Dear Members,

In this week’s box:

Broccoli Summer Squash/zucchini Beets Lettuce Fennel Kale Dill Garlic Scapes Cucumbers Sugar Snap Peas Kohlrabi

Holy rain! We’ve been gifted with a lot of it. Over 2 inches in the past two nights. The fields are soggy, muddy and weedy! We cannot believe how fast and tall the weeds have grown. But- with the heat and rain, it’s a perfect mix. Luckily, our vegetables are growing too! Our new potatoes are ready. Unfortunately, with all this rain, we are unable to get into the field to dig them. We’re hoping for a drier week next week.

This is the 2nd and last week of peas. The pea blossoms came on strong and evenly- for a good but short burst. Green beans shouldn’t be too far off. We’re definitely moving out of “spring” veggies and into summer. We hope you are enjoying the flavors of the season!

Mina, our 4-H exchange friend from Norway is heading home this week. We have really enjoyed getting to know her and more about Norway. We’ll really miss her and hope to see her again someday. Luckily, with technology what it is, communicating with her is pretty easy. We’re really glad we took the opportunity to host a 4-H youth and will have memories for a life-time.

This is the week of the St. Croix County Fair! The kids are gathering their project and heading to the fair Wed. for judging. The Lenz’s are bringing art work, legos, flowers, maple syrup, vegetables and more. Thursday night, Claudia’s show calves will arrive at the fair. Dairy judging is Saturday morning and afternoon. Stop by the fair- you’ll be glad you did! In the dairy barn, look for Riverside 4-H club for Claudia’s calves. (And Claudia). Don’t forget the fair food! The 4-H food stand is our favorite!

Another bit of excitement around the farm is the arrival of two farm kittens. Anim (Mina backwards) and Penguin are adorable! They’re hanging out in the packshed for now, and getting lots of attention. Stop by and see them! If you are looking for kittens, our neighbors with the dairy farm have some for you! Let us know and we can set up a visit to see them.

Bean Bags- The cloth bags you will find your peas in are what we call our bean bags. Please return them, as we reuse them. They will next be filled with green beans and later, ground cherries or cherry tomatoes. My mom, aunts and myself have spent lots of time sewing those. It’s a nice way to reduce plastic use while still keeping the little veggies from getting lost in the boxes. Please return them when you are done using them. Thank you!

Storage:

Kohlrabi, beets, broccoli, zucchini and summer squash- place in crisper drawer.

Fennel- It’s really muddy out there and Fennel will be muddy between the layers of the bulb. Slice and wash each layer carefully. Store in the crisper drawer.

Kale and Lettuce- Store in plastic bag or covered container.

Dill and Peas- Plastic bag or covered container.

We may have over did the kohlrabi plantings this year. The good thing is that they are great storage veggies. They’ll keep well in the crisper drawer (especially in a plastic bag) for longer than most veggies. Here’s a recipe to help use them up. (Though I really love them peeled, sliced and eaten raw!)

Kohlrabi Fries

olive oil
Kohlrabi
salt

Preheat oven to 425. Grease baking sheet w/olive oil. Peel skin off Kohlrabi Slice into fry like pieces. Put in bowl. Toss with Olive oil and salt to taste. Spread on baking sheet. Bake 35-40 minutes until tender. Serve hot, adding salt to taste.

Garlic Scapes

This is our final week for garlic scapes. If they are piling up from previous weeks, a great way to store them for long storage is to freeze them. Chop them into 1/4 inch pieces. Place in a small jar with a tight fitting lid. Pop the jar into the freezer. This winter, when you’re cooking and need garlic, grab as many scape pieces as you’d like to toss into what you are making. No peeling needed, just great garlic flavor.

Kale and Fennel Soup

• 1 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 C Onion diced
• 1 C Fennel Bulb, fronds trimmed and reserved, bulb sliced thin and chopped, about one large fennel
• 2-3 tsp Garlic scapes minced,
• 1 bunch kale, chopeed. Remove tough stems.
• 2 C Cannellini Beans ( white kidney beans) cooked, or one can, rinsed and drained
• 4 C Vegetable Broth or Chicken broth
  1 C. water, more if soup is thick.
• 2 Lemons
• Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

• In a Dutch oven or medium stock pot, add the olive oil. Heat to simmering and stir in the onions and fennel. Cook on medium low for about 8-9 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the onions and fennel have softened. 
• Add the garlic and kale, and a pinch of sea salt. Cook on medium low until the kale is wilted, stirring a few times, about 3 minutes. 
• Add the beans, broth and water, stirring gently so the beans don’t break. Bring to a simmer, then turn to low. Cook to warm through about 5-10 minutes. 
• Finish with a squeeze of half a lemon, plenty of fresh ground pepper and fine sea salt to taste. Serve with more lemon and chopped fennel fronds. 

Fennel is also great with roast beef. I enjoy chopping up a fennel bulb, rinsing and tossing into a slow cooker with my favorite beef roast recipe. A great way to try fennel if you’re new to it.

Happy Eating!
Hope to see you at the fair!

Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm and Jonas

Hello Farm Members!

In this week’s box:

Beets and greens Broccoli Sugar Snap Peas!!

Lettuce Garlic Scapes Basil

Kohlrabi Radishes Cilantro

We are so excited to have the peas this week! We’re sad to see the strawberries and spinach go, but wow! The peas! We cannot walk by the row without helping ourselves to a couple to keep us going on to the next job. Tess, our black lab is the same. We find her picking peas right off the vine and munching them. It’s definitely one of her favorites! These are sugar snap peas, so pop the whole things into your mouth- shells and all!

Speaking of the peas, I need to take a minute to give a shout out to my work-share members! We are SO lucky to have such great members who come out and work each week of the season! Jobs like picking peas take many, many hands to get done. We can double the size of our crew when we are picking peas, beans, strawberries or anything else that is especially time consuming. We couldn’t do it without them! They’re also the first to come when I need extra help with anything and all have become really great friends. Thank you work-share members! Our community is stronger because of you! (And the boxes much fuller!)

Today we had the St. Croix County Family Resource Center come out for a field trip. Families with young children got to come out and pet the horse, chase chickens, feed the pigs and tour the fields. They also spent some time picking and eating peas! It’s always fun to bring little ones and their parents out to the farm. We’re grateful that the St. Croix County Family Resource Center works with us to share out little slice of heaven with others.

Saturday’s on the farm have begun this month. The primary way we sell our produce is through the CSA. You are the reason we do what we do. However, we know that CSA doesn’t work for everyone. We also know that diversifying keeps us more financially stable. I used to try to do a couple of farmers’ markets, but it just got too hard to leave home, when there was so much work to do at home, plus I missed my kids. So a few years ago, we started doing a mini-farmer’s market at our farm on Saturday mornings. 8am-1pm. We do these every July- September. In your box you will find a card with all the info. Please share with someone who is not lucky enough to have a share or come on out yourself! You can always get a little extra of something or- don’t buy anything. Just come out and enjoy the farm! If we have green beans available (There will be some in about 2 weeks and for many more weeks after that!) farm members can come any Saturday morning and pick for free.

Mina, our visitor from Norway is a delight. She’s inspired Claudia to try a Norwegian dish for the fair’s foods judging. Next week is the St. Croix county fair! Malcolm has made some Strawberry Rhubarb jam and is taking his Maple Syrup. Jonas has legos and is working on a foods item as well. Claudia is getting her calves ready, some dehydrated food, some Rosemary-Strawberry jam, some art and much more. I’m sure we’ll have much to share about that next week.

If you are not, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Claudia does a fantastic job with the Threshing Table Farm Instagram account and I do alright with the Threshing Table Farm Facebook page. The Facebook page has a great story about our rogue chickens who took quite a trip!

Storage:

Beets/radishes: Remove the greens. Greens can be used in salads or cooked like spinach, collards, etc. (Radish greens are spicy!) Remove for long-term storage. Store leaves in covered bowl in fridge. Roots can be stored in the crisper drawer.

Broccoli: Open plastic bag in the crisper drawer

Kohlrabi and garlic scapes: Crisper drawer

Basil and Cilantro: Put in a glass of water in the fridge.

Kohlrabi and Broccoli stalk salad

1lb broccoli stalks and kohlrabi bulbs, combined

**Peel broccoli stalks and slice 1/8 inch thick.

Peel and slice kohlrabi into bite size pieces.

Place in bowl.

Make dressing:

2 T. Soy sauce or Tamari

1 T. vinegar

1 T. olive oil

1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Mix and toss with broccoli and kohlrabi. Chill. Sprinkle on 1/4 cup chopped cilantro and serve.

Roasted Beets

Preheat oven to 450. Line baking dish with aluminum foil

Remove greens, and place beets in dish. Cover the dish tightly with foil.

Roast beets for 45 minutes. Check beets to see if they are fork tender. If not, turn them and roast longer.

Remove pan from oven and let sit/cool until cool enough to handle. Rub beet skins off under cool, running water. Slice or dice beets and enjoy! (Add a little butter and salt- yum!)

Happy eating!

Your farmers-

The Lenz’s!

July 3rd, 2B

Hello Members!

In this Box:

Rhubarb Broccoli Spinach Lettuce

Strawberries Garlic Scapes Kale Chives

Welcome to “B” members who are picking up for the first time this week, and welcome back to those of you who are on your second week. Thanks for your flexibility as you are picking up a day early to avoid the 4th of July holiday.

This has been a really busy week on the farm! We’re thankful for the rain, but we are really hoping things dry out a little bit soon. We’ve been able to work most of the harvesting around the rain, but rain gear really came in handy for some of it. Thankfully, there was no lightening or high winds during harvest time. We are also really behind on weeding. The rain is helping the weeds to grow while keeping us from getting to them.

Last week Wednesday, we started our morning with a visit from about 40 Taher chefs. Taher Food Service purchases CSA shares from us for their chefs who work around the Twin Cities area. However, they have chefs all around the country. About 40 of these chefs came to the farm as part of a seminar to learn about vegetable farming, our relationship with Taher and most importantly, how they can go home and find a farmer in their area to work with. It was a fun day and a lot of learning happened. (And with that many chefs around, there was some really good food too!) It’s so exciting to think of the impact that these chefs can have on their local food system if they reach out to farmers around them.

We left the chefs around 1 and headed to Madison. Clauida, our oldest, has been begging to host a 4-H youth from another country for years. This is the year we finally said yes. Mina, is a 17 year old from Norway. She is here to spend 3 weeks with us and experience a little bit of America. So far she’s seen the Mall of America, several ice cream shops, Willow River, our farm, a neighbor’s farm, a bit of Stillwater and more. They don’t have much down time, but when they are here, we are enjoying learning about Norway. At 17, Mina is in a high school where she is learning to be an electrician. Our community just keeps getting bigger!

Things in the field are growing quickly! New this week is the broccoli and chives. Next week, the boxes will look even more different. I think this is the end of the spinach and rhubarb, and possibly the strawberries- but we’ll see what next week brings. We will be seeing kohlrabi, swiss chard and summer squash coming soon, just to name a few.

Demulling’s strawberry patch was compromised by the polar vortex of February. (I’m sure you all still remember that weather!) So there won’t be extra berries to sell this year. We’re thrilled we are able to enjoy the ones in the boxes.

Storage:

Broccoli and Rhubarb: Crisper drawer, in a plastic bag for longer storage.

Greens: Rinse well in salad spinner and store in a covered container in the fridge.

Strawberries: In fridge

Scapes and chives: Crisper drawer

Kale and garlic scape pesto

• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, roughly chopped
• 3 or 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped
• 1 and 1/2 cups toasted walnuts
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in the chopped kale and cook for approximately 4 minutes, or until the kale has softened and turned bright green. Immediately transfer the kale to a colander and thoroughly rinse it with cold water, then let drain.
2. Add the garlic scapes to a food processor, and pulse until finely chopped. Add the walnuts and pulse again.
3. Add the lemon juice, blanched kale, optional nutritional yeast, and sea salt, and continue to pulse until the kale is finely chopped, stopping to scrape down the sides and gently stir the mixture as needed.
4. If using the olive oil, slowly stream it in while blending. Adjust seasoning to taste.
5. Leftover pesto will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week, and also freezes well.

Rhubarb Salad dressing

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups sliced rhubarb
• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
• 2 Tblsp. chopped chives
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup olive oil

In a medium sauce pan, stir together honey and water. Bring to a boil and add rhubarb, strawberries and chives. Continue to boil for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce heat and stir in vinegar and lemon zest. Simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced by half and rhubarb is tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Place mixture in the bowl of a food processor along with the Dijon mustard and process until smooth. With processor running, add the oil in a steady stream. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm or cold on your favorite salad greens.

Have a great Independence Day and Happy eating!
Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm and Jonas

Week 18 B

October 11, 2018

In this week’s box:

Butternut Squash            Buttercup Squash                   Spaghetti Squash              Garlic

Onions                            Brussel’s Sprouts                    Carrots                              Cabbage

Cilantro                           Dill                                            Kale                                  Peppers

Pop Corn

 

Hello Threshing Table Farm Members!

This is it- the final box! It’s always a bitter-sweet time for us. It’s sad to lose the weekly connection we have had with all of you these past months.. But we are looking forward to some rest and a change of pace. I’m looking forward to some reading of books, cleaning the house, spending time with family and friends and substitute teaching.  Mike is looking forward to hunting and family time as well. We definitely miss all the outside time, the fresh produce and the dirt on our hands. But since the weather is moving on and we can’t change it, we’ll just enjoy winter and look forward to spring.

I am happy to say that my week was much calmer than last. (But I must confess, I haven’t done anything further with the bees. Dragging my feet on that one!)  We have been working around and mostly through the rain. It’s very wet out there, but since we harvest things by hand, it was not fun, but doable. I am SO grateful for all of our employees, work-share people and volunteers who have come out in all kinds of weather.  We could not have done what we did each week without them!  We will miss them all as we all retreat to our winter lives. We have the most beautiful people as part of this farm! Members, employees, neighbors, and so many more who make up our community. Thank you for being a part of it!!!

We also say Good Bye to the pigs this week. 🙁   Their time here with us is over. We are sad to see them go, but grateful that they were such a big part of our farm this summer. They offered us many hours of entertainment and lots of help as we moved many scraps through them. We are also grateful for the gift of meat that they provide for us.

We are really excited to have purple carrots in the box this week! They are beautiful and worth the digging with forks in the mud. The popcorn and Brussel’s sprouts have also been end of the season treats. If you missed the note last week- save the popcorn for a few more weeks. It needs to dry out some more before it can be popped. Try popping it around Thanksgiving. If it still doesn’t pop. leave it in a dry place a bit longer and try around Christmas.

Carrots with Dill

2 lbs whole carrots
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp freshly chopped dill
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the carrots on a pan and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss with your hands to make sure they are evenly covered in oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast the carrots for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and turn the carrots with tongs. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp freshly chopped dill and roast for an additional 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, place carrots on a platter. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp of fresh dill. Serve immediately.

Squash Cookies

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil or butter
2 T molasses
1 cup cooked mashed butternut squash
1 tsp vanilla
Optional: ½ cup oats, chopped walnuts, raisins, coconut shreds
Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. In a separate, larger bowl mix together, oil, molasses, squash and vanilla until well combined. Add dry to wet, folding to combine. Add optional ingredients after combined.
Drop by tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Bake for 16 minutes at 350. For best flavor, let them cool and set a bit.

We are grateful and humbled that we were able to be your farmers,

We’re already looking forward to next year!!

Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm and Jonas Lenz

 

October 4, 2018 Week 17A

Hello Threshing Table Farm Members!

In this week’s box:

Cabbage              Kale                      Onions                 Garlic                            Carrots

Brussel’s Sprouts         potatoes                Celery Root and tops                    Parsley

Popcorn                      Butternut Squash                     Buttercup Squash               Spaghetti Squash

peppers

**This is the final delivery for “A” week, 1/2 share members. Thanks for being with us! Full share and “B” Week half share members, we’ll see you next week!!

Last week was a tough one for this farmer. I started off the week with a lot of back pain. I don’t usually struggle with back pain, but I was pretty miserable for a couple of days. Luckily, we have amazing farm members who could help me out!  I went to Marjan Schwartz for Cranio Sacral Massage,                         715- 977-0682   cs.marjan@gmail.com                                                                                                         and that helped a ton! That is such an amazing therapy that is so relaxing, you almost forget why you went to see her in the first place!  Then I saw Chris Rud at Somerset Chiropractic 715-247-3050    and he gave me an adjustment that helped get me pain free as well. After seeing the two of them, I was feeling a lot better. I was looking forward to moving forward with the rest of the season at full force. I’m very glad that my employees were able to pick up my slack and get everything done that needed to be.

Friday, I was feeling fine and went out to harvest lettuce. I noticed that bears had knocked over my beehive. So, I suited up in my bee jacket, hood and gloves, and went out to reset the hive. Those bees were NOT having it! They were acting as if I was the bear that tore their home apart. Two bees managed to get into my bee suit. I walked as calmly as I could, several hundred yards away from the hive. They started to sting me, so I was frantically trying to remove my bee suit. I didn’t realize that hundreds of their friends had followed me. By the time I got my bee suit off, I was covered in bees like some horror movie. I knew I was getting stung, but other than a bit of pain, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. I am not allergic, so I wasn’t too worried. Things calmed down, I got my bee suit back on and finished setting up the hive.

Then, I walked back to the pack shed, got out of my gear and headed back out to the lettuce field. After harvesting 60 heads of lettuce and bringing them into the pack shed, I started to feel woozy. And my chest hurt. And I had a hard time seeing. So I took the 4-wheeler out to the spinach patch where my employee, Felicia was. She saw my distress and managed to get me to the house before I completely lost consciousness. I remembered on that long ride back to the house that we had an epi-pen because Mike is allergic to bees. I managed to tell her where it was and she found that- used it on me and in not too long, things got better. Thank Goodness!  It ends up that I had about 8 stings on my neck (and  more elsewhere) that likely caused the severe reaction.

Mike came home from work and took over my farm chores so that we could get the boxes packed that head out to Taher Food Service and once again, my employees saved the day. And me!  Farm member Pete, an EMT- and neighbor, stopped by to check in on me too. All’s well that ends well. But now I know… 2 bees in the suit are better than hundreds without the suit!  And in case you are wondering- no honey worth mentioning after all that. Sigh… Maybe next year.

We had a hard frost on Friday night. Luckily, we knew it was coming, so we were prepared. We saved the peppers, squash, and anything else that we could. The cabbages, Brussels’ Sprouts, Kale and more- are just fine through a frost.

Our rabbit is moved into the house for the winter. He’s not much for the cold, so he is enjoying life in the laundry room. The rest of the animals do just fine during the cold weather. A blanket for Chumley and water heaters are used when it gets REALLY cold, but we’ve got time before that is needed.

POPCORN!!

The popcorn is probably not dry enough for popping yet. Set it somewhere to finish drying, (anywhere in your house that is not humid would be fine.) I like to wait until around Thanksgiving to try and pop it. If it doesn’t pop well, wait until Christmas, and try again.  You can either remove the popcorn from the cob by twisting it, then pop as you would other popcorn, OR (my favorite) you can place the whole cob, (no leaves) in a paper bag. (Lunch sack size works great.) Place the bag in the microwave and put it on the popcorn setting. Listen carefully- when it’s done popping- take the bag out and there you are! Amazing microwave popcorn!!

Honey Glazed Carrots

1 T. butter

1 tsp. olive oil

8-10 carrots, sliced (no need to peel.)

Parsley, chopped, to taste

Salt to taste

1 T. honey

Heat skillet with oil over medium heat. Add carrots and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add butter and honey and continue to cook for 3 more minutes or until crisp-tender. Turn off heat and sprinkle on salt and parsley.

Braised Chicken with celeriac, carrots and onions

1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3lb frying chicken, cut up
3 T. Lard or olive oil
3/4 c. hot water
1 celery root, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cup sliced carrots
3/4 c. finely chopped onions
3/4 c. chopped bell pepper

Combine flour, salt and pepper: coat chicken pieces. Brown chicken in hot oil in large skillet. Drain excess oil from pan. Add water and 1/2 tsp. more salt. Cover tightly and simmer about 1 hour. Add vegetables and cook 10 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender crisp. Serve over potatoes if desired.

 

Cabbage Sandwich Spread

1/4 c. chopped cabbage
3 T. chopped apple
3T. chopped carrot
3 T. chopped celery root
3 T. chopped bell pepper
1 T. chopped onion
1/4 c. mayonnaise

Mix together and spread on bread.

If this is your last week with us, we wish you a warm, happy and well-fed winter! We can’t thank you enough for being a part of our farm and community this past season! We appreciate what you do to make this work.

Your farmers-

Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm and Jonas Lenz

 

 

 

Week 16 B

Sept 27th, 2018

Dear Threshing Table Farm Members,

Happy Fall!

In this week’s box:

Celery Root and leaves     Potatoes       Onions           Garlic                   Buttercup Squash

Kabocha Squash              Carnival Squash               Cilantro          Parsley

Spinach                         Peppers                    Broccoli             Lettuce

Cabbage                 Tomatoes

This week’s been beautiful and summer like. It’s also been cold, dreary and deep-fall like. We try to make the most of the sunny, dry days and grit our teeth and make our way through the wet ones. Several changes of clothing really help.

We are getting ready for the frost that is predicted at the end of this week. We are  picking all the squash and peppers, trying to store what we can for a bit, until we can get them all out. We are saying goodbye to some things like tomatoes and eggplant.  (Honestly, the tomatoes have been saying goodbye to us the past few weeks and we’ve been hanging on as hard as we can!)  With other things, we rejoice about the frost because it actually improves the flavor. Broccoli, Brussel’s Sprouts (You’ll see those next week!) and cabbage should be a bit sweeter.  Doodle the cat, will get an insulated box to make into a warmer home for him. The goldfish will move back into the house after a long summer in the spacious pond, “Horse Water Tank”. And a sure sign of the season’s change- I’ve broken out the long underwear.

Fall is here and with it comes Celery Root! We love celery root in soups, stews, salads or roasted with other veggies.  It tastes like fall. The leaves are great to use fresh or dried in any food you would use celery in. All the flavor without the stringy- celery texture! Store the root in the crisper drawer and hang the leaves to dry.

We only have 2 more weeks left in the season! This is a great time to look around for any white farm boxes that you “accidentally” took home or  bean bags that didn’t make it back to your pick-up sites. Drop them off at your pick up site or the farm. No questions asked! We’re just glad to get everything gathered up and tucked away before the snow flies.

Time to Stock Up!!
(Christmas is coming too!)

Mike’s Maple Syrup  $15/quart  $8/pint

Jensen’s Cattle Company:  Contact Dave for Beef or Pork!   Dave Jensen at 612-685-0155.

Heather Flashinski, Farm Sweet Farm- Grass Fed Beef  715-289-4896

Coffee!   Contact Tim Scanlan directly to order up your freshly roasted beans and handle payment. Learn more at: facebook.com/birchbarkcoffee/ or give him a call 715-690-4986. Beans run $12-$14/lb.

Thanks for supporting local farmers and businesses!

Potato Celery Root Soup

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 fresh onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
5 potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 celery root, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup milk or cream (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste
Cider Vinegar, 1-2 Tbsp.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a Dutch oven or your soup pot over low heat. Add the chopped onions and minced garlic. Sauté slowly, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the vegetables have begun to caramelize, but are not yet browned.
Stir in the potatoes and celery root. Add the stock and turn the heat up. As soon as the stock boils, reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potato and celery root cubes are completely tender.

Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor in batches and puree until smooth. An immersion blender is easier and will also work. Add the milk or cream to the soup if you prefer a creamier soup. Season with salt and pepper and the cider vinegar to taste.

Butternut Squash Cake

2/3 cup olive oil
3/4 cup maple syrup (use local, or real! Do NOT use fake pancake syrup)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 tablespoon nutmeg
1 cup butternut squash cooked and mashed(or can of pumpkin puree)

Turn the oven to 350 degrees.
Beat the oil and syrup together.
Add eggs and yogurt, beat well.
Stir the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in. Stir gently.
Add spices and squash. Stir just until mixed.
Spray (or line with parchment paper) a 9inch pan.
Pour the batter into the pan.

Bake 40 minutes. When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

 

Spinach Smoothie (There are a TON to choose from! Search the internet, and you will find one that works for you!)

Serves 2
– 1 mango
– 2 ripe bananas
– 2 cups of spinach
– 1/2 a cup of cashew nuts
– 2 cups of almond milk, coconut water or water
– 1 lime
Optional: a tablespoon of chia seeds
Optional: Soak cashews in a glass of water overnight, then in the morning drain them and add them to your blender once you’re ready to make your smoothie. If you don’t have time don’t worry though, if you have a strong blender it should still be able to blend the cashews into a smooth, creamy deliciousness!
Once you’re ready to make your smoothie, peel the mango and then add it’s flesh (discarding the stone) to your blender with the banana, spinach, cashews and lime juice.
Blend until smooth and creamy.

September 20th, Week 15 A

Hello Members!

In this week’s box:

Lettuce     Leeks          Broccoli           Potatoes              Onions            Carnival Squash

Summer Squash          Acorn Squash    Kabocha squash (The orange one)       Beets     Tomatoes

Something purple       Garlic                   Dill                          Spinach           Cilantro

 

Something Purple?? We have lots of eggplant, but not quite enough. We also have some lovely purple cauliflower that is just starting to come in. So you will enjoy one or the other. We’ll try to keep track of which sites get what and hopefully as more purple things come in, we will be able to balance things out.

The chickens are keeping us busy this week. I’ve slowly been noticing a decrease in the number of hens I have. Along with that, is a huge decrease in the number of eggs. I’m assuming a hawk or eagle is to blame for the missing birds. There is little sign of a struggle or missing feathers. It could be a super fast fox, but I don’t know. I’m moving the chickens back to their “winter” coop which is near the house so that I can keep an eye on them a little better. Mike moved the moveable coop up to the winter coop and this morning I opened the door so they could be out for the day. We opened up the winter coop and assumed they’d put themselves in there at the end of the day. (They tried getting in there for a month after we moved them into  their summer coop.) Worst case, they’d enter back into the summer coop which we left parked near the winter coop.  Instead, they wandered back to the field behind the silos and sat there, wondering where their home was. Bird Brains.  Mike drove the moveable coop back there, waited for them to go in and settle for the night, and then moved the coop back over to the winter coop. There we moved them one at a time over to the winter coop where we locked them in for the night. I’ll keep them locked in for a day or two, so they learn that this is “home” and they will know where their food and water is. Then, we’ll open the door and they should have forgotten all about the summer coop.  Maybe?

Things are continuing to look good in the field. We’re excited about the spinach, beautiful broccoli and more winter squash that is in the boxes this week. The last of the weeding was officially done this week (Yeah!!!) and we’re looking forward to the rain.

With the slowing down of some of the farm chores, I am starting to scratch the surface of my housework. Luckily, my mother -in-law and mother stopped by to help in that area a few times this summer. It really does take a village!

Jensen Cattle Company Pork and Beef for SALE!!!!

The pigs on our farm will be moving on to freezers in our community in October. If you would like some pork for your freezer, please contact Dave Jensen at 612-685-0155.  Whole and half hogs are available. NOW is the time to order.  Check in with him about beef too!

 

Potatoes, Spinach and Dill

2 pounds extra-small potatoes
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
5 ounces fresh spinach, well-washed
2 T. dried parsley
2/3 cup fresh dill, fronds only and loosely packed
1 onion, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large pot of water to boiling and salt the water generously. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they are quite tender and creamy. Slit each potato in half and return them to the pot.In a measuring cup whisk together the lemon juice, zest, olive oil, and sugar. Whisk until well-combined — it will be thick and opaque yellow. Pour over the hot potatoes and stir gently until the potatoes are coated with dressing.
Slice the spinach leaves into thin ribbons. Mince the parsley leaves (discarding the stems) and the dill fronds as well. Add the spinach, parsley, dill, and shallots to the potatoes, and toss gently. The spinach and herbs will wilt as they are combined with the hot potatoes. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Serve hot, warm, or cold.

 

Roasted Broccoli

2 pounds broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Trim 1 inch from stems of broccoli. Using a vegetable peeler, peel outer layer of stems; cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Separate florets into bite-size pieces.
2. In a large bowl, toss florets and stems with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; roast, turning broccoli halfway through, until tender, about 15 minutes.

 

Kabocha Squash Dip  (The orange squash)

1 kabocha squash (2 1/2 pounds), halved, seeded, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (6 cups) (Add any kind of winter squash as needed).
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons hot curry powder
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 jalapeño, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 450°. On a large baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the curry powder and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash is lightly golden and tender. Let cool to room temperature.

Scrape the squash into a medium bowl. Fold in the jalapeño, onion, lime juice, cilantro and the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

The dip can be refrigerated for 3 days.
Serve With
Thick-cut tortilla chips or pita chips.

Have a great week and Happy Eating!!!

Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm and Jonas Lenz

 

Week 14B

Sept. 13th, 2018

Hello Threshing Table farm Members!

We are Back!!!!!!

In this week’s box:

Tomatoes                 Bell Pepper                Onions          Garlic                         Carrots

Carnival Squash       Acorn or Delicata Squash                   Sage                     Potatoes

Leeks               Savoy Cabbage           Ground Cherries                  Swiss Chard

 

We are back. The hail knocked us down for a good two weeks. We’re grateful we were able to put as much into the boxes as we did, but it was a struggle for much of it. The hail damage will likely be with us for the remainder of the season in one way or another. The peppers are still struggling and you can see many of the greens show damage. But it will still taste good and much of the time you are shredding for slicing or cooking the greens, so the damage won’t be noticeable then.

We’re happy to have a nice amount of tomatoes this week too. They’re on a down hill slide as far as production goes, but we’ll put them in the boxes as long as we have them.

Despite the difficulties in the field, this was one of the most memorable weeks of the farming season.  Friday night was a lot of fun! Pack Shed Party #4!  We had a great crowd with lots of fun people! Thanks to those of you who came out! The food was delicious and plentiful! It’s always a fun pot luck as the food just keeps on coming through out the evening. And Gravel Road was once again- amazing!!  We are so blessed to have such a great group of musicians who love to come and play each year! Thanks to Farm Member Scott Herron and the rest of the band!

Saturday started with the 4am arrival of 3 Taher Chefs to start the hog roast.  They got right to work. (I assume, I didn’t get out to see them  until around 7.)  With the hog on the rack over an open fire, we got ready for 20+ volunteers from Excel energy who came out to glean food for United Way. United Way will be sharing this food with the local food pantries. They were hard workers and a lot of fun. Squash and potatoes were picked. (Thank goodness the fields had finally dried out!) Lots of Cherry tomatoes were picked and onions were boxed up. After the Excel volunteers left, it was clean up time in the pack shed again, to get ready for the dinner.

The chefs did an AWESOME job! What an experience!!  Appetizers through dessert- absolutely perfection. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed meeting new people as well as catching up with some old friends. There were 8 chefs on hand and a few other helpers as well.  We are humbled by the kindness and talent of these people. If you haven’t made it out for a farm dinner yet, put it on your 2019 bucket list.

On to the vegetables!!

Squash:  Leave squash on your kitchen counter. Watch for any soft spots. If you spot some spots- cook as soon as possible, cutting out any soft areas.  Easy way to make all squash: Slice in half. Scoop out the seeds. Place squash cut-side down in a cake pan. Add 1-2 inches of water. Bake at 350 for 45min-1 hour or until soft. Have a lot of squash piling up? Bake them all at once. Scoop out any left-over squash and put into a freezer container. Freeze until you want to heat up for a meal.

Tomatoes- leave on your counter and watch for spots on those too!

Ground Cherries:  On the counter. Eat the ones with brown papery coverings. Leave the yellow/green ones for a few days and they will ripen.

Potatoes, Onions and Garlic- dark, dry place like a cabinet is best.

Everything else- Crisper drawer!

Recipes

Chard and Squash

2 acorn squash, halved crosswise and seeded (Any other Squash will work too.)
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for the skillet
1 large leek (white and light green parts only), halved and sliced
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 c. fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 c. raisins
3 tbsp. pine nuts
2 oz. feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Place squash, cut side down, in prepared skillet. Cover with foil and bake until tender, 34 to 36 minutes. Remove to a plate; reserve skillet.
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in chard and garlic and cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in breadcrumbs, raisins, pine nuts, and Feta. Season with salt and pepper.
Fill squash with chard mixture, dividing evenly. Place squash, cut side up, in skillet and bake until tops are golden brown 15 to 20 minutes.

 

Squash and Sage Biscuits

1 medium-small delicata squash ( or 1/2 cup other squash purée)
2 cups unbleached white flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. cane sugar
1 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled
1 small bunch of fresh sage (1 1/2 tsp. chopped and 10 whole leaves for garnish)
3/4 cup heavy cream
For the egg wash:
1 small egg
1 Tbsp. milk

Slice the delicata squash in half, lengthwise. Remove all the seeds and stringy pulp around the seeds. Place the squash halves cut-side facing down on a baking sheet. Roast in a 400F oven for about 30 minutes or until a knife pierces the flesh like soft butter. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit. Scoop out the roasted flesh and discard the skins. Mash by hand with a potato masher, or if you wish, purée with a hand blender until smooth. Measure out 1/2 cup of squash purée. Chill the purée in the fridge.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Using a box grater, grate the cold butter into the flour mixture. Place this mixture in the freezer while you prepare the wet ingredients (about 5 to 10 minutes).
In another bowl, mix the chilled cream, squash purée, and finely chopped sage. Whisk together until smooth. In another smaller bowl, make the egg wash by beating the egg and 1 Tbsp. of milk together.
Remove the dry ingredients from the freezer. With a pastry cutter or your hands, make sure the grated butter is fully incorporated into the flour (it should look like bread crumbs). Gently add the squash and cream mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just until the dough starts to come together. Using your hands, lightly knead the dough in the bowl, until uniform, but avoiding overhandling it.
Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and either roll or simply press the dough out to 3/4 inch thickness. Using a 2 1/2 inch round or square cookie cutter, cut out the biscuits. Brush the tops with egg wash and gently press a whole sage leaf on top of each biscuit. Place on a lightly buttered baking sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in a 400F oven, until golden on top. Transfer the biscuits to a cooling rack and serve warm.

Carrots, Garlic and potatoes

5 large carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
4 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 medium onion, cut into eighths
2 cloves garlic, diced
6 tablespoons butter, melted
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine carrots, potatoes, onion and garlic with melted butter in 8×8″ square glass pan.
Season generously with salt and pepper, toss.
Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover, stir and continue baking for another 30 minutes (or until browned to your satisfaction), stirring occasionally to lift bottom portions to top to allow to brown and crisp.

 

Happy Eating!!!

Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm, and Jonas

Week 13 A

September 6, 2018

Dear members,

In your box this week:

Garlic                         Onions                                Acorn Squash                   Delicata Squash

Arugula                     Bell Peppers                         Jalapeno Peppers            Ground Cherries

Tomatoes                  Sage                                   Dill                                      Parsley

Broccoli

 

This has definitely been one of the tougher weeks of farming. The hail we got a week and a half ago is still affecting our produce. That, combined with too much rain and humidity, is making our produce tough to harvest. It’s also done enough damage that some of our crops are a loss. Some things, like potatoes and carrots are just waiting for dryer days. Other things like the peppers and many of our greens are going through a “growing out” phase of the damage. Still others, like the tomatoes, are dying. We hope to have tomatoes next week, but I don’t think we’ll have them much after that. For every 1 pepper I pick to keep, I throw 5 out that are rotten. You may have a few spots on your peppers. Cut them off if they are soft and use them soon. If they’ve lasted this long without getting rotten, I decided they deserved a spot in the box.

Remember when I was lamenting the dry weather and wishing we got some rain? Ahhh… those were the days!  The thing about water… You can always add more, but you can’t take it out. We’re doing our best to harvest what we can but are frustrated by the things that should be in the box but are not. We are really looking forward to some dry and sunny days!

Enough of that! On to the good news!

Winter Squash is here!! We have 2 varieties this week: Acorn and Delicata! Delicata are great for slicing thin and sautéing or roasting. No need to peel! Super yummy! The Acorn is great for cutting in half, placing cut side down in a pan with an inch of water and baking for 45 minutes, until tender. Add some of Mike’s Maple syrup and you are good to go! We have a lot more squash varieties out in the field that you will see in the coming weeks.

Ground Cherries are also in the box this week! They are a favorite in our family. If you’ve never had them before, just slip the papery outside off of them and pop the berry in your mouth. Yum! You can find recipes to use them, but we just enjoy eating them as they are. The ground cherries are ripe when the papery part is brown. If they are green or yellow, just let them sit a few days until they brown up. Leaving them on your counter is the best way to store them. No need to refrigerate.

Claudia had a great time at the State Fair. The calf she showed won the Junior Champion for the Guernsey breed. She had a great time and learned a lot!  All 3 kids are now in school, making for much quieter days around the farm. I miss their energy and help, but in some ways, it does simplify my life. Our mornings are a bit more hectic, but we’re getting it done. (I can say that with confidence as we have now completed day 1 of all 3 leaving for school.)  🙂  Ask me how it’s going in a couple of weeks!

PACK SHED PARTY!!!!

THIS FRIDAY!!!!!!

After all this hard and frustrating farming the past 2 weeks, it’s nice to have a time to celebrate!! Please join us!   6:30 pot luck. Bring a dish to pass, chairs and beverages.

Gravel Road will be playing for the evening so bring your dancing shoes!!! It’s a great time for everyone!

 

Saturday, we are going to continue celebrating with the Taher Farm Dinner!! Can’t wait! If you would like tickets, send me an e-mail. I might be able to get a few yet. $65 per person.

 

Delicata Squash and onions

1 medium Delicata squash , halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1 medium red onions, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch rings
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
4 fresh Parsley leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons maple syrup
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425°F degrees. Place the squash, red onion, garlic, Parsley and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and maple syrup, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat.
Spread vegetables evenly onto two large, rimmed baking sheets. Bake the squash on the upper and lower racks of the oven, tossing, rotating, and switching the pan positions half way through cooking, until tender and browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Taste and season again with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Fresh Tomato Soup

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups water
4-6 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. In a large saucepan, cook onion in butter until tender. Stir in flour to form a smooth paste. Gradually add water, stirring constantly until thickened. Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt, sugar, thyme, bay leaf and pepper; bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until tomatoes are tender. Discard bay leaf.

Happy Eating and hope to see you Friday!

Jody, Mike, Claudia, Malcolm and Jonas

August 30th, 2018

Week 12

In this week’s Box:

Tomatoes                   Potatoes                          Eggplant                               Beets

Summer Squash             Sweet Corn                            Onions

Garlic                         Beans                             Kale                                      Basil

Oregano

 

Dear Members,

Sunday morning I woke to the sound that every farmer dreads. Hail. Mike was already up and outside, moving vehicles inside and closing up what doors he could. Hail lasted for about 20 minutes. It felt like hours, and we could only imagine what havoc it was wreaking on our plants. In the midst of it, Chumley, our horse broke out of his pen and ran for it. He is more afraid of loud noises in his old age and the hail coming down on to his metal shed must have been more than he could take. The pigs happily shoved each other trying to eat the hail. For them, it was like manna from heaven.  It was nice to see someone enjoying this weather.

After the weather cleared, we took a drive around the fields to look at the immediate damage. Then, we took a longer drive around the neighborhood trying to track down Chumley. Thankfully, he wandered back home about the time we circled back. He was no worse for the wear. We cannot say the same for our plants.  The things I’m saddest about are the tomatoes. We were so excited about the absolutely thriving jungle that was our tomato patch. Now, it’s just tomatoes hanging on dead branches. The good news: The leaves took the hardest hit. The tomatoes are a bit bruised, but not terrible. So we do have a fair amount to give this week. You may see more bruised, cracked spots from the hail. Use them sooner rather than later and cut off the bad spots if they are mushy. The blossoms were all wiped out. So whatever green tomatoes we have on the plants right now are all we are going to get. We’ll pick them as they ripen and hopefully we have some for the next few weeks.

The greens also took a big hit. Our arugula was going to go in the box this week, along with beet and Asian greens. They were all beaten down badly. Our Swiss chard was just starting to come back from the mid-summer mowing we give it. It too was badly damaged. It may bounce back in a few weeks, but we won’t know for a bit. Same for the broccoli. The almost mature broccoli did fine, but the young “Teenager” plants are really beaten down.  Time will tell.

When the neighbors were done checking their soybeans and corn, they stopped in to see how we fared. The question came up about crop insurance. Mike explained that there is no govt. crop insurance program for our type of farm. But better than an insurance program, we have you, our members. By purchasing your share up front, agreeing to take on the risks and rewards of our farm season, we know we won’t be out money from the hail damaged crops. It still is a loss we feel terribly, but your support helps us to weather those risks much more successfully. THANK YOU.  We couldn’t do this without each and every one of you.

GREAT NEWS!

The heat and rain has been great for some of our crops. We have awesome sweet corn this week!! We are really excited about that!  Due to the earlier drought, the ears didn’t really size up, but they are tasty. We also have the FINAL crop of green beans. They are a bit weather beaten, but they’re here!

Phil’s Fall Raspberries are  here!!

AND… He has time to pick them! Let me know if you would like to order some, and I’ll send them with your share. $4 a pint. I would need to know how many pints you would like by noon on Wednesday.(Today!) Or we can send them the following week.  Please make checks out to Star Prairie Berries and mail them to us at Threshing Table Farm, 2249 150th St. Star Prairie, WI 54026

PACK SHED PARTY!!

We are only a little over a week away from the pack shed party! Please stop by and stay if you can! Great food, awesome band, a bonfire and dancing! The kids have a blast playing around the farm and it’s a great community get together!

Bring a dish to pass, a chair, beverages and we’ll pass the hat to pay the band. It’s a great time, please join us!!  It’s one of our favorite events on the farm. It is important for us to celebrate this beautiful farm and the people who support it. (And to take a break from all the work!)

TAHER Farm Dinner!

The fall dinner put on here at the farm by extremely talented chefs is next weekend!

6pm on Saturday, September 8th. Sorry for the late notice- but the final plans came together recently. $65 per seat. It will be delicious! It will be beautiful and a lot of fun! Tickets are VERY limited!! Please let us know ASAP if you would like some. Send us an e-mail and it will be first come, first serve.

A little family news…

Claudia is busy this week at the MN State Fair showing dairy cattle with our neighbors, Crisdhome farm. She is having a blast! And since she gets out of school for 4 days, that’s an extra bonus. Malcolm started school last week as well and so far, so good. Jonas is getting anxious to start next week.

Doodle the cat is quite sick. It sounds like Pneumonia. Luckily, Dr. Bohl, our neighbor, knows how to help sick cats! A good round of antibiotics and Doodle should be back up to greeting everyone with a meow and a few cat antics. As sick and friendly as he is, he sure put up a HUGE fight about getting a shot!

A few notes about your veggies:

Garlic- Small but valuable!! We are thrilled with the garlic crop this year. They cured nicely. These bulbs will last for months. We’ll be sending them for several weeks (or more!) until we run out. Leave in a dark, dry place to store.

Eggplant: Also survived the hail, so you might see some damage. Store in the crisper drawer.

The rest you’ve seen before, and are surely experts on by now!

 

Kale Beet Salad

1 bunch kale, washed, dried, ribs removed, roughly chopped
1 pound beets, washed, dried and peeled
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 cloves minced garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil
1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

Lemon-Honey Vinaigrette
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 lemon, juice of
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
Salt and pepper

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare ingredients as indicated above.
Toss kale with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Roast in oven for a brief five minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Take peeled beets and cut them into 1 1/2 wedges. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Sprinkle with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. Toss with a little olive oil making sure beets are well-coated with the olive oil and spices.
Place the beets on the middle rack of the 400 degrees F-heated oven. Roast for 45 minutes, tossing/turning beets twice.
While beets are roasting, make the lemon-honey vinaigrette. Simply mix vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl, whisk to combine. Set aside.
When beets are tender to your liking, remove from oven and let them cool slightly.
In a medium salad bowl, combine kale, beets and sliced red onions. Dress your salad with the lemon-honey vinaigrette, and toss together. Garnish with the toasted slivered almonds.

 

Tomato Eggplant bake

1 eggplant, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 tomato, sliced
1/4 cup grated fat-free Parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick oil spray. Arrange eggplant rounds on the cookie sheet and sprinkle Parmesan over the eggplant. Layer one slice of tomato on top of each eggplant round. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.