More Fall Bounty in the Fields
Crop Talk: October 20, 2014 
The Newsletter of Great Country Farms
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U-Pick, U-Play, U-Grow
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Every year at this time our team can't believe the 20 weeks of our CSA season is over! Our members share so much of their lives and we truly appreciate you inviting us to provide food to grace your table from June to October.  We purchased this farm 21 years ago and are so blessed to be farming the land and our dreams.   Thank you for sharing your families,  stories, recipes and for bringing new family and friends each week.  We will greatly miss the energy that our members bring during their visits and hope you will continue to enjoy visiting the farm all the way through November 24th our last day  open for the season.
  
Each year we look forward to seeing members that return season after season and how the children grow up so much each year. And  it's just as rewarding to help new members learn about the farm, our family and the benefits of a Community Supported Agriculture Program. 
  
Your feedback is critical to help us shape and improve our CSA for the 2014 season.  Please take a moment to complete our 2013 CSA Survey and share your thoughts and ideas.
 
Thank you so much to everyone who has completed our CSA survey on the 2014 season. We truly appreciate your time and feedback to help us shape the 2015 season. Thank you for sharing great suggestions and providing constructive comments!
 
If you have not had a chance
we'd be grateful if you'd fill out this CSA 2014 Survey to help us improve our program. There are 8 questions and with comment time takes about 8 mintues to complete. We will be ordering seeds, setting CSA program elements and laying out our planting rotations in November. We thank you for your time to help us continuously improve our CSA.
 
Bounty & Blessings
 
The Zurschmeide Family & the whole Farm Team
 

New This Week: Spinach 
Fall spinach crops are sometimes fuller and sweeter than spring crops because days longer than 14 hours trigger the flowering impulse in spinach, so the plants bolt. And the plants actually seem to like the light dusting of frost that may visit spinach fields in late October.

If you want to keep eating spinach all winter, come out and pick a few bags to freeze. Conventional wisdom used to say that spinach had to be blanched before it went into the freezer, but unconventional preservers are starting to freeze it raw. Here are directions for both methods:

 

They Freeze Spinach, Don't They?

From Yougrowgirl.com


 

   Indeed they do. Or at least I do....

   Wash the leaves, swishing them around in a bowl or sink full of fresh water. Drain the water and wash again with fresh water. Do this a third time if the spinach is particularly dirty. There's nothing worse than chomping down on grit.

   Remove as much water as you can using a salad spinner. If you don't have one, you can pat the leaves dry with a clean kitchen towel. I highly suggest investing in a salad spinner (like this one or the sturdy stainless steel version) if you intend to keep growing greens. I use this tool everyday during the growing season and can't imagine washing and drying the volume that I produce and eat day in and day out without one.

   Stuff the freshly washed and dried leaves into a large, plastic freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze. No blanching required! If you don't think you will be using it up soon, I suggest labelling the bags with the name and date... just in case you're like me and your tiny freezer is stuffed to the gills come mid-summer.

   Try to use frozen spinach within 6 months to a year. What comes out of the freezer will be a bit mushy and is not particularly suitable for fresh eating, although it can be added to smoothies. We cook it from frozen or add it to soups and stews. You can also thaw it out, squeeze out the excess liquid, and add it to frittata or quiche.

 

 

 

Or try HGTV's blanching process:

 

   Start by washing spinach leaves. Triple rinsing them-dunking leaves into three separate batches of fresh water-usually removes all traces of dirt. After leaves are clean, remove stems as desired. Tear larger leaves into silver dollar-size pieces (roughly 1 to 2 inches across).

   Blanch spinach leaves in boiling water or steam for two minutes, followed by soaking in ice water for the same amount of time. If you blanch leaves in boiling water, you'll notice the water turns green. This is some of the nutrients leaching out of leaves. You can save this water and freeze it for stock or cooking grains, like rice or quinoa. 

   To keep as much nutrition in leaves as possible, steam blanch spinach leaves by placing them in a steamer basket that keeps leaves above the boiling water. Steam for two minutes. You don't lose that many nutrients or minerals by blanching spinach in boiling water. Which method you use is really a matter of choice and convenience. 

   After removing spinach from ice water, spin it dry in a salad spinner or blot it on a thick towel. Stuff leaves into freezer bags, placing one to two cups of leaves per bag, depending on your desired portion size. Freezer burn occurs when frozen items are exposed to air, and spinach doesn't taste well if it gets freezer burn. Try using a straw to suck out excess air around leaves before sealing bags. Place sealed bags in the freezer. Vacuum sealing systems work really well with spinach leaves. 

   Use frozen spinach within nine to 14 months for best quality. Add frozen spinach to soup or stock, casseroles, and stir fries. Frozen spinach also works well in dips, quiche, and pasta dishes. It brings flavorful nutrition to homemade egg rolls, meatballs, and marinara sauce. 

 

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The CSA delivery season closed out last week (hard to believe!), but our fields are still flourishing, and you-pick bonuses will continue until the first hard freeze. This week's bonus includes a #4 bag of spinach and a #4 bag of kale, plus radishes and peanuts. We also have a bit of broccoli, pumpkins, and various winter squashes in the market for sale and members continue to enjoy the 10% member discount on produce.
 
Thank you so much to everyone who has completed our CSA survey on the 2014 season. We truly appreciate your time and feedback to help us shape the 2015 season. Thank you for sharing great suggestions and providing constructive comments!
 
If you have not had a chance
we'd be grateful if you'd fill out this CSA 2014 Survey to help us improve our program. There are 8 questions and with comment time takes about 6 mintues to complete. We will be ordering seeds, setting CSA program elements and laying out our planting rotations in November. We thank you for your time to help us continuously improve our CSA.
 

New This Week: Spinach 
Fall spinach crops are sometimes fuller and sweeter than spring crops because days longer than 14 hours trigger the flowering impulse in spinach, so the plants bolt. And the plants actually seem to like the light dusting of frost that may visit spinach fields in late October.

If you want to keep eating spinach all winter, come out and pick a few bags to freeze. Conventional wisdom used to say that spinach had to be blanched before it went into the freezer, but unconventional preservers are starting to freeze it raw. Here are directions for both methods:

 

They Freeze Spinach, Don't They?

From Yougrowgirl.com


 

   Indeed they do. Or at least I do....

   Wash the leaves, swishing them around in a bowl or sink full of fresh water. Drain the water and wash again with fresh water. Do this a third time if the spinach is particularly dirty. There's nothing worse than chomping down on grit.

   Remove as much water as you can using a salad spinner. If you don't have one, you can pat the leaves dry with a clean kitchen towel. I highly suggest investing in a salad spinner (like this one or the sturdy stainless steel version) if you intend to keep growing greens. I use this tool everyday during the growing season and can't imagine washing and drying the volume that I produce and eat day in and day out without one.

   Stuff the freshly washed and dried leaves into a large, plastic freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze. No blanching required! If you don't think you will be using it up soon, I suggest labelling the bags with the name and date... just in case you're like me and your tiny freezer is stuffed to the gills come mid-summer.

   Try to use frozen spinach within 6 months to a year. What comes out of the freezer will be a bit mushy and is not particularly suitable for fresh eating, although it can be added to smoothies. We cook it from frozen or add it to soups and stews. You can also thaw it out, squeeze out the excess liquid, and add it to frittata or quiche.

 

 

 

Or try HGTV's blanching process:

 

   Start by washing spinach leaves. Triple rinsing them-dunking leaves into three separate batches of fresh water-usually removes all traces of dirt. After leaves are clean, remove stems as desired. Tear larger leaves into silver dollar-size pieces (roughly 1 to 2 inches across).

   Blanch spinach leaves in boiling water or steam for two minutes, followed by soaking in ice water for the same amount of time. If you blanch leaves in boiling water, you'll notice the water turns green. This is some of the nutrients leaching out of leaves. You can save this water and freeze it for stock or cooking grains, like rice or quinoa. 

   To keep as much nutrition in leaves as possible, steam blanch spinach leaves by placing them in a steamer basket that keeps leaves above the boiling water. Steam for two minutes. You don't lose that many nutrients or minerals by blanching spinach in boiling water. Which method you use is really a matter of choice and convenience. 

   After removing spinach from ice water, spin it dry in a salad spinner or blot it on a thick towel. Stuff leaves into freezer bags, placing one to two cups of leaves per bag, depending on your desired portion size. Freezer burn occurs when frozen items are exposed to air, and spinach doesn't taste well if it gets freezer burn. Try using a straw to suck out excess air around leaves before sealing bags. Place sealed bags in the freezer. Vacuum sealing systems work really well with spinach leaves. 

   Use frozen spinach within nine to 14 months for best quality. Add frozen spinach to soup or stock, casseroles, and stir fries. Frozen spinach also works well in dips, quiche, and pasta dishes. It brings flavorful nutrition to homemade egg rolls, meatballs, and marinara sauce. 

 

Thank You
From the farmhands at Great Country Farms

 


 
 

 


Great Country Farms will have a booth at this event. Come out to NOVA on Friday to talk about sustainable agriculture with Joel Salatin and 20 local exhibitors.
Last weekend of our Fall Harvest Festival

It's the last chance to see the Duck Swinesty Pig Races at 11:00, 1:00, and 3:00, and performances by P-Rex, the pumpkin-eating dinosaur, devouring pumpkins at 12:00 and 2:00. 

 

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

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

Corn Maze at the Great Country Farms
A-mazing!
And live music: 
Nathaniel Davis, Saturday 10/25 from noon to 3:00
Gina DeSimone and the Moaners, Sunday 10/26 from noon to 3:00 
Farm News
Fresh Turkeys
Sunrise Farms of Stuart's Draft VA has reserved 50 fresh turkeys for GCF members.

Place your order in the market or by calling the farm office.

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

 

Weekly Bonus:
#4 bag of Spinach
#4 bag of Kale
Radishes
Peanuts -- 4 plants
Come pull up a few peanut plants and learn how to make boiled peanuts.
 
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 20: 13.59
Year to Date: $118.59
 
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