Invitation to the Wild Food Potluck in St. Croix Falls

ST. CROIX VALLEY
WILD FOODS CLUB

You are invited to attend the first annual
Wild Food Potluck

Sunday Oct. 4 at 5:30pm
Fine Acres ( community room)
St. Croix Falls, WI

Come and celebrate foraging as a tradition and reverence
for the wild abundance that is all around

Nuts, berry jam, venison, pheasant, mushrooms*, roots
are only a few of the possibilities

For more information: www.doctorweedmaster.com
763-245-3894 Dr.kelley@yahoo.com
*identification skills required

Corn Silk Tea

Corn silk makes a delicious herbal tea as well as a sweet-tasting stock. Traditionally it is known to be beneficial for disorders of the urinary system. It can be made with fresh silk or with dried silk.

Procedure
Approximately one ear of corn's silk makes one cup tea. Toss the silk into boiling water and let seep 5-10 minutes.

Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Garden member Brenda Thoeny recommends this delicious recipe that she found on Food Network. The recipe roasts the beets in a balsamic dressing after they've been cooked...tasty.

Ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 medium beets, cooked and quartered
6 cups fresh arugula
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cubed
3 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, coarsely crumbled

Procedure
Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the vinegar, shallots, and honey in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Toss the arugula, walnuts, and cranberries in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad, to taste, with salt and pepper. Mound the salad atop 4 plates. Arrange the beets around the salad. Sprinkle with the avocado and goat cheese, and serve.

Thanks to the Paying it Forward Program

On Monday, students from the Paying it Forward Program in Barron, Wisconsin helped out in the fields. In the morning, they harvested green beans for the CSA shares. In the afternoon, they harvested the rest of our storage onions (see photo above) and placed them in the white barn for curing (see photo below). All of our onions are now safely curing in a dry place. Thank you for all the hard work!

Group photo after completing the onion harvest

Turnip Harvest

We harvested the rest of our turnips, and this was the King Turnip held by Ray.

A cool week in August

The temperatures have been uncommonly cool this first week of August, and we have taken advantage of the comfortable working conditions. We harvested all of the garlic this week and have it safely curing in the red barn. We also harvested several onions this week which are curing in the white barn. The rest of the onions will be harvested next week with the help of a group of students from Barron, Wisconsin. To prepare for that, we knocked down the tops of the onions with rakes, which pinches the joint between the leaves and the bulb and seals the bulb to prevent rot. We also hand-weeded and hoed many beds. The photo below shows the garlic harvest.

Youth Farm Collage