Farm Share Info for September 30

Tomorrow marks the first day of October and the themes of our work around the farm certainly reflects that.  All but one of our gradens have been "put to bed" with cover crops, we've harvested the last of our winter squash, we're preparing to plant our garlic, we're digging potatoes and -- most notably -- we're protecting our crops from imminent frost.

This is the 14th week for the CSA and, though we had planned on running for 20 weeks, it's looking like we might only need to go to week 19 before we've given out all of you the produce that you've paid for (plus a nice bonus).  I'll be keeping an eye on it and I'll let you all know ahead of time how it's going to shake out.


All shares contain:

• Fennel
• Broccoli Raab
  
• Winter Squash
  
• Sage
  
• Potatoes
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more Winter Squash
  
• Apples
  
• Tomatoes
  

Veggie Notes

Broccoli Raab - The most common mustard greens hail from southeast Asia (think tatsoi, mizuna, komatsuna, bitamin na, and such.) but the Italians have a great one up their sleeve: Broccoli Raab.  We find it's taste to be mild and in no way like that of "regular" broccoli.  Although the stalk of raab is edible, the base of the stalk can be quite tough and may need to be trimmed off.  To prepare: if the stalk is tough (nibble it), trim it off until you get to the tender part.  Chop the rest up into 2" pieces and saute with garlic and olive oil.

Potatoes - The spuds in this weeks share are of the heirloom variety Green Mountain.  This variety was developed in the 1880s in Vermont (of course) and was the most widely grown variety in Maine for the first half of the 1900s.  It fell out of favor because it is quite susecptible to a potato disease called scab, but has recently become more popular since it was recognized by the Slow Food movement for it's historical importance and superb flavor.

The ugly, corky, "scabby" blemishes on these potatoes are, in fact, common potato scab.  It's ugly, but it can easily be peeled off or cut out.  The crisp, white flesh of these potatoes yeilds superb baked, mashed, roasted or fried potatoes.  It's also excellent for chowder, since the points and edges of the potato chunks will crumble off to thicken the soup or chowder.

Winter Squash - Three varieties of squash made it into the this weeks share:  The bright orange ones are called Sunshine, the dark green are BonBon buttercups and the oblong yellow ones with green stripes are Delicata.  Sunshine and BonBon both have a very dry flesh which is excellent for roasting or for boiling and mashing.  The dryness of the flesh lends itself well to lots of butter.  Delicata has moister flesh which doesn't need much butter.  The skin of the squash is edible (Delicata especially) but be sure to try a little before you go biting off a big chunk; some of them can be tough.  To prepare: cut the squash in half (from the stem down to the what-used-to-be-the-blossom end) and scoop out the seeds.  Scrape out the seeds and most of the stringy stuff.  (The seeds can be cleaned and roasted for a snack.)  Rub a pinch of salt into each half and place face down on a lightly oiled baking sheet or dish.  Roast at 350 degrees until you can sink a fork into it, perhaps 30-40 mintues. 

Sage - You know sage well by now, but I wanted to remind you all that it pairs especially well with sweet winter squash.  Either add some to mashed squash, or simmer it in plenty of butter and drizzle over the squash.

Apples - The tree from which this week's apples were picked is labeled "Northern Spy".  We find these apples to be deliciously crisp and tart when eaten out of hand.  Northern Spy is said to be unrivaled in New England for making pies.


Recipe Ideas

Sorry, no specific recipes today.  The veggie notes section (above) contains many ideas for using this weeks veggies, many of them very simple and easy.


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

Farm Share Info for September 23

So, we did have a frost last week.  Then another one and another one and probably another one tonight.  They've all been very light and haven't killed anything, but the cold, cold night temperatures have slowed the growth of most crops to a stand still.  (You'll note that there are no cukes or zukes this week, and fewer tomatoes than we've had recently.)  Heat loving crops will creep along for a little while longer, but a hard frost will spell the end for things like zukes, tomatoes and basil.

We tasted a Delicata winter squash yesterday and it was delicious.  I was all ready to put some into the share this week but then there was so much other good stuff that we decided not to.  Winter squash stores quite well, so we'll keep emphasizing crops that will soon be gone before we start giving out a lot of stuff that will be here to stay for most of the winter.  This year, I'm in no rush to get to winter.

Two weekends ago, we had a big oven building party (for which I totally forgot to invite you all) and got the bulk of Kendra's new wood-fired, clay oven built.  After we take care of the last, insulating layer and a few final details, we're planning on firing it up and inviting you all out for a shareholder pizza party.  We've been planning to have a farm party for a while, but ... you know how it goes.  Anyway, to tide you over until then, you'll find a beet and fennel pizza recipe (shared by one of your fellow shareholders) in this week's post.

All shares contain:

• Fennel
• Beets (and Beet Greens)
  
• Parsley
• Cilantro
  
• Leeks
• Apples
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more Apples
  
• Salad Turnips (and Turnip Greens)
  
• Celery
• Tomatoes
  

Veggie Notes

Fennel - Remember what I said about fennel last week?  Well, here's the new stuff.  It's probably some of the most beautiful fennel we've ever grown.


Apples - The orchard here at the farm is bearing well this year, even though we've done pretty much nothing to help it out.  We're planning on picking a lot of it and giving out some of the best of it.  We're still learning about growing apples and about the traits of these particular trees.  Expect to find a few worms and maybe a few apples that are under- or over-mature.  Please let us know what you think about the apples; this will help us learn about them.

We're still trying to pin down the variety name of the apple in this week's share, though the leading candidate at the moment is Liberty.  We have found it to be pretty good for out of hand eating, though we recommend that you slice them to be sure that there are no worms.  (You just can't tell from the outside!)  Liberty also makes great pies.


Salad Turnips - Crisp, sweet and a little spicy, these are best when eaten raw.  The tops can be sauted with garlic for a simple side dish.


Recipe Ideas

White Pizza with Fennel and Beets

Our friend and shareholder Annette Messier shared this recipe with us the last time we had beets and fennel in the share.  She wrote:

We chopped the beets and fennel and roasted them until browned. We cooled these slighty once they were done.  On fresh pizza dough we spread a little olive oil, then put on sliced fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, fresh oregano, basil, and chopped garlic. We then spread the roasted fennel and beets on top, drizzled a little more olive oil on it and baked it until done. We have been doing that with roasted brussel sprouts for years, but this was the first time we tried it with beets and fennel and it was delicious. I hope you get to try it and enjoy!

Yum!


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

Farm Share Info for September 16

Frost is starting to threaten us here in Montville.  Thursday evening,
the forecast has us within a couple degrees of freezing, which is
pretty cold.  This may spell the end for some of the outside, heat
loving crops like cucumbers, zucchini (will you really miss it?) and
basil.  We'll do what we can to keep the frost at bay, but at some
point it becomes inevitable.

We've harvested about 2/3 of our winter squash.  We're trying to leave
the rest in the field as long as possible to let it finish ripening. 
After harvest, winter squash has to be cured, which we do in a
hoophouse here at the farm.  This thickens it's skin, allows it to heal
over any small wounds inflicted in the field or during harvest and --
most importantly -- helps to build sweetness.  We keep taste testing to
check them; they're good, but they're not quite great just yet.  Soon...

Also, be sure to check out the Common Ground Fair
this weekend in Unity.  Kendra and I will both be there most of the
weekend, and we both give talks on Friday morning (and I again on
Sunday morning).

All shares contain:

• Zucchini and/or Summer Squash
• Cucumbers
  
• Tomatoes
• Fennel
• Cilantro
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more squash, cucumbers and tomatoes
  
• Basil

Veggie Notes

Fennel - We wrote about fennel back in July.  Expect to see some more of this soon.  This week's fennel is a little small, but we have really great looking stuff approaching readiness.

Recipe Ideas

Simple Salsa

Sorry for the lack of detail below, but I'm really winging it on this one.  We make this salsa all the time but I never measure what I put in.  Regardless, it tastes of freshness itself.

Tomatoes - 2-3 big ones
Onions - 1 medium one
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Hot Pepper - 1 of medium heat of 1/2 of a really hot one
Cilantro - a lot
Salt

Dice the tomatoes and onions.  Mince the garlic, hot pepper and cilantro.  Combine everything and season with salt.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

Farm Share Info for September 9

All shares contain:

• Zucchini, Summer Squash and/or Patti-pan Squash
• Cucumbers
  
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Swiss Chard
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more squash
• Eggplant
• Basil
• Cherry Tomatoes
  

Veggie Notes

Zucchini and Squash - Are you sick of zukes?  We aren't, but we're getting close.  We started picking from our second planting this week and this planting features some different varieties that we hope will help to maintain your interest.  The little round ones are `8 Ball' (dark green), `Geode' (light green) and `Floridor' (yellow).  The oblong, pale green ones are a variety of Cousa, Lebanese squashes which are traditionally stuffed.  If you're still not impressed, there's a couple of recipes below to help you use up some of that squash.

Eggplant - Eggplant is perhaps my favorite vegetable, but only when it's broiled or grilled.  I've never met fried eggplant that wasn't just greasy and slimey.  Really big or soft specimens should be peeled because the skin can be quite bitter.  Here's what we do: slice eggplant into 1/4-1/2" pieces, place a single layer into a salad spinner and sprinkle with salt, repeat until all of the eggplant is salted, then let sit for 30 or so minutes.  The salt will draw some of the moisture from the eggplant, which is helpful when grilling or broiling.  Now, just spin the eggplant and you're ready to grill (or broil).  This is great for sandwiches, snacks (with hummus), pizza, eggplant parm, etc.

Recipe Ideas


Simple Squash Saute
2 6” squashes
1 medium onion
½ bunch fresh thyme, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
3-4 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste

Remove stems from squashes and chop into ¼” thick, round slices.  Chop the onion (including the top) into ¼” by 1” pieces.  Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the pepper and onion and cook until the onion has softened, about 1-2 minutes.  Add garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the squash and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.


Chocolate Chip & Zucchini Cookies
Is it a gimmick or is it for real?  It's for real and they're good.  Ignore that initial sense of revulsion and just try it.  The recipe is from the book Animal Vegetable Miracle.



As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

Farm Share Info for September 2

This first week of September sees us half way through our CSA season. It's been 10 weeks since our first share (July 1st) and it seems like a good time to do some midseason reflection.

To date, shares have contained: radishes, braising greens, lettuce, kohlrabi, garlic, tarragon, sage, napa cabbage, peas, swiss chard, cilantro, broccoli, collards, scallions, thyme, beets, zuchinni, endive, escarole, celery, marjoram, parsley, onions, hot peppers, fennel, cucumbers, chives, basil, potatoes, "regular cabbages", tomatoes and leeks. The total value of produce included so far in the half shares is $107.60 ($10.76 per week) while full shares have received $213 (or $21.30 per week). Of course, this is an average value and some weeks have been heavier while others were lighter.

Half and full shareholders paid for $10 and $20 of produce each week, respectively, and have thus received a 7% bonus, dividend or return on investment. (That's over three times the interest rate offered by our bank on a 6 month CD.) And that doesn't even count the intangible benefits of having such fresh, healthy food close at hand.

These next few weeks will see us pulling our onions and winter squash to ready them for storage, planting cover crops to prepare for winter, cutting wood to build a barn and to clear land for future gardens. All of that on top of our usual harvesting, planting, weeding and watering.

All shares contain:

• Zucchini, Summer Squash and/or Patti-pan Squash
• Cucumbers
  
• Tomatoes
  
• New Potatoes
• Fresh Cabbage
• Leeks
• Braising Greens
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more squash, spuds, tomatoes and leeks
  

Veggie Notes

New Potatoes - This week, you may find two different varieties of potatoes in the shares. Carola, which you're familiar with from last week, and All Blue, which -- as it's name clearly states -- is blue outside and in. Both have a firm texture, which I wrote about last week.

Fresh Cabbage - Although we're a little bit late for Labor Day, it's never really too late to make cole slaw. See below for a recipe.

Tomatoes - See info from last week about tomatoes.

Fresh Herbs - There aren't any herbs in this week's share, but I've been thinking about this since last week. We tend to give out some herbs in each share. If you're not used to using fresh herbs and are feeling a little overwhelmed, these bunches can easily be dried by hanging them up for a while. We hang ours from the exposed beams in our kitchen. Once they're dry (after about a week), just crumble them up in your fist and save them in a mason jar or plastic bag. (If you leave them hanging for too long, they'll get kind of dusty.)

Leeks - If you're not familiar with leeks, they're a mild relative of onions. I find their flavor almost creamy. To prepare: trim off the coarse, dark leaves, reserving the stalk. The white portion of the stalk is the most desirable, but the whole stalk is useable as long as it's tender. Next, slice 2-4 inches down the length of the stalk, from the top. Dirt can sometimes collect between the layers of the leek, and slicing like this allows you to rinse it out by fanning out and ruffling this sliced portion under running water while still keeping the leek more or less whole. Lastly, chop off the basal plate (the roots at the bottom of the stalk) and then proceed as the recipe (or your experience) dictates.


Recipe Ideas

Creamy Cole Slaw
Megan (my sister) made this yesterday for Labor Day and it was great. Very, very simple and easy, too. Though we avoid processed foods and especially those from major, multinational corporations, we make two exceptions: one if for Heinz ketchup (organic, at least) and the other is for Hellman's mayo, which we used in this recipe. We don't like sweet mayos and prefer those that are savory, which Hellman's definitely is.

1 small cabbage, sliced thinly

2 carrots, shredded

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

2 tbsp sour cream

1 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp celery seed

Salt and Pepper


Chop cabbage and carrots, set aside. In small bowl whisk together the
remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over the cabbage and carrots and
toss to coat thoroughly. Refrigerate until serving time.


Tomato and Leek Quiche
I forget who first told us about this recipe, but it's also great. I won't reprint the recipe, since we pretty much make it as it's listed. The only change we make is to ignore their discussion of kosher cooking and add some chopped up and cooked nitrate-free bacon to the leeks. In case you missed that first link, here it is again: recipe for Tomato and Leek Quiche.


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

Farm Share Info for August 26

The calendar still says summer but the weather is saying FALL. How confusing! Some of you will be happy and some will be sad to see more onions and zuchinni. All of you will be happy to see TOMATOES and BASIL. Coming weeks will see leeks, eggplants and peppers. But for now, it's supper time...

All shares contain:

• Zucchini, Summer Squash and/or Patti-pan Squash
• Cucumbers
  
• Fresh Onions
• TOMATOES!
  
• BASIL!
  
• New Potatoes
• Sage
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more onions, zucchinis, spuds, basil and tomatoes

Veggie Notes

New Potatoes - Last week, you received mix of different potatoes. This week, however, you all received Carola potatoes. These have a firm (or waxy) texture and excellent, rich flavor.

Forget everything you've learned from the supermarket about "red potatoes", bakers, russets and whatnot. It all comes down to one thing: texture. Potatoes -- generally -- come in two textures: firm and waxy or floury and dry. The firm, waxy ones (like the Carola's in this week's share) tend to hold their shape when cooked, making them great for soups, stews and potato salads. The dry textured spuds (which you'll see in a couple of weeks) make quintessential baked and fried potatoes. Of course, they can all be used interchangeably, but you'll get the "best" results when you follow these guidelines.

A quick note on potato storage. These new potatoes will keep just fine on the counter as long as they're not exposed to light. In response to light, they'll begin to turn green, meaning that you'll have to peel them before eating. We just cover ours with a cloth napkin or keep them in a paper bag. If you keep them in the fridge, be sure to keep them in a plastic bag as the dry air in the refrigerator will tend to dry them out. Also, if they're in the fridge for long, some of the starches will convert to sugars, yielding "sweet" potatoes. If this happens, just leave them out at room temp for a couple of days and they'll go back to more or less normal.

Tomatoes - Tomato selection this week includes Jet Star, Big Beef, Moskvich, Japanese Black Trifele, Cherokee Purple, Valencia, Black Prince and Green Zebra. Most of them are picked "dead ripe", but a few may need a few days on the counter to finish fully ripening. Note that some of them will have green shoulders even when fully ripe, so don't use that as an indicator. Generally, we just gently -- VERY gently -- squeeze the 'maters to see if they're ripe. Unripe fruit will be firm, while ripe fruit will yield -- if just a little. Also note that the Green Zebra tomatoes are green when they're ripe. The trick for these is that the will have green stripes over a yellowish background when they're ripe; when unripe, the background is still light green.

Basil - Hey, it's basil! What more can I say? Just this: we don't wash basil before packing it because basil is very prone to molding when it's wet for long periods of time. Just rinse it before using. Also, do not store it in the refrigerator as the very cold temperatures of the fridge will speckled the leaves with unsightly brown spots.

Fresh Onions - These are likely to be the last onions we see in the share for a few weeks. Although they're still great to eat when fresh and green, these should have by now bulked up to be 3-4" across. As onions mature, the tops naturally die back and -- indeed -- we're starting to see that. This signals to us that we should pull the onions and ready them for storage. Until we do this, we'll keep them out of the share.

Sage - Fresh herbs are a great way to give food flavor without resorting to more salt or fat. Sage tends to be associated with anything that's roasted and/or sweet: winter squash, potatoes and such. See below for a recipe for sage pesto.


Recipe Ideas

Idea #1:
Basil pesto. There should be enough basil in the share this week for pesto. Recipes abound and should be easy to find. Our only advice would be to add a little bit of butter and to toast the pine nuts.

Idea #2:
Caprese salad. This is the classic tomato/basil/mozerella salad. Slice fresh tomatoes and serve with basil leaves (whole or sliced) and fresh mozerella. Fresh mozerella is not the kind that comes in the block, rather it tends to come in rounded forms and usually in small balls in a brine. If you don't have mozerella, fresh feta (such as that available from Kennebec Cheesery at the Waterville Farmers Market) works really well. Optionally, you can drizzle the whole thing with a little balsamic vinegar.

Idea #3:
Sage Pesto
I'm cheating a little bit here. I haven't actually made this recipe, but I've heard from a number of people that really enjoy sage pesto. So, give it a shot and let me know what you think. This recipe comes from Epicurious.

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3/4 oz) plus additional for serving
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

In a medium or large skillet, over low or medium heat, toast walnuts, tossing frequently to avoid scorching, until fragrant. Blend parsley, sage, and garlic with salt in a food processor until finely chopped. Add walnuts and pulse until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a steady stream. Turn off motor, then add 1/3 cup cheese and pepper and pulse to combine.

Reserve 1 cup cooking water from pasta, then drain pasta in a colander. Thin pesto with reserved cooking water in a serving bowl, then add pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!

Farm Share Info for August 19

This week we put a fence around our winter squash because the deer seem to have found it. We also opened up a new garden and turned in a cover crop of buckwheat in another garden. We've also been diverting a lot of energy to building a shed and foundation for Kendra's wood fired oven.

We recently received the results for this years round of soil tests. While being slightly discouraging, they were also great in that they showed progress and reminded us that building and balancing soils is a long term project. It can be frustrating to put so much work into certain crops only to watch them languish in infertile soil. But then patience is rewarded with slow but steady growth; growth which points toward and illuminates the inherent potential of our soils. Reading our soil test results is like reading an elaborate mystery novel for which the last chapter is missing: we have all of the clues, but we'll never understand how they fit together. This property was last farmed so long ago that all details of it's past life are long forgotten and we're left guessing as to what may have happened. Why is the sulpher in this field, like, off the charts? And is that giant mound, that one over there, all of the topsoil which belongs over here where we've planted all of our crops in the hard, rocky earth? As we discover more of these clues, we become more amazed that things are doing as well as they are. Sure, I've not seen potatoes or parsley ever grow this slowly, but they are growing. And the fact that they're not just growing but looking damned healthy (if sluggish) is all the more exciting as we start to think about what this place will be like once we've re-placed the topsoil and adjusted the soil acidity (pH). And nutrients. And organic matter. It's a lot to do, but it's a great, optimistic thing to be working toward and we know that every little thing we do is moving us in the right direction.

All shares contain:

• Zucchini, Summer Squash and/or Patti-pan Squash
• Cucumbers
  
• Green Onions
• Napa or "Chinese" Cabbage
  
• Lettuce (see note below)
• POTATOES!
  

"Full" shares also contain:

• more onions, zucchinis, cucumbers and spuds
  
• TOMATOES!
• Sage
  

Veggie Notes

Lettuce - We noticed a few aphids in the water as we were washing the lettuce heads this morning. These tiny, green insects are harmless, and the lettuce looked OK, so we decided to call it all good. That said, you should rinse the lettuce thoroughly before eating it and try to eat it sooner than later. If you want to keep it for a little while, keep it in a plastic bag by itself. Aphids are tiny, harmless, green insects, but it can be disconcerting to share a meal with them. Please let us know if you have any problems or are unhappy with this.

New Potatoes - These are fresh, or "new" potatoes. New potatoes have a fragile skin and juicier flesh than "regular" potatoes. They're great for potato salads (just toss with some fresh herbs that have been briefly sauted in LOTS of butter) or with basil pesto. Actually, all spuds start out as new potatoes, but lose their freshness after they've been stored for a while. (They're still perfectly good after having been stored, but they're not really the same.) Most potatoes available in stores at not new potatoes (in fact, they're likely last year's crop), and if you've never gone out of your way to have fresh potatoes, you're in for a treat. If you notice any funky, corky, sunken spots, they can easily be carved out or peeled off. We try to grade out all of the bad ones, but some inevitably slip through.

Tomatoes - This week, full shares get a taste of some of our first tomatoes. While "vine ripened" tomatoes in supermarkets are only allowed to just begin to blush from green to red, all of our tomatoes are picked off the vine fully ripe (or at least pretty damn close to fully ripe). The maters this week are a selection of Jet Star, Big Beef and Moskvich. (The former two are tasty hybrids, the latter is a great heirloom.)


Recipe Ideas

Sweet and Sour Cabbage
This recipe has passed the simplest test: we've made it once and we're excited to make it again. Be aware that a giant pile of shredded cabbage will cook down to the barest amount. We got this recipe from a great stir fry book called Wok Hei or Breath of a Wok.

1 tbsp rice wine (or dry sherry)
1 tbsp soy sauce or tamari
2 tsp rice vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
2 tsp Maine maple syrup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup thinly sliced or shredded carrot (optional)
2 tbsp minced scallions (or green onion tops)

Combine rice wine, soy sauce, maple syrup, salt and cornstarch and reserve. Heat a wok over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes in 1 to 2 seconds. Add the oil and swirl, then add the ginger and stir fry for 10 seconds. Add the cabbage and carrots and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until the veggies are just limp. Add the rice wine mixture and bring to a boil for 30 seconds or until thickened. Serve sprinkled with scallions.


As always, we welcome your feedback. Please let us know if you have any questions, concerns or problems.

We hope you enjoy the share!