Category Archives: Our Farm

Butternut

2015 CSA Summer September 5th

2015 CSA Summer September 5th

  •  Eggplant Medley
  •  Watercress Box
  • Baby Sorrel
  • Pepper Medley
  • Potatoes
  •  Lemon Verbena
  • Rose Geranium
  • Poultry Herb Blend
  • Tarragon
  • Thai Basil
  • Squash/Zucchini
  • Squash Blossoms
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Butternut Squash

Butternut squash this week! In the same family as pumpkin, is often times used in recipes in its place. So if you have recipes you like that call for pumpkin, try this as a substitute. My favorite “pumpkin pie” is made with butternut instead. Butternut squash lends itself delicious for both sweet and savory dishes. Used as an ingredient in homemade pasta, for stuffing, or cubed to be roasted, in soups, muffins and breads. If a savory soup or roast is on your mind, consider using your Poultry herbs chopped finely in your dish. It is easy to cut in half, scoop out the seeds and roast in a bit of water for half an hour… then you can flip it over and dress with pumpkin spices, some fresh grated ginger, butter and brown sugar for a decadent treat. Or stuff with savory greens, herbs, cheese or rice blend and bake the halves for about ½ an hour at 400f. For a delicious pie, use 1 ½ cups of cooked/pureed squash, 1 cup of sugar/light brown sugar, 3 eggs, ¾ cup evaporated milk or half and half, dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger (or insert some fresh grated ginger), salt, 2 tbs flour, 1 tbs of melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla combined and poured into a 9” pie crust, and if you like, garnish with pecans (i also like to add crushed pecans into the crust). Bake @350 for 45-50 minutes (or until the top of the pie is set) and allow to cool before cutting. Yum!
Also new this week is our award winning sorrel…with a tangy lemony flavor, it pairs well with fish and poultry. It is often pureed, sometimes with onion, to produce a soup that is served either hot or cold. Sorrel is a fan favorite of our line of pesto selections made here at the farm in our inspected and certified kitchen. For simple use, try a few leaves quickly chopped beneath your hot fish or chicken. As a salad addition, it pairs nicely with apple. Consider combining flavors in your CSA by marinating yogurt with some rose geranium, scissor cutting the lemon verbena into tiny strips across your salad bed and finishing with larger chopped sorrel and apple. Top with the yogurt marinade and some nuts…enjoy!

Rose Flower House

2015 CSA Summer August 29th

2015 CSA Summer August 29th Planet Earth Diversified

  • Baby Arugula Box
  • Watercress Box
  • Eggplant Mix
  • Pepper Medley
  • Tomatoes
  • New Potatoes
  • Gourmet Cucumber
  • Bay Laurel
  • Rose Geranium
  • Lemon Verbena
  • Thai Basil
  • Tarragon
  • Zucchini/Squash
  • Squash Blossoms

2015CSA_Summer_Aug_29_2
This week revives a favorite combo for our new members, rose geranium & lemon verbena, plus fulfills the request for bay leaves for ant control..what? Learned something new! I had heard of keeping bay leaves with grain harvest to repel bugs and was popularly utilized in my childhood in flour or rice storage. But for ants? That was a first. As to the lemon verbena/rose geranium combo, here is an online link that include a quick cake recipe: https://specials.planetearthdiversified.com/rosey-outlook-coffee-cake/ which was featured in an article in the Cville along side several locally loved chef presentations. Roses are long considered beneficial with pages written as to their virtues, but production for use can be prohibitive, especially when dealing with aroma. Rose geranium provides a vivid mirror of that fragrance and is being researched modernly for many health purposes. Tea can easily be made by bringing a couple of quarts of water to a boil and pouring that over a sprig each of the verbena and geranium. When geranium leaf color is almost light brown, sweeten if you like and make an iced tea. Often times the herbs are included in the drink jug and further flavor refills of water on the road. These herbs can also be used in simple chilled applications like an infused yogurt dressing or a marinade salad. Try rosey yogurt on an apple or mixed fruit salad within 30 minutes of combining the two. Stewing the leaves with fruit over heat with your favorite sweetener can accent pancakes or be used later for a chutney. The verbena combined with a light vinegar and cucumber slices brightens and cools; these also do well combined to soak overnight in water, creating a delightful tonic. All of the herbs in this week’s CSA share can be dried or frozen for future use. Daniel, the Jam Man at Saturday’s market, uses mint or Thai basil in making his jams. Check out his seasonal inspiration for stocking the pantry or dreaming up your own concoctions with harvest and canning time upon us.

Snapping Turtle

2015 CSA Summer August 22nd

2015 CSA                Summer August 22nd  ­­              Planet Earth Diversified

  •  Baby Arugula Box
  •  Rainbow Chard
  •  Green Beans
  •  Eggplant Mix
  •  Pepper Medley
  •  Watercress Box
  •  Collards
  •  Tomatoes
  •  Gourmet Cucumber
  •  New Potatoes
  •  Lemongrass
  •  Rosemary
  •  Tarragon
  •  Zucchini/Squash
  •  Squash Blossoms

A little different format this week..answer to a question from you: “Do you do anything to prevent small animals from being hurt by your farm machinery? How do you prevent animals from eating your crops? (poison, etc?)” We trap and release animals like snapping turtles, skunks, etc; we do not poison animals (and most know us pretty well by now). We are compelled by our certifications and inspections to somehow prevent animal cross-contact with food, soil and water…we cannot afford nets, fencing or other fancy deterrents but do monitor and document all crop area activities, including signs of wildlife. The same for our water: clean to the plant, documented, inspected. And soil: tested, timed, documented, inspected. Each step we take, we are conscientious of our biodiverse habitat and do our best to move any insect or animal (fungi or crustacean, too) that may be in harm’s way. Most animals know our routine and often we find we are spending the morning with the rabbits or the evening with the skunks. The black snake helps with mice around feed areas and keeping away poisonous predators. Greenhouse bound butterflies get carried out by hand. Bears have come thru and hung out in the trees and taken meals. We document these and prohibit harvest within a radius. Mice are the smallest critters that come to mind and I cannot recall ever any time of Mike reporting signs of injury from tractor use. Just from a cat. Or maybe a peacock …Check in on the farm video feed at our weather stations by visiting wunderground.com and using the handles KVASTANA 1, 11, or 6 in the search to go right to each station’s feed and status.

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KVASTANA1#history

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KVASTANA11#history

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KVASTANA6#history