CSA Week 9 and Farm Stand Updates

Late July through early August are often viewed as a time that epitomizes summer bounty, but from a farmers’ perspective, we often view it as coming a little later. It’s true that we start to see many summer crops like peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, and ideally summer squash, zucchini and cucumbers continue to be in ready supply as well during this period. However, lettuce and greens are tough to produce in the heat of summer, solanceous crops (eggplant, tomatoes and peppers) generally aren’t producing in quantities that allow us to have unlimited supplies yet, and unfortunately the excessive rains in early July stunted the summer squash and zucchini successions we had been planning to harvest this week. This time of year we will often have a juggling act of switching back and forth between more exciting summer crops, hence you might see a choice of peppers OR eggplant in the CSA, or you might see items in the store that aren’t in the CSA, or vice versa. Usually by late August lettuce and greens are faring better, fall crop favorites are starting to be in supply, and we have more than we know what to do with of eggplant, peppers and tomatoes.

While it can be tricky to ensure a variety of popular crops this time of year, it’s getting easier to keep up with a lot of our field work! Last week we planted out the last of our fall broccoli and scallions, and most of what is left in our greenhouses now are lettuce successions. We also caught up on weeding and trellising tomatoes in both the high tunnel and field. Our fall carrot and beet seedlings got some much needed weeding attention, and with some drier weather we were able to cultivate many other fall crops with the tractors. We’ve been working on fencing too, with a barrier going up around our watermelon to keep the coyotes out (they had the audacity to eat unripe watermelon last week!) and the deer fencing across the street nearing completion. This week we’re looking forward to getting a lot of weeding done, as well as mowing and tilling in many finished plantings to prep for seeding cover crop!

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. Please note we do our best to predict what will be available each week, but conditions change and there may be slight variations in what’s available!

• Tomatoes- slowly increasing in supply! These will still be mostly from the high tunnel. Our field tomatoes are just starting to produce, so we should see greater yields soon.

• Peter Wilcox Potatoes - Purple skin with white flesh.

• Peppers or Eggplant - don’t worry, peppers and eggplant will likely eventually be unlimited, but they are always a little slow to take off in August (and the cooler overnight temps we’ve been experiencing have meant also slower growth). When we are making our crop plans each winter, we have to resist the temptation to plant enough to have unlimited supply in late July and early August, otherwise we’d have a mountain of unharvested vegetables in late August!

• Mizuna - A frilly, mild salad green.

• Beets - Golden and red

• Celery - a new planting

• Fresh garlic - This garlic is used just like cured garlic but should be kept in the fridge until used.

• Fresh onions or summer leeks

• Cucumbers - mostly picklers, but there may be some slicing cukes mixed in as supply allows.

• Carrots

• Curly kale

• Lettuce - We now are seeing the result of early summer woodchuck feasting in our lettuce field. Half of two successive plantings were eaten as seedlings, therefore lettuce will be limited this week. However, the next few plantings are in great shape and should size up in the next week or two, so the shortage shouldn’t last long!

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.

• Hot peppers

• Sunflowers

• Green and purple Beans - Please hold the plant while carefully picking the largest beans.

• Herbs- parsley, basil, dill flowers, sage, thyme. The basil has begun to succumb to downy mildew so is tougher picking for leaves that do not have any brown damage.

We are giving cherry tomatoes a rest for a little bit, but picking will be plentiful soon!

PYO Flower CSA:

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, flower bouquets, mini cabbage, and summer squash. We also have eggs from Codman Farm and honey from Double B. There are no mushrooms available for the month of August, but we will have Fat Moon Mushrooms back in the stand again in September. No sweet corn from Verrill yet - the cool rainy weather in July has stunted several plantings - but we hope to have some in a week or so.

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.

Green Gazpacho

adapted from a recipe by Jill Gibson, The Boston Globe, July 30, 2018

We’ve often shared a recipe from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, but this version looks yummy too!

Ingredients

• 2 slices firm white bread, left out to dry, crusts removed, torn in pieces

• ⅓ cup plain yogurt

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• 4 cups fresh spinach, tough stems removed (or try a mild green like mizuna!)

• 1 large slicing cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded, and chopped (or use a couple of pickling cukes)

• ½ green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped

• 1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted and peeled

• ½ jalapeno or other small green chile, seeded

• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

• ¼cup chopped fresh mint

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1½ cups water, or more if needed

• Salt and black pepper, to taste

• Extra olive oil (for sprinkling)

• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (for garnish)

• 1 lime, cut into 6 wedges (for serving)

Preparation

1. In a bowl, combine the bread, yogurt, olive oil, and lime juice. Mash until the bread is softened.

2. In a food processor, combine the spinach, cucumber, bell pepper, avocado, jalapeno or other chile, basil, parsley, mint, garlic, bread mixture, ¾ cup of the water, salt, and black pepper. Pulse until the mixture is well blended, scraping down the sides of the work bowl as necessary.

3. Add the additional ¾ cup water and continue to pulse until incorporated.  Add more water, ¼ cup at a time, if you like. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and black pepper, if you like.

4. Transfer to a plastic container and chill thoroughly.

5. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with olive oil and scallions.

CSA Week 8 and Farm Stand updates

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.

CSA Week 7 and Farm Stand updates

It was another busy week! In addition to our usual harvest, weeding, and planting projects, the once-a-year garlic harvest began between the raindrops last week! We have selected the smaller garlic heads for fresh eating (fresh garlic is not cured so it should be kept in the fridge and used within a couple weeks). The larger heads we are curing for fall and winter eating! To cure, we bundled garlic stalks together in bunches of 8 and hang them in the farm stand. The relatively dark, cool and well ventilated (yet protected from rain) farm stand provides the conditions needed for the curing process which is complete when the outer skin of the garlic is dry. After curing we will clip the heads off the stems and clean them off. Cured garlic will store in dark ,dry conditions (unrefrigerated) for months. Some of the cured garlic will be included in the CSA, some will be sold in the store, and some we will save to plant in October for next year’s garlic crop!

While the recent rainy days have slowed many of our summer crops, the eggplant harvest has begun and the high tunnel tomato harvest is picking up! Cherry tomatoes are ripening and will likely be ready by next week, with hot peppers close behind. Our field peppers seem to be growing slowly and unevenly, but hopefully they will speed with a little sunshine this week. The flower field has bounced back from the rain and is now looking great so will be re-opened for both flower CSA members as well as to the public for picking by the jar. See below for a list of varieties now blooming.

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.

• Eggplant

• Yukina Savoy - This mild green is back! Use in salads or lightly cooked (a good spinach substitute).

• 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 - Dark Red Norland (red skin, white flesh) or Golden Globe (yellow flesh)

• Celery

• Fennel

• Summer squash and Zucchini

• Carrots

• Mini cabbage

• Curly kale

• Mustard greens

• Lettuce - some summer crisp varieties are now ready for harvest. There will be a break from salanova until the cooler weather in the fall.

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.

• Sunflowers

• Green Beans - Please hold the plant while carefully picking the largest beans.

• Herbs - basil, thai basil, parsley, dill flowers, sage and thyme.

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 and more! Please pick stems above the first branching to encourage future growth.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have the tomatoes from our high tunnel, green peppers, cucumbers, and blueberries. This week blueberries will be available both in the stand each day as well as online for pre-orders for pick-up Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We also have eggs from Codman Farm, honey from Double B, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.

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.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

from The Modern Proper

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs Baby potatoes

• 1 Tbsp + 1.5 tsp Kosher salt

• 3 Tbsp Olive oil

• 2 tsp Granulated garlic

• 3 Tbsp Fresh herbs such as dill, chives and or parsley

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450 ° F.

2. Bring a large pot of water along with 1 tablespoon salt to a rapid boil.

3. Add in baby potatoes and cook for 20 minutes, until very soft. Remove from water and allow sit in a colander for 5 minutes until completely dry.

4. Brush a large baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet. Using the bottom of a glass cup gently press down on potatoes until potatoes are ¼ inch thick. Brush with remaining olive oil and season with remaining salt and garlic.

5. Bake for 25 minutes until crispy. Transfer to a platter and top with fresh herbs.

Carrot Cake Muffins

from Creme de la Crumb, April 7, 2020

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour

• 1 cup sugar

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• ⅓ cup brown sugar

• 2 large eggs - at room temperature

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 cups finely grated carrots (shredded with the finest grating option on a box grater)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and life a muffin tin with paper or silicone cupcake liners (or grease well with cooking spray).

2. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large bowl combine oil, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla and mix well. Stir in grated carrots.

4. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until completely incorporated.

5. Fill muffin liners 2/3 full.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to continue cooling.

7. Serve fresh or store in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days, or in the fridge up to 2 weeks. Optional: reheat them in the microwave for about 15 seconds and spread a little butter on top for the ultimate breakfast treat.

Our farm stand all set up for indoor shopping as well as outdoor pick-up for pre-orders.

CSA Week 6 and Farm Stand updates

This has been quite a season of extreme conditions for us! We had a very dry late spring and early summer only to be followed by excessive rains in the past two weeks. In our 8 years farming on this property with very sandy soils, I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much standing water as we saw last week or today. The recent rains did not negate the need to have devoted so much time to setting up irrigation on all of our crops earlier this spring- they never would have survived until now if we hadn’t. The temperature fluctuations have also been extreme, with an unusually high number of 90-plus degree days mixed in with some of the coldest summer temps we’ve ever seen (including 60 degrees on July 3rd - the coldest temperature ever recorded for that particular day!).

These water and temperature extremes have been stressful for both us and the plants! We are left with little to do about it all but move our irrigation pump at the river high enough that it won’t flood, wait for the water in the fields to dry out so we can plant our fall cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli, cross our fingers that the rains don’t bring too much disease and rot, and hope that when the water recedes our re-seeded fall carrots will still germinate (the first attempt at carrot seeding had to be redone because, of all things, it was too hot and dry to germinate!). Most of the effects of this rain will be noticeable later in the season, when perhaps the crazy weather that reduced yields and delayed or destroyed young plantings is a distant memory. However, there are some crops that are suffering now, including our fresh onions, which are rotting at high rates in the field, and our flower garden, which is a bit muddy and has been slow to generate new blooms in the cold gray weather. Fortunately, so far the storage onions for later in the season look okay, and we are optimistic that with a temporary closure of the flower field we will be back to picking in no time for a long season! And while the rain makes us uneasy about the future, we are still enjoying a nice harvest for this week, including fresh garlic and the aforementioned fresh onions (both should be kept in the fridge, and are just a little milder than their cured counterparts, which will be available later this fall), as well as red potatoes!

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.

• 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.

• Red potatoes - These small red potatoes are perfect for a small batch of potato salad made with our celery and fresh onions!

• Celery

• Fennel

• Summer squash and Zucchini

• Cucumbers - A mix of slicing and the first pickling cukes will be available!

• Carrots

• Beets

• Mini cabbage - A mix of round and cone shaped “caraflex” green varieties, as well as some purple.

• Curly kale

• Lettuce

• Salanova Lettuce Mix

• Baby bok choi

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.

*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.

• Green Beans - Please hold the plant while carefully picking the largest beans.

• Herbs - basil, thai basil, parsley, dill, dill flowers, oregano and thyme.

Pick-your-own Flower CSA

The flower field will be closed this week to give it time to recover from flooding, as we want to keep the flower beds nice for months to come! The extra time will hopefully provide some more sunshine to encourage more flower blooms!

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have the first tomatoes from our high tunnel, eggplant, green peppers and blueberries (our blueberry patch is small, so the best way to get a box is to order online the night before - read on for details about online ordering. If there are extra, we will have them in the farm stand as well for walk-up sales). We also have eggs from Codman Farm, honey from Double B, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.

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 and encouraged for the remainder of the day. 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.

Elena’s Potato Salad

from our good friend Elena Colman of Small Farm in Stow!

• 1 quart potatoes

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp pepper

• about 1/4 cup olive oil (or in Elena’s words “a few glugs”)

• 1 tbsp spicy mustard

• about 1/4 lb salanova

• 2-3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

• 1 head celery, stalks chopped

• parsley, chopped

• dill, chopped

Boil the potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them and drain. Mix the water, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over the potatoes while still hot. Put in the refrigerator for an hour or more. When it is closer to time to serve, add the oil and mustard, salanova, hard boiled eggs, chopped celery stalks, parsley and dill. Toss and serve.

Peppery Coleslaw with Cucumbers and Celery

by Susan Bray Garrison, from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

• ½ small head cabbage, shredded

• ½ cucumber, chopped

• 1 stalk celery with leaves, finely chopped

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

• ½ cup mayonnaise

• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

• ¼ teaspoon onion powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

Mix cabbage, cucumber, celery, cilantro, and parsley in a bowl. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, onion powder, salt, and black pepper in a separate bowl; stir dressing into slaw until thoroughly mixed. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

Flooded carrots and beets on Monday

CSA Week 5 and Farm Stand updates

We are very excited that we have now completed two grant projects to improve food safety and high tunnel and greenhouse production! Thanks to Melissa and crew member Nigel, both projects were completed before their deadlines outlined in the grant arrangement, no small feat during the busy months of May and June on the farm!

Our high tunnel and greenhouse grant project involved automating the ventilation systems on two of our four high tunnels (unheated structures where we grow crops in the ground) and the heating and ventilation in our two greenhouses (used to grow our seedlings for planting in the field). These structures require monitoring to make sure vents are opened and closed at proper times in order to control the temperature and humidity conditions. If they are opened too late in the morning or closed too early in the day the tunnels and greenhouses can be too hot and humid, causing heat stress and disease. If they are left open overnight or closed too late in the day, the plants can slow in productivity or get cold damage. Opening and closing all of the structures manually every day can easily take an hour (and usually at inconvenient times like late evening), so automating most of our structures is a huge quality of life improvement for us, as it means we don’t have to plan our weekends and evenings as much around opening or closing these structures. It is also a huge quality of life improvement for our plants, as the vents adjust throughout the day to sunlight and temperature fluctuations (which have been frequent lately!). The improved conditions inside the structures also means that the plants require less water as the soil and potting mix do not dry out as quickly. One of the things about this project that we are most proud of is that the two high tunnel ventilation systems are off the grid - they are hooked up to solar!

Our food safety project involved installing a beautiful new shed for safely storing our harvest buckets, purchasing additional food safe produce bins to keep up with our increasing vegetable production, purchasing new, sturdier and more user-friendly portable handwashing sinks for the CSA tent and the farm stand, and upgrading our cooler and wash area pallets (also thanks to Nigel!). We especially enjoy how the new shed has freed up space in our wash area for better flow, and how we no longer have to scour harvest buckets that were stored outside for signs of contamination!

In other news at the farm, the PYO Flower field is now open to both PYO Flower CSA members, as well as walk-ins. See below for more details about picking!

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.

• Celery - This celery isn’t like the giant celery from the grocery store, but it is much more tender, fresh, flavorful and colorful!

• Fennel - Most of the early season high tunnel fennel is gone, so we are on to harvesting fennel from the field now.

• Summer squash

• Zucchini

• Cucumbers - A mix of slicing and the first pickling cukes will be available!

• Carrots - there will be an option of orange carrots or purple carrots

• Beets

• Mini cabbage - A mix of round and cone shaped “caraflex” green varieties, as well as some purple.

• Curly kale

• Garlic scapes

• Lettuce

• Salanova Lettuce Mix

• Mustard greens - These greens do better than most in hot weather, so are a frequent component of summer CSA weeks. We’ve included a couple of delicious recipe ideas below centered around mustard greens!

• Baby bok choi

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.

*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.

• Herbs - basil, thai basil, parsley, dill, dill flowers, oregano and thyme.

  Coming Soon: Next week we should have green beans! Sunflowers are also coming along soon and cherry tomatoes will be ready late July or early August.

Pick-your-own Flower CSA

The PYO Flower field opened to PYO Flower CSA members on Friday, and this week is opening to the general public. Flower picking is available whenever the Farm Stand is open (Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm). Please bring your own pruners or scissors as well as water for your flowers (the barn is for employees only so the sinks are not available). You will be provided with a wide mouth quart jar for picking. If you are a PYO Flower CSA member who received your jar last week, please remember to bring your jar with you to pick each time. If you are not a PYO Flower CSA member, we will loan you a jar for measuring your bouquet. The cost of each PYO bouquet is $12, and the cost if you would like to keep the jar is $3. Please check in at the farm stand before picking.

Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons, rudbeckia, gomphrena, celosia, ageratum, ammi, statice, amaranth, and verbena.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have some green peppers, chard, scallions, salad turnips and blueberries (our blueberry patch is small, so the best way to get a box is to order online the night before - read on for details about online ordering. If there are extra, we will have them in the farm stand as well for walk-up sales). We also have eggs from Codman Farm, honey from Double B, and we hope to have mushrooms again at the end of the week.

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 and encouraged for the remainder of the day. 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.

Crispy Tofu Bibimbap with Mustard Greens & Zucchini

by Michael Natkin, Food & Wine Magazine, August 2013

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (or try pickling cukes!)

• 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

• Kosher salt

• 1 cup sushi rice

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 2 garlic cloves, minced (or use garlic scapes)

• 12 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps thickly sliced

• One 14-ounce box extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into 3-by- 1/3-inch sticks

• One 12-ounce bunch of mustard greens—stems and inner ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped

• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

• 1 small zucchini, cubed (or summer squash)

• 2 tablespoons kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) or 2 tablespoons of soy sauce mixed with 1 teaspoon of molasses

• 4 scallions, thinly sliced

• Gochujang (Korean chile paste - available at Korean markets or from hmart.com) or Sriracha, for serving

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar with the sugar, cucumbers, 1 teaspoon of the ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice with 1 1/3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

3. Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and shiitake, season with salt and cook over high heat, stirring, until browned, 6 minutes; scrape onto a platter. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and add the tofu. Cook over high heat, turning, until browned, 5 minutes. Scrape the tofu onto the platter, keeping it separate from the mushrooms.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the mustard greens and sesame oil, season with salt and cook until the greens are wilted and just tender, 4 minutes. Add the greens to the platter. Wipe out the skillet. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the zucchini and cook over high heat until softened, 3 minutes. Add the kecap manis and cook until the zucchini is glazed, 1 minute; scrape onto the platter. Keep warm.

5. Mound the rice in bowls and arrange the cooked vegetables in separate piles. Using a slotted spoon, add the pickled cucumbers to the bowls. Garnish with the scallions and a dollop of gochujang and serve.

Orecchiette With Mustard Greens

by Cathy Thomas and Melissa's Produce, adapted and published in The Washington Post, April 24, 2013

Ingredients

• Kosher or sea salt

• 8 ounces dried orecchiette pasta

• 2 pounds mustard greens

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

• 3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (see NOTE)

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1/3 cup grated or shaved pecorino Romano cheese, for garnish

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta.

While the pasta is cooking, remove the thick ribs from the mustard greens and discard. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves, then stack them and cut into 1-inch-wide strips.

Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Once it shimmers, add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes; cook briefly, until the garlic just starts to soften. Add the greens and use tongs to toss them as they wilt. Cook them, tossing and stirring frequently, until they become tender, about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, stir in the basil and pine nuts and toss to combine.

Add the pasta and toss to combine, adding enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to form a creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon the pasta into individual bowls, top with the cheese and serve.

NOTE: Toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, just until they start to brown and become fragrant. Immediately transfer them to a plate so they don't continue cooking.