| Greetings CSA Members,
Since last Wednesday we have had 5” of rainfall at the farm. The Tomhannock Creek (which normally at this time of year is a dribble) is raging. We still cannot cross at our usual spot, the ford, and are forced to walk over the wobbly footbridge to harvest most of the vegetables. Thus life is just a bit stressful here at the farm this week. Most of the lettuce and especially the spinach have melted into the water-drenched fields. We are fortunate to have working on the farm part-time a wonderful woman who at nearly 10 years older than myself can run circles around me out in the fields. She presently is enrolled at Green Mountain College in Vermont in a Sustainable Agriculture Graduate program. We are lucky to have Jeannine as a friend. Her account of the rainy workweek tells it best.
“I work Wednesday through Friday, so my first day last week was the first of the downpour days. Wednesday is our CSA delivery day, when we are usually in the packing barn for a couple of hours in the morning boxing 247 shares Ford-assembly-line style. That went as planned, except for about 15 minutes when Brian herded us into the house, worried that the barn was not a safe place if lightning should strike.
We usually spend the rest of Wednesday and Thursday weeding and transplanting. Because we
knew the forecast, and because the majority of the farm is across a river that we usually ford with the tractor and wagon, we harvested Wednesday afternoon instead of weeding. Outfitted in yellow overall-and-jacket slickers the Denisons provide, we pulled and dug and picked up all the heavy veggies--carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, potatoes--anticipating not being able to get across the river on Friday, our usual day for harvesting for the markets and the remaining CSA shares. We usually sort out discards and bunch in the field, but in the rain and mud, we filled our totes as quickly and full as possible, knowing we'd be better able to tell good from bad when these crops were washed.
Thursday, I was at a farm conference in Vermont, which worked out well, as some of the commuting workers went home at 1 pm. There is only so much inside work--washing the vegetables we had harvested the day before, cleaning the three greenhouses, lifting the tomato and cucumber trellises higher and weeding in two of them.
Friday morning was beautiful with no rain and a sky rinsed shiny clean, but the river ford was impassable, the water flowing fast and about 6 feet deep. We could finish the harvest in our tall boots--no hot slickers needed. We carried empty totes across a wide and springy (!) footbridge and brought them back full of the lighter crops--chard, bok choi, kale, herbs, baby greens, arugula. Three totes came over lashed with bungee cords to a hand truck, but the rest we carried on shoulders and heads. Walter, from Jamaica, loves to record special circumstances, so he photographed it all. We looked like the Denison Farm was in the rainforest, all of us bearing our burdens high as we walked into the glistening wet and green.
After washing and packing everything for the fewer CSA members that pickup Saturday and the large clientele at the Troy and Saratoga Markets, we went back over the footbridge to pick green beans at the end of the day. Those plants need to be as dry as possible for picking, so we don't risk damaging the vines. Don't I work for a smart farmer? It seems like our challenges almost always leave us feeling triumphant and exhilarated, and definitely raise our crew spirit.”
In your share this week, you will most likely receive:
Sweet Onions, Bok Choi, Pickling Cucumbers, Cilantro, Green Beans,
Carrots, Melon, and Green Peppers or Eggplant
Enjoy and take good care - Justine
Chilled Cucumber Soup
1 large or 3-4 pickling cucumbers
1 clove garlic
1 quart buttermilk
1 knife tip ground cumin
1 Tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Dark bread
Peel the cucumbers. Cut slices in finger-thick chunks. Put in blender with other ingredients except dark bread. Blend. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before serving. Cut dark bread into cubes. Toast to croutons in a thick pan. Blend soup again before serving. Add croutons when serving.
Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon, and Parsley
1 1/2 pounds green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
Cook beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. Drain. Place beans in bowl of ice water to cool. Drain well.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; stir 30 seconds. Add beans; sauté until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to serving dish.
Gingery Sweet Pickled Vegetables
The Joy of Pickling | October 1999
1/2 pound 2- to 3-inch pickling cucumbers
1 teaspoon pickling salt
1/2 cup peeled, thin-sliced fresh ginger
2 small dried chile peppers
1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups diagonal carrot slices (1/2 inch thick)
1 large bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
3/4 pounds onions (1 large or 2 medium), cut into 1-inch chunks
Gently wash the cucumbers, and cut them into 1-inch lengths, discarding a thin slice from each end. Toss the cucumbers with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Let the cucumbers stand for 1 to 2 hours.
In a large nonreactive saucepan, bring to a boil the ginger, chile peppers, vinegar, water, sugar, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove the pot from the heat, and add the carrots. Let the mixture cool.
Drain and rinse the cucumbers, and drain them again. Add the cucumbers, pepper, and onion to the saucepan. Mix well, then transfer the vegetables and liquid to a 2-quart jar. Cover the jar with a nonreactive cap, and refrigerate it.
The pickles will be ready to eat after about 3 days. Refrigerated, they will keep for at least 2 months. |
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