Week Six, 2009

Greetings friends and members, 
I decided earlier in the day while we were out digging potatoes that I was going to try to not talk about the weather at all in this week's newsletter, but then as I sat staring blankly at the computer just now I realized it is a staple part of my weekly ramblings.  Suffice it to say that it has been really nice to have consecutive days without a drop of you know what.  And while the forecast may be a little dicey for the rest of the week, at least we've got these two days in the bank. 
 
Out in the fields there are a whole spectrum of issues related to the prolonged soggy weather and lack of warmth.  The most notable thing is the difference in the way things are growing in the high parts of the rows versus the low parts.  Our rows go with the contours of the land to prevent erosion, and as you travel down any given row there are high spots where the plants look great(honestly!) and lower spots where the plants are gone.  They've simply drown.  Take the Brussel Sprouts for instance.  In the highest part of the row they're almost three feet tall, huge, green and healthy.  As you get closer to the lowest spot they start getting smaller and smaller until finally there's just a gap until you begin to climb up towards the next high spot.  You can really see this issue as you drive around town in corn fields.  Not a good year for the low spots.  We also got some diseases related to the wet.  There are some molds, mildews and blights on leaves.  And our carrots have melted into the earth(Bacterial soft rot I think).  But as you'll continue hopefully to see in the pick-up stand there are plenty of success stories.  One of the advantages of doing a lot of different things is that there are always bound to be a bunch of things that are working.
 
We pleased to annouce that we're going to start offering you pork and beef from a neighbor's farm, Town Line Farm.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with them already, but for those of you who are not please check out their website: townlinefarmstand.com.  They''re going to have order forms available in the pick-up stand for you to pre-order selections from their list of available cuts and then they'll deliver to our pick-up spot every other week.  The forms are on the sign-in table at the farm and we'll be happy to try to answer any questions you might have. 
 
This week's share:  lettuce, greens, scallions, fresh garlic, new potatoes, fennel, squash, zucchini, cukes, arugula, radishes
 
U-pick: flowers, herbs, more peas and maybe, just maybe, green bean   

Roasted Fennel Recipe   Ingredients

• 2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar

Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with aluminum foil. Lay out piece of fennel and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.
Serves 4.
You can also do this on the grill.