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What's In The Box Tips and Recipes Drop-off Points Calendar 1951 USDA Publication

The Forth of July is upon us! We hope you will have a happy and safe Fourth and be able to enjoy all the festivities. We are in the middle of some changes on the farm. Teresa has found her wings and has moved into her own place. I am already experiencing some of the empty nest blues that come with this! She has already been gracious enough to come back and help with the gardens but it will become more difficult for her to do so as she gets settled into her new place. Vannesa has finished a week of the Lafayette County fair and for the most part survived it very well. We did have an incident of a run-away steer (hers) that was quite exciting! The critter was finally caught but couldn't be shown at the fair as it was too wild. A disappointment for Vannesa for sure.

Among the changes on the farm is also a change to our phone service. We will be discontinuing the land line as we have had so much trouble with it. Doing internet or email work has been very difficult as our connections have been noisy and VERY slow. We are migrating to a cell phone internet connection that so far is performing great. The connection speeds are in excess of 230k as opposed to our land line speed of 26K. We will be running both systems concurrently until we know we can trust the new connection. So:

Herbs:

• Spearmint (darker green leaf, slightly shiny)
• Peppermint (Lighter green leaf)
• Sage (long slender leaves)
• Red Basil (all three basil's bunched together, this one has red leaves)
• Italian Large Leaf Sweet Basil (larger green leaf)
• Lemon Basil (smaller green leaf and has lemony smell)
• Parsley

Veggies:

• Peas, Sugar Snap
• Radishes
• Swiss Chard
• Beets without greens (beets are 1 to 2 inches)
• Lettuce, a variety of mostly loose-leaf
• Onions (various varieties and sizes)
• Red Potatoes
• Broccoli

Remember to let us know if you are going to be on vacation or for some reason want to shift your box from one week to another. We may also be able to make special arrangements to drop off your box on another day. Just call, e-mail or use the little post card in your pouch to let us know.

We will be continuing to have specialty items available for purchase at delivery time. You won't have to order ahead. Just ask for any of the following items when you get your share box.

Natures Bakery granola in 1# bags in the following flavors:

• Six Grain - $3.25
• Almond Raisin - $3.50
• Cashew Raisin - $3.50
• Molasses Almond Raisin - $3.50
• Peanut Butter - $3.50
• Maple Walnut - $4.00
• Fruesli - $6.25
• Cinnamon Apple Crunch - $4.25

Ranum's 1887 Brand Honey:

• 12 oz honey bears - $2.75
• 16 oz squeeze - $3.75
• 2 lb Queeline jar - $6.50

Eggs: $1.00 per dozen (price for non-members $1.50)

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Tips for Storage and Preparing

Broccoli is coming on strong. The first thing that must be remembered is that no pesticides are used on any of our produce. This means you'll need to revisit the old days and treat you produce as our parents did with their garden items. For example, you will want to soak broccoli in cold salt water before using it. Any little critters that may be riding along will not like the salt water and move out of the broccoli. Take a container large enough to submerse the broccoli in, fill with water to cover broccoli, add a few cubes of ice (optional), add one or two teaspoons of salt (4 teaspoons per gallon), and let soak for about 20 to 30 minutes. Soaking will not diminish the food value of the broccoli and the salt will not stay with the broccoli if you rinse it. Soaking in this manner will also help to keep the head crisp if you plan to use it in a salad. The same thing should be done with cauliflower heads. Freeze both of these by either cutting them into small pieces or into longer pieces keeping the softer part of the stem intact with the head. Follow the procedure below for peas and beans. The Heat time for broccoli is 3 minutes. The heat time for cauliflower is 3 minutes in water containing 4 teaspoons of salt per gallon.

Peas are best kept in the crisper in your fridge. Edible pod peas can are best if eaten fresh. Snow or regular peas are best fresh as well but can also easily be frozen. Just blanch them, drain them, place them in cold water to cool, drain again, spread them on cookie sheets, and freeze them in a deep freeze. Freezing them on a cookie sheet will make it possible for you to put them in large freezer bags and take them out little at a time as you use them. You can also freeze them directly in the bag if you want but the contents of the bag will all be frozen together in a lump. Green beans can be handled the same way. Heat time for peas is 1 1/2 minutes. Heat time for beans either cut to 1 or 2 inches or French cut is 3 minutes.

Potatoes are a little pickier to store. Here are some tips:

• Store them in paper, burlap, or plastic bags with holes in them.
• Store in a cool, dark, dry place such as the corner of a basement or root cellar. Don't store in the refrigerator.
• Store in temperatures of 45 to 50 if possible.
• Don't store them with onions as they combine to create gases that will spoil both.
• Store new potatoes (dug before fall) about one week. Mature potatoes store for two months or more.
• Check occasionally and remove wrinkled or sprouted potatoes so they don't spoil the rest.

Onions: The bundled onions you will be receiving this week can be either used now or hang them to dry for later use. Hang them in a cool, dry, dark place such as a dry basement. Keep away from any stored potatoes as potatoes and onions will spoil each other.

The key to keeping most all veggies is to keep them cool, dry, and in the dark. Using the crisper in your refrigerator will add life to all your veggies if it is kept clean and dry. Anything that starts going bad will effect the whole crisper though so check it often. You may want to keep the stronger veggies such as onions or herbs bagged though as their aroma will travel to other veggies quickly.

More to come on this later.

Once again, time has run out on me and it is time to seal and deliver this E-Newsletter. This has been an unusually busy week and that is the only excuse I can offer for yet another brief letter.

Your Gardeners,

Annie, Mark, Vannesa, and Teresa

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Day of the week: This has changed! Wednesday Time: 4:30 - 5:00 PM Place: Festival Park (by Casey's). We will be delivering to all in town members from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

Day of the week: Friday Time: 4:00 PM Place: Home delivery for one member

Day of the week: Friday Time: 4:30 PM Place: Home delivery for one member

 Mineral Point

Day of the week: Saturday Time: 8:30 - 11:30 AM Place: Water Tower Park

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Week of Monday, July 09, 2007 - Week # is the off week for all 1/2 share customers

Week of Monday, July 16, 2007 - Week # is the "normal delivery" week for all 1/2 share customers

Week of Monday, July 23, 2007 - Week # is the off week for all 1/2 share customers

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1951 USDA Publication on Freezing

A rare treat! Check out this 1951 USDA publication on freezing home produce. It's an interesting window into the past but also contains much valid and useful information. It is in PDF form so you will need Adobe reader to view it.

Click here to download this 1.34 meg PDF file.

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