We want to thank all of you for supporting our farm, enjoying our veggies and berries and your pleasant company.  We so enjoy being part of this community.  We wish you a very happy 2010.  Look for our CSA announcement the end of February.  Eggs will continue to be available through the winter.

We’ve got fresh eggs, including some delectable turkey eggs.  Potato varieties for this week include Red Norlands, All Blues, Colorado Rose and Russian
Banana Fingerlings.  Mild red and yellow onions as well as shallots are also available.  My brother brought a fresh supply of Wild Rice at Thanksgiving.
Wild Rice is available in 8oz bag for $3.50
                                         2 lb bag for $13.00
                                         5 lb bag for $30.00

Are you looking for some unique foods for Thanksgiving?

We have 4 varieties of specialty potatoes;
        German Butterballs, makes a lovely creamy yellow mashed potato
        All Blues- cook your All Blues with a little vinegar for brillant blue
                          mashers
        Colorado Rose- beautiful smooth red skins with creamy white flesh
        Viking Purple- purple tinged skins with white flesh
        Russian Banana Fingerlings- best for rosemary roasted potatoes
Stutgartter Onions- nicely dried onions for storage that won’t make you cry
Shallots- have a particularly delicate flavor for sauces
Wild Rice- a nutty flavor to add to your turkey stuffing

If you haven’t got your locally grown free range turkey call;
         Mike and Debbie Holmes  322-6992
         Elena Peters 504-6850 (extra large turkeys 30-40lbs)

Happy Thanksgiving from Fields Farm

My internship is officially over, sure as the increasingly intense frosts brought the farm’s growing to a slow crawl.  It is amazing how glorious rows of produce can be thriving in August, only to be reduced to brown and wilted stalks a month later.  In October we spent a lot of time tilling in finished beds, spreading cover crop seeds, planting next year’s garlic, pulling out old, dead plants (all those tomatoes!).  When the irrigation ditch shut off in the middle of the month, all the pipes were pulled off the field and laid along the fence; now the mice will have a place to nest for the winter in the long, steel tubes.  Without irrigation there is no more water for the mighty kale plants in the greenhouse tunnels.  Their growth slows almost to a halt.  Freezing nights, windstorms, the return of geese, the first snows…all signs of a changing of seasons.  These events signal a time of rest, of pause in growth, a time to let things be undisturbed.  Several people have asked (somewhat hopefully) at the market and at the farmstand, “do you grow anything during the winter?”  I suppose it could be done; other farmers in Oregon do it.  They pump heated air into sealed greenhouses to keep the plants alive, despite the cold air outside and short days of light.  The drawbacks include using lots of gas and electric power to grow those greens, a high potential for pest and disease infestation, and no rest for the workers.  Financially, perhaps some farms have decided that it makes sense to grow through the winter.  But the economics of it contradict nature: winter is a time for rest.  A time to let freezes kill bacterias and insects.  A time to give the soil a break.  A time to make meals out of the storage produce put aside…potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, winter squash, and any canned and frozen foods you prepared during the summer.  My fiance and I have frozen some kale, peppers, and soups made in summer, and we canned applesauce and tomatoes…all part of an experiment in being more local and self-sufficient, in part inspired by my work at Fields Farm and by Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.”  It takes a lot of work!  But it will be worth it when in February we can eat local, organic produce.  It is quite a change of personal paradigm when you try to eat seasonally; you have to accept that certain things are available only at certain times, and you must enjoy them to the fullest at those times!  It is certainly a challenge, and though you may not have canned or frozen anything this year (the above mentioned storage vegetables are still available for sale at the farm!), I challenge YOU to try and eat seasonally and locally through the next year.  I challenge you to ignore that asparagus you see the stores now; it traveled too far and is far from fresh.  Know that in April and May it will be available in the northwest, and its flavor will be all the better from the long wait.  I challenge you to put back those bananas and oranges, and instead turn your eyes to the apples and pears grown in our region.  Enjoy them now while they’re fresh, and can or freeze some for next year when you are craving apples in May and the only ones you can find are from far off Chile.  These are the small steps it takes to be a little bit lighter on the land, but when many people take these small steps, big changes are possible.  See you next year, and enjoy a restful winter.   

10 lb bags of potatoes
    – $8.00 for Russets
    – $12.00 for German Butterballs and Colorado Rose

Also available onions, shallots and Russian Banana Fingerlings

If you would like 20lbs or more of any variety call Jim for a price.

Hi Folks,

We continue to have a bountiful harvest.  I have just finished packing potatoes, onions, shallots, garlic, tomatoes, peppers and beets.  All are bagged and individually priced. There’s plenty of all varieties of kale.  We have an ample supply off eggs.  Our produce will be available 7 days a week.  Stop on by and help yourself.

Enjoy!

We have an abundant supply of delicious fresh free range eggs.  Chickens that get to scratch in the dirt, eat bugs and greens lay eggs with beautiful deep orange yolks and are much more flavorful that caged chicken eggs.  See also the previous produce list. 

Jeremy in the tomato forestThey started out as tiny, two-leafed sprouts in 1/2 inch soil squares.  They graduated to 2″ and then 4″ soil blocks, until the sun space next to the house was full of nothing but this fragrant plant.  Now they have all but consumed the interior of the new large greenhouse.  Yes, I’m talking about the tomatoes.  They all have names like Bellstar, Sweet 100s, Garden Peach, Prudence.  When we transplanted them into the greenhouse, I staked a wooden marker next to each group so I could see what shapes these fanciful names yielded.  But now I can’t find the markers.  I think the plants ate them.  Within days of thinning back the excess leaf matter, the plants close in again on the walkways.  I cringe when I feel a “crunch” of unripe tomato under my foot as I try to negotiate through the rows.  But where are all the ripe tomatoes?  I see plenty of plant matter, and lots of green tomatoes, but where am I going to find enough red, ripe ones for this week’s CSA members???  I have to turn into a hunter.  On all fours I crawl down the rows lifting the mass of lower plant to get at any red tomatoes underneath (much like lifting a hen to get at the egg).  At ground level all I see is green all around me.  It’s like trying to spy a parrot in a jungle, except these tomatoes don’t squawk.  Slowly I scan the dense foliage for any flash of red.  When found, I ever so carefully reach to pluck one, fearing I’ll knock of three of its unripe brethren.  One by one the Sweet 100s fill up a basket.  Maybe there will be a bigger tomato here and there, but they are mostly still green.  The question is–the same question so many people ask–when will my tomatoes turn red???  I’ve gleaned a couple of explanations from Jim.  One–too much fertilizer will keep a plant growing so well that it won’t feel the stress and need to produce fruit.  Two–we might have to cut back the roots to encourage these tomatoes along.  Three–maybe they’ll just stay green.  The irony in our tomatoes is that we are obsessed with this fruit, yet we don’t live in a very conducive tomato growing environment!!!  But I don’t think the obsession is due to the finicky growing season.  People will spend dollar after dollar to grow a tomato in their backyard, as if just to prove that it can be done, as if growing tomatoes is a right and not a priviledge.  I think the obsession can be cured by one thing only: I think people need to eat more kale.

Hi Folks,

We are at peak harvest time now through September.  We will try to have
some of most items in the grey refrigerator all the time.  This
includes;

Arugula – $4.00/bag

Beans – $3.00/bag

Beets – $2.00/bunch

Brocolli – $2.50/1 lb bag

Basil – $1.50/bag

Carrots – $2.00/bunch

Cucumbers – $1.50each

Garlic – by weight $8.00/lb, these will be in bags with the price on the bag

Greens, kales, swiss chard – $2.00/bunch

Lettuce mix – $4.00/bag

Onions – $2.00/bunch or .50each

Oregano – $1.00/bunch

Parsley – $1.00/bunch

Peppers, sweet – $1.50 each

Potatoes – $3.00/3 lb bag

    Fingerlings – $3.00/ 2 lb bag

Summer squash – .75 each

Tomatoes – $3.00/pint

Wild Rice – $3.50/8oz or $13.00/2lbs

Enjoy!

Debbie

Wild Rice from River Refuge Farm
We have Wild Rice from Debbie’s brother, Mark Running.  He grows wild rice in the Sprague River valley and outside of Brownsville in the Willamette valley.  The wild rice is grown is a grassy marsh ecosystem using a series of ponds which both naturally fertilize the rice as well as providing a rich habitat for migrating waterfowl.
It is available for  $3.50 for 8oz
                            $13.00 for 2lbs

Basic Wild Rice Pilaf
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup brown rice
1 2/3 cup chicken,beef or vegetable broth
dash oil
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer til tender, about 1 hour

FROM THE KITCHEN OF JOEY RUNNING
Basic Cooked Wild and Brown Rice
1 c water
½ c Wild Rice
½ c Brown Rice
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or other desired flavor)
1 tsp. olive oil
1 pinch salt
 
In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cover for approximately 1 hour.  Makes 2+ cups cooked rice.
 
Wild Rice Bread
1 ¼ c water
1 c basic cooked Wild/Brown Rice, well drained and cooled
2 tablespoons butter
2 2/3 c bread flour
1 1/3 c whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
 
If using a bread machine, select 2-pound loaf size.  Add ingredients to the machine according to the mfg.  directions.  If available, select the whole grain cycle.
 
Black Bean and Wild Rice Salsa
1 c basic cooked wild/brown rice
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1 can (16 oz) black beans, drained
1 pkg. (10 oz) frozen corn, thawed
1 cup chopped ripe mango or canned pineapple
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime or lemon juice
Mix all ingredients well…serve with grilled chicken or tortilla chips!
 
Cheesy Wild Rice
1 Batch Basic cooked Wild/Brown rice (2+ cups)
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
½ can condensed cream of chicken soup*
¼ c chopped onion
4 tablespoons melted butter, divided
½  teaspoon pepper
½  teaspoon salt
½  cup sour cream
1 cup cornbread stuffing
 
In a large bowl, mix the wild/brown rice, cheese, soup, onion, 2 tablespoons melted butter, salt, pepper, and sour cream.  Transfer rice mixture to 8×8 baking dish.  In a small bowl, mix the dry stuffing and remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.  Spread stuffing over potatoes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.  This recipe can be easily doubled.

Stuffed Butternut Squash
1 small handful of dried porcini mushrooms
1 butternut squash, halved and seeds removed
1 tablespoon Olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup basic cooked wild/brown rice
¼ cup pine nuts
 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Soak porcini for 5 minutes in ½ cup boiling water.  Score and scoop out some of the extra flesh from the length of the squash (this creates a well for the rice mixture).  Finely chop squash and add to frying pan with olive oil, onion, garlic, coriander, rosemary, and sun-dried tomatoes.  Cook until softened approximately 5 minutes.  Add the porcini and half their soaking water.  Cook for another 2 minutes.  Add salt and pepper.  Stir in cooked rice and pine nuts.  Pack the mixture tightly into the 2 halves of the squash and press together (put the squash back together).  Rub the skin of the squash with some olive oil, wrap in foil, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes…a fork should easily push through squash.
 
Wild Rice Salad (Connie’s recipe)
½ c wild rice
2 cups beef bullion
1 cup fresh peas or frozen peas, thawed
½ cup celery, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons slivered onions
 
Bring wild rice and bullion to boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low for 1 hour.
In a large bowl, mix the rice and the remaining ingredients.  Pour dressing (below) and mix.  Serve warm or chilled.
 
Dressing
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup canola oil
Toasted sesame seeds, if desired