In the Midst of the Dog Days of Summer
We're right in the thick of it on the farm. Crops are producing at their fullest, the weeds are relentless, and now it looks like we're going to catch up with all that rain we lacked earlier in the season. It's also the astrological dog days of summer, which is when the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, the dog star, rises in the morning with the sun. Ancient Greeks believed this coincided with the hottest days of the year as the two brightest celestial bodies in the sky were rising together. At least the heat has broken and we're getting some rain, but in a classic "farmer is never happy with the weather" moment, I'm now hoping we don't get too much. We want rain, we just don't want it all at once!
It's a hard time of year, but also an incredibly fulfilling time of year. August is harvest season. Obviously we have been picking all year, but this is the time that the long season crops start coming to fruition. Tomatoes are starting to turn color, melons are ripening, sunflowers are putting on a display, and beans are a constant thorn in my side (I love them but picking is a full time job in itself). It is definitely harvest season on the farm and I am so excited to share it with everyone that makes this all work!
Summer Shares Week 9!
I'm super excited to be including watermelon in our CSA this week! It has been absolutely delicious and may have actually saved a few farmers lives in the heat the past couple weeks. We'll have a full spread in the barn with everything ready including tomatoes!
I have a couple veggie updates for members. The first is that we are between beds of lettuce and greens mix, but they should be returning by next week. The second is a more somber update.
Unfortunately we will not have garlic for CSA shares this year. I made a mistake early on in the spring and passed too close to the hay mulch on the garlic beds while using our flame weeder. By the time I noticed that some of the mulch had sparked up, the flames spread rapidly across the garlic plot. I wanted to wait to see what harvest would look like before letting our CSA members know because garlic is flame resistant and tends to come back after being exposed to heat, but between the burn and losing its mulch to keep the weeds down, we had an underwhelming harvest this year. I'm hoping we pulled enough to supply our seed garlic needs this year, and we may have some garlic in shares, but it won't be like years past, although it will be back in years future! My apologies for making a rather boneheaded mistake. I know a lot of members love that we supply a close to a years worth of garlic through the CSA, and it is something I really like about the CSA, too. It's been tough to reckon with and I really am sorry to the CSA members, y'all are who I grow it all for and I hate to let you down. If you have any questions feel free to reach out. More on shares this week below:
Delivery Baskets
▪Basil
▪Beans
▪Broccoli
▪Cucumbers
▪Eggplant
▪Flowers
▪Fennel
▪Peppers
▪New Potatoes
▪Tomatoes
▪Watermelon
▪Zucchini & Summer Squash
Market Style Pickup
Members Select 8 Items
▪Beans
▪Beets
▪Broccoli
▪Broccolini
▪Cabbage
▪Carrots
▪Celery
▪Chard
▪Cucumbers
▪Eggplant
▪Fennel
▪Kale
▪Microgreens
▪Green Peppers
▪New Potatoes
▪Tomatoes OR Cherry Tomatoes
▪Watermelon
▪Zucchini and Summer Squash
*U-pick Flowers (does not count towards one of your items!)
Herbs
9th Item, Members can select one herb to add to their share
▪Basil
▪Parsley
Zucchini Sticks
This is a recipe reccomendation from CSA members Jonathan & Sheila. Thank you!
Ingredients
Zucchini
Salt
Flour or cornmeal
Paper bag
Olive oil
Instructions
Cut zucchini into finger-sized sticks and salt generously. When liquid appears on zucchini, take a few and put them in a paper bag with a handful of flour or cornmeal. Shake! Repeat. Meanwhile heat olive oil in a fry pan and add a few zucchini. Repeat until pan is full, turning sticks as they turn golden. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.
Watermelon & Fennel Salad -- CLICK FOR LINK
Ingredients
▪3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
▪2 tablespoons olive oil
▪1 tablespoon honey
▪¼ teaspoon kosher salt
▪¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
▪1 tablespoon finely minced shallots
▪3 ¼ cups thinly sliced fennel bulb
▪3 cups cubed watermelon
▪¼ cup chopped fresh mint
▪2 ounces crumbled feta cheese (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
Step 1
Combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Stir in shallots. Combine fennel and watermelon in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over watermelon mixture; toss gently. Sprinkle with mint and cheese.
Step 2
Kids Can Help: Using a plastic or child-safe knife, kids can cube the watermelon. They can also make the vinaigrette.
Ingredients
▪1 small to medium (~450 g) globe variety eggplant, unpeeled
▪¼ cup neutral oil, plus more for pan-frying the eggplant
▪1 tsp cumin seeds
▪1 medium (~245 g) yellow onion, finely chopped
▪6-7 (~1 tbsp) garlic cloves, crushed
▪1- inch (~1 tbsp) piece ginger, crushed
▪2 medium (~300 g) tomatoes (or 3 small), finely chopped
▪1 small green chili pepper such as Thai or Serrano, sliced
▪1 tsp coriander powder
▪1 tsp cumin powder
▪1/4-1/2 tsp red chili powder, or to taste
▪1/2 tsp turmeric powder
▪1/2 tsp ground black pepper
▪2 tsp kosher salt, or 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
▪2 medium (400-450 g) russet potatoes, peeled and cubed into ¾-1” cubes (place in a bowl of water to prevent browning)
Instructions
▪Slice off the stem of the eggplant. Then continue to slice the eggplant widthwise into 3/4 inch-thick rounds. Dice the rounds into 1-inch cubes.
▪Place a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ¼ cup oil to lightly coat the bottom of the skillet. Add the eggplant in a single layer (you may need to do this in 2 batches) and pan-fry for 3 minutes, until golden brown. Then flip the pieces and pan-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Add oil as needed and distribute as needed because the eggplant has a tendency to absorb oil. Remove onto a plate and set aside. (See Note 1)
▪Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for a few seconds. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until lightly golden (~8-10 min). Deglaze with 2 tbsp of water.
▪Once the water dries up, add the garlic and ginger and sauté for another minute, until the raw smell disappears and the onions deepen in color. Add the tomatoes, green chili pepper, all spice powders (except garam masala), and salt. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and the oil begins to separate from them (~4-5 minutes). If needed, add 2 tbsp of water to deglaze the pan and help the tomatoes disintegrate into the masala.
▪Once the oil has separated from the curry base/masala, add the potatoes. Sauté for another 2-3 minutes to soften. Add 1/2 cup water and stir to mix.
▪Turn the heat down to low-medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the pan-fried eggplant (See Note 2) and cook for another 15-17 minutes, stirring occasionally. If it's sticking to the bottom of the pan, deglaze with 1/4 cup of water. The eggplant should get mushy and the potato should be very tender.
▪If needed, raise the heat and sauté for 2-3 minutes, until the oil starts to separate again and most of the eggplant has disintegrated into the masala.
▪Adjust salt and seasoning if needed. Turn off the heat and sprinkle in cilantro, garam masala or chaat masala (if using), and lemon juice. Serve hot with roti, naan, or any type of bread.
Check out the Farm Store!
Veggies Stocked Fresh Every Friday!
Still lots of beautiful tulip bouquets plus lots of other delicious veg!
In the store this week:
Flower Bouquets
Kale
Chard
Beans
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Broccoli
Eggplant
Peppers
Carrots
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Summer Squash
Cabbage
Celery
Beets
Fresh Herbs
Eggs
Ice Cream
and More!
Find Us at the Market!
All three of our markets are up and running now!
You can find our produce at:
Cheshire Medical Center in the Cafeteria
Thursdays 10am - 2pm
June through November
Jaffrey Farmers Market
Fridays 3pm - 6pm
June through October
Keene Farmers Market
Saturdays 9am - 1pm
April through October
