Thursday, September 18, 2014

Chill in the air, Edamame, Fruit and Focus


Hello from the farm,

We're enjoying the chill in the air on these fine farm mornings, continuing to unearth potatoes, harvest and cure winter squash, prepare seed garlic for planting for 2015, and put fields to rest with cover crops for the winter.

We had a nice visit yesterday in the form of Goodwill Keystone's CEO Ron, and some guests from Goodwill International, who took delight in our "outdoor office" that is the farm and the work we do.

The edamame wall is growing taller and taller. (wait is that someone buried in the edamame moutain?) 

Monthly Farm Tour: 
Want to get a behind the scenes look at the workings of the farm? There is a monthly farm tour on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 9am.  If you are planning to attend, please email sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org.
Tour lasts approximately 30 minutes. 

No tours during Dec/Jan/Feb during the cold and bleak period.

Fruit and Focus
Over the past fifteen seasons we've experimented with growing all kinds of things ranging from kiwis to Asian pears, jujubes, goumis, pawpaws, pomegranates, mushrooms, rice, colored cotton, peanuts and papayas.  While putting experimental annual crops in the Pick Your Own field is a yearly success that keeps us all intrigued and taste buds delighted at times, we've found that growing tree fruit is not usually our best and highest calling.  The methodology, timing, harvest and equipment are much different than for vegetable growing.  
We were glad when North Star Orchard asked to make their fruit share available here, because they obviously are well-equipped for tree fruit production and it shows in their fruit quality.  We do strawberries, blueberries, watermelons and cantaloupes well, and that's where our efforts will bear the most fruit, pun intended.  Do look for Asian pears and pawpaws and the occasional persimmons from us, they are better suited for our farm than other tree fruit.

 Our Farm Monarch, Mona, hatched out this week from her chrysalis


Mona sings the praises of hyacinth beans. 


Serving Suggestions for the harvest this week:

Edamame:  also known as green soybeans, these tasty little beans are an appetizer, snack or post-meal treat in Japan that have become highly appreciated here as well. 
How to prepare: pull beans from the stalk, which you can do here if you like, put pods into boiling salted water.  Boil for about seven minutes, drain and then sprinkle salt over the pods to serve.  It's great fun for adults and children alike to pop the beans from the pod into your mouth by squeezing.

Winter squash:  firm winter squash are great for baking, "pumpkin" pie, faux spaghetti noodles in the case of spaghetti squash or halved and baked in the oven with butter and maple syrup and/or brown sugar.  The acorn and delicata squash we are harvesting now are not types intended for long storage. Use within a week or two for best results.  (The Long Island Cheese squash and butternuts that will be harvested later on are the best keepers, which is why they are at the tail end of things). 

Potatoes: We really like the Yukon Gold for making farm fries.  How difficult is it?  Not difficult at all.  Cut taters into fries, put in pot of heated oil--we like peanut oil, and fry until golden brown. The Red Pontiac is a great all around variety as is the stunning Purple Viking.  The diminutive dynamo French Fingerlings are a delight also and chefs clamor for them because of their flavor and texture.  
Red River and Sterling White Onions: both of these are good storage onions and are desirable for just about any purpose. 
Sweet Peppers:  whether green, yellow, orange, red, or purple. bell shaped or horn shaped, we'll have a sweet pepper for you. Our perennial favorite is Carmen, a lipstick red bull's horn type sweet pepper. 
Tomatoes: the tomato plants are starting to contemplate fall.   Look for the harvest to slowly decrease as fall approaches.  Mmm, tomato and cheese sandwich anyone?  
Eggplants:  We really like the long slender Asian type eggplants! They are user friendly, mild and great for grilling with soy sauce, miso etc on the grill or use in any recipe that calls for eggplant--in short, treat them the same as the Italian "bell-type" eggplants.  They are slowing down as the days grow shorter. 

  
Goodbyes: 

Scallions: These mild-mannered onion family folks give an easy onion flavor to salads, sandwiches, stir fries and more.  Or you could do the old classic buttered bread and sliced scallion treat: my grandparents talked a lot about enjoying them in spring.  We found a few more. 
Watermelons and cantaloupe: it was nice melon run, but sooner or later, we knew they'd be done.  We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.  
Cucumbers:  these are finished for this season, we're sad to see them go. 
Carrots: carrots are really good roasted in the oven with some coconut, olive or peanut oil. Of course they are also good as carrot sticks or in salads. We will miss the fresh taste of farm carrots, it's just not the same getting them from the store. 
Summer Squash:  add raw to salads, steam lightly, or stir-fry. Don't overcook unless you like soft consistency. 
Kohlrabi: sort of a mini-broccoli little crunchy dude, these are tasty raw and taste kind of like mild sweet broccoli. Usually eaten raw.  Some people peel away the outer layer.  May return in autumn. 
Greens: these succumbed to the heat, with the exception of chard which continue to grow through the summer heat. We like to fry these in a skillet with butter or coconut oil until crisp, add some onions and saute them as well--a superb topping for rice, fried eggs or stand alone too.
Broccoli: Broccoli is dicey as a spring crop and the heat has made it flower and diminished its quality--look for a new crop in fall. 
Garlic scapes: we hope you enjoyed the delightful flavor of these. 
Lettuce heads: these have run their course and are stretching skyward--a precursor to bolting--flowering to make seed. 
Lettuce mix--the leaves have given it their all and are now finished.  
Green garlic: this is garlic harvested before the base swells and becomes a bulb. It has a milder flavor than bulb garlic and can be used anywhere garlic is called for. Keep refrigerated as you would green onions/scallions. 
Cilantro: this herb has run its life cycle and is "bolting" or going to seed.  



Your farmers

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Scoville Units, Fall crops arrive, Dining in the Fields, thank you Steve and Barb


Hello from the farm,

Dining in the Fields on Sunday was a great time, the food was fantastic, and it was good to see many of you there.  Many thanks to all who gave their time, energy, food, and materials to make it the feast that it was!  No one left without a pleased palate :-) 

It's September and the fall crops are arriving, woo hoo.  This week we are starting to harvest the Indian Corn aka Ornamental Corn.  This organic corn makes awesome cornmeal, and there will be a flour mill here for you to use in the weeks to come, as well as a knock your socks off corn bread recipe from my wife and daughter that they've continued to tweak and make better and better. We are also starting the squash harvest--we'll have a mix of delicata squash, spaghetti squash and probably acorn squash this week.
For spaghetti squash, cut in half, remove seeds, and bake on a baking tray at 350 for about half an hour up to an hour-- until soft when poked with a fork.  Remove and flake the "spagetti" out with a fork and top with spaghetti sauce of your choice. 

 Enjoy the beauty while it's here, frost will arrive end of Sept. early October!


Feeling the burn, Scoville units and hot peppers

We've got a great variety of hot peppers from mild to wild in the pick your own field this year, hailing from all over the world, including Korea and Japan.  Did you know that the heat in hot peppers is measured in something called Scoville units?  
Being a taster to determine how fiery hot peppers are has be to like getting in a ring with Mike Tyson or George Foreman and trying to figure out which boxer hit you harder.  A pharmacist by the name of Wilbur Scoville came up with a really interesting method about one hundred years ago to determine the heat levels without getting in the boxing ring! A pepper's oil is diluted with sugar water, and then the concentration is increased until 3 out of 5 tasters can sense the presence of heat.  It's a clever way of working backwards at a problem. 

Some of our Peppers by the Scoville Scale
Sweet Pepper= 0
Jalapeno= 3,500-10,000
Serrano=10,000-23,000
Cayenne=30,000-50,000Tabasco=30,000-50,000Habanero=100,000-350,000 (Tyson) Car. Reaper=2,0000-2,200,000 (Foreman, Tyson, De la Hoya combined) 

 Jerusalem artichoke flowers are smiling at you.  Feel free to cut for arrangements.  Despite the name they are not related to artichokes but are in the sunflower family but have an edible root.
Monthly Farm Tour: 
Want to get a behind the scenes look at the workings of the farm? There is a monthly farm tour on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 9am.  If you are planning to attend, please email sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org.  Tour lasts approximately 30 minutes. 
No tours during Dec/Jan/Feb due to Volcanic winter, ok, just joking about the Volcanic part) 


Note from Stephanie the Breadbaker: A Bun in the Oven
This week will be the last week of bread due to my "bun in the oven" making it's arrival very soon.  Thank you to everyone who has purchased bread this season.  I appreciate the support and feedback that I've received.  For future bread orders, questions, or comments, please feel free to contact me at abendessenbread@gmail.com.  Thank you! Stephanie Breneman

I'm making Pretzel Rolls this week at $4/half dozen. 
 

 The flower field keeps humming right along! 

Serving Suggestions for the harvest this week:

Winter squash:  firm winter squash are great for baking, "pumpkin" pie, faux spaghetti noodles in the case of spaghetti squash or halved and baked in the oven with butter and maple syrup and/or brown sugar.  The squash we are harvesting now are not types intended for long storage. Use within a week or two for best results. 

Potatoes: We really like the Yukon Gold for making farm fries.  How difficult is it?  Not difficult at all.  Cut taters into fries, put in pot of heated oil--we like peanut oil, and fry until golden brown. The Red Pontiac is a great all around variety as is the stunning Purple Viking.  The diminutive dynamo French Fingerlings are a delight also and chefs clamor for them because of their flavor and texture.  
Red River and Sterling White Onions: both of these are good storage onions and are desirable for just about any purpose. 
Sweet Peppers:  whether green, yellow, orange, red, or purple. bell shaped or horn shaped, we'll have a sweet pepper for you. Our perennial favorite is Carmen, a lipstick red bull's horn type sweet pepper. 
Tomatoes: the tomato plants are going gangbusters.   Look for the harvest to slowly decrease as fall approaches.  Mmm, tomato and cheese sandwich anyone?  
Eggplants:  We really like the long slender Asian type eggplants! They are user friendly, mild and great for grilling with soy sauce, miso etc on the grill or use in any recipe that calls for eggplant--in short, treat them the same as the Italian "bell-type" eggplants.  

  
Goodbyes: 

Scallions: These mild-mannered onion family folks give an easy onion flavor to salads, sandwiches, stir fries and more.  Or you could do the old classic buttered bread and sliced scallion treat: my grandparents talked a lot about enjoying them in spring.  We found a few more. 
Watermelons and cantaloupe: it was nice melon run, but sooner or later, we knew they'd be done.  We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.  
Cucumbers:  these are finished for this season, we're sad to see them go. 
Carrots: carrots are really good roasted in the oven with some coconut, olive or peanut oil. Of course they are also good as carrot sticks or in salads. We will miss the fresh taste of farm carrots, it's just not the same getting them from the store. 
Summer Squash:  add raw to salads, steam lightly, or stir-fry. Don't overcook unless you like soft consistency. 
Kohlrabi: sort of a mini-broccoli little crunchy dude, these are tasty raw and taste kind of like mild sweet broccoli. Usually eaten raw.  Some people peel away the outer layer.  May return in autumn. 
Greens: these succumbed to the heat, with the exception of chard which continue to grow through the summer heat. We like to fry these in a skillet with butter or coconut oil until crisp, add some onions and saute them as well--a superb topping for rice, fried eggs or stand alone too.
Broccoli: Broccoli is dicey as a spring crop and the heat has made it flower and diminished its quality--look for a new crop in fall. 
Garlic scapes: we hope you enjoyed the delightful flavor of these. 
Lettuce heads: these have run their course and are stretching skyward--a precursor to bolting--flowering to make seed. 
Lettuce mix--the leaves have given it their all and are now finished.  
Green garlic: this is garlic harvested before the base swells and becomes a bulb. It has a milder flavor than bulb garlic and can be used anywhere garlic is called for. Keep refrigerated as you would green onions/scallions. 
Cilantro: this herb has run its life cycle and is "bolting" or going to seed.  

Thank You

Thank you farm crew for hard work and perseverance to bring in the harvest each week. Job well done!   Steve and Barb from Miller's Smorgasboard--wow, impressive culinary skill!  Thank you. 


Your farmers

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Dining in the Fields September 7th, watching our seeds come up in rows, second time a charm


Hello from the farm

There is considerable excitement in the air as things come together for the farm to table meal on Sunday.  If you want in on the culinary adventure featuring the bounty of these fields, some tickets are still available--see the paragraph below.

We're watching the pumpkins, butternut squash and Long Island Cheese squash do their thing as we move into September.  The hot dry weather curbed the late blight on the Sungold tomatoes, so they are doing well despite the earlier damage.  The replant of broccoli, cabbage and greens for Fall looks great as do the little seedlings popping up in rows in the fields, thanks to the great irrigation work being done by Elizabeth and the farm crew. 

Did you Know?  Organic vegetables contain between 18 and 69 percent higher concentrations of antioxidant compounds. The British Journal of Nutrition study analyzed 343 peer reviewed studies for this conclusion and said that the main reason is that organic veggies work harder to grow and are essentially more "fit" than chemically fed veggies which have it "too easy." 

Pretty as a pepper.  The red Carmen peppers are a perpetual favorite. We munch them like candy. 

Need Tickets for Dining in the Fields?  Sept 7th is Farm to Table Time!
 Homefields, the organization that founded and owns the farm and land, is putting together the 2nd annual Dining in the Fields event.  The meal will showcase the food grown here at the farm as presented by chefs Steve and Barb. 
Proceeds go to Homefields for the adjoining farm land that they secured for future vegetable growing.
Some tickets are available!  Purchase tickets at:  www.homefields.org


Goodwill at Homefields Farm is on Facebook: 
Check out our antics, glamour veggie photos, quips, goofy fun and more at: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goodwill-at-Homefields-Farm/121147947971207?ref_type=bookmark



   
Anticipating Fall. Nothing says fall like pumpkin orange. We are starting to see a hint of orange on the pumpkins in the field.  Only a few weeks until pumpkin time

Monthly Farm Tour: 
Want to get a behind the scenes look at the workings of the farm? There is a monthly farm tour on the 1st Tuesday of the month at 9am.  If you are planning to attend, please email sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org.  Tour lasts approximately 30 minutes. 
No tours during Dec/Jan/Feb due to Volcanic winter, ok, just joking about the Volcanic part) 

 Serving Suggestions for the harvest this week:

Potatoes: the Red Pontiac is a great all around variety as is the stunning Purple Viking.  The diminutive dynamo French Fingerlings are a delight also and chefs clamor for them because of their flavor and texture.  
Red River and Sterling White Onions: both of these are good storage onions and are desirable for just about any purpose. 
Sweet Peppers:  whether green, yellow, orange, red, or purple. bell shaped or horn shaped, we'll have a sweet pepper for you. Our perennial favorite is Carmen, a lipstick red bull's horn type sweet pepper. 
Tomatoes: the tomato plants are going gangbusters.   Look for the harvest to slowly decrease as fall approaches.  Mmm, tomato and cheese sandwich anyone?  
Eggplants:  We really like the long slender Asian type eggplants! They are user friendly, mild and great for grilling with soy sauce, miso etc on the grill or use in any recipe that calls for eggplant--in short, treat them the same as the Italian "bell-type" eggplants.  
Scallions: These mild-mannered onion family folks give an easy onion flavor to salads, sandwiches, stir fries and more.  Or you could do the old classic buttered bread and sliced scallion treat: my grandparents talked a lot about enjoying them in spring.  We found a few more. 
  
Goodbyes: 
Watermelons and cantaloupe: it was nice melon run, but sooner or later, we knew they'd be done.  We hope you enjoyed them as much as we did.  
Cucumbers:  these are finished for this season, we're sad to see them go. 
Carrots: carrots are really good roasted in the oven with some coconut, olive or peanut oil. Of course they are also good as carrot sticks or in salads. We will miss the fresh taste of farm carrots, it's just not the same getting them from the store. 
Summer Squash:  add raw to salads, steam lightly, or stir-fry. Don't overcook unless you like soft consistency. 
Kohlrabi: sort of a mini-broccoli little crunchy dude, these are tasty raw and taste kind of like mild sweet broccoli. Usually eaten raw.  Some people peel away the outer layer.  May return in autumn. 
Greens: these succumbed to the heat, with the exception of chard which continue to grow through the summer heat. We like to fry these in a skillet with butter or coconut oil until crisp, add some onions and saute them as well--a superb topping for rice, fried eggs or stand alone too.
Broccoli: Broccoli is dicey as a spring crop and the heat has made it flower and diminished its quality--look for a new crop in fall. 
Garlic scapes: we hope you enjoyed the delightful flavor of these. 
Lettuce heads: these have run their course and are stretching skyward--a precursor to bolting--flowering to make seed. 
Lettuce mix--the leaves have given it their all and are now finished.  
Green garlic: this is garlic harvested before the base swells and becomes a bulb. It has a milder flavor than bulb garlic and can be used anywhere garlic is called for. Keep refrigerated as you would green onions/scallions. 
Cilantro: this herb has run its life cycle and is "bolting" or going to seed.  

Thank You

Thank you to Homefields, the nonprofit group of parents who had the vision and perseverance to make this farm become a reality. Thank you Goodwill for taking the plunge fifteen seasons ago to begin operating the CSA and training program here, and to Community Services Group for staffing the group homes on the property.


Your farmers