Hi everyone,
We did it. We’ve made it through a summer full of delicious, locally grown produce. Spring onions, greens, melons, corn, squashes and apples; it really has been a treat.
First, some quick housekeeping. This is the last share of the CSA Club, but we are going to ask that you come see us one more time Sunday 11/12. If you do pick-up, same time, same place. And for delivery, we will make the rounds. This way we’re able to collect totes and containers to close out the season. We’ll even promise a treat for everyone so that you aren’t left empty handed.
Next, we want to make sure to give credit where credit is due, and show appreciation for Nichols Farm who did all of the truly hard work. Without everyone at the farm, Gard Mo could not do the work that we do. We also want to give a quick shoutout to all of the other growers and producers that we have sourced from throughout the season for Larder items and premium add-ons.
Gard Mo exists because of our conviction that eating locally grown food is not only better for you, but better for all. In supporting the local food system, we strengthen our own community by reallocating our food dollars away from the consolidated, profit-driven, and high-impact large scale industrial food system. In the words of Todd Nichols (our farmer):
Our team on the farm is top notch and we could not do any of it without them. The farm employs around 45 people so when you purchase a CSA share from us you are supporting 45 local households and nearly every dollar goes right back into our local economy. Choosing to eat local not only ensures you healthier and fresher foods it also is good for every other local business.
Thank you all so much for joining us on the journey of our first season. It really has been an amazing experience for Lisa and me. We hope that you all have enjoyed it as much as we have, and keep an eye out for all of the things we have planned for the winter and next season.
Keep eating local.
Ben & Lisa
We received honey crisps a couple of shares back, but we won’t complain.
20 Ounce Apples are named such because they can grow to be monstrously big. With a nice level of tartness and flavor similar to Granny Smiths, 20 Ounce Apples first appeared in 1843, supposedly discovered natively growing in upstate New York.
These are some of the biggest delicatas we’ve ever seen. With a thin edible skin, you often see them sliced and roasted as pretty rings. Being so big, these would do well cubed and roasted (or anyway you’d do any other winter squash).
In order to store well, sweet potatoes are cured after harvest. After spending 10 days at 85-90 degrees, the sweet potatoes will keep at 60 degrees until spring, which is good because Nichols Farm harvested over 30,000lbs (!!) this season.
The Bayou Belles are the purplish-red, ones, while the Covingtons have brick orange skin.
The last time we had these was in the first share of the season. What a fun way to go full circle. We love fingerling potatoes in general because they’re so easy to use roasted whole or simply sliced.
A lot of leek to close out the season, but we like that though. Besides cleaning leeks (but that’s what you have Gard Mo for), they’re easy to use and add a nice mellow oniony-ness to any dish.
The smaller leaves of baby bok choi makes it nice for use whole, either quickly boiled, steamed, or roasted. Or just chop it and add to a veggie stir fry.
The sprouts are starting to get larger further into the season. If you’re looking for something different, try making a slaw, thinly slicing the brussels sprouts in place of cabbage.
Celery is often described as having no flavor, but that’s just not true. It has a very distinctive flavor that most people would recognize as celery, but it’s just subtle. That aroma is due to less common compounds called phthalides in combination with the ever-common terpenes (piney, citrus, etc.).
Similar to last share, I trimmed these a bit to remove the roots and the dirtier outer layers of skin, but that exposed the less fully-cured layers so store these in the crisper box in the refrigerator and they will last quite a while.
These are some large radishes. You’ll often see daikons pickled in Korean cuisine, and these would be very pretty prepared that way. Otherwise, they do well roasted or sautéed.
Parsley can be polarizing, but I promise this flat leaf Italian parsley is much nicer than the curly parsley that finds its way onto plates. Throw into any dish for a bit of brightness.
You could call this ‘essence of corn’. As we cut all the corn off the cob for you all throughout the season, we held on to the cobs so that we could make this corn cob stock. The flavor is intense and pretty sweet, so consider diluting with some water to use. Corn Cob Stock would make a great ramen, corn risotto, or a tortilla soup.
These cherry tomatoes actually came from my Dad’s garden in Geneva, IL. He planted some cherry tomatoes a few years back, and now they just come back every year and are without a doubt the most productive tomato plants I’ve ever seen.
We pickled them with sherry vinegar and dill seed. Toss in a salad, or scrape across a piece bread for a burst of summer.
Janie’s Mill flour, water, salt, and the sourdough starter Lisa and I have been cultivating for the last four years. Crusty, fluffy, and satisfying.
