Deer Creek Organics

Anyone else feel exhausted when looking at a pile of fresh vegetables just home from the Farmer's Market? I guess something good can be said for the plastic-bagged, over-packaged, cleaned, harvested-last-month vegetables. A lot less work.

However, I roll up my sleeves, chop off the carrot greens, plop the squashes into the oven and start scrubbing and storing. Something just feels wholesome about handling sandy vegetables, just harvested, full of nutrients to keep my family healthy.

GAP certified

Yay! and Whew!  We are now GAP Certified, Good Agricultural Practices Certification.  This means that no one will ever get sick from any of our vegetables ever. Actually, they just checked to see if we are using common sense measures to keep bacteria from growing on our vegetables before we sell them. (And some not so common sense stuff, but, hey, this is the government.)

We do.

Actually, the guys from the USDA Chicago office, while thorough, were surprisingly fun.

So our customers are safer now. Order away!

Carrots - created by God

Sowe Carrets in you Gardens, and humbly praise God for them,
as for a singular and great blessing.
-  Richard Gardiner
Profitable Instructions for the Manuring, Sowing and Planting of Kitchen Gardens (1599)

Carrots are a gift of God.

Cabbage centerpiece

Hey, a unique centerpiece made of cabbages and flowers has my mind going on all the different ways to use other vegetables.  Gorgeous blend of colors here.  The cabbage has a square hole cut out and a small foam block pushed inside.  Then just poke the flower stems in the foam and wallah! A centerpiece.

Instructions here. Have fun expanding on this idea. Let me know what you come up with.

Vegetable coloring pages

Some cartoons and some realistic.

Examine this picture and this one.  Then follow the instructions for making your own vegetable portrait.

More coloring pages with a unique twist. 

Some of my attempts at drawing vegetables on the computer.

        

The more vegetables become an everyday part of life, the more delicious they become when eating them. Enjoy!

Beets - from our farm to your table

   

 

 

Wear a beet apron when  cooking beets to keep the juice from rainbowing your t-shirt.

Chioga Beets - the Candy-striped vegetable

In an effort to coax customers to try beets, I have been conveying an image of an old-fashioned comfort food. This may be true, however, the chioga beet is much more! And more trendy than I realized.  The glamorous New York Biltmore Room serves a chioga beet dish in their restaurant.

Roasted Beet and Arugula SalRoasted Beet and Arugula Salad

baby golden and chioga beets with spiced pecans, shaved roncal cheese and aged sherry vinegar

This is a world-renown restaurant. Since opening in August 2003, the restaurant has garnered "Three-star reviews from every major New York City newspaper, with critics unanimously praising chef Gary Robins’s globally influenced progressive American cuisine."

Ok, I have no idea what shaved roncal cheese is and no desire to purchase aged sherry vinegar.  However, if the chioga is good enough for upscale New York, it is good enough for me (and you).  Here is a more down to earth recipe.

Serves 4 1 bunch (about 1 1/2 pounds) small to medium beets Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 cups baby spinach or arugula 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 3 ounces goat cheese or brie, sliced Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim beets and scrub them, leaving about 1/2 inch of stems attached (reserve greens for another use). Place beets in a casserole dish and drizzle with a little olive oil (about 1 tablespoon). Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast in middle of oven until tender, about 1 hour. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off skins and stems. Quarter beets and place in a bowl. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss. (Beets may be roasted 1 day ahead and chilled, covered). In a bowl whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss greens with the dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Serve salad greens topped with beets. Arrange cheese slices on the side and serve with a crusty baguette.

Visit localharvest.org for all sorts of interesting info and recipes.

DCO Chioga Beets

Delicious and beautiful!

Or just roast, peel and slice into a bowl with orange and grapefruit chunks.

Grilled Vegetable Pizza

Whoa! Yummy!  My oven went on strike and I desperately wanted a pizza. Gourmet pizza. So we pulled out and cleaned up the old charcoal grill.

1. Lay out an already baked pizza crust in an old pan, round or rectangle.  I cut the whole wheat crust to fit the old cookie sheet.
2. Spread with your favorite sauce. I used a mix between pesto and Ragu spaghetti sauce.  Although either one by itself would work. Or pizza sauce or even an alfredo white sauce.
3. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
4. Wash and cut vegetables into big pieces. (Small ones fall into the charcoal).  I used a green pepper, asparagus, purple onion, brocolli and sweet onion.  You could also use kohlrabi, parsnips, carrots, green onions and large mushrooms.
5. Spray the cut vegetables lightly with olive oil spray.
6. Lay the vegetables on the hot grill for just a few minutes, until charred with those intriguing looking grill stripes. If you put the lid down, they soften up a bit more while cooking.
7. Spread the grilled veggies on the prepared pizza crust. Add whatever meat you have on hand.  I found a half of a cooked chicken breast in the frig, which I sliced.
8. Sprinkle with shredded provolone cheese.

Set the pizza pan on the grill and close the lid for just a few minutes. I left it in there for too long and one corner burned on the bottom. (Someone ate it anyway.)

Grilled vegetable gourmet barbecued pizza.  What a way to end a long day on the farm!

Oh I forgot to say lay some sliced tomatoes on top. The cheese began to bubble just a little.

Or use balls of fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves. Have fun with vegetables!

Farming - then and now

In 1800 90% of Americans were farmers.

In 1900 40% of Americans were farmers.

Today 2% of Americans are farmers.

Support your local farmer. Buy local.

Asparagus - the early summer queen of vegetables

Ever grilled asparagus?  Early summer is the best time for tender, tasty asparagus.  We grilled asparagus for my son's birthday on the day before Memorial Day.  Oh, it was so hard to not to keep snitching the tender slightly charred stalks.

Mix the following ingredients and marinate two bunches of asparagus stalks (30-40) for 30 minutes.

• 1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 T. honey
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 t. basil
• 1/2 t. oregano
• 1/4 t. dried thyme
• 1/4 t. black pepper
• 1 clove minced garlic

Heat up the grill.  Lay stalks on the grill, turning occasionally for about 7-10 minutes.

Enjoy!