Carrot & Beet Salad

1 lb carrots
1 lb beets
2 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijion mustard
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup toasted pecans, chopped fine
Grate beets and carrots; set aside. Whisk all other ingredients together and pour over beets and carrots. Let stand for 1 hour before serving.

Try mixing it up by adding toasted sesame seeds instead of pecans, garnishing with a squeeze of lemon juice or topping with goat cheese or grated parmesan. Great as a stand-alone side dish or as a hearty topper for salad greens.

Root Vegetables with Apple Cider Glaze

4 carrots cut into 1/2" cubes

2 turnips, cut into 1/2" cubes

4 medium beets, but into 1/2" cubes

2 medium onions, cut into quarters

3 celery stalks, cut into chunks

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup each of apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable broth

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp maple syrup or honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss veggies with olive oil and salt and pepper. Spread into even layers on two baking sheets. Cook for about an hour; stir partway through. Bring cider, broth, butter and honey to boil on stovetop and let reduce for about 10 minutes. Toss veggies with sauce.

Field of Greens Festival Raw Kale Salad

8 oz kale, chopped into thin strips
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame seeds
2 tsp honey
1 tsp dry sherry
1/2 tsp grated ginger

Mix all ingredient except kale together. Pour over kale and let sit for 15 minutes until it wilts.

Seeking: Future Farmer

Local farm seeking an intern for the fall/spring.

Native Sun Farm is a Certified Naturally Grown vegetable farm located 15 minutes from UGA in Bogart, Georgia.

YOU: Willing to accept unpredictable weather, able to perform a variety of tasks, some of which are repetitive. Hard working and enthusiastic. Previous experience with vegetables is preferred.

US: Graduates of UGA in horticulture and landscape architecture. Serious about sustainable agriculture and excited to share our knowledge and experience with the next generation of farmers.

Internship would qualify for requirements for a number of undergraduate degrees. Minimum of 10 hours a week. Weekly produce box provided and definite potential for future employment with our growing operation.

Contact Native Sun via email at nativesunfarm@gmail.com. Please include a resume and a cover letter explaining your interest in sustainable farming.

New Beginnings

There is still a part of me that feels the tug of new beginnings around this time of year. I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions, but I always feel like setting a few goals come this time in August. I guess having spent so many years as a student makes one feel like a world of possibilities opens up at the end of summer.

We're feeling pretty excited about this fall. The dog days of summer are almost behind us and fall crops will bring a welcome change of pace. We are taking some much needed time off from the hectic pace of two-a-week markets and all the harvesting and transporting that's involved. We're getting well rested and ready to get out there again. We've been taking stock of all the wonderful opportunities that are available to a farm like ours; customers literally next-door, a network of friends and family that support and encourage us and a location close to a thriving town full of academics and advocates. We know that we have a pretty fortunate set-up and we're ready to start taking advantage of the wonderful resources we have in our backyard. We plan to offer an internship through UGA this fall and begin structuring a position to hire a part-time farm apprentice later this year. We've been looking at purchasing another hoophouse, opening the farmstand more days during the week, hosting special events and participating in more markets.

When we started, we set the goal of being a four-season farm and we're still on track. But we also know how important it is to step back, regroup and rejuvenate. We'll be back in full swing in a few weeks; in the mean time, we're dreaming of the next big move.

Let's eat!

You definitely don't have to be a chef to be a farmer. But it doesn't hurt to love food, and to love to cook good food. Our last blog post highlighted the important nutritional relationship we have with food. While nutrition is obviously super important, it's hard to get your taste buds very excited about "health food". The only diet that Farmer Brent and I seem to be able to stick to is one that involves food with flavor. When someone complains to me about eating vegetables, I get it. If your only experience with vegetables involves mealy tomatoes and iceberg lettuce, it's no wonder you associate "eh" with the v-word. When we sit down with the seed catalogs in January, we look for the crops that claim the best flavor. We don't grow food for any other reason than that it will taste great. Part of great flavor is freshness. You can get away with simple cooking techniques when you're working with really fresh flavorful ingredients. Think about sauteed kale, roasted potatoes, sliced tomatoes, boiled beans, crisp salads, steamed squash, figs with drizzled honey. The bottom line is that it's not hard to eat healthy when the food is good to start with. Local, fresh produce doesn't need to be adulterated with a bunch of added salt and fat. Steam it, bake it, saute it or eat it raw. Using great food to cook with can make any average cook feel pretty darn gourmet.

Toast a glass of veggies to your health!

Pictured to the left is our new juicer! We were inspired to make this purchase after spending Saturday afternoon watching the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Despite its terrible name, the film is very encouraging and it really highlights some of the health problems we face as Americans due to our diet. Although Farmer Brent and I consume our fair share of veggies already, we can always find room for improvement. Our first juicing attempt consisted of the fruits and veggies that we had on hand in the fridge. This explains how we ended up with cucumber/tomato/bell pepper/watermelon juice. It isn't a flavor combination that we would highly recommend, but it was interesting and fun to make. The gentleman in the documentary goes on a 60 day juice fast to lose weight and relieve the symptoms of a chronic auto-immune disease. Brent and I are not that ambitious; we just want to supplement our diet with fresh and flavorful fruits and veggies in an easy to carry format. If there are any experienced juicers out there, let your voice be heard! We'd love to hear some successful juicing stories and share recipes.