Farm News, October 31, 2017
CSA NOTES:
This is the last week of our summer schedule ... But still plenty of veggies to come!
-The weekly New Milford Winter Market starts this Saturday, November 4 at the East Street School (between the hospital and CVS on Rt. 202) and continues through January... we will be there with all your fall favorites!
-AND we will have 3 Tuesday-only farm stand/CSA distributions on November 7, 14, and 21, from 2:30 to 6:00 (note the 6 pm closing as we try to beat the dark a bit).
-Please note our Thursday and Saturday distributions on the farm *end* November 4.
We hope you enjoyed the produce and visits to our farm!
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2018 Renewal information for our on-farm CSA will be sent out by email soon! If you are not already a member, you can sign up for our waiting list on our website here.
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Farm News
As we begin the fall wind down, we toggle between late-season harvests and more frequent frost protection events. This last rain might finally put an end to irrigating, which seems to extend later and later with each passing season. The spuds and carrots are finally in, but we still have substantial amounts of parsnips, cabbage, turnips, and leeks to put up for the winter markets. We also have lots of head lettuce, spinach, chard, and other CSA favorites growing on for the months ahead, and the cooler temperatures make for some of the sweetest, crispiest veggies of the season.We are looking forward to turning our attention to the big fall projects at hand: planting 16,000 cloves of garlic, pulling up hundreds of trellis sticks, cleaning up messes we have pushed aside since the spring, making and spreading compost, and generally, putting the farm fields to bed.As we look back on 2017, once again, we feel lucky to have worked with such a super group of young people, who kept the farm humming on all cylinders. Field manager Elliott McGann coordinated the farm’s day-to-day operations, and spent many long days making sure the job was finished. It is with deep gratitude that we say goodbye to our friend and co-manager of six years, and wish him success in his next adventure off of the farm in 2018 and beyond. Outside of our own skins, no one has been so vested in the farm or has taken such care in seeing it succeed. We will miss him!Our apprentice crew of Lauren Henderson, Bailey Deutsch, Hanna Snyder-Samuelson, and Justin Martel not only put in long hours getting the crops in the ground, watered, weeded, picked, and packed, but they took on a larger chunk of helping make the farm run smoothly this year. We had a big boost from season-long helpers, Adam Quattro, Joey Charles, and Luna Hodge. Carly Fortuna and Sara Khatib joined us with an autumn push. We welcomed long-season helpers, Pam Martino and Kathy Scott, whose capable hands moved the greenhouse tasks along and then moved to the barn to help us with Farm Stand cashiering. The saying, “It takes a village...” is as true in farming as it is in child rearing.Off the farm, we cannot say enough about the hardworking folks who make up our three market crews. They meet us in all kinds of weather, and promptly haul tents, tables, scales, and (literally) tons of vegetables off of our truck. They also help convey knowledge of the farm and produce to our customers (often better than we grumpy farmers can muster!). We are deeply grateful for our on- and off-farm crew members, each of whom adds something unique to help make the farm succeed and thrive.And most importantly, thanks to each of you who make a special trip to pick up Fort Hill Farm veggies through the CSA or farm stand, at a farmers’ market, or at New Morning Market. We know that many of you make a special trip to get our veggies and we really appreciate that effort, as well as your willingness to work with us as we deal with the special challenges created by organic growing in New England. We hope you’ll visit us at the New Milford and Westport Winter Farmers’ market, and we’ll be growing for you again in the spring.We hope you enjoyed the farm and the harvest,Rebecca and Paul, for Elliott, Lauren, Justin, Bailey, Hannah, and the field crew
Featured this week
Baby Bok Choy: This is one of those vegetables where both the farmers and shareholders are happy: we like growing bok choy, and are pretty good at it, and shareholders seem to love it ... Time for a group hug! We also have a particularly beautiful stand for fall. It’s a famous stir-fry ingredient, sautéed in oil, tamari, and ginger, but also makes an outstanding raw salad, because of it’s amazing crispy crunch.Also available: arugula, baby red kale, tatsoi, salad mix, cut leaf spinach, rainbow chard, curly green and lacinato kale, pea shoots, sunflower sprouts, red, Chioggia, & golden beets, garlic, carrots, parsnips, celeriac, yellow storage onions, leeks, radishes, salad turnips, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, baby bok choy, escarole, head lettuce, mixed sweet peppers, green bell peppers, assorted hot peppers, assorted gold, red, and fingerling potatoes, eggplant, Brussels sprouts, collards, Purple Top turnips, green and red cabbage, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, Gilfeather turnips, fresh turmeric, and baby ginger!Pick Your Own: Sweet and tasty beans available, and lots of beautiful perennial herbs. PYO begins 30 before and goes 30 minutes beyond barn hours.
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie; also see the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Chicken Udon Soup with Bok Choy
Recipe by Jessica GavinSoup Base5 cups chicken broth6 slices peeled fresh ginger 1/4-inch3 cloves garlic crushed1 green onion cut into 2-inch piecesChicken Udon Soup3 1/2 ounces shiitake mushrooms fresh, (1 package)1 tablespoon canola oil1/2 cup carrots sliced2 teaspoons ginger minced peeled fresh1 cloves garlic minced1 tablespoon soy sauce1/4 cup sake or dry white wine, rice wine, (optional)4 cups chicken breast shredded cooked, (about 1 pound)1/8 teaspoon black pepper more as neededKosher salt as needed15 ounces udon noodles Myojo Udon Japanese Noodles8 slices cooked egg scrambled or hard boiled (optional)1/4 cup green onions diagonally cut10 ounces baby bok choy cut into 4 sectionsGet Ingredients Powered by ChicoryINSTRUCTIONSSoup BaseRemove stems from mushrooms; reserve stems. Thinly slice mushroom caps; set aside. Combine mushroom stems, chicken broth, ginger slices, crushed garlic and green onions in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the solids and discard. Strain stock through a sieve over a bowl; discard solids.Chicken Udon SoupHeat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add canola oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add reserved sliced mushroom caps and carrots to the pan, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add minced ginger and minced garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Add sake, and cook for 4 minutes, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add strained stock to pan. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low. Add soy sauce and pepper, taste a season as needed. Add shredded chicken and bok choy, simmer for 2 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly heated.Cook udon noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and seasoning (if included), drain. Divide noodles evenly among 4 bowls. Add 1 cup soup and vegetables to each bowl. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and serve with egg if desired.
Maple-Roasted Carrot Salad
Recipe from Cooking for Jeffrey by Ina Garten2 pounds carrots, preferably with leafy topsGood olive oilKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper¼ cup pure Grade A maple syrup⅔ cup dried cranberries⅔ cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar2 garlic cloves, grated on a Microplane6 ounces baby arugula6 ounces goat cheese, such as Montrachet, medium-diced⅔ cup roasted, salted Marcona almondsDIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Trim and scrub the carrots. If the carrots are more than 1 inch in diameter, cut them in half lengthwise. Cut the carrots in large diagonal slices 1 inch wide × 2 inches long (they will shrink when they roast) and place in a medium bowl with ¼ cup of olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss well and transfer to two sheet pans. (If you use just one, they’ll steam instead of roasting.) Roast for 20 minutes, tossing once, until the carrots are tender. Transfer all the carrots to one of the sheet pans, add the maple syrup, toss, and roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until the edges are caramelized. Watch them carefully! Toss with a metal spatula and set aside for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the cranberries and orange juice in a small saucepan, bring to a simmer, then set aside for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the arugula in a large bowl and add the carrots, cranberries (with their liquid), goat cheese, almonds, and the vinaigrette. Toss with large spoons, sprinkle with salt, and serve at room temperature.