Farm News

June is always a hectic month for the farm. We still have plenty of planting to do, a task that will occupy us right into early September when we seed the last of the fall salad greens. And the 13 acres we have planted is always crying for attention. The recent rains brought much needed moisture to our crops, but the combination of moisture, sun and heat has set the weed machine in motion. The long days bring on some incredible growth, and sometimes what looks like a few weeds in the lettuce turns into a jungle that threatens to bring down the whole crop overnight. We’re also keeping our eyes peeled for insect and disease pests, irrigating when necessary, mulching the tomato and pepper rows, and, of course, picking and packing the spring crops!

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.

-Pick Your Own at the farm: still some good strawberries out there although you have to work a little harder and make sure to pick only firm berries. Hard to predict limits as it is highly weather dependant, but 2 quarts per share is a good bet, extra quarts available supply permitting. Snap peas starting to come in, limit one pint per share. The Pick Your Own patch is open to all shareholders, once per week, Tues. and Thursday 2:30 to 6:30 PM and Sat. 8AM to noon.

Featured this week:

Chinese Cabbage: versatile green that can be used in salad and stir fry, see recipe below. Store for up to two weeks in the fridge.

Spinach and Salad mix: Janine is our official greens seeder, and after a couple of years of adjustments we are getting some really nice cut leaf crops from the high density seeder we bought a few years ago. For both spinach and salad mix, wash the greens and then spin dry in a salad spinner, and either store them in the spinner or move to a clean, dry, covered bowl in the fridge. Do not store salad or spinach for more than three days in the vented greens bag.

Kohlrabi: give this one a try! I like to just peel them, slice ‘em up and eat them, or you can sauté or steam it as well. We have the regular green and a fancy purple varieties. Leaves can be sautéed if you like but the peeled and sliced bulb is the main event on this crop. Store in fridge in a loose plastic bag for up to two weeks.

Garlic scapes: putting together a CSA share in the spring is tough, because I end up breaking my “no more than one weird vegetable a week rule” quite a bit. But give the scapes a chance, and you will be pleasantly surprised. These are the flowers of our hard neck garlic, and they are quite delicious lightly steamed and sautéed with spring greens. The whole thing is edible, although I usually trim off the very thin ‘whip’ at the tip of the scape. Then chop up the stem and the flower bulb and use as you would garlic. Makes a great pesto over pasta, see recipes at www.forthillfarm.com. Will store for weeks in your fridge crisper.

Potentially on the way: lettuce, radishes, garlic scapes, Swiss chard, escarole

Recipes, suggested by Janine McCormick

Spinach and Scape Frittata, Adapted from dakotagarlic.com

3 TBSP olive oil                                               10 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (1/2 lb.) chopped raw spinach                1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 TBSP. chopped parsley or basil                    1/2 cup finely chopped garlic scapes
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl mix all ingredients except olive oil and garlic scapes.
Heat oil in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet on the stove. Add the garlic scapes and sauté until tender on medium heat for about five minutes.
Pour egg mixture in skillet with garlic scapes and cook over low for three minutes.
Place in oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until top is set.
Cut into wedges and serve.

Potato and Kohlrabi Gratin, Recipe by Eberhard Muller

3 oz. Sliced bacon, sliced crosswise into thin strips 2 cups heavy cream

2 TBSP crème fraiche or sour cream ½ garlic clove, minced

½ tsp minced thyme Salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes 2 medium kohlrabi, peeled

Preheat oven to 300. Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish.

In a small skillet, cook the bacon over moderate heat, stirring, until barely crisp, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels, and then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the heavy cream, crème fraiche, garlic and thyme. Season the cream generously with salt and pepper.

Using a mandolin, thinly slice the potatoes and kohlrabi, then add to the cream and toss to mix. Spread the potatoes, kohlrabi, and cream in an even layer in the prepared baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 325 and bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes longer, or until the potatoes are tender and the top is browned. Let the gratin stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Hoisin Pork with Chinese Cabbage, by Tony Rosenfeld, Fine Cooking, adapted by Janine McCormick

1 lb. Pork Tenderloin, cut into ¼ inch strips about 3 inches long

1 tsp. kosher salt, more to taste 3 TBSP hoisin sauce

2 TBSP soy sauce 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar

3 TBSP canola or peanut oil 2 tsp minced garlic

6 cup Chinese Cabbage cut into 1 ½ inch pieces 1 red bell pepper, cored, sliced into 3 inch lengths

¼ cup thinly sliced scallions, green part only

In a large bowl, season the pork with ½ tsp. of the salt. In a small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and vinegar.

Heat 2 TBSP of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until simmering hot. Add the pork and cook, until it browns and loses most of its raw appearance, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 TBSP of oil to the skillet. Add the garlic, once it begins to sizzle, add the cabbage and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining ½ tsp. salt and cook, stirring, until the cabbage starts to wilt, about 2 minutes.

Add the hoisin mixture, the pork, half of the scallions and cook, tossing, until heated through, about 1 minute. Let sit for 2 minutes off the heat, the cabbage will exude some liquid and form a rich broth, toss well again and serve sprinkled with remaining scallions.

Fort Hill Farm

Newsletter 2: June 15, 2010

Farm News