Spring CSA #3 2014

Hi everybody!

Late on this one! So busy potting up and trying to stay on top of things....yeah right! Well it's a short one as i want to get out there a little more!

In your basket this week

Asian Greens
Chez Nous Salad Mix
Swiss Chard
Spinach/ Vivid Choi Pac Choy Greens
Mustard Greens

Juicing Upgrade:
 Bag with spinach, Kale, Beet Greens, Mibuna, Swiss Chard and a container of Spring Mix Sprouts

Harvesting monstrueux de viroflay spinach 

This stuff is huge!

Another odd green to be found in your salad mix it's called Herba Stella

Asian Mix  Top to Bottom: Red Frills, Mizuna, Tokyo Bekana, Red Komatsuna, Mibuna and HonTsai tai

Vivid Pac Choy Greens

Some of the flavor add ins to the salad mix this week beet greens, swiss chard, thyme, parsley, sorrel and chive buds ...Spring in a bowl!

What dressing will you be using on your salad?  I have been using a combination of Olive oil, lemon, Ponzu ( sub with tamari or soy sauce, and maple syrup. So good!

This weeks mustard greens when eaten raw are hot, hot , hot but when blanched for 2 min ...ever so tender and green. Lunch over a spread of goat cheese and used as a baked potato topper.

Next weeks baskets will be in the hands of farmer Rick except for the salad mix as I keep a steady pace of potting up tomatoes!

Have a great weekend!

Spring 2014 CSA #2

Hi everybody
April 18th 2014

Well as planned we have put together another wonderful spring basket! Thanks goodness for the greenhouse, it helps us anxious farmers get things going and let's us be where we want to be outdoors! Things outside aren't just wet they are soupy, and sometimes the mud gets a hold of my boot so badly that it takes me quite a pull to get my foot back intact with my boot. One of the stressful aspects of farming, trying to keep things on schedule. I really hope that we can, please make sure to read emails or newsletters in case we need to post pone anything as I would hate for anybody to come pick up when there is no basket.  It's really not something i would want to do since we are aiming to finish the winter CSA before Christmas this year. Nevertheless, don't worry everyone get their promised 12 weeks!

Also, I have been dealing with major computer problems...we may have lost all files which means that i do not have my labels.  Our labels need to be approved by Ecocert so I am going to wait until I remake proper ones and have them approved before they go back onto the bags.


This weeks basket contents:

1 bag of Chez Nous Salad Mix ( has an S on it)
1 bag of Asian Greens ( looks like salad mix but no S)
1 bag of Kale
1 bag of Mustard Greens
1 bag of Sunflower Shoots ( great in salads, tuna sandwich or wraps...mostly eaten raw but can be slightly wilted and flavored)
1 small herb- sage and rosemary

(Juicing upgrade) 1 large bag layered spinach/ pea shoots/ parsley/ swiss chard and wheatgrass for those who responded that they were interested

Talk about using every inch! Harvested last of the overwinter kale- which has turnip and carrot growing around it. and potted up seedlings on top! It's getting crowded!

Now to wait for the new Kales...

Asian Greens grew like crazy! These can be used anyway you would use spinach...salad, lightly cooked-delicous!

Here are some mustard greens that have flowered. The tips are removed by breaking off before it gets stringy. Then all small leaves are put aside for salad mix. If you taste the leaf raw-whew it's hot! However, when it's in a salad the spiciness goes away!

Greens ready

Gorgeous escarole also in salad

More salad ingredients. 

My usual mix of plants. Here is cucumber in middle with kale/ lettuce on top and spinach radish on bottom.  When it get too hot all cold crops will be removed and cukes will be growing up a trellis.

I thought i'd share some a recipe for using mustard greens. It's quick and easy and all kinds of substitutions can be made. I find it hard to eat a pasta dish in a restaurant that isn't better than what you can make at home.  This dish used mustard greens and the taste just like kale after being blanched.

Creamy Mustard greens Alfredo Pasta

Ingredients:

2 or more tablespoons of butter
1/2 8 oz stick of parmesan grated
1 4oz pak of wild smoked salmon ( any meat of your choice or no meat)
2-3 cups of chopped blanched (pre-cooked in boiling water) mustard greens or more! I only used leaves for this dish and used the same water to blanch greens (1-2 min) than i did to boil the noodles.
1/2 large onion chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 1/2 - 2 cups of half and half cream
garlic powder
1/4 cup of flour
Herbs- Sage, thyme etc...
Salt and Pepper

cooked noodle of your choice

Start by caramelizing onions- melt butter, add onions and cook low stirring often this makes them nice and sweet.  As you can see, above i used this opportunity to crisp my sage leaves but i needed to turn up the heat for this you might be better to do it separately  (Crispy Sage leaves... BEST THING EVER!)  The onions are done when they are light brown.   Add your herbs, peas, meat ( if using a raw meat i would probably pre-cook separately before adding it at this point) Cook a little then add more butter of oil if dry since you will need some moisture to absorb the 1/4 of flour you add now. Have your cream and cheese ready.  Stir to soak up all butter with flour then slowly add milk in followed by cheese. Add blanched chopped greens. Flavor with garlic salt and salt and pepper. Add to pasta and top with crsipy sage leaves.

Wishing you all a wonderful long weekend! Now i'm off to pot up some tomatoes!

Shirley and Rick
Chez Nous Farms

Spring CSA #1 2014

Good afternoon everybody!

Your first CSA basket! Even though it's hard to find any green going on outdoors you have plenty of green to be found in your baskets! I knew how anxious you all were when we started getting emails, I was getting anxious on our end too. Mostly because we had many overwintered crops sending up flower stalks and buds and I really wanted to share these crops with our members.  So even though, we had decided to start the spring baskets when the new crops were ready, on a whim we thought lets just do it! We have our fingers crossed that after skipping a week we'll be ready to start the weekly pick ups.

Oh and I forgot to mention that pick-up in Niagara Falls will be after 1 and before 530.

In your basket this week:

1 bag of Kale
1 bag of Swiss Chard
1 bag of Mustard Greens
1 bag of Chez Nous Salad Mix
1 dozen eggs( so this means an extra dozen for those who already get eggs)

Greens upgrade: 2 juicing bags of kale, swiss chard and napa (opps sorry we stuffed it all into 1 large bag)

Kale soaking

Putting a Spring basket is quite a task because greens are the most time consuming to prepare for you as opposed to a container of zucchini. They are all well washed but i always say it doesn't hurt to give them another soak and rinse.

Both your Mustard Greens and your Kale will contain stalks and flower buds these are delicious and can be used as a tender broccoli stalk.

All little buds are harvested as is the top of plant until the stalk becomes too tough then all the leaves come off .

I don't know of a Chez Nous Salad Mix that doesn't have me saying oh this is going to be a good one! And I was thinking that again as I made this batch.  What's really neat about it, is that it is completely made up of crops that have over wintered and even some that re-sprouted. It contains so many items lettuce, napa, Mustards, Swiss Chard, Kale, Arugula, Beet Greens, Escarole, Endive, Asian Greens, Spinach, Sorrel, Parsley, Radish Greens, Turnip Greens. All individually picked and washed.  These are hardy greens and many bold in flavor also. A salad like this needs a bold dressing and some stronger cheese some that could easily overpower a mid-summer salad.

a few of my favorite salad dressings

This little Swiss chard was just asking for a picture!

Lettuces growing in the Mustards

Over wintered crops..these lettuces were cut off at the base and regrew.

Napa Cabbage going to flower also, Top stalks went into the juicing bags and the leaves were used in the Salad Mix.

Some surviving escarole and lettuce.

We often say we should be a Kale and Salad Mix Farm as they both do so well.  The popularity of greens must be growing or people must be spreading the word because we can't keep it on the shelves.  Things like Swiss Chard and the Winter Greens mix ..gone.... One of the lesser known green is Mustard Greens but more and more I am hearing people say oh I love Mustard Greens!  They have a hot mustard flavor and are often cooked. How long you cook depends on how much you want to taste the mustard  if it's for me I will throw them in at the last minute or even just pour my hot meal right over it raw and it wilts it just enough.
If you aren't yet a fan of the taste cook them...eventually you may crave more of a kick and cook less.  As with the Kale your Mustards have some stalks this week and these are tender and fully edible.

 I researched some interesting recipes this week to try And I thought i would share.  Mustard Greens go by the name Sarson in Indian and it lead me to send yummy finds.
Cauliflower and Mustard Greens recipe

Potatoes and Mustard Greens

Here's my Pinterest page of Mustard Greens recipes

http://www.pinterest.com/Cheznousfarms/csa-recipes-mustard-greens/


And hopefully our turnips catch up followed by the carrots!

These Asian Greens will certainly be ready soon!

So much potting up to do.... I've sent out an S.O.S and help is on the way!

News on the 2014 Season

Hello to all our 2014 CSA members!

Welcome to a new season! We writing and sending this first post out to all  members just to touch base on a few things.  So, before I get started I'd like to say thank you for supporting us and we are optimistic that this year will be a great one! We have lots of great crops on the way which should make for a delicious season!

Every week,  I write a newsletter and post it on our website under CSA Newsletter. It is usually ready for viewing Friday evening.  My husband also sends out a reminder email when it is up and posted.  You will only get the reminder newsletter emails for your particular package but I am letting you all know so that even if you aren't signed up for Spring..you can follow farm developments throughout the season by going to our site.  Something to read Saturday mornings as you drink your coffee....

Also, if you are on a waiting list for a particular package, don't despair there is a chance that you may get an invitation during the season if we see that we could handle it.  Our spring package this year went from 20 members every other week to 30 members every week. Our summer season from 30 to 40.  We'd rather be cautious and only take what we can comfortably manage!

We know many of you are wondering when do the baskets start?  There will be a first Spring CSA basket this Friday April 4th, there will not however be a basket the following week.  The reason for this is that many winter crops need to be harvested while the spring ones are not to far behind but we think it would be good to let them grow and extra week. Also, this harvest is a special one because many of these crops are sending up delicious buds and we didn't want you to miss out on them! So, unless notified otherwise the following basket will be April the 18th and should continue weekly for the remaining 11 weeks.  


 This year the baskets will be in the store at around 4. You pick them up anytime after that including Sat if that's easier.  If you can't make it we can hold your basket in the cooler until Sunday or the beginning of the week but please advise us. We ask that you not do this too often as we are really busy and it can get confusing and  sometimes we forget...to put it in the store at your required time.

We have a few spots available for those who would like to pick up in Niagara Falls on Saturdays so please let us know.  Niagara Falls pick up are not flexible and baskets need to be picked up that day.  If you think that may be a challenge for you please stick with farm pick up.For those who are new, on your first pick up day please arrive with a bag.  You will find a container with your name on it. Please empty contents of your basket and stack empty bin with others. That's it!

 We are optimistic that it will be a great one! It will be interesting to see if there are any noticeable consequences after the very cold and long winter we have just had. Some say less pests perhaps...that would be great as long as there isn't less beneficial insects too. Let's hope for a perfect balance of hot and cold, wet and dry with a nice spring to get everything in on time.  As for now, we are ready for springlike weather and it looks like today may be one of those days...  We have lots going on in the greenhouse but haven't been able to do anything outside yet.

  We also have a new tab on the blog called crops and recipes, it's a work in progress but I am trying to group up the crops we grow with some recipes that i like. This way year after year, I won't need to keep repeating the same things about how to prepare certain vegetables and it will be easier for you also.

Well that's all for now, we'll be in touch soon.

Winter CSA #8

Winter CSA #8
January 17th

Good afternoon everybody!

Our last Winter CSA basket.  Thank you for participating and supporting us. We have really enjoyed our winter crops and our continued farming at this time of the year...a little less during our -20 week though!  We have already begun our prep for the new season and will need to juggle that while maintaining the farm and trying to relax a little before it gets crazy.  We still have quite a bit to harvest from the greenhouse and will be putting it all out in the farm store until it is gone so if you need something green were still here! Thank you to all that have already forwarded payment for next season and for those that haven't please do so asap-we will continue to save your spot until the end of January. Also, for those who grow a summer garden please check out our Seedling Sale this May Long Weekend or visit our soon to be posted pre-order option online.

In your basket this week:

1 bag of Chez Nous Mix...with lots of Sunflower Sprouts..mmmm!
1 Bag of Mustard Greens
1 Bag of Tokyo Bekana (Asian Green)
1 Bag of Assorted Greens Kale, Groninger Blue, Spigiarello Leaf Cabbage, Swiss Chard
2 Garlic
1 complimentary African Pepper Sauce for those who requested

You may find some Spigiarello florets in your Chez Nous Mix this week and in your greens mix bag.

Spigiarello 

Spigiarello and Purple Peacock Broccoli

Also know as Dragon's Tongue

Making sure everyone gets the same Lol!

See you soon!

Shirley and Rick

Chez Nous Farms

Winter CSA #7 2014

Winter CSA #7
Friday January 10th 2014

Inside greenhouse door

Well we made it through, I must admit I was nervous... Tuesday morning, when my husband told me I'd be better to just stay in I was convinced that he was trying to spare me from seeing something terrible that i did not want to see.  After much questioning, he finally invited me to go see for myself but he just didn't think it was worth it to work out there.  So, I stayed in... for 2 days...felt like I was getting so behind, not my usual work style and I knew I would have to make up for it...  My husband spent the better part of both days outdoors during which I could be found trying to see out of our snow covered windows for any sign of life out there.  All was fine in the greenhouse, the animals were ok too, we did however end up with some broken pipes...The below average temperatures did confirm that our greenhouse setup was good.  The last few years, our first farming years, have seen some extremes in weather and I figure if we haven't run the other way by now...we are where we are meant to be.  I will however be ready with open arms to welcome that perfect growing season! In the meantime, we'll take the lessons and fine tune things until we can handle whatever comes our way.

Eggs were freezing fast!

In your basket:

1 bag of Chez Nous Mix
1 bag of spinach
1 bag of Kale
1 bag of Hon tsai tai
1 bag of Mizuna

Top left Hon Tsai Tai and bottom left Mizuna both are nice and mild.  The Hon Tsai tai should have tender stalks coming up but there have only been a few so far...delicious anyway!

Chez Nous Mix still going strong.

During my 2 days off farm, I did some cooking and I made my last hot sauce...a hot hot sauce!  It is a scotch bonnet and habanero sauce.  Last year, we received a sample from an African lady and I was blown away by the unique flavor of these peppers. I was also intrigued by how she used oil as opposed to vinegar. I was able to find some African pepper sauce recipes and made my own with organic ingredients of course... Anyway, I am in love with it and the flavors it has- it's hot though so maybe not for everyone! If you would like to try it, I would be happy to send some your way in your last basket next week. Just let us know! via email: cheznousfarms@cogeco.ca

Have a great weekend everyone!