. The worst of the storm didn't damage our vegetable crops but did change our landscape of mature trees. As they once stood proud with branches to tie a swing on or shade for our picnics, their simplicity of just being there in our view is now being sawed and put into piles for wood chips.

Clean up continues on the farm and memories will soon come to new trees that we plant every year and watch them grow.

This week's vegetable share is for members who ordered a Full or Half Vegetable Share and/or a Seasonal Fruit Share.

Your Vegetable Share this week:

Arugula

Mustard Mix

Cauliflower

Cucumbers

Garlic

Red Russian Kale

Red or Green Scallions

Savoy Cabbage

Your Seasonal Fruit Share this week:

Red Raspberries

Black Raspberries

Blueberries

Sour Cherries



Sour Cherry Clafoutis

Ingredients:

For the Crusts:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

Coarse salt

For the Filling:

2 large eggs

2/3 cup creme fraiche or sour cream

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Table salt

6 ounces sour cherries (about 1 1/4 cups), halved and pitted

Method:

1.Make the crusts: Beat butter and confectioners' sugar with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add yolk, and mix until combined. Add flour and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt; mix until just combined. Press dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

2.Set six 4-inch tart rings on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out six 5 1/2-inch circles, re rolling scraps as needed. Press dough into bottoms and up sides of tart rings, patching any holes or tears. Trim excess dough flush with edges of rings using a knife. Prick bottoms of tart shells all over with a fork, and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 degrees.


3.Bake until pale gold, pressing down dough if puffing, about 20 minutes. Let cool.


4.Make the filling: Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees. Gently whisk together eggs, creme fraiche, granulated sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of table salt. Divide mixture evenly among tart shells, and carefully drop cherry halves, cut sides down, into each. Transfer to oven, and bake until just set, 17 to 19 minutes. Let cool.

Recipes! Recipes!

Garlicky Kale
Tequila Lime Chicken and Green Onion Slaw

Creamy Chopped Cauliflower Salad

Portuguese Kale Soup

Aurgula Garlic Sauce

Our Mustard Mix is our custom blend that is frilly and spicy! Enjoy this in a salad with a citrus vinaigrette, liven up any sandwich or slightly saute these greens and it makes for a nice side with roasted chicken or scrambled egg breakfast, enjoy!

 

Our hoop house cucumbers are crisp and flavorful!



 Tuesday morning was filled with steel t-posts pounded in the ground that led to the afternoon of twisting and tying up tomato plants so they don't hang on the ground. With nearly 1500 tomato plants  planted this season in the field t-post pounding and twine tying the tomatoes will take days to complete but well worth the time to enjoy the true flavor of our summer tomatoes.



Despite the road being closed at Millburn and Hunt Club Road our farm stand will still be open! Please come and see our selection and savor this week's harvest. Although we don't have enough tomatoes for our CSA members this week we do have some that will be for sale this Thursday 4-7pm and Saturday 8-2! We'll also have a small quantity of Armenian Cucumbers that are truly delicious! If we haven't seen you yet this summer come on by soon and meet your local farmers!

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