Fall

Hopefully all of you are settling in to your post-summer routines, enjoying the crisp sleeping weather and good meals. September is my favorite eating month. It’s the crossover time between the heat loving crops of summer and the hearty satisfying roots of fall. Meals that include potatoes and tomatoes, hot peppers and cabbage -the options are endless.

Most of our days are filled with harvest as we try to keep up with what’s coming in. Potatoes, squash and Sweet potatoes are the big crops yet to be finished amongst are the smaller ones you see each week. All of our days begin at 6am and on Tuesdays and Fridays we have a bigger crew as some of our able hourly help jumps in to cut greens, wash roots and help with the sorting and cleaning of onions, melons, etc. Here a shot our our crew this am…IMG_4545

San Marzano Roma Toms

This is the first picking of these roma tomatoes, a new addition to the share this year. Famous for their concentrated flavor and low moisture a few of these sliced into a pan with onion and olive oil is a pasta sauce in itself.

Potato Thanks

Thanks to all of you who came out to lend a hand with the potato harvest last Saturday am. We picked up about 4000 row feet of Rosegolds and Adirondack Reds which you will start seeing in your share next week after we grade and wash them.

Fennel

Another round of this under appreciated mediterranean mainstay. If you missed enjoying this one last time try some of the recipes on the website. Especially the Tunisian stew with Greens and Chickpeas…

IMG_4551Monster Carrots

Carrots this week are mega big. Last week they weren’t consistent enough in size to harvest but the rain caused a growth explosion! We had a hard time getting these monsters out of the ground!

Last Round of Watermelon This Week…IMG_4552

This peace watermelon is a great variety and yes, it is supposed to be yellow in the inside.

Breeding Time Again for Sheep

If you are on the farm you may notice our various flocks here and there, some of them sporting bright swashes of red and green. Two of our ewe groups have rams in with them and the color comes from a pigment paste we apply to the rams chest. He then marks the ewe when they come together and we now know that our ram is doing his job, and by the number of marked ewes, how well…IMG_4549

What’s In Upic?

Cherry Toms

Green Beans

Flowers

Herbs

What’s In  The Share This Week?

Roma Tomatoes

Watermelon

Tomatoes

Fennel

Lettuce

Asian Greens

Chard

Carrots
Broccoli
Ancho Peppers
Gold Potatoes

Tunisian Fennel, Greens, Chickpea Stew

Adapted fron  the New York Times

1/2 pound (1 1/8 cups) chickpeas, soaked in 1 quart water for four to six hours or overnight (or 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained)

1 bunch Swiss chard or Kale , stemmed, leaves washed and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 leek, white part only, cleaned and sliced

2 medium or 1 large fennel bulb, cored and chopped

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground

1 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, ground

1 tablespoon harissa (more to taste; substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper if harissa is unavailable), plus additional for serving. Try using a flavorful mildly spice pepper, minced, like and ancho or even jalapeño here as well.

1 tablespoon tomato paste dissolved in 1/2 cup water

Salt to taste

1 1/3 cups couscous (optional)

1. Drain the chickpeas and transfer to a large pot. Add 1 1/2 quarts water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer one hour while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. Tear the chard leaves off the stems. Wash the stems and dice. Wash the leaves thoroughly and chop coarsely. Set aside. Chop the fennel fronds, and set aside.

3. Heat the oil over medium heat in a heavy casserole, Dutch oven or in any heavy pan with a lid. Add the onion, leek, fennel and a generous pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until tender, five to eight minutes. Add the chard stems, and stir together for a couple of minutes until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and ground spices, and stir together for 30 seconds to a minute until the garlic is fragrant. Add the harissa or cayenne and the dissolved tomato paste, and stir together for another minute or two. Add the chickpeas with their cooking liquid, plus another cup of water if you think there should be more liquid in the pot. Stir together, and bring back to a simmer. Add salt, cover and simmer 30 minutes to an hour until the chickpeas are thoroughly tender and the broth fragrant. If using canned chickpeas simmer at the lowest heat just to bring the flavors together.

4. Stir in the chard greens and chopped fennel fronds. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the greens are very tender and fragrant. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt, garlic or harissa/pepper as desired.

5. Reconstitute and steam the couscous. Serve in wide bowls, top with the stew and serve.