Finally we are almost caught up with getting our fall crops in the ground after our rain delay! We had saved our wettest field for our summer planting of fall brassicas like cabbage, kale and broccoli to ensure it wouldn’t be as wet as it often is in the spring. Little did we know we’d get record-breaking July rain just as it was time to plant! With a little rearranging, and some careful tractor driving, we were able to fit everything in drive-able fields with enough time for it to size up (we hope!) for the fall harvest. We seeded and reseeded beets and carrots that had alternately been scorched by late June heat and washed out by July downpours until it also became too late for those to grow in time for the fall. We think we got enough to germinate! Now we just have to catch up on all the weed growth that thrived in the wet weather and we will be all set! This week will be focused on weeding, trellising tomatoes, fencing (watermelon are sizing up that need protection and deer would love the baby cabbage plants pictured above!), and of course the harvest for you all. We continue to be very happy with the productivity of our tomato high tunnel. This week there are enough for both the CSA and farm store. With a little drier and warmer weather, hopefully we will soon be harvesting both from the field and high tunnel plantings so that we can be swimming in tomatoes! We are eagerly waiting for an increase in our pepper and eggplant harvest but in the meantime we enjoy the July staples of carrots, beets, fresh onions, and the first taste of cherry tomatoes of the season!
In the CSA this week:
CSA pick up hours are Tues/Thurs 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Face masks are required under the CSA tent during the first hour of each day.
Tomatoes- From our high tunnel, so they are ready before our field tomatoes!
Peppers - Limited amounts of purple and/or green peppers
Mizuna - A frilly, mild salad green.
Beets - Golden and red
Fresh garlic - This garlic is used just like cured garlic but should be kept in the fridge until used.
Fresh onions - These onions are sweeter than traditional cured onions and should be kept in the fridge and used within a week.
Potatoes
Fennel
Summer squash
Pickling cucumbers - also great for fresh eating!
Carrots
Mini cabbage
Curly kale
Lettuce - summer crisp varieties including fusion, muir, cherokee, and magenta.
CSA PYO:
Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only (we do now have a green porta-potty restroom by the tree behind the red barn for customer use with a portable handwashing sink just beside it).
*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.
Cherry tomatoes! Look low on the plants for ripe fruit (each type will have a sign that notes what color they are when ripe). Just a taste this week but many more to come!
Sunflowers
Green Beans - Please hold the plant while carefully picking the largest beans.
Basil - pesto making quantities this week as several beds are open for picking!
Other herbs - parsley, thai basil, and dill flowers will be available in smaller quantities
Pick-your-own Flower CSA
The flower field is open this week! Picking is available any time the farm store is open (Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm). Varieties blooming now include: zinnias, marigolds, snapdragons, statice, gomphrena, celosia, decorative basil, frosted explosion, cosmos, ageratum, rudbeckia, bachelors button, ammi, scabiosa and more! Please pick stems above the first branching to encourage future growth. Picking is available for Flower CSA members as well as to the public for purchase by the bouquet.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have colored peppers, eggplant, celery, and blueberries (blueberries may just be available early in the week and it is the last week of picking). We also have eggs from Codman Farm and honey from Double B. There are no mushrooms available for the next month, as production shuts down in August, but we will have Fat Moon Mushrooms back in the stand again in September.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Masks are required during the first hour of each day. Staff will continue to wear masks in the first hour of each day but will not be required to for the remainder of the day in keeping with our customer policy. We are keeping a chalkboard list of items available outside the store and our Shopkeepers would be happy to shop for anyone who is uncomfortable entering the store. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
One-Skillet Lemony Chicken with Fennel and Tomatoes
By Andy Baraghani, from Bon Appetit July 24th, 2018
6 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 lb. total)
Kosher salt 2 Tbsp.
plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb
2 medium shallots (or fresh red onions)
1 large heirloom tomato or beefsteak tomato
1 lemon
Freshly ground black pepper
Toasted bread (for serving)
1. Place a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 425º. Pat 6 chicken thighs dry with paper towels; season all over with salt.
2. Place a large ovenproof skillet on stovetop and pour in 2 Tbsp. oil. Transfer chicken thighs to skillet, skin side down, and heat over medium. (That's right: Those chicken thighs are going into a cold pan, and then you turn the heat on. Trust!) Cook, rotating skillet to encourage even browning, until opaque around the edges and skin is deeply golden brown, 8–11 minutes. Transfer skin side up to a plate.
3. Meanwhile, do some prep: First, remove fennel fronds from 1 fennel bulb and reserve for making the sauce. Cut fennel head in half lengthwise. Place halves cut side down on cutting board, then cut each half into ½" wedges.
4. Peel and slice 2 shallots into quarters lengthwise.
5. Cut 1 tomato crosswise into ½" rounds.
6. Trims ends off 1 lemon. Cut half of the lemon into thin rounds (about ⅛"). Reserve remaining half of lemon for later.
7. Adjust heat to medium-high and add sliced fennel, shallots, and lemon rounds to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel just begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and give mixture another stir. Remove skillet from heat. 8. Arrange tomato rounds and chicken over fennel mixture; season with salt and pepper.
9. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until chicken thighs are cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part near the bone should register 165°), juices run clear, and vegetables begin to caramelize around edges of pan, 16–20 minutes. Carefully remove skillet from oven and let rest 5 minutes.
Bright Green Pesto
by Martha Rose Schulman, NY Times Cooking
· 2 cups tightly packed, fresh basil leaves
· Salt to taste
· 2 tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts or untoasted chopped walnuts
· ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
· 2 garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed
· ⅓ to ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
Bring a medium-size saucepan full of water to a boil while you rinse basil leaves. Fill a bowl with ice water and place it next to the saucepan with a skimmer close by. When water comes to a boil, salt generously and add basil leaves. Push them down into the water with the back of a skimmer to submerge, count to five, then remove immediately with skimmer and transfer to ice water. Drain and squeeze out excess water. Place pine nuts or walnuts in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add blanched basil and kosher salt to taste (I use 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon) and process until finely chopped. With machine running, slowly add olive oil and continue to process for a full minute, or until the mix is reduced to a fine purée. Transfer to a bowl. Purée garlic in a mortar and pestle, or put through a garlic press, and stir into the pesto. Add Parmesan and stir in. You will end up with about 2/3 cup of pesto.
Freshly picked flowers from our pick-your-own field.