Sept 11-12
Have too many apples? Shady
Crest Orchard and Farm Market
in Arthur will press homemade
cider out of your very own apples!
Volume 1: Issue 15
What’s In the
Bag?

Green Tomatoes

Eggplant

Bell Peppers

Jalapenos

Okra

Garlic

Sunflower Seeds

Parsley
Veggie Spotlight
Okra
By now I hope all our members
have had the pleasure of trying
the okra. Okra, like other
worldly plants, goes by many
names, including ladies fingers
and gumbo. The country and
even continent of origin is
disputed, as there are claims to
this vegetable originating in
Guatemala, West Africa, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. These
diverse suspects of origin all
have one thing in common:
heat. Okra is known for its heat
-loving qualities, making it a
popular crop in the Southern
United States. In fact, our okra
didn’t even set pod until the
recent heat spell. Despite the
conflict about okra’s origins,
we can be sure that this veggie
is great for our health. Okra is
high in fiber, Vitamin C, folate,
antioxidants, and is a good
source of calcium and potassium.
CSA Newsletter
Recipes
Fried Green Tomatoes
Chili, cont.
Green Tomatoes
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
1 c. flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 qt. oil for frying
tomato sauce, water, chili powder,
basil and black pepper. Bring to
boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, covered for 20 mins, ssitrring occasionally. If desired, top with
cheese and/or sour cream, cook
pasta to add to chili.
Slice tomatoes 1/2” thick and discard
the ends. Whisk eggs and milk together. Scoop flour onto plate. Mix
cornmeal, bread crumbs, salt and
pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes in flour to coat. Then dip tomatoes in milk and egg mixture. Finally,
dredge tomatoes in cornmeal-bread
crumb mix completely to coat. Add
oil to frying pan and heat over medhigh heat. Place tomatoes in pan, not
allowing tomatoes to touch one another. Fry until golden brown on both
sides, then drain on a paper towel.
Chili
1 1/2 lbs ground beef or deer burger
2 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb kidney, pinto or black beans
(optional)
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes,
undrained (Or fresh diced tomatoes)
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 c. water
2 tbsp. chili powder”
1 tsp. dried basil, crushed
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Shredded cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Pasta (optional)
In Dutch oven, cook ground beef,
onion, pepper, garlic until meat is
brown and onion is tender. Drain fat.
Stir in beans, undrained tomatoes,
Recipe courtesy Better Homes and
Gardens. This is not a pasty chili,
but more of a soup-based chili. Our
favorite family recipe. Use fresh
ingredients or home-canned tomatoes for best quality.
From the Farmer
Farming is hard work, and a lot of
times things are just out of the
farmer’s hands. We rely on Mother
Nature for the conditions that will
make our crops grow: rain, sunny
days, good temperatures. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the
weather. Like when several inches
of rain really helped our pepper
and eggplant crop, but it caused
nothing but heartache for our tomatoes. For me, that’s just part of
being a new farmer and learning to
let go of control. Conditions will
never be perfect, and we will never
have the perfect year. We have too
many crops that like too wide a
range of conditions, which is why I
try to be diverse with my crop selection.
But for all the not-so-great things
that Mother Nature sends our way,
there is one little gift she gave that
does all the hard work for us: Pollinators. Pollinators are the vectors
that move pollen from one flower
or plant to another. This allows the
flowers to be fertilized, after which
crops can grow. Now, not all plants
need to be pollinated. For example, beans are known to have extremely high rates of selfpollination, without the help of
pollinating insects. If you are a big
fan of onion, beet, pepper, watermelon, coffee, cucumber, squash,
carrot, strawberry, apple, plum,
peach, raspberry… need I go on?
These crops all require pollinators
to produce fruit.
Pollinators come in many shapes
and sizes. On our farm, we see
them mostly as bumble bees and
honey bees. Butterflies and moths
are also important pollinators,
along with hummingbirds, flies,
wasps and even bats (fruit bats,
native to South and Central America).
Pollinators are extremely important. Honeybees alone contribute
over $14 billion to the value of
U.S. crop production. If there were
no honey bees, fruit orchards and
groves across the United States
would have to be pollinated by
hand. Could you imagine?
Having trained as a beekeeper
during my time in Florida, I of
course had to get a hive of my own
when I moved back to Illinois. I
purchased a “race” of bees called
Carniolan two years ago, and they
have called August Creek Farm
home ever since. We have yet to
get a good honey harvest from this
hive, as they seem to be struggling
a bit despite their vast seven acres
of vegetable, fruit and clover blossoms. Our honey bees help with
pollination in the garden, and
seem to enjoy squash the most out
of all the crops.