CSA # 22

Lettuce
Radish
Pak Choy
Turnips
Cabbage
Kale
Cilantro
Arugula


This is our last week. we really enjoyed the csa program, it was a lot of fun. Don't be scared about an empty refrigerator, you can still get our products at the farmers market.
Saturday October 30th 7:30 - 12:00 Downtown bloomington
Saturday November 20th 10:00 - 1:00 US Cellular Coliseum

Hope to see you there!

CSA Harvest Week #20

Hello our CSA members,
Hope you enjoyed recent 'unusual' warm and sunny days. Weather seems back on track of 'usual' fall days now and I'm half sad and half happy to witness the global warming v. longer warm days (I need layers and layers for cold season).

Our crops are doing great in both conditions and we are happy to post this week's harvest.

Head Lettuce
White Radish
Purple Top Turnips
Red Russian Kale
Pak Choy
Tomatoes
Arugula
Kohl Rabi

We had insane marathon of dinner parties last weekend so have very limited eggs available today. However as time goes, our chickens will produce more and more and we will have lots of surplus for all of you.



I'm sure you all received our newsletter, but here's the information about this Sunday's brunch at the Medici in Normal. Our chefs are preparing 6 course brunch (little lighter than our dinner party menus) from 11am till 12:30. Price is $50 per person and the profit goes to non-profit organization The Land Connection to help and guide farmers to start organic/sustainable farm. Tickets are sold at the Garlic Press, TLC website (www.thelandconnection.org). Or let us know then we can get it for you.




Hope you have a great afternoon and look forward to seeing you soon!

CSA Pick Up #19

Hello everyone! Fall is here and I guess the Indian Summer is right behind it. We were able to save a good amount of the summer crops by covering them with some temporary hoop houses. Because of this you will be able to expect a few summer vegetables for the coming weeks.

Today in your share:

Pak Choi
Chinese Cabbage
Fall Salad Mix (Mainly oak-leaf and red-sails)
Arugula
Beets
Tomatoes
Big Bunch of Basil (Enjoy it while it last, maybe the last week)
Kohlrabi
Zucchini

This is week 19 so that means there are only three pick ups left. So enjoy the fresh, local produce while you can. Also, be sure to mark your calendars for the CSA member pig roast on October 24th. We would also like to announce that our CSA members will have first dibs on our amazing pastured eggs. They will be available for purchase at next weeks CSA pick up. Supplies are limited so they will be sold on a first come basis.

Enjoy the weather and healthy food.

New Photos

I have been getting a lot of requests for photos of Harry Houdini. It is tough because he likes to jump around a lot. I'll keep trying to get it just right. In the meantime, I posted new photos for the gallery. Check them out.

CSA Harvest #18

We finished harvest for your CSA bag this morning, and all the veggies are packed and on the way to the pick-up place.

Here's what we are going to have today;

Lettuce Green
Arugula
Choice of Zucchini or Kohlrabi
Italian Basil
Green Beans
Red Russian Kale
Eggplant
Pepper, Bell/Hot


Night temperature's getting lower and lower and we are getting ready for the first frost as well as cold season. Some of summer vegetable's will be gone soon - zucchini, eggplant, basils etc., but don't be sad, lettuce green's back in season with many other fall crops! We are working on putting our greenhouse back on and setting low tunnels to extend our fall season and to provide delicious veggies for a longER time to your family. If you want to know more about our low poly-tunnell, please check our previous post on Oct 25th, 2009 for the picture.

Our beef is completely sold out and planning to have it available in next year. However our pigs will be ready by November and we are going to take orders soon. If you are interested in or have any questions about our pork, please feel free to contact us at 309-378-2403 or info@epiphanyfarms.com.

We usually consume arugula for salad, however we found great cooking recipe for it today! Hope you enjoy!


Arugula Saute

1/2 bag arugula

1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped

2 onions, chopped

3 tablespoons oil from sun-dried tomatoes

1/3 cup white wine

2 ounces feta, crumbled


Place pan on medium heat.
Add oil to the hot pan.
Add the onions and saute until softened. (Do not browned the onions)
Add the arugula and the wine and cook until the arugula is wilted slightly.
Season to your taste with salt and pepper.
Remove the pan from heat and add the feta cheese on top of sauteed vegetables.
And ENJOY!



Arugula plot and Hairy Houdini in the back...

CSA #17

Wow!! Week 17, five weeks left so enjoy the veggies. Cherish them and be sure to, "Put Up" your surplus.

Here is what you have to work with this week:

Bag of Green Beans or Bunch of Long Beans
Cucumbers (Multiple varieties, maybe the last of the season)
Red Russian Kale
Breakfast Radish
Pak Choy
Zucchini (Floridor, Raven and Goldbar)
Turnips (Hakuri and Purple Top)



The farm is really looking sharp lately. All of our fall crops are doing great and a lot of the summer crops are still producing. The rains lately have been spectacular and the cool nights are really sweetening things up. Our last planting of beans is very healthy and producing a lot. As far as, the long beans... well we will have them at the market this week but that might be it for them. Same with the cucumbers, they are almost finished. But, the Russian Kale is almost perfect, very nice size, little bug damage and amazing flavor, so enjoy. Saute them how every you prefer, season and consume. The Breakfast Radish are also amazing this week. Mustard has harvested some of his favorite varieties of Pak Choy and they are the size of his head. Zucchini, the last planting has been very healthy, so we may have a few more harvest. Stu has been making Zucchini bread for months now and he is starting to get them in the freezer for winter consumption. The Turnips are also record size, I will be demoing how to properly peel them during the pick up.


All of our grass fed steers are heading to the locker tomorrow and it is all sold out. Thanks to everyone who wants to enjoy the healthy alternative to corn feed stuff. We also tasted a baby pig after the wedding this weekend. It was delicious, so get ready for the pig roast.

Turkeys are looking good, Ducks huge and happy, Guineas doing work and getting around like crazy, Dennis the goat is rooming with Hairy Houdini the Bull Calf. They have the nicest pasture on property and get along great. Pam the dairy cow is getting milk twice a day and yielding about 5.5 - 6 gal a day. That healthy goodness sits for 24 hours and then gets feed to the little pigs. A diet of wild forge, lots of nuts, cracked barley, oats, wheat, corn and roasted soy beans, kelp and some salt to season. Yes... they are enjoying life right now.

Good food revolution! Milwaukee suistainability conference

Hello everyone !



Welcome to Milwaukee, our great city by Lake Michigan.

In the fall of 2009, I was thinking about how we will grow Good Food Revolution. I realized that we did not have all the players at the Good Food Table. Over the years, many people have been working hard on getting good food into our communities in many different ways, but all too often they were
working only in their own sectors. I feel that for us to fundamentally change
the food system, we must work together as a team.

I have worked at, spoken at, participated in many gatherings and conferences over the years. At these conferences, it seemed there were never all the players needed, to know each other and eventually work together. This conference is my attempt, and Growing Power’s attempt, to bring to the table folks that have never worked together to build a new food system that works for everyone in every community. Some of these folks are farmers like myself, urban planners, government officials, financiers, corporate
companies; teachers and university academics; doctors, dieticians and nutritionists; folks in the fitness field; people in renewable energy; aquaculturists, composters, recyclers and reusers; environmentalists including freshwater, wastewater and stormwater experts; brownfield specialists; and perhaps most importantly, youth, whose world will be shaped by what we do or not do, here and wherever we all return to.

Over the next few days, working hard while eating some good local food from our local and regional producers, I hope that all of you will learn more, gain new partners, get inspired to go back to your communities and Grow the Good Food Revolution. Our ultimate goal is to make sure everyone, in all our communities, has access to healthy, safe, affordable and culturally appropriate food. Food is the one thing we all have in common. Building a Good Food system is the No. 1 thing that will lead us in building sustainable communities.

This is really what social justice is about.

Will Allen

CSA Harvest #15

This week includes;

Green and Purple Longbean
Hearty Green Mix (Arugula, Mizuna, and Mustard Greens)
Purple Top Turnips
Hykuri Turnips
Pok Choy
Zucchini
Eggplant, Bitter Melon, or Cucumbers
Hot peppers for those who dare...

As always the farm has kept us very busy this week. Our dairy cow Pam is now in full swing of the twice a day milkings and our calf, Harry, is getting use to separation from his mom. I saw Ken feeding him last night and it looked like full contact bottle feeding! Harry couldn't get enough! He is really healthy and has plenty of appetite.

We have had a battle with the weeds all summer but now have a good handle on them so the cooler season crops should yeild beautiful results. We have beds made with peas, cabbage, beets, radish, greens, spinach and plenty of cold loving vegetables for us all to look forward to in the upcoming weeks.

A few thoughts for your csa this week:

1. Do not dispose of those turnip tops! They are a good source of vitamin A, folate, vitamin C, vitamin K and calcium. Need only a quick saute in a light oil and season.
2. The hearty greens will truely benefit from a sweet dressing such as an asian viniagrette. Here is what I recommend:
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/4 teaspoon ginger finely minced
2 ounce rice wine vinegar
6 ounce vegetable oil
2 tablespoon local honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
to taste salt, pepper, chili flakes
Mix all components well and apply immediately. This dressing will not stay emmulsified so a bottle to shake it in prior to application will ensure even coating of greens.
3. Be sure to give your long beans a quick blanch in boiling salted water and shock in lots of ice water. This ensures the cooking stops at the desired point and your beans will have a viberant color.
4. All of the vegetables this week would do well in a fresh pasta with olive oil or a soft fritatta. A small amount of spicy habanero pepper will go a long way to add new depth to an old favorate.
5. Lastly, as our farming practices stear us away from pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides to promote better health and wellbeing, there is a tendency for bug damage to occur. Understand that if our crops are something other creatures will consume that is also what we need to eat aswell. If an insect dies when it ingests a vegetable sprayed with poison it's not something i want in my body. Our product is full of nutrition and flavor, enjoy!

Thanks so much for your support.

CSA Harvest #14

This weeks harvest includes;

Beans (Long or short)
Basil
Turnips
Beets
Squash
Your choice of eggplants or cucumbers
Bell Peppers
Radish


We had finally sweet rain last night and our fall seedlings look great this morning as well as the harvest for today. This year, since Ken and I got back from Korea we didn't have solid 'raining day off' throughout the summer. I call it 'raining day off' because the rain soaks the land and we cannot work in the garden for a day or two. Plants need those days badly and we need it sometimes.. It wasn't that much rain but still we are happy to see some water from sky not from our sprinkler..

Last Friday, we had a great addition to our farm family. Our mama cow Pam had delivered a baby cow! It was little earlier than expectation but we were all excited to watch amazing moment together here. He's doing great and follows mom everywhere. We started to milk Pam and started to feed that to our pigs. I know. I cannot wait for a CSA pig roast party as well!

Since we have beets for this week's harvest, I'm so excited to share the link for the beet cooking video with you again on the You Tube. Below is the link to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkNHTO0MExI


Here's one more oriental recipe for squash from Nanam's recipe book;

Hobak Buchimgae (Squash Pancake)

1 Squash (300g)
3 chili peppers (green & red)
1 Egg
1/2 cup A/P Flour
1/2 cup Water
1 ts Salt

1. Remove the seeds and thin slice the squash. Finely chop chili peppers.

2. Put all ingredients in a bowl. Add egg and flour and mix all together.

3. Heat up your pan, add oil. Spread out the dough and griddle the pancake until the color turns to brownish yellow.

CSA Harvest #13

This weeks harvest will include;

Bell Peppers
Zucchini
Pak Choy
Radishes
Basil
Cucumbers
Beans (Long or short)
Choice of Eggplant or Corn

The nights have been getting much cooler. This is great for all of the fall crops that are in the ground. As I walk into the fields and look at the new sprouts, I can only think about the sweetness in these late season crops.

We have some very tasty new products in the bag today. My favorite is the Pak Choy. This is a thinning of a very large plot, so be ready for them to become fuller in the coming weeks.

Another new crop: Breakfast Radishes. This is our first late summer planting of them. Radishes are very unique since the temperature and moisture affect them so much. The general rule is the hotter the days the hotter the radish. So, since the days have still been hot, expect these to still have a kick. Over the coming months you can look forward to the radishes becoming much more sweet.

Over the last week we have been staying busy, like usual. The animals have been making some moves. The pigs have new pasture, the hens should be laying soon and the ducks have been growing like crazy. We are getting ready to harvest some honey and Dennis the goat is really doing a good job with the ragweed.

Well, I would like to leave you with a quick poem that I wrote.

Days getting short,
nights turning cool,
baskets becoming over full,
with your help...
Local Sustainability can become the rule.

Thank you for your support.