Joey, Adam and Jess happy at harvest.
This time of year is always a challenging one at the farm. Certain crops which shall remain nameless, require countless hours a week to harvest. The humidity can make long days feel even longer for our staff and I won't even mention the weeds. The end of August is also the time of year when we have to say goodbye to team members like Adam as they head back to school. Adam was only with us a short time but he contributed in a big way and he will be missed. We wish him all the best as he starts his freshman year at Marymount Manhattan College where he will be studying acting. I've enjoyed seeing the bonds that form between members of our farm family and I hope that they keep in touch with each other as they go out into the world.
Miraculously, the universe seems to send us help whenever we are short-handed and we hope to welcome a new team member to see us through the end of the season soon. In the meantime, our team is working harder than ever to bring the harvest to our members in time for each share distribution. Share distribution days feel a little like holidays. Holidays where you are hosting 40 of your closest family members and have about a day to prepare. On the menu is an incredible assortment of vegetables that includes everyone's favorites. The team moves at good pace to harvest everything on the list by about 2:00 or so and then starts the final preparations that can include rinsing root vegetables, bagging potatoes, bringing bins and bins out of cold storage and counting to determine share sizes. Time seems to speed up in the hour before pick-ups start so we appreciate the patience of members who may arrive early.
Our farm team starts at 7:30 each day and work well into the evening. Members who live very close to the farm may hear Kevin in the field spraying in the field at night. He regularly sprays a cooper solution approved for organic farms on crops like tomatoes, pepper and squash to keep diseases like cucerbit downy mildew and late blight at bay. He waits until the sun goes down because the winds typically die down at night thus improving the amount of solution that gets on the plants. I suppose at some point, it wouldn't be the end of the world if he accidentally forgot to spray the summer squash...although I do have to make at least one final batch of zucchini bread one of these days.
We don't often have a lot of time to prepare food this time of year but we are trying to enjoy as much of the harvest as we can. Two years ago, one of our members gave me the following recipe for salsa verde that I pull out whenever we have ripe tomatillos. Thank you Brenda!
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
1 pound tomatillos (about 15) husked, rinsed and roughly chopped
3/4 of a regular sized ancho pepper
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (1 bunch)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree but not too much. This is an all purpose salsa verde but we just enjoy it with tortilla chips.
If your share size is less than a pound and you would like to try this recipe, you can feel free to take extra if they are available!
Miraculously, the universe seems to send us help whenever we are short-handed and we hope to welcome a new team member to see us through the end of the season soon. In the meantime, our team is working harder than ever to bring the harvest to our members in time for each share distribution. Share distribution days feel a little like holidays. Holidays where you are hosting 40 of your closest family members and have about a day to prepare. On the menu is an incredible assortment of vegetables that includes everyone's favorites. The team moves at good pace to harvest everything on the list by about 2:00 or so and then starts the final preparations that can include rinsing root vegetables, bagging potatoes, bringing bins and bins out of cold storage and counting to determine share sizes. Time seems to speed up in the hour before pick-ups start so we appreciate the patience of members who may arrive early.
Our farm team starts at 7:30 each day and work well into the evening. Members who live very close to the farm may hear Kevin in the field spraying in the field at night. He regularly sprays a cooper solution approved for organic farms on crops like tomatoes, pepper and squash to keep diseases like cucerbit downy mildew and late blight at bay. He waits until the sun goes down because the winds typically die down at night thus improving the amount of solution that gets on the plants. I suppose at some point, it wouldn't be the end of the world if he accidentally forgot to spray the summer squash...although I do have to make at least one final batch of zucchini bread one of these days.
We don't often have a lot of time to prepare food this time of year but we are trying to enjoy as much of the harvest as we can. Two years ago, one of our members gave me the following recipe for salsa verde that I pull out whenever we have ripe tomatillos. Thank you Brenda!
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
1 pound tomatillos (about 15) husked, rinsed and roughly chopped
3/4 of a regular sized ancho pepper
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (1 bunch)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and puree but not too much. This is an all purpose salsa verde but we just enjoy it with tortilla chips.
If your share size is less than a pound and you would like to try this recipe, you can feel free to take extra if they are available!
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