Crooked Carrot Farm

CSA at Crooked Carrot Farm!

2012-02-13T21:42:00.000-07:00

Community Supported Agriculture at Crooked Carrot Farm!

Be one of the first to join our unique "mini" CSAs designed for the single veggie lover or small family of veggie nibblers. For $10/week you will receive 4-5 different kinds of seasonal veggies in your bag.

We are going to start of with two manageable eight week seasons beginning with the first veggie bag pick up on Saturday, March 17th. The cost of one eight week subscription is $10/ week times eight, or $80, payable in advance. If you think you want more than the single bag provides, receive a 3% discount on your full order if you subscribe to two or more bags up front.

E-mail me for more info or to put your name on the list. We are going to cap this first season at 20 subscriptions, so hurry!

Thanks,
Clark Furlong, Owner
Crooked Carrot Farm
Clark@crookedcarrot.com

If you need more info on the popular CSA movement, take a look at this link from Localharvest.org.

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Job Opening

2011-07-17T06:53:00.001-07:00

We have a need for a farm worker on our three acre organic farm in San Tan Valley, AZ.

Position Summary: Mostly field work working with your hands preparing soil, mulching, composting, planting, harvesting, packing, etc...

Requirements: Ability and willingness to work hard in the extreme Arizona weather. Ability to speak and understand English, take direction, and work independently. Available 8-10 hours per week two mornings per week (Monday and Thursday for now).

Opportunity: Learn small scale, no-till, biological farming and enjoy the freshest free veggies.

If you or anyone you know is interested please call or e-mail me (Clark) at 602-615-6892 or clark@crookedcarrot.com.

Job Opening

2011-07-11T19:15:00.020-07:00

We have a need for a farm worker on our three acre organic farm in San Tan Valley, AZ.

Position Summary: Mostly field work working with your hands preparing soil, mulching, composting, planting, harvesting, packing, etc...

Opportunity: Learn small scale, no-till, biological farming and enjoy the freshest free veggies.

If you or anyone you know is interested please call or e-mail me (Clark) at 602-615-6892 or clark@crookedcarrot.com.

Gilbert Farmer's Market

2011-07-01T06:04:00.011-07:00

If you need a fresh, juicy, locally grown tomato with real old fashioned tomato flavor (and who doesn't), then get on down to the Gilbert Farmer's Market on Saturdays from 7 - 11 AM in downtown Gilbert. You can find our tomatoes at the Lilly's Farm booth alongside their own homegrown yummy veggies. Make a donation to the Ironwood Pig Sanctuary and buy a cool aloe plant while your there.

You can also find our tomatoes for sale at the deli in Queen Creek and inside Chef Blake's scrumptious offerings.

Breakfast at the market and lunch at the deli, the perfect day!

Last Market Today

2011-06-03T22:13:00.004-07:00

Today is the last chance to get our juicy vine ripe tomatoes at the deli Farmer's market. Along with the toms we will have our farm fresh summer squash, cucumbers, and as always our popular , all-natural, homemade soaps.

The market will be back in the fall so stay tuned for details. In the meantime, you can still enjoy our veggies while eating at the deli. We will still be making weekly deliveries to Chef Blake.

Have a great summer!

Farmer's Market at the deli in Queen Creek this Saturday

2011-03-30T15:58:00.005-07:00

Join us this Saturday and following Saturdays from 9 AM until 1 PM at the deli in Queen Creek for the new weekly Farmer's Market at the deli. The market will feature local and non-local veggies plus our handmade soaps and other goodies.

Come, buy veggies, then eat lunch!

Hope to see you there!

Crooked Carrot Farm

Meet us at the deli

2011-03-10T20:36:00.003-07:00

We will be selling our yummy sweet and crunchy romaine lettuce at the deli in Queen Creek this Saturday (3/12/11) from 11 AM until around 2 PM. Not only is the lettuce sweet and crunchy, but it will have been harvested on Saturday morning, FRESH! Along with the lettuce we will have green onions, our handmade soaps, heirloom tomato plants, and a few other goodies.
Come on down, have lunch, buy some lettuce and soap, and learn more about our farm.

Sunflower shoots and looking for interns

2010-06-30T16:26:00.009-07:00

Intern(s) Needed:

We are partnering with the deli in Queen Creek to resume farming operations in the fall at our Queen Creek location. We need one or two hard working interns to help us with this endeavor. This will be a volunteer opportunity (no monetary compensation) assisting with field work. Duties may weeding, planting, soil prep, harvesting, composting, irrigation, etc. Hours will vary as needed and will be somewhat flexible. This is a wonderful opportunity for students seeking practical field experience or anybody that has a few extra hours, a couple days a week, to learn more about farming and gardening.

If you or anyone you know is interested or would like more information please feel free to call or e-mail Clark at clark@crookedcarrot.com or (602) 615-6892.

Sunflower Shoots at the deli

We dropped off some freshly harvested, nutrient dense, and organically grown sunflower shoots at the deli this week. According to Christopher J. Kline at suite101.com, sunflower shoots are a nutritional “super food” made up of almost 25% protein and are a rich source of vitamins A, B complex, D, and E minerals including calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, and zinc. Yes, but can they leap tall buildings in a single bound?

Maybe you should leap on down to the deli in Queen Creek and give them a try. Ask Chef Blake for the special with the “sunflower shoots” from Crooked Carrot Farm.

Backyard Gardening and Sunflower Shoots

2010-04-12T11:03:00.012-07:00

Backyard Gardening

Our families backyard garden is in full swing. We are harvesting fresh lettuce, cabbage, swiss chard, broccoli, bok choy, green onions, beets, and more. Also eggs from our four chickens happily housed in our portable chicken tractor. We also have tomatoes, squash, peppers, melons, cucumbers, and garlic growing for future harvest, all in our 288 sq. foot of raised beds. This shows that you can grow much of your own veggies even in a small backyard.

We would like to see more people growing their own food. Future blogs will have updates on specific crops, chickens, etc.... in an effort to inspire you to GROW!

Sunflower Shoots

Look for our sunflower shoots in a sandwich special at the deli this week.

From the Crooked Carrot Folks

New appetizer at the deli

2010-03-30T15:39:00.012-07:00

Chef Blake Mastyk at the deli tells us the corn fritters featuring our corn shoots were a hit. This week try his "Shrimp, Prosciutto & Corn Cakes with a Creamy Fresh Herb Sauce", also featuring our corn shoots.

This week we are growing sunflower shoots for Chef Blake. Sunflower shoots are popular in our home. They add a crunchy nuttiness to salads and sandwiches. So look for sunflower shoots in next week's special at the deli.

For those of you who loved our soaps, they will soon be available at the deli as well.

Thanks,

From the Crooked Carrot Farm Team

Popcorn shoots at the deli.

2010-03-22T11:14:00.006-07:00

We are now custom growing microgreens and popcorn shoots. Our popcorn shoots are being featured in the appetizer special, sweet corn fritters, at the deli in Queen Creek this week. Please stop by the deli and tell Chef Mastyk that we sent you.

Popcorn shoots are baby popcorn plants and are extremely sweet. We grow them organically in a nutrient rich compost mix and harvest them the day they are delivered.

Please stay tuned for updates and more information on new products that we will be offering.

Thanks,

The Crooked Carrot Team.

2009-09-01T15:27:00.005-07:00

Hello, and welcome back to the Crooked Carrot Farm blog. We have been away for a while but now we're back and with big changes, for us and the farm.

Crooked Carrot Farm is now on an indefinite hiatus while we explore new ventures. Our newest is a partnership with a group of experienced farmers who want to preserve our farming heritage and introduce the community to the joys of backyard gardens and "real food". Please check us out at www.CityPlantations.com

Many of you may remember our CSA (community supported agriculture) when we first started our farm. That is the direction we are moving again. - only not using our land but using yours!

What kind of fruit, veggie, or egg is fresher and more nutritious than one from your local farmer's market? Once that is grown in your own backyard!

Gardening can be somewhat frustrating here in the low desert. That is why we are focusing our farming/gardening expertise on developing the most beautiful and productive backyard gardens that we can and sharing what we learn and grow with you, our loyal customers and blog readers.

City Plantations kicks off on September 12 - don't miss the fun!

We hope you have all had a great summer and we look forward to an abundant fall!

The Furlongs

Septembe 20, 2008

2008-09-20T21:15:00.013-07:00

Welcome to Fall!

Quite a bit has happened since we last sent out a blog (but not out in the fields because it has been so hot).

Seedlings are being transplanted into the ground and we are looking forward to a great harvest. We are not planting at Crooked Carrot this fall. All of our farming is currently at Agriptopia (northwest corner of Higley and Ray). While Agritopia has always grown their produce organically, we are now in the process of becoming a certified organic farm. That is exciting for us.

We don't have an exact date that the farm stand will open here in Agritopia but we are estimating mid October. Even more great produce than what was available at Crooked Carrot but grown with the same care and attention.

We will send out another blog when we have exact dates for the opening. In the meantime, Agritopia has an e-mail alert of their own and you can get on that e-mail list by sending a request to gayle@agritopia.com. We are setting up an Agritopia blog and will let you know when that is available, but for now it is still via e-mails.

If you haven't visited us here at Agritopia, please do. It is a beautiful, peaceful farm.

We are not closing our Crooked Carrrot Farm down. We expect to plant there in the spring but everything is still fairly tentative. Our farm stand at Crooked Carrot will not be open at all this fall - we are sorry for any inconvenience but the drive to Agritopia will be well worth it.

We hope you all had a great summer and we look forward to seeing many of you here at our new home.

The Furlongs

Update

2008-05-30T21:58:00.007-07:00

Can you believe June starts tomorrow?

Sadly enough our season has come to an end. Our farm stand will close this weekend. We will be open all day Saturday and Sunday with the following produce available:

cabbage

garlic

carrots

squash (costata romanesco, zephyr, raven)

tomatoes

green onions

bulb onions

cucumbers

beets

fennel

Clark has been hired on as the head farmer at The Farm @ Agritopia in Gilbert. Agritopia is a housing development located at the northwest corner of Higley and Ray that has incorporated a farm into the development. He will be managing both Agritopia and Crooked Carrot farms as one. We haven't quite worked out how the farmstand at Crooked Carrot will fit into this yet. It is our desire, if practical, to reopen the stand in the fall.

For those of you who live close or are willing to make the drive, the Agritopia farm stand is currently open on Saturdays from 8:00 - 1:00. You can check out their website at:

The Farm at Agritopia

Also please sign up for Agritopia's e-mail updates. Just send an e-mail to Gayle at gayle@agritopia.com.

We appreciate all our loyal customers this past year - we hope to see many of you at Agritopia. Please feel free to e-mail us with any questions. We will keep you posted through our blog about what is going on at Crooked Carrot Farm.

Thank you~

The Furlongs

Update

2008-05-19T21:30:00.007-07:00

New Summer Hours:

Closed Monday

Tuesday 7:30am - 12:30pm

Wednesday 7:30am - 12:30pm

Thursday 7:30am - 12:30pm

Friday 7:30am - 12:30pm

Saturday 7:30am - 12:30pm

Sunday 7:30am - 12:30pm

Thank you from coming out in this heat!

The Furlongs

Update

2008-05-16T08:43:00.012-07:00

Wow - it has been a while since we have sent out a blog. We've been a busy family and farm. You may have noticed the continuining improvements to the front corner of our farm. We welcome Greene Nursery as they are a big help with out compost and other farm related items.

We are continuing to tweak our farm stand hours of operation. We want to provide safety for our honor system while also allowing for ease of access for you all. While we will be open at dawn today (Saturday), our hours are still 10 AM until 6 PM daily, closed Mondays.

If the box is open with the "CLOSED" sign in place please do not leave money. If need be you can swing by and pay again when the farm stand is open or you can send us a check to:

Crooked Carrot Farm

1541 S. Malabar Lane

Gilbert AZ 85296

Thanks for your patience. It is our intent to stay open until mid/late June.

Harvesting This Week

Broccoli

Spring onions

Green Onions

Cabbage

Carrots

Squash (zucchini, raven, zephyr)

Garlic

Beets

Fennel

Radishes

Growing In The Fields
Tomatoes
Eggplants
Cucumbers
Peppers (bell and hot)
Okra
Melons

Farm Stand Info
The farmstand is self-serve and open 10 AM until 6 PM, closed Monday. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for supporting our farm stand and giving us the opportunity to farm!

Have a great second half of May.

The Furlongs

Update

2008-04-23T22:01:00.008-07:00

You may have noticed a few changes at the farm. Unfortunately, the honor box in the farmstand has been broken into three times in the past week. We are in the process of changing the farmstand hours so that someone can be around when the stand is open. If the honor box is open and unlocked please do not leave money in it - if you really need the veggies you can take them and then pay us the next time you come.

Our tentative hours are set at 10 AM till 6 PM daily, closed Monday. We apologize for the recent inconsistencies in hours and veggies.

If you've been by recently you have noticed the new sign for Greene Nursery on our property. Derick Greene, the owner, is leasing the corner of our property to retail his plants and trees. His nursery is located just up the street from us on Rattlesnake Rd. He should be open for business any day now. If your looking for a landscape plant check out Greene Nursery.

Many have asked when the tomatoes will be ready. The plants are about thigh high and are sporting marble size toms. You can probably expect a few full size ones by mid May.

Harvesting This Week:
Salad Mix
Carrots
Radishes
Broccoli
Cabbage (red & green)
Green Onions
Beets w/greens
Green Onions
Cauliflower
Baby summer squash (limited amount)

In the Hoop House (2" and/or 4" pots):
thyme
oregano
mint
chives
Mexican mint marigold (can be used as substitute for french tarragon)
tomato plants
eggplant plants

Growing In The Fields:
Kohlrabi
Bulb Onions
Cucumbers
Garlic
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Squash
Okra
Melons (several varieties) and more....

Farm Stand Info:
The farmstand is self-serve and open from 10 AM until 6 PM daily, closed Monday. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for your patience and for your continued support of our farm stand.

Have a great week!

The Furlongs

http://www.crookedcarrot.com/

Update

2008-04-05T20:28:00.011-07:00

Harvesting This Week:

Salad Mix
Carrots
Fennel
Braising Greens
Radishes
Broccoli
Cabbage (red & green)
Swiss Chard
Green Onions

Spinach

Beets w/greens

Green Onions

Cauliflower (later in the week)

In the Hoop House (2" and/or 4" pots):

thyme

oregano

mint

chives

Mexican mint marigold (can be used as substitute for french tarragon)

tomato plants

eggplant plants

Handmade Soaps:

Grapefruit

Oatmeal Chamomile (out of stock)
Orange Scrub
Lavender Mint (out of stock)
Rosemary Mint (out of stock)
Rose Geranium

Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:

Kohlrabi

Bulb Onions

Cucumbers

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

Tomatoes

Peppers

Eggplant

Squash

Melons (several varieties) and more....

Farm Stand Info:

not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for supporting our farm stand.

Have a great week!

The Furlongs

Update

2008-03-28T22:07:00.014-07:00

Welcome back to the blog -

This weekend we are participating in the Slow Food Farm tour on Sunday. Slow foods is an organization that educates people about how their food choices affect the rest of the world and is dedicated to supporting and celebrating the food traditions of the many cultures living in the United States. To find out more about this non-profit organization visit thier website at: www.slowfoodphoenix.org

Are these weeds crazy or what? We are working hard to keep them knocked down but they are fighters and keep coming back for more.

Okay - so we get asked "What's the best time to come to the farmstand when it is heavily stocked?" That's hard to answer because other than Sunday, we harvest most days and do our best to keep everything that is ready to go in the farm stand fresh and ready to buy. We know it is frustrating when you drive out and your favorites aren't there!

Harvesting This Week:
Salad Mix

Carrots

Fennel

Braising Greens

Radishes

Broccoli
Turnips w/greens

Cabbage (red & green)

Swiss Chard

Green Onions
Mini Spinach
Beets w/greens

Handmade Soaps:
Grapefruit (available 4/1...no fooling)

Oatmeal Chamomile (out of stock)

Orange Scrub

Lavender Mint

Rosemary Mint

Rose Geranium
Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:
Kohlrabi
Bulb Onions
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Garlic
Sugar Snap Peas
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Squash
Melons (several varieties)
and more....

Farm Stand Info:
The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for supporting our farm - we appreciate your loyalty and your business!

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Update

2008-03-14T20:54:00.014-07:00

Are you ready for Easter? What a great week we have coming up.

We've been doing some tractor work trying to keep up on the weeds and take advantage of the great composting weather we have been having. During the tractor work we found a family of bunnies, so any one wondering why there is one little pile of wood chips left standing by itself.....well, it's the bunnies home. By the way, thanks to Derick Greene of Greene Nursery and his workers for the tractor help.

Harvesting This Week:

Salad Mix
Carrots
Fennel
Braising Greens
Radishes
Broccoli

Turnips w/greens
Cabbage (red & green)
Swiss Chard
Kohlrabi

Green Garlic

Mini Spinach

Beets w/greens

Handmade Soaps:

Grapefruit (available 3/17)
Oatmeal Chamomile
Orange Scrub (out of stock until 3/24)
Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Rose Geranium

Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:

Green Onions

Bulb Onions

Cauliflower

Cucumbers

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

Tomatoes

Peppers

Eggplant

Squash

Melons (several varieties)

and more....

Farm Stand Info:

The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for supporting our farm.

We appreciate your business.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Update

2008-03-07T21:44:00.014-07:00

Welcome to March everyone. Hasn't the weather been great this week - everything is growing like crazy (especially the weeds!). In typical Arizona style....it got pretty hot, we wondered if there would be a spring and then we knock on the door of a hard freeze....it's crazy!

We hope you have been finding everything you want when you come to the farmstand. The out of stock soaps will be in stock starting March 17 (barring anything unforseen ).

Harvesting This Week:
Salad Mix

Brussel Sprouts

Carrots

Fennel

Braising Greens

Radishes

Green Onions

Broccoli
Turnips w/greens

Cabbage (red & green)

Swiss Chard

Kohlrabi
Green Garlic
Collard Greens

Fresh Parsley

Beets w/greens

Mini Spinach

Handmade Soaps:

Grapefruit (out of stock until 3/17)

Oatmeal Chamomile

Orange Scrub (out of stock until 3/17)

Lavender Mint

Rosemary Mint

Rose Geranium

Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:
Bulb Onions
Cauliflower
Garlic
Sugar Snap Peas
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
Squash
and more....

In the Kitchen:
Okay so this isn't really a recipe but I wanted to share it anyway. We had some goat cheese - it's something we don't really have around the house but this week we had some. It seemed a little strong on a cracker so I put a little bit on a radish and.....YUM! It's the perfect little appetizer anytime! We can supply the radishes but you need to come up with the goat cheese.

Update

2008-02-29T17:17:00.010-07:00

Harvesting This Week:
Salad Mix
Beets

Brussel Sprouts

Spinach

Carrots (later in the week)

Fennel

Cauliflower
Braising Greens

Radishes

Green Onions

Broccoli
Cabbage (red & green)

Swiss Chard

Kohlrabi
Green Garlic
Collard Greens

Handmade Soaps:

Grapefruit (temporarily out)

Oatmeal Chamomile

Orange Scrub (temporarily out)

Lavender Mint

Rosemary Mint

Rose Geranium

Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:

Arugula

Turnips w/ greens
Bulb Onions

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplant
and more....

Farm Stand Info:

Thank you for supporting our farm.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Update

2008-02-23T06:53:00.010-07:00

Harvesting This Week:

Salad Mix
Brussel Sprouts
Carrots
Fennel
Cauliflower

Braising Greens
Radishes
Green Onions
Broccoli

Turnips w/greens
Cabbage (red & green)
Arugula
Swiss Chard
Kohlrabi

Green Garlic

Collard Greens

Handmade Soaps:
Grapefruit
Oatmeal
Chamomile
Orange Scrub
Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Rose Geranium
Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:
Beets
Spinach
Bulb Onions
Garlic
Sugar Snap Peas

Tomatoes

Peppers

Eggplant

and more....

In the Kitchen:

The variety of Swiss Chard that we grow has stems of many colors including gold, pink, orange, purple, red, and white ... with bright and pastel variations. The taste is milder than ordinary chard, with each color just a little bit different. Just because the taste is milder doesn’t mean the nutrition is! Swiss chard is a superstar among vegetables and is a great source of vitamin K, vitamin A, vitamin C, magnesium, manganese, potassium, iron, vitamin E, and dietary fiber. Swiss chard also emerges as a very good or good source of copper, calcium, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, protein, phosphorous, vitamin B1, zinc, folate, biotin, niacin and pantothenic acid.

Choose chard that is held in a chilled display (like our cooler!) as this will help to ensure that it has a crunchier texture and sweeter taste. The stalks should look crisp and be unblemished.

To store, place unwashed chard in the refrigerator in a plastic bag. It will keep fresh for several days. If you purchase a lot of chard you can blanch the leaves and then freeze them. Before cooking, wash the chard well to remove any sand or soil that may be hidden in the leaves. Trim the bottom end of the stalk.

Do not cook chard in an aluminum pot since the oxalates contained in the chard will react with the metal and cause the pot to discolor. Since the stalks are thicker in texture, they will take longer to cook than the leaves, so their cooking should be started a few minutes earlier. Chard is best when it is quick boiled (as opposed to steaming or sauté) because boiling helps to free the oxalic acids it contains and makes the chard less bitter and more sweet.

Try wrapping swiss chard leaves around your favorite grain (rice, barley, couscous, etc.) and roll into a neat little package. Bake in a medium-heat oven and enjoy.

Farm Stand Info:

The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for supporting our farm.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Update

2008-02-15T21:26:00.007-07:00

Available for Harvesting This Week:
Salad Mix

Brussel Sprouts

Carrots

Fennel

Cauliflower (back again this week)

Braising Greens

Radishes

Green Onions

Broccoli
Turnips w/greens

Cabbage (red & green)

Arugula

Swiss Chard

Kohlrabi
Green Garlic

Handmade Soaps:

Grapefruit

Oatmeal

Chamomile

Orange Scrub

Lavender Mint

Rosemary Mint

Rose Geranium

Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:

Beets

Spinach

Bulb Onions

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

and more....

In the Kitchen:
The broccoli is very abundant right now and there aren't many cold days left for cream of broccoli soup! This variety of broccoli has a sweet gourmet flavor so it is quite versatile (soups, stir-fry, lightly steamed). It freezes well if you want to stock up for summer. Plus broccoli is one of the most nutritious of the commonly eaten vegetables, loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, iron and fiber.

We hope to see you at the farm stand soon.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Update

2008-02-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

Available for Harvesting This Week:

Salad Mix
Brussel Sprouts
Carrots
Fennel
Collard Greens (limited amount)
Braising Greens
Radishes
Green Onions
Broccoli

Turnips w/greens
Cabbage (red & green)
Arugula
Swiss Chard
Kohlrabi

Green Garlic (new - see below for more info)

Handmade Soaps:
Grapefruit
Oatmeal Chamomile
Orange Scrub
Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Rose Geranium
Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:
Beets
Spinach
Bulb Onions
Garlic
Sugar Snap Peas
Cauliflower
and more....

In the Kitchen

Green Garlic:

We separate the garlic cloves for planting in the fall but a few double or triple cloves ultimately end up being planted. These need to be thinned in the spring so that the heads will size up. Here are some tips for using green garlic in the kitchen from gourmetsleuth.com.

Culinary Uses

In general green garlic can be used in any recipe that calls for mature garlic. The end product will produce a delicate flavor, more mild than matured raw garlic.

Raw Green Garlic
Mince and add to salads
Pound it into a paste to make green-garlic aioli
Use in salad dressings

Cooked Green Garlic
Poach the last 4" of the tips and dress with a mustard vinaigrette
Blanch in water or vegetable stock and puree it. Add the puree to a custard or soufflé.
Dice and sauté the tender portions and add to an omelet or frittata
Chop and add to stir-frys
Chop and add to homemade potato soup

Farm Stand Info

We hope to see you at the farm stand soon.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Update

2008-02-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

We hopefully have our blog problem figured out and this has found it's way into your e-mail inbox.

Available for Harvesting This Week:

Salad Mix

Brussel Sprouts

Carrots

Fennel

Collard Greens (limited amount)

Braising Greens

Radishes

Green Onions

Broccoli (more later in the week)

Turnips w/ greens

Cabbage

Arugula

Swiss Chard (limited amount)

Kohlrabi

Handmade Soaps

Grapefruit

Oatmeal Chamomile

Orange Scrub

Lavender Mint

Rosemary Mint

Rose Geranium

Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:

Beets

Spinach
Bulb Onions

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

and more....

In the Kitchen

Yes, they are finally here and by the fact that we can't keep them in the farm stand we are guessing that you are enjoying them! For those of you who may shy away from the brussel sprout here is a recipe that is sure to please - we all enjoyed it.....even the most suspect of the little sprout ate them all up!

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Remove rough knobby stems

3. Slice in half lengthwise

4. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper.

5. Place cut side down on baking sheet.

6. Bake in preheated oven about 15 minutes

7. Add minced garlic about 5 minutes before sprouts are done, mix the garlic in with tongs.

8. Cut side should be brown and crispy in places.

9. ENJOY!

Farm Stand Info

We hope to see you at the farm stand soon.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

1/26/08

2008-01-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

Somehow our blog did not go out last week - hopefully this one will find it's way into all of your boxes and you will see some produce that you can't wait to try!

Wow! The broccoli sure goes fast when we get it in the farm stand. Please don't be discouraged if you aren't there when there is any broccoli - we have planted quite a bit more and it should be ready to harvest soon.

We appreciate all of you who stick with us through the abundant harvests and the not so abundant harvests!

Available for Harvesting This Week:
Kohlrabi
Carrots
Fennel
Braising Greens
Radishes
Green Onions
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Turnips w/ greens
Cabbage
Arugula

Handmade Soaps
Grapefruit
Oatmeal Chamomile
Orange Scrub
Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Rose Geranium
Unscented Carrot

Growing in The Fields:

Beets

Brussel Sprouts

Spinach

Bulb Onions

Garlic

Sugar Snap Peas

and more....

Thanks for shopping at our farm stand!

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

1/12/08

2008-01-11T22:03:00.001-07:00

Available for Harvesting This Week:
Carrots
Fennel
Collard Greens
Braising Greens
Radishes
Green Onions
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Turnips w/ greens
Cabbage
Arugula

Handmade Soaps
Grapefruit
Oatmeal Chamomile
Orange Scrub
Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Rose Geranium
Unscented Carrot

Growing In The Fields:
Beets
Brussel Sprouts
Spinach
Kohlrabi
Bulb Onions
Garlic
Sugar Snap Peas
and more....

Something For The Kitchen:

Boy did we have lots of fennel this week and when that happens I have to look outside the box to try new things....this week was a great find. The whole family liked this one. It can be eaten as a salad, on a sandwich or on top of hot pasta or rice.

Fennel Compote with Black Olives and Walnuts

2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed and diced
3 T fresh lemon juice
6 green onions, sliced thinly (or white bulb onion, diced)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted*
3 T fresh parsley leaves, chopped (1 T dried parsley)
1/4 black olives, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a medium bowl, stir the chopped fennel together with the lemon juice. Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Taste to adjust the seasonings. Can be served immediately or chilled.

*walnuts can be lightly toasted in a skillet over low heat.

Over the Christmas break Clark had a little extra time on his hands to tinker in the kitchen and came up with the strangely addicting pesto. It is just as good on sandwiches and fresh bread as it is on pasta. The first bite gives you quite a kick but then you can't stop thinking about it and wanting more!

Arugula Pesto

2 cups of packed arugula leaves
1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 garlic clove peeled and minced

Brown 6 garlic cloves with their peels on in a skillet over medium high heat until the garlic is lightly browned in places, about 10 minutes. Remove the garlic from the pan, cool, and remove the skins.

Toast the nuts in a pan over medium heat until lightly brown, or heat in a microwave on high heat for a minute or two until you get that roasted flavor. In our microwave it takes 2 minutes.

Combine the arugula, walnuts, roasted and raw garlic into a food processor. Pulse while drizzling the olive oil into the processor. Remove the mixture from the processor and put it into a bowl.

Stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Mix with freshly prepared pasta of your choice. You may need to add a little bit of water or more olive oil to mix the pesto more evenly with the pasta.

Makes enough pesto sauce for an ample serving of pasta for four people.

Farm Stand Info
The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

We hope to see you at the farm stand soon.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

1/4/08

2008-01-02T15:18:00.001-07:00

Welcome to 2008!

The Farm Stand is open again and it has had a good winter cleaning.

While the weather is still chilly things are growing slowly. We will still be harvesting every morning but not everything will be available every day. That's the exciting part about shopping at a local farm!

Available For Harvesting This Week:
Carrots
Beets
Turnips w/ greens
Radishes
Cabbage
Broccoli
Fennel
Braising Greens
Arugula
Salad Mix (limited amount)

Handmade Soaps
Grapefruit
Oatmeal Chamomile
Orange Scrub
Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Unscented Carrot
Rose Geranium

Growing in The Fields:
Cauliflower
Brussel Sprouts
Spinach
Kohlrabi
Green Onions
Bulb Onions
Garlic
Sugar Snap Peas
and more....

Farm Stand Info:
The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for shopping at our farm stand!

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

12/30/07

2007-12-29T17:09:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and are looking forward to a very healthy and wonderful 2008!

Our farm stand will be closed until

Thursday - January 3, 2008.

We will send all of you an e-mail the morning we reopen letting you know what will be available. These extra chilly days and nights have slowed down the growth for many of the plants but we still have lots in the field just waiting to be made into delicious dinners and snacks.

Thank you for visiting our farm stand this past year - we look forward to meeting many of you in the near future.

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

12/22/07

2007-12-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

Lots of road construction in front of the farm - more than once we have had Rattlesnake Road completely blocked BUT we are still open and you can go around the block and still get to the farm stand.

It looks like this week we will be a little short on salad mix.

Our family wishes you and all of your family a very safe and Merry Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

Available This Week In The Farm Stand

Fennel (new this week)

Tomatoes

Green Tomatoes

Broccoli

Cabbage

Beets

Radishes

Turnips w/ greens

Swiss Chard

Carrots

Salad Mix (limited amount)

Bell Peppers

Collard Greens

Braising Greens

Green Onions

Lavender Packs

Handmade Soap

Rose Geranium

Oatmeal Chamomile

Lavender Mint

Rosemary Mint

Grapefruit

Carrot Unscented

Orange Scrub

In The Hoophouse (plants)

Italian Parsley
Thyme
Lemon Balm
Sage
Chives

Farm Stand Info

Merry Christmas

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied" Matthew 5:6

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

12/15/07

2007-12-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

This month is flying by!

The rest of the month the updates will be simplified because of all the Christmas festivities. We will still be out there harvesting almost every morning. Remember, when we say what is "available" that means "what is available for us to harvest". Unfortunately everything may not be in the stand at all times (either because a lover of the specific veggie has come in and stocked up or because there wasn't any of that veggie to harvest that morning). We do our best to keep everything in the farm stand.

We have a new soap for all of you floral lovers! It's Rose Geranium and it has dried rose petals swirled in - if you like floral scents you should try this one. Don't forget - our soaps and lavender packs make great stocking stuffers!

Currently Available in the Farm Stand:

Green Tomatoes (new this week)

Fresh Parsley (new this week)

Broccoli

Cabbage

Beets

Radishes

Kohlrabi

Carrots

Salad Mix

Tomatoes

Bell Peppers

Collard Greens

Braising Greens

Green Onions

Swiss Chard

Turnips w/ greens

Lavender Packs

Handmade Soaps

Lavender Mint
Rosemary
Oatmeal Chamomile
Grapefruit
Carrot Unscented
Orange Scrub
Rose Geranium

In The Kitchen:

Green Tomatoes? Yes, we have received plenty of requests for green tomatoes but if you are new to them you could "google" recipes for green tomatoes and you will be amazed at all the things people prepare with them. We make pickles from green tomatoes (ours are spicy rather then sweet) but the classic way of prepaing them is to fry them. You should try a bag!

Fried Green Tomatoes (one of many recipes!)

4 to 6 green tomatoes
salt and pepper
cornmeal
vegetable oil

Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 - 1/2-inch slices. Salt and pepper them to taste. Dip in meal and fry in hot oil about 3 minutes or until golden on bottom. Gently turn and fry the other side. Serve as a side dish - delicious with breakfast!

Farm Stand Info

Merry Christmas!

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Crooked Carrot Farm - 12/8/07

2007-12-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

Well here we are with rain again but this time it accompanied by wind.

You may have noticed all the road construction in front of the farm. Ocotillo is being widened - if Rattlesnake Road is blocked when you come to our farm stand you can go around the block using Kenworthy to west.

We hope you are all having a great December, enjoying your family and celebrating the wonder of this season and what it means.

Currently In The Farm Stand:

Broccoli* (new this week)

Cabbage* (new this week)

Beets (new this week)

Radishes

Kohlrabi

Carrots
Salad Mix

Tomatoes

Bell Peppers

Collard Greens

Braising Greens

Green Onions

Swiss Chard

Turnips w/ greens

Lavender Packs

Handmade Vegetable Soaps

Lavender Mint
Rosemary Mint
Oatmeal Chamomile
Grapefruit
Carrot Unscented
Orange Scrub

*Broccoli and Cabbage are just coming in so they will be hit and miss this week but will start being a regular in the next week or so.

In The Shade House (plants)
Thyme
Cilantro
Lemon Balm
Oregano
Parsley
Sage
Epazote
Chives

In The Field

Cauliflower

Fennel

Farm Stand Info

Merry Christmas

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Crooked Carrot Farm - 12/1/07

2007-11-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

Welcome to December!

It's a wet start but the crops are happy and our farm stand is fully stocked. Don't let the wet weather keep you from visiting.

Currently In The Farmstand:

Radishes (new this week)
Kohlrabi
Carrots
Bell Peppers
Collard Greens
Swiss Chard
Green Onions
Tomatoes
Salad Mix

Braising Greens
Squash
Fresh Basil
Garlic
Turnips with greens
Lavender Packs
Handmade soaps (all soaps are in stock)
· lavender mint
· oatmeal chamomile
· rosemary mint
· orange scrub
· grapefruit
· unscented carrot

In the Shade House (plants):
Thyme
Cilantro
Lemon Balm
Oregano
Parsley
Sage
Epazote
Chives

In the Field:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Beets
Fennel

In the Kitchen:

While most radishes are eaten raw they can also be braised and served as a side dish. Radishes are a great source of vitamin C, folic acid and potassium. They also rank high in Vitamin B6, riboflavin, magnesium, copper and calcium. All of this is packed into 20 calories for one cup of sliced red radish bulbs!

If you want to try your hand at braising these little gems try this quick dish.

Trim the leaves from the radishes (leave a little bit of the green stem), scrub them and cut them into bite sized pieces.

Melt 2-3 teaspoons of butter or olive oil in a small saute pan. Add the radishes and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of freshly chopped thyme (or a generous pinch of dried thyme), salt and freshly ground pepper.

Add just enough water to cover and simmer until radishes are tender (about 2 - 3 minutes).

Remove to a serving dish and serve with additional butter (if desired).

Farm Stand Info:
The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Merry Christmas
The Furlongs

http://www.crookedcarrot.com/

Crooked Carrot Update 11/24/07

2007-11-23T17:51:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.

Thanks to everyone that came out to the farmstand. We are waiting on a few supplies to come in and they are delayed due to the holiday. We will get the farm stand stocked as best we can but some items will not be available until early or mid week.

The lavender paks are going to have to increase in price slightly because of supplies and material costs. We are sorry to have to raise them so quickly and we appreciate the great response they have received. While the lavender paks are in stock now, once these are gone there won't be any more until mid December. The new cost of the lavender paks is $3.75 each (which includes tax).

Currently In The Farmstand:

Kohlrabi (new this week)
Collard Greens (coming mid week)
Swiss Chard (coming mid week)
Green Onions
Tomatoes
Peppers
Salad Mix
Squash
Fresh basil
Jalapeno peppers
Garlic
Turnips with greens
Lavender Paks
Handmade soaps (all soaps are in stock)
· lavender mint
· oatmeal chamomile
· rosemary mint
· orange scrub
· grapefruit
· unscented carrot

In the Shade House (plants):
Thyme
Mini windowbox basil
Cilantro
Lemon Balm
Oregano
Parsley
Sage
Epazote
Chives

In the Field:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Beets
Fennel

In the Kitchen:
Kohlrabi is a little odd looking but it's mild sweet flavor makes it work a try. To find the best kohlrabi, look for small, firm green or purple orbs just slightly larger than a golf ball. It keeps best in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. While you can prepare kohlrabi any way that you might prepare a turnip, I think it is best eaten raw. If needed, peel like a potato then slice it into thin wedges and sprinkle with salt or grate it into your salad.

Julienne Kohlrabi with Mustard Vinaigrette

16 ounces kohlrabi (sliced into julienne strips)

2 T red wine vinegar or lemon juice
2 green onions, finely diced
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 T Dijon mustard
2 T sour cream
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 T snipped fresh chives
1 T snipped fresh parsley

Combine the vinegar (or lemon juice), onions, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl and allow to stand for 15 minutes.

Vigorously whisk in the mustard, sour cream and oil until think and smooth.

Grind in a little pepper, then stir in the herbs. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Toss the sliced kohlrabi with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Allow to chill for 1 hour before serving.

Have a great week.
The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Crooked Carrot Update 11/17/07

2007-11-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is less than a week away? We have much to be thankful for here. Did you know that the winter after the first Thanksgiving, the pilgrims were reduced to a daily ration of five kernels of corn a piece. What a dream the pilgrims had and what a sacrifice they made for our freedom. Don't forget to be thankful this season!
This incredible Scratchboard Illustration is by Michael Halbert.

We are thankful that God allows us to continue to farm and that you all come out and enjoy our bounty.

Currently In The Farmstand:

Tomatoes (new this week)

Carrots

Bell peppers

Salad Mix

Squash

Fresh basil

Jalapeno peppers

Garlic

Turnips with greens

Lavender Packs

Handmade soaps (all soaps are in stock)
· lavender mint
· oatmeal chamomile
· rosemary mint
· orange scrub
· grapefruit
· unscented carrot

In the Shade House (plants):

Thyme (new this week)

Mini windowbox basil

Cilantro

Lemon Balm

Oregano

Parsley

Sage

Epazote

Chives

In the Field:

Broccoli

Cabbage

Beets

Fennel

Kohlrabi

In the Kitchen:

Our cherry tomatoes make a great addition to your Thanksgiving meal. Try slicing them in a salad, slicing and tossing them with green beans or how about just plain on a vegetable platter.

We will do our best to stock them every morning between now and Thanksgiving.

Farm Stand Info:

http://www.crookedcarrot.com/

Crooked Carrot Update 11/10/07

2007-11-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

We are a day late getting this out but the harvest is all done and the farm stand is stocked.

We have had a great response to our lavender packs - thank you! We have some great unbleached muslin packs coming up. They make fun stocking stuffers!

The carrots are finally here and in celebration we have a carrot recipe today (for those of you who don't juice all your carrots!) Here’s what is available in the farmstand and shade house. As the weeks go by the list will grow. See below for what is expected and when.

Currently In The Farmstand:
1. Carrots (new this week)
2. Bell peppers (new this week)
3. Salad Mix
4. Squash
5. Fresh basil
6. Jalapeno peppers
7. Garlic
8. Turnips with greens
9. Handmade soaps
· lavender mint
· oatmeal chamomile
· rosemary mint
· orange scrub
· grapefruit
· unscented carrot
10. Lavender Packs

In the Shade House (plants):
1. Mini windowbox basil
2. Cilantro
3. Lemon Balm
4. Oregano
5. Parsley
6. Sage
7. Epazote
8. Chives

In the Field:
1. Tomatoes
2. Broccoli
3. Cabbage
4. Beets
5. Fennel
6. Kohlrabi

In the Kitchen:

Carrot Slaw

6 med carrots
3/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup apple, unpeeled and diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Grate the carrots. Toss with the celery, onion, raisins, and
apple. Mix in the mayonnaise, season well with sale and pepper, and chill
before serving.

Maple Lemon Carrots
1/2 cup water
5 med carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp lemon juice
2 T maple syrup
2 T fresh rosemary, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add the carrots and simmer until carrots are almost cooked tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer on low for about 5 more minutes.

Farm Stand Info:
The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Thank you for visiting our farmstand.
Have a great week!
The Furlongs
www.crookedcarrot.com

Crooked Carrot Farm – November 1, 2007

2007-11-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Fresh cut sunflowers are still available (sold by the stem) – these flowers are hardy and make a great autumn addition to your home. We have them priced at $1.00/stem.

Check out our Lavender Cool Paks. Our cool packs are hand made with a cotton cover and filled with buckwheat, organic lavender buds and organic chamomile. Keep them in the freezer so there are ready to go whenever you have a headache, tired eyes, a need for relaxation or an area that just needs a little special attention. Great for kids and adults.Paks are $3.00 each or 2 for $5.00.

Currently In the Farmstand:
1. Green Onions (new this week)

2. Braising Greens (new this week)

3. Sunflowers

4. Salad Mix

5. Squash
6. Fresh basil
7. Jalapeno peppers
8. Garlic
9. Turnips with greens
10. Handmade soaps
· lavender mint
· oatmeal chamomile
· rosemary mint
· orange scrub
· grapefruit
· unscented carrot

In The Shade House (plants):
1. Chives (new this week)

2. Mini windowbox basil
3. Cilantro
4. Lemon Balm
5. Oregano
6. Parsley
7. Sage
8. Epazote

In The Field:
1. Tomatoes
2. Broccoli
3. Cabbage
4. Bell peppers
5. Green onions
6. Beets
7. Carrots
8. Fennel

9. Kohlrabi

In the Kitchen:
Greens are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber - they liven up dishes, add texture and flavor to help round out the meal and make it nutritionally complete. Braising greens are great alone or in soups, stews, and wilted winter salads.

Our mix is a beautiful blend of baby cooking greens, whose bite-sized baby leaves don't require cutting and create an impressive presentation. The mix includes Mizuna, Red Russian Kale, Komatsuna, Red Giant Mustard, and Tatsoi.

To prepare our 12 ounce bag of braising greens: Heat 1-2 T olive oil in a skillet or wok until hot but not smoking. Add greens & 4 cloves minced garlic; stir-fry for 1 minute. Add ½ cup vegetable broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, reducing liquid by half; add more both if needed. Leaves should be soft but not wilted. These are great alone or for a change, try adding some crisp bread crumbs and/or diced tomatoes sprinkled on top of the greens to add a contrast of texture.

Farmstand Info:

Thank you for visiting our farmstand.

Have a great week!

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Crooked Carrot Update - October 26, 2007

2007-10-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

The farmstand is open!

Don’t miss the great fall addition to your table – fresh cut sunflowers are ready to buy (sold by the stem).

We are glad you are all enjoying the soap! We will do out best to keep you with the soap demand – if your favorite is gone it will be back as quick as we can make, cure and wrap it. We can take special orders for Christmas if you would like to be sure to have your favorites scent to give as gifts.

Here’s what is available in the farmstand and shade house. As the weeks go by the list will grow. See below for what is expected and when.

Currently In the Farmstand:

1. Sunflowers
2. Salad Mix
3. Squash
4. Fresh basil
5. Jalapeno peppers
6. Garlic
7. Turnips with greens
8. Handmade soaps

lavender mint
oatmeal chamomile
rosemary mint
orange scrub
grapefruit
unscented carrot

In the Shade House (plants):

1. Mini windowbox basil
2. Cilantro
3. Lemon Balm
4. Oregano
5. Parsley
6. Sage
7. Epazote

In the weeks to come:

1. Tomatoes
2. Broccoli
3. Cabbage
4. Bell peppers
5. Green onions
6. Beets
7. Carrots
8. Braising greens
9. Chives (plants)

In the Kitchen:

Now is the time to make ahead and freeze your pesto – the fresh garden taste can take your through winter until the basil starts to grow again. Basil doesn’t like it when it freezes!

Basil Pesto
1 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
5 cloves garlic (peeled)
1/4 cup nuts (we use pine nuts, walnuts or a combination)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Put the basil. garlic, nuts and parmesan cheese in a blender. Turn the blender on low and drizzle the lemon juice while blending. If it seems a little too thick you can add some olive oil.

Roasted Turnips
1 1/2 pounds turnips, peeled and quartered
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Canola or olive oil
3 small bay leaves
2 rosemary sprigs or 6 thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 375◦F. Lightly oil a shallow roasting pan or baking dish. Boil the turnips in salted water for 3 minutes and drain well.

Toss with enough oil to coat them lightly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the turnips and fresh herb sprigs in baking dish and bake, uncovered, until tender when pierced and slightly browned (about 25 – 30 minutes).

This recipe works well with other root vegetables – you can mix and match turnips, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, etc. Don't throw away the greens! You can quickly sauté them with a little olive oil and garlic for a tasty side dish (you may want to cut them into smaller pieces before sautéing).

Farmstand Info:

Crooked Carrot Update - October 19, 2007

2007-10-18T22:57:00.000-07:00

The farmstand is open! Thanks to everyone who came by this past week! Your purchases of produce and soap have been so encouraging. We are excited as the weather cools to have so much more to offer.

Here’s what is available in the farmstand and shade house. As the weeks go by the list will grow. See below for what is expected and when.

In the Farmstand:
1. Salad Mix
2. Mini Summer Squash
3. Cucumbers
4. Fresh basil
5. Jalapeno peppers
6. Garlic
7. Turnips with Greens
8. Handmade soaps

lavender mint
oatmeal chamomile
rosemary mint
orange scrub
unscented carrot
grapefruit

In the Shade House (plants):
1. Mini windowbox basil
2. Purple basil
3. Cilantro
4. Epazote
5. Sage
6. Parsley

In the weeks to come:
1. Tomatoes
2. Bell peppers
3. Green onions
4. Beets
5. Sunflowers
6. Carrots
7. Braising greens
8. Chives (plants)

Here is one our family favorite dressings for those fresh salad greens that are now available!

Garlic Vinaigrette

1 cup olive oil (or mixture of olive and canola)
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp salt
1 lemon, juiced
2 T Worcestershire sauce
15–20 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup balsamic vinegar

· Combine all ingredients
· Refrigerate

The Farmstand:
The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter dollar to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted.

Have a great week!

The Furlongs

www.crookedcarrot.com

Crooked Carrot Update - October 10, 2007

2007-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

The farmstand is finally opening!
We will open by noon on Thursday, October 11, 2007.

Thanks to everyone for your patience. The farmstand is self-serve and open dawn to dusk. We make an effort to stock the stand most every morning so that you will have the freshest veggies and herbs. We round all our prices down to the nearest quarter to make things easier for you (and us) as we do not make change. Checks are accepted (made payable to Crooked Carrot Farm).

Following is a list of what is available in the farmstand and shade house.
As the weeks go by the list will grow. See below for what is expected and when.
Currently In The Farmstand:
1. Cucumbers
2. Fresh basil
3. Jalapeno peppers
4. Garlic
5. Handmade soaps
~lavender mint
~oatmeal chamomile
~rosemary mint
~orange scrub
~unscented carrot
~grapefruit

Currently In The Shade House (plants):
1. Mini windowbox basil
2. Purple basil
3. Cilantro

In The Weeks To Come:
1. Salad mix
2. Tomatoes
3. Bell peppers
4. Green onions
5. Turnips
6. Beets
7. Sunflowers
8. Carrots
9. Braising greens
10. Chives (plants)
11. Parsley (plants)
12. Sage (plants)

Strawberries
We are trying a new variety of strawberries this year so stay tuned for updates.

Our Handmade Soap
People love our soap. We make it in small batches with olive oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, cocoa butter, sweet almond oil, essential oils, and Crooked Carrot Farm botanicals when available.

We look forward to meeting many of you at the farm stand.
Our updates should be coming out weekly now through the end of the growing season to let you know what is currently available, recipes to try and fun things about the farm.

Have a great week!

The Furlongs
www.crookedcarrot.com

Summer Update

2007-08-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Summer’s end can be seen and things are starting to pick up on the farm. The little bit of rain we’ve had recently has sprouted lots of weeds and we’ve been diligently pulling them.

The tomato seedlings are in the ground. The broccoli, cauliflower, beet, green onion, cabbage, turnip, and other seeds are in flats in the shade house. We’re working compost and manure into the soil and planting cover crops to build soil fertility. The tomato house is being lengthened to make room for more tomato plants to satisfy our tomato loving customers. We are trying a few new varieties of tomatoes this fall, cherry and grape tomatoes, and romas.
Fall can be a difficult tomato season - say a prayer, we are!

Here's Clark with our kids.....weeding and seeding.

Some things just like it hot........

We hope to have the farmstand open by mid to late September. We will have six great handmade soaps to choose from this fall (they are all made and just curing so they will be ready for opening day). And now is the time to let us know if you have a favorite veggie that you want us to grow, shoot us an e-mail and we will give it a try.

Soon we’ll be pouring the slab for our new strawbale home on the farm. It may be a bit ambitious, but we hope to spend Christmas in our new home on the farm. We’ll keep you posted.

This is the site for our new house.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up for our farm blog/update. The postings will be a little more regular now and back to once a week when the farmstand opens. We appreciate all of you that have stayed in touch and look forward to bringing you (and our family as well) fresh, great tasting produce again very soon.

Farm Update

2007-06-23T16:45:00.000-07:00

June 23, 2007
Number 37

Hello Everyone!

Well, it is that time of year. Our farm stand will close for the season on Monday (6/25). This past week was the official start to summer - hmmm? I guess it will start getting hot now.

The plants must have known it was the summer solstice because as a group they decided stop producing as much.

We will harvest tomatoes, pepper, eggplants and anything else that is doing it's best in the heat but come Monday at noon the farm stand will close.

Please come by and get any last minute produce or herbs.

We will open again in mid to late September and will send you an e-mail notification. We will be sending updates over the next couple months but not on a weekly basis.

Sometime over the next week you will receive an e-mail from FeedBlitz that will state the following:

Confirm Your Registration to Crooked Carrot Farm

If you would like to continue to be on our e-mail update list please follow the directions to activate your subscription to our Crooked Carrot Farm Update. We have decided to change to this subscription service and have been using it for a month to make sure we were satisfied with their service before switching over. We, like many of you, do not enjoy receiving unsolicited e-mails and that is why we used this service first before we switched over. Please know that we will not share your e-mail address with any other groups - it is only for our Farm Updates. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you for supporting our farm over this past season. We hope to see all of you and many more back for the Fall 2007 season. We are already planning and will begin planting as early as July.

Have a great and safe summer.

The Furlongs

Farm Update

2007-06-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

June 15, 2007
Number 36

Hello Everyone!

Have you ever made a melon cooler? It is a delicious summer taste – we have some ideas in our recipe section today. We also have plenty of tomatoes, jalapenos and green onions in the farmstand to make some great home made salsa. Imagine, sipping a melon cooler and enjoying some chips and fresh salsa……

Over the next few weeks we are going to be changing our e-mail newsletter to a blog style newsletter. We will be updating you as we move through this process because it is going to require everyone who wants to continue to receive our update to “verify” their subscription. You will receive an e-mail with specific instructions of how to “verify”. Our blog style subscription newsletter will be through a company called Feed Blitz.

This Week In The Farmstand

Tomatoes
Green Beans
Jalapenos
Melons (Charentais, Cantaloupe, Passport, Honeydew, Spanish)
Mixed Squash
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Onions
Carrots
Bell peppers
Fresh Cut Herbs
Hand Made Vegetable Herb Soap
Lavender Mint

We also have potted herbs for sale in our hoop house. Not every herb comes in every size but there are 2" pots, 4" pots and six paks available.

lemon balm
parsley
mini basil
thyme
epazote
lavender
oregano
chives
sage
Mexican mint marigold
Alpine strawberries (6 pk only)

Fresh From The Garden Recipe

Melon Coolers
We have several ideas and suggestions – start with one and move through the list. You won’t be disappointed!

If you don’t have time now to make these recipes but think they would be great later in the summer when things slow down you can always freeze the melon cubes now and you will be one step ahead when it comes time to relax and sip.

For most drinks you just slice or scoop the melon into cubes/balls then freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Once they are frozen, slide them into a plastic freezer bag and store them in the freezer until ready to us. While some drinks need frozen melon cubes, even the ones that don’t will turn out just fine using the frozen melon.

Classic Melon Cooler

2 2/3 cups cantaloupe OR Honeydew OR Watermelon, seeded and chopped
3 T sugar
2 T lime juice
2 cups water
ice

Puree cantaloupe in a blender until smooth.
Season to taste with sugar and lime juice.
Combine fruit mixture and water in a large pitcher (straining out pulp, if desired).
Cover and refrigerate up to a week. To serve, stir well and pour into tall glasses over ice.

Makes 1 quart

Honeydew Cooler

8 cups honeydew cubes
1 ½ cups ginger ale
1/3 cup water
1 can (6-oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate

Place honeydew cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
Place half the total amount each of honeydew, ginger ale, water, and lemonade concentrate in a blender and blend until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher.
Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher.
Serve immediately.

Makes about 8 (1 cup) servings

Cantaloupe Cooler

8 cups cantaloupe cubes
1 ½ cups ginger ale
1/3 cup water
1 can (6 oz) frozen limeade concentrate
2 tsp ground ginger

Place cantaloupe cubes in a single layer in an extra-large zip-top plastic freezer bag, and freeze 8 hours. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes.
Place half the total amount each of cantaloupe, ginger ale, water, limeade concentrate and ginger in blender and blend until smooth; pour mixture into a pitcher.
Repeat procedure with remaining half of ingredients; stir into pitcher.
Serve immediately.

Makes about 8 (1 cup) servings

Farmstand Details

We harvest most morning to help keep our farmstand supplied with all the freshest veggies we have available. We do our best our best to keep all the produce available but sometimes we don run out.

Most produce is weighed and bagged or bunched and in the refrigerator at the farmstand. Prices will be posted (or in the case of melons, written right on the melon). Everything is priced in 25 cent increments.

Our farmstand is self-serve and on the honor system. There is a wooden lock box where you can deposit you money. No change will be given but checks are accepted. You can make your check payable to Crooked Carrot Farm.

The stand is open from dawn until dusk every day.

Thank you for supporting our farm.

The Furlongs

Crooked Carrot Update - June 8, 2007

2007-06-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2007
Number 35

Hello Everyone!

It's melon season and nothing tastes better on a hot summer day than a cool melon. We've got some great varieties to choose from....be adventurous and try something new.

This Week In The Farmstand

Green Beans
Tomatoes
Melons (see descriptions below)
Mixed Squash
Eggplant
Garlic
Green Onions
Carrots
Bell peppers
Hand Made Vegetable Herb Soap
Lavender Mint

French Charentais Melon - Edonis
This well known French melon variety is considered by many to be the most divine and flavorful melons in the world. It is famous for its dark orange, sweet and fragrant flesh.

Earliqueen Cantaloupe
This is the superstar of muskmelons (cantaloupes)!
Medium-sized melon with thick, sweet, orange flesh.

Honey Orange Melon
This is a unique, orange flesh honeydew. Honey-sweet and tender with pale salmon-orange flesh that is thick and delicious to the rind. Melons are oval-round with smooth, ivory skin.

Passport Melon
These melons look like a cantaloupe outside and honeydew inside. Sometimes called a Middle Eastern Melon, an Israeli Melon, a Galia Melon, or a Mediterranean Melon, they are sweet and juicy with a more delicate flavor than cantaloupe and a sweet aroma.

Golden Beauty Melon
This Spanish (canary/casaba) melon has a sweet, juicy, pale green flesh that is very aromatic and spicy. The melons are large, distinctive and oblong with a somewhat wrinkled, bright yellow rind. If you are buying ahead of time, these melons have a good shelf life.

We also have potted herbs for sale in our hoop house. Not every herb comes in every size but there are 2" pots, 4" pots and six paks available.

lemon balm
parsley
mini basil
thyme
epazote
lavender
oregano
chives
sage
Mexican mint marigold
Alpine strawberries (6 pk only)

Alpine strawberries produce small but extremely tasty berries. These plants are easy to control and are everbearing. They produce no runners, which makes them neat and tidy for indoor growing. Plants bloom with white flowers, then produce fruit within a couple of months and will continue this cycle for about three years. Though berries are small, they are packed with flavor and freeze well.

Fresh From The Garden Recipe

Green Beans Sautéed with Tomatoes and Garlic

1 pound green beans (ends trimmed)
2 Tbls olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, diced
3 tomatoes, diced
1 Tbls fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Lightly steam green beans until tender. Rinse under cold water to set the color and stop the cooking process.

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onion, cover and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Stir in garlic.

Add the green beans, tomatoes, parsley and salt/pepper.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are hot and flavors are combined (about 8 - 10 minutes).

Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Farmstand Details

We harvest most morning to help keep our farmstand supplied with all the freshest veggies we have available. We do our best our best to keep all the produce available but sometimes we don run out.

Most produce is weighed and bagged or bunched and in the refrigerator at the farmstand. Prices will be posted (or in the case of melons, written right on the melon). Everything is priced in 25 cent increments.

Our farmstand is self-serve and on the honor system. There is a wooden lock box where you can deposit you money. No change will be given but checks are accepted. You can make your check payable to Crooked Carrot Farm.

The stand is open from dawn until dusk every day.

Thank you for supporting our farm.

The Furlongs