CSA Newsletter – October 9

The Weekly Share

Last week’s CSA share – minus a few greens

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

  • Asian greens
  • Garlic
  • Herbs – parsley and thyme
  • Hot peppers
  • Onion
  • Potatoes
  • Scallions
  • Sweet peppers
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Swiss chard
  • Tomatoes

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in the weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

 

Meet Your Farmers – Betsy Dorbian

“Betsy is an inspiration to those of us who believe in following our hearts,” Alyson Earl, Executive Director

Betsy Dorbian is a second year intern at the Horn Farm Center for Agricultural Education. She can often be found tending her flower rows on the farm. Betsy is planning to start a flower CSA next year and this year is nurturing rows of plants in preparation and experimentation. Before jumping into agriculture, Betsy spent a 25 year career as a massage therapist. In 2014, she took a month long course called the Ecological Literacy Immersion Program and it changed her trajectory. “I knew I just wanted to be outdoors.” She was introduced to Horn Farm and applied to be an intern. “It felt like home when I was here,” she says. She’s hoping that with the flower CSA she can also teach people about edible flowers and the language of flowers. It’s hard not to catch Betsy’s enthusiasm for flowers (even for an avowed non-flower person like myself), her joyful spirit and smile are contagious too. In addition to tending the flowers and her other jobs as a farm intern, Betsy teaches yoga. If you meet her at the farm ask her to show you the flower beds. You can buy bouquets of the flowers at the farm stand..

Connect and Share

What is your favorite part of your CSA share? Are you having trouble figuring out what to do with something in your share? If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.

Horn Farm Happenings – October 6

fresh flower bouquetsNew date and time for:
PICK YOUR OWN FLOWERS

Sunday, October 8
1 to 3 p.m.
$10 per jar or $20 per bucket


hands holding flames
COME PLAY WITH FIRE!

There’s still room in this Sunday’s Wild Lands class: Fire!
10/8: Fire: Participants will learn the ancient art of friction fire. Come learn how to be human, for the act of making fire, controlling the flames has made us the animals we are. Aside from learning and practicing fire by friction techniques, this class will also delve into how to make a fire pit, how to maintain a fire overnight, and how to cook over open flames. More information and registration on our website.
Check out this York Daily Record story: Horn Farm’s Wild Man Rehumaning People Through Wilderness Survival Classes about Wild Lands Immersion series Sundays in October.


Join us for our free fall Harvest Festival at the farm this Wednesday, October 11 from 5:30 to 8:30. If you have time to help set up, direct parking, or clean up, please sign up now!  Or let us know by email. Thanks!


More upcoming events:

Wild Lands Immersion -Primitive Skills – October 1 through October 22
Foraging – October 7
Harvest Festival (free to the public) – October 11 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Edible Ecosystems Emerging: Food Forestry for the 21st Century – October 13 – 22
Breadbaking (full day workshop) – October 21
Offal: Tongue & Brains – October 26
Bowmaking – November 4, 5, 11, 12
Foraging – November 4
Making Soup Stock – November 15
Foraging – December 2

See you at the farm!

CSA Newsletter – October 2

CSA share

The Weekly Share

Here’s what to expect in this week’s share:

  • Carrots
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Garlic
  • Herbs – lemongrass and sage
  • Hot peppers
  • Kale
  • Onion
  • Potatoes
  • Scallions
  • Sweet peppers
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Swiss chard
  • Tomatoes

*Due to the unpredictability of weather, pest problems, and other factors produce in the weekly shares are subject to last minute changes.

Fall into Soups

Fall is officially here! For me that means it’s soup season.  Some homemade bread and a bowl of soup is just what I love on cool autumn days. Soups and stews are also a great way to use CSA veggies and herbs.  I am particularly fond of finding savory uses for fall squash and sweet potatoes that often get served sweet. My favorite tip- roasting vegetables before making them into soup adds an extra layer of flavor. Here’s one of my favorite fall soup recipes:

Roasted Sweet Potato, Carrot, and Apple Soup
  • 1 lbs sweet potatoes
  • 1/2 lb carrots
  • 1 apples
  • 1 medium onions
  • 3 large cloves of garlic, peeled
  • A high heat oil – like Asian stir fry oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 4 C vegetable stock
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 in ginger
  • 1 lemon

 

1. Preheat the over to 400. Cut the sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions into 1 inch chunks.  Core and cube the apples. Then toss the garlic, apple and all the vegetables into a pan. Oil the mixture and season liberally with salt and pepper. Put the pan in the oven and roast for an hour (until fork tender) .

 

2. Puree the vegetables and broth together and heat over medium heat.

3. Peel and grate the ginger into the pot, though you can always chop it and throw it while you puree the vegetables.

4. Zest the lemon into the pot, making sure not to get the white pith. Then juice half of the lemon and add it to the pot. Also add the curry and chili powders.

5. Heat the mixture thoroughly. Then enjoy!

Adding a dollop of plain yogurt or even sour cream to each bowl is delicious but not necessary.  I am partial to serving the soup with grilled cheese.

 

Meet Your Farmers – Michael Taylor

“Michael’s garden plots are so beautifully tended and they are a welcome sight as I arrive at the farm.” Alyson Earl, Executive Director

York native Michael Taylor started a community garden plot at the Horn Farm two years ago and is now a first year intern. Michael has a career as a respiratory therapist and he spent eight years teaching exercise physiology at York College. He’s also been on his own personal health journey, losing weight and trying to be healthier. Michael became vegan, which is part of what lead him to start his community plot and grow his own vegetables. Reflecting back on that first year gardening, he says, “the weeds kicked my butt” but clearly they didn’t deter him. He delved into studying nutrition, ecology and plant science as part of his journey. In his role as a respiratory therapist, he “saw all these people suffering from lifestyle diseases.” Michael realized his own journey had equipped him with tools to help people prevent these diseases rather than treating them after the fact. He was inspired to do wellness coaching, “I can straddle clinical medicine and holistic wellness.”  Knowing wellness coaching had to include nutrition, he thought an internship on the farm would be a good place to start, to learn more. Michael is also a father, he beams when he talks about his 4 year-old daughter Marlena Lin.  Next time you see Michael at the farm stop and visit, he’s got a gift for putting one at ease and he has a wealth of knowledge to share.

Connect and Share

What is your favorite part of your CSA share? Are you having trouble figuring out what to do with something in your share? If you have a recipe or picture you want to share, a trick you learned, or a question about your CSA produce please let us know at csa@hornfarmcenter.org.  Share on social media with the hashtag #HornFarmCSA.