CSA Week 18

Welcome to Week 18!

Sunny days and brightly colored trees has really made this Fall one to remember. Among going apple picking, pumpkin harvesting and piling up leaves to jump in, we've been putting together our 2012 CSA and will announce it by the end of the month!

Please remember that after this week we have two more weeks to go with our Summer's CSA for members that purchased a Full Share and then will continue with our Fall Extended CSA. Thursday, October 20th will be the last week for our members who purchased a Half Share.

Our farm stand will be open until mid November. The weather will really determine this for us so please keep yourself posted with my weekly newsletters.

Our pre order sales for pork will be available starting next week. Information will be on next week's newsletter and flyers will be handed out. Stay tuned!

Your Vegetable Bounty this week.................

Broccoli

Russet Potatoes

Asian Pears*

Head Lettuce

Green Curly Kale

Bulk Red Beets

Brussels Sprouts

Leeks

Sorrel

*the Asian Pears are grown by Gail Cox in Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin. These have a wonderful light crisp flavor and texture. They do not have the same feel as a ripe pear, in fact, you'll think they are too hard but don't let that fool you, take a bite and you'll see. By the way, these have not been sprayed at all!

These will make a great snacking pear but they also cook well. Apple and Pear Crisp!

This is the first season I can remember harvesting brussels sprouts on such a warm sunny day! We spent most of Tuesday morning cutting these down and cleaning them off for you. We've kept them on the stalk for you to have fun snapping them off. We've had many customers tell us how their dogs love to chew on the stalks, can't get a better organic chew toy!



The best way to store these is by snapping off the sprout and keeping them in a plastic bag until you're ready to use them.

Balsamic Braised Brussels Sprouts and Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts in Brown Butter!

This season we grew three different types of kale: a long narrow, flat leave called Lacinato, a green round leaf with purple veins called Red Russian and a bright green frilly leaf called Green Curly. A true way to enjoy this green and to get the best nutritional value is by sauteing it. Sauteed Kale, i usually omit the red wine vinegar this recipe calls for so try it both ways!

Kale and White Bean Soup

Cabbage, Kale and Potato Gratin

Bacon, Kale and Leeks

The wonderful easy flavor of leeks!

A great pairing of leeks and potatoes........

Leek and Potato Soup

One of my favorite ways I roast chicken is .................

Pan-Roasted Chicken and Leeks

Fall beauties, rich red beets and russet potatoes!

Still holding on to last week's Red Cabbage?  Braised Beets and Red Cabbage

Russets bake well and make lovely fluffy mashed potatoes but I could never pass up latkes!

Classic Potato Latkes

Who loves garlic? Oh yes....Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Beets, you can never be bored.....So Many Beet Recipes!

Don't feel like canning? Here is a recipe that has a shelf life for 3 weeks...Pickled Beets.

A beautiful green with a lemon flavor delights everyone.

If you've never tried this before go ahead and tare of a piece and eat it raw. You'll be surprised with it's flavor. This green can be tossed with your salad or topped on any sandwich. It also makes a really great soup...............paired with our russet potatoes.....Sorrel Soup!

Another way paired with our leeks.........Sorrel Soup Hot or Cold!

You should find 3 to 4 heads of this wonderful green curly lettuce in your bounty this week. We didn't want to take a chance and lose any to cold weather in the near future. Enjoy!



Our week will filled with planting next season's garlic. We'll be planting a minimum of 2400 bed feet, 3 different varieties!



We hope you enjoy this week's bounty!

Your farmers,

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



CSA Week 17

Welcome to CSA Week 17!



Fewer crickets are serenading us in the evening and lightening bugs have disappeared. The honeybees seem busier then normal while the cool winds give them less to pollinate in the fields. Walking down the hill to our lower fields the trees are starting to drape an array of bright fall colors against the growing greens that we planted this season. This view point of the farm is a special one that encompasses our season's progress. It's not just the fact we can admire our work here that our farm crew passionately devoted their time and physical strength to. It's the fact that we have this area of farmland that seems so far and few in between. The opportunity that we have here to be able to grow vegetables, fruit, raise honeybees, poultry, eggs and hogs to share with you is what makes this open space a thankful welcome everyday we come to work here.

Your vegetable bounty this week:

Arugula Salad Mix

Sweet Potatoes

Spinach

Golden Turnips

Red Cabbage

Beauty Heart Radishes

French Fingerling Potatoes

Red Storage Onions

Gold Romano Beans

Sweet Potatoes are a challenge to grow these days because of a simple disease they often develop called Scurf. There is not much that can be done about this disease and often farmers opt out of growing these wonderful potatoes. As we harvested our crop we noticed that some of these potatoes have Scurf. Scurf is not harmful, not at all, it's simply brown spots on the skin that make them look truly ugly and most people would never buy them looking like that at the grocery store. At one point we thought not to share this bounty with our members because we didn't want to scare you off but then we thought that there is no way that our members would be fearful of blemish marks on the skin of the potato! Once the skin is removed there is no Scurf on the flesh. It's simply a wonderful tasting, beautifuly roasted or boiled and mashed Sweet Potato! Enjoy! 

Tuesday morning was busy with harvesting our first Fall Golden Turnips!

Golden Turnips, the gold ball, is a light "fall" turnip flavor and has a stronger flavor compared to the other turnips (such as Hakuries) that we've shared with you earlier this season. This Golden Turnip will not overwhelm your dish but will great compliment it. Try these roasted with apples and a sprinkle of brown sugar or use it like you would with any potato, mashed, gratin, french fried or roasted with other root veggies.

These bright, shiny red onions can be used now or stored in a cool dry area of your kitchen counter for later use. These red onions are mostly use in salads and salsas to show off their rich red color. I find with their sweetness it makes a great pair sauteed with swiss chard or kale and adds a nice touch to roasted chicken!

Kids as well as adults will be asking for seconds with these potatoes! This thin, rose colored skin potato has a great earthy and buttery flavor that is wonderul roasted. Simply cut lengthwise in quarters and toss in olive oil and a bit of salt and roast these up served with any meal. They also hold up well in your soup and of course we're in the season for stew! Enjoy!

That's right! We are harvesting Gold Romano Beans in October!

Last week when cold nights were in forecast we ran to our bean plantings and covered them with a cotton cloth, Agribon, which gave a nice blanket for these plants. It's unusual for a midwestern farm to harveset beans like these in the chill of fall weather, enjoy!



These Beauty Heart Radish may look dull on the outside but once these are sliced you'll really admire them. They have a nice crisp to them that would make a great addition to any salad or slaw and have a mildly sweet/peppery flavor that are great in soups or stews.

Four things you'll need: Spinach, garlic, olive oil and a friend to share the meal with.





Other happenings on the farm.........

Last week time was spent taking off tomato twine and pulling tomato plants from the ground. Next: popping out 1000 steel posts from the ground!

Lettuce heads growing under protective cloth.

Brussels Sprouts love this cool weather! We should see these by the end of the season!

News!

Our Fall Extended CSA has only a few spots left! If you'd like to sign up please see me on Thursday between 4 and 7pm or send me an email with your request. We look forward to our Fall Harvest!

Our farm stand will have a few varieties of apples for sale along with a varieties of vegetables and decorative bundled broom corn, honey and maple syrup available for sale.



We hope you enjoy your bounty this week!

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly along with our crew, Michael, Charlie, Armando, Francisco and Joe!



CSA Week 16

Welcome to Week 16!

Rain! We need it, we don't, not enough or too much! In the last 5 days we've measured 4 inches of rain. With no sun or warm air the ground has not been able to dry up. Either way harvesting needs to go on so we throw on our best rain gear and head out to sludge through thick wet mud. Michael shines through with his freshly harvested Purple Carrots!



Our Cabbage field has suffered a bit with the excess rain not being able to drain properly on the west end of the field. Overall, the fields are in good shape. I should report to all our tomato fans that with all the cold and rainy day and evenings our tomato season has definitely come to an end. Thank you so much for enjoying all the varieties that we grew this season and we look forward for more next year.

After Armando gives the carrots it's initial washing to get most of the mud off before bringing them back to our wash/pack shed he quickly gives Michael a rinse as well!



Your vegetable bounty this week................

Daikon Radish

Baby Beet Greens and Lettuce Mix

Purple Carrots

Yellow Storage Onions

Fennel

Bulk Red Beets

Green Swiss Chard

Broccoli

Your fruit bounty this week...........

Cortland Apples

Honey Crisp Apples

Empire Apples

Mars White Seedless Grapes

This is the last week for fruit! We will offer various apples and cider for sale during the month of October, please stop by and see what new varieties we'll have to offer. Until then, thank you for joining our Seasonal Fruit Share and we hope you'll join us once again for another wonderful journey of truly fresh local fruit! CSA registration will begin in late October.

The two red apples maybe hard to tell apart so I'll give you my best description:
The Empire Apple on your left is shiny and deep red in color. It is a smaller, sweet apple with a crisp texture and bright white flesh. This is such a versatile apple: for baking, sauce, pies......
Great Link for Apple Varieties and Recipes!

The Cortland Apple is slightly larger than the Empire but not as big as the Honey Crisp(oh so sweet!). The Cortland has some green shoulders to them where as the Empire does not. Cortlands are sweet,  mildly tart and crisp and also offers a white flesh. It is great in desserts such as tarts and Caramel Apples!!

Green Swiss Chard as big a 5 year old! This wonderful cooking green is rich in flavor. It's slightly sweet earthy flavor is great sauteed with onion and served on the side of any dish, tossed with pasta or topped on pizza!

Onion Pizza with Ricotta and Chard

Pasta with Caramelized Onion, Swiss Chard and Garlicky Bread Crumbs!

I know I offered this before, perhaps it's one of my favorites???

Broccoli Slaw  - go ahead and add some shaved fennel and oh those purple carrots would add some great flavor, crunch and color!

Fall weather brings in many flavors and varieties of tarts:

Onion Tart wit Mustard and Fennel

Leeks and Swiss Chard Tart

Empire Apples are great for baking! Carmel Apple Tart

Apple and Onion Tart

Which came first, orange or purple? Yes, purple! Although we are very familiar to our wonderful orange sweet carrots, purple carrots were first harvested nearly 5000 years ago.  Their wonderful deep purple color and vibrant orange centers offer slightly sweet mostly savory flavor. These hold their color well whether roasted or steamed for all to enjoy!

Carrots boiled with Orange, Garlic and Thyme

Sorry the flash on my camera completely distorted our amazing Daikon Radish! The word Daikon comes from two Japanese words: dia (meaning large) and kon (meaning root). The flavor is mild and is often used in Kimchi.
Daikon Radish Kimchi
Vietnamese Steak Sandwich

Other happenings on the farm.....

The intersection at Millburn and Hunt Club North is open!

 South Hunt Club is still closed for a few more weeks.

Sweet Potatoes were dug last week and are curing in our shed. These will be offered in few weeks!



Apple Cider from Mick Klug Farm will be available for sale on Thursday 4-7pm. If there are any left over we'll offer it on Saturday at our farm stand from 8 until 2pm. The Cider has a two week shelf life but I really can't see this sitting for longer than 3 days in your fridge.

 Anyone interested in making Apple Cider Doughnuts?

Apple season is in full swing! Stop by the farm stand and see our varieties we offer.

This week we'll have Honey Crisp, Golden Delicious and Cortlands.

Francisco takes great care of our two milking goats and has really taught me a lot in my first milking season! We've saved a lot of milk for soap making this Winter. Here he milks Ofelia (a first time milker) with two hands! This is a technique that I am still mastering.



I am currently drying herbs such as sage, thyme and rosemary along with eucalyptus which will be used in our goat milk soap.



Francisco has been working with us for two years now and helps in taking care of all our chickens and our small goat herd. Our eggs are collected every day and washed for proper storage.

Our eggs are avaiable every Thursday 4-7pm, Saturday 8-2 at our farm stand and

Sundays 10-3 at Logan Square Farmer's Market.

Eucalyptus welcomes Autumn!

Spreading compost continues on the farm ( in dry weather) to ensure

good organic soil fetility year after year.



SPECIAL NOTICE!

We are offering a Fall Extended CSA Share for November! This share will only be offered for ON FARM pick up only. Pick up days for November will be Thursday the 3rd, 10 and 17 and then on TUESDAY the 22nd from 4-7pm.

The Fall Extended Share will include various salad greens, beets, winter radishes, carrots, cabbage, honey, popcorn, spinach, chard, winter squash, apples, brussel sprouts and more!

If you're interested, spots are limited! please pick up a broucher from our farm stand or send me and email, tempelfarmsorganics@yahoo.com and I could forward you a form to send in to us.

We're looking forward to offering a bounty of the farm in November and a perfect time for

a wonderful Thanksgiving meal!

We hope you enjoy your bounty this week,

Your farmers,

Tania and Chris Cubberly along with our crew: Joe, Francisco, Sherman, Charlie, Michael and Armando!

CSA Week 15

Welcome to Week 15

Just one week ago beds were still being cultivated by tractor and hand as you see here with Armando and Michael helping out the turnip crops freeing them of weeds. Now as the cool weather comes over the farm we'll do less cultivating and more Winter preparations. This is not to say that we are already slowing down because there is still a lot more growing to do on the farm. At this time of year we welcome our cool weather crops such as lettuces, spinach, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and tons of root vegetables.

 We begin to till in our warmer weather crops and prepare those beds for next season. Plenty of Rye and Hairy Vetch cover crops as well as Oats and Forage Radish will be seeded in these beds which will give back nutrients to the soil and allow it to rest all Winter long. Even our hoop houses are cleaned out of expired tomato plants and pepper plants. These hoop houses will grow for a few more months to carry us through Winter and then will have a chance to also rest and be prepared for next Spring.



This week if for all CSA members!

Your Vegetable bounty this week......

Leeks

Tempel Farms Organics Salad Mix

Savoy Cabbage

*Carola Potatoes

Orange Carrots

Hakurei Turnips

Spinach

Sweet Crisp Peppers

Butternut Squash

*these may not be able to get dug from the ground this week because of all the rain! Let's see what happens!

Your fruit bounty this week......

We have 1 more week of fruit after this week!

Bosc Pears

Honey Crisp Apples

Concord Grapes

Golden Supreme Apples

Warm up your evenings with a wonderful Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons.

So many ways to enjoy these carrots........

Carrot Cake, Carrot Soup, Butternut Squash, Carrot and Parsnip Ragout.

Leeks, with it's delicate and slightly sweet flavor, this Allium is wonderful to cook with for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Poached Eggs over Sauteed Greens, Leek and Potato Soup, Pan Roasted Chicken and Leeks.

Our mix of Red Oak, Curly Green, Surry Arugula and Green Oak leaves is sure to please everyone.

Toss this with a light Olive Oil blend and enjoy your healthy greens.

Sweet Hakureis are back again this week! If you'd like to warm these up try a

 Sauteed Hakurei Turnips with Greens or Hakurei Turnip Gratin.

I know I mentioned last week the marriage of peppers and sausage but what about....

Chicken and Peppers!!

Pictures of the farm this week........

Tomato plants pulled out of the hoop house.....until next Spring!

Charlie and Sherman bundled up for morning harvest.

First year apple trees!

Michael collecting Swiss Chard bunches.

Charlie, cool in cool weather!

Joe catching a chicken during the CSA pick up!

Our on farm farm stand!

One last haul for Chris and I to Arthur Illinois this week! Our last batch of chickens for the season will be available for sale beginning this Thursday. It would be a great time to stock up for Winter so make some room in your freezer and you won't be disappointed when the snow falls to 3 feet and you're wondering what you've saved from the farm this season! Thanks again for you support!

Enjoy your bounty this week,

Your farmers,

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