Greetings!

End of the Season Questionnaire

Please take some time at distribution this week to fill out the end of the season questionnaire. We appreciate your feedback and rely on it as our source for "being on the right track" in your minds. Thanks!

Our Pumpkin Friends

As many of you know we have a long friendship with the St. Joe Lab School. Each spring the gardeners go to the first grade classroom and plant pumpkin seeds. A few weeks later the kids come to the garden and plant their seedlings in the ground, and then in the fall as second graders they return to pick up a pumpkin. It's fun to welcome the kids' boisterous energy to what is normally a pretty quiet garden. The children seem to love being outside and exploring what is growing, and the gardeners definitely soak up their joy and wonderment. Thank you to Joanne Schneider and Betty Pundsack, the first and second grade teachers, for teaching the kids about the life cycle of plants and honing their appreciation of the garden.

Looking to Next Season

Even though the weather this season has sometimes been challenging and dry, our thoughts and dreamings for the future continue to be an ever flowing stream of possibilities. Thank you for your reliable support - this makes it possible for us to think with excitement about next season and many seasons to come. As S. Phyllis often reminds the gardeners, "Always have some seeds in your pocket." Maybe she means this literally - you never know when you might see an open piece of land that could use some planting - but she definitely intends its figurative implementation - always have dreams and ideas for the future; never stop building on the hope that surrounds us in each new day.

So, the year in review...

• 86 Households (54 half shares and 32 full shares) have been subscribers to the garden
• We've continued to sell at the St. Joe Farmer's Market every Friday afternoon
• We've increased our sales at the Minnesota Street Market (Food and Art Co-op)
• We've continued to make regular donations to the St. Joe Food Shelf and St. Cloud Catholic Charities Food Pantry
• We've continued to share abundance with the sisters
• We've loaned garden space to the Central Minnesota Sustainability Project (CMSP) who work to connect new Americans to agricultural opportunities
• Through that partnership, we sold a bit of produce to the Good Earth Co-op in St. Cloud.
• Also through our relationship with CMSP, we started selling produce to Nick's Third Floor, the local food restaurant in downtown St. Cloud
• We've continued our friendship with the St. Joseph Lab School first/second graders
• We've continued to host volunteers and welcome people to work in the garden in exchange for fresh food
• We've continued to host classes from CSB/SJU to learn about sustainable farming practices, local food systems, and the Benedictine mission of this garden
• And we continue to have a lot of fun!

Looking to the Future...

There are lots of ideas that bounce around our heads while we're engaging the everyday labor of the garden. We plan...

• We plan to continue all of the above partnerships, friendships and initiatives
• We plan to till up a bit more land to increase our rotational ability between produce and cover crops

We wonder what it would be like if...

• We grew asparagus - not necessarily as an addition to the CSA share, but as an increase to our cash flow
• We had winter storage space so we could sell root crops and squash through the winter
• We increased our growing season through the use of a high-tunnel or greenhouse
• We had a community kitchen (certified kitchen) so we could preserve and sell our surplus and scratch and dent produce, offer more community classes on food preservation, and rent space to people with small businesses who need a certified kitchen but can't afford their own
• We had a clay earth oven and sold homemade pizzas one night a week with veggies from the garden

As always, share your ideas and dreamings with us. We want to build this together. Thanks!

Sweet Potato (or carrot) Soup
 shared by Lois Kauffman of the Michael Sattler House

2 ½ lb sweet potatoes - carrots are a delicious alternative
¾ lb apples (about 2 apples)
¾ lb onion (about 2)
6 cloves garlic
2 ½ quart water
2 t. curry (plus a bit more)
2 t. Cumin (I double this)
2 T or 2 packs dry chicken broth (no or low sodium)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder, cumin and cook until toasted, 1 more minute.

Add the diced sweet potatoes, chicken broth and 2 cups water to the pot, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the apples. Simmer, covered, until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Puree the soup with a blender (or immersion blender) until smooth. Serve very hot or very cold.

End-of-the-day Sourdough Bruschetta
  shared by Kate Ritger

Several slices Collegeville Artisan Sourdough (or other bread of the week)
Angie Del Greco's hand-ground pesto (see below)
Several slices of tomatoes (I used green ones that have been slowly ripening)
Several dollops soft goat cheese

Turn the broiler on high. Spread a thin layer of Angie's pesto on the sourdough. Spread the tomato slices on top and add a few dollops of goat cheese. Broil until melted - watch out, it burns quickly.

Angie shared some of her pesto with me. I make a lot of pesto and the hand-ground version is superior. The flavor is powerful and the texture is smooth. And you get a work-out making it! Thanks Angie.

Hand Ground Pesto
 shared by subscriber Angie Del Greco

1 1/2 cups tender basil leaves, packed

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup pignoli nuts (pine nuts)

3 Tbsp. finely grated pecorino romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil--the best quality you can afford

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

In large marble mortar bowl, grind basil leaves and garlic by hand to a coarse puree using an olive wood pestle. Add pine nuts and hand grind to fine puree. Blend in the pecorino romano cheese by hand into the fine puree in the mortar bowl with the wood pestle. Slowly add olive oil in about three or four parts and blend completely in mortar with pestle. Add black pepper and sea salt to taste and blend in by hand with pestle (not much is needed). This pesto will have a coarser texture and richer taste compared to the pesto made in blenders and Cuisinart's.

Thai Red Curry with Kabocha Squash
 from Recipe Bridge.com

1tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, medium dice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
2 medium green bell peppers, seeds and ribs removed and cut into 1/4-inch strips
4 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped1 tablespoon peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger (from about a 1-1/2-inch piece)
3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 (13- to 14-ounce) can unsweetened regular coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 medium kabocha squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Rice for serving

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 6 minutes. Add the peppers, garlic, and ginger, stir to combine, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the curry paste, stir to coat the onion-pepper mixture, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, water, soy sauce, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer.

Stir in the squash, return to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is fork-tender but still firm, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Taste and season with salt as needed.

Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve immediately over steamed rice.

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Common Ground Garden is the ministry of the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict

104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374