Winter Squash Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups cubed winter squash
• 1 cup scalded milk
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup shortening

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). In a small saucepan, cover squash cubes with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and mash.
2. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, combine 5 cups flour, sugar and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture, shortening, squash and milk. Mix well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
3. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces and form into rounds. Place the rounds in a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking pan. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Winter Squash Seeds

Ingredients

• 1 cup winter squash seeds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. After removing the seeds from the squash, rinse with water, and remove any strings and bits of squash. Pat dry, and place in a small bowl. Stir the olive oil and salt into the seeds until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake for 15 minutes, or until seeds start to pop. Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet before serving.

Farm Update!

Well if anyone has been wondering about the farm, it is still busy. We are busy with the pumpkins and cleaning up the veggie fields. We have been busy with field trips almost everyday. Also today we planted garlic on the farm for next years C.S.A. Everyone keep your fingers crossed. I have never grown garlic before so we will see what happens. Garlic is nice, I love the smell, crazy! We planted the garlic at a depth of 4-6 inches deep. Tomorrow we are going to straw it in for winter. We won't know until spring whether they are going to wake up for us or not. The pond is pretty low in water. It has been very dry this fall. Also we just restocked our main hill with pumpkins and hay bales. So tell everyone you know about our weekend hay-rides.

Thz Chris

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•  
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients

• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 5 whole black peppercorns

Directions

1. Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
2. Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender.
3. Return to pan, and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir in heavy cream. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Hello Again! C.S.A. Members (Please Read)

Sorry it has taken me so long to blog again I have been extremely busy at the farm. There is so much going on. Everyday myself and Martin have been cleaning up the field little by little. We are trying to get it done before the end of the month. I hope all of you are enjoying our pie pumpkins this year. They turned out exceptionally well. This is week 18 of our  C.S.A, this is going to be the last week of distribution. I can't thank everyone enough for signing up! It has been a great year on the farm. The one thing I love about farming is that you learn something new every year. If you have followed my blog, I never blog about anything negative that happens on the farm. The reason is because the positives outweigh the negatives in such a landslide. The one thing I try to do is make the best possible growing environment for my veggies. Farming vegetables and any crop can be difficult because everything is so reliant on the weather. We had a few crops this year that did not do well.

Onions:

We planted a zillion onions and not a one developed. We attribute this to the extended wet and cold spring we had. We planted all of our onion bulbs with our planter in the ground conventionally. Next year we will do it this way as well. Although we will grow half of our onion's in the plastic to see if that make's a difference. In retrospect we would have distributed scallions a few more times if I would have known they were not going to turn out. Although hindsight is alway's 20/20.

Melons:

This year we planted all of our melons on our southern most rows on the farm. These rows were to the left, right as you would drive in. This turned out to be a mistake. The weather was not super great for growing melons they developed late across the state. This although was not the issue. I totally underestimated the capability of a chipmunk. I found out this year that in the tall grass in the ditch their is a bunch of rocks, large Rocks. The state or DOT puts these rocks in the ditch I am assuming to curb erosion problems from the rain on steep grades. I found out they are a haven for chipmunks. These little guys had a nice time in our melon patch this year. The remedy for this is moving the melons farther away, which should not be a problem with thirty acres.

Spring Crops:

All of our spring crops turned out quite nicely. Their was no major issue in the development & we had little or no disease. I was glad the Kohlrabi was such a smash hit. Also the lettuce's we grew this year could compete with the finest.

Summer Crops:

All of our summer crops other then the two mentioned above turned out quite well. The tomato's matured a little faster then I would have liked due to the heat. This week their will be green peppers in the box. In total we have distributed peppers five weeks. This is excellent with the direct blast of Wind the pepper's found their way in. This fall we are going to plant a shelter belt along the fence line to reduce the possibility of heavy winds hitting that plot directly. I almost forgot to mention the top notch eggplant & potato's we received almost the entire season.

Fall Veggie's:

All of the fall crops have turned out great. The squash have all been excellent. The sprouts have been great as well. I also am glad that most everyone has taken so well to the sprouts. We have really mastered getting them to grow.  Also we have enjoyed an excellent crop of pie pumpkins.

Herb Beds:

Our first major herb bed was a nice addition to the farm. We planted about fifteen different varieties in the bed. Please cut as much as you would like since this is the last week. They will grow back next year.

NEW & EXCITING NEWS:

I think I am becoming a little bit garlic crazy. It is quite an amazing little plant. I ordered twelve pounds of heirloom garlic cloves and it will be going in the ground this week, they will be ready next summer. I have never grown garlic before so hopefully we get a nice yield. So if all goes as planned we should have garlic in Next years C.S.A. boxes. Also I will post our 2012  strain list for our C.S.A in November. That will be the first chance I have to sit down and go through my seed catalogs. All of the staples we received this year will stay on list, if you have a suggestions on a veggie you would like Bass farms to grow in the future email me.

What I am most proud of is the fact that we did not spray one chemical on our veggie fields. NOT ONE PESTICIDE OR HERBICIDE!!! YIPPEEE

BOX 18:

The last box will be a surprise! We will have some great item's in it.

Once Again I can't thank everyone enough for signing up. It means a lot to me and Brenna. Also the staff @ Bass Farms is exceptionally great-ful to all of the members that were in our 2011 season as well.

Thanks Again

Chris

CSA Potluck!

C.S.A. Appreciation Potluck!

The date for this years C.S.A. appreciation potluck is set for October 8th. Please bring a dish to share, a chair and your family. We will have a nice potluck around the fire then have a Hay-Rack ride if anyone wants one. 

When: October 8th
Time: 11:30 AM - ?
Where: Bass Farms

Thz Chris