Great Food, Great Weather

~Food~

The weather has been so pleasant the last week or so. I really enjoyed just being outside and walking around the farm to see the chickens, pick some flowers and choose my share. And speaking of food, everything looked wonderful. I was thinking of what kinds of things I could cook with all the food choices.

• radishes, 
• summer spinach, 
• arugula, lettuce, kale salad, 
• sweet potatoes, fingerling potatoes
• watermelons, apples, 
• poblano peppers, hot peppers
• summer squash, zucchini, spaghetti squash, acorn squash,
• garlic, scallions, 
• beets, carrots
• green beans, 
• eggplant, and 
• butternut squash seconds. 

(Please keep in mind that the items are subject to change based on availability.)

Kale Salad, so yummy.

Wow, I'm tired just typing all those vegetables. I couldn't try everything with my half-share, but I did snag some watermelon (I love eating it every day), kale salad, and eggplant.

Someone asked me what is a 'second' vegetable. This is an item that is damaged or tiny or otherwise not top shelf. It is still safe to eat, but is offered to members as a 'freebie' to take home and cook so that it doesn't go to waste. Non-members can purchase these seconds at a reduced price. Seconds are great for soups or  canning, but I just use them for general eating. Everyone is hoping that the butternut squash we saw this week were just the beginning and that fatter, sexier squash will arrive next week. 

Many people were asking about pumpkins. It's that season, you know. There weren't any pumpkins when I was at the farm stand today and I wasn't able to get any information from Pete about them. Last year, I recall that there were some pumpkins around this time. Last year Pete had sugar pumpkins, which are really for making pies or eating and aren't the huge fat carving type.

~Cilantro~

There is a ton of cilantro in the herb garden. Please pick some herbs! The herbs are all labeled with nice white signs...except for the cilantro, which is labeled by this tiny wooden sign at the beginning of the row. I actually didn't know what cilantro looked like so I had to ask which it was! Maybe these photos will help you. You can clip your own herbs (ask for scissors at the Farm Stand) as part of your share or farm card.

~Ombucha and Cheese~

I'm not sure Ombucha and cheese actually belong together, but maybe you can think of them as related since they are both fermented. If you haven't tried the Ombucha, give it a whirl. There are usually tasting cups nearby and if you feel refreshed, you can buy a whole cup to drink on your way home or while you shop.

And don't forget about the Acorn Hill goat cheeses. They are truly special in your mouth and go lovely with almost anything. Acorn Hill also makes fudge made with goat's milk (exquisite!).

~People~

Susan made some incredible apple brownies and I was lucky to get to try one. Yum!

Claudette is featured in Edible Hudson Valley's Fall 2013 magazine. She's on p. 46 in the print edition, or scroll about a quarter of the way down on the linked page. You haven't met Claudette? I haven't either. It just goes to show you how many people are involved behind the scenes to produce the containers of food we enjoy each week.

Ian was working with the forklift to move around some large crates.

The dog was relaxing in the warmth.

Delaney was still in school so Ana was single-handedly replenishing all the different food items as well as checking everyone out, all while keeping her upbeat style.

~Land~

Up until now, I haven't written much about the land. I was noticing today how much of the land was being worked even though, to me, it seems very late in the season. Pete told me that they are now working to get cover crops planted for the winter.

~Tractors~

OK, you know I have this weird fascination with the tractors on the farm. At first, I just thought "oh, they have a tractor", but now that I've been coming to the farm for a few years, I realize they have multiple tractors...different sizes, ages, and uses. Here are two different tractors I saw today. 

This first one is a John Deere 5325N. Fun fact for the day is that it uses approximately 3.6 gallons of diesel fuel per hour. If you want to change the oil, you'd better have 11 quarts of fresh oil handy. If you'd like to see what the driver's console looks like, here is a link to a diagram in the owner's manual. The attachment on the back is a "chisel plow" which is used to plow with limited soil disruption.

The next tractor is a John Deere 5510N. The "N" designation is for "Narrow".

 ~Flowers~

Besides my obsession with tractors, I've also been enjoying the flowers. They are really hitting their peak right now. Come and cut some!

Even though these are not poppies,
this photo reminds me of the flower scene in the Wizard of Oz.

~Ana~

You know we can't finish without a photo of Ana. (I'd get one of Delaney but I've been missing her.) Ana sporting her new camouflage boots!

More Flowers

Wow -- I just checked the number of hits for last weeks post and I see that people are reading this blog! My apologies for being behind with this week's blog. Normally I have the new post done by the end of Thursday. I hope people return and read next week when I expect to be back on schedule. 

~Flowers~

I cut more flowers for myself this week. They are really looking great. Here are some of my favorite photos:

I really like how this one has multiple colors in it.

~Vegetables~

There were no tomatoes today but there were loads of other great items. This week there were sweet potatoes, radishes, acorn squash, empire apples, and even kale salad. What is kale salad? I'm not entirely sure. I think it's small young kale that you can eat without cooking. I got some this week so I'll let you know. There was also arugula, spaghetti squash, beans, poblano peppers, watermelons, hot peppers, beets, and a few more things I believe.

Fingers and Fingerling Potatoes

Some people have asked how to cook spaghetti squash.

When I cook them, I leave the entire squash intact. I try to poke a few holes in the skin either with a fork or sometimes just with the tip of my knife. Then I put the entire squash into the 350 degree oven. I do bake the squash on a dish or sheet just in case some liquid oozes out.

Depending on the exact temperature you use, the squash may take 30 minutes or more to cook. It's done if you can smell it, or if a fork can pierce the skin easily. I pull it out and let it sit for about 10 minutes before I cut into it. I cut it lengthwise and then scoop out the seeds. Once the seeds are out, you can scoop out the flesh and separate the 'strings' for a nice presentation. I'm no chef, so take my directions with a grain of salt!

The cooked flesh will separate apart into string-like shapes. The texture is not stringy, only the shape is stringy. The texture is actually quite soft and I think the taste is similar to yellow squash.

~Meat and Butter~

Don't forget about the fresh products provided by nearby vendors. If you like meat, you're bound to appreciate this amazing sausage from Dancing Ewe Farm.

And remember Sarah's chickens? I hear they are extremely tasty. Spice up your regular chicken dinners with these special raised chickens.

Lately, the farm stand has been able to procure a supply of organic butter from Evans' Farmhouse. If you're not into making your own butter, this is the way to go.

~Tractors~

Pete was working on this John Deere 520 tractor today. I wasn't able to find much information about it online. Does anyone know about this tractor?

David and Pete heading to more work

~People~

You might have heard some banging and buzzing when you were picking up your share. That was likely the noise of Jens and his colleague repairing the apple bins. These things don't last forever! Good thing that Pete has the help of these competent handymen.

If you look really closely, you'll see a little woolly caterpillar crawling around the apple bin in the picture.

Woolly Caterpillar! aka "Woolly Bear"

I have heard that this is a sign of winter and cold weather on the way. Actually, I saw one of these near my house almost 3 weeks ago. I was shocked to see one so early.

I didn't get to see Delaney this week either. She was still at school!

But I got this nifty photo of Ana. Enjoy!