Fort Hill Farm CSA

 

Week 1 – June 9, 2010                                                                        Paul Bucciaglia

                                                                                                            18 Fort Hill Road

New Milford,  CT 06776

                                                                                                            860-210-7961

                                                                                                            forthillfarm@gmail.com

                                                                                                            www.forthillfarm.com

Farm News

Two things have distinguished the new month of June.  On June 4th, returning apprentice Jake Lau noted that we had already seen more sunny June 2010 days than we did in the entire month of June 2009.  We also noted that the sun seemed to be setting way to the north, and the only thing I can figure is that because we never saw a sunset in June of 2009, we’re just not used to seeing the sun so high in the sky.  Anyways, there has been lots of nice weather this spring, but a pretty serious shortage of rain on the farm.  We haven’t had an irrigation worthy rainfall at the farm in a month, which means we’ve had to crank up the irrigation routine ahead of schedule.  Still, as I watched thunderstorms crash through to the north and then to the south of us, I am pretty grateful that our strawberry crop, pushed ahead of schedule by the warm sunny days, has been granted another week of life. 

            This spring has been the usual flurry of planting, watering, weeding, trellising, and wrenching, plus an ambitious (I think its safe to say crazy) list of capital improvement projects (more details later).   Along with Jake, Assistant Manager Janine McCormick is back for something like her sixth year, and we have three new faces on the apprentice crew.  Alice English comes to us from St. Michaels College in Vermont.   And Nate Roderick and Amanda Rockwell moved ‘back east’ from Columbus, Ohio to start new careers in farming.  They are a great bunch and I’m sure you’ll enjoy meeting them when you come out to the farm.

 

Hope you enjoy the harvest. 

Paul, for Janine, Jake, Alice, Amanda, and Nate

 

CSA ANNOUNCEMENTS

-Please be sure to read the newsletter each week!   This is our way to communicate with you, our members.  We are emailing a copy to each shareholder, we post it each Tuesday on our web site, and if you prefer, paper copies of newsletters are available at your distribution site.

 

-More recipes, plus produce storage and processing info, available at www.forthillfarm, just click on the “Recipes” tab for a veritable cornucopia of information. 

               

Featured this week: 

Broccoli raab:  a great Italian cooking green.   See recipe below.

Lettuce: This week the green leaf, red leaf, and butterhead lettuce are ready.  Tear the leaves, soak fully covered in cold water for a few minutes, drain, and then spin in a salad spinner.  Store whole heads in a plastic bag in your fridge crisper for up to one week.

Arugula:  A great salad spiker, or wilt quickly and toss over pasta.  Will store for a week in the washed and spun dry in a salad spinner, or up to three days in the vented bag. 

Radishes:  Very pretty first crop, and the warm weather has given them quite a kick.   Chop into your salad.  Also, the greens can be sautéed just like any mustard green.

 

Spinach:  We bunch the first crop, and then cut leaves for as long into the spring as we can grow this very popular crop.   Store in a loose bag in the fridge for a week. 

 

Strawberries:  a shareholder favorite.  This years harvest is going to be brief but big.  The picking is looking great this week, but a few days of wet weather will ruin the whole parade.  The time to pick is now.  They will store in the fridge for a few days but eat promptly as ripe berries don’t hold well.   You can also wash, top, quarter, and freeze them quite easily.  Strawberries available as pick your own (open to ALL shareholders).  Current limit is 3 (yes, three!)  quarts per share, extra quarts available, limits subject to change.  Check the web page “Announcements” for details on picking conditions.   Pick your own hours are Tues. and Thurs 2:30PM to 6:30 PM, and Saturday 8AM to noon.   

 

Bok choy:  great for stir fry, or a quick sauté in oil and tamari sauce.

 

Potentially on the way:   salad mix, garlic scapes, Chinese cabbage, scallions,  lettuce, strawberries

 

Recipes, suggested by Janine McCormick

 

Soba Noodle Salad with Thai Red Curry Paste, From Food and Wine Magazine


1 TBSP vegetable oil                                                                           1 TBSP Thai red curry paste

1 – 14 oz. can whole tomatoes, drained and                                 ¾ cup chicken stock low-sodium broth

chopped, juices reserved                                                                    ¾ cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 TBSP light brown sugar                                                                   1 TBSP fresh lime juice

1 tsp Asian fish sauce                                                                         1 lb. bok choy, stems thinly sliced, leaves chopped

6 oz. soba noodles                                                                               2 TBSP thinly sliced pickled ginger

1 TBSP toasted sesame seeds                                                           ½ cup roasted cashews

½ cup mung bean sprouts                                                                  1 scallion, thinly sliced


 

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil.  Add the red curry paste and cook over moderately high heat, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the tomatoes and their juices and boil over moderately high heat until reduced to ¾ cup, about 4 minutes.  Add the chicken stock, coconut milk and brown sugar; simmer, stirring occasionally until reduced to 1 ½ cups, about 7 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice and fish sauce. *Sauce can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the bok choy stems and leaves to the boiling water and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bok choy to a colander and drain well.

Add the soba noodles to the boiling water and cook until al dente.  Drain and rinse the soba noodles in a colander under cold water.  Let stand fro 5 minutes, tossing occasionally until dry.

Transfer the soba to a large bowl.  Add the ginger and sesame seeds, 1 cup of the red curry and bok choy; toss well.  Drizzle with remaining sauce and garnish with the cashews, sprouts and scallions.  Enjoy!

 

Sautéed Broccoli Raab with Chile, Lemon, and Garlic, By Ruth Lively compliments of Fine Cooking


3 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil                                              1 TBSP minced garlic (2 to 3 large cloves)
scant 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes                         Finely grated zest of half a lemon; plus fresh lemon juice to taste
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper                 1 bunch broccoli raab, rinsed, trimmed, and blanched


 

*To blanch, drop trimmed (but uncut) broccoli raab into boiling salted water. After two minutes (even if the water hasn’t returned to a boil), drain and refresh under cold water.

Put the oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a 10- to 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until the garlic is fragrant and starts to sizzle slightly, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low if the garlic starts to brown. Stir in the lemon zest, 1/4 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Raise the heat to medium high and add the broccoli raab, turning to thoroughly coat in the oil and spices. Turn frequently, until it is heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, sprinkle lemon juice over the broccoli raab, toss again, and season to taste with salt and pepper.