call or email us and we’ll be happy to tell you all about what’s coming up. Also, stay posted to the blog because we’ll be posting updates each week.
Sign up before we fill up!
Hello All! I hope this post finds you all happy and healthy. It’s 2010 and we’re getting ready for a new season. We think this year is going to be the best yet…the garden is that much more established and we’ve been making lots of plans. Anthony has the greenhouse up and running and we’ve been planting seeds and growing wheat grass in there. I can see the glow of the lights as I write to you all this morning.
We hope that you’ve had a wonderful winter and we look so forward to another wonderful CSA season with deliveries starting in June. We’ve decided to cut our weeks down to 12, so there have been some big changes which I will post (weeks, prices, etc.) in the coming weeks.
We are currently still accepting new Members for the 2010 growing season, so if you’re interested in signing up we suggest you give us a call soon! If you have questions and want to get on a list, so that we contact you to remind you to sign up, please send us an email with your phone # & family size written inside the body of the letter.
Anthony has been on the planning committee for this year’s Winston-Dillard Growers market and I do believe that they need vendors. If you or anyone you know is interested please give us a call 541-679-0756.
More fun stuff coming soon!!
Best,
Sandee & Anthony
Mark & Anthony wishing you all a happy winter season!!
Hello Farm Friends!! We hope this letter finds you happy and healthy on this very chilly morning in December. Today’s box is the last of this season and although we’ll miss harvesting we’re happy to have a small break. The winter is a combination of break time, reflection and lots of planning for us. It is a kind of hybernation if you will. What about all of you? Please call or write with any questions or concerns or if you just want to come visit. We do have a winter garden and if you’re interested in coming to pick or just miss your weekly bunches of greens, let us know and we’ll arrange to get some to you! Also, there will be planting opportunities in the spring, so if you if a group or just want to come with your family we’ll be sending out emails to all of you. You can sign up after January for the 2010 CSA, so once again we’ll send out email reminders.
Now, since we’re ending one week early we’d like address the mystery box! You are all entitled to one more delivery because we promised 28 weeks. You will have to contact us soon to let us know if you’d like us to credit you in the spring. We’re happy to credit you the first week only and I will tell you all that next year we’ll most likely begin our season around the first or second week of June. You certainly do not have to take the credit..it’s up to you to let us know.
We sincereley thank you for being members of our farm. We hope you enjoyed the experience. Keep checking our blog for periodic updates throughout the winter and make sure to sign up for 2010!! Also, look for us at your local farmer’s markets this year.
We wish you all a happy, warm and wonderful winter season!
Ohmygato Farm:
Anthony, Sandee and Fidel (and all the volunteers we had from WWOOF this year!)
Today’s harvest:
salad greens
heirloom variety romain lettuce
butternut squash
easter egg radishes
daikon radish
beets
collard greens
kale
fingerling potatoes
some recipe’s for you…(this part of the post is coming later this evening)
This newsletter is several days late in coming..I apologize for the delay in our recent updates. We’ve been having technical difficulties. We’re in the midst of moving the house around and Anthony had to run another internet cable to another area in our home. It took longer than expected and now finally we’re up and running again!
HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING!! We hope you enjoyed your Wednesday box filled with holiday goodies. The box was supplemented this week with some vegetables from our friends at Big Lick Farm. All of their food is also grown in accordance with nature and hasn’t been coated by chemicals. THANK YOU BIG LICK FARM for your contribution to Ohmygato. We cherish your support and friendship.
The next delivery will be the last of the this season. We’ve really enjoyed sharing our garden with you. Next year will be the second year of the field we’re working, so the harvest will be that much better. We’re also planning on growing more of the items that you all enjoyed (taken from the surveys) and increasing the weekly variety. More on this next week.
In the meantime, we’ll be back on track for our Thursday box this week. You’ll enjoy some repeats in this last box:
winter squash, head lettuce or salad greens, beets, cabbage, chard, collards or kale, radishes and leeks
Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan and Fried Sage LeavesBon Appétit | November 2001
|
Fried sage leaves make a crispy garnish. Try them also crumbled on mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables. Yield: Makes 8 servings
3 tablespoons butter
1 onion, coarsely chopped 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage 1 2 3/4-pound butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 5 cups) 5 cups canned low-salt chicken broth 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 24 fresh sage leaves
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 7 minutes. Add chopped sage; stir 1 minute. Add squash and broth. Increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Mix in cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and refrigerate.) Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add sage leaves and sauté until brown and toasted, about 2 minutes.Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Garnish with fried sage leaves. |
Hello Everyone! I’m sorry this took me a couple of days! I hope you’re all enjoying the box this week. Anthony made a new friend and fellow baker a couple of weeks ago, Chris, and he decided to help out this week with harvest & delivery. It gave me some much needed time to work on my school projects. Both Anthony and Chris are now baking once a week at Harvest Market, so their yummy artisan breads are available there to purchase. Guaranteed, it’s the best bread in town!
Down to some important news:
Next week (the holiday week) we’ll be delivering your boxes on Wednesday instead of Thursday. The harvest for next week is as follows:
carrots, butternut squash, daikon radish,mixed salad greens (if we don’t get a frost), cabbage, potatoes, onions, collard greens, kale or rainbow chard (it’ll be a surprise).
The other important news is that our last delivery for the season will be Thursday, December 3rd. We were originally planning to make it to that second week in December, but because of the cold weather our crops are having difficulty recovering from the weekly harvests. We’re ending one week early, which is better than we expected knowing that we got such a late start! It’s been an incredible year of learning for Ohmygato and we are Thankful for each of you who decided to take this journey along with us. You are each truly inspirational because you made a commitment to your health and to an organic farm who will never put chemicals in our ground or on our food. You all ROCK!
Give us a call or email to let us know if you’ll be signing up again for next season.
Warm regards,
Sandee, Anthony & Fidel (Catro)
Today’s harvest:
mixed salad greens
radishes
kale
rainbow chard
french fingerling potatoes
some recipe’s for you…
Hello Farm Friends!! I hope this letter finds you all happy and healthy! It’s another Thursday, harvest day and we can’t believe that we’re nearing the end of the season. it’s been an incredible learning experience and we hope that it’s been as good for all of you as it has been for us. The variety at this point in the season is narrowing down, so you can expect yummy things like potatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi and lots of greens. today I’m sending along some yummy soup recipes, so those greens go to good use. i like to make a big batch of the stuff and freeze some so that on a cold lazy winter night i can take it out and heat it up. easy peezy!
this week we’ve been continuing our garlic planting for overwintering. we’re pulling up the t-tape from the rows and madly trying to put in our cover crops. anthony is almost done stacking our wood. i think we need about two more cords to get us through the winter though and we’ve been too busy to even think about that.
Today’s harvest:
mixed salad greens (our yummy ohmygato special mix!)
dino kale
rainbow chard
potatoes
radishes
kohlrabi or brocolli (it’ll be a surprise!)
winter squash
some recipe’s for you…
Winter Minestrone Gourmet | January 2009
by Melissa Roberts and Maggie Ruggiero
Patience is the key to this soul-satisfying soup chock-full of winter greens. Its depth of flavor comes from cooking the soffritto—a mixture of pancetta, onion, celery, carrots, and the ribs from the chard—for a good 45 minutes and from browning the tomato paste. The result is so savory that there’s no need for broth; water, canned tomatoes, and a parmesan rind work beautifully. And because this soup must cook slowly, don’t worry about prepping all your vegetables before you begin—you can simply chop as you go.
Yield: Makes 8 servings
Active Time: 45 min
Total Time: 2 hr
Accompaniments: extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling; cooked ditalini pasta tossed with oil (optional); grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Cook pancetta, onions, celery, and carrots in oil in a wide 7-to 9-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, while preparing chard.
Cut out stems from chard and chop stems, reserving leaves. Stir chard stems into pancetta mixture with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender and begin to stick to bottom of pot, about 45 minutes total. (Set aside chard leaves.)
Push vegetables to one side of pot. Add tomato paste to cleared area and cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Stir paste into vegetables and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. (Paste may stick to pot, but don’t let it burn.)
Stir in tomatoes with their juice, breaking them up with a spoon, then add hot water (3 quarts), scraping up any brown bits from bottom of pot.
Bring to a simmer. Stir in cabbage, escarole, and parmesan rind. Simmer, covered, until greens are tender, about 40 minutes.
Coarsely chop chard leaves and stir into soup along with beans. Simmer, partially covered, 10 minutes. Discard rind. Season soup with salt and pepper. If using ditalini, stir in just before serving.
Winter Squash Soup with Gruyère Croutons Bon Appétit | December 1996
In France, this soup would be prepared with a baking pumpkin. A mixture of butternut and acorn squashes mimics the French pumpkin’s exceptional taste and texture. Pour a lightly chilled rosé with this colorful first course. Either a Rhône Tavel or a Provençal Bandol would be lovely.
Yield: Serves 8
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons sugar
Croutons
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices
1 cup grated Gruyère cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage
Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and sugar; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)
For croutons:
Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme and sage over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.
These soups are winter wonderful! Make sure you use your mixed greens and make a fabulous side salad!
Hello Everyone! Happy Thursday! I hope this email finds everyone happy and HEALTHY! There have been some bugs going around and so we’ve managed to stay clear of them. I hope the same is true for all of you.
It’s another harvest day and today we have help! The Tucci’s have come for a visit and we are so happy they’re here. We’ll be working together to get out today’s harvest. The hills are green again and the lettuce is looking really nice. There were a couple of really cold nights since our last update and Anthony had to put the frost cloth down on some of the delicate salad greens. The radishes are fantastic! I hope you all enjoyed having those again in your boxes. It was a little experiment that went well. There won’t be any fruit this week in the box, so that would be a good item to supplement. The red delicious apples were such a great treat in the last couple of weeks.
Today’s harvest:
salad greens
radishes
winter squash
collard greens
rainbow chard
onion or leek
potatoes
some recipe’s for you…
HAPPY HALLOWEEN People!! I’m writing this on Wednesday night, October 28th and I must say that the cold front has officially arrived. This is soup season, so I hope you’re all finding ways to put all those greens to good use. I would like to encourage those interested in making a fantastic purchase: a pasta maker or attachment to your mixers. Anthony made fresh (from scratch) ravioli last night stuffed with sauted rainbow chard(leaves and stems chopped finely), onions, butter (or olive oil) and gorgonzola cheese. YUMM!! Last time we made butternut squash ravioli topped with parm. cheese and fried sage leaves. There’s no end to the goodness of fresh organic veggies! You can certainly freeze your greens (collards, kale and chard) for later use. I like to chop and saute them and then freeze them. This way I can put them in a soup later on.
You all may know this already, but Brosai’s Farm in Winston has an amazing pumkin patch..if you haven’t picked your pumpkin already I would recommend his farm for some October fun. The other thing is that I want to remind everyone that our CSA Season is quickly coming to a close, so keep a watch on your calendars because we only have (after today) six deliveries left. We’re hoping to make it to the very end, but we’re aware that the last two weeks might be a little tough. We definitely put in a winter garden so we should make it. If for some reason we have to end the season a little early you will all get the first two boxes in the spring in order to make up for the loss. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best! Contact us if you have any questions or concerns about this. We’ll be happy to talk more about this in our upcoming newsletters. We’ll certainly keep you all posted as we go along.
I hope you are all enjoying the lovely salad greens. They have been a delightful part of our harvest and very good box item because I think it’s something everyone appreciates after summer.
Today’s Harvest:
Mixed Salad Greens
French Fingerling Potatoes
Green Tomatoes (put on a counter or window sill until ripe or make Fried Green Tomatoes w/ garlic aoli sauce!)
Rainbow Chard
Kale
Red Delicious Apples
Pumpkin (maybe a wedge of a large pumpkin or a whole small curry pumpkin..yet another surprise)
Radishes
Some recipe’s for you…
Warm Pumpkin Salad with Polenta and Candied Pumpkin Seeds Gourmet | October 2001
Active time: 1 3/4 hr Start to finish: 5 hr
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Prepare polenta:
Bring cornmeal, water, and 2 1/4 teaspoons salt to a boil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until polenta is creamy and tender, about 50 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in 11/2 tablespoons butter and cool slightly.
Spoon polenta onto center of a lightly buttered large baking sheet, then spread evenly into a 10- by 7-inch rectangle (about 1/2 inch thick). Cover with plastic wrap, then poke several holes in wrap with a small sharp knife and chill 2 hours.
Candy pumpkin seeds:
Melt remaining tablespoon butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Stir in sugar, cumin, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then cook, without stirring, until caramelized. Add pumpkin seeds and cook, stirring occasionally, until seeds are puffed and golden. Transfer to a plate to cool. When seeds have hardened, break up any clumps with your fingers.
Make vinaigrette:
Whisk together pomegranate juice, vinegar, and shallot and let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in 3 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.
Roast pumpkin:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut pumpkin quarters crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil and salt and pepper to taste in a shallow baking pan and arrange slices in 1 layer. Roast in middle of oven until just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, then cover with foil to keep warm.
Fry polenta while pumpkin roasts:
Trim polenta into a 9- by 6-inch rectangle. Cut polenta into 6 (3-inch) squares, then halve each square diagonally. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet until hot but not smoking, then cook polenta in 2 batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 8 minutes (if necessary, use remaining tablespoon oil for second batch). Transfer as cooked to a plate and keep warm, covered.
Assemble salad:
Shave 12 strips from cheese with a vegetable peeler.
Whisk vinaigrette, then toss arugula in a large bowl with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat. Place several pieces of pumpkin and 1 piece of polenta on each of 6 plates. Top with arugula, more pumpkin, and remaining polenta. Sprinkle with candied pumpkin seeds and top with parmesan shavings, then drizzle with remaining vinaigrette.
Cooks’ notes:
• Polenta, spread on baking sheet and not yet fried, can be chilled up to 1 day. • Candied pumpkin seeds can be prepared 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. • To juice a pomegranate, firmly roll it on a work surface until it feels softer, then cut a small hole in skin and squeeze.
Fried Green Tomatoes Cookie | June 2008
by Victoria Granoff
1 cup finely ground cornmeal
1 teaspoon paprika or pimentón (a Spanish smoked paprika, available at latienda.com)
2 eggs
Vegetable oil
1. Sprinkle the tomato slices with the salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Combine the cornmeal and paprika in a shallow bowl. In another bowl, beat the eggs.
3. Cover the bottom of a heavy skillet with 1/2 inch of oil, then place it over medium-high heat.
4. Coat the tomato slices in the egg, then dredge them in the cornmeal mixture.
5. Fry as many tomatoes as fit comfortably in the pan until nicely browned, about 2 minutes a side.
6. Transfer them to a paper towel-lined platter. Repeat until all the tomatoes are cooked.
Hi gatos! Hope this letter finds you all well. Our lovely garden is doing fine & adjusting to the seasons nicely. It’s basically taking care of itself… so we’re taking some time to do the same for 
ourselves. We’ve started playing backgammon and making fires in the evening time. Not to mention that Anthony has been really inspired to make wonderful meals almost every night! We’ll continue to share the recipes with all of you and hopefully you’ll want to share some of your yummy dishes with us as well. Go ahead and post them on the blog if you’ve got a good one to share. Did you all hear the thunder last night!! I have to admit that I get a little scared everytime I hear it…then when the rain comes I feel calm again. How about you?
We received a phone call from another neighbor, Barbara Miller, who had an overabundance of organic grapes and offered to let us have them if we went to pick them. Well we just got back home from harvesting several trays of beautiful purple grapes!! Lucky for you they’ll be in the boxes this week along with some fantastic apples given to us by Kathy (yet another kind neighbor). Everything is organic and ready to eat!! Here’s a shout out to our amazing neighbors!!
A couple of items that I’d like to bring up:
No big deal, but we ended up having to make another full share box and deliver it on Friday. It was probably my fault because the marker I used wasn’t super fat and could’ve been easily missed. So whoever got that big beautiful box, I hope you made many wonderful meals and enjoyed every bit!!
The box that wasn’t picked up on week 20 (last week) is a mystery to us. We’re not sure who left it, but it was there for you. maybe you went out of town or couldn’t get it for some reason. In the future, please let us know so that we can try to accomodate you. It’s better to donate the food that way it doesn’t go to waste.
Today’s harvest:
Apples
grapes
mixed salad greens
cabbage or broccoli (it’ll be a surprise!)
rainbow chard
collard greens
Leeks
some recipes for you…
Hi Gatos, hope all is well. Today you will find yummy apples that we harvested last night from our little lone tree. We didn’t include them all in the boxes as most of them had little peck holes. So this week we will cut out all the blemishes and dry them for your up and coming boxes. Be on the look out for these dry sweeties.This month we are planning on planting garlics so that next year we will have plenty of garlic for many weeks of deliveries. We are also coming upon the time when we will be planting our fruit trees: Apples, Figs, Pears and Peaches. The beets that you got in your box this week are the beets that our polish volunteers Ania & Marek planted back in August. The leeks were also planted around this time and you will be getting those next week. The mixed salad greens are first cut wonders. They have really been growing so perfectly & loving this rain. Natures irrigation is the best. In the bag you will see red leaf mustard, tatsoi, arugula roquette, mizuna & osaka mustard. ENJOY! This week anthony started tutoring spanish at UCC. Spanish is anthonys lingua mater and tutoring is a good way to supplement our income. It’s also good for this farmer to get out of the house every now and then. If anyone is interested in brushing up on their español or are thinking of taking spanish for the first time. Come out and take spanish with anthony at UCC. He will be teaching a non credit Community Education course during the winter term.
todays produce list:
beets
collards
kohlrabi
salad greens
chard
potatoes
acorn squash
Balsamic-Roasted Acorn Squash with Hot Chiles and Honey Bon Appétit | November 2003
Makes 6 servings.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place acorn squash halves, cut side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides with 2 tablespoons oil. Whisk 4 tablespoons oil with remaining ingredients in bowl; divide glaze among hollows of squash halves. Brush glaze over cut surfaces, leaving excess glaze in squash hollows. Bake until squash are very tender and brown, brushing cut surfaces every 15 minutes with glaze in squash hollows, about 1 hour.
Timing tip:
Bake the squash for 45 minutes early in the day. Finish just before dinner is served, baking until squash is tender, about 20 more minutes.
Beet Soup in Roasted Acorn Squash Gourmet | November 2000
The roasted acorn squash tastes fabulous when scooped up with spoonfuls of the beet soup. But if oven space is limited, simply serve the soup in bowls.
Yield: Makes 8 servings (about 10 cups)
Active Time: 45 min
Total Time: 1 1/2 hr
For soup
1 large red onion, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 medium beets (2 pounds without greens), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 red apple such as Gala or Braeburn, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
4 to 5 cups water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
Accompaniment: cornmeal-cayenne grissini
Roast squash:
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Cut off “tops” of squash (about 1 inch from stem end) and reserve. Scoop out seeds and discard. Cut a very thin slice off bottoms of squash to create a stable base. Brush “bowls” and tops all over with oil and sprinkle salt inside. Arrange squash bowls, with tops alongside, stem ends up, in 2 large shallow baking pans.
Roast squash in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of pans halfway through baking, until flesh of squash is just tender, about 1 1/4hours total.
Make soup while squash roast:
Cook onion in oil in a 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add beets and apple and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds.
Add broth and 4 cups water, then simmer, uncovered, until beets are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in vinegar and brown sugar.
Purée soup in 3 batches in a blender until very smooth, at least 1 minute per batch (use caution when blending hot liquids), transferring to a large bowl. Return soup to pan, then season with salt and pepper and reheat. If soup is too thick, add enough water to thin to desired consistency.
Serve soup in squash bowls.
Cooks’ notes:
• Squash flesh shrinks during baking; if a small hole forms, serve soup in squash but set in a soup bowl. • Soup can be made 3 days ahead and chilled, covered.