Paisley Farm CSA blog

March is said to be in like a lion and out like a lamb… However we are seeing pretty lamb-y conditions upstate here! The sun is shining and temperatures are temperate enough to wander around and smell the fresh air. 

For this Week:

. A Variety of Cheeses (everyone will get “a cheese” though everyone will not get the same one. For those who’s boxes might have had MIA cheese, that is being replaced this next share.) 

. Red Onions

. Parsnips

. Carrots

. Local Honey

. Butternut Squash

. Empire Apples

. Potatoes 

. Red or Black Beans 

. Eggs

….next week, some more mesclun greens, a special box next week. 

In other news… here is a bit of what has been going on the last few days before this lovely sun got to us! The Word of the Day this past week was… Mud. M. U. D….

Despite the sad reputation mud has in some circles, it is really a very happy byproduct of melting snow and good earth. It is also a sign spring is just around the corner! This past week many of us saw rain, snow, slush, more rain, lots more snow, and little to no sun. As we bid farewell to the month of February, many are quick to want to close their eyes and not open them again until March 21 and the start to spring are here… but not so quick! The last bit of winter and into early spring will bless you with another round of CSA goodies, including lots of beans and grains, as well as an Open House Maple Syrup Demonstration Party at the Farm!!! 

(and the crowd goes wild.) 

At least the crowd known as myself went wild, as there is nothing quite as fun as gathering around in the last bits of snow and tapping the trees for local, delicious Maple Syrup. Come for the Maple Syrup demonstration, where refreshments and snacks will also be provided. There will be an open grill so folks can grill as they please hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, veggie burgers or whatever tickles your fancy from the barbie! Bring your favorite beverage to enjoy in quantities that suit your agenda, though hot spiced cider will be provided by Michael and family. Being incredible hosts is yet another of their great qualities outside of growing top notch vegetables, roasting darn good lamb and being in the know about great music. It is always a good time with good company up here! So make a day trip out of it and consider lunch already taken care of, too. 

The buckets are hung on the trees with care, in hopes that you all will soon be there… wait….

Here, that is, 284 Pleasant Vale Road, Tivoli NY 12583 (map)… but logistics aside… 

Please join us for the Open House Maple Syrup Demonstration 

@  284 Pleasant Vale Road, Tivoli NY 12583

on Saturday March 20 

from 11 am to 4 pm. 

Maple syrup season actually runs into late April though many think it is a dead of winter event… images of snow make that feasible but with the coating of white on the grounds here, it will just as picturese as ever. A snapshot of you or your youngsters next to the maple syrup trees? Can you say holiday card 2010 picture? Maple syrup has been getting some good press lately in newspapers across America, with one mentioning an indiana syrup producer Tim Burton, of Burton’s Maple Farm. He was quoted as saying “I think you’re going to see more chefs reaching out to farmers and producers.” With maple syrup quickly moving off pancakes and into a broad range of dishes (noted in an entry here.) The demand continues to grow as not just due to the generalized rejection of other sweeteners these days. The flavor of maple syrup is more complex than basic sugar, with different syrups maintaining different flavor profiles. Though Vermont produced over 900,000 gallons in 2009, we are lucky to have local New York state maple syrup being produced right here, right now… and before your very own eyes! (and hands if you come up March 20.) 

Maple syrup might seem common place to some but if you grew up on a tan sweet liquid that flowed out of a woman’s head labeled “pancake syrup” (like myself) you will greatly appreciate the clean flavor and simple goodness of fresh local maple syrup. Real maple syrup also has ONE ingredient… maple syrup. A quick jump over to a nameless brand of syrup gave me this:

INGREDIENTS: CORN SYRUP, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, WATER, CELLULOSE GUM, CARAMEL COLOR, SALT, SODIUM BENZOATE AND SORBIC ACID (PRESERVATIVES), ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM HEXAMETAPHOSPHATE.

…and I cried a little inside. For the good of all pancakes and biscuits, bowls of oatmeal and yogurt, vinaigrettes and chicken glazes… please take advantage of our wonderful Maple Syrup.

From our trees to your tables.

Hello, your Maple Syrup here.

I love a good breakfast meeting but sometimes I like to feel a little more sexy and smooth… especially with Valentines coming up. Here is a simple way to make me into mousse.

6 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
3 Egg yolks
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or…
1 to 2 teaspoons grated orange peel* optional
1 cup heavy cream

Combine syrup, yolks and salt in a double boiler… Whisk constantly until mixture is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon…this will look like marshmallow cream, and color will become tan and darkened… about 5-7 minutes.

Take care not to overcook this mixture so it doesn’t curdle. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla OR orange peel. Place over a bowl of ice if you want to cool this mixture quicker… but allow to cool.

Whip the cream until firm but not dry peaks form…Once mixture is cool, fold in the cream in two editions.

Refrigerate or freeze in ramekins…if frozen, let sit for 20-30 minutes to soften.

Serve with walnut cookies or glazed hazelnuts or sliced pears or stewed apples…

It was brought to the farm’s attention recently that some folks had bad winter squash in their shares… making some question how “fresh” the items being delivered are. There was only a small small fraction that were “bad” with over 95% being quite good with quality entirely maintained. In the world of local eating by the season and thus in our CSA. Unlike a grocery store, where items are shipped in everyday from all over the world, from locales with very different climates and growing seasons, all the CSA food is from local farms. Local farms that harvest as the land and weather determines here, selecting storage crops to enjoy over the winter months. Winter squash, true to it’s name sake, it considered “winter” due to its hard outer skin which allows for storing despite being harvested earlier.

This squash in your boxes was harvested in November and has been stored properly since then, culling out of bad ones as need be. This it the way of local eating. You will not always have 100% perfection and coupled with all the rain of this past year, some of those squash just don’t make it to their final edible endings. Fret not though as there is a beautiful and connecting feeling in knowing you are eating by a time table that is not controlled by grocery managers, stock prices or the food system that has no seasons, no faces and will never tell you no to raspberries in February. So embrace your bad squash and compost it or eat it up super fast if you notice spoilage taking place. A quick slice, peel and trim is all you need to take the remaining good bits to a roasting pan to be cooked and enjoyed. Also, take note that storing these squash in over heated apartments (I know, totally out of most of our control, but worth nothing) does not help either, so try your best to keep these babies cool. 

After a proper burial for the squash lost to the good storage fight, celebrate the replacements that are ready for you! There will be an extra box at the CSA drop offs this week where any bad squash will be happily replaced! 

You lose one squash… and you gain another. Now doesn’t that feel better?  

Now that we’re on the subject of Butternut Squash, it is one of the uniquely American foods. The word “squash” comes from a Native American (Massachuset Indian) word meaning “eaten raw or uncooked,” though today we consume most of our squashes cooked. Part of the North American Food Package along with beans and soughum (each continent has a given food package of native foods,) butternut squash is thus puritanically American. Particular apples, concord grapes and maple syrup are also foods with an American birth right. Speaking of maple syrup….

Maple syrup is coming next week! Drum roll please and for your enjoyment links to a recipe and article on perfect pancakes if the syrup makes its way to a brunch near you. Maple syrup is one of the original American foods, with history telling the Indians taught the early settlers this practice. Much like how we have to store foods after harvesting, the Indians did the same and maple syrup, made after boiling off the water from maple sap of the tapped trees, added sweetness and variety to their diets into the winter months and beyond. Depending on the tribe, there are varying legends as to how maple syrup was first made, but there is no denying its role in today’s food stuffs. Now that natural eating is the only way to go with many steering clear of refined cane sugar, this sweetener is like liquid gold. With a characteristic aroma and flavor, few can deny the goodness of real and pure maple syrup. In fact, making sugar in North America is one of the toughest agricultural challenges. Some other countries have the ability to grow and process sugar easily but here we must extract sugars from plants, saps, etc. 

Make it with Maple Ideas:

<> Perfect Pancakes! recipe included My Pancake Recipe

<> Use in oatmeal, baking or sweetening tea… Swirl into yogurt….

<> Spread over toast or make a maple salad dressing, adding in toasted nuts and a good cheese…

<> Combine equal parts with Dijon mustard for a spread to put on chicken or pork before roasting… 

<> Drizzle over french toast, bread puddings, ice cream….

<> Maple glazed parsnips and/or carrots make a tasty side dish…