Farm News

The last few weeks have been a blur. Summer has kicked in with a vengeance, and we are running between harvesting and packing the fast growing summer crops, planting the fall crops, and beating back the weeds whenever we get a chance. Everyone on the farm crew re-doubled their efforts this week and we are managing to keep on top of things. I was taking my farm walk yesterday, on a clear evening, and was just struck by how green everything is this time of year-the vegetables, the trees, the grass. But green is too general a word. This is the kind of green that comes from well watered and well fed crops at their peak of summertime growth. You only see it for a few weeks before it mellows to a more mature green in late summer, and then fades to the colors of autumn. I just kind of stood there for a moment or two and breathed it all in. It helped me to forget about the “to do” list I was making and just appreciate how lucky I am to be able to spend my time outside on such a pretty little corner of the world.

Hope you enjoy the harvest.

Paul (For Tara, Michael, Bob, and Jean)

CSA SHARES STILL AVAILABLE FOR 2004. We can pro-rate a share if any of your friends and neighbors are interested in joining the CSA. Lots of great veg still to come! Call Paul at the farm (info above) for the details.

PLEASE remember to bring your boxes back the following week. Thanks!!

MANY THANKS to our shareholder volunteers. Heather Phillips has become a fixture for Thursday morning box packing (and she also brings yummy snacks). And Leslie and Don Lewis stopped by the farm to take a look around and spent an evening pulling pigweed from the spuds—thanks for the help! I’ve had a few calls asking about volunteering. We would welcome help on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons, just give us a call a day ahead of time.

In the box this week:

Summercrisp lettuce Broccoli

Cucumbers Arugula

Carrots Summer squash

Fresh garlic Tomatoes

What do I do with it?

Carrots: Always a CSA favorite. Since we dig our carrots by hand, we grow sweet, crispy varieties that would get mangled in the mechanical carrot harvesters used on large farms.

Summer squash: We are experiencing a yellow squash bonanza. Hopefully you are keeping up with it all. See Tara’s recipe below for Mock Crab Patties.

Broccoli: Bonanza crop number two. This is more broc than I had planned to distribute at once but it decided to all head up at once instead of over 3 weeks as planned. If you can’t get to it all within a week, ‘blanch’ it (boil for just a few minutes, then plunge in cold water), slice, and freeze it in a ziploc bag so you can enjoy a little of the farm this winter.

Cukes: Bonanza crop number three. A salad favorite, or try the cold soup recipe below. There are three types you might encounter, the long funny looking Japanese cukes, long smooth skinned ‘English’ cukes, and standard ‘slicers’.

Arugula: This is cooking size arugula, although those with a passion for this green can tear the leaves up and toss in a salad. Arugula has a peppery, pungent flavor that people either love or hate. The flavor does mellow quite a bit after light cooking. If you do cook it, just a minute or 2 in the pan is all it needs. Or try the arugula pesto recipe below.

Fresh garlic: This is the first harvest of our garlic crop. It is ‘uncured’, just keep it on your counter top and use within a week or two. This is a variety of hardneck garlic called “German white”.

Tomatoes: are from our new greenhouse. We built it in March, amended the soil in early April, planted in mid April, pruned and twined the tall vines for the last few months, and watered daily. A lucky few of you will get some heirloom varieties (ugly, old fashioned tomato varieties with amazing taste) that we are experimenting with in the greenhouse. It took lots of extra effort to get these tomatoes to you this early in the season. We hope you enjoy them.

Coming soon:

Probably cabbage and fennel, maybe beets.

Recipes:

Mock Crab Patties, by Tara Stichter

4 Yellow Squash 2 carrots

1 cup bread crumbs 1 tbsp. Old bay seasoning

salt and pepper to taste 2 eggs

Grate squash, zuke, and carrots into bowl, beat in eggs and add bay. Add bread crumbs and form into patties, then fry in olive oil until brown. Great dipped in ketchup. This recipe varies depending on the size of the squash so if it is too moist to form into patties, add more bread crumbs, if it is too dry add more egg.

Chilled cucumber yogurt soup, from the “Moosewood Cookbook”

4 cups peeled, seeded and grated cucumber 2 cups water

2 cups yogurt (nonfat OK) ½ to 1 tsp. Salt

1 small garlic clove, minced 1 tsp. dried dill

1 Tbsp. Honey (optional) minced fresh mint and chives

Combine grated cucumber, water, yogurt, salt, garlic, dill, and optional honey in a medium sized bowl. Stir until well blended, and chill until very cold. Serve topped with finely minced fresh herbs, if available.

Arugula “Pesto”, from “Recipes from America’s Small Farms”

2 cups loosely packed arugula 2 tablespoons Parmesan or Romano cheese

¼ cup walnuts salt and freshly milled black pepper

green garlic to taste ¼ cup olive oil

Combine the arugula, walnuts, garlic, cheese and salt and pepper in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Gradually add the oil through the feed tube of the processor with the motor running, processing until the mixture is a smooth sauce. Spread on crusty bread, mix with pasta, or spread on sandwiches for a little extra ‘zing’.