Only 2 more weeks of CSA
Crop Talk: October 6, 2014 
The Newsletter of Great Country Farms
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U-Pick, U-Play, U-Grow


Week 19 CSA Shares~ It's hard to believe that there are only 2 more weeks of CSA deliveries this season.  The last 2 weeks are delivered in bags so we are able to collect all our boxes.  Please be sure to set out any boxes you may have collected over the season so our drivers can pick them up this week.  The last CSA deliveries/picks are October 14-19.
New This Week: Swiss Chard 
This week's box includes Swiss chard, radishes, butternut squash, apples, green beans, and potatoes.

 

Note: if you plan to enjoy the farm's other attractions after picking your you-pick share, please bring a cooler for those items so they don't spoil in your car.

 

I use Swiss Chard for Beans and Greens, my southern wife's family classic (sautee greens and scallions until they soften, then serve them with a pile of pinto beans). Here's a Greek version of that dish:

Greek Vegetarian Classic: Swiss Chard and Black Eyed Beans
Greek Vegetarian Classic: Swiss Chard and Black Eyed Beans

 

And chard works well in other contexts, too. For example:

 

Crustless Chard and Bacon Quiche

 

  

1 cup chopped purple onion

3 cups chopped Swiss chard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 to 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

3 cups sharp Cheddar cheese

5 large eggs, beaten

 

   Grease a 9-inch pie plate or spray with nonstick baking spray. Heat oven to 350�.

   In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Cook the onion until just tender. Add chopped chard and continue cooking, stirring, until the chard is wilted. Toss with the salt and pepper and crumbled bacon. Stir in the cheese and beaten eggs.

   Pour into the prepared pie plate. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the quiche is firm and lightly browned around the edges.

 

 

Those Amber Cups you got last week? Try this

 

Roasted Ambercup Squash with brown butter

 

  

 

1 large ambercup squash, cut into 1-inch cubes (peeled or unpeeled)

olive oil or cooking spray

salt and pepper 

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage

 

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

   Coat a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray. Place squash on sheet, spray with additional olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. 

   Roast for about 40 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and just beginning to brown on edges.

   While squash is baking, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add butter and whisk. Once butter has melted, add sage. Continue to whisk until butter begins to turn brown, about 5 minutes. When butter has browned, remove from heat immediately.

   Transfer squash to large bowl; gently toss with brown butter and sage.

 

Fall Harvest Festival Continues

Duck Swinesty Pig Races run at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00, and performances by P-Rex, the pumpkin-eating dinosaur, devours pumpkins at 12:00 and 2:00. 

 

The other white meat rounds the last turn and digs for home.
Plus...

pumpkin-picking, apple-picking, cider doughnuts, pulled pork barbecue, hamburgers, apple-walnut salads, and the Boulder Crest corn maze.

Corn Maze at the Great Country Farms
A-mazing!

Farming News
From the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

Awards Promoting Local and Regional Farmers and Food Systems Announced

 

   On September 29, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced over $32.8 million awards from three grant programs supporting local and regional food systems, research into marketing opportunities for U.S. farmers, and food security projects in low-income communities, respectively.  At the same time, Secretary Vilsack also announced over $19 million in grant awards to support organic producers and processors, which we described earlier in a separate blog post.

   In the announcement, made jointly with Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe at the Virginia State Fair, Secretary Vilsack highlighted "USDA's commitment to strengthening organic and local and regional food systems through projects that recruit and train farmers, expand economic opportunities, and increase access to healthy foods."

 

Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program

 

   A competitive grants program, the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program (FMLFPP) was created through the expansion of the Farmers Market Promotion Program made as part of the 2014 Farm Bill.   The original 2002 and 2008 Farm Bill program and the 2014 expansion were championed by NSAC.

   The expansion allows a wide spectrum of local and regional food enterprises, such as food hubs and local food processors, to help grow economic opportunities and income for small and mid-sized family farmers, increase consumer choice and access to fresh and healthy food, and accelerate rural economic development.  The aim of the original program - supporting new and expanding direct producer-to-consumer outlets, such as farmers markets, community supported agriculture (CSA), and agritourism opportunities - continues as well.


 

Read more here.

Farm News
Wounded Warrior Corn Maze
Now Open

Join us to celebrate the first anniversary of Boulder Crest retreat for wounded warriors in Bluemont with  our annual Corn Maze.  
Reminder

For these last two weeks of the season, your shares will come in bags instead of boxes. Please check your storage areas for any left over boxes that may have been left behind in previous weeks and put them out for us to collect. 

In The Market This Week
 Apples $1.29/lb
Potatoes $.89/lb
Variety of winter squash $.89/lb
Green peppers $2.79/lb
Asian pears $1.29/lb

 

CSA  Bonus
6 apples
1 butternut squash
Check in the market for in-store items.

Fall Harvest Seasonal Bonus 
Come pick a pumpkin of any size and take home corn stalks to decorate your home.  This seasonal bonus may be picked one time between Sept 27th and October 31st.

1 Bundle of Corn Stalks 
1 Jack o Lantern Pumpkin
*
CSA Bonus Ticker
Week 19: $3.40
Year to Date: $105.00
 
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