Farm News

Rainy, gray days seem to be the order of the day for pretty much the entire month of this June. Even though it has been wet and cool, the farm is sending us lots to eat. Sunday was the longest day of the year, and the beginning of summer. This can be a very tricky time for veggie farmers. The cool season crops, like spinach, lettuce, and broccoli, are ready for harvest, and hot weather at this time can ruin the crop. The warm season crops, like tomatoes, peppers, and sweet corn, are sulking a bit with all the cool and gray weather, but with a little sunshine they should catch up. And we are very thankful that we don’t have to drag a lot of pipe all over the farm like we have to in a dry year.

We’re really happy with this weeks offerings, and think that you will be too. We are harvesting our first cut of broccoli, and it looks to be a good crop. We have another summer crop on the way, and then we’ll wait out the really hot mid summer months before we bring in the fall crop. Lettuce is looking great, as are all the salad greens. We’re also very excited to be bringing you more cut leaf spinach this season. We made a significant investment in a high-density seeder this winter, which allows us to grow 8 rows of spinach on a bed, instead of just three. So we’re hoping to have lots of “adolescent” spinach (bigger than baby, smaller than full grown) leaf spinach on the way for you as long as the cool and moist weather is with us. Also notable, our first greenhouse tomatoes are ripening, and all shareholders will be getting their ‘turn’ in the next few weeks for a ripe ‘mater.

Hope you enjoy the harvest.

Paul, for Janine, Aaron, Jake, Sarah, Rebecca, and the Morning Crew.

CSA ANNOUNCEMENTS

-Some notes on handling Fort Hill Farm produce: Most of the produce you get from the farm has been dunked in water to cool it and remove sand and soil. However, we do not distribute or sell any produce as “ready to eat”. You should wash all produce before eating or cooking. Storage tips are given in each newsletter, and more info is available at www.forthillfarm.com, click on ‘Recipes’ for a listing of all our crops.

-JULY 4^TH HOLIDAY: all distributions will take place at regular scheduled time.

Featured this week:

Garlic scapes: These are the flowers of our hard neck garlic. We snip them off so the plants put their energy into making a big garlic bulb, rather than a flower. Luckily the scapes are a gourmet form of garlic and are delicious sautéed with other vegetables (great with spinach or chard!). To prepare, cut off an inch of the very narrow whip part, and then line a bunch of scapes up and chop into half inch pieces. Also make a super pesto, alone or in combo with the first Basil of the season. See Garlic scape pesto recipe at www.forthillfarm.com, click on recipes, and then “Garlic scapes”, other pesto recipes under the “Basil” heading.

Kohlrabi: one of my spring favorites. Peel the large swollen stem, and eat raw or see recipe below or on line. Mild, sweet broccoli flavor, and the purple ones sure are a show stopper. Greens are also edible, cook as for kale.

Strawberries: Is the strawberry patch half full or half empty? There is no denying it, the rain has taken a toll on our berries. But to my mind it is amazing that we have been able to distribute as many as we have been able to, and the flavor is quite good Strawberries available as pick your own (open to all shareholders). Current limit is 2 quarts per share, limits subject to change. We’ll make more quarts available for picking if we can, but the rain and clouds on ripe berries is making picking management a challenge. Check the web site ‘Announcements’ for current limit. Pick your own hours are Tues. and Thurs 2:30PM to 6:30 PM, and Saturday 8AM to noon.

Snap peas: so sweet, best to pull the strings off, rinse and eat. Eat the whole thing, pod and all. They can also be lightly stir fried or sautéed. We had a very hard time just buying pea seed this year as seed supply was low, and then had a heck of a time germinating the peas during cold weather in the spring. But we did get a small crop and they should be available Pick Your Own at the farm for the next few weeks. Current PYO limit is one pint.

Bok Choy: this is one of those vegetables where both the farmer and shareholders are happy: we like growing bok choy, and are pretty good at it, and shareholders seem to love it. Time for a group hug! Famous stir fry ingredient, sauté in oil and tamari, or for the daring, try Janine’s Grilled Bok Choy recipe below.

Farmer’s choice: this week the Swiss chard was looking fantastic and ready to go, and we’ve got our first cut of yummy loose leaf spinach.

Also available: lettuce, broccoli, scallions, radishes, and spinach.

Potentially on the way: carrots, garlic scapes, lettuce, baby onions, and kale/chard/spinach

Recipes (recommendations from Janine):

Market Ragout of Turnips, Kohlrabi and Peas, from Local Flavors by Deborah Madison

“Improvise with what you market offers, small onions or scallions, leeks or green garlic, bunched spinach or loose leaves.” Note: this recipe calls for shelling peas, if you use the snap peas (w/pods) cut downt the cooking time.

1 TBSP unsalted butter 6 scallions or 8 garlic scapes, chopped

6 or more small turnips, scrubbed and quartered 1 to 2 kohlrabi, peeled and chopped

1 fresh Thyme sprig sea salt and fresh ground pepper

1 lb. pod peas, shelled a few handfuls of baby spinach

Dollop of crème fraiche 4 large basil leaves, chopped

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the scallions or scapes, turnips, kohlrabi, and thyme. Add water to cover halfway and a teaspoon of salt. Simmer.

As soon as the vegetables are tender, after 12 to 15 minutes, add the peas and spinach and cook until the spinach has wilted down, a few minutes more. Stir in the crème fraiche and add the basil. Taste for salt and season with pepper. Serve as a side dish or a course by itself. With a starch (puffed pastry, ravioli, or buttered toast), it can be offered as a vegetarian main dish.

Roasted Broccoli with Lemon & Pecorino, by Tasha DeSerio, from Fine Cooking

1-1/2 lb. broccoli 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice; more to taste
1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 450ºF.

Tear off any broccoli leaves and trim the bottoms of the stems. Cut the florets just above where they join the large stem, and then cut each floret through its stem (but not the buds) so that each piece is about 1/4 inch thick at the stem end. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, peel the tough outer skin from the large stem, removing as little flesh as possible. Cut the stem into baton-shaped pieces about 1/4 inch wide and 2 inches long.

Put the florets and stem pieces on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the salt, and toss well to combine. Spread the broccoli into an even layer and roast until tender and golden brown, 15 to 20 min. Transfer the broccoli to a serving platter, toss with the lemon juice to taste and the grated Pecorino.

Grilled Baby Bok Choy, from Janine Meyer

Be creative with this, it’s just a foundation recipe for grilling bok choy. It’s great with lemon, ginger and any other fun ingredients you think of to jazz it up!

4-6 Bok Choy Olive oil or toasted sesame oil

Tamari or soy sauce Sesame seeds

Wash bok choy and slice in half lengthwise. Lay bok choy cut side up on a dish, drizzle with oil and season with a sprinkle of tamari soy sauce on each piece.

On a medium to low heat setting, grill for 4 – 7 minutes on each side or to your likeness.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!!!

Fort Hill Farm

Newsletter 3, June 24 2009

Farm News

Roasted Broccoli with Lemon & Pecorino, by Tasha DeSerio, from Fine Cooking