Everything is well on it's way at Owl Pine Farm.  The very first Sungold Tomatoes are ripening and the long awaited broccoli is starting to be  harvested.  We planted 3 heat tolerant Lettuce varieties last week and are hoping to start harvesting head lettuce again within the next few weeks.  The baby new potatoes are almost ready and the Basil is almost long enough to use as an arrangement on your kitchen table. This week you will be enjoying the first green beans of the season, which should be extra tender.  This week's share includes:


Red Russian Kale is the sweetest variety when cooked

Broccoli                                       
Red Russian Kale                                     
Cauliflower
Green Beans
Shallots
Carrots
Basil
Parsley

Caramelized Shallots

3 tablespoons  unsalted butter

1 pounds fresh shallots, peeled, with roots intact

1.5 tablespoons sugar

1.5 tablespoons good red wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a ovenproof saute pan, add the shallots and sugar, and toss to coat. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the shallots start to brown. Add the vinegar, salt, and pepper and toss well.

 

Place the saute pan in the oven and roast for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the shallots, until they are tender. Season, to taste, sprinkle with parsley, and serve

 

Owl Pine Farm's first CSA delivery will be this week.  This week's share will include:

Spinach
Japanese Turnips
French Breakfast Radishes
Siberian Kale
Butter Head Lettuce
Fresh Garlic
Strawberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  This year's spinach crop has produced better, prettier leaves than any of our harvests in previous years.  This season we grew Japanese Turnips instead of the traditional southern varieties.  These turnips have a very thin skin, so there is no need to peel them before using them.  This is my favorite variety of turnips.  They are great raw in a salad, roasted or cooked as a traditional southern green- don't forget to use the bulb and the greens. The French Breakfast radishes are great for salads.  The Radish greens can also be used for sautéing. These radish bulbs are traditionally cooked in butter for a breakfast dish, when cooked they turn sweeter and lose their spiciness.  This week we are including Siberian Kale.  This Kale is the most tender of the Kale varieties, making it the perfect choice for a raw kale salad.  We started harvesting  garlic 2 weeks ago, it has been curing in the barn but will most likely still be 'green'( not fully dried) and much more pungent than dried garlic.
  This year's weather has been unpredictable and some of the varieties will be a little later than usual.  The ground has just recently warmed up enough to get the summer varieties planted. Some of the varieties were literally under water at times  however, most crops have survived and are doing well.  We had an unusual beginning this year but it seems that (other than the timing) everything is going to be just fine.  We hope that you enjoy this week's box!

Raw Kale Quinoa Salad
1) Cook Quinoa
2)drizzle Red Bell Peppers with oil and Roast  in the oven until skin separates or buy in can and drain the water off.
3)Remove the kale from the stem and cut in thin strips
4)Massage olive oil into the leaves and let sit in a bowl for at least 10 minutes until it is wilted (this breaks down the kale almost like it has been cooked except it retains all of the nutrients)
5) Mix the Quinoa, Kale, Roasted Red Bell Peppers and top wit feta cheese crumbles. Salt to taste
*  The Kale/Quinoa ratio can vary to your liking
This recipe is easy and really nutritious!

 This week is the last CSA of the season.  We have really enjoyed getting to know all of you and hope to see you all again in the spring!

This week's CSA:
Carrots
Beets
Broccoli
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Kohl Rabi
Sweet Potatoes
Rosemary
Savoy Cabbage

 

Beet Greens Recipe

While this recipe calls for discarding the stems, if you want you can use them too if they aren't too woody. Just cut them into 1-inch segments and add them to the onions after the onions have been cooking for a minute.

Ingredients

• 1 pound beet greens
• 1 strip of thick cut bacon, chopped (or a tablespoon of bacon fat)
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/6 cup of cider vinegar

Method

1 Wash the greens in a sink filled with cold water. Drain greens and wash a second time. Drain greens and cut away any heavy stems. Cut leaves into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
2 In a large skillet or 3-qt saucepan, cook bacon until lightly browned on medium heat (or heat 1 Tbsp of bacon fat). Add onions, cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and start to brown. Stir in garlic. Add water to the hot pan, stirring to loosen any particles from bottom of pan. Stir in sugar and red pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.
3 Add the beet greens, gently toss in the onion mixture so the greens are well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-15 minutes until the greens are tender. Stir in vinegar. (For kale or collard greens continue cooking additional 20 to 25 minutes or until desired tenderness.)

  Next week will be the last CSA delivery of the season. 

This week's CSA:
Cabbage
Asian Greens Mix
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Kale
Sweet Potatoes
Cauliflower

Recipes:

Asian Greens Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 slice bacon, halved

24 ounces Asian greens, all tough stems and central spines removed, rinsed and dried well

3/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cranks ground pepper in a mill

1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed

1 knob fresh ginger, peeled and smashed

PREPARATION:

In a large pot over medium heat, cook bacon until all fat has been rendered, 4 - 6 minutes. Remove bacon and refrigerate for another use or eat.

While bacon is cooking, place greens in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper; toss. Add garlic and ginger to pot with bacon fat, then saute 4 minutes. Increase heat to high.

When bacon fat is sizzling, add about a third of seasoned mustard greens to pot and stir-fry, using tongs to circulate greens until wilted and bright green, 1 to 2 minutes.

Use tongs to transfer greens to serving bowl or individual dishes, leaving garlic and ginger in pot. Repeat with remaining greens. Serve hot.

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

Ingredients

1 head of cauliflower

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced

Lemon juice from half a lemon

Olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Parmesan cheese

Method

1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven-proof baking dish. Toss in the garlic. Sprinkle lemon juice over cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If the oven hasn't reached 400°F yet, set aside until it has.

Sweet and Savory Kale

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons white sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

4 cups stemmed, torn and rinsed kale

1/4 cup dried cranberries

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions

1.Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic; cook and stir until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mustard, sugar, vinegar, and chicken stock, and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the kale, cover, and cook 5 minutes until wilted.

2.Stir in the dried cranberries, and continue boiling, uncovered, until the liquid has reduced by about half, and the cranberries have softened, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with sliced almonds before serving.

2 Place casserole in the hot oven, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is lightly brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Fork tines should be able to easily pierce the cauliflower. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

  The temperature has dropped below freezing a few times.  This means that the summer varieties are gone.  Although the tomatoes are sheltered from the frost they are ripening at a very slow pace, this week we are including some green tomatoes in the CSA.  The frost does not affect the fall varieties and they are looking great.  This week we are harvesting kohl rabi, cauliflower, broccoli and green cabbages.  The Sandy Springs Market coordinator is putting together a winter CSA starting on November 12 and ending around the middle of December.  The CSA will consist of naturally grown vegetables from 4 farms (including Owl Pine Farm, Hager Crager Farm and Abundant Harvest), let me know if you are interested in information regarding the Winter CSA.

This week’s CSA:

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Kohl Rabi

Green Cabbage

Green Tomatoes

Winterbor Kale

Lettuce

Recipes:

Fried Green Tomatoes:

Ingredients:

•4 to 6 green tomatoes

•salt and pepper

•cornmeal

•bacon grease or vegetable oil

Preparation:

Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in meal and fry in hot grease or oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side

*We like to eat our fried green tomatoes with a Cajun remoulade dipping sauce or stacked in layers of Fried green tomato, goat cheese and marinara.  Another great way to enjoy these fried treats is in a BLT (Bacon, lettuce, Tomato) sandwich with fried green tomato and a wasabi mayonnaise.

Braised Kohl Rabi:

I added more stock and cooked it like a traditional "southern" collard green. I also added a little cider vinegar to brighten up the flavors a bit:

bunch kohlrabi with greens attached, about 1.5kg

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon each cumin and yellow mustard seeds

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 small jalapeno or other chili, seeded and minced

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

salt and black pepper to taste

Discard any yellow or withered greens from the kohlrabi and cut off most of each stem. Stack the leaves, then roll them in cigar-like fashion and cut across into thin strips, 3mm wide. Put greens in a basin of cool water to remove grit. Drain. Peel and cut kohlrabi into 1cm dice and add to the greens. Put oil in a wok over medium heat. Add cumin and mustard seeds and stir a few seconds until mustard seeds begin to pop. Add garlic and jalapeno and stir a minute or two until garlic turns light golden. Add diced kohlrabi, greens, stock, and salt and black pepper to taste. Toss, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook, tossing once or twice, about 20-25 minutes or until kohlrabi is tender. Add a bit more liquid if needed.

Kohl Rabi

Our little pink monster

  This week we are harvesting cabbages and beets.  You can expect cauliflower, broccoli and kohl rabi in the upcoming weeks.  We were not familiar with the purple sweet potato variety that we grew this year and at first had mixed feelings about it.  They are sweeter than the white variety but seem drier.  This past week I brought both varieties to market for the first time and we had several costumers tell us that the purple variety is their favorite.  We met a vendor at the Marietta Square Market who used the purple sweet potatoes in her Jamaican sweet potato pudding and a customer that used this variety for juicing.  We are finding out that it's all in the way that you prepare them.   

This Week’s CSA:   
Bell Peppers

Beets

Cabbage

Lettuce

Collard Greens

Arugula

Sweet Potatoes

Tomatoes

Recipes:

Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds grated sweet potato

lb grated yellow yam (omit yam if not available and use lb more sweet potato)

1 cup brown sugar)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cornmeal ( you can omit the cornmeal and add 1/4 cup more flour)

2 cups canned coconut milk

2 cup raisins

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg

2 teaspoon mixed spice

3 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt (adjust as needed)

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoon brandy or white rum (optional)

METHOD:

1.Peel, wash and chop potato into small cubes and using blender, blend on “grate” option until potato is almost smooth. Alternatively, you can grate the potato2.To get the coconut milk, you can grate the coconut, add water, and squeeze out the coconut milk that is formed. Alternatively, you can use canned or reconstituted coconut milk

3.Then once the ground work is done, mix all the dry ingredients, and then add coconut milk, vanilla, liquor and grated potato and mix well

4.Mix in raisins and pour into greased pan and dot with bits of the butter

5.Bake at 375 degrees F for about an hour until set and mixture lifts starts to shrink away from the side of the pan.

6.Cut into slices and enjoy

Beet and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad:

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

Directions

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. 













***Last week's blog

 With the possibility of frost comes the possibility of losing the summer vegetables. We have covered the tomatoes and squash but are leaving it up to nature for the rest.  The broccoli and cauliflower are growing beautifully and the cabbages are heading, we will start harvesting those next week. The beets are growing more slowly than we had anticipated, so we are going to start harvesting some baby beets next week.  We hope that you are enjoying all of the wonderful greens that we have been sending your way.    There are lots of ways to prepare greens and most are really easy.  Last week at the Sandy Springs Market the chef demonstration (By Hal’s Kitchen in Sandy Springs) was on Swiss Chard.  I wasn’t able to get the exact recipe so I tried to mimic hers by sauteing the chard greens in some sesame oil, I added a little stock and simmered for a few minutes and served it with  a spicy chile sauce on the side…yummy!

This week’s CSA:

Okra

Lettuce (Butter Crunch, Grand Rapids, Devil’s Ear Deer Tongue)

Patty Pan Squash

Bell Peppers

Sweet Potatoes

Kale

Mustard greens

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes

Recipes:

Kale and Sausage Soup:

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes

5 waxy potatoes (1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch kale (12 ounces), stemmed and shredded

12 ounces smoked chicken sausage, cut into 1/2-inch half moons

Directions

1.In a large pot (6 to 8 quarts), heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook until soft, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and red-pepper flakes; cook unti fragrant, 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

2.In a blender, puree half the soup. Return to pot; add kale and sausage. Simmer until kale is wilted, 10 to 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fritters:

Ingredients

Corn oil, for frying

1 cup mashed, roasted and peeled sweet potato

1 cup whole milk fresh ricotta

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper

1/2 cup self-rising flour

Directions

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a deep heavy pot, fitted with a deep-frying thermometer, to 365 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the potato, ricotta, sugar, salt and pepper, to taste, with a hand mixer until smooth. Fold in the flour, a little at a time, until just combined.

Working in batches to avoid crowing the pot, drop heaping teaspoons of the batter into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, turning as needed to brown evenly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels and dust with confectioners' sugar and a pinch of salt. Arrange them on a serving dish and enjoy!

Cook's Note: Be sure to let the oil return to 365 degrees F between batches.

agribon on tomatoes to protect from frost