Thanksgiving Market, Here We Come!

Hello my baby, Hello my darlin', Hello my ragtime gal ...

Aaaahhh, the Thanksgiving Market. We’ve had just enough time to rest and relax that one more intense market just sounds like FUN! If you were at our stand at last year’s Thanksgiving market, you probably recall the crazy crowd, the long lines, and the empty crates. Bill and I never dreamed that the market would be that successful, so we didn’t bring any help and couldn’t manage the long line very well and had no chance to re-stock the crates. We’ve learned our lesson! This year, we’re bringing 2-3 helpers. Our friend Kannan has been selling our vegetables at the stand all season, so he’ll help keep the line moving along. And current farmhand Pete and former farmhand Kevin will keep the crates stocked.

We’re also going to try to keep the lines away from the crates so that you can actually get to the food! The plan is to have two lines on opposite ends of the stand with the people lining up away from the crates. I really hope this works! Be sure to come by the market at the Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 22 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. We plan to bring a ton of food, so if time gets away from you and you realize that it's 1 p.m., come on down!

And now for the important part of the email. What are we bringing?? A LOT OF VEGETABLES! If the weather cooperates, we’ll have many of the awesome greens that we had at the October markets. And regardless of the weather, this market will be dominated by the ROOTS!



Root Cellar Loaded with Your Root Vegetables



The Root Cellar "Guard Snake" (Bill found this snake living in the root cellar about three weeks ago. It's trying to hibernate, but the temperature probably isn't quite cold enough, so it keeps moving around.)

I’m going to list the vegetables that we’re bringing below with some basic information and cooking/eating tips. After that list, I’ll list STORAGE INFORMATION. And I’ll wrap up with some recipes. It’s a lot of information, but we really want you to a) come to the market and b) buy lots of food! Be sure to check out http://www.downtownbloomington.org/index.php?id=6 for more information about the market in general, which promises to be even better than last year’s event!

Roots
1. Beets (Traditional and Chioggia) – Beets are one of our TOP FIVE best sellers every season. That should be enough to convince you that they’re a must-eat! Beets can be grated fresh onto a leafy green salad or into a grated root salad. We typically roast them, skins on, for a deep, surprisingly sweet flavor. You don’t have to do much once they’ve been roasted or steamed – a simple balsamic vinaigrette is perfect.
2. Brussels Sprouts – A few rules from Elizabeth Schneider: Buy them small and superfresh. Do not overcook them. Do not undercook them. Last year we brought them on the logs, but this year we’ll be snapping them to be purchased by the pound. Brussels sprouts are a vegetable that gets better after a few good frosts, so Bill’s Brussels sprouts will be about as good as it gets. They also store well for a couple of weeks in plastic.



Brussels Sprouts

3. Rutabaga – Elizabeth Schneider nailed it: “Rutabaga is sharp-sweet when raw, mellowed by cooking; it is neatly cuttable into trim batons; it can be pureed in soup or slivered into slaw, grated and gilded as little pancakes, steamed in dumplings, braised with sweet spices and on and on. There’s really just one way NOT to cook it: in lots of water for a long time.” Our kids LOVE rutabaga, either mashed with potatoes, added to a pureed root soup, or roasted with other root veggies. Here's a series of photos depicting Ben's contribution to the rutabaga harvest ...



The Rutabaga



Boy Meets Rutabaga



Boy Sizes Up the Rutabaga



Boy Takes on the Rutabaga



Rutabaga Appears to Be Winning



Boy Resorts to Digging



Boy, Triumphant!

4. Carrots – No need to talk up the carrots! Bill’s fall carrots are amazingly sweet and crisp. We got a lot of positive feedback from people who purchased many pounds of carrots last year for storage. They ate them for MONTHS and agreed that the carrots were fabulous right up to the end. We stored about 100 pounds of them last year and ate them until late April!



Carrots!

5. Celery Root – Also called “celeriac,” celery root is just about the ugliest vegetable ever to be cultivated. Fortunately, celery root is really delicious with a mild celery flavor. Elizabeth Schneider describes it as an “earthy prize … imbued with herbaceous pungency.” I dislike fresh celery but LOVE celery root. I like to grate it into a fresh, grated root salad with a light lemon vinaigrette dressing. I also like it cubed and steamed and then added to potato salad. It’s also wonderful in a pureed root soup.



Celery Root

6. Japanese Turnips – It seems that many people have discovered the delightful Japanese turnip. They have a thin skin and a juicy sweet turnip flavor, which makes them perfect for eating raw. You can also roast or braise them, and they’re a natural combination with potatoes either mashed or in a gratin.
7. Parsnips – A classic fall vegetable, parsnips are sweet, nutty and earthy all in one. It’s hard to imagine the cold months without parsnips. They’re indispensable in pot roasts, roasted root vegetable dishes, and in soup/soup stocks. You can also puree them with potatoes. Parsnips are at their best after the weather has turned very cold, and they store well.
8. Radishes – All of the radishes are at their peak right now. With the exception of the spicier Black Spanish, all of Bill’s varieties are sweet and crisp. Radishes are often overlooked. Some people think they’re just too hot. Others worry that they’ll get radishes with a pithy heart. The truth is that Bill’s radishes are amazing this time of year. Crisp through to the center and beautiful in appearance, radishes should play a key role in your Thanksgiving feast – a simple fresh veggie platter is your best bet. (According to food diva Alice Waters, a meal at her nationally known restaurant Chez Panisse is not quite complete without radishes!) We’ll have 5 varieties:
French Breakfast – Half pink, half white, 100% delicious
Daikon – This Asian radish is at its best in late fall. Its distinctive elongated white shape makes it a good candidate for matchsticks.
Rose Heart – Don’t miss these. They are the most beautiful of all the radishes, with a crazy bright pink interior. They’re irresistible on a fresh veggie platter. If you peel the outer skin off, they are more like a carrot than a radish. When we take cut up roots to a party to share with friends the rose heart radish is always the first one to be eaten.



Rose Heart Radish

Cute Little Red Radishes – Classic radish with unparalleled cuteness.
Black Spanish – Locavores take note! This radish should be an important part of seasonal eating. They are meant to be stored and they reach their peak from December to April. Thus filling in at a time when the typical small radishes are not available. Pioneers relished them, so can you. Cocoa colored on the outside with an ivory flesh, the Black Spanish radish is an ancient variety. The dense flesh permits it to be stored for long periods without becoming pithy. The flavor mellows over time. We favor cooking them with other roots, rather than eating them raw. Cut into bite-sized pieces for roasting, and they’re much like turnips. Shredded into soup, stew or a braise, Black Spanish radishes add a unique flavor.
8. Potatoes - We're bringing fingerlings, russets, and more! It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without potatoes. Fingerlings make the most AMAZING potato salad ever, and russets are a classic, floury potato -- perfect for mashing!

Bulb
Garlic – Every dinner should incorporate garlic in some fashion, and not the kind that you shake out of a container with salt! If you’re feeling ambitious, roast garlic in aluminum foil (sealed).

Swollen stem vegetables
1. Fennel – Your first bite into raw fennel is quite an experience. It has the texture of celery and a very mild anise flavor. I personally like neither celery nor black licorice, so I was shocked to really enjoy fennel! We like to sliver it raw into salads or use it to replace celery in potato salad. Alice Waters also parboils fennel bulbs for pastas, caramelizes them as a side dish, braises whole bulbs, and adds to stocks. You can eat the entire plant.



Fennel in the Field



"Fennel Butts" (the technical term)

2. Kohlrabi – Our fall kohlrabi is spectacular, absolutely as good as they get. I find them to be irrisistable. I like to think of kohlrabi as a cross between an apple and a turnip. Elizabeth Schneider describes it as a cross between broccoli stalks, water chestnut, and cucumber. I hope that sounds good to you, because it really is! We tend to eat kohlrabi raw, cut into matchsticks and served with a tahini dip or a smear of soft cheese such as goat cheese or bleu cheese. Perfect for a fresh veggie tray.

Greens – I’ll write more about these later if we’ll be bringing them!
Salad Mix
Head Lettuce
Bok Choi
Arugula
Ruby Streaks
Tatsoi
Stir Fry Greens
Kale
Swiss Chard
Collard Greens

Storage Tips

All roots – store in the fridge in plastic bags OR in damp sand in a garage*, basement or root cellar. (* The damp sand will protect the roots against cold weather until it gets down into the low 20s, at which point some damage may occur. If your garage is insulated or if you put the damp sand into an insulated cooler, it should be fine.) We have eaten roots into April from the previous fall season, stored in damp sand, and they were fabulous. You can also use crumpled newspaper or untreated sawdust (be sure it’s untreated!). We will have already cut off the greens, which is appropriate for storage.

Kohlrabi is best stored in a plastic bag in the fridge.

Brussels sprouts store in a plastic bag in the fridge for many weeks, although they are best eaten sooner rather than later.

Note where they can buy sand this time of year.

Garlic – Store garlic on the kitchen counter, not in a plastic bag. Good air circulation is important. If you want to keep it for months, it’s best to find a cool, dark place like a basement. (Don’t take them apart into cloves until ready for use.)

The greens will be a question mark until closer to the market. It all depends on the weather. I’ll try to send out another email the week of the Thanksgiving market when we can tell what will know for sure about the greens.

Since we're always telling you what to do with your food, we thought we'd end with a list of what you should ask Santa for this Christmas ...

1. Stick blender (Mercy)
2. Vegetables A to Z (Elizabeth Schneider)(Mercy)
3. Japanese Santoku kitchen knife, a big improvement over your German knives. Just search for them on Google. I just got a Masamoto Santoku, it is a pure joy to use, and worth every penny. (Bill)
4. Smoker (Bill)
5. Chinois strainer for soup and stock (Bill)
6. Elizabeth David, James Beard, and Richard Olney books (Bill)

Our best to you and yours during this holiday season!!

Mercy, Bill, Noah and Ben Davison

Season Finale -- Won't You Join Us?

First, a word from the farmer …

We would like to thank all of you for making this a tremendous year for our farm. The season was not without its challenges, but overall it was the best year we have had yet. We could not do this without you and we sincerely appreciate your support. Our sales at the market were way up this year and they held steady right to the end. Our newly re-started CSA has also been a great success. Several factors came together to help us have such a good year. First of all, we had another crop of great interns. Then there’s the electric cultivating tractor, regular rains, moderate temperatures, our boys are getting big enough to actually help, my younger brother visiting for several weeks, and my getting better every year at figuring out the most efficient way to do any given task on the farm. Of course, it still involves a tremendous amount of work and virtually no break from March until November. But I love every aspect of farming and I derive great satisfaction from growing food for people who truly appreciate our vegetables.

I am already really excited for next year. The local food movement seems to be gaining more momentum every year. Have you heard about Will Allen? He is an organic farmer from Milwaukee who works with young inner city kids to teach them how to grow their own food. He just received a $500,000 genius grant from the McArthur Foundation. Also, Michael Pollan wrote a great piece for the New York Times magazine a couple of weeks ago entitled Farmer in Chief. He lays out what it would take to have a sane agricultural policy in this country that relies on sunlight and photosynthesis rather than fossil fuels. When the new president takes office, let’s all hope he appoints Pollan as the new Secretary of Agriculture!

And a note from the farmer’s wife …

I echo Bill’s gratitude. You all are really the best customers a farmer ever had! What Bill does for a living is a passion. But as much as he loves it, he could not keep at such hard work without knowing that people are enjoying his produce so very much. So pat yourselves on the back for supporting the Blue Schoolhouse!

We really, really hope to see you this Saturday. Why? It’s the LAST SATURDAY MARKET of 2008 AND it’s supposed to be rainy and nasty. That’s right … total crapola for the season finale. So don’t let us stand out there in the cold rain by ourselves. Join us! Seriously, we’re planning on going out with a bang. We aren’t going to pick just a little bit of everything, figuring that the customers will all stay home in their nice, dry homes. On the contrary, we know that you know that this is one of your last chances to get the best fresh produce in central Illinois! And you’ll all be out at the market in droves, right? Right!

And don’t forget the very last chance for Blue Schoolhouse veggies at the Thanksgiving Market. On Saturday, Nov. 22 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. the farmers will bring their produce, meat (we’ve heard rumor of a BISON vendor!), and a variety of prepared foods to the Coliseum for a pre-holiday extravaganza. That’s your chance to impress your foodiest friends with the delicacies of fall … salad greens, arugula, root vegetables of all kinds … it will be awesome! The event will also feature fine arts and crafts and a cool jazz ensemble.

This week’s photos …

The picture of the field with the four round bales is the location for next season’s garlic. In fact, Bill needs help planting and mulching garlic over the next few weeks. Are you interested? It is as fun as it sounds. Ha! Ha! It’s not that bad, and you’d be helping to get the 2009 season underway. And of course, we’d send you home with veggies just for helping! Email if you’re interested.

The jack-o-lanterns are Ben and Noah’s first. Uncle Aaron carved them based on the boys’ artistic skills. The one with the googly moogly eyes (as we call them) are a Ben original.

The leaf picture is a “find-the-boy” exercise. The bright, blue eye is Noah’s. Ben helped to cover him in a leaf pile, which inspired quite a bit of fun time together.

Please let your friends know about the blog. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Loads of Food in the Home Stretch!

Hello Friends!

We’re still going strong. Lots of greens, beans, salad mix, and roots – you don’t want to miss it! Last week’s market was great, although we did notice a slight drop in attendance. What does that mean to you? Less competition for great vegetables! We will have a ton of food for you this week. Don’t miss it.

Bill’s brother Aaron is unexpectedly in town for two weeks. He’s a total work horse. Thank goodness! Right when Bill needs the help! That said, Bill still wants to extend an open invitation to customers to come out and help harvest on any of the remaining three Fridays of the market season. It’s really fun – just ask the 11 people who came out last Friday! The age spread was remarkable, from 18 to 78. There’s something for everyone.

This week we’re including a picture of one of our CSA members, who rides his bike most weeks to the vegetable pickup. He’s got a classic, one-speed bike that he’s rigged up with baskets for the 2-HOUR ride from Morton to Eureka. Can you believe that?! He also came out to harvest last week, which makes him a superhero in our book.

We’re also including pictures of delicious vegetables AND a photo of the new field where Bill will be planting the garlic in late October. (By the way, we’ll need help with the garlic planting!)

Don’t forget we have TWO MORE MARKETS AFTER THIS ONE!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

Salad Mix
Potatoes
French Filet Beans
Dragon Tongue Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Garlic
Leeks
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Bok Choi
Arugula
Ruby Streaks
Radishes (French Breakfast, Daikon, Rose Heart, and cute little red ones)
Japanese Turnips
Fennel
Apples
Tatsoi
Stir Fry Greens
Celery Root
Parsnips
Carrots
Collard Greens

Bill will continue to deliver to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Thursdays through the end of the season, but we’re done with Common Ground until 2009. So if you need Bill’s veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!!

Please let your friends know about the blog. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Farming -- It Takes a Village

Hello Friends!

With the help of modern medicine (big doses of ibuprofen to the rescue!), Bill’s back is feeling quite a bit better. He still can’t really lift anything, and he’s avoiding too much bending, but at least he can now put on his own socks and shoes!

We had a great response to the cry for harvest help! Five people have said they’d come out for a portion of Thursday and Friday. Whoo-hoo! We are so grateful for the help, and we know more of you would have come out if it weren’t for work-week obligations. Of course, with people coming out, I guess I’ll have to clean the bathroom …

This past week has been primo weather for the cool season crops. When you come out to the market on Saturday, you will see a stunning array of fall veggies. Did you see the spread last week? It was our BIGGEST WEEK aside from two tomato weekends in August. We were floored by the amount of people that came out and the amount of vegetables that we sold – THREE TIMES what we sold on the same Saturday last year. Whoa. We plan to bring just as much this week, so please come out!! We have only FOUR MORE WEEKS of the market, and you don’t want to miss a single one. The last market is on Saturday, October 25.

What’s on this week’s menu? I’ll list everything below, but let me highlight some of the most exciting items. First, the salad mix. Ahhh. We’ve been eating it just about every day. Our kids (ages 4 and 5) eat it by the bowl-full, and then ask for seconds! What better testimonial could you have? Second, the head lettuces. The heads are just beautiful right now. Third, the four types of radishes. According to Bill, the French Breakfast radishes are awesome this week. They are in perfect condition and are much milder than usual because of the cool weather.

In addition to all that, we’ll be bringing a few butternut squash. Jackie at the Garlic Press has been very impressed with the flavor of the squash this season. (And it’s the first time we’ve brought them to the market in years – Bill usually isn’t so successful in growing them!) We’ll also have amazingly sweet and tasty carrots and parsnips. It’s root season – time to make roasted vegetables, pot roasts, and soup!

The rest of the greens will also be amazing! The arugula is in perfect condition as are the ruby streaks, collard greens, swiss chard, and kale. The various chois (bok choi, tatsoi) are also crisp and delicious. And if you can’t quite decide, pick up a bag of the mixed stir fry greens.

Bill had an ISU horticulture class come out for a tour this week, and he got to meet the new hort professor (Dr. Kopsell). Dr. Kopsell is a major fan of kale, telling his students that “it’s the healthiest vegetable you never eat.” He also noted that it has more betacarotene than carrots and more calcium than milk!

So we’re just moving into our fall routines out here. Bill and Pete have now ripped out all of the tomato plants, tilled under most of the warm-season crop beds, and planted cover crops (which are coming up already!). Pete got to “top” the brussel sprouts (which makes them mature at the top of the stalk rather than continuing to grow) – he had a great time chopping those heads off with a sharp knife. It was a bit of a samurai experience for him.

We also had our first bat-in-the-house experience. It was last Saturday night. We were sitting in the kitchen drinking beer with the Mitchells (of Mitchell Farm fame), and the kids were out in the living room watching a movie in the dark. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a fluttering shadow near the ceiling. I quickly realized that it was a bat. We were so excited! Fortunately, everyone in the house loves bats, as they are very useful little creatures (eating bugs, esp mosquitoes -- who doesn't love that??!!). We calmly herded the kids into the bathroom, and then Carson Mitchell (age 14) gently scooped the bat into a mason jar after it landed on our bed. He (the bat) was very small, perhaps only 4 inches in length. We let him out after taking pictures, which unfortunately did not turn out. Oh well. It was quite fun!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

French Filet Beans
Traditional Green Beans
Dragon Tongue Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Garlic
Leeks
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Bok Choi
Arugula
Ruby Streaks
Radishes (French Breakfast, Daikon, Rose Heart, and cute little red ones)
Japanese Turnips
Fennel
Apples
Grapes
Tatsoi
Stir Fry Greens
Celery Root
Parsnips
Carrots
Collard Greens

Bill will continue to deliver to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Thursdays through the end of the season, but we’re done with Common Ground until 2009. So if you need Bill’s veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!!

Please let your friends know about the blog. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Welcome back to the SALAD MIX!

Hello Friends!

Sneak preview … We’re bringing SALAD MIX this week! And now to the conventional blog format, in which I torture you with random person information before letting you in on the veggie news …

I decided to come back to central Illinois after a fabulous time in Madison, Wisconsin. I spent the first 24 hours in Madison talking myself out of looking for a job there! It’s just that kind of place. Of course, as my friend Christina pointed out, I’d be happy to stay in central Illinois once I started inquiring into the price of a house in Madison – apparently it’s pretty pricey!

You probably remember last week’s tale of woe about the “half marathon meets Hurricane Ike” event in St. Charles, Missouri. There was a bit of confusion in that story because I was referring to my unnamed friend Maggie, whose car was nearly submerged in storm water. Some of our CSA members in Eureka thought I was talking about my friend and Eureka native, Lil Hartter. She got many a question about the condition of her car! So here’s what happened to Lil. She ran 10 of the 13 miles with about 2,400 other insane people. Ha ha – not insane, just a very sporting group of runners. It sounds like the biggest problem area was the bridge, where the runners were crossing the raging Missouri River. The gusty wind coupled with Lil’s garbage bag rain gear (compliments of the hotel!) could have resulted in poor Lil meeting her maker. Fortunately, she took off the blasted bag before it parachuted her over the edge.

This week's pictures are the salad mix and Ben. He just ate his first-ever s'more and didn't realize how bad an idea it is to put your marshmallowy hands onto a straw bale. It made us laugh, of course!

This week I want to get right to the food business. It’s going to be an AWESOME WEEK! Why, you may ask? Because we’re bringing SALAD MIX, PARSNIPS, CELERY ROOT, and STIR FRY MIX! This is when the season starts getting exciting again. We’re really past the warm-season crops and into the best of the fall veggies.

Salad Mix
I don’t need to tell you about the salad mix, as you are almost certainly well-acquainted with it. Bill has quite the salad mix following … if you haven’t had it, you’re missing out on the irresistible flavor and texture of fresh mesclun. This week’s mix will have a combination of the following: leaf lettuces, arugula, ruby streaks, and tatsoi. Our sons Ben and Noah just can’t get enough of our salads; it is the first thing they eat at lunch and dinner, and they ask for seconds. That is a pretty serious endorsement!

Parsnips
And parsnips – a true sign of the fall season. Parsnips have been in the ground since April, taking up valuable space and requiring constant weeding. It’s kind of a self-punishing crop for Bill to plant and deal with for months, but you get to benefit from it. Parsnips are not much to look at – kind of a washed out carrot appearance. Their flavor and aroma, on the other hand, is quite remarkable. Elizabeth Schneider describes it as “a relative of carrot, cerleriac, and parsley root, having the sweetness of the first and herbal complexity of the others as well as its own pungency.”

Parsnips must be cooked to achieve its best flavor and sweetness. Parsnips have the same texture and crispiness as a carrot, so you can cook them in a similar way. They’re wonderful with a roast, in soups, or roasted with other vegetables. You can also steam them. If you roast parsnips with other vegetables, you will likely find yourself picking out the parsnips first.

Celery Root
Bill is also bringing celery root, which is also called celeriac. Like the parsnips, the celery root has been growing since April and we are just now getting to enjoy it. This year has been particularly good for the celery root, as it likes cool moist weather. The bulbs are particularly large and mild as a result. It’s truly the ugliest vegetable that we grow – all knobby and straggly looking. But like many things in life, you can’t judge it on appearance. Celery root is eaten both raw and cooked. Tonight, we steamed it in bite-sized chunks along with potato chunks and turned it into a wicked potato salad. The celery root had a wonderful texture and flavor. We actually thought it tasted better than the potatoes! You can also cook it into soups with other earthy root vegetables. You do have to cut off the peel – I just use a knife rather than trying to use a peeler.

Fennel
Unlike celery root, fennel is absolutely beautiful. Fennel has several unusual qualities that combine to make it one of the best vegetables of the fall. Fennel has a crispy, juicy texture akin to celery and a flavor that suggests anise. Overall, it’s very refreshing. We like to add it raw to salads in small slices. I also included recipes in previous blog postings on fennel.

Stir Fry Mix
The stir fry mix was such a hit two weeks ago that we’re bringing it back. If you missed it, be sure to pick up a bag or two this week. The bags of stir fry mix will include a combination of our various fall greens, including tatsoi, bok choy, arugula, mustard greens, and ruby streaks. This diverse mix produces a colorful array of textures, and flavors.

And finally, I am seriously in love with the ruby streaks cut raw into salads. It’s just such a stand-out, mustardy flavor without a hint of bitterness or heat. The boys also love it. You can buy a bunch to mix in with salads if you’d like to branch out a bit.

As for what’s done for the season, let’s play a sad song for the following: summer squash/zucchini and basil. Au revoir until 2009!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

French Filet Beans
Traditional Green Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Swiss Chard
Cucumbers
Garlic
Leeks
Cherry Tomatoes (but very few)
Okra (maybe a little)
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Bok Choi
Arugula
Ruby Streaks
Daikon Radish
Japanese Turnips
Fennel
Pears
Grapes
Tatsoi
Stir Fry Greens
Celery Root
Parsnips

Bill’s now delivering to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Thursdays and to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington on Saturday mornings. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!!

Please let your friends know about the blog. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Building the Ark ...

Land ho!

The floodwaters are receding here in Woodford County, and fortunately we have made it through unscathed. That would not have been the case had we planted our crops in the new rented field adjacent to Walnut Creek. I’m putting in two pictures of the field covered in water – it was a truly impressive amount of water! The other pictures are from local roads and corn fields. The picture of the flooded creek at the bottom needs some context -- that creek is typically about 15 feet across! We were unable to get to our house from several directions on Sunday because water was covering the roads. We had a great time driving around looking at the flood (the Tour de Flood, as we called it). Noah was particularly interested in the flooded pastures. He figured the cow in the picture was thinking "what in the heck happened to my grass?!"

I was down in St. Charles, Missouri on Sunday attempting to run a half marathon. Even through Ike was predicted to bring heavy rain (100% chance!) on the race morning, many people still showed up for the race in their rain ponchos. It was ridiculous. The rain was coming down by the bucketful and everyone was completely soaked within seconds of being outside, poncho notwithstanding. I stayed for about 10 minutes before deciding it was insane. I still got to run one mile in the downpour to get from the shuttle bus to my car! My girlfriend stayed a bit longer (about 45 minutes), and by the time she got back to her car there was standing water in the parking lot up to the bottom of her door. She had to wade in knee-deep water just to get to it! She did have some engine trouble the next day due to the water, but it was pretty cheap to have repaired. Other people weren’t so lucky – the water was up over people’s tires in other parts of the parking lot by the time my girlfriend left. For people who actually ran part of the race (which was cancelled halfway through), I’m sure their cars were even more submerged.

But enough about the weather … let’s talk about bok choi for a minute. We have confirmation from culinary authority Jackie Pope-Ganser (head chef at the Garlic Press Café) that Bill’s bok choi is the best she’s EVER had. She said she steamed it for 2 minutes and it tasted like butter. Another great way to cook it, according to Jackie, is to cut in half lengthwise, drizzle sesame oil on it, and set it on the grill cut side up for about 3 minutes. Enjoy!

I'm also attaching a photo of the boys making tomato sauce. They love using the Victorio strainer -- and I have to do lots less work! I'm so glad to be at the end of the canning season!

That’s all for this week. I’m off to Madison, Wisconsin today for a planning conference. I’m speaking on a panel about LEED-ND, which is a green building rating system that the Town is following for part of the Uptown Normal plan. If you didn’t know it, Normal is pretty progressive on the sustainability front. I can’t wait to get to Madison … it’s where I recharge my liberal batteries. In my job I have to be pretty neutral and keep my political opinions to myself (which is fine and makes my life easier), but it’s really nice every now and then to go somewhere with a bunch of lefties!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

French Filet Beans
Traditional Green Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Garlic
Leeks
Cherry Tomatoes
Okra
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Bok Choi
Arugula
Ruby Streaks
Daikon Radish
Japanese Turnips
Fennel
Pears
Grapes
Tatsoi
Stir Fry Greens

Bill’s now delivering to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Thursdays and to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington on Saturday mornings. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!!

Please let your friends know about the blog. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Bring on the Bok Choi!

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying this fabulous late summer weather! The days are getting shorter, the nights cooler. It feels great! It doesn’t make the heat-loving plants happy (tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.), but it’s perfect for the fall greens. In fact, the transition from summer to fall crops is well underway.

So what about the food at the farmers market this week? We’ll be bringing a great variety, as we did last week. (Were you there? The market stand looked simply amazing.) I’m posting the list of foods below, and take note of the last item … stir fry greens! You may recall that Bill brought this to the market two years ago, and it was quite a hit! The stir fry greens will be young plants thinned from the rows so that the other plants have more room. Thus, each bag will contain small leaves (pretty much ready to eat!) of arugula, tatsoi, and bok choi … perfect for sautéing right out of the bag (after you wash it, of course!).

This week I want to focus on one vegetable: bok choi. Have you had it yet? It’s wonderful!

The name “bok choi” actually covers a range of leafy greens. What they all have in common is their mild flavor and crisp texture. Bill grows three varieties, one of which is called “joi choi”! Funny, eh? At this point, all of the choi that Bill will be bringing to the market will be fully mature. (In some markets you’ll find chois at various stages of development.) The stalks of bok choi are satiny in texture topped with lightly curled leaves. They have a similar texture to Swiss Chard and can be prepared in much the same way. (Stalks cook a bit longer than the leaves, for example.)

Bok choi can be stir fried, ribboned up into soups, or oven-braised with stock. Here are a couple of recipes from Elizabeth Schneider (Vegetables A to Z):

Spicy Bok Choy Salad

Thin-slice bok choi leaves. Cut stems lengthwise into narrow strips. Toss with salt. Let wilt ½ hour. Rinse and dry. Combine with red pepper julienne, hair-thin Thai chilli strands, sliced mint and Thai basil, slivered ginger in syrup, toasted sesame seeds, rice vinegar, salt, and pepper. Serve freshly made as soon as assembled.

Crispy “Seaweed”

Wash and dry the leaves. Cut into a chiffonade. Spread on baking sheet. Dry 20 minutes in a low over. Cool. Deep-fry in small batches of peanut oil; drain on towels. Toss with salt, sugar, and toasted pine nuts.

I have two exciting, farm/food-related events to tell you about …

1. Nutraceutical Evening at the ISU Hort Center TONIGHT (Thursday, Sept. 11). I’m pasting a bit from Patt Mitchell’s email (you know Patt – co-owner of Mitchell’s market stand!). She had such a good description that I thought I’d spread it around. All credit to Patt, and here goes …

“We've all heard that you are what you eat, but have you ever really thought about HOW the food you eat (all local of course!) affects your health? Everywhere we look, plant extracts & essence are in EVERYTHING – but is there really a benefit or is it just another marketing ploy?

My good friend, Jessica Chambers, queen of the ISU Hort Center (http://www.horticulturecenter.ilstu.edu/), has taken on that question in her 2008 garden plan, The Nutraceutical Garden. Nutraceuticals, a combination of nutrition & pharmacetuical, are foods that contain a medical health benefit beyond that of simple nutrition. Interesting, no? Jessica and her tireless staff of volunteers & students have created 6 interpretive gardens that focus on different nutraceutical plants.

This Thursday, September 11 from 5 pm to 7 pm, the Hort Center is hosting a Nutraceutical Evening for the public to learn about what they eat and how it affects their health. There will be garden tours, info booths, Farmer's Market (yes, Bill Mitchell and Bill Davison will be there!) and seminars.

Also mark your calendars for Saturday, October 4. Why? It's the Hort Center's Annual Autumnal Festival! If you haven't been out to this, make sure you come this year. Why, you ask again? There is a bird watch/stroll, more kid activities than you can shake a stick at (lots of fun!), cooking demo utilizing pumpkins and squash, corn maze (again, tons of fun) scarecrows and the chance to get your fall pumpkins and gourds."

Here’s the link to last year’s festival for more information … http://www.horticulturecenter.ilstu.edu/events/autumn.shtml.

2. The Future of Food – FREE documentary AND panel discussion by local farmers and food folks at the Normal Theater (MONDAY night, Sept. 15). Bill Davison will be on the panel and hopes to see some familiar faces in the audience. The documentary is supposed to be very well-done, and it’s a rare opportunity to talk about our growing local food system. Please try to attend and help us put the spotlight on local food. For more info on the movie, check out www.thefutureoffood.com.

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

French Filet Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Garlic
Leeks
Tomatoes
Okra
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Bok Choi
Arugula
Ruby Streaks
Daikon Radish
Japanese Turnips
Fennel
Pears
Grapes
Tatsoi
Stir Fry Greens

Bill’s now delivering to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Thursdays and to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington on Saturday mornings. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!!

Please let your friends know about the blog. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Late Breaking Vegetable News ...

Hello again!

This is a Friday teaser to make sure you come out tomorrow! Bill has AMAZING vegetables for tomorrow. The cool, wet weather means awesome greens for you along with some new and returning items …

1. Daikon Radishes – Some call the daikon an “oriental radish”. Daikons are long and white and very versatile on the menu. Eaten raw, they are crisp with a mild radish flavor. Cooked, daikons become mild and sweet. You can also slice the roots into soups and stews. Try this from Terra Brockman:

Daikon Remoulade

1 pound daikon, peeled
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp wine vinegar
¼ cup minced fresh parsley

Cut the daikon into 2-inch-long julienne strips OR grate it coarsely. Rinse a large bowl with hot water, dry it, and in it whisk the mustard with 3 Tbsp hot water. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking until the dressing is emulsified, and whisk in the vinegar with salt and pepper to taste. Add the daikon strips and parsley and toss well.

2. Bok Choi – like a faintly mustardy Swiss chard, bok choi is excellent raw in a salad, lightly sautéed, or tossed into a soup at the last minute.

3. Fennel –It’s great featured in a salad (finely sliced) with a simple dressing. I also love adding it to potato salad. Fennel is very aromatic with anise overtones. Terra Brockman recommends raw fennel wedges served with crumbles of fresh Parmesan and chilled dry Marsala.

Sauteed Fennel with Lemon

2 medium fennel bulbs
2 Tbsp olive oil or butter
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
pepper to taste

Trim and reserve the fennel leaves. Quarter each bulb lengthwise and then cut each quarter crosswise in very thin slivers. Mince 1 Tbsp of the fine leaves.

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet. Toss fennel slices to coat. Add salt. Continue tossing frequently over moderate heat until tender – about 10 minutes. Toss with lemon zest and pepper. Sprinkle with minced fennel tops and serve.

4. Japanese Turnips – You know ‘em and you love ‘em. Best eaten raw in slices, you can also cook them like a conventional turnips. But why go to all that trouble?

5. Arugula – We had a few bunches last week and will have more tomorrow. We have perfect arugula growing conditions right now, and it’s amazingly delicious.

6. LOADS of head lettuce – doesn’t this gray, crisp weather make you want to move into the fresh, crisp fall greens? You can never eat too much salad. Ever.

Add that the list from the previous blog, and you have yourself a great market experience. We hope to see you there!!

Mercy

Farmhand for Hire

Hello all!

This is a quick one … I’m heading into my second of three after-work meetings this week. Last night was a great work session with the Town Council, where we discussed the upcoming development of a “community-wide sustainability plan.” Tonight, I’m talking to an IWU class about Town sustainability initiatives. And tomorrow night, it’s the Planning Commission. Whew! I’m tired thinking about it!

This past week was a doozy with our new farmhand … Ben. At four years old, Ben has funny ideas about how to help out. He begged to use the dangerously sharp snippers to cut down the delicate heirloom tomatoes. Bill agreed, thinking that would give Ben a real stake in the harvesting process. Well, that didn’t turn out as planned. Although Ben did a great job harvesting the tomatoes, he later thought it would be fun to throw them one by one out of the crates into the field. That’s right … 40 pounds of beautiful heirlooms smashing onto the grassy lane of the farm field. He would’ve done the entire truck-load had our other farmhand Pete not heard the suspicious splatting sound in the distance. Brings a tear to my eye. Bill, on the other hand, came momentarily unglued and yelled at him, finishing with, “Why would you do that??!!” Ben answered, honestly, “I like throwing tomatoes.” Hard to argue with that.

This week will be different. Bill has started locking the truck and hiding the tools! I don’t have Bil to consult with, so I’m going to assume it’s much the same as last week …


Green Beans, Yellow Wax Beans, and French Filet Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Garlic
Leeks
Radicchio
Tomatoes
Okra
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Grapes

And what are these historical photos? It's from our first ever farmers market in Oak Park, Illinois. Have I ever told you the story of our first market? What a train wreck (aside from the great wad of money we made!). Bill didn't know how to load the trailer, so it swayed back and forth dangerously the whole trip (3 hours). I drove behind him with my mom in her minivan, watching the trailer lurching around. We got pulled over just before getting on to I-55 because our tail lights weren't working. Noah was only 8 months old. Truly a nightmare. Since I'm stuck here at work right now, these are the only pictures I could find.

But back to business. Please do join us this weekend! We are amazed at the continued strength of the market even after the start of the school year. We don’t seem to have the annual drop-off in customers that we typically see. It’s been AWESOME! About this time every year, Bill starts wearing down a bit. He starts thinking about next season, which is a bad idea when you’re really tired. So having such strong crowds makes it that much easier for Bill to keep his batteries charged. He really loves this part of the season, too. The fall is like spring in reverse … wonderful greens, crisp carrots, and more. We hope you like it as much as we do!!

See you Saturday!
Mercy

Join us for some great music!

Hello friends!

We just closed out our season at the Normal Trailside Market. Thanks to all who made it such a great success! We sold 20% more in Normal this year as compared to 2007, and we’re sure it was because of the increased crowd. NOTE that the Normal Market is still running UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER. Be sure to continue supporting the rest of the vendors who will continue to bring great produce and baked goods until the very end.

Of course, we’ll still be at the Bloomington Farmers Market for ANOTHER TWO MONTHS! That’s right, two more months of the best food on the planet. This is a wonderful time of year for fresh produce, with all of the bounty of summer merging with the beginning of the fall crops. In fact, this week Bill will be bringing ARUGULA for the first time in weeks. It is PRISTINE – like a misty mountain-top (that’s what Bill just said, and he has no idea I’m putting that into the email!). Seriously, it’s young, tender, and very flavorful.

We’re also bringing more pears – Bartlett and Asian. We just turned a few pears into dried fruits for the boys’ lunches, and they’re delicious. For once I agreed with Bill that it tasted, indeed, “like candy.” (He’s always saying that about vegetables, and it’s not quite true. At least not for anyone acquainted with the sweetness of real candy.)

And finally, we’re bringing grapes – purple, seeded grapes. They are spectacular, and you get to spit seeds. (Bill just eats them, as they are very nutritious.) Seeded grapes are healthier than seedless, so be sure to grab a bunch.

This week’s big news revolves around our good friend, Peter Kennell, a great musician who will be playing THIS SATURDAY at the market! Whoo-hoo! I strongly encourage you to check out his act. He’s a wonderful singer-songwriter whose music is hard to classify. We just like it a whole darn lot. He’s playing from 9 to 11 a.m. You can check out his stuff at http://www.peteradriel.com/home.html or on MySpace at http://www.myspace.com/earthrock where you can hear Peter and Jake playing. I just love this new-ish thing that he’s been doing with his guitar – he attached a little, tiny piano thing to it called a calimba. He also has this noise box get-up that he uses for percussion. I’m sure it’s painful for anyone with musical talent to read this description, so I’m just going to stop. But suffice it to say that my kids are enthralled when he plays.

Peter is also organizing this FANTASTICALLY COOL event on Sept. 5 and 6 at The Depot in El Paso. You may recall a similar event last year, which involved local music, local art, and local food. It was totally awesome! Well, it’s happening again. Here are the details from Peter:

On Sept 5 and 6, El Paso's historic railroad depot comes to life for
Alt. Corn Fest 2008 – two days of live music, art installations, and great
food and beverages – all locally produced!

On Friday, enjoy artisanal goat cheeses from Prairie Fruits Farm and fresh
fruits from Blue Schoolhouse Farm, Teresa's Fruit and Herbs, and Henry's
Farm. You can wander the Depot's lush grounds and enjoy an art opening
filled with sculpture, photography, paintings, and thought-provoking
installations from cutting-edge local and regional artists. 6-11 pm.

On Saturday, arrive early for a fresh-grilled feast of Woodford County
organic beef burgers (with all the trimmings), Dave's famous curly fries
(local potatoes!) and more ... Dinner is served at 6, and quantities are
limited. Then the Depot Theater doors open for great live music from local
folk-rock artists Peter Adriel, Ben Schreck, Ghosttown Gramophone, and
more. 5-11 pm.

The depot is an all-ages venue, open all day on Friday and Saturday. With
gardens, koi ponds, and mini-golf, there's something for everyone!

Location: On Rt. 24 in El Paso. (11 E Main St.)

I know everyone has a busy schedule, but this is really worth checking out. I now that last year’s audience was blown away by the quality of the music. And Dave’s curly fries are to-die-for.

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

Green Beans, Yellow Wax Beans, and French Filet Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Garlic
Leeks
Radicchio
Tomatoes
Okra
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Grapes

Bill’s now delivering to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Tuesdays and to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington on Saturday mornings. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!!

Please let your friends know about the blog. We plan to put out the email sign-up sheet during the market season again. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

Is This Farming?

Hello friends!

I’m only writing a short portion of the weekly email because I’m all taped and gauzed up. I’m sure you’re just dying to know why, right? OK, I’ll tell you. It’s a bad case of poison ivy. I am pretty darn allergic to it. In nature, there’s a word for sensitive people like me: dead. I mean really, if it weren’t for modern living standards, I’d have been left behind as the tribe forged ahead into new territory very early in life.

And it turns out that little Ben is also quite allergic to poison ivy. (I’ve passed along my sensitive skin to Ben and my sneezy allergies to Noah. I’m so generous.) So anyway, Ben picked up poison ivy last week only to turn into Quasimodo just in time for our oh-so-special Day Out With Thomas (the Tank Engine) event with grandma and grandpa. Yep. Ben’s face swelled up to the extent that he could hardly see out of his right eye. It totally changed his look – now we know what he’ll look like if he ever puts on too much weight!

So the doctor hooked him up with some steroids. I’m usually pretty conservative about medicine, preferring to suffer. But with a 4-year-old, it’s completely unreasonable. He couldn’t sleep (thus, nor could I!) for 3 nights because of the itching. Benadryl did nothing for him. Post-steroids he got better rather quickly, although not in time for the Thomas thing. (He was an unbearable crab ALL DAY.) By the way, it was an awesome event – I’d HIGHLY encourage you to check it out next year. It’s in Union, Illinois at the Illinois Railway Museum, which itself is awesome. They have so many working trains, from electric street cars to Metra-style double deckers. And the Thomas train that they brought in was great. Although there were thousands of people/kids/strollers there, it did not feel crowded or unpleasant.

That’s that. I’m going to turn it over to Bill now while I let the effects of Benadryl x2 + beer take hold. I plan to sleep well tonight! And here’s Bill …

Ben replaced Noah as the miniature farmhand this week because Noah’s now in kindergarten. It was nice to have Ben help. He talked non-stop all day long and in the process said a few funny things. He got to use hand shears after he told me, “Daddy, I’m 4 years old. That’s old enough to use the clippers.” He used them for his first time harvesting basil. When we were done harvesting the basil, he looked at me and said “Daddy, is this farming?” I assured him that we were indeed farming, and he seemed to be very happy about that. Ben also got to see a locust emerging from its shell (if that’s what it’s called!).

Noah had his first day of kindergarten today. We all rushed up to the bus and I took pictures of him getting on for the first time. Mercy looked in at all the kids on the bus and realized that we were playing the part of the dorky parents escorting their capable child onto the bus. The bus driver thought it was funny, though.

We will be bringing Bartlett Pears and Asian Pears this week along with our Russian Osh Kirgizia watermelons. If we have time to pick them, we will also be bringing in some grapes. They are deep purple wine grapes and they do have seeds, but they also taste really good. The purple skin and the gel around the seeds help make them a nutritious snack.

I started to water yesterday with my new high flow drip tape. I managed to get a few newly seeded beds of radish, arugula, lettuce, choi, and turnips to sprout by running the pump for 6 hours. I also have been watering head lettuce, so I will have more head lettuce this week despite the hot dry weather.

Last week was the best market we have ever had – even better than the gold standard Thanksgiving market. Thank you to everyone that came out to support us. We did notice a serious drop off in the Tuesday market this week. We assume it was related to kids starting school, but we hope that once the school-year routine sets in, people will have time to come get their vegetables. You can come by any time before 6 p.m. and still find a decent selection of the finest veggies in town!

Have you tried the pints of cherry tomatoes yet? They are truly fantastic. There are six varieties in almost every pint, all selected for flavor. There are sungolds (bright orange), which are one of the best tomatoes we sell. There are also red cherry, a wild cherry tomato from Mexico (the tiniest of the 6 varieties), yellow pear, red pear, brownberry (a brown cherry tomato with a great, unique flavor), green gage (bright yellow with a ping pong ball shape), and a red grape tomato variety. We have to painstakingly harvest all of these varieties because they split so easily. All in all, a pint of cherry tomatoes is like party in your mouth. We’re including a classic picture of Ben glowering over the pints of tomatoes. He’s reached that charming age where he grimaces for all photos.

I was fortunate to have my in-laws in town this past week. My mother-in-law was here for a week, which was great for the boys. She took them everywhere – swimming at Anderson Pool was the highlight. Noah was even brave enough to go down the big water slide alone! Grandma Sue (as the boys call her) is also a great farmhand. Mercy’s brother Nelson also came up for a day. He’s a foodie and remarked, as we were eating cooked, salted soybeans, “Did you put butter on these? Because they taste like butter.” There’s a testimonial. Be sure to try some this week!

Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

Soybeans
Green Beans, Yellow Wax Beans, and French Filet Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Garlic
Bulb Onions
Leeks
Radicchio
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Okra
Head Lettuce
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Watermelon

Bill’s now delivering to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Tuesdays and to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington on Saturday mornings. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!! We’ll also be at the Trailside Market in Uptown Normal, every Tuesday from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Please let your friends know about the blog. We plan to put out the email sign-up sheet during the market season again. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison

When Life Gives You Peppers, Make Paprika!

Hello Friends!

Are you ready for some hu-mazing vegetables?! That’s Ben’s new word. It’s a combination of humongous and amazing, and we really love it. It’s kind of like “ginormous” but not popular yet. The humazing thing this week will be the heirloom tomatoes. I hope you’ve been enjoying them. We eat tomatoes every single day. We are now bringing both heirlooms ($3/pound) and hybrids ($2/pound), although the heirlooms just kick hybrid butt. (I am a certified tomato snob.)

We’ll also have a nice offering of hot and sweet peppers. The hot peppers are poblano and Anaheim. Both have a great flavor that gets even better when you roast them. We’ll often roast a bunch, peel the skins off, and then freeze them for use in the winter on pizzas and pasta. The sweet pepper varieties are numerous, from Bell to Jimmy Nardello. They’re all quite good.

This week I’m posting pictures of Bill’s best recent project: homemade paprika. Did you know that paprika is just ground peppers? Typically it’s made from sweet peppers, but Bill’s favorite kind is smoked Spanish paprika. The pictures show the start-to-finish process, although not in order. (I still haven't figured out how to move the pictures around.) It’s lovely, isn’t it? And I can’t tell you how amazing the flavor is. Seriously. Check out the picture with the glove -- Bill wears gloves while cutting out the seeds, which make the paprika too hot to enjoy the flavor. He's using a hot pepper called "Cyklon." He only grows enough for us because in previous years, no one bought it! But you can make paprika with any of our peppers. After drying the peppers in the dehydrator, we just Cuisinart them into oblivion. It works great.

Bill and the farmhands have been totally enjoying this oddly un-hot August weather. It’s just been wonderful. Bill appears to be “caught up” with certain farm activities such as tilling and planting fall crops (of course, all to the detriment of any yard maintenance!). We would be run out of town if we tried to live there – between the compost and the unmoved grass, we’d have a million dollars worth of ordinance violations to pay.

This week Grandma Sue is visiting. It’s been AWESOME! The kids are being treated to all sorts of fun activities like swimming down at the lake behind our house, swimming at Anderson Pool in Normal (where Noah went down the big blue slide!!), and buying school supplies for kindergarten. All the things we have so much trouble making time for. It’s just been perfect. My mom is a very good guest, too. She eats anything and works as hard as any farmhand we’ve ever had. At some point I think she’s going to just get out the mower and take on the “lawn.” It’s been so long since we’ve mowed (3 weeks?) that it may be easier to have it baled. Ha ha!

My fun little project is getting estimates to put a basement UNDER the house. Whoo-hoo! What a crazy idea, right? But it’s the only way we can insulate under it because there’s almost no crawl space. We could also some “cool” space in the house. Since we don’t have central air and the house is small anyway, we have to keep our two chest freezers out on the porch where it gets quite hot. It’s an energy efficiency nightmare. It would also be great to have better space to hang the garlic and to store other vegetables. Also, the floor in the house is freezing in the winter because there’s no insulation whatsoever under it. I’ll keep you posted!

I won’t be at the market this week – Grandma Sue, Grandpa Rick, the boys, and I will be going to Union, Illinois to a “Day Out With Thomas.” You know Thomas, right? He’s the Number One tank engine on the Island of Sodor. We have spent a great deal of the last 3.5 years watching Thomas, reading about Thomas, doing Thomas puzzles, and discussing the precise location of Sodor in relation to Central Illinois. Now we get to see him in person. (It’s a real train made up to look like Thomas. We even get to RIDE Thomas.) The boys are beside themselves. I’ll take lots of pictures and there’s a good chance I’ll post one or two to the blog. (Go figure!) We’ll also be spending the night in a HOTEL, which a huge deal for the boys. They think hotels are practically magical.

Naturally, Bill will be at the market with the veggies. He’ll have his assistant Kanna, and my brother Nelson will be there to re-stock the crates. Take it easy on them! Here’s what we’ll be bringing to the market this week:

Soybeans
Green Beans
Eggplant
Beets (Traditional, Golden, and Chioggia)
Kale
Parsley
Basil
Swiss Chard
Summer Squash/Zucchini
Cucumbers
Carrots
Garlic
Bulb Onions
Leeks
Radicchio
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Okra

Bill has recently started a new delivery system. He’s delivering to the Garlic Press in Uptown Normal on Tuesdays and to Common Ground in downtown Bloomington on Saturday mornings. So if you miss a market or just run out of veggies, head to Common Ground! And if you need the veggies prepared into a fabulous meal, Garlic Press is right down the road.

We’ll see you at the Downtown Bloomington Farmers Market on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. – noon. BRING YOUR BAGS!! We’ll also be at the Trailside Market in Uptown Normal, every Tuesday from 3:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Please let your friends know about the blog. We plan to put out the email sign-up sheet during the market season again. Call us at 467-9228 or email us at blueschoolhouse@yahoo.com if you have questions.

Thanks!
Mercy Davison