Bootstrap Farm CSA has arrived!

Due to popular demand, and a growing confidence that we know how to grow vegetables, Chelsea and I have decided to begin enrolling people for the 2010 Spring/Summer CSA. Don't worry, there will be a Fall CSA as well but we won't start sign-up for that until June or so.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and it is a way for our customers to be involved in the farm and support sustainable agriculture.


Our CSA is a type of loan that you give us in January, when we have our most critical expenses, that we later repay with a greater value in vegetables each week through the growing season. Our Spring/Summer CSA will go from April to August. It is a great deal for you because you get more vegetables for less money, and you don't have to worry about us selling out of your favorite veggie before you get to the farmers' market.

For more information, please come visit our booth at the Cherry Street Farmers' Market this Saturday. We have produced some fancy brochures on the specific details of this program that we would like to give you! Please don't delay because there are a limited amount of spots available and we expect them to fill up fast!

Pumpkin Soup!

If you all haven't noticed yet- Fall has come early this year. We had an incredibly mild August (Thank goodness!!) and our pie pumpkins and acorn squash are already ripening. I love making pumpkin pies from scratch, but it is a lot of work! So I wanted to come up with a few easier recipes for everyone. The first one we tried is Pumpkin Chorizo Soup. It was literally the best soup I've ever tasted. I know it sounds a little funky, but I really hope you all try it. Here it goes:

Pumpkin Chorizo Soup


Ingredients (You can find the peppers and pumpkins at our market stand!):

1 Pie Pumpkin
2 stalks celery
1 tsp cinnamon
splash of soy sauce
2 Tbsp oregano or marjoram
1 pat of butter
1/4 Cup sour cream
½ of a large red onion
2 red bell peppers
1 poblano pepper
2 mild jalapeños
2 cayenne peppers
½ lb Chorizo (from Pork & Greens)
1 tsp Honey or Agave nectar (optional)

Alright- Start by cutting the pumpkin in half and scooping out the seeds and stringy stuff. Then peel the pumpkin- I used a knife instead of a vegetable peeler, because the skin is so thick. Dice the pumpkin into about ¾ inch cubes. Slice up the 2 celery stalks. Combine the celery, pumkin, cinnamon, soy sauce, oregano/marjoram, and butter in a pot and sautee for a few minutes. Then add just enough water to cover the vegetables and boil until the pumpkin is cooked all the way through – about 15 minutes- then add a scoop of sour cream and puree everything in the pot.

In a separate skillet, brown the onions, peppers, and Chorizo. Then add these to the pureed pumpkin soup base and cook for another 10 minutes. Add more spices or salt to taste.


I hope you all enjoy! I'll post more pumpkin recipes soon.


Chelsea

Planting Late Potatoes

We finally got our potatoes in the ground! The OSU Planting Calendar says that you should have them in by August 15th so we'll hope the growing season is two extra days long this year. Chelsea spent the morning cutting up 100 lbs of red and yellow potatoes while I rigged up a potato planting attachment to put on the bed maker sled.






It is little more than two pipes stuck in the ground to drop pieces of potato in. It worked pretty well for such a podunk contraption - it just takes a lot of horsepower to pull to big dumb pipes through the soil at a depth of about 6".

The weather was very strange - it would threaten to rain and we'd get all motivated about our chores and then the sun would come out instead. Very strange indeed.

-Don

See us at the Broken Arrow Farmers' Market!

We have so many great vegetables that we are now doing 3 markets a week! We just started visiting the Broken Arrow Farmers' Market. It's at 418 South Main from 4:30 PM to 8:00 PM. We'll be there tomorrow and we'll have all the varieties that we've had at the Cherry Street Markets:







Cucumbers
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes
Amaranth
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Patty Pan
Sungold Cherry Tomatoes
Blackeyed Peas (shelled)
Cantaloupe
Heirloom Muskmelon
Red Okra
Anaheim Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Bell Pepper
Pablano Pepper
Jalepeno Pepper
Green Beans

Above is a picture of our wonderful sweet potato planting. We are so proud of our sweet potatoes! They are just now blooming so it shouldn't be long until we have a couple TONS of sweet potatoes. They'll be ready in time to bring to all the markets. To the left is our red okra planting. As you can see it is just now starting to really grow - which is pretty late, but heck what good thing isn't worth waiting for?




I look forward to seeing you there, and thank you for supporting your local sustainable farmers - Chelsea and I really appreciate the business!

-Don