Down on the Farm

Update on the bees

After the bears smashed up the hives, we gave our equipment to our neighbors Paul and Mary. Here's a recent email from them.

Peter & Maryellen (Waverly & Henry too):

We won a blue ribbon at the Caledonia County Fair as you can see and the equipment you gave me took part in it. We also won $2 but we gave it back (don't need to go up another tax bracket).

We were the only entrant. I asked "So you gave us a blue ribbon because we were the only entrant?" They said "No, we gave you a blue ribbon for the light taste of the honey and its other qualities."

Hopefully Mary told you Peter that we only could take off about three cups because we have two nucleus colonies and the bees will need it this winter. This was kind of hanging off some frames. So when we get more honey next fall I will give you a lot more as I said I would when Maryellen gave me the equipment.

Our offer for you four to come up here for a visit still stands.

Paul

CSA Week Twelve

News from the field:

Transition time. As we look around the field and contemplate this week’s basket, we find ourselves at the boundary between summer and fall. Sure, there are still some tomatoes, sungolds, corn, and melons to be had. But this week we also have beets, cabbage and a couple more potatoes for you if you want to make some borscht (from the recipe on the back). Looking at what might be ready in the field over the next couple of weeks, Maryellen and I find ourselves looking forward to Wendy Stein’s potato leek soup recipe and Susan Houle’s winter squash soup recipe. Speaking of which, if you have recipes for Old Shaw vegetables, especially fall ones (brussel sprouts?) to share with other CSAers, please email us!!

It is hard to watch summer slip away, but fall is a great time for eating!

In the Basket:

Earliqueen Melons!! These are a different variety than the French melons we have been giving you, and it shows. The taste is good, but different, and the size is better.

Peppers. Peter picked a peck of peppers yesterday. Some are red, some are green, and some are even purple. You will probably get two out of three.

Beets and red cabbage. Get ready for fall. Borscht recipe on the back.

Familiar favorites: Sun golds, ripe red tomatoes, sweet corn, sweet onion, and a potato or two in case you ran out from last week and want to try the borscht recipe on the back. You probably already have your favorite ways to cook with these, so we’ll just go to bed instead of trying to think of more to say. Enjoy!

Russian Cabbage Borscht

from Moosewood

1½ cups thinly sliced potato 1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup thinly sliced beets 1 medium sized carrot, sliced
1 to 2 Tbs butter 3 to 4 cups shredded cabbage
1½ cups chopped onion 1 tsp dill
1 scant tsp. caraway seeds 1 to 2 Tbs brown sugar or honey
1½ tsp salt (or more) 1 cup tomato puree

Toppings: sour cream or yogurt, extra dill

Gently boil potatoes and beets in 4 cups of water, covered until tender (20 minutes or so).

Meanwhile, melt the butter and cook the onions, caraway seeds and salt in it until onions are transclucent (8 minutes or so). Add celery, carrots, and cabbage plus 2 cups of water from the beets and potatoes. Cook another 8 minutes or so, till veggies are tender.

Add the remaining ingredients, including beets and potatoes and their water, cover and simmer at least another 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot topped with sour cream or yogurt and garnished with dill.

CSA Week Eleven

News from the field:

The big chill! While the rest of the country suffers through heatwave after heatwave, it has been in the low 40s each of that last three nights at our place. People in the veggie business (correctly) worry about frost dates, but a few cool nights in a row can really slow down the plant growth as well. With the cool nights, our eggplants and summer squash have slowed to a crawl, the celery is starting to bolt, and the sweet potatoes may not make it to the finish line. In fairness, it was always going to be a close call with the sweet potatoes, which after all are a sub-tropical plant, but 40 degree weather in August might be a deal killer for them. But all our plants, and those warm summer feelings, have all slowed way down.

On the other hand, we find ourselves starting to look around the field a little more this time of year, with an eye to fall. The winter squash and pumpkins are almost done, some leeks have sized up, and the brussel sprouts are coming along as well. It is hard to imagine that in a month we will be on the cusp of foliage season, but its true. So we will try to enjoy the remaining summer veggies while we can, even as we hunt through the closet for all the fleece sweaters.

In the Basket:

New this week:

Yukon gold potatoes: These are golden fleshed potatoes that are great for roasting. Cut into cubes of similar sizes, toss with olive oil and salt and other seasonings if desired, lay in a pan and roast till just brown on the outside.

Red pepper: These are an Italian variety that are sweet, even though they are pointy.

Late summer treats:

Charentais Melons!! A bit bigger than last week. The season is short but sweet!!!

Six ears of corn. We had enough to give everyone a dozen, but I told Peter that I thought that, based on feedback from last year, a dozen is too many for most people to handle all at once. Would you rather have had a dozen? Sweet enough to add to salad or boil just till hot and enjoy!!

Familiar favorites: Sun golds, ripe red tomatoes, lettuce, sweet onion, broccoli. You probably already have your favorite ways to cook with these, but lots more recipe ideas on the back!

Birdsnest in the tomatoes

CSA Week Ten

News from the field:

Well, we have turned the corner and passed the half way mark of the CSA season. And right on cue, the seasons seem to be turning as well. Cooler nights and shorter days foreshadow the end of summer.

But the end is not here yet! This week the melons and corn make an appearance! And some celery, which is something we are trying for the first time this year. So enjoy what we have left of summer while you can!

In the Basket:

Charentais Melons!! They are mysteriously small, but still good. Sweet, complex, perfumed, firm, French. Enjoy.

Striped German tomatoes - This is a beautiful yellow and red streaked heirloom. I really love the regular red tomatoes we grow, but the Striped Germans (and the Moskvichs which were earlier in the season), I think do edge out the Buffalo on taste. Plus so gorgeous.

Celery - This is the first year we’ve done celery, let us know what you think!!

Familiar favorites: Sun golds, red leaf lettuce, garlic (2 heads), sweet onion (Alisa Craigs), Chard

Corn - Sweet summery golden goodness.

Broccoli - Two pounds this week. Pasta with broccoli recipe on the back.

Claire's last Waitsfield market

Claire marking prices at Waitsfield as we set up the stand

It is hard to believe that it is already mid-August, and that the light is starting to change, and that the nights are starting to cool off. Claire has been with us since May, and has been a rock solid pillar of the farm crew foundation, but she will be returning to UVM in a couple of weeks to continue her studies as an ecological agriculture major. She loves going to market, but this past week was her last time going to Waitsfield. I just can't believe how fast this season is whizzing by. But Claire promises to come visit us at the Waitsfield market this fall, and she grew up not too far from here, so I am sure we will be seeing her around!

CSA Week Nine

News from the field:

A rockin midsummer basket!!!

We take pride in our melons. We grow a french charentais melon that is amazing. But we are on the very Northern edge of melon viability, so there is always some anxiety about the melons. Right now they are small. Which could mean that melon season may be a little late - late August instead of mid-August. Or it could just mean that they will be small this year. Which could be due to any number of things: weak pollination (likely), weed pressure (possible), or soil fertility problems (unlikely).

In the Basket:

Tomatoes and basil - This is the perfect time of year for caprese salad - tomatoes, basil, mozzarella and olive oil. And Sarah gave us a great recipe for easy raw tomato spaghetti - the recipe is on the back.

Onions and cukes - Combine with the tomatoes for gazpacho. Recipe on the back.

Beets and sun golds - Color, color, color! Boil the beets till fork tender, plunge into cold water, slip the skins off, dice, then put in the fridge and add to your salad all week. Cold cooked beets would also be great in a Nicoise type salad with the fingerlings and tomatoes.

Red leaf lettuce - Speaking of salad.

Green beans - Sarah had the great idea to add beans to pasta pesto - just toss them in the pasta cooking water along with the pasta, about 3-4 minutes before its all done.

French fingerling potatoes - These are a specialty heirloom potato known for their rich, earthy flavor and for their dense, firm flesh that holds together well when parboiled or roasted. We like them boiled with butter, but they are also great for potato salad, especially a Nicoise type salad with tomatoes, tuna, olives, and a light garlicky olive oil and lemon juice dressing. If you boil them, stop cooking before they are soft – as soon as a knife can easily pierce the skin. Dress them while still warm so that they absorb the flavors of the dressing.

Sarah Frederick’s Easy Raw Tomato Spaghetti

Adapted from The Silver Spoon by CSAer (and my college roommate!!) Sarah Frederick

1 lb 2 oz ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped (if a wetter type drain a bit)
4 Tb olive oil
10 fresh basil leaves
2 garlic cloves
12 oz spaghetti
Salt and pepper

Put tomatoes in salad bowl with oil, basil, and garlic, season w/ salt and pepper. Mix and let sit 30 minutes. Remove garlic. Cook spaghetti in salted water, drain, and mix with tomatoes. Also nice with additions of garlicky croutons added right before eating and/or mozzarella chunks.

Also, the same book had the idea of adding green beans and "batons" of small potatoes (like chunky fries shape) right to the water when boiling pasta for pasta with pesto and tossing them in. Just a change and nutritional add on to the usual pasta with pesto.

Peter's Gazpacho

We make and sell gazpacho at market in Waitsfield on Saturdays. This is the recipe we use. With really good summer veggies there is no need to make it complicated – simple is good!

2.5 pounds tomatoes (the amount in the basket this week)
2 cucumbers
1 sweet onion
1 clove garlic

Partially peel the cucumber (peel the big strips but leave some green).

Put garlic in the food processor and process till stuck to sides. Put onion and cukes in and chop. Add tomatoes and process till texture desired. We like it short of perfectly smooth, but its to taste.

CSA Week Eight

News from the field:
The bounty, the bounty, the bounty. These are the salad days, so to speak. And right on cue we actually have some salad greens for you this week. We are still battling the residual effects of all that rain a few weeks ago, but things have dried out and warmed up enough so we have some mesclun for you, and some head lettuce for our stand. Also, this time of year is fun because we can add something new each week as our crops come in – this week we welcome some crunchy carrots and some sweet onions.

In the Basket:

Mesclun - Insta salad for those hot lazy nights. Throw in some tomatoes, some grated cabbage, and some chopped up carrots and you have a salad meal on your hands.

Tomatoes - Two pounds of the red beauties. For the salad or for stacking on a plate with a little balsamic vinegar on top. Or try Charise’s pico recipe on the back. Yum!

Sun golds - The cherry tomatoes have arrived in full force, and since we have some many requests for the sungolds, we decided to double up this week.

Red cabbage - This is the weather for cole slaw. You could add in the carrot and onion and make it fancy. Two recipes on the blog for cole slaw.

Carrots - First of the season! We will have more in the fall, but this mid-season variety holds up to the summer heat well and retains its carroty taste.

Sweet onion - These are for eating soon because they will not keep and should be refrigerated.

Broccoli - Something green for the basket and good for your body.

Charise Baker's Pico de Gallo

Ingredients: Tomatoes, onions, fresh cilantro, hot pepper, fresh lime and salt.

Making Pico is not an exact science and does not involve an exact recipe.

The ratio of tomatoes to onion is 2:1

Example: 2 cups tomatoes to one cup onion

Chop tomatoes and onion fine or use a food processor.

Chop cilantro (or use food processor) using enough to get good green coloring.

Use the hot pepper of your choice (Jalapeno, habañero) using enough to get as mild or hot as you like. Remember that a little goes a long way and you can always add more. Deseed the hot pepper and fine mince the amount you want to use. I would strongly recommend using gloves. Or use a fork to hold the pepper. Avoid using your hands to touch the pepper or you might be sorry. ☺

Squeeze the fresh lime. I use @ ½ lime for a medium sized bowl.

Sprinkle with salt.

Mix well.

Taste and adjust as you like.

CSAer Charise Baker writes that this salsa is “very authentic Mexican, as I learned to make it while living near the Tex/Mex border.” Thank you Charise for the awesome recipe!!!