Pumpkin Pie!

Hi all,

Looking at those CSA pumpkins and thinking about pie? I experimented a lot last season and here's where I landed.

To use real pumpkin in a "canned pumpkin" recipe--try the following.

Roast pumpkins as you would any hard squash.

PUREE the roasted pulp in a food processor or blender--and I mean really get it broken down to just wet pulpy mass. Pumpkins are more fibrous than I imagined and it took awhile to get a true puree, but it happened.

THEN--here's the key thing--DRAIN the puree for 24 hours in a colander lined with a clean linen towels or cheesecloths. If you've made yogurt cheese, this is the same kind of process, only a little wetter at the outset. You'll need to refrigerate during this time too, so make some space. I set my draining rigs (2) up in casserole dishes with the colanders seated in the dishes and the towels (folded multiple times) in the colanders. For the first couple hours, suction off any liquid from the casserole dishes using a bulb baster. We did that about every half hour. Then change the towels and let sit for another few hours (we let them go overnight). Rinse out the casserole dishes and change the towels again the morning--let them drain for the day. There probably won't be much accumulation, but it'll soak the towels.

What you'll be left with may be even a bit drier than canned pumpkin--and LOTS tastier. It made excellent pumpkin pie (using a standard "canned pumpkin" recipe) and pumpkin custard--which is just the leftover pie filling baked in custard cups, as I was too tired to create more crust.

As for Food World News, it's pretty local. We've reached the end of the CSA season here, so I'm signing off as guest blogger. Dan and Joanne may post now and again in the off-season, but the blog will be pretty quiet until the CSA starts up again in the spring.

Thanks for supporting local farmers!
Marta

Thanks to all of you from Danjo Farms!

Just a quick shout out to all of you CSA'ers for your continued support and friendship this season. You have again made our small, family farm business a great success this year! We could have not done this with out you and yours. Are hats are off to you!

Next year is already gearing up with seed catalogs, fertilizer and the gardens being put to rest for the year. We have been working hard to get the greenhousing ready for late winter plantings. New and old members are joining with the greatest push in October that we have ever seen. Remember that anybody in previous year receives %10 off their 2010 CSA farmshare package.

We have added some new CSA options in 2010. Full and half "Berries and Fruit" shares / Full and half "Meat" share with our own pork and chicken / "Baked Bread" shares. We have also partnered up with Missouri Legacy Beef to provide a CSA program with their great product line. If you have any questions please visit www.danjofarms.com for more information.

So, come and join us in 2010 friends you'll be glad you did! Peace and love to all.

Dan & Joanne Nelson
Danjo Farms

Winter Vegetable Hash

Hi all,

Working on my pumpkin-pie skills and surfing around for more fall veggie recipes. Here's a great one for a Winter Vegetable Hash from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com):

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Winter-Vegetable-Hash/Detail.aspx

In Food World News? Slow Food USA's day of environmental action is TOMORROW, Saturday, October 24. Slow Food USA has partnered with 350.org (http://www.350.org) to help raise awareness about safe and unsafe levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The number 350 represents the safe upper limit (in parts per million) for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, a number we are already well beyond. Demonstrations are happening around the world to help people conceptualize how many 350 is--and, though nothing has been officially organized here in Missouri, I'm sure they would love any feedback on actions you take to help spread the word.

See you next week!
;-)M

Recipe Poem and 350

Hi all,

I'm back and many thanks to Dan for covering the post last week.

I spent the week buried under hundreds of pages of poems, which are now successfully out the door to literary magazines. Thought, instead of a regular recipe, it might be fun to share one of my poems out of Dishing, a manuscript of recipe poems I've been working on the last year or so. The poem gives you most of what you need to know to prepare it, the only other note being that it should be rinsed thoroughly before cooking to get rid of a bitter coating on the grains. It's lovely with sauteed veggies of any variety. This piece first appeared in Copper Nickel #4 a couple years ago:

Quinoa

A word exotic enough for Goodbye,

or I love you, quinoa conjures suns,

hot stellar densities orbited by lighter matter.

Packed like French suitcases, sized

like mustard seeds, they grow into

translucent pearls, a grainy caviar, heated

with twice their weight in water.

And plentiful as the hail that comes down

now as we prepare to sleep, full of wine,

the night, quinoa.

In Food World News, Slow Food USA is encouraging everyone to observe October 24 as a day of environmental action and reflection on the impact of our present industrial food system has on global warming. They have partnered with 350.org (http://www.350.org) to help raise awareness about safe and unsafe levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The number 350 represents the safe upper limit (in parts per million) for carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, a number we are already well beyond. Demonstrations are happening around the world to help people conceptualize how many 350 is--and, though nothing has been officially organized here in Missouri, I'm sure they would love any feedback on actions you take to help spread the word.

See you next week!
;-)M

Hey ya'll! Greeting from your farmers Dan & Joanne!

We have been thinking lately of all the friends, associates and neighbors we have encountered this season here at Danjo Farms. We have truly been blessed with all our your support, kindness and love for what we love to do most - farm for you! Most of the time we seem to be running around like a "bunch of chickens with their head cut off" yet we wanted to take alittle time and acknowledge those how have been giving their best.

Thanks Marta Ferguson for putting this blog spot in "live mode" this summer. Your input has been exceptional and your patience with me has been outstanding. I have been impressed with your recipes, links and stories that are complementary of our community and lifestyle. Keep up the good works friend!

Thanks to all of you CSA families and CSA individuals that have supported us this year. We have tried our best to provide a good steady mix of veggies, fruit, berries, eggs and meats this year and hope that this has been worthy of your time and money. We have enjoyed the conversations, new friendships and patience you have shown to us. Our wish is to continue on this journey with you as your farmers. Keep us in mind for next year neighbors!

Thanks to Certified Naturally Grown, Animal Welfare Approved, Shelter Feed Company, Morgan County Seed, Bradford Fertilizers Inc., KOPN 89.5, Ashland, Columbia and Moberly Farmers Markets and all our farmer companions that have made our family farm business a success this year. Your behind the scenes support makes or breaks our operation and this year has been another successful season. The extraordinary economic situation that we are all in has been won over by your hard work and dedication to the small farmer in this area. I wouldn't want any other associates to work with!

We have been putting the farm to bed this fall, working on winterizing the barn for the animals, pulling in the last of the harvest and working on plans for next season. Our greatest hope and dreams lie in the top eight inches of soil, the water in the ponds and the good air we breath every day at our farm. Our best wishes are to be involved with you our friends, associates and neighbors in gaining back our food security one farm at a time - Danjo Farms. Thanks partners for your undying support!

Little Kick Chili

Hi all,

In the box this week? Green beans, summer squash and hard squash, tomatoes, onions, and peppers.

Most of the recipes I've posted here are relatively small-batch efforts. However, 'tis the season to stock the freezer and share the bounty of the harvest. So I thought I'd share one larger recipe. Unlike most of what I cook, this one does involve a couple commercial shortcuts (canned tomatoes and garlic). It's a concession to the sheer size of the batch. Those of you scaling it down should assume a 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes is 6-8 medium tomatoes and that each ounce of garlic is half a good-sized head. The recipe makes close to 80 servings and debuted this week, to rave reviews, at the Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen here in CoMo.

Little Kick Chili

6 pounds of ground beef, browned and seasoned lightly with salt
6 pounds of ground pork, browned and seasoned lightly with salt
8 pounds of cube steak, browned, lightly salted, and chopped into 1/2" pieces

10 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
1.5 8-ounce jars of diced garlic

6 large red bell peppers, chopped and sauteed
6 green bell peppers, chopped and sauteed

8 medium onions

18 tablespoons of chili powder
9 tablespoons of oregano
9 tablespoons of smoked paprika
6 tablespoons of coriander
6 tablespoons of cumin

1 teaspoon of cayenne
2+ teaspoons of salt
1+ teaspoons of black pepper

1 cup of corn starch slurry (4 ounces of corn starch, 3-4 ounces of water, shaken in a half-pint jar)

After preparing the meat, add it to a large restaurant-size stock pot along with the tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and garlic. Add the herbs and spices in two or three batches, stirring in between to check the heat and flavor. The goal here is a savory chili with just a little kick, nothing that should burn out your mouth or stomach lining. Let it all simmer for at least an hour before adding the slurry to thicken. Allow at least another hour of low heat for the flavors to meld and the corn starch to integrate completely.

Enjoy with 79 of your closest friends or chill and store up against the coming cold.

See you next week!
;-)M

Marta's Garden Marinera/RBB

Hi all,

In boxes, this week: tomatoes, squash (summer and butternut), green beans, bell peppers, hot peppers, onions.

Recipe of the week?

Marta's Garden Marinera

15-18 medium tomatoes, blanched, skinned and roughly chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1-2 Summer squash or zucchini, chopped
4-6 Bell peppers, chopped
3 onions, chopped
5-7 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon+ medium grade safflower oil

2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon oregano

salt and pepper, to taste

2 lbs. ground beef, lightly salted, cooked and crumbled (optional)

Place the tomatoes in a large sauce pot, heat over medium-low heat until they begin breaking down. Blend to smooth texture with a stick blender or by putting them in batches in a regular blender. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes and continue to simmer gently as you prep other ingredients.

In a large skillet, saute chopped squash, peppers, onion, and garlic in safflower oil. As things soften and become translucent, add basil, granulated garlic, and oregano. Salt and pepper to taste. When the herbs and the granulated garlic seem to have absorbed a sufficient amount of oil (the kitchen will smell fantastic at this point), scrape the entire contents of the skillet into the sauce pot with the tomato base.

Add ground beef if using.

Simmer for 30-60 minutes to allow flavors to blend and sauce to thicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4-5 quarts of sauce.

As for food world news? Columbia's Second Annual Roots, Blues & BBQ Festival seems to have been a smashing success. See the website below for more details:

http://www.rootsnbluesnbbq.com

See you next week!
;-)M