Two Dog Farms 2017 Fall CSA Week 10

Hello folks! Welcome to week 10 of your CSA. Your final box of the 2017 season. We hope you have enjoyed all of the vegetables you have received and we enjoyed getting to know all of you personally. Thank you so much for a wonderful season at the farm and for your support. 

With the beautiful days we have been having this week it is hard to believe that we received 5 inches of snow last week! The farm was a sight to see blanketed in white. It was gorgeous and at the same time a little frightening as we were wondering what all was getting frost bitten underneath that beautiful blanket. The carrots should be extra sweet this week, due to the freeze, and you will be receiving double the bounty. Also, expect the collards to be a little sweeter as well.

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, and keep us in mind when gifting presents! Perhaps someone would love a Spring/Summer subscription in 2018! Just an idea :)

We will hopefully be able to continue harvesting throughout December and into the new year and supply our produce to local grocery stores like Rainbow Co-op and local restaurants like Local 463, Walkers, The Manship, and more. So if you are missing us as much as we are missing yall, please support local! But if you are in our neck of the woods, please stop by to say Hi and grab some produce! We would love to see you!

So, THANK YOU!! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for joining us, and we hope to see you next year in the spring. Cheers to you all!

Your farmers,

Van, Dorothy, Hazel, & Ivan

1. Broccolini

2. Carrots

3. Carrots

4. Acorn Squash

5. Collards

6. Spinach

7. Mizuno Mix- baby greens mix that contains arugula, kale, and mizuno. This is a wonderful braising mix. (some will just receive baby kale as we were a little short with the mizuno mix this week)

8. Cauliflower

9. Kale

Simple Roasted Cauliflower

Two Dog Farms 2017 Fall CSA Week 9

Welcome to week 9 of your CSA! We hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. Our entire family has been sick with the flu, including baby Ivan whose cold turned into Croup! That has been really scary to deal with, but he seems to be doing better. I think it is impossible for him to not get sick when Hazel is constantly around him. 

We really hope everyone has been enjoying everything as the season is winding down. Here are the contents of this weeks box:

1. Carrots

2. Broccolini

3. Collards

4. Parsley

5. Cabbage

6. Spinach

7. Watermelon Radish

8. Beefsteaks

9. Green Tomatoes

Two Dog Farms 2017 Fall CSA Week 8

Hey folks, welcome to week 8 of your CSA. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving spent with family around the dinner table! We had a great time with family and made so much food. I made a broccoli casserole and a squash pie that turned out really great. I wish i had a piece of pie to eat every night of the week. Van and I fought over the last piece of pie! It even had finger holes in it from where Hazel was eating it also. 

Your box this week includes a very exciting new item that we have never grown before. It is purple Napa Cabbage (chinese cabbage). It is so beautiful and one of my favorite cabbages. A very tender cabbage that is great to make cabbage rolls with, stir fry, or even make a kimchi with the daikon radishes and carrots in your box as well. 

We hope everyone has a great week. Here are the contents of this weeks box:

1. Purple Napa Cabbage

2. Dill

3. Carrots

4. Daikon Radish

5. Beets

6. Baby Kale

7. Acorn Squash

8. Broccoli

9. Beefsteak Tomatoes

Cabbage and Daikon Kimchi

Two Dog Farms 2017 Fall CSA Week 7

Hey Y'all! Hope everyone has been having a good week so far getting ready for the upcoming holiday. We will have our 2 pick up locations today at M7 Coffee House in Ridgeland and at the farm in Flora, form 4-6pm at both locations. We sent out an email and if you have yet to let us know where you will be picking up, please do so as soon as possible. We doubled up on collard greens and broccoli this week so you would be able to use these as side dishes if desired. Also, the kabocha squash makes for an excellent pie! I have posted the recipe below as well as an easy greens in the crockpot recipe. 

Well, we had a pretty good freeze at the farm Sunday night, so expect your carrots and collards to be a little sweeter this week! We tried to pick as many tomatoes as we could have Sunday. The freeze again damaged the top portion of the plant, but we do have some fruit still on the plant that we think we will be able to still pick, so that is fortunate! 

Van nor I will be at the pick up locations this afternoon, Cole will be at the M7 location and Rachel will be at the Farm. Van is in New Orleans, like he is every Tuesday, he is working the farmers market there and delivering to restaurants. Hazel, Ivan and I are headed to Batesville to do the Polar Express train ride! My wonderful mother-in-law surprised us with tickets and Hazel is so excited! 

We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with family. Wishing everyone safe travels during this week as well. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Collards

2. Collards

3. Carrots

4. Parsley

5. Kabocha Squash

6. Broccoli

7. Broccoli

8. Tomatoes

9. Lettuce

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

Two Dog Farms 2017 Fall CSA Week 6

Top Row: Beets with Greens, Arugula, Lettuce, and Baby Carrots

Bottom Row: Broccoli, Purple Cabbage, Beefsteak Tomatoes, Butternut Squash, and Sweet Peppers.

Hi everyone! Hope y'all have been enjoying all of your greens and vegetables that this season has had to offer. We are starting to get into some of our more hardier root vegetables. This week's box is a beautiful bounty! 

Again, we will have only ONE pick up day the week of Thanksgiving. It will be next Tuesday the 21st. We will offer pick up locations at M7 coffee house in Ridgeland, and also at the farm in Flora. Pick up times will be from 4-6pm. We will be sending out an email to further get in touch with everyone. 

Our chickens have started to slow down with their egg production. That is of course normal this time of year with the time change, shorter days, and colder weather. Im honestly surprised that we are still even getting about 12 eggs a day. Some of our chickens are starting to molt as well. It's amazing how everything that's living changes with the seasons. 

The electric deer fence we have put up around the farm seems to have helped so far! There has still been a few times where we have seen that some deer have eaten produce. The beans especially. We have learned that will happen regardless, and to always just plant a little extra when planting our starts. Some of you may remember how bad the deer were last season, and thank goodness it is nothing like that this fall. 

One of my personal favorites, cauliflower, has started to form small heads in the field. The box this week may be the most colorful of all the boxes so far! It is a really great harvest this week. Hope y'all enjoy and have a wonderful week. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Baby Carrots- Don't discard the greens! Try in soups, finely chopped in salads, or a pesto. 

2. Butternut Squash

3. Purple Cabbage

4. Sweet Peppers

5. Broccoli- Don't discard that large stalk! Chop and put into soups and stir fries. Even try peeling and making into a mash. 

6. Head of field grown Lettuce

7. Arugula- Peppery green with so much flavor. Great in salads.

8. Beets- Don't discard those greens! Beet greens cook and taste much like swiss chard. 

9. Beefsteak Tomatoes

Carrot Top and Arugula Pesto

Healthier Broccoli and Cheese Soup with Butternut Squash

Two Dog Farm 2017 Fall CSA Week 5

Top Row: Swiss Chard, Romain, and Cilantro

Middle Row: Banana Peppers and Cherry Tomatoes

Bottom Row: Spinach, Baby Kale, Radishes, and Spaghetti Squash

Hey Folks! Welcome to week 5 of your CSA. We hope everyone has been enjoying their weekly boxes and have been inspired to cook healthy and at home. I think we have finally figured out our computer/internet connection issues. So sorry for the inconvenience.

So much has happened at the farm since our last blog. The weather has been brutal, including high winds and a freeze. The freeze killed most of our summer crops. The tomatoes however made it through with just a foot of damage on the top of the plant. Thank goodness because they are loaded with tomatoes! It's amazing to think we are still able to harvest field tomatoes in November. Last year we were able to harvest tomatoes well into Thanksgiving.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we will more than likely have only ONE pick up day the week of. It will probably be on the Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving. We will of course send an email and talk more about this closer to the time, but I just wanted to go ahead and give everyone a heads up.

So this is big news!! Our good friends at Reyer Farms are offering a Beef CSA Program!! We have had a lot of people very interested in getting a meat share, and this is a great way to buy grass fed, local beef. Also, a great affordable way to get your beef share without overloading your freezer space. Pictures are located below of a few favorite cuts of beef. Please take a moment to considering joining their farm!

Reyer Farms

Want better beef for you and your family?

Us too!  We strive to raise quality healthy beef here in Mississippi and want to make this beef available to you in a NEW convenient package.

This package is a box containing 10-12 lbs of our native Pineywoods beef.  Each month will include a variety of premium beef cuts and our premium ground beef.  Spend as little as $100/Month

3 Options:

**All cuts are safely frozen secure is a cozy vacuum sealed package and portioned  for easy meal planning**

3 Month Subscription $375

6 Month Subscription $660

12 Month Subscription $1200

                      Availability is limited. Assure better beef at your table; Secure your share today!!!

Want to sign up or learn more?

www.reyerfarms.com

call 601-906-1185

jody@reyerfarms.com

Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys their vegetables. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Bag of Spinach

2. Swiss Chard

3. Romaine Lettuce

4. Cilantro

5. Baby Kale

6. Radishes

7. Cherry Tomatoes

8. Spaghetti Squash

9. Banana Peppers

TwoDog Farms 2017 Fall Harvest Week 3

Hi Y'all, welcome to week 3 of your fall CSA! I hope everyone has enjoyed their boxes so far. I'm sure everyone has been feeling a little bit healthier having an abundance of greens in their lives! Hope everyone is finding some creative ways to use all of their weekly vegetables. 

As you all may know, we had some bad weather roll through the south this past Saturday and Sunday. We definitely took a beating at the farm. Our tomato plants were loaded with fruit and were knocked down, little damage to the chicken coop, as well as a little damage to our high tunnel. We spent much of the day yesterday and today staking the tomatoes back up. 

There is a freeze in the forecast this weekend, if it does freeze then we will probably lose our tomatoes. We are hoping for warmer temperatures and a slight breeze. If there is a slight breeze this will help against frost damage on the fruit and plants. The collard greens on the other hand will taste sweet and better after a little frost.

Hope everyone has a good week and can enjoy a few warm meals on these cooler days and nights. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Dill

2. Kohlrabi- This alien vegetable is my all time favorite. Extremely versatile and a great potato substitute. Also, enjoy it's mild broccoli taste raw in salads, slaws, or as chips for hummus. Don't forget to try roasted as fries as well. I also linked some great creative recipes as well. Please peel before enjoying.  

3. Cherry tomatoes

4. Shishito Peppers

5. Cubanelle Peppers

6.Bok Choy

7. Broccoli

8. Acorn Squash

9. Kale

Kohlrabi and Leek Soup

Kohlrabi Dill Pickles

Greek Style Kohlrabi Pie or Gratin with Dill and Feta

Kohlrabi Herbed and Yogurt Salad

Two Dog Farms 2017 Fall Harvest Week 2

Top Row: Collard Greens, Toscano (Dino) Kale, Swiss Chard, and Field Grown Lettuce

Bottom Row: Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Orange Peppers, Spaghetti Squash, Eggplant, and Anaheim Peppers

Hey folks and welcome to week 2 of your fall CSA. We hope you enjoyed the bounty last week. We are absolutely loving the weather this week. It is actually starting to feel like fall weather. A friend told me that her mother used to always say that the state fair brings in cool weather. "The rides whipping and moving all around stirs the air." It sure did play true this year! 

So many greens are in season and coming out of the field now. This is my favorite time of the year when summer meets fall and we still have peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, melons, and also have beautiful greens, winter squash, and root vegetables. Your supper menu for the week should not be boring!

We have already begun to fend off deer in the fields. I know with the cooler weather coming in that they will be even more active. We actually put an electric deer fence up, and it is helping, but they are still getting into the fields some. We are trying to find out how and where. We have been letting our chickens get into our big compost pile and they are LOVING all of the insects and yummy treats they are finding in there! It is really fun to watch them dig and scratch through it.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend and a great start to a new week. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Anaheim Peppers

2. Eggplant

3. Orange Sweet Peppers

4. Collards

5. Field Grown Lettuce

6. Toscano Kale

7. Cherry Tomatoes

8. Swiss Chard

9. Spaghetti Squash

The spaghetti squash recipe below looks delicious. You can always add roasted chick peas or chicken for some protein, and did you know that you can make your own sundried tomatoes in the oven?

Oven "SunDried" Tomatoes

Garlic, Kale, and SunDried Tomato Spaghetti Squash

I plan to make a Swiss chard and sweet pepper crustless quiche with farm eggs this week!

Veggie Crustless Quiche

Or make your favorite enchiladas using collard green leaves as the tortilla. Also substitute whatever veggies you have like maybe roast eggplant and anaheims to add into enchiladas.

Veggie Collard Green Enchiladas

TWO DOG FARMS 2017 FALL HARVEST WEEK 1

Hi everyone and welcome to week 1 of your fall CSA! Thank you all so much for joining us this season. We are really excited about what's to come in the next 10 weeks, and hope to supply you with fresh, seasonal meals at home. The bounty this week equals one very full box! I love this time of the year!!!

All of our members should have received a reminder email this week. A few things were mentioned.

One of our CSA members created a facebook page for people that are involved in a CSA. This is a wonderful way to share recipes/meal ideas, get a little inspiration, or one may comment about different vegetables that are in their box! I really encourage everyone to join in on this page! It's called Jackson Eats Plants! (exclamation point IS included in FB page name)

If you can not make your designated pick up day, please email us 24 hours in advance to make new arrangements. If you will be out of town, we encourage you to to have a relative, friend, or neighbor pick up your box, or we can donate the box if you choose. We also encourage the reuse of the cardboard boxes. If you can return your used box when picking up the new box the following week, that would be wonderful! Thanks! Also, our hens are laying very well and we will have eggs available for sale at the pickups! We will provide the egg carton, and if you wanted to return them as well that would great. Thanks! Below are a few links for some recipe ideas to get your cooking juices flowing! Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Cherry Tomatoes
2. Yukina Savoy
3. Bok Choy
4. Field Grown Lettuce
5. Shishito Peppers
6. Banana Peppers
7. Eggplant
8. Radishes
9. Lacinato Kale
10. Cantaloupe

Spicy Bok Choy in Garlic and Ginger Sauce

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/167331/spicy-bok-choy-in-garlic-sauce/

Moroccan Yukina Savoy Skillet

http://www.glutenfreecat.com/2011/03/moroccan-yukina-savoy-red-quinoa-skillet/

Easy Roasted Shishito Peppers (or try pan frying them too!)

http://www.paleoscaleo.com/easy-roasted-shishito-peppers/

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 11

Top Row: Cantaloupe, Tomatoes, Beets, Snap Beans, and Italian Basil.

Bottom Row: Cucumbers, Blueberries, Cabbage, and Onions

Hey Folks and welcome to week 11 of your CSA! We are getting close to the end of the season, and have already started cutting back the spring crops. We have started to pull up plastic mulch, so we can get the ground ready to work for the fall season. Work never stops!! We are anticipating having new summer crops ready in the next couple of weeks, such as eggplant, peppers, and okra. The eggplant are getting really close. Hope everyone enjoyed their watermelon last week. We didn't have enough to put in your box this week, but hope to have one for your box next week for the 4th of July. 

Since the 4th of July falls on a Tuesday, we will only have 2 pick up days next week, Thursday at M7, instead of on Tuesday, and pick ups for Thursday at the farm and Saturday at High Street will remain the same. We decided this because we were getting a bit of feedback from many people traveling on the holiday. 

The rain decided to take a break. Needless to say, we are enjoying the sunshine!! We are also enjoying the yellow fleshed variety of watermelon called 'Sunshine'! They are so good. Sweet and tangy. Some of you may have gotten one in your box last week. Praying for more sunshine and hopefully the rain forecasted this weekend won't be too bad. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Cucumbers

2. Beans

3. Cantaloupe

4. Blueberries

5. Beets

6. Beefsteak Tomatoes

7. Onions

8. Italian Basil

9. Cabbage

Pictured below enjoying four wheeler rides, and then Hazel enjoying a yellow watermelon. 

Roasted Beet and Basil Salad

Tomato, Basil, and Feta Salad

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 10

Top Row: Tomatoes, Lemon Basil, Beets, and Curly Kale

Bottom Row: Miniature Watermelon, Miniature Cantaloupe, Cured Onion, and Gherkin Cucumbers

Hey everyone and welcome to week 10 of your CSA. I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We went to Van's brother's house in Monroe, La., and had a wonderful visit. We were able to enjoy Sunday out on the Ouachita River. It was Hazel's first experience on a boat and she loved it! 

We were surprised to harvest watermelons out of the field this week. We have been harvesting yellow and red meat watermelons so far, and they are really really juicy. Must be from all the rain. I hope everyone has been enjoying the cantaloupes the past couple of weeks too. This week's variety of cucumber is Gherkin. This makes for a wonderful pickle. Now is the time to put a few jars of pickles up for the later months in the year. 

The rain has been nonstop. We received 5 more inches last week and 2 of those inches we got in about an hour. That is a lot of rain at once. The farm was literally under a flash flood. We found out last night that there is a tropical storm headed our way as well. I am thankful to not be on the coast, but I know we will get some of that rain, 3-5 inches is what The Weather Channel was predicting for our area. This has by far been the wettest season we have farmed in. I have never seen this much rain in June. Our climate is definitely changing. I can't help but wonder what the fall and winter will be like. I wonder if the fall and winter will be as warm and as long of a growing season as it was last year. We had a wonderful fall crop and CSA last year, and hope to have y'all join us!

The weather has really limited our growing season this spring/summer. Thank you so much for sticking through this with us! Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Watermelon

2. Cantaloupe

3. Beets

4. Lemon Basil

5. Gherkin Cucumbers

6. Tomatoes

7. Curly Kale

8. Cured Onions

Pictured below Van and Hazel enjoying a little float time on the river, beets being cleaned and ready to go into your CSA, and a 2 pound tomato we picked before it split from all the rain. 

Cucumber Salad with Lemon Basil

Lemon Basil and Lime Sorbet

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 8

Top Row: Lemon Cucumbers, Cantaloupe, Swiss Chard, and Cabbage

Bottom Row: Beets, Squash, Tomatoes, and Beans

Hey y'all, welcome to week 8 of your CSA! We hope everyone had a great weekend. Hazel and I were in a wedding in Estes Park, Co this past weekend. Hazel was a flower girl, and she did so good throwing flowers down the aisle (proud mama moment). Van actually got to buy a last minute flight and get away with us as well. We had a great time together, but it is great to be home. Hazel has especially been loving the mud holes at the farm. We were really nervous leaving the farm for those 3 days, but with all the rain limiting us anyways, it seemed to be good timing. 

Now we are ready to continue getting the rest of the onions out of the field and onto drying racks. We have already put up about 1,600 lbs. of onions, and have about 4 times that amount to get out of the field. Unfortunately half of the onions have gone bad because of the excess rain. It is so wet in the fields. Really hoping for some drier weather this next week, or even for a few weeks!

The amount of loss that we are experiencing because of the weather has been terrible, but it's mother nature and that is the risk we take when doing what we love. We are so grateful and lucky to have people like yourselves who take that risk with us and are understanding of what it takes to have a farm in Mississippi. Thank you so much for being a part of our farm and encouraging us everyday! Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Beets

2. Lemon Cucumbers- Heirloom variety that's tender and sweet. Great for salads and pickling. 

3. Miniature Cantaloupe

4. Swiss Chard

5. Cabbage

6. Squash

7. Tomatoes

8. Beans

Pictured below is Hazel and Van at the wedding in Colorado. She sure does love her daddy! Then Hazel loving being back at the farm helping give chickens water and playing in the mud holes.

Lemon Cucumber Salad and Italian Basil Pesto

30 Beet Dishes (try something new!)

20 Recipes where Cabbage is King (roasted cabbage and bacon is my fav)

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 7

Top Row: Bush Beans, Zucchini, Squash, Beets

Bottom Row: Potatoes, Sorrel, Cucumbers, Fennel, Collards

Hey everyone and welcome to week 7 of your CSA! It's hard to believe that we are half way through the season already. We really hope everyone has enjoyed their boxes thus far. It has been a very challenging season on our part, we are trying to compete with the rain, and get everything planted and everything out of the field before it becomes too saturated with water and rots. Some of you last week received broccoli instead of cauliflower in your box because it was indeed too wet and the cauliflower started to go bad. We lost about 4,000 heads of cauliflower in the fields due to the wet conditions. 

This past week we planted our pepper, eggplant, okra, tomato, and watermelon plants. We are almost a month behind schedule because of all the moisture. All we can do now is pray for sunshine to make everything grow fast and plentiful. I don't think our prayers will be heard this week tho. There seems to be high percentages of rain until Tuesday of next week! 

This week we will focus on getting all of our cabbage, turnips, and some of the onions out of the fields before the excess moisture gets to them as well. We have a wonderful friend who has helped build drying racks for us to use for the onions. We are hoping to be able to include onions in your boxes for a couple more months. 

Tomatoes are getting close to being ready and into your boxes! We are thinking by next week, of course depends on the weather, we can include some juicy, vine ripened tomatoes for y'all to enjoy! 

I just want to say thank you so much for being here with us and I hope you are able to get into your kitchens and cook some great meals with family and friends. Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. Sorrel- The lemon of the vegetable world. Sorrel is a great herb that has a nice citrus finish. wonderful to throw into smoothies, chop up fine in salads, sauté with other greens, or chop and use to marinade different proteins like fish and chicken. 

2. Fennel- 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 the swiss chard for spinach! I also like to make pizzas on Naan Bread! Easy way to make your own pizza

3. Beans (1 lb)

4. Beets

5. Potatoes (2 lbs)

6. Squash

7. Zucchini

8. Collards

9. Cucumbers

Pizza with Caramelized Fennel, Spinach, and Goat Cheese

10 Sorrel Spring Recipes

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 6

Top Row: Hakurei Turnips, Dino Kale, Swiss Chard, Squash and Zucchini

Bottom Row: Cucumbers, Snap Beans, Cauliflower, and Napa Cabbage

Howdy folks! Welcome to week 6 of your CSA! We hope you are enjoying all of the greens, roots, and other crops that have been coming out of the field! We have been SO BUSY!! I'm sorry I wasn't able to get last week's blog updated. We are working overtime trying to get all of our roots out of the field before it gets too hot. We were out until after 9pm the other night getting much needed rows up for our summer plants to go in the ground. I was out in the field until after 10 picking all of the squash and zucchini that was ready, about 500 lbs, the night after that. It has been so hot that we have to pick our squash and zucchini every day so they don't get too large. It has been crunch time getting everything done before the rain came. It rained on the farm for 18 hours straight. I honestly can say that is the longest I have ever seen it rain there. 

We had the Garden Club of Jackson come and tour the farm the other day. I love when new people come to see us. Especially people who have the same passion for what we are doing.

The city of Flora has a new park a block away from the farm! It has a small playground and walking trails. The land was donated by a very good man, and many volunteers helped to construct it last week. I am so excited to see this erected and I already brought Hazel to play this past weekend. 

My sweet baby girl, Hazel is turning 2 tomorrow!! I am so blessed to be her mother. She has taught me so much about myself. It is often very hard at times to be a good mother and to be a good purveyor of vegetables to my community. This is something I struggle with and learn how to do more and more each day. 

Hope y'all had a great week and we look forward to new vegetables making their appearance in your homes! Thanks so much for the support and we truly hope y'all are enjoying everything. Here are your vegetables for this week:

1. Cauliflower

2. Hakurei turnips

3. Cucumbers

4. Bush Snap Beans

5. Dino Kale

6. Swiss Chard

7. Napa Cabbage

8. Squash 

9. Zucchini

Pictured below Hazel found the dogs dirt hole, the new park in Flora being constructed last week, spreading fertilizer on summer rows, plastic being laid into the night on those summer rows, and Isabella about help pick squash and zucchini behind her. 

Cucumber and Zucchini Salad

Roasted Garlic and Cauliflower

36 Green Bean Recipes  A lot of these recipes were paired with potatoes if you have any left over from last week! 

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 5

Top Row: Mustard Frills, Red Leaf Lettuce, Heirloom Carrots, and Curly Kale

Bottom Row: Cabbage, Potatoes, Zucchini, Summer Squash, Scarlet Turnips

MORE INFORMATION AND RECIPES TO COME!! 

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 4

Hey everyone! Hope y'all are doing well, and you were able to cook a lot of good meals this last week. I made a big pot of broccoli soup that turned out great, especially after everyone in our home got the flu! We are all on the mend now, thanks to some good vegetables! 
Our new cooler is working great and helping so much with extra storage of produce. Once the vegetables are packed into boxes then they go straight to that new cooler and the boxes remain dry and firm! Our previous cooler, which we still use, has 100% humidity and is great for vegetables, but not boxes. If you were with us last year, you may have received a "soft" box due to the humidity. Hoping we have eliminated that issue! 
I have gotten some feedback from some folks, and they are concerned on how to store vegetables in their fridge to keep them fresh longer. If you are able to put any greens like kale, collards, or Swiss chard in plastic bags, then this really helps to keep them fresher and to eliminate some wilting. Air exposure can dry out your vegetables, so try to create a humid environment for them. You can do the same for squash, radishes, etc., but the vegetables that have a thicker skin on them are not as necessary as greens such as kale and collards. Another thing I suggest doing is once you get your weekly box, you can go ahead to prep, chop, and store in bags for easy access later in the week. If anyone has any questions on storage, or if you need tips to eat everything in your box, please let me know! We are more than happy to help, and if you have any suggestions and tips that you would like to share, we would love to hear those as well. 
A couple things we do regularly are "compost", whatever you have left in your fridge to help clean it out, stir fries, fried rice, pasta, roasting or just put everything in a pot and make a soup.  
Hope y'all have a great week! Here are the contents of this week's box:

1. radishes
2. kohlrabi
3. Dill
4. Collards
5. red leaf lettuce
6. spring onions
7. broccoli
8. carrots-  a first harvest of these beautiful carrots. Smaller in size, these could be considered baby carrots.
 

http://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/2014/04/roasted-carrots-with-dill/

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 3

Top Row: Red Leaf Lettuce, Spring Onions, Beets, Swiss Chard, and Hakurei Turnips

Bottom Row: Bok Choy, Broccoli, Zucchini and Squash, and Dino Kale

Hey y'all, welcome to week 3 of your CSA! We hope that everyone enjoyed their Box last week. 

Flora received some really bad weather early Sunday morning. A tornado went through downtown, and actually blew off the roof of one restaurant. We were so lucky to have as little of damage as we did. Several of our squash plants were literally torn in half from the wind and trees are down, but that is minimal considering the damage done just 2 blocks away from our farm! Our summer crops have really taken a beating this year so far! I wish we could keep these cooler days, they feel amazing, but I'm ready for some calmer weather. 

Poor Van is trying to find the time to install this new window unit, cool bot to get our new cooler running. Between harvest and the numerous projects we have going on, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything.  *****UPDATE*** we were actually able to finish and install earlier today. Check out the pictures below! 

We have our delivery truck in the shop getting work done this week. Van got into a fender bender on Saturday after the farmer's market. Hope they are able to get it up and running again quickly, so we can bring this week's box of goodness to you! Here is what to expect in this week's box:

1. Beets- 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, very good. Beets have an earthy flavor and the greens are very similar to swiss chard in flavor. 

2. Hakurei Turnips 

3. Dino Kale- Also called Lacinato Kale, one of our most tender varieties. Ideal for raw kale salads and soups. 

4. Swiss Chard

5. Red Leaf Lettuce

6. Spring Onions

7. Broccoli

8. Bok Choy

9. Squash and Zucchini

First image is of the Railroad Pizza Co., a local restaurant here in Flora, that lost the roof to their building. Spring Onions, and then the outside of our new cooler, and the inside of cooler. 

Broccoli, Beet, Kale, and Onion Brown Rice Bowls with Pesto

Roasted Spring Onion and Beet Salad

Marinated Zucchini Salad

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 2

Top Row: Green Leaf Lettuce, Broccoli, Curly Kale

Bottom Row: Braising Mix, Napa Cabbage, Spring Onions, Red Radish, Collards, Scarlet Turnips

Hey y'all and welcome to week 2 of your CSA. We hope everyone enjoyed the first box of produce for the season. We received some great feedback from everyone cooking delicious meals and prepping vegetables last week.

We are hiring!! If you know of anyone that may be interested in working on our farm, please tell them to email us at twodogfarmsllc@gmail.com. Job description includes harvesting, cleaning, and packing vegetables. Experience isn't necessary, but a hard working attitude and eagerness to learn is definitely appreciated! 

We are in a state of transition right now. We just recently bought a shipping container, divided it in half, cut doors into the side, and then sprayed the inside with an insulating foam. We are planning to turn it into a cooler using a Cool-bot. This is a really unique gadget that tricks a window unit into thinking it is blowing 65 degree air, when really it is blowing mid 30-40 degree air! Salad Days has used one for a couple years now with great success, as have many other farmers that we follow. One side will strictly be 30-40 degrees for produce and the other side will be in the upper 60s to store tomatoes, watermelons, boxes, and other misc. things. Van said he may even put a desk in that side! Makes sense to me! It will be really nice to have this project finished and get back some organization. 

We have really enjoyed the cooler weather the past couple of days, and we hope you did too. We hope you were able to enjoy your week/weekend with family and friends and perhaps even toasted over a freshly cooked meal of local vegetables. We have a great box coming your way this week: 

1. Red Radishes- This variety is called Sora. It is a very crisp radish that would make a great addition to any salad or slaw. 

2. Scarlet Turnips- Beautiful in color with large stalks and greens. 

3. Curly Kale

4. Collards- A southern tradition, but click the link below to find 13 new ways to try collards. 

5. Green Leaf Lettuce- This variety is called Salad Bowl, a delicate, lime-green oak leaf variety. A very tender lettuce that makes for a delicious and delicate salad. 

6. Spring Onions- Sweeter than your regular onion, and greens carry an intense flavor. Can be used many ways raw or such as grilling and roasting whole.

7. 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.

9. Braising Mix

Below you will see the shipping container being spray foamed and transformed into our new cooler, tomatoes being pruned and staked, Hazel being adorable amongst some kale that was being harvested, our vegetable washing table, and lettuce and broccoli that you will see in this week's box:

13 Ways to Cook Collards

Grilled Spring Onions

Napa Cabbage Salad

Two Dog Farms 2017 Spring/Summer Harvest Week 1

Top Row: Braising Mix, Kohlrabi, Bok Choy, Swiss Chard

Bottom Row: Spinach, Green Curly Kale, Hakurei Turnips, Romain Lettuce, Dill

Hi everyone! Welcome to week 1 of your CSA! We are so excited to be starting a new season with new and returning members. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey and we look forward to a great season! 

Van and I took into account the past couple of years' weather patterns. We started to work the ground and get rows up about 2-3 weeks earlier than we normally do, and thank goodness we did! We were able to have rows up and plants in the ground about 2 weeks earlier as well. This was all before these rain storms moved in. There were weeks where we weren't able to do anything after it rained. We did have a really bad storm come through Flora a few weeks ago and we got about 8 inches of rain and hail damage. We had planted a few thousand collard, broccoli, and cantaloupe plants that we did lose due to flooding and hail. That is a big loss, but we often have to remind ourselves that it is all a part of farming, and mother nature is our boss and what she says goes. 

We took a gamble and planted tomatoes early as well. Early as in a few weeks before Easter. We look forward to an early harvest! We also were able to plant watermelons earlier than we normally do, and we can't wait to have sweet and juicy watermelons just in time for the 4th of July! Now we wait for more ground to dry so we can continue to plant our summer crop.

Since we were able to get a good amount of crops in a little earlier, we are so excited to have a great assortment of vegetables coming your way! Make sure to follow the links below for recipe ideas. Here is what to expect in this week's box:

1. Kohlrabi- A unique and favorite vegetable of ours. It is wonderful to eat raw, tastes like a mild broccoli, in salads or dipped in hummus. It makes for a wonderful potato substitute. You can mash it, bake it, fry it, sauté it, etc.. make sure to peel until you get to a crispy center, and don't discard the greens they are also edible. 

2. Bok Choy- A tasty Asian green. The entire plant is edible. The greens will be a bit spicier than the ribs. Wonderful in stir fries and also great roasted in the oven. 

3. Hakurei Turnips- A sweet and mild Asian specialty salad turnip. I tear the greens off and cook them down like normal turnip greens and then sauté the roots with a little coconut oil, sweet white miso paste, and onion. Delicious! ( see picture below )

4. Swiss Chard- A really colorful and earthy tasting green. It is great raw in salads or used as a lettuce wrap, but also cooked down like spinach and added to a variety of dishes or all by itself. 

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

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

7. Braising Mix- A mix of Mizuno, Kale, Red Mustard, Choi, and Arugula. 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. 

8. Spinach- A beautiful red veined spinach. 

9. Romaine Lettuce- A tasty head of lettuce grown in the field. 

Below are a few pictures from around the farm. First picture is of our cover crop being turned and getting ready for new rows. Second is of Van and Isabella planting. Third you will see a recent full moon over the farm. Then pictures of Hazel loving the recent rain and napping at the farm in an old push cart. The last picture is of the oh so tasty Hakurei turnips being sautéed for supper. They are delicious and beautiful! 

Simple Braising Greens Recipe

Simple Sauteed Bok Choy

5 ways to prepare Kohlrabi

Two Dog Farms 2016 Fall Harvest Week 9

Howdy folks and welcome to your final CSA box of the 2016 season. We hope you all have enjoyed the past 8 weeks of fresh produce. It's been a wonderful fall season here at the farm, and we have enjoyed getting to know everyone. Yall are all so amazing and we are so grateful for your support of our farm.

We are preparing for the freeze that is coming this weekend and picking all of our swiss chard, broccoli, and cauliflower that is left in the field. We will also cover some crops like the beets and kale with a cloth. Hopefully this will prevent them from getting a freeze burn. We plan to have a lot of produce at the Farmer's Market this Saturday. Come see us downtown and perhaps do a little local Christmas shopping from the many venders that will be there! 

The weather has been so crazy this fall. We will hopefully be able to continue harvesting throughout December and into the new year and supply our produce to local grocery stores like Rainbow Co-op and local restaurants like Local 463, Walkers, The Manship, and more. So if you are missing us as much as we are missing yall, please support local! But if you are in our neck of the woods, please stop by to say Hi and grab some produce! We would love to see you!

So, THANK YOU!! From the bottom of our hearts, thank you so much for joining us, and we hope to see you next year in the spring. Cheers to you all!

Your farmers,

Van, Dorothy, & Hazel

1. Broccoli

2. Yukina Savoy

3. Acorn Squash

4. Purple Daikon Radish

5. Purple Cabbage

6. Red Beefsteak Tomatoes

7. Carrots

8. Collards

9. Mustard Frills- A wonderful leafy green with a taste similar to arugula. Try using mixed in salads, on sandwiches, topping a pizza, or even a pesto.

Roasted Daikon Radish, Carrots, and Peppers

Yukina Savoy Quiche