Maysie's Farm CSA Update- 2010 membership information

Maysie's Farm Conservation Center

Community Supported Agriculture

 

                                                                       Think Globally,

              Eat Locally

                                   

 

                                                                                                                Sunday, 6 December, 2009                                                                  

Greetings CSA Members!

 

            We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and are happily gearing up for the rest of the holiday season. Annmarie and I ate a lot of turkey and gave a lot of thanks for families, friends and all the households who helped support our CSA this year and we are now happily gearing up for the 2010 season.

 

            Our overwintering staff of three, Dave Hubbard (transitioning from Intern to Farm Manager), Nate Ela and Meghan Morris, are working on project after project, such as gradually acidifying the soil in the beds in the lower end of the Barnyard Garden where we plan to establish blueberries this spring, repairing and expanding our irrigation system, finishing the walk-in cooler we started this summer (with the help of CSA member, Ted Harlan), building half a dozen new tables, digging a huge new hole and moving the outhouse and assembling a vegetable oil handling system that will let us run a couple of our vehicles on (free) used vegetable oil instead of (expensive and non-renewable) diesel fuel. When the weather precludes outdoor work, they're busy taking an inventory of our remaining seeds and compiling a seed order for the many varieties of each of the fifty-some crops we grow, updating our crop history spreadsheets so we can effectively rotate the crops in each of our 370 beds or tackling the ultimate challenge of organizing the barn.

 

            One of the preparations for the upcoming season that I'm attending to is trying to develop an organizational budget that will allow us to avoid the nasty cash flow deficit situation we've encountered this year. How can we make sure our operation is at least as sustainable economically as it is ecologically and socially? I researched the share prices and season lengths of the other CSAs in the area and found that every single one of the thirteen closest CSAs charges more than we do or has a shorter season (or both). We didn't raise our membership price at all last year, so I hope you can appreciate that this year we have no choice but to do that (since we won't be increasing the number of memberships budgeted). You'll see from the attached 2010 Membership Form that our Family Share is now $750 but that we are also offering a discount to encourage full payment right away, which would be very helpful to our cash flow predicament. I certainly hope to be able to provide you with more than a $2.30 per week increase in the value of your share and feel that some of the things I mentioned in the paragraph above are, by themselves, some assurance of harvests more bountiful than last year's: three very capable workers continuing into their second season (the first time I've ever been able to look forward to a Farm Manager trained here, on this farm), an improved irrigation system, a much improved cooling arrangement and about 200 new blueberry bushes!

 

            We will also be enhancing our educational programs in 2010 and Annmarie will be looking for help in resurrecting our Children's Garden in the early spring so that your children will have their own special place to visit on each pick-up day and be able to experience a little hands-on food production. As a natural complement to our children's garden, she will be offering week long Summertime Cooking Camps for kids in age groups from 6-18. Children will learn first-hand where their food comes from and master some of the basic kitchen skills necessary to prepare great meals!  Also, with the help of herbalist and CSA member, Cindy Koser, she's planning a medicinal herb garden so that members will have the opportunity to learn how to cultivate, harvest and use these herbs for their own benefit. More specific information on these and other programs will be released by early spring.

 

            It's an exciting time here at Maysie's Farm Conservation Center and we'd like to share our enthusiasm with our members. We've scheduled a Membership Meeting for Saturday January 9^th at 10:00 am in the Community Room of the Henrietta Hankin Library, in the Weatherstone development, about half a mile from the farm. We'll be accepting new members there, so if you know of anyone interested in joining a CSA, please bring them along. We will also be seeking to recruit a few new Board Members or other volunteers interested in helping us with fundraising, marketing and promotions or volunteer coordination.

 

             We greatly appreciate your involvement with Maysie's Farm Conservation Center and hope you will continue to be "part of the solution" and help us as we work toward a local, sustainable food system.

 

            Thanks –

                            Sam 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Think Globally, Eat Locally
Maysie's Farm Conservation Center
15 St. Andrew's Lane Glenmoore, PA 19343
(610)458-8129 www.maysiesfarm.org

CSA Update- last pick up days!

Greetings!

 

Just a reminder:

LAST PICKUPS:

Monday November 23^rd is the last Monday pick up.

Friday November 20^th is our last Friday pick up.

 

 

WINTER ORDERING SYSTEM:

This winter, Maysie's Farm is participating in The Anselma Farmers' and Artisan's Market Winter Ordering Market. Vendors from the Anselma Market and the Great Valley Market are participating in this and it allows people the opportunity to procure some delicious vegetables and other goodies in the off season. There is a scheduled pick up every other week at the Mill at Anselma between 4:30 and 6:00 pm.

Every other Thursday, you will receive an email ordering form listing each vendor and the items available for pick up the following Wednesday.  You can order either through the email or by calling each vendor directly.

All orders must be received by noon on Monday. There is no commitment to order each week. It is based on what you would like!

To participate in this and receive the emails, you need to email anselmamarket@gmail.com

 

Remember that the Maysie's Farm store will be open this winter, carrying salmon, eggs, and  ice cream and Ben's full product line will be available for delivery. We will let you know how often Ben plans to deliver over the winter!

 

 

FUNDRAISER FOR MAYSIE'S FARM

On Friday December 18^th, from 5-9 pm, Ten Thousand Villages and Wendell August Forge are hosting a Community Shopping Night. A percentage of the sales of both places will go to Maysie's Farm. This is a great opportunity to get your Christmas shopping done and to support the work of our nonprofit educational conservation center. Both shops are located in Main Street Exton. 

 

See you around the farm! ( for a short while longer!!)

Annmarie and Sam

 

 

 

 

 

Think Globally, Eat Locally
Maysie's Farm Conservation Center
15 St. Andrew's Lane Glenmoore, PA 19343
(610)458-8129 www.maysiesfarm.org

CSA Update

Buona Sera!

We have returned from a fabulous trip to Sicily and are so happy to see the farm running so smoothly! Sicily's history is quite extensive and magical. We saw Greek ruins, Roman ruins, Norman castles, a lot of Baroque architecture and countless medieval towns perched on hilltops with cobblestone streets only a few inches wider than the microcars that zipped through them!

We had the opportunity to see vineyards, olive groves, citrus groves and lush mountain flora.

We indulged in regional dishes and sampled local wines, but by the end of our time, we were longing for some Maysie's Farm food!

 

A big thanks to Dave, Andy, Meghan, Nate, Erin, Pete, Mario, Milton and Brian for continuing the good work they'd been doing all season and for keeping the Maysie's Farm food coming!

We will surely miss Mario who left on Tuesday to return to Guatemala. We wish him the best and hope to see him back here again soon (maybe with a wife or something?!)

 

The season is quickly coming to a close and we are energized and working on plans for next year!

We are happy to say that Dave Hubbard, an intern since early April, will be staying on and becoming our farm manager next season!  

 

We are expanding our Board of Directors and are looking for some people interested in serving on the board. We especially need people with expertise in marketing and promotions and fundraising. We are also looking for a volunteer coordinator to assist us with some of the projects we have planned for next year. If you are interested or know of someone who is, please contact Sam at 610-458-8129.

 

We are busy setting up our schedule of workshops and programs to offer to our members and the community at large.

With the help of volunteers, the spring will see the resurrection of our children's garden and the birth of our medicinal herb garden.

Cooking classes for both adults and children will extend through next year. The children's cooking classes were such fun and next year, we will provide cooking camps for different age groups!

We will also be holding workshops on utilizing the bounty of the farm's herbs, both medicinal and culinary!

If you have suggestions of things you would like to see as part of the programming at Maysie's Farm, please let us know!

 

Turkey:

If you have not yet ordered your fresh turkey from Ben, you can do so up until next week.

For delivery on Friday November 20^th, all orders must be placed by Tuesday November 17^th. For delivery on Monday November 23^rd, all orders must be placed by Thursday November 19^th. Please call Ben directly to place your order. (717) 768-3437.

 

Upcoming Events:

On Friday December 18^th, from 5-9 pm, Ten Thousand Villages and Wendell August Forge are hosting a Community Shopping Night. A percentage of the sales of both places will go to Maysie's Farm. This is a great opportunity to get your Christmas shopping done and to support the work of our nonprofit educational  conservation center. Both shops are located in Main Street Exton.  

 

Recipe:

With the weather turning cooler, our thoughts turn to soup. We have a lot of onions, so here is a recipe for onion soup. You can use a lot of local ingredients to make this soup (beef and chicken stock and butter from Ben, and bread from Sweetwater Bakery!)

This recipe come from Cook's Illustrated and roasts the onions in the oven to get them to caramelize!

 

Onion Soup:

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

6 large yellow onions, sliced

Sea salt

2 cups water

½ cup dry sherry

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups beef broth

6 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

Freshly ground pepper

 

1 small baguette (or Sweetwater bread) cut into ½ inch slices

2 ½ cups shredded Gruyere cheese

 

Preheat oven to 400.

Generously spray the inside of a heavy-bottomed large (at least 7-quart) Dutch oven with a nonstick cooking spray. Place the butter in the pot and add the onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, covered, for 1 hour (the onions will be moist and slightly reduced in volume). Remove the pot from the oven and stir the onions, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot. Return the pot to the oven with the lid slightly ajar and continue to cook until the onions are very soft and golden brown, 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours longer, stirring the onions and scraping bottom and sides of pot after 1 hour.

 

Carefully remove pot from oven and place over medium-high heat. Using oven mitts to handle pot, cook onions, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot, until the liquid evaporates and the onions brown, 15 to 20 minutes, reducing the heat to medium if the onions are browning too quickly. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the pot bottom is coated with a dark crust, roughly 6 to 8 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary. (Scrape any fond that collects on spoon back into onions.)

Stir in 1/4 cup water, scraping the pot bottom to loosen crust, and cook until water evaporates and pot bottom has formed another dark crust, 6 to 8 minutes. Repeat process of deglazing 2 or 3 more times, until onions are very dark brown. Stir in the sherry and cook, stirring frequently, until the sherry evaporates, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the broths, 2 cups of water, thyme, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping up any final bits of browned crust on bottom and sides of pot.

Increase heat to high and bring to simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard herbs, then season with salt and pepper.

For the Croutons:

While the soup simmers, arrange the baguette slices in single layer on baking sheet and bake in a 400-degree oven until the bread is dry, crisp, and golden at edges, about 10 minutes. Set aside.

To serve:

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. Set individual broiler-safe crocks on baking sheet and fill each with about 1 3/4 cups soup. Top each bowl with 1 or 2 baguette slices (do not overlap slices) and sprinkle evenly with Gruyère. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly around edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

See you around the farm!

Annmarie and Sam

 

 

 

 

Think Globally, Eat Locally
Maysie's Farm Conservation Center
15 St. Andrew's Lane Glenmoore, PA 19343
(610)458-8129 www.maysiesfarm.org