We’ve got another pickup this Saturday. In addition to the expected line-up of spinach and potatoes, we’re putting cilantro back on the order form, as well as green onions, and tatsoi.

We will also be bringing as first-come, first-served:

Kale

Carrot seconds (still good, still sweet)

As you can see, the greenhouses are starting to produce more, so that means more variety for your table.  We will be closing the survey on Wednesday night, but you can always come by on Saturday to buy what we didn’t include on the order form (kale, green onions, or carrots), or whatever we might have extra of.

By the way, when writing in the amount of an item you want in the survey, it makes tabulating easier if you just type a plain number, like “2″, not “2#”, or “two”.

For those of you who haven’t done this before, there are instructions below under the survey link. To get this order sheet as an email, just send us an email at bluemoonfarmurbana@gmail.com

Click Here to Order

Here’s how the whole thing works:

• You click on the survey link and answer the questions. You only have to answer the first two, which are your first and last name. Then you order what you want. When typing in the amount of a veggie that you want, just type a plain number, as opposed to spelling the number or adding any symbols. After you answer the questions, you click “Done”. That automatically saves your order.  You have to fill it out by Wednesday night.
• Then you show up between 9-12 on Saturday at the delivery location, which is in the indoor eating area outside the Common Ground Food Co-op in Lincoln Square Mall. You get there by going out the back door of the Co-op, or entering the mall in the Health Alliance area, east side of the mall. There is no pre-pay, folks just pay when they pick up their veggies.
• Also, we don’t bag the order beforehand. When you get there, you find your name on one of the order clipboards, review your order and cross your name off. Then, using one of the scales, you can bag your veggies, trying to get the weight around what you ordered (it doesn’t have to be exact), and then bring your order to our scale, and we’ll figure out the price from there.
• We always bring some veggies, like kale or green onions, that are not included on the order list, because we don’t have enough of them to guarantee filling orders. They are available for purchase first-come, first served.

What do farmers do in the winter? Plow snow.

Another chance to order winter veggies from Blue Moon farm. This Saturday, Feb. 20, same time, place, and procedure.  This week we are offering our kale, cilantro, and green onions on a first-come, first-serve basis, so get there early. Also, we’ve got carrot seconds this week that will be available. That means the twisty or broken ones that didn’t make the first cut. We are sold out of the carrot firsts. We will beb closing the survey again on Wednesday night.

Reminder: the best way to get the survey is to send us your email at bluemoonfarmurbana@gmail.com.

For those who haven’t done this before, please read the instructions on the two previous posts to get the details.

See you on Saturday!!

Vegetables safe under row cover in the greenhouse.

Blue Moon Winter Pickup returns this Saturday, February 6.

Everything went splendidly two Saturday’s ago, so we’re going ahead with the program. The only sad news is that Prairie Fruits is out of cheese for a while. They will be back at the end of the month.

For details about how the whole thing works, please read the post from the 1/23 Pickup.

A couple of reminders:

1. We are going to close the survey on Wednesday night this week. That will make our Thursday harvest easier.

2. When you come to get your veggies, nothing is pre-bagged. That gives you the chance to choose and weigh up your own vegetables. It is hard to get an exact weight on veggies, so just try to get it as close as possible and when you bring us your bags, we’ll weigh them to get the exact price.

3. The best way to order is to receive the survey as an email. To get our emails, just send us a message at bluemoonfarmurbana@gmail.com

Here’s the link to this week’s survey:

It’s finally here, the Blue Moon Winter Pickup, starting this Saturday, January 23.  Next Pickup will be in two weeks.   We’ve decided to try something a little more organized than the regular farmer’s market,  we are using a service called SurveyMonkey, which allows you to place an individual order by filling out our survey. Not only are we offering Blue Moon veggies, but Prairie Fruits Farm is also offering a variety of cheeses. Here’s how it works:  You get the survey as an email, which tells you what is available for the upcoming Saturday delivery. You fill it out and send it back to us before Thursday noon. This means you just click “Done” at the end of the survey. Then you show up between 9-12 on Saturday at the delivery location, which is in the indoor eating area outside the Common Ground Food Co-op in Lincoln Square Mall. You get there by going out the back door of the Co-op, or entering the mall in the Health Alliance area, east side of the mall. You will pay for your orders at that time.

Important reminders:

1.  Winter harvest is trickier than summer harvest in that it takes longer to harvest, and we have less of it. Also, it’s darn cold out here. Therefore, if you place an order, PLEASE PICK UP YOUR ORDER. We don’t want to harvest too much, and lose that produce, and we don’t want to harvest too little, and incur your disappointment. You must return the survey before noon on Thursday, or we can’t get you your order. We will be using the survey numbers to know how much to harvest.

2.  The survey itself should be self-explanatory and simple to use, but let us know if the questions are confusing in any way. The only question you must answer is the first one, in which you provide your name. Then you can order whatever you want.

3. Please write down your order and bring it, to keep things moving. Or else we are going to have to thumb through a cumbersome order sheet searching for your name while your fellow customers are tapping their toes. You pay when you have the veggies in hand.

4.  Please bear in mind that we are trying something new, so feedback is welcome, and we might have to tweak the system in the future.

5.  If all goes well we will do this again in two weeks….

6.  Saturday’s Produce is available only for those who place an order.  This is not a Market.

7.  If you want to receive regular emails  about how to get Blue Moon Farm produce, and are not already on the list,      please send us an email at bluemoonfarmurbana@gmail.com.  Put in the subject heading, “put me on the list”

This is a really fun way to visit with friends.   Look on line for real Chinese  hot pots or use your fondue pot to heat broth used for cooking.  Prepare broth, dipping sauces and chop veggies and meats you will eat in advance.

• Prepare a vegetable or chicken broth with a generous or possibly even excessive amount garlic and ginger.  I add in some MEMMI noodle soup base, shoaking cooking wine, and light soy sauce.  Top with chopped green onions, cilantro.
• Cube tofu, set rice vermicelli noodles in a bowl,  clean and slice shiitake mushrooms, separate white oyster mushrooms
• Clean and separate leaves that are hand sized (4-6 inches) napa cabbage leaves, bok  choy, any type of greens including spinach and arugula, quarter and slice carrot, leeks, potatoes
• Very thinly slice eye of round steak, pork or chicken
• Chopped cilantro and green onions

Red chili sauce

In a food processor blend until smooth:

• 2 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup garlic bean paste
• ¼ cup red chili sauce
• 3 tablespoons Chinese sesame paste
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup Shaoxing (rice) wine or sake
• 3 tablespoons imported, roasted sesame oil
• 1-2 tablespoons water

Garlic dipping sauce

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. 1 cup white flour
2. 3/8 tsp salt
3. 4 Tbs cold unsalted butter cut in cubes
4. 1.5 Tbs solid vegetable shortening (I am going to try substituting cream cheese)
5. 2.5  to 3 Tbs ice water

Make this first so that it can prebake while you prepare the  filling.  Combine 1 & 2 then add 2 and 4, mix well with hands or in the food processor.  Add ice water by feel if mixing by hand, until the dough just starts to become mealy.  Flatten into a disc and cover with wax paper.  She suggests you let it rest for 30 minutes in fridge and then roll out after warming but I just go for it, rolling between sheets of wax paper after dusting the surface with flour.  Place in buttered baking dish, and prebake at 425.  If you want a perfect crust, line the bottom with buttered foil and pie weights.  Poke the crust if it swells as a result of steam.

Filling:

1. 3-4 carrots
2. 3 medium potatoes
3. 6-8 turnips
4. 1 large onion
5. 1 large pepper
6. 1/4-1/2 cabbage
7. oregano
8. 1/4-1/2 cup veggie broth or water and a veggie bouillon plus a dash of noodle soup base.
9. * if you want this to be moister double the amount of broth and add to this 1 tsp of corn starch

*You can add broccoli too- chop and add with the cabbage

Clean and coarsely chop 1, 2 & 3.  I microwave the carrots and potatoes for 6 minutes to hurry things along.  Dice 4 & 5 and saute in a large pan, add herbs and spices to taste.  Add in 1/4 cup veggie broth and chopped cabbage, cover to steam the cabbage.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl before placing into the baked pie shell.   Cover with foil to retain moisture and prevent the shell from getting too dark.  Bake at 350 for 20 (if you precooked 1 & 2) or 60 min.

If you bake along with other veggies (carrots, potatoes, onions) the turnips will be very soft by the time the carrots are cooked.  This is good, but if you want them to be ‘done’ (remain intact) at the same time you can partially cook the potatoes and carrots in the microwave before combining and baking.  Again, clean, cut into pieces of a similar size,  place in a ceramic dish, cover and then nuke for 4-6 minutes depending on the quantity.