This week marks the start of the 10-week Back-to-School CSA! Back-to-School members should have gotten an email today with details, but please reach out to Melissa or Lise if you didn’t receive it. If you were planning on joining but forgot to sign up, we can still take new sign-ups this week here: http://www.barrettsmillfarm.com/online-store/2024-back-to-school
It has been so dry in the past 3 weeks that for the first time, we set up irrigation on the farm specifically for germinating cover crop seed! We’ve gotten barely any rain in the past 3 weeks (the last precipitation we had was on September 7th), but we had a bunch of field pea and oat seed that we needed to get in the ground by the 15th. This is because seeding later in the month will not be enough time for the peas and oats to establish before a killing freeze. Other types of cover crops are more cold hardy, but we hadn’t ordered as much of that seed because peas and oats our favorite option and we knew we’d have a lot of ground prepared for cover crop before the 15th. Some peas and oats that we seeded on September 6th have finally come up, but it is growing very slowly in our dust bowl conditions (as are the clover and annual ryegrass we seeded in mid August). The cooler temperatures predicted for the end of the week will certainly provide some relief to the plants, but we’re hoping it comes with a little rain as well!
As many of you are probably aware, Concord is now in the high risk category for EEE. In order to maintain our organic certification, we have to opt out of all mosquito spraying operations. While we have not noticed mosquitos in the fields this year (in part because it has been so dry), we strongly recommend caution, and urge you to do your CSA and Flower PYO before dusk. If you do plan to pick towards the end of the day, please wear long sleeves and pants and use bug spray!
In the CSA this week:
Rainbow carrots - Beautiful orange, red (or pink depending on your perspective!), purple and yellow carrots mixed together in a bunch.
Delicata squash - The skin is thin and edible so they are easy to prepare and they have a sweet, slightly nutty flavor.
Garlic - Should be stored in a cool dry place.
Slicing tomatoes
Colored peppers
Celery
Radishes
Tendersweet cabbage - A sweet cabbage that, yes, is also softer and more tender than storage cabbage!
Kale
Baby Bok Choi - Can be prepared cut in half or whole.
Escarole - Looks a bit like lettuce, but it is not intended to be eaten raw, as it has a bitter flavor. Cooking takes out some of the bite, and it is tasty in white bean soup or sauteed with garlic (among other preparations!).
Salanova - This popular lettuce mix keeps better in the fridge than mesclun mix.
Lettuce
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Hot peppers
Cherry Tomatoes: varieties include Sungold, Jasper, Cherry Bomb, Yellow Mini, Chocolate Sprinkles, Pink Champagne, Citrine, Black Cherry, Moonbeam, Moonshadow, Nova, Valentine, Red Pearl, Apple Yellow, Clementine and Mountain Magic.
Green Beans
Husk Cherries or Tomatillos
Herbs: basil, chives, cilantro, dill/dill flower, parsley, sage, thyme.
Sunflowers - It’s the last bed of the season and they are a bit uneven size-wise for unknown reasons (lack of water? weird part of the field? some of them just decided they’d had enough?)
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have:
Sweet Corn from Verrill Farm in Concord. Not organic.
Honeycrisp Apples from Kimball Fruit Farm in Pepperell, MA. We’ll have them starting on Wednesday. Not Organic.
Arugula
Spinach
Green peppers
Beets
Potatoes
Flowers, including mini dahlia bouquets!
Honey from Double B (from hives on the property). Not organic.
Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Farmer’s Mix and Shiitake. Certified organic.
Baer’s Best Beans - We are down to the last bags until he is done processing this year’s crop in November. Black Turtle variety is organic, the other varieties are not.
Raspberry vinegar, jam, and if you’re lucky and you catch it at the right time, fresh raspberries from Silferleaf Farm in Concord. Certified Organic.
Eggs from Codman Farm in Lincoln. Not Organic.
Mushroom CSA:
It is the third week of the 8-week Fall Mushroom CSA. This week’s variety is shiitake.
Garlicky Sautéed Escarole
from thekitchn.com
Ingredients
About 1 1/2 pounds escarole (2 medium or 1 large head)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 small lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
Instructions
Remove and discard any very tough outer dark green or browned leaves from about 1 1/2 pounds escarole. Tear the remaining leaves into rough 2-inch pieces. Rinse the leaves well in a colander. Drain well, but do not dry. Thinly slice 4 garlic cloves. Juice 1/2 small lemon until you have 1 tablespoon.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, high-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes if desired, and sauté until the garlic is softened and fragrant (do not let the garlic brown), about 30 seconds.
Add the escarole a few handfuls at a time, stirring after each addition so that they start to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Add 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt and toss to combine. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the escarole is just tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste and season with more kosher salt as needed.
Sautéed Baby Bok Choy
by Sam Sifton, from NY Times Cooking
Ingredients
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, like canola
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1½-inch piece ginger root, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or to taste
4 bunches of baby bok choy, approximately 1½ pounds, cleaned, with the ends trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chicken stock or water
Toasted sesame oil for drizzling
Preparation
In a large sauté pan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add garlic, ginger and red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
Add bok choy and stir carefully to cover with oil, then cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, stock or water, then cover pan and cook for approximately 2 minutes more, until steam begins to escape from beneath the lid of the pan.
Uncover and continue to cook until liquid is close to evaporated and stalks are soft to the touch, approximately 3 minutes more.
Remove to a warmed platter and drizzle with sesame oil.
Escarole and Bean Soup
by Giada DiLaurentis from The Food Network
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic clove
1 pound escarole, chopped
Salt
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper
6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Serving suggestion: crusty bread
Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the escarole and saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt. Add the chicken broth, beans, and Parmesan cheese. Cover and simmer until the beans are heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Ladle the soup into 6 bowls. Drizzle 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil over each. Serve with crusty bread.