Farm News

Farmers Note: this week’s edition of the Farm News is being brought to you by Janine Meyer. Janine has been an apprentice on the farm since April. She is very enthusiastic about the farm and life in general. I have really appreciated her hard work and dedication this year, not to mention the nice straight tractor rows she has learned to make.

Janine writes:

Hello to CSA shareholders and families. Welcome, to many of you including myself, to a beautiful first season at Fort Hill Farm. It is truly an amazing place and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else in the world right now. This is a huge statement coming from me seeing that this is the first summer in 5 years that I’m not freely wandering the country in search of it’s many hidden and incredibly beautiful oasis’. Last summer one of my wanderings brought me up into Ontario, Canada. I decided it was a great opportunity to drive down and visit my family that I hadn’t seen in close to a year. As fate would have it, my car broke down in New Milford. I ended up sticking around here for a while, longer than I had imagined.

I had been living in New Mexico for the past three years studying herbal medicine. When it was apparent I was going to be in Connecticut for a while, I started a job search and was offered a position at New Morning store in Woodbury as a supplement buyer and on-staff herbalist. It was an experience that I couldn’t pass up. Then a funny thing happened. We had a “local goods” market in front of the store and I walked out to see what was available, and what I walked up to was nothing less than the most beautiful locally grown Certified Organic produce I had seen anywhere in the country. That’s when I met Paul. We talked for a good 30 to 45 minutes and he invited me to the farm for a tour. We became good friends that winter and I decided I wanted to work on the farm. Paul spent a good part of the winter trying to scare me out of it, to make sure I knew what I was getting into. The first week in April I was ready for my first farm experience.

So far this season has been great. We have an amazingly fun, light hearted, and hard working crew that I just love. Paul is a great farmer to work with and learn from. The knowledge and experience he has to share is very valuable. I have also continued my herbal studies, which I travel to New Hampshire for once a month. This is my true passion along with nutrition, well I’m just passionate about plants in general, but someday I’ll have my little herb store that’s stocked with herbs from my gardens. But until then I’m content to drive the Chubby Bunny (our delivery truck) around Fairfield County every Wednesday to bring beautiful, nutritious produce to many of you and your families.

Sincerely,

Janine Meyer, Fort Hill Farm Apprentice

Featured this week:

Green Bell Peppers: staple veg for many recipes, try the stuffed pepper recipe below. Store uncovered in the crisper for up to 5 days.

Arugula: not easy to grow in the summer, which makes this batch extra fine. Toss with your summercrisp lettuce to fire up your salad or see the pasta recipe below. Store in the fridge, unwashed in its vented bag, for up to 5 days. When ready to use, soak for a few minutes and then dry with a ‘salad spinner’. This is an essential piece of CSA equipment that I should have mentioned before. Makes washing salad greens a piece of cake. Definitely better than a mile of paper towel, which is ineffective, environmentally wasteful, and expensive.

Also in the box: summercrisp lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, summer squash, eggplant, and chard.

Crop outlook: Summer heat continues to crank our eggplant at an unprecedented rate, and might challenge you over the next several weeks; we’ll try not to overload you with it but when we got we send it, that’s pretty standard karma for a CSA. Eggplants don’t store well so use them within a few days, best to keep them in a cool spot at around 55F, same for tomatoes. Field tomatoes and peppers are coming in strong now. We are in a gap between the transplanted and direct seeded corn but should have plenty for the rest of August and into early September. Lettuce production generally declines in the August heat; Summercrisp head lettuce holds up to it pretty well and we will try to get a least a head a week to you for as long as we can. Summer squash and cukes are producing but at a less prodigious rate, they will also be around until early September when we will begin bringing you winter squash. Great carrot and beet plantings ahead for late summer and fall, and plenty of greens for salads and cooking as well.

Recipes:

Cascadilla, from the Moosewood Cookbook. (Farmer’s Note: I am not a fan of cold soup, but Janine really likes this recipe.)

1 cucumber, peeled 1 cup yogurt (can sub cream)

1 scallion, finely minced 1 bell pepper, minced

1 small clove garlic, crushed 3 to 4 raw mushrooms, thinly sliced

½ teaspoon dill salt and pepper, to taste

4 cups tomato juice salt and pepper to taste

optional croutons or minced water cress

Combine ingredients and chill well.

Pasta With Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, From Cook's Illustrated, 2004, 66, 13

(Farmers Note: this recipe was sent in by CSA shareholder Jon Lorenz, who really likes our fresh arugula).

1 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes ( 8.5 oz jar) patted dry and chopped

6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup walnuts, toasted in a dry skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 6 minutes

1 small garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

1 pound campanelle or farfalle

1 medium bunch arugula ( about 10 oz.) washed, dried, cut into 1-inch lengths

3 oz. goat cheese

1. In a food processor, pulse sun-dried tomatoes, oil, walnuts, garlic, Parmesan, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. black pepper, about fifteen 2 second pulses

2. Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a stock pot. Stir in pasta and 1 tsp. salt; cook until al dente. Drain, reserve 3/4 cup cooking water, and return pasta to stock pot; immediately stir in arugula until wilted. Add pasta cooking water to pesto, stir pesto into pasta. Serve immediately, dotting individual bowls with 1/2 inch pieces of goat cheese.

Ratatouille Bake, from Brookfield Farm CSA, www.brookfieldfarm.org. (Farmers Note: This is the farm where I apprenticed some years ago. They have some great recipes on their website.)

1 tbsp olive oil                                                                               1 green pepper
3-5 cloves garlic                                                                            2-3 tomatoes
1 onion`                                                                                          2 tbsp parsley
2 cups eggplant                                                                              2 tbsp basil
2 cups zucchini                                                                             salt and pepper
8-10 oz cheese-filled pasta                                                         4 oz mozzarella

Heat oil in skillet and add garlic, onions, and eggplant and sauté for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add other veggies, herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir well and cook over medium heat a few minutes more. Reduce heat and allow to cook until veggies are simmering. Cook pasta. Lightly oil a large casserole and line bottom with pasta, and cover with hot veggies. Top with grated cheese. Broil until nicely brown on top. Serves 6.