Greetings!

A Note from the Production Manager   

Kate Ritger 

We'll be harvesting more tomatoes and eggplant this week, and starting in the sweet pepper patch. I consider eggplant and sweet peppers to be treasures from the garden and I'm excited that the plants are heavy with fruit. We also have the last of the zucchini to distribute.

I wish there could have been more corn to harvest last week, and there might be more in coming weeks. Corn is a very low producer; each stalk gives one, maybe two, cobs of corn. We've been watering it through the hot and dry weather, but it has been slow to develop. There is also a small window for harvesting corn. We don't want to pick it underdeveloped, but it also isn't a crop we can harvest partially on Monday and then more on Thursday for distribution. The sugars immediately start to turn into starch, so we picked all that we could at 2:30 last Thursday afternoon.

Cantaloupe also has a small window for harvesting; when the melons ripen, they ripen all at once, within a few days, depending on the weather. They are still green on the vines, but may be ready by Thursday, more likely next week.

You are receiving the beginning of the winter squash! This week it's the kabocha. The kabocha and the butternut are my two favorites. Butternuts are endlessly versatile, but the kabocha's flavor is unmistakably rich and dry. I hope you will enjoy them.

Hi, I'm Alyssa. I am from Plymouth, MN. This is my third year at CSB/SJU studying theology and philosophy. During the academic year I find myself mentally exhausted with all of the necessary reading and it is not always convenient to find a productive way out of my mind. This summer I was able to volunteer briefly at the Common Ground Garden where I discovered a refreshing way to get out of my mind and into my hands. The garden also provides a creative way of being involved in the greater community of St. Joe and continuously expands my understanding of what it means to serve.

Meet LaDeanna Swanson 

Hello, my name is LaDeanna Swanson, and I am a first year student here at CSB/SJU. I am from Parkers Prairie, MN, which is a small town of a thousand about twenty miles north of Alexandria. I am not yet sure what my major is, but I'm thinking maybe elementary education, pre-physical therapy, or maybe even a psychology major. I wanted to work at the Common Ground Garden because I have loved working in the garden ever since I was little. It also seemed like a great way to get out and enjoy nature before the cold season sets in. Thank you so much for making me feel so welcome.

Please bring us your extra canning jars: quart, pint and jelly sizes. The gardeners and I have been making pickles and we're getting ready to make grape jelly. Pickles and jelly will then be for sale at the St. Joseph Farmer's Market.

Stock Your Freezer with Meat   

Beef, pork, duck, goose, and chicken -- Christina Traeger of Rolling Hills Traeger Ranch has specials on meat to stock your freezer. Her animals are all 100% corn and soy free. Contact Christina at 320-293-2995, or britishwhitebeef@gmail.com to place your order now.

• If you are unable to pick up during the scheduled time, be in touch with me and we'll make other arrangements -- a friend or family member can pick up for you, or we can find another time.

Follow us on Facebook! We've been posting photos of our planting and progress.

Can't use all of your veggies in a week? Here are some tips for storage

1. Scallions -- chop and put them in a zipploc in the freezer for later use.
2. Potatoes -- store them in a dry and dark place, like under your sink or in the pantry. If you notice them getting soft (the same can happen with beets or carrots), they are getting dehydrated so cut them up and soak them in water for an hour or overnight.  
3. Carrots and beets -- best stored in the refrigerator in plastic bags.
4. Summer squash -- grate and freeze it in a zipploc for bread, cake or to add to soup.
5. Winter squash -- bake and freeze it.
6. Tomatoes -- chop them up fresh and freeze, or make sauce or salsa and freeze or can it. (Check for proper canning methods.)
7. Peppers -- chop them up fresh and freeze; roast them with a splash of olive oil and freeze.
8. Swiss chard/kale/collards -- saute and spread on cookie sheets for freezing. Then transfer them to bags. Freezing them on the cookie sheets first will make it easy to pull usable sized chunks from the bag.
9. Eggplant -- roast, puree and freeze. (A subscriber recently told me her 9-month old loved the roasted eggplant. Maybe freezing it in ice cube trays would be a good portion size for toddler meals.)

Want to add a little spice to your cooking? Take some hot peppers home, cut the stems off and pulse them in the food processor. Freeze the pepper paste in ice cube trays and keep some in the refrigerator. Add a teaspoon or tablespoon to whatever you are cooking.

olive oil

4 slices country bread

salt and pepper

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tsp chopped marjoram or thyme

2 ripe tomatoes, diced

red wine vinegar, to taste

Cut the eggplant into diagonal slices about 3/8 inch thick. Score one side of each piece diagonally. Brush both sides with oil, then grill or broil on both sides until tender. Toast the bread. Divide eggplant among the pieces, season with salt and pepper, and cover with cheese.

Broil until cheese starts to bubble and color in places. Sprinkle with herb and spoon the tomatoes over the top. Finish with a few drops of vinegar.

************* 

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 cookbooks or your own concoctions.

 .

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

104 Chapel Lane
St. Joseph, Minnesota 56374