Tuesday, July 29, 2008 Newsletter

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.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it

"Tried what?" you say? Beet ice-cream! Yes, really, BEET ICE-CREAM.

I love beets and I love ice-cream, so I was very intrigued when I read about it in CSA member Leslie's blog, Fluff & Nonsense, where, among other things, she writes about and photo-documents her CSA experience. I wrote to Leslie that I would love to meet her and hear how the ice-cream turned out. To my great surprise and delight, this past Saturday, Leslie, her husband Chris, and her two beautiful and charming children, Avery and Mitchell came to the Denison Farm stand at the Troy Farmers' Market and introduced themselves to us. Leslie told me the ice-cream turned out pretty good, better if you already like beets, but not to Mitchell's liking. I was excited to try my hand at the recipe and glad to have met them and went back to work. To my delight -- and that of Justine, Maggie, Stella, Molly and Leslie (a different Leslie) who were all also working at the stand -- Leslie and family returned a while later with a small cooler full of beet ice-cream samples for us to try! We ALL loved it -- thank you, Leslie!

I have not stopped talking about it since -- just ask the rest of the crew who was not there on Saturday. The color is gorgeous, the lemony flavor and beety sweetness a surprisingly delightful combination. I heartily recommend you all give it a shot too. At least read about Leslie's experience in her blog, a link to which is now on the list of our favorite blogs.

I'm soooo going to try a veggie ice-cream really soon. I'm thinking about a sweet cream base with zucchini flecks in it and the spices usually associated with zucchini bread. After all, we have to do something with all those zucchini that aren't good enough for CSA or market but we just can't bear to toss in the compost. Any other suggestions?

Words from a fresh farmer

Hello, all - Annie here. I am one of the newer members on Brian and Justine's crew, having just joined the team at the beginning of May. I hadn't had much farm experience before - a little volunteering on my roommate's smaller-scale organic farm in college - but thought I'd like the work, and decided to give it a shot.

The past two and a half months have been wonderful for me, very educational for both mind and body. I spent the past year working a desk job in Chicago, and the first week at the Denisons' was quite a shock on the ol' muscles, but I was so relieved to be outside that I hardly minded a bit - and I sleep so much better after a day of planting, weeding, and harvesting! Now, my body has gotten accustomed to the work, and I can pay closer attention to the day-to-day processes that make the farm tick.

This week was quite exciting - I am always happy when a new crop is ready, and this week we picked the first carrots, green beans, and eggplant. I learned that in Jamaica, they call eggplants "Garden eggs," which I think sounds very poetic, particularly with a Jamaican accent. Although I suppose the French (and also British and Canadian) term "aubergine" is also quite poetic. We've already got two kinds showing their fruits in the field - the Fairytale and the standard dark-purple kind. If you've never seen eggplant fruits still on the plant, it is worth a trip to the farm. I think they're the most beautiful crop, particularly very early in the morning when the dew is still on. The fruits hang down like Christmas ornaments, and the leaves have a sort of velvety purple-y look to them that makes them seem far more exotic than the name "eggplant" would imply.

In any case, I'm hoping that another cold front comes through - ninety degrees with high humidity makes it a bit tough to pick vegetables expeditiously, although the zucchinis seem to love it. I'm going to sign off now, with my best wishes to you and your most recent bunch of chard - there are many vegetables that I love, but chard is particularly high on the list. The colors, the flavor, the speed of stir-frying, the nutrition ... so, enjoy!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 Newsletter

Greetings CSA Members,

This week I have asked Mimi Marstaller, Maggie's (our daughter) dear friend to share her experiences working and living on the farm. Even though Maggie is off touring with a world music singing camp, Mimi has persevered here on the farm. I hope you enjoy her tale as much as we enjoy having her with us.

This week in your box, you will most likely find:

Lettuce, Spinach, Sugar Snap Peas, Bok Choi, Basil, Braising Greens,
Broccoli or Beets, and Cucumbers or Summer Squash/Zucchini

Have a wonderful week – Justine

Mimi, tell us your thoughts about your work last summer and now:

“The general job description was the same, involving working outside with plants, weeding, maintaining, some heavy lifting, and working with a crew. Why, then, do I feel so differently about my work this summer than that of last summer? The answer is relatively simple, and almost entirely psychological. Last year I weeded and planted for a landscaping company in Part City, Utah. The conservationist in me screamed as we planted garden after garden—in the middle of the desert. Having had no rain for a month and a half, the city posted signs encouraging water conservation, but my co-workers and I continued to install water-thirsty plants and sprinkler systems. I felt as though the city and its SUV-revving residents were living on borrowed time until Park City’s trademark ski trails would turn into sand dunes.
But no one working on the crew at Denison Farm has a conscience aching from his environmentally destructive day job. I sleep quite well, actually, knowing that I have participated in a system that brings organically grown, local food to conscientious consumers. Ahhh, just writing it makes me feel relieved. One of the things I find so promising about the local food movement is how amenable it is to growth on a personal level. When I started working at the Denison’s farm stand at the Troy farmers market four years ago, I had never experienced the community that surrounds a local food economy, and since that fated day the local movement has excited me to the point that I have made its promotion my career path. I know that my story is not singular—there are countless people who have been changed as they have changed the way they shop. Working on the farm has enlightened me to another way in which the local food movement fosters community: the excitement that I share with the other members of the crew over the appearance of the summer’s first new potatoes trumps any camaraderie I felt with my Park City crew over a fried columbine plant that the sprinkler didn’t reach that day.
Thank you for being part of the community network that is the local food movement. And please convince your Park City friends to keep cactus gardens.”

Broccoli with Ginger
1-2 lb broccoli
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cut florets into 2-inch-wide pieces. Trim stems and peel with a knife, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick. Cook broccoli in a large pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté ginger, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add broccoli and salt and sauté , stirring, until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes

Easy Braising Greens
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
6-8 cups Braising Greens, alone or combined with any green such as Bok Choi, Spinach, Swiss Chard, and/or Kale, washed and coarsely chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/8 cup water or vegetable broth
Salt to taste
Optional flavorings: Sesame oil, ume plum vinegar, tamari
Optional toppings: sesame seeds, chopped almonds or walnuts, toasted pumpkin seeds

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add greens and garlic, stirring to coat with oil. Stir occasionally until greens are barely wilted, just a few minutes.
2. Add vegetable broth or water and stir, allowing greens to steam until barely tender. Salt to taste.
3. Add flavorings and toppings as desired and serve.
Serves 4.

Summer Greens Pasta with Garlicky Mustard Butter
1 stick organic butter or to taste (some folks find this amount to be too much)
2 tablespoons Dijon or country-style mustard
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons parsley, finely minced
2 tablespoons finely snipped chives or minced scallions
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3/4 pound pasta of your choice
4 cups assorted fresh greens, well-washed, and coarsely chopped. These may include Braising Greens, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Turnip Greens, Bok Choi, Collards, or whatever is fresh.

1. Allow the butter to soften, then blend with mustard.
2. Remove skin from garlic, chop coarsely, and pulverize in a mortar with a pinch of salt. Add parsley and chives and continue to pulverize for a little while to allow flavors to be released.
3. Combine garlic-chive mixture with mustard butter and add a few grinds of pepper.
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions and in the last couple of minutes of cooking, add the greens. When done, drain pasta and greens in a colander, then place in a large heavy-bottomed skillet.
5. Heat pasta and greens over medium heat with the prepared butter, tossing until well-coated. Be sure not to allow the butter to brown. Serve hot.

Beets in Vinaigrette (taken from Gourmet Magazine)
1 1/2 pounds medium beets (about 4; 2 1/2 pounds with greens), trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stems attached
2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Cover beets generously with water in a heavy medium saucepan and simmer until tender when pierced in center with a knife, 30 to 45 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool to warm, then slip off skins. Cut beets into 1/4-inch slices.
Meanwhile, whisk together vinegar, onion, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking, then add warm beets and parsley and toss. Season with additional sugar and salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Note: Beets can be roasted and sliced 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before tossing with vinaigrette and parsley.

Farm Maintenance

Thursdays are often what I call "farm maintenance" days. At this time in the season, we have been weeding crops, pruning and stringing up (in the greenhouse)or staking (in the field) tomatoes, weeding crops, did I mention weeding crops yet?

Yes, weeding is huge at this time of year. We need to stay ahead of the weeds while we have time to pay attention to them. Brian usually drives over the bed in question with the cultivator and then the crew comes along with an assortment of hoes, nimble fingers and strong biceps and slices, pulls and/or pinches weeds as necessary.

The first time I weeded carrots I was a CSA member in my first year with the Denisons. Carrots need to be weeded before at such an early stage that the untrained eye takes time to learn to identify the weed from the carrot seedling. As I carefully plucked the weeds between the carrots, I remember thinking that carrots should be worth their weight in gold!

Weeding is often thought of as a tedious chore and, sure, sometimes it can be. More often than not, however, it is a very rewarding task and one that can attain meditative qualities as you get a rhythm going and your mind clears. Brian often join us when the crew is weeding and complains about having to do all the boring tractor work while we get all the fun jobs like weeding. He loves it! Maggie has also been known to get home after a crazy day at school and head out to do some weeding to decompress. Ruby sometimes joins us too, lying down in the wheel track and periodically getting up to follow us and lie down again as we move along the row. Today we started the day by weeding onions and squash by hand and hoe and some of us finished by weeding leeks and beets.

Today we also uncovered the eggplant beds and removed the hoops that had been holding up the row cover. (The plants look beautiful and there are already some tiny fruits coming!) After that we pruned tomatoes and set up stakes. Brian wanted to try a new method of staking the tomatoes. He is always thinking hard about something or other and coming up with ways to do things better on the farm. He runs ideas by us and listens to our feedback. He is hoping this new way of staking the tomatoes will allow more free flow of air between the plants and thus reduce disease which is always a concern on an organic farm. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Before I log off, I want to respond to some of the comments that have been left in response to our posts. First, I want to thank everyone for interacting with us in this new way. We love all the positive feedback! Thanks for the offers for help (so far, so good). There was a question about sharing recipes. I'm still looking into this as I play with layout ideas and such and don't have a definite answer. For the time being, you could try posting the recipes in the comments. While the comments don't show on the home page of the blog, if you click on the post title it takes you to that post's page and all the comments are then visible. I would like to find a way to archive posts with recipes together at some point, though.

So that's it for this week. Hope you're all enjoying your shares!

Rebeca

Welcome to the blog!

Hi! I'm Rebeca Torres, one of the crew here at Denison Farm. I started out my relationship with the Denisons about 5 years ago as a working CSA member. I loved my time the farm and the markets so much that I started taking vacation from my full time job to put in more hours. The next year I started to work on the crew part time and then year after that I worked on the farm full time during the growing season. I was hooked! After a short hiatus where I only worked at the Troy Farmers' Market stand on and off, I am glad to be back full time again.

This is my first time on this side of the blogging fence and I'm excited about the opportunity to share some of my experiences on the farm and recipes that I enjoy. I hope you will feel free to comment and that this blog will be one more way in which we foster the Community aspect of our CSA.

Some of the recipes I will share will come from cookbooks, other blogs or websites that I frequent and will also recommend to you as sources for your adventures in local, seasonal (and certified naturally grown!) cooking.

To start off, since many of you received Bok Choi in your share this past week, I will share this recipe for a Bok Choi Salad that I received in my inbox this morning from A Veggie Venture.

(Note: the "I"s in the recipe are from Alanna Kellogg who writes the A Veggie Venture blog)

BOK CHOY SALAD with CHINESE SALAD DRESSING

Hands-on time: 10 minutes for dressing, 5 minutes for salad
Time to table: 15 minutes
Serves 4

DRESSING
Note: I used about half the dressing on a pound of bok choy.

1 tablespoon garlic (or garlic to taste, I used garlic from a jar which is some milder)
1 tablespoon ginger (or ginger to taste, I used ginger from a jar from an international market)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Juice of a lemon
1 tablespoon honey (or agave syrup for a vegan salad)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds)
Generous dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (a little goes a long way)
Peanut oil to taste (I used just 1 tablespoon and was tempted to use none at all, any oil will work but we needn't waste our best olive oil since the other dressing flavors are strong)

Whisk.

ASSEMBLE
1 pound bok choy (for St. Louisans, mine came from Centennial Farms at Tower Grove Farmers Market)

Wash well and trim. Chop the stems into bite size pieces, then the greens. Toss with the salad dressing, just enough to wet.

___

As Alanna notes on her blog, "the dressing would be good tossed into steamed greens like mustard or leafy spinach." Or the braising green, or spinach that some of you received. Or kale, which might be coming soon...

Que aproveche! (that's the Spanish version of "Bon appetit!")

Greetings CSA Members

The greenhouse is full of little seedlings, the field house is planted with Spring greens and the red-winged blackbirds are now at the bird feeder.
Although I spoke of the robins several weeks ago as a sure sign of spring, the cacophony of sound each morning and the redwing’s presence have sealed the deal that our season has begun. I felt that it was important I encourage you to sign back up for this coming season soon. We are nearly full now and we do not want to have to close the door on any of you long-time and supportive members. Brian and I are grateful for all of you.
You are the folks who know so well how important it is to eat locally and organically while keeping tabs on your farmer! If you have the chance, take a look at Michael Pollan’s new book, In Defense of Food. I quote from the end of the book:
“ When you’re cooking with food as alive as this – these gorgeous and semigorgeous fruits and leaves – you’re in no danger of mistaking it for a commodity, or a fuel, or a collection of chemical nutrients. No, in the eye of the cook or gardener or the farmer who grew it, this food reveals itself for what it is: no mere thing but a web of relationships among a great many living beings, some of them human, some not, but each of them dependent on the other, and all of them ultimately rooted in soil and nourished by sunlight.”
Looking forward to a bountiful season.
Take care - Justine