Farm-to-Table Dinner & Farm Tour

Farm-to-Table Dinner and Farm Tour

Save the date! We are excited to announce that next month we will be kicking off a fundraiser to buy a no-till planter. Kyle and Sam want to experiment with applying no-till techniques to the farm. We want to do our part in sequestering carbon. A no-till planter will enable us to plant some crops without tilling the soil. As a part of this fundraiser, we will be hosting a farm- to- table dinner at our farm in Kersey on *Sunday, September 23rd*. Seats will be limited for this special evening. More details and ticket sales to be announced soon!

Newsletter – July 30, 2018

Dear Friends of the Farm,

This week you are getting red potatoes, red onions, carrots, garlic, squash, cucumber, green & purple peppers, a tomato, muskmelon and blue popcorn.

As warm as the spring was & as early some crops have come on, we have not gone unscathed by the weather. As you have noticed, you have not gotten corn or green beans yet. The seeds from these two crops are planted directly into the ground. Unfortunately, we have not had success with germinating the beans or the early season corn. It has been difficult in keeping up with the watering in the sweltering heat and therefore, watered too little or too much. Jerry tells me you will see late season corn sometime in September. The beans on the other hand, have been a complete failure. We are as disappointed as you are…maybe even more so. But we have plenty of goodies to come and you will not go hungry!

I know you have been hearing about the crazy weather all along the Front Range and maybe even you have been hit with hail. These very scary storms have been surrounding us and some even pass over us. But to our relief, they have not been severe. As a matter of a fact, we have not gotten more than 2 tenths of an inch of rain from each storm. We received light hail early in the season, which you saw on the first couple of pickings of squash. Some evidence is still showing up on the watermelons too. Last night was a heart stopper! This particular storm passed over Greeley & Evans and looked like it was coming straight for us. It left behind golf ball to egg size hailstones that were still sitting on the streets this morning. But to our relief, it simply passed over us with a light rain that lasted 10 to 15 minutes and light hail that only lasted five minutes. Phew!!!

Fruit: You are getting New Haven peaches from Rancho Durazno. Did you know there are two different types of peaches? There are no-cling peaches which are more for canning and separate from the pit easily. Then you have a cling peach which tend to stay attached to the pit. They are used more for fresh market sales and eating right away. They tend to be a tad sweeter than their counterpart. Can you tell which kind you received this week?

Don’t forget! This is the last week to order a hat or t-shirt. They will be delivered next week.

Zucchini Relish

1 med zucchini, diced
1 Anaheim chili pepper, grilled, skinned & diced
1 cup corn kernels
1/3 cup apple cider
1 small red onion, diced
1 tbs honey

Combine all ingredients. Let sit for half an hour before using. Great on tacos, burgers and hot dogs.

Newsletter – July 24, 2018

Dear Friends,

This week you are getting Yukon Gold Potatoes, Sweet Spanish white onions, Golden Beets, cabbage, squash, cucumbers, eggplant (full shares only), purple peppers (Sorry about last week, after picking for Tuesday, there was not enough mature purple peppers for Wed. & Thr.), muskmelon and either a red or yellow watermelon.

Members who get monthly oil deliveries will be getting your July delivery today.

Cooking Class! One of our longtime members, Mary Rogers, is offering a weeklong program to help home cooks learn to make healthy meals more easily. It runs August 6th through the 10th. She’ll be sharing/teaching new and interesting ways to use our produce, how to get comfortable using plentiful vegetables and her KitchenSmart System to take the struggle out of meal making. Mary has been teaching about healthy meal making for the past 25 years and has even taught a couple of classes for members here at the farm! (Which everyone really enjoyed!) She loves sharing her skills and knowledge with others; especially fellow CSA members! Mary is offering a $50 discount off the registration fee for any Monroe CSA member. You can find out more here: cookhappylivehealthy.org/summer-camp-2018-2/. Deadline is August 2nd.

Registration is filling up fast, so don’t wait to check this out!!

NOW & THEN: I was asked recently what it was like in the past and lessons we may have learned over the years. I can’t list them all because that would take a novel to complete! But I will list one very important one today. What really comes to mind is how the weather has changed and we have had to change with it. Back when Jerry and I were kids, it seemed to snow a lot; I mean a lot, a lot! My kids will tell you that we went sledding more when they were younger than they did as teens…. We just didn’t have the snow! (Going sledding on a flat farm in not that hard when you tie your sled to the back of a tractor! We played outside until we couldn’t feel fingers or toes!) Our season started the first week of July and ended by the end of September. Our average hard freeze occurred around the 25th of September; which means we had light freezes before that. Our CSA only received root vegetables and winter squash the last couple of weeks in September and all of October. Because of the shift in weather, we now start our CSA mid-June and go through mid-October. And most of the time we have beautiful summer produce throughout the entire time. We have extended our season three weeks on either end of the summer! We have never picked a muskmelon in June or a watermelon in July until this year! Yes. I would say there has been a shift in our weather pattern…..

If you have a subject you would like me to address, please send an email and I’ll do my best to give you my insights….whatever that may be worth! HA!! Jacquie, Jerry, Kyle and Sam

Cucumber Boats

Extra Large cucumbers
Tuna Salad, just the way you like it!

Tuna Salad ~ just in case…

One can tuna, drained. Mix with one cup mayo, chopped. Celery (one rib) and three chopped hard boiled eggs.

Cut cucumbers in half, remove seeds and discard. Fill ‘boat’ with tuna salad and enjoy one of the most refreshing lunches you will ever eat! And oh so easy!!

Newsletter – July 16, 2018

Dear Members,

This Week you are getting Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots, red onions, fennel, squash, cucumbers, broccoli purple bell peppers and muskmelon.

The fronds and bulb are both eatable on this delicate, wonderful, spicy, sweet bulb.  Many people love to shred the bulb and add it to slaw and salads.  It is enticing cooked under roasts (it caramelizes) and roasted with root vegetables.  The fronds can be added to potato & macaroni salads as well as fish.  Oh Yum!!

Purple bell peppers are best eaten raw.  They can definitely be cooked; they just turn a strange gray color!  So if you are putting them in a wrap, go for it!  But if they are going to be seen (perhaps in a stir fry); I wouldn’t cook them!  I have just been informed that Tuesday members are the only ones getting this…most of the field is not ready to be picked.

Honey:  I am very sorry, but you should have gotten honey last week.  I simply lost track of time! Only those of you who get monthly deliveries will get honey this week.  I am talking with Lazy Bee to find out if there will be a harvest of honey next month or if they anticipate the harvest will occur in September.  Depending on the outcome, those of you who get a one time delivery will get their honey after the harvest.

Fruit:  You will be getting a fantastic Bing cherry this week from First Fruit called Lambert’s.  This is an older variety and a late season variety.  It should be tastier and sweeter than the others you have been getting.

Produce Payments:  Half of all your remaining fees were due the 15th of July (except for animals).  Late fees of $25 will be applied on July 24th.  Please allow 2 weeks for us to process your checks (will still get credit for arriving on time).  We will do our best to get them processed just as soon as possible.  Produce will be cut off for anyone who has not paid in full or followed their payment schedule the week of the 23rd.  So get those payments in!!

Potato-Fennel Pizza on Cauliflower Crust

Potato-Fennel Pizza on Cauliflower Crust
The Crust                                       The Potatoes                            The Pizza
1 head cauliflower, separated   2 large potatoes                        6oz taleggio cheese
1 clove garlic                          1 cloves garlic                 rind removed, thinly sliced
½ cup mozzarella                ½ small bulb fennel, cored &    ½ small bulb fennel,
¼ cup parmesan                  thinly sliced                   thinly sliced, chop frons
½ tsp dried oregano                     Salt                                    ½ cup grated parmesan
2 eggs, beaten                  ½ cup Healthy Harvest olive oil 1 Tbsp   H.H. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp red chili pepper         ¼ tsp ground pepper                     ground pepper
flakes, optional

Place cauliflower and garlic in a pot with salted water and cook until
tender.  Prepare everything else for the pizza.  Preheat oven to 400
degrees & heat pizza stone or inverted baking sheet.  Pulse cauliflower
in a food processor until crumbly.  Hand mix in the rest of the
ingredients.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place
cauliflower mixture in center then smooth out into a circle.  Lightly
press down.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Place potatoes, garlic & fennel in a
pot with salted water and cook until tender.  Mash potatoes with olive
oil leaving small lumps then add pepper.  Remove crust from oven; let
cool 5 to 10 minutes.  Spread potatoes over cauliflower then the
cheese. Toss the sliced fennel & frons with olive oil and place on
pizza then continue with a layer of parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle with
ground pepper.  Place in oven at 500 degrees for another 10 to 12
minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Newsletter – July 9, 2018

Dear Friends,

This week you are getting Yukon Gold potatoes, red beets, Walla Walla onions, garlic, squash, cucumbers, broccoli, muskmelon and possibly yellow watermelon.

Since it is the beginning of the season (even though it feels like August already), crops slowly begin to ripen.  This means that there may not be enough of each item to give to everyone.  The yellow watermelon is a prime example.  We know there is a lot that is ready or on the verge of ready, but will not know how many we have until they are picked.  We may only have enough for everyone in one distribution center or a whole delivery day or maybe two delivery days to get the watermelon.  We just do not know at this point, but this is how Mother Nature works!  We would rather hand it out than let the few that are ready go bad!

Fruit:  You are getting bing cherries from First Fruit called Lambert.  Delicious!!

Oil:  Sorry for the delay in the olive oil.  It was delayed in customs but you are getting it this week!

T-Shirts/Hats:  To celebrate our 80th anniversary in 2016, we had t-shirts & hats made.  We just happen to have a few still in stock.  It is a beautiful royal blue shirt with the Monroe logo on the front.  On the back are the words:  Organic before organic was cool!  I have these sizes left:  Women; 5 small, 16 medium, 20 large & 9 XL.  Men:  8 medium, 22 large, 30 XL & 3 XXL.  Youth:  3 small, 8 medium & 4 large.

Monroe t-shirt and hat order form. Please fill it out and return it to your distributor. Both the t-shirt and hat are $15 and the price includes tax.  You can include a check or we can bill you.  We will give everyone a couple of weeks to place your order then deliver them to your distributor at the beginning of August.  We have approximately four dozen hats available!

Grandma Edith’s Pickled Beets

I have never been a big fan of beets.  I am also very allergic to something in sweet pickle spice.  My grandmother discovered I would eat beets if they were made this way.  She would serve them warm for dinner, then put them back in the liquid, refrigerate them then serve them cold for lunch the next day!  What I like about the simplicity of this recipe is that you get to taste the beets and not all the spices.  Great to serve on salads or on a relish tray.  Sweet pickle spices can be added during the cooking stage for a different taste.

Equal amounts (1/4 cup or 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup measurements depending on amount of beets being served) of the following:  vinegar, water and sugar.  Peel and slice or cube beets.  Cover with liquid and cook until tender.

Newsletter – July 2, 2018

Dear Friends of the farm, 

This week you are getting our first picking of Yukon Gold potatoes.  These little morsels are easy to wash and easy to cook.  Gently wash then cut potatoes so they are basically the same size. Be careful of their skins, they are tender.  You may find some of your potatoes are roughed up just from pulling them from the ground.  You may also find some brown spots from the air getting to the flesh.  These can be removed with a potato peeler.  Now, cover with water, salt, include a large pat of butter and boil until the water is gone and fry for just a few minutes. Yum!  Do not be surprised if these cook faster than expected.  There is something about the first few weeks that make them that way!  You are also getting Walla Walla onions, carrots, garlic, cabbage, squash, cucumbers and lettuce. 

Fruit/Oil:  So the fruit growers are struggling a little bit from the weather this spring and we will not be getting any fruit this week.  But it looks like First Fruit will be able to get us cherries next week. 

Hot, Hot Hot!:  I have not been able to confirm this, but May has to be one of the hottest months on record in Colorado’s history!  Here at the farm we were anywhere from 15 to 20 degrees hotter every day and it felt like there were more 20 degrees over normal than 15!  So far we have recorded 5 days over 100 degrees and last Thursday we hit 106.  These temperatures are hard on the humans but good for growing produce (as long as we can keep enough water on them)!  It is the reason why you are getting such a nice variety of produce so far.  Most of these crops are things that would naturally come later in July.  We have been consistently picking crops three weeks earlier and three weeks later in the season for many years now.  This year we started Distribuiton one week earlier than normal and started picking produce four weeks earlier than in the 1990’s.  Do we believe in Weather Change?  You bet we do!  We live, breath, work and run our business by the weather.  It is the most important input to our business and yet we do not have any control of it! 

Have a fantastic Fourth of July everyone!

Jacquie, Sam, Kyle and Jerry 

Bubble and Squeak 

3 lg potatoes, cubed
¼ to ½ cup chopped ham 
4 cups chopped cabbage
3 slices of bacon, crumbled, and reserve drippings 
½ med. onion, chopped
2 small squashes, grated
salt and pepper  

Boil potatoes until tender and drain.  Slightly mash potatoes and combine with cabbage, onion, zucchini, ham and bacon.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Heat bacon drippings in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add potato mixture and smooth flat.  Cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.  DO NOT STIR!  Invert onto a plate and serve.