Ag Day, CSA Week 14 and farm stand updates

This Saturday is the annual Ag Day Farmers’ Market on Main Street in Concord Center, 10am-2pm. This market is special because it features only farms from Concord. Come see the bounty of vegetables, fruit, eggs, flowers, honey, jam, plants and more produced right here in town. We will have a stand at the market and we will also have a Bucks tally sheet for anyone who would like to use their Barrett’s Bucks at our booth. The farm stand will be open regular hours that day as well.

It is going to be a very busy week for us prepping for the market and then splitting our farm staff up on Saturday to attend the market. We are up for the challenge, but we would like to take this opportunity to encourage CSA members to pick up your veggies Tuesday or Thursday whenever you are able (but particularly this week!). This past Saturday set a record for CSA pick-ups with 113 members (half of our total CSA!) picking up CSA shares.

Weather and harvest-wise it is really starting to feel like fall! Cooler temperatures and shorter days slow the ripening of tomatoes, while cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini are pretty much done for the season. Thankfully, we are starting to see some other classic fall crops like leeks and broccoli!

This week in the CSA:

• Broccoli - We haven’t seen too many cabbage worms yet, but there definitely will be some as the fall progresses - we’ve seen many white moths fluttering around the broccoli and we do not plan to spray. In general, we recommend soaking your broccoli in warm water for a few minutes before prepping to cook in order to get any cabbage worms out.

• Savoy cabbage - this crinkly leaf cabbage can be eaten raw or cooked. The leaves are also great for stuffing.

• Fennel

• Leeks

• Garlic- The garlic has been cured so it can be kept outside the fridge in a cool dark place.

• Blacktail Mountain Watermelon - it’s the last of the watermelon this week. There is not enough to make it through the whole week (and they likely won’t keep quite that long anyway), but we will definitely have them Tuesday (and possibly Thursday).

• Sweet Italian and bell colored peppers - The elongated red Carmen peppers look like they might be hot but are actually the sweetest of our peppers!

• Tomatoes

• Green bells and purple “Islander” peppers

• Eggplant

• Potatoes - they’re back! We’re harvesting Keuka Golds (yellow skin and flesh) this week.

• Carrots

• Kale

• Baby bok choi

• Yukina Savoy - mix together with mizuna for a tender and mild salad mix.

• Mizuna - mix together with yukina savoy for a tender and mild salad mix.

CSA Pick-your-own:

• Sunflowers!

• Green and yellow beans

• Tomatillos - Tomatillos should be picked when the fruit has filled out so much that the husk has split, they can be green or purple.

• Husk cherries - Husk cherries should be picked when the husk is brown and papery. To eat, remove the husk - the berry inside will be yellow. Husk cherries usually fall on the ground when they ripen, hence why they are sometimes called “ground cherries”!

• Cherry tomatoes - tomatoes are still plentiful at the backs of the beds.

• Hot peppers - Jalapeños (green), fresno (red) and ancho poblanos (green, about 4” long).

• Herbs: parsley, dill, cilantro, Italian basil, Thai basil, chives, peppermint, spearmint, thyme, oregano, tarragon and sage. For Italian basil, please pinch the tops only

CSA Hours:

Tuesday and Thursday 11am-6pm

Saturday 9am-3pm

PYO Flowers

We’ll have bachelor’s buttons, calendula, orlaya, gomphrena, cosmos, strawflower, statice, star flower, verbena, rudbeckia, scabiosa, celosia, decorative basil, sunflowers, zinnias, and more. Picking is open to PYO Flower CSA members as well as to the public for purchase by the bouquet (we provide the a jar for measuring your bouquet size and you fill it with the flowers you’d like to take home!).

This week in the farm stand:

We will have all of the veggies listed in the CSA available in the farm store as well as salanova, onions, spaghetti squash and lemongrass. We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, eggs from Pete and Jen’s Backyard Birds, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and organic raspberries from Silferleaf Farm whenever available.

Thai-Style Vegan Stir-Fry with Lemongrass

by Jolinda Hackett from thespruceeats.com

Ingredients

• 8 oz. tofu (cut into small cubes, about 3/4-inch thick)

• 3 tbsp. peanut oil (or use a combination of 2 tbsp of another neutral flavored high-heat oil such as canola oil and 1 tbsp. sesame oil)

• 3/4 cup green beans (sliced)

• 3/4 cup carrots (thinly sliced)

• 1 cup broccoli (chopped)

• 1 colored bell pepper (or Carmen), sliced

• 1 green bell pepper sliced

• 2 Thai chilies, minced (or one jalapeño)

• 4 cloves garlic (minced)

• 2 tbsp. lemongrass (fresh, sliced very thin)

• 2 tbsp. lime juice

• 1 dash of salt (to taste)

Steps to Make It

1. Prepare your tofu by pressing it to reduce the water content. This keeps the tofu from excessive crumbling as you cook it.

2. Once your tofu is well-pressed, sauté the tofu in peanut or canola oil until lightly golden, about 5 minutes. 

3. Add the green beans, carrots, broccoli, red and green bell peppers and chilies, and stir-fry for a few more minutes, until veggies are cooked.

4. Add the garlic and lemongrass and cook for another minute or two, stirring well.

5. Once the garlic is well incorporated, add in the lime juice and a dash of salt and remove the pan from heat.

6. Serve over plain white or brown steamed rice if you'd like. Enjoy!

Leek, Cherry Tomato and Pecorino Pizza

Adapted from Food & Wine, October 2009

• All-purpose flour, for dusting

• 1 1/2 pounds pizza dough, cut into 8 pieces

• 1/4 cup plus olive oil, plus more for brushing

• 2 large leeks, sliced 1/4 inch thick

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 32 cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1/4 pound truffled pecorino cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 500°. Heat a pizza stone on the bottom of the oven for 45 minutes. (Alternatively, heat a large inverted baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven for 5 minutes.) On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each piece of dough to a 7-inch round. Oil 3 large baking sheets and place the dough rounds on the sheets. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 8 minutes; transfer to a plate. Generously flour a pizza peel. Place a dough round on the peel and brush with olive oil. Top with some of the leeks, tomatoes and pecorino cheese. Slide the dough round onto the hot stone or baking sheet and bake for about 4 minutes, until bubbling and crisp. Repeat with the remaining ingredients and serve.