News from Terra Firma Farm

We're almost done with 2010, and all I can say about it is "good riddance." All my New Year's toasts this year will be asking for better weather for 2011.

I want to thank TFF's subscribers this year for your patience and understanding as we transitioned to our online subscription system and newsletter. We made lots of mistakes, but we are confident that the new systems are a big improvement overall. It is our intention to keep using the new capabilities to do a better job feeding you and you families. In the future, we hope to find a good way to let our subscribers expand their own community online, sharing recipes and other information. We will also be conducting some surveys (for interested members only) to check and make sure that we are still doing our best to keep subscribers happy with their boxes.

It's a short week at Terra Firma, as it probably is for most of you. In fact, many subscribers are not even getting a box this week and are leaving Northern California to spend the holidays with friends and family elsewhere. With that in mind, this week's newsletter is a bit abbreviated. If you are sticking around and getting your TFF box this week, you'll notice a bonus recipe below.

I will close by wishing all of you a happy New Year from all of us at Terra Firma, and thank you once again for making what we do possible.

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Thanks,
                 Pablito

Walnuts

At Terra Firma, we're pretty accustomed to harvesting, processing (i.e. -washing) and packing our crops ourselves -- being relatively in control of their destiny. With our nut crops, walnuts and pistachios, it's different story. Both are harvested and processed mechanically using expensive, specialized equipment. Only a few farmers in area that do these jobs have their facilities certified organic. All of which means that we never know when the nuts are going to be harvested, or when we are going to get them back from the processor once they are. One year, most of the pistachios were knocked on the ground by wind -- ruined -- before the harvest began. And this year, although the walnuts were harvested in mid-October, we didn't get any of them back from the shelling plant until last week -- just in time to pack them into the holiday gift baskets.

The good thing about nuts is that they are not highly perishable. Kept at the right temperature, they stay fresh for well over a year. We try to manage our inventory so that we don't run out too long before the next year's harvest, but there are always good years and bad years, and it's not always possible.

Terra Firma's walnuts come from the orchard where we hold Farm Day, on Hector's ranch. They are old trees, of an old variety not planted anymore. As many of you have pointed out, they taste and look quite different from most commercial walnuts around these days, even other organic ones. They have a rich nutty flavor and a denser, less oily flesh. Unfortunately, walnut buyers are prejudiced in favor of light colored, oily nuts with little walnut flavor and tree breeders have moved to varieties that keep them happy. Even more unfortunately, Hector's orchard is shrinking every year, and the yields dropping, as the trees die from old age and disease. So enjoy them while they last.

Stuffed Radicchio Leaves You can make the risotto ahead of time and reheat it when the broccoli is ready. Fill radicchio leaves with a savory puree to offset their naturally bitter flavor. This is a good appetizer for the holidays. Separate 1-2 heads of Radichio into individual leaves, rinse, and spin dry.
Boil or steam water.
Remove the stems from the leaves of 1 bunch of chard. Parboil or steam the leaves for 1 minute, then rinse with cool water and drain.
Mince 1 small clove of garlic. Toast 3 T. walnuts in a pan, then chop roughly.
Combine the garlic, walnuts, and chard in a food processor with 6 oz. of fresh goat cheese (chevre). Season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice to taste.
Place 1-2 T. of puree in each radicchio leaf, then roll up. If necessary, push a toothpick through to keep the rolls closed.
Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Butternut Muffins The perfect way to use leftover roasted butternut; makes a great holiday breakfast snack.

Cut 1 butternut squash in half lengthwise and roast at 450 until soft and browned. .
Blend 1 stick of softened butter and 3/4 C. brown sugar until smooth. Beat in 1 egg and combine.
Add 3 C. mashed butternut squash (removing the skin and seeds) and mix until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together 2/3 C. each white, whole wheat, and corn flour with 1 t. baking soda, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. ginger powder, and 1/4 t. nutmeg.
Chop 1/2 C. walnuts finely.
Combine all the ingredients together but don't overdo it, as the batter will toughen.
Spoon the batter into a muffin tin or bread pan (12 muffins or 1 bread pan).
Bake muffins at 400, bread at 375, until brown on top and cooked through.