CSA week 8: Racing to the finish line

Here is a roundup on all that is happening out at Rising Phoenix Community Farm as we enter our seventh week of deliveries.

How big is this week’s share? So big that we are bringing in help (Heather-Marie’s parents, Tom and Carol-Ann) and will need two vehicles to make the delivery. So big that it’s 9:15 and we just got chased out of the field by mosquitoes or we’d still be harvesting to try to get a head start on the day.

So, yeah, big.

This season has brought us a bounty of vegetables and a bounty of changes, and we are doing our best to balance all that is happening. In the first full season with John working alongside Heather-Marie on the farm, we have had wonderful success in the field. Make no mistake: Heather-Marie is the architect, choreographer and visionary for what happens at this farm. John is an apprentice, another body and another brain. We delight in learning about each other as we work together.

We have just three weeks of regular deliveries left in this season and a lot of produce to give members. 

Meanwhile, we are also preparing to move the tinyhouse to a new location. Next Monday, we will hitch up the tinyhouse and move it yet again — this time it will be going into storage at a friend’s house in Cromwell. This is the fifth time the tinyhouse has been moved; the next time it moves, we want it to be to a permanent location on land that we own. 

We are hopeful that we can continue to lease and farm the land we are on right now. 

In the meantime, as most of you know, we are also preparing to go to Vietnam for most of a year. John leaves on September 1 to begin teaching as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City. Heather-Marie will remain and close out the farming season. It’s going to be a lot of work and we are grateful to members who have already reached out with offers of assistance. She will need it.

Suffice to say, it’s been a busy and sometimes very emotional time for us.

We look forward to celebrating the season and saying goodbye to you all at this Sunday’s CSA member potluck. We know it’s a busy time for everyone, but we are hoping many of you can join us for this celebration at the Lester-Amity Chalet (you received a formal Evite to this).

What’s growing in the field

Of course, while all this is going on, we are also trying to keep the weeds from taking over and helping the plants produce vegetables. 

Tractor John came out over the weekend to mow parts of the field. That seems a strange task but with his tiller busted, he hasn’t been able to come out and till since June. In this way, he’s cutting down the weeds before they go to seed any further but also cleans up the field. We feel bad knowing that from both the farm stand and the road, it looks like we grow Pig Weed. From our side of the field though, it looks awesome. Ah, vanity.

Tomatoes are always a highlight of the growing season, and we are optimistic that this year CSA members will receive a lovely supply of unique, heirloom tomatoes harvested from the high tunnel and the field. We plan to deliver tomatoes to members for the next couple of weeks before then selling additional tomato shares to members who signed up in advance for them.

Our potato crop is also looking strong this season. We have delivered russet and red fingerling so far, but this week, we are going to pick some from our Yukon gold beds. Just as with tomatoes, we think we will be able to give members potatoes with each share this season and still offer both potato shares and potatoes for storage to those who signed up for fall shares. 

There have been a few disappointments in the field. Cauliflower plants have grown big and green, but very few of them have delivered fruits. We have tried talking nicely to them, but they have ignored our pleading so far. We’ll see what happens.

Our carrot crop has been ok, but we’d like to be able to deliver more and are hopeful they’ll be present in the final deliveries. 

Summer squashes were producing with great success in the past few weeks, but the cooler temperatures seem to have slowed their productivity.

We have high hopes for pumpkins, melons and winter squashes, though some of those won’t be available in time for our regular season. 

This week, if we can get the tinyhouse all packed up, we will harvest garlic. The German Extra Hardy variety looks big and healthy. Once they have cured in the high tunnel, Heather-Marie will be contacting members so they can come to the porch and pick up their share sometime in September. We planted 15 pounds for CSA members.

CSA members will find the following items in their shares this week: red cabbage, broccoli shoots (these are the side shoots that grow off the plant after the main fruit has been harvested), new Yukon potatoes, red fingerling potatoes, purple and green beans, cucumbers, zucchini/summer squash, collard greens and salsa bags (tomatoes, green peppers, hot peppers, cilantro), bunching onions (an early season onion, similar to a scallion that is not for storing), cherry tomatoes, green-top carrots and sunflowers. For the swap box, we will offer kale. In all, that’s more than 15 different vegetables waiting for you on the porch this week.

Heather-Marie says that while she has had bigger deliveries in fall months, this is by far the largest and most diverse offerings she’s been able to deliver in August. It’s pleasing for us to be able to bring all this bounty to our friends and family.

A few recipes

Here are a few suggestions on what to do with all your vegetables this week.

Grilled vegetables

This isn’t a recipe so much as a suggestion: put your veggies on the grill. As we’ve said all season long, with freshly picked, organically grown vegetables, simple is often best. 

This week, we stepped away from the farm and all our other duties and went camping with our dear friends, Jill Torres, Scott Laderman, Sam Laderman and their dog Poppy. We brought with us a 5-gallon bucket of veggies (of course), which we sliced and put on the grill. We served the grilled veggies with house-made chimichurri sauce (see this entry under parsley for that recipe) and quinoa and think it tasted pretty darn good. 

Here are a few things we’ve learned about grilling vegetables:

• Grill anything and everything. We can’t think of a vegetable we wouldn’t throw on the grill. We grilled cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, squash and potatoes. Just put it on the grill!
• Big thick chunks: Cut them up into larger chunks so they don’t fall through the grates. You can cut them up smaller after you grill them.
• We boiled the potatoes ahead of time, to just under cooked.  They finished cooking on the grill.
• Salt to sweat them: Add some salt to squashes to allow them to sweat at least an hour before grilling.
• Don’t add oil. We found that grilling the vegetables dry, kept them from burning. Once they were grilled and cooked to a texture we liked, we then dressed them with oil, salt and spices. We started with a little canola oil, which has a higher flash point, and then finished with olive oil at the end for better aroma.
• Consider charcoal. We like using real wood charcoal because of course we do. Let the flames drop and the charcoal turn white before putting the vegetables on the fire. 
• Leftovers are awesome. We grilled too many veggies, but those grilled veggies were the foundation of frittatas one night and a cold, veggie-quinoa salad another night. They tend to taste better the next day and even the day after.

Ayib Be Gomen (collards with cottage cheese)

Source: Tastes from Valley to Bluff: The Featherstone Farm Cookbook

Note: This is one of the national dishes of Ethiopia, where collards and spinach are often paired with dairy products.

1 pound collards

3 T butter

1 tsp black pepper

1 pound cottage cheese

Salt to taste

Wash, shred, and steam or boil the collards. Mix the butter, black pepper and cottage cheese. Add the drained collards and salt to taste.

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Herbed Yogurt

Source: Dishing Up the Dirt

2.5 pounds small Yukon gold potatoes (or any waxy potato)

Fine sea salt

1 cup plain whole fat yogurt (try goat milk)

2 tbs minced dill

2 tbs minced parsley

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

½ tsp grated lemon zest

½ tsp honey

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh herbs for serving

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with water. Spring a few sprinkles of salt into the pot and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart. Test the potatoes by inserting a knife into the center.
3. While the potatoes cook, prepare the yogurt sauce. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, dill, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, honey, oil and a healthy pinch each of salt and pepper: whisk until the mixture is smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
4. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool for 8 to 10 minutes. 
5. Spread the potatoes out over the baking sheet and use a spatula to lightly press down on each until it is mostly flattened (some may fall apart, but that’s OK!).
6. Drizzle each potato with a teaspoon or so of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and crisp on the bottom. The timing will vary depending on the size and variety of the potatoes. Serve them with the garlic herb yogurt sauce and a sprinkling of chopped herbs.

Fresh Salsa, Farm Style

This is so yummy- I could eat one batch in a sitting!  This recipe is from Karola Dalen of Northern Harvest Farm.

1 small onion

½-1 green pepper (optional, but I always add it)

½-1+ hot pepper, seeds removed, or leave them for extra hotness

basil and/or cilantro (amount depends on preference)

2-3 minced garlic cloves

salt to taste

splash of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 ¾ pounds tomatoes

Process all ingredients except tomatoes in a food processor or blender.  Add tomatoes. Process again, and it’s ready to eat. Will keep in refrigerator 1 week.  Does not freeze well. Experiment with different quantities.