alma farm

Vegetable List
Andalusian Sprouts
Brussels Sprouts
Purple Haze Carrots
Swiss Chard
Eggplant Extravaganza
Flat Italian Parsley
El Jefe Peppers
Poblano Peppers
Red Bell Peppers
White Norland Potatoes
Mystic Plus Pumpkins

Notes from the Farm
Well I'll be a son of a gun... the season done come and gone... with a delightfully warm sendoff. I rarely have little to say, but today, all I've got to say is “son of a gun”.
Every season is different, every season has its ups and downs... but all in all, I think this was a good season. I know we had fun, I know that we succeeded more than we failed, and I know that we really enjoyed all of you folks. Thanks for making it fun. Thanks for taking the time to dig out the cookbooks and dive into the corners of the internet trying how to figure out how to use 5 lbs of eggplant. Thanks for offering suggestions and feedback. Thanks for everything.
Hopefully you've enjoyed this season as much as we have... its been a real squash of a time... kale of a time? carrot of a time? Its certainly been a time...

Vegetable of the Week
Andalusian Sprouts: Anyone who has been to the Bridgton Farmers' Market has seen these little guys before. Andalusian sprouts are a specialty of our farm... they are large, sweet brussels sprout like vegetables. There is very little on the internet about them, other than a couple of pages that cite these extra large sprouts grown in the Andalusian region of Spain. We often half them and sear them in a pan in one of two ways: Sweet with black pepper and a maple syrup glaze, or savory cooked with shallots and white wine... either way, get a good sear on both sides of the halved sprout first.

Recipes
Ribollita... Lets go out with a bang!

Ribollita is an elaborate (some say overly elaborate) Italian vegetable soup mixed with pieces of rustic bread. This version is packed with veggies—white beans, chard, potatoes, eggplant—and served with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

9 cups of water
2 cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans; about 8 ounces)
1 bunch Italian parsley
8 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons (or more) fine sea salt, divided
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 large celery stalks, diced
4 medium carrots, chopped
3 large white potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large pinch of dried thyme
1 whole bunch chard, leaves and stems chopped fine
4 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage
1 large eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 2-inch square Parmesan cheese rind
3 red bell peppers chopped
1 pint brussels sprouts
1 poblano chopped (optional)
Pinch of dried crushed red pepper
2 cups (or more) boxed vegetable broth or good-quality canned vegetable broth.
6 1/2-inch-thick slices country white bread, coarsely torn with crust

Combine 4 cups water, beans, salt and half the garlic in large saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion; sprinkle with sea salt. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the chopped garlic; stir 2 minutes. Add celery, carrot, potato, and thyme; cook until vegetables are tender and begin to turn brown in spots, stirring often, 15 to 18 minutes. Add kale, chard, cabbage, parsley, eggplants, peppers, Parmesan rind, 5 cups water, and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add beans with cooking liquid and crushed red pepper. Add 2 cups broth. Season with salt and generous amount of pepper.
Add bread to soup and simmer, stirring often to break up bread into smaller pieces and adding more broth by 1/2 cupfuls to thin, if desired. Season with sea salt and pepper.

Divide ribollita among bowls, drizzle with oil, and serve.

Vegetable List
Quart 'o' Beets
Flat Italian Parsley
White Sage
Red Russian Kale
Lincoln Leeks
Mini-Purplette Scallions
Winter Squash

Notes from the Farm
Funny how things come to an end. We have one more week for the CSA but things are definitely cruising to a halt... sort of a slow coast, not unlike running out of gas.

We've had two frosts at the field so far... Three weeks ago we were farming half naked just trying to deal with the humidity. The squash is all up, the tomatoes are pulled, the broccoli is finally done... we have more bare ground than not, just a few last hangers on, the last willing participants of the 2011 growing season.

I love this time... the later fall harvest is a little less sexy, but nourishing in its own right. The yearly harvest is like the beach. In the spring it doesn't matter whats going on, we just are excited to be going to the beach again... the summer is the best time for the beach, its hot, we're in the mood and brings a special level of satisfaction... but the fall is magic, the crowds have thinned, there is enough time & space to breathe deeply and take the time to feed that part of ourselves that has been neglected all summer.

As beautiful as it is here in the summer, its easy to become a prisoner to the wind... the fall brakes those binds and brings us long awaited rooty vegetables. Thank god for fall.

Vegetable of the Week

Mini-Purplette Scallions: I first had these knob onions in Arizona. They are very popular in Mexican cooking. They take these small onion like scallions and roast them on an open flame (which can be duplicated on a grill or gas stovetop) and add them to tacos, tamales, barbecued meat... really anything. This variety is sweet, with just a hint of onion-like sharpness. Use the greens and the bulb ends...

Recipes

Risotto with Butternut Squash, Leeks and Sage
1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled, seeded, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups (about) chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
2 cups arborio rice or medium-grain rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage




Preheat oven to 400°F. Place squash on large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Roast until tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes.

Bring stock to simmer in heavy large saucepan. Reduce heat to very low; cover and keep stock warm.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in another heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leeks and sauté until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup hot stock; simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently, until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 25 minutes longer. Add roasted squash, cream, Parmesan cheese and sage; stir until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

Vegetable List
Purple Haze Carrots
Orient Express Eggplant
Whole Basil Plants
Husk Cherries
Lincoln Leeks
Red Bell Peppers
All American Rutabagas
Slicing Tomatoes

Notes from the Farm
What comes around, comes around. We didn't order rutabaga seed this spring... it came in our seed order on accident. It was an accident we overlooked until plant-out and realized the ungodly amount of rutabaga seed we had to plant... we didn't plant it all. I've never grown rutabagas, Gina has, and for no good reason... I've just never grown them.
And, as it turns out, growing rutabagas was one in a long line of happy accidents on our farm this year. We live for the happy accident, its what makes farming fun... or at least one of the elements that make farming fun... and hopefully its part of the fun of being a CSA member. We are often in the same boat as the members. We plan our brains out, chart, calculate, consider and revise... but we still don't always know whats ahead... like a bumper crop of surprisingly delicious rutabagas.

I also wanted to reach out a bit this week... we know that its easy to be overwhelmed by the shares. Remember, its a wise member who rules the share, and a fool whose ruled by it... Husk cherries make a great substitute for apple sauce on all kinds of things from pork chops to pancakes; eggplant can easily be made into baba ganouch or cut flat, rolled up with some ricotta & basil and baked; leeks are great cut up and cooked with vegetable or chicken broth for a simple flavorful soup; rutabagas can be substituted for potatoes, beets or cooked carrots to delightful results.
Its a big responsibility being a CSA member... hopefully a surprisingly delicious responsibility.

Vegetable of the Week
Purple Haze Carrots: These carrots are a fun alternative to regular orange carrots. Purple carrots are genetically very old and originate from the Middle East where they were used for food and clothing dies. This variety is a long season storage carrot, and will hold well in a root cellar all winter. The storage strength of this carrot comes at the cost of tenderness and fresh eating sweetness. Roast, boil, steam or shred the purple haze carrot to unlock its sweetness.

Recipes
Carrots and Rutabagas with Lemon and Honey
This is one of my favorite, if not my favorite root vegetable recipes...

1 1/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup diced leeks


Cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Drain.

Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add lemon juice, honey, and peel. Bring to boil. Add vegetables; cook until glazed, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Mix in fresh leeks.

 Vegetable List
Quart 'o' Beets
Mokum Carrots
Champion Collards
Husk Cherries
Ailsa Craig Onions
El Jefe Peppers (Hot)
Poblano Peppers (Medium Hot)
Red Knight Bell Peppers (Sweet)
Red Norland Potatoes
Tomatillos
Slicing Tomatoes
Juliet Grape Tomatoes
Sorbet Swirl Watermelon

Notes from the Farm
Its starting to feel like roasting weather. Its the season of sweaters and apple orchards, cool stiff breezes in warm air, closing the windows at night... its fall... wether we're ready or not. In the fall, we love roasted vegetables. Onions, beets, carrots, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes all chopped and tossed together with rosemary and salt, a little olive oil and forty five minutes in oven. Its the smell and feel of a comfortable old friend, the taste of memories far enough back to barely remember... the sweet nostalgic nature of fall in New England... maybe the best season... or at least it used to be.

Vegetable of the Week
Poblano Peppers: Poblano peppers are a general group of peppers that are distinguished as being large hot peppers that have very little heat to them at all. These are the peppers of Chili Rellenos, the Mexican stuffed and fried pepper.

Generally these peppers are just a tad hot and sweetened when roasted. They add excellent flavor when roasted, chopped and added to guacamole or green salsa. Think of poblano peppers as the most helpful, mild chili pepper in the pepper family... a gateway chili pepper.

Two weeks ago I wrote about Tomatillos. If you look back to our Newsletter page in our CSA portion of our website, www.almafarm.com, you will find lots of helpful ideas for using tomatillos.

Recipes
Ziti with Poblanos and Chipotle Sauce
1 large onion, thinly sliced (2 1/4 cups)
1/2 pound fresh poblano chiles, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped bottled roasted red peppers
1 pound ziti or penne
1 tablespoon chopped canned chipotles in adobo
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1 cup chopped scallions (about 1 bunch)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Cook onion, poblanos, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in oil in a heavy medium pot over medium heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add red peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook ziti in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain ziti.

While ziti cooks, purée chipotles with sour cream in a blender.

Add purée to onion mixture with scallions, cilantro, 1/4 cup cooking water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a simmer, stirring. Add ziti and toss, moistening with additional cooking water if desired. Season with salt.