I'm so grateful to report that the oppressive heat wave finally broke and we made it through to the other side. Big shout out to our AMAZING staff and workshares for sweating it out in the fields the past couple of weeks - we couldn't do this without you! Unfortunately our large cooler A/C broke down in the middle of the heat and we made it work storing all the produce for a week in our small coolers at Brookwood and Bradley. Farmers wear many hats, and this week we wore the hat of HVAC technician, got the cooler up and running again, and we are back in the full swing of things. This past week the Vigorous Youth from Mattapan Food and Fitness Coalition began farming with us and will be joining us on Thursday mornings for the next 6 weeks, harvesting produce to sell at their farmstand at the Mattapan Community Health Center Thursday afternoons. Please go support them if you are able! We also began planting our fall crops today. It's hard to believe we will be harvesting these kale and cauliflowers wearing sweaters.
Some things to look forward to in the next few weeks are pick-your-own green beans beginning on Tuesday, cherry tomatoes following shortly behind, and melons and heirloom tomatoes just around the corner. Thank you for your support!
A haiku for the week:
I trust kale seedlings
with a firm press of the hands
their roots are ready
Best,
Hannah
Cucurbit harvest
Colorful haul
Transplanting fall crops
Fruit Share
1 pint Blueberries (MA/VT)
&
2lbs Plums (MA)
Recipe of the week:
Moosewood Green Goddess Dressing
Green Goddess Dressing was invented in the 1920's at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. It traditionally has plenty of fresh herbs and garlic, and can be used as a dressing or dip. This recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook uses mayonnaise as its base. Feel free to change that; you can use yogurt (Greek or plain), tahini or even avocado as your base! If you want to make more of a dip than a dressing, maybe add some cream cheese. Anything goes for the herbs too. Try fennel fronds, carrot tops, garlic scapes, tarragon, chives etc.
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
20 fresh basil leaves
½ cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
3-4 scallions, white and green parts, coarsely chopped
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ TB red wine vinegar
3-4 TB mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1. Place herbs in a blender or food processor and process until very finely minced.
2. Add oil and vinegar. Process for a few seconds longer and transfer to a bowl or storage container.
3. Stir in mayonnaise and add salt and pepper to taste. Add more vinegar if necessary. Whisk until uniformly blended.
4. Cover tightly and chill. Makes about 1 cup of dressing; it should last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Storage and Usage Tips:
Using Fresh Herbs
We have so many beautiful herbs in our herb garden! It truly is a cook's delight. But it can be so confusing when trying to decide how much you need. Generally speaking, one 6 inch sprig of a leafy herb (basil, parsley, mint, etc) has about ¼ cup of leaves which will become about 1½ tablespoon when chopped. Of course this varies based on leaf size, number of leaves, etc. You generally need 3 times as much fresh herb as dried herb.
The Spice Train has a handy reference guide to tell you approximately how many teaspoons are in a sprig of a particular herb. (https://thespicetrain.com/how-many-teaspoons-are-in-a-sprig/)
And when in doubt, use more!
Thank you Rockland Trust!
We are so excited to announce we have received a $2,500 donation from the Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation for 10 CSA shares that are going to the True Alliance Center. That means we have 32% of the share cost covered!
Brookwood Community Farm (BCF) is asking for additional donations to cover the remaining cost of the 10 CSA shares. True Alliance Center is a nonprofit organization established in response to the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. This faith-based charitable organization seeks to promote advocacy in the Haitian community related to education, housing, immigration, health and economic development.
Any amount helps, please write “For the True Alliance Center” in the notes section of your donation!
Veggies: We can accomodate three day switch requests for the whole season this year. That means that you can change your pick-up day in the same week you signed up for. For instance: You are an odd week Saturday pick up but will be away for your typical day. You may request to change your Saturday odd week pick up to a Tuesday or Thursday odd week pick up for one particular week (up to three times). You may only switch days of your pick-up week, you may not switch pick-up weeks (odd/even). You’ll need to request this change the week before you want to use it. To make a day switch request: Up to the week before you want to switch pick-up days by 5 PM on Friday the week before the pickup you would like to change. Email csa@brookwoodcommunityfarm.org and include your name, your usual pick-up day, and your requested pick-up day. For example, Jane Smith, Tuesday, July 2nd is my pick-up day, and I would like to pick up on Saturday, July 6th instead.
Eggs: You may pick up your egg share up to three weeks after your missed pick-up day without notice. This means you may double up on previously missed pick-ups of up to three weeks.
Fruit: You may pick up your fruit share up to 7 days after your missed pick-up day without notice. This means you may double up on previously missed pick-ups of up to one week.
Mushrooms: You may pick up your mushroom share up to 7 days after your missed pick-up day without notice. This means you may double up on previously missed pick-ups of up to one week.
Flowers: Once the flower share starts you may pick your flowers in any increment you would like. But please keep an eye on the weekly newsletter as that will have advice on the abundance of blooms and other good information! You can pick one bouquet per visit or multiples of your share amount per visit.
