Farm News

This week is a great harvest, and we are really enjoying bringing in the veg. Dry weather increases our work load because we have to move pipe, drag our travelling irrigation gun all over the farm, and run miles of drip tape to our thirsty fields. But it sure does bring on the best in crops. I think California growers have it pretty easy. It stops raining there in April, and then the snow melt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains pours down into the Central valley, and they turn on the taps and start irrigating. Nothing to it! It’s been so dry that the pines have been scenting the air around the apprentice house, which made me think of those nice California growing conditions, which seem to have migrated east this year. Most crops are putting on strong growth. We should have summer squash soon, with the cukes a week or two later. First sweet corn is starting to tassel, melons are starting to vine and hints of red have been sited in the greenhouse tomatoes. And lots of spring greens for salads and sauté.

Hope you enjoy the harvest.

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

CSA ANNOUNCEMENTS

-We are emailing a ‘jazzed up’ version of the newsletter to all primary shareholders. It has an easy to use ‘forward’ button so you can send it along to others if you share a share. If you are a primary shareholder, please make sure that forthillfarm@gmail.com is on your email contact list, so this ends up in your inbox. Remember, everything we used to send by US post will now be sent to your email address.

-Box Shareholders: please carefully bend back the tabs on your box when opening, without ripping them. Remove all leaves, etc, wash and air dry the box if necessary, and bring back to your drop site the next week. Thanks for your cooperation!

-Pick Your Own at the farm: Been a great run in the strawberry patch this year but the parties about over. Snap peas coming in nicely, limit should be around a quart this week. One bunch of basil available 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:

Broccoli: has done pretty well this spring despite all the hot and dry weather, which it is not crazy about.

Spinach: Great fresh for salads, 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.

Snap peas: I guess you can cook them, but I like to just eat them fresh. Store in fridge for up to 3 days.

Swiss Chard: versatile cooking green, great sautéed with garlic and onions, or try recipe below.

Basil: a nice bunch for pesto. If you still have your garlic scapes, basil and scapes make a great pesto.

Also available: radishes, lettuce (red, butterhead, or romaine)

Potentially on the way: beets with green, scallions, summer squash, salad mix, cilantro, escarole

Recipes, suggested by Janine McCormick

Swiss Chard Bruschetta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, By Janine McCormick

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Sea Salt and Fresh ground black pepper to taste

4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Loaf French or Italian bread, cut into ¼ inch slices

1 bunch Swiss chard Fresh Mozzarella, sliced

6-8 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced A couple TBSP fresh basil, chopped

¼ cup dry white wine *optional Fresh grated Parmesan Reggiano or Romano cheese

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

Heat 4-6 TBSP of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant, about one minute (do not brown the garlic!). Add the chard stems and sauté until they begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chard leaves and wine, if using. Continue to sauté until the chard is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and toss in the sun-dried tomatoes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the bread with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Top the bread with fresh mozzarella and return to the oven to melt. Top with the sautéed chard mixture, a sprinkle of fresh basil, and grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and enjoy!

Sesame Broccoli Salad, From Recipes from America’s Small Farms

1 ½ pounds broccoli 2 TBSP toasted sesame oil

2 TBSP soy sauce or tamari 2 TBSP honey

2 TBSP rice wine vinegar ½ cup toasted sesame seeds

Slice 1 ½ pounds of broccoli and cook (steam or blanch) until crisp tender. Drain well and allow to cool.

Whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and honey in a large bowl. Toast ½ cup sesame seeds in a heavy skillet; let cool. Mix the broccoli and half the sesame seeds into the dressing. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes to 2 hours, tossing occasionally. Transfer the broccoli to a platter, pour the dressing over, and sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds.

Caesar Salad, from allrecipes.com

1 head Romaine lettuce 1 egg

¾ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 lemon, juiced

3 TBSP red wine vinegar Freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

½ tsp salt 1 ½ cups garlic croutons

¼ TBSP ground mustard 1 (2 oz.) can anchovy filets

1 clove crushed garlic

Clean lettuce and spin dry in a salad spinner. In a bowl or jar combine oil, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt, mustard, garlic, and lemon juice. Whisk until well blended.

Coddle egg by heating 3 cups of water to boiling. Drop in egg, still in its’ shell, and let stand for 1 minute. Remove egg from water and let cool. Once cooled, crack open and whisk into the dressing until thoroughly blended.

Mash the desired amount of anchovies and whisk into dressing. If desired, set aside a few for garnish.

Tear cleaned romaine leaves into a large salad bowl. Pour dressing over top and toss lightly. Add the grated cheese, croutons, and fresh ground black pepper, toss. Serve immediately.

Fort Hill Farm

Newsletter 3: June 22, 2010

Farm News