Farm News

With the decreasing light, increased rain, and falling temperatures, the farm crew is starting to feel the inexorable pull toward winter. We are all getting up a little later, walking around a little slower, and feeling pretty good about all the great fall crops we are bringing in these days. Some people I talk to have a fatalistic feeling about fall because soon we will be in the icy grips of a New England winter. That’s really too bad, because some of the nicest days of the year pop up at this time, and there is a lot of beauty and bounty for the eyes and the taste buds to feast on. While the memories of the sweet fruits of summer are beginning to fade a bit, we still have lots of that summer sunshine, converted by our crops leaves into sugar and stored in juicy carrots, bright red beets, and yummy butternut squash. The cool evenings also bring out the best flavors in the greens we have been sending you, and we will have more kale and salad greens on the way to you soon.

Hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest.

Paul, for Janine, John, and Leah.

LAST CSA PICK UP will be November 2 for box shareholders and November 4 for Mix and Match shareholders. With this extended date we are delivering one extra week to make up for the cancelled week this spring, for a total of 21 weeks.

BULK CROPS AVAILABLE! Want to stock up on Fort Hill Farm storage crops? We will have extra beets, carrots, butternut squash, potatoes, and hardy fall greens available at the farm during Tuesday and Friday mix and match distributions (2:30 to 6:30 PM) until November 4 or while they last. We sell surplus crops to CSA members at wholesale prices, so it’s a good way to stock up with roots and storage crops.

Confessions of a right wing hippie: I got a lot of feedback after my Newsletter 16 “Farm News”about global warming, potentially wacky weather patterns, and the end of oil. Along with mostly positive reviews, I did get one request to keep my environmental and political views out of the Farm News section, and I have to agree that a shpeel on global climate change shouldn’t have a title like “Farm News”. So I have thought up a solution. When I feel like writing about the farms place in a big-picture issue like the environment, I’ll do it in a separate space in this newsletter. One title that sprang to mind was “Confessions of a right wing hippie”. I think that title is appropriate because I find myself perched on a precarious spot these days. On the one hand, I’m an organic grower who loves building healthy soil and growing crops with low inputs using ‘recycled’ farm equipment, organic wastes, and free sunshine. Just being a small farmer pretty much makes me a rebel these days! On the other hand, I’m a small businessman who must make tough choices in order to grow quality produce while keeping my costs down. So I sometimes find myself feeling conflicted about some of the choices I make. In any case, by keeping my views separate from what’s going on in the ‘Farm News’ section, shareholders can get their organic produce, with or without a dose of my view of reality. Why write about topics other than the weather and the crops? I think Fort Hill Farm Apprentice John DiZazzo summed it up best earlier this summer when he wrote in Newsletter 10: “organic food isn’t just a way of eating, it’s a statement about understanding our responsibility to live consciously, to better our world and ourselves.”

Featured this week:

Escarole: we weren’t able to get this Italian cooking green to everyone this summer but now have it available again. Check out my Mom’s Escarole and White Beans (we called them cannellini beans) in 2005 Newsletter #10 at www.forthillfarm.com.

Purple Top Turnips: New England Fall comfort food! These can be steamed, mashed or roasted, or used in soups, see recipe below. Turnips will store for a few weeks in the refrigerator crisper drawer. We’ll also have rutabagas, a close cousin to the turnip, in a few weeks.

Potatoes: you may get fingerlings (small, long, thin), blue potatoes (yep, they are for real. Use like any potatoe, John liked them roasted) or Yukon Gold.

Butternut Squash: storage squash for the long haul, these babies just keep getting better the longer you hold them. Store in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight for up to 2-3 months. They get sweeter with storage for another 4 weeks or so. Great baked like any winter squash, or see recipe below.

Savoy Cabbage: This is a great heirloom variety recommended to me by farmer friend. I had it at his house last fall, sauted in oil and garlic, and thought it tasted great. It will store in the fridge crisper for several weeks.

Also in the box: Arugula, Onions, Carrots, Garlic, and Romaine Lettuce,

Recipes:

Smoky Turnip Soup, from “Roots: a vegetarian bounty”.

11/2-2 lbs turnips, peeled and diced 2 Tblsp. Fresh parsley, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped 1 cup brown rice

1 medium carrot, peeled and quartered 2 Tblsp. liquid smoke seasoning

3 Tblsp. butter salt and pepper to taste

8 cups vegetable stock ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Place turnips, onion, and carrot in a large soup pot and sauté in butter. Add stock and parsley, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add rice and liquid smoke, an dcook another 20 minutes, or until turnips and rice are cooked and trender. Add salt and pepper. Serve in soup bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan. 6 servings.

Spiced Mexican Squash Stew. This recipe was emailed to me by shareholder Lani Siciliano.

1 1/2 Tbsp. vegetable oil                                                  2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups chopped onions                                                     3 cups water
6 garlic cloves, minced                                                    2 cups chopped tomatoes,or undrained 15 oz can
1/2 tsp. salt                                                                       2 cups red and green bell peppers
1 butternut squash                                                            2 cups fresh or frozen corn
1/2 small fresh jalapeno, minced                                     Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Place the oil, onions, garlic, and salt in a soup pot, cover and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Meanwhile, halve and peel the squash, scoop out and discard the seeds, and dice into 1/2 inch cubes. (If the cubed squash is more than 5 cups you may need to add an additional 3/4 cup of water). Add the squash, jalapeno, cinnamon, cumin, and water to the pt and simmer 5-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bell peppers. Continue to cook until all vegetables are tender, stir in the corn and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve each bowl with a dollop of sour cream or jalapeno cream or sprinkle with grated cheese.