A December Farm Update

Hello from the farm!

Gift Box Ordering

If you are interested in ordering gift boxes for Christmas, just send me an email *by Monday Dec 8th* letting me know how many you would like. They will be ready for pick up here at the barn starting Dec 12-Dec 19, weekdays 9-4pm.

The boxes contain local products: Wilbur Buds, College Coffee Roasters Coffee, Fruit Butters, and Cinnamon Honey Graham pretzels. and are pictured at: http://www.yourgoodwill.org/business/lancastercountygiftboxes.htm

Self-Harvest Update

If you are wondering about coming out to glean the fields, there are still some great vegetables out there despite the many hard freezes that came early this year.

• collards and kale are in great shape and tasty
• beets are small but in good condition
• the purple top turnips are good
• the red and white turnips are not as fine-textured as before
• there are still some scallions that I think should be nice
• chard took a beating from the cold, but worth trying perhaps
  

Hope you are well and keeping warm,
Scott

Final Harvest week

The end of the harvest season…..it seems like just yesterday we were filling up the greenhouse with the promise contained in tables and tables of seedlings. Looking back on the season, it is one to be very satisfied with. Trainees had more responsibility for growing the crops than ever before, the drip irrigation was responsible for getting us through that very long dry period in August, a record 160 shareholder families enjoyed the food and the farm, the scented deer tape kept the deer out long enough for tender plants to make it to maturity, and when it did rain hard, the soil is visibly improved over when we starting farming here, because it held and did not wash away.

It was a great year for melons—there were all kinds of watermelons and honeydews, Galias, and Sweeties to name a few. Tomatoes were very plentiful and peppers did decently. The strawberries had incredible flavor this season and were plentiful. The fall crops have been abundant, varied and great-flavored. Crops like cucumbers and chard did ridiculously well—the year of the cucumber to be sure. Not everything grows as well as one would wish: I really like carrots, but the 1st carrot planting didn’t germinate in the spring due to cold temperatures
and soggy soil, the 2nd planting succumbed to someone in pursuit of weeds, and the 3rd came up sparsely because of extreme heat. We had great lettuce mix and heads early in the season, but lettuce planted for the fall was taken care of by the deer who rated it highly. Next season just might be the year of the carrot!

How to Be a Shareholder Again next Year

After the Holidays are over, but well before tax season rolls around, look for a good old-fashioned snail mail letter to come your way telling you about the coming season and how to sign up for it. As a shareholder this season, you will be given the first opportunity to sign up for next
season.

The Survey

If you have not yet filled out the farm survey, please give us the honor of your input. Your feedback is a great help in planning for next season. The surveys are located here at the sign-in table and you are welcome to take it along and drop it off later, mail it, or send an email response if you prefer.

Self-Harvest Begins Next Week

Each year once the regular season is finished the remaining crops are available for you to harvest from the field. Times are Mon-Sat 8am-dusk. A map and instructions are here at the sign-in table. Please see note about respecting the landowner next door when harvesting on their property.

Want to support the farm with a Gift box purchase?

Each year we make and sell Holiday gift boxes that contain locally made treats such as Wilbur Buds, College Coffee Roasters coffee, apple and pear butters. They are available ordered online at: http://www.yourgoodwill.org/business/lancastercountygiftboxes.htm. The order deadline is Dec 8. Proceeds benefit the Goodwill farm program.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest:

• Arugula: piquant green great with nuts, citrus, parmesan, oil
• Turnips: The hakurei turnips are very tasty, even for people who think they won’t enjoy them.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Cabbage: great in a spicy vinegar salad
• Collards: tasty and nutritious fall greens—often enjoyed cooked.
• Winter Squashes—choice of many different kinds: use for pies and desserts, breads, roast the seeds, hot curried soup. With the exception of spaghetti squash, winter squash are interchangeable.

See some great recipes from Elizabeth below!
Thank you

Where to begin…thank you very much to an outstanding farm crew: trainees Jeff, Bob, Brad, Eric, Glenn, Orie, Scott, Tim, and Del. Your skill and care made for a great season. Thank you Elizabeth Swope, Asst. Farm Manager, for excellent work with the trainees and all around the farm, Brian Martin, for making it rain (irrigation) and equipment operation, and Amy Finnegan and Vicki Scheetz for filling in at the distribution area with ease. Thank you Homefields and Goodwill for making this CSA program possible. Lastly, thank you for being a shareholder and enthusiastically supporting our work.

Sincerely,
Scott

Recipes

Looking for ways to use winter squash? Here are three unique recipes using winter squash from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

Pumpkin Fritters
Serves 6
serve with a meal, as a snack, or with breakfast in place of homefries

For the batter
½ lb chickpea flour
½ cup rice flour
¼ tsp basking soda
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne
¾ tsp salt
peanut or canola oil for shallow frying
1 lb orange pumpkin flesh, coarsely grated (any orange fleshed winter squash)
½ medium-small onion (1 ½ oz), peeled and cut into very fine half rings
1 ½ Tbsp sesame seeds

Put the chickpea flour, rice flour, baking soda, turmeric, cayenne and salt into a bowl. Slowly add water (you will need about 7 oz, plus another tablespoon), mixing as you go, to make a smooth batter of medium thickness.

Just before you get ready to eat, pour the oil to a depth of ½ inch into a large frying pan and set it over medium-low heat. Wait until the oil is hot; this can take several minutes. Stir the batter and put in the grated pumpkin, sliced onion, and sesame seeds. Mix gently. Now pick up a handful of the pumpkin mixture, enough to make a patty about 2 ½ inches in diameter and about ½ inch thick on the palm of one hand.

Slide this patty into the hot oil. Make several such patties, just enough to fill the frying pan in a single layer. Fry the patties for about 3 ½ minutes on one side. Turn them over and cook for another 3 ½ minutes on the second side, or until reddish-brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set down on paper towels to drain. Make all patties this way and serve as soon as possible.

Butternut Squash with Sage
Serves 4
Serve with rice, greens and some kind of bean for a complete meal

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large shallot (about 2 oz), peeled and cut into fine slivers
10 fresh sage leaves
1 ½ lb peeled butternut squash (or other winter squash), but into ¾ to 1 inch cubes (4 cups)
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Put the oil in a wide pan or deep frying pan and set it over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the shallot slivers and sage leaves. Stir and fry until the shallot slivers are golden. Put in the squash and stir until the pieces turn a little brown at the edges and the shallot slivers turn a rich reddish-brown. Add the salt and sugar. Give a few quick stirs to caramelize the sugar and then add ½ cup of water. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down to low, and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until squash is just tender.

Greek Pumpkin Risotto
Serves 4 to 6
May be served as a starter course or as the main meal, accompanied by green salad

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion (3 ½ oz), peeled and finely chopped
1 ¼ lbs winter squash flesh, cut into ½ inch dices
2 tsp sugar
1 ½ cups unwashed risotto rice
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh dill (or substitute 6-9 fresh sage leaves)
1 tsp salt, or more if needed
6 cups heated light vegetable stock
Freshly ground black pepper
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Heat the stock and keep it hot over very, very low heat. Put the oil in a large, heavy sauté pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the onion and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the onion bits just begin to brown at the edges. Add the pumpkin and sauté it for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and stir once or twice. Put in the rice, dill and salt. Saute the rice gently for 2 minutes. Now pour in a generous ladle of stock. Turn the heat to medium. Keep stirring the risotto. When the stock has been absorbed, add another ladle full. Keep stirring and adding liquid until all the stock has been used up and the rice has cooked for at least 22 minutes. By this time it should be done. Cook another minute or so to absorb the last of the liquid. Now stir in a good amount of black pepper and cheese. Turn off the heat. Let the risotto rest for a minute or two, mix well and serve.

1st Week of November

This Week at the Farm

We are grateful for the return of warm temperatures this week as we have been busy with fall clean up. We are excited to continue to harvest a variety of greens and root crops, even as the end of the season draws near. Next week, November 13, 14 and 15 will be our last week of harvesting. Look for more information next week if you are interested in coming out after the close of the season for self-harvesting.

We will have a variety of all the winter squash available this week, including new additions of acorn and Jarrahdale. Acorn squash is a great one for stuffing with sweet or savory fillings. Jarrahdale pumpkin is a New Zealand heirloom with a beautiful blue grey exterior and deep orange sweet flesh that is dry and stringless.

Thank You

Thank you to Craig and Teresa for coming out last Saturday to make sauerkraut!

Upcoming Events

Nov 13, 14 and 15 Final Harvest Week
Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over.

Mid-November-Dec: Gift Box season.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Turnips: the Scarlet Queen turnips are "mid grade" in pungency, and the traditional Purple Top turnips that are arriving this week are pungent.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Collards: tasty and nutritious fall greens—often enjoyed cooked.
• Winter squash: Use in soups, stuffed, or for baking in pies, cookies, and muffins.

Recipes

Bean Soup with Kale from shareholder Linda Bradley
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 cups chopped raw kale
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 (15 oz) cans white beans (cannelloni or navy), undrained
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup chopped parsley

In large pot, heat olive oil. Add garlic and onion; sauté until soft. Add kale and sauté, stirring, until wilted. Add 3 cups of broth, 2 cups of beans, and all of the tomato, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 minutes. In a blender or food processor, mix the remaining beans and broth until smooth. Stir into soup to thicken. Simmer 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chopped parsley.

White Bean, Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup – Bon Appetit, January 2000
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise
6 cups vegetable broth
4 cups finely chopped kale
2 large tomatoes, quartered
3 large fresh thyme sprigs
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 bay leaf
½ small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut lengthwise into ½ inch wedges
1-15 ounce can Great Northern white beans drained
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

Preheat oven to 400°. Spray rimmed baking sheet with oil spray. Arrange carrots, tomatoes, onion, squash and garlic on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Bake until vegetables are brown and tender, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer carrots and squash to work surface. Cut into ½ inch pieces; set aside. Peel garlic cloves; place in processor. Add tomatoes and onion; puree until almost smooth. Pour ½ cup broth onto baking sheet; scrape up any browned bits. Transfer broth and vegetable puree to large pot. Add 5 ½ cups broth, kale, thyme and bay leaf to pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered until kale is tender, about 30 minutes. Add beans and reserved carrots and squash to soup. Simmer 8 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth to thin soup if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Serves 6.

5th Week of October

This Week at the Farm: The Barackli and McKale Edition

Recent polling numbers among people and vegetables here at the farm indicate that it’s been a week of exceptional weather, exceptionally cold and windy; we are all decked out in motley farm gear that gives us a NASA-hazmat-farmer-marshmallow Michelin man flair. It’s been a very dry October up until last weekend: 1/100th of an inch of rain exactly, but the recent rainfall has been a boost to both field crops and cover crops alike. As we march towards the final harvest, please share your input with us on the season survey to help with planning for next year.

Sauerkraut Making Workshop this Saturday November 4

If you have ever wanted to learn how to make your own sauerkraut, join shareholders Teresa and Craig Rineer, Saturday, November 1st from 10 to 11 a.m. at the barn. Teresa and Craig have been making and canning their own kraut with their family since 1999. The demonstration will include preparing and shredding our very own Goodwill at Homefields Farm cabbage. Non-iodized salt will be used in the process to slightly wilt the cabbage and draw the juices. The cabbage will then be bruised by hand and stored in a five-gallon stone crock for approximately six weeks to cure.

After curing, the kraut will be ready to eat or can. If you’d like to have your homemade sauerkraut for New Year’s Dinner, plan to make your kraut by November 20.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Turnips: the Scarlet Queen turnips are "mid grade" in pungency, and the traditional pungent Purple Top turnips you will see in the next two weeks.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Cabbage: there will be a sauerkraut making demonstration this Saturday am—details below!
• Collards: tasty and nutritious fall greens—often enjoyed cooked.
• Winter Squashes—Spaghetti squash this week—see tips and recipes below.

Thank you: To all the trainees and staff who suited up and braved the cold weather this week to keep things going.

Scott

Upcoming Events

Nov 13, 14 and 15: Final Harvest Week
Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over. More details will follow in November.

Mid-November-Dec: Gift Box season.

Recipes

How to microwave Spaghetti Squash*:
Pierce squash (about an inch deep) all over with a small sharp knife to prevent bursting. Cook in an 800-watt microwave oven on high power (100 percent) for 6 to 7 minutes. Turn squash over and microwave until squash feels slightly soft when pressed, 8 to 10 minutes more. Cool squash for 5 minutes. Carefully halve squash lengthwise (it will give off steam) and remove and discard seeds. Working over a bowl, scrape squash flesh with a fork, loosening and separating strands as you remove it from skin. Watch it become "spaghetti"-like!
*Alternatively, you can bake the squash in a preheated 350°F oven for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Spaghetti Squash with Moroccan Spices from Epicurious
Start to finish: 25 minutes
Servings: Makes 4 servings
1 (3 1/2- to 4-pound) spaghetti squash
4 Tbsp olive oil or butter, cut into pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Prepare squash following directions above. While squash is cooking, melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over moderately high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Stir in spices and salt and remove from heat. Add the spaghetti squash strands and toss with spiced butter and cilantro.

Squash and Citrus Slaw
Half a spaghetti squash, medium size
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1 green onion, chopped
Prepare squash following directions above, cutting cooking time in half if only cooking half the squash. Combine orange juice, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in salad bowl. Add squash strands, cilantro, red pepper and onion. Toss to blend and chill well. Serves 4 to 5.

4th Week of October

This Week at the Farm

Brrr…frosty mornings this week make for chilly work and harvesting. The fields are bright with heavy white frost this morning. Much of this week has consisted of breaking apart bulbs of garlic into individual cloves and planting each clove, basal end in the soil with the point sticking up, and then covering it so it can grow roots during fall, foliage in the spring, and mature a bulb in July. It is the only vegetable crop that we plant in the fall.

If this is your first season being part of the farm here, you’ll notice that many crops are undaunted by the frosts and freezes, and some are even improved, as their starches change to sugars and some bitter flavors turn mild or sweet. Collards and kale are in this group.

Gearing up for Gift Boxes

Each year we make and sell Holiday gift boxes that contain locally made treats such as Wilbur Buds, College Coffee Roasters coffee, apple and pear butters. They are available ordered online at: http://www.yourgoodwill.org/business/lancastercountygiftboxes.htm. The order deadline is December 8 and they'll begin shipping in time for the holidays on December 12.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Arugula: see more info and pesto recipe below
• Turnips: The hakurei turnips are very tasty, even for people who think they won’t enjoy them. Also try the turnip kraut recipe below.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Cabbage: see the recipe below
• Collards: tasty and nutritious fall greens—often enjoyed cooked.
• Winter squashes—choice of great-flavored Red Kuri or butternut squash: use for pies and desserts, breads, roast the seeds, hot curried soup

Thank you

Thank you to Elizabeth and all of the trainees who planted 6,240 cloves of garlic this week in less than balmy weather. Nice job guys!

Scott

Upcoming Events

Final Harvest Week
November 13, 14 and 15
Eend of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over. More details will follow in November.

Gift Box Season
Mid-November-December

Recipes

Lorena’s Spicy Cabbage Salad
(adapted from the Extending the Table cookbook)
Half of a cabbage, sliced fine
Half of a medium onion, sliced
½ cup cider vinegar
1 T. oil
1 1/2t. salt
1 t. black pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 ½ t. sugar
1/8 t. cayenne pepper or more as desired—(I used 1 ½ t. last time and it was hot!—Scott)
½ c. of chopped peanuts

Combine everything except peanuts and marinate at room temp for 30 minutes or more. Top with peanuts, chill and serve.

Turnip Kraut
6 lbs. raw turnips, shredded
2 tablespoons salt
1-3 teaspoons sugar
Brine made of 2 tablespoons salt per quart of water

Use a gallon stoneware jar or pottery crock; do not use a metal container. Layer shredded turnips in the crock, sprinkling the layers with salt and sugar and tamping down with a masher to release the turnip juices. Cover crock with a clean cloth, weight a plate on top and let stand 3-4 days at 70 degrees, changing the cloth each day.

Fermentation should take 3-4 weeks at 70 degrees. It is completed when the bubbling ceases.
Sterilize pint or quart jars. Place the kraut in the jars and cover with brine, leaving 1/2 -inch head space. Clean the rims of the jars and fit with lids and rings. At this point, you can store the sauerkraut in the refrigerator without processing. For shelf storage, process in a boiling water bath, pints for 20 minutes, quarts for 25 minutes. Makes 6 quarts.
--from Recipelink.com MSG URL: http://www.recipelink.com/msgid/204409

About Arugula

Arugula is an aromatic salad green. It is also known as rocket, roquette, rugula and rucola, and is popular in Italian cuisine.

Nutrition

Like most salad greens, Arugula is very low in calories and is high in vitamins A and C. A 1/2 cup serving is two calories.

History and Lore

In Roman times Arugula was grown for both it's leaves and the seed. The seed was used for flavoring oils. On another interesting note, Rocket or Arugula seed has been used as an ingredient in aphrodisiac concoctions dating back to the first century, AD. (Cambridge World
History of Food). Part of a typical Roman meal was to offer a salad of greens, frequently Arugula (spelled Arugola), romaine, chicory, mallow and lavender and seasoned with a "cheese sauce for lettuce."

Arugula Pesto
1 bunch arugula, stems removed (about 4 ounces)
2 3/4 teaspoons of coarse or Kosher salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Fill a large bowl with ice and add water, set aside. Fill a medium sized saucepan with water and the 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and bring it to a boil. Add the arugula and as soon as the water returns to a boil, remove the arugula with a slotted spoon and place it immediately into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Transfer the arugula to several layers of paper toweling or clean kitchen towels and allow to drain. Roll up the towels and squeeze as much moisture as possible from the arugula. Place the arugula in a blender jar and add the oil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt
and the pepper and puree until the mixture looks like thick pesto. There will be a small amount of oil on the surface. Use immediately or transfer the mixture to a jar with a tight fitting lid if you are going to store it. This will keep for at least 5 days, refrigerated. Before using, stir the pesto to incorporate the oil accumulated at the top. Serve the pesto over some freshly cooked pasta or boiled potatoes.

3rd Week of October

This Week at the Farm

Here we are in mid-October and in some ways the transplanting of May is still fresh in our minds. Have that many months gone by already? The color of the leaves on the trees say it is so. This week we are bringing irrigation lines out of the field and preparing field beds for garlic planting next week. We had some chicks hatch out from some eggs that were incubated and they are doing well. I also planted the now empty large squash field to a rye and hairy vetch cover crop after spreading minerals on the soil and discing them in.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Beets: grate and use them raw, or cook til tender or roast
• Beet greens—the greens are tasty and nutritious to boot
• Turnips: eat them raw--these hakurei turnips I like to refer to as "dessert turnips" because they are sweet and juicy and will likely give you new found appreciation for turnips if you haven’t ever eaten this type of turnip. *also see sesame roasted turnip recipe below*
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Collards: these leaves are great in the traditional pot o greens.
• Winter squashes—Butternuts this week, the king of squash: use for pies and desserts, breads, roast the seeds, hot curried soup

Thank you

Thank you for enjoying the harvest, your feedback, comments, and enthusiasm for the farm and what we are doing.
Scott

Upcoming Events

This Saturday, October 18, at 10 a.m.
Fruiting Plants in Containers: Citrus, Figs, Bananas and more! Presented by our very own Scott Breneman. Please sign up at the farm’s check-in table to attend.

Nov 13, 14 and 15 Final Harvest Week
Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over. More details will follow in November.

Recipes

Daddy's Risky Homefries
(a Sat morning staple before we walk over to Goodwill at Homefields Farm)
Start with lots of EV olive oil in frypan, brown cut GHF garlic and red onions (more the merrier), dice red potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes, dump into med-hi tempfrypan, lid on for 8-10 mins while flipping about every 2 min.(should be almost cooked at this point), then leave lid off and burn the heck out of em til dark brown (or char is great), toss shredded cheese on top, eat.

--From shareholder Fred Straub who wowed us with this dish at the potluck

Sesame Roasted Turnips
1 T sesame oil
1 T honey (or brown sugar)
4 turnips (3 inches in diameter), peeled and cut into wedges
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried red pepper flakes
1 T sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place sesame oil and honey in a baking dish. Add turnips, salt, and red pepper flakes, then toss to coat the turnip pieces. Roast uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring twice. Sprinkle on sesame seeds and roast 10 minutes more. Serve warm, chilled or at room temperature.

--from Mother Earth News magazine, Oct/Nov 2007

2nd Week of October

This Week at the Farm

Five letter word that starts with f…frost! We received an early visit from Mr. Frost on Tuesday morning. The average first frost date is Oct. 15th here and often a week or two later than that, so it was something of a surprise and gave us the grit to harvest all the thousands of pounds of squash and store them within several hours time Monday afternoon. Way to go everyone!

Final Harvest Week November 13th, 14th and 15th

Yes the cold and frosts are coming, and the warm season crops are history, but we will have a nice variety of crops for you up until the final harvest and self-harvesting will be available in the weeks that follow up until the repeated hard freezes put an end to it all. More info will follow.

Daunted by Squashes?

Here’s a Simple way to Cook All Winter Squash and Pumpkins: preparing winter squash and pumpkins can be done fairly easily.
--cut in half and scoop out seeds with an ice cream dipper, save seeds to roast
--place cut side down in a pan with a little bit of water
--bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until soft enough to spoon out
--scrape out the flesh and use or freeze.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Turnips: these hakurei turnips I like to refer to as "dessert turnips" because they are sweet and juicy and will likely give you new found appreciation for turnips if you haven’t ever eaten this type of turnip.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Collards: these leaves are great in the Farmer’s Breakfast below, or the traditional pot o greens.
• Winter squashes/pumpkin: use for pies and desserts, breads, roast the seeds, hot curried soup

Recipes

Farmer’s Breakfast
(a delicious way to use greens)
1T oil
6 collard leaves, chopped coarsely
1 scallion, chopped into ½ inch pieces
6 slices pepperoni, cut in fourths (optional)
1 tsp. butter
2 eggs
2 slices smoked cheddar
2 plum tomatoes, diced

Heat a skillet. When hot, add 1T oil. Toss in collard leaves, scallion, and pepperoni. Saute till scallion is tender. Push to one side of the pan and add the butter to the other side. Fry the two eggs in the butter. When done to your liking, put on two plates, top with the cooked collards, scallions and pepperoni. Lay a slice of cheese on top, tuck a tomato each on the side, and broil till golden. Serve with Tabasco Chipotle sauce, coffee and a square of dark chocolate!
--from Lorena Breneman, the farmer’s wife

Chard Chompin’ Recipe
Challenged by chard? Give this a try:
Grease a 3-qt casserole dish. Layer in:
3 slices of bread, cubed
2 scallions, chopped
2 big leaves of chard, chopped fine
1 cup diced ham, bacon or browned sausage (optional)
2 small eggplants, cubed
2 cups cheese
1/2 tsp. each oregano and thyme
salt and pepper to taste
shake together in a jar and pour over:
5 eggs
2 cups milk
Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
--from Lorena Breneman

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 18, at 10 a.m.
Fruiting Plants in Containers: Citrus, Figs, Bananas and more! Presented by our very own Scott Breneman. Please contact Scott to attend.

Nov 13, 14 and 15 Final Harvest Week
Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over. More details will follow in November.

1st Week of August

This Week at the Farm

Thank you to everyone who made the potluck a fun event. The rain held off and we enjoyed fabulous food and a great group of people, about 80 altogether. I think it set a record for how any people were in or around the barn at one time, and was a nice time to interact and recognize the trainees who grow your food.

Today there is a pleasant chill in the air and an autumn sky making the harvesting a delight and the washing a bit chilly. We are slowly saying goodbye to the peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes, and welcoming the fall greens, squash, collards, turnips and others.

Saturday Workshop Success

A warm thank you from shareholder Heather Conlon-Keller, aka Minister of Farm Education, to all who have participated in the Saturday morning workshops to make them a success. There will be at least one more workshop: Container Gardening with Fruiting plants, listed below and tentatively a sauerkraut-making workshop in late October or November.
Thanks! --Heather.

Did you Know?

Turnip greens are supercharged with so many different nutrients, their consumption can help prevent or heal a wide range of health conditions since turnip greens are an excellent source of vitamin A (through their concentration of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B6, folate, copper, calcium, and dietary fiber. –from http://www.whfoods.org/ and Elizabeth Swope, farm staff.

Pick Your Own Alert

We have unlimited green and yellow beans for the picking in addition to your share portion. To help each other, please pick from the front of the row and move the markers to indicate where you have stopped picking down the row. The beans are located just past the Pick Your Own field.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Turnips: these hakurei turnips I like to refer to as "dessert turnips" because they are sweet and juicy and will likely give you new found appreciation for turnips if you haven’t ever eaten this type of turnip.
• Mibuna and Mizuna: these Asian greens have a nice tangy flavor and can be used in salads or as cooked greens.
• Winter squashes/pumpkin: use for pies and desserts, breads, roast the seeds, hot curried soup and see the Elise Abatto’s recipe from the potluck.
• Leeks: slice them thinly avoid chewiness. They have fine flavor and can used anywhere onions are called for.
• Eggplant: roast or grill with oil, seasonings, brushed with soy sauce, you’ll be singing eggplants praises if you weren’t before.

Happy harvest,
Scott

Recipe

Elise's Applesquash
1 small butternut squash (about 1 lb)
1/2 cup apple cider or water
2 small apples, peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 T butter or margerine if desired
Peel and seed squash. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Cook squash and cider over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until squash is almost tender. Add remaining ingredients, cover, cook over medium heat 4 to 5 minutes or until squash and apples are very tender. Serve hot.
--from Elise Abatto, shareholder and residential staff

Upcoming Events

Saturday, October 18, 10 am
Fruiting Plants in Containers: Citrus, Figs, Bananas and more! Presented by our very own Scott Breneman. Please sign up at the farm’s check-in table or email Scott to attend.

Nov 13, 14 and 15 Final Harvest Week
Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders once the regular season is over. More details will follow in November.

4th Week of September

This Week at the Farm

Fall has officially arrived and the first of the fall greens are here. We are excited to have the mild-flavored Japanese mustard greens Mizuna (serrated leaves) and Mibuna (smooth leaves.) The cooler mornings remind us that colder weather is coming, and we continue to relish in these warm days. We look ahead to tucking in the strawberries for the winter.

Thank You: A special thank you to our Farm Manager Scott Breneman. We are grateful for his boundless enthusiasm for all that we do and his outstanding leadership. He is an inspiration for all of the staff and our successes are a reflection of his teaching. Thank you Scott!
--from Elizabeth

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Japanese Mustard Greens: can be added raw to a salad, and also make a great addition to a stir-fry. They wilt quickly, so add near the end of cooking time.
• Pumpkin: yes, all types of pumpkin are edible, including jack o' lanterns. Decorate with it for a while and then enjoy it in pies, soups and curries, roast the seeds with a little bit of oil. Delicious.
• Leeks:—slice them thinly avoid chewiness. They have fine flavor and can used anywhere onions are called for.
• Peppers: great for snacking on raw, or try them roasted with a little oil.
• Eggplant: roast or grill with oil, seasonings, brushed with soy sauce, you’ll be singing eggplants praises if you weren’t before

Recipe

Swiss Chard Ravioli
(from keyingredient.com - Thank you to Kim Chen for sharing this!)

Yield: 8 servings as a first course
¼ cup water
1 pound Swiss chard center spine and stems trimmed
1 cup ricotta cheese
⅓ cup freshly-grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
64 Gyoza (potsticker) wrappers from two 12-oz packages see * Note
1 large egg white beaten to blend
¾ cup butter - (1 ½ sticks)
¼ cup chopped fresh sage
Additional freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Note: Gyoza wrappers can be found at Asian markets and in the refrigerator section of many supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute wonton wrappers and cut into 3 ½-inch rounds.

Bring ¼ cup water to boil in large pot. Add chard leaves. Cover; cook until tender but still bright green, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Drain. Cool slightly. Squeeze dry. Chop chard finely. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in ricotta, ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic, thyme, salt, rosemary and pepper. Line baking sheet with foil or plastic wrap; sprinkle with flour. Place 1 gyoza wrapper on work surface. Brush surface of wrapper with some egg white. Spoon generous 1 teaspoon chard mixture into center of wrapper. Top with another wrapper. Press edges together to seal. Transfer to baking sheet. Repeat with remaining wrappers, egg white and chard mixture to make 32 ravioli total. (Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.) Melt butter in heavy small skillet over medium heat. Add sage; stir 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Working in batches, cook ravioli in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer ravioli to large shallow bowl. Pour sage butter over ravioli and toss. Serve, passing additional Parmesan cheese alongside, if desired.
This recipe yields 8 servings as a first-course.

3rd Week of September

This Week at the Farm

It's always great to be out in the community and find that many many people have heard about the farm thanks to you sharing about your experiences here with other people. Thank you.

These are great days to be alive and working in the fields. Fall is invigorating and the fall harvest a favorite time for all of us. This week we are starting to harvest spaghetti squash and we will also have some more pumpkins to choose from. The fall greens look great, and we will start harvesting some next week.

*Next Friday: Veggie Pick-Up ends at 6pm because of Potluck*

Fall Potluck and Campfire Next week Sept 26th
5:30 Tour of the fall crops and Q & A with Scott
6:00 Potluck meal—bring a hot and/or cold dish to share
7-9pm Fireside time

Please bring:

• Hot and/or cold dish to share.
• Serving utensils if needed, and place setting.
• Roasting sticks and roastables—marshmallows, sausages, smores etc as desired.
• Lawn chairs.
• Flashlight if desired.
• We will providing hot and cold beverages and paper supplies.

Wanted: additional dry firewood for the Potluck. Please email me at sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org.

Available: each week we have some large clear plastic bags available that held vegetables—free for the taking for trash bags, leaf bags or whatever.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Spaghetti Squash: see recipe for this unique squash below
• Pumpkin: yes, all types of pumpkin are edible, including jack o ‘lanterns. Decorate with it for a while and then enjoy it in pies, soups and curries, roast the seeds with a little bit of oil. Delicious.
• Edamame: this is the last week for them—choose between them or green/yellow beans.
• Leeks: Slice them thinly avoid chewiness. They have fine flavor and can used anywhere onions are called for.
• Peppers: great for snacking on raw, or try them roasted with a little oil
• Eggplant: roast or grill with oil, seasonings, brushed with soy sauce, you’ll be singing eggplants praises if you weren’t before.

Thank You
Thank you to each of the trainees who work here at the farm and make it succeed: soulful work, health, nutrition, farmland preservation, local economy and relationships are the result.
Scott

Recipes

BAKED SPAGHETTI SQUASH
(from http://www.cooks.com/)
1 med. spaghetti squash
4 tbsp butter or margarine, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar divided
Cut squash in half lengthwise. Place in baking dish with about 1 inch of water, cut side up. Dab butter or margarine on edges and in squash. Sprinkle brown sugar on and in squash. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until fork inserts easily. Flake out with a fork and then serve with spaghetti sauce or parmesan and herbs etc.

2nd Week of September

This Week at the Farm

Rain, glorious rain to revel in: it was a wonderful rain on Saturday that delivered 3 inches of replenishing water in well-mannered fashion. There was also an additional half-inch of rain during the thunderstorm Tuesday morning. Nice cool weather and the feel of fall coincide with
pumpkins, which are part of the harvest today.

WGAL stopped by yesterday to learn about our farm blog which features the newsletter and recipe each week. Share it with your friends!

For farm pictures and observations throughout the year check out:
http://www.goodwillathomefieldsfarmcsa.blogspot.com/

Did you know?

Lightning and snow both deliver atmospheric nitrogen to plants in small quantities. This is why plants look so perky after a thunderstorm.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Pumpkin: Yes, all types of pumpkin are edible, including jack o' lanterns. Decorate with it for a while and then enjoy it in pies, soups and curries, roast the seeds with a little bit of oil. Delicious. Also see pie recipe below.
• Edamame: See very simple recipe from last week! These are tasty.
• Leeks: Slice them thinly to avoid chewiness. They have fine flavor and can be used anywhere onions are called for.
• Tomatoes: They have peaked and are slowing down.
• Peppers: Great for snacking on raw, or try them roasted with a little oil.
• Eggplant: Roast or grill with oil, seasonings, brushed with soy sauce... you’ll be singing eggplants praises if you weren’t before.

Enjoy!
Scott

Pumpkin Pie
[or winter squash pie]
First prepare the pumpkin; cut in half, scrape out the seeds and pulp, and bake in the oven at 350 for an hour, or until tender. Then scrape flesh off of the rind. Prepare and bake a 9 inch pie shell.

In the top of a double boiler, cook over boiling water until thick:
1 1/2 c cooked pumpkin or squash
1 1/2 c undiluted evaporated milk, rich cream, or soy milk
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
4 slightly beaten eggs
Cool slightly and add 1 t vanilla. (You can also add 3/4 c black walnut meats.) Pour the mixture into the baked pie shell. Serve with whipped cream.

Upcoming Events

September 19
Homefields Golf Tournament
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament Sept 19th at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

September 26
Shareholder Celebration of Fall Potluck
5:30 Tour of the fall crops and Q & A time with Scott
6:00 Potluck meal—please bring a hot or cold dish to share, serving utensils and place setting.
You may also wish to bring a flashlight. We will be providing hot beverages.

November: Gift Box Ordering Begins

Mid-November: End of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for
shareholders.

1st Week of September

This Week at the Farm

August is behind us already, and the promise and/or threat of hurricane remnant rains is on the horizon. In the meantime irrigation continues because the three-quarter inch of rain was quickly utilized by the thirsty plants and/or evaporated. We moved a lot of hoses this week and sprinklers this week. Great work guys!

The crops in the harvest are changing, and we are excited to be harvesting edamame today: aka edible green soybeans, tremendously popular in Japan and becoming more and more appreciated here. In Japan they function as appetizers, post-derves, and as the soybean
variety "Beer Friend" suggests, an accompaniment to a frosty dark beverage.

This morning I was planting finished fields with rye, hairy vetch, buckwheat, daikon radish, Japanese millet, and sudex (sorghum-sudangrass) cover crops for the winter, hoping to get some moisture this weekend in order for them to germinate. Each plays a different role in enriching the soil, aeration, disease suppression, weed smothering, nitrogen fixation, and other benefits.

An inspiring blog by folks are who are members of a CSA near Buffalo: http://www.scottishcow.com/
Check out the great photos, recipes and musings about food.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Edamame: see very simple recipe below!
• Leeks: I didn’t mention this last week—slice them thinly—to avoid chewiness. They have fine flavor and can used anywhere onions are called for. See recipe below.
• Tomatoes: lots :-)
• Peppers: great for snacking on raw, or try them roasted with a little oil.
• Eggplant: roast or grill with oil, seasonings, brushed with soy sauce, you’ll be singing eggplants praises if you weren’t before.

Happy eating,
Scott

Edamame How To

Put the unshelled beans in salted boiling water for five minutes, drain, and then sprinkle lightly with salt as desired. Place bean pod in your mouth and squeeze out the yummy beans and enjoy. Much more fun than shelling them. :-)

Leek and Potato Soup

6 leeks, carefully cleaned--(ours are pretty clean already)
4 medium potatoes, sliced thinly or diced
1 T oil
4-5 c soup stock, chicken, beef or vegetable
1 c milk or cream
2 T sour cream or yogurt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 t thyme leaves, fresh or dried
1 T fresh parsley, chives or watercress, chopped
Slice leeks thinly. Use the white section and as much of the Green section as is tender. Sautee in oil for 5 minutes. (The French first sautee a few slices of bacon until crisp and add the leeks to this.) Simmer potatoes and thyme in the stock for 15 minutes. Add leeks and simmer another 10 minutes. You may puree these vegetables in a blender with the stock, or leave your soup chunky. Add the milk or cream and the sour cream or yogurt, and salt to taste and heat through. Do not boil. Season with pepper and serve garnished with parsley, chives or watercress. 4 to 6 servings.

-from Food Book for a Sustainable Harvest

Upcoming Events

September 19 - Homefields Golf Tournament:
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament Sept 19th at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

September 26 - Shareholder Celebration of Fall Potluck:
5:30 Tour of the fall crops and Q & A time with Scott
6:00 Potluck meal—please bring a hot or cold dish to share, serving utensils, place setting, and a chair or blanket to sit on. You may also wish to bring a flashlight. We will be providing hot beverages and paper supplies.

November: you’ll be able to start ordering Goodwill at Homefields Farm Holiday Gift Boxes

Mid-November: end of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for those who are interested

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I get in a share?—an August example
Here is an example of a week’s FULL share in August (The half share gets half of each amount) A full share typically feeds four people, a half share two people. 4lb tomatoes 4 sweet peppers 2 zucchini 3lb potatoes 1lb chard 1lb spinach 2 eggplants 2 bulbs garlic 2 watermelons 2 cantaloupes PYO hot peppers, herbs and flowers

How much food will I get?
A half share is enough food for one or two people, while the full share generally feeds a family of four. You will get enough vegetables to cover most of you produce needs,
but you still may want to supplement fruits and favorite vegetables from your local market. When some foods are at their peak, you may have more then you can use and have quantities for canning or freezing, or just food to share. Our goal is to provide you with a wide variety for weekly use.

Do I receive the same amount of food each week?
No, there are natural ebbs and flows in the growing season. The season will start off with fewer, and lighter weight items like lettuce heads, greens mixes, and strawberries and will then progress to the heavyweights of mid-summer like watermelon, cantaloupes, and peppers. As we move towards fall, the weekly harvest will be even heavier and bulkier as pumpkins, butternut squash, cabbages, sweet potatoes and root crops come in from the field.

Do I pick my own food?
Nearly everything that comes in a share will be harvested, washed, and divided among the shareholders for you. There are always specialty items like flowers and herbs that are “you pick” items that you can pick if you like. Berries are also you pick when they are in season. Currently, strawberries and blueberries are included in the share price. Other berries are available at extra cost.

What happens if I am going to be away during harvest?
You are welcome to arrange for a friend or neighbor to pick up your share for you. We also donate shares to local shelters, just let us know if you would like us to do that when you are away.

What is the cost?
Half share: $395 (about $16 a week, based on a 24 week season)
Full share: $595 (about 25.00 a week, based on a 24 week season)

What about payment?
To reserve a share, please send your completed application from our brochure with payment or a deposit of $50.00 or greater. The application form can also be printed from our web site: www.yourgoodwill.org/farmprogram.htm. Shares should be paid in full by the start of our harvest season in June. We are able to take credit cards for your convenience.

Who benefits?
You benefit by having fresh, in-season vegetables that are grown organically. Our community benefits as we provide jobs for adults with disabilities, cut down on food packaging, reduce fuel waste in transportation, and supporting sustainable land use.

How long does the season run?
The first pick up usually falls during the first weekend of June, and the season will run into mid November. This ranges between 22 and 25 weeks, depending on the weather.

When do I pick up my food?
You may pick up your food any of these days and times each week, whichever day happens to suit you each week.

Our hours are: Thursday, 3 pm to 7 pm
Friday, 11 am to 7 pm
Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm

Is there a work commitment to be a shareholder?
No work is required to be a shareholder in our CSA. If you a special skill or idea to offer, feel free to bounce it off of us. We reserve regular farm work for the participants in the program at this time.

Do I need to bring any supplies when I pick up my food?
We appreciate it if you are able to bring a reusable tote bag or box, but we always provide produce bags, shopping bags and pruners for your convenience.

How will I know how much to take?
Pick up of your share is self-service. You will find trays of vegetables set up, with the quantities for each share size listed. If there is something that you don’t particularly care for, you are not obligated to take it. Most pick your own items are available for personal or immediate family quantities. Please take into consideration how much is available in the field when deciding how much to pick or cut, other shareholders may want some of that herb or flower too.

Can I pick up my share at another location?
No, the food pick up is here at the farm in Millersville. The farm is a tranquil and beautiful place to find food, beauty, community and great experiences each week. You will see where you food comes from and know your farmer.

Where is the farm located?
Goodwill at Homefields is located at 150 Letort Road in Millersville, PA. This is just a few blocks from the Millersville University campus.

How long have you been doing this and why?
We are in our ninth season as a CSA that has training and employing people with disabilities as its core. We sustainably grow over 45 crops and 300 varieties of fruits and vegetables with an emphasis on soil health and nutrition, finding ways to grow healthful food without using chemical fertilizers or pesticides. We are preserving farmland, bringing the community together, and supporting local food systems and economies.

Do you have working shares?
We do not offer working shares.

Do you use chemical fertilizer or pesticides?
No, we do not use any chemical fertilizer or pesticides. Our focus is on healthy soil and plants and we accomplish this through crop rotation, cover crops, beneficial insect habitat, and the use of compost.

Can I donate a share?
Yes, each year shares are donated to various local shelters.

What needs do you have?, I’d like to donate for equipment?
We are in need of a traveling irrigation reel to supply water to our vegetables during the dry times—the cost is about $6,000.

Is this a farm stand, can I purchase items individually?
No, we grow food based on how many members we have each season. We divide the harvested produce each week by how many members we have.

Where can I read more?
www.yourgoodwill.org/farmprogram.htm
www.homefields.org/goodwill

Can I ask a different question?
Sure, just send an email to:
sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org
eswope@yourgoodwill.org
or call: 717-871-3110

4th Week of August

This Week at the Farm

Many summer crops are finished and there is a bit of a lull here until the fall crops come into bearing. You’ll notice that the harvest is lighter this week as we look ahead to cool-season eating. A new thing we are harvesting is leeks, see more information about them below. This week we devoted a lot of our attention to watering to compensate for having only 3/10ths of an inch of rain during the last month or longer—you can see how brown the grass is. It’s quite a sight to see
the rows of seedlings taking off as a result of the water. The edamame (edible soybeans) will be ready in a couple of weeks and we are watching them eagerly.

Did you know?

Organic blueberries contain 50% more antioxidants and also contain significantly higher level of phyto-nutrients than conventionally grown blueberries
--data from Rutgers research appearing in the Journal of Agricultural and food chemistry

The Allure of Leeks

This mild mannered member of the Allium family is probably not as familiar to you as its cousins, garlic and onions, but deserves notice and a place on your table. Leeks are particularly honored in Wales, and Welsh warriors wore leeks on their helmets to aid them in battle. Who knows what a leek might do for you? :-) Preparation: trim off the rooted end and discard the thick outer layer and leaves which are generally too tough. Slice end to end and rinse the layers if desired.

Leek and Potato Fritters Recipe

(From www.leeks.com.au: website of Australia’s vegetable grower of the year. It also has additional recipes and fascinating video clips of how vegetables are grown in the land of Oz.)
Serves: 4
1 large potato peeled and chopped
2 medium Leeks, sliced
4 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup canola oil
sour cream

Boil potato until soft, about 15 minutes. Mash and set aside. Cook leeks in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain. Stir together with potato, eggs, breadcrumbs, and cheese. Shape into little patties. Heat oil in a large fry pan and cook in batches for about 2 minutes each side. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream.

Thank You

Thank you this week to Elizabeth Swope and all of the trainees who formed an excellent harvest team, and special thanks Elizabeth for all the irrigation work this week to keep the crops happy!
Scott

Upcoming Events

September 19
Homefields Golf Tournament
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament Sept 19th at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

September 26
Shareholder Celebration of Fall Potluck
Watch for more details!

November
You’ll be able to start ordering Goodwill at Homefields Farm Holiday Gift Boxes for coworkers, family etc.

Mid-November
End of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders.

4th Week of August

This Week at the Farm

Quite the glorious weather we are having this week! We sense the shift towards fall and the changing crops indicate this as well. We seeded the first winter cover crop seed this week, a mix of rye, crimson clover and hairy vetch. This blend will protect the soil from erosion during the winter, add organic matter to the soil and even add nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Did You Know?

There are 3 separate organizations at the Homefields Farm:

1. Homefields--the non-profit owner and landlord of the farm
2. Goodwill Industries-- operates the CSA farm program
3. Community Services Group-staffs the two groups homes on the property

Better Off

When I look around the county or the country, we have many blessings to count here at the farm this season. The southern end of the county received crop-destroying hail two weeks ago, and Angelic Organics CSA of the Real Dirt on Farmer John Fame in Illinois had so much rainfall
they had to excavate large pits in their fields to collect and pump water out so the crops didn't drown. Many other farms have had extreme weather challenges that put our long dry spell in perspective.

What's Ahead?

As summer crops peak and taper off, the fall crops beckon: pumpkins, winter squashes like butternuts, acorns and spaghtetti, leeks, hopefully baby beets and baby carrots, follow-up plantings of cucumbers and beans, and of course all the fall brassicas: turnip, radish, rutabaga, broccoli, kale, collards, cauliflower and cabbage, not to mention fall favorites cilantro and arugula.

Simply in Season

We have the excellent Simply in Season cookbook here that follows the seasons with timely and tasty recipes that are quick and easy to make. It is for sale here at the distribution area along with a fun Children's version.

Compostables

We welcome all untreated/unsprayed plant materials on our compost pile behind the greenhouse. If you are looking for somewhere to go with your autumn leaf collection or summer vegetable scraps, we are glad for them. No animal waste or meat products please.

Thank You

Hats off to Brian Martin, Farm Operations Specialist, this week for putting together an irrigation tape rewinder that will help us reuse a lot of tape next season!

Thank you appreciating the food and supporting our work here!
Scott

Recipe

Spicy Roasted Eggplant
(from the Simply in Season Cookbook)
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro sprigs (chopped)
1/4 olive oil
2 T lemon juice
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
pinch of cinnamon
Stir together.
1 large eggplant (cut in 1/4inch slices)

Brush cilantro mixture on both sides of eggplant slices and transfer to greased baking pan. Broil eggplant 5-6 inches from heat until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Calendar

Saturday, August 23, 10 am
Water Conservation at Home
Water conservation inside the house and out, including cisterns (rainbarrels), presented by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Specialist with the Lancaster County Conservation District. Sign up if interested on the sheet.

Saturday August 23, 3pm to dusk
Backyard Fruit Growers Summer Tour and Meeting
This event is open to BYFG members and Goodwill at Homefields farm shareholders.
The agenda will be:
3:00 meet and greet
3:30 tour
5:00 Auction of donated items—plants, posters, jams, fruit and garden items.
6:00 potluck meal—bring a ready to serve dish
7:00 Fruit growers Q & A sharing session
7:30 Bud grafting of stonefruit demonstration
What to bring: folding chairs or blanket to sit on, a dish to share, items to donate for the BYFG auction. Water, plates, utensils and cups will be provided by BYFGers.

September 19
Homefields Golf Tournament
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament Sept 19th at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

September 26
Shareholder Celebration of Fall Potluck
Watch for more details.

Mid-November
End of weekly harvest, beginning of self-harvesting for shareholders.

2nd Week of August

This Week at the Farm

The weather curmudgeon will only say that we didn’t really get rain this week and could definitely use some…enough said. Three cheers for drip irrigation. Many thanks to Jeff and Del for doing a superb job of picking beans this week. Brian Bixler did a wonderful job filling in with the mower for the vacationing Eric Rooney.

The tomatoes are going gangbusters--we may have some extras... The spader is repaired and is working well to prepare the soil for your fall crops and the bell peppers are starting to come into their own. The little orange variety is called Yummy, and lives up to its name despite being a pipsqueak of a pepper.

Life with less Plastic

As we put our fresh veggies into bags each week, a lot of plastic bags are used here on the farm. If you’d like to help with our efforts to create less waste, one way is to put items into reusable tote bags or an insulated box or cooler. We will continue to provide both produce bags and the shopping bags realizing that some items need the individual bags and that sometimes its just nice to have the shopping bags here.

Did you know?

Buckwheat is an excellent cover crop for preventing weed growth, bringing up nutrients from the subsoil, and attracting beneficial insects.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

Melon: Chill and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper
Watermelon: Chill and sprinkle with a bit of salt of desired
Beets: Boil until tender, slip the skins, serve slightly warm or roast instead
Eggplant: Slice and put on the grill or skillet—brush with olive oil and soy sauce
Onions: We have some wonderful Red Zeppelin storage onions ready this week—keeps 8 weeks
Cucumbers: Great for munching on plain, but also in tomato/cuke salads (See the easy pickle recipe below)

Thank you for appreciating the work that goes on here to bring fresh food to your table.

Scott

Upcoming Events and Recipes

Saturday, August 23, 10 am
Water Conservation at Home: inside the house and out, including cisterns (rainbarrels), presented by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Specialist with the Lancaster County Conservation District. Sign up if interested on the sheet.

Saturday, August 23, 3pm to dusk

Backyard Fruit Growers Summer Tour and Meeting
This event is open to BYFG members and Goodwill at Homefields farm shareholders.

The agenda will be:
3:00 meet and greet
3:30 tour
5:00 Auction of donated items—plants, posters, jams, fruit and garden items.
6:00 potluck meal—bring a ready to serve dish
7:00 Fruit growers Q & A sharing session
7:30 Bud grafting of stonefruit demonstration
What to bring—folding chairs or blanket to sit on, a dish to share.
Water, plates, utensils and cups will be provided by BYFGers.

Friday, September 19

Homefields Golf Tournament
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

Overnight Pickle Recipe

from Kitazawa Seed Company (they have many great Japanese recipes for vegetables) http://www.kitazawaseed.com/

Ichiyazuki is a salt pickling and is the easiest, fastest and most popular way of pickling. Basically, vegetables are washed, sliced, salted and placed under a weight for about a day. You may prepare this in the morning and serve pickles at dinner. Raisins or chilies may be added for desired flavor. Salt is rinsed off the vegetable before serving. The vegetables are good for only 1-2 days.

Choice of vegetables such as nappa, cucumber, young radish leaves, mizuna, mustards, turnips and leaves, etc.
Salt
Raisins, chilies - optional

For Chinese cabbage, wash nappa leaves. Sprinkle salt on leaves and massage salt into leaves (especially white mid ribs). Place nappa leaves in a deep pan or bowl. For sweet or hot flavoring, add raisins or chilies on the side of the leaves. Sprinkle salt on top of the nappa. Place a dish that will be able to sink down and place it on top of the nappa. Put a heavy weight on top of the plate. Another pan filled with water placed on top of the plate may be used as weight. When you are ready to eat the pickles, wash the leaves and squeeze out the water. Cut leaves into 1/2" lengths.

Daikon tops, radish leaves, takana or mustard leaves. Follow the like nappa process described above. It is preferred not to use raisins or chilies for these spicy vegetables.

For cucumbers, they can be lightly peeled. Cut lengthwise in half and cut again 1/2" crosswise. Sprinkle with salt and massage and follow like nappa described above. Cut to desired size before serving.

1st Week of August

This Week at the Farm

Mid-July to Mid-August tends to be hot and dry. This coincides with us trying to start transplants and seeds in the field for fall crops—it can be quite a challenge to get them off to a good start. This week we’ve been transplanting fall brassicas—broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels, and cabbage. We avoided a die-off of brassica transplants from the hot dry wind, that had just been planted yesterday via some very quickly installed and operated drip tape irrigation thanks to Brian Martin. The spader, which is like a tractor-mounted roto-tiller had the bearings go out on it yesterday, and there is never a good time during the growing season for equipment to break down, but it will hopefully be operating by early next week to resume fall seeding of crops. The
tomatoes are doing really well this week and will probably be at their peak yield two weeks from now. Deciding which melons are ripe in the field is more of an art than a science, and if your melon was not quite ripe last week, we are sorry and hope they are more ripe this week. If you have not tried the sweet onions fried in a skillet with some butter until caramelized you are missing out on something special! We have the variety "Candy" this week, and it lives up to its name, possibly surpassing the Walla Walla in sweetness.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Melon: chill and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper
• Watermelon: chill and sprinkle with a bit of salt of desired
• Beets: boil until tender, slip the skins, serve slightly warm or roast instead
• Eggplant: slice and put on the grill or skillet—brush with olive oil and soy sauce
• Onions: Walla Wallas in particular, but others as well—brown in the skillet with some butter and enjoy the sweet mild flavor with almost any meal
• Cucumbers: great for munching on plain, but great as tomato/cuke salad

Did you know?

The world Record watermelon weighs 262lbs. A few plants of this Carolina cross are growing in the Pick Your Own Field. Come see how they do here at Homefields!

Enjoy!
Scott

Upcoming Events and Recipes

Water Conservation at Home
Saturday, August 23, at 10 a.m.
Water conservation inside the house and out, including cisterns (rainbarrels), presented by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Specialist with the Lancaster County Conservation District. Sign up if interested on the sheet at Homefields or email Scott at sbreneman@yourgoodwill.org.

Homefields Golf Tournament
Friday, September 19
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament on September 19 at Crossgates Golf Course in Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

Chard Stuffed With Risotto and Mozzarella
(From the NY Times via Shareholder Sara Salfrank)
Time: About an hour
6 cups vegetable broth, more if needed
1 cup arborio rice
Large pinch of saffron
2 lemons, zested
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 big chard leaves
1/2 pound mozzarella cheese
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling.

1. Cook rice in vegetable broth, starting with one cup; add broth in stages, using about 3 cups total, until rice is barely tender. Reserve unused broth. Dissolve saffron in juice of one lemon. Add to rice, along with butter, Parmesan, zest of one lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Allow rice to cool a bit. Recipe can be made up to an hour in advance at this point, but do not refrigerate rice.
2. Poach chard leaves in about 2 cups remaining broth for about 30 seconds. Take out, drain on a dishcloth, and cut out the hardest part of central stem. Reserve cooking broth.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With wet hands, form 6 balls of rice 2 to 3 inches across. Dig a hole in ball and insert a piece of mozzarella. Wrap each ball in a chard leaf.
4. Put balls in a close-fitting oven pan, with enough reserved broth to come about a half-inch up sides of balls; bake 15 minutes. Serve balls topped with a little more broth, more lemon zest, Parmesan and olive oil.
Yield: 6 servings.

Last Week of July

This Week at the Farm

The tomatoes are picking up speed, and the cucumbers are cruising as the blueberry season fades away. We are starting to harvest melons today. Unfortunately, the groundhogs did quite a number on the melon patch we discovered yesterday, but the watermelon planting looks good. Crows are often quite a nuisance, as they like to peck holes in the almost-ripe watermelon, ruining them. This year, the damage to watermelons is slight however. If you drive along Sun Lane, you can see the pumpkin and winter squash plants starting to vine happily. We have spent quite a lot of time working over there to control the weeds before the vine canopies closed over. Great work Elizabeth and Brian, and all of the trainees!

The Sunflower House

If you haven’t seen it, the sunflower house is the result of Elizabeth’s creativity and effort: a great place to take children or grandchildren and/or be a kid yourself. It is right before the berry patch.Tea and crumpets not required.

Pick Your Own Field Update

The last time I wrote about the pick-your-own field it was still in a mostly miniature state. Some of the current highlights are: excellent signs and descriptions by Jeff and Elizabeth, heirloom tomato varieties including the so-called "black" when ripe varieties, Moldovan green when ripe tomatoes, hot peppers that are starting to ripen—*they get hotter the farther back the aisle you go.* Colorful zinnias, and tasty Sungold cherry tomatoes, and of course, basil: green, purple and variegated. To make pickled peppers, check out the Pepperoncini peppers—they are at the end of the hot pepper bed, but are mild.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Melon: chill and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper
• Watermelon: Chill and sprinkle with a bit of salt if desired
• Beets: boil until tender, slip the skins, serve slightly warm
• Eggplant: slice and put on the grill or skillet—brush with olive oil and soy sauce
• Onions: Walla Wallas in particular, but others as well—brown in the skillet with some butter and enjoy the sweet mild flavor with almost any meal.
• Cucumbers: great for munching on plain, but also see cuke/tomato salad
  recipe from previous week
• Sunflowers: see soup recipe below, edible petals!

Enjoy!
Scott

Upcoming Events

Water Conservation at Home
Saturday, August 23, at 10 a.m.
Water conservation inside the house and out, including cisterns (rainbarrels), presented by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Specialist with the Lancaster County Conservation District. Sign up if interested on the sheet.

September 19th Homefields Golf Tournament
Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament Sept 19th at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

Minestra di Girasole (Sunflower Soup)
Prep Time:15 min
Cooking Time:35 min
Difficulty:Intermediate

Ingredients
3 pieces smoked bacon
1 spring onion, 1 garlic clove
2 tbsp olive oil
2 carrots, 2 potatoes, 2 courgettes (zucchini)
1 1/4 quarts vegetable stock
2 handfuls of sunflower petals
1 handful of basil
grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Mince the bacon with the onion and the garlic. Slightly pan-fry with butter and oil. Add the chopped carrots, potatoes and courgettes. Add the vegetable stock. Cook for about 30 minutes and then toss 2 big handfuls of sunflower petals in the soup and 1 of basil. Cook for further 5 minutes. Pour the soup in the bowls and sprinkle with plenty of chopped basil and parsley. Add grated parmesan cheese and serve.

4th Week of July

This Week at the Farm

Almost imperceptibly the days are growing a bit shorter as August approaches. The rainfall yesterday was much appreciated as the ninety degree weather had wicked away most of the moisture from a week ago. I picked the first ripe pepper this morning so we will soon be harvesting red, orange and yellow ripe bell peppers. Melons and watermelons are coming soon too, including perennial farm favorites Sweetie No.6 butterscotch melon and Sugar Baby watermelons.

Saturday, August 23, at 10 a.m.

Water Conservation at Home: inside the house and out, including cisterns (rainbarrels), presented by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Specialist with the Lancaster County Conservation District. Sign up if interested on the sheet.

Friday, September 19

Homefields Golf Tournament

Homefields, our benevolent landlord and host will hold its 12th annual Golf Tournament Sept 19th at Crossgates Golf Course, Millersville. To participate, pick up a copy of the flyer here at the farm or see their website at: www.homefields.org. Proceeds benefit Homefields.

Did you Know?

Farmers are using seawater and sea salt to re-mineralize their soils. Seawater contains 90 or more trace elements, and plants and animals show improved health from the addition of the sea water. Animals show a marked preference for areas of pasture that have the sea minerals added.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Beets: boil until tender, slip the skins, serve slightly warm. See recipes below and from last week.
• Eggplant: slice and put on the grill or skillet—brush with olive oil and soy sauce
• Onions: Walla Wallas in particular, but others as well—brown in the skillet with some butter and enjoy the sweet mild flavor with almost any other meal.
• Cucumbers: great for munching on plain, but also see cuke/tomato salad recipe from last week.

Enjoy!
Scott

Roasted Beets-- from Teri’s Kitchen
www.teriskitchen.com

· 1-1/2 pounds medium red beets, peeled and quartered
· 3 tablespoons olive oil
· 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
· Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375° F. Place the beets in a small roasting or baking dish in one layer. Drizzle with the oil. Add the garlic, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Roast until fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.

Note: If you can get baby beets, roast them whole with the peel on. The peel will slip off easily when cooked.

3rd Week of July

A Week at the Farm

Mid-July, can the tomato boom be far off? We are starting to harvest a few, and are anticipating a larger harvest in a week or two. Continuing on with introducing the trainees at the farm:

• Jeff has worked here at the farm since last season and quickly became seasoned. He is the resident handyman, putting together trellises, signs for the PYO field, assembling irrigation and doing excellent harvesting work with the zucchini and cucumbers, which need particularly tender care.
• Tim has been here but a few weeks and is doing a great job. He is especially skilled with harvesting and weed control and his enthusiasm for pretty much any project is appreciated.
• Orie enjoys the farm very much and especially likes the old Farmall tractor, having memories of them from growing up. He has been doing a great job with the garlic.

Water Conservation at Home
Saturday, August 23, 10am

Water Conservation at Home: inside the house and out, including cisterns (rainbarrels), presented by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Specialist with the Lancaster County Conservation District. Please sign up at the distribution table, email me or call 717-871-3110 to attend.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Beets: see the salad and pickled beet and red beet egg recipes below
• Eggplant: slice and put on the grill or skillet—brush with olive oil and soy sauce
• Swiss Chard: see the Italian recipe below
• Cucumbers: great for munching on plain, but also see cuke/tomato salad recipe below

Thank You

Special thanks to shareholder Peter Shannon for donating a misting fan. It has been very much appreciated on some of these extremely hot and humid days by both trainees and staff. Thank you to all the hands and hard work that make this possible, and to you for your enthusiasm, encouragement, and appreciation for the vegetables.

-Scott

Beet Salad
from shareholder Deborah Barkun

Wash, peel, and grate raw beets (easy in a food processor). Toss in 1-2 cloves of garlic or garlic scapes. Add 1 cup of garbanzo beans and 1 cup of minced parsley. Dress with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 orange, the zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon, and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. It is delicious as is or after it sits and "pickles".
(The NY Times suggests adding goat cheese, but was plenty tasty sans cheese.)

Justina's Bietola (Swiss chard)
from shareholder Joan Shannon

Serves 2
Pan fry 2 pork chops (or chicken parts)* till browned. Season with salt and pepper and other seasonings to taste. Add 12 oz can of Hunt's tomato sauce (or home canned tomatoes, or
commercial crushed or diced). Mix bought sauce with 1/2 can water. Simmer on low 30 minutes. Remove chops. Place Swiss chard in pan and simmer on low for 30 minutes (we steam it slightly beforehand, stalks in bottom of steamer). Stalks should be cut into small pieces, with leaves cut just twice or so. Near end of cooking, set meat on top till hot, then serve. The dish is not complete without good (crusty, dense) Italian bread - and dipping is required!

*It also makes a good vegetarian dish minus the chops/chicken. Even if eaten with meat, best with small portion of meat in proportion to chard. May substitute beet greens for some or all of chard.

Pickled Beets and Red Beet Eggs
from Lorena Breneman

1-2 lbs beets, tops cut off (use in salad!) Cook till tender in two inches of water. Drain and save water. Slip skins from beets and discard skins. Cut beets into chunks and set aside. Measure beet water, add water if necessary to make one cup. Add 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup sugar, one cinnamon stick, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add beets to juice and chill. Add hard-boiled eggs and voila! - red-beet eggs!

Scott’s Simple but Super Cuke Salad

This is my version of a salad that I was served by Mikhail and Anna Zotov, Russian friends who were learning English in Virginia.
Dice and combine in a bowl:
An onion
A few tomatoes
One or two cucumbers
Two cloves of garlic
Add a healthy shot of olive oil, stir and let sit for a while before eating, or refrigerate for later
--add black pepper and salt if desired

2nd Week of July

A Week at the Farm

It’s July...the humidity kicks up and the rainfall is fickle, dumping down in some places and skipping others. It’s a bit dry here, so we continue to irrigate - water is the most critical "nutrient." The strawberry season has faded away and the blueberry crop is looking splendid for this week. If you lift the netting to pick blueberries, please tuck it back down around when finished to keep the birds from getting in under the netting: they like the blueberries even more than we do! The hot weather crops are starting to appear, eggplant now, and before long tomatoes and peppers. We’re experimenting with different methods of onion curing, so they will soon be a part of the harvest as well as garlic, which may be in this week’s share.

I’d like to introduce some more of the faces behind the food here at the farm:

• Brad has worked here for several years and does precision hoeing, tackling weeds in emerging crops that most of us can’t even see yet. He is also a skilled harvester, both in picking crops and cutting salad greens and spinach.
• Glenn is the only original trainee from that very first harvest season way back in 2000. He is appreciated for his contentment and enthusiasm for life and people just as much as his tireless work ethic. You’ll find him cheerfully greeting everyone on Fridays at the distribution area.
• Scott C. starts out very early in the morning to get the bus from E-town to Lancaster and then to the farm. Also a veteran trainee, he is a fountain of geographical knowledge and world trivia in addition to the great work that he does here. He is skilled at transplanting and great at pretty much everything. More introductions to follow next week…

Home gardening workshop
Saturday, July 12, at 10 am (July 19 raindate)

Pruning, composting, patio gardens, vermicomposting, organic gardening, & natural pesticides/herbicides, presented by Tom & Susan Smith, Master Gardeners, from the Lancaster County Extension Center. Not yet signed up? Please email me or call 717-871-3110.

Serving Suggestions for the Harvest

• Beets: excellent grated raw in salads, roasted coated with olive oil, or steamed til tender. Make pickled beets and red beet eggs.
• Eggplant: slice and put on the grill or skillet—brush with olive oil and soy sauce.
• Swiss Chard: see recipe below.
• Cucumbers: great with diced tomatoes, garlic, onions, and olive oil.

Did you know?

There are 16 macro and micro nutrients necessary for healthy plant growth. Chemical fertilizers usually contain only N-P-K: Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium When you see fertilizer that says 20-10-10 for example, it means is contains 20 percent Nitrogen, 10 percent Phosphorous, 10 percent Potassium (Potash).

Scott

Scott’s Chard Attempt Recipe

Ok, so I’ll admit it, Bright Lights chard is beautiful, but I didn’t grow up eating chard and hadn’t yet found a way that I really enjoyed it until this past weekend. Here’s what I came up with:

1. Sautee the diced chard stems in olive oil until somewhat tender, then add chopped onions and minced garlic and sautee further.
2. Add the chopped chard greens and stir occasionally until tender.
3. Sprinkle with turmeric and red pepper to taste, stir well.
4. Allow to simmer a few minutes so flavors can blend. Taste, adjust if desired.
5. Eat as a side or serve over rice

Additional Recipes--starring eggplant or cucumbers
Looking for summer meals? Try a Middle Eastern Mezze Platter. You will want your favorite hummus, pita bread and veggies for dipping like cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, lettuce and carrots. Then try Babaganoush (eggplant spread) and/or Tabouli to complete your meal.

Babaganoush from The Candle Café Cookbook

Makes about 4 cups
Hint: be careful not to make too smooth in the food processor. Should be fairly chunky.
4 small eggplants
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced, or scapes
½ cup sesame tahini
½ cup vegan mayo or mayonnaise
½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and score the flesh with a small knife. Place cut-side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake until the eggplants are very soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.
3. When the eggplants are cool enough to handle, place the halves flesh side up and , using a small spoon, scrape out and discard as many of the bitter seeds as possible. Scoop out the rest of the flesh into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
4. Add the olive oil, garlic, tahini, Mayo, salt and pepper and process, being careful not to make the mixture too smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. The Babaganoush can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
5. Transfer to a bowl and serve with pita crisps or flatbread.

Tabouli (Wheat and Parsley Salad) from Extending the Table

Serves 4 to 6
1 cup cracked bulgur wheat
3 cups boiling water
1 ½ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
½ fresh mint, finely chopped
½ cup green onion, minced
1 small cucumber, chopped
3 firm tomatoes, chopped
1 ¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice

1. Cover bulgur wheat with boiling water and let soak several hours. Drain wheat thoroughly after soaking several hours.
2. Mix the herbs, onion, cucumber, tomato, salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice together. Toss with other ingredients, cover and chill.

Serving tips: Traditionally served with romaine lettuce, with the lettuce used as a utensil.
This salad may be prepared a day in advance, but do not add lemon juice until just before serving.