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Farm Visit

Last week I took my 13 year old son up to  our CSA Farm for their annual farm visit.  I love going up there...if only  that city living keeps us so removed from our food source.  It's easy to forget and ignore farming while here in fast paced NYC.  So going up to Deb and Pete's gorgeous organic farm where they have acres of beautiful vegetables growing does wonders for my psyche!  

Deb told me that this season has been the most challenging season they have ever experienced.  The abundance of rain really threw them for a loop.  They are not used to this kind of problem, and are actually experts at the opposite situation--a lack of water for the crops.  They really had to learn on the job and unfortunately lost a bunch of crops(among those--their delicious mouth watering tomatoes).

As for their annual outing, they graciously installed this huge tent for their shareholders to be sheltered from the rain(which never came) while we dined on a potluck of interesting dishes that everyone brought with and the roast pig and corn on the cob that Deb and Pete supplied-YUM!

After lunch we took a tour of the fields and we were able to pick what we wanted to take home. I took some of the Opal Basil(it's purple!) to make some more pesto and some artichokes(the first year they tried growing them.) and some eggplants.

Rhubarb

So last year when my CSA share included fresh rhubarb, I did not know what to do with it and was a little scared of tasting it. It is usually part of a sweet dish, but to me it looks like celery. So I never knew what it tasted like- or how a veggie could make a good dessert.
This year i worked with it and made a pretty tasty rhubarb strawberry crisp. It tasted pretty good and I was happy to try something new.
Trying something new: Just one of the many reasons I love being part of a CSA--i am forced to cook with ingredients that I normally would not buy. (Photo by L. to come)

First CSA Delivery of 2009! YES!

Tuesday was a great day! It was our first fresh farm veggies delivery; rhubarb, red leaf lettuce, arugula, radishes, bok choy, chinese cabbage, and some sage! My goal is to try to use up all of the veggies every week. It is a big portion for just one person, the rest of my family doesn't really eat veggies-I know, it is such a shame.
In any case, I am back to loving Tuesdays. Thanks Farmers Deb and Pete--your produce is delicious.

Farmers- True Entrepreneurs

I spent yesterday away from the soccer sidelines and up at Columbia University along with other like minded urban folks who are wannabe farmers! Just Foods, a great nonprofit, organized the event. This is their 6th CSA Expo. In a brief explanation, CSAs are groups that buy 'shares' in local farms in return for weekly deliveries of fresh crops. Last year there were 62 CSAs in NYC, this year there will be approx. 80 of them. THE TREND IS GROWING!!! YES!!!

After a day of hearing farm stories, my mind was tossing and turning about the hard lives they live and the passion they all seem to have about farming. They live the reality of our food production. The U.S. is importing too much food into the states, thereby making food too cheap. The local farmers can not compete with imported food in terms of price!!! The government is killing farming in this way and also by not protecting the farm land from developers. Too much good agricultural land is being bought up from developers. If farming and domestic farm production was given a good hard look into from our government or the press for that matter--people would realize what a crisis we are in. But as usual, since the farmers aren't represented well enough, since they are a minority and now savvy in getting PR, our country's leaders have ignored the problems. Maybe Obama's cabinet will be different--maybe? But it seems to me that nothing will get done until it is really too late!
I left the Expo wanting to do something--and I mean more than just support my CSA farmer. I am going to look into buying some farm acreage(one of the farmers suggested that good civic minded people buy farm land). Certainly cheaper than buying NYC real estate!
After the farmers spoke, various farmers presented their goods in the main dining hall

CSA in NYC Conference

Anyone interested in finding out more about CSA's should join me in attending the following conference.
CSA in NYC Conference
Keynote Speaker: Farmer Cheryl Rogowski

Sunday, March 08, 2009
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Teachers College, Columbia University
525 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027
Between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue

The Just Food Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) in NYC Conference is an opportunity for CSA members from around the city and farmers to come together for a day of workshops and discussion.

This year we are thrilled to present black-dirt farmer and MacArthur "Genius Award" Winner Cheryl Rogowski as our Keynote Speaker. Rogowski is, as cited by the MacArthur officials, "an entrepreneur who has revitalized the character of family farming as a commercial enterprise and as an engine of community development." For more, visit THE BLACK DIRT BLOG, or tune in to her radio program on WTBQ.

Our workshop topics this year will include: a discussion on CSA and farm labor issues, keeping volunteers engaged throughout the season, developing a meat share and many more. There will also be a panel discussion with CSA farmers when attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions to learn more about what it means to be a CSA farmer.

The Conference will be followed by a CSA EXPO where members, farmers and other NYC organizations will share information and expertise on growing your CSA and enjoy socializing over complimentary wine, beer, and cheese.

Pumpkin Muffins

So for the last three weeks as part of our share at the West Village CSA, we have received 3 Baby Bear Pie Pumpkins, a small variety of pumpkin that are to be used for baking purposes. All 3 pumpkins have been sitting on our counter because they were too small to carve for Halloween and I have never used pumpkin before, besides for roasting the seeds.
That's when I turned to epicurious.com and did a search. I found a wonderful recipe for pumpkin muffins. It is from this month's Gourmet Magazine. Kids critiques were positive!
Here it is:
Ingredients:
1/3 cup golden raisins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoon raw green (hulled) pumpkin seeds (pepitas), divided

Equipment: a muffin pan (preferably nonstick) with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups
Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter muffin pan if not nonstick.

Soak raisins in hot water 5 minutes, then drain.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined, then stir in raisins and 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds.

Divide batter among muffin cups and sprinkle with remaining seeds. Bake until a wooden pick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.

We are going to make them again!

CSA Farm Visit!

I am new to CSAs as this is our first season participating in one. As I have written already, the vegetables that we receive every week from our organic farm have been outstanding! And I have been in love! I am experiencing that feeling you get when you first fall in love, I am in love with these vegetables. I so look forward to every Tuesday delivery.
This is the Kale I think we are getting this Tuesday!!!

Yesterday we were fortunate enough to make it for the second farm visit to Stoneledge Farm. The Kavakos family(owners of the farm) does a great job on these farm visit days and they planned that we would pull some carrots and pick some Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes to take home.
These taste like candy and I think we ate as many as we packed!

There was also some garlic to split into cloves for next years harvest but we were too busy gathering veggies to partake in that activity. While we were picking the cherry tomatoes someone asked Deb if we could pick some peppers and she said pick what you like. We pulled some peppers and a few eggplants as well! Then we drove a mile of so to their raspberry fields and started picking berries!

It was a great day for us city dwellers!

I thought to myself why am I in the city if I get so happy at the farm??? Hmmmm am I losing my affinity to the city?
Later, after we drove home and finished cooking carrot cake, I emailed Deb and asked to work on her farm for a week next summer while the kids are at camp...hopefully she will be able to work something out!!! Fingers crossed!

Luci's Tomato and Onion Salad

For years now, Luci, who helps out here once a week, has been making me her famous Tomato and Onion Salad. It is delicious and I love it. She made it for me again yesterday-only this time using the tomatoes, onions, and cilantro that I got this week from my CSA farm share! The only extra ingredients she needed that didn't come from the farm were lemon juice, salt, and a little bit of oil.

You can use any amount of any of the ingredients--as to your personal liking or whatever you have in the house. YUM! Delicious!

Buying the Farm!

Our visit to the farm made it to ABC Nightly News on August 2nd. Here's the YouTube Clip!

Yellow Plums and Purple Peppers!

The fruit and veggie colors were funny this week from our farm-but the tastes were still delicious!  In today's share we got most of the ingredients for ratatouille; eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and a pepper.  I picked up some parsley on the way home and tonight I will cook!  I am very happy!