Date: November 19th 2009

Here we are--suddenly it seems--at the end of another growing season, and at the beginning of the season of gratitude.  
 
There is so much to be grateful for – unseasonably warm weather for starters. The clouds have kept the days and nights much warmer than is usual for this time of year. Normally we’ve had 5-10 nights down in the teens, but this year we’ve only had one or two, and they were a while ago. So for the first time in many years, the greens for this last market are looking wonderful, with no frost damage at all. And Henry and all his harvesters are not quite so bone-chilled as usual.
 
I am thankful for that, and for a big acorn with a loose-fitting cap that my niece turned into a talisman by drawing two intense blue-green eyes, a nose and mouth below, and a fringe of hair above, which the wooly acorn cap almost obscures, but not quite. The impish face makes me happy. And grateful for family and friends, and gifts from the good earth.
 
And we are especially grateful to each one of you who make it possible for a local farm family (ours!) to do what we do, and make a living by stewarding the earth and providing you with good food. We simply could not do what we do without you – so thank you!  We’re looking forward to seeing you one last time this year – at the 10th annual pre-Thanksgiving Market. Although it’s been rainy most of the week, it loo ks like Saturday morning will be sunny and in the 50s . . . much better than the below freezing temperatures last year! So come on out this Saturday, Nov. 21, to Immanuel Lutheran Church,  616 Lake Street, Evanston  - click here for the map on the church's website.  The official time for the market is 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Please do not come before 9 a.m. as the people who live nearby have complained to the police in previous years about the “noise nuisance” we all make (!) )
 
*
Speaking of gifts from the good earth . . . Teresa is bringing up her aronia jam and jelly on Saturday. Click here for pictures, and go to the bottom of this email (where Teresa always writes her Fruit and Herb Notes) for all the details. You need to email her now if you want to buy in bulk.  Knock out 12 gifts at once and make your Holiday shopping a snap this year by buying a case of aronia jam or jelly for the special case price of $85/case of 12 jars.  That's more th an a 10% discount! For less than 12 jars, the price will be the usual price of $8/jar.  ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS: For full case orders, email Teresa at Teresajeans@msn.com before 9 PM Friday Nov. 20.  She needs to know how many cases you would like -- and please specify jam or jelly. The jelly supply is limited so order early if you want jelly. She'll bring extra cases to market, but can’t guarantee she won't run out, so it is best to pre-order. 
*
 A few notes before we get to the final food notes of the season . . .
 
      Announcing . . . Henry’s Solstice/Equinox Book! After nearly a 10-year wait (since the publication of Henry's Organic Matters), you can now cuddle up with more of Henry’s terrific writing and Hiroko’s beautiful  illustrations in S olstices and Equinoxes: A Farmer’s Meditations. Henry provides glimpses of what goes on inside his head, while also providing the inside story of life on the farm at the four cornerstones of the year. The booklets are hot off the press and make terrific gifts at only $5.
 
      Plus the perfect companion . . . The Seasons on Henry’s Farm with FREE packet of spices for Grandma Henrietta’s Pumpkin-Raisin Spice Bars (p. 286)  Since I was unable to be at most of the Sept and Oct markets, I’m bringing plenty of copies of my book, The Seasons on Henry’s Farm  this Sat. and each book comes with a packet of spices -- making a really nice gift package for holiday giving. I am of course happy to inscribe the books to your friends and loved ones, so if you bought the book already, and liked it, please consider getting another as a special gift.
 
Announcing the Gorgeous 2010 “Year on the Land” calendars! Find out what Henry does all winter and all year round and support The Land Connection by purchasing the Farmer-Annotated 2010 Calendar.  These make great holiday gifts, so buy some for all the gardeners and food lovers in your life. One for $20; two or more for $15 each.  PLUS -- Free copies of the fall issue of Edible Chicago for the first 50 people who buy calendars!
 
And don’t forget  . . . Aronia Jam/Jelly for all.  Aronia is the new pomegranate  -- delicious and full of antioxidants. Get it from Teresa inside the church.
 
All of the above make great holiday gifts . . . for hosts and hostesses, for family and friends, for Hannukah, for Christmas, for Kwanzaa, or “just because . . . “ 
 
                  FARM NOTES
Every growing season is the same in many ways, but each has its particular joys and challenges. This year’s main challenge was moisture. It seemed like it rained just about every single Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, our harvest days for CSA and market. It’s not so bad to harvest in the rain when you have good rain gear, but it rained so much that we struggled to get things planted all season long, even during our normally dry July and August.
 
Yet, through it all, Henry and his family and farmhand Matt (Matt's been with us 7 years now, and he will be at the market for the first time in a long time – the very tall and thin guy – so say Hi and Thanks) --  and apprentices Matthew and Kris, with hefty assists from Adriane, Justin, and Jill – all worked hard, rain or shine, and the Earth rewarded our efforts with delicious abundance.
As Henry writes in his just-printed Solstices and Equinoxes:
 People often think of the farmer as the one who grows things, but really Nature is the one who does the growing. Nature is the ultimate master gardener. The farmer merely initiates the process by working the soil and planting the seeds. Nature – that felicitous combination of rain, air, soil, and sun—does the rest. To paraphrase the 19th century playwright Douglas Jerrold, “Tickle the Earth with a hoe, and she laughs a harvest.” Of course, it often takes a bit more tickling than he might have imagined to get her to laugh . . .
 
 
This last week, Henry is harvesting and fully loading the truck with lots of:
celery root
parsley root
black radish
roseheart radish
all kinds of turnips,
carrots
lettuces and other salad greens
Asian greens of all descriptions
kales
all kinds of potatoes and sweet potatoes
garlic
sunchokes and much more. 
 
So STOCK UP!   The roots keep very well for months, so you can continue to eat great food at least through the end of the year. 
 
FOOD NOTES -- Parsley Root and Celery Root
Nearly all of the items at market this week are familiar favorites. But if you haven’t ventured into celery root or parsley root yet, now’s the time to do it.
 
Celery root is the knobby, gnarled soft-ball sized root with a lovely delicate celery aroma. It is fantastic in soups, but also good in mixed roasted root vegetables, or roasted on its own. I made some celery root oven fries when I was in NY last week, and they were terrific. Celery root is also terrific as a side dish in a Celery Root Remoulade.   Here’s a recipe from Epicurious.
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons crème fraîche or sour cream
  • 2 cornichons (sour gherkins), minced, or 1 tablespoon minced dill pickle
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon drained bottled capers, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • a pinch dried tarragon, crumbled
  • 2 small celery roots (about 1 1/4 pound total), peeled and cut into matchstick pieces or shredded coarse
In a small bowl stir together mayonnaise, crème fraîche, cornichons, parsley, lemon juice, capers, mustard, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste until combined well.
In a large saucepan of salted boiling water cook celery root 2 minutes. Drain celery root in a sieve and refresh under cold water. Dry celery root completely. Add celery root to sauce and stir together. Chill salad until ready to serve.
 
Parsley Root is a whitish carrot-shaped root that looks very much like a parsnip. But a sniff will tell you that it is definitely in the parsley family. It has a somewhat sweet and nutty flavor and it can be served fresh, fried, sautéed, or baked, as an ingredient to soups, stews, rice dishes, salads, vegetables, and other foods.
 
Parsley is thought to have originated in Sardinia, but no mention appears to have been made, either by the ancients or in the Middle Ages, of rooted parsley. But in 1771, Miller, in his Gardeners' Dictionary, referred to "largerooted Parsley", saying: "This is now pretty commonly sold in the London markets, the roots being six times as large as the common Parsley. This sort was many years cultivated in Holland before the English gardeners could be prevailed upon to sow it. I brought the seeds of it from thence in 1727; but they refused to accept it, so that I cultivated it several years before it was known in the markets."
 
Lentil Soup with Parsley Root and Carrots
 
1 lb  Dried lentils, washed and drained
1/4   c  Lard, bacon drippings, or oil
2 medium Onions or leeks, chopped
1 parsley root or parsnip, chopped
2  md Carrots, sliced
1 c  Sliced fennel or  celery
8 c   Water
1 t Salt to or to taste
Several whole black pepper-corns
2  Whole cloves
2  Bay leaves
1 lg Potato, peeled and grated
2  lg Links (or 4 small) smoked -sausage, skin pricked-with fork
 2 tb Good vinegar
In a large pot, heat fat and add carrots, root vegetable and onions. Saute until onions are golden. Add lentils, water, celery, and seasonings. Grate the potato into the mixture and add sausage. Simmer covered 1 hour until lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves. Add vinegar just before serving and adjust salt. Serve with a crusty bread and salad.  Serves 4-6
 
Mashed Potatoes and Parsley Root adapted from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables by Elizabeth Schneider
¾ pound parsley root (weighed with leaves)
1 ¼ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
Butter to taste
A few Tablespoons hot milk or to taste
S & P (can use white pepper if you like)
Cut off parsley root tops and reserve for use in any recipe calling for parsley. Scrub roots with a brush, then cut into ½ inch slices. Drop parsley root and potatoes into a pot of boiling salted water. Return to a boil and cook until tender – check after about 15 minutes. Drain well. Add butter and hot milk and then mash with an official potato masher. Season to taste with S & P.
 
Soup of Winter Vegetables and Dried Mushrooms adapted from Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables by Elizabeth Schneider   4 generous servi ngs
1/3 cup dried mushrooms, such as porcini, or mixed exotic
1 cup hot water
½ pound leeks, halved lengthwise and cleaned
2 Tablespoons fat such as butter, bacon fat, or other
¾ pound parsley root, scrubbed and washed (reserving leaves for another use)
½ pound carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk with leaves, chopped small
1 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
6 cups hearty stock: such as beef, chicken, lamb or ham, or of course vegetable broth!
S & P to taste, use plenty of pepper!
Break mushrooms into small pieces if necessary, and then soak in hot water 20-30 minutes. Cut off the darkest green upper parts of the leeks and then toss or save for making stock. Slice the lighter green and white parts into thin pieces. Heat fat in a large flameproof casserole and stir in leeks, parsley root, carrots, and celery; cook over moderately  low heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain the mushrooms, saving the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms lightly (removes any lingering dirt) then add the shrooms and soaking liquid to the soup pot. Add the potatoes and the stock. Partially cover and simmer until potatoes are tender - 30-45 minutes. Season to taste with S & amp; P, then simmer a bit longer. Top soup bowls with freshly chopped parsley (the reserved tops from the roots, of course!)
 
Chicken and Parsley Root Salad
Adapted from Saveur.com submitted by Simon S.
Parsley root gives a perfect crunch to this recipe. Serve this preparation between slices of hearty French bread for a sandwich or spoon onto bibb lettuce for a refreshing salad.

2 whole chicken breasts
2 parsley roots, washed and peeled
1⁄4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped (washed well to remove any dirt, and dried)
1 cup radicchio, cut into thin strips.
1⁄3–1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Poach chicken breasts in enough simmering salted water to cover for about 25 minutes, until tender but not dry. Remove from water and set aside to cool.
2.. Meanwhile, slice parsley roots first into thin rounds and then into a fine julienne. Place in a mixing bowl.
3. Bone and skin the cooled chicken breasts. Cut the meat into large chunks and add it to the parsley root, along with parsley leaves, radicchio, and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss to combine. 
As you sit with your loved ones this Thanksgiving and count your blessings, join us in our Brockman Thanksgiving Tradition -- count up the number of local foods on the holiday table, and give thanks!
Keep warm, eat well, and be well,
From Henry, Hiroko, Asa, Zoe, Kazami and all the others at Henry’s Farm
 
  
And now . . . Teresa’s ARONIA Jams/Jellies,plus Herb Teas and Culinary Herbs for your kitchen and for Gifts
 Teresa’s Fruit and Herb News
(Teresa will be set up inside the church next to Organic Pastures—our neighbors Larry and Marilyn Wettstein, organic meat farmers)
Aronia Jam and Jelly….Delicious and Perfect for Gifts!
We finally got our labels approved by the organic certifier, so last Thursday I got to travel up to Honor, Michigan, and watch my jam and jelly being made. (You can see a few scenes too, here.) The small certified organic company that makes my jam is called Food For Thought, and Timothy, the owner and chef, is very meticulous about everything he does. After watching a while, I jumped right in helping load the jars on the line and after they were filled, I packed boxes. It was fun being useful and getting to see boxes of my plump black aronia berries transformed into over 1200 gleaming jars of beautiful, purple-almost black preserves. The labels turned out great too, thanks to Peter Kennell (whose music many of you got to hear at Henry’s potluck this past October) who designed the logo and his cousin, Dustin, who did all the graphics. 
When our kids were little, Henry and I agreed that, besides books, we would only give each other’s children things that could be used up, such as food. Hiroko would make delicious treats for the girls and I would try to return the favor. Really, food is the perfect gift at any time of year and for any person regardless of age.
What better gift than a jam or jelly made from a very unusual and highly nutritious (it’s the new pomegranate!)  berry that is grown locally and organically? 
Jam and jelly, like all food gifts, make wonderful Christmas (or Hanukah, or Kwanza, or birthday, or host/hostess) presents.  Knock out 12 gifts at once and make your Holiday shopping a snap this year by buying a case of aronia jam or jelly for the special case price of $85/case of 12 jars.  That's more than a 10% discount! For less than 12 jars, the price will be the usual price of $8/jar. 
 
What is the difference between jam and jelly?
My aronia jam contains the whole fruit, although it is cut into pieces, so it contains the flesh, very small seeds, and the peel. It has more fiber and more anti-oxidants because of this. It also contains organic sugar, organic lemon juice, and pectin. 
The aronia jelly is made from juice that I pressed from the berries and combined with organic sugar and pectin. They both have a wonderful taste that I describe as a combination of a very flavorful grape with tones of apple and cherry and a definite wine-y, tannic flavor that is unique and wonderful. 
Both the jam and jelly are made with my own certified organic aronia berries and according to my own recipe. Organic sugar and lemon juice are also used. 
 
 ORDERING INSTRUCTIONS:
If you would like to buy a case of jam or jelly, please order in advance by emailing Teresa at Teresajeans@msn.com before 9 PM Friday Nov. 20. Tell me how many cases you would like and please specify jam or jelly. The jelly supply is limited so order early if you want jelly. I will be bringing extra cases to the market, but I can’t guarantee that I won’t run out, so it is best to pre-order. 
 
Frozen Aronia Berries
I will have my bread samples again this week, to show you how delicious aronia berries can be when you bake with them. Last time I brought up the bread samples, I sold out of the aronia berries before I ran out of bread. That’s how good they are!! Don’t miss them. When this batch of berries runs out, there will be no more until next August!
 
Other Great GIFTS! Herbs teas and Goat Milk Soaps
This is your last chance to restock your cupboards with herb teas for those long, winter nights. These also make great presents, especially for co-workers, neighbors, teachers, etc.
 Here are the varieties that I still have:
Mint Tea-This is spearmint blended with peppermint and wild mint.  A perennial favorite.
Chamomile Tea -Plain chamomile flowers. Tastes great iced or hot with a little lemon and sugar added if desired.  Stress reliever and stomach soother.  And for me… winter warmer.
Peter Rabbit’s Tea-A blend of chamomile, lemon balm, lemon thyme, and catnip.  All four of these herbs have a calming effect, so this is a good bedtime tea.  Children’s favorite.
Lemon Medley Tea-A blend of lemon grass and mint with a little sage and thyme thrown in for their aromatic qualities.  One of my favorites.
Sunny Lemon Tea with Chamomile-This one IS my favorite.  An incredibly fragrant tea, it’s a blend of lemon grass, chamomile, wild mint, and cloves.  Both lemon grass and chamomile are good for the stomach.
Country Anise Tea-This is a blend of anise hyssop and raspberry leaves and is naturally sweet.  We always keep plenty of this tea on hand for winter because it works wonders on sore throats and coughs.
 
Jill’s New Goat Milk Soaps
We had a run on Jill’s soaps last week and ran out of a couple of varieties, but we still have varying amounts of Pumpkin Spice, Almond Joy, Tea Tree Chamomile, Peaches and Cream, Lemon Medley, and Cucumber Melon. 
New this week are Cranberry, Gingersnap (with real ginger and cocoa butter),Frankincense and Myrrh (with moisturizing castor and shea oils),Christmas Spice, Rose Hip (with organic rose hip oil, a healing, soothing oil), and Amazing Avocado (an old favorite that goes fast!).  She will also have various combinations of these in rustic burlap gift bags (2 bars in each bag) tied with a pretty ribbon, ready for gift giving.
And, also new this week are Jill’s Loofah Soaps. Jill and her daughter, Halley, made these by cutting natural loofahs (which are actually the dried insides of the fruit of a vine in the cucumber family) into pieces and filling them with their soaps. The loofah is a wonderful exfoliant and it really suds up like crazy in the shower!
 
TURKEYS
A reminder for those who ordered turkeys, please pick up your turkey from Michael who will be near Henry’s stand near the back of the parking lot. Thanks!
 
Last, but certainly not least, THANK YOU to all of you for another great season! 
We appreciate not only your patronage, but your friendship and caring. 
All the best,
Teresa and Michael and the girls
 
See you Saturday at Immanuel Lutheran!
 
Many thanks, and happy holidays to all.
 

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