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August 30, 2012 Volume 18, Issue 12
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Greetings!
Goodbye to Hanna Newman!
Technically Hanna's last day was Tuesday, August 28, but we'll see her a bit helping out at distribution and The Farmers' Market over the next few weeks -- we won't let her leave without a fight! From the first day Hanna started volunteering with us last fall she has been a kind, generous and passionate gardener. I'm so glad she decided to stay in St. Joe and spend the summer in the garden. She's passionate about sustainable food systems and healthy eating habits, and I'm curious to see how her passions unfold after she graduates in December. Thanks, Hanna!
From Virginia: It has been really great to get to work with you more this summer. I know that we will be seeing more of each other in the future, and I'm PUMPED! Godspeed, my friend. You will do wonderful things!
And to Emily Reimer! 
Tuesday was also Emily's last day. She'll be heading back to work in the Arboretum for the school year -- watch for her there. I'm positive that our summer would have been more somber if Emily hadn't been part of our team; she constantly shares goofy stories and thought-provoking topics, and spurs garden adventures - you'll be missed, Em!
From Virginia: You are my vegan happiness. I am excited to have classes with you, so we can continue having gardening/farming/eating conversations all of the time!
Welcome to Sydney Henderson!
My name is Sydney Henderson and I am a senior, environmental studies major here at St. Ben's. Being outside is what makes me happy, and I enjoy a variety of activities such as hiking, canoeing, kayaking, gardening, reading, spending time with family and friends or anything else that gives me the chance to be in nature. This fall I will be applying to graduate school, and I am interested in studying/working with a model for sustainable community livelihoods. The garden is the perfect opportunity to put theory to practice! I look forward to getting my hands dirty and helping produce fresh fruits and veggies for all of you!
Kimchi!
 We had some scratch and dent cabbages (not high enough quality to give to you or sell) so we were pondering what to do with them -- Kimchi! Kimchi is a Korean fermented cabbage dish. So we gathered, chopped and shredded the veggies: cabbages, carrots, green onions, daikon radish (you'll be receiving these in a few weeks), garlic and ginger, bought Korean red pepper powder from the Asian market in St. Cloud and collected our glass jars. The recipe we found said to mix the i ngredients, stuff into the jars, let them sit in a cool and dark place until they start to bubble (bubble? Yes, bubble!) and then eat and store them in the refrigerator for up to three months. We're not sure if they bubbled, but the jars are now in the refrigerator and we'll do a taste-testing sometime soon.
Our garden friend Ann Pederson joined us for the fun. She taught English in Korea for eight months and shared stories of kimchi and other fermented vegetables from her experience. She said that there's a kimchi season in Korea when everyone fills their giant crocks with kimchi for the year.
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1.Cucumbers, 2. zucchini, 3. corn, 4. green/purple beans, 5. kohlrabi, 6. beets, 7. Swiss chard/kale/collards, 8. potatoes, 9. tomatoes, 10. watermelon/cantaloupe, 11. a variety of hot peppers, and 12. assorted herbs. Notes on the veggies: The dry, hot weather seems to be speeding up the ripening process for some of the crops. You will be receiving corn this week but they will be smaller and not as fresh as our first picking. Even with our irrigation system, the stalks are drying out quickly and therefore the second ears of corn are not getting the water they need to develop. The same is true with the watermelon. The vines have been drying up quickly so, even though a melon appears ready to harvest, we've found that some are under-ripe when cut into. We do our best and hope you are well fed and enjoying the fruits of this land.
Bread of the Week
Multigrain
Vegetable Forecast
More tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and beets are coming our way. In a week or so we hope the eggplant will be ready for harvest and then, by the end of the month, we'll be into the winter squash.
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Distribution takes place every Thursday afternoon, unless otherwise notifed.
- 4-6 pm at the Common Ground Garden---You really can't miss the barn at Saint Benedict's Monastery. Enter at the college entrance from Minnesota Street near 4th Ave SW. Make a right at the stop sign and follow the gravel road out to the barn.
- 5-6 pm at St. John's Episcopal Church in St. Cloud. For a link on google maps, click here.
Missed Thursday Pick-Up?
Never fear, your produce is still here. If you know you are going to miss a Thursday pick-up, invite a friend to come get it. If you forget to pick up, come out to the garden on Friday anytime between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.; or be in touch and pick up your share at the St. Joe Farmer's Market 3-6:30 p.m. on Fridays. You can even pick up your veggies Monday morning; we go to the St. Joe Food Shelf and the Monastery at 12:30 on Monday afternoon with produce that has been left behind.
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Flowers
Pick a bouquet when you come out to pick up your vegetables. Or let me (Kate) know if you'd like to pick flowers for a family gathering or special event.
Decorative corn stalks
We'll be clearing the corn stalks out of the field in the coming weeks. Let me (Kate) know if you are interested in some stalks for fall decorations.
Swap Bin
We want you to love and be able to use all of the produce you receive from us. If you know that you won't be able to use a certain vegetable, and you don't have a friend with whom to share it, leave it in the swap bin. Another subscriber who loves what you left behind can pick it up, or it will get distributed to another vegetable lover.
Bring us your Bags
We encourage you to bring your own bags to pick up vegetables--canvas bags are great. We recycle brown paper bags, plastic grocery bags, and egg cartons, too.
Composting
Bring us your food scraps! If you don't have your own home composting system, add them to the Monastery compost pile. No dairy or meat, please. The pile is located just south of the big yellow barn.
Evening Hours in the Garden
Get your hands in the dirt on Tuesday evenings from 5-7 p.m. You all are the Common Ground Garden. Produce from the garden is widely distributed to subscribers, patrons of the Farmer's Market, Minnesota Street Market, and area food shelves, the Sisters of Saint Benedict, and friends of the garden who work in exchange for produce. Be part of the physical efforts. Kids and low mobility gardeners are welcome.
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Two Great (and free) Events with our Egg Farmer, Tim Kuebelbeck!
Grape harvest, jelly demonstrations and lunch
Join Tim on Saturday, September 1, for a morning of harvesting grapes, jelly-making demonstrations and lunch.
9 a.m. - lunch
One mile north of Millstream Park on County Road 3 (fire #0327)
Chickens: From barnyard to table
Join Tim on Saturday, October 20, to be part of the chicken butchering process and go home with a free bird ready for stuffing and roasting.
We'll start at 9 a.m. These are the birds who have been laying eggs for us all season.
Thanks, Tim, for the great offerings.
From the Catholic Worker
Join us for weekly dinner and prayer: 6:30 dinner, 7 p.m. prayer. All are welcome. Learn more about the community at www.centralmncw.org.
St. Joseph's Farmers' Market
The St. Joe Market is open every Friday, 3-6:30 p.m., near the St. Joe water tower. Visit the SJFM website www.stjosephfarmersmarket.com for more information about vendors, what's new, and special events throughout the year.
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Bring your Veggie Bingo winners for garden tie-dying with all natural, veggie dye! We will do the dying on Thursday, September 20, 4:30 p.m. Bring a shirt or pair of socks to dye. Pick up your items the following week. All are welcome!
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Potato Salad Vinaigrette
6 large potatoes
Salted water
1½ cups milk
Vinaigrette Dressing
6 to 7 tbsp olive oil
3 to 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1 whole clove garlic
3 to 4 crisp green onions
Peel the potatoes and boil them whole in enough salted water to cover; about 45 minutes to 1 hour should be enough. As soon as they are tender (do not over-cook) take them out and, while they are still warm, very carefully cut them into cubes. Treat them very gently or they will fall apart.
Put the cubes in a bowl and pour the milk over them. The potatoes should be covered. Soak them in the milk for about 20 minutes, then drain. (The milk that is left from this procedure is delicious to drink.)
Rinse the potatoes quickly with cold water and drain again. Make a vinaigrette dressing with the olive oil, white wine vinegar, clove of garlic, salt, pepper. Add the potatoes; lift them gently a few times so that they are coated and chill well before serving.Garnish with green onions.
Roasted Beets with Mint-Yogurt Sauce Everyday Food, October 2010
Yield Serves 4
bunch medium beets or 3 bunches baby beets (about 1 1/2 pounds total), scrubbed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
½ cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss beets with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover dish tightly with foil and roast until tender when pierced with a knife, 45 to 60 minutes, depending on size. When cool enough to handle, rub beets with a paper towel to remove skins.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, mint, cumin, and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Spoon yogurt sauce over beets and serve.
Kohlrabi Slaw with Dried Cranberries and Walnuts (gluten-free + vegan)
serves 4-6
Vinaigrette
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Salad
4 small green or purple kohlrabi, cleaned, peeled and cut into matchsticks, about 2 cups
1/4 head of savoy cabbage, sliced as thinly as possible, about 1 cup
1 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
2 garlic scapes, very thinly sliced (you could also use green onions)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste
In a small bowl, mix together the vinaigrette ingredients with a whisk until well combined. Set aside.
In a large serving bowl, add all of the salad ingredients except the cranberries and walnuts. Toss gently to combine, then pour over some of the vinaigrette. You may not need it all, go conservative to start; you can always add more. Toss well to coat the entire salad with the vinaigrette. Sprinkle the cranberries and walnuts on top, salt and pepper to taste and serve.
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Every week we will send several recipes that make use of the produce you are receiving in your bag. We also have a significant collection of recipes on our website at http://sbm.osb.org/ministries/common_ground_garden/recipes/. Please send us your own recipes, too--either favorites from your cook books or your own concoctions.
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Contact information
commonground@csbsju.edu
Ryan Kutter, Garden Director, cell: 320-219-3389
Kate Ritger, Production Manager, cell: 262-339-7737
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 Common Ground Garden is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm, where members purchase a share of vegetables and each week during the farm season receive a bountiful box of fresh produce. We pride ourselves on producing fresh, clean, healthful food picked at the peak of flavor and nutrition. As much as we are able, we grow our vegetables without the use of any chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers. We use cover crops, rotations, compost and ingenuity to produce your food in a way that's healthy for you and for the community. When necessary for pest control or to combat disease, we use only products approved for organic gardening. |
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Common Ground Garden is the ministry of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Bneeidct
104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374 |
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