Clean Up Clean Up!

We’re entering clean up mode here at Good Dog Farm. We’re taking down, pulling up, and bagging up all sorts of remnants from summer and early fall crops so that we can seed cover crops. Cover crops restore nutrients into our soil after we’ve grown crops in them for the year as well as preventing erosion throughout the winter. It’s also an important mental exercise to tie up this tough season with a bow and call it finished. We’re not quite there yet, as much as we’d like to be, but we’re happy to still be harvesting new crops like big bright radishes. We’ve also started planting some of our crops that will stay in the ground all winter, like shallots. Next up, garlic and elephant garlic. So, we’re plowing ahead with the seasonal end in sight, but with excitement in our hearts for a winter full of salad and beyond.

What We’re Eating

Potato Kale Cakes with Smoky Cashew Cream Sauce

All amazing flavors packed into cute little nuggets! If you’ve never had a cashew cream sauce, make this asap. It’s not just a dairy alternative, it’s rich in flavor and a perfect texture. Another delicious recipe from the fabulous Dishing Up the Dirt blog.

Makes about 10 lil cakes.

Smokey Cashew Cream Sauce

1 cup raw cashews-soaked in warm water for at least 30 minutes (optional--but will lend a smoother consistency)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-2 teaspoons smoked paprika, more or less depending on preference
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper + more to taste
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 cup water + additional to thin if necessary

Potato Kale Cakes

1 1/2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
salt
1/4 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons garlic powder
hefty pinch of salt and ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 bunch of kale (about 2 cups) coarsely chopped
hefty pinch of salt
4 tablespoons cooking fat (bacon grease or a high heat oil such as grapeseed or peanut oil), divided

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 300F.
Make the smokey cashew sauce by draining the cashews (if you pre-soaked them) and placing them in a high speed blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blending on high until completely smooth and creamy. About 2 minutes. Taste for seasonings, adjust if necessary and then set aside.
Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes well and then return to the pot. Heat the potatoes over medium heat for about 1 minute to dry out (this will help hold them together when frying). Mash the potatoes with a potato masher and set aside.
In a large bowl mix together the almond flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, lightly beaten eggs and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Keep to the side.
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the kale and a hefty pinch of salt. Cook, tossing often, until slightly wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove the kale from the heat and stir into the wet mixture. Add the potatoes and mix until everything is well combined.
Shape the potato/kale mixture by 1/4 cupfuls into 1/2 inch thick patties and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
Heat the same skillet that you sautéed the kale in over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons of your cooking fat of choice. Add the cakes and cook for about 3-4 minutes (or until crispy) carefully flip (the cakes can be delicate so be careful here) and then cook for about 2-3 minutes on the second side.
Place cooked patties on the rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining batter and cooking fat.
Serve the cakes with the smokey cashew sauce and enjoy!

Sign Up for your Winter CSA Share

Claim your share in our winter season CSA! Our CSA runs year-round using the same format, except when we take off most of the month of May, while we are frantically planting and waiting for our Spring crops to come in. We do our best to offer salad greens, lettuce, onions, garlic, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, and eggs all winter, and we will have winter squash, potatoes, radishes, and kohlrabi along as they keep—usually into February. The official start of our new season is November 28, the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. Your existing funds will roll over into the new season, and as always, you can add additional funds at any time.

However, we do ask that if you are planning to continue enjoying our vegetables throughout the winter, that you let us know by putting down a $25 deposit (or purchasing any size winter share) before November 1st. This is very important because (a) it lets us know if we need to recruit additional members for the winter season, (b) it helps us gauge interest at our various pickup locations, and (c) it’s important for operating online ordering on the Small Farm Central platform. Instructions for signing up for the winter season are below. Thanks!

Thanks everyone, have a great week!

Joanna and Bryan