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. We will deliver the shares Sunday morning sometime between 10 am and 12 pm. This is the last share of the CSA Club, but we are going to ask that you come see us one more time Sunday 11/19. Since we’re doing deliveries for everyone, we will make the rounds so that 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
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.
We’ve got a little bit of theme with the apples this share, so if you haven’t thought about the Roman Empire recently, you’re welcome.
Empire Apples are named so because they developed at Cornell University. A cross between McIntosh and Red Delicious. Aromatic with nice sweet/tart balance, Empires are great snacking apples.
Rome Apples are an old variety, originating in Rome, Ohio in 1816. These apples are top-shelf baking apples. With a thicker skin, they hold their shape very well cooked, and get sweeter (their flavor is a little flat fresh).
Spaghetti Squash is named such because of the way the the flesh breaks apart when cooked. You’ll often see it in recipes replacing pasta but I think it stands alone pretty well with just some butter. Roasted is a sure-fire way to cook it, but if you’re in a rush microwaving it works as well (quartered, ~3 mins).
We really like leek because of how easy it is to use. We cut it down to manageable size pieces so all that you have to do is give it a quick slice and throw in with whatever other veggies you’re cooking.
A mix of orange and yellow carrots. Sweet, snappy, and snacky.
Spinach in the shares this week was a happy accident of the whacky weather recently. We had initially planed for some bok choi, but the cold weather this week killed off the tender crops at the farm. However, hardy crops like spinach, actually get sweeter as the cold nights set in so we get to enjoy some sweet fall spinach.
There were red beets in the share this week, but using a little TV magic, we canned and pickled them for you.
Beets pickled and canned with baking spices, Tinyshop vinegar, and Michigan beet sugar.
We’re at the point in the season that these onions were just about fully cured to the point that they could have been kept in the pantry…..however I trimmed them a bit. In an effort to trim the roots and remove some of the dirtier outer layers of skin I’ve exposed the less fully cured layers. They’ll keep fine like this stored in the crisper box in the refrigerator though for quite a while.
Brussels sprouts are one of the more time consuming things for us to prep. We trim the woody ends, and remove the outer dark green leaves. We do that for two reasons. One is that there is often some bad leaves just under those couple tops leaves, and without going through them all you end up playing a bit of rotting-brussels-roulette. Second is that removing those green thick leaves yields sprouts that brown nicer and taste less bitter.
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.).
A while back, we mentioned that we we’re including celery leaves in the share. But I (Ben), in a let’s-get-this-done stupor, put all of those leaves into the freezer forgetting that we promised them to you all. Well here are some from the celery in the share this week.
Add as a garnish to about any dish for added freshness and aromatics. The celery flavor comes through for a nice earthy depth.
Japanese sweet potato from the outside look like the Carolina Rubies that we had a few shares back, but their flesh is a pale white. Fluffy, and sweet these are pretty tasty just baked, or use anywhere you would any other sweet potato.
