Paisley Farm CSA blog

Week 2 is here! After last weeks grain mix up, Spelt berries… more info CSA Spelt Berries…

I’m here to break down the box for this week… which gets exciting with the addition of cheese and black turtle beans! 

Week two box contains:

Carrots

Parsnips

Beets, red and golden

Empire Apples 

Chippowa Potatoes

Butternut Squash

Garlic 

Onions, red and yellow

Eggs 

Green house local Salad Greens 

Harper’s Field Cheese in a variety of flavors

and….. Black Turtle Beans!

Carrots are still crispy and delicious. Parsnips keep me excited and have found their way into a puree under bay scallops and spinach for me this past week. Beets never fail to be champs; raw, roasted, juiced or stewed. The salad greens are a total fresh greens treat during winter days as well as the butternut squash for it’s humble familiarity….and versatility. 

Harper’s Field Cheeses can be read more about on their website Cheese!  and I would love to hear how everyone is using or eating the flavor they got! Share! I’m making cheese straws in true southern style… recipe soon. 

Beans, beans, the magical…. stop right there. Here is a piece I wrote on black beans with a little recipe, too! You could certainly sub potatoes or other winter squash cubes for the butternut/ sweet potato in this recipe. It could easily work under poached eggs as well as a riff on breakfast burritos and make for a lovely brunch or dinner. 

Beans, sweet potatoes, and corn provide for complex carbs, protein, iron, fiber, and not to mention, many other nutrients in this recipe. 

Warm Black Bean and Butternut Squash OR Sweet Potato Salad 

2 medium sweet potatoes (washed, peeled, and cut into bite sized chunks) 

OR butternut squash, 1 small-ish one, peeled and cubed

1-2 Tb olive oil 

1-2 cups chopped onions (amount based on your preference) 

½ cup diced red or green bell pepper 

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 finely diced jalapeno (optional)*

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon oregano 

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 

salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon generally)

1 ½ cups cooked black beans (about 1 can, drained, if you do not cook your own beans)

1 cup corn kernels (canned or frozen both work)

1-2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

squeeze of lime juice, optional

***optional: a slash of orange juice OR diced avocado

1. Place the butternut squash OR sweet potatoes in pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tender (do not overcook, or the squash/potatoes will become mushy, which you do not want.) 

Remove from heat, drain, and keep warm. 

2. Meanwhile, in a deep skillet, sauté the onions and peppers in olive oil, until they soften. Add the garlic and jalapeno, stir and sauté about 1-2 minutes. Stir in spices, sauté 1 minute or so. 

3. Add the beans and corn, cover and cook until heated through. 

4. Remove from heat, stir in the sweet potatoes and chopped cilantro. 

5. Transfer to a bowl and stir in lime juice if using…. and enjoy! 

This salad tastes great with a side of toasted corn bread, or grilled meat, tofu or shrimp. It can be served warm or cold, and feel free to alter the spices to your tastes, or change things up by trying this option:

  Leave sweet potatoes out, and do not cook any ingredients. Stir all together in a large bowl, adding 1 cup of chopped tomatoes for a black bean relish that is delicious as a side dish or over other foods. Have fun with these local black beans. 

*remove the seeds to temper the heat of the pepper, or omit completely if serving this to children.

<> More on the value of fresh dried beans and recipes later this week <>

Potatoes are a cold weather staple with plenty of creamy and hearty appeal, happy to be baked, boiled, mashed, smashed or turned into a mess of cubes as morning has browns. Content to be eaten all my themselves, it’s easy to forget that potatoes can be used for far more. Jumping into the baking world, I decided to take my potatoes to the oven in classic Potato Rolls. Home made bread still sounds like a head ache to some, but this recipe makes plenty to eat now, freeze or give away and is quite forgiving. These make great little sandwiches or serve with a big roast or stew. Soft, sweet and somewhat rich, these rolls are basic and take well to additions like Caramelized Onions (stir into dough, cooled, in the beginning mixing of all ingredients.) Also, see notes at bottom for using left over mashed potatoes. 

Being a fat enriched sweeter and soft dough, this can also be rolled out into a large rectangle after the first rise….brushed with butter, sprinkled with cinnamon, brown sugar and pecans… then rolled up (starting with the long side facing you) jelly roll style, sliced into rounds and made into Pecan Cinnamon Buns! Smear with cream cheese frosting or a quick powdered sugar, milk and splash of bourbon icing to drizzle on top. 

Potato Rolls 

makes 48 rolls

2-3 potatoes, skinned and cubed

water to cover (2 cups) 

2 packets yeast (1/2 ounce total) 

sprinkle sugar 

1/2 cup melted butter 

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs 

2 teaspoons salt 

6-7 cups of flour total 

egg mixed with water or cream or another yolk for egg wash

1<> Boil potatoes in water for 15-20 minutes until tender, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. Mash potatoes until smooth, and cool mash to 110 to 115 degrees, while you cool the potato water to the same temp, again 110 to 115 degrees. **This is just to not burn and kill your yeast.) 

2<> Dissolve the yeast with the cooking water and the sprinkle of sugar in a large bowl. Let stand a few minutes while you gather rest of ingredients. 

3<> Add in the reserved potato mash, butter, honey, eggs, salt and 3 cups of flour. Beat until smooth and then stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft yet cohesive dough. Turn onto a lightly floured counter or bread board and knead until soft and smooth, about 8 to 20 minutes depending on your kneading skills… A dough hook will also do this for you if you have a stand mixer. 

4<> Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a draft free spot until doubles in size…about 1 hour. **Dough can also be placed in fridge and allowed to “slow rise” over night at this stage**

5<> Punch dough down and turn onto a lightly floured counter again. Shape into 48 equal sized rolls OR proceed with Cinnamon Bun Variation above. Place into greased round pans or on a greased baking sheet. I let the sides all touch to get that pull apart soft yeast roll side. Cover again and let rise another 30 minutes to an hour until double in size. 

6<> Preheat oven to 400^…. Uncover rolls and brush with egg wash. Bake 20-30 minutes until puffy and cooked through. Cool on racks. 

**Left over mashed potatoes can be used here but since they already come with butter and such, decrease the melted butter in the recipe or remove it completely depending on how rich you made you mashed potatoes. Cheese doesn’t not hurt either, and will work. **

**Freeze left over mashed potatoes for another batch of rolls or to break off chunks of the frozen mash for stirring into soups that need a little more body or thickening.**

Hopefully you are all finding your own inspirations in this box, as was I with the warm aroma of roasted winter squash already in the air as it met its early fate in my oven today. A Japanese proverb one said that “One kind word can warm three winter months.” I think a kind and delicious meal can warm all the winter months, and here are a few more ideas of how to use this week’s share…

Parsnips: sweet and nutty tasting, obviously these make a great dish roasted. After roasting you can also puree with plenty of butter and salt for a base that fills in for mashed potatoes, add herbs such as thyme, dill, sage or tarragon as all compliment parsnips…Parsnips can also be substituted for carrots, and if yours taste sweet and tender enough, by all means, grate them into salads raw…along with toasted walnuts to balance their sweetness. Or combine with carrots and potatoes in stews, braises or alongside while roasting a chicken. 

Beets: Again, roasting is an easy staple way to enjoy those (high heat, covered, slip off skins once tender all the way through) where they can then be sliced and/or drizzled with an Orange Balsamic Glaze made by combining a 2 to 1 ratio of OJ and balsamic vinegar with a little honey or sugar, and reducing over medium heat to half. Add fresh orange zest too if you like. This blood toning super food also makes a wonderful soup addition… Or if you’re on a cleansing start to the new year and own a juicer… go to town with a Red Dragon juice of beets, apples, celery and fresh ginger.  

Daikon: …is a Radish…and a bit hotter than red radishes with  juicy flesh. Grate into a salad along side the carrots, dressing with toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, cilantro (I skip the green usually and add seaweed…) and black sesame seeds. Radishes and sweet local carrots remain to be a great way to include raw vegetables into a winter diet, maintaining even more of their nutritional value. 

Quick Bits:  Taking a nod from simple British cooking I heard about rough dicing carrots and parsnips, boiling them with a little water until soft, and then smashing them all together with butter and some herbs like chopped sage or thyme… salting and having a simple pleasant mash side dish that still highlights the vegetables.

From January 10, 2010: A Warm Winter Welcome! 

For some, the signaling of winter came when the days grew short and dark. Colder temps beckon folks indoors; to soups, stews and mugs of hot cocoa. People seem to nest a little more and think that life takes a long nap until it is awaken by the spring. Bidding farewell to salads and watching many farmer’s markets close for the season, some fall into thinking winter means the stop to local produce and goods. Though this scenario is not the case at all, and the Winter CSA shares are here to share the bounty that goes far beyond the summer months. Despite the snow covered grounds and sound of the wind whirling through the trees here at Paisley Farms, the lands and nature are bouncing along right on schedule with a clock that ticks in tune with seasons. Lucky for all of you receiving the Winter CSA shares, you too can participate and experience the rhythm of winter in all its myriad edible forms. 

After a great 2009 with plenty of greens, the new year is already shaping up to just as fulfilling with the official start for the Winter CSA this past week! It also is the start to my writing and help with the Paisley Farm blog so a big hello from me, Claire, a southern food writer and pastry chef living next door to the farm. I extend my sincere appreciation to all of you participating and know that you all truly understand the quality of local food and the meaning of where food comes from. You are taking a step in the direction of better health, a better food system and a better environment overall. I will keep you all posted on what is going on up here on the farms or with the other purveyors, such as ….farms cheese and …eggs. 

Truly a way to honor winter, this selection excited me with possibility! You might have noticed the eggs and spelt berries and thought… hey, this isn’t produce. Well, winter shares function a little differently in that you all can look forward to those items in the coming weeks along with more local grains, fresh dried beans including red beans, black turtle beans and organic soy beans; fresh maple syrup, honey, and local greenhouse mesclun salad mix. Grown in a greenhouse in Highland, NY the greens will be arriving when they have grown a little more.With less sunlight these shorter days, the sweet little lettuces are still getting bigger. More information and pictures of the greenhouse are coming soon, too! Also coming in the next few weeks is local cheese from Brovetto Family Farms, also called Harper’s Field. Producing fine cheeses, this farm even has specialty flavors of cheese such as dill, caraway and some flavored with green tea or a smoky Lapsang souchong. And you thought you were just getting the basics! 

Let’s move to the box for week one, which contained:

• Carrots
• Parsnips
• Daikon
• Beets
• Apples
• Potatoes
• Spaghetti Squash
• Soup Pumpkins 
• Golden Nugget Squash
• Garlic 
• Onions
• Eggs 
• Mustardo Rose Radishes 
• and…Organic Spelt  Berries! 

A few notes on this box exist in that the apples this year were plentiful, but sadly  not all of them had that long of a shelf life according to Michael. Some of the apples this week might be softer, yet are ideal for baking and cooking. Sweet and ready to be had, enjoy those as soon as you can by making a quick applesauce, mixing them into hot oatmeal, making a speedy crisp or crumble, baking them into apple muffins (recipe soon!), roasting first with the parsnips and then mashing together, or cooking them into a sweet and savory braise along side onions (or shallots) and pork or chicken finished with a splash of apple cider or cider vinegar. 

The spelt berries, hailing from Pederson Farms in the Finger Lakes, might also be new to some of you. Spelt is an ancient grain and relative of wheat that was mentioned as far back as the bible and was a popular staple in Europe from the bronze age through the medieval ages. Once in America it was overshadowed by wheat but is making a great come back and is worth trying in our current over-consumption of wheat products. These berries are the whole grain with the germ, bran and endosperm including meaning you get all the B vitamins, fiber and protein. Though *not* gluten free, it is easier for many to tolerate than wheat. Spelt berries can be used in pilafs or stirred into soups or cooked ahead and kept in the fridge for using in quick side dishes or cold grain salads. To cook spelt berries, it is a 2 : 1 ratio of water to grain, which can be seen in the recipe below. Being the most natural form of the grain, they do take a while to cook, about 50 minutes to an hour or more. Worth the wait though! 

Speaking of Spelt Berries, according to Tasting Table, Roman’s restaurant in Fort Greene, romansnyc.com served

“a spelt-berry soup ($7); thick with speck, cabbage and melted Parmesan, it conjures the comfort of corned beef and sings promises against the chill of January.”

Which to me was inspiration of how to try these in your own soup making! Speck is a type of ham, and the name given to an Italian prosciutto. Basically for the soup you would include a meat like bacon, prosciutto or even a smoked turkey leg could work and cook with a Parmesan rind and/or stir the cheese into your finished soup. 

Spelt Berries with Winter Squash 

variation on recipe from cayuga organics

• 2 cups of spelt berries
• 3 lbs of winter squash, peeled and cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
• extra virgin olive oil, 6 or so tablespoons 
• 1 minced shallot (or onion) 
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon Djion mustard 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries*
• 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds*
• 1 teaspoon thyme*

salt, fresh pepper to taste 

** I left the cranberries and thyme out, replaced the seeds with toasted pine nuts, stirred in wilted spinach and crumbled goat cheese over this. 

1: Preheat oven to 375^ - 400^ F. 
2: Combine the spelt with 6 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer until tender, which is actually a bit chewy for spelt, about 50 minutes. Drain and reserve. 
3: Toss the squash with olive oil and salt and roast for 40-50 minutes. At this point add the shallot (or onion), toss again and return to the oven to continue roasting for 10-15 minutes… until the squash is browning and soft. (don’t let this get crispy.) Remove from oven and cool slightly
The spelt berries and/or the squash could both be made ahead. 
4: Combine the vinegar and mustard, season to taste and whisk in 4-6 tablespoons of oil. 
5: In a large bowl, add the cranberries, seeds and thyme IF using these… OR in the variation… add wilted spinach or other cooked greens, and toasted pine nuts. 
Add your spelt berries and roasted squash cubes… 
Pour over dressing and stir gently to combine… again, taste and season as preferred. 
6: IF variation, crumble cheese over….. OR serve immediately warm. 
This will keep chilled in the fridge for 2 days and can be eaten warm, room temp or cold. 

Again, a big thank you to all…and Enjoy!

Much more to come as the season bounces right along. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their first week’s share and looking forward to a great (mini-)season! If you have any recipes you think your fellow members would appreciate, be sure to email them to your site coordinator, and we’ll be sure to post them.

Here are a few ideas to get the juices flowing…

Roast Pumpkin with Cheese “Fondue” A great recipe for entertaining, gorgeous presentation, and delicious beyond words.

If the pumpkin is too much of a production, maybe try Martha’s Gratineed Baked Squash Halves with your golden nugget squash, which is sure to be an elegant addition to your weeknight supper.

What about that daikon radish? Well, member Dave Klopfenstein took it upon himself (along with some nudging from me) to demystify the daikon and also came up with an amazing indian-inspired dinner idea.

And if you’re just in the mood to bake cookies, use 2 of them farm fresh eggs for Peanut Butter Cookies with Milk Chocolate Chunks. I’m not much of a cookie baker, but this recipe has changed my life. Be sure to add a tad more peanut butter than what the recipe calls for.

Enjoy, and stay warm!!

Dear Paisley Farm CSA members,

I would like thank every one for their support this season. The summer of 2009 will be remembered for a long time. The challenges we faced this summer are like no other. Mother Nature has reminded us who is really in charge. The rain and cool temperatures have humbled many a farmer from Kentucky to Maine. Our farm lies in two counties, Colombia and Dutchess, and both have been declared agricultural disaster areas by the governor. It’s hard to keep an optimistic view on things with so many days of rain and so few nice days to get the work done - and then on top of that be officially declared a disaster.

Our CSA has kept us going from day to day. The produce that you have received is the result of hard work and the plants’ ability to withstand the season’s harsh conditions. Failures this season are too numerous to describe but are all related to the bad weather and scheduling needs of our short growing season here in the Hudson Valley. Every season I have dreams of what we will grow and harvest but never have I been so disappointed.

Diversity has always been the key to survival; the vegetables you have received represent about half of what we attempted to grow. I hope our members understand what we have gone through this year and can appreciate what we have achieved given the circumstances. I have been talking to other farmers and feel lucky compared to the loses they have seen. We will survive thanks to your support and understanding.

The good news is that the rain has stopped and we have plenty planted. Soon we will have radishes, turnips, cabbage and winter squash. We will be harvesting more potatoes and leeks throughout. We are also planning to have a harvest party soon and will combine this with a garlic planting event. I’m sorry for not communicating in the past weeks but I have looking for some positive things to report on. Lately, the weather has been great - we hope you all can attend the harvest party!

Yours truly,
Michael Kokas
Paisley Farm

Like Annie mentioned this week in the add-on email, it’s been a rough season for tomatoes. Check out the Times article from today attesting to the crop losses:

Northeast Tomatoes lost, Potatoes May Follow

Although we may not get tomatoes in abundance this year, the peaches are looking beautiful and pair well with basil too. Grill a couple of halved and stoned peaches,  layer them over mozzarella or slather with chevre and nestle a couple of citrusy green basil leaves in between. Drizzled with a little market honey and coarse sea salt, you might be able to forgive the tomatoes their unfashionably late arrival.

Many of you have been asking…

“What’s happening on the farm?”

“Why are there so many greens?” or “Why is a there a slug in my treviso?”

and inevitably,

“Where are my fava beans?

I caught up with Mike the Farmer this week to get some of your questions answered and connect this weird weather to the deliciousness that has prevailed despite downpours and drudgery.

“The challenges we have faced on the farm have been described to me by a fellow farmer as a “vegetables growers nightmare. At the beginning of the season we turned over a new field only to be disappointed by the many large rocks and boulders we uncovered. In fact the plow caught a large bolder and was ripped in half. We spent the next 24 hours welding it back together. It not only took good welding skills, but we  had to employ strict geometry as well, which makes these plows work. (It bent  before it broke).

“In the long run this hardscrabble field has been good to us. The rocky soil carries away excess rain that has flooded many a neighboring field and the surface rocks warm up the soil . Warm soil is necessary for seeds to germinate and plants to grow. The effects of the rain have given us the largest lettuce we have ever grown, but have limited our variety. We have had a hard time of planting with the 32 days of rain. We lost a field of peas to deer and the fava beans we picked were infested with ants. We had to trow out many transplants because they got too big to plant. Our next task is to stake 4000 tomato plants.”

Mike and Jan, your Paisley Farmers, have been featured on the website Friend of the Farmer - check out this video:

Paisley Farm and the Future of Food from David Becker on Vimeo.