News from Waltham Fields Community Farm

Waltham Fields CSA <farmmanager@communityfarms.org>
Mon, Aug 6, 2007 at 9:30 AM
Reply-To: farmmanager@communityfarms.org
To: Shareholders
August 7 - 12 
Waltham Fields Community Farm
CSA Newsletter
Distribution Week #9

In This Issue
What's in the shares this week
Pick your own crops
Crop Updates
Comings and Goings on the Farm
Local Food and Farm Events
We Are Looking For...
Quick Links
CSA Overview

Newsletter Archive

FAQs

Tips for Share Pickup

Harvest Schedule

Produce Info and Recipes
Third Sunday Gatherings

Third Sunday Gatherings are back this season! For those of you who are new to the farm or to Third Sunday Gatherings, they are a great opportunity to meet fellow shareholders and learn about various topics related to our mission. Each time, we will start with a farm-fresh potluck at five o'clock followed by a guest speaker.

August 19th - Putting Food By: An Introduction to Preservation Methods

September 16th - ***TBD*** Have Suggested Topics or Speakers? - send them to Alison Horton.

October 21st - Panel on WFCF Programs: Hunger Relief, Education, Volunteers

November 18th - Harvest Potluck - Details to follow.

December 16th - Winter Solstice - Details to follow.

For more information...

What Do We Do With Eggplant?  Two Delicious Ideas...

Eggplant Caprese with Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette

On the grill

1 pound eggplant, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
Olive oil (for grilling)
1 large plum tomato (about 4 ounces)

For the dish
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil plus sprigs for garnish
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (7- to 8-ounce) balls fresh or buffalo mozzarella cheese, drained, thinly sliced
2 pounds (about 4 large) heirloom tomatoes (preferably assorted colors), thinly sliced

Preparation
Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Arrange eggplant slices on baking sheet. Brush both sides with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until slightly charred and tender, turning occasionally and moving to cook evenly, about 5 minutes. Transfer to foil-lined baking sheet. Grill plum tomato until skin is charred and split, turning often, about 5 minutes. Transfer to sheet with eggplant and cool. Core plum tomato; place in blender. Add chopped basil, vinegar, and 1/4 cup oil. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. DO AHEAD Eggplant and dressing can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Overlap eggplant slices, cheese slices, and heirloom tomato slices on individual plates or large platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle salad with dressing and garnish with basil sprigs.

from Bon Appétit, July 2007

Tori Ritchie

 Spicy Eggplant Spread with Thai Basil
Taste-tested at the farmers' potluck.  Makes about 2 cups. 

1 pound eggplant, any variety
1 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon mushroom or dark Chinese soy sauce
2 to 3 serrano chiles, finely minced
3 tablespoons dark sesame or roasted peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chopped basil
Salt

Roast the eggplant in an oven at 425 degrees until it's soft to the point of collapsing, 30 to 40 minutes for a large Italian eggplant (may be less for smaller eggplants), allowing the skin to char in places to give the skin a smoky flavor.  Remove to a colander to cool.  Peel -- don't worry about stubborn flecks of skin -- and coarsely chop the flesh.

Mix the sugar, vinegar, soy, and shiles togather.  Heat  wok or skillet over high heat and add the oil.  When it begins to haze, add the garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds.  Add the eggplant and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the sauce and fry for 1 minute more.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped basil.  Taste for salt. 

Mound the eggplant in a bowl and garnish with small basil leaves and sesame seeds.  Serve with croutons or crackers.

from Deborah Madison's  Vegetarian Cooking for  Everyone.
  Welcome to the 2007 Harvest Season!

Ye Olde Tractor Still RunsShare pickups at the farm are:

  • Tuesday, August 7, 3-7:30 PM
  • Thursday, August 9, 3-7:30 PM
  • Sunday, August 12, 3-7:30 PM

Share pickups in Somerville are Tuesday August 7 from 5-7 PM.

Bring bags for your pickup if you have them!  We have enough bags at the farm for a while, thank you to all who have contributed.  

Bring your own household compost if you don't mind the walk to the compost piles.  Thanks to everyone who has  brought compost!
What's in the shares this week

Please note:  this list is prepared the week before we harvest your share.  Some guesswork is involved:  some things may be in the share that are not on the list, and some listed things may not be in the share.
Pumpkin from the Childrens Garden

  • Sweet Corn
  • Carrots
  • Cucumbers
  • Summer Squash
  • Eggplant
  • Peppers
  • Tomatoes
  • Red Potatoes
  • Swiss Chard
Have you checked out our ideas on our Produce Info and Recipes page?  Feel free to submit recipes and cooking ideas to us at waltham.csa.news@gmail.com!
Pick your own crops this week
  • Basil (Thai, lemon, red, sweet)
  • Epazote
  • Parsley
  • Beans
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Plum Tomatoes
  • Hot Peppers
  • Tomatilloes
  • Husk Cherries
  • Flowers
  • Perennial Herbs (that's work share Jim Dailey weeding the perennial garden below -- thank him for his great work if you see him on a Tuesday!)

Jim Dailey weeding perennialsCSA shareholders can visit the farm to pick your own Sunday through Thursday during daylight hours. Visit the red pick-your-own kiosk in the fields for a list of available crops and picking supplies.



Important Note on Pick-Your-Own Crops -- Please Read!

Several shareholders have mentioned to us that it seems like a few folks are picking more of the pick-your-own crops than the white board at the red kiosk suggests.  This makes it very tough for others to find crops, particularly by the end of the night.  Please make sure to follow these simple guidelines when doing pick-your-own:

1.  Read the white board BEFORE you harvest a crop. 

2.  Please harvest ONLY the crops that are listed on the white board.  Some crops may have a yellow and green sign in the field to delineate where they are (for example, we've marked all the hot peppers so people know where the jalapenos begin and end) but may not be ready to harvest yet.  Please use the white board as the final word, NOT the list in the newsletter, which is just our best guess on what will be ready over the course of the week.

3.  Please harvest ONLY the amount of each crop that is listed on the board.  Some crops are limited when they are first coming in, and some continue to be limited so that there will be enough for everyone on all three harvest nights.  If you harvest only the amount we suggest, there will be abundant pick-your-own for everyone.  Please also keep in mind that there are 310 other shareholders in the fields.  If there is no amount listed, you can assume that that means "take what you'll use this week." 

Please let us know if you have any questions about pick-your-own, or if you see someone else who might have questions.  You can also let us know if we're running low on a crop or if there is abundance beyond what our limit might suggest.  We're happy to help clarify things in the field!

Crop Updates

This past week marked the real transition on the farm from early summer to midsummer crops.  By the end of the week, our earliest block of tomatoes was really producing, along with our bell peppers.  We plant tomatoes in three blocks, and our middle block contains most of our heirloom varieties.  These are looking beautiful, and you should begin to see them in the share in a week or two. 

weeding the fall carrotsFall crops on the farm are looking good so far, including the big block of fall carrots that Vinny, Anna, Josh and Sara are weeding in the photo on the left, along with beets, parsnips, radicchio, celeriac, collards, kale, fall broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, and leeks.  It's always hard to imagine that we'll want these autumn comfort foods during the heat of summer, but we'll be glad for them after the tomatoes have passed!

We harvested our garlic anad most of our storage onions last week.  Peek in the greenhouse to see these crops curing -- we store them for two weeks to dry down the remaining green tissue and make them store better.  We need to keep about 300 pounds of garlic for seed for next season -- you should see the rest in the shares soon.

Our cucumbers, summer squash and melons continue to struggle at the Lyman field.  Squirrels and rabbits have joined the woodchucks in nibbling our squash, making it unmarketable.  The squirrels climb over the fence into the field and eat the actual
flowesunflowerrs of the squash plants so that the plants are unable to produce fruit.  It's very frustrating to walk down a 400 foot row of summer squash and end up with three zucchini!  The woodchucks are taking one or two bites out of each unripe watermelon as it lies in the field, creating an entry point for disease and causing the fruit to rot.  We also caught a skunk in our havahart trap last week -- what a surprise for us and for him!  He was released unharmed despite the fact that he, too, eats vegetables.  It looks like we need to reconsider our plans for these well-protected  fields for future years given the intense pest pressure from the surrounding woods. 

 Comings and Goings on the Farm

Children's Learning GardenThis is the last week for the Children's Learning Garden program's collaborations with the Waltham Parks and Recreation department and Cambridge Adventure Day Camp.  It has been incredible to watch the children learn in and care for the farm's children's garden, while also making use of the fields as an  outdoor classroom.  We are so grateful to CLG coordinator Mark Walter and all the volunteers who worked with him -- particularly Judy Fallows -- and to our farm interns, who helped make the program a success this season. 

Read more about the Children's Learning Garden...
 
Local Farm and Food Events

August 8-10, Hampshire College, Amherst:  Northeast Organic Farmers' Association Annual Conference.  Workshops on sustainable living, preserving food, and, of course, organic farming, along with a great fair, contradance and zydeco extravaganza.  Our farmers will be there!  More information at NOFA's website.

August 9-12, Boston:  American Community Gardening Association Conference.  More information at ACGA's website.

September 8, Pickling with Salt:  Part of NOFA's practical skills workshop series. More information at the calendar at NOFA's website.

September 21-23, The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners' Association's annual Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, ME. More information at MOFGA's website.
We Are Looking For...

A few good local farms to partner with to offer additional products to our shareholders in upcoming seasons, including eggs, dairy products and meat.  If any of you are associated with farms that might be able to connect with us, please let us know by contacting our farm manager, Amanda Cather, through the link below.
From all the staff at Waltham Fields Community Farm:
Meg Coward, Executive Director
Amanda Cather, Farm Manager
Andy Scherer, Assistant Farm Manager
Kate Darakjy and Martin Lemos, Assistant Growers
Josh Levin, Vincent Errico, Anna Wei, and Sara Franklin, Interns
Mark Walter, Children's Learning Garden Coordinator

Waltham Fields Community Farm | 240 Beaver Street | Waltham | MA | 02452