Farm News

Mother Nature has been pretty good to us these days. We’ve had some timely rains just as we put in the fall crops, and during a little break in the showers on Wednesday, Tara, Bob, Michael and I harvested some 10,000 or so garlic bulbs. Garlic doesn’t like to be hung up wet, so we were under the gun to get in the greenhouse before the next storm front arrived. Kind of reminded me of the old days when I used to make hay, you have one eye on the crop and another eye on the clouds, just hoping for another hour or two of dry weather to get the job done. We put in a long day and got the garlic put up.

Crops in general seem to be doing really well. We’ve definitely shifted gears from the cool season crops and will be finishing up harvests of broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage in the next week or two while the peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes continue to size up and develop fruit. Even had sightings of baby melons today, although there’s still a long way to go for those guys!

Hope you enjoy the harvest.

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

Some GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING info:

-CSA shares cannot be stored by drop site coordinators. All shares need to be picked up from a drop site by 11AM on Friday, after that they are subject to ‘redistribution’ so they don’t spoil. If you can’t pick up your share, share a weeks’ veg with a friend or relative and have them pick it up. Or call us and we will bring your share to the New Milford Food Bank with our weekly donation.

-Please mail all CSA payments to the farm. Please don’t leave checks or other correspondence at a drop site.

-PLEASE remember to bring your boxes back the following week. We had to order another pallet (that’s a skid of 500 at over a buck a pop) already! The farm cannot absorb this cost, its important for financial, ecological, and farmer sanity reasons that you return your box each week.

In the box this week:

Summercrisp lettuce Cauliflower

Cucumbers Green Beans

Beets with greens (don’t forget to use the greens!) Fennel

Fresh garlic Tomatoes

Cilantro Zucchini

Basil tops

What do I do with it?

Cauliflower: is a difficult crop to grow in the spring. It’s a little rough around the edges due to the usual springtime fluctuations in temperature and moisture. Its great steamed with some butter and salt.

Zucchini: Quarter lengthwise, soak in olive oil/ tamari sauce (3:1 ratio) with some garlic, and grill. .

Fresh garlic: This will be our last distribution of garlic for a few months. We will dry it over the summer, and then cut and sort it in late August. This variety is Ukrainian hardneck .

Fennel: is our weird veggie for the week. I like it chopped up and added to a salad. Go easy as it has a pretty strong anise flavor. Use it in the fennel, bean, and pasta recipe below, or try it braised or roasted.

Basil and Cilantro: are both naturals with tomatoes. Try a salad layering tomatoes; cuke slices, basil leaves, and buffalo milk mozzarella (use the good stuff!). Also see Tara’s recipe for Cilantro Vinaigrette below.

Coming soon:

I have been promising green cabbage for 3 weeks now, and it will DEFINITELY be in the box next week. Good chance for the first sweet corn of the season next week (worms and all….), and new potatoes are out there if we can get some time to dig them. Tomatoes, carrots and cukes for sure. Probably give you a break on summer squash for a week.

Recipes:

Fennel, Bean, and Pasta salad, from “Asparagus to Zucchini, a guide to farm-fresh, seasonal produce”

1 Fennel bulb, leafy tops removed and reserved 1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 small onion 1 can (28 ounces) kidney beans, drained

olive oil 2-3 cups cooked pasta

Thinly slice fennel bulbs and onion; sauté in olive oil. Chop reserved fennel tops and add to cooked mixture with remaining ingredients. Serve chilled. Makes 4-6 servings.

48 Hour Sour Pickles, by Tara Stichter, Fort Hill Farm

4 cucumbers, sliced 1 tablespoon salt

2 cups water ½ cup vinegar

1 tbsp. Sugar dash of cloves mustard seed, celery seed, peppercorns

Dissolve salt in water, put in cukes and let stand 24 hours, refrigerated. Drain and hold in fresh water 20 minutes. Combine vinegar, sugar, and spices and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Cut cukes and put in a clean kettle. Bring vinegar solution back to boil, strain out spices and peppercorns, and pour hot vinegar solution over cukes. Let stand 24 hours in the fridge.

Cilantro Vinaigrette, by Tara Stichter, Fort Hill Farm

1 tsp. salt ¼ tsp pepper

3 tbsp. Wine vinegar ½ cup olive oil

1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Add ingredients in a jar, shake, and pour on salad.