Thanks to this incredible crew (more folks than we often have working!) the fields and high tunnels are looking the best they have in years. If it weren’t for our major deer problem and our cucumber tunnel plant loss we wouldn’t even have our classic farming woes to regale you with! This week we hope to keep things moving along including bringing in our storage onion crop before the rain, weed our fall carrots and beets, and catch up on trellising in our tomato and pepper tunnels during cloudy weather. This week’s veggie highlights are the first watermelon and more tomatoes in the CSA, the mixed field cherry tomatoes in the farm store, and uncured garlic in both the CSA and store.
In the CSA this week:
Watermelon! All are red icebox sized with seeds.
Uncured garlic - This garlic has not been hung to dry so will not store as long as the garlic we have in the fall. It also has a slightly milder flavor.
Tomatoes - These are coming from our high tunnel. Varieties include Lemon Boy Plus (yellow), Marmalade (orange), Bonbolya (pink), GinFiz (bicolor yellow with blush), Contessa (red beefsteak), and Estiva and Caiman (both red slicers).
Frisée - A bitter salad green that can also be used wilted or sauteed.
Fresh onions - Red Long of Tropea and Ailsa Craig varieties. Both types are milder and sweeter than cured onions.
Green and purple peppers
Zucchini or summer squash or cucumbers
Celery or fennel
Carrots
Beets
Curly kale
Lettuce
Swiss chard or Arugula
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Dragon Tongue beans - These speckled beauties are in a tender stage and can be prepared just like green beans.
Green beans - Still plentiful this week since we now have 2 plantings producing!
Sunflowers
Herbs: Basil, Thai basil, parsley, dill, sage, mint, thyme, chives
In the farm store:
Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. In addition to most of the items listed in the CSA above, we will have:
Cherry tomatoes - Sakura variety (red) from the high tunnel as well as mixed variety boxes from the field.
Flowers - Snapdragon bouquets and mixed bouquets
Sweet corn - From Verrill Farm in Concord. Not organic
Salsa Verde - Made by Kenneth at Eastern Mass Provision from our own organic tomatillos, onions, garlic, jalapeños and cilantro. Mild.
Hot Sauce - Made by Kenneth at Eastern Mass Provision from our own organic habañeros, aji rico, fresno, cayenne, Hungarian hot wax and garlic. Hot.
Seasonal Medley Mushrooms and Shiitake Mushrooms - From Mycoterra Farm in Deerfield, MA. Certified organic.
Baer’s Best Beans - Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry, and Cannellini are Certified Organic. Bumblebee and Black Coco are not organic. Grown by Charley Baer in South Berwick, ME.
Maple syrup - 12 oz. bottles from our friend Jim at Hollis Hills Farm in Fitchburg, MA. Not Organic.
Raspberry Vinegar Infusion -Silferleaf Farm in Concord, MA. Certified Organic.
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: scabiosa, orlaya, celosia, dill flowers, ammi, gomphrena, ageratum, cosmos, zinnias and rudbeckia. There may be other varieties available as the week goes on, but please do not pick from plantings that don’t have a variety sign in front of them.
When picking, please cut above branching points so that we can continue to get blooms all season (if they are cut to the base the plant can’t produce anymore flowers). This means that this time of year some varieties need to be picked with shorter stems.
Black Rice, Beet and Kale Salad With Cider Flax Dressing
by Tara Parker-Pope, from NY Times Cooking
Ingredients
1 lb beets, halved
⅔ cup uncooked black rice (sometimes called "forbidden rice")
1 ⅓ cup water
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
2 cups packed, shredded raw kale
CIDER FLAX DRESSING
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons cold-pressed flaxseed oil OR extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme (whole, not ground)
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add beets to a sheet of parchment-lined foil. Crunch into a ball. Roast for 1 ½ hours, until tender. Cool until comfortable to handle. Cut beets into bite-sized pieces or wedges. Add to a large bowl.
In a medium pot, add rice and 1 ⅓ cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 40 to 45 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add to beets, along with kale and pecans.
In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients or shake in a jar. Add to salad. Toss to combine, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (overnight is best). Before serving, taste and adjusting seasoning if desired.
This salad will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Tip
If you can't find black rice, try wild rice (cook according to wild rice package directions). This would be fabulous with a little goat's milk feta, chevre or thick yogurt on top.
Tomato-Green Bean Salad With Chickpeas, Feta and Dill
by David Tanis, from NY Times Cooking
Ingredients
Kosher salt and black pepper
¾ pound green beans, preferably slender haricots verts, trimmed
2 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 small lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint cherry tomatoes, mixed colors, halved (or cut up slicing or heirloom tomato)
2 cups cooked chickpeas (from 1 cup dried chickpeas or 1 15-ounce can), cooled and drained
4 ounces feta, crumbled (½ cup)
2 to 3 tablespoons roughly chopped dill, for serving
Pinch of dried oregano, for serving
Preparation
Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon salt, then the green beans. Cook until beans are tender-crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer beans to a large bowl of cold water. Drain in a colander and blot green beans dry with a kitchen towel.
Make the dressing: In a small bowl, put lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, a pinch of salt and some black pepper to taste. Whisk in olive oil.
Make the salad: Add cherry tomatoes, green beans and chickpeas to a large salad bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Add dressing and toss to coat. Add feta and toss once more. Let marinate for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.
To serve, sprinkle generously with dill and oregano.
Catherine picks cherry tomatoes in the high tunnel.