We are very excited that we have now completed two grant projects to improve food safety and high tunnel and greenhouse production! Thanks to Melissa and crew member Nigel, both projects were completed before their deadlines outlined in the grant arrangement, no small feat during the busy months of May and June on the farm!
Our high tunnel and greenhouse grant project involved automating the ventilation systems on two of our four high tunnels (unheated structures where we grow crops in the ground) and the heating and ventilation in our two greenhouses (used to grow our seedlings for planting in the field). These structures require monitoring to make sure vents are opened and closed at proper times in order to control the temperature and humidity conditions. If they are opened too late in the morning or closed too early in the day the tunnels and greenhouses can be too hot and humid, causing heat stress and disease. If they are left open overnight or closed too late in the day, the plants can slow in productivity or get cold damage. Opening and closing all of the structures manually every day can easily take an hour (and usually at inconvenient times like late evening), so automating most of our structures is a huge quality of life improvement for us, as it means we don’t have to plan our weekends and evenings as much around opening or closing these structures. It is also a huge quality of life improvement for our plants, as the vents adjust throughout the day to sunlight and temperature fluctuations (which have been frequent lately!). The improved conditions inside the structures also means that the plants require less water as the soil and potting mix do not dry out as quickly. One of the things about this project that we are most proud of is that the two high tunnel ventilation systems are off the grid - they are hooked up to solar!
Our food safety project involved installing a beautiful new shed for safely storing our harvest buckets, purchasing additional food safe produce bins to keep up with our increasing vegetable production, purchasing new, sturdier and more user-friendly portable handwashing sinks for the CSA tent and the farm stand, and upgrading our cooler and wash area pallets (also thanks to Nigel!). We especially enjoy how the new shed has freed up space in our wash area for better flow, and how we no longer have to scour harvest buckets that were stored outside for signs of contamination!
In other news at the farm, the PYO Flower field is now open to both PYO Flower CSA members, as well as walk-ins. See below for more details about picking!
In the CSA this week:
CSA pick up hours are Tues/Thurs 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Face masks are required under the CSA tent during the first hour of each day.
Celery - This celery isn’t like the giant celery from the grocery store, but it is much more tender, fresh, flavorful and colorful!
Fennel - Most of the early season high tunnel fennel is gone, so we are on to harvesting fennel from the field now.
Summer squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers - A mix of slicing and the first pickling cukes will be available!
Carrots - there will be an option of orange carrots or purple carrots
Beets
Mini cabbage - A mix of round and cone shaped “caraflex” green varieties, as well as some purple.
Curly kale
Garlic scapes
Lettuce
Salanova Lettuce Mix
Mustard greens - These greens do better than most in hot weather, so are a frequent component of summer CSA weeks. We’ve included a couple of delicious recipe ideas below centered around mustard greens!
Baby bok choi
CSA PYO:
Handwashing sinks are provided at the entrance to each PYO field. For the sake of food safety, please wash hands before picking. The barn bathroom and wash area sinks in the barn are for employees only.
*Please note that we close down the PYO fields for lightning storms.
Herbs - basil, thai basil, parsley, dill, dill flowers, oregano and thyme.
Coming Soon: Next week we should have green beans! Sunflowers are also coming along soon and cherry tomatoes will be ready late July or early August.
Pick-your-own Flower CSA
The PYO Flower field opened to PYO Flower CSA members on Friday, and this week is opening to the general public. Flower picking is available whenever the Farm Stand is open (Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm). Please bring your own pruners or scissors as well as water for your flowers (the barn is for employees only so the sinks are not available). You will be provided with a wide mouth quart jar for picking. If you are a PYO Flower CSA member who received your jar last week, please remember to bring your jar with you to pick each time. If you are not a PYO Flower CSA member, we will loan you a jar for measuring your bouquet. The cost of each PYO bouquet is $12, and the cost if you would like to keep the jar is $3. Please check in at the farm stand before picking.
Flowers available for picking this week include: zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons, rudbeckia, gomphrena, celosia, ageratum, ammi, statice, amaranth, and verbena.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA the farm store this week will also have some green peppers, chard, scallions, salad turnips and blueberries (our blueberry patch is small, so the best way to get a box is to order online the night before - read on for details about online ordering. If there are extra, we will have them in the farm stand as well for walk-up sales). We also have eggs from Codman Farm, honey from Double B, and we hope to have mushrooms again at the end of the week.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. Masks are required during the first hour of each day and encouraged for the remainder of the day. We are keeping a chalkboard list of items available outside the store and our Shopkeepers would be happy to shop for anyone who is uncomfortable entering the store. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
Crispy Tofu Bibimbap with Mustard Greens & Zucchini
by Michael Natkin, Food & Wine Magazine, August 2013
Ingredients
Ingredients
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced (or try pickling cukes!)
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
Kosher salt
1 cup sushi rice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, minced (or use garlic scapes)
12 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps thickly sliced
One 14-ounce box extra-firm tofu, patted dry and cut into 3-by- 1/3-inch sticks
One 12-ounce bunch of mustard greens—stems and inner ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 small zucchini, cubed (or summer squash)
2 tablespoons kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) or 2 tablespoons of soy sauce mixed with 1 teaspoon of molasses
4 scallions, thinly sliced
Gochujang (Korean chile paste - available at Korean markets or from hmart.com) or Sriracha, for serving
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar with the sugar, cucumbers, 1 teaspoon of the ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, combine the rice with 1 1/3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over very low heat until tender, 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Add the garlic and shiitake, season with salt and cook over high heat, stirring, until browned, 6 minutes; scrape onto a platter. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil and add the tofu. Cook over high heat, turning, until browned, 5 minutes. Scrape the tofu onto the platter, keeping it separate from the mushrooms.
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the mustard greens and sesame oil, season with salt and cook until the greens are wilted and just tender, 4 minutes. Add the greens to the platter. Wipe out the skillet. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in the skillet. Add the zucchini and cook over high heat until softened, 3 minutes. Add the kecap manis and cook until the zucchini is glazed, 1 minute; scrape onto the platter. Keep warm.
Mound the rice in bowls and arrange the cooked vegetables in separate piles. Using a slotted spoon, add the pickled cucumbers to the bowls. Garnish with the scallions and a dollop of gochujang and serve.
Orecchiette With Mustard Greens
by Cathy Thomas and Melissa's Produce, adapted and published in The Washington Post, April 24, 2013
Ingredients
Kosher or sea salt
8 ounces dried orecchiette pasta
2 pounds mustard greens
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (see NOTE)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup grated or shaved pecorino Romano cheese, for garnish
Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, remove the thick ribs from the mustard greens and discard. Wash and thoroughly dry the leaves, then stack them and cut into 1-inch-wide strips.
Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Once it shimmers, add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes; cook briefly, until the garlic just starts to soften. Add the greens and use tongs to toss them as they wilt. Cook them, tossing and stirring frequently, until they become tender, about 5 minutes, then turn off the heat, stir in the basil and pine nuts and toss to combine.
Add the pasta and toss to combine, adding enough of the reserved pasta cooking water to form a creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon the pasta into individual bowls, top with the cheese and serve.
NOTE: Toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan frequently, just until they start to brown and become fragrant. Immediately transfer them to a plate so they don't continue cooking.