Week 10 -- We rocked it, ya'll!

First, some pictures that tell a story, and that ARE NOT the share basket:

Now that you're intrigued, here's the bad news... I'm not telling you the story, just yet. You're left to your imagination -- at least, until we meet again, where I promise I will tell this interesting homesteading tale to you!

Now, for a picture of Share Basket #10, in all its glory:

Some new friends and some old ones, here =) ...and of course, some important notes:

1) Potatoes -- 100% from our garden, from volunteer plants (from a much larger planting my dad and I did last year) that I re-homed into a half of a row, late this spring. Sooooo good, sorry they didn't make more!

2) Better-boy red slicing tomatoes -- come from First Step Farm, an awesome place that grows produce for the Candler and Canton communities while helping people struggling with addiction get their lives back on track. They pick 'em awefully orange (IMO), so I table-ripened these myself for all of us, with the old-bananas-and-apples-in-a-bag trick ;)

3) Basil-in-a-box -- I had to harvest them in the heat of the sun, unfortunately -- so they won't have a long shelf-life... BUT, I noticed that our plants that looked terribly yellow had produced some green side shoots, so I tried to selectively pick some of those for ya!

4) Eggplant -- you either got two big round ones, or a few smaller ones

5) Corn -- I'm so sorry, everyone was supposed to get one -- but I forgot to put the one on the table, into the share basket where it belonged. Do let me know if you're the one that I owe one ear of corn, and I will make it up to you somehow =P

I wanted to close by thanking you all again for allowing me to share my joy of homesteading with you all (and for making it a much more sensible adventure, financially speaking). With your funds, we were able to cover all of our supply costs... now, allow me to keep a rosy-eyed view of it all, and to not attempt to calculate exactly how many hours I spent down there at the plot, making it happen =P

Finally I wanted to thank Doro and my kids, who have ALWAYS been extremely helpful, anytime there was more work that needed be done, in a shorter period of time than I could have done myself. I love you, Mikulski-Schulz tribe!!!! XOXO

Looking forward to seeing you all throughout the coming months, and to doing this hyperlocal food 'thang again next year!

Matt

Week 9 -- Sorry no share-contents picture this time! =(

Hey everyone!

So, I had Doro and I's share splayed out on the table yesterday (as I usually do, while I'm packing the other baskets), but forgot to take a pic before rushing off to the Wedge... and then I forgot to text her, and ask her to take a pic -- before she rinsed, trimmed and packed everything where it needed to go! Anyhow, there were only two new things that deserved a little explaining, and even though I THINK I told you all in person, I can put it here as well:

Popping corn -- These are the smaller cobs; I think the variety is 'strawberry' (color-wise it makes sense). Peel, rinse off/out any stupid tiny wormies that might be trying to have a party with one or more kernels, and then place on a sunny windowsill for a couple of weeks. Should be dry enough for popping by then!

Regular corn -- I had hoped, SO BADLY, that I could find two ears for each member... but unfortunately, many of the ears I squeezed in testing had not-fully-mature kernels in them. So, be prepared to use your veggie-slicing knife in remarkably precise fashion, to cut each family member a justly-portioned mini-cob! =P Also, this is an heirloom variety that has a bit more starch than your typical Ingles fare... great for making creamed corn, but be ready for some squeakiness (if you were just gonna boil, butter, and typewriter-munch those kernels off).

Next Wednesday is the last share delivery day (and probably a good time to stop, as tomato production is basically non-existent, and things will be turning into an okra-only parade in just a week or so)... It has been a great summer being with you all, and sharing in this local bounty... I will try to find something special to put in that last basket, so that we can go out with a proverbial bang! =)

Your mini-farmer dude and friend,
Matt

Week 8 -- still going strong, and... homemade pickles!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, I hope you recognized the pickle(s) for what they were, and got that zip-locked baggie in your fridge as soon as you could yesterday! Here's a picture of the share contents, spread out on our dining room table (where I pack the contents, every week):

(You can click on the image, to blow it up more... go ahead, try it ;)

Here's some notes:

- Everyone got either a big orange beet and a carrot, or a handful of carrots

- Everyone got either one HUUUUUGE pickle, or 2-3 smaller ones. Do slice them according to your preference, and serve them chilled (ice-chilled is doubly nice)

- Slicing tomatoes, as you can see, are falling out of production... I may be able to glean some more slicing-style ones for the final (ie, Week 10) basket, but even that will be a pleasant surprise if it happens

- The frequent rain has made it difficult to gather the golden cherry tomatoes before they develop small cracks... I have tried to pick out all the 'soft' ones, and let you decide about the half-or-so that are split but still perfectly edible. Do rinse them before you eat them, though, as again... I had to pick a few funky ones out of the picking basket

- Everyone got one 'UFO' squash and a combination of other squashes that included at least ONE (sometimes two) green or yellow zucchini

- Lots of peppers... I'm trying not to give ya'll too many, which is why I had some for extra selectin' up in the passenger seat. By all means, take more from that bucket, and make yourself a nice, spicy conserve or something! (or, dice em up and freeze em, and have them ready to go for a recipe a month or more from now =)

- Okra... I pick them all somewhat soft and still flexible, but some get picked early in the week... and they ripen somewhat even after picked... while I try to set aside tougher ones for my family to eat (we don't mind em, really), you may have one that you find too tough in your basket. Leave it on the windowsill, let it finish ripening and drying out, and harvest the dark, pea-like seeds inside to try growing some of your own (either indoors over the winter, or next spring ;)

Thanks for sharing in this bounty. I'm already looking forward to seeing what kind of basket we can grow for you, next week! ;)

Week 7 -- our most diverse, so far! =)

Sorry for the late post and ID / tips... these last four weeks are going to be crazy... putting together the share, keeping the garden from not getting overgrown, picking things on time, AND working at the school as we launch into our 2019-2020 season. Anyhow, here's the fun, that grew out of the sun for us all these past few months:

Clockwise, from top left: carrots (two types), normal lettuce, bell peppers, okra, poblano peppers, zucchini, crookneck squash, pattipan (what we call "UFO") squash, eggplant, bolting lettuce, eggplant, malabar spinach w. vine, canteloupe (two lucky baskets had them stowed away, because we only had two ripe ones), loose malabar spinach leaves, and green beans (eggs and slicing tomatoes in the middle).

We also had two fun grab-bags: One was a handful of dried mushrooms (hen-of-the-woods, honey mushroom, and porcini) -- of your choosing; the other was as many unsorted (ie, some split ones in there) golden cherry tomatoes as you wanted to stuff in a zip-lock bag.

I can't offer many cooking tips I don't think you already know about these things, except this one: the malabar spinach, while nutritious and succulent, needs flavor. It also should be cooked sooner rather than later, as it certainly can wilt. Finally, in case you haven't noticed, the vines should be rinsed just before throwing in the pan (I suggest flash-frying with either soy sauce, or some bacon grease).

We set aside some eggplant, squashes and okra for the party tomorrow AND for the coming week's share, and some other things are either still coming in OK, or are about to start coming in -- so I'm optimistic that next week will have a bounty in it, as well. As always, thanks for letting me be your wannabe farmer :)

Week 6... and b-day bash/garden celebration, in a few weeks!

Hey there,

It was such a joy, putting together the basket for you all this week. Here's whats up:

Some notes:
Immature onions -- you either got three small, or one or two bigger

Tomatoes -- I tried to give one of every type / ripeness, to everyone

Apples -- foraged off an old abandoned homestead out in Robbinsville... delicilous, even with the spots (kids and I have already barefisted several)

Eggplant or okra or green beans (roulette; we didnt have enough for all to get one of each) -- self-explanatory

Lettuce -- its still bolting, but still not too bitter

Staghorn sumac berry juice -- wonderful, locally foraged beverage that has a lovely sourness, about the closest thing to Appalachian lemonade that you can get. Courtesy of me :)

More details on the upcoming party, to come soon!

Week 5's basket... and special thanks to Doro!!!

Hey ya'll! Check out this awesome share's contents:

The only 'option' this week is beans or broccoli... either u got one, or you got the other, so decide -- and don't be sad one way or the other! =P RE: Tom's, well everyone got a mix of ripe now, and ripe in a few days... recall the rapid ripening trick, whereby you leave unripened tomatoes in a paper bag with either bananas (best) or old apples (better) for a couple days, to get full color (and flavor) out of a tom!

For people in on the beef share, this week I put T-bone steaks in there, approx. 2 lbs (so no cut for next week)... OMG so gooooood! And, an update on eggs -- our ladies are laying 6-8 per day again now, so... tragedy averted, and we no longer need to source from other ethical, local laying operations. Yaaaay self-sufficiency!!!

Next week we should have staghorn sumac seedheads (for making homemade, native-to-NA lemonade) and also okra. I'll have a recipe to share ;) It's been such a pleasure, bringing you goodness out of our garden, week after week... until next time!

Finally, a special thanks to Doro, who had the optional Dahlia flowers for this share, and was absolutely essential (due to me having a full day of work at the Franklin School today) to the shares being put together. Doro, you are AMAZING, and the best life-partner I could ever hope for!!!!! =)

A video tour of the garden... and, week 4's share/pickup contents!

Hey ya'll!

I'm so proud of our successes at the Coburn Cooperative Homesteading garden, right now. Ordinarily (= last year, and years before) I'd just be taking my time, taking pictures of every 'hippy' thing I'd try to do in the garden... but this year, I haven't had time for all that. I've been TRYING lots of different things (in addition to working more than I usually do at my school, over the summer). And it seems some of them have worked :)

To catch up on lost time, I made a video this morning, after the last of the harvest for the share baskets was done... I figured, if a picture's worth a thousand words, a video-showing-material-success is worth at least... twelve lost opportunities to show 'look at me trying hard at stuff right now' pictures? ;) I hope it looks as much like an amazingly productive garden to you, as it does to us! Anyways, here goes:

VID_20190724_080530936[1] from Mr. Mikulski on Vimeo.

And now, a picture of yesterday's share contents, and any details that might be good to know:

New things:

Peppers -- a couple of bell peppers in each basket, plus a slightly spicier pepper

Bush beans -- super-yummy

Malabar spinach leaves -- an interesting, tasty spinach substitute that thrives in the summertime... eat raw in salads, on sandwiches, etc.

Half-winter squash (my make up name) -- 'UFO squash' (Doro's made up name)... these are great baked, but don't need as much baking time as winter squash typically do.

And finally, a picture of the mushrooms the kids and I were able to find, foraging yesterday (some of you who made it out to share pickup yesterday, went home with some of these):

We found black trumpets, chantrelles, boletes, and saffron milk caps. I hope to prepare most of this today, will try out drying some so I can use in soups later!

If you have any nice recipes that use current or former share ingredients, please reply back and let the rest of us know about it! Until next week... =)

Week 3 --- curcurbits... I mean, bytes :)

This week we had a windfall of GIANT zucchini to share with you, as well as more (pruned) basil... we have found that cooking the squash slices slow in a pan and with butter yields amazing flavor! Here's a pic of what you will get this week:

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Some new things:
Kohlrabi (the Sputnik - looking thing) -- look up recipes, cabbage-like flavor is delish sliced thin and eaten raw, or grated into a slaw!

Zucchini (green and yellow) -- sooooo flavorful, see my tip above!

Crookneck squash -- I also love pan-frying these, with onions... after doing so, they go great on a budget cheese-only pizza from the grocery store (and then baked until corners crisp)

And some unfortunate absences (now and in near-future:

Eggs -- our egg production has (mysteriously) dropped quite dramatically, from a month ago when we were getting 7-9 eggs per day, to now only one or two... My best guess is we have a bunch of ladies who are going into retirement all at the same time, and unfortunately right when summer starts --  which is both unusual and very unfortunate.

Eggs (pt. 2) -- I bought some younger, new-addition layer hens a few days ago, but they are still getting used to our setup and our current boys and girls. So, if you don't get a half dozen eggs this week, I promise you a whole dozen next week. I'm sorry but that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, we are trying hard to fix this issue of shortage -- I promise!

Lettuce -- you may have noticed your head of lettuce is taller than normal... The plants are detecting that it is well into summer, and are trying to grow tall and make seeds and spread their genetic :-) I would avoid eating the stalk at this point and just two leaves, and we probably only have one more week of good lettuce season left.

In closing...

Be sure to reply to me with any good recipes that you come across and test (and confirm are good to know), and I will send out to the others. Enjoy the hand-raised food, and we will see you next week!

Week 2's basket!

Howdy ya'll!

Excited to bring you all another basket of goodness this afternoon... here's a pic, and much of it you're already familiar with (so I'll just add a FEW notes below):

Clockwise from bottom-left: Lettuce, tomatoes, swiss chard, ~2lb of rib steaks (if you did grass-fed beef option), 1/2 dozen eggs, basil, lamb's quarters, and French breakfast radishes

So again, with the lamb's quarters, just pluck the leaves and then either use them raw (sandwiches, salads) OR fry them gently (like spinach).

We are HOPING to add some blackberries to each share today; I'm waiting on my work right now, to tell me that they were able to get the school's internet back up and running with my emailed instructions (or not) -- to see if the kids and I will get to finish our planned mini-hike...

And finally, a tip for the rib steaks: look up any well-reviewed recipe out there, that uses pineapple + a zip-lock bag as a tenderizing agent... this is a great way to soften up these cuts, just keep in mind the meat will then have a bit of residual sweetness (BBQ sauces and roasting in an oven work great as a follow-up =)

See ya'll soon!

Week 1's basket

OK! Well, it took me longer to make this illustrative post, but here it is... This first week of the veggie share will contain (clockwise from 9 o'clock):

Mustard greens -- I had to cut these plants back to chase out a scourge bug that plagues brassicas, that ate their bottoms, and that was threatening to jump to other crops... you can pull off all tender parts (leaves, flowers... leave seed pods) and add to a salad... or, if your taste buds are less adventurous, put in a vase :)

Huckleberries -- foraged in the wild, delicious

Horsetail -- foraged and NOT edible, although VERY useful in the kitchen... the silica in the ribs of the plant allow it to scrub food and other scourings off stainless steel (I call them nature's Brillo pad :)

Tomatoes -- have not been rinsed, your choose if you want to or not (not sprayed with anything)

Eggs -- self-explanatory ;)

Lambs quarters -- foraged from our pasture; remove leaves, use as spinach (my favorite recipe is pan-fry for 3-4 minutes in olive oil and a spridge of garlic)

Basil -- two varieties here; lettuce leaf and Genovese. I will share a pesto recipe next week; keep yours uneaten but fresh this week through next Wed, if you want enough to make a decent serving (dinner+leftovers). If you want to use, just separate out stems

Daylilly flowers -- eat fresh, as a garnish on top of a salad

Cucumber -- please tell me you know what to do with this =P

French breakfast radish -- many dont know, leaves can be eaten too (peppery but fun)

Lettuce -- see cucumber notes =P

PLEASE bring back all packaging, including basket, next Wednesday. Looking forward to hooking y'all up with hand-collected, same-day goodness next week!!! :)

Another growing season, shared with like-minded people!

I am always grateful for the chance to commune with others. Truly commune. It does not happen often... and usually, when an authentic connection occurs, it centers around the cooking and serving of food. Most often (ie, all throughout the year) it centers on the people I'm able, willing and wealthy enough to OFFER food to (friends, family, guests, etc.)...however for a brief time, in the spring and summer, I get to much more rarely-so-commune around the most basic act of growing and delivering PRE-FOOD. Thank you for joining me on an adventure, during this special time!

(six rows of edible plants, each about 150 ft. long!)

"The salads are looking LOVELY this year..."

We're hoping to let these radishes know their days are numbered!!! ;)

The many tools at the organic, thinks-its-just-insane-to-not-just-do-it-himself dude's disposal

The first week of shares are anticipated for delivery at the W1 on July 3, from 4 to 6 PM. Forgive me for sounding crazy to many, but I'm totally hyped to be guaranteeing simple and basic sustenance to y1'll. Every time my family hands you a basket full of home-raised goodies in exchange for your financial investment in the whole enterprise, it means we are creating the simplest and arguably most beautiful and meaningful of commercial enterprises with neighbors!

So thank you for being part of CCC's season 2, this year of our lord 2019. If you haven't paid already (for the tools, sweat and tears that make large-scale self-sufficiency happen) either $160 for eggs n' veggies, or $200 for that plus a bit of Candler-pastured beef (as per earlier emails)... please do!