Newsletter – July 4, 2022

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Friends of the farm,

This week your bag is filled with deliciousness! You will be getting onions, turnips, garlic, beets, summer squash, cucumbers and curly leaf kale.

Egg cartons & olive oil bottles: Croft Family Farm would like to have egg cartons returned to them. Healthy Harvests will re-use all returned bottles, please run them through your dishwasher or handwash them prior to returning. Egg cartons and clean olive oil bottles can be brought to your distribution center. Let’s help them out with this and return those bottles & cartons! Unfortunately, Lazy Bee does not have a facility to clean and sterilize jars, so please recycle those.

Produce Payment: Half of all your remaining fees are now due (unless you have made other arrangements with the office). Late fees will be applied July 11th. Please allow 1 to 2 weeks for us to process your checks (you will still get credit for them arriving on time). We will do our best to get them processed as soon as possible.

Monsoon! It’s been very hot around here! It is a challenge for the humans, however, the plants thrive as long as they get plenty of water. Watering is a full time job! We’re so thankful for all the beautiful mountain snow run off rushing through our irrigation ditches. Now with the arrival of the monsoon, let us hope that we get a few afternoon rains to help cool us off, to revive the plants, the ground (& ground-water) and us humans.

Quote of the week: Eat what you can and can what you can’t!

• Unknown.

Sausage & Potato Surprise, by Jacquie

1 pound spicy sausage (jalapeno brats is my fave)

3 cloves garlic, sliced

4 to 6 potatoes cut into wedges

1 bunch of spinach or kale

2 med. onions, cut in half then cut into ½ inch slices rinsed and roughly chopped

If using kale, clean well then massage with your hands for 5 to 10 minutes to soften leaves. Remove spines and chop, set aside. In a large frypan, slice diagonally sausage if using something that is in a link or crumble packaged sausage and cook until cooked half through. Drain off all but a couple of tablespoons of fat. Cook potatoes and onions with meat until potatoes are tender. Add garlic and greens and cook until spinach is wilted or kale is soft. Add pepper and salt if needed. Serve from pan!

With gratitude,

Kyle, Jerry and Jacquie

Newsletter – Oct 6, 2021

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Friends of the farm,

Week 17 out of 18: This week you will be getting Swiss chard, Yukon Gold potatoes, carrots, turnips, eggplant, broccoli, bell & anaheim peppers and tomatoes.

Your produce will be in plastic bags for the last two weeks of the season. We do this so that we can get all our mesh bags back by the end of the year. We do not want these bags back. Do not be surprised if your DC really gets after you about returning your bags. We need to take inventory and order additional bags if necessary!

Fruit: This is the last delivery for the year. You will be getting Empire apples from First Fruit. These apples are a great large red eating apple. They also make a wonderful apple pie!

Honey and Oil: The final orders for honey and oil will be delivered this week.

Farm Workday: Wow! What a great turnout. We had 30 membership households come out to the farm and approximately 50 people. We were able to harvest 120 trays of beets and 31 trays of carrots. This put a nice dent in the winter crops we need to harvest! Thank you to one and all who made the time to help us. We appreciate you more than you can imagine.

Next Sunday, 10-10, will be our second workday. We have decided to only work in the morning. We will have two starting times: 8am and again at 10am. Please let your DC know if you are able to spend a part of your day with us. As my grandmother used to say: “Many hands make light work!” So please join us. Last minute arrivals are welcome.

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 cloves. We always have garlic that is unfit for planting and you will be able to take that home with you. (Bring a bag!)

We will do this Saturday the Oct. 16th from 8am until 12pm. This is something a lot of members look forward to 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 so we can get next years’ garlic in the ground!

Survey: As we transition the farm operation to Kyle and Sam, some changes will have to occur to make it their own and more functional for them. The survey we are sending out needs to be filled out by as many members who want an input in their CSA. We need your thoughts, feelings and general expectations. 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 you received! 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? Manilla envelopes will be provided at each DC so you can remain anonymous and hopefully be returned full of surveys and letters next week. Thank you for taking the time to fill out this survey for us.

Sausage & Potato Surprise

2# jalapeno cheese bratz, sliced diagonally              

4 lg potatoes cut into 2” wedges                               

2 bell peppers, cut into 1” cubes                               

1 onion, sliced & quartered                                       

lg bunch of hardy greens, chopped                           

Boil potatoes until half cooked with chopped garlic, salt, pepper, pinch thyme, tsp oregano & Tbsp parsley.  Drain. Fry brats until done but not browned.  Add taters, onions and peppers.  Cook until slightly browned.  Add spinach, Swiss chard or kale.  Serve when wilted.

Sam, Kyle, Jacquie, and Jerry

Newsletter – Aug 9, 2021

NOTE: This blog is posted by a volunteer. No one from the farm checks or responds to messages here. You must contact the farm directly with any questions, comments, etc

Dear Members,

We are halfway through the summer CSA season, this being week 9 out of 18. You will be getting red potatoes, yellow onions, slicing & pickling cucumbers, broccoli, green bell peppers, green beans, sweet corn, muskmelon, yellow skin honeydew, and tomatoes.

This week’s honeydew is super sweet when ripe! Don’t let it linger too long on your counter. If the skin is a deep yellow eat it immediately, if there is a slight green hue it can wait a few days to be eaten. People have reported that they love dehydrating chunks of this melon and eating it like candy!

Produce Bags: Remember to shake out the dry onion skins, leaves, etc. from your bags. If your bag has a hole in it or is ripped at the drawstring, please do us a favor, and throw it away! (Let your DC know.)

Fruit share heads up: We are aiming to send fruit share members another box of peaches next week!

Honey: Those of you who are getting monthly and bi-monthly deliveries of honey will be betting that this next week.

Olive oil: Those of you getting oil monthly and bimonthly will be getting that this week.

Did you know that baked potatoes are exceptionally packed full of goodness?! Some of the goodies within include potassium, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and magnesium. If you soak your potatoes in cool water for a few hours prior to cooking, you will increase the vitamin content even more.

Simple Baked Potato

Did you know that baked potatoes are exceptionally packed full of goodness?! Some of the goodies within include potassium, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B6, and magnesium. If you soak your potatoes in cool water for a few hours prior to cooking, you will increase the vitamin content even more.

-Preheat your oven to 425 F

-Wash your potatoes

-When oven is preheated, place potatoes directly on the rack

-Cook for approximately 60 minutes

-Poke with the tip of a knife. If the knife goes in easily your potatoes are done. If not, cook for another ten minutes or until a knife can be easily inserted.

-Cooking at a high temperature makes the potatoes very fluffy and light.

-Allow to cool slightly and serve cut open with a pat of butter or olive oil, salt or any other goodies you like.

Quote of the week: “I would far prefer to have things happen as they naturally do, such as the mousse refusing to leave the mold, the potatoes sticking to the skillet, the apple charlotte slowly collapsing. One of the secrets of cooking is to learn to correct something if you can, and bear with it if you cannot.” – Julia Child

Show us your love! Have you been enjoying your share? Let us know by sharing pictures and comments on IG and FB. We love to see what your creations are! Plus it give other members recipe ideas.

Thank you for all your notes of encouragement and love. We read and relish each one.

With Sunshine and Gratitude,

Kyle, Sam, Jacquie, and Jerry

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 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. 

Newsletter – September 19, 2017

Dear Friends of the Farm;

This is week 14 out of an 18 week season. You are getting red potatoes, Walla Walla onions, carrots, purple cauliflower, red peppers, yellow peppers, green basil, red tomatoes, specialty tomatoes, muskmelon and orange honeydew.

Fruit: I’m sorry I forgot to tell you last week apples were coming…completely forgot! That is the last of the fruit this year. It came in large quantities because of the horrendous year they are having. If they had given us smaller quantities, they would not have been able to bring it again. When the crop was ready to pick, we had to take what we could get or not get very much of anything! Sometimes the fruit was ripe and ready to eat and had to be refrigerated immediately and sometimes it could sit and continue to ripen for three or four days. But at least we got it!!

Honey: Those of you who get monthly deliveries of honey will be getting that this week.

Do you remember? Can you believe how fast this summer has gone by?! Amazing how time just seems to slip away from us. The older you get, they faster time vanishes too. Do you remember what you were doing four & five years ago? 2012 was one of the hottest summers on record. With three straight weeks of over 100 degree heat and three months in the 90’s, the farmers had used up all the water in most of the reservoirs. After that dry summer and no snow during the winter, we didn’t think we would have any water to farm with the following year. We made arrangements with the city of Greeley to use city water and drip irrigation on five acres of land. The one and only snowstorm we got was a huge one that hit the Denver Metro area and Front Range in late March. It dropped a whopping three feet of snow in the Metro area and 8 feet all along the upper Front Range. The farm received around 6 to 8 inches of snow during that storm and all that snow melt-off filled our reservoirs. As devastating that storm was to the trees that had budded out, nothing compared to the 500 year storm that hit in September of 2013 that flooded just about every city along the Front Range. Those of you who were in the area at the time will never forget what happened. Some cities received anywhere from 15 to 24 inches of rain in a three or four days. Streets became rivers and houses & basements were flooded. The city of Lyons because an island! Helicopters had to rescue all the residents!

I guess we should all stop what we are doing now & then and appreciate what we have and what we are doing because Mother Nature has a way of slapping us in the face to give us a wake-up call. It’s up to us to appreciate all the little things in life that makes life easy and fun. Slow down and look around you. What is it that you appreciate today?

Jacquie, Jerry, Kyle and Sam

Smashed Potatoes

2# potatoes, no larger than 3X3 (cut if necessary), boiled or baked, grease a baking pan & arrange potatoes. Use a masher to squash to about half the size. If using different size potatoes, squash all potatoes to about the same width. Melt 3Tb butter with 4 crushed & diced garlic and 1 Tb chopped fresh parsley (or 1 ½ tsp dry); drizzle over potatoes. Broil or grill until golden and crispy. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to taste and heat until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with extra parsley if desired & pass around a salt shaker if needed!

Newsletter – July 19th, 2016

Dear Farm Friends,

This Week you are getting Yukon Gold potatoes, green beans, white onions, cucumbers, squash, garlic and fennel.  A very exciting development:  the muskmelons are starting to ripen!  We are hoping there will be enough to give each of you one.  Muskmelon and cantaloupe are in the same plant family.  Did you know that all melons originated in Egypt?  Muskmelon is the parent plant to cantaloupe.

Exchange Box:  Each distribution center should have an exchange box.  This allows you to take items out of your bag you really don’t want and pick up something someone else has left behind.  If your DC does not have an exchange box, ask for one!

Mesh bags:  As I have stated before, we are short staffed at the farm because we do not have as many Working Members as normal.  It would help us greatly if each household will make sure their bags are free of debris.  By not taking care of this, you are asking your DC to remove debris from 30 bags.  If they do not do it, then I have to empty out 600 bags.  Many hands make light work.  Please do your part!

Volunteers wanted!  Have you ever wondered how Distribution works?  After discussing this with Jerry in more detail about getting some help on Tue, Wed and Thr; we have decided that if you choose to come help us one morning, you do not need to help in the fields afterword.  We start at 7 am and we fill all the bags, count corn, tomatoes & melons then load trucks.  You can take your veggies home with you that morning.  Please give me a two day advance notice to switch you out of your DC and onto the farm!

T-shirts:  This is the week to turn in your order for t-shirts.  The due date is July 29th.  If you forget to take your T-shirt Order Form to the DC, they will have extra forms for you to fill out.  Or if you prefer, you can call in your order with me and I’ll take care of you.  You have the option to pay at time of order or after being invoiced!

Green Bean and Potato Salad    (page 18 of the CSA Cookbook)

• 1# cooked, cut green beans
• 2T. vinegar
• 4 large potatoes, cubed and boiled
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 med. onions, thinly sliced in half moons
• ½ t. dried oregano
• 2T. extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine first three ingredients.  Whisk together the next four ingredients.  Toss the veggies with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate at least four hours; but preferably overnight.

Serves 6 to 8.

(My grandmother used to add bacon to this once in a while!)

Newsletter – August 10, 2015

Dear Friends of the Farm,

New crops this week are a bi-color potato called Mardi Gras, tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, purple peppers and yellow watermelon or muskmelon. This is the early planting of tomatoes (before the rain) and there are not very many rows in production (3). We had just started to plant when the storms started to hit and we got them covered with row cover. It is not the peak of the season yet. Most of the field tomatoes were planted after the rain, so we expect most of the tomatoes to come on later in the month or beginning of next month. As I’m sure most of you know tomatoes do not like to be cold. Store them on the counter (out of the sun) until ready to use.

Mardi Gras is a beautiful potato that is marbled purple and yellow. It has some of the benefits of a purple potato with the taste close of a Yukon Gold. I like to roast these babies on the grill because they tend to keep their color better.
I know you get tired of hearing this, but I don’t know how else to say it!! Because of the wet May, the eggplant plants are having a hard time producing. If we cannot get everyone one Japanese eggplant, you will get a black one. Eggplant are hard to store. They do not like to be too cold or too warm. I usually store my eggplant on the counter and try to use it in a stir-fry as soon as possible. The older it gets, the more bitter it becomes. You do not need to salt and sweat this (to remove bitterness) because it is so fresh, (unless you are trying to get out excess liquid for a specific reason). For long term storage, wrap the eggplant in plastic wrap and place in your crisper drawer on warmest setting.

The purple peppers are just starting to mature. We hope everyone will get one, but you may not. We will know more once we get out there picking!

Last week you got a yellow watermelon called Yellow Doll. It is a refrigerator melon which means it remains small and is the first to maturity. It was planted during the rain and the plants are stunted and only a few melons have grown to maturity. This week you will get a yellow watermelon or muskmelon. There isn’t enough of both to give everyone one of each. Muskmelon is in the cantaloupe family but has a stronger taste and is sweeter.

This week you are also getting red onions, carrots, possibly a few turnips, squash, a cucumber and green beans.

Fruit: Members will be getting plums and a few more peaches!

Festival: We are looking forward to our gathering on September 20th for a beautiful day of fun on the farm! Hours will be 11am to 4pm. We need to know who will be attending this event so that we know how much inventory we need to purchase. You must RSVP to this event! Please do so no later than Sept 12th. Contact Peg Lehr at wrdwrrior@comcast.net or by phone at 303-320-5706. We will need to know if you are vegetarian and how many people are in your family; adults/kids. We do not encourage people from outside the membership to join us for the festival. This is our Thank You to you for being members. If you do bring guests, it will be $10 a person, adult and children alike. We will also need to know how many adults/kids and whether or not they are vegetarian. A return reply will not be given to your RSVP.

Activities: There will be a pot-luck style lunch. We will provide utensils, drinks, hot dogs and hamburgers, plus all the extras that go with them. We will need you to bring a side dish or dessert. Please double the amount you would normally feed your family.

There will be a few carnival style booths for children and for the adults that still are children deep inside!
There will be a Canning Booth to help you with your canning questions. We will also hold a jam/jelly contest and a pickle contest. Please bring down your best jar and let us see how it stands up to our judges’ views! There will be a small prize for the winners!
If you are interested in a hat or cookbook they will be available to purchase at the Festival.
We will have our annual Stick Horse Race for all horse lovers. We encourage you to make your horse and enter your steed into the race. Prizes will be awarded for best dressed horse and the winners of the races. We will start out with a parade and then the races begin!
A Self-Tour of the farm will be available. Loaded with a map and directions, you can explore the buildings on the farm; see animals and the farmland itself.
If you are interested in picking a few crops, we normally have a list of U-pick crops for canning and freezing at the Check–In station. You will need a decent pair of shoes for picking crops (flip flops are not recommended)!

Volunteers for festival: I know several of you could not make it to the farm this spring and are anxiously waiting for a time in which you can volunteer on the farm. Now is your chance! The Festival will need several people to help keep it running smoothly! Please contact Peg Lehr about volunteering! wrdwrrior@comcast.net or 303-320-5706.

Here is a list of all the jobs that need volunteers:
Set Up and Produce Choppers: as many as we can get & we start at 9am sharp!
Check-In Station: two people every hour – 11 to 3
“Master” Grillers: two people every shift – 10:30 to 12; 12 to 1:30 and 1:30 to 3
Clear Food Table and Man Drink Station: 2 people every hour 11 to 3
Empty Trash Cans/Restock Bathrooms: 1 person every hour 11 to 4
Canning “Experts”: 1 person every hour 11 to 3
Cookbook/Hat Booth: 1 person every hour 11 to 3
Tear Down & Clean Up: Everyone who is still around at the end of the day can help us with this chore! As Grandmother Edith would say, “Many hands make light work.” This takes no more than an hour to complete. Last year because we had so many helping hands, this work was completed in 45 min!

Thanks for letting us be your farmers this summer! Jacquie, Jerry and Kyle

Rosy Home-Style Fries
4 to 5 med potatoes, cubed and boiled until tender
2 med beets, cooked and cubed
1 Tbsp oil
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 large pepper, chopped
(optional)
½ cup fresh chopped parsley or 2 to 3 Tbsp dried
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Saute’ onions 5 min. Add potatoes and beets, saute’ 10 minutes or until potatoes start to brown. Toss in everything else and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve warm.

Helpful Hint: This recipe works best if the beets and potatoes are cooked ahead of time and cooled completely!

Check out Jacquie’s Summer Pasta on page 71 in the cookbook for another great recipe for squash. I like this cold the next day for lunch after I have had it
 warm for dinner the night before!