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.


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