Newsletter–October 9, 2017

Dear Members,

This week you are getting red potatoes, white and yellow onions, carrots, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, celery and tomatoes.  Unfortunately, Tue. Members will not get carrots because of the storm.  Will make that up next week.

The celery variety we grow can be very strong tasting.  I have not had a chance to try it yet, but some Members do not like to eat this raw.  It is excellent for cooking and adds so much flavor to any recipe.  Makes the best celery soup too!  I dry the leaves for future use in casseroles in the winter.  Wash and dry on a paper plate.

Garlic Separating:  We did not get a large crowd as we have in the past and will need to do this again this Sunday.  We cannot plant the garlic if we cannot get the cloves separated!  Next years’ harvest depends on you and how much we accomplish!  We will get together at 9am and work until 12.  Bring a lunch and join us for a meal.  If you cannot stay the entire time, then come for a couple of hours!  As a group you will find extremely interesting people to chat with and interesting stories to hear.  Join us for a day of comradery as we work together to accomplish our goal!

Winter Share:  Sign-up is going well and we just about have all our members for the winter.  If you intended to sign-up for the winter, you will want to get that in because it will not be long before we close that window.  If you need to split a share with someone and can’t find one on your own; ask your DC to put out a memo or sign during distribution.  You would be surprised how many people want to give it a try but can’t find someone to split with!

We are looking for Colin O’Neill.  He sent in money for a Winter Share, but with no paperwork and with no info on your check.  We cannot set you up nor do we have a way to contact you.  Could you be a spouse of a current member?  Please call us immediately or sign-up online at monroefarm.com.

Survey/Changes:  Jerry and I are getting older (as we all are) and cannot continue working at this pace.  Kyle and Sam are not ready to take on this large of an operation.  Something will need to change.  The survey we sent out in September needs to be filled out by as many members who want an input on their share and the variety & quantity you received.   We need your thoughts.  We may need to not only reduce how many shares we offer, but how many varieties we offer.  Tell us in your own words what you liked & did not like about the share!  Write a letter if you do not want to fill out the survey.  What can you absolutely not live without; what can go by the wayside?  Hard copies of the survey will be at each DC.  Fill it out there or take it home; but tell us what you are thinking!  Manilla envelopes will be provided at each DC to be returned to us, hopefully full of surveys and letters.

Please help us improve! Take our online end of year survey here:

2017 Summer Survey for Monroe Organic Farms, llc

 First Snowfall!  Beautiful, isn’t it?  We love the first snowfall.  It represents to us the end of a fabulous summer.  Time to close up the farm, put on wooly sweaters, put on a good pot of tea, make soup and read a book!

Spicy Cream of Celery Soup

3T butter
1 head celery, sliced
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 large carrot shredded
3T flour
6C vegetable or chicken broth
1 bay leaf & 5 balls allspice
1C heavy cream
1t hot sauce

Melt butter, add first 3 vegetables & cook until just tender on med. heat.
Add flour and brown.  Add carrot, broth & spices and simmer for 30
minutes.  Remove and discard bay leaf & allspice.  Remove half of the
veggies and set aside.  Blend the rest in a processor or blender.
Put everything back into pot then add cream.  Add salt, pepper and
hot sauce to taste.  For a traditional taste, do not add hot sauce!
Gluten free:  reduce broth to 4 ½ cups and change cream to 1 ½ cups.
No need to add any thickener.

Newsletter — October 3, 2017

Dear Members,

This is week 16 of an 18 week season. You are getting red potatoes, red onions, yellow cooking onions, leeks, Romanesco cauliflower, red & yellow bell peppers, sweet banana peppers, pablano peppers and Black Beauty, Cherokee Purple, yellow and red tomatoes.
There are hot and sweet banana peppers and these are the sweet variety! Excellent eaten raw or cooked and can be the color of yellow & gold to orange & red. Romanesco cauliflower is a beautiful green ornate cauliflower. I love the dimension of shape and color. It can have a tinge of purple to it because of the cool nights. Cook as normal!

Garlic Separating: It is that time of year to prep the garlic for planting. As most of you know, this is a wonderful time to connect with other members & the farm and work as a group toward a common goal of separating the garlic for planting. We always have garlic that is unfit for planting and you will be able to take that home with you. If there are any tomatoes available for picking, you may be able to get one box. (We don’t want to take away from the membership, so after checking the fields in morning we will let you know.) Bring a box just in case you can pick. We will do this Sunday, Oct. 8 th at 9am and work until 12pm. Bring a lunch and after we clean up the barn, we can have a meal together and then pick tomatoes (if any). This is something a lot of members look forward to participating in because of the comradery. Join us. It is a lot of fun and you will make a huge impact on the work that needs to be accomplished!

Quote of the Day: When Earth is laughing, flowers bloom. Jacquie Monroe I wish I could express my sorrow for all the tragedies across this wonderful place we call earth. I can’t imagine what people are going through from the earthquake regions of Mexico to the hurricane hit areas in America and all the terrorist inflicted areas abroad. I shake my head in wonder of the human spirit and the wonder of our forgiveness and willingness to extend a helping hand to those we don’t even know. We need to appreciate those around us more.
Always in our thoughts and prayers. Your Farm Family; Kyle & Sam, Jerry and Jacquie

Cauliflower Casserole, page 35 in cookbook

1 Tb. Olive Oil
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, diced/minced
1 large head cauliflower, chunked
3 cups cooked rice
2 cups shredded cheese, your choice

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic and cauliflower. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and combine vegetables with rice and cheese. Pour into a greased casserole dish and bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serves 6

Please help us improve! Take our online end of year survey:

2017 Summer Survey for Monroe Organic Farms, llc