October 7

Farm Notes

After a tumultuous weekend filled with wind and rain and no power thanks to Hurricane Ian, this week was the epitome of glorious fall weather here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Blue skies and sunshine, zero humidity, chilly mornings + evenings and pleasantly warm afternoons… can it be like this ALL the time?

This week’s CSA boxes were filled with some gorgeous lettuce and some fun / less common fall veggies like watermelon radishes and kohlrabi. Somehow we still have some tomatoes and peppers and eggplant, though we are in the process of clearing out our tunnels (where those summer veggies have been growing) and will replace them with more successions of lettuce, arugula, baby kale, radishes, and turnips that we’ll harvest for the last few weeks of our CSA through the end of November. After a slow start, our leafy brassicas like kale and collards will finally be ready for harvesting next week, and in a few weeks our cabbage, broccolini, and fall carrots will be ready. For a full tour of what’s growing here at the farm, I just took y’all on a virtual farm walk – tune in via Facebook HERE, or later this weekend via our shared google drive HERE.

We haven’t had a frost yet, but tomorrow night will be the coldest yet, with the predicted low around 38F. If you are expecting frosts in your area and have tender plants that need to be protected, make sure to pick up some frost cover! The best place to pick of frost cover will probably be your local farm/garden store, but here’s a link to snag some online if needed.

Yesterday we had the most gorgeous evening for a hands-on cooking class here at the farm. After a tour around the garden, everyone helped harvest fall veggies like kale, kohlrabi, beets, watermelon radishes and cilantro, and then we whipped up three different yummy fall salads and some homemade vinaigrettes. It makes my heart so darn happy to be able to host these in-person farm to table events again… seeing folks get inspired to grow their own gardens and try new things in the kitchen is truly the best feeling, and is exactly why we have worked so hard to create this special space.

I only have one more cooking workshop on the calendar for the fall next Saturday (Oct 15), which will be focused on Knife Skills! There are still a few spots left, so if you’re local and would like to join us, here’s a link to more details and tickets.

Okay, one last piece of exciting news that you get to hear first as Farmbelly Club members… Farmbelly has a brand spankin new logo, with lots of fun swag (think t-shits, sweatshirts, totes and hats) coming soon! I have been working for months with some talented graphic designers to create a new logo that captures the spirit of Farmbelly, and I’m so happy with how the new designs turned out. Would love to hear what you think?!

Kitchen Notes

For yesterday’s cooking class, I think the biggest hit of the night was this salad! It’s a super flexible recipe – just use quinoa as the base (or rice, lentils, farro, etc) and whatever veggies, fruits, nuts/seeds you have on hand. The dressing is just a simple apple cider vinaigrette, which has a nice tang that pairs beautifully with the roasted butternut squash, tuscan kale, green apples, avocado, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and goat cheese.

AUTUMN QUINOA SALAD WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, TUSCAN KALE, GREEN APPLES, AVOCADO, PEPITAS & GOAT CHEESE WITH APPLE CIDER VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 bunches of lacinato kale, de-stemmed and chopped

  • 4 cups cooked quinoa

  • 2 cups diced and roasted butternut squash

  • 2 green apples, diced

  • 2 avocados, diced

  • 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

  • 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds/pepitas

  • 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

  • 1/2 cup olive oil

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)

  • 1 clove minced garlic

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

PREPARATION

  1. To cook the quinoa: Put 3 cups of water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 2 cups uncooked quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer and put a lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and set aside until needed. 

  2. De-stem the kale, roughly chop, and set aside in a bowl. 

  3. Combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar and shake until well emulsified – taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Pour a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette into the bowl with the chopped kale. Using your hands, massage the kale for 1-2 minutes until the leaves are dark green and broken down. 

  4. In a separate large salad bowl, add the cooked quinoa and other ingredients – massaged kale, roasted butternut squash, diced green apples, avocado, parsley, pepitas, and goat cheese. 

  5. Pour remaining dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Today’s Stats

  • Low temp: 50F

  • High temp: 80F

  • Sunrise: 7:17am

  • Sunset: 6:52pm

  • Moon phase: Waxing Gibbous

  • Additional notes: Blue skies and beautiful