How to Make Sweet Corn Grow In Late Summer

Farm Fresh Tomatoes

The tomato plants have not done real well as of yet this year but they are starting to produce.

Home Made Pizza

All the toppings in these pizzas come from veggies grown for our CSA. 

FMC Sweet Corn Picker

Bonnie Likes Sweet Corn

Video submitted by Letha Drury

Fantasy Cabbage Rolls

Fantasy Cabbage Rolls

1 lb lean, ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 can (14 1/2 oz) whole peeled tomatoes

3/4 C Nishiki Rice (white rice, Uncle Ben's should be fine)

2 T Kikkoman Soy Sauce

1/2 teas oregano, crumbled

1/2 teas basil, crumbled

1/2 teas black pepper

3/4 lb green cabbage cut into bite-size chunks (about 4 C, packed)

Heat large frying pan over high heat. Add beef; saute 3 to 4 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add onion and garlic; saute 1 minute longer. Mix in tomatoes (undrained), breaking up with spoon, rice, soy sauce, oregano, basil, pepper and 1 and 1/4 C water. Arrange cabbage on top. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir cabbage into beef mixture. Cover and let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 5 servings, about 1 and 1/2 C each.

Eggplant Dip

Eggplant Dip

Bake the long skinny eggplant (not the American large eggplant) in oven until soft inside (about 20 minutes. Alternatively, grill the eggplant over a gas grill, rotating it around until the skin is completely charred, about 10 minutes.

Let cool.

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and scoop the pulp into a food processor. Process the eggplant, a small amount of fresh garlic, plain yogurt, tahini (cheaper to get at an international store but Krogers does have it), salt and lemon juice until smooth.

We like to dip pita bread or chips.

This recipe was given to me by a friend who is originally from Iraq. This is a native dish. I have discovered that most middle east and Orientals prefer the long skinny eggplant, not the American eggplant.

Submitted by Shelley Gaffney

The Sweet Corn Is Ready

The Sweet Corn is Ready.

$3.00 a Dozen

Green Beans

Green Beans should be plentiful this year.  We will have Romas and Tenderettes available through our CSA and farmers market.  If you are interested in larger orders for canning let us know in advance and we can have them ready for you.

 

July 4th, UK IFN Event

On July 4th the University of Kentucky Chapter of the International Fellowship Network visited the Gaffney Farm.  Some of the countries and cities represented were: China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Iran, Iraq, USA, Kyrgyzstan, Taiwan, Korea, Brazil, Romania, and Hong Kong.  The event was organized by the Church Of The Savior. 

Chocolate Zuchinni Cake

1/2 c soft margarine 1/2 c. oil
1 3/4 c. sugar
Cream these three ingredients together and add
1tsp vanilla
1/2 c. sour milk

Mix 2 1/2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp each cinamon, cloves, baking powder, salt

Add 2 c. grated zuchinni

Combine all ingredients and mix well

Pour into greased 9 x 13 inch pan

Sprinkle on top 1 c choc chips, 1/2 c chopped nuts and 1/4 c. sugar

Bake 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

 

Submitted by Susan Buffin

 

 

Roasted Carrots

I cleaned the share of carrots, leaving them whole and rough chopped several of the larger green onions. Preheating the oven to 400 degrees, I put the carrots and onion into a ceremic stone style pan and drizzled with olive oil and some salt and Mrs. Dash for seasoning. I cooked them until the onion started to brown and the carrots were soft, probably about 25-30 minutes. It was just wonderful, with the sugars in the carrot and onion carmelizing. We can't wait to fix it again!

Submitted by Letha Drury

Zuchinni Bread

Zucchini Bread

2 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teas baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini (use peel & all)
1 cup raisins (dark or golden. I like golden the best) put raisins in a little flour and shake just to coat the raisins with flour. Bakes better.
1/4 teas salt

Put in bowl 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 c sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda. Mix well.

In another bowl mix eggs, oil, vanilla. Add to dry mixture. Add zucchini, raisins (floured), & salt.
Grease loaf pans, dust with white sugar. Pour mixture into loaf pans.
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Yield: 2 loafs

New Veggies

Over the next few weeks the types of items in the CSA should begin to change.  Lots of the produce thus far has been cold weather leafy crops. Warmer weather crops are starting to mature and will start to be a larger portion of member's weekly shares.  This week there are three new items in the CSA and they are carrots, red potatoes, and zucchini.

Creamy Beet Soup

Ingredients:

6 Medium Size Beets
4T Butter
1 Medium Size Onion Minced
1 Large Potato
6C Milk
Salt and Pepper To Taste


Preparation:
 -Peel and slice beets into 1/4" sections.
 -Slice potato into 1/4" sections.
 -Use sauce pan to melt butter and cook down onions.
 -In a larger pot add the milk, potatoes, butter, and cooked onions and cook on medium heat. 
 -When potatoes start to soften (20-30 minutes) add the beets to the pot.
 -Keep on medium heat for another 10-20 minutes.
 -When the beets have softened the mixture is ready to puree. 
      -Depending on your blender, adding the warm/hot mixture to the blender may or may not be a    good idea.  We use the Vita-Mix blender and it is ok for blending warmer mixtures.  If you are unsure you may want to let the mixture cool down, and then puree.
      -To avoid making to large of a mess during blending we blended half of the mixture at a time. 

Mashed Potatoes From Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 Cauliflower Head

.25tsp Black Pepper
3.5T Butter
1.5T Cream Cheese
.5C Grated Parmesan
1tsp Minced Garlic
.25 Cube Chicken Bullion

Preparation:

-Cut Cauliflower into smaller pieces.
-Boil Cauliflower in water for 7 minutes.
-Remove water from cauliflower with a strainer.
-Immediately while cauliflower is still hot move to medium size metal pot and add:
              -Cream Cheese
              -Parmesan Cheese
              -Garlic
              -Bullion
              -Pepper
              -Butter
               -Immediately mix with hand mixer.
-If the cauliflower is difficult to mix with the hand mixer or a more creamy texture is desired adding a little milk during mixing works great.

The First Tomatoes

With a little rain the tomato plants should start producing.

Gazpacho

With tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers on the way this recipe is a summer hit.  Lots of variations and creativity can be easily added to this recipe.  If you are not a fan of Jalapenos or Garlic you may want to cut back a little on both.

Preparation:  Mix all ingredients together and serve in a large bowl.  Chill before serving.

Ingredients:
1 Diced Bell Pepper
2C Diced Cucumbers
4C Diced Tomatoes
1C Minced Cilantro
1 Lemon Juiced
1/2t Sea Salt
1 Minced Small Jalapeno Pepper
1 Minced Garlic Clove

Oriental Slaw

Mix: 
1 package cole slaw mix or 3-4C chopped or sliced Asian, Savoy, or regular head of cabbage
1 bunch green onions

Dressing:
1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 packets seasoning mix from ramen noodles

Toast:
1C sunflower seeds
2 packages crushed Ramen noodles
1 small bag silver almonds

Add crunchies just before tossing.

Stir all ingredients together.

Submitted Kay McAllister

Fresh Herbs

Planting Banana Peppers

Sweet Banana Peppers are very popular during the summer.  These banana peppers were a bit large when we planted them but should turn out really nice.  We enjoy cutting them in half, breading, and then frying them.     

Pictures From the Third CSA Week

FMC Sweet Corn Picker

 Picking sweet corn has traditionally been a labor intensive time consuming process on the farm.  A combine will not work for picking sweet corn, it would damage the corn.  This year we will be using this FMC sweet corn picker.  We should be able to pick much more sweet corn in a shorter time period.  If you drive by the farm early in the morning during sweet corn season you may see this setup moving through the field. 

The Cauliflower Is Coming Along

The cauliflower plants are producing some great heads of cauliflower.  Cauliflower require extra care because if the head is left exposed to the sun it will turn purple and rot.  The leaves of the plant are tied up around the head of cauliflower to block the sun.  Each plant has to be done this way, so as you can imagine it takes a lot of time and rubber bands.  Producing cauliflower requires extra work, but nice white heads of cauliflower are worth it.  Varieties have been developed that do not have such a negative reaction to the sun.  Such varieties require less work but many cauliflower connoisseurs agree that they do not reach their standards in taste.  Therefore a little extra work keeps everyone happy.

Canning Sauerkraut

 Lula Mae Hatfield Gaffney's family recipe

Tightly pack chopped up cabbage into quart canning jars. (I use a cuisinart food processor.  My grandpa, Richard Oelsner, would slice his cabbage by hand in very thin strips.  Either way works.) Add 1 teaspoon salt and  1 teaspoon sugar to 1 quart jar.  Pour boiling water into quart jar, enough to cover.  Run knife down sides to work out bubbles.  Screw lids on tightly.  Leave in a dark cool place for two weeks.  (Lula Mae would call this 'letting the cabbage process.') 

After two weeks in a cool dark place, clean lids off, boil lids.  Process in pressure canner for 5 minutes at 5 lbs pressure. 

I have a wonderful pork roast recipe that I use the homemade sauerkraut.  This pork roast recipe is a New Year's Day traditional dinner. Will post that recipe at a later time.

Submitted by Shelley Gaffney.

Cream of Vegetable Soup

This recipe can be made with broccoli, asparagus, or peas, but for best flavors, don't mix them. (I want to try using cauliflower and potatoes sometime.)

2    cups low-sodium chicken broth

2    cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I have used all chicken broth or all vegetable broth because that was all I had, and it works just fine.)

1/4 cup white wine (I usually use white cooking wine.)

1    teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried    (Can use 2 teaspoons fresh tarragon instead.  I like it both ways.)

2    bay leaves

2    tablespoons unsalted butter

2    large shallots, minced   (I use green onions with green part also minced.  Chives would also be fine.)

      Salt and ground black pepper

2    tablespoons all-purpose flour   (I use 3 tablespoons because I like my soup thicker.)

2    pounds fresh broccoli, or asparagus, chopped coarse, or 1 1/2 pounds frozen peas  (I use more vegetables if I have them, makes a richer soup.)

1/2 cup half-and-half

1.  HEAT BROTH MIXTURE:  Bring broths, wine, thyme, and bay leaves to boil, covered, in large saucepan.

2.  SAUTE SHALLOTS/GREEN ONIONS:  Meanwhile, melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots or green onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook  until softened, about 3 minutes.   Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.

3.  ADD BROTH MIXTURE AND VEGETABLES:  Slowly stir in broth mixture.  Add vegetables, bring to simmer, and cook until vegetables are tender yet retain their green color, about 5 minutes.  Remove bay leaves.

4.  PUREE, FINISH, AND SEASON:  Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth.  (I use the Vitamix machine.  Love it!)  Return pureed soup to pot and stir in half-and-half.  Return soup to brief simmer, then remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. 

Serves 6

Safety tip:  many vegetable soups are best pureed in a blender to create a smooth texture.  Blending hot soup can be dangerous, though.  To prevent mishaps, don't fill the blender jar past the halfway point, and hold the lid in place with a folded kitchen towel. 

This recipe used by permission from America's Test Kitchen (www.AmericasTestKitchen.com), from the editor's of Cook's Illustrated.  I own many of their recipe books and magazines.  Love them!!!

 

Pictures From The First Week

The first weeks harvest consisted of pak choi, onions, radishes, broccoli, and spinach.  We hope everyone enjoyed the fresh veggies and look forward to hearing member's comments and ideas. Please feel free to email us whatever questions, comments, or recipes you might have.

How We Cook Pak Choi

The picture on the left shows broccoli and pak choi that is available through the CSA.  These two vegetables will be part of the membership share this week. We combined the two together to make a stir fried dish that turned out well.  The ingredients needed are:

-1 pak choi head
-1 broccoli head
-1C orange juice
-2T corn starch
-2T soy sauce

We first rinsed the pak choi broccoli thoroughly to remove soil inside the head of each.  The pak choi was then pulled apart into separate smaller heads as can be seen in the picture on the right.

The broccoli was then cut up into small pieces and set aside in a separate bowl.  The small individual heads of pak choi were cut to separate the leafy section from the thicker denser body. The cut up broccoli and thicker pak choi pieces were then stir fried over medium heat.  We used olive oil, but the type of oil should be interchangeable.

The mixture was stir fried over medium heat until the broccoli and pak choi were cooked down considerably.  When the pak choi and broccoli had a soft consistency the leafy pak choi section that was separted earlier was then added to the stir fry.  The leafy portion should cook down rather quickly. 

To season the stir fried pak choi and broccoli we made a sauce from the orange juice, corn starch, and soy sauce.  We added the three together and then stirred the mixture to get it into solution.  It was then added to the stir fried pak choi and broccoli. As the sauce warms up and mixes it should start to thicken.  The picture on the left showed what our finished product looked like.  We served it over white rice and it turned out well.

First Pick Up

Thursday May 19th will be our first official pick up day.  We have emailed all the members to let them know and we are looking forward to everyone coming out.  We will be handing out shares from 3pm to 6pm in the red barn. The shares this week will be light due to weather, but whenever we get plenty of sun and decent temperatures the field will really produce.

A Few Days Of Sun

   The past few days have been great for the plants in the field.  The sun has been shining and it has been dry enough to get some work done.  The broccoli and cauliflower have really taken off recently.  We are looking forward to the first harvest.  It is a shame that it had to be moved back but mother nature had other plans.