Farm News Crop Forecast
U-Pick Recipes Nuts and Bolts
Greetings!
It is harvest time! Our days are chock full of picking, washing and packing up produce for you and for our various wholesale customers. We clean the barn floor, clean the bins and other containers and head back out to bring in more food and more dirt!
And back out to re-drench our shirts! This heat is … surprisingly hot for Sept 1 ! The sun feels strong still. The light does have a bit of fall softness but the sun still packs a punch. That keeps the veggies moving — the peppers and tomatoes have more fruit to finish sizing up and ripening, and the heat is great for making the sweet potatoes think they’re down South. Even though the summer Squash and cucumbers are close to giving up for the year, they like the heat too.
This week or next we’ll harvest the winter squash, and put it in the greenhouse to cure for a few weeks. The varieties will mature gradually, each reaching their best flavor at a different time. We already have the buttercup in the greenhouse — it’s dark skin heats up so much on these hot days that it gets a “sunburn” and rots, if left in the field too long. But the rest are still in the field. First ready will be spaghetti squash, plenty in time to match with tomatoes in a fresh sauce. Then Delicata, acorn, carnival, followed by buttercup, butternut and ambercup. Hopefully by the time they’re ready, it’s cool enough out to have the oven on!
Crop Forecast
This week is a bit of a transition week — it’s the last big push of the melons, we have fewer summer squash and cucumbers, and the broccoli took a disease hit. Normally this time has awesome broccoli weather, but the heat and humidity is not broccoli’s friend. We’ll have plenty of peppers and tomatoes, plus kohlrabi and fennel in the mix.
Tomatoes are on a tear, dig in!
Peppers! Lots of Red and Orange Bells this week, some carmens and plenty of green bells.
Melons — This week it’s 1 per share, capping off a big melon season with some big pink watermelons! The big ones are very flavorful and juicy. We also have a few smaller reds, oranges and yellows. Please keep all our melons in the fridge, either whole or cut up — unless your cantaloupe looks green and like it needs some ripening. But we don’t pick many with green rinds, and a cantaloupe will also keep ripening in the fridge, so if in doubt at all, just put it into the fridge.
Hot Peppers — are coming in now, so we will continue to have 2 per share.
Garlic! It is a part of the share for 2 more weeks, and extra is for sale in the barn for $1.25 per head (no need to pre-order extra garlic), now and all fall.
We continue to have : Storage Onions, summer squash and zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, beets, cabbage, baby leeks, and returning we have Kohlrabi and Fennel. Plus leaf lettuce, salad greens, kale, and chard. And Celery — note that our celery is stronger flavored and stringier than typical white / blanched celery. It is very flavorful and best cooked in soups, stews, etc. — most people don’t use it raw or for ants-on-a-log etc.
Eggplant had a big push and now is taking a little break. Hopefully we will get another round soon! We may have to limit it.
And Broccoli … we were trying to beat the diseases that plague broccoli , but didn’t succeed this year. We will have to limit it for now and keep trying in future years.
Spinach maybe next week!
What’s for U-Pick?
Edamame — edible fresh soybeans — are ready! The second planting will likely open this week. Lots and lots of pods hiding in there, and they’re easy to steam or lightly boil – in the pod — for a fun juicy finger food.
Basil, Dill, Cilantro (near solar panels) — all unlimited, with more plantings coming thru fall. We finally have a good Cilantro bed to pick from!
Other Herbs (near beans) — Nasturtium, Thai Basil, sage, curly parsley, flat parsley, oregano, thyme, anise hyssop — are all unlimited too.
Oh the Flowers! — It’s been fun to see people enjoying them so much. On both sides of the driveway. Ideally for sunflowers you can bring a heavy clippers, we don’t lend out anything bigger than kiddie scissors since the return rate is pretty low. A lot of folks just keep a pair of scissors and or pruning shears in their car. That way it’s easy to stop by and score some points (with someone else or with yourself) by bringing home a quick bouquet whenever you drive by!
Cherry tomatoes are so abundant! Walk down the rows! Most people just pick in the first 30′ , and there are almost always more ready down the row — darker orange and more flavorful and more abundant.
Tomatillos— hopefully we can keep raising the limit as more come in! The ground cherries have a weird disease and not much fruit so we will likely just have them open for gleaning.
This spot in the newsletter will keep you informed, and always check the U-pick board when you’re here to see what’s available and picking amounts.
Nuts and Bolts
Bulk Produce for You — TOMATO BOXES — you can order through the Google form (the link is in the newsletter email and the separate tomato email.)
Check here each newsletter for what we have available for extra purchase.
To place a bulk order, simply email us at least 2 days ahead of the day you’d like to pick it up. Orders can be picked up at the farm during our regular pickup hours, but it doesn’t have to be your share pickup day. Usually we can make an order on the spot, too.
This week’s bulk selection is : Carrots, Beets, Storage Onions for $1.50 / lb, Lettuce Mix for $6 / lb. Chard for $3 / lb, cabbage for $1/lb, Tomatoes and bell peppers $2/lb, Melons $1 / lb.
Share Pickup Hours TUESDAY and THURSDAY 1:30-6:30 pm.
Change Pick-Up Day Form — Click here. Please fill out this form instead of emailing us. Thanks!
Where is the farm? 4151 320th Street West, Northfield.
Please Drive Carefully —Children are everywhere.
If You Send Someone Else to Pick Up Your Share — Please forward them the basic pickup video in this link , which was also sent in an email earlier in June. Then just tell them to introduce themselves to us in the barn, just so we know and we can show them around.
We love having all of you come to the farm! Thank you for making it such a great place to be!
Your farmers,
Erin and Ben, with Allia, Alex, Camille, River, Soli, Josh, Sahara, Sai Dang and crew
RECIPES
Curried Vegetable Bisque
5 cups tart apples, peeled and chopped
2 cups onion, chopped
2 cups sweet red pepper, chopped
1 ½ cups carrots, chopped
¾ cup celery, diced
2 teaspoons oil of choice
3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth
3 cups potatoes, chopped
½ cup raisins
3 tablespoons curry powder
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon dried thyme
3 ½ cups beef or vegetable broth
3 cups milk
1 ¼ cups dry milk powder
1/3 cup tomato sauce
2 cups cooked shrimp or chicken, chopped (optional)
Salt to taste
In a large soup pot sauté apples, onion, pepper, carrots, and celery in 2 teaspoons oil until vegetables are soft, 7-10 minutes.
Add 3 ½ cups broth, potatoes, raisins, curry powder, cardamom, allspice, and thyme.
Stir and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring as needed, until potatoes are soft, 12-15 minutes.
Puree in batches in a blender or food processor.
Add some broth if the mixture is too thick.
For a chunkier soup do not puree about 2 cups.
Return everything to the soup pot.
Stir in another 3 ½ cups broth, milk, dry milk powder, and tomato sauce.
Add cooked shrimp or chicken (optional).
Heat, but do not boil.
Just before serving, add 3-4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or serve with chutney.
Summer’s Bounty Enchilada Casserole (Bell Pepper)
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
1 banana pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 medium tomato, diced
2 cups enchilada sauce, divided
½ cup minced fresh cilantro
2/3 cup crumbled feta
Salt and ground pepper black pepper to taste
18 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack
Sour cream and salsa
Preheat an oven to 450°.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, and banana pepper and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.
Add the zucchini and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes more.
Stir in the black beans, rice, and tomato and cook until warm.
Transfer the pepper-zucchini mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Mix in ½ cup of the enchilada sauce, the cilantro, and the feta. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the casserole, spread ½ cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Lay 6 tortillas over the sauce and trim to fit as needed (you may have to cut some of them in half, depending on the shape of your dish).
Spread half of the filling over the tortillas.
Repeat with another layer of 6 tortillas and rest of the filling.
Add one more layer of tortillas on top.
Spread the remaining cup of enchilada sauce over the casserole.
Sprinkle the cheese on top.
Cover the casserole with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown.
Let cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Garnish with sour cream and salsa. Serves 8-10.
Open Hands Farm 