Moore Farms and Friends Weekly Newsletter

Weekly Newsletter

The first really cool night every year is a shock to the senses: last night we had to add another blanket! We grew up in Michigan where longjohns were a standard piece of Winter apparel. Here in the South I just have to remember to keep some long sleeve shirts and pants handy for the change of seasons (the longjohns went out the door after we had been here for a couple of years and I never wore them!). The clear blue skies are just beautiful after the last few rainy days. It is unusual to have such a wet September but we're not complaining. . . our late Fall crops and transplants are loving it!

Orders went really well this week as everything came in from farmer's harvests just fine, yay! The Mixed Herbs we picked for the $30 Farmers Pick boxes are Lemon Verbena and Rosemary. We are recommending this mix to infuse Olive Oil or Butter as the Lemon Verbena texture is not tender enough to chop it up to add to recipes like other herbs. Here is our technique: Wash, trim and remove leaves from Lemon Verbena and Rosemary. In a small saucepan combine herbs with 1/4 - 1/2 cup Olive Oil or Butter, and heat together until just simmering. Stir/mash the herbs while heating to release the essential oils but it's not necessary to aggressively crush them. Simmer for a couple of minutes then turn off heat and allow to cool. Strain herbs and store the flavored oil/butter in the fridge until ready for use. This is absolutely delicious to cook vegetables, fish, chicken, make salad dressing, etc. anything you would otherwise use Butter or Olive Oil for!

Moore Farms Work Day: Saturday October 27th 2012

We have another date on the calendar now for folks who want to come out and have a fun day working with us on the farm! You can arrive on Friday afternoon/evening or Saturday morning and we'll work from 9am (Eastern time) to 5pm with a fabulous farm lunch. We have jobs for all levels of ability so no worries there, we have a good time and get some big jobs done working together on our beautiful farm. We do need to know how many to expect so please be sure to RSVP if you're planning to come out (don't just show up!), if you're going to camp Friday/Saturday night and if you have any food allergies or preferences.

RSVP by phone 256-449-9417 or email farm@moorefarmsandfriends.com

We have just added a bunch of Upcoming Events

to our website, check it out!

Fall Investment Membership Incentive It's that time of year again, each season we offer an extra reason to become an Online Market Investment Member. Depending on your level of Investment ($500-$5,000) you will enjoy a healthy and delicious return (3% - 7%), a Thank You Goodie Bag and Investment Members get two-for-one price for on-farm events. By essentially pre-paying for your orders (our average Member spends $1250 per year on our Online Market) you won't have to enter your credit card every time (yay!) and your support helps us to get some big jobs done. Plans for this Fall include the last phase of expansion on our Packing Shed, adding a bathroom to the intern Corncrib Cabin and the start of our Barn Conversion to make a big new event space. Other Members have noted that they can get miles/points on their credit card as another reason to invest. (If you would like to use PayPal or mail a check we can set that up for you, too.) For our Fall Incentive we'll give our new and renewing Investment Members a $50 Online Market Gift Certificate which you can use yourself or give as a gift or donate for a fundraising event. Cool, huh? Check out the details here and consider becoming an Investor today!

Our Farmers Pick Order for delivery September 19th - 21st:

$20 Farmer's Pick                                 $30 Farmer's Pick
Slicing Tomatoes (AL/GA/TN) 1.5 pounds       Everything from the $20 box plus:
Apples (GA) 4-5                                                             Double Order Slicing Tomatoes!
Sweet Potatoes (NC) 2 pounds                               Cabbage (NC) 1 head
Lettuce (GA) 1 head         Mixed Herbs (AL)
Sweet Peppers (AL/GA/TN) 3-4
Green Beans (AL/GA) 1 pound

Weekly Recipes

Fresh Pasta Sauces:
Fresh Tomato Basil & Bacon Sweet Pepper

These sauces are easy, delicious and can be frozen for a taste of sunshine this Winter. They are also another great option for young chefs learning to make dinner for the whole family!

Fresh Tomato Basil Sauce

1. Wash, trim and chop 1 8-ounce Tomato per person.

2. Wash Fresh Basil (as much as you like!) and remove leaves from stems.

3. In a saute pan or skillet heat 4 Tablespoons Olive Oil on medium and add Tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, fresh or powdered Garlic to taste. Simmer (do not cook this on high heat!) for 2-3 minutes.

4. Prepare Basil leaves: chop finely. Add Basil to Tomato Sauce and cook for just a minute to bring the flavors together but not cook the Basil too much.

You can freeze this sauce after it cools or use immediately with Pasta of your choice and freshly grated cheese.

Bacon Sweet Pepper Pasta Sauce

This one is a ringer: you just can't go wrong with these few ingredients put together!

1. Cook Bacon in a skillet (1 slice per person) over medium-high heat until just done (do not over-cook, it should be a bit tender not super crispy). Remove Bacon and allow to cool. Pour off most of the Bacon Fat but leave a good coating in the skillet (we save and use our Bacon Fat for other cooking, the pasture-raised pork produces a wonderful fat to cook with!).

2. Wash, trim and chop Sweet Peppers, you will want 1 cup per person (about 1 medium Bell Pepper or 2-3 Banana Peppers).

3. Chop 1-2 medium Onions or as much as you like. Saute the Peppers and Onions in the remaining Bacon drippings on medium-high heat until tender.

4. Roughly chop the cooled Bacon, add it to the cooking vegetables. Season with pepper (no salt is necessary) and a pinch of sugar. We like to add Red Pepper Flakes to this dish for a little heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes to bring the flavors together.

Cool and freeze for later use or dress prepared pasta and serve with grated cheese.
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FIELD OF GREENS 2012

This is normally a not-to-be-missed date for us but this year we have a family event so we won't be able to go. However, we really want to encourage our Members to enjoy this truly wonderful day on the farm so we're offering a ticket giveaway: look for details in the "Online Market is Open" email for how to Register for our Field of greens Ticket Drawing! (Click on the image above for event information.)

Call, Ya'll!

Just a reminder to everyone: if you ever have a problem with your order on pickup day such as you can't find your Box, can't find your Cooler Items, can't find your Pickup Location, etc., you need to CALL us so we can help you!

We will not get any email or text until a couple of days later (after orders are out the door we are back to farm work!) so you need to call us on our cell number 256-282-7889.

We work very hard to be sure everything is right with your order and we want you to get it and enjoy our good food. Our triple-check system means that we rarely miss an order. Common problems are: Members choose the wrong Pickup Location on the order (be sure to check your Order Confirmation!); order does not complete so it doesn't ever get to us (be sure to look for your Order Confirmation!); or sometimes someone picks up the wrong order (we can usually solve the mystery very quickly similar names, etc.). Also please remember, folks at the Pickup Locations are very kindly hosting for us, they do not have information about our orders so please be polite and respectful of their businesses and call us directly if there is ever a problem so we can help. Cheers!!

We are very proud to bring our farmer's foods to your family and we always want to know what you think about what we do. Send us your recipes, pictures and stories and thank you for your support!

photo by Anthony-Masterson Photography

Will and Laurie Moore

Moore Farms

www.moorefarmsandfriends.com
Farm: 256-449-9417

Cell: 256-282-7889

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