CSA Week 14 and Farm Stand Updates

Although we enjoyed a tremendous abundance during the first half of the season, we’ve hit a more challenging patch as we face gaps in our harvest stemming from multiple heat waves and the severe drought all summer (we’re happy to get a break today with some rain, but it unfortunately can’t immediately fix those issues!). The lack of carrots is probably the most noticeable gap. We irrigated our fall plantings heavily, as carrots are very sensitive crops, but the consistent water along with the heat seemed to mostly just benefit the weeds! We are used to having a strong fall carrot crop and have come to rely on it as one of the backbones of the fall CSA, so we invested a lot of time into weeding them. Unfortunately there was only a very short window when weeding was actually effective - the carrots that were weeded a little too late practically disintegrated in our hot sandy soils as soon as they were more exposed! Later in the fall we should have enough for a couple of weeks of carrots in the Main Season CSA and we are reaching out to other farms to try to purchase additional carrots for the Extended Season.

The heat and drought made it difficult to plant and maintain other crops as well, particularly with heat sensitive crops like lettuce, radishes and greens. In addition, the effort spent irrigating to keep many crops alive took time away from weeding, pruning and controlling pests on other crops that we would have otherwise expected to be enjoying right now (like eggplant and colored peppers). The good news for CSA members is that we will again be purchasing corn to help supplement what we are able to harvest for you all. We hope you enjoy this special treat for the second week this season! We still have many other veggies as well of course, including tomatoes and the first of our delicata squash. We anticipate turning a corner in the next couple of weeks as many of the beds of greens, lettuce, salanova and radishes in the ground should be producing soon, and we have scallions, fennel, cabbage, and broccoli not too far off in the horizon!

In the CSA this week:

• Delicata Squash - An all-time favorite, this winter squash is extra sweet and the skin is edible so it doesn’t require much work to enjoy, just slice in half, scoop out the seeds, then cut into 1/4” thick “smiles” and bake with a little oil and salt!

• Yellow Onions - These onions are cured and keep best in a dry, cool, dark place.

• Toscano Kale

• Tomatoes

• Sweet Corn - From Verrill Farm in Concord, MA, not organic. The corn will be under the CSA tent and included among your options for filling your CSA bag. It will be labeled as from Verrill Farm and not organically grown. As always you will get to select what you’d like to put in your CSA bag so if you don’t want the corn you will have more room for other veggies!

• Green peppers

• Garlic- This garlic has been cured and will keep outside the fridge for months in a cool, dark, dry place.

• Mizuna or Mustard greens

• Beets

• Lettuce

• Curly green kale

• Squash mix: Spaghetti squash, black futsu and/or Starry Night Acorn squash

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Cherry Tomatoes - The cherry tomatoes are less plentiful now but the yellow varieties are still doing particularly well.

• Green Beans - we have this planting plus one more for the fall!

• There will be a choice of: Husk cherries or shishito peppers.

• Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).

• Herbs - choice of basil, oregano, mint, sage, chives, thyme or lemon thyme.

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will also have flower bouquets in the farm store, colored peppers, potatoes and leeks. We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm,eggs from Codman Farm, and mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm.

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. 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.

Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:

The field is open to both Flower CSA members and to the general public for picking by the jar. Varieties available include zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, cosmos, verbena, decorative basil, amaranth and branching sunflowers. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.

Creamy Mushrooms and Pasta

By Fat Moon Mushroom Farmer Elizabeth Almeida on her website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/blogs/news/creamy-mushrooms-pasta

Ingredients:

• 8oz Fat Moon Mushrooms

• 1 onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1/2 jalapeno

• 1 T. soy sauce

• 1/2 cup broth

• 2 T. butter

• 1 shot glass sherry or white wine

• 1 shot glass cream

• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop the mushrooms into bite-size pieces

2. Combine chopped mushrooms, onions, garlic, jalapenos, butter, soy sauce, and broth in a skillet and cook over medium heat. As the water evaporates, the mushrooms and onions will begin to brown. Stir to loosen browned bits from the pan. 

3. Deglaze pan with sherry or wine. Add cream, salt and pepper, Heat just until cream is warm. 

4. Serve over freshly cooked pasta. Top with shredded parmesan (optional.)

Lemon Garlic Kale Salad

By Julia Moskin at NYTimes Cooking: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015707-lemon-garlic-kale-salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced almonds

• ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 4 lemons)

• Kosher salt

• 1½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat side of a knife, peeled and left whole

• 10 to 12 ounces washed and dried kale leaves, thick stems removed (weight after trimming)

• 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Preparation

1. In a toaster oven or skillet, toast almonds until golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

2. In a bowl, combine lemon juice and 1 heaping teaspoon salt. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Add garlic cloves and set aside to steep.

3. Working in batches, cut the kale into thin ribbons: gather a large handful of leaves, bunch together tightly, and use the other hand to slice into ¼-inch-thick pieces. This need not be done very precisely or neatly; the idea is to end up with a kind of slaw. (Recipe can be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Keep kale and dressing refrigerated separately.)

4. Place chopped kale in a very large bowl. Sprinkle surface with almonds and then with cheese, if using. Remove and discard garlic cloves from dressing. Pour half the dressing over the salad and toss. Taste for dressing and salt and add more as needed, tossing to coat thoroughly. Serve within 1 hour.