Fort Hill Farm CSA (DOC download)

							                               Fort Hill Farm CSA
Week 13 – September 5, 2007                                          Paul Bucciaglia
                                                                     18 Fort Hill Road
                                                                     New Milford, CT 06776
                                                                     860-350-3158
                                                                     forthillfarm@gmail.co m
                                                                     www.forthillfarm.com

Farm News
        So far, 2007 has been a banner year for the CSA. With the exception of some July rains, it has been a
very dry year. That generally favors the fruiting crops over the leafy crops, and I think the last few CSA shares
have been a testament to that. We have had huge picks of red ripe peppers from our pepper patch. If the dry
weather holds, they will keep coming on strong for another two weeks or so. We are still picking tomatoes
from the field, which means that we have been harvesting them for over eight weeks from either the field or the
greenhouses. Melons were a real treat this year, both cantaloupe and watermelon produced bumper crops of
sweet, juicy fruit. And for the most part we have been able to keep up good harvests of arugula and salad mix.
When it is hot and dry like this we have to water the greens crops every two to three days. Forecasts indicate
the hot, dry weather will be with us for the foreseeable future, which makes me wonder where all that moisture
that inundated the Midwest has gone too.
        Otherwise, we are seeing some changes to our summer harvest routine at the farm. We picked the last
cucumbers today and pronounced the patch ‗kicked‘, so we now turn our cucurbit attention to the more durable
members of that family, the winter squashes. We have several different winter squashes ripening up in the
field, and we will be getting them to you over the next two months, starting this week with spaghetti squash.
We are working our way through our last patch of sweet corn, a tall variety called ‗Seneca Dancer‘. That‘s my
brother Joe‘s favorite corn, and mine too. We now have time to begin digging the potatoes in earnest, and fall
crops of broccoli raab, broccoli, and bok choy are growing great in the field, under a steady diet of irrigation
water and bright September sunshine. We have planted the oat and field pea cover crops, and will now begin
sowing my favorite nitrogen fixer, the viny legume called hairy vetch.
        And so the ‗back to school‘ bugs keep making their calls in the trees, and the nearly all the yellow buses
take to the roads tomorrow, the day after Labor Day. Only make that ‗back to school frogs‘. CSA shareholder
Barbara DeGregorio took me aside during a distribution to tell me that the ―cha-cha-cha‖ calls I have been
listening to all these years are likely to be from tree frogs! Like I said, I learn something new on the farm every
day.
Hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,

Paul, for Janine, Susan, Jenny, and Brian

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FIFTH ANNUAL FORT HILL FARM HARVEST POT LUCK
When: RAIN OR SHINE, Sunday, September 30 from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM.
Who’s invited: CSA shareholders
What to bring: a main dish, side dish, or desert, and chairs if you like.
What’s going on: hay rides around the farm, pick your own pumpkins (one for each share), and a chance to see
where all your veggies have been coming from.
Looking forward to seeing everyone at the farm!
Please do not bring pets or alcoholic beverages to the farm. Thanks!
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IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER INFO:
-Shareholder renewal forms for 07 shareholders will go out in the near future. We will attach them to an
upcoming newsletter. Stay tuned to this newsletter for more details!
-PLEASE DRIVE VERY SLOWLY AT THE FARM!!! Thank you.

PYO at the Farm: Flowers (1 bouquet), sunflowers (3), herbs, cherry tomatoes (1 quart, won‘t last much
longer), plum tomatoes (about 2 lbs. per share, extra available at $1.50 per pound). PYO hours are Tues. and
Fri, 2:30Pm to 6:30 PM, and Sat. 8AM to noon. Limits subject to change.
Featured this week:
Fingerling potatoes: these are a very tasty delicacy of a spud. This variety, called ‗Austrian crescent‘, is
especially good tossed in oil and rosemary and roasted in a single layer in the oven at 350F until tender.
Spaghetti squash: can be cooked like all winter squash: cut in half, scoop out the seeds, oil the edges, and
place upside down in a baking sheet with ¼ inch of water. Bake at 350F until a fork passes right through.
Flake out the stringy flesh and top with butter, oil, or tomato sauce. See recipe below.
Sweet corn: This is the swan song for sweet corn. Remember that you can freeze sweet corn for a mid winters
taste of summer—just boil the ears for a minute, immediately immerse in cold water, cut off the cob into a zip
lock bag, and freeze.
Edamame: these are a delicious edible soybean from Japan. See the simple recipe below. A very yummy
snack or appetizer.

Also available: cucumbers, slicing/heirloom tomatoes, carrots, red bell and Italia sweet peppers, onions, garlic, lettuce,
cooking greens (Swiss chard or green kale).
Recipes: (Recommendations from Janine)
Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Moosewood Cookbook
1 Spaghetti Squash                                      salt and pepper to taste
2 TBSP Butter                                           2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chopped onion                                     1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
2 medium cloves garlic, minced                          1 cup grated mozzarella
½ lb. fresh, sliced mushrooms                           1 cup fine bread crumbs
½ tsp oregano                                           ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp basil                                             Parmesan Cheese
dash of thyme
  Preheat oven to 375. Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds. Bake face down on oiled sheet until it is easily pierced by a fork,
about 30 minutes. Let stand until cool enough to handle, then scoop out the pulp and place in a large bowl. Meanwhile, heat the
butter and sauté onions, garlic, and mushrooms with herbs, salt and pepper. When onions are soft, add tomatoes and continue to cook
until most of the liquid evaporates. Stir this mixture into squash pulp with remaining ingredients except Parmesan. Spread into
buttered 2-Quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered, 30-40 minutes.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Janine‘s variation
6 Red Bell Peppers, roasted, or two                     2 TBSP vegetable oil
  13oz. Cans sweet roasted red peppers                  2 cups chopped onion
2-4 garlic cloves, chopped                              1 tsp red pepper flakes
3 carrots chopped                                       1 tsp salt
2 cups undrained canned tomatoes                        2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  If you‘ve roasted fresh red peppers, set them aside to cool in a tightly covered bowl, when cool enough to handle peel them. If using
canned roasted red peppers, rinse them well in a colander and set aside to drain.
  In a soup pot, warm the oil, add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, carrots and salt and sauté until the onions are soft. Remove
from the heat and add the tomatoes, broth and roasted red peppers. In batches in a blender, puree the soup until smooth. Return it to
the soup pot and cook on medium heat until hot. Serve immediately.

Edamame, by Janine
Pull all pods off the plant. Rinse under cold water. Fill a small pot with 1 inch of water. Put the pods in the pot with a steamer
basket. Bring water to a boil, once steaming steam the beans for 3-5 minutes. Put edamame into a medium bowl and (optional)
drizzle with a couple tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce. Now here‘s the fun part! Pick up a whole pod, suck out the beans, and
compost the empty pods.