September 17th and 20th
Yesterday, Adam cut down all the sorghum and is planning on crushing it this up coming weekend. It grows and looks just like sugar cane. The juice is "crushed" out and cooked down into a thick yummy syrup. If anyone is interested in watching/ helping let us know. It will be on Sunday, September 23rd.
This week's box:
cherry tomatoes
garlic
sweet peppers
hot peppers
mustard green
arugula
bok choy
kale
tomatilloes
tomatoes
eggplant
sweet potatoes
basil
parsley
Monday, September 17, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Preserving Hot and Sweet Peppers
Peppers
To preserve peppers for winter stir-fries, salads and sandwiches, all you need is a little extra space in the back of your refrigerator. I preserve both sweet and hot peppers, and the methods described below work well for either type.
We also can them using the Ball Blue Books method for canning
Just a note of caution: When you're working with hot peppers, make sure to wear a pair of rubber gloves. If you have not made the mistake of not wearing gloves let me tell you that you are lucky and take me word for it- wear gloves!
To Pickle Peppers: You can use a mix of sweet and hot or just hot or just sweet. To prepare peppers clean and cut the stem so that it is a little cute stem or cut off stem and take out seeds. It is up to you. Fill a clean pint or quart jar to within an inch of the top with the peppers. Pour in white vinegar to cover all peppers. Cover with a plastic lid if possible, as the vinegar will gradually corrode metal lids. Store the jar in the back of your refrigerator for up to 12 months. The peppers will stay crunchy for a few months but will gradually soften. Spoon them out of the jar as you need them. The vinegar is flavorful, too. My favorite pickled peppers are a colorful mix of yellow, orange and red Hungarian hot wax peppers. They're great on sandwiches or mixed into pasta and bean salads.
To preserve peppers for winter stir-fries, salads and sandwiches, all you need is a little extra space in the back of your refrigerator. I preserve both sweet and hot peppers, and the methods described below work well for either type.
We also can them using the Ball Blue Books method for canning
Just a note of caution: When you're working with hot peppers, make sure to wear a pair of rubber gloves. If you have not made the mistake of not wearing gloves let me tell you that you are lucky and take me word for it- wear gloves!
To Pickle Peppers: You can use a mix of sweet and hot or just hot or just sweet. To prepare peppers clean and cut the stem so that it is a little cute stem or cut off stem and take out seeds. It is up to you. Fill a clean pint or quart jar to within an inch of the top with the peppers. Pour in white vinegar to cover all peppers. Cover with a plastic lid if possible, as the vinegar will gradually corrode metal lids. Store the jar in the back of your refrigerator for up to 12 months. The peppers will stay crunchy for a few months but will gradually soften. Spoon them out of the jar as you need them. The vinegar is flavorful, too. My favorite pickled peppers are a colorful mix of yellow, orange and red Hungarian hot wax peppers. They're great on sandwiches or mixed into pasta and bean salads.
Week 17 2012
Week 17 September 10th and 13th
News from the farm....
This past weekend Adam "culled" the flock of chickens by about 8 by processing some roosters. Our house is notably quieter- ahh 5:00 AM passes without constant crowing. We still have plenty of eggs, if you are interested let us know. The fall garden looks good, the peppers are full and the eggplant are finally coming on nicely. The rain that we got soaked right into the ground, but has made a positive impact on the soil.
Adam's knee is still giving him a lot of trouble and it looks like he will have to have surgery over Christmas break. His hobbling around the farm is still pretty fast.
In the box this week:
Sweet peppers (some of these are small, but very sweet. great for quick roasting or kabobs)
Hot peppers (recipe for preserving on the blog)
Tomatoes
Mustard
Kale
Green Beans
Garlic
Sweet Potatoes
News from the farm....
This past weekend Adam "culled" the flock of chickens by about 8 by processing some roosters. Our house is notably quieter- ahh 5:00 AM passes without constant crowing. We still have plenty of eggs, if you are interested let us know. The fall garden looks good, the peppers are full and the eggplant are finally coming on nicely. The rain that we got soaked right into the ground, but has made a positive impact on the soil.
Adam's knee is still giving him a lot of trouble and it looks like he will have to have surgery over Christmas break. His hobbling around the farm is still pretty fast.
In the box this week:
Sweet peppers (some of these are small, but very sweet. great for quick roasting or kabobs)
Hot peppers (recipe for preserving on the blog)
Tomatoes
Mustard
Kale
Green Beans
Garlic
Sweet Potatoes
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Week 16 2012
Wow!! Thank you for the much needed and greatly appreciated rain that fell over the area this weekend. I know it was terrible for those that experienced the actual Hurricane, but for Southern Illinois Issac provided great relief to an awful drought.
We hope that everyone had a fantastic day and relaxing break from your labors. We canned up several quarts of hot peppers. (recipe below- super easy!)
This week in your box:
Mustard
Kale
Garlic
Hot Pepper
Sweet Pepper
Basil
Snap Green Beans
Shelled Beans (Remove Beans from pod and cook- more information below)
Fresh shelling beans are one of the great treats of local eating. Shell them and cook them in soups or simply braised as a side dish—they have an extra creamy texture and wonderful clean but earthy flavor. They cook in about 20-30 minutes so can be added to any dish.
We hope that everyone had a fantastic day and relaxing break from your labors. We canned up several quarts of hot peppers. (recipe below- super easy!)
This week in your box:
Mustard
Kale
Garlic
Hot Pepper
Sweet Pepper
Basil
Snap Green Beans
Shelled Beans (Remove Beans from pod and cook- more information below)
Fresh shelling beans are one of the great treats of local eating. Shell them and cook them in soups or simply braised as a side dish—they have an extra creamy texture and wonderful clean but earthy flavor. They cook in about 20-30 minutes so can be added to any dish.
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