Harvest Moon Mission

Last night was the Harvest Moon. It was the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Given the current cool temperatures and overcast days, it certainly feels like fall. This weather is great for working in but not great for tomato ripening and squash flowering. Our transition out of summer crops and into fall ones is happening, and a little more quickly than we expected. As we battle the Township to keep our high tunnel and unfriendly neighbors to keep our row covers we become ever more grateful for the people in our lives who support the farm and what we're trying to accomplish. We are still such a new little business trying to figure out how to make a living growing organic vegetables, conserving soil and looking after the land. Every appreciative word and sentiments of encouragement make such a difference. We're so happy to be part of this amazing community and we know that glitches in communication and understanding can happen. We'll work through it all as we start to bring in the fall harvest. Under the light of the harvest moon we can both feed our neighbors and teach them about organic agriculture, that is our mission after all.

Here are some scenes from last week:

Amanda hoeing in the winter beets and carrots. Can you see her?

Kidogo under the sunset.

2 groups of Princeton University students came to help us weed! Such a great help!

Tomato or lunar landscape?

This weeks share!

swiss chard

kale

salad mix

arugula

asian greens

kale

collard greens

beets

carrots

garlic

sweet peppers

hot peppers

eggplant

cucumbers

summer squash

cherry tomatoes

heirloom tomatoes

onions

potatoes

parsley

dill

cilantro

Potato Pizza

Ingredients

Dough:
1 teaspoon yeast
10 ounces warm water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon raw sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon leaf lard
Toppings:
2 russet potatoes
1 Vidalia onion
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly cracked pepper

Directions

For the dough: In a medium bowl, mix the yeast with warm water and let sit for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil, sugar and salt, and whisk. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the all-purpose and whole wheat flours. Make a hole in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Slowly hand mix the flour until all the liquid is absorbed. If too wet, add more flour, 1/4 cup at a time. Sprinkle a clean work station with flour and knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Coat a large ceramic bowl with the remaining olive oil. Place the dough in the ceramic bowl, and flip over to coat in the oil. Cover the top of the dough with plastic wrap and cover the bowl with a dish towel. Let rise until the dough has doubled in size, 2 hours. Punch down the dough and let rise for another hour.

For the toppings: Using a mandoline, slice the potatoes and onion. Roughly chop the rosemary leaves.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. Grease the pizza pan with the leaf lard.

Mold the dough into the shape of the pan. Brush with some olive oil. Place the pizza on the bottom oven rack for 5 minutes, to pre-crisp the crust. Add two layers of the potatoes in a scallop style. Add the onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with some olive oil.

Sprinkle with the rosemary and drizzle with more olive oil. Place on the middle oven rack and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven. Immediately remove the pizza from the pan and cut into rectangles.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/potato-pizza-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Grilled Collard Greens

Total Time:
20 min
Prep:
10 min
Cook:
10 min

Yield:
6 to 8 servings

Level:
Easy

Ingredients

Salt
1 bunch collard greens
2 to 3 slices bacon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat grill to high heat.

Bring a large pot of salted water, over medium heat, to a boil.

Remove the ribs from the collard greens and discard. Put the leaves into the boiling, water, then add the bacon slices and blanch the collard greens for about 2 minutes. Remove the leaves from the water and place into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.

Remove the collards from the ice water and stack the leaves flat on top of each other, about 7 to 9 at a time. Put the stacked collards on the grill for 4 minutes per side.

Transfer the leaves from the grill to a cutting board and roughly chop. Put into a serving bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/grilled-collard-greens-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback