You MAY have these things: eggplant, corn, new crop of summer squash of some variety or color, tomatoes, peppers, kale, cucumbers, carrots if you did not see them last week, and I am still wondering about the kohlrabi and Chinese cabbage. I am pretty sure we are back into lettuce for a while and I heard the first heard of broccoli was picked…so hopefully we’ll be picking lots soon and it will be in the box 🙂

The Paula Red apples are coming in for the orchards. Oh, the first apple! And just in time for school! They are small but nice and crunchy and sweet-tart. Be sure to store in your fridge, the early apples are not as hard as later season apples, so will soften quickly.

applesmcintosh (1)(These are actually Macintosh but the Paula Reds look very similar!)

If I had known everyone was getting carrots last week, I would have mentioned all the fabulous colors they come in: white (super-pale yellow), yellow, red, purple and of course, orange. Did you know the orange ones are the most recent hybrid? The earliest carrots on record are either white or red.

I forgot who sent me this recipe (sorry) but it looks really yummy! I am abbreviating the directions for space reasons and hoping you know how to cook pasta J

  • Fine sea salt
  • 12 oz dry orecchiette or farfalle
  • 1 TB olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1 bunch scallions, sliced thinly and green and white parts kept separate
  • 2 large ears of corn, kernels removed+ 2 cups
  • ½ tsp ground pepper
  • 3 TB butter
  • ½ cup grated parmesan
  • ½ cup torn basil or mint
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
  • Fresh lemon juice as needed

Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, drain, reserving ½ cup of water. Meanwhile, heat oil in large sauté pan over medium heat; add scallion whites and pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add ¼ cup water and all but ¼ cup corn; simmer until corn is heated thorough and almost tender, 3-5 minutes. Add ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper, transfer to blender and puree until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.

Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add butter and let melt. Add reserved ¼ cup corn and cook until tender, 1-2 minutes. Add the corn puree and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.

Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta and half reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in ¼ cup of the scallion greens, the parm, the herbs, the red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice to taste. Transfer to warm pasta bowls and garnish with more scallions, herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and black pepper.

Carrot, Apple, and Horseradish Salad Gourmet | November 1992

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

2 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrot
2 large Granny Smith apples (use what you have J)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 to 3 tablespoons finely grated peeled fresh horseradish or drained bottled horseradish
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar

In a bowl stir together the carrots, the apples, peeled and grated coarse, the sour cream, the horseradish to taste, the parsley, the lemon juice, the sugar, and salt and pepper to taste and chill the salad, covered, for 1 hour, or until it is cold.

Farm Dust:

So, amid the doom and gloom, we had a wonderful visit from our Congressman Jim McGovern on Tuesday. He is on the Ag Committee and his posse showed up at the farm this afternoon to see what’s going on.

It was really wonderful to be able to discuss the issues plaguing farmers in the state, including the drought and H2A.

Our Representative Donnie Berthiaume and Senator Anne Gobi, as well as Ag Commissioner John LeBeaux all attended and we had a good discussion about Glenn’s ideas about drought relief for Massachusetts farmers, guest worker housing and the Department of Labor, Solar Panels for farms, and so much more! Thank you to all of them!!!

I figure you have probably seen enough pictures of our honey bees lining up to drink at the fountain. It’s gotten even more insane. The ENTIRE rim is covered with bees and there is a massive highway of honey bees crossing the street from the hives!

The apple crop is ripening up, but it will be much lighter this year and smaller between the winter freeze and the drought. There are curculio stings and Saw Fly marks on the apples, but, hey, that’s just going to be how it goes this year. They taste great and if you are not ridiculous about choosing the perfect apple, they still look pretty good.

It has become hawk central around the farm, with a Red Tail perched on a dead stub in every field. The Cooper’s and Sharp Shinned are busy strafing other birds, so we seldom see them just sitting around in a tree 😉

No rain in sight, so renaming this section Farm Dust again.

Eat well, Geneviève Stillman