Thursday, August 29, 2013

A damp day for a bounty of food

There was so much food today at the farm stand! I had a terrible time deciding what to take home and eat this week. There was lettuce, arugula, green beans, squash, peppers, spinach, beets, scallions,
scallions growing
Really lovely fat scallions growing
tomatoes, including heirloom type
heirloom tomatoes
Wonderful tasty tomatoes
and cherry tomatoes,
cherry tomatoes
Generous cherry tomatoes -- great for snacking
and cantaloupes.
ripe cantaloupes
Sweet, ripe cantaloupes
There weren't any watermelons but apples have arrived!
organic apples
Organic Apples
If you're wondering why they look "dusty" it's because Kaolin clay is sprayed on them to help keep pests and sun damage away. This is purely a surface spray and actually Kaolin clay is even used in some toothpastes; you can just wash it off the surface. These apples are organic, not the pesticide-produced apples so easy to find in this area. If you've ever been near an apple orchard when it's being sprayed with pesticides, you'll appreciate that Pete works hard to ensure his apples are not polluting the land or your body.

Other Products

The usual fun things from local and nearby vendors are available, including much Mor bread and biscotti, chevre goat-milk cheese, yogurt, Full Moon Farms meats, and Sarah's Chickens. I don't eat meat, but I've taken a poll and people have reported that Sarah's Chicken meat tastes wonderful.

sarah's chickens
Sarah's Chickens

Biscotti
much Mor bread's Biscotti

Flowers

The flowers are beautiful! Be sure to cut some when you're there. There are plenty of things blooming now, and more on the way. I loved taking these photos. Click on them to make them bigger.






People

I was at the farm stand at my usual time today but it seemed about twice as busy as I'm used to. I saw so many people! I met Susan and we talked about experiences with mathematics (and food too). She was so nice to let me take photos of her! I hope you can see her positive energy in these pictures.

Susan aka Nanny
Susan (aka Nanny to some) enjoyed the tomatoes
Ana and Susan
Ana and Susan -- tons of positive energy.

Delaney was not working this morning because she's back in school. Her college classes have started so her time is now at a premium. Wish her luck in school when you see her.

I did get a nice photo of Ana, as always. Being there by herself with all the crowds of people, she was really working hard for the money today


Ana working
Hard Work!

Ana
Ana doing some calculations

Charity

School is starting everywhere, even for children and adolescents whose lives are unstable. The farm is collecting school supplies for the children staying with their moms at the women's shelter.  Help them start the school year without stress about having the right gear -- bring paper, pencils, 3-ring binders, notebooks, folders, pens, crayons, backpacks and anything you imagine your children needing to start school. There's a bin at the farm stand to take your collection.
 


I'll be away next week, but watch this blog for some interesting chicken photos instead of the usual farm stand photos. I take pictures of them every week and will choose the best ones just for you blog readers.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Peppers have arrived

Hello Folks,

I had great fun at the farm today. There was the usual assortment of great produce. There were also seconds for tomatoes and cantaloupe. If you got some you're lucky! While I was there, many people came to get seconds. It seems a lot of people like to can. I am not a canner, but I do like to cook and freeze things. I got a bag of second tomatoes thinking I might make some tomato soup. I didn't make soup, but decided to stew tomatoes and eggplant. Everything I put into my pot today came from the farm!
Stewing tomatoes and eggplant with onions, garlic, basil. Later I put in squash too.
Speaking of farm-grown meals, Delaney made this picture of her lunch that came completely from the farm.
Delaney's lunch.
There were not any watermelons when I was there today. Hopefully there will be some in the field that we can have next week. Delaney seemed to think there would be more that can be harvested, but I didn't get a chance to ask Pete directly so don't hold me to that. In case you got a watermelon last week and by chance haven't cut it open, I bet it will look like this one I cut yesterday:

There were plenty of other really fresh yummy vegetables at the Farm Stand today. I got some really beautiful swiss chard, and some super-hot peppers.
  
Use Caution!
Speaking of peppers, I cut one of the slender ones and put it into my stewed eggplant and tomatoes...my advice: use gloves when you slice them. I failed to use gloves and I didn't think it was a big deal because my hands didn't have any reaction at first. But about 20 minutes later, my fingers were on fire! You might also take that into consideration when you decide how much to put in your dish :)

Maybe the hot peppers aren't your thing. There were beautiful green, red, and yellow peppers as well.

I did not get a picture of the flowers, but they're starting to really come in. Members can gather flowers for free as part of their share, so come with a vase to take them home. Also, the herb garden has been weeded and is ready for harvest. Members can gather herbs for free. If you're not a member, you can still partake in the flowers & herbs for a fee.

I noticed that there was Quark this week. I've been missing it the last few weeks. If you have not used Quark before, it's a lot like sour cream, but it is more pure than what usually passes for 'sour cream' in the typical grocery store container (check the ingredients!). Also, it has a slightly different flavor, but I think it would go well in any dish or appetizer that calls for sour cream. Try it, I think you'll like it.

People

Pete was arriving from another field with David. They had one of the dogs in the back of the truck.
David back on the main farm. Pete already moving to the next thing on the list.

The dog is ready to be rubbed.
Ana and Delaney were busy while I was there. They were sorting vegetables, moving crates to refill empty bins, and checking people out. But they always take a few minutes to let me snap some photos. Enjoy these today!

See everyone next week! Happy eating...and be careful of those hot peppers.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Melons

Lots of great food, as usual, at the Farm Stand this week. I was very excited to find melons! Cantalopes and watermelons were there on Thursday.
I haven't tried my watermelon yet. I'm saving it a few days for a special dinner.

There were also great looking carrots, swiss chard (which I just cooked for dinner --- excellent), bite-sized tomatoes, and even some squash.  There were some large tomatoes too, but I admit I haven't tasted them yet.

While I was hanging out, I heard some people raving about Sarah's chickens. Be sure to pick up a package of chicken if you want to taste a well-raised chicken. Get some while you can.

And, if you recall the maple syrup I blogged about last week, I want to give it a review. I finally tried it this morning with my oatmeal. Oh my goodness! I think it may have been the best maple syrup I've ever had. If you like maple syrup, I urge you to get some and try it for yourself.

Tractors

I admit that I'm starting to think that tractors look really cool. I saw Paul on the tractor and snapped a few pictures.
Paul hard at work.
I thought this tractor was cool enough that it merited its own closeup.
International diesel 274 tractor in use
International diesel 274 tractor in the field
Call me crazy, but I found out that other people take pictures of tractors. Check out this picture of an International diesel 274, which is the same as what Paul is driving. I read that this tractor had a retail price of OVER $10,000 in 1983. That's almost twice as much as a 1983 Toyota Corolla. I had no idea how much tractors cost.

Last But Not Least

Notice the tractor??
Gotta love the boots!
That's it for this week! What does everyone want to hear about? More chickens? More tractors? A nice list of what's there when I'm there?? Feel free to leave comments below. Just press the "No Comments" so you can change it to "1 Comments".

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Late post!

Hello folks, I'm remiss making my regular blog post this week. It's been a busy week for me -- the summer is in full swing which means I'm doing all those things I couldn't do during the rest of the year...and enjoying all the weather I can.

Speaking of weather, Thursday was a sulky day. The sky was pouting all day but it never rained. I don't know if you can officially describe the weather as "sulky", but that's the best adjective I could think of. Of course, on Friday we finally had the cathartic rain.

At the farm stand Thursday, the tomatoes were starting to come in. There were also lots of other things, such as carrots, fennel, green beans, summer spinach, lettuce, squash, peppers, onions, eggplant, and potatoes. Availability may change from Thursday through Saturday based on the whims of nature and the crop harvests. So, please don't be upset with Delaney or Ana if you see something pictured here, but don't see it when you get there. This is all part of the "share" concept -- you share in the surpluses through generous units and free items but also in the sparsity when some crops are not as robust as others.



Fresh from the field


Can someone tell me how to cook this fennel?

People at the Farm

I love this picture of Pete and Delaney:
Father & Daughter

And these kids playing at the swing set made me want to swing!
We should all have fun at the farm!

Herb Garden is Weeded

The herb garden has been weeded and refreshed. Please clip some fresh herbs when you're here. There are clippers at the farm stand. This is included for free for farm card holders and members.
I saw garlic chives, tarragon, thyme, and sage.

Apples

I went to visit the field where the apples are being grown on Wednesday with Robin. They are not yet ready to harvest. Pete said some of them were sunburned so we're not sure what will happen as they ripen.




You might wonder what the film on them is. It is Kaolin clay. Pete told me that it's used to deter apple maggots that try to lay eggs on the apples this time of year. The bugs do not like to put their feet in it, so it's a deterrent rather than a chemical pesticide. It's an approved topical treatment for organic produce. So we're still hopeful for some yummy apples this year.

Crop Damage and Eggplant Update

Robin took me to a different field away from the main farm. There she showed me how the deer were chomping down on the tomatoes and spaghetti squash.
These are on the main farm. These tomatoes look good.

These tomatoes are being eaten by deer!

Smart deer like organic tomatoes!

They just eat the tops right off!

Have you ever seen a deer eat a spaghetti squash??

It looks like the deer were standing in the crops too, damaging them.
The eggplant, which lost their flowers in that week-long heat wave, are starting to produce a few fruits again. We saw these flowers and little eggplants:
See the flower in the center?

This one is starting to look good.

A tiny eggplant baby.
When I was at the farm stand Thursday, I saw the workers bring a container of eggplant directly from the field. So, hopefully there will be even more eggplant this season. I cooked some last night (breaded & pan fried) and it was wonderful.

Ana & Delaney

I have so much fun taking pictures of Ana & Delaney. They are great to oblige me.


See everyone next week. I'll try to write on time! Maybe I'll even get some comments this week (hint hint). The words "no comments" below just mean "no comments yet".