Mid-season - Week 12

In the Share: Week 12
TOMATOES (F/P) Loads of them this week – our best season yet.
ROMA TOMATOES (F) nothing like homemade sauce made with these beauties
CHERRY TOMATOES OR SALSA PACK (P) Maybe some for the full shares too if we have enough tomorrow.
CARROTS (F/P) Lots left in the fields, if it would only dry up enough to harvest.
EGGPLANT OR SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) the eggplant is producing poorly, probably not any more for awhile. Full shares get a choice, partials get squash and are next in line for the eggplant.
GARLIC (F/P)
CUCUMBERS: (F/P) A few for everyone. The last planting is about ready to produce and it looks great.
SWISS CHARD OR BEETS: (F)
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, summer savory or a dried herb.

Also this week: Bread of Life bread share delivery

Next Week: More tomatoes, summer squash and cucumbers. More onions and perhaps (finally!) some cantaloupe. The potatoes are on the list just as soon as it dries out enough to dig them. Meat and egg share delivery.

Farm report
The tomato onslaught continues on the farm. Another day spent harvesting and sorting; another night spent coring and cooking. It’s enough to make us question how many tomato plants do we really need?! One less bed of tomatoes to plant, transplant, weed, mulch, irrigate and trellis could mean fewer weeds in the potatoes or another bed of cucumbers instead. But before I get too far down this line of thinking, I am reminded of the other times that I’ve had a similar revelations during the peak of harvest of one crop or another only to change my mind when the peak passes and we start wishing we had planted more.

With all the rain we've been getting, we have lots of cracked heirloom tomatoes. Heirlooms are prized for their thin skins and silky texture, but this leads to the skins to crack when more water is pumped into the fruit when it's maturing. Rather than send even more tomatoes to the compost than we already are, we are sending in some 'seconds' this week for you all to take if you wish. If you haven't already done so, now is the time to stock up for winter.

What we really need is feedback from the CSA on what crops we should grow more of and what crops we should grow less of. We are in luck, as your FSF CSA Inreach Coordinator, Kent Gillespie, has kindly prepared an excellent survey designed to find out from you how we can improve the CSA for all. Should we grow more summer squash and less cucumber, or the other way around? What is your favorite heirloom tomato that we should always make sure to grow? Or do you favor the standard red globes and wish we would stop with all this day-glo vegetable hippie nonsense? The FSF CSA core group wants to know your thoughts. They would also like your feedback regarding distribution, communication, farm shifts and more. Please consider taking a few moments to fill out and return the survey. It should be in your inbox attached to the email I am sending to the membership tonight. Thanks so much for your thoughtful suggestions and comments.

What’s in the Share---Week 12

More Summer Fare

This week’s share includes tried and true veggies of summer, and needs little explanation. With the current tomato surplus I hope that you try a simple tomato salad. Last year when I was home in Cincinnati with my brother, he went straight for the box of tomatoes I brought, cut a couple heirlooms in a big bowl, sprinkled a little salt, olive oil and vinegar on them and started in. It’s a simple, delicious treat and a wonderful way to make sure none of your tomatoes goes to waste.

Summer Canning

Tomato and chili sauce (more exactly Clara Zimmer’s Chili Sauce c. 1918) are the tasks at hand right now. A photo of the ingredients for each is shown, respectively. Little more than salt and oil was needed for the tomato sauce, while the chili sauce also called for 1-1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 cups vinegar and some pickling spices. The veggies in those crates was converted into 6 quarts of tomato sauce and 10 pints (5 quarts) of chili sauce.

Each called for between 20 and 25 pounds of tomatoes, showing that, canning can be an expensive (but very worthwhile) venture if you are buying your produce. These days though, it can cost less than a tank of gas, and can fuel you through the winter. Of course if you grow your own all you need it to do is be ready when the tomatoes are.

Bulk List

Fair Share Farm
CSA Bulk Order Form Week of 7/28/08

Item Member Cost Non- Member Cost
Beets $2.75/qt $3.00/qt
Pickling pack* (small cukes) $17.00 $19.00
Pickling pack* (med. cukes) $13.00 $15.00
Pickling pack* (large cukes) $11.00 $13.00
Paste tomatoes (No. 1's) $2.25/lb $2.75/lb
$1.75/lb over 10 lb $2.25/lb over 10 lb
Tomato seconds $1.75/lb $2.00/lb
$1.50 over 10 lb $1.75 over 10 lb
Basil $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Tarragon $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Dill flowers $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Dried herbs $1.75 $2.00
thyme, marjoram, dried hot
peppers, lovage, lavendar
flowers, coriander, oregano

* Pickling pack aromatics choices are garlic, dill, or cornichon

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

From the farm - Week 11

In the Share: Week 11
TOMATOES (F/P) The heirlooms are outproducing the hybrids right now.
CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) The healthiest tomatoes on the farm are on our highest ground.
GREEN BEANS (F) Thanks to all the pickers that have signed up to help us tomorrow! Partial shares will get them next week. Still need more pickers for the 30th. Here's a photo from Saturday's bean picking.
WALLA WALLA ONIONS (F/P) Our sweetest onion, great raw in salads
SUMMER SQUASH (F)
CUCUMBERS: (F)
GREEN PEPPERS OR BEETS: (P)
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, Oregano or a dried herb.

Also this week: Parker Farms meat & egg share delivery

Next Week: More tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, beans. More garlic & carrots. Perhaps some cantaloupe. Bread share delivery.

Farm report
There has been a tropical air this week with temperatures in the upper 90s for the first time this year. It came too late for the tropical melons, however. The tropical melon variety called ‘Passport’ is one of our favorites – somewhere between a cantaloupe and a honeydew. We transplanted 200 feet of them along with the same of watermelons and cantaloupes back in mid-May but the cool, wet weather left them to wilt. This week we are beginning to hand out the melons that survived starting with on-farm distribution. If you don’t get one this week, not to worry, there are better chances down the line with our second and third plantings that grew under more favorable conditions.

The end of July signals the peak of activity on the farm. The tomato harvest is in full swing filling up every crate on the farm. After spending all day picking and sorting them, we spend our evenings converting them into our winter stores. The time of the tomato also coincides with the fall planting. So far we’ve planted a bed each of cauliflower, brussel sprouts and kale & collards. Many more seedlings await their turn in the coldframe and shade tents including lots of broccoli, kohlrabi, lettuces, and cabbages. It’s also time to get the last of the garlic out, harvest a bed and a half of carrots, and pull all five beds of onions. Whew! That list made me a bit dizzy. Needless to say, we don’t have a lot of time for the blog right now. It’s 10 pm and my brain is mush and Tom is just filling the final batch of jars for the night – pickles, my grandma’s four-day recipe. So, instead of attempting to blather on any longer, your weary farmer is headed to bed. I’ll see you all soon, however, as I will be sticking around at distribution attempting to sell our extra tomatoes to you all. Read Tom’s blog below for more on that. See you there!

What’s in the Share---Week 11

Summer Fare

The peak has arrived. The summer harvest is bringing us the tomatoes everyone seems to be craving at sign-up. While we can’t label every one, and the hybrids and heirlooms are mixed together, here is some general info on what’s to choose from:

Purple: Cherokee Purple, Black Krim
Pink: Brandywine, Rose de Berne, Hungarian Heart
Yellow/Orange: Amana Orange, Striped German, Goldie, Orange Blossom, Golden Girl
Green: Green Zebra, Aunt Ruby’s German Green
Red: Costoluto Genovese, Early Girl, Goliath, Bolseno, BHN 826

The herb share this week is a great compliment to the tomatoes. Try the basil on fresh tomatoes, and use the oregano when cooking with them.

Summer Canning

The peak also applies to the canning season. Due to this fact, this blog will be a little short, as canning is in progress. We are lucky to have a resource like the farm to be the source of our veggies. Many of those vegetables that are just a little too blemished or damaged to distribute to the CSA find their way into our farm stores. Right now all the seconds tomatoes, small headed garlic, funny looking carrots, leftover basil and field pulled onions we can find are being combined into our tomato sauce. The recipe is here.

Bulk List

The bulk list is expanding this week as the tomatoes come in, and some pickling cukes finally come available. All of these items will be sold on a first come first serve basis. Simply email me your order and it will be filled based on availabilities. This week Rebecca will be at Bad Seed with some surplus tomatoes.

CSA Bulk Order Form Week of 7/21/08
Item Member Cost Non- Member Cost

Beets $2.75/qt $3.00/qt
Pickling pack* (small cukes) $17.00 $19.00
Pickling pack* (med. cukes) $13.00 $15.00
Pickling pack* (large cukes) $11.00 $13.00
Paste tomatoes (No. 1's) $2.25/lb $2.75/lb
$1.75/lb over 10 lb $2.25/lb over 10 lb
Tomato seconds $1.75/lb $2.00/lb
$1.50 over 10 lb $1.75 over 10 lb
Summer squash - lg. $1.00 each $1.50 each
Summer squash - med. $0.50 each $0.75 each
Summer squash - baby $3/qt $3.50/qt
Basil $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Parsley $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Tarragon $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Oregano $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Dill flowers $1.75//bu $2.00/bu
Dried herbs $1.75 $2.00

thyme, marjoram, dried hot
peppers, lovage, lavendar
flowers, coriander, oregano

* Pickling pack aromatics choices are garlic, dill, or cornichon

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

At the farm - Week 10

In the Share:
TOMATOES (F/P)
CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P)
CARROTS (F/P) Fresh from the field, but topped to make it easy for harvesting and packing. In general, all roots keep longer in your crisper without their tops.
MUSIK GARLIC (F/P) Only partially cured. Use soon or leave to cure in a dry place. Partial shares get a choice of garlic or herbs.
SUMMER SQUASH & CUCUMBERS: (F/P)
GREEN PEPPERS OR BEETS: (F) First of the summer and last of the spring. Partial shares will get their turn next week.
LETTUCE: (F/P) From under the shade cloth.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, Rosemary or a dried herb.

Also this week: Bread of Life bread share delivery

Next Week: More tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers. Beans return. More onions. Spring beets and green peppers for the partials. Meat and egg share delivery.

Farm report
First, here is a song to get you in the mood for washing your vegetables. The Klamm sisters on vocals, lyrics by Scott Klamm. Tom managed to catch it on the camera the second morning they serenaded the wash crew. A perfect song for the bathtub adapted to the farm’s own bathtub full of carrots.

Our used bathtub turned veggie wash sink is just one example of the way we do it at Fair Share Farm. Our goal is to not just be a sustainable farm in name only, but really try in every way to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle.’ Throw-away plastic and paper products are ubiquitous in the vegetable industry from the plastic mulch, drip tape and greenhouse pots to the plastic packaging that purports to ‘preserve freshness’ while it fills up the landfills. One way that our farm reduces its footprint is obvious at every CSA distribution. We pack our produce in reused waxed cardboard boxes from organic farms that supply the metro area’s produce aisles. Once lightly cleaned and with a fresh sheet of newsprint for a liner, these boxes stand up to many more than the one use they are typically given. We learned this trick from Peacework Farm where Tom and I met. Peacework’s CSA distributes the farm’s shares at the local food co-op in Rochester, NY. The co-op gives them their used boxes and the farm sends them in the follow week full of produce for the members. In our case, having no co-op around, we have spent the last six years tracking down boxes from the big retailers with mixed success. This season is the worst yet with most of the boxes being sent to a composting facility before we can grab them. We are mulling over our options and would love any suggestions. One option is to buy new waxed boxes. Not a bad idea, with a bit of money we could keep our packing system the same. Another would be to purchase a more durable alternative, like plastic totes.

While I’m on the topic of reducing our waste, please return any containers you have from the farm that you are not using. This includes the quart and pint containers and the herb tins. We only want the pints and quarts if they are still in one piece. If the top has separated from the bottom, please put them in your recycling. Otherwise, we will take them off your hands. Just bring them to distribution and we will pick them up the following week.

What’s in the Share---Week 10

Garlic
As Week 8 and this week’s shares can attest, the garlic harvest has commenced. Two weeks ago you got garlic straight out of the field. Sorry if there was any confusion about how to use it as I didn’t mention it in the blog. I even gave some bad advice to one member (sorry Jennifer), saying that you could chop the stalk and eat it (it’s a little rough).

The garlic you are getting in your share is mature garlic that has not yet been cured. We bring the harvested garlic back to the barn and hang it for a month to allow it to dry out some. This helps it store better and can make it easier to remove the cloves from their skin. It will be in your share every other week until the end of the season.

What To Do With Summer Squash
Summer squash is one of those vegetables that can show up in a share for and extended period of time. If you tire of it there is also the swap box. Another option is to try something new. For us, it’s to try something we usually cook with Mediterranean flavors (basil, thyme, oregano) with Indian spices. This dish has very few ingredients and is easy to make. We made it a little harder by making our own green curry paste last fall and freezing it for use tonight. Unfortunately the recipe has disappeared, though we will try to recreate it again this fall.

Summer Squash with Green Curry
2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium summer squash cut into 1 inch chunks
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 tbsp green curry paste
Optional:
3 tbsp coconut milk
Yogurt and cilantro for garnish

Cook the summer squash in the olive oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the tomato and green curry paste and cook for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until squash is tender. Add coconut milk and cook 1 minute more. Serve over rice garnished with the yogurt and cilantro.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Bulk List Items for the Week of July 14, 2008

Item Beets	Member cost $2.75/qt	Non-Member $3.00/qt
Basil	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Summer squash-lg Summer sq-med Summer sq-small Parsley	$1.00 ea $0.50 ea $3.00/qt $1.75/bu	$1.50 ea $0.75 ea $3.50/qt $2.00/bu
Oregano	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Dill flowers	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Dried herbs	$1.75/tin	$2.00/tin
thyme, marjoram, dried hot peppers, lovage, lavendar flowers, coriander, oregano

In the Share - Week 9

In the Share:
TOMATOES (F/P) A few to start the season
CHERRY TOMATOES (F) Our selection of varying colors and flavors, all ripe for eating now
SWISS CHARD: (F/P) Some holes, from bugs of course, but many from our pea-size hail last Weds. morning. Full shares get chard, partials a choice with the cabbage.
TROPEA RED ONIONS (F/P) We’re picking them fresh just like they looked in the markets of Italy. Read Tom’s blog (below) for more info and a recipe.
SUMMER SQUASH: (F/P) The perfect vegetable for every summer dish
CUCUMBERS (F) Still growing sluggishly, for now it’ll be an every other week item.
EARLY JERSEY WAKEFIELD CABBAGE: (F/P) Our favorite cabbage for spring – a sweet pointy-headed heirloom.
GREEN BEANS (P) The end of the first and perhaps a few off the second planting.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, Parsley or a dried herb.

Also this week: Parker Farm meat and egg share delivery

Next Week: More tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, and beans. More garlic and carrots. Maybe the last of the spring beets and some green peppers. Bread of Life bread share delivery.

Summer is truly here. We have finally had some sweaty days out in the fields and do we smell like it! The usual parade of harvest, weed, tie tomatoes, weed, etc continues. We finished seeding most of the fall transplants, caught up on seeding the fall beets, carrots and rutabagas, and got the buckwheat summer cover crop in before the rain tonight.
But the big news on the farm is that the summer favorite, the tomato, has begun to ripen its fruit. Tomatoes are such an important crop for us that its hard to know where to start in explaining all of the work, joy, sweat and anticipation that goes along with them. Tomatoes are not only critical for the shares but are especially necessary in our household. Sharing my life with Farmer Ruggieri requires a great love for the fruit converted into every imaginable preserved goodie: sauce, ketchup, juice, sun-dried and paste. All this tomato-saving allows us to eat very well all winter long and save our farm income from the grocery store. Of course, nothing compares to eating them fresh, which we also enjoy. Our favorites are the heirlooms in all their varied glory. The Brandywine is pictured. There will be some at distribution, but the most numerous heirloom this week will be the Cherokee Purple – almost brown when ripe and with a smokey flavor. We are handing out the tomatoes in varying stages of ripeness. Take at least one less-ripe one to have later in the week. Rule of thumb: ripe tomatoes are soft and brightly colored, less ripe have areas of green and are hard. Leave on the counter to ripen, never in the fridge.
We pick all of our tomatoes once they have their first blush of color. The sooner we pick them the less likely someone else will get to them first (i.e. rot, the pests, or …raccoons, yes a few are in the patch despite Rocky's diligence.) Contrary to popular belief, this does not affect their flavor. The reasons why grocery store tomatoes taste like cardboard include being washed in a chlorine bath, refrigeration (don’t put your tomatoes in the fridge, folks!) and varieties that are bred for long shelf-life. Heirloom tomatoes are thin-skinned, easily bruised and often sport cracking, cat-facing and green shoulders to name a few of their most identifiable conditions. Despite all these disabilities, or maybe because of them, they offer a wide assortment of fabulous flavor, textures and color. If all this makes you a little nostalgic for the lowly red tomato, not to worry. Half of our tomato crop is dedicated to the standard red globes (with a few yellows thrown in) that have that classic, tomato taste and look. Early Girls are predominant this week.
And finally a big bucket of gratitude goes to last Wednesday’s farm crew who slugged it out in the pouring rain to harvest the shares. Linda Coussens, Chris Veach, Linda Williams, Linda Evans, her mother Beverly and Dorris Bender worked through the morning soaking wet and stayed into the afternoon in order to get the beans picked. Cheers to their community spirit!

What’s in the Share---Week 9

The Tropea Onion

One of my favorite vegetables is the onion. I think it is the aroma of a freshly harvested onion that I especially like. It is this reason, more than its sometimes strong taste, that makes onions one of the aromatic vegetables.

Some onion varieties are very unique, matched perfectly to the areas they are grown in. In the US it’s the Walla Walla and Vidalia (among others). In the rest of the world one standout is the Cipolle di Tropea. Grown all over the countryside in Calabria, Italy, they are as old as its history.

Brought to the Italian mainland by the Phoenicians over 2,000 years ago, their unique torpedo shape and sharp sweet flavor remains with us today. The Fair Share Farm version of the Tropea onion includes the lunga (torpedo-shaped one) and the tonda (round), the latter perhaps being the sweeter of the two.

One of its traditional uses is as a marmalade. We saved a jar of marmalade we bought in Tropea in December to use as a benchmark for making our own. The recipe below is our first attempt, based on several sources on the web. We will try it next time with more sugar (to make it thicker) and some herbs (thyme, summer savory and rosemary). Serve it as a garnish over meat or grilled vegetables.

Tropea Onion Marmalade

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 heaping cups chopped Tropea onions

2 tbsp turbanado or brown sugar

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Chop the onion and cook with the olive oil and butter over medium high heat for 3 minutes, stirring often. Turn heat to low and let cook for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens up.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Bulk List Items for the Week of July 7, 2008

Item Beets	Member cost $2.75/qt	Non-Member $3.00/qt
Basil	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Summer squash-lg Summer sq-med Summer sq-small Parsley	$1.00 ea $0.50 ea $3.00/qt $1.75/bu	$1.50 ea $0.75 ea $3.50/qt $2.00/bu
Oregano	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Dill flowers	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Dried herbs	$1.75/tin	$2.00/tin
thyme, marjoram, dried hot peppers, lovage, lavendar flowers, coriander, oregano

In the Share - Week 8

In the Share:
CARROTS: (F/P) Still growing and still tasty
WALLA WALLA ONIONS (F/P) Still technically green, store in the fridge. Read Tom’s blog for more info. (scroll down past mine)
SUMMER SQUASH: (F) Just in time for some Independence Day grilling
CUCUMBERS (F/P)
LETTUCES (F/P) Our best summer lettuce yet. Read below for more and some pics.
GREEN BEANS (F) The first of the season. Partials get them next week.
GREEN GARLIC (F/P) Full size but not cured. Eat soon and refridgerate or hang to dry in a dry place. Partials get a choice of garlic or herbs.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Basil, Mint or a dried herb.
CHERRY TOMATOES (F/P) Just a tasting this week.

Also this week: Bread of Life bread share delivery

Next Week: More summer squash, cucumbers, and beans. Tomatoes (we hope!) Parker Farms meat and egg share delivery.

Farm report
This week you are receiving some of our best summer lettuce yet. The cooler weather has definitely helped. Summer lettuce is a bit of a gamble in our part of the world. At Peacework Organic Farm in western NY where Tom and I met they distribute lettuce to their members every week of the CSA season. We, on the other hand, are lucky to get a good harvest for a month or so in the spring and fall. Over the years we’ve tried different heat-resistant types with some luck. Mostly though the summer romaines and crispheads we’ve trailed have refused to grow very big before beginning to send up a flower stalk. Flowers are fine and good, but does not a good lettuce head make. So, this week we are in for a treat. The cool, rainy weather allowed the lettuces to grow to a decent size for the shares. These are not the buttery heads of spring, but they have a good crunchy sweetness. The varieties include: Anuenue (green crisphead), Magenta (not the magenta colored one, the pale bronze & green one), Cherokee (the magenta-colored one) and Nevada (green, ruffled romaine). We have more summer lettuce growing. These younger plants are probably two weeks away from being ready to harvest. We’ve got them under 50% shade cloth that will protect them from the harshest of the sun and heat of July.

P.S. Tonight, the farm’s faithful dog, Rocky, saved said lettuces from the mouths of two deer. A few barks from him in our yard led he and I to an investigative trip to the fields. There we spied two deer who had come through a section of the fence that had fallen from the posts. The chase ensued past the fence and through the wheat fields of the Graff farm. Rocky returned with my call and trotted triumphantly home. He gets this spring in his step, almost a prance, when he has successfully chased off an unwanted critter. He really loves his job, and we love him for it.

What’s in the Share---Week 8

One Sweet Onion

One nice thing about onions is that they come in differing shades of sweetness and hotness. The sweet ones are a treat---an onion that is great raw. This week’s Walla Walla onions more than exemplify that trait. Cut yourself a little piece and see how tear-free this variety is. There’s more on the Walla Walla at http://www.sweetonions.org/.

We’ve included our own recipe below, a savory dish that makes the most of your onions and fennel. We also want to thank the May 18^th farm work crew for weeding the Walla Wallas, greatly improving their size.

Caramelized Sweet Onion and Fennel

2 tbsp olive oil
2 Walla Walla onions
2 cloves of garlic, crushed, or 2 tbsp chopped garlic scapes
2 fennel bulbs
1 tbsp chopped summer savory
2 tbsp red butter
¼ tsp salt

Cut the tops off the fennel, just above the top of the bulbs. (the tops can be chopped up and used in salads or dips). Cut the root end off and clean of any soil. Slice thinly across the bulb to form oval slices. Likewise, cut the onions into thin rounds or half rounds.

Saute the fennel and onions in the olive oil over medium high heat for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, summer savory and salt. Stir and turn heat to medium low for 5 minutes. Add butter and continue cooking until vegetables begin to caramelize (lightly brown).

This is good as a vegetable side dish. It is also good as a garnish for grilled meats.

NEED TO KNOW MORE? Go to our Recipe page and search.

Bulk List Items for the Week of June 30, 2008

Beets	$2.75/qt	$3.00/qt
Basil	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Parsley	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Oregano	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Dill flowers	$1.75/bu	$2.00/bu
Dried herbs	$1.75/tin	$2.00/tin
thyme, marjoram, dried hot peppers, lovage, lavendar flowers, coriander, oregano