Bulk veggie and Thanksgiving pre-orders!

We are now accepting orders for bulk Barrett’s Mill Farm vegetables, as well as local cranberries, mushrooms, honey, eggs, raspberry jam and raspberry vinegar infusion! Orders are due by November 10th and will be available for pick-up on Saturday, November 17th, 9am - 3pm. To place an order, download the form below and either mail it in with your check, or email melissa@barrettsmillfarm.com.

Last week of Farm Store and Week 1 of 4 for the Late Fall CSA!

It was classic fall weather last week for the final Main Season CSA pick-up, with frosty mornings and warm sunny afternoons! We took spent cold mornings cleaning up and organizing storage crops, while afternoons were spent taking advantage of the warmth to harvest and pull plastic as well as seed cover crop in newly cleared areas. We are gearing up to do more of the same this week, in addition to getting ready for the first pick up of the Late Fall CSA Thursday, October 25th. Pick ups for the Late Fall will be Thursdays 11am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-3pm.

This week is the last week of our Farm Store. We will be open regular hours Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. Now is the time to use up your 2018 Barrett’s Bucks as they do not carry into next season. We will also have bulk order forms available for those of you who would like one last opportunity to stock up before the winter. Forms will be due November 10th for pick-up November 17th. Forms turned in this week may use Barrett’s Bucks for payment.

Late Fall CSA:

• Rutabaga - After years of failed germination we finally have rutabaga this year. Rutabaga are a root crop that can be roasted, boiled, or used in soups. They are similar to turnips but with a creamier texture.

• Honey Nut squash- transitional. These small sweet squash look like mini butternut. We are trying them for the first time this season. Let us know what you think!

• Beets

• Scallions

• Sweet potatoes - transitional. We have quite the variety of sizes (read: giant potatoes!) but all taste equally good! They have a traditional orange flesh and sweet flavor.

• Romanesco cauliflower or broccoli

• Radishes

• Fennel - Transitional.

• Cabbage

• Brussels sprouts

• Carrots

• Peppers

• Butternut squash - transitional

• Pie pumpkins - transitional

• Leeks - transitional.

• Garlic

• Salanova

Coming up in later weeks of the Late Fall CSA: KN-Bravo radishes (purple daikon), black futsu squash, turnips, watermelon radish, shallots, onions, spinach, lettuce, Peter Wilcox potatoes, Elba storage potatoes, kale, popcorn, and mini daikon radish, as well as more of many of the crops available in week 1.

In the farm store:

This is the last week of the farm store for the season which means it is also that last week to use your 2018 Barrett’s Bucks. We will have most of the veggies listed in the CSA available as well as acorn squash, delicata, buttercup squash, and onions. We also have some decorative items still available: our own gourds and corn stalks, as well as jack-o-lanterns from Verrill Farm. We will also have Fat Moon mushrooms, honey from Double B, raspberry infused vinegar from Silferleaf farm, pastured eggs from Pete and Jen’s, and the last of the organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA.

Sweet potato cakes

Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi

• 2 ¼ lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks

• 2 tsp soy sauce

• ¾ cup flour

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp sugar

• 3 tbsp scallion, chopped

• ½ tsp fresh chilli, finely chopped

• Lots of butter, for frying

  For the sauce:

• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt

• 3 tbsp sour cream

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• Salt and pepper

• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

Steam the sweet potato until soft, then drain in a colander for up to an hour. Meanwhile, whisk the sauce ingredients until smooth and set aside. In a mixing bowl, work all the fritter ingredients by hand - it should be sticky, so if its a little runny, add some flour. Melt some butter in a nonstick pan.

Use a tablespoon to put mix in the frying pan and flatten slightly with the back of the spoon. and fry on moderate heat until you get a nice, brown crust, turning as necessary - about six minutes. Place between two sheets of paper towels to soak up the excess butter. Serve hot or warm, with the sauce on the side.

Farm updates and CSA week 20 (last week for Main Season)

In case anyone was unclear about what season it is, the past few days have made it abundantly clear that we are in the midst of fall! We had our first frost on Sunday morning, though the damage appears to be limited to two beds of peppers and a few eggplant tops here and there. A true killing frost appears to be in store for us in a couple of days, so we are planning to completely pick out our eggplant and peppers early this week. It was a pretty abrupt shift - we have become used to overnight lows in the 50s and upper 40s, but this week there are several nights forecast to be in the low 30s!

For those of you participating in the Late Fall CSA (October 25th - November 17th) or shopping in the store for the next two weeks, don’t worry! Though plant growth has slowed dramatically, there are still plenty of crops that can hold up in the cold for a few more weeks. In fact, cold weather improves the taste of many crops like carrots. Plants start converting starches to sugar in order to keep their cells from freezing, thus resulting in sweeter veggies! Many of the veggies we eat in the late fall (like sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and winter squash), have been harvested and cured earlier in the season, so they are already safely out of the field and in storage. More tender crops like lettuce are tucked under row cover to give an additional couple of degrees of protection from the increasingly cold nights. For those of you who aren’t part of the late fall CSA, we still have a great week planned, and the store will still be open with many late fall crops until October 27th. We are looking forward to seeing you all in the next couple of weeks before we take a breather and begin planning for next season!

Last week, we finally had time to plow and seed cover crop at the South Corey Meadow on Barrett’s Mill Road. We are so excited to start growing in this beautiful spot in future seasons!

This week in the CSA:

• Sweet potatoes - we grew a small crop last year for the Late Fall CSA and they worked out so well that we grew enough to distribute even earlier! Transitional.

• Romanesco cauliflower or broccoli - Romanesco cauliflower is one of our favorite fall vegetables. They have a really unique fractal-like appearance and they have a nutty flavor too! They are a little finicky to grow and it varies widely every year when they are ready, but we generally expect them in late October for the Late Fall CSA. This year they are starting to head up in time for the last week of the Main Season, so there will be a choice between cauliflower and broccoli this week. (Our second broccoli planting is also suffering from alternaria, but looks slightly better than the first one).

• Radishes - there will be a choice between traditional red cherriette radishes or mini daikon, which were a big hit early in the season.

• Fennel - we take a break from fennel in the summer, but we have a fall planting to enjoy this week. Transitional.

• Cabbage - we’ll still have savoy, as well as purple cabbage and a green storage variety.

• Brussels sprouts

• Carrots

• Potatoes - Peter Wilcox (purple skin with gold flesh). Transitional

• Eggplant - last week!

• Peppers - last week!

• Butternut squash - transitional

• Pie pumpkins - transitional

• Onions - transitional

• Garlic

• Arugula or salanova - we’ll likely only have salanova on Tuesday and arugula the rest of the week. We had difficulty with lettuce germination in August, which is creating a shortage of both salanova and head lettuce right now. Later plantings did much better and will hopefully size up in time for the later weeks of the Late Fall CSA.

• Baby bok choi

CSA Pick-your-own:

Picking is pretty much done for the season, though there may still be some herbs available early in the week.

In the farm store:

We will have most of the veggies listed in the CSA available as well as acorn squash, delicata, shallots, and spinach. We also have some decorative items still available: our own gourds, corn stalks, and flowers (at least for the beginning of the week), as well as jack-o-lanterns from Verrill Farm. We’ve also got mushrooms (shiitake are back!) from Fat Moon, honey from Double B, organic raspberry jam and raspberry infused vinegar from Silferleaf farm, pastured eggs from Pete and Jen’s, and organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA.

Sheet-Pan Curry Pork Chops and Sweet Potatoes

ANNA STOCKWELL EPICURIOUS SEPTEMBER 2018

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tsp. mild curry powder

• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

• 1 tsp. light brown sugar

• 2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 (1"-thick) small bone-in pork chops (about 2 lb. total)

• 8 small sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 lb.), scrubbed, sliced in half lengthwise

• 1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

• 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 4 small radishes, thinly sliced

• 1 cup pomegranate arils

PREPARATION

Arrange a rack in top third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Stir curry, pepper, brown sugar, and 2 tsp. salt in a small bowl.

Rub an 18x13" rimmed baking sheet with oil. Sprinkle pork chops and potatoes with spice mixture on prepared pan to evenly coat, then arrange in an even layer with potatoes cut side down.

Roast until pork is golden brown and cooked through and potatoes are deeply browned on cut sides and fork-tender, about 20 minutes. (The pork might finish cooking before the potatoes do; if so, transfer pork to a cutting board and let rest, then continue roasting the potatoes until done.)

Meanwhile, whisk yogurt, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 tsp. salt in a medium bowl.

Arrange pork and potatoes on a platter. Top with yogurt sauce, radishes, and pomegranate arils.

Do Ahead: Yogurt sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Cooks' Note

Small sweet potatoes work best for cooking at the same rate as the pork chops and fitting on one sheet pan since you can tuck them between the chops. If you can’t find small sweet potatoes, use larger ones, cut them into wedges, and turn them halfway through roasting.

Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries

adapted from Mollie Katzen from The Splendid Table

Ingredients

• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts 

• 2 heaping cups whole, fresh cranberries

• 1/4 cup finely minced shallots 

• 2 tablespoons olive oil 

• 1/4 cup balsamic or cider vinegar 

• 2 tablespoons sugar 

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup 

• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste 

• Black pepper 

Instructions

1) Put on a pot of water to boil, and place a colander in the sink. Meanwhile, trim and halve or quarter the sprouts (unless tiny) and add them to the water when it boils. Let them simmer for 3 to 5 minutes--or until mostly tender-- and then drain them thoroughly in the colander, shaking them dry.

2) Place the cranberries in a large (10- to 12-inch) skillet on the stove, and turn on the heat to medium. Cook them solo for 2 minutes, then stir in the olive oil and shallots. Keep cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes, or until the cranberries begin to pop.

3) Add the drained Brussels sprouts, plus the vinegar, sugar, maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon salt -- and toss to combine. Reduce the heat to low, and use tongs to arrange as many of the sprouts as your patience permits cut side-down, facing into the cranberry mixture. (This will color them appetizingly, in addition to saturating them with flavor.) Cover the pan, and cook for another 10 minutes -- or until done to your liking -- stirring from time to time to rearrange the sprouts.

4) Adjust salt, if desired, and add pepper to taste. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. 

Farm updates, 2019 Sign-ups and CSA week 19

We are never sure what our sweet potatoes look like under all those vines and plastic mulch before we start to dig them up! After a successful small trial of sweet potatoes for the Late Fall CSA last year we ramped up our planting and were happy to find a bountiful harvest when we started digging last week. We can’t help but show off particularly large or funny shaped sweeties as we harvest - more than one has been used for a “telephone call” as we spend hours digging with trowels hunting for the cluster of potatoes beneath each plant. After harvest the sweet potatoes are stored in our greenhouse and kept at a high temperature (ideally around 80 degrees) to cure. They aren’t sweet yet but after a week in hot humid conditions the starches will turn to sugars and they should be sweet and tasty! We are finishing the sweet potato harvest this week while the first batch cures and we will have sweet potatoes in the Main Season CSA next week as well as in the Late Fall CSA. If you’re not sure if you’ve signed up for our Late Fall CSA ask the shopkeeper this week. We will have it noted on the CSA check-in sheet.

We will also have renewal forms in the farm stand for pick up this week! We are looking forward to the 2019 season - it will be our sixth year here at the farm! Be sure to read the accompanying letter for details about the CSA options for next year. We’ll have Barrett’s Bucks forms for 2019 available in the stand this week, and sign ups for both the CSA and Bucks are also available online! You can also read descriptions of the CSA Options online. Next week is the last week of the Main Season CSA (last pick up day is October 20th).

This week in the CSA:

• Shallots - Shallots are related to onions but are sweeter with a bit of garlic flavor. This makes them great diced into salad dressings or cooked. Transitional.

• Brussels sprouts - We harvest the entire stalk of the plant. When you get home remove each sprout from the stem to store in a bag in the fridge.

• Peter Wilcox potatoes - These purple skinned potatoes are one of our favorites! The flesh is yellow on the inside and they store well.

• Spinach

• Pie pumpkins - Transitional.

• Butternut squash - Transitional.

• Decorative gourds - Just for fun, not for eating! Transitional.

• Broccoli or Eggplant

• Cabbage - Tendersweet and savoy.

• Peppers - Likely the last of the peppers as a frost is predicted this coming weekend.

• Acorn squash - Transitional.

• Leeks - Transitional.

• Garlic

• Carrots

• Salanova

• Arugula

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Herbs - cilantro, thyme, chives

• Husk Cherries

• Tomatillos

• Hot peppers

In the farm store:

We will have most of the veggies listed in the CSA available as well as buttercup squash, delicata, kale, onions and decorative corn stalks. We won’t have corn anymore this season, but we do now have jack-o-lanterns from Verrill Farm. We’ve also got mushrooms from Fat Moon, honey from Double B (produced by bees right here on the property!), and Silferleaf Farm’s raspberry jam and raspberry infused vinegar. Eggs from Pete and Jen’s are back in stock and we now have organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA.

ONE-PAN ROASTED CHICKEN AND POTATOES WITH LEEKS AND ARUGULA

adapted from a recipe by Melissa Clark, NY Times Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs

• 1 1/4 lb potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

• 1-2 tablespoons sriracha or harissa (depending on desired heat)

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 2 medium leeks, chopped (white and light green parts only)

• Zest of 1 lemon, divided

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2 cups arugula

• 2 teaspoons dried dill

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, sriracha or harissa, and cumin. Add the chicken thighs and potatoes and toss to coat. Spread on the prepared sheet pan in a single layer. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, toss the chopped leeks with half of the lemon zest and some salt and pepper. Remove the chicken and potatoes from the oven and toss the potatoes lightly. Top with the leeks. Roast for an additional 25-35 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a chicken thigh registers 155 degrees F.

4. While the chicken and potatoes are roasting, prepare the yogurt sauce. Place the yogurt in a small bowl. Grate the garlic clove over the yogurt. Add the remaining lemon zest and the lemon juice. Season lightly with salt. Stir to combine.

5. Serve the roasted chicken and potatoes with the arugula, yogurt sauce and fresh dill.

Honey Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries and Feta

by Jenn Laughlin from Peas & Crayons

• 1 large butternut squash, peeled + chopped

• a hearty drizzle of olive oil (1-2 TBSP)

• salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to taste

• 1-2 cups fresh cranberries (to taste!)

• 2-3 TBSP honey (or extra, to taste)

• 1/4 cup finely crumbled feta

• ground cinnamon, to taste 

• fresh or dried parsley, to garnish, optional

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly drizzle or spritz a baking sheet with olive oil. Add cubed squash to the sheet along with another drizzle of olive oil. Sprinkle with a light layer of salt, pepper, and garlic powder, based on taste preference. Roast at 400 F for 25 minutes on the center rack. At the 25 minute mark, pull out the oven rack, and add your fresh cranberries to the roasting pan. Return to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cranberries have started to soften and burst a bit, resembling really juicy craisins. Remove from oven and add a sprinkle of cinnamon (approx. 1/8-1/4 tsp depending on preference) along with feta and honey (sweeten to taste). Garnish with parsley for a burst of color and dig in while it's hot!

Farm updates and CSA week 18

Happy October! This past week it felt like we turned a corner on our to-do list. We have been laser-focused on addressing immediate needs for the current season, but last week it felt like we were finally able to carve out some time to prepare fields for next season. After bringing in the last bulk squash crate (an experimental crop of Honeynut squash, as well as decorative gourds), we mowed in the winter squash field and some older greens plantings, pulled up plastic mulch and drip tape, disked in crop debris and seeded 3 acres of Austrian winter peas and barley for cover crop. It always seems funny to tell people that as vegetable farmers, some of our favorite sights are mowed in crops and cleanly tilled fields, but for us it feels great to start fresh after a tough season (that’s one constant in farming - every season is a little tough, but always for different reasons!). Clean fields mean that we can seed cover crops, which are an important investment we make every year in the health of our soil. We may arrive in the fall feeling a little weary, but cleaning up the field and filling them with nutrient-replenishing cover crops fills us with optimism for the next year.

Speaking of next year, we are planning to have CSA renewal forms ready next week! After this week, there are 2 weeks left in the Main Season CSA, and then another 4 weeks of veggies for the Late Fall CSA.

This week in the CSA:

• Pie pumpkins - Also known as sugar pumpkins, you can use these for pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup and more. Cut in half, scoop out the seeds and roast until you can easily stick a fork through it. Scrape out the cooked pumpkin flesh, puree, and use just like you would canned pumpkin.

• Butternut squash - This classic fall squash is sweet and versatile. Great in curries, soups and risottos. We love to add it to chilli.

• Decorative gourds - We grow two gourd mixes (Autumn Wings and Daisy), as well as mini orange and white pumpkins. Not for eating, but the are great for decorating your table!

• Broccoli or Eggplant - Our broccoli has suffered from Alternaria this year, which has dramatically reduced yields and caused cosmetic damage to the broccoli heads. This is a disease that likes humid weather and is spread by rain - two things we’ve had plenty of! We have a second succession of broccoli that might not be as badly affected, but supply from our current planting is limited. Since we also have a limited supply of eggplant, we will be offering a choice between the two this week (after two seasons of eggplant bumper crops, this year was a bit of a dud, likely due to blossom drop in the extreme heat this summer).

• Cabbage

• Kale

• Potatoes

• Peppers

• Delicata squash

• Acorn squash

• Leeks

• Onions

• Garlic

• Carrots

• Salanova

• Lettuce

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Herbs - cilantro, thyme, chives, basil

• We may still have a limited supply of cherry tomatoes, tomatillos and husk cherries for picking this week, but the pick-your-own component of the CSA is mostly done for the season

In the farm store:

We will have most of the veggies listed in the CSA available as well as red kuri squash, buttercup squash, beets and decorative corn stalks. We won’t have corn anymore this season, but we do now have jack-o-lanterns from Verrill Farm. We’ve also got mushrooms from Fat Moon, honey from Double B (produced by bees right here on the property!), and Silferleaf Farm’s raspberry jam and raspberry infused vinegar. Hopefully we’ll have more eggs from Pete and Jen’s back in stock later this week. Finally, we’ll be getting organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA at the end of the week!

Pumpkin Mushroom Soup

• ½ Pound Mushrooms

• ½ Cup chopped Onions

• Butter or Oil

• 2 Tablespoons Flour

• 1 Teaspoon Curry Powder

• 3 Cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth

• 1 Pound of cooked Pumpkin

• 1 Tablespoon Honey

• 2 Tablespoons Dash of Nutmeg

• Salt and Pepper to Taste

• 1 Cup Evaporated Milk

Sauté mushrooms and onions in the butter (or oil). Add flour and curry powder and stir. Slowly add the broth and stir. Add pumpkin, honey and spices. Stir and simmer 10-15 minutes. Add evaporated milk. (Do not allow to boil after milk has been added.)

Quiche Lorraine

from Smitten Kitchen

1 3/4 cups diced leeks, white and light green only
3/4 cup diced onion
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Salt
6 tablespoons butter, diced
4 eggs, divided
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sour cream
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch pepper
1 1/2 cups diced ham (1/4 -inch dice; I used about 1/2 pound)
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

1. Heat a large sauté pan over low heat. Sauté the leeks and onions in the olive oil 30 to 40 minutes until caramelized, occasionally stirring. Remove from heat and cool.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and one-fourth teaspoon salt. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or two knives until it is in very tiny bits. Add one egg (a fork works great for this) and mix it until a dough forms. (Dough can also be made in a food processor, or in theory, and as the original recipe suggests, in a stand mixer.)

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12-inch circle. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie plate (I used an 8-inch deep tart pan, though ended up with extra filling) and press to remove any air bubbles. Crimp the edges, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. While the quiche shell chills, mix the heavy cream and sour cream in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining three eggs. Add a pinch each nutmeg, salt and pepper and combine to form a batter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

5. Remove the quiche shell from the refrigerator and spread the leek and onion mixture evenly over the base. Sprinkle the ham and then the cheese over the leeks and onions. Pour in the batter and place the quiche in the oven.

6. Bake until puffed and golden, about 25 to 30 minutes (a deeper pan, such as the one I used, will require extra baking time). Remove from the oven and cool slightly on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.