Our agenda this week includes lots of weeding, especially of our fall carrots and beets. We’ve already plowed through more than two beds of fall carrots, but we still have 5 more to go. This season we vowed to use our flame weeder more because when we get the timing just right the payoff is big! We have a backpack flame weeder (which I like to call a flamethrower so my kids think I’m cool!), which we use to burn weeds one row at a time walking very slowly down the bed. The goal is to use the flame weeder after a lot of weeds have germinated, but just before carrots emerge. It’s a short window of time that seems to frequently fall on our day off, but the two beds that we managed to hit during the sweet spot this summer are significantly less weedy than the others. We’ll still have to hand weed and thin those beds eventually, but the flame weeder bought us a little extra time, which is precious to us this time of year!
In the CSA this week:
Carrots - They’re back this week, but then will likely be on hiatus again until the summer-sown varieties size up.
Watermelon - We are harvesting Juicebox and Mini Love, as well as the first of the Blacktail Mountain variety. All are red with seeds. This week they may only be in the Regular size CSA, but if we have enough we will try to include them in the Small CSA again.
Tomatoes - These will again be a mixture of slicing tomatoes and heirloom tomatoes. They’re mostly from our high tunnel, but we are starting to harvest some varieties from the fields as well.
Green Peppers
Zucchini
Pickling cucumbers
Slicing or thin-skinned cucumbers - our field slicing cucumbers are starting to produce
Garlic - Right now we are distributing smaller heads as uncured garlic and curing the larger heads for later. Some of the cured garlic will be in the CSA and farm store this fall and some of it will be used for planting next year’s crop.
Fresh onions - These should be kept in the fridge. This is the last week for fresh onions, but we have our storage onions all harvested and curing in our greenhouse, and we will be distributing them later in the season!
Lettuce
Kale - This may be the last week that we have kale until our fall planting matures. These older plants aren’t producing very tender leaves anymore, but they still work well for kale chips!
Frisée and Endive- These are types of chicory and have similar flavor and texture.
Mustard Greens
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Cherry tomatoes - Varieties that are ripening now include Cherry Bomb and Jasper (red), Sungold and Citrine (orange), Moonbeam (dark purple) and Moonbeam (pale yellow). This week cherry tomatoes are only available for Regular size CSA memberships, but they will be an option for Small memberships soon!
Tomatillos or Dragon tongue beans - Tomatillos are an essential ingredient of salsa verde. They should be picked when the fruit fills our the green husk around it. Look low on the plants this week to find them.Sunflowers
Herbs: Members will have a choice of parsley, dill, dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, cilantro and basil.
Hot peppers - choose from jalapeno, aji rico, red ember, Hungarian hot wax and fresno peppers
Some herb harvesting information:
Parsley: Pick only outer stems and leave the center stalks to continue to grow.
Basil: please pinch the tops of the plants.
Dill, Sage, Mint and Thyme: harvest stems at branching points
Please do not clear cut herb plants or harvest from beds that are not yet open.
In the farm store:
Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:
Summer squash
Colored peppers - These peppers are just starting to ripen in the high tunnel, so we will only start with limited quantities this week.
Flowers - mini bouquets (option to purchase with or without the pint jar), sunflowers, wrapped mixed bouquets and snapdragons.
Sweet corn from Verrill Farm (not organic).
Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified organic
Double B Honey - From hives on the property! Not certified organic
Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.
Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags. Grown in South Berwick, Maine. Certified Organic varieties available include: Cannellini, Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry and Light Red Kidney. Not organic: bumblebee, marfax, and flageolet.
PYO Flower Field
The flower field is open to both PYO Flower CSA members and the general public for picking by the jar. Please check in at the farm stand before picking. Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, snapdragons, gomphrena, ageratum, celosia, ammi, rudbeckia, verbena, amaranth, cosmos, decorative grasses, decorative basil and strawflower.
Quick Pickled Cucumber Tomato Salad
adapted from fakefoodfree.com
Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1-2 onions, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 to 3 pickling cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon peppercorns
Directions:
Add the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 30 seconds, until the sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool.
Using 2 quart jars or 1 large two-quart jar, layer the onions in the bottom of the jar(s). Add the cucumber slices and then the tomatoes. Sprinkle in the dill and then the peppercorns.
Pour the liquid into the jar. Seal the jar and shake to mix the vegetables with the liquid. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, shaking once or twice as it rests, before serving. The salad is best eaten within 2 to 3 days of preparation.
Mushroom White Bean Toasts with Frisée
from elliekrieger.com
Ingredients
4 large or 8 medium ½-inch thick slices crusty whole grain bread (8 ounces total)
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 teaspoons sherry vinegar, divided
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon salt, divided
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 cups lightly packed, torn frisée (1 large head)
1 small clove garlic, minced
One 15-ounce can low-sodium white beans, such as cannellini, drained and rinsed
12 ounces mixed sliced mushrooms (such as shitake, cremini, oyster, button)
¼ cup chopped shallot (or try using a Red Long onion)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Directions
Toast the bread in a toaster or toaster oven. In a medium bowl whisk 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with 2 teaspoons of the sherry vinegar, mustard, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add the frisée and toss to coat.
Place the minced garlic on a cutting board and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt; using the broad side of a knife blade, mash together the garlic and salt to form a paste. Transfer the paste into a medium bowl with the beans and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and mash with a fork until most of it is smooth but there are still some beans intact.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over a medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their water and begin to brown, 4-5 minutes. Add the thyme and remaining ¼ teaspoon of salt and cook for 1 minute more. Then stir in the remaining 2 teaspoons of vinegar.
To serve, spread each toast generously with the mashed beans; top each with the mushrooms and then a mound of the frisée salad.
The bean mixture, and the sautéed mushrooms may be made ahead and kept separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.