Two Dog Farms 2019 Fall CSA Week 6

Hi Folks, welcome to week 6 of your fall CSA. We are sad to say that this will be the final week of the CSA for the fall season. We lost majority of our crops in the last few freezes (see pictures below) and we will not be able to provide everyone with enough variety of produce for the remaining 2 weeks. There is always a risk in farming, and unfortunately we have had a really hard year. We are so grateful for each one of you who took that risk with us this year. However, we aren’t going to let y’all lose your remaining 2 weeks of produce. We would like to credit you each 2 weeks of produce in the Spring when our Spring/Summer CSA starts up. We will email everyone with a credit code closer to the spring season. So sorry that the season is going to come to an end like this! We hope that next year will be a different year of farming for us all. We hope everyone has a great rest of your year and safe holidays, and we look forward to seeing you all for a couple of weeks in the spring. Thank you so much for everything from the bottom of our hearts!! Thank you. Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Acorn Squash

2. Onion Bunch

3. Fennel Bulb

4. Napa Cabbage

5. Watermelon Radishes- slice thin for salads and garnishes. Beautiful pink color on the inside that does resemble a watermelon! Mild- medium spice. I also enjoy cutting up and throwing into a stir fry. Completely changes the flavor. Give it a try!

6. Broccoli

7. Sweet Potatoes

8. Green Tomatoes

Spicy Stir-Fried Cabbage

Easy Roasted Napa Cabbage

15 Green Tomato Recipes

Roasted Acorn Squash with Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms

Two Dog Farms 2019 Fall CSA Week 5

Top Row: Broccoli, Purple Cabbage, Spaghetti Squash

Middle Row: Onions, Yukina Savoy, Fennel

Bottom Row: Sweet Potatoes

Hello everyone, welcome to week 5 of your fall CSA.

BBBRRRRRRR!!

What a cold night and morning! We are unfortunately expecting to lose a lot of plants in these temperatures. We will try to cover what we can, but it is inevitable that with 20 degree temps., plants will die. I can not express how weird of a year it has been! We have never experienced this cold of weather so early in the year, and I feel like this is just the beginning of a VERY cold and wet winter. We are sitting at the edge of our seats to see how everything plays out. In the mean time, we are battling deer getting in our electric fence and trying to eat what they can. We extended into some new growing ground this year, so that is always a little more difficult to scare away deer from what they are used to grazing on.

This Sunday, November 17th, Mannsdale Upper Elementary School will have their first Farmer’s Market! We donated our plants to fill their garden beds, and the kids there have done such a wonderful job tending and caring for their crops. We love to be apart of this community project and it means everything to support our local schools and children! So show your support and go see these kids and buy some veggies ☺️

See all details. Please join us as we kick off our 1st Fall Mannsdale Upper Elementary School Junior Master Gardener Farmers Market. The event will be held at our school garden and all tables will be managed by students. 100% of profits will go to our schools garden initiatives.

All vegetables have been grown and cared for by our students as part of our school curriculum based program. Many of the seedlings plants were donated by our friends, Two Dog Farms.

We will have the following freshly harvested vegetables:
Kale,
Radishes,
Lettuce,
Scallions Onions,
Swiss Chard,
Collard Greens, &
Fennel

We hope y’all stay warm and cozy around your kitchen table this week! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Spaghetti Squash

2. Onion Bunch

3. Fennel Bulb- Fennel has a bulbous base and green feathery leaves (fronds). Both are edible and have a mild aniseed or licorice flavor. Try the pizza recipe below, and substitute wtih any green you may have!!! I also like to make pizzas on Naan Bread! Easy way to make your own pizza. ALSO, the Green Risotto is fabulous!

4. Fennel Bulb

5. Purple cabbage

6. Broccoli

7. Sweet Potatoes

8. Yukina Savoy

Great soup, and easy to substitute for items that are in your box! Instead of leeks, try the onion bunch, instead of celery try out some fennel, carrots left from last week? add them in! etc… Cabbage, Sausage, and Potato Soup

Have greens left from last week? add here, or the Yukina Savoy would be so tasty! Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Garlic, Kale, Fennel, and Shallots

Everything How to Fennel with Recipes

I was trying to think of other things to do with your sweet potatoes, and then it hit me! Get a head start and make a sweet potato casserole and freeze for the holidays! Sweet Potato Casserole

Roasted Sausage with Broccoli and Fennel

I substitute leeks for onion and don’t add asparagus because I always have other green vegetables! Spring (or Fall) Green Risotto

Try with the Yukina Savoy instead of Spinach! Caramelized Fennel and Spinach Pizza with Goat Cheese

A good friend brought some soup over yesterday, and I was licking my bowl after it was so delicious! It is similar to the soup recipe listed above, but I asked for her to share her recipe so I could share with y’all:

1 and a half quarts of chicken broth
1 sweet potato
1 onion
1 half head of cabbage
2 acorn squash or other winter squash
1 lb of smoked sausage
6-8 cloves of garlic
Garlic, onion powder and Salt to taste

Chop one whole onion and and a sweet potatoes in half inch cubes and cook them in coconut oil and salt until the onions begin to get a bit translucent and the sweet potatoes browned a bit. Then add a quart of chicken broth. Next chop up winter squash into quarter inch cubes and add that to the broth and bring the broth up to a boil. Then add cabbage chopped into 1 inch squares. Next add about six - eight cloves of garlic chopped. Then Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of onion and garlic powder 1 tablespoon each or to taste. Let that simmer for about 15 minutes. Then Cook the sausage in another pan with a little coconut oil and brown the sausage while the soup is on a high simmer. After The sausage is cooked remove the sausage and add a pint of chicken broth in the pan with the sausage drippings and let that simmer for a couple of minutes to get all those good brown juicy bits and then add the sausage drippings and the sausage (cut in bite size pieces) to the soup. Then simmer on high another 10 or 15 minutes to let all the flavors meld together.

Two Dog Farms 2019 Fall CSA Week 4

Top Row: Left to Right- Cilantro, Broccolini, and Spigariello

Bottom Row: Onion bunch, Carrots, Butternut Squash, Cone Cabbage, and Yukina Savoy

Hey Folks, welcome to week 4 of your CSA! Just wanted to go ahead and apologize for not updating the website next week. We did welcome our new son into our family that Tuesday, and I honestly thought I would have gotten to the website later in the week, but I was never able to. None the less, we hope you enjoyed your box. We have a good one for you this week as well. A few new interesting items! Which I will list and describe down below. We hope everyone enjoys this week’s box and has a great time cooking with family. Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Cilantro

2. Broccolini- Just like Broccoli, but smaller in size, which makes it so nice to eat roasted or sautéed whole.

3. Spigariello- Cooking green that taste a lot like broccoli. Some refer to it as broccoli rabe and others call it "leaf broccoli." I'd put it somewhere between kale and broccoli. But treat it like kale or collards when cooking.

4. Green Onion Bunch

5. Carrots

6. Butternut Squash

7. Cone Cabbage- Just like regular green cabbage, but with a cone shape.

8. Yukina Savoy- Referred to as Asian spoon spinach because it cooks and looks similar to spinach, but has a little bit of a spice. Young tender leaves and stalks are excellent for salad mix and stir-fry dishes.

Cilantro Inspiration

Spigarello with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Sautéed Spigarello

Scale back or add more Ginger to this delicious Carrot and Ginger Creamy Soup

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Broccolini

Cilantro Lime Coleslaw

Two Dog Farms 2019 Fall CSA Week 2

Howdy folks and welcome to week 2 of your fall CSA. We hope you enjoyed your first box last week. We have another good one for you this week, and of course it has lots of yummy fall greens. We have been eating so many greens. We love them and hope you do too! Also, you could always put some up in the freezer to save for a time when they are not as accessible. I know I have been doing so, but partly because we will be having new baby join us any day now :). Thats right a new chicken catching, egg washing, green eating, carrot picking little farm baby. We are so excited and terrified all at the same time. And thank you to all of our members that have reached out to us!

It truly is like a big family having y’all be a part of our farm. We have had some of the same members ever since we started this wild adventure over 5 years ago! It is amazing to think back and see how much we have grown and what all we have learned over these years. We love y’all so much and are so grateful for all of your support! And if you are new to join us, thank you and we hope you will continue to join us for the many years to come!

Well, it has been so muddy with all the rain, we are trying to get as much water off of the ends of the rows as possible. Lots of shoveling. But we will take it for how beautiful this weather is! We hope you are able to get into the kitchen and cook some delicious and nutritious meals for your loved ones this week! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Carrots- heirloom varieties with greens attached! Don’t discard the greens, they can be turned into a nice pesto or even added to soups.

2. Purple Bell Peppers

3. Collards- I personally like to cook down with onion, lots of garlic, apple cider vinegar, and a little honey. And if you eat bacon, of course add a few slices!

4. Collards- so nice we are giving it to you twice! (great way to make a large pot of greens or even use them on sandwiches and I even throw into my smoothies.

5. Mixed Baby Greens- a delightful mix of kale, mizuna (spicier green), tatsoi (asian green) and arugula! YUM! Try as a topper on dishes, as a salad mix, or mix it in with your favorite lettuce.

6. Napa Cabbage- also known as Chinese cabbage. Great roasted, sautéed in stir fries, made into cabbage wraps, or thrown into soup, and always traditionally used in Kimchi!

7. Spaghetti Squash- winter squash that can be used as a pasta substitute!

8. Fingerling Sweet Potatoes- delicious small sweet potatoes. We roasted some the other night and were amazed how sweet and creamy!

Vegan Carrot Top Pesto

Easy Honey Cider Collard Greens

Napa Cabbage and Udon Miso Soup

How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Two Dog Farms 2019 Fall CSA Week 1

Hey y’all, and welcome to week one of your fall CSA! We are so thankful you have joined us, and we look forward to a great season!

Things have been busy here as you can imagine. We are still planting a few things, and harvesting so much winter squash. The greens are loving this cooler weather, and I must say I am very glad that things have FINALLY cooled off a little! It was a bit strange harvesting pumpkins in 95 degree weather! We had our first fire of the season this past weekend while watching the full moon rise. Very nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the weather for a little bit. Now, we just need the rain to slack off a little!

It is a fun box this week, and there is a lot of variety! Again, why this time of the year is my favorite! We hope you enjoy your veggies! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Beefsteak Tomatoes- Field grown, Mississippi tomatoes!

2. Shishitos- Some of you may remember the shishito peppers from last year! They are a thin walled blistering pepper. Mild and sweet roulette pepper, meaning that 1 in 10 will be spicy! These are some of our favorites that we grow. I will post an awesome, easy blistering recipe that makes for a great appetizer. Or try sliced and roasted with thyme sweet potatoes!

3. Arugula- Very tender, leafy greens that have a distinctive peppery flavor. The possibilities what to put this green on are endless! Salads, pizza, pasta, soups, eggs, etc……. try a little on everything and find your favorite!

4. Striped Acorn Squash- Similar to acorn squash in size and appearance minus the stripes, but so much sweeter and has a great nutty flavor.

5. Green Curly Kale- Great used in salads, soups, or sautéed as well.

6. Italian Eggplant

7. Sweet Potatoes

8. Jalapeños- Classic hot pepper. Add a little or a lot to any dish or try the baked poppers recipe below.

Roasted Acorn and Arugula Salad
Curried Acorn Squash with Lemon Arugula Salad

Island Kale Sweet Potato Soup
Sweet Potato Peanut Soup
Baked Jalapeño Poppers
Eggplant Tacos

Sweet Potato, Pepper, and Eggplant Bake
Easy Blistered Shishito Pepper Appetizer

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 12

Hello everyone, and welcome to the final box of this year’s Spring and Summer season! We can’t believe that the end is here, especially because we are steadily getting ready for the fall! So much seeding to do.

Again, we have really enjoyed getting to know everyone this year, and we do hope you decide to join us in the Fall! So many of you have already joined, thank you! We have big plans for a big season! The fall season is only 8 weeks, so it is the perfect amount of time to get all your fall vegetables in! Click this link www.twodogfarms.org to sign up today!

We are excited to add a personal sized Yellow Meat watermelon to your box this week! As well as okra! I love to grill okra whole or cut in half lengthwise. So good! The Nectarines made another appearance in this week’s box due to high demand! They are so perfectly flavorful! One of our members shared a nectarine and tomato salad that I linked below. Sounds lovely.

We hope you all enjoy the last bounty of the season and hope to see you in the fall! Much love to you all and happy eating!

Your Farmers,

Van, Dorothy, Hazel, Ivan, and #3 ;)

1. Cucumbers

2. Tomatoes

3. Nectarines

4. Peaches

5. Yellow Meat Watermelon

6. Okra

7. Malabar spinach

Tomato and Nectarine Salad

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 11

Top Row: Eggplant, Heirloom Tomatoes, Zucchini and Squash

Bottom Row: Nectarines, Cucumbers, Malabar Spinach, and Beefsteak Tomatoes

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a great holiday! My crew got to eat watermelon, swim in a pool, and just take it easy for a day. It was really nice to enjoy a day together.

We were finally able to get some rows up at the farm and started seeding more for the fall. Have I mentioned how much fun the fall season is?? ;)

We are seeding a lot of kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Swiss chard, beets, kohlrabi, collards, carrots, butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkins, and so so much more! And we normally have fall tomatoes before the first freeze, so it is a really fun and unique time to be able to grow an abundance of greens and other brassicas like cauliflower and broccoli and still get field grown tomatoes!

With that being said we hope you will join us next season. It has been nice getting to know all of our new members, and of course so so nice to see our members come back every season. Already so many of you have signed up for the fall, thank you!! It is beneficial to have your support and help financially, so we can order more seed for the fall and fertilizer, etc.. so your membership goes a long way for both you and the farm. Visit www.twodogfarms.org to sign up.

Excited to see some summer spinach in the box called malabar. It is a red, thick spinach. One of the only varieties that tolerates the summer heat. Really, one of the only greens we have found that you can grow in 90+ weather. So, i’m excited to have a little bit of green back in the box! Also, new this week are nectarines from Cherry Creek Orchards in Pontotoc, MS. Same place the peaches came from. And the sweet peppers new to your box are really great. Last night I cubed up my eggplant, with diced onions, and sweet peppers, which I sautéed first in an oven safe skillet. Once they were translucent I added in my cubed eggplant. Once that had cooked a little I added some diced fresh tomatoes and then put it in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350-375. It turned out really great! Looking forward to having it for leftovers this evening! Or honestly you don’t even have to do all that to make delicious roasted eggplant, just slice or cube and roast in oven with a little s&p. I received a picture of some jalapeño jelly one of our members made last week, and it made me want some cornbread instantly! YUM! Great idea.

I hope you have a great week and enjoy your box! Here are the contents of the bounty for the week:

1. Cucumbers

2. Sweet Peppers

3. Nectarines

4. Beefsteak Tomatoes

5. Squash

6. Malabar Spinach

7. Eggplant

8. Zucchini

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, and Peppers

Spinach Enchiladas

Nectarine Golden Cake

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 10

Happy 4th everyone! We hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday week! Pick ups start today at the farm and at M7 coffee house since the holiday falls on Thursday.

We have a fun box for you for the holiday, and it includes another watermelon to celebrate the 4th. Some more goodies include LEMON basil, blueberries, zucchini, more tomatoes of course, yay for summer time in Mississippi, and a spicy pepper to heat up the holiday. Either jalapeno or serrano. I will link a recipe for a hot sauce recipe, or add to home made salsa or guacamole! I will also link a good reference on a How to Zucchini Noodles either with a spiralizer or without if you are thinking of going low carb for a lemon basil and parmesan pasta recipe I will link too! Or try the tomato, basil caprese recipe linked below. That is one of my all time favorites! I also linked a creamy potato salad with fresh basil, because I have really been wanting to try it! And if you don’t have kids who gobble up a whole pint of blueberries in one sitting, that was dessert last night, then I have linked a 5 ingredient blueberry skillet cake! So much to choose from, the pregnant lady may or may not have been a little hungry when writing this week’s blog ;)

Whatever you decide to do with this week’s bounty, we hope you enjoy it with friends and loved ones and celebrate how fortunate we all are! I would just like to say thank you so much for joining us through this season, boy have we learned a lot about our farm, ourselves, and our community. Safe travels to each and everyone of you! OH, and I wanted to add a lemon basil soda that you could or couldn’t add your choice of alcohol to ;) Happy Holidays! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Blueberries

2. Jalapenos or Serranos- both are a hot pepper!

3. Watermelon

4. Beefsteak Tomatoes

5. Cherry Tomatoes

6. Potatoes

7. Lemon Basil- similar to the Italian variety, but it has a little bit of twang to it!

8. Zucchini

Lemon Basil Soda

5 Ingredient Blueberry Dump Cake

Salsa with Fresh Tomatoes

So Many Hot Sauce Recipes

Caprese Salad with Balsamic Reduction

Creamy Potato Salad with Basil

How to Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini Noodles with Basil Pesto

Simple Parmesan Pasta with Zucchini

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 9

Hello everyone! I hope you all have been well in my absence! I started to have some health issues last week concerning this pregnancy, so I took a big step back last week, and the blog was neglected! I am so sorry. All is better now, so we are thankful for that.

Well what can I say other than it has been pouring rain today. Van was working on the tractor early this morning tilling some ground and trying to get it ready to plant winter squash and pumpkins for the fall, but the rain stopped him in his tracks. It just seems like every time Van attempts to get the ground ready for next year, a torrential down pour happens! It has been the craziest season that we have ever experienced! Not sure why climate change is not talked about as much as it NEEDS to be talked about, but in my farming eyes, it is REAL!! And it effects our economical health and our human health. I wish I would see this crisis being addressed more in our society. Ok, rant over ;)

We hope you have been enjoying your boxes so far! So, I would like to address pick up days/times for next week concerning the 4th of July holiday. Since the holiday falls on Thursday of next week, we will be having pick up for that Thursday on Tuesday. So if you pick up Thursday, expect to pick up Tuesday July 2nd at M7 Coffee House from 4-6pm. We will be at market on Saturday, so that pick up day is staying the same. If any of you Saturday folks are needing to switch to Tuesday pick up, don’t worry, we an accommodate you as well. If anyone wants to pick up Saturday instead, that is fine too. We will be sending out an email or phone call this weekend to confirm everyone’s pick up day!

Also, some folks have been requesting we go ahead and open registration for our FALL CSA, so sign up is officially open! 8 weeks of super yummy fall vegetables (my personal favorite season). This season ALWAYS fills up fast, so go ahead and secure your spot now.

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Corn

2. Slicing Tomatoes

3. Cherry Tomatoes

4. Seedless Watermelon

5. Peaches (Pontotoc, MS)

6. Pickling Cucumbers

7. Hakurei Turnips

8. Potatoes

Roasted Turnip and Potatoes

Peach, Corn, and Avocado Salsa

Refrigerator Pickles

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 7

Hey everyone! Can y’all believe this weather today? I am sitting outside writing this now and thinking how it feels like fall! Crisp breeze with low humidity. It is perfect. We are taking advantage of this nice weather and getting out in the fields to harvest onions that will be topped and dried. You will see some of this first harvest in your box this week. If you still have spring onions in your fridge, you can always just let the onions you get this week continue to dry on your counter for later use. If you are like me, I put onions in almost every dish I make. Not only do they make anything taste good, in my opinion, but they are also a good prebiotic.

New to this week’s box is the first pick of eggplant. I could seriously eat my weight in eggplant when i’m pregnant! I have no idea why, but cubed or thinly sliced and roasted eggplant.. YUM! I am making some tonight ;)

If you have never roasted cabbage before, it is one of my favorite ways to eat it. Makes an easy and delicious side dish. I have linked a recipe below that is really simple to do. I personally like to add a little piece of bacon on top of my cabbage slices when roasting, because… why not? Delicious.

Now that summer is upon us in full swing, besides having this nice break in the weather, it is a perfect time to start putting up some of these great vegetables. I freeze a lot of items, mostly because I don’t have the time to can, but green beans are great frozen or canned, just blanch before freezing. Same with carrots. Summer squash you can freeze or can and even pickle the summer squash for a relish. Link below. And of course you can always freeze tomatoes or can them as well for later uses such as spaghetti sauce or salsas. I have personally just thrown whole tomatoes into bags in my freezer until I am able to process them.

Whatever you decide to do with this week’s bounty, we hope that you are continuing to enjoy! Cheers!

Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Eggplant

2. Green Cabbage

3. Collard Greens

4. Tomatoes

5. Onions

6. Green Beans

7. Carrots

8. Summer Squash

Roasted Cabbage Slices

Squash Relish

How to Freeze Carrots Easily

Cubed Roasted Eggplant

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 6

Top Row: Spring Onions, Leeks, Radishes, and Carrots

Bottom Row: Scarlet Turnips, Mixed Squash, Tomatoes, and Green Beans

Hey everyone! Hope you have all had a wonderful week. It is definitely feeling like summer out at the farm. As you can tell by this week’s box, you will definitely be eating more summer vegetables as well! Like tomatoes! We are so excited to be adding some nice, juicy, perfect for sandwiches and salads, slicing tomatoes. If it’s this hot outside, we might as well be eating some tomato sandwiches, am I right!??

We were visited this week by one of our CSA members, who actually works with MPB, Mississippi Public Broadcasting. We are going to be the featured farm on a cooking show called Fit to Eat. It was fun to show them the farm and talk about the CSA and help educate people on what a CSA is and that it is helpful to our community to support local farmers.

I know we have said this before, but this spring was a really hard start to the year. It took so long to get everything in the ground because of all the rain and the tornado, so the start of our growing season was delayed about 4 weeks, and now everything that was planted later is dying and trying to go to seed because it is just too hot for it to survive. Not to mention that all the moisture and heat leads to different molds that can spread on just about everything. Especially spreads easily to the brassica family, like cauliflower and cabbage etc… I personally just cut out what is bad and use the rest of the vegetable, however please please if you ever find an item in your box that you aren’t able to use, please let me know and I will be more than happy to replace it for you!

We have literally faced all challenges this year, so it is even more appreciated that we have continuing support from you as we are learning more and more about what it takes to be a small farmer in Mississippi! We are so so grateful, and hope you enjoy this week’s box:

1. Green Beans

2. Mixed Squash

3. Tomatoes

4. Leeks

5. Red Radishes

6. Carrots

7. Scarlet Turnips

8. Spring Onions

Sauteed Radishes and Green Beans Salad

Buttered Turnip Puree

Great if you have Kohlrabi to add to this recipe Brown Butter Leek and Turnip Soup

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 5

Hey everyone! We hope you all had a great holiday weekend. It was so hot Saturday and the slip and slide was a big success! Hazel had a great time, but our grass suffered the price and is dead where the plastic was laying. I guess that is the price you pay to play. Regardless, she had a great day and that is all that matters ;).

We have been digging carrots all morning, and even after running irrigation for several hours yesterday, the ground is still hard as a rock! We went from too much rain to now zero rain in sight! One extreme to the other, and a lot of stuff planted has bolted, gone to seed, so Van has been mowing a lot of stuff down today. I think the whole town of Flora smelled like cilantro this morning! haha!

Well, we really hope you have been enjoying your boxes so far. We are happy to add some carrots to the mix this week! Y’all have a great week, and enjoy some quality time with friends and family in the kitchen and over a good home cooked meal. Cheers! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Spring Onions

2. Napa Cabbage

3. Swiss Chard- Great link below on how to prep/clean and recipe ideas and what to do with an overload of Swiss chard.

4. Parsley

5. Broccoli OR Cauliflower

6. Kohlrabi

7. Carrots- Beautiful carrots with greens still on them. And don’t discard those greens! You can actually make a really great tasting pesto out of them.

8. Beets- Recipe below is great, but edit with smaller amount of beets.

Carrot Top and Herb Pesto

Carrot Top Chimichurri

Swiss Chard Overload?

Moroccan Beet Salad with Parsley

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 4

Howdy Folks! We hope everyone has had a great week. We have survived some MORE rain over the weekend, and experiencing some strong winds today. Up to 25mph gusts, and boy it is still so hot out here! The fields are drying out quickly with the wind and the sunshine. We have been able to get some planting done on some rows we were able to get up on Saturday before the rain came. That is a good feeling with more possible rain in the forecast.

Our high tunnel has been reconstructed! We are so happy to see it back up. We are going to try out some of the plastic siding that was left behind from the last greenhouse for a slip and slide this weekend and some some lemonade with that lemon.. Our sweet Hazel turns 4 on Friday, so we are going to spoil her with a good old fashioned, soap and water slip and slide! So, all in all things are good at the farm. Very grateful for that.

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend. Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Spring Onions- A bunch of onions with the greens still on them. And you guessed it! I cook those greens too! I sauté them with my bulb onion or I save and add to stocks and soups.

2. Lettuce

3. Swiss Chard

4. Broccoli- So nice we are giving it to you twice ;)

5. Broccoli

6. Green Beans- I love to cook these beans down in some broth, aminos, and a little onion until all the broth is almost cooked off. They turn out pretty tender and flavorful.

7. Squash- A nice mix of summer squash

8. Red Radishes

Simple Squash and Onions

Broccoli and Onion Salad with Mayo

Broccoli and Onion Salad without Mayo

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 3

Top Row left to right: Curly Kale, Daikon Radish, Fennel, and Red Bibb Lettuce.

Bottom Row left to right: Snap Peas, Red Napa Cabbage, Purple and Green Kohlrabi, and Mustard Greens.

Hey folks! Welcome to week 3 of your CSA! We hope you enjoyed last weeks box. I know I did. We always like to try to eat on a weekly box as well, just so we know exactly what you all are getting! This week includes a very fun box. We have some new stars of the show. My personal favorites too. Can’t wait for you to try them!

The rain has finally stopped! We are so happy about this break and happy for some good sunshine. Mud holes are drying out, and we may be able to get out in the field and get some planting done! All the plants are enjoying some good sunshine, and we will expect to see a big jump in growth this week. By the end of the week, we will more than likely be irrigating!

We tore down the high tunnel last week. Yesterday and today we have had a crew out here steadily putting up poles and hoops for a new one! Woo Hoo! We are ready to be back in business.

Poor Van was up until 3 am in the morning packing for an order to head out to New Orleans. With that being said, we are looking for a part time worker, with farm and plant experience! If you know anyone, please tell them to contact us at twodogfarmsllc@gmail.com. Maybe you know someone going to college for horticulture or agriculture that is off for the summer?? Maybe someone who just moved into town from out of state and has learned all about sustainable agriculture and farming?? (That is my personal experience!) Send them our way!

We hope you have a wonderful week and hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Kale- A curly or Lacinato variety

2. Lettuce- Red Bibb variety

3. Mustard Greens- Curly leaves, but much more tender leaves than the curly kale. Brighter green leaves as well. Spicy mustard flavor, one of my favorite greens to cook down.

4. Peas- Sugar snap peas. I personally like to shell and eat the pea only, the shell seems a little tough to me. The peas are so sweet and taste like candy! Try the Spring Greens Risotto recipe below!

5. Fennel- 2 heads.. Fennel has a bulbous base and green feathery leaves. Both are edible and have a mild aniseed or licorice flavor. Try the pizza recipe below, and substitute wtih any green you may have!!! I also like to make pizzas on Naan Bread! Easy way to make your own pizza. ALSO, the Spring Green Risotto is fabulous!

6. Daikon Radish- This radish has a cylindrical body with purple skin. A tangy and milder radish. Try to throw into a stir fry, it is SO delicious when cooked with a little soy or tamari. And the most used radish to add to any kimchi recipe!

7. Kohlrabi- 2 heads.. This is one of our favorite vegetables, and has been gaining popularity. It is incredibly versatile! You can eat raw, with just a little s&p, or made into a coleslaw. It can be sautéed, roasted, baked, thrown into soups.. the possibilities are endless. It is a wonderful potato substitute for fries, chips, or Au gratin. Make sure to peel until you get to its crispy apple like texture.. Tastes like a mild broccoli.

8. Napa Cabbage- Light green leaves with white prominent veins. Can be used in stir fries, raw in slaws. Makes great cabbage rolls and great Kimchi, a traditional fermented Korean side dish.

Pizza with Caramelized Fennel, Green of your Choice, and Goat Cheese

Spring Green Risotto - I substitute leeks for a small onion, and I personally don’t use the asparagus, just because I have other types of green vegetables! Try adding some kohlrabi and some greens like kale or mustards!

Kohlrabi Fries

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 2

Top Row: Left: Golden Beets with greens, Swiss Chard, Hakurei Turnips, and Yukina Savoy.

Bottom Row: Left: Red Veined Spinach, Head of Lettuce, Cilantro, and Arugula.

Howdy folks, we hope everyone had a wonderful week and enjoyed your bounty. Hopefully you were able to easily assess what everything was in your box ,and you were able to try some new flavors and recipes! I have had a lot of feedback from previous members that when they receive their weekly box and take it home and wash, sort, and prep their vegetables all at once, then it makes it much easier to eat it all throughout the week. Last night I made a quick batch of greens in my instapot using bags of extra baby kale, mizuna mix, and spinach. I added an onion as well and cooked it all in some broth. If you dont have a pressure cooker, you can easily just throw your greens on a big pot on the stove or crockpot. When cooked, I added them to my blender with a pre made pesto sauce, blended, and poured over angel hair with some roasted chicken. The kids loved it! Ivan is my picky eater, so this was a win in my book! Just another idea on how to quickly use up some greens.

We have another good one for you this week. Full of beautiful, flavorful greens, herbs, and roots! The specialty salad turnips called Hakurei will have greens on top that should be added to anything green you cook. The beets also will have greens and should be eaten as well! Very similar in taste and texture to swiss chard.

Swiss chard is a great earthy green that can be used cut into ribbons, mixed with other greens to be cooked down, or even used to make rolls (think cabbage rolls) or wraps. I personally like to chop up the ribs ( like celery) of the swiss chard and add to my dishes as well. We try to use the whole “buffalo” around here when we cook! ;) And just wait until you try the Yukina Savoy and Arugula!! It’s all so good.

The greenhouse is being taken down today and we have a new one being delivered this week. Hopefully we will be able to get it up and constructed in the next week and we will be able to have some new plants in the greenhouse. The greenhouse is technically called a “high tunnel” because it has a dirt floor that we are able to grow. It serves us many purposes and we are so grateful to be getting a new one!

We hope everyone has a great week, enjoys your box, and are able to cook some healthy, delicious meals with family and friends. Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Swiss Chard- I love this earthy tasting green. Great in salads, wraps, cooked down, added to pasta dishes, etc. I also love to slice the 'rib' of the swiss chard sort of like you would celery. Adding the ribs to your dish can add some wonderful texture, color, and flavor. 

2. Lettuce

3. Hakurei Turnips- A Japanese specialty salad turnip. Delicious stir fried, roasted, and grilled. Make sure to eat the greens with the turnips or set aside for another meal!

4. Beets with greens- You will either get a bundle of Golden, Chioggia (striped beet), or Red beet. Delicious roots that you can roast, sauté, or eat raw! Thats right raw. We eat them raw constantly when working, ver good. Beets have an earthy flavor and the greens are very similar to swiss chard in flavor. 

5. Cilantro- You will find this herb a lot in Mexican or Asian dishes. Very distinctive.

6. Yukina Savoy- Referred to as Asian spoon spinach because it cooks and looks similar to spinach, but has a little bit of a spice. Young tender leaves and stalks are excellent for salad mix and stir-fry dishes.

7. Arugula- Very tender, leafy greens that have a distinctive peppery flavor. The possibilities what to put this green on are endless! Salads, pizza, pasta, soups, eggs, etc……. try a little on everything and find your favorite!

8. Red Veined Spinach- Just like green but has a red stem and red veins.

Arugula Inspiration

Cilantro Inspiration

Arugula, Cilantro, and Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus

You can add Swiss chard to this recipe too! Simple and Delicious Beet Greens

Two Dog Farms 2019 Spring/Summer CSA Week 1

Top Row: Dill, Broccolini, and Radishes

Middle Row: Mizuno Mix, and Spinach

Bottom Row: Pea Shoots, Lettuce, Bok Choy, and Baby Kale

Hello everyone! Welcome to week one of your CSA. We can’t believe this day is finally here!  The fields are full of spring greens just waiting to be shared with your family. 

As you all may know, we have been getting a lot of rain at the farm, I think it was a total of 9 inches this past week.  Glad that the sun has been out the last couple of days and drying the ground up for us. We still have a good bit of tomato plants, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, melons, and more, that are just waiting to go in the ground! We will hopefully be able to break some new ground within the next couple of weeks, if the rain decides to hold off for that long! None the less, we sure are staying busy. 

Soon we will start to deconstruct our greenhouse and see what can be spared for a new one. We will hopefully be able to start rebuilding in the next couple of weeks!

Thank all of you so much for joining our "farmily". We are very excited and thankful for this year and thankful for every single one of you, and for understanding what it takes to be a farmer in this beautiful place we call home.

I always link a few recipes at the bottom of the page for inspiration :) We have a great box for you this week with lots of spring greens! Here are the contents of this week’s bounty:

1. Baby Kale- Red Russian variety of kale that is harvested at a younger age for a tender, delicate green to be used in salads or cooked with.

2. Field Grown Lettuce- Delicious field grown lettuce. You know what to do.

3. Radishes- This variety is known as Easter Egger radish. Versatile and medium spice radish that can be used for salads or to cook with. 

4. Pea Shoots- Our kids LOVE eating these! Just by themselves, or try on top of a meal as a garnish or chopped in a salad. Adds a really nice sweet pea flavor.

5. Dill- I LOVE this herb. It is delicious on roasted vegetables and is my absolute favorite to chop up and toss into a salad. 

6. Bok Choy- Large head with leafy greens. The whole plant is edible. Greens will be a little spicier than the ribs and stems. Chop up to add in stir fries, or peel off each individual leaf and roast in oven, or try on the grill.

7. Broccolini- Smaller florets of broccoli. Really nice raw or sauteed/grilled.

8. Mizuno OR Arugula- Mizuno is a braising mix of red and green mizuno. This mix is flavorful and colorful. You can really use any of our greens to braise. Add any greens to this mix if you need to stretch it further for a meal. See easy recipe below. I personally use coconut oil or butter and sometimes I like a squeeze of lemon to replace red pepper. Also, mizuno adds a lot of flavor when chopped thinly and added to a salad or try on a sandwich.

9. Spinach- Mature, green leaf spinach. Great raw or sautéed. 

Braising Greens Mix

Sweet and Spicy Bok Choy

Roasted Broccolini with Lemon and Parmesan

Two Dog Farms 2018 Fall CSA Week 11

Top Row: Kohlrabi, Lettuce, and Cabbage

Bottom Row: Fennel, Parsley, Daikon Radish, Hakurei Turnips, and Kabocha Squash

Howdy folks! Welcome to your final CSA box for the year! We hope you have enjoyed all of your vegetables this season, and we look forward to another season in the upcoming spring and summer! We have already updated the website for the Spring/Summer sign up, so if you were hoping to gift someone a merry and healthy 2019, now you are able to do so! It will run 12 weeks starting the week of April 8th and go until the week of June 24th. We have shortened the season from last year’s 14 weeks to 12 weeks due to Mississippi’s ever changing heat patterns. Plus, 12 weeks is still an abundant bounty of vegetables for the season! You will receive plenty of kale, greens, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash, tomatoes, peppers, onions, potatoes, beets, green beans, and more! Click on the link HERE and it will take you to our sign up page!

Ps. We are offering a FREE reusable veggie tote, but only if you sign up before the new year. You can use our Promo Code LOCAL to get yours! Just add the tote to your cart along with your CSA share and enter code at check out :)

Please tell your friends and help us spread the veggie love. Thank you again for your support and helping us build and feed our community in the Jackson area. We wouldn’t be able to do what we love without you! Thank you! Until next year!

Sincerely,

Your farmers, Van, Dorothy, Hazel, and Ivan

Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Cabbage

2. Lettuce

3. Kabocha Squash

4. Kohlrabi

5. Purple Daikon Radish

6. Fennel

7. Parsley

8. Small Hakurei Salad Turnips

Recipes to come!!!

Two Dog Farms 2018 Fall CSA Week 10

Howdy Folks, and welcome to week 10 of your CSA! It’s hard to believe we have one more week after this one. We will be listing the Spring/Summer CSA sign up on the website in the next week or two! We will be looking forward to you signing up for next year so we can go ahead and order seeds, fertilizer, cover crops, etc., and get a jump start on next year’s season! We really appreciate all the support! Thank you!

I am always very open and appreciative of any kind of feedback! Send me an email or call/text anytime you have anything you would like us to know about your box. We are always trying to learn and improve.

We have high hopes to get another high tunnel or caterpillar tunnels for next year to help extend our season on more fragile and frost intolerant crops such as Swiss chard, lettuces, and baby greens. This year we received a freeze several weeks earlier than we have in the last few years, so a high tunnel or caterpillar tunnels would be very helpful. Fingers crossed it all works out.

Thanks again for the support, and please consider joining us again in the spring and summer!! Hope you have a wonderful week, and enjoy this week’s box:

1. Carrots- Try the carrot gnocchi below!

2. Lettuce

3. Butternut Squash

4. Broccoli

5. Watermelon Radish

6. Fennel- Bulb fennel with green fronds. Try the caramelized fennel recipe below.

7. Sorrel- The lemon of the vegetable world! Sorrel is a citrusy, tangy green. I often make soup, chop and add with salads, pesto, smoothies, and makes a great marinade for fish or chicken or any protein! Try the sorrel pesto soup recipe below.

8. Cilantro- Try the Mexican gnocchi recipe below!

Be in the “Gno”cchi ;)

Carrot Gnocchi

Mexican Gnocchi

Pesto Gnocchi Soup

Sorrel Pesto

Caramelized Fennel and Onions

Two Dog Farms 2018 Fall CSA Week 9

Top Row: Dandelion Greens, Hakurei Turnips, Arugula, and Bok Choy

Bottom Row: Carrots, Cauliflower (Romanesco), Red Russian Kale, and Watermelon Radishes

Howdy folks! Welcome to week 9 of your CSA! We hope everyone had a great week and enjoyed your time spent with friends and family.

Was anyone able to make a pie from the recipe shared last week? If so, I would love to hear some feedback! This time of year is my favorite because of all the pies to be had!

New to your box this week are Dandelion greens! Some of you may be thinking, “that weed that grows in my yard that I try to get rid of every summer!??”. Well, yes it is, but this is a different variety than our native weed, and I am happy to say it is still loaded with TONS of medicinal and nutritional benefits. For many centuries, all over the world people have been using this green for its medicine, or just simply going in their back yard and harvesting the greens to make a lovely nutritional meal. All parts of the plant can be used as medicine, in fact the root and flowers are quite valuable in herbal medicine making. Here is a link highlighting the nutritional benefits of this green. Click Here for information on Dandelion Greens.

Thank you everyone for all of the support, and we hope you have enjoyed your boxes this Fall! Between all the rain and the worm epidemic, it has been a really tough year for us. We are learning new things with every growing season, and we really appreciate y’all taking the ride with us! I hope we have been able to supply your homes with healthy meals from our family to yours! Have a wonderful week, cheers! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Carrots

2. Arugula or Baby Greens Mix

3. Hakurei Turnips

4. Cauliflower

5. Watermelon Radish

6. Bok Choy

7. Red Russian Kale

8. Dandelion Greens

10 Ways to prepare Dandelion Greens

Dandelion Greens Pasta with Garlic and Pine Nuts

Roasted Turnips and Radishes

Two Dog Farms 2018 Fall CSA Week 8

Top Row:
Butternut Squash, Daikon Radish, Beets, Long Island Cheese Squash, or North Georgia Candy Roaster

Bottom Row:
Collards, Carrots, Shishito Peppers, and Collards

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone! We would like to express how thankful we are for everyone that has joined our season this year! Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts because without you we would not be able to do what we love!! We hope you have enjoyed everything so far. Have a wonderful week with friends and family. Thank you all! Here are the contents of this week’s box:

1. Butternut Squash

2. Daikon Radish- Wonderful roasted as a side dish!

3. Beets

4. Long Island Cheese Squash or North Georgia Candy Roaster- See recipe below for the best pie made with Long Island Cheese, North Georgia Candy Roaster, or Kabocha Squash. Great substitute for pumpkin/sweet potato pie.

5. Collards- two servings so you can make a large pot of greens for your thanksgiving meal.

6. Collards- two servings so you can make a large pot of greens for your thanksgiving meal.

7. Carrots

8. Shishito Peppers

SLOW COOKER GREENS

YIELD: 2-4 servings

PREP TIME: 10 minutes 

COOK TIME: 4-6 hours

2 cans (10.75 ounces) beef stock (I used Chicken)

1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 chop chopped onion

1 cup fully cooked ham, diced

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 bay leaf

various greens (collard, turnip, radish, braising mix) de-stemmed and finely chopped or roughly torn

Place beef stock, diced tomatoes with green chiles, onion, ham, vinegar, sugar, garlic powder, seasoned salt, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf in a slow cooker. Add greens to slow cooker. Cook on “low,” stirring occasionally,  until greens are very tender, 4 to 6 hours

KABOCHA SQUASH PIE

YIELD: 4-6 servings

PREP TIME: 50 minutes 

COOK TIME: 35-40 minutes 

2 cups squash cooked and mashed

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese

2 cups of sugar

1 tsp. of vanilla

4 eggs

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Halve and de-seed squash. Place cut side down on oiled cookie sheet. Roast at 425 degrees for 35-45 minutes until fork tender. Scrape out cooked squash and mash with fork.

Blend squash and cream cheese with hand mixer. Add remaining ingredients and pour into pie crust. Bake for 35-40 min at 350 degrees

TWICE BAKED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH QUINOA AND KALE or Collards

YIELD: 2 servings 

PREP TIME: 15 minutes 

COOK TIME: 50 minutes 

1 medium-sized butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded

2 TBS olive oil (divided)

2 large shallots, diced

1 bunch of kale or collards, stems removed and torn into bite size pieces

1/2 cup quinoa

blue cheese crumbles

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400. Drizzle squash halves with 1 TBS olive oil. Place cut side down on a prepared baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 30-45 minutes (time will vary depending on the size of your squash) It should be fork tender.

Meanwhile cook your quinoa. Place 1/2 cup quinoa with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover for about 10-15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is light and fluffy.

While quinoa cooks heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and saute’ for about 5 minutes. Add kale. Cook for about 5 more minutes stirring every so often.  Remove from heat and set aside.

When Squash is done roasting remove from oven. Scoop out flesh leaving 1/4 inch on sides and bottom. Mash the flesh with the quinoa and kale mixture. Add some blue cheese crumbles. Scoop quinoa mixture into squash halves. Crumble a little more blue cheese on top and place back in the oven for about 3 minutes or until cheese has melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Enjoy.