skip to navigation | skip to content

Newsletter Week 13: September 5-9, 2005

Hello Shareholders,

It sure is quiet around here. Since Tony, Mary, Marianne, and Phil went back to school, our crew is smaller and I feel the annual "buckling down" that I experience every September coming into my consciousness. The days are shorter and the sunshine is warm as it brightens our cooler mornings when we head out to the field. My favorite season, glorious Autumn, is almost here and I can't wait to smell it in the air. With eight more weeks to go of the CSA, we hope you're enjoying the farm's bounty of sun-loving veggies like cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. Soon the greens and brassicas will make themselves ever more present as the days get cooler. But somehow I bet a hot and humid streak is still to come! Anyways, lest I ramble on ... enjoy your week!

Labor Day Shares

Yes, we will prepare Monday shares on Monday, Labor Day, Sept. 5th, so please don't forget to come and get your share on Monday. We'll be appreciating our labor instead of pondering it over lemonade and cookies at small town parades. And we really do think that we have the better deal! J

6 Shares to Go

Here it is again - just a friendly reminder to let your friends, colleagues, co-workers and just about everyone know about the availability of shares at MHOF. Visit the website to sign up on line at www.mhof.net. A number of new folks have signed up due to your efforts. This week shares will cost:

On the Farm: Julie Rawson

Jack and I spent the past week doing as close to nothing as possible on Half Moon Lake in NH. We were shocked to not hear until Wednesday of the on-going tragedy in New Orleans. For those of you who want to target some relief money I will have here next week some options to help local farmers. I got a very graphic email from a young friend who goes to school there who lost everything and is living in a refugee camp. She commented repeatedly on the amazing support systems that are coming together to help the victims of this huge disaster. One of our Wednesday shareholders, Jennifer Hope is struggling with a serious family emergency. Her young son has had to have a liver transplant. Please keep them in your thoughts. Our daughter Ellen's boyfriend Matt is now at the zero white blood cell count period of his leukemia treatment Two days with them this weekend left me again impressed by their strength and the level of challenge that so many people have to face in life.

I am happy to return home to this very grounded place. Though so many of our crops are very tired out now (our most beautiful ever tomatoes were struck down in a little over 5 days with a killer fungus that has left completely dead plants), new crops of brassicas and all manner of greens, lettuce, a just coming in planting of summer squash, and many long season crops are at their peak right now. This week's share will include basil, cabbage, soybeans, tomatoes, cukes. Squash, leeks, Asian greens, beets, carrots, chard, potatoes, garlic, raspberries, peppers and melons. We go on pick your own flowers as of this week. Feel free to pick as many as you want. We just can't take the time to harvest them with our seriously abridged staff.

Pick up time will be noon from now on. Or come early and help us harvest! We still have 10 chickens for sale. See one of us to arrange a purchase.

In many ways the world seems upside down right now. Thank God for strong communities, connection to the earth and compassionate people who go the extra mile in times of crisis.

Recipe Of The Week

When I lived at Waterpenny Farm in Rappahannock County, Va., my favorite lunch was a grilled cheese sandwich with a thick layer of fresh pesto baked inside. I'd add slices of ripe tomato and enjoyed the most delicious and fresh lunch - perfect after working hard beneath the hot Virginia sun. For those of you who have never made pesto or are searching for a simple recipe with which to experiment, we share with you this most basic recipe. Pesto is delicious tossed into warm pasta, in salads, served with tortilla chips, mixed into rice, stirred into stir-frys, baked on Italian bread in the oven with tomato and Monterey jack cheese, over steamed vegetables, on baked potatoes, and so many other ways. Many people make pesto, spoon it into ice cube trays and when frozen, transfer cubes into freezer bag and enjoy all winter. (Personally, I can't get enough of the stuff and never have enough left over for freezing!) Write in and share with us how you like pesto - the possibilities are endless!

Basic Pesto (from One United Harvest, collected by Julie Sochacki)

Chop basil, parsley and garlic in food processor. Add the pine nuts, then the olive oil. Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Refrigerate.

Note: If I have only basil, olive oil and another kind of nut, such as walnuts, or even cashews and/or peanuts, I add those in place of the pine nuts. Experiment and try your own versions!

Cabbage is another veggie that makes great coleslaw for end-of-summer picnics, to pack in children's lunch boxes and as a side for barbecue suppers. I don't know about you but I'm using the grill to full advantage right now! Here's a coleslaw recipe that is "easy peasy" according to One United Harvest:

Fresh Jayne's Coleslaw

Mix everything together in one bowl. Chill and serve!

And another variety from the same cookbook:

Chinese Coleslaw

To toast almonds and seeds, put on cookie sheet in oven for a few minutes or toast on stove in a skillet, on medium heat and watch, stirring often; let them cool before using in slaw. In a large bowl, combine cabbage and green onions.

Dressing:

Mix dressing together and pour over cabbage and green onions. Add crushed noodles, toasted almonds and sesame seeds just before serving.

Enjoy all the tastiness of this week. See you next time!

Best Wishes,
Kathy