Farm News October 1, 2024
******
NEW FALL HOURS START TODAY!
CLOSED FRIDAYS,
with reduced hours on the remaining open days
(See below):
******
(PYO & Farmstand Hours):
Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM
Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm
******
We’ve been blessed with some amazing weather this September, and the forecast for early October predicts a similar stellar weather pattern. It’s a little eerie to look at the forecast and see mostly sunny skies, warm temperatures, and just the occasional (mostly welcome) rainy day. Although a fast-moving mass of Canadian air could change things quickly, we don’t see much chance for frost in the next 10 days. Basking in the glow of this pleasant fall is tempered by the knowledge that folks to the south and west of us are facing damage from hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires pumped up by climate change. Knowing that the overheated atmosphere can deliver some violent weather without notice, as we saw in Oxford and Southbury just a few weeks ago, makes us walk around looking behind our back for the next extreme weather event.
Kolade hams it up in the sweet potatoes.
At the farm we are a bit overwhelmed with the abundance. We are just halfway through digging the sweet potatoes, with an estimated ton or so still in the ground to be dug. The sweet potatoes we dug a few weeks ago have been basking in a warm greenhouse, turning some starch into sugar. Last night Rebecca roasted up some tasty test taters and we pronounced them ready for dinner, so the wait is over! The honeynut squash are also ready to bake. These winter squash have the classic butternut shape, but more “single serving size” with an orange and light green coloring and excellent flavor. In the greens patches, we are harvesting barrel loads of salad mix, fennel, radicchio, escarole, and tons of bunched greens too.
Italian dandelion is in its full glory right now, as Faye displays. It will take a break soon, but make a reappearance later in the fall.
At the farmstand, we’ve been working with our orchard partners to offer some great apples and pears. We work with Maple Bank Farm (Roxbury), Hidden Gem Orchard (Southbury), and Averill Farm (Washington). They offer interesting varieties, or unique strains of varieties you see in the grocery store. Give Maple Bank farm’s unique Golden Delicious a try – its so much more flavorful than the commercial strain you find at the supermarket. It’s very difficult to reliably grow organic tree fruit in the northeast, so please note that all the fruit we have at the farm stand is conventionally grown.
We hope to see you at the farm or a farmers’ market soon,
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Sweet potatoes: Last night’s taste test revealed that the first ones unearthed are now as sweet as pie! This year we have a great sweet potato crop, unlike last year with all the seemingly endless rain. Sweet potatoes will store for many months at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Just hold off washing them until you are ready to use, and NEVER expose them to temperatures below 55F. We have held these guys in a warm greenhouse for a few weeks, so they should be sweet and ready to eat. Try them baked whole, cubed and roasted, mashed, or in Paul’s favorite, sweet potato pie.
Fennel: I think I may declare this season the Year of Fennel. I know, we featured fennel in May too, but that is because both the early spring and fall fennel have been stupendously bulbous, bodacious, and delicious! Try my soup recipe below, which will hopefully transport you on a soul-warming journey straight into the heart of Tuscany… And fennel is ON SALE this week!
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale; rainbow & ruby chard; purple, red and French Breakfast radish; cilantro, parsley, red beets, chioggia beets and gold beets; red and Savoy cabbage; Chinese cabbage; (limited); heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes; Sungold, artisanal, and red cherry tomatoes (at the farmstand); fall carrots; broccoli and sprouting broccoli; German Extra Hardy garlic; red and yellow storage onions; jalapeño, cayenne, poblano and shishito peppers; red bell peppers: Sweet Red Italian and orange snacking peppers; Classic Italian, Graffiti, and Rosa Bianca eggplant (farmstand only); Dark Red Norland, Magic Molly, LaRatte Gold and Pinto Gold fingerlings, Kennebec, and and Satina Gold potatoes; leeks; celery; fall fennel; collard greens; escarole; dandelion; radicchio; fresh ginger; acorn squash, and Jester delicata squash; romanesco (as available); celeriac; Brussels sprouts greens (as available); zucchini and summer quash (limited) from the greenhouse!
Coming Soon:
Butternut Squash
Pick Your Own:
Perennial Herbs:
There are HERB RINGS provided to establish the bunch size.
Chives and Oregano: trim long lengths from the base of the plant, leaving 1” behind
Sage: clip 4 - 6 inches from the largest stems
Thyme: clip 4-6 from the perimeter of the plant
Flowers:
Bouquets on SALE! The Dahlias are in full bloom, and there is still a good selection of other blossoms out there. Be sure to use the flower ring provided to establish the bunch size.
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Not into this particular recipe? For more recipes outlined by crop, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database.
White Bean Soup with Fennel and Lacinato Kale
By Rebecca
Okay, so my cousin Adria (fab cook) made us this soup last winter and I’ve been making it ever since. Although a very simple recipe, there isn’t one online that comes close enough, so I apologize for the lack of exact instructions here! My feeling is that you can’t go wrong with these ingredients, and my hope is that will love this soup like we do!
Serves around 6
Ingredients
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1/4”)
1 large bulb fennel, finely chopped (1/4”)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 T chopped, fresh rosemary, or 1.5 tsp dried
4 cups vegetable stock or water
1 bunch lacinato kale
3 cans 15 oz. Cannellini or Great Northern beans (or beans cooked yourself) *see last paragraph–you may want more on hand…
Salt and pepper
Instructions
Remove the stems from the fennel bulb (can use the succulent part near the base), cut out the core, then chop the remaining bulb. De-stem the kale by holding the leaf at the lowest part of the stem and pulling back to tear the leaf away from the stem, then roughly chop the leaves.
In a medium bowl, place the beans with 1/3 of the garlic, add some salt and pepper, and set it aside to let the flavors meld.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the fennel and onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes, until translucent. Here I like to purposefully brown the onions, but if you don’t like that, stop at translucent. I salt the veggies as I go, so add a good amount here. Reduce the heat to medium, add the rosemary and bay leaf and cook for a minute or two. Add the remainder of the garlic, and continue to cook for 30 seconds.
Add the vegetable broth, cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and add the kale, Simmer until the kale is tender, about 5-10 minutes (I like it well cooked).
Meanwhile, take about a 1/3 of the beans with a cup of the broth and puree in a blender/food processor. Add this back to the soup to thicken. Here is where your preferences come in. If it’s not thick enough, puree a bit more of the beans (keeping in mind it will thicken if you wait a day). Then add the rest of the whole beans to the soup. Taste and adjust flavors and texture as necessary, perhaps adding more rosemary, salt, and pepper. To serve, top with Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes, if desired.
* * * * * * * * * *