With the cooler weather a number of rain showers have come through, a great benefit for the volunteer wheat, which is a cover crop for next years corn.

This week I would like to highlight a recipe for wheat berries we have found to be very economical to prepare.

Kasha Varniskes
(Makes 4 servings.)
Generally made of buckwheat groats, this can also be made with other grains such as wheat berries or barley.

1 c. wheat berries
1 lb. ground beef (optional)
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 c. chicken stock (we made ours with bullion & water)
salt (omit if using bullion with salt) & black pepper to taste
1 c. pasta bow ties
1 ½ tsp. dried parsley
1 ½ tsp. Italian seasoning (thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary & sage) optional

1.Roast the wheat berries in a dry, heavy fry pan while stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Set aside. It is now kasha. [traditionally, the grains are covered with 1 beaten egg before roasting, but we skipped this]
2.Ready a pot of water, salted for boiling the pasta but don’t cook them until the kasha is nearly done.

3.Using a heavy dutch oven (4 qt.) heat the oil and saute the onions until transparent.  Cook the ground beef at this time.  Add the chicken stock, bringing them to a boil. Add salt & pepper and the roasted wheat berries / kasha. Stir together and cover. On low heat cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. These absorb a lot of water, so add a bit if necessary to complete cooking. Check and adjust seasonings. These should be a bit chewy but soft clear through.

4.Boil the pasta water and prepare pasta until just tender, drain well and stir into the kasha. Add the parsley (for color) and (optional) Italian seasoning if desired.

5.Serve hot.

Note: This was meatless.

When we finished combining wheat on the 12th of September, we started watering the wheat stubble. Since we do not till the stubble under after harvest, little extra moisture is needed to sprout the small amount of wheat which the combine left behind.

Last year we grew corn on this field. Then this March we planted wheat here. You can see in this planter skip last years corn has broken down to form a mat of organic matter, which holds moisture in the soil as well as putting organic matter and nutrients back into soil.  This in turn allows us to use less fertilizers and still get the same yields as we would have gotten applying a heavier rate of fertilizer to a conventionally tilled field.

One of the most important discoveries we have made this year was that growing plants breaks down the organic matter from last years crop faster than if the field was left as is until next primary crop was planted. As you can see in this image the corn stocks from last year are mostly decomposed verses the image above where there was no wheat growing. For this reason we are looking into different cover crops we can use to always have a plant growing on each field between primary crops.

This weeks discount code is “COVER CROP”, mention this code this Saturday at our CCFM Booth to get 7% off all of our wheat and beef products.

Mention discount code WHEAT this Saturday at the Capital City Farmers Market, and we will take 6% off any of our Beef and Wheat products.

Now that we have finished harvesting the wheat we are getting ready to start harvesting Sunflowers in about 5 weeks. A row crop header is needed to harvest sunflowers, so I will be leaving for Nebraska in the morning to get a row crop header. Due to this trip I will not have time to produce a vlog for this week. So this blog is technically spanning August 29th through September 18th, for that reason I will give a $10 gift certificate to the third person to email .

Be sure to keep an eye on your inbox around September 27th for the next vlog, which will be featuring the wheat harvest, current and upcoming wheat products, as well as highlights from the trip to Nebraska.

This week’s giveaway has been claimed, but do not forget to take advantage of the code GLEANER.