Morning Song Farm CSA News

Harvest Ticket Feb. 7-8, 2012 Page One

2012-02-08T11:43:00.001-08:00

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Well, we're still harvesting macadamias, meager harvest that it is. Our nuts are delivered to you in their raw state which is quite different from the ones you may have enjoyed in Hawaii or from the grocery store here. Most macadamia nuts are dehydrated for shelf life purposes which makes them crunchier. Many are roasted in coconut oil with salt added, which makes them even more calerie dense than they are straight from the tree. Originally, we sold MSF's macadamias at the Santa Monica farmer's market both raw and dehydrated. We found it hard to keep the two kinds separated, and that was worrisome because the raw foodists at that market were pretty vigilant about not eating anything that had been heated. So we decided to just offer the raw version, and sold out every week with a lot less work and worry. We've never gone back to dehydrating our nuts. The downside, is that they must be cracked out the day we deliver, so one of us is spending Tuesday and Wednesday mornings cracking and packaging macadamia nuts now. Although raw nuts have more shelf life than say, apricots, without the dehydrating or roasting process, the raw macadamia still needs to be consumed within a week after cracking open.

We're back in sprout production, and this week's offering is a cool blend of clover, arugula, cress, radish, fenugreek and dill sprouts. You'll see kumquats back in the boxes this week, check out numerous recipes posted a couple of weeks ago. Click on "Kumquats" at the right and they'll all come up.

Harvest Ticket Feb. 7-8 2012

2012-02-08T11:42:00.001-08:00

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Stir-fried Broccoli

2012-01-31T11:24:00.000-08:00

2 heads of broccoli
2 Tablespoons California Olive Oil
2 green onions, cut into bite-sized sections
1 1/2 Teaspoons Bragg's liquid amino acids
2 Tablespoons crushed macadamias
1 Tablespoon flaxseed oil

For more information about Bragss:http://www.bragg.com/products/la.html

Break your broc into florets, and slice the stems thinly on a diagonal. Heat your wok or skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Stir in broccoli and onions and cook until tender, 4-5 minutes or so. Lower heat and drizzle Braggs over your stir fry for another 10 minutes. Sprinkle with macadamias and flaxseed oil and serve.

Basic Avocado Tuna Salad

2012-01-31T11:06:00.000-08:00

Here's another quick fix! Usually prepared using the 7-8 ounce canned tuna, I encourage everyone to try baking their own tuna and preparing this recipe fresh. It's amazing, and super fast and easy. Trader Joe's sells a respectable frozen, vacuum-packed Ahi tuna which is great in this recipe. Bake with a little lime juice at 350 until white and flaky. Don't overcook.

You can fork it into flakes, or use your Cuisinart for a lightning speed blend. Don't overdo the Cuisinart action or you'll have tuna pate.

2 regular sized cans of tuna, which are sold in 7-8 ounce units, or bake your own from scratch as recommended above

1 ripe avocado

dash of lime juice for both baking the tuna (unless you are using canned) and for the salad

3 Tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

3 Tablespoons finely chopped green onions

2 cups spinach/mizuna greens

salt and pepper to taste

Mash avocado with lime juice. Gently mix in flaked tuna and blend in parsley and onions. Serve over spinach or mixed greens.

Broccoli/Spinach Macadamia Dusted Frittata

2012-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, frittata sounds fancy, but it's just Italy's answer to an omelette and is a quick and easy way to whip up a healthy meal in no time. For the record, the primary difference between a quiche and a frittata is the quiche has a crust, and the frittata doesn't. Additionally, quiche is traditionally served warm, and the frittata is traditionally served warm or at room temperature. I'm not sure I'm all over a room temperature egg dish, but that's just me....

Here's a base recipe, feel free to add other things you have to the mix:
1 Tablespoon California Olive Oil or butter
2 broccoli crowns
2 cups chopped spinach
1/2 cup pitted ripe olives; halved
6 organic eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Dash of Tabasco or Frank's Hot Sauce
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons finely ground macadamia dust

Preheat oven to 350. Butter or oil a 9 inch round pie pan. Put the veggies in the pan, and pour the egg/herb, hot sauce mixture over the top. Bake for 35ish minutes or until the center has set. Then at the last minute before serving, sprinkle cheese and then macadamia dust over top and let melt. Cut into pie wedges and serve either hot or at room temperature.

Harvest Ticket January 31st-Feb. 1 Page One

2012-01-31T10:44:00.000-08:00

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Harvest Ticket January 31st-Feb. 1st 2012 Page Two

2012-01-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

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Harvest Ticket, January 24-25 2012

2012-01-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

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Harvest Ticket Jan. 24-25 2012

2012-01-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

Harvest Ticket January 17-18 2012...Page One

2012-01-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

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Harvest Ticket January 17-18 2012...Page Two

2012-01-18T14:39:00.001-08:00

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What's New In January 2012

2012-01-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

So, we're finally cracking out our macadamia nuts this week. The harvest, considering HALF the farm is planted to macs, is disappointing, as I've mentioned before due to squirrels running amok on our organic farm. There is NO organic solutions, and this year our CCOF inspector point blank suggested we give up, as others have. We're accepting defeat and will start chain sawing the West grove this week. We'll maintain the East grove, in the hopes that someday a solution will arrive, or until we need the land for something more productive. We plan on planting olive trees in the West grove.

This week is pretty much the last of our persimmons, you'll find only one each in the large shares. I'm trying to dry the ones left on the trees that are overripe. You'll begin to see an avocado or two in boxes most weeks now for a while.

The greenhouse is rapidly filling up with our heirloom tomato starts. I can't believe it's that time of year again!

We moved our sprouting production to our greenhouse, thinking that would solve the problem of how slow they're sprouting in this cold time of year. Didn't work. Although the greenhouse is quite warm in the day, without a heating system, it eventually goes down to the same temperature as the outside, which absolutely stops sprout production. Stop start, stop start, the sprouts were beautiful this week, but with all that stopping and starting, they took twice as long to grow. So we're moving the sprouting production AGAIN, this time to a heated little house that is being insulated. That should do the trick! Assuming success, we will have our amazing sprouts back in boxes on a weekly basis shortly.

We harvested three different spicy leafy greens this week: cress, arugula, and mizuna. All three can be eaten raw in salads, or lightly sauteed.

Candied Kumquats

2012-01-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

This is such a simple recipe, and the results are amazing. Even if you disdain fresh kumquats, this concoction is worth a try.

Ingredients:

1 pound of kumquats or so, cut in half and seeds flicked out.

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon of a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves

In saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil. Boil for 3 or 4 minutes, which will thicken the sugar mixture to a syrup. Add fruit and spices. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Use slotted spoon to remove kumquats from the mixture. Continue to cook the syrup to about half what you started with, then pour over fruit, jar and refrigerate.

Kumquat Salsa

2012-01-10T13:00:00.001-08:00

Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

2 cups chopped and cleaned, thinly sliced kumquats (seeds removed)

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Dash of Tabasco

Pinch of salt to taste

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

Kumquat Carrot Salad

2012-01-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

One bunch of carrots, peeled and grated
4 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons minced cilantro
16 kumquats, quartered lengthwise and seeds removed
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
8 large lettuce leaves

Directions:
Mix carrots, green onions, cilantro and kumquats in bowl.
Combine vinegar, lime peel, mustard and paprika, and then wisk in oil.
Season vinegar mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour mixture over carrot/kumquats. Toss to coat evenly, and chill for at least two hours.
Spoon salad into lettuce leaves and serve.

Kumquat Breakfast Bread

2012-01-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is a little heavy, I think it's best sliced thick and toasted.
1 cup of kumquat puree: Halve fruit, and flick out the seeds. I use a Cuisinart or my Vitamix to puree.
3/4 cup of honey
2 Tbs. oil
2 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla
1 1/4 cup of whole wheat flour (I buy the whole grain and Vitamix the flour as needed. Like coffee, flour is best when freshly ground.)
1 cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup flaxseed meal. (I buy the whole seed and Vitamix. It's super easy!
1 Tbs. baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 Tbs. cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of chopped nuts and dried fruit like raisons, persimmons, etc.)

Directions:
Put all dry ingredients into a mixer, mix thoroughly. And then add wet ingredients. Combine well, add fruit and nuts. Use a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes. Don't over cook.

Harvest Ticket January 10-11 2012 Page One

2012-01-10T12:02:00.001-08:00

Greetings!

I didn't post last week's harvest ticket. It seems that computer issues are the bane of my existence, and every now and then I'm dead in the water with an issue that I can't figure out in a timely manner. I've had a virus for months that repeated trips to the tech guy in nearby Temecula hasn't solved. I've given up and actually BOUGHT A NEW COMPUTER, rather than continue to suffer.

Anyway, now that I've vented, on to farm issues. This week we're finally beginning our kumquat harvest. Yeah! As I've said before, we usually start harvesting in time for Thanksgiving's cranberry/kumquat recipes but not this year, by a mile. So the fruit is beautiful, and I think sweeter than past years'. Although popping a few in your mouth as a snack isn't a terrible notion, to truly experience what a kumquat can be, requires heating. Like quince, the rich, complex flavor of the kumquat isn't realized until it's been cooked. So give it a chance! See separate recipes below.

We're finishing up our persimmons, I don't think we'll have any next week. They're ripening on the tree now, and the ones you receive will need to be consumed promptly. They're best like this, but have poor shelf life. I'd love to hear if anyone tried drying them. Please share your experience if you did!

Our amazing sprouts are still taking two weeks to sprout, though moved to the greenhouse. So this week's boxes have none, next week's will. We're working on making a greenhouse inside the greenhouse in hopes of creating a micro climate that will allow us to produce sprouts on a weekly basis while we wait for Spring to arrive.

We probably have enough macadamias to begin cracking out next week; or at least I think so. And we'll begin our Hass avocado harvest next week, too. Don't get your guac recipes out, though; because in the very first part of the California avo season, it takes a minimum of 10 days off the tree before the fruit is ripened. Most Hass in the grocery stores (and ahem...in the farmers' markets for that matter) is from South of the border.

Harvest Ticket January 10-11 2012 Page Two

2012-01-10T12:01:00.001-08:00

Harvest Ticket Dec. 27-28 Page One

2011-12-27T17:02:00.000-08:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading. See Page Two below.

So we're just starting the very earliest part of our avocado harvest. Actually we always start with our pollinators, which did their pollination job this year, but didn't fruit much. Anyway, there are Fuerte's and a few very early to appear Hass in the Large shares this week. Actually, the real Hass harvest doesn't start for a couple more weeks, usually.

Oddly, the macadamia harvest is weeks later than usual. We're only NOW raking up any quantity worth getting excited about. Normally, by October we are raking away. So, too the kumquats are much later. I have always enjoyed combining kumquats with cranberries for Thanksgiving, indicating that we actually HAVE kumquats in November, which isn't the case by a milestone this year. I'm guessing late February. So the climate at least on this farm, is changing in a huge way.

You'll notice the sprouts are back again this week. They take almost 2 weeks to sprout in this cold weather, as opposed to 4 or 5 days. We hired an electrician to bring electricity to our tiny greenhouse, and we're going to try moving the sprouting operation inside there, in the hopes that the greenhouse environment is so much warmer that we will be able to grow weekly supplies again. This week's sprouts are an unusual combination of clover, garlic and cress.

Plenty of persimmons right now as we're mid-harvest. We're experimenting with drying and if successful, may include dried persimmons later on. We'll use a dehydrator, but if you'd like to try your oven, here's a link: www.marthastewart.com/recipe/oven-dried-persimmons-slices

The butternut squash can sit on your counter for quite a while. Baked, and the flesh scooped out, it offers the base for pumpkin pie, a hearty soup, pumpkin bread/muffins and a fine vegan gravy.

Harvest Ticket Dec. 27-28 2011 page Two

2011-12-27T17:00:00.000-08:00

Save time, Save the Environment

2011-12-21T15:16:00.000-08:00

As a busy farmer, every now and then I come up with a time saving device that I'd like to offer to others for their consideration. Here it is: I've given this a lot of thought and I think that matching socks is an expectation foisted upon people by the sock industry and I have decided to no longer be victimized by their oppressive social manipulation. Who made the rule that donning unmatched socks was a social faux pas, anyway? I'll tell you who! The Sock People, that's who. And why? Because perfectly good, but unmatched, socks by the boatload are thrown away each and every day, filling up our landfills and our childrens' environmental futures. Those unnecessarily discarded socks have to be replaced, with the only beneficiary being, you guessed it, the sock people. Oh, there's more. Have you ever stopped to consider the opportunity cost of all that time you have spent MATCHING socks? I bet you haven't. Well, I have. And it's a boatload, there, too. I say, let's spend our time in productive pursuits, not wasting time matching socks...when doing so fails to benefit the end consumer in any real way. Rise up! Defend yourself against the machinations of the sock industry. Red with White, Flowered with Plaid. Proudly display your solidarity against the sock conspiracy and save your valuable time, your sock budget, and the earth!

Next week: why making beds is a waste of time.

Barn Cat Demands Entry

2011-12-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so no goats in the house. We're all on the same page with that. But a cat would be welcome. We've had a beautiful feral cat hanging around our packing house for a while, an inport from a local elementary school whose principal asked a member of our crew to take him to our farm as a "mouser." A few days ago he made his way up to our home, and invited himself inside. He either is a genius, or at some point in his life was an inside cat, because he immediately plopped himself down on my bed and fell asleep. He knows all about cat boxes, we've discovered, and hasn't stopped purring. He's been here for 3 days now, and the mouse in the house is gone. Since there's no dead mice pieces lying around, my guess is, his very presence is a deterent, the very best, pest management of all.

At first he refused to venture outside, perhaps fearful that we'd not let him back in if he left. This morning was his first post-home invasion, outdoor excursion. He hung out in the sun, climbed to the top of our patio (photo above) and then returned to his spot in front of our fireplace. The perfect cat, he has found a new home.

On another note, son Frankie thought it would be cool to buy a little catnip for him, and sure enough Cat Man was delighted. that's him in the photo with a rolled up ball of catnip. I'm wondering if any of our CSA members might enjoy the option of purchasing catnip from our farm?

Harvest Ticket Dec. 20-21 Page One

2011-12-21T12:47:00.000-08:00

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We're excited this week to include a bag of passion fruit in the large shares. And another week of spaghetti squash. This squash has an unusual characteristic. When opened and cooked, it takes on the appearance of spaghetti. I didn't even believe it until I tried it, the whole spaghetti thing seems so unlikely. I cook in the oven, often when the oven is on anyway while cooking something else. (Open the squash lengthwise with a sharp knife, or do as we do and slam the thing on the pavement to open. Using a knife can be dicey, don't take a chance if you're at all nervous. Take it out front and slam on your sidewalk or pavement. No, it doesn't open with perfect edges, but who cares?) Cook at 350 with a little olive oil (try Temecula Olive Oil's local stuff, (website here: http://www.temeculaoliveoil.com/) , salt, pepper, and crushed garlic. Once the strings are easily loosened from the shell pieces, I remove from the oven, let cool, and then add the finished product to stir fries. Or you can eat it just like that, either hot out of the oven or chilled as a salad. The thing I love about Temecula Olive Oil (beside the fact that they are actual local growers of olives) is that they infuse their oils with an assortment of different offerings with results that never fail to amaze. We actually have started a small olive grove here and have been offered the TOOC facility to make oil once we're harvesting. I can't wait to have our own organic olives and oil to add to the CSA boxes!

Harvest Ticket Dec. 20-21 Page Two

2011-12-21T12:43:00.001-08:00

Harvest Ticket Dec. 13-14 Page One

2011-12-13T13:59:00.001-08:00

Harvest Ticket Dec. 13-14 Page Two

2011-12-13T13:58:00.001-08:00

Dangerous Stuff Coming Out of the Sky

2011-12-13T12:52:00.000-08:00

You know, I've always thought of goats as rugged animals, survivalists even. A beast that can eat your shoe, or a piece of your car on a bad day, is no sissy. So I am really entertained to discover that they're afraid of rain. This isn't an individual trait, but the whole herd's. Even a little mist is viewed with suspicion, but the actual downpour that we received in the last couple days has been met with herd-wide alarm. Our off-limits farmhouse door is only 40 or so feet from the goat's barn, but when a few sprinkles landed on them, they roared into my house which offered a closer refuge than the barn door. Like the actual 10 feet more had they gone in the opposite direction to their barn, was too dicey. And then resolutely stood their ground when invited to leave. I know we've gone over this before; no goats in the livingroom. But getting a goat to move toward something they're afraid of is like trying to argue with arugula. Each one had to be unbrella'd and carried to the barn, where they've sulked for hours waiting for the wet stuff to go away.

Butternut Pie

2011-12-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

Line a pie pan with pie dough. I often cheat and use Trader Joe's pie dough, which comes frozen. For a while there, they were having a problem with quality control, but the product now is excellent and a big time saver; especially if you don't make alot of pies and don't have a system. There was a time when I made a couple pies or quiches a week, and I really had the whole pie dough thing down to a science. Now, not so much and though a Slow Food Advocate, I use Trader's product.

Preheat oven to 425.

Here's the recipe:

2 cups of cooked squash or edible pumpkin. Do NOT try using a decorative pumpkin in this recipe. I've tried it, and it was awful, just watery and not flavorful at all.

1.5 cups of organic cream. Watch out for the weird stuff grocery stores are now putting in "cream." Trader Joes is good, and Henry's and Sprouts have products without the garbage, too.

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 Teaspoons Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Ginger

1 Teaspoon Nutmeg or Alspice

1/2 Teaspoon of finely crushed Cloves

2 beaten eggs

Blend it all in a Cuisinart, Vitamix or blender until smooth. Pour mixture into pie shell, bake for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 and bake until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. In my oven, that's 45 minutes.

Serve with whipped cream flavored with 2 Tablespoons of bourbon.

Butternut Squash Soup

2011-12-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ha, this is so easy it hardly counts as a recipe, but here it is:

The most difficult step is getting this hard, winter squash open. I never chance injuring myself by using a knife. I take the squash outside and slam it on the driveway. No, it doesn't open perfectly, but there's no chance of the knife slipping off the thing and slicing fingers. Scoop out the seeds and compost those. Then, I bake the pieces with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic (smaller pieces cook faster) until they're soft.

Remove from oven, (oh--you can use the microwave if you'd prefer) and let cool enough to handle. Scoop out and put in your blender or Cuisinart. I have a Vitamix, but this is so soft even an inexpensive blender will work. The key to amazing soup is getting it smooth, so blend until you've reached a really nice, smooth puree.Add liquid to consistency you desire for soup. Some people like chicken stock, others use milk, and I sometimes just use water. I add a dash of Tabasco or chili pepper, more garlic and salt to taste. Serve with finely chopped cilantro in each bowl.

Done

Harvest Ticket Dec. 6-7 Page One

2011-12-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

New this week is the amazing butternut squash. Check out the recipes below! The perfect foundation for soups, mashed squash, "pumpkin" bread, pie and vegan gravies and sauces.

Again you'll find our baby Asian green, mizuna in clamshells this week. I like this spritely green raw, but I know others use it in stir fries.

Quick reminder: we hope you'll consider joining us for our farm day this coming Saturday. Just let us know you're coming so we can figure parking out! I'll post a note separately with directions in a couple days.

Harvest Ticket Dec. 6-7, page 2

2011-12-06T11:26:00.000-08:00

December 10th is Farm Day

2011-11-29T13:33:00.000-08:00

Our CSA members, their friends and family are invited to a Morning Song farm day on Saturday, December 10th between 9-12. Rain cancels. As always, if you could RSVP at: donna@morningsongfarm.com so we can plan ahead for parking issues, that would be appreciated. Sometimes we have only a single participant, and sometimes the skies part and we have a deluge. It's always nice to know ahead of time which it might be, as we are a hillside farm with limited flat spots for parking. We always figure it out, but it IS easier to know ahead of time.

Many have asked about saving their left over veggies for us; we'd love to have them--- so if you're planning on coming, start saving! If you aren't composting yourself, we sure can use it here.

Meet our pets; llamas, goats and chickens. We'll have llama treats here if you'd like to interact with Dreamie and Couscou, and the goats aren't picky. Goat favorites are crunchy granola bars, saltine crackers and pretzels. Actually, they'll eat anything, including your clothes; but we try to keep their diet in the recognizable food groups. And the chickens--remember they don't have actual teeth-- enjoy cut up soft fruit, bits of crackers, and meatless (within a day) table scraps.

Finally, if you have farm/growing questions or you'd like to offer your input this is a great time to walk the farm with the farmers and give us an opportunity to hear what you have to say.

Harvest Ticket Nov 29-30 Page One

2011-11-29T13:17:00.001-08:00

Harvest Ticket Nov. 29-30 Page Two

2011-11-29T12:55:00.000-08:00

We trialed another sprout mix, (all certified organic seed: clover, alfalfa, broccoli, fenugreek, sesame and garlic chives) but goofed on the timing as this mix takes longer than last week's trial mix. So only large shares will receive these amazing sprouts unless between today and tomorrow half our trays demonstrate miraculous growth. Barring that, our chickens will be dining on a week's worth of amazing sprouts in a couple days.

Because we harvest on Tuesdays for San Diego/Temecula and Wednesdays for OC, we split our sprouting start days in half, with the first half ready on Tuesday and the 2nd half on Wednesday. Unfortunately only the first half will be ready at all this week. Uggr!

The good news, is that we are moving beyond radish sprouts and have sourced organic sprout seeds from a trusted provider that has some very nice mixes that I think we'll all enjoy. We just need to get the timing down right! And of course, as it gets colder, the timing will change, but hopefully we'll keep on top of that as well.

New this week is a clamshell of the baby Asian green, mizuna. We've bunched it from time to time, but never mowed a row down at the baby stage. Often quickly sauteed with a little garlic, it can also be enjoyed raw in your salad. Funny story: I had an intern plant the 40 feet or so of Mizuna, and a week later when I was out in "garden two" checking on something else, I noticed that someone had planted "radish" seed waaaay to close together. The first leaves of Mizuna look EXACTLY like a radish sprout, and even have the same mild, spicy flavor. I had told Jabin, our head farmer dude, that he'd need to plow it under, as radishes planted that closely will never bulb up, but the rains prevented him from getting to it. So this weekend I was out touring the farm, after returning from a few (much needed) days away, to discover the "radish" planting had miraculously sprouted into Mizuna. Sure enough, the tag at the end of the row was labeled "Mizuna." I hadn't bothered to look, because the first leaves sure did look like radish sprouts; which we grow a lot of.

Negotiated Goat/Human Truce at Risk

2011-11-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

Well, last time I wrote about our goats, I was satisfied with the understanding that I thought we had reached after some discussions. I don't sleep in the goat barn, and they don't hang out in my house. Everyone at Morning Song was satisfied with that arrangement and I thought we could move on to more pressing issues. Apparently not. I came home today to discover the entire herd LOCKED in my otherwise unoccupied house. I think it's Carl AKA Goat Man as pointman. He's never been much of a rule observer, and I think he has figured out how to open doors with his front hooves. He doesn't do this in front of humans. I think it's some kind of goat rule. But the evidence can't be argued with. Once he entered; and I'm saying he, because I think it's Goat Man, the whole herd followed. Had he made a quick mission into forbidden territory and exited, I might not have known. But for one reason or another (a breeze? a door tussle? a piece of paper behind the door that everyone went for?) the door ended up shut and latched; and the bunch of them were stuck in the house for a couple hours. This is where lines are drawn inside families. Goat lovers vs. boring family members who have no sense of humor or a grasp of the vastly larger picture. Paper dollars set aside for lunch money, a single lousy iphone cord, junk mail and 2 boxes of cherrios can be replaced! Arriving home, I had a surreal moment as I reached for the door and discovered a herd of goats peering out at me from my home. They'd gone straight for the goat treats and knocked over a 30 pound container, then went for random nibbles that they might not find themselves being offered on a regular basis. No vet bill insued, but again, my son re-sent his previous email to me, with a selection of goat recipes.

At left top, Gracie busy munching and left bottom: Lance coaching a phone cord out of Goat Man's mouth

Harvest Ticket Nov 22-23 Page One

2011-11-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

Tropical Guavas are here! We're excited to bring you the first of our tropical guava harvest this week. We have mixed three varieties in our boxes, as we don't have enough of any one kind. The three varieties are:

1. Mexican Guavas which are green on the outside and pink on the inside. They have a passionfruit kind of flavor.

2. Malaysian Guavas which are reddish green on the outside and bright pink colored on the inside. They have a berry flavor.

3. Taiwanese Guavas which are green on the outside just like Mexican Guavas, and yellow on the inside. They have a smooth, lemon/banana flavor. These are being harvested just hours before putting in your boxes and are best (in my humble opinion) when they've been allowed to ripen on your counter. You can tell they're ripe if they give slightly, and have a sweet aroma. From my days at the farmers' markets, I know some people like them hard..right off the tree, but if you eat them right away, you'll miss out on the perfume that a ripening guava releases. Plus, I just think they taste best, fully ripe and soft. By the way, guavas, like all tropical fruits, should not be referigerated.

Guavas have twice the vitamin C content of an orange, and as much as 8 times the potassium content of a banana. That's a lot of potassium! In addition, guavas also offer carotenoids, folate, fiber, calcium and iron. Few fruits offer calcium!

Harvest Ticket Nov. 22-23 Page Two

2011-11-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

Collard greens aren't as common as spinach, and I have no idea why! I have to admit their name isn't as delicious sounding as Swiss chard. Maybe we should rename them? Ambrosia leaf? Just kidding. Collards are great just steamed as you would Swiss chard or spinach. Just make certain you don't overcook this amazing green, because like all cruciferous veggies, overcooked collards give off an unpleasant sulfer smell when overcooked. You won't want to overcook them anyway, because doing so reduces the vitamin content of this just picked, leafy green. Steamed collard greens have a more powerful cholesterol lowering ability than any of the other cruciferous veggies; including mustard greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage. The cancer preventive qualities of collards can be attributed to 4 glucosinolates found in the veggie's leaves, which are converted into an isothiocyanate that is said to lower cancer risk by aiding in the human body's detox and anti-imflammatory systems.

Another Thanksgiving Week Reminder

2011-11-16T12:44:00.000-08:00

I know I posted this last week, but I want to just circle back and say it again: to avoid the Wednesday holiday traffic next week, we are doing a marathan harvest on Tuesday and splitting the OC/San Diego deliveries into two trucks, but both on Tuesday. That doesn't make any difference at all to San Diego subscribers who receive their shares on Tuesdays anyway, but Wednesday subscribers will be picking up a day earlier!

On a related topic: Morning Song Farm will actually be shutting down from Tuesday evening until Saturday for the Thanksgiving holiday. I haven't actually taken a day off in years, not even when I've gone out of town with my daughter. I bring a laptop and an I-phone and continue my office and customer service work unabated. This holiday will be different as my partner, Lance, has suggested that all computer connections and phones will be checked at the door as we exit for 4 days out of town. Actually, I think the word, "suggestion" is a little light footed. Maybe "decree," would be closer to the truth. Well, be that as it may, I look forward to this little 1965 Thanksgiving, despite my teenagers' threats to report us to CPS for electronic starvation.

Harvest Ticket Nov. 15-16

2011-11-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I'm having printing problems today and can't post our normal image ticket until later. But I thought I'd post the ticket, sans images right now:
Below is what went into the large share, then a slash, then what went into the small shares: x/x

Carrot Bunches: 1/1
Beets, tops removed, 2 pounds/1 pound
Green Beans: 1.25 pounds/.75 pounds
Swiss Chard Bunches: 2/1
Pink Lady Apples: 2 pounds/1 pound
Mizuna leafy green: 1/0 on Wednesday, 1/1 on Tuesday
Limes: 9/6
Sprouts: 1/1 clamshell
Pineapple Guavas: 2 pounds/1 pound
Parsley: 1/0 on Wednesday only
Arugula 1/0 on Tuesday, 1/1 on Wednesday

Radish Sprouts have Hairy Roots, Not Mold

2011-11-16T11:49:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed. Although we've only had one inquiry, I think it's worth posting about in case other subscribers were worried and just tossing our sprouts. Lots of people who have tried growing radish sprouts have thought that their radish sprouts had sprouted some weird white mold. See the photo at left. Those hairy white things are actually tiny root hairs, not fungus. After 5 days, the root hairs of each seed combine in a kind of mat. A mat of healthy, white, root hairs; not fungus. Not mold. If we harvest sooner than 5 days, there isn't enough leafy green to classify the sprout as, well a sprout.

Sproutpeople.com makes this comment in their tech section intended for growers, in response to a complaint by a new grower that her radish sprouts were moldy:

"99.9% of you aren't seeing mold--you are seeing root hairs. If you are browing broccoli, radish, or another brassica or grain, and you see this "fuzz", just before you rinse that is ROOT HAIRS. Just rinse--and they fall back against the main root. You won't see them again until your next rinse. Dont' feel bad--you are the 2,247th person to make this mistake this year :)"

From rawfoodtalk.com:

"Radish sprouts have those fuzzy sprout tails...radish seeds are a bit large--they're very common in mixes, so that's probably what they are. The little hairs lie down when they're wet, so look at them before you rinse, and look again right after."

And from www.lifeandlove.tv/article.cfm/aid/1073:

"The "mold" on my sprout mix was caused by the daikon radish which after about three days start to show microscopic root hairs which typically start to show just before rinsing; when the sprouts are at their driest. These collapse back against the roots with the rinsing process. Many newbie sprouters apparently mistake these roots for mold! Well, at least if I am an idiot, I am not alone."

Thanksgiving Week Schedule Changes!

2011-11-08T11:50:00.001-08:00

In an effort to get our truck, and our amazingly serene driver Bruce, off the pre-holiday packed freeways, we are scheduling all of our deliveries for the week of Thanksgiving on TUESDAY instead of splitting between Tuesday and Wednesday. Normally, OC subscribers' boxes are delivered on Wednesdays, but November 23rd's deliveries will be done on November 22nd. Please note your calendars!

Harvest Ticket Nov. 8-9 Page One

2011-11-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

We're excited to begin our passionfruit harvest now that it's getting a little cool in the evenings. We harvest when they're dead ripe; they'll sweeten a little on your counter, and can be refrigerated for weeks if you choose. When they are especially wrinkled and ugly, they are at their sweetest. Any other fruit that landed on my table that wrinkled and old looking, would get tossed in the compost pile post haste. But passionfruit is best after a few days of sitting on your counter; although I have to admit I love these gems as a much anticipated dessert, I rarely wait for wrinkles. That said, the easiest way to serve is simple to cut lengthwise, like you might a hard boiled egg. Sometimes I sprinkle a little sugar, sometimes I don't. As a dessert, nothing but the naked fruit will serve admirably.

Click on image to enlarge for easy viewing.

Harvest Ticket Nov. 8-9-, Page two

2011-11-07T14:57:00.000-08:00

Harvest Ticket, Nov. 1 2011 Page One

2011-11-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing. This is a pre-harvest estimate of what we have slated to harvest later this morning and tomorrow. I'm heading out of town at dawn, to yet another day at trial; and wanted this posted prior to. If I hear later today that I errored in my estimates, I'll circle back and revise.

Harvest Ticket, Nov. 1 Page Two

2011-11-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Harvest Ticket, October 24-25 page one

2011-10-25T14:31:00.001-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing.

Harvest Ticket, October 24-25 page two

2011-10-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Harvest Ticket, October 18-19 Page One

2011-10-18T18:56:00.001-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing. See recipes below!

Harvest Ticket, October 18-19 Page Two

2011-10-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing.

Lime Meringue Pie

2011-10-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to include a pie shell recipe here. You'll need to have your baked shell ready. This recipe is not a typical restaurant lime pie. It's got a good bit more zap to it..meaning if you like sweet lime pie, certainly add more sugar. Or go to Denny's. I like my lime pie to roll just this side of too sour. With the fruit of 200 lime trees to experiment with, I've fiddled with this recipe for years. It's not for sweet tooths. I think it's the best lime pie on earth.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

5 Tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together and set aside for a minute.

Combine 1 cup fresh lime juice, 3 beaten egg yolks, 2 tablespoons butter, and 3/4 cup boiling water. Add dry ingredients slowly, blending thoroughly. Bring entire mixutre to a full boil. cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick. This happens fast! Dump pudding-like mixture into pie shell and cool.

For the meringue:

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons confectioners sugar. If you don't have the finer confectioner's sugar on hand, you can powder your granulated sugar in a Vitamix if you have one. It only takes a second.

Whip egg whites to a consistency that will hold peaks. Add the cream of tartar, vanilla and sugar.

Using a spatula, ice your pie, and then broil the top to a golden brown for 3-4 minutes. Don't make your peaks too pointy or your peaks will burn. Serve chilled.

A Crust-free Quiche To Remember

2011-10-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite use of cookable leafy greens. I alternate kale, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Bok Choi; and sometimes mix them all. This week's mild flavored Swiss Chard is perfect for this recipe:

I have to admit it's a little more complicated than the typical Farmer Donna recipe, but it's worth the effort. By omitting the crust you are saving some time and really not reducing the wonder of this recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups of cut up Swiss Chard; washed chopped and set aside.

single onion, diced

1 Tablespoon flour

3 pieces of cooked bacon

3 cloves of California garlic

Handful of mushrooms

5 eggs

2 cups goats' or cows' milk

1/2 cup walnuts

Salt, pepper, dash of Tabasco

Olive oil

One cup of grated cheese of your choice

Combine chard, half the onions, bacon, eggs, flour, milk, walnuts. Set aside.

Throw mushrooms, other half of onions, and garlic in saute pan with olive oil and saute. Dump everything together and spoon into individual, oven safe cups, and bake at 350 luntil done; about 35 minutes in my oven.

Harvest Ticket, October 11-12 Page One

2011-10-11T12:19:00.001-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier reading.

Harvest Ticket, October 11-12 Page Two

2011-10-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

Goats

2011-10-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

This is Rosie at left, one of our wonderful Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. She isn't interested in having her photo taken unless the camera is edible, so this is the best I could do today. Goats figured out how to get into their treat bag last night and then, having gorged, couldn't be coaxed to the milking stand this morning. In my pajamas and flip flops with a flashlight at 6:00 a.m., I discovered I had been outsmarted. Although those pajamas look like I lost in a mud tug of war, I did indeed win the battle. However, hairy foot ended up in the milking bucket, so maybe we'll call it a "draw." I'll be making soap (critical not to misspell as "soup," here) of today's milk. Basically, the goats and I have an understanding. They get treated like princesses and are bribed with treats, that no doubt preclude any hope of ever being a profitable dairy. I get to milk in peace. There's also a subsidiary rule that although they know how to open my front door, enter at will and say, eat my September billing; they agree not to. That's my understanding, anyway.

A few people have asked if I sell goat milk, cheese or soap. I don't sell anything goat-related. They were acquired for the pleasure of their company; although that end game has not always been achieved on a regular basis. In the beginning, they expressed complete disdain at my fumbling attempts to get goat milk in the goat milk bucket, which in all fairness was my stated official purpose for having goats. There was a low point where family members would peer out a nearby window, popcorn at hand, to view the daily match because watching me get my ass handed to me by a miniature goat was better than Southpark. The goats ARE fun to watch; although the foolishness of thinking that I could provide delicious goat food in exchange for them not chomping my landscaping into stumps was stellar in its complete absence of goat-ownership common sense.

They ate the delicious goat food treats AND the landscape. Immediately. And any thought that a goat can be bribed and then stay "bought," even through a milking session, is nonsense. Payment in the form of goat treats in exchange for the opportunity to milk in peace is a notion that is renegotiated daily; occasionally minute by minute. Sometimes I walk away satisfied with the exchange. Sometimes I don't. So if you want to add the cost of landscape replacement, let's see. Goat soap: $127 a bar. Yet another nutty hobby I've understaken that my friends are left incredulous over.

Harvest Ticket, October 4-5; page one

2011-10-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

I'm heading out of town mid-harvest this morning, so will have to circle back later and revise this entry for errors; but this is what we've planned for today and tomorrow's harvest. Light on fruit :( ...we ended our orange harvest last week; and don't start apples until next week. We still have some oranges hanging on the trees; but they're really over ripe and have a nanosecond of shelf life once picked. Click on the harvest ticket below to enlarge the image for easier viewing.

Tenative Harvet Ticket October 4-5 page two

2011-10-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Harvest Ticket, Page One, September 27-28

2011-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing.

We got a little carried away with the baby lettuce Spring Mix, and don't have large enough containers; so large shares are receiving three clamshell containers, and small will receive two. After finishing up our trial case; we'll find a larger version for our large shares... I know some of you might fault me for using the plastic clam shell containers that we're trialing this week. But in my defense; they keep our herbs and tender greens in such better condition for you, the subscriber (and me the farmer in my own frig.) I looked around for recyclable product and am trialing a local vendor's offerings. Any feedback would be appreciated. We've tried putting say, sprouts in brown paper bags and then switched to small plastic bags; and neither were as nice as the clamshells we're trying today. At the end of the day, if produce is getting thrown away because it's not stored properly and goes bad; that's not a good trade off for us, or our subscribers. We have mint coming along, and will add it to our spring mix as we enter the cooler season that our mint enjoys. Upcoming is our apple harvest..I think next week or the week after we'll start. We're also raking our madadamia groves and gearing up for the nut harvest. I don't anticipate having cracked out nuts in our boxes, though until end of October or beginning of November.

Harvest Ticket, Page Two: September 27-28

2011-09-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing.

Orange Parsley Stuffing

2011-09-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

10 cups for so of dry bread crumbs. You can purchase "ready made," or toast your chosen bread and then "Cuisinart" into bread crumbs. If you choose the Cuisinart method, go ahead and add the spices into your mixture at that point.

1 cup of finely chopped onion

1 cup chopped parsley

2 Tablespoons orange peel, finely chopped

2 teaspoons dried margoram

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2 eggs

1 cup melted butter

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup lemon or lime juice

Combine all dry ingredients and mix. Then in a separate bowl combine eggs, butter, water and juice. Toss two bowls together with a few quick wisks. Don't over work.

Use mixture to stuff turkey, chicken or this week's peppers!

Parsley Potatoes

2011-09-20T19:08:00.001-07:00

Here's a quick recipe for this week's amazing parsley:

2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut

1/2 cup butter, melted (if you've never churned your own butter, this is a great recipe to try with your own butter....simply choose pure cream (no additives...yes read the label..most basic grocery stores order and sell cream with preservatives). Pour into a mixer's bowl. Whip until the buttermilk separates from the butter. Pour off buttermilk and reserve for another use. What remains is pure butter. Salt lightly to taste.

1/2 cup finely chopped parsley. I use a Cuisinart for this, but a good knife will do the job

one crushed garlic clove

Cook potatoes until tender but DONT overdo. Drain and combine with butter and parsley; and garlic. Gently toss ingredients and salt to taste. Serve warm.

Greek Salad with Sahuaro Peppers

2011-09-20T19:05:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:
3 Tomatoes, chopped
1 medium pepper
1 cup Greek olives
1/2 cup feta cheese
half small head of lettuce

Dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup California olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash ground pepper

Roasted Peppers

2011-09-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

The Sahuaro Peppers in this week's shares aren't blazing hot, but aren't "sweet," either. I think they have the perfect balance between heat and meat. Here's a quick marinate to use before roasting on your barbeque:

For every 6 peppers, crush 3 garlic cloves, and blend with 1/2 cup of vinegar; and salt to taste.

Soak peppers and then cut in halves and place on a low flame until done to your satisfaction. You can reserve the sauce and serve on the side or as a dip.

Love That Purslane

2011-09-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Since the herb purslane is so nutrient packed, we've played around with different ways to serve it and here's a farm favorite. Similar to how brocolli is often served with a dipping sauce, arrange your purslane branches around a dip of your choice and serve chilled. Easy and fun enough for kids and veggie-haters alike to enjoy! As soon as the nights get a little cooler, we won't have anymore in the gardens...purslane is definately a summer herb.

Chicken News

2011-09-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where to begin. There are times when I suppose all farmers feel like farming is handing them their ass. This month could certainly count as that for me. Six months ago predators killed our egg laying chickens and after a few months of reflecting, we ordered more through the mail. Determined to protect these new pets, we built what neighbors and friends have jokingly referred to as "Chicken Fort Knox." We encirlced a portion of the macadamia grove with six foot coyote proof fencing, and then electrified the whole thing for good measure. Every one of us here at one time or another has made the mistake of leaning against the fencing and gotten blasted. There's a reason an electrical jolt is called a "shock." It truly is shocking; as in mometarily enducing tears. Don't let the little solar powered gizmo that sends the power into this fence fool you. It means business. So I guess we were fairly confident of our chickens' safety.

We planned to offer eggs for sale as soon as our chickens reached egg laying age and our software program was up and running. Just a few short weeks from our egg selling launch, a neighbor's dog cleverly tunneled under the fencing far enough back, and deep enough into the soil, to avoid the electrical charge. We had over a 100 chickens and one very friendly turkey pet. My son Frankie discovered most of his birds torn asunder the following morning during his routine early morning chores. Not content to just kill and eat a chicken or two, the offending dog clearly went into a frenzy and killed everything he could catch. Our turkey, Tom, probably tried to protect "his" chickens and lost his life as well. A senseless loss of life, my almost grown-up son tried to hide the carnage from me; as I was already having a difficult week. An hour later, when I drove the kids to school, down the hill and past the chicken barn, I remarked that there sure were a lot of feathers laying around. "Molting mom, chickens molt in the heat, you know," Frankie replied.

I'm saddened by the loss, and chagrined at the cost to safely raise chickens in Rainbow, CA. Now we're securing the surviving chickens in the barn every night rather than letting them roam in their enclosure at night. We've added another line of electricity 6 inches out from the bottom of the fenceline and plan to trench and bury chicken wire to prevent tunneling.

We've ordered new baby chickens and expect their arrival in a week or so, to start the process anew.

Harvest Ticket, Page One, September 20-21

2011-09-20T17:38:00.000-07:00

Harvest Ticket, Page Two: September 20-21

2011-09-20T17:37:00.001-07:00

Harvest Ticket, Page One

2011-09-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

.....

Collards are here this week. Mild flavored and nutrient dense, these leafy greens are often overlooked but are worth a try! Be careful not to overcook--like other cruciferous veggies--overcooked collards have an unpleasant odor. A cancer preventing cruciferous vegetable--recent studies indicate that steamed collard greens have the greatest cholesteral-lowering ability of all leafy greens. Read more about collards at this link: http://www.whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=138&tname=foodspice

Mizuna is new in our boxes this week, too. Milder flavored than typical arugula; this popular Japanese leafy green will add some zip to an otherwise mundane salad. The sawtoothed spicy leaves can be added to soups, added as a raw chopped garnish on a cooked dish, or steamed like spinach with perhaps some drizzled Califiornia olive oil and a dash of well aged parmesan cheese.

Finally, Ghandi's reportedly favorite food: purslane is here for a few weeks before the cold kills it back. The herb is showing up in chef's recipes more frequently as the media lauds its healthy attributes. Loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids, vegetarians can turn to this herb instead of fish for this important nutrient. But don't let it's health benefits fool you...this imminently edible herb is tasty and mild enough even for kids to enjoy.

I tried purslane in this recipe; one of the cool qualities of the herb is that its leaves are succulent and stay pert even in salad dressings.

Bay Shrimp and Purslane Salad

2 cups fresh bay shrimp, carefully rinsed and chilled

2 cloves crushed garlic

whole Purslane leaves with chopped stems

Dash of lime juice and California olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix and serve.

Page Two; September 12-13 Harvest Ticket

2011-09-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Harvest Ticket August 23-24 2011 Page One

2011-08-23T16:17:00.000-07:00

Everything in our boxes this week is pretty self explanatory except perhaps some subscribers are unfamiliar with sorrel and or okra. Check out images below. I enjoy sorrel raw in salads. It has a lemon-tart flavor that isn't overpowering. Although there's some great okra recipes out there, my favorite continues to be basic fried okra. I make a simple toasted bread crumb with my cuisinart (although you can just skip that step and buy bread crumbs), roll in egg yolk, toss in the crumbs and fry in olive oil.

Harvest Ticket August 23-24, 2011 Page Two

2011-08-23T16:16:00.001-07:00

Harvest Ticket July 26-27 Page One of Two

2011-07-29T11:26:00.001-07:00

Page Two of Two, Harvest Ticket July 26-27

2011-07-29T11:25:00.001-07:00

Harvest Ticket July 12-13 2011 Page One

2011-07-13T10:33:00.001-07:00

Harvest Ticket July 12-13 2011 Page Two of Two

2011-07-13T10:28:00.001-07:00

Heirloom Dragon Beans

2011-07-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

Last week's dragons were older and best eaten shucked. This week's dragons are younger and best steamed and eaten whole. Because of the heat, I think steaming them and then serving them chilled withi a little basil would be easy and satisfying. Squeeze a little lime, add a dash of salt; maybe a crush garlic glove and a splash of California olive oil.

What's Going On

2011-07-06T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I think this is the best ever harvest ticket as far as readability goes. Each week I fiddle with different ways to get the ticket up on this blog. This week, it looks pretty readable. Yeah, me.

In light of our ongoing agricultural theft issues, we have decided to cut down some of our lime trees to make another row crop area that is easier to defend. So by September, we should be abandoning Garden X and Baby X which is the furthest away from the center of our farm and concentrating on our soon to be named new row crop garden next to the chickens.

It's always a tough thing for me to cut ANY tree down, and I pretty much had to leave the farm as the chain saws were going. But I know that there's no sense in working so hard at growing stuff that I can't get in my CSA boxes because of theft. We're figuring out costs this week to install security fencing and razor wire. We'll probably do a combination of chain link, electrical and razor with some motion detection thrown in for the heck of it.

Our impish baby goats are getting bigger, and we've decided to keep two and sell two. Their antics are a source of pleasure for us all. Quick as blazes, I'm grateful to have bottle fed them; because if they didn't WANT to come; pretty much, catching them would be impossible.

Harvest Ticket Page One

2011-07-06T16:23:00.001-07:00

Harvest Ticket Page Two

2011-07-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

Morning Song Farm's Harvest Ticket June 28-29 2011--click on image to enlarge for viewing

2011-06-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Challenges Of The Week, June 21st, 2011

2011-06-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Ha! Where do I begin? For starters, we're really disappointed to see that we have been unable to protect our amazing strawberries from theft. With a couple thousand row feet of beautiful strawberries, we sure anticipated including the just-picked fruit in shares through much of the Spring and early Summer. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. Not because we finally got with it and learned the tricks of growing this delicious crop; but because theft is a problem that we haven't solved. Next season we will not be growing high value crops in out fields that are indefensible. Here in Rainbow, if a high value crop (read: can be sold at a farmer's market) isn't being grown behind a six foot, chain link/razer wire/electrical combination security fence--preferably with motion detection; you should just forget it.

Apricots were again stolen this week; the kids on the farm actually confronted the family of thieves (hey mom and dad! You actually brought your kids along for this family outing? You KIDDING me?). Our oldest apricot tree, well into the center of our farm, was climbed and broke in half from the weight of the intruders. We still have apricots in the next couple of weeks, but not nearly what we had hoped for.

The reason we were unable to include any loquats in shares this year, FYI, was because all the trees were stripped by thieves the week we had scheduled to harvest.

We've been here for 11 years, and this is the first year we have seen these kind of losses. Mostly, over the years, our worst thieves have been squirrels and gophers. Now two legged thieves are a real problem. Instead of allocating funds for more mulching, and crew raises(!) , we will be spending limited funds on security fencing, motion detection, and when high value crops are near harvest, nighttime survelliance.

Harvest Ticket Week of June 21st

2011-06-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

Here's our ticket for this week. I couldn't get it on one page, so scroll down and you'll see the second page. If anyone knows a better way to get our harvest ticket with images onto our blog, we sure would appreciate the tip! We create it in Word, then copy. Then scan and save, import from saved file to here. Surely there is a better way!

Parsley-Rice Salad

2011-05-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

This is quick and easy! Parsley is NOT just for garnish. Try this!
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice, chilled.
4 cloves of garlic, crushed.
Half bunch of parsley, chopped in cuisinart
2 Tablespoons California Olive Oil
Dash of salt to taste
Half teaspoon of crushed pepper
Dash of tabasco.

Serve chilled with the remainder of the parsley bunch cut into large pieces and used to circle the serving bowl.

Chilled Fennel Potato Salad

2011-05-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

This is an alternative to the ubiquitous mayonaise-based potato salad you see everywhere, and considerably less calorie-rich.
Ingredients:
3 cups Potatoes, boiled (don't overcook--they should still be firm) cubed, doused in ice water, drained and set aside.

Half bunch of Fennel leaf, chopped in Cuisinart
Juice of 3 small juice limes
2 crushed cloves of garlic
dash of salt
Teaspoon of tabasco
dash of crushed pepper

Mix all ingredients, chill. Serve.

Grapefruit/Berry Sorbet

2011-05-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

This is a super simple deal. I did a book signing/cooking class at Sur La Table a year ago, and this cooking store has an amazing little ice cream maker that is worth taking a look at.
What I thought was cool about it, besides the cheap price, is that is doesn't require salt and is so quiet you can have it going while you and your guests enjoy your main course. How many times have I had to haul my stupid Wal-Mart ice cream maker into the barn so I didn't have to listen to it while I enjoyed my meal? Here's the solution to that! This one is quite an improvement, for aruond $50. http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-724435/Cuisinart-Classic-Frozen-Yogurt-Ice-Cream-and-Sorbet-Maker-Lemon
Ingredients:
* 3 cups strained grapefruit juice
* 3 tablespoons vodka
* 3/4 cup simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar cooked with 1/3 cup water until clear)
* cup of frozen strawberries or blackberries, pureed with the grapefruit juice (I use a vitamix; but a Cuisinart will work, too)
Directions:
Mix the juice, vodka and simple syrup. Place the mixture into an ice cream mixer, and freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Serve at once or transfer to a freezer container and freeze until ready to serve. To serve, hollow out grapefruit halves, fill with sorbet, garnish with a berry, and serve.

Harvest Ticket 5/24/2011

2011-05-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

Baby Goats At Last!

2011-05-28T06:42:00.001-07:00

Well, I knew Gracie would be delivering her babies any minute last night, but at some point I had to give up and go to bed. My alarm rang this morning at 4:45 and I jumped up to check on her. As I poured myself a quick cup of coffee, the farmhouse's kitchen window overlooks the llama corral, and I could see the llamas were upset about something because they were both "pointing" to the barn. Llamas will usually point if there's a coyote or dog in the vicinity. They assume a sturdy stance and "stare down" the intruder as their first line of defense. I ran out the front door to count my goats and calm my llamas. One goat, two....missing number three. I found Gracie in the llama barn at the tail end of labor with three little fluffballs prancing at her feet. The photos here are of Gracie's babies right after birth. I was expecting them to be kind of unattractive, like a new born puppy or kitten, but the Nigerian newborn is beautiful and cute, fluffy, wide eyed and playful. The lllamas aren't endeared however; they're actually afraid of the baby goats for some reason. Couscou hasn't come into the barn to eat all day. He's spent the day trolling the farm, eating weeds and nibbling trees. He tolerates the goats, treating them like baby llamas; but the shoebox sized beasts in his barn today are another thing entirely. There's no such thing as a llama that small, and he's decided they can't be trusted.

Zuck Bread

2011-05-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

There's plenty of zuchini bread recipes out there, this is just about as basic as you can get:

Ingredients

6 eggs

2 cups oil

4 cups grated zuchs

2 cups sugar

6 cups flour

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine everything in a bowl, mix well. Pour into greased and floured loaf pans, or use muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 1 hour if you're using pans, and less time if you are using muffin tins. (Probably 45 mins., just keep an eye on them)

Fennel Leaf

2011-05-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

There aren't a lot of recipes floating around for fennel leaf. The flavor in the leaf isn't as strong as in the seed (anise seed). But I love the leaf and am sharing a few uses below:

Fennel Leaf Tea:

2 tsp. fresh leaves

1 cup boiling water

1 tsp. honey

1 tsp. lime juice

Fennel Leaf Fruit Salad

Okay, this isn't really a recipe, but more a suggestion: throw together whatever fruit you have available, then toss in some finely chopped fennel leaf and lime juice. The fennel is so sweet, it's almost a sweetener. Not as sweet as stevia, but it has that candy/licorce taste that I love.

Barbequed Fennel Leaf

Again, not a recipe, but a cool use of the fennel leaf: place on barbeque coals when grilling either meat or veggies. The candy/licorce scent permeates the grilled food.

Other Ideas

Dice fennel leaf and toss in your salad, chop and use on top of baked fish or chicken. Place in Cuisinart with the sugar from a bread or cookie recipe, "puree", then sift out the fennel leaf and use the flavor-infused sugar in your recipe.

Tabouli Parsley Recipe

2011-05-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. The main reason that parsley exists for me on the planet is for tabouli. I always considered the parsley on the plate as decorative. So when I tried this at a friend's house I have to say I was surprised. Then addicted. Besides the obvious and critical component of finely chopped parsley, the core of this dish is a processed form of wheat, called bulgur. There are numerous tabouli recipes, this is just one.

Bulgur wheat dates back several thousand years. Because the wheat was dried in the sun, it resisted mold and stored well for long periods of time; making it a survival food during famine. The ancient process is still used in some parts of the Mediterranean. The fresh wheat is boiled in pots until fully cooked (this can take more than a day on some cases), then it's spread out on rooftops to dry in the baking sun. Finally, when the moisture content is near zero, the wheat kernels are cracked into pieces and sorted by sieving into different sizes for different uses.

Today, the bulgur you buy is processed using modern methods, but the nutritional value is still that of a whole cereal grain.

Ingredients

1 cup raw bulgur wheat...try to find medium or course grain; fine grain is too heavy and isn't good for Tabouli.

20 to 25 sprigs parsley; finely minced; including stems

10 large radishes, diced

1/2 cup fresh lemon or lime juice

1/4 cup California Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon salt

1/2 Teaspoon pepper

2 tomatoes, diced

2 medium onions, diced

Rinse wheat. Pour enough boiling water over it to cover by 1 inch. Let stand for half an hour, or until wheat is light and fluffy. What you are doing is rehydrating your dehydrated wheat. Drain off excess water in a colander, then squeeze with your hands to remove whatever water you can.

Mix with your chopped veggies, add lime juice, oil and spices.

I serve with warmed pita bread.

Harvest Ticket May 17-18, 2011

2011-05-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

Kale Chips

2011-05-04T12:35:00.001-07:00

I've posted this before, but it's such an amazing snack, I'm posting again. I wasn't much of a kale fan until discovering this at a restaurant in Costa Mesa. Chop up your kale in bite size pieces, massage in some olive oil, salt and garlic (breaking down the tough fibers of the kale leaf). spread out on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it so they don't get cooked into oblivion. When crunchy, dump into a bowl and serve as you would popcorn, or as a cool crunchy garnish in a salad

Harvest Ticket for May 4-5 2011

2011-05-04T12:29:00.001-07:00

Leek Potato Soup

2011-04-26T16:35:00.001-07:00

This is quick and easy, especially if you have a Vitamix or other power-house blender.

Ingredients:

1 large leek or 2 medium-width leeks

2 T butter

2 cups water

2 cups broth (either chicken or veggie)

2 lbs. potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces

pinch of Marjoram

1/4 cup finely chopped dill

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

dash of Tabasco sauce or pinch of dried, powdered hot chili

salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

Saute sliced leeks in butter with salt and pepper on low heat, covered pan for about 10 minutes. Take care not to brown those leeks, which results in a burnt taste.

Add liquid ingredients and the potatoes. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle half of the mixture into the blender and hit puree, then return to pan. Add herbs, Tabasco, salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Quick Dill Dip and Salad Dressing

2011-04-26T16:31:00.001-07:00

This is so easy, it's almost not a "recipe," but I love the scent of dill and enjoy this concoction regularly. Throw your dill (cutting off the coarsest stems if there are any) into a Vitamix or other powerful blender (or you can you a Cuisinart). Toss in a clove or two of garlic, a dash of Tabasco or a pinch of ground hot pepper, and a cup or so of plain yogart. Hit puree, pour into serving dish and enjoy.

It's fantastic with pita bread, as a veggie dip, or a quick-to-prepare salad dressing.

Farm Day, April 30, 2011

2011-04-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

All our CSA members, their friends and family are invited out to Morning Song Farm this coming Saturday between 9-12. We've scheduled our annual llama sheering in the morning. If you've never seen this done, we think it's worth the trip alone.

Check out our super friendly dairy goats, and our baby chicks!

As always, if you could RSVP that you're coming and in how many cars, we'd appreciate it. Sometimes almost no one comes, and sometimes we have parking issues, so planning ahead is helpful on this end.....

Harvet Ticket 4/26, 4/27 2011

2011-04-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

Kumquat Recipe

2011-04-21T13:08:00.001-07:00

Eric Jones, an OC subscriber, has kindly forwarded this kumquat recipe for our pleasure:
4 kumquats, halved and seeded
3 teaspoons rosemary-kumquat simple syrup (recipe follows)
1 sprig of rosemary
1/2 kumquat, candied (see simple syrup recipe)
2.5 oz. gin
1.5 oz. dry vermouth
ice

In lthe bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle the kumquat halves with the simple syrup and vermouth. Add the gin and ice. Shake until the shaker is so cold you can hardly stand it. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass. And ice if desired or serve martini style. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and a candied kumquat half.
rosemary-Kumquat Simple Syrup
Makes 1/4 cup (about enough for 2 drinks)
2 T light brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1 rosemary sprig, roughly chopped
2 kumquat halves

In a small,heavy saucepan, combinel the brown sugar and the water. Stir until the sugar has just dissolved. Add the rosemary and kumquat halves. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the lsyrup so it does not over-cook. Stir occasionally to keep the syrup from burning. Remove from heat. (If you would like to strain the syrup, do so after the kumquats have been removed from the pan and do not wait utnil the syrup is cool.)

Remove the kumquat halves. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a small slit across the cut edge of the kumquat halves (this is so you can place it on the edge of your cocktail glass.) Mound the extra brown sugar on the top of the kumquat halves and allow to sit for at least 10 minutes.

Enjoy.

Upcoming Farm Day

2011-04-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

We are excited about the upcoming Farm Day, Saturday, April 30th. We've scheduled our annual llama sheering on that morning, so if you've never seen a sheering, it's worth the trip! We still don't have baby goats, but expect we will be then, I'll keep you posted here. And our baby chicks are growing everyday--they get so much attention they are gentle and fun to interface with.

As always, if you could shoot me an email that you are coming so we can worry about parking if need be, that's always a help. Usually only a few people attend, so it's not a problem. But every now and then we have an unusual attendance and need to be prepared. Directions are here on this blog, from a week ago....

Harvest Ticket 4-19 and 4-20 2011

2011-04-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Mizuna

2011-04-13T10:29:00.000-07:00

Mizuna is a popular asian green, it can multi-task as both a salad green, adding a mild, spicy tang to salads; or can be added to stir fries. If you'd like to try it in your stir fry, chefs have noted that it's best to add at the last minute because it's a delicate green and doesn't need much heat at all for satisfactory results.