Well, it’s terrible out there. I just came in for some coffee to get a little boost to harvest and just plain warm up. I hope this monsoon slump we’ve been in will finally turn around!

I always find this a pretty tough time of year to carry on. There are only three more weeks of the CSA after this week and we’re realistically about a week from a first frost. Lots of stuff still needs to be harvested, but, having been at it for quite a while, I’m down right tired. I don’t think I could pull it off without the caffeine. Still, I’m always a bit sad when that first frost comes.

Celery

Cantaloupe

Buttercup winter squash

Yellow onion/red onion

Garlic

Juliet tomatoes

A mix of peppers

Cucumbers

Green zebra tomatoes: these are ripe now….don’t wait for them to change color just because they are green.

How does this affect growing at the farm? What I find fascinating is the effect fall weather has on growing time. In the summer, something like salad mix can go from seed to full-sized mix in 3 weeks, whereas it will take twice as long in fall weather. It seems like its still somewhat warm and sunny, but we just don’t have the full strength of the sun and length of day to move things along. This all reminds me to get that fall salad mix planted. Gotta go!

In the box:

Green Zebra Tomatoes

Red Celebrity Tomatoes

San Marzano Roma Tomatoes

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Sweet White Onions

Green Peppers

Little Red Cabbage

Kale or Collards

Thai Basil: pretty nice variety with a hint of licorice

Parsley

Summer Squash

This season, of course, we just had to challenge ourselves (as if having a third child wasn’t enough) by branching out into raising chickens. Today was one of those days when I had to layer this new enterprise on top of my usual routine, which makes for a busy day.

Well,the tomatoes are starting to ripen. This is pretty exciting for me, because, although I raise a mix of produce, I really consider myself a tomato person. I consider it my true medium. You won’t find too many in the box this week, because the first week is always a “hunt and peck” operation where I have to search high and low just to get a half case. But once they start going, it becomes an avalanche pretty quick.

So, what’s so great about tomatoes you ask? There’s a number of things.

• I like the huge variety of tomatoes. We grow 13-15 varieties-which seems like a lot-but it’s absolutely endless. Even the names are good: Sungold, Green Zebra, and-my favorite-Nebraska Wedding (isn’t that just a great name for a tomato?).
• I like endless tastes of tomatoes and how they change from season to season. Tomatoes are the closest thing we have to grapes around here. Considering on the soil, climate, weather, you get different tastes…terroir for you foodsnobs out there 🙂 A real dry year produces vibrant sweet flavors. We’ve definitely had the heat, but we’ve been a bit wet, so let’s see on taste this year.
• I like harvesting tomatoes. Things like carrots are just some you go out and harvest-there’s no allure-but tomatoes are like a gold digging expedition. I crawl around under this big canopy of foliage, prospecting for big tomatoes, colorful tomatoes, ones with crazy shapes and so on. It’s also a big harvest, which I have to approach as “hitting it hard” when the time comes, like a fisherman in high season. It’s a great feeling pulling cases upon cases into the packing shed.

A smattering of tomatoes (Orange cherry ones are called Sungold, some small Taxi tomatoes)

Lettuce (Greenleaf, Redleaf, or both)

Beets (A bit on the small side, but I just couldn’t wait any longer)

Red Norland Potatoes

Small Red Marble onion(s)

Native Gem Sweet Corn

Red Express Cabbage or Stonehead Green Cabbage

Lacinato Kale aka Dino Kale

Bunch of Carrots

Cucumbers

Kale Potato Soup

From “Simply in Season”

More of an Autumnal recipe, but would work well for this box.

1 bunch kale, chopped and steamed. Set aside.

1 T. butter

1 large onion

1 clove garlic, minced

Melt butter in soup pot. Add onion and saute until golden. Add garlic, saute another minute.

2 large potatoes, diced

2 cups hot water or broth

Add, bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft. Remove half of the cooked potatoes, puree the rest with the cooking liquid and return to the soup pot. Return reserved potatoes and steamed kale to soup pot.

3 cups water or broth

1/2 t. salt or to taste

pepper to taste

Add along with additional hot water or milk to preferred consistency. Heat gently until hot.

Our third child, Graham (look left), was born this April with much to-do. I’m still not sure his birth fit into the growing season well or not. It was good that he came before too much fieldwork got going, but it got us off our game a bit at the beginning of the season when getting on top of things is really important.

I’m often asked how we actually operate Lida Farm with now three kids and myself with a full-time job. And the only way to explain it is teamwork. Maree and I learned a while ago that both of us trying to do work outside just makes our marriage suffer because we are always arguing about who’s “turn” it is to hold the crying baby or catch a kid before he or she drives their trike into the township road. So, we do a constant trade off. When I get home from work, Mar is often in the mood to get away from kids, so I watch them and make dinner as she works outside. Then she does the same for me on other nights and on harvest days. A definite balancing act!

In the box:

Stonehead green cabbage

Broccoli

Silver Rose Garlic

Small amount of braising mix (mix of greens bound with a rubber band)

Arugula (oakleaf-looking green that has a peanut-y taste)

Parsley

Red Norland Potatoes

Chives (to go with the potatoes)

Yellow beans

Summer squash mix (some zucchini, some yellow)

Arugula Pesto

From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

2 cups arugula, washed and dried

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 T. walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted

salt and pepper to taste

Remove any tough stems from the arugula. Place it in a food processor or blender with the garlic, nuts, salt and pepper.

Add a 1/4 cup olive oil and pulse a few times. With motor running add additional olive oil to make a creamy sauce. Use within a day. Goes well with grilled chicken or shrimp.