Here’s to keeping all of our healthy resolutions for 2012!

A few interesting stats this year regarding this blog:

• This site was viewed 6800 times in 2011!!  Who on earth is reading this, I have no idea. But thank you for tuning in.
• Most readers were from the US and Canada. But we had readers as far away as South Africa, Columbia, Brazil, Peru, and even Indonesia! Pretty fun! If you members want to write blogs for us from time to time, let me know. We’d love to see your photos and recipes!

For the last couple of weeks, Jon and I have been on vacation… driving through the deserts in Eastern Oregon and California, skiing in Mammoth, diving in the Channel Islands and planning Thanksgiving with friends and family. We have a lot to be thankful for this year! Bubba and Mari are looking after all of the ladies at the farm, and we’re grateful to have lots of support so we could get away for a bit.

And we’re SO grateful for all of the support from our community this season. All of you members, to Corby, Rollin, Cody and Marque at ROCO, for Stirling, Mike and Tracy at SWIG, for Paul, Kendall and the kids at DeLancelotti and for our landlords who let us plant whatever we want at our rental home.  Thanks everyone, without you, our dreams wouldn’t be possible.

For those of you who took the ‘survey’ last month, thanks for your feedback. Overall it seems like most were happy with us, with some room for improvement… see the survey responses  here .

Most of this year’s membership has already indicated that they want to join up again next year. We’ll likely keep the number somewhere around 30-35 members, with egg shares for about 10-15 members only. Harlow Hills has already told us they want to stop making cheeses and focus on selling high-quality goat’s milk to local creameries instead. I don’t blame them, it seems like a LOT of work to manage herds of goats AND cheese production. But I think we have a good replacement lined up. More information to come as we finalize details.

Meanwhile we WILL have some eggs through the winter, so contact us if you want a dozen here or there. The ladies are little powerhouses. They don’t know when to quit.

Well, that’s the news from sunny California, where we are enviously eyeing these orange and pomegranate orchards, avocado trees and year-round produce. Can you believe they’re still harvesting tomatoes down here?

Much love,

Nadine, Jon and Pacha.

One of the benefits of driving down to Falls City every week for the Bread Board loaves, aside from their awesome bread and the warm welcome I get every week… is that they are nestled in one of the more beautiful valleys I’ve seen in Oregon. They’re right up against the coastal range and there is only one road in and one road out. You could say that Falls City is as close to the middle of nowhere are we can get around here.

The Bread Board is surrounded by forest, and life moves at a different pace there. The combination is the perfect recipe for one thing.

Mushroom hunters. LOTS of them.

The rains last week and the warm temperatures this week means that Chanterelles are popping up everywhere… if you know where to look. And these guys know where to look.

When I went to pick up bread this week, Keith and John had a 30 lb mound of Chanterelles waiting for me! I WISH I had gotten a photo of it, because I’ve never seen so many all at once! But they’re gorgeous, and I tried to keep it a secret, but I can’t any longer.

First thing that comes to mind is a cheesy, soft polenta, topped with buttery Chanterelles… or a Chanterelle and winter squash risotto. Or pasta of course…

But I was excited when I saw this recipe… because you can combine a lot of elements from your CSA box. You could substitute shredded braising greens or arugula for the spinach, and I think it would be even better…

Wilted Spinach Salad with Chanterelles

Serves 4 as a first course

Or check out this link for a LOT of other delicious-looking recipes (and some info about our favorite mushrooms!) http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/chanterelle.html

Chanterelle biscuits? YUM!

The fall veggies are loving the unexpected sunshine, too, and the cold mornings are helping the kales and other brassicas load sugars up into their leaves…. making them sweeter and more delicious. It’s the perfect storm for a successful fall harvest.

And I can’t tell you what it is just yet because it will spoil the surprise. But you have a VERY special treat coming to you in your boxes tomorrow (and Saturday!). I’ll start posting some recipes tomorrow.

Enjoy this amazing weather! I’m off to plant garlic, shallots and onions for next year…. dismantle the bean and tomato trellises, till, mulch and cover crop and put the beds to bed! SO much nicer than doing this in the rain.

Sauerkraut. Nothing can be easier than this old time tradition of preserving the harvest with fermentation. This should be a natural for you winemakers, cheesemakers and sourdough bread bakers. What would we do without yeast?

You’ll need:

Cabbage

Pickling or canning salt

large ceramic or glass crock (or giant pickle jar or mason jar).

For every 5 lbs of cabbage, you’ll need about 1/4 C salt.

We also like to add garlic and hot peppers, but this is optional.

First, shred the cabbage in a food processor or with a knife (the former takes about 1 second to do).  Combine the cabbage and the salt in the crock and let stand for about 15 minutes until juices start to flow and the cabbage starts to wilt. Using a wooden spoon (or your hands), press down on the cabbage until the juices come to the surface. If not enough juice has been produced to cover the cabbage, make up a brine (2 tsp salt per 2 cups water) and add enough to cover .

Place a large, clean, inverted plate over the cabbage and weigh down with a capped  jar full of water, or some clean stones. Keep the cabbage under the brine by 2 inches or so during fermentation. Cover the whole thing with a clean towel, and let it stand in a cool place. Check your fermenting cabbage every day! If you see scum forming on the surface, this is normal. Just skim it out and discard it. When the gas bubbles stop forming, your fermentation is complete and your sauerkraut is done!

This is fresher and less mushy than the processed sauerkraut you find in the store.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin mac ‘n cheese:

• 8 oz. elbow macaroni
• 1/2  cup milk
• 2 cups pureed pumpkin*
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp shredded aged white cheddar cheese  
• 1/2 cup mozzarella
• 2 tbsp parmesan, grated
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• grated nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter an 11“x13” baking pan or 4 ramekins/oven-proof bowls

Cook macaroni in salted boiling water according to package directions.

While macaroni cooks, heat the pureed pumpkin, and add milk.

Continue stirring as you add 1/2 cup of the white cheddar and mozzarella. You should have a very creamy orange sauce. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and return it to its pot.  Pour the sauce over the pasta and stir to coat the pasta evenly.

Scrape the sauced pasta into the prepared pan(s) and top with the reserved cheddar plus more salt and pepper.

Top with bread crumbs and Parmesan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the cheese is very bubbly and the breadcrumbs are  lightly browned on top. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

* to puree your pumpkin, peel, seed and cut pumpkin into 1″ cubes. Simmer in salted water until pumpkin is tender. Drain off excess water and puree with a stick blender or transfer to a food processor or blender.  Then you can roast your seeds in the hot oven!

We also think this recipe would benefit from some cooked and chopped bacon added to it before baking… but what recipe wouldn’t?

Asian Cucumber Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3-6 cucumbers (depending on size), finely sliced
1 red bell pepper (or others from CSA box), julienned
1/3 red onion, julienned
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/4-1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2.5 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
1 tsp agave or clear honey
1 garlic glove, crushed

Method:
Combine all dressing ingredients and let sit at least 10 minutes.  Overnight would be ideal.

Lightly salt the cucumbers and let sit for 10 or so minutes to get extra water off.  Pat dry with a paper towel and combine with bell pepper, and red onion in large bowl.  Toss with dressing, sprinkle with sesame seeds and eat along side this…

Oven Fried Coconut Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1 tsp Sriracha
1 can coconut milk (don’t bother using the light stuff.  Go all out!)
6 chicken tights (breasts work too)
3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
s/p to taste

Method:
Combine first 3 ingredients in ziploc bag.  Add chicken and marinate in the fridge for 1.5+ hours.

Preheat oven to 400º

Combine bread crumbs, coconut and salt and pepper in shallow dish.  After chicken has marinated long enough, dredge each piece individually in crumb mixture.  Place on lined baking sheet and bake for 30 or until golden brown and crispy.  Turn chicken over and back for another 30 or until crispy.

Tayler and I enjoyed this dinner with a crisp Pinot Gris, but an off-dry Riesling would be nice also.  And for those non-wine drinkers, slice up some cucumbers and put them in your water for a seriously refreshing beverage.

I THOUGHT the cucumber plants were starting to slow down, finally. But they’re cranking out cucumbers so fast, that as soon as I turn around the plants are loaded again. No doubt you’re getting sick of them. So I thought I’d share some tips for how to deal with the big pile of cukes that have accumulated in the bottom drawer of your fridge.

I wish I could share the secret recipe for how to make those big sour dills that are so lovely they make you want to cry. But I have no idea. We experimented a little earlier this year with fermenting baby cucumbers in a ceramic crock for about a month, and the results were pretty darned good. But nothing to cry about.

So I’m going to share the next best thing, which needs no equipment, just some time, some spices and a couple of old mason jars.

REFRIGERATOR PICKLES – makes about 5 pint jars.

• 8 cups  cucumbers, sliced and trimmed (or peeled if the skins are tough). 1/4 inch slices.
• 2 cups white vinegar (you could use apple cider vinegar)
• 2 cups water
• 6 tbsp pickling or canning salt (do not substitute regular salt… pickling salt is cheap, and you won’t get the same results with a coarser grind).
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp pickling spice (you can get this in the bulk spice section at Fred Meyer or New Seasons, or make your own: cinnamon, bay, mustard seed, whole allspice, coriander seeds, whole peppercorns, ground ginger, dill seeds, cardamom seeds, hot pepper flakes, whole cloves).
• 7 tsp dill seeds (or use 5 heads of fresh dill, if you can still find any).
• 5 tsp mustard seed
• 2 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 5 garlic cloves, halved (optional)
• 1 hot pepper sliced, seeds removed (optional)

In my humble opinion, there’s no better way to make eggs than poaching them in tomato broth.  Add a little kale in there and you have a breakfast of champions.  Do a little prep work and you’ll have a quick and easy and absolutely deliciously healthy breakfast in 10 minutes flat.  We have tons of tomatoes now, so use some of your slightly past ripe/mushy tomatoes to make the same raw tomato sauce I posted for the raw zucchini noodles.  No need to compost any of them!

Poached eggs in Heirloom Tomato Sauce with Braised Kale:

Ingredients:
Serves 1

1/4 c raw tomato sauce
1 cup kale
1 tbsp fresh chopped basil
2 farm fresh eggs
S/P to taste

Method:

Heat tomato sauce in a skillet over medium heat.  Add kale and basil and braise until softened but not totally cooked (1 minute or so).  Move kale aside to make room for eggs.  Crack eggs one at a time into a bowl, then transfer to skillet.  Salt and pepper those bad boys, then cover and let cook for 5 minutes or so, or until your eggs are cooked to your liking.  Dig in and ENJOY!