Week 21: Crooknecks!

These are Pennsylvania Dutch Crooknecks.  They are an heirloom winter squash renowned for their great flavor and for the ratio of squash that is seed-free, making it a little easier to prepare.  Don't be intimidated by their size.  You can chop off the part you want to use immediately and keep the rest in your fridge for weeks.  Or you can roast the entire thing and freeze a bunch of it for some future use (soup is my favorite).  Or maybe you don't want to use any of it just yet? All of our winter squashes will keep for months, unrefrigerated, as long as they haven't been cut or nicked.  If you don't have plans for your crookneck, butternuts or acorns right away, tuck them on a shelf until you feel inspired--some wintery holiday when you can amaze your family with your fantastic pumpkin pie (crooknecks make a better pie than orange pumpkins anyway).   
 

Announcements

• Garlic - new wholesale prices
  You can now purchase 10 pounds or more for $6/pound ($8/pound for non-members)
  For fewer than 10 pounds, the price remains $8/pound for CSA members and $12/pound for non-members. Pay with cash or check (made out to CBF), or purchase on-line HERE. (For now, this link is for the $8/lb price only. We'll adjust for the new wholesale option shortly.)

• We're now welcoming volunteers on Saturdays! Our friends from the education department have gone back to their normal, educating duties, so we're hoping to get some help with harvests (Tuesdays and Fridays) and field work (Thursdays and Saturdays). We can take up to 10 people at a time, and adults can take one CSA share in exchange for 5 hours of work. Call the farm line to sign up: 301-627-4662.

• Do you have a lawn? As a steward of your land, the choices you make can either help clean the Bay or pollute it. You can sequester carbon or release it. TONIGHT the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Glenstone Museum are holding a webinar with experts ready to give you ideas, and none to soon--fall is the perfect time to establish new plants in your yard.

• Has this year inspired you to wonder why our food system is so fragile? Do you have ideas about how to make it more resilient? Future Harvest would like to hear your ideas! Let's use this crisis to create system that will stand up to our next crisis more successfully.

• If you're thinking of owning a farm business someday, a great place to start is with the Future Harvest Beginner Farmer Training Program. They are accepting applications now for 2021, and the deadline is soon--October 16.

This week's share

• 2 heads garlic

• 1 Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck

• 1 Eggplant

• 1/2 pound Sweet Peppers

• 1 Watermelon Radish

• 1 small piece of fresh ginger
  
  Choose one

• Spicy Mix (this week's blend is heavy with tokyo bekana, so it is quite mild)

• Arugula

• Tatsoi

• Collards
  
  You may also add on

• Okra - 6 oz

• Chilies, mild or hot - 6 oz

Recipes

           
Wondering what to do with a watermelon radish? Here are some great links for some ideas:

• https://grist.org/food/whats-a-watermelon-radish-and-what-do-i-do-with-it/ (pickling recipe)

• https://www.peelwithzeal.com/roasted-watermelon-radishes/ (roasting)

• Or you can just slice it up and add it to your salad! The green skin has some tough fibers, so we recommend either peeling off the green layer, or slicing the radish very thinly.

The Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck can be used the same way you would butternut squash.  The world abounds with excellent squash soup recipes, but if you haven't found one you like yet, here's a place to start: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/squash-soup-recipe2-1956330.  Don't add the honey until you've tasted the roasted squash--it might be sweet enough that you don't want it.  The cream and butter can be easily substituted with soymilk and olive oil.  Sometimes I add pearl barley to soups to make it a more filling meal.  And some other additions that I find delicious are blue cheese, harissa (or some smoky hot sauce of your choice) and a topping of roasted squash seeds.  Also, I sometimes use apples or apple cider as a sweetener instead of honey.  

Have you been roasting squash seeds?  Don't throw them out until you've tried it!  When you scoop the seeds out of your raw winter squash, pull them away from the stringy orange bits (no need to be picky--a little bit adds to the flavor), and put them on a baking sheet.  Pour a generous amount of olive oil on top and sprinkle some salt (smoky paprika and cayenne are also good additions, but keep it simple your first try).  Mix around the seeds so they all have a coating of oil, and spread them out on the pan.  Then roast them in a hot oven (400F is good) or even toasting in your toaster oven works.  Cook them until they're brown.  You'll often hear them start to pop when they're about done.  It helps to mix around the seeds midway, but is not necessary.   

That little piece of ginger in your share this week is a tiny nugget of gold.  It is packed with strong ginger flavor but without the fibers.  There's no need to peel it.  You can makea healthy, energizing tea with your ginger, toss bits of it in your smoothies, or use it as you would regular ginger in any recipe.  If you can't bring yourself to use it this week, you should freeze it to keep the strong flavor.  

Coming Soon

• Next week we're planning to harvest the bok choi, and it's beautiful.

• Once we've finished the watermelon radishes (next week? week 23?) we'll start giving out some daikon radishes.

• Next week we might offer a choice of some other unique squash varieties.

• The rest of the share next week should be about the same as this one. The peppers, eggplant and okra are slowing down, so those weights are getting lighter each week.

We'd like to end with this little gem.  We've been seeing tree frogs in our okra field.  Of the seven classes of vertebrate animals, amphibians (including frogs) are suffering the greatest rates of extinction, and they are particularly vulnerable to pesticides because they breath through their skin.  You can feel reassured that your organic farm is a refuge for these beautiful little creatures.  


Photo by David Tana.

Have a wonderful week, everyone,
The Clagett Farm Team

Another beautiful bag of vegetables

Lacinato Kale and Cabbage are freshly weeded and coming along nicely

Announcements

• Week 20 of 26! Just a month and a half left of fresh-from-the-farm salads.

• Garlic is still for sale in bulk!
  Only $8 per pound for CSA members ($12/lb for non-members)
  Pay with cash or check (made out to CBF), or purchase on-line HERE. This link is for CSA members only.

• We have some bad news. The sweet potatoes are not sizing up the way they normally do. We've never seen a sweet potato crop that looks so healthy and (relatively) weed-free but isn't growing potatoes. Our best guess is that much of the growing season was overcast, and the 2 fields they are in are shaded part of the day by tall trees. Thank goodness we had such a surprising abundance of winter squash! They substitute for each other nicely. We will wait as long as we can to dig the potatoes. You can expect to see a few in the last or penultimate share (week 25 or 26).

This week's share

• Garlic (2 heads)

• Acorn squash (2)

• Eggplant (1.5 pounds)

• Sweet Peppers (3/4 pound)

• White turnips & red radishes (a few)

• Green Tomatoes (a few)

• Choose one 6-ounce bag of greens: spicy mix (this week's mix is heavy on arugula), tokyo bekana (a mustard that looks and tastes like lettuce), red russian kale or collards

• Wednesday and Thursday get a small bag of green, yellow and purple beans. Saturday members got their beans last week.

• Optional: 1/4 pound okra

• Optional: 1/2 pound mixed chilies

Recipes

Winter Squash Gnocchi with Brown Butter and Sage

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic, top third cut off

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for rubbing

• 1 pound baking potatoes

• One 2-pound butternut squash (or other winter squash)—peeled, seeded and cut into 2-inch pieces

• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese

• 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

• Kosher salt

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

• 1 stick unsalted butter

• 10 sage leaves, thinly sliced

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, finely chopped

• Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings, for serving

How to Make It

Step 1    

Preheat the oven to 375º. Place racks in the lower and middle thirds of the oven. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil, wrap it tightly in foil and roast on the bottom rack of the oven for 50 minutes. Lightly rub the potatoes with olive oil, prick them all over with a fork and bake on the lower rack for 45 minutes, until fork-tender. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Add the squash and rub with olive oil. Bake on the upper rack for about 30 minutes, stirring once, until soft.

Step 2    

Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins into a small bowl and mash to a paste. Peel the hot potatoes and pass them through a ricer into a large bowl. Add the hot squash to the ricer and pass it into the bowl with the potatoes. Let cool slightly. Add the egg yolks, ricotta, parsley, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of the mashed roasted garlic (reserve any extra for another use). Stir until combined. Sprinkle on the 1 1/4 cups of flour and gently stir it in. Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently until smooth but still slightly sticky.

Step 3    

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and dust with flour. Cut the gnocchi dough into 5 pieces and roll each piece into a 3/4-inch-thick rope. Cut the ropes into 1/2-inch pieces and transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet.

Step 4    

Lightly oil another baking sheet. In a large, deep skillet of simmering salted water, cook half of the gnocchi until they rise to the surface, then simmer them for 1 to 2 minutes longer, until cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the gnocchi to the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi.

Step 5    

In a large nonstick skillet, melt the butter over moderate heat and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the sage and thyme and cook for 20 seconds. Add the gnocchi and cook for 1 minute, tossing gently. Season with salt and serve, passing the cheese shavings at the table.

 Make Ahead

The gnocchi can be prepared through Step 3 and frozen on the baking sheet, then transferred to a resealable plastic bag and frozen for up to 1 month. Boil without defrosting.

A few more recipes for winter squash that we liked:

• Black Lentil and Harissa-Roasted Veggie Bowl - I don't usually cook with black lentils, and found these delightful. If you can't find black lentils, try substituting with french lentils, which also stay relatively firm. I used a butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes and it worked beautifully. Also, I didn't have any fresh ripe tomatoes, so I threw some dried tomatoes into the lentils and that seemed like a good substitute. This recipe is vegan and grain-free.

• Creamy Squash Risotto with Toasted Pepitas - This recipe takes a little while. I made the squash puree on one day and then the risotto on another, so it didn't seem like such a bear. I don't normally keep white miso paste around but it was definitely worth having for this dish--it gives the squash a complex, umami flavor. And don't leave out the pepitas with smoked paprika--they do a lot to boost the excitement of this dish.

Coming Soon

• Still crossing our fingers for the first frost to hold off for as long as possible! For eggplant, peppers and okra, a hard frost will be their doom! Be sure to get your fill while they are still around.
  

• While the cool weather slows down some crops, it gives a boost to the greens, turnips and radishes. Watermelon radishes, bok choi and tat soi are all coming in the next few weeks.

Thanks so much for all your smiling faces.  It's certainly a relief to be part of a warm and inclusive community.  Robust health to you and all the people you love!
The Clagett Farm Team

Butternuts are the best

We sure do love this fall weather.  Can you believe this wagon-load of winter squash?  And there's more still to pick from the field!  Photos by Elissa Planz.   
 

Announcements

• CBF is hosting a Tuesday evening series of classes about the Chesapeake Bay and how to help. We're especially welcoming residents of Prince George's County and Montgomery County to this fall's series. Now is a great time to get involved. Learn more HERE.

• Your last week of CSA shares is November 11, 12 and 14. We are currently in week 19 of 26.

This week's share

• Garlic, 2 heads

• Winter Squash, 2 butternuts!

• Sweet peppers, 5-7

• Eggplant, 1 pound

• Green Tomatoes, 1-2

• Choose: quarter pound salad mix or half pound collards

• Choose: half pound chilies or okra

Recipes

• I love roasting vegetables. It's so easy! Give yourself time to heat up the oven to about 400 degrees F, roll your big chunks of veggies in oil and salt, lay them in a single layer on a pan, and about 25 minutes later (depends on size and vegetable) you have transformed your share to something even picky eaters can't resist. It's like magic. Be sure to include garlic and chunks of onion because they make the whole house smell fabulous.

• Epicurious posted a great guide to roasting vegetables. We pulled out a few of the relevant ones below:

  • Eggplant: You’ll notice that a lot of recipes for cooking eggplant begin by instructing you to dice or slice, then salt the pieces and set them aside to draw out the moisture. That’s great for sautéing, where the cooking is usually quick, but it isn’t really necessary for roasting eggplant.
    What is necessary: high heat and plenty of room. Crank the oven to 450°F, then toss eggplant with oil and salt, lay in a single layer on a sheet pan, and roast for 20–25 minutes, checking early if your pieces are small.

  • Peppers: What we tend to call roasted peppers aren’t technically roasted—usually. Instead, they’re blistered on a grill, under a broiler, or right on the eye of a gas stove until the skin is blackened. Then they’re placed in a covered bowl to steam, and finally the blackened skin is rubbed away with the help of a kitchen towel to reveal the tender pepper flesh. From there you can marinate them if you like.
    However, peppers can be roasted the traditional way too. Cut bell peppers in half to make boats that can be stuffed, then pull out the seeds and white pithy ribs by hand. Toss with oil and salt and roast cup side down at 375°F for 35–45 minutes. If you like, stuff with cooked rice or tomatoes and cheese and return to the oven to warm through or melt.

  • Winter Squash: Here we go with the pumpkin, the butternut, the acorn, the spaghetti, the kabocha, and all the many, many varieties of autumn and winter squash that abound throughout the year’s coldest days.
    Whether or not you choose to peel the squash is entirely up to you. I find that, generally, squash skin tastes great and peeling it only results in slippery, hard-to-handle veg. (Watch your fingers!) And for the squash skin that’s a little too tough to eat: The flesh scrapes away easily after it’s cooked.
    Squash roasts best when the flesh makes contact with the pan, but if slicing into a large, firm squash sounds like Dangertown to you, go ahead and prick it a few times to let the steam escape, then roast it whole (425°F for about 30 minutes), or prick and then toss it in the microwave to soften for about 8 minutes on high. Then halve or cut into slices, wedges, or chunks, discard the seeds, drizzle with oil and season with salt, and roast for another 20 minutes.
    If you’re roasting squash that hasn’t been precooked, turn the heat down to about 400°F and cook for 40–50 minutes, tossing once or twice, until browned.

U-Pick

• Not much has changed on the u-pick list this week, except that flower pickings are slim (the zinnias bit the dust) and the okra is super tall! To pick the okra, you have to gently bend the plant down toward the ground to reach the small pods about a foot below the tip of the plant.

If you can believe it, this was taken 3 weeks ago, and now the okra is over 12 feet! This photo of our normal-sized co-worker, Kellie Fiala, was taken by David Tana.
 

Coming Soon

• This is probably the last week of green tomatoes. Have you tried tossing chunks of one into your stir fry or salad? Or you can treat it like a tomatillo and make the last fresh salsa picante of the season.

• You'll start seeing a few sweet turnips soon to go with your salad greens.

• Hopefully the photos make it clear that you have lots more winter squash for the weeks to come, particularly acorn and butternut.

• Sweet potatoes still have a lot of sizing up to do. Let's hope we don't get an early frost.

• Peppers, eggplant and okra are hanging in there but have slowed way down. They'll die with the first frost. We're taking bets on how tall the okra will be before it finally dies (over 12 feet at press time!).

If you need to keep your spirits up these days, take a deep breath and enjoy this perfect weather.  There's all kinds of reasons to take to the streets these days.

Thanks so much for being our members,
The Clagett Farm Team

Acorn squash, and your first taste of fall salad greens

This week's share

Garlic - 2 heads
Acorn Squash - 2
Sweet Peppers - 4
Tomatoes - 1 ripening, several green
Salad mix - 1 small bag
Basil - 1 large bag

Optional:
Okra - 1.5 pounds
Hot or mild chili medley -  6 ounces
Eggplant - 2.5 pounds

*numbers vary depending on the size of the vegetables,
 everyone gets about the same weights 

The varieties in your salad mix, clockwise from bottom left: Red Russian Kale, Tokyo Bekana Mustard, Astro Arugula, Mizuna Mustard, Red Mustard, Tat soi.  Later, you might have a choice of some of these varieties alone, so this is your chance to try them all.
 

Next coming weeks... 

While things like the tomatoes have faded away, this weather has made room for the fall crops.  You'll get a tiny amount of salad greens this week just as a start.  Soon we'll also have kale and collards.  We expect to keep harvesting eggplant, sweet peppers, and okra until October.  And of course, you'll get garlic until the end!

As mentioned last week in the email we will be starting our sweet potato harvest in about a month and right now the field looks great!  In the meantime, we're giving out winter squash--you'll see us cycle through a number of different delicious varieties over the weeks to come.  
 

Reminders... 

Garlic for sale in bulk

Only $8 per pound for CSA members

(We'll be charging $12 per pound to non-CSA members once we know our CSA members have had their fill.)  

*Cash or check (made out to CBF), or purchase on-line HERE. This link is for CSA members only.

Note that streaks and spots of purple, black and brown are normal, natural colors to see on our garlic.  

Curious what the Chesapeake Bay Foundation is up to? 

There's a lot!  Here's just a few highlights:

• We just sued the EPA for failing to hold Pennsylvania accountable.

• Your farm just got a cameo in a snazzy video

• The education program has begun live on-line classes for students that are incredibly engaging, in spite of being confined to your computer screen.

U-pick 

Continue to sign up for u-picking through the link here: U-PICK SIGN UP

The following are available for u-pick:

• Okra (field B2)- This field is way out there, and you will need to walk a long way on foot to reach it. When you enter the farm you will keep right at the first fork to go towards the main office. You may park near the garage area and from here continue on foot up the road that leads behind the garage. As you are going up the hill you will be turning left once you see a covered firewood pile. The gate you come to is for the field B4, but B2 will be the small field connected to it in the far left corner. (Okra is an itchy plant. Please wear long sleeves and gloves, and bring pruners!)

• Flowers - You can pick any flowers you see on the farm. There are still zinnias in field D in the middle. The sunflowers in field G2 have matured into seed, which you can feed your wild birds or save to plant next year.

• Herbs - Everything on this list is behind the washing station. If you desire more Genovese Basil (the one traditionally used for pesto), it will be located down near the zinnias in field D (the big field you pass on your right as you're driving into the farm).

  • Basils (Genovese, Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon)

  • Cutting celery

  • Garlic Chives (with edible flowers)

  • Lemon Balm (looking especially lush right now

  • Lemongrass

  • Lemon Verbena

  • Marjoram

  • Onion Chives

  • Oregano

  • Sage

  • Shiso

  • Sorrel

  • Spearmint

  • Sweet potato greens

  • Thyme

Feeling like Fall

This week's share

Garlic - 2 heads
Small Pie Pumpkin - 1
Sweet Peppers - 6 to 8
Eggplant - 2 to 3 
Tomatoes - 1.25 pounds

Optional:
Okra - 1.5 pounds
Hot or mild chili medley -  6 ounces

*numbers vary depending on the size of the vegetables,
 everyone gets about the same weights 


 

Updates

• Garlic for sale in bulk

Only $8 per pound for CSA members
(We'll be charging $12 per pound to non-CSA members once we know our CSA members have had their fill.)  
*Cash or check (made out to CBF), or purchase on-line HERE. This link is for CSA members only.
Note that purple, black and brown are normal, natural colors to see on our garlic.  

• Photographed above are some members of our crew (from left: Matt, Jared and Ronnie) taking back some of the flower and herb garden behind the wash station from all the weeds this past Saturday. Thanks guys!

• Remember when we forecast an early demise of the tomatoes and winter squash due to the frequent rains we had in June, July and August? We had 10 rain events in August for a total of 16 inches, which is a lot! The tomatoes gave us a bumper crop in their short lives, but alas, they've petered out prematurely. And yet! The winter squash looks amazing! This week you're getting a little pie pumpkin, which is both ornamental and edible. In the coming weeks, you should see some butternuts, acorns and more. We're relieved and delighted. And speaking of fall crops to come, the sweet potato crop also looks healthy and abundant. We expect to start digging them in about a month, and they need a week to cure.

• One of our members asked why we sell the garlic to you instead of including it all in your shares. Garlic is a high-value per pound item that stores well and lends itself to keeping some on hand to sell. It's also a crop that grows relatively easily for us, and we usually have more than most of our members want. It makes sense to give a moderate amount of garlic to all of you, and then sell the rest. That way we can make some additional revenue to help cover the cost of the tens of thousands of pounds of produce that we donate. This year, more than ever, we're having to grow more and spend more time packaging your shares, without charging more to you, our members. And consider, also, that you're getting a deep discount on garlic if you decide to purchase some extra. Thanks!

U-pick 

Continue to sign up for u-picking through the link below 
U-PICK SIGN UP

Please still note there is NO u-pick of tomatoes and chilies.  Those plants have slowed down production.

The following are available for u-pick:

• Okra (field B2)- This field is way out there, and you will need to walk a long way on foot to reach it. When you enter the farm you will keep right at the first fork to go towards the main office. You may park near the garage area and from here continue on foot up the road that leads behind the garage. As you are going up the hill you will be turning left once you see a covered firewood pile. The gate you come to is for the field B4, but B2 will be the small field connected to it in the far left corner. (Okra is an itchy plant. Please wear long sleeves and gloves, and bring pruners!)

• Flowers - You can pick any flowers you see on the farm, including the Sunflowers in field G2.

• Herbs - Everything on this list is behind the washing station. If you desire more Genovese Basil (the one traditionally used for pesto), it will be located down near the zinnias in field D (the big field you pass on your right as you're driving into the farm).

  • Basils (Genovese, Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon)

  • Cutting celery

  • Garlic Chives (with edible flowers)

  • Lemon Balm (looking especially lush right now

  • Lemon Verbena

  • Marjoram

  • Onion Chives

  • Oregano

  • Sage

  • Shiso

  • Sorrel

  • Spearmint

  • Summer Savory

  • Thyme

  • New - We have a small patch of sweet potatoes in the herb garden which you may cut for their delicious greens.

 

Recipes

GRILLED EGGPLANT CAPRESE

Grilled eggplant caprese features perfectly grilled eggplant, juicy summer tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. It’s an easy, healthy and delicious summer dish perfect for using seasonal eggplant! (gluten-free, vegetarian, nut-free)

 

Ingredients

• 1 small eggplant, cut horizontally into 1/2” slices

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• Coarse sea salt

• freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

• Slice eggplant, tomato and mozzarella into 1/2″ rounds using a sharp knife.

• Heat a grill or grill pan to medium high heat.

• Brush eggplant with oil on both sides and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

• Grill eggplant for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from grill.

• Arrange eggplant on a platter, alternating with tomato and mozzarella slices.

• Drizzle with balsamic reduction or balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with basil and serve.

Notes

• Don’t be afraid to oil and season the eggplant well! This will bring out the best flavor and texture.

• Serve warm, cold, or room temperature. Anything goes!

• Serve with toasted sourdough bread for a truly delicious meal, appetizer, or side.

• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge

• 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2” slices

• 8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/2” slices

• Fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

• Balsamic reduction, or balsamic vinegar
  
  
  

Thanks so much for being our members,
The Clagett Farm Team

Where did August go?

This week's share

Garlic - 1 

Sweet Peppers - 8 to 10
Eggplant - 1 to 3
Squash - 1 or 2 
Tomatoes - 4
Okra - 1 pound
(numbers vary depending on the size of the vegetables so everyone gets about the same weights)
Choice of hot chili medley, mild chili medley, garlic chives or tulsi basil
 

Updates

This week we will be starting to offer garlic for sale in bulk
Only $8 per pound for CSA members
(We'll be charging $12 per pound to non-CSA members once we know our CSA members have had their fill.)  Sorry, we misstated the price last week!  
*Cash or check (made out to CBF).  We'll have on-line payment for garlic set up soon.*
Note that it is normal for our garlic to have streaks of purple, black and brown.  We're not sure why garlic in the store is so much whiter--we attribute it to the varieties we grow and our natural process of curing.

There is NO u-pick of tomatoes and chilies.  Those plants have slowed down production.

This adorable skink caught Carrie's attention as she was photographing your chilies.  These native lizards are beneficial--they don't bite, and they eat insects.  Thanks, skinks!
The chilies in the photo at the top of this e-mail are arranged in order of heat, from least hot on the left to most hot on the right: Mellow Star Shishito, Bastan Poblano, Highlander Anaheim, Red Ember Cayenne, Aji Chinchi Amarillo, El Jefe Jalapeno, Hot Rod Serrano, and Hot Paper Lantern Habanero.  All of them ripen red except the yellow one, so the ones in your bag might be red (ripe) or green (unripe).  Both are hot, but the ripe ones might be hotter. 

U-pick 

Continue to sign up for u-picking through the link below 

U-PICK SIGN UP

The following are available for u-pick:

• Okra (field B2)- This field is way out there, and you will need to walk a long way on foot to reach it. When you enter farm you will keep right at the first fork to go towards the main office. You may park near the garage area and from here continue on foot up the road that leads behind garage. As you are going up the hill you will be turning left once you see a covered firewood pile. The gate you come to is for the field B4 but B2 will be the small field connected to it in the far left corner. (Okra is an itchy plant wear long sleeves and gloves, and bring pruners!)

• Flowers - You can pick any flowers you see on the farm, but in particular, the Sunflowers are blooming nicely (those are located in field G2, which is just past the washing station, where you pick up your share).

• Herbs - Everything on this list is behind the washing station. If you desire more Genovese Basil (the one traditionally used for pesto), it will be located down near the zinnias in field D (the big field you pass on your right as you're driving into the farm).
  Basils (Genovese, Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon)
  Cutting Celery (this is a celery grown for its leaves rather than stems)
  Garlic Chives (with edible flowers)
  Lemon Balm (looking especially lush right now
  Lemon Verbena
  Marjoram
  Onion Chives
  Oregano
  Sage
  Shiso
  Sorrel
  Spearmint
  Summer Savory
  Thyme

 

Recipes

Roasted Pasta in a Dutch Oven

• One of your fellow members, Maria Foscarinis, recommended putting bow tie pasta into an oven-safe pot with the raw tomatoes and other ingredients of pasta sauce (chopped vegetables, garlic, onion, herbs) and roasting the mix in a hot oven until the sauce and pasta are cooked to your liking. Roasting the tomatoes intensifies the flavor and caramelizes some of the sugars, and there's no need to boil the pasta separately.

Stuffed Sweet Peppers

• Long grain white rice – leftover rice works great if you have some.

• Sweet Peppers- bell-shaped I cut tops off, others are halved

• Olive oil – only a little is needed for sauteing.

• Ground beef (optional of course can always sub in extra veggies!)

• Yellow onion and fresh garlic

• Tomato sauce

• Parsley, Oregano

• Mozzarella cheese

How to Make

Precook peppers so they are soft

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cook rice according to package instructions.

• Meanwhile, trim about 1/4-inch from tops of bell peppers and halve smaller peppers, Then remove stems, ribs and seeds.

• Fill a baking dish just large enough to fit peppers with about 1/2-inch of water then place peppers upside down in water, cover tightly with foil and bake 20 minutes.
  
  Making the filling

• Meanwhile heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over-medium high heat. Add onion and saute 3 minutes.

• Move onions to one far side of the skillet. Add beef in chunks, season with salt and pepper then let sear until browned on bottom, about 2 – 3 minutes.

• Break up beef and toss with onions and continue to cook 2 minutes, add garlic and cook until beef is cooked through about 1 minute longer.

• Remove from heat!

• Stir in tomatoes, half of the tomato sauce (about 1/2 cup) save some to drizzle on at the end , cooked rice, parsley, Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  
  Mix it all together

• Reduce oven temperature to 350. Turn par-baked peppers upright and fill with beef filling.

• Pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Cover with foil and continue to bake 20 minutes.

• Remove from oven, sprinkle with cheese, return to oven and bake until peppers have reached desired tenderness, about 10 – 20 minutes (thinner peppers will be done near lesser time thicker near greater). Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm. Enjoy!

Thanks so much for being our members,
The Clagett Farm Team

Summer bounty continues

These are some wonderful students (and very hard-working, patient parents) from Key School and Broadneck High School, picking okra for the Saturday share and for donation to SHABACH.  They have been helping us harvest each Friday since early July, sometimes bringing helpers from Broadneck High School.  We're especially appreciative of their work because they come every week, and work independently without a great deal of instruction.  Thank you!  Photo by V. Robbins.

 

This week's share

Garlic - 1 head
Onions - 1/4 pound
Sweet Peppers - several each of green, red and orange
Eggplants - 2-3
Squash - 1-2
Tomatoes - about 4 pounds

Optional:  a small bag each of hot chili peppers and okra, for those of you who like them.

  Next week we will be starting to offer garlic for sale in bulk
Only $5 per pound for CSA members
*Cash only and we ask for everyone purchasing to use exact change.  We will provide a dropbox for contactless payment*
 

U-pick 

Continue to sign up for u-picking through the link below 

U-PICK SIGN UP!!!

Everything is the same except we've removed chili peppers from u-pick--due to popularity the plants have asked for a break in order to keep growing peppers!

Tomatoes (field F) - all of the tomato varieties, IMPORTANT- these are not all tied up so be very careful where you step so as to not break plants or crush any good tomatoes!
Going down the field varieties include:
      Sun golds, orange cherry tomatoes 
      Sunrise bumble bee, larger striped cherry tomatoes 
     Garden peach, small, yellow, fuzzy with blushes of pink when ripe  
     Green Zebra, yellow/green with green stripes 
      Verona, red plum
      Roma, red oblong  
      New Girl, red slicing tomato

• Okra (field B2)- this field is way out there, and you will need to walk a long way on foot to reach it. When you enter the farm you will keep right to go towards main office. You may park near the garage/shed beside the other vehicles, and from here continue on foot up the road that leads behind garage. As you are going up the hill you will be turning left once you see a covered firewood pile. The gate you come to is for the field B4 but B2 will be the small field connected to it in the far left corner. (Okra is an itchy plant wear long sleeves and gloves, and bring pruners!)

• Any Flowers you see on the farm, but in particular, the Sunflowers are blooming nicely ( those are located next to the large parking lot on the same side of the driveway as the washing station). Some Zinnias could probably still be found (in the large field that is passed on your right on the way into the farm across from the 3 barns, in field "D")

• Herbs (which for the most part are located behind the washing station, if you desire more "Regular" Basil it will be located down in field D near the zinnias)
  
  Basils (Genovese "Regular", Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon)
  Cutting Celery (this is a celery grown for its leaves rather than stems)
  Garlic Chives (now with edible flowers)
  Lemon Balm
  Lemon Verbena
  Marjoram
  Onion Chives
  Oregano
  Sage
  Shiso
  Sorrel
  Spearmint
  Summer Savory
  Thyme
  

Recipes 

Roasted Eggplant and Chickpea Stew
Good way to use up eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes!

Yield: About 6 servings
 

Ingredients:
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds  potatoes
2 large peppers
vegetable oil
1 cup packed basil leaves
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
3 large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon roasted ground cumin
2 large onions, peeled and cut into eighths
1 pound eggplant, cut into long strips
2-3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (1 can, rinsed)

Procedure:

• Preheat the broiler. Bring 6 cups water to boil and add 1 teaspoon salt. Slice the potatoes lengthwise about 1/2 inch thick, boil them for 5 mintues, and drain. Halve the peppers lenthwise, press to flatten them, then brush with vegetable oil. Broil, cut side down, on a baking sheet until blistered but not charred. Stack them on top of one another and set aside to steam. When cool, remove the skins and cut the pieces in half. Set the oven temperature at 350 F.

• Coarsely chop the basil, cilantro, and garlic, then puree in a small food processor with the olive oil, cumin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

• Toss all the vegetables with 1 teaspoon salt, some freshly ground pepper, and the herb mixture. Using your hands, rub the herb mixture into the vegetables, especially the eggplant, then add the chickpeas and toss once more. Transfer everything to an earthenware gratin dish or a casserole dish . Rinse out the herb container with 1/2 cup water and pour it over all. Cover the gratin dish tightly with foil and bake until tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil, brush the exposed vegetables with the juices, and bake for 20 minutes more. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet, spread bread in a single layer and bake until dry and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
  
  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar, and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add toasted bread and basil, toss to combine. Let sit 20 - 30 minutes to allow bread to soak up liquid. Top with dollops of ricotta and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
  

Fried or Baked Okra 

Still weary of slimy okra? If you haven't tried them breaded and fried/baked then you should definitely give this a try as it is a delicious side dish!
 

Ingredients 

10 pods okra, sliced in 1/4 inch pieces
1 egg, beaten
1 cup cornmeal
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ cup vegetable oil ( if frying ons stove top)

Procedure:
For breading I typically toss the okra into the dry mix of cornmeal plus seasonings, then dip into eggwash, then back into cornmeal mixture. Once they are breaded you have the choice to fry them up in oil on the stove top or Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. On a rimmed baking sheet, spread bread in a single layer and bake until dry and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Also heard they were pretty tasty air fried too....

Meanwhile,if you want to spruce them up, in a large bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, vinegar, and an extra drizzle of oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add toasted bread and basil, toss to combine. Let sit 20 - 30 minutes to allow bread to soak up liquid. Top with dollops of ricotta and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.



Let us know if you give them try and if you are doing anything exciting with your summer bounty so far this year! 

Thanks so much for being our members,
The Clagett Farm Team

Week 14: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

This week's Share

Garlic, 1 head
Onions, ~ 1/2 pound
Shallots, ~ 1/2 pound
Eggplant, 1.5 pounds
Sweet Peppers, 4 mix of ripe (red & orange) and unripe (green)
Tomatoes, so many!
Squash, 1
Choose: 1.5 lbs okra or 0.5 lb hot chili peppers
 

U-Pick 

Continue to sign up for a slot through link below! 

                            U-Pick SIGN UP!!!!                             

Newly added!!! 

• Tomatoes (field F) - all of the larger tomato varieties below the cherries are up for grabs, IMPORTANT- these are not tied up so be very careful where you step so as to not break plants or crush any good tomatoes!!
  Going down the field varieties include:
  Garden peach, small, yellow, fuzzy with blushes of pnk when ripe
  Verona,red roma/plum
  Roma, red larger plum shaped
  New Girl, red slicing tomato

• Chili Peppers (field F)- much easier to find as they are in same field as the cherry tomatoes across from wash station/ pick up location, they will be closer to the greenhouse. VERY IMPORTANT- Please Please Please use pruners to harvest these as they are very fragile plants!!!
  
  

• Okra (field B2)- this field is way out there, and you will need to walk a long way on foot to reach it. When you enter farm you will stay straight to go towards main office. You may park near the garage/ shed area as to not block driveway, and from here continue on foot up the road that leads behind garage/shed.
  As you are going up the hill you will be turning left once you see a covered firewood pile. The gate you come to is for the field B4 but B2 will be the small field connected to it in the far left corner. (Okra is an itchy plant wear long sleeves and gloves, and bring pruners!)

U-Pick Items Continuing on....

• Cherry Tomatoes and a few of the Sunrise Bumblebee ( Located in the fenced in field across from washing station in field "F" in the first 2 rows - Again be careful in areas not tied up!!

• Any Flowers you see on the farm , but in particular, the Sunflowers are blooming nicely ( those are located next to the large parking lot used for u-picking that is in field "G2") Some Zinnias could probably still be found ( in the large field that is passed on your right on the way into the farm across from the 3 barns, in field "D")

• Herbs ( which for the most part are located behind the washing station, if you desire more "Regular" Basil it will be located down in field D nearby the zinnias)
  
  Basils (Genovese "Regular", Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon"Fancy")
  Cutting Celery (this is a celery grown for its leaves rather than stems)
  Garlic Chives
  Lemon Balm
  Lemon Verbena
  Marjoram
  Onion Chives
  Oregano
  Parsley (these are starting to flower and aren't producing many leaves)
  Sage
  Shiso
  Sorrel
  Spearmint
  Summer Savory
  Thyme

Announcements 

• Too much rain dancing!!!! As much as the weather as been our friend this year, we are finally starting to deal with TOO MUCH rain. Plants generally thrive in periods of moderate dry and wet. The past couple of weeks have left us in quite a period of wet.
  
  This weather causes some trouble for tomatoes and winter squash as they do not like having wet leaves. Sadly that's the way of farming, but let's enjoy what mother nature has already given us this harvest season so far!!!

Other Info 

• Remember NOW is the time to request your absentee ballot if you are a Maryland resident!

• We continue to place bruised, misshapen and damaged but usable vegetables on a cart near our compost pile. Help yourselves! You may also add your own compost to that nearby pile.

• We've just past the halfway point of your CSA season. If you are a 26-week member and have missed shares, consider doubling them now while we have plenty.

• Need another easy way to use those 6 pounds of tomatoes before they go bad? Wash them, cut out the stems, and drop them into a crockpot on low. Leave them to simmer for a long, long time (overnight works). Now that it's sauce, zip it with an immersion blender to break up the skins (or feed it through a food mill to remove the skins). Then put the sauce in jars or bags and, once they're cooled, put them in the freezer. Easy!

Hoping for sunnier days ahead!! 

Thanks so much for being our members,

The Clagett Farm Team

Week 13: Our sweet peppers are ripe and the Asian pears are ready!!

This week's share

Garlic, 1 head
Onions, a few
Shallots, a few
Asian Pears, 2 small 
Eggplant, 1-2

Sweet Peppers, 4 including green (unripe) and red & orange (sweet ripe)

Tomatoes, so so many
Choose: 1.5 lbs okra or 6 oz hot chili peppers

Announcements

U-Picking Shall Continue!! 
WE DO want you to continue signing up to u-pick.  Please still come as much as you would like. There's 10 spots open per hour, so we have yet to fill up at any point--you can u-pick any daylight hour, all week. Just sign up through the link below

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080c4badaf2ca7fd0-upick


Whats on U-Pick! 

• Cherry Tomatoes and a few of the Sunrise Bumblebee ( Located in the fenced in field across from washing station in field "F" in the first 2 rows -Please try to stay in the tomatoes only. Chilies are not on u-pick yet.)

• Any Flowers you see on the farm , but in particular, the Sunflowers are blooming nicely ( those are located next to the large parking lot used for u-picking that is in field "G2") Some Zinnias could probably still be found ( in the large field that is passed on your right on the way into the farm across from the 3 barns, in field "D")

• Herbs ( which for the most part are located behind the washing station, if you desire more "Regular" Basil it will be located down in field D nearby the zinnias)
  
  Basils (Genovese "Regular", Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon"Fancy")
  Cutting Celery (this is a celery grown for its leaves rather than stems)
  Garlic Chives
  Lemon Balm
  Lemon Verbena
  Marjoram
  Onion Chives
  Oregano
  Parsley (these are starting to flower and won’t last much longer)
  Sage
  Shiso
  Sorrel
  Spearmint
  Summer Savory
  Thyme
  
  

• We are accepting volunteers again but only for field work where it is easy to keep people socially distanced. Please let us know if you or someone you know may be interested. We do offer a work exchange program ( 5 hours of work = 1 CSA share).
  
  

• Again, We are trying to use biodegradable and inexpensive packaging whenever possible, and when we add vegetables with condensation from the cooler or moisture from washing, the paper products don't always hold up as well as we'd like. The whole team is also are learning new things each week as it comes to packaging and will keep improving how items (particularly the tomatoes) are packed. Thank you for your patience everyone! It will still be handy to have an extra tote bag for extra support when carrying tomatoes home!

• And, please welcome Matt Pombuena ( photographed above harvesting the asian pears!) to the farm team. He just completed his first two weeks and already has been a tremendous help getting all these vegetables harvested!!!!

Recipes

With all the tomatoes from your shares and the additional ones from the cull bins we have available now is the time of year to make all that salsa and tomato sauce. Here is a recipe that can help utilize as many of those plentiful veggies in your shares!                                  
Salsa (spicy optional) - Quick and easy recipe! 
Makes about 4 pints  
3 pounds of tomatoes
3-4 onions depends on size
1 cup of white vinegar
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro
1/4 cup of Lemon juice
2 Garlic cloves minced
2 teaspoons of cumin
1/2 table spoon of salt 
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 Chili of desired heat level jalapeno or serrano are popular ( optional)

Directions 

1. Finely chop tomatoes, onions, and cilantro
   2. Add in Garlic , Lemon juice, Vinegar, and all dry seasonings (Cumin, salt, and oregano)

2. Gently mix the bowl together and from there you can choose to add in a chili or not
   4. ENJOY!
   You may get a little more complicated and take time to peel tomatoes and also cook down the salsa on the stove top in order to prep for canning (read below)
   1. In a Dutch oven or something similar, bring 1 quarts water to a boil. Using a slotted spoon, place tomatoes, a few at a time, in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove each tomato and immediately plunge into ice water. Drain and pat dry. Peel and finely chop tomatoes to measure about 5 cups; place in a stockpot.
   2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Add water to cover; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes
   3. Ladle hot mixture into hot 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot mixture. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.
   4. Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 15 minutes. Remove jars and cool.
   

• Your fellow member, Dale Rubenstein, shared a recipe also of a cold soup they made with some of the stuff made from previous shares that we wanted to pass along in case you have any of this still hanging around.
  All it takes is a blender:
  Korean melon
  Cucumber
  Yogurt or pick non-dairy milk
  Scallion or shallot
  Salt/Pepper
  Mince herb when serve (we have basil)

More Info 

• We're researching which Native American people lived in the area where Clagett Farm stands today. One reference has led us to Nacotchtank. Can anyone confirm?

• NOW is the time for Maryland residents to request their absentee ballots for the November election (https://voterservices.elections.maryland.gov/OnlineVoterRegistration/InstructionsStep1)

Until now, your weekly emails have been authored by Carrie Vaughn.  You've seen Carrie's face every week if you pick up your share in DC.  This week is the first from another member of the team, Elissa Planz.  You've met Elissa if you pick up at the farm or in Annapolis.  

Thanks so much for being our members,
Elissa and the rest of the Clagett Farm Team

Week 12: Summer bounty!

Dave Vernon snapped this photo just a few hours ago of Carole and Vince (the volunteers in hats) and Jared and Elissa picking up tomatoes.  We don't always have piles of vegetables at the ends of the fields--just these moments of overwhelming abundance.  A good problem to have!    
And speaking of overabundance, we got 4.5 inches of rain yesterday.  That's quite a storm--enough to get our truck stuck in the mud while we were trying to harvest your eggplant yesterday.  While I don't normally want so much rain at once, we're glad for the soak.  We needed it! And this was the first time I harvested in a bathing suit and rain boots.  
 

Announcements

• Reject Vegetables and Compost: With ripe tomatoes come bruised tomatoes. And sweet peppers with bug holes. And eggplants with soft spots. And overgrown okra. In years past we have had a bin (and sometimes many bins) of reject vegetables available as a bonus to your share. Lately, we've been tossing those rejects in the compost. This week we're going to experiment with leaving the rejects near the compost pile. Which means two things: (1) We are now giving you permission to add your compost to our compost pile. And (2) you may now pause (briefly!) on your way out of the farm to take any rejects you might like from the area we have designated near the pile. The quicker you can act the better--if we have a traffic jam near the compost pile this experiment will meet a speedy end. The compost pile is behind the garage that sits opposite the washing station. Please only add plant products to the compost pile. We do not want your biodegradable bags and plates and so forth--they quickly become litter. Also, RIGHT NOW, while you're thinking of it, put a container in your car for those bruised tomatoes. Also, please wear masks when you're on the farm outside your vehicle around the food. This includes dropping compost, picking up reject vegetables, and u-picking. Thanks!

• This is a good time to revisit the idea of putting up vegetables for the winter. Think about the things you'll be missing in December, and how you can put up any extras you have now. Tomatoes can be frozen whole (seriously--just put the whole tomato in a bag in the freezer), or frozen as sauce or soup. Or they can be dehydrated, or canned. You can chop up peppers and freeze them. Last year I was impressed by all the ways people put up their chilies! Let this be the summer you learn how to give your winter self the gift of this summer's bounty. It's a lot quicker and easier than your think.

• A few of you have noticed that the paper bags that hold your CSA shares are not always strong enough to carry the CSA share without ripping. We are trying to use biodegradable and inexpensive packaging whenever possible, and when we add vegetables with condensation from the cooler or moisture from washing, the paper products don't always hold up as well as we'd like. Please keep a tote bag or cardboard box handy for carrying your CSA share once it leaves our hands. Thanks so much!

This week's share

• 2 ears sweet corn

• 1 head garlic

• 1 pound potatoes

• 1 pound yellow onions + red shallots

• 7 pounds tomatoes

• 2 green bell peppers

• 1-3 eggplants (depending on size)

• Choose one (your pick-up might not have all 4 of these options):

  • 1 pound okra, or

  • 1 pint green chilies (probably shishitos, or possibly jalapenos, cayenne or serranos), or

  • 1 pint tomatillos, or

  • 1 pint roma tomatoes

U-Pick

• Cherry tomatoes - We Sun Golds (orange) and a few Sunrise Bumblebee (orange-yellow with red stripes) in a couple rows at the top of "F" field, which is inside the deer fence across the driveway from the washing station

• Flowers - Any flowers you see on the farm are open to u-pick. We have flowers behind the washing station, sunflowers in field "G2" which is beside the parking area on the same side of the driveway as the washing station, and zinnias in field "D", which is in front of the barns on your right side as you're driving in.

• Herbs - mostly in the herb gardens behind the washing station, as well as some basil and parsley in field D:

  • Basils (Genovese, Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon)

  • Cutting Celery (this is a celery grown for its leaves rather than stems)

  • Garlic Chives

  • Lemon Balm

  • Lemon Verbena

  • Marjoram

  • Onion Chives

  • Oregano

  • Parsley (these are starting to flower and won’t last much longer)

  • Sage

  • Shiso

  • Sorrel

  • Spearmint

  • Summer Savory

  • Thyme

Recipe

Vegetable Hash with Eggs, by Brandy Shannon

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoon Olive Oil

• 1 1/4 Pound Potatoes, scrubbed and diced 1/2"

• Kosher Salt & Fresh Ground Pepper

• 1 Chopped Onion

• 1 Chopped Green Pepper

• 3 Minced Garlic Clove

• 1 Minced Chili - If you like it spicy, mince whole. If you like it mild, remove seeds and white membrane before mincing.

• 4 Eggs

• 3 Tablespoon Crumbled Goat Cheese

• 1 Tablespoon Chopped Cilantro or other green herb of your choice

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees.
Heat Olive Oil over med-high in 12" Ovenproof Skillet
Add Potatoes in a single, even layer to the skillet, season with salt and pepper.
Cook, tossing occasionally and scrape the bottom of the pan until browned, about 10 minutes.
Lower heat to medium, add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. If the pan is dry, add a bit more olive oil to prevent too much sticking.
Add to the skillet: Garlic, Bell Pepper,Chili and a 1/2 Teaspoon of salt and pepper.
Cook, tossing occasionally until pepper and potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove the skillet from heat and scrape any stuck bits off the bottom of the pan. You can use a tablespoon of lemon juice, stock, or water to deglaze the pan if desired.

Use a spoon to make 4 small craters in the hash.
Crack an egg into each crater.
Season the eggs with salt and pepper
Bake for 5-7 minutes until egg whites are set and remove skillet from the oven.

Sprinkle goat cheese and cilantro over top of the hash and eggs.
Serve hot. 

Great topping options: lemon wedges, salt, pepper, hot sauce, more goat cheese, more cilantro
 

Coming Soon

• Many people do not realize that the green bell peppers at the supermarket are unripe. Had they been left to ripen on the plant, they would become the sweeter, yellow, orange and red bell peppers that cost a little more money. So far we've been giving you green bell peppers from 2 of our 5 varieties, and letting the rest ripen to their full sweet glory. The plants are LOADED and you're going to see a lot of sweet, ripe peppers soon. We have 5 varieties of peppers this year that you can generally classify as sweet (not hot) peppers. The first two are the ones that we pick green, since they size up quickly. The other 3 are smaller, which means they ripen quickly, which is why we use them as our sweeter, ripe peppers. Don't be confused by their pointy shape--none of these peppers is spicy:

  • Flavorburst - bell shape, starts green-yellow and ripens to orange

  • Jupiter - bell shape, dark green and ripens to red

  • Glow - ranges from elongated bell shape to pointy, dark green and ripens to orange

  • Cornito Rosso - pointed shape, green ripens to red

  • Oranos - pointed shape, green ripens to orange

• Tomatoes, eggplant, chilies and okra also continue to increase in abundance

• Asian pears next week

• This is the last week of potatoes

• We will have several more weeks of onions and shallots. And of course, garlic every week through November.

• Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday members will get the same amount of corn in total over the next two weeks, but my guess is that Wednesday and Thursday members will get a little corn this week and next while Saturday members will get all of their ears this week. This will probably be the last corn of the season.

• Squash will come back in about 2 weeks

Can you feel the days getting shorter already?  Enjoy this summer sun while it lasts--it will be gone before you know it!

Thanks so much for being our members,
Carrie Vaughn and rest of the Clagett farmers

Week 11: Tomatoes are here!

Week 11: Tomatoes!

These little gems, above, are sun gold cherry tomatoes.  They are the sweetest tomatoes we grow, and we can't imagine summer without them.  

Announcements

• We are opening the flower and herb beds to u-pick! You'll sign up in advance, but there's plenty of slots and you can sign up multiple times. Details are below.

• Summer brings with it that sound of lawn equipment with loud, two-stroke engines--leaf blowers, chain saws, weed whackers and hedge trimmers. I was surprised to hear from some professional landscapers that the electric, rechargeable versions of these hand tools are rugged, lightweight and effective--years ago they needed long cords or they didn't have enough power for professional use. Technology has advanced! They come with battery packs that are interchangeable between tools. If you rely on a landscaping service, this is a good time to nudge them to change their equipment. And if you rely on yourself for that work, maybe it's time for an upgrade!

This week's share

• 1 head garlic

• 2+ pounds tomatoes

• 1 green bell pepper

• 1 squash and/or 1 cucumber (depending on size)

• 2 pounds yellow potatoes

• 1 pound yellow onions

• 1 shishito and 1 jalapeno chili pepper

• Each pick-up will have 2-3 options of the following, and you will select one: 1 eggplant, 1 Korean melon or 1 pint okra

U-Pick!

The rules:

• Before you u-pick, please sign up here. If you need to make changes to the slots you signed up for, just log back into that SignupGenius page and make the changes directly--no need to send us an email or call to alert us.

• During the CSA pick-up times (Wednesdays 3-7pm and Saturdays 1-4pm), we kept the u-pick slot to only 30 minutes, because the parking space is precious and we want as many of you to enjoy the u-pick opportunity as possible. Outside of CSA pick-up hours, you can stay a full hour, you can park where you'd like, and you can sign up for multiple slots to stay longer if you'd like.

• U-pick is open to CSA members only. When you sign up, please use the name of the person who purchased the share, even if it's different from the person who will actually be picking.

Here's what's available to u-pick:

• Behind the washing station in the herb garden:

  • Basils (Genovese, Thai, Kapoor Tulsi, Aromatto, Round Midnight, Greek, Lemon)

  • Lemon Verbena

  • Lemon Balm

  • Spearmint

  • Thyme

  • Oregano

  • Cutting celery (this is a celery grown for its leaves rather than stems)

  • Sage

  • Parsley

  • Sorrel

  • Summer Savory

  • Shiso

  • Garlic Chives

  • Onion Chives

  • Marjoram

  • Behind the herbs there are lots of flowers. It's a little jungle-y back there, but you can help yourselves.

• In the "D" field, which is in front of the barns, on your right side as you drive into the farm:

  • Zinnias and other flowers

  • Green Beans - these beans are getting tough so we don't think it's worth picking them for your shares, but if you'd like them, you may pick them. There's plenty.

  • Chard - The chard is about finished for the season. It's got bug holes and we don't think it's worth picking for the shares, so you can glean what remains if you'd like.

• In the "G2" field, which is just past the washing station on your right side. If you pick up your share here on the farm, you park between the washing station and field G2.

  • Sunflowers have just begun to bloom

Recipes

• First, an apology--I tried out that vegan version of the baked green tomatoes from last week's email and it was not delicious. I still hold to the opinion that the classic fried green tomato is worth enjoying if you've never given yourself the opportunity. Fortunately for me, the share this week is full of vegetables that you probably already have good ideas for how to prepare and eat, so the pressure is low.

• Garlic Mashed Potatoes, from The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen by Peter Berley.

  • Ingredients:

    • 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered

    • 8 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

    • 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)

    • coarse sea salt

    • 5 tablespoons olive oil

    • freshly milled black pepper

  • In a large pot over high heat, combine the potatoes with enough cold water to cover by 2 inches, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, rosemary and 1 teaspoon salt. Simmer, covered for 20-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Remove and discard the rosemary.

  • Mash the potatoes well. Slowly add the oil and beat in with a stiff wire whisk or wooden spoon until fluffy and creamy. Adjust the consistency with a bit of the reserved water, if necessary.

  • Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

• I'm a big fan of Madhur Jaffrey. Here's a potato and tomato recipe of hers. Don't worry about what is classified as a "boiling potato". Both the red ones from last week or the yellow ones from this week will work well here. And if you don't have a dry chili from leftover from last year, you can easily substitute one of the jalapenos from this week. Consider adding a bell pepper, some chunks of squash, eggplant or okra to this dish. It works well with whatever vegetables you have around.

Coming Soon

• Lots more tomatoes!

• Sweet, ripe peppers, probably by week 13

• More eggplant in the weeks to come

• The okra field is growing quite well, so if you are an okra fan, get ready.

• Red onions are finished, but beginning next week you'll get red shallots.

• Continuing: garlic, yellow onions, red and yellow potatoes

• Squash, cucumbers and melons are petering out or finished for a while

• More chili varieties will continue phasing in

• Asian pears soon!

• We are still battling with deer, raccoons, groundhogs and caterpillars to find out who will get the largest corn harvest, but we think we're going to win this one. Week 13? Stay tuned...

We've had some nice rains but the heat is even stronger, and soil moisture is dreadfully low.  We'd appreciate a nice, slow, rain.

You guys are wonderful!
Your farmer, Carrie, and the Clagett Farm Team

week 10: green tomatoes, shishitos and more

These are shishito peppers.  Most of them are not spicy at all, but every so often you get one with some heat.  We put them in a little wax bag in your shares so you'd know they are different.  The other peppers in your bag are large, green, bell peppers.  We don't think you'll confuse them.  If you're hesitant to eat spicy peppers, this is a great entry-level chili to give your dish a little of the flavor without much heat.  The classic way you'd see them served in a bar is fried on a hot pan with some salt and oil.  The patrons who get a spicy one will order another beer.  
 

Announcements

• It's hot outside. Really hot. And your plants have rebelled. The beans and squash we were counting on have quit producing, and the tomatoes aren't quite ready. But never fear! We have promising weeks ahead. Instead, you'll notice your share is a little heavier this week with some of the items that will keep well for many weeks to come--potatoes, onions and garlic.

• If any of you have kids that will be doing a little fishing this summer, you should check out the Fish Adaptation video from one of our educators, Leigh Auth (who has also been helping us in the farm fields!). She explains how you can learn a lot about where a fish lives and what it eats based on the shape of its body.

• We were surprised and honored to be featured by Food & Wine as one of the best farms in Maryland!

This week's share

• 2 heads garlic

• 3 pounds potatoes

• 1 pound red and yellow onions

• 2 green (unripe) tomatoes (these will ripen if you wait long enough, but if you haven't tried fried green tomatoes yet, now's your chance!)

• 1-3 cucumbers, depending on size

• 2 green bell peppers

• 2 shishito chili peppers (they vary from mild to no heat at all)

• a couple other additions to your bag

Recipes

• Fried Green Tomatoes:

  • Here's a classic recipe from Southern Living. If you don't happen to have buttermilk, you can substitute with regular milk and a little white vinegar.

  • If you don't want to fry them, here's a similar recipe that's baked.

  • And here's one that is even simpler, and can easily be vegan if you sub margarine for the butter.

• If you don't like fried green tomatoes, remember that green tomatoes are tart and crunchy, and you can eat them raw or cooked. Here's a green tomato and melon salad recipe. It calls for honeydew melon, but consider swapping the honeydew for the yellow Korean melon that you might have in your share this week.

Coming Soon

• Tomatoes are looking great. Everyone will get some by next week.

• A few more weeks and you'll be getting sweet, ripe, orange and red peppers. In the meantime, enjoy the green bells.

• Within 2 weeks, we think we'll have enough eggplants for everyone.

• A little okra beginning next week, and then more in the weeks following. The plants look good. They're recovering well from some groundhog damage.

• Potatoes, onions and garlic will continue. Once we've given out all the red onions, we'll switch to shallots. Yum!

• Hot chili peppers are just getting their start with the shishitos this week. Next up will probably be jalapenos.

Let's hope for a soaking rain and some cooler nights!

Thanks so much for being our members,
Carrie and the rest of the Clagett Farm team

Week 9: potatoes carrots onions beans

Photo by Jared Planz

Announcements

• If you ordered oysters for pick-up in Annapolis, don't forget to bring your ice chest this Thursday.

• Do you have a pressure washer in good condition that you no longer use? Ours broke and we're looking for a replacement.

• One of our members asked where they could buy a snazzy CBF hat. The answer is, here! We have all kinds of fun Chesapeake Bay merch for sale.

• A number of you have been confused by the sun jewel melons. They are not squash! The skin is yellow with white stripes, and the flesh is crisp, white and mildly sweet. The skin and seeds are edible.

This week's share

• 3-5 potatoes

• A green bell pepper

• 12 oz red and yellow onions

• Half pound carrots

• Some kale or collards (our last until fall)

• 1-3 cucumbers (depends on size)

• A yellow squash or zucchini

• A head of garlic

• Half pound beans

• A choice of a flower bouquet or a bag of basil

• We have a few items in short supply, so we're not sure which you'll get in your share--a couple small ears of corn? an eggplant? a pint of cherry tomatoes? A small melon? Wait and see!

Recipe

• This Lentil, Vegetable, Quinoa Salad is a good catch-all for whatever is haunting your fridge. In these hot months you might want something fresh and light but still filling.

Coming soon

• Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are just getting started. Expect a trickle next week (week 10), and then we're forecasting a good amount by week 11.

• Several more weeks of potatoes, green beans and red and yellow onions.

• Our main crop of corn should be ready around week 12, assuming we can keep the pests at bay.

• Another little melon next week, we think.

• Cucumbers and squash are on the decline. A little more next week and then we're not sure.

• Carrots are finished until fall.

• Our first okra pods should start around week 11.

Have a wonderful week!
The Clagett Farm Team

Lentil, Vegetable, Quinoa Salad

I make this dish a lot in the summer because it's quick, easy, healthy, it can accommodate whatever I have on hand, and I can happily eat leftovers for days without heating up my kitchen.  I don't bother measuring the ingredients--it's easier to just assemble it and then adjust to taste.  Just about every ingredient is optional, so don't get hung up if you're missing something.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa

• 1 cup french lentils

• 1/2 teaspoon salt or bouillon

• juice of one lemon

• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

• garlic clove, minced

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• black pepper

• a few cucumbers, chopped

• 3/4 cup parsley, chopped (mint and basil also work well alone or in combination)

• 3/4 cup olives (I usually use green olives), plus 2 tablespoons of the brine

• green onion, chopped

• about a cup of your choice of other vegetables, such as chopped tomatoes, 1" pieces of steamed green beans, frozen or fresh peas, lightly sautéed chunks of squash and carrots, fresh or frozen corn kernels, or chopped sweet peppers

Preparation:

• Put the lentils in a small, covered saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the lentils are tender but still hold their shape (about 30 minutes). While they're cooking, continue the recipe. When they are finished cooking, pour them into another container or onto a plate to allow them to cool to room temperature (or at least cool enough that they don't cook your parsley and cucumbers). You can make them a day ahead.

• Put the quinoa in a small, covered saucepan with 1.5 cups water and the salt or bouillon. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the quinoa is tender but still al dente (about 10 minutes). Just like the lentils, you'll want to cool it down before assembling the salad, if you can.

• If any of the vegetables need a flash of cooking, do that now (such as the green beans, squash or carrots). Let them cool. If any of them need to be thawed, set them on the stove near your boiling pots so they warm up a bit.

• In a small jar, add the lemon juice, a splash of liquid from a jar of olives (you'll be using the olives later in the recipe), paprika, garlic, olive oil and black pepper. Close the jar and shake it until the dressing is well blended.

• Assemble all the ingredients once they are warm or room temperature, pouring half the dressing over the top. Now taste the ensemble and adjust for your preferences. Perhaps you want to use the rest of the dressing. Needs to be a bit sweeter? Add more tomatoes or corn. Needs more zing? Add more lemon or vinegar. Too heavy? Add parsley. Needs more salt? Add more olives or olive brine. Have fun!

Clagett Farm CSA Update

This photo is a public service reminder of what can happen when you leave your zucchini plants unattended for a week.  They go on a binge diet, get fat and multiply.  There were a lot of zucchini to carry around on a hot day yesterday!  Fortunately, as we write this, Kenny and Charles are picking up the thousands of pounds of squash that we left like shipwreck survivors on the sides of the field, and will bring them to the SHABACH food pantry to give away.  You, my dears, will each get one modest, young zucchini and one overgrown zucchini--we didn't want to deprive you of the opportunity to make chocolate zucchini cake or stuffed zucchini boats (recipes below), but we also didn't want to overwhelm you.  Hopefully, we struck the right balance for most of you.   
 

Announcements

• We got 7 inches of rain on Monday night! Yikes! No one washed away, thank goodness, and the fields are still in good shape.

• Speaking of water, the map experts at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation created this amazing app where you can find your nearest body of water, and we thought you might get a kick out of checking it out. If you're looking for a fun outing with a kid, find your nearest wetland and start turning over rocks.

• We’re hiring! The educators have been busy creating virtual outdoor experiences for students and teachers so they have to step back a bit from helping on the farm (sad for us but good for the Chesapeake Bay). We’re hiring one person for 40 hours/week through November 20th, $11.50/hour. Here’s the job announcement with instructions to apply.

• As promised, we accomplished a lot this past week. We transplanted 6000 sweet potato plants, pounded hundreds of stakes into the tomato fields so they can get tied up, and weeded your okra and next year's strawberries.

• Picking up in Annapolis? Want to take home oysters next Thursday? This time, the oysters are from Harris Creek Oyster Company. To order, email alex@harriscreekoyster.com. The deadline to order is Tuesday July 14 (for pick up Thursday 7/16, at the same time and location as our CSA pick-up). Look here for more details.

  • $1/oyster for less than 50

  • $0.85/oyster for 50-99

  • $0.75/oyster for 100 or more

• 
  Have you ever seen yellow, corrugated plastic signs on the side of the road on little metal legs? They usually advertise something dubious like fast cash or quick home sales. We cover them with a sticky goo and set them out in our squash, cucumber and melon fields to trap cucumber beetles. It's quick, not toxic, and works like a charm. If you happen to come across any signs that need a new home, bring them to us! They must be YELLOW (think of the color of a squash blossom).

• We picked our first melons this week. They are quirky varieties that mature quickly, which is why you're getting them in early July and not mid-August. One variety is a very small, round watermelon. The other is a yellow, Korean melon. They are both crisp and refreshing and only mildly sweet, so set your expectations in the right place and you will be as delighted as we are. Melons can be a little hard to read from the outside, so if you get one that isn't ripe, let us know--we can put a replacement in your share next week.

This week's share

• 1 small melon

• 1 small head green cabbage

• 1 head garlic

• 1 bunch small red onions (these are bulb onions, just like you'd see at the store, but they still have their green leaves on top, and are petite, like beautiful, ruby-colored tree ornaments)

• carrots (these store better without their leaves, so rip off the leaves when you get home and consider adding them to your pesto or garnish your dinner plates to impress your family)

• beets (most of these are an exciting variety called Chioggia which look ordinary on the outside but have concentric red and white rings on the inside)

• 1 bunch kale or collards

• cucumbers (about 2 pounds, which like the squash, might be one very large cucumber)

• 2 zucchinis (or some of you might get one yellow squash and one zucchini)

• 2 turnips

• Either chard or beans

Recipes

• Stuffed Zucchini: There's a lot of versions to try. Here's a classic Middle Eastern version (it calls for fresh tomatoes, but you can sub with canned tomatoes for now). Here's a vegetarian version (if you prefer not to eat bread, you can sub with rice or textured vegetable protein). And here's one that includes a lot of spinach, which can be easily substituted with chard.

• If we were not in a pandemic, I would be trying to have a zucchini taste test event with heavy representation of chocolate zucchini cakes. Here's one version from Epicurious. I do not have the patience for making their cute full moon stencil these days, so instead I would top with a crumble of equal parts chopped nuts, brown sugar and chocolate chips, sprinkled onto the batter before baking.

• How about a classic zucchini bread? Here's one from James Beard. And you can even try a zucchini cornbread.

• Fritters are another classic way to use zucchini. Here's one version from Bon Appetit.

• Pickled Beans and Cucumbers

  • Green Beans trimmed

  • Cucumbers sliced 1/8"

  • 1/2 Red Onion sliced 1/8"

  • 3 Garlic Cloves Crushed and left whole

  • 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

  • 2 Cups Filtered Water

  • 1/4 Cup Kosher Salt

  • 1/4 Cup Pickling Spice Blend or herbs of your choice

Place cucumber and red onion slices, garlic, and herbs (if using) in individual jars or a large container.
Bring Water, Vinegar, Salt, and spices (if using) to a soft boil.
Carefully add green beans to the pan of boiling liquid.
Simmer for 5 minutes
Remove from heat.
Using tongs, carefully remove beans from liquid and place in jars/container with onions/cucs
Carefully ladle pickling liquid into jars/container of beans/cucs.
Allow to cool uncovered for an hour.
Cover with a tight fitting lid and place in the refrigerator.
Recipe and photo by Brandy Shannon

Coming soon

• Peppers! The plants look fantastic. Your first green bell pepper (next week, we hope) will be a harbinger of many wonderful peppers to come this summer.

• There are lots of big green tomatoes taunting us from the field. When will they ripen and make it into your share? Our best guess is week 10. As with peppers, the plants look like they are ready to go gangbusters any minute. Get your sauce jars ready.

• Those long, green, slicing-style cucumbers are about to peter out, but the smaller, pickling-style cucumbers are still going strong. Don't be fooled--both styles can be pickled or sliced.

• This summer's melon supply is looking paltry. The main season crop of watermelons and cantaloupes did not germinate well, even after we reseeded them.

• Eggplant are coming soon, but this will be a modest year. They were hit hard by beetles and their recovery has slowed them down. But really, a modest amount of eggplant is not such a bad thing. We love them, but don't want to swim in them.

• You'll get a few weeks of red onions and then it's time for shallots. Exciting!

• A number of crops are fading out in the heat and will return (hopefully) in the fall. This week ends the beets and turnips. This week or next will be your last kale and collards. We might possibly eek one more week of small carrots. And my crystal ball says week 11 will be your last week of chard.

• Potatoes! Back in May I thought they were doomed. But June proved me wrong, wrong, wrong. We have a hearty crop of potatoes sizing up right now, and we'll start giving you a few new babies next week, most likely. Don't you love it when nature gives you a happy surprise?

• We expect to have a lull in squash next week, and then a modest supply from our second succession of squash beginning week 10 (no more of the zucchini debauchery you're witnessing now).

• Green beans should continue nicely for another month. I know some of you would like more, but please have mercy on my dear back--picking is no easy chore.

• Will we have corn? The plants look lovely, but it's the final week before harvest when they face the groundhog/racoon/caterpillar gauntlet. Who will prevail? Only time will tell.

As the heat and humidity settles on our region like a volcanic ooze, send us your cool, popsicle-filled thoughts!
Carrie and the Clagett Farm Team

Posted at 02:02 PM in -- CSA Updates | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oysters in Annapolis next Thursday

July 08, 2020

Get yourself fresh, local Chesapeake Bay oysters with you CSA pick-up next week to enjoy with the family!
The order deadline is coming up quickly Tuesday, July 14th at 12midnight, so act fast.  

Check out this video from Chesapeake Bay Magazine about this Annapolis Oyster Pop-up Event

and the work CBF is doing to support the oyster farming industry!

Annapolis, MD – Harris Creek Oyster Farm Pop Up

Important – Order Deadline:

*Orders must be placed by Tuesday, July 14th by 12midnight

Annapolis

Pop-up Date:  Thursday, July 16th from 4pm-6:30pm
Location: CBF Phillip Merrill Center, 6 Herndon Ave, Annapolis, MD 21403

How to Order:

• Orders must be placed by Tuesday, July 14th by 12midnight

• Pricing:

• Fewer than 50 oysters price is $1/oyster

• 50+ oysters price is $0.85/oyster

• 100+ oysters price is $0.75/oyster

• How to Order: Email farmer Alex at alex@harriscreekoyster.com

About Harris Creek Oyster Farm:

We are 100% family owned, funded and operated oyster farm located between St. Michaels and Tilghman Island, Maryland. We're building on nearly 13 generations of family history farming and fishing on Maryland's Eastern Shore. We’re here to produce a beautiful oyster.

Any questions? Please email Farmer Alex at alex@harriscreekoyster.com

For Pick-Up:

• You must pre-order your oysters by the order deadline!

• Please bring a cooler with gel packs (preferable) or ice!

• We are using contact-less curbside procedures: wear a mask, you will be asked to open your trunk and cooler (with ice!) and oyster farm staff will drop your oysters in your cooler.

How to Care for Your Oysters:

• How to properly store oysters: place immediately in fridge and cover with a damp towel. Do not allow to sit in standing water. Avoid rough handling prior to shucking. They’ll stay optimally fresh for raw consumption for 7-10 days from harvest and up to two weeks for cooked consumption.

• How to properly shuck oysters: use a knife to shuck from the hinge or the bill. There are plenty of video tutorials online or just ask your handy neighbor! You can also use heat (oven, grill, microwave even) to get them to pop open and then cut the meat free.

• How to properly enjoy oysters: any way you want! Raw, grilled, baked, fried. Naked, hot sauce, lemon & horseradish…the possibilities are endless! This is a chance to get creative with nature’s perfect food.

Why You Should Be Eating Aquaculture Oysters!

• It’s a great time to eat farmed oysters to help save the Bay! Read this Washington Post article on how oyster farms have been impacted by the disruptions to the restaurant industry: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/with-restaurants-closed-oyster-farmers-need-home-cooks-to-start-shucking/2020/04/28/7cf0b4be-8986-11ea-8ac1-bfb250876b7a_story.html

• Learn more about CBF’s efforts to promote the aquaculture industry here: [cbf.org/oysterpopups]cbf.org/oysterpopups and [cbf.org/buylocaloysters]cbf.org/buylocaloysters

• We’re proud to help support fellow Chesapeake Oyster Alliance partners through these Oyster Pop-ups! Learn more about our goal to add 10 billion oysters to the Bay by 2025: http://www.chesapeakeoysteralliance.org/

Can't make the pop-up pick-up times or interested in getting oysters delivered to your home? See our list of local oyster farms providing direct-to-customer services

Week 7: Big share before our July 4th break

Announcements

This is Jared Planz, the Assistant Vegetable Production Manager. (Fortunately, no masks are necessary when we're working far apart from each other, which makes for better photos.) He's picking zucchini in this photo, wearing the 4-pouch harvesting harness, which is about 80 pounds when full of squash. None of the rest of us carry as much weight as he does while picking, which is a good analogy for his farming skills overall. When he's not planting, weeding, harvesting, pounding stakes, spreading mulch or managing workers, he's designing our web sales platform, taking professional-quality photographs, camping, and parenting his almost-2-year-old son with Elissa. Phew!

• NEXT WEEK THERE IS NO CSA SHARE. We have noticed over the years that the vegetable harvest wanes a bit in that period when the hot weather makes greens bitter, and the tomatoes haven't ripened yet. It also coincides with our own exhaustion--we're up to our eyeballs in harvesting garlic, mulching & twining tomatoes, planting sweet potatoes, and weeding. So we take the first week of July off from picking and throw all our energy into field work, and a much-needed day off. We account for this missing week from the get-go--you'll still get 26 weeks of vegetables by the middle of November without including this one. To reiterate--we do have veggies for you this week, but there will be no vegetables for you on July 1st, 2nd or 4th.

• U-pick is not open at the moment, but it will be soon for herbs and flowers. We'll send you a note as soon as it's available.

• Let's all shout out a giant thanks for this wonderful, vegetable-growing weather. Your crops are growing great. You'll remember we had that surprise frost in mid-May that set back our planting schedule a bit. For that, we'll have to wait a little longer than normal for our first tomatoes and peppers. But they'll come in due time. The Colorado potato beetles and flea beetles did a number on your eggplant before we had a chance to come to their rescue, so they'll be particularly delayed. July is so suspenseful! We're excited to see how it all comes out.

This week's share

• 1 head FRESH garlic. You'll notice that they're super-easy to peel when they're fresh. But treat it the same as the dried ones. Sitting on your counter, it will dry on its own within a week.

• 1 bunch green onions (also known as scallions, spring onions and bunching onions)

• 1 bunch kale

• 1 bunch chard or collards (not yet determined)

• 1 pound cucumbers

• Several zucchini

• A combo of purple-top turnips and a small kohlrabi

• Basil

• Choose: beans, arugula or fennel (this is your only shot at fennel until fall)

Coming soon

Remember, after this week (June 24, 25 &27), your next share will be July 8, 9 and 11.  Don't come next week!  When you get back we'll have some goodies waiting for you:

• Carrots

• Beets

• Green cabbage

• Red onions

• Continued: beans (more), cucumbers (more), squash (fewer), garlic, kale & collards (ending soon), chard, basil

Recipes

• Jessica LaGarde shared this frittata recipe on our Facebook Group that looks like a delicious way to use zucchini. Thanks Jessica!

• You've been getting a lot of green onions and zucchini. Can't use them all? Both of those are good candidates for freezing or drying. To freeze green onions, chop them up, lay them out on a baking sheet for an hour or so to dry so they stay separate instead of freezing into a big glob, and then pour them into a ziploc bag. I recommend storing the green parts separately from the white and light green parts, since they cook a little differently. They can be used this winter for cooking, but don't expect to use them as a fresh garnish, since they'll be mushy (but flavorful!) when they thaw. Freezing zucchini (or any squash) is the same. I slice them into rounds, freeze them on a tray and then bag them up. To dehydrate the onions and squash, I use a dehydrator, and the process is almost identical to freezing (put it on a tray, turn on the dehydrator). If you don't have a dehydrator, put them in your oven at the lowest setting (you're aiming for about 125 deg. F).

• Have you ever tried grilling or roasting whole green onions? Or using them (chopped) as a pizza topping? The results are surprisingly fancy, and nothing makes a kitchen smell fantastic like cooking onions.

• Here's a simple recipe for a quinoa salad with scallions. I would replace the snap peas with lightly-steamed green beans, and replace the radishes with turnips and/or kohlrabi, since they're in your share this week. If you don't have gobs of mint growing somewhere near you, then (A) you're not trying very hard, and (B) you can substitute with basil, which will be different but also delicious. (Mint grows well with lots of water, so plant it under your nearest leaky faucet. Don't have a plant? Rip one out from a friend who has too much--trust me, you have one of those friends.)

• Let us know what recipe ideas you need! We're here to help. Reply to this e-mail or, better yet, post a question on the facebook group--your fellow CSA members are a great resource.

Have some fun this week--you deserve it!
Carrie and the entire Clagett Farm Team

Week 6: June vegetables--quirky but fabulous

Announcements

• The photo above is of Kenneth Johnson and Charles Price. Remember when I told you last week about the 2000 pounds of vegetables we've donated so far this season? Well some very fine, dedicated people have to pick up those pounds (another 1000 pounds last week!) and see that they make it into the hands of people who need them. They work for SHABACH! Ministries, which is part of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. Thank you both for being so generous and flexible!

• A big thanks to the entire vegetable crew for filling in while Carrie was quarantined last week. Carrie had a cough (just an allergy). Just to be sure, she had a quick covid test and is all clear. Jared wins MVP for managing without skipping a beat. He worked long, back-to-back days harvesting, delivering to Dupont and spreading mulch on fields, so 3 cheers for Jared!

• What's with June vegetables? There's a good chance that one of the things in your bag this week is not your normal purchase from the grocery store--Napa cabbage (also called Chinese cabbage), garlic scapes or kohlrabi, for example. But this is one of the reasons why it's fun to have a CSA share--we keep your diet exciting! Another reason why you love being a CSA member is that it encourages you to eat more vegetables. Remember, vegetables should be 80% of what's on your plate. So don't let this nice, heavy share this week go to waste. Read on for recipe ideas and have fun!

• We created the CBF's Clagett Farm Facebook Group so you can send us your recipe ideas, ask us your gardening questions, and let your fellow CSA members know about tips and events they might not have heard. If you're not a Facebook person, we understand! You can still send us emails, tag us (#clagettfarm) on Instagram, pass us notes, and so on. We love those too!

• We're due for some bunching onion recipes and more squash ideas, so send them our way.

• If you want to order oysters (a dozen or 100-count) for pick up this Saturday, the deadline is TODAY at NOON! Farmed oysters are the Bay-friendliest food you can find!

• The week of July 1st, 2nd and 4th, we will not be giving out shares. We're taking a break, so don't show up to pick up vegetables on any of those dates.

This week's share

• A cucumber

• A bunch of green onions

• A handful of garlic scapes

• 2-3 zucchinis

• A yellow squash

• Medley of hakurei turnips and small kohlrabies

• Choose a bag (about a half pound): arugula, spicy mix, collards or tat soi

• Choose one: a head of Napa cabbage (average 2.5 pounds), a bag of bok choi (~1/2 lb), a bunch of chard (~1/2 lb) or a small bag of green beans (~1/4 lb)

Recipes

• Never eaten a kohlrabi? It tastes just like the stem of broccoli. First, be sure to peel it.

  • You can chop it easily into a salad for a crunch with a hint of sweetness.

  • Snack on it with hummus or dip.

  • Roast it.

  • Shred it into cole slaw. (Think you don't like cole slaw because it's full of mayonnaise? You're due for a vinegar cole slaw revolution!)

• One of Carrie's favorite Thai dishes is the green papaya salad. Did you know you can replace the papaya with ribbons of zucchini? (If you have a spiralizer, time to get it out.) There's a few ingredients in this salad that you might not have on hand, but don't let that stop you--it's a forgiving dish that's delicious even if you replace the tomatoes with cucumbers, for example.

• Baked Squash

  • Ingredients

    • 2 medium zucchini and or yellow squash sliced into 1/2" rounds

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil

    • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning or your choice of herbs

    • salt & pepper to taste

    • 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese divided

  • Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

    • Toss zucchini slices with olive oil, seasoning, salt & pepper and about 2 tablespoons of the parmesan cheese.

    • Place on a baking sheet in a single layer and top with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake 5 minutes.

    • Turn oven to broil, place pan near the top and broil 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and zucchini is tender crisp.

• Roasted Turnips and Kohlrabi

  • Ingredients

    • 2 pounds turnips and kohlrabi

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil

    • Fine or coarse sea salt

    • 1 tablespoon of your choice of herbs

    • 1/4 cup chopped garlic scapes

  • Instructions 

    • Preheat an oven to 400 F.

    • While the oven heats, scrub and trim turnips, and peel the kohlrabi. Leave baby turnips whole; cut larger turnips and kohlrabi into large-ish bite-size pieces.

    • Put the prepared turnips and kohlrabi in a baking pan or on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with the olive oil. Use your hands or two large spoons to toss them around a bit to coat them thoroughly with the oil. Sprinkle them with salt.

    • Roast until they're tender and browned; start checking on them after about 30 minutes.

    • When you take them out of the oven, toss the turnips and kohlrabi with herbs and chopped garlic scapes. (If raw scapes are too strong for your taste, add them to the pan 5 minutes or more before you take it out of the oven.)

Coming Soon

• Purple kohlrabi and purple-top turnips next week

• Garlic bulbs next week

• Green beans (we'll keep picking small quantities so everyone will have them over the weeks to come)

• Continuing: kale, collards, squash, bunching onions, chard, cucumbers

• Carrots next week or the week after

• We have our eyes on some Korean melons that should be ready soon!

Remember when I told you last week about the 2000 pounds of vegetables we've donated so far this season?  Well some very fine, dedicated people have to pick up those pounds (another 1000 pounds last week!) and see that they make it into the hands of people who need them.  Meet Kenneth Johnson (left) and Charles Price (right).  They work for SHABACH! Ministries, which is part of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden.  Thank you both for being so generous and flexible!


Have a great week!
The Clagett Farm Team

(Photo by Carrie Vaughn)

Week 5: Zucchini and Napa Cabbage bonanza!

I asked for your smiling, post-berry-picking faces, and you obliged!  Thank you, I think we all need some positive community vibes right now.  This lovely face belongs to Caryl Henry Alexander.  You can find more u-pick photos in a debut post of our new CBF's Clagett Farm Facebook Group.  If you sent me one, you can tag yourselves, and if you want to add your own, you can do that too!  

Announcements

• The Dupont CSA pick-up is back to it's normal time slot--5:30pm to 7:30pm. Jared is Carrie's last-minute substitute this evening, though, so be patient and flexible with him since he hasn't been to that alley and might be in a slightly different location.

• It's a big share this week! Get your chef's hat on, it's going to be fun!

• Strawberry u-pick has ended. We're glad that every CSA member who wanted to sign up was able to get a slot, and we had ripe strawberries all the way to the end. If you feel like you missed out, let us know.

• In the past month, we've donated 1,978 pounds of vegetables to two nearby food pantries--SHABACH in Landover MD, and Behold I Come Quickly in Clinton MD. That's a whopping 47% of our total harvest! In addition to that, we have 18 CSA members who are getting their shares at half price because they have very limited incomes, and 1 former volunteer who is ill and in a nursing home, and we deliver his share to him for free. Phew!

• Want to know some interesting facts about plant and animal families? You have come to the right place! Here is a link for a fun trivia game about plant and animal families made by Amelia Vaughn. (The game is free but the web site will ask you to create an account, so feel free to use a junk email address.)

This week's share

• 1 bag lettuce

• 1 bunch green onions

• 1 head Napa cabbage (aka Chinese cabbage)

• 1 bunch garlic scapes

• 2-3 zucchinis

• 2-3 hakurei turnips

• Choose a bag of either kale or collards

Coming soon

• Kohlrabi next week

• More cucumbers soon

• Garlic scapes one more week, then garlic bulbs every week after that

• We have our eyes on a bed of carrots that should be ready soon

• Continuing next week: kale, collards and zucchini

Recipes

• Here's a recipe for Black Pepper Tofu with Chinese Cabbage (we made some adjustments from someone else's recipe and left out all the photos and ads that are so irritating when you're trying to read the instructions).

• Napa cabbage is big and can sometimes feel intimidating in your fridge. If that's happening to you, take a moment to wash it, chop it up and put it in a container. Suddenly it looks more like a salad ingredient or an easy veggie to toss in a stir fry.

• This is a great week to practice your stir fry skills. You can toss in the cabbage, greens, scapes, scallions, zucchini, turnips, and anything else you've got crammed in your vegetable drawer. Here's a beginner's guide to stir fry, in case that's helpful. The most important hints are to chop the heavy things (zucchini and turnips) into small, uniform pieces so they cook more quickly, and add them first before the lighter ingredients (cabbage, scallions, scapes). There's lots of great ideas for stir fry sauces out there, so if you get stuck in a rut, try changing your sauce.

• Speaking of new flavors for your stir fry, here's one from Epicurious.com--Cabbage Stir Fry with Coconut and Lemon

• We're going to save our ideas for zucchini for another week. In the meantime, use up all the ones you can think of now, and send us your favorites. Time to get out the grill, and turn those stir fry sauces into marinades!

Thanks for being your wonderful selves, and have a great week,
The Clagett Farm Team

Recipe: Black Pepper Tofu with Napa Cabbage

This recipe is based on this one from Feastingathome.com

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 8–12 ounces firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes (you can substitute beef, chicken or shrimp, but do not use soft or silken tofu)

• corn starch for dredging (optional)

• 2 tablespoons wok oil (high heat oil like peanut, coconut or vegetable)

• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked peppercorns

• 1 green onion, sliced (green and white parts)

• 4 garlic scapes, rough chopped

• ~10 ounces Napa cabbage, chopped roughly

Black Pepper Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Wine (Shaoxing Rice Wine or Mirin) or sub dry white wine, pale sherry, or rice wine.

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar (or sub palm sugar, coconut sugar or agave)

• ½ teaspoon fresh cracked peppercorns

• 1 teaspoon any kind of chili paste (optional)

Instructions

2. Make the black pepper sauce in a small jar, and shake until most of the sugar dissolves.

3. Prep the green onions, garlic scapes and cabbage.

4. Dredge the tofu in a light coating of cornstarch (cornstarch is optional, but provides a crispier texture).

5. Heat oil in a wok or heavy skillet until the entire pan is very hot and the oil shimmers. Add the crushed peppercorns to the oil, swirling it around until fragrant, about one minute.

6. Add the tofu to the seasoned oil, and sear on all sides until golden and crispy, turning the heat down if need be. Be patient and take your time, it will take about 5-6 minutes.

7. Set the crispy tofu aside on a paper towel-lined plate, and wipe the pan out.

8. Heat another teaspoon or two of oil over medium heat, and add green onions, garlic scapes and cabbage. Stir continuously until cabbage begins to wilt, about 3-4 minutes. It will smell amazing. Add the black pepper sauce to the pan, careful to get all the sugar that may have settled in the jar.

9. Simmer for a couple of minutes, or until cabbage is just tender.

10. Toss the tofu back into the pan with the cabbage and sauce. Taste for salt and heat, adjusting to your preference.

11. Serve immediately, dividing between two bowls.

Week 4: The days are dark, but your vegetables are green, green, green

It's been tough this week for the staff to keep working when we want to be shouting and yelling and marching the streets. Remarkably, the betrayal of humanity has not (yet) made the plants stop growing.  The least we can do is bring food to the rest of you, hoping that you're marching in our place or resisting in your own way, and hope these vegetables are a balm for our dear community.  I certainly felt that relief on Sunday, watching so many of you enjoying the strawberries and beautiful weather with one another.  
 

Announcements

• We're shifting our delivery to Dupont an hour earlier today so that you can get your vegetables and return home before the curfew. We'll be there from 4:30pm-6:30pm. If you need us to stay later, send me a text. The other pick-ups will remain the same.

• In our last e-mail to you, we announced that we were finally able to offer u-pick strawberries. It was a mammoth job getting that organized so quickly and keeping everyone coming at a steady pace. It went well, and I was glad that everyone seemed to leave with smiles and plenty of berries. If you have photos of those smiles and berries, send them to us! As of this morning, the fields have been picked pretty clean. My hope is that we'll have enough on Thursday and this weekend to accommodate any of the CSA members who have not yet had a chance to u-pick. U-pickers MUST sign up. The link to do so along with the rules are in our last e-mail. The supply is tight so make sure you check your phone before you come in case we need to adjust your reservation. We are NOT yet permitting members to u-pick a second time, but we'll alert you if we do.

• One of our volunteers, Daniel Carson, died last week. Daniel and his wife, Connie, volunteered with us a few hours each Wednesday helping wash and prep your shares (last year, when we were able to take volunteers). Connie inspired us with her patience and devotion to her husband--Daniel had dementia and required a great deal of attention, but she did not allow anyone to deny his continued integrity as a whole human being that deserved respect and care. And Daniel inspired us with his constant positive attitude and good humor. We are sad to lose such a kind soul, and I'm sorry I didn't catch a photo of that smile of his so I could show you.

This week's share

• 1 hearty handful garlic scapes

• 1 bunch onion scallions (also known as green onions or bunching onions)

• 1 cucumber or zucchini

• Root medley: turnps, radishes and beets

• A bag of lettuce heads (about a quarter pound, mostly green romaine)

• Choose: a bag of tat soi or spicy mix (this week's spicy mix is SPICY--most of the leaves are mild but a few have a knockout wasabi flavor)

• Choose: a bag of kale or collards

What are garlic scapes and how do you use them?

• Garlic scapes are the flower bud of the garlic plant. We remove them to encourage the plants to put more energy into making large garlic bulbs. We pass them to you because they're delicious!

• Chop them roughly and add to stir fry.

• Chop them roughly, put them in a blender or food processor with olive oil, salt, parmesan and toasted pine nuts or walnuts to make a pesto that's so good you'll forget why you used to use basil.

• Need garlic in a recipe? Use finely-chopped scapes! The flavor mellows significantly when cooked, so you might wish to use more than you would have if they were garlic cloves.

• Find your favorite green goddess dressing recipe (or any dressing) and add garlic scapes.

• Grill them.

• Pizza topping, of course!

Recipe: Grits and Greens

Use whichever greens happen to come home in your bag.  The recipe was a little long to include in the e-mail, so I'm linking to it here.

Stay strong friends--we need you!

Carrie Vaughn and the rest of the Clagett Farm Team