Bell Organic Blog

This week we were excited to start digging potatoes and we hope you enjoy them, next week we will add sweet corn and start picking our field tomatoes. This week’s shares had 6 items from the following: Carrot, green bean, new potato, beets, radish, summer squash, onion, chard, lettuce, basil, greenhouse tomato, pepper, eggplant, and cucumber. Here are a few of the ways I used our veggie this week:

Beets :Earlier this week, I roast the roots whole (save the tops) with a tablespoon of olive oil and a dash of salt in a covered roasting dish at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until soft. After the beets have cooled, I slip the skins off by simply rubbing with my thumb and then toss the roots with a bit of balsamic vinegar and more olive oil and salt. Roasting the beets this way really concentrates and sweetens the flavor.

Last night, I then took the saved beet tops and sautéed them with a chopped onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 5 mins. Then, I added a can of chopped tomatoes, 1/4 cup fresh basil, 1/2 tsp dried oregano and thyme, a 1/2 cup white wine, threw in my summer squash grated (about 1 cup to a cup and 1/2) and a 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper and cooked for 3-5 mins more. I tossed all of this with bow tie pasta and grated parmesan cheese (1/2 cup).

Potatoes and carrots: Tuesday night I took one of the fresh whole chickens that were offered this week, washed it with cool water placed it in a roaster with the bag of new potatoes (bag removed) and the bunch of carrots (tops removed) placed a pat (tablespoon) of butter on each and a sprinkled with salt and pepper. I roasted altogether in the oven covered, at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 mins. Served with the drippings run through a strainer (to remove the bits) into a separate pan brought to a boil and thickened slightly with a 1/2 cup milk and 2 tablespoons flour mixed together with a whisk until smooth (no lumps please). I poured the flour mixture into the chicken drippings and boiled for about 1 min. while the whole chicken and veggies cooled on a platter.

Jill

Hello, we would like to start the storage share this coming week here is what I
am thinking but we are quite flexible as we understand there is a lot of work
that goes into putting food up and we really want the program to fit your
schedule and food preferences.

The week of August 1st – Sweet Corn
The week of August 8th – Green Beans
The week of August 16th – Cucumbers
The week of August 23 – Garlic (a week off processing is nice)
The week of August 30th – Beets
The week of September 6th Tomatoes and Basil (pesto, sauce, for drying)
The week of September 13th Peaches
The week of September 20th Onion (a week off processing)
The week of September 27th Your choice (we could do tomatoes again, apples if you don’t want to process, beets again, you let me know)
The week of October 4th either winter squash, pumpkins, potatoes, apples, etc…
The week of October 13th hopefully peas – our spring pea crop failed due to a
problem with the seed the company sent us (it had cross pollinated in their
field) we did get a refund and reordered from a different company and have
reseeded for the fall and we will just have to see how this second round goes. If
we do not have peas we will just do something else this week or if the are ready
earlier than this we will do them sooner.

What I need from the people that have signed up for the storage share is the amount of each item you are hoping for or if you do not want to do something but would like more of something else instead. Please
feel free to give me any feed back on the line up as we are happy to accommodate you. If you have not signed up for the storage share but would still like to participate just send me and email and we will get you in the program. I look forward to hearing from you soon…
Sincerely,
Jill Bell
Bell Organic

Hello,
We will have 40 fresh, locally produced, free range chickens available for purchase at our Sandy pick up location (Climbers Cafe in the Momentum Climbing Gym next to REI) today only, first come first serve starting at 4 pm. They are $3.95 lb and produced by the McDowell Family Farm in Draper. If you are interested in learning more about their growing practices you can visit their blog at www.mcdowellfamilyfarm.blogspot.com Thanks,
Jill Bell
Bell Organic

Hello,

David and I are so happy with how the July Volunteer for Veggies Program went that we are going to extend the program through August. Here is the schedule.

Sandy field: Thursday evening from 6-8 pm
Draper field: Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9-11 am

For every 2 hour shift you work you will receive a 2 person veggie share box from that weeks harvest. No children under the age of 16 in the field. Please contact me via email to sign up. It is important that I know who is coming when so I can make sure we have enough veggies ready to go for everyone. The work will mainly consist of weeding and harvesting. Both of these locations are just basically big dirt fields with no running water or bathrooms so participants need to come prepared with water, sunscreen, hats, gloves, sturdy shoes, etc…

We will be starting our Mid-season CSA Veggie Shares ($300) the week of August 1st and there is still time to sign up using the paypal option at our website www.bellorganic.com if you are interested in joining the program.

Also, the folks at the Copper Moose Farm are hosting Harvest Dinners at their beautiful farm in Park City on Saturday, July 31st and Saturday, August 14th. The both events will start with a tour of the gardens at Copper Moose Farm that will include harvesting some of the meal’s ingredients. Then, over appetizers and cocktails, a special guest will speak about their niche in the local food market.
Participants will then meet in the kitchen to join Park City Holistic Health owner, Rebbecca Brenner in the preparation and cooking of the evening’s dishes. Nutritional information and best cooking practices for fresh vegetables and organic, grass fed, meats and dairy will be discussed.
Each dinner is served with a huge, beautiful green salad from the farm, homemade salad dressing with farm herbs, local breads and cheese, homemade local desserts and fruit, and local beer/wine/whiskey. The feast will then be enjoyed under the stars and among the flowers in an elegant farm setting. Visit www.coppermoosefarm.com and click on the events tab to register on-line.

Thank you,
Jill Bell
Bell Organic

Tomato Update: David just brought home the first tomato from our big field in Draper were the majority of our crop is planted so there should be plenty for all soon (2 weeks).

Shares went out with six items this week from the following: Lettuce, carrot, radish, beets, kale, chard, onion, garlic, basil, greenhouse tomatoes, green beans, eggplant, summer squash, and turnip.

We started the fruit share with wonderful cherries from Spanish Fork and do still have about 5 openings if anyone would like to add fruit feel free to send me an email (bells@bellorganic.com).

Beets- our favorite way to prepare beets is to slice them thin and fry them in olive oil about 4-5 mins per side or until just starting to brown and then sprinkle with sea salt. Think potato chips only better. If you have some fresh sage in your yard I would recommend adding a few leaves to the pan and frying until crisp and serving with the beets, very yummy.

Hello,
Thank you to everyone who has joined our July Volunteer for Veggies Program. It has been a crazy good success with 6 people showing up last Sunday and 13 more scheduled to show up today we are sure we can finally beat the weeds. This weeks shares contained 6 items from the following:

Lettuce, carrots, turnips, cabbage, chard, baby golden beets ( these are just starting but we have plenty in the ground for everyone), radishes, garlic, arugula, lavender, thyme, bunching onion, summer squash, fava beans, and something from the greenhouse (basil, tomato, green pepper, baby eggplant, cucumber).

Garlic – the garlic we sent out this week is uncured which means it has not been dried so it is much mellower than tradition garlic you would find at the store. Earlier this week I roasted a whole head drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and wrapped in aluminum foil for 40 mins at 400 degrees and it was delicious spread on bread with balsamic vinegar.

Here is my favorite Chard recipe:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic – chopped
2 pieces of bacon chopped (optional)
1 onion including top – chopped
1 bunch chard from you CSA – chopped (including stems)
½ cup white wine or chicken stock or beef stock
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Melt butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté garlic and onion and bacon for 3-5 mins. Add chard and wine/stock, simmer unti the stems begin to soften approx. 7-10 mins. Add lemon juice and cheese, season with salt to taste. Sometimes I will make this for breakfast and add a bit more chicken stock when the chard is done then, crack 2-4 eggs on top and cover until they are poached (3-5 mins).

Asian Stir fried Cabbage:
1 head cabbage from your CSA –shredded
1-2 carrots from your CSA – shredded
3 cloves garlic from your CSA – chopped
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil plus 2 tablespoons for pan
1 tablespoon gingerroot – minced or 1 tsp powdered ginger
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 cup chicken stock
Toasted sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Stir together rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, cornstarch, chicken stock and set aside. Heat oil over medium high heat add red pepper flakes and garlic and sauté 2-3 mins being carful not to scorch. Add cabbage and carrots, sauté 3-5 mins until just starting to wilt. Add vinegar mixture and cook 2-3 mins more. Salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. You could easily add a chopped onion (including the top) with the garlic and red pepper if you have one left from last week or you could easily add a chopped chicken breast with the garlic and red pepper just cook 5-7 mins instead.

I would also like to recommend you check out all of the great sautéed fava beans with garlic recipes on the internet. This is a really traditional dish and there is a lot of great info about these to items together out there.
Thanks
Jill

Hello, for the month of July we will be running a Volunteer for Veggies Program on Thursday evenings from 6-8 pm and/or Sunday morning from 9-11 am. Basically, you will receive a 2 person veggie share box for showing up and weeding with a hoe for 2 hours in one of our fields (either Sandy or Draper). This is hard work but good for your figure and free healthy food to boot. You do not need to work all of the shifts any one will do. Please no children under the age of 16 in the fields. If you are interested please send an email to bells@bellorganic.com with your contact information or call me at 801-571-7288 so I may give you the details (what to where, where we will be etc…).

Hello,
Weeks 4 and 5 are turning out to be transition weeks for us, with a little bit of spring produce left and the very beginnings of the summer items that everyone craves just starting to produce. This week’s shares have 6 items from the following:
Carrots, turnips, baby onion, baby leeks, fava beans, Chard, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, basil, chives, thyme, summer squash, tomato, eggplant, sweet peppers and cut flowers.

The summer items such as summer squash, tomato, eggplant, peppers, basil, and flowers are just starting to produce so we will rotate them through the different pick ups so everyone may have a bit until they are in full swing. We literally have thousands of these plants in the ground so it should not be more than a few weeks before these items are coming out of our ears (such is seasonal eating).

Updates: I have updated the website for anyone who would like to add a mid-season share using pay-pal. These shares will start the week of August 1st and run through the remainder of the program.

Honey: We will do the honey share again next week so be sure to ask for your jar.

Fruit Share: We will be starting the fruit share the week of Monday, July 19th with sweets cherries from Provo. I do have openings available for about 8 more people in the fruit share so let me know via email if you would like to add this option to your account it is $125.00 for the season.

Canning Classes: We will be starting our canning classes July 15th and we do still have a few opening for your canning classes (see past blog posting for schedule, item, and cost) so please let me know if you are interested.

Recipes: I would love to post recipes, tips, idea from members on how you are using your produce so please feel free to email them to me at bells@bellorganic.com also, I found this really great website that I would like to recommend for anyone looking for ideas at www.mariquita.com they run a CSA and have a really extensive recipe collection listed by produce item.
Here are a few ideas for this week’s items:

Baby Leeks: We simply trim the roots and toss them with olive oil and salt then grill for 3 mins a side until charred. Let cool a few minutes and peel back the charred layer and start munching.

Fava beans: These spring treats must be shelled, the outside pod does not taste good. After shelling we heat a pan with olive oil and chop one of the onions (tops included) and sauté for approx 5 mins and serve with eggs for breakfast or you can add the chopped turnips (tops included) to the sauté mix and serve as a veggie side with grilled meat, etc…
I had a long time CSA member tell me they love this recipe from last year so I am sharing it again:

Orzo with carrots and fava beans
1 onion (including top) chopped
1 bag of fava beans shelled
1 Bunch of carrots from your CSA
2 Tablespoons butter
1 cup orzo
2 cups chicken stock/broth

Run carrots through food processor or grate by hand. Heat butter over med-high heat. Sauté onion and fava beans for 5 mins. Add orzo and carrots, sauté 3-5 mins more. Add stock/broth and cook uncovered over medium heat until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently about 10 mins. Feel free to add a little water if you need to get the orzo cooked all the way. Season to taste (use your herb, salt, pepper). This is good with grated parmesan cheese.

Cabbage: Here is my favorite raw cabbage salad recipe:

1 head of cabbage shredded (I use my food processor)
2-4 carrots shredded (again the food processor)
2 sticks of celery chopped
1/4 – 1/2 cup of chopped onion tops or chives
1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1 apple chopped
1 cups mayo
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon vinegar (I like white or apple cider)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix cabbage, carrots, celery, onion tops/chives, herbs and apple in a very large bowl. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, mix and sprinkle again. Whisk together all of the other ingredients in a large bowl, taste and adjust to your liking (salt, pepper, a dash of hot sauce, more vinegar, or maple syrup, etc…). Add as much of the dressing to the salad as you prefer.

This Weeks Recipe “Swiss Steak” see below.