August 2018

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Well it is easy to say that August continues to impress me. Right after we get prepared for the beginning of Excelsior Orchards’ peach harvest, I got a phone call from Dean Schwebach (Schwebach Farm in Moriarty, NM) saying that his corn is ready for harvest. What??! Just when you think things can’t get any better, Local corn comes out of the field.

So for those of you keeping track (like I do), this week we have Sungold and Heirloom Tomatoes from Velarde, NM, Corn from Dean, and Plums & Peaches from Excelsior Orchards. I mean are you kidding me right now? I cannot remember a summer bounty like this in many moons… if ever.

Seeing all of these amazing items, I decided that it was time for me to head into a grocery store to see what the other kids on the playground had in their sandbox. And when you make the effort to leave the ranch, might as well go look at the biggest player in the market, Amazon.

I was nervous walking across the blacktop. How would our prices look compared to this international hulk that everyone loves to write stories about? Has Amazon cracked the code on how to get Organic produce to the people faster and cheaper than anyone else? My poor little heart fluttered as I stepped in the walls and began to look around.

Right away I was hit with this sense of “Wait a minute, this is it? This is what all the hype is about?”

First off it was not easy to find Organic products. Secondly, the prices are really high. And I challenge you to check this out. But Amazon’s prices for conventional non-Local produce is higher than our prices for Local, Organic items that we buy directly from the growers. Conventional peaches $4/lb, we bring you Organic for $3. Melons, plums, tomatoes, potatoes. I went down the list and there was nothing in price, quality or geography from any of the products that was so special.

I have to tell you that I felt so reassured leaving there in the work that we are doing. I feel it in my stomach every day, but to see it black and white with my eyes lifted me even more. We will never have the marketing budget to let millions of people know how important our work is. And honestly, I am fine with that. I am not sure that our model can support millions of mouths to feed without cutting corners. But it sure can feed thousands of mouths in a conscientious and thoughtful way. It also supports so many small local growers.

Look at today for example…we have 200 dozen ears of Corn coming in from Dean and Paul is dropping off 2,500 lbs of Peaches. That is a lot of food amigos and a lot of support for growers who don’t want to play with the Amazons of the world. Our model, through your support, is a viable option for growers who want to expand their production, but don’t want to deal with the dreaded produce brokers.

With our collaborative CSA model, growers will make 2 to 3 times the amount on their harvests as they would by going through the conventional market avenues. So know that your support does amazing things for small growers throughout our region. It gives growers a steady income stream when stores and the Farmers’ Markets can be so inconsistent. Our support of growers will not be deterred by a rainy Saturday morning when folks decide to stay home instead of going to the market. We bring the goods to you rain or shine 🙂

With all of that, let’s take a quick peek at what the field report looks like for August and this late summer.

Peaches. We are on the doorstep to a huge peach year. Get crazy with them over the next few weeks. Paul is keeping his prices down to help us/you move big volume of his fruit. So enjoy them fresh, dry them, freeze them, can them, or buy a case for a friend as an early holiday present. Western CO has one of the best fruit growing regions in the country and so take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

Shiro plums will have their last week this week. What a great season we had with them. More plums to come, but Shiros are my absolute favorite every year.

Corn. We are starting on 6-7 weeks of corn harvest. Enjoy!

Have a great first week back to school, Farmer Monte

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If you love food, you love August. July is incredible but it is just an appetizer to the main course of local food that August and September are. We are on the door step of probably the greatest 8 weeks that local food has to offer. Every month/season has a special place in my heart, but August and September rule for me. And I cannot wait to share with you.

We have some new tomatoes coming in from northern NM (Freshies). They are a favorite at the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market and glad to have him on board. Our grower, Wholesum, who has been growing peppers and cucumbers for us are now getting into their strawberry season. Super happy to have them on board. And of course Paul and Excelsior. Paul is having a truly abundant year and look for his fruit to continue well into the fall.

We asked our bakery (Swiss Alps) to begin making pie dough balls to help you all enjoy Excelsior’s fruit harvest. So not only are our partners just stellar all by themselves, but we are now getting them to work together to help highlight each others’ products. This will be our next direction and I will touch on this in next week’s newsletter.

We combined Paul’s sour/tart cherries and Swiss Alps’ pie dough (with a recipe) and bundled it up for you. The great thing about this kit is that you do not have to make it this week. Just keep the cherries and dough in the freezer until you are ready for this project. All in all it took me about an hour to pit the cherries, roll the dough and make the filling.

Ingredients:
1 ball of Swiss Alps Bakery pie dough
2 Pounds of sour cherries
1 cup plus one tablespoon of sugar
3 tablespoons of corn starch
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
3 tablespoons of heavy cream
1 sheet of parchment paper or aluminum foil
*Aluminum foil (see note at end of recipe)
Optional
* 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla or 1/4 teaspoon or almond extract
*demerara sugar for sprinkling
Step 1
Thaw and pit cherries. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Separate the thawed premade pie dough into two disks- 2/3 and 1/3 (bottom crust= 2/3. Top lattice crust = 1/3). Before rolling out, place the smaller dough in the refrigerator to keep cool. Using the larger dough, roll out onto a lightly floured surface into a 12” circle.
Transfer to a 9” pie plate. Poke a few holes at the bottom of the plate. Line dough with parchment paper or foil and weigh it down with pie weights (you can use rice, legumes, or any heavy grain you have in the panty as a pie weight). Prebake bottom crust in the oven for 20 minutes.
Step 2
Prepare filling. Sift together sugar, corn starch and salt. Add mixture to the pitted cherries and combine. Add lemon juice, vanilla or almond extract to the mixture if you chose to use either of those ingredients.
Step 3
When pie crust is ready transfer to a wire rack to slightly cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Remove parchment paper/foil and pie weights. Scrape pie filling into pie crust.
Step 4
Prepare lattice top. Take smaller dough out from the fridge and form a small disk. Roll out dough onto a lightly floured surface into a 11” circle (expect dough to be thinner than bottom crust dough). Using a sharp knife cut 1/2 – 3/4” parallel strips of dough.
Youtube is an excellent source on how to make the lattice crust. Simply google “how to make a lattice crust” and several videos and tutorials will teach you the simple technique.

Step 5
After the lattice crust has been prepared, brush the top with heavy cream. If desired, sprinkle the demerara sugar on top of the crust. Transfer pie to the oven for second bake. Bake pie for 50 mins – 1 hour (until crust is a dark golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling). Transfer pie to wire rack to cool. Let cool for at least 2 hours to allow the pie filling to set.

Note* to prevent edges of the crust from burning, line the edges of the crust with foil before placing in the oven. Remove foil after 20 minutes of the bake and continue baking until golden brown.

Archives for August 2018