Farm News July 26, 2022
*** SPECIAL NOTE: Due to the road race, there will be no New Milford Market this Saturday, July 30. If you can’t wait for your fresh veg, come to our farmstand instead, which will be open its usual hours that day! 8am - 12:30 pm
We usually take heat in stride here at the farm, but last week really put us to the test. Heat waves of 3 or 4 days above 90F are par for the course in Connecticut, but I don’t recall an entire week of highs in the 90’s with soaking humidity. We switched to early start hours and tried to save as much washing and packing as we could for the afternoon, but by mid-morning it was a cooker each day. Most of our crops aren’t thrilled with temperatures in those ranges either, but the week’s weather did offer us one saving grace: two soaking rainfalls spaced 3 days apart. This limited the time we needed to spend irrigating and kept the crops roots cool and moist.
James, Dana, and Shell, get silly in the chard.
Most crops are looking good. The winter squash has almost completely covered the ground and are starting to produce fruit. A very good crop of sweet corn is ready for the picking. Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes are coming in. Our lettuce and salad crops are braving the heat with regular showers of irrigation water. There are signs of cantaloupe in the near future. We have a great crop of carrots that we will top and store for August, when carrots don’t do particularly well.
Calin and Kim taste test our new and early lunchbox peppers.
We are grateful for our crew, who showed up last week in the heat and kept the farm chugging. The general consensus was that they showed up because they knew throwing in the towel on a hot day would make it that much harder for everyone else. We are also grateful to you for showing up at our farmstand and farmers’ markets on hot (or rainy, cold, or windy days….) and supporting our farm.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul and Rebecca for the Fort Hill Farm crew
These Brussels sprouts and cabbage (above) have put on 80% of their growth in the last 3 weeks. Weeds do the same in this weather unfortunately, and copious weeding - as depicted in these 2 photos - are a daily reality on a small farm.
Featured veg:
Zucchini: Think back if you can and remember a time with no fresh zucchini (just a month ago?), and try to appreciate the abundance and impermanence of this boom-and-bust crop. It was slow coming in this year, but the second patch is in strong. Everyone loves spring greens, it’s even better when there is some “hard” veg like squash and carrots to cook with. Grill, sauté, stuff, and grate into breads and cakes, or see recipe below.
Red and French Breakfast Radishes: We are experiencing a beautiful summer crop, dare I say, a Radish Moment. We put them are on SALE this week in recognition of this high summer event. Radishes take a big back seat to the summer heavy hitters, like sweet corn and (soon-to-be melons), but they are also quite tasty and surprisingly mild when cooked (check out the tasty grill recipe below). The greens can be sautéed just like any mustard green, which it seems more and more folks are taking advantage of these days. Otherwise, slice, chop, or shred into your salads as usual. Radishes are particulary wonderful in Asian slaws.
Also available:
Head lettuce, arugula, salad mix, pea shoots, carrots, red and French Breakfast radishes, scallions, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, cilantro, basil, parsley, dill, chives, radicchio, frozen ginger, red beets, Ailsa Craig and Red Torpedo fresh onions, garlic scapes, summer squash, cucumbers, red and Tendersweet cabbage, garlic, limited broccoli and sprouting broccoli, hints of the very first eggplant and peppers, heirloom & beefsteak tomatoes, and cherry tomatoes
Coming Soon:
cantaloupe
Pick Your Own:
~Flowers:
Flowers are in full swing and on sale!
~Green and Wax Beans: are between sowings and may be ready end of the week. Stay tuned …
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Sweet Corn And Zucchini Pie
From PinchofYum
INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons butter
half of a yellow onion, diced
2 ears sweet corn
2 large zucchini, sliced very thinly (about 4 cups)
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 ounces shredded cheese (I used both Mozzarella and Swiss)
4 eggs, beaten
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. While the veggies sauté, cut the corn kernels off the cob. Add them to the pan and continue to sauté until the veggies are soft, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Once the mixture has cooled for a few minutes, stir in the basil, oregano, salt, cheese, and the beaten eggs. Line a pie pan (9-inch or larger) with parchment paper or just grease a pan with nonstick spray. Transfer the mixture to the pan. Arrange the top so the zucchini slices lay flat and look nice. Top with a little extra cheese for looks, cover with greased foil, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the top. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting into slices.
It will bubble up a little bit as it bakes, so put a pan under to catch drips if it’s full. Also, there was a little extra watery-ness (about 2 tablespoons) in the bottom of my pan when I sliced it, but the pieces held together perfectly so NBD. I think the moisture could be prevented by just being a little more patient before cutting. I sprinkled mine with fresh herbs (parsley and cilantro) like I always do on everything. Basil would also be yummy.
Grilled Daikon Skewers With Aisoon Sauce
Recipe by Nyesha Arrington
Ingredients
For the Radish
1 large daikon radish, peeled (roughly 2 pounds-can sub with any radish)
2 quarts dashi
1 ounce ginger, cut into slices
1½ cups sake
1½ cups mirin
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon usukuchi soy sauce (or amber soy sauce)
1 cup bonito flakes (wrapped and tied up in cheesecloth)
For the Aisoon Sauce
5 garlic cloves
1 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons Korean chile flakes
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons crushed toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
Directions
Cut the peeled radish into 1-inch-thick pieces. In a large-sized saucepan, add the daikon and cover with water. The water should be roughly 2 inches over the radish. Bring the pot to a boil then lower to a simmer for about 5 minutes, until the daikon is almost fork tender but is still tight in the middle. Remove from the heat, strain and set the radish aside.
Return the daikon to the saucepan and add the dashi, ginger, sake, mirin, salt and soy sauce. Place the bag of bonito flakes on top. Bring the ingredients to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Place a lid that is slightly smaller than the pot on top of the ingredients to keep them contained. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the daikon from the liquid and set aside. You may reserve the liquid for soup.
Make the sauce: Place the garlic in a small saucepan. Cover with roughly 2 cups of cold water and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, strain. Repeat this step 2 more times. With a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic into a fine paste and place it in a medium bowl. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and whisk to combine, until the sugar is dissolved.
Preheat your grill to medium-high heat or set up a grill pan. Cut each radish piece into quarters and skewer onto a metal or wooden skewer. Brush the Aisoon sauce over the skewers. Grill the skewers while basting every couple of minutes with the sauce, roughly 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until caramelized and lightly charred. Repeat basting as they're cooking. Serve immediately. Serves 4.