Farm News, August 18, 2020
The Farmstand is open today from 2 - 6:30 PM (PYO Hours: 1:30 - 7)
This Week's Farm News:
The harvest season continues to roll on into late summer. Despite what I think we can now safely call a drought (less than 2 inches of rain since June), a tropical storm, and hot temperatures, we’ve got a great harvest for you this week. Tomato, pepper, and eggplant continue to pour in, plenty of corn and watermelons, and a surprisingly good selection of greens. We pay close attention to keeping our lettuce watered and have been able to get a good harvest despite the dry, hot weather.
Liv shows off the beauty of one of our favorite trial watermelons ... it's a red one!
Our crew is doing a great job running the day to day operations of the farm. Last week our field manager Lauren took a few well deserved days off. We took that opportunity to start a weekly rotation among our more experienced crew members to take a week running the harvest, weeding, irrigating, and other tasks on the farm. Connor stepped up and did a great job, and this week it’s Dana’s turn.
Diane D'Isidori (center) brings the gang, Sarah Geary (left) and Lynn Orzolek (right) whenever we sound the alarm of extra lettuce and other fresh goodies.
We’ve also had some “guest harvesters”on the farm. We have a great relationship with New Milford Social Services, and we supply vegetables for their weekly food pantry. This year, we’ve had an abundance of lettuce due to decreased sales to restaurants, and Social Services volunteers have taken the extra (big) step of coming out to cut and pack it and take it to their distribution. Food pantries are often lacking in veggies and other nutrient dense food, so it’s great to get some fresh organic veggies in to the mix.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, Rebecca, Lauren and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Luca demonstrates the exceptional height and mass of vegetation our Sun Hemp cover crop provides.
Featured this week:
Fresh Baby Ginger: You've been asking and it is here! No peeling, no fibers, just pure flavor and joy! Check out the tasty recipe below - we strained the mixture before adding the ice last night and made some refreshing popsicles. (Note: prices will be higher because we are pulling the crop very early... there will be plenty of ginger in the coming months at the usual price.
Edamame: Fresh Edamame is not something you see everyday, that’s for sure, and we look forward to this ephemeral summer harvest. Strip the pods from the stems steam for five minutes, salt, squeeze the beans from the pods into your mouth, and enjoy. Or see the recipe below. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
Also available:
salad mix, arugula, head lettuce (5 - 7 kinds available at any given time!), curly green and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, fresh basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, chives, sage, and thyme, red and French Breakfast radishes, slicing cucumbers, red, Chioggia and gold beets, red cabbage, fresh carrots, garlic, Zephyr Squash, sungold and red cherry tomatoes, heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes, sweet corn, green bell peppers, Jalapeño and shishito peppers, Italian and mixed Asian eggplant, Ailsa Craig and Red Torpedo fresh onions, Red Gold potatoes, radicchio, fresh leeks, limited pea shoots, red and yellow watermelon as long as it lasts
Coming Soon:
colored peppers, Satina Gold potatoes
Pick Your Own:
SUNGOLDS! open for PYO now
Sunflowers! are in full swing. Small heads may be included in a flower bouquet. Large heads are sold by the stem.
Flowers - open for picking!
Beans: the new bed of green beans and yellow wax beans is in and ready for picking
Perennial herbs - for your fresh summer salads and grilling:
Chives- clip a few stems at the base
Oregano, Sage and Thyme - Trim the tops 4 " down
PYO begins 30 minutes before and goes 30 minutes beyond barn hours.
Recipes, suggested by Rebecca Batchie. For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
To mix things up, I'm going to try to feature one classic farmrecipe and one new one this year ...
GINGERED WATERMELON JUICE
From Food.com YIELD: 2-3 servings
Ingredients
1 1⁄8 lbs watermelon, roughly chopped (500g)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
thinly sliced watermelon (to garnish)
DIRECTIONS
Place the watermelon and ginger in a blender.
Process for 2 minutes, or until smooth.
Add 6 ice cubes and process until the ice is crushed.
Pour into chilled glasses and garnish with a thin slice of watermelon. Enjoy!
Best Edamame Summer Salad
Adapted from recipe by PipandDebby
INGREDIENTS
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup cilantro chopped
2 limes, juiced
1 tsp. white sugar (optional)
1 tsp. coarse salt
2 cloves garlic very finely chopped
12 oz. package frozen (HA!) shelled edamame
2 cups frozen (HA!) corn kernels
1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
1/4 c. red onion, finely diced
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the red wine vinegar, olive oil, cilantro, lime juice, sugar, salt and garlic. Set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the edamame and boil for 3 minutes. Add corn to the boiling water and continue cooking for 1 minute. Drain well and pour into the bowl with the dressing. Gently mix in the cherry tomatoes and green onions. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.