CSA Weekly Report: Blooming Glen Farm

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Blooming Glen Farm, locate in Perkasie, PA began a CSA program last year that knocked the socks off our community and generated a waiting list for this year before the season even ended.  Their second season has proven thus far to be just as exceptional.  The variety of produce offered by Tom and Tricia, I think, will become a hallmark of their farm:

Click the image to view item names and quantities at flick’r and to get a closer look at all the great colors and textures. 

Isn’t summer lovely?

2007 Farm Bill Approved in House Ag Committee

Monday, July 23, 2007

The House Agriculture Committee unanimously passed the 2007 Farm Bill recently.  Like all federal legislation, there are some good things and some bad things.  Without doubt, many Pennsylvania farmers will be affected by the bill if it is approved.

Let’s talk about the bad part first.

• The new Farm Bill will allow farmers to earn an annual gross [net taxable income] of $1 million per year before becoming ineligible for government subsidies. Sadly, this really is a win - in the last farm bill, the cap was $2.5 million.  I don’t know many small farmers coming anywhere close to earning $1 million per year, so this seems primarily to benefit larger, corporate farms.
• The bill removes any cap on loan deficiency payments and increases the cap on direct payments by 50 percent to $120,000.  Many say the result will be higher land prices that lead to farm consolidation, fewer family farmers, and reduced farming opportunities for a new farmers.
• The bill does not fully restore the $4 billion cut to the Conservation Security Program and freezes program sign-ups until 2010.  This is a real shame - the program rewards and encourages environmental stewardship on working land.  A great program has basically been gutted.
• Leaves the big commodity programs intact for cotton, corn, wheat, rice, soybeans and a handful of other crops that are traditionally grown by corporate farms, and even threw in an export subsidy for tobacco.  This increases the rates at which the U.S. supports prices for subsidized crops.

• The bill creates a voluntary crop insurance program providing $1.8 billion to support farmers of fruits and vegetables and some specialty crops.
• $350 million will be given to promote healthy snacks in school, increase the maximum limit in direct subsidies to $60,000 from $40,000.  At least 35 schools in every state will be eligible for the program.
• A loophole that allowed some farmers to collect double on payments through partnerships with multiple farms has been closed.
• Allows for full implementation of mandatory country of origin labeling for meat.  The 2002 Farm Bill also called for such labeling, but the meat packing lobby blocked implementation.  Coincidentally, ground meat might be able to slide by with a label of where it might come from.  Thanks, but I’ll stick to buying meat from one of our awesome local farmers.  At least I really know where it came from!
• Creates an “open fields” grant program to help states pay landowners to open their land to hunting and fishing.
• The Wetlands Reserve Program, which pays for restoring and maintaining sloughs, prairie potholes and other wetlands, was expanded from 2.3 million to 3.6 million acres.
• Authorizes up to $10,000 per farm in cost-share payments per year to help farms convert to organic agriculture, as well as providing additional money for organic research and certification and it requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to start collecting data on organic commodities.
• Creates a special subsidy for malting barley to encourage more farmers to grow the crop.  Woohoo! More beer!  With luck, that will equal more small scale brewers!
• Revives a special subsidy program that will help biodiesel plants cope with the rising price of soybeans and soybean oil.

There’s some noise from President Bush that he might veto the legislation, specifically because of the perks to millionaire farmers [i.e., corporate farms].  Considering President Bush never met a millionaire he didn’t like and supported the $2.5 million cap on subsidies in the last Farm Bill, that’s a little shocking.

Only time will tell what changes might be made to the bill by the time it [and if it does] reaches President Bush’s desk!

Heirloom tomatoes

I picked up this beauty last Saturday at the Greensgrow Farm Market up in Kensington.  Needless to say, it is long gone.  However, the local tomatoes are appearing in gorgeous abundance right now.  Check out the picture that Jennie from the Weaver’s Way Farm Blog posted today of some of the ‘maters at the Headhouse Square Market.  It makes me salivate just to look at them. 

When it comes to tomatoes like this, I’m a fan of simple preparation.  Sliced with a sprinkling of salt is best, but if you feel you must fancy them up a little more, you can always go the classic basil and good olive oil route.  Whatever you do, just don’t put them in the fridge, as that’s the quickest way to turn them into a mushy mess. 

A Local Ratatouille

I just saw the movie Ratatouille this weekend-- I enjoyed every delicious minute of it. Completely coincidentally, I also had an abundance of tomatoes and eggplant from my CSA as well as some from a gardening friend of mine. So heck, I thought-- why not make ratatouille?

I’m particularly fond of thin Asian eggplants-- they tend to be meatier and less bitter than their larger counterparts. I like to cook them so that they’re caramelized. The secret ingredient in the making of this dish? Fennel bulbs.

Here’s the recipe, adapted from The Joy of Cooking (1997). The bold items were locally grown.

1 lb. eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 lb. zucchini, cubed (I omitted this because I didn’t have any on hand)
1 1/2 cups sliced onions
2 small bulbs fennel
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
a couple sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

Saute the eggplant (and zucchini) in oil in a large skillet until golden. Remove from skillet, and add onions and a little more oil and cook until tender. Then add fennel and garlic, season with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, thyme and bay leaf. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes. Add eggplant (and zucchini) and cook until everything is tender. Adjust the seasoning if needed. Finish with the basil, serve over rice or pasta.

Veggie tales

Friday, July 20, 2007

Every week on Thursday finds me making a pit stop at the Fair Food Stand at Reading Terminal Market to pick up my CSA share from Lancaster Farm Fresh.  The shares have been rather huge recently, and this week was no exception:

1 bunch of beets grown by Farmdale Organics
2 green peppers grown by Meadow Valley Organics
3 Cubanella peppers grown by Green Valley Organics
1 head lettuce grown by Scarecrow Hill Farm
1 Walla Walla onion grown by the Scarecrow Hill Farm
1 dozen ears of sweet corn grown by Green Acres Organics
1 bag of potatoes grown by Green Valley Organics
2 lemon cucumbers grown by Riverview Organics
1 bag green beans grown by Hillside Organics

Upcoming events!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

It’s the last couple of days for the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Week promotion, but there are lots of events still to attend!  If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, consider supporting the Buy Local crowd:

• Friday, July 20th. Second Annual PA Preferred® Best Chef of Pennsylvania Competition at Reading Terminal Market. Center Court, beginning at noon and continuing until Saturday.
• Saturday, July 21st. Good Food, Good Beer, and The Rest Is History at The Shambles at Headhouse Square (2nd & Lombard). 5:30-8:30pm. 
• Saturday, July 21st. White Dog Café Urban Agriculture Tour & Lunch.  Leaves from the White Dog and visits Greensgrow Farm, Weaver’s Way Farm, and Mill Creek Farm.  Begins at 8:30am.
• Sunday, July 22nd. Headhouse Farmers’ Market Grand Opening Celebration at The Shambles at Headhouse Square.  Noon to 2pm.  You can even press the flesh with Democrat mayoral candidate Michael Nutter!
• Sunday, July 22nd.  2 Short Local Food Films at the White Dog Café.  7pm.

Visit Local Food Philly for more details on these events.

Feed me, Seymour

I can’t believe the One Local Summer challenge is already in its fourth week!  Where does the time go?  Liz decided to make the challenge good for ten weeks this year and it seems insane that it’s almost the halfway point already.

This week’s OLS meal was a simple one - grilled Delmonico steaks, mashed potatoes, and green beans.  Simple, but delicious!

The steaks were from Natural Acres, who has a stand at the Lansdowne Farmer’s Market every Saturday.  I’ve also purchased their beef at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market.  I grilled them up pretty rare, which was just yummy.

Speaking of Natural Acres, when I visited their stand at the Lansdowne Farmer’s Market last weeked I asked about goat milk [they sell raw milk and pastured eggs at the stand, as well as meat].  They plan to start offering up goat milk at that location very soon.  This is exciting news, especially for the cheese makers amongst us!

I feel weird raving about mashed potatoes, but the batch I made last night for the OLS dinner was...well, amazing!  I know, I know - they’re just mashed potatoes.  Two weeks ago we received a bag of potatoes from Elm Tree Organics in the CSA share, with an email promising that the taste would be unique and fantastic.  I was skeptical - I mean, potatoes are potatoes.  These somehow had a much fresher, potato-ier taste to them, though - and they made perfect mashed potatoes [along with some local milk and butter]. 

Not to leave the green beans for last - they were from my garden and perfectly wonderful!  You just can’t beat lightly steamed green beans straight off the vine.

The only things not local in this meal were the salt, pepper, and olive oil [brushed on the steak].