Book Giveaway - The Quarter-Acre Farm

It’s true when they say that anyone can benefit from rolling up their sleeves and getting their hands a little dirty, all for the sake of growing something. It’s true because this simple act of growing—whether in a pot on your patio, or in your home garden—teaches you as much about life as it does the art of bringing a plant from seedling to fruit.

The same is true of The Quarter-Acre Farm book by award-winning author Spring Warren. It’s more than informative, as it too is a tale about life and humor and enjoying food as Spring tells the stories and recipes behind her year of eating from her yard’s bounty. 

Living in Davis, California, Spring created an adventure of a lifetime for herself and her family when she decided to “take control of her family’s food choices, get her hands dirty, and create a flourishing garden in her not so spacious suburban yard.”

A View of The Quarter-Acre Farm - Backyard

Whether you consider yourself to have a green or black thumb, you'll find that Spring's book reads like a novel with witty adventure, good times and bad times and a humorous cast of real characters from her own family, their pets, the local community and her childhood. Not your typical how-to-garden book, she shares stories of "bunny berries," coffee-ground Christmas presents and "mummifying" olives!

A View of  The Quarter-Acre Farm - Front Yard

And did we mention that there are seasonal recipes! 

We would also like to mention that Spring has very generously donated two signed copies of The Quarter-Acre Farm to share with you!  And she keeps the goodness coming by appearing as a guest blogger here on our site next week with a wonderful post and recipe using fall & winter greens.

Quarter-Acre Farm as Illustrated by "Nemo" Spring's oldest son Jesse

Here's How to Enter –

To win one of two signed copies of Spring's The Quarter-Acre Farm book, simply leave a comment below answering this question by Monday, December 5th -

 As we head into the chilly season, how do you continue to enjoy the natural world around you?  What's your favorite part of the late fall and winter season?  Is it the leaves?  Watching the rain?  Getting muddy? 
Tending a winter garden?

Thank you for all the amazing comments! They were so wonderful that we chose TWO WINNERS!

The first winner chosen at random is: Shari who wrote: 

     I like my rain barrels being full from the rain and being able to water my fruit trees with my own saved rain. Watching my chickens thrive while looking for worms in the wet earth. The long evenings mean that I stay home and cook my wonderful organic vegi's.

The second winner chosen at random is: Susan who wrote:

     Living in Southern CA it can be difficult to tell that Fall has truly arrived some years! I know fall has arrived when I rake the neighbor's leaves from my yard and start dreaming of baked sweet potatoes, fresh pomegranate, and pumpkin bread!

Thank you again to all who entered - we are enjoying your comments so very much!  Winners were chosen by Random Number Generator and announced on our blog on Tuesday. December 6th.

 A big thank you to Spring Warren and be sure to check out The Quarter-Acre Farm and Guest Blog Post & Recipe. 

Calling for Comfort Food - Winter Greens & Polenta

Guest Post by Spring Warren, author of The Quarter-Acre Farm

Now that we are well into the chocolate season, a time of monumental overindulgence (fudge nudges all other food aside as the base of my personal food pyramid), I try to balance sweet excesses by eating healthy dinners.  However, the season is also a grey and rainy one and that chill requires a balance of its own – and that’s warm, comfort food.

Fortunately, this is not only the time of year for those chilly days, but also for the greens that grow in cool temperatures: chards, beet greens, collard greens and kale.  And nothing beats greens and polenta as comfort food.

Sauteed Greens and Polenta

POLENTA— 

I’ve bought pre-made polenta; just slice it up and stick it under the broiler.  I’d rather make my own, however, and add my own seasonings.  The recipe is simple – Four cups of liquid (water, broth, and/or milk) to one cup of (coarsely ground) cornmeal.

I cook the polenta on low, stirring every so often, adding a bit more water to the mix if seems too thick. I have found that 15 minutes of forgetfulness gets me a lumpy mess, but 30-45 minutes of intermittent spoon wrangling provides a soft, creamy polenta. I sometimes stir a knob of butter into the polenta at the finish, or shredded hard cheese, sautéed garlic greens, herbs or truffle oil. I spread the polenta into a pan so that it’s about an inch thick.

When it has cooled, I cut the set polenta into pieces then broil it until the top is brown and crispy.

GREENS—
The perfect counterpoint to sweet, creamy polenta is slightly bitter greens. Sadly, my kale is not yet harvest ready.  But while my beet roots are only about the size of ping pong balls, there’s lots of delicious beet greens to be had at the farm as well as lots of chard.

I wash my greens very carefully (I can tell you nothing ruins a good meal like garden grit, or the surprise meeting of a Quarter-Acre Farm snail on one’s fork), then cut out the ribs, chop them and set them aside.  I roll the rest of the chard, then coarsely chiffonade the leaves.

In a large fry pan (I use a big pan because the greens diminish in volume remarkably during the cooking process), I heat a couple of tablespoons olive oil, and sauté a teaspoon of pepper flakes, the chard ribs, and ¼ cup of sun dried tomato batons (I actually dried the tomatoes in a dehydrator, but dehydrator tomatoes don’t sound nearly as delicious).

When the rib sections are tender, I add the rest of the greens to the pan, turning and stirring until the greens are evenly wilted and tender.  I finish with a splash of balsamic vinegar...

...heap the greens on the plate with the polenta (hot from the broiler) and serve.  Enjoy! —Spring Warren

From Farm Fresh To You — A big thank you to award-winning author Spring Warren for sharing her wonderful Polenta and Greens dish with us!  We highly recommend filling your tummy with polenta and greens and then settling in with her equally satisfying book, The Quarter-Acre Farm, a book chocked full of stories, garden information, humor and delectable recipes.

Spring has generously offered two signed copies of The Quarter-Acre Farm to giveaway.  Enter to win here by Monday, December 5th!  Thank you Spring for sharing your wonderful recipe with us! Be sure to check out her book The Quarter Acre Farm!

In the Mushroom Mix

You may find a few new fungi favorites as specialty organic mushrooms arrive in your boxes. Here are a few mushrooms that go beyond the basic "button."

Pearly white with dime-to-quarter-size caps and three-inch stems, these beauties are richly flavorful and a great addition to seafood dishes, sauces and stir-fries.

Chefs recommend using the Alba with olive oil, garlic, tomato, red bell pepper, citrus juices and thyme. You may also blanch Albas in salted water for two minutes to soften the flavor. Drain and cool, then proceed with chosen recipe. Our mushroom source recommends a hot sauté to then elicit the full flavor of the Alba. Excellent in salads: cut or tear into strips.

Similar in size to the Alba, the Brown Clamshell variety, has a medium brown cap. Like its Alba cousin, it also has a wonderfully rich flavor noted by a mild, appealing shellfish flavor.

In addition to seafood, the Brown Clamshell works well in dishes with nuts and herbs. These mushrooms will be a bit firm even after sautéing. Similar in character to Alba Clamshell, some use a quick blanch to soften the flavor.  The Brown Clamshell is a bit more flexible and is easily able to pair with red wine sauces as well as Asian influenced stir fry. Roast to deepen flavors. Grilled veal, almond, cashew, garlic chive, thyme.

Sometimes called the “baby Portobello,” Criminis are the younger version of the Portobello. Portobello is the mushroom variety at later maturity.

In fact, if you let a Crimini grow only 5 more days, you will get a small Portobello cap. The Crimini has an earthy, meaty texture, and stands up well to baking, roasting and stewing. They’re a favorite in Italian dishes, especially those with tomato sauce and beef.

With a sturdy, light brown cap, the Trumpet Royale has a nutty flavor and a great culinary range. It can be sautéed, grilled, braised, stewed, or broiled. Its stem can also be used, sliced into medallions.

The Trumpet Royale's firm texture allows for grilling or cooking on high heat. Chefs recommend cooking them in dishes with cream, walnuts, sherry, parmesan, rosemary or balsamic vinegar.

The flavor of fresh, organic mushrooms add "something" to nearly any dish at any time of day.  In addition, mushrooms not only provide protein and fiber, but also vitamin B, vitamin D, vitamin K, copper and other minerals.

How are you enjoying these tasty morsels? 

Any recipe links to share?

Variety tasting notes provided by Gourmet Mushrooms Inc. with over 30 years experience growing exotic specialty mushrooms at our farm in Sonoma County, California.