| Fort Hill Farm
fresh * local * organic
|
|
|
Week 15
|
September 8, 2015
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
It’s kind of funny that as a culture we pack up summer and give it the boot right after Labor Day. The first calendar day of fall is not until Sept. 29, and temperatures in the 90’s are predicted for at least the early part of the week. But of course changes are afoot. This week we’ll likely pick our last summer squash and cukes for the season, and the tomatoes are starting to show a lot of foliar disease, with yields on the decline as a result. Plum tomatoes are hanging in there, but with some wet weather possible for later in the week, best bet is to pick them as soon as possible. We still have another crop of green beans and should see them nearly through the end of the month. This is the last week for corn, and it’s been one of our best seasons ever. On the upswing, peppers in all shapes and sizes are looking really good and harvest will peak over the next two weeks. The plants are looking so good, with such a heavy fruit load that we had to do some extra stringing to keep them upright. Still plenty of salad and cooking greens to be had as well. So far it looks like the dry weather, coupled with a lot of irrigation effort from the crew, is bringing us some great crops.
|
|
| Lauren hauls a barrel full of the sweetest peppers in the world! |
September can be a tough month on a farm crew because you start feeling a bit weary from the big push in the spring and summer, and yet we still have big harvests ahead of us. We’ll start digging potatoes in earnest this week, and we need to get the butternut squash picked up and in a dry greenhouse to cure. The dry weather is a help in that regard. We’ll begin harvesting leeks next week, and we’ve got thousands of pounds of garlic and onions to clean and sort on the rainy days, if it ever rains again. Most of the planning for this season is done, but we’ve already begun planning our rotations for next season and getting the late summer and fall cover crops in the ground. These “green manure” cover crops are usually a mix of a legume and grass. The legume (like peas) puts nitrogen in the ground, and the grasses (like oats or rye) have fibrous root systems that can mop up any nutrients that are hanging around, recycling them for use by next year’s veggie crops. So we’ll put our heads down and keep on harvesting, cleaning up, and doing some positive things for our soil to keep the whole cycle going.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, for Rebecca, Elliott, Amanda, Justin, Jonathan, Rae, and the farm crew
|
|
| Crotalaria is a leguminous cover crop that we are trying out for the first time this year. |
|
|
Featured This Week
Blue gold potatoes: We learned about this potato (also called known by the much less descriptive moniker of Peter Wilcox) from our friend Megan Haney up at Marble Valley Farm in Kent. We have a good amount for everyone to try this year. Pretty blue outside; moist yellow inside, what’s not to like?
Pepper-O-Rama: our pepper harvest is peaking and we have lots of very sweet and crispy peppers of various colors, including the pointy red ‘Carmen’ sweet Italian peppers, red and yellow bells, and the super sweet, pointy-orange Oranos. Peppers are super easy to put up for the winter, and because organic peppers in the store can cost up to $8/lb it makes a lot of sense to spend a few moments to store them. You can chop and freeze the raw peppers straight up (will be good only for cooking, not for fresh eating). Or roast or grill the peppers, and then freeze.
Also available:
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, curly green and lacinato kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo and sierra blanca onions, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, eggplant, green bell peppers, jalapenos, red beets, Chioggia and golden beets, red potatoes, savoy cabbage, radicchio
Coming soon:
leeks, collard greens
|
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News.)
Cherry Tomatoes:
hanging on; they are mostly Sungolds and some Sweet 100 reds, also look for the small Juliet plums, and the multicolored Artisan cherries.
Beans: Look to the PYO board for the best picking, and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert. Taste to make sure you are not picking older, woody pods.
Cut flowers: Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use.
Plum Tomatoes: Still plenty of plums for saucing but that can change with little notice. Go to the far end or middle of the patch for best picking.
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Spanish Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
From the Minimalist Baker
1 cup (168 g) quinoa or rice, thoroughly rinsed and drained
scant 2 cups (460 ml) vegetable stock (sub water, but it will be less flavorful)
4 large red, yellow or orange bell peppers, halved, seeds removed
1/2 cup (120 g) salsa, plus more for serving
1 Tbsp (4 g) nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 15-ounce (425 g) can black beans, drained (if unsalted, add 1/4 tsp sea salt)
1 cup (168 g) whole kernel corn, drained (or fresh)
TOPPINGS optional
1 ripe avocado, sliced
Fresh lime juice
Hot sauce
Cilantro, chopped
Diced red onion
Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Chipotle Red Salsa (or your favorite salsa)
1. Add quinoa and vegetable stock to a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy – about 20 minutes. 2.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. 3.Brush halved peppers with a neutral, high heat oil, such as grape seed, avocado or refined coconut. 4.Add cooked quinoa to a large mixing bowl and add remaining ingredients – salsa through corn. Mix to thoroughly combine then taste and adjust seasonings accordingly, adding salt, pepper, or more spices as desired. 5.Generously stuff halved peppers with quinoa mixture until all peppers are full, then cover the dish with foil. 6.Bake for 30 minutes covered, then remove foil, increase heat to 400 degrees F, and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until peppers are soft and slightly golden brown. For softer peppers, bake 5-10 minutes more. 6.Serve with desired toppings (listed above) or as is. Best when fresh, though leftovers keep covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in a 350 degree oven until warmed through – about 20 minutes.
|
|
Chile Tomato Jam
From Organic Gardening
1 lb. tomatoes, any red variety, peeled
5 Fresno or jalapeño chiles, roughly chopped (about ¾ c)
1 c. white vinegar
1 c. plus ¼ c. sugar, divided
¼ tsp. salt
2 star anise
1 package Pomona’s Universal Pectin
1. Roughly chop peeled tomatoes and place in a medium saucepan. Add the chiles, vinegar, 1 cup sugar, salt, and star anise. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. 2. Follow the instruction in the box of Pomona’s Universal Pectin for making the calcium water. Combine 1 tsp. of pectin powder with the remaining ¼ cup of sugar in a small bowl. 3. Once the tomatoes and chiles have cooked for 20 minutes, add 1 teaspoon of calcium water. Stir. Add the pectin sugar, stir, and bring to a boil to dissolve. Remove from the heat and let rest for 5 minutes. 4. Ladle the jam into clean jars and allow to cool. It will thicken more as it cools. Jam will keep in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks. Makes 3 cups.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Week 14
|
September 1, 2015
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
The calendar says September but it sure feels a lot like August. Persistently hot, humid, and rain-less weather is the rule, and there is no end to irrigation season in sight. It is a little easier to keep up with irrigating, as many of the summer crops are winding down. We are down to our last block of sweet corn which should give us corn through the end of next week, raccoons permitting. We are seeing more ear worms in the corn, if you are squeamish just chop the tip of the ear off before shucking and all will be good. Melon harvest is over. It was a good year for them, and it made for a lot of smiling faces at distribution. Summer squash and cukes were hit hard by late foliar diseases and are saying goodbye. Tomatoes are still in good supply, although yields generally drop by mid-September, so remember to freeze and can now.
|
|
| We had a party in the beets this morning, as we will tomorrow; these last few beds stand in the way of cover cropping a good-sized piece of land. |
On the upswing, eggplant harvest picked up a bit, and colored sweet peppers are ramping up for a late summer showing. Elliott and I checked the sweet potatoes today and saw some nice tubers just under the soil surface, and we’ll start to clip and gather winter squash next week. Both of these crops need to cure in a warm greenhouse for several weeks, to it will be a while before they are in the CSA share. Rebecca spent a big chunk of the day on the seeding tractor, putting in fall greens like bok choy and arugula, along with radishes and salad turnips. In some ways fall is a mirror image of spring, as the cool weather brings back some of the crops we stop growing during the heat of the summer. Meanwhile, the crew planted thousands of lettuce and spinach plugs on the transplanter, so we’ll have plenty of salad fixings in early October.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, for Rebecca, Elliott, Amanda, Justin, Jonathan, Rae, and the farm crew
|
|
Featured This Week
Eggplant: often a boom or bust crop for us, this year has not been a bumper crop, but this week we should have plenty to go around. We grow 3 types of eggplant. Rosa Bianca is a large, globe shaped Italian heirloom with white and purple color. Nadia is the standard, dark eggplant most common in stores. We also grow a type of Asian , the long, thin purple ‘Machiaw’. All can be grilled or used interchangeably in many recipes. Additionally, Nadia and Rosa Bianca are great for Eggplant Parmesan, and the Asian varieties are great roasted or for stir fry. The Rosa Bianca and Asian varieties have shorter cooking times than the ‘traditional’ eggplant. Asian eggplant will be in short supply this year.
White onions: These onions were grown by our friends Max and Kerry at Provider Farm, out in eastern CT. They are a mild, sweet onion great for sandwiches, salads, and burgers. Store in the fridge for a month or two, or room temperature for at least a week. Kerry and Max grow using only organic methods but choose not to certify their crops. They were grown with the same attention to detail as here and without synthetic pesticides, but the certifying agency requires us to tell you they are not certified organic.
Also available:
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, curly green and lacinato kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo onions, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, green bell peppers, jalapenos, red beets, Chioggia and golden beets, red potatoes, Satina Gold potatoes, savoy cabbage, radicchio
Coming soon:
leeks, sweet peppers
|
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News.)
Cherry Tomatoes: peaking; they are mostly Sungolds and some Sweet 100 reds.
Beans: A new crop of beans is out there. Look to the PYO board for the best picking, and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert. Taste to make sure you are not picking older, woody pods.
Cut flowers: Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Sunflowers: are just about over now, there may be a few flowers opening throughout the week
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use.
Plum Tomatoes: plenty of plums for saucing. Go to the far end or middle of the patch for best picking.
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Eggplant Stacks with Tomato-Chipotle Salsa
From the Vegetarian Times
1 medium white onion, sliced (1½ cups)
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ½ lb. plum tomatoes
5 Tbs. olive oil, divided
2 globe eggplants, unpeeled, cut into 24 ½-inch-thick slices
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, drained
4 Tbs. finely chopped cilantro, divided
1 ½ cups crumbled queso fresco
1. Preheat broiler. Spread onion slices and garlic cloves on broiler pan, and broil 90 seconds, or until garlic is slightly charred. Transfer garlic to bowl, and broil onion 2 minutes more. Transfer onion to bowl with garlic.
2. Put tomatoes on broiler pan. Broil 3 minutes, or until charred on top. Flip, and broil 2 minutes more, or until charred.
3. Reduce oven heat to 450°F. Brush 2 baking sheets with 1 Tbs. oil each. Place eggplant slices on baking sheets in single layer, and brush with remaining 3 Tbs. oil. Bake 10 minutes, flip, then bake 5 minutes more, or until tender.
4. Pulse broiled onion and garlic in food processor. Halve tomatoes, add to food processor with chipotle chiles, and purée until smooth. Transfer to bowl, and stir in 2 Tbs. cilantro.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Spread 12 eggplant slices with 1 Tbs. salsa each. Press 1 Tbs. queso fresco atop salsa. Top with remaining eggplant slices and 1 Tbs. salsa per stack. Bake 5 minutes. Top each stack with 1 Tbs. cheese, and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve remaining salsa on side.
|
|
Orecchiette with Caramelized Onions, Green Beans, Fresh Corn & Jalapeño
Adapted from Scott Conant’s recipe via Fine Cooking
Kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced sweet onion (from 1 large onion)
1/2 lb. dried orecchiette or farfalle
1/2 lb. fresh green beans, sliced on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
1 sweet colored pepper, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced crosswise
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano
1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and a large pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is beginning to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is very soft and a light golden brown, about 15 more minutes (if the onion begins to look like it’s burning, add 2 Tbs. warm water and lower the heat).
Put the pasta in the boiling water and cook until just shy of al dente. Add the green beans to the pasta water in the last minute of cooking.
While the pasta is cooking, add the pepper and sauté until tender. Add the corn, jalapeño, and a pinch of salt to the onions and cook until the corn kernels begin to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Reserve 1 cup of the pasta and green bean cooking water and drain the pasta and green beans together in a colander.
Return the pasta, green beans, and 2 Tbs. of the reserved water to the pot. Add the onion mixture and toss over medium heat until the green beans are crisp-tender and the pasta is perfectly al dente, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more of the pasta water as necessary to keep the dish moist. Season to taste with salt and pepper and top each serving with the pecorino and parsley.
|
|
Fort Hill Farm
fresh * local * organic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
Farm News
This week’s Farm News is written by Justin Martel. He joined us in May of 2014 on the field crew, worked with us through one of the toughest winters in the farm’s history, and then returned in the spring as farm apprentice. He brings a broader farm perspective to the immediate tasks at hand, as we close out the last week of August.
Hey, I’m Justin, a New Milford native you may also know as Alpen. I’ve watched many changes take place over the last season and a half. Right now the heat of summer persists, and we are all clinging to the final weeks of summer. And while I won’t miss the ninety-degree afternoons, my drip irrigation to-do list, a key area of my responsibility, is slowing down. The number of crops using drip irrigation is shrinking steadily, as we have pulled the onions, are picking out the cantaloupes, and much of the ground is being seeded to cover crops. The passage of time has been swift. It seems like only yesterday I was seeing both new and returning faces in the barn during the first week of distribution. The excitement of spring crops buzzed then.
|
|
|
We enjoy Justin’s quick-to-laugh demeanor, which is a sure bet on any given day.
|
But even those days were far from the short winter days of grafting tomatoes hidden away in heated coolers, and sowing onion seeds in a freshly fired up greenhouse. There’s a lot to take in over the course of a year here, because every day we all learn something new. Within this environment, change is frequent and normal. The scenery shifts from: walls of snow, to tilled earth, to crop, and finally, to cover crop. With the change of seasons, new faces become friendly and sometimes vanish, and at the same time, familiar challenges show up in unexpected ways. Meanwhile, I personally grow little by little thanks to a few of the most diligent growers you’ll meet. September is coming, and hopefully with the cooler temps we can all stop to appreciate the summer passed.
As always, enjoy the harvest,
Justin, for Paul, Rebecca, Elliott, Amanda, Jonathan, Rae, and the farm crew
|
|
| Paul weeds the leeks with the annual Yale orientation crew, which is spending the week on the farm. This year, Dorris, Roger, Caroline, and Max will act as the support team for the rising Yale freshman and women working on other farms. |
|
|
Featured This Week
 Dark Red Norland potatoes: this potato is well loved for its creamy, waxy flesh and dark red skin. Other than screaming to be made into potato salad, it is a versatile spud, and works well for most dishes not requiring a very dry potato. Store in a dark cool place, but not in the fridge.
Also available:
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo and Ailsa Craig sweet onions, beets, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, red cabbage, green bell peppers, jalapenos, Chioggia and golden beets, red gold potatoes, mixed melons
Coming soon:
eggplant, sweet peppers
|
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News.)
Cherry Tomatoes: peaking; they are mostly Sungolds and some Sweet 100 reds.
Beans: Look to the PYO board for the best picking, and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert. Taste to make sure you are not picking older, woody pods.
Cut flowers: Flowers are going strong. Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Sunflowers: are past peak now, but still some nice flowers out there
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use.
Plum Tomatoes: starting to come in stronger now
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Curried Potato Salad
From Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special
6 cups cubed potatoes
½ tsp turmeric
1 cup diced red or green peppers
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas (or diced green beans)
1 tsp salt
1 cup peeled diced carrots
Dressing:
1 TBSP canola or vegetable oil
1 TBSP ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp cayenne, or to taste
¼ cup plain yogurt
2 – 3 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated fresh ginger root
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp turmeric
4 oz. Neufchatel cheese or cream cheese at room temp
Put the cubed potatoes in a saucepan with water to cover. Add the salt and turmeric, cover, bring to a boil; then reduce heat and simmer until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot of boiling water, blanch or steam the carrots, peppers, and peas, one vegetable at a time until just tender. Remove and transfer to a large serving bowl.
In a small skillet, warm the oil for the dressing. Add the ginger root, coriander, cumin, cloves, turmeric, and cayenne and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning; then remove from the heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the Neufchatel or cream cheese, the yogurt, 2 tsp of the lemon juice, and the sautéed spices.
Add the cooled potatoes to the bowl of blanched vegetables, pour on the dressing, and toss gently to coat. Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Add salt and more lemon juice to taste and serve.
|
Caramelized Cabbage on Creamy Polenta
From Fine Cooking
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 lb. chopped pancetta
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small sprig rosemary, chopped
2 lb. green, white, or Savoy cabbage, cored and thinly shredded
2 tsp. salt; more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
About 3 Tbs. dry white wine (or water); more if needed
A few drops balsamic vinegar
1 cup medium-coarse cornmeal, preferably organic stone-ground
4 cups water
1/2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbs. butter
2 oz. finely grated Asiago or Pecorino Romano
Prepare the cabbage:
Heat the 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil in a wide, deep saucepan over medium heat. Add the pancetta, garlic, and rosemary and sauté until the pancetta and garlic soften, about 4 minutes. Add the cabbage, 1/2 tsp. of the salt, the pepper, wine, and 1/4 cup water; toss to coat thoroughly. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour, adding a little more water or white wine whenever the cabbage seems too dry or begins to brown too fast, checking about every 5 minutes (the cabbage should stew slowly and brown lightly). After about 1 hour, uncover and cook, stirring, until the cabbage is meltingly tender, lightly caramelized, medium brown, and somewhat dry to the touch, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar, taste, and adjust seasonings.
Meanwhile, prepare the polenta:
Heat the oven to 350°F. In an oiled 3-qt. nonstick ovenproof skillet, combine the cornmeal, 4 cups water, the 1/2 tsp. olive oil, and the remaining 1-1/2 tsp. salt; stir briefly. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, give the polenta a good stir, and return the pan to the oven to bake another 5 minutes. Stir in the butter and half of the cheese. Pour the polenta into a greased 9-inch heatproof dish, cover evenly with the cabbage, and scatter the remaining cheese on top. Bake until the tips of the cabbage are brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.
|
|
Fort Hill Farm
fresh * local * organic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
|
Farm News
Last week’s Farm News was about a wonderful thunderstorm that dropped some gentle rain on us and left without any messy high winds or pounding downpours. This weekend’s storm was one of those teasers that shows up on the radar in eastern New York state, marches steadily toward the farm, and then loses steam right as it gets to us. The kicker about these storms is you never know what to make of them, so you end up simultaneously closing greenhouses and rushing equipment back into the barn to prepare for a downpour at the same time you are setting up irrigation equipment, so that if it doesn’t rain we don’t get behind on that all important task. This particular storm was a dud that created a beautiful lightning show to the north of us but dropped less than a tenth of an inch of rain, hardly enough to settle the dust in the farm roads. I guess as a consolation I felt better about all the irrigation set up we had in place, and just kept the wells pumping.
Despite the lack of rain, crops are looking pretty good. Our prettiest field is way down on the south end of the farm in the 2-acre field we rent from St. Francis church. Peppers are starting to color up. Savoy cabbage, planted in an amount that can only be described as irrational exuberance, are heading up nicely just in time for some late summer cole slaw. Brussels sprouts, fall cabbage, broccoli, and kale are all looking really nice down there as well.
|
|
| Lauren emerges from a misty field of booming Brassicas (broccoli relatives) to report of a giant woodchuck hole. Elliott follows suit with tales of another hole in the savoy cabbage – that makes three in this section alone! |
Moving towards the north, we’ve got great fall carrots and beets, salad fixings, and tons of squash and cukes. End of squash season may be upon us soon as the late summer diseases are taking their toll, so get some squash and cukes while you can. Corn continues to be great, although a family of raccoons has taken to having some crazy late night romps in the corn patch. Sometimes when we are picking we’ll get to a spot where so much corn is knocked down it looks like a rhino had a nice wallow in the crop. We’re going to set up an electric fence around the crop to persuade them to do more foraging in the woods, though doubtful they’ll find something as sweet. Good tomatoes to be had from the high tunnel, especially the heirloom varieties. And it is definitely high time for the sungold cherries. Please walk a ways into the tunnel and pick only fully orange cherry fruit so that we can have a long harvest and prevent as many from splitting as possible.
Hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, for Rebecca, Elliott, Amanda, Justin, Jonathan, Rae, and the farm crew
|
|
| Carly and Gigi head off to college next week, but for the moment, help us weed the baby greens. |
|
|
Featured This Week
Savoy cabbage: crinkly leaved cabbage, sweet and mild flavor. The leaves of this superior cabbage hold dressing like no other! Dig out that yummy Cilantro Lime Coleslaw recipe from last summer, or see the simply stir-fry below. Store like green cabbage. 
Satina potatoes: this potato has wonderful yellow flesh, similar to Yukon Gold. We find them equally yummy, plus unlike Yukon Gold, they don’t drop dead when the first leafhopper bug appears.
Yellow Watermelon: We’ll do our best to get one melon per share, but these are not prolific this year. Please come early in the week!
Also available:
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo and Ailsa Craig sweet onions, beets, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, red cabbage, green bell peppers, jalapenos, Chioggia and golden beets, red gold potatoes, mixed melons
Coming soon:
eggplant? peppers?
|
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News.)
Cherry Tomatoes: peaking; they are mostly Sungolds and some Sweet 100 reds.
Beans: We’ve opened up a new patch. Look to the PYO board for the best picking, and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert.
Cut flowers: Flowers are going strong. Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Sunflowers: more opening!
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use.
Plum Tomatoes: just starting to come in! We’re not going to let them go by, so first come, first served.
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Ginger-Garlic Savoy Cabbage
Adapted from Chinese Food
2 tablespoons olive oil or other vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 head savoy cabbage (about 1 1/2 lbs), cored, shredded across in 3/4-inch slices
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
salt & pepper
1 1/4 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 lime, juice of
Heat wok or large skillet medium high heat; wait until oil is hot.
Add onions and red pepper flakes and stir-fry until the onion browns slightly.
Add cabbage and stir-fry until cabbage just starts to wilt (do not overcook).
Add garlic, salt and pepper cook 1 minute.
Add ginger cook 1 minute.
Drizzle with lime juice and serve.
|
Warm Potato and Edamame Salad
Adapted from the Vegetarian Times
1 ½ cups shelled or (1) 12-oz. pkg. frozen shelled edamame
¼ head green cabbage, finely shredded (about 1 cup)
4-65medium potatoes, cubed (about 1 lb.)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ cup olive oil
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar
4 cups baby greens
Bring pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch edamame 3 minutes in boiling water, then transfer to medium bowl with strainer or slotted spoon. Blanch cabbage in same pot of boiling water 1 minute, and place in same bowl.
Drop potatoes in boiling water, reduce heat to medium, and cook 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and add to edamame mixture. Cool 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, and toss with oil and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper.
Place greens in serving bowls, and mound potato salad on top.
|
|
Fort Hill Farm
fresh * local * organic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
|
Farm News
During dry growing seasons we get so used to not having rain that we forget that some crops, at some stages of their growth, don’t like it. So when the weathermen changed the forecast from 10 sunny days in a row to one punctuated with a very rainy forecast for Tuesday, it made for a very busy Monday for us. We’d been keeping an eye on the onion crop, waiting for that moment when they sized up as much as possible. But with an inch of rain in the forecast, the crew had to pull most of them on Monday and spread them on the greenhouse benches to dry, safe from whatever precipitation would come our way.
|
|
| Adam lines up the onions to take in. |
Then we made two forays into the melon patch, one to pick ripe fruit from the first planting of cantaloupes, and then later in the afternoon we went back for the first pick of red watermelons. In between we picked corn, and true to the norm this year, we found sweet, tender, full ears with very few bugs and only a little snacking damage from blackbirds and what appears to be a corn-loving fox. Next we hit the high tunnel for the ripe tomatoes, which have been perking along nicely for over a month now. We had planned to start digging potatoes this week, which can’t be dug from mud, so we added one more crop to the harvest list. Jonathan and I hooked up the creaky old digger, greased and oiled it, found it had suffered no ills from its 10 months of inactivity, and went out to dig up some yummy Red Gold spuds. Elliott and I made some time in the evening to get one more spray of copper on the plum tomatoes, which are pretty close to ripening. With a lot of rain forecast, and late blight rearing its ugly head, we needed to get the plants protected or risk losing the crop.
I even found time to give the compost piles a much needed haircut before bed. Once compost reaches the “almost done” stage, it becomes a perfect growth medium for whatever weed seeds got swept in with the original compost ingredients, and the piles get a mop of green growth that will make more work when we spread the compost on our fields. Having put in an extra hard day, we told the crew to come in late and then awoke to the sound of showers on leaves outside our window, just as predicted. It’s been a long time since we heard that sound, and it felt great knowing that the ground was finally getting a drink.
Hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, for Rebecca, Elliott, Amanda, Justin, Jonathan, Rae, and the farm crew
|
|
| The gang lays out the onions in a shade-covered greenhouse to cure. |
|
|
Featured This Week
Red Watermelon: A great crop this year, and they are ripe and ready to eat. Store in the fridge if you must for up to a week. We carefully check all melons at harvest, but sometimes a bad one gets past us. Please let us know and we’ll try to replace it if your melon turns out to be a dud.
Red Gold Potatoes: We started growing this potato on the recommendation of our friends at Maple Bank Farm in Roxbury, CT. It’s a real beauty, with pink skin and moist, yellow flesh. This early spud kicks off our potato harvest. Best served mashed, boiled, or in potato salad. Store all potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place, but never in the refrigerator.
Jalapeno peppers: just in the nick of time to add that fresh spiciness to summer fare. Sauté with potatoes and onions for yummy home fries or see recipe below.
Also available:
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo and Ailsa Craig sweet onions, beets, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, red cabbage, cantaloupe, green bell peppers, Chioggia and golden beets
Coming soon:
potatoes, Savoy cabbage?
|
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News).
Cherry Tomatoes: kicking into gear now; they are mostly sungolds and some Sweet 100 reds.
Beans: Look to the PYO board for the best picking, and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert. Older pods get tough and make for poor eating so taste a few to see what’s good to pick.
Cut flowers: Flowers are going strong. Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Sunflowers: still opening up!
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use. We’ve nursed our basil crop along despite the downy mildew, and hope to at least make it through another week in the PYO patch before it fully succumbs.
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Spicy Caramelized Sweet Corn
Slightly adapted from Fresh Food Nation: Simple, Seasonal Recipes from America’s Farmers, by Martha Holmberg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups corn kernels (from 3-4 ears corn)
½ red onion, minced, or 2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 fresh jalapeño, cored, seeded, and minced
kosher salt
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
4 lime wedges
Heat the butter in a large, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat until bubbling. Add the corn, onion/scallions, and jalapeño, stirring to coat with the butter. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the corn begins to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan, about 10 minutes. (You might hear some kernels popping toward the end.) Add 2 tablespoons water and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze any extremely delicious brown bits. When the water has boiled off, season with salt to taste. Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice. Serve immediately with lime wedges.
|
|
Grilled Tuna Nicoise Salad with Tahini Dressing
From Fresh Food Nation: Simple, Seasonal Recipes from America’s Farmers, by Martha Holmberg
Tahini Dressing:
½ c. tahini
3 T red-wine vinegar
¼ c soy sauce or tamari
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 t ground ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
freshly ground black pepper
½ c. olive oil
Salad:
1 lb. new potatoes, cut in half if large
kosher salt
8 oz. small summer squash, cut into ½-inch slices on the diagonal
olive oil, for grilling
freshly ground black pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges, or 1 pint cherry tomatoes
4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut into eighths
12-16 black olives
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, mint, or a mix
Make the Dressing:
In a small bowl or food processor, combine the tahini, ½ cup water, the vinegar, soy sauce, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic. Season to taste with black pepper and then add the olive oil, whisking or processing to blend it in. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Cook the Tuna and Assemble the Salad:
Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high.
Put the potatoes into a medium pan of water, bring to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of salt, boil until the potatoes are very tender when poked with a knife, about 20 minutes. Scoop them out wit a slotted spoon or tongs (keep the water on the heat) and put them in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons dressing, toss to coat, and let cool.Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until tender, 3-7 minutes, depending on the thickness. Drain thoroughly and let cool.
|
|
|
|
Fort Hill Farm
fresh * local * organic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
|
Farm News
This week’s “Farm News” is written by Amanda Sanfiorenzo, a Puerto Rican native who found her way to Connecticut and, to our good fortune, our little farm.It’s been a pleasure for me to be part of Fort Hill Farm for three years now. Last week we had one of the most hot, humid and sunny weeks that I can remember. Late afternoons are the hottest time to be at the farm, so we adjusted our schedule for an earlier start. Mornings at the farm are the best, with foggy air, and so much dew that we need to put on rain gear to harvest the crops.Summer is such a busy time and we try to keep up with harvests, planting, and distributing produce but inevitably we miss some weeds that will go to seed. We do our best to mow and pull weeds to keep the seeds from holding over in our soils, especially the grasses, which are a difficult to pull once big. We are devoting a lot of time to irrigating, as the rains have been light and inconsistent this season.
|
|
| Amanda’s hard work, warmth, and generous spirit add to the farm’s cheer. |
Summer crops are officially in, and the fall crops are being planted. We are seeding popular cool-season crops like bok choy, red and green butterhead lettuce, romaine lettuce, and escarole for September and October harvests. I am very happy for the carrot crop this year, so sweet and crisp! And of course the corn has generated the most excitement each week, with at least three more weeks to go.
The first Western Connecticut Farm Crawl took place on Sunday. It was good to see new faces and families coming for the first time to the farm with a genuine interest in organic, local, and sustainable farming in Connecticut. Some of the visitors were our customers from the New Milford famers market, but many had read about the event in the newspaper and were excited to visit local farms to see what we do.
Tomatoes are still going strong and delicious! Be sure to try at least one heirloom; striped german, lemon boy, brandy wine, cherokee purple, etc. What a perfect season when you can have tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers and the most surprising, basil, all at the same time! Beets are also doing really well this year, as are cabbage, beans, sungolds, flowers, and herbs.
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and its beauty. We have a great team this year, and we look forward to seeing you at the farm.
Amanda, for Rebecca, Paul, Elliott, Justin, Jonathan, Rae, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
|
|
| One hundred some odd folks showed up on Sunday to tour the farm and see how organic food is grown on a small scale. |
|
|
Featured This Week
Fancy beets: Golden and Chioggia (Key OH Geeuh- an unofficial phonetic spelling for folks perplexed by this tricky name): We have a nice crop of beets, despite the leaf miners’ attempts to thwart it. These beauties are as sweet as the traditional red, but perhaps lacking a bit of the latter’s earthen beetiness. Slice thinly and dip into hummus, or roast, grill and steam like you would any beet. See recipe below.
Cantaloupes: We savor this moment on the farm, when we can dig into something cool and juicy on our mid-morning break. The ‘loupes are sweet and good quality, but lacking a bit in the size department this year.
Green Bell Peppers: The first peppers of the season are always so refreshing. Slice into the Greek Salad below, grill, or stir fry- its uses are endless.
Also available:
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo and Ailsa Craig sweet onions, beets, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, green cabbage, red cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage
Coming soon:
Red Gold potatoes, watermelon?
|
|
|
| Phlox illustration by Amanda Sanfiorenzo |
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News).
Cherry Tomatoes: starting to gear up in the high tunnel. They are mostly sungolds and some Sweet 100 reds.
Beans: Look to the PYO board for the best picking, and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert. Older pods get tough and make for poor eating so taste a few to see what’s good to pick.
Cut flowers: Flowers are going strong. Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Sunflowers: a joy to behold, and coming in steadily
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use. We’ve nursed our basil crop along despite the downy mildew, and hope to at least make it through the week in the PYO patch before it fully succumbs.
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
French “Peasant” Beets
Adapted from Food 52
4-6 beets (a mixture of Chioggia, golden, and red beets is mighty nice)
1 bunch Swiss chard
3 tablespoons butter
1 shallot
Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper
2 tablespoons white wine
2 tablespoons water
.5 pounds Bucheron or Chevre cheese (room temperature)
Crusty peasant style bread (warmed in oven)
Scrub and peel the beets. Slice beets into 1/4 inch rounds. Remove the ribs from the Swiss chard and coarsely chop and toss into a bowl. In a large sauté pan, melt butter. Sautee shallots. Add beet rounds to the shallot butter mixture. Crack some pepper over the beets and a toss on a pinch of salt. Reduce heat and sauté beets, turning over to ensure even cooking. About 15 minutes later when beets are beginning to glaze and become tender, add chard. Sautee for about 5 minutes, then add wine and cover. Cook until greens are wilted, adding water if necessary. Allow liquid to be mostly absorbed into greens, adjust seasonings. Scoop greens and beets into a low shallow bowl. Garnish with a sizeable wedge of Bucheron or Chevre and some crusty bread. Crack a little bit of pepper over the entire dish. Serves 2 for dinner, 4 as a side.
|
| Greek Salad
Recipe suggested by Amanda; adapted slightly from The Complete Cookbook Vegetarian by Helen Aitken
6 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1 red onion, cut into thin rings
2 cucumbers, sliced
1 small green pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives
200 g feta cheese
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Dried oregano, to sprinkle
1. Combine the tomato wedges with the onion rings, sliced cucumber and Kalamata olives in a large bowl. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
2. Break up the feta into large pieces with your fingers and scatter over the top of the salad.
Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with some oregano. Serves 6-8
|
|
|
|
|
Fort Hill Farm
fresh * local * organic
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Tuesday and Thursday 2:30 – 6:30 PM * Saturday 8:00 AM- 12:30 PM
|
Farm News
The heat is on, which is mostly a good thing this time of year, as long as we get a rain or two thrown in to keep things from over cooking. We’ve been lucky to catch a half inch of rain the last 2 weeks and in between we’ve kept the wells humming trying to top off the water needs of our thirsty crops. So far we are keeping up with it, but it’s always a nail biter. We are mostly staying on top of the weeds, although we have a few messes (someone hide that onion crop!) keeping us humble.
Time for a mid-season crop update. We had a collision of broccoli plantings which landed an abundance of large, beautiful green heads in the barn. Broccoli will subside this week and we won’t be seeing it again until early September, so if you are a fan, get your fill now. Our spring cuke plantings are on the wane but never fear, our third planting is just beginning to produce, and if we can avoid the plague of late summer diseases that seem to put us out the cuke business prematurely, we’ll have them for another 5 weeks. Ditto for summer squash. We’re beginning the big onion pull this week, as Rebecca has sternly reminded me to get them under cover before they get smushy. I have a bad habit of trying to keep them out there to turn every last drop of water, nutrients, and sunlight into savory onions to bulk up the bulb size, but it usually backfires on me, so I am heeding her warnings.
|
|
| Paul and I never take a good carrot crop for granted. Carmela (joining us from Bari, Italy(!), Jonathan, Gigi, Hannah, Mark, and Lauren dig in. |
Very nice summer crops of kale and cabbage, and the leaf miners seem to be taking a break from destroying chard and beet foliage long enough for us to bring in some fine harvests. Great corn harvests so far, with just enough bugs to prove it’s organic. Tomatoes ripening rather slowly this year, and the late blight sirens are blaring all over New England, so we will have to sit tight and see what happens. We applied copper fungicide to the plum tomatoes out in the field to protect them from the disease; hopefully that will be enough to get us a crop. The tomatoes in the high tunnel and greenhouse stay much drier, and that is usually all that’s needed to get us tomatoes through September. Summer greens crops of arugula, salad mix and red kale are perking along but often take a dip this time of year if it gets too hot to sow them. And finally, we are on the cusp of a cantaloupe harvest, keep your fingers crossed that the stars and planets align so that we can bring in a high quality crop.
Hope you enjoy the farm and harvest,
Paul, for Rebecca, Elliott, Amanda, Justin, Jonathan, Rae, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
|
|
| Just one of a few majestic elements of corn harvest. Bailey drives, while Paul lays out empty barrels. The buckwheat harvest road shortens the heavy haul of full barrels to the pickup truck. |
|
Events
Western Connecticut Farm Crawl
* THIS Sunday, August 2 from 9AM – 3PM
What’s a farm crawl? We’re not entirely sure but the New Milford Farmers Market is organizing one and we are on the program! The Farm Crawl is a way for folks to visit the farms that are the heart of the New Milford Farmers market. There will be a tour at each farm on the top of each hour. We figured this would be a great way for us to share with CSA sharers and market customers alike how we grow our produce. Also a great way to check out other farms in the area. More details at http://www.newmilfordfarmersmarket.com/farm crawl/. Super flexible, go to as many farms as you like.
|
|
Featured This Week
Ailsa Craig big sweet onions: these guys are great sliced thick and coated with olive oil on the grill, or on top of your favorite sandwich. They will store for several weeks at room temperature, or for up to 2 months in the fridge. 
Red Cabbage: very nice summer crop. Key ingredient for kale salad, one of my favorite (healthy) recipes, reprinted below. Store in the fridge for up to a month.
arugula, red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, head lettuce, cucumbers, summer squash, kale, carrots, tomatoes, red torpedo onions, beets, broccoli, garlic, corn, rainbow chard, green cabbage, Early Jersey Wakefield cabbage, basil tops
Coming soon:
Chioggia beets, Red Gold potatoes
|
Pick Your Own
Please bring your own clippers or you can purchase sturdy clippers in distribution.
PYO Hours: The pick your own patch is open 30 minutes before and beyond the barn distribution times. PYO patch is open in all weather except thunderstorms. (See distribution times above the Farm News).
Beans: Look to the PYO board for best picking and pick fully formed pods of wax, Roma, green, and haricot vert. Older pods get tough and make for poor eating ,so taste a few to see what’s good to pick.
Cut flowers: Good pick of flowers out there. Please bring a shears, or you can buy a pair at the farm to keep with your farm supplies.
Herbs: Please take what you can use for fresh use.
|
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Chicken and Onion Tagine (Djej Besla)
From Saveur
1 tbsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp. cumin seeds, crushed
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground turmeric
5 tbsp. olive oil
4 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
4 skinless bone-in chicken drumsticks
1 tsp. crushed saffron threads
4 medium yellow onions, cut into 12 wedges each
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lemon, thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed
1 1/4 cups pitted green olives
1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
Cooked white rice, for serving
Make a spice paste: Using the flat side of your knife, chop and mash salt and garlic together on a cutting board into a smooth paste; transfer paste to a large bowl and stir in cumin, paprika, and turmeric. Stir in 3 tbsp. oil, and then add chicken thighs and drumsticks; toss until evenly coated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Heat remaining oil in an 8-qt. Dutch oven or large tagine over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken pieces, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 10 minutes; transfer to a plate and set aside. Add saffron and onions to pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes. Return chicken to pot along with lemon slices and 1 cup water, and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat, and scatter olives and cilantro over chicken; serve with rice.
|
| Peanut Coleslaw
From Heart of the Plate by Mollie Katzen
1/3 c. finely minced red onion
5 c. finely shredded green and/or purple cabbage (about 1 ¼ lbs)
1 t salt
2 T sugar
2 T cider vinegar
2 T peanut butter (lightly salted is OK)
½ t minced or crushed garlic
2 T hot water, or more if needed
1 large carrot, coarsely grated
crushed red pepper
cilantro leaves, torn or chopped (optional)
½ c. chopped lightly toasted peanuts
1. Put on a kettle of water to boil. Place minced onion in a small colander in the sink. When the water boils, pour most of it over the onion and set aside. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the hot water for step three.
2. Place 4 cups of the cabbage in a very large bowl and sprinkle with the salt, sugar, and vinegar. Toss to coat (it will seems a bit cumbersome at first) and let it sit while you get other things ready.
3. Measure the peanut butter into a small bowl, and add the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the hot water. Mash with a spoon and then whisk smooth, adding a touch more hot water, as needed, to achieve the consistency of stirred sour cream.
4. Pour the peanut sauce onto the cabbage, add the onion, and toss with tongs or a fork until completely coated. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes, until it packs down enough to make room for the additional cup of cabbage and the grated carrot. Mix them in when that space appears.
5. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight, allowing everything to slaw-ify and meld.
6. Shortly before serving, season to taste with the red pepper and stir in the cilantro (if using) and chopped peanuts. |
|
|
|
|
|
onion-y flavor. Clean carefully (sometimes soil gets tucked into the leaves). Try them sautéed with cooking greens like chard or kale. Store in the fridge for up to three weeks.
Strawberries are producing a nice crop and we should be able to get a good amount to shareholders this week. Please walk in a very tight single line in the patch to avoid squashing berries and look at the berry’s bottom tip before picking-if its red, its yours! If it’s white, leave it for another time. Limit around 2 quarts with extra quarts available.
