Minnesota Waldorf Eighth Grade Trip

Eighth graders from the Minnesota Waldorf School participated in service-learning projects at the farm. They gathered kindling for starting the winter's wood-burning stove, mucked the chicken coop, applied compost to the flower beds, stacked hay in the barn, de-seeded and sorted the remaining pumpkins, and fed the inner pumpkin pulp to the chickens, of course. They left with a few de-seeded pumpkins and ambitions of making homemade pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, etc! Thank you!

Jane Addams School for Democracy

Families, children, and adults attended the annual Jane Addams Farm Trip to share fun and work experiences together across the generations. They helped save seeds from our pumpkins, raked the farmhouse yard, and transported firewood to the porch for winter use. We celebrated with a potluck lunch and a beautiful autumn hike. Warm hugs were exchanged, many languages spoken, and good times were had by all. Thank you!

Celery Root and Wild Rice Chowder

Deborah Madison must have had Philadelphia Community Farm in mind with this recipe because it features many of our fall vegetables. It is rich, hearty, and grounding.

Yield: About 4-6

Ingredients
1/2 cup wild rice
2 celery roots (about 3 cups chopped)
2 large leeks
2 tablespoons butter
1 celery rib, diced
1 cup thinly sliced russet potato
1/4 cup chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 bay leaf
1 large thyme sprig
sea salt and pepper
2 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water
2 cups half and half or milk
truffle oil (optional)

Procedure

1. Cover the wild rice with 5 cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until tender.
2. Thickly cut away the celery root skins, then quarter and chop the root into bite-sized pieces. You should have about 3 cups. Chop and wash the leeks.
3. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the vegetables, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, and 1 1/2 half teaspoons salt. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the half and half and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Taste for salt and season with pepper. To give the soup a creamy background, puree a cup of the vegetables and return them to the pot. If the soup is too thick, thin it with some of the rice water or additional stock.
4. Divide the soup among 4 to 6 bowls then add a mound of wild rice to each. Garnish each bowl with parsley and a drop of truffle oil, if using, and serve.
   

Carrot Salad with Parsley, Lovage, and Mint

Carrot salad is a winter staple at the farm, a breath of freshness during the cold months. Deborah Madison's recipe from her Local Flavors cookbook is simple and tasty. Lovage is a little like celery. It's leaves look like celery leaves and share a clean pungent taste. Celery can be substituted for lovage in the recipe, the substitution possibilities are endless.


Yield: About 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 pound carrots
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped lovage
2 tablespoons chopped mint
sea salt and pepper
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Procedure
Peel, then grate the carrots. Toss with the chopped herbs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, the zest, and just enough oil to coat the carrots lightly. Season with pepper and chill before serving if time allows.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This recipe is my all-time easy favorite for brussel sprouts. The sprouts that you will receive in your fall shares are especially sweet because we harvested them after the frost. Try one raw while preparing them, they're much sweeter than the typical brussel sprout.

Ingredients
Brussel Sprouts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
   
2. To prepare the brussel sprouts, pour them into a large bowl of water and gently swish them around. Drain. For the larger sprouts, peel off the outer layer, chop the base of their stems off, and cut in half. For the smaller sprouts, leave whole.
3. Toss in a bowl with a generous amount of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Roast until the sprouts are tender, bright green, and have a few carmelized, brown edges, probably not more than 25 minutes. Take care not to over cook as they will turn drab green and mushy.
   

Youth Farm and Market Fall Trip

Youth Farm joined us after their fall trip to the log cabin. They continued the everlasting pumpkin seed-saving project and finished the brussel sprout harvest. In the photo above, two students demonstrated their no-frills approach to removing the leaves from the plant so the sprouts could be easily harvested.

Northwest Passage High School

Northwest Passage's Food in America Class spent a day at the farm learning about our approach to food and getting a taste of farm life. They arrived on brussel sprout harvest day and started the long process of harvesting the remaining sprouts, helped separate and clean pumpkin seeds for our seed-saving project, transported compost to the hoop house, and spent time with the animals, and enjoyed a walk to the waterfall.

City of Lakes Third Grade

A big thank you to the City of Lakes Third Grade Class who joined us on the farm for three days helping with chores, mucking the chicken coop and Burrito's stall, mulching strawberries, seeding the pumpkins, raking leaves, and learning about farm life. The students brought a wonderful enthusiasm for the animals and chores, making the week a delight.

All students had the opportunity to feed the chickens and get to know chicken life better, and some students had the task of smashing (slightly rotten) pumpkins in the chicken yard so the flesh would be accessible to the pumpkin-loving chickens.

Last week of Summer CSA Harvest...in the snow!

You may have noticed that this week's boxes are less full of vegetables than the other summer boxes. These photos offer a bit of an explanation...

Conditions were dire while harvesting leeks, and thank goodness Anna, Loyal, and Amy arrived to help out. The shared work and conversation helped block out the cold fingers!

As you can see in the background, we still have leeks remaining in the fields for fall shares.

The kale was a miniature forest.

Braised Chard

"Delicious! The best chard I've ever had." We found this recipe in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. The paprika gives a rich depth to the chard.

Yield: About 4 servings

Ingredients
2 large bunches chard, leaves sliced into 1-inch ribbons
chard stems, chopped
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
salt and pepper

Procedure
Place all ingredients in a wide, heavy pot with a few pinches salt. Add 1/4 cup water, cover tightly, and cook over low heat for 45 minutes. Check once or twice to make sure there's enough moisture. If anything is sticking, add a few tablespoons water. When done, taste for salt and season with pepper. The chard should be silky and very fragrant.

Northwest Passage High School

This group of hard-working, down-to-earth young women visited the farm as part of their expeditionary learning program.

We separated 25 pounds of garlic into individual cloves for planting.

Planted 2 beds of garlic

Harvested the remaining carrots in the snow on Saturday morning

And moved firewood for the winter. Thank you for all your hard work!

Celery Root and Wild Rice Chowder

This recipe by Deborah Madison seems perfect for Philadelphia Community Farm garden members since it uses celery root, leeks, celery, and potato.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup wild rice
1 celery root
2 large leeks, white parts only
2 tablespoons butter
1 celery rib, diced
1 cup thinly sliced russet potato
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 large thyme sprig
salt and pepper
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups half and half or milk
truffle oil, optional

Procedure

1. Cover the wild rice with 5 cups water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until tender.
2. Thickly cut away the celery root skins, then quarter and chop the root into bite-sized pieces. You should have about 3 cups. Chop and wash the leeks.
3. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the vegetables, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, then add the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the half and half and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Taste for salt and season with pepper. To give the soup a creamy background, puree a cup of the vegetables and return them to the pot. If the soup is too thick, thin it with some of the rice water or additional stock.
4. Divide the soup among 4-6 bowls and then add a mound of the wild rice to each. Garnish each bowl with parsley and a drop of truffle oil, if using, and serve.

Celery Root AKA Celeriac

Cold Hands in October

As you can see, we have been bundling up for the October harvest and washing. It has been quite chilly in the mornings, so we're going to pack boxes in the heated green house tomorrow morning. Hooray for warm fingers! Besides harvesting for the second to last summer delivery, we also winterized a few more garden beds with an extra layer of compost.

Remember, October 13th and 15th are the last summer deliveries!

Slaw with Sorrel and Lovage

A flavorful slaw with a festive twist...sorrel and lovage!

Yield: About 4 servings

Ingredients
2 cups finely sliced cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup chopped lovage
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon mustard
salt and pepper
about 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Procedure
Toss vegetables in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together lemon juice or vinegar, honey, mustard, and salt and pepper. Taste for flavor, then add olive oil slowly while whisking until it reaches the desired taste or consistency. Pour over the vegetables and mix.

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Stew

Maybe you have a few eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and basil waiting for this recipe? It comes from Deborah Madison's Local Flavors cookbook.

Yield: About 6 servings

Ingredients
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds waxy potatoes
2 large peppers
vegetable oil
1 cup packed basil leaves
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
3 large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon roasted ground cumin
2 large onions, peeled and cut into eighths
1 pound eggplant, cut into long strips
2-3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 can, rinsed)

Procedure

1. Preheat the broiler. Bring 6 cups water to boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Slice the potatoes lengthwise about 1/2 inch thick, boil them for 5 mintues, and drain. Halve the peppers lenthwise, press to flatten them, then brush with vegetable oil. Broil, cut side down, on a baking sheet until blistered but not charred. Stack them on top of one another and set aside to steam. When cool, remove the skins and cut the pieces in half. Set the oven temperature at 350 F.
2. Coarsely chop the basil, cilantro, and garlic, then puree in a small food processor with the olive oil, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3. Toss all the vegetables with 1 teaspoon salt, some freshly ground pepper, and the herb mixture. Using your hands, rub the herb mixture into the vegetables, especially the eggplant, then add the chickpeas and toss once more. Transfer everything to an earthenware gratin dish. Rinse out the herb container with 1/2 cup water and pour it over all. Cover the gratin dish tightly with foil and bake until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil, brush the exposed vegetables with the juices, and bake for 20 minutes more. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.