This week on the Farm

This was a momentous week on the farm: WE STARTED HARVESTING OUR FALL STORAGE CROPS! Nope, I’m not yelling at you, but shouting with excitement. Imagine all the balloons being released. The fireworks going off. Or a room full of 10 year olds with those pull at the bottom poppers that spread confetti all over the floor!

We refer to August as “Abundant August” and last week it more than lived up to that name. This time of year you get to do it all around here: weed, harvest for market and wholesale, seed, transplant winter crops, remove summer crops, and then **added bonus** harvest storage crops. While some farmers are starting to level out and almost get a breath in, we kick it into the next gear and spend some serious time being efficient and digging deep. And it started this week.

On Tuesday we moved the garlic we had harvested a few weeks ago out of the barn where it was curing and drying out, and into its winter home. This meant doing  some trimming of stalks, removing debris and loose paper, and tucking them into their crates for storage.

On Thursday, we got to a “strong halfway” point (Sarahlee’s words) in our winter storage onion harvest. One afternoon with a spare moment and a reserve of energy found somewhere and the farmers busted a move. They selected the onions that were ready (leaving the ones that weren’t quite for harvesting fresh later), pulled the onions up, trimmed the green to about 6-8″ off the bulb, trimmed the roots at the bottom and then put them in a crate. This round is now under the breeze way by our veggie washing station drying out and curing for storage. We will do this one, maybe two more times and then all our red, yellow, and white onions, and shallots will be in the shade with lots of airflow drying out going through their final steps before they join the garlic in winter storage. 

It was nice to get this task started because it is just the beginning. Next up is potatoes, and then beets, parsnips, carrots, daikon radish, celeriac, winter squash, leeks, cabbage…. The list goes on.

So Why Storage Crops?
Because eating locally, sustainably, and from Rainshadow Organics doesn’t end on October 12 when the summer CSA ends. At Rainshadow we have committed to providing our community food year round and that is where the storage crops come in. 

It is true that Central Oregon has zero historic frost free days and yet, it is not only possible but relatively easy to eat from Central Oregon year round. Especially with a foundation of storage root vegetables and winter greens provided in our 7-month Winter CSA.

Our monthly Winter CSA share is available for purchase and features 10 lbs of mixed meat/month (including lard and broth) and a crate of storage and fresh vegetables.

• First Thursday of the month pickup, November-May
• Choose your pickup location: Bend, Sisters, or the Farm Store
• Choose the payment schedule that works for your household: pay in full up front or put your first month down as a deposit and pay monthly after that.

Vegetable CSA Harvest List

We think our foundation vegetables this week will include Beets, Parsley, and Leeks. We will let you know on Wednesday how many other items you will get to select.

We have been keeping an eye on the hoops and 2-acre garden and have a pretty good idea of what is out there and ready to be harvested, but this is a Sunday estimation of what we will be harvesting on Tuesday. Also, because we have a market style CSA, this isn’t a guarantee of 1 of all these things for everyone. Instead, this will be the variety of what will hopefully (fingers crossed) have for you to choose from this week.)
 

Other Vegetable Options will probably include:

1. Peel, then grate the carrots. Mix the vinegar with 1/4 tsp salt, then whisk in the oil. Toss with the carrots, parsley, and mint and season with pepper to taste. Serve right away or cover and chill for 1 hour.

1. Pulse flours, sugar, and salt in food processor to mix.
2. Add chilled butter pieces.  Pulse 3-4 times until butter is still the size of pinto beans.  Dump mixture out into a bowl.  Place the bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes to get it cold.
3. Remove from fridge.  Add vinegar and the ice water.  Gently, carefully mix the dough just until it seems well distributed.  It will be very craggy and may have dry flour bits.
4. Dump the dough onto a piece of parchment or plastic wrap.  Form dough together, as best as you can, into about a 4 x 4-inch square.  Wrap up and place in the fridge for 45 minutes.
5. Roll out into a rectangle approximately 5 x 11.  Fold the pastry in thirds widthwise, like a business letter, resulting in 3 layers of dough.
6. Turn the short end toward you and repeat step 6 two more times.
7. After the third turn fold the dough in half.  Refrigerate for one hour or up to 3 days.
8. Rest the dough for 20 minutes at room temperature before rolling out.

1. Set oven to 425 degrees.  If using a pizza stone or cast iron pan, place in the oven now while preheating.
2. Saute’ kale, garlic and leeks in olive oil with the 1/4 teaspoon of salt over medium heat for about 8 minutes.  Turn off heat and cover with a lid for 5-10 more minutes until tender.  Add sage and parsley.  Set aside.
3. Meanwhile in another bowl combine eggs, anchovy paste, dijon, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.
4. Roll out dough on a piece of parchment to 1/8 of an inch thick and in an approximate 14″ circle. Trim the edges of the dough with a sharp knife to allow them to puff up.
5. Spread mascarpone cheese on the rolled out circle, all but the outer 2 inches.
6. Lay filling and grated gruyere cheese on top of the mascarpone.
7. Whisk together egg wash.  Brush the outside 2 inches of dough with the wash.
8. Fold the outer 2 inches of dough in over the filling, overlapping dough every 2-3 inches gently pinching just enough to secure.
9. Pour the seasoned beaten egg mixture evenly over the filling.
10. Brush top of the crust with egg wash.
11. Carefully transfer, lifting the parchment and galette onto the stone, cast iron or baking sheet.  Sliding onto a pizza peel or cutting board can help with the transfer.
12. Bake 10 minutes then turn oven down to 375 and bake another 25-35 minutes until puffed and the crust is golden.  Cool 20 minutes before cutting.