FALL CSA WEEK 2

P i c k l i s t

BROCCOLI - LUNCH BOX PEPPERS - HABANADA PEPPERS - POBLANO PEPPERS - GREEN PEPPERS - SWEET POTATOES - ONIONS - MIZUNA - BOK CHOY - MINT  - CHINESE EGGPLANT - PUMPKINS! WATERMELON

What a week to farm!!  The weather has been so kind to us all since the last CSA pick up.  Once the morning fog lifts and the sun bursts through, it is back to Summer at edgewater while tackling Fall chores.  This looks like field clean up- removing drip tape, wrapping up ground cloth, removing sand bags holding down said ground cloth, weeding strawberries, seeding cover crop, picking every last pepper/tomato/eggplant in sight, etc- working all these tasks, but in a tank top.  Also noteworthy, snack-break-summer-feels-bonus-points: we still have a crop of watermelon that is just at arms reach when doing said fall clean up. 

There is something so precious about each ray of sunshine in late October.  It feels like we are all working under borrowed time.  Just 5 more minutes mom! This brief touch of sun should make the transition back to seasonal weather easier, as we get that final dose of last minute heat before the coming week ahead of 30 degree nights and terribly cold mornings, before we all must don our woolies and gloves from here on out.

 But the coming cold weather does more than make us have to switch up our outfit choices and freeze our fingers, it also kills weeds and bugs and sweetens crops. For example, last week’s handful of frosty nights killed those late season menacing weeds that we neglected all season.  And finally from those cold dipped nights, our carrots are sweet as can be and every brassica in sight (think kales, brusselsprouts, broccoli, etc) just got a big old boost of frost sweetened flavor.

Will this be the last week of peppers?  Too soon to say.  

Have yall moved all your potted plants inside? The time is now.  

Halloween is on the horizon, carve those pumpkins and roast those seeds

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill/oven:  BROC! PEPPERS! SWEET POTATOES! ONIONS! EGGPLANT! BOK CHOY!

GREENS THIS WEEK: I LOVE LOVE LOVE mizuna and bok choy.  They are both wonderful when eaten fresh or a quickie stir fry.

The miso sweet potato and broccoli add some substance to the mixed greens, making for a great lunch bowl. This would be just as tasty over grains.

for the salad

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

1 small head of broccoli, torn into bite-size florets

2 cups dark, leafy green mix (like your mizuna!!!)

2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

sea salt + black pepper

for the miso dressing

2 tablespoons white miso paste

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon mirin

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

sea salt + black pepper

JENNY’S NOTE: a roasted and chopped up poblano would be a delicious addition here 

1. For the dressing: Blend everything except the oil in a food processor until smooth. While the blender is still running, slowly stream in the oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil (about two tablespoons). Cook for about 20 minutes, remove from oven and shake the baking sheet to move the potatoes around (for even cooking).

3. Add the broccoli to the baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil (about a tablespoon) salt and pepper, and place back in oven for another 15 minutes until the veggies are cooked through and starting to brown.

4. Place veggies in a large bowl and allow to cool. Pour dressing over the veggies and mix to coat. Add the salad greens and mix.

WATERMELON!! Because it is debatably still summer here ;) but heads up, it could be mealy inside!  This is a real bonus round of fruit- if you have any hesitation about texture, just blend it into juice OR popsicle it

Remove & clean seeds– It starts with scooping the seeds from the pumpkin (we prefer sugar pumpkins which tend to yield smaller, crispier pumpkin seeds) and removing the stringy parts. Rinsing in a colander or fine mesh strainer helps remove any remaining goop.

Dry seeds– Using a towel, dry the seeds thoroughly. This helps them crisp up in the oven.

Add oil, salt, and seasonings– We like to use avocado oil in a ratio of 1 Tbsp oil to 1 cup seeds. Season with salt and add other seasonings (such as Shawarma, Curry Powder, or Pumpkin Pie Spice) for an extra boost.

Bake– Bake for 20-30 minutes at 325 degrees, or until the pumpkin seeds are crisp and light golden brown. Smaller seeds will need less time than larger ones.

Let cool– As the seeds cool, they will crisp up a little more. Make sure to let them cool completely before transferring to a sealed container. Otherwise, they may get soggy from the steam.

FALL CSA WEEK 1!

P i c k l i s t

RASPBERRIES - RADISH - GARLIC - LETTUCE - EGGPLANT - HOTTIE PEP - POBLANO PEP - BROCCOLI - WINTER SQUASH - PARSLEY - HOUSEPLANT - BUILD YER OWN BOUQ!

Enter Fall CSA- the time of year we begin to slow down.  It is not a full stop, the farm is still moving produce to the co-ops through New Years, and we of course have Fall CSA.

From now until Thanksgiving we are busy with continued harvest, Fall clean up, garlic planting, straw mulching and eventually blueberry pruning.  All these things get done, but with a way chiller vibe than any moment from May 1- October 1.  We start our work day later and end earlier.  We take multiple donut and hot drink breaks, and if we plan accordingly we can even catch a mid day run or pick up our kiddos at the bus stop and instead of bringing them back to work with us, we can just hang out (a monumental feat!).

But for the next 6 weeks, you know where to find us every Thursday evening- at the farmstand, moving veg to all our favorite people and bumping beats.  It’s a real beet meet beats situation.  Dare I say a beet cute?  

The lead up to Fall CSA Thursdays is also the most fun.  Aside from the inevitable freezing fingertips and toes, stepping into the warm sun on a crisp October day and cutting broccoli head after broccoli head is actually so satisfying and rhythmic and serves as a really nice way to ease into the long dark months ahead.  However this week, I stepped back from CSA duties on account of a sick kid.  Fortunately, I was able to lean on the field crew and Ray and Allie and Holle to bring it all together.  And let us not forget Anne with the flowers and Mrs. T with the herbs.  This Edgewater village continues to kick in and lift up when chips fall… or get sick.

In other news, the frost last night had us feeling super nostalgic for summer crops that were and summer crops that could have been...  For example, during frost prep, field crew went through our pepper field and picked every bell in sight.  They came in as green bell peps, but had they had more time and more heat, they would have turned their hopeful shades of orange, red, and yellow. 

We all still have time to fill and can jars for winter, and roast and freeze etc… BUT this frost acted as a real reminder that our time left with all this fresh food is limited.  Eat it while you got it people ;)

A couple of dates to consider: next week, October 24th we will begin the bread share for those that signed up and the kitchen share will be distributed on the Nov. 7th CSA pick up.

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill/oven:  radish, garlic, peppers, winter squash, eggplant, broccoli

Plants! Repot! Put near any window, water when dry, don’t water when wet, email or ask questions  if they start to look a lil yellow or crispy

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 cups small-diced butternut/honey nut squash (about one 1-lb squash)

• ¼ cup quinoa

• 3 tablespoons adobo sauce

• 1 cup vegetable stock

• 1 28- oz can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

• 1 ½ cups cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 ½ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 large poblano pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

• chopped cilantro, for garnish

• vegan sour cream, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until translucent and softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, chili powder, coriander, and cocoa to the pot and stir. Once the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds, add the squash, quinoa, and some salt and pepper. Stir to coat everything in the cocoa and spices.

2. Once everything is starting to dry up/stick, add the adobo sauce and vegetable stock to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pot to get any golden brown bits. Add the crushed tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans, poblano pepper, and a bit more salt and pepper to the pot. Stir to combine. Bring the smoky squash chili to a boil.

3. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and place a lid on top of the pot. Let the chili simmer until the squash is soft all the way through, about 25-28 minutes. Check the smoky squash chili for seasoning one more time and adjust if necessary. Serve the chili hot with chopped cilantro on top.

MITCHELL’S NOTES (it’s been 18 weeks of fab recipes, he needs no introduction)

I reached out to Mitchell extremely last minute for a recipe this week and he pointed me in the direction of his newsletter on winter squash that came with the best advice I have ever seen for winter squash: roast now, deal with it later… Keep this method in mind over the next 6 weeks as your kitchen counter becomes a cornucopia of acorn, butternut, delicata, hubbard, etc… Also, this from the newsletter, Mitchell’s pro-tips on roasting:

TECHNIQUE: ROASTING SQUASH… I treat most of my winter squash the same way.  I roast first and then figure out what to do with it later. To roast, slice the squash in half and, using a sturdy tablespoon, remove the seeds and goop. Set the halves cut-side down on a parchment-lined baking tray with sides or roasting pan. Place in a hot oven (anywhere between 400°F. and 500°F. will work; I usually roast it in the oven I’m preheating to bake bread) and let the squash roast until the halves are soft and the edges are browned. The time depends on a number of factors, including the variety (the flesh of different squash has different densities), how thick the skin and the walls of flesh are (thicker needs more time), how long ago the squash was harvested (older squash have less moisture and take longer to cook), and the temperature of the oven. Small, thin-walled delicata squash can be roasted in 20 minutes in a hot oven. The dense butternut squash in the photos below took over an hour at 475°F. 

To check if it is done, prick the thickest part of the squash with the point of a paring knife to see if it is soft. The juices that have run off into the pan while the squash cooked should be browned. And the squash should have a faint caramel smell. Remove from the oven and, using tongs, turn the squash halves over so they are skin side down to prevent the flesh from sticking to the parchment when it cools. Once cool enough to handle, use a large spoon (I happen to like an Italian gelato paddle) to scrape out the flesh, browned bits and all. store in a container in the fridge for up to two weeks. From the 3 ½ pound butternut squash in the photo (which was grown by my friends Marion and Mal), I got 4 cups of flesh.

CSA WEEK 17/ October 9th (very belated post)

P i c k l i s t

 roma tomatoes - acorn squash - lil leeks - dazzling blue kale - romaine lettuce - eggplant - habanada peppers - cayenne peppers - shishito peppers - lunch box peppers - mint - carrots - broccolini - corn

Hello friends! This week marks the very last week of the Summer CSA and I am floored that it is over.  17 weeks of harvest, 17 weeks of meal making, 17 weeks of recipes.  Though we never sat together around an actual table and dined, I do feel we shared meals, many of which were curated by our neighbor Mitchell (cheers to him yall!).  And I am still reaching weekly for that one quick Thai basil chicken recipe that Mitchell provided that is indeed quick and always hits the spot, hbu?

 I often use food to mark the passage of time.  Rather than speak of june- july- august- I say strawberry season, or that short blip of blueberries, or those two hot weeks when the melons were absolutely phenomenal.  Or how about those moments of calm in between hustles of harvest when tomato sandos would always be my sidekick.  And that one wednesday when it seemed romas would last forever, followed by that next week when they suddenly chose to not ripen as quick as promised.  But the most notable passage of time over the 2024 growing season, were the past 6 wednesdays of watermelons- a legendary feat for any crop.  This week marks the end of an era.  This week we say tata to the watermelon- the official farewell to summer- and snuggle up to the winter squash.  Enter the acorn, enter Fall.  

For those of you that hop off the CSA train this week, and head back into the world of grocery veg and coop runs, you will be missed.  I am hopeful that many of you froze some of your pestos made this season, potentially even canned some tomatoes.  I dare you to hold back on reaching for those goods until January- when your potato brain needs a little bit of a summer time boost.  Go after them then, slab 'em on crackers and remember the good times, when your countertops were overwhelmed by green things to eat and the sun shone so bright.

For those of you that I’ll be bumping elbows with next Thursday, booyah! I can not wait- I love a Fall CSA pick up night.  It is always fun to connect in real life, oggle over towers of gorgeous veg, bop around the table to whatever is serenading us over the speakers, talk meal plans and recipes and everything in between. And if by chance you are still on the fence about 7 more weeks of CSA, no prob, the fence will be there for you to hang out on until Monday in case you decide to hop over at the last minute.

As far as this week in farming goes- because that is still happening- the gold potatoes we harvested last week were some real beauties. We will continue digging them through the next two weeks or so- followed by russets and fingerlings.  It is an awesome  time of year to see the hard work of the season become a tangible thing. A bulk box of potatoes is an easy way to see that, a bin of carrots, a truckload of squash, a greenhouse full of drying onions and a row of unpicked beans- those are the tangibles that act as little pats on our back.  Those are the “good job kid” things we need to see to keep us feeling like, “oh yeah, look at that, we can grow things.”  

Anyhow, I do hope that this past season of rambles provided some insight into the how and why of edgewater, and if you are just here for the recipes- cheers to you, read on!  

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill/oven:  just about everything :) 

PRODUCE

1 garlic clove

1 lemon

4 romaine hearts (jenny’s notes: just go ahead and use your one whole head of romaine)

PANTRY

1/2 crusty baguette (about 6 ounces)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Coarsely ground black pepper

4 oil-packed anchovy fillets

1 tspn Dijon mustard

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

1teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 

DAIRY

2 large eggs

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus more 

1. MAKE THE CROUTONS: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Tear 1/2 of a baguette into irregular 1-inch pieces; you should end up with about 3 cups of torn bread. Toss on a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and a few good cranks of black pepper until well coated. Bake until deeply golden brown and crisp,12 to 14 minutes. Let cool. 

2. MAKE THE DRESSING You are about to make mayonnaise by hand, BUT it’s not as hard as it sounds. The mustard, garlic, and anchovies that get mixed into the egg yolk will help support the emulsion. Separate the yolks and whites of 2 large eggs. Place the yolks in a large bowl (where you’ll build your dressing) and reserve the whites for another use. Finely grate 1 garlic clove and the zest of about half of a lemon into the large bowl. Squeeze in the juice of half of the lemon. Finely chop 4 anchovies, then mash them to a paste, using the side of a chef’s knife until homogeneous; add to the large bowl. Add 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and whisk everything to combine. Place a damp kitchen towel underneath the bowl to stabilize it so it doesn’t slip ’n’ slide all over the place as you whisk in the oil. Starting with a very thin stream at first, whisking constantly as you go, incorporate ½ cup of canola oil into the yolk mixture until it is thick, creamy, and pale yellow. Whisk in 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 3/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup). Taste the dressing on a leaf of romaine— it should be salty, cheesy, and lemony. Make any adjustments necessary until it tastes so good that you’d be happy eating a bowl of it alone with a side of crouts. 

3. PREP THE LETTUCE: Tear the leaves of 4 romaine hearts into 2-inch pieces and transfer them to the bowl of dressing. Squeeze the juice of half of the lemon over the romaine, season with salt, and toss the leaves to coat, avoiding incorporating any of the dressing beneath just yet. 

It’s always a good idea to preseason your greens with some acid and salt so they are zippy and zingy and hold up to the dressing.The lettuce contains water, which is going to dilute the flavor of the dressing, so you’ll always need a little extra acid to combat that. 4. SERVE: Add the croutons and gently toss the lettuce with your hands until well coated. Add 1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup) and toss again. Divide among plates and top with more grated Parmesan and black pepper.

MITCHELL’S NOTES (it’s been 17 weeks of fab recipes, he needs no introduction)

Zaaluk

Another delicious recipe from my friend, cookbook author Adeena Sussman (see last week’s Melted Cabbage), for this Moroccan eggplant “salad”—more like a dip, really—you simply roast everything on a sheet pan and mix it together at the end. There’s a real synergy, as the sum of the ingredients is much more than its parts.

1 firm eggplant (about 1 pound), stem and crown removed, cut in half, lengthwise

5 Roma tomatoes, chop

1 sweet red Carmen or bell pepper, split in half, stemmed and seeded

1 jalapeño pepper, split in half, stemmed and seeded

4 cloves garlic, peeled

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

¼ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 475°F. Lay the eggplant halves cut side down on an olive-oil greased baking sheet, along with four of the tomatoes, both peppers, and the garlic. Set in the hot oven and bake until soft and charred, about 40 minutes or so. Let the vegetables cool slightly, then transfer to a cutting board and chop finely. Lower the oven to 400°F. Return the vegetables to the sheet pan, drizzle with the ¼ cup of olive oil, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and the smoked paprika, and stir with a rubber spatula to evenly coat and distribute. Bake another 7 or 8 minutes, until the spices are fragrant. Remove from the oven. Chop the remaining tomato finely and toss with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt. Add this tomato along with the lemon zest, juice, and cilantro and stir into the mix. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CSA WEEK 15

P i c k l i s t

 Roma tomatoes - carmen peppers - poblano peppers - watermelon - 

onion - italian parsley - beets - eggplant - green beans - lettuce

This past week was a mix of harvest everything all the time AND party so hard.  Debatably too hard (Oops).  Still catching up on all the sleep missed on Saturday night- but every moment felt too important to miss.  We gathered this weekend to celebrate the farm and the farmers that started it all 50 years ago.  Between the four of us- Anne, Pooh, Sarah, Ray and I- we put together a loose list of folks that have come and gone throughout the years.  Folks that we have sweat with, cried with, picked with, and field laughed with (which to be clear is different from a normal day to day giggle. Field laughing goes deep past the belly and into your heart and the memory sticks with ya forever, it is glorious).  Anyhow, to all those we’ve farmed with and the family that surrounds us we celebrated.  And with 50 years of edgewater and the bonds that were created therein, it turned into a fairly momentous affair.  I’ve been a part of the farm for 16 seasons and have seen the best of the best move through the farm and through the field.  Edgewater brings together great people.  Just ask Anne how many tears she’s cried over the years when dearly loved employees that become buds say goodbye (at this point, I’m going to guess it would be enough to fill a 5 gallon bucket).  Bottomline, 50 years of farming is community building and it is so cool to be a part of it and unbelievably beautiful to bring everyone that's got the farm in their heart together.  Cheers to the next 50, sure hope we don't burn it all down via a messy quickbook computer screen and a firework gone wrong.  

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:  eggplant - green beans - roma tomato - onion - peppers - beets - watermelon (whaaat??!? Yup i said it, watermelon)

MITCHELL’S NOTES

(it’s been 15 weeks of fab recipes, he needs no introduction now)

Ratatouille For Edgewater CSA Newsletter

There are many different ways to prepare a ratatouille—the Provençal vegetable stew, not the Pixar animated film. The most traditional is to sauté all of the vegetables separately, layer them in casserole and bake them until they meld together into a meltingly delicious dish. But you don’t always have time for that. Instead, you can make a perfectly respectable ratatouille in one pot, as long as you add in the vegetables at strategic times so they don’t overcook. This is a recipe for the latter. Makes 4 to 6 servings

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

Salt

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 or 3 sweet peppers, such as Carmen or poblano, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small hot pepper, minced, or a pinch of red pepper flakes

1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice

1 zucchini, cut into 1-inch dice

½ quart green beans, tipped and tailed and cut into 1-inch pieces

½ quart cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cup white wine

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 bay leaf

Large handful fresh herbs, such as parsley, basil, thyme, marjoram, or a combination,

leaves only, chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

In a wide Dutch oven or heavy saucepan, heat half the olive oil. Add the sliced onion and a pinch of salt and sauté for a few minutes until soft. Add the garlic and sauté another 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the peppers, both sweet and hot, and sauté until they begin to wilt. Add the remaining olive oil, let it heat up, and then add the diced eggplant. Cook for 5 or 6 minutes until the eggplant softens a little. It will soak up all the oil at first and then release it. Add the zucchini, green beans, and cherry tomatoes, and continue sautéing until the tomatoes begin to give off their liquid. Add the white wine, tomato paste, bay leaf, a generous pinch of salt, and about ¼ cup of water to moisten the mixture. When it comes to a simmer, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer until the eggplant is soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped herbs and a decent amount of black pepper. Simmer 1 minute more, taste, and adjust the seasoning with more salt, if necessary. For a dryer ratatouille, let simmer a few minutes uncovered to evaporate some of the liquid, being careful not to let it burn. Serve hot or at room temperature. —Mitchell Davis

Caponata

¼ cup olive oil

1 large large eggplant, chopped into 2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ small red onion, small dice

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon capers

¼ cup green olives, pitted and chopped

2 cups diced fresh tomatoes

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Panzanella

4 cups torn up bread pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

⅓ cup tomatoes, chopped

extra chopped parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the pieces of eggplant and oregano. Stir the pieces around to coat them in the oil and herb. Stir the pot here and there until the eggplant is browned on all sides. Add the red onions and garlic to the pot. Stir it up a bit, adding a bit more olive oil if necessary to avoid sticking.

3. Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the red wine vinegar. Scrape the bottom of the pan and stir the mix until the vinegar has evaporated. Add the capers, olives and tomatoes to the pot and stir. Allow the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the eggplant is tender and the tomatoes have let out a bit of juice. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley, season to taste, and set aside to cool.

4. Place the bread pieces on the parchment lined sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Slide the tray into the oven and bake until golden brown on all sides, about 12-15 minutes, flipping them halfway through. Set aside to cool.

5. Combine the caponata with the croutons, stirring gently until just combined. Garnish the salad with a healthy drizzle of more olive oil, the halved tomatoes and extra parsley. I also like to scatter the crouton crumb-y bits left on the pan over the top of the salad for more crunch.

Recipe Notes

• It's pretty crucial to cook the eggplant until it's VERY tender, like a solid 15 minute simmer.

• There's a lot of salty bits in the caponata so I recommend tasting the finished product (with bread etc) before you season with additional salt.

A flavourful mashup of tangy eggplant caponata mixed with summer tomatoes and toasted stale bread. So delicious and perfect for summer!

CSA WEEK 14, a very belated posting original date 9/18

P i c k l i s t

 Roma tomatoes - cherry tomatoes - carmen peppers - shishito peppers - habanada peppers - gochujang pepper - watermelon - onion - shiso - thai basil - carrots - lettuce

Great week and great weather. On the farm we are maximizing these dry day opportunities.  We continue to bulk harvest carrots and winter squash, including pumpkins.  The fields consistently turn gold at about 5pm and the farmstand is looking particularly va va voom.  So many crops picked daily, the variety is simultaneously overwhelming and glorious. Seems like the next 10 days will offer some favorable weather to get it all done. Let’s just all keep enjoying the sun while we can....

In other news: how is everyone’s preserving going?  Have yall been saucing? Roasting? Freezing? Canning? Pickling? I for one have really slacked off. Gotta get back at it while we got it.

If any of yall are in need of bulk crops for your own winter sitch, you can bulk order from our farmstand. To special order any and all things, call the farmstand 603-298-5764, leave a message and someone will get back to ya about pick up and price.  You can also email me ;)

CROPS TO LOAD UP ON INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: tomatoes by the case, beets by the bushel. We also have green beans, wax beans, onions, carrots, edamame, roasting peppers, eggplant, herbs etc… 

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:  roma tomato - onion - peppers - watermelon (whaaat??!? Yup i said it, watermelon)

PEPPER VARIETIES, A QUASI GUIDE: 

HABANADA: CREAMSICLE COLORED PEPPER- MY PERSONAL FAVE PEP OF ALL TIME.  It’s a mild habanero.  Smoky sweet flavor, i just love it.

GOCHUJANG: Long, skinny red pepper.  Korean hybrid pepper with hot pungency. Used for dried pepper when the pepper is red and mature (hong gochu), ground into flakes.  You can add it to dishes and eat it fresh, or hang it out to dry for later eating.  

MITCHELL’S NOTES (it’s been 14 weeks of fab recipes, he needs no introduction now)

but do check out his substack for more recipes!

Quick Thai Basil Chicken

A beloved Thai classic, gai pad krapow, is a simple, quick dish that comes together in less than 15 minutes. Make it vegetarian with extra-firm tofu crumbled to resemble ground meat. Serve with steamed jasmine rice and a quick stir-fried vegetable for a quick weekday meal.

3 tablespoon peanut or other vegetable oil

1 small, hot red chili, such as Thai, Korean, or Mexican, seeded and minced

1 small onion or 3 shallots, very thinly sliced

3 large cloves garlic, sliced

1 pound ground chicken, turkey, or crumbled extra-firm tofu

1 tablespoon maple syrup

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth or water

1 large bunch Thai basil, leaves only

In a large frying pan set over high heat, add the oil. When hot, add the chili, onion, and garlic, and sauté for a couple of minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the ground chicken, turkey, or tofu, and cook, breaking up the clumps. When it starts to brown, add the maple syrup, soy sauce, and fish sauce, and sauté for another minute or two, until the bits are all nicely coated. Add the broth or water and allow the liquid to evaporate quickly, stirring often. When just about dry again, add the basil leaves and stir until wilted. Serve over steamed jasmine rice.

JENNY’S GO TO SALAD: Yall, what you are getting for your CSA this week, is basically what I take home and put together nearly nightly for grown up meals.  I like a big lettuce salad with these herbs in particular.  Both shiso, AND Thai basil add so much flavor here.  So, in order to achieve peak jenny salad, strip leaves from herb bunches, chop like a wild woman, and toss into already torn up lettuce leaves. Fluff 'em up together in one big bowl.  

Add Already warmed, fried and chard shishitos and habanadas.  Toss in some sesame seeds, throw a couple fried eggs on top, salad dress however you like and EAT at once.

And IF YOU want to take this salad to the next level, just add rice, but not just any rice, Add:

This recipe uses fresh shiso leaves to make a quick, easy lunch or dinner. You can either use freshly cooked rice (done however you like to cook rice) 

2 cups cooked rice
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp salted peanuts
1 spring onion, finely sliced
small handful coriander leaves
3 large shiso leaves, sliced
Thai basil leaves, sliced
1 small red chili, finely sliced

METHOD: Spoon the hot rice into a bowl. Drizzle with soya sauce and sesame oil. Top with the rest of the ingredients, divided into sections over the top of the rice.

Watermelon: Perfect for juice making/ immersion blend, cool down, and enjoy :)

CSA WEEK 13, a very belated posting originally for September 11

P i c k l i s t

 Roma (red and gold) tomatoes - corn - carmen peppers - melon -

Edamame - cherry tomatoes - garlic - hottie pepper - parsley - oregano & thyme 

This week in farming has been an absolute joy.  Since June we’ve spent our time simultaneously planting, weeding, and harvesting, which is always a lot to keep up with and at times totally overwhelming.   For example, throughout the season we seed multiple lettuce plantings, brassicas, cucurbits, etc. and these succession plantings are tended and dealt with, while also picking strawberries, blueberries, and every summer veg imaginable.  But this week we seeded our last bit of field radishes, and spicy greens, and planted our last tunnel (for Fall CSA harvest).  ACTUALLY, I am second guessing myself, I bet we set aside a few more greenhouses for deep Fall veg.  Regardless, there was a shift of activity.  We are no longer attempting 10 tasks in a day. Huge relief!

Also, with the cool nights and the early moonrise, the weeds are slowing down giving way to just harvesting- that’s it.  That is all we have to do, just pick all day.  There is a lovely vibrant feeling that comes with the act of outdoor, sunshiny, monotonous tasks that require very little direction.  Oh to spend the afternoon in the fresh air filling bushel after bushel!  Right now, it’s the best.  Bonus points if you happen to be doing said task proximity to a watermelon field.  All this said, I need yall to know that this very pleased farmer can turn less than thrilled in a heartbeat if the forecast turns and calls for cold and rain.  But for now, the days are pure gold.  And at the end of summer when our bodies are cooked, and our brains are fried, weeks like this are the best.

So what are we picking? How do we fill our afternoons?  Our focus this week has been on winter squash and carrots. Pick’em/ bushel’em/ bin’em/ and store’m on repeat.   Are we smooth sailing? I don’t want to jinx us, but it sure seems like we are close.  

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:   corn - roma tomato - garlic - peppers 

PARSLEY/ OREGANO/ THYME/ GARLIC/ TOMATOES OF ALL SIZES?!?

This obviously calls for roast and sauce.  SEE WEEK 8 CSA BLOG POST for Mitchel’s how to… and use all the herbs :)

Nancy’s New England Corn Chowder Makes 6 servings

MITCHEL’S NOTES (it’s been 13 weeks of fab recipes, he needs no introduction now)

https://substack.com/@kitchensense/p-148722323

This recipe comes from my friend Nancy Harmon Jenkins, a native of Maine, who knows her way around chowder. She adds cooked beans and sliced cherry tomatoes when the mood strikes. You can subscribe to her On the Kitchen Porch newsletter on Substack. 

  1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 ounces bacon, pancetta, guanciale, or ham fat, cut into tiny cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

Salt

1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced

3 or 4 ears fresh corn

Pinch red chili powder or flakes

Juice of 1 lime

1 1/2 cups light chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream or crème fraiche

2 bay leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

Handful fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, tarragon, thyme and/or dill

 Combine the butter and a tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and fry until the fat renders and the remaining bits brown and crisp. With a slotted spoon, remove the crisped bits and set aside. Add the onion to the pan with a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 4 or 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring, so they begin to absorb the flavor of the fat.

While the potatoes and onions are cooking, heat a large frying pan with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Using your preferred method, cut the kernels from the cobs—I slice them off the cob over the pan, which I probably shouldn’t advise, but it works for me—and add to the pan. Using a spoon, scrape the cobs to extract any milky liquid—something I’ve never done before Nancy told me to do it—and add this to the pan, as well. Cook the corn kernels, stirring often, until they begin to caramelize and brown slightly, 7 or 8 min utes. A starchy film will form on the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring. Once browned, add a generous pinch of salt and a less generous pinch of chili. Add the juice of a lime, and then transfer everything into the saucepan with the potatoes and onions.

 Put the corn pan back on the stove over a medium-high flame and add about half the stock. While it boils, deglaze the pan by scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon so you get all that flavorful corn goodness that was stuck to it. Pour this into the pot as well, along with the remaining stock. Let simmer a few minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add the milk and cream, the bay leaves, and a generous amount of black pepper, and continue cooking for 15 minutes or so until everything comes together. Stir in the chopped herbs. Taste, adjust the seasoning and serve.

EDAMAME: BOIL FOR 5 MINUTES/ SALT/ EAT THE PEAS RIGHT ON OUT

CSA WEEK 12, a very belated posting originally for September 4th

P i c k l i s t

 roma tomatoes - mint - corn - lunchbox peppers - melon -

carrots - potatoes - cherry tomatoes - onion

I know a heap of yall are enthusiastically pulling out your woollies and reaching for those Pumpkin Spice Lattes and counting down the days until the gourds are dripping from the farmstand, but let’s pump the brakes a bit shall we?  Remember, Summer is so short and so sweet and we are currently elbows deep in tomatoes and wading our way through the melon patch.  Summer is here now, and we must eat all the fresh corn before corn is gone for another (gasp) 10 months. 

HOWEVER, we do need to think ahead…SO, for those of you who embrace all seasons, and the eating there in, get on board my actual favorite club in town. FALL CSA sign ups are live people! IYKYK… and if Fall CSA is new to you, it's like a boosted Summer CSA, and it’s the most fun.  Always music, always high fives, towers of winter squash, castles made of cauliflower, stacks of sweet potatoes, spicy greens galore, the occasional build your own bouquet bar.  It’s a vibe.    

HERE ARE THE DEETS: $228.00/ 6 weeks of fresh Fall crops all grown here at Edgewater Farm

BEGINS THURSDAY OCTOBER 17Th/ ENDS THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21ST

PICK UP TAKES PLACE THURSDAYS, with one special spooky pick up on Wednesday, October 30th

AT THE FARMSTAND 4:30-6 p.m

Weekly Share equivalent to 1/2- 3/4 bushel box

And why do we do this? Because the farmstand closes for the season around Indigenous Peoples Day, and we still have so much food in the fields- let's dig it, pick it, cook it, and eat it.  Also, who doesn't love a weekly excuse to hang out around gorgeous veg? 

HOW DOES IT WORK: Upon arrival at the farm, you will get a weekly newsletter with recipes inspired by the CSA crops, and a pick-list to select your veg. You can expect all of the classic Fall crops: winter squash, sweet potatoes, greens, onions, garlic, beets, carrots, maybe end of season peppers and tomatoes, herbs, etc…

This CSA is open to all FALL food lovers and friends

SIGN UP ONLINE TODAY, THINK FALL,  BUT EMBRACE THE SUMMER VEG IN FRONT OF YA TODAY :)

 FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:   corn - roma tomato - onion - peppers - carrots 

Mint: always a great addition to salads, there are plenty of recipes out there that love to pair a mint sprig and a melon, but right now with the cool nights, i love a mint tea night cap, just boil water and steep 

That Baked Feta and Cherry Tomato Pasta

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy of Mitchell Davis, our fave up the road nearly resident chef… 

definitely check out his substack for more recipe inspo: https://kitchensense.substack.com/

This dish went viral on social media a few years and with good reason. It is simple and delicious.

8 ounces feta

1 ½ pounds cherry or grape tomatoes

6 cloves garlic cloves, smashed

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

12 ounces short pasta, such as casarecce, rigatoni, penne or farfalle

1 bunch basil, leaves only (perhaps you have some left over from last week?)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. In the center of a deep 9” by 13” baking dish, place the feta. Scatter the cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves around the cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bake for 40 minutes until the tomatoes have burst and the cheese has softened and browned.

About 15 minutes before the tomatoes and feta are done, cook the pasta in abundant salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/3 cup of the pasta water and drain, but do not rinse. Add the hot pasta to the baking dish along with the basil leaves and about ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately.

CSA WEEK 11

P i c k l i s t

 roma tomatoes - cilantro - corn - purple pepper - watermelon -

kale - Basil - cherry tomatoes - onion

This week has been a real mix of kicking butt and having butts kicked.  With last week’s fleeting feeling that Summer was slipping away, and this week’s return to school, our family of four (two of which are full time farmers while the other two are full time farm adjacent) chose the more is more is more vibe, while ALSO working full time.  OOPS.  While we took in many sweet moments- paddling down the Connecticut, outdoor movie nights, lobster boils, etc, there was also the daily tasks that could not be delayed.  For example: morning harvest, followed by deliveries, and afternoon weeding.  We are officially running ourselves ragged over here, grown ups and kiddos alike.  It all felt a little much come Saturday night at 6pm when the kiddos sat in the parked minivan, along the field’s edge listening to the moth radio hour, while Ray and I were picking corn.  We promised them a dip in Kennedy pond post harvest only to then drive to Kennedy pond at 7:45 seeing that the sun had already dipped below the treeline.  Double oops. But the kiddos can’t complain too badly.  They had a pretty great Summer grazing their way through the days- berries from the fields, and cookies from the farmstand made for regular adventures AND they are currently on one last hurrah.  A Sprague family tradition, started by the wise old farm sage GranPooh Sprague in which he would call in a “sick” one day during the season, declare it a private holiday and take little Ray and little Sarah off farm to magical places far and wide (but also within the twin states).  Today, the next farming generation, now Big Ray and Big Sarah* have taken their littles on an adventure to get all the wilds out of them (storyland and lost river) before school starts.  Not a bad tradition, only second to the tradition of pizza and ice cream cake for every single edgewater field crew birthday, of which there are aplenty.

As for school starting, deep breaths all around and please note the cherry tomatoes and the 3 tiny peppers making for excellent school lunch fodder.  

And for those curious about how the week felt specifically in the fields, we are mostly harvesting and weeding now. We have weeded our strawberries for the 6th time, and hopefully the weeds will now slow. Daylight is reducing and we have made it successfully through millions of weeds so you gotta hope we have depleted a good portion of the seed bank. Our strawberry fields now look pretty good and continue to runner, so we can hope for a good crop next year. However we still will go through them once more with hoes before we cover them with straw and put them to bed.  

Our Fall winter squash is beginning to ripen up.  We spotted some spaghetti and acorn ready to go and a bit of butternut looks close behind it.  Tons of cherry tomatoes and plums continue to ripen.  Labor day is this weekend and that usually is peak abundance for melons and watermelons, and hot damn this fruit is delicious.  And great news for September, our next corn planting is looking pretty stellar.  

*For those CSA newbies of which there are a few of ya: Ray and Sarah are the kids of Anne and Pooh.  They grew up at edgewater  alongside their farming parents and are still at it.  Ray manages field crops, and Sarah manages greenhouses.  

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:   corn - roma tomato - onion - peppers 

MAYO-CILANTRO-SRIRACHA SMOTHERED CORN:  The following recipe is a real heavy hitter in my house as we indulge in corn every single night.  This stuff takes it to the next level.

1. Finely chop cilantro leaves

2.  stir into MAYO

3. squirt in sriracha

4. Mix any utensil in sight

5. Pass on butter (gasp!) and spread this mayo upgrade on your cooked ear of corn and prepare to be delighted

Jenny’s Note: this recipe is particularly great eaten fresh

Ingredients Yield:About 2 cups

• 3 large ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped

• ¼ cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, finely chopped

• ¼ white onion, chopped

• 1 jalapeño, finely chopped

• 1 serrano chile, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, finely grated

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more as needed

• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

Preparation:  Gently toss tomatoes, cilantro, onion, jalapeño, serrano, garlic and 1 tablespoon lime juice in a small bowl; season with salt and more lime juice if necessary. Let sit, uncovered, to let flavors meld, about 10 minutes.

Jenny’s Note: this recipe is particularly great for canning and eating come winter

INGREDIENTS:

8 plum tomatoes (about 2 pounds)

cored 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled 

2 serrano chiles, stemmed 

1/2 medium onion, halved 

1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves and tender stems

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus more if needed  Kosher salt  

Directions: Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic, chiles and onion and cook, turning occasionally, until charred on all sides, about 3 minutes for the garlic, 4 to 5 minutes for the chiles, 6 to 8 minutes for the onion and 8 to 10 minutes for the tomatoes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

When cool enough to handle, peel the garlic. Add the tomatoes, garlic, chiles, onion, cilantro, lime juice and 1 tablespoon salt to a blender and puree on low speed, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom to ensure an even texture, until the salsa is almost smooth but some small pieces remain. 

Season with salt and more lime juice if needed. When blending hot liquid, first let it cool for five minutes or so, then transfer it to a blender, filling only halfway. Put the lid on, leaving one corner open. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel to catch splatters, and pulse until smooth.

But what about basil?!?! If you are not feeling a salsa week, sauce it up yall!

CSA WEEK 10

P i c k l i s t

 roma tomatoes - curly parsley - corn - jalapeno peppers - melon - collard greens - 

green beans - garlic - onion

NOTES FROM POOH SPRAGUE: For this week’s newsletter, I’d like to introduce you to Pooh’s blog, he updated the other day- thoughts on 50 years of farming…

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:   corn - jalapeno peppers! - roma tomato - onion - green beans

Braised Green Beans recipe by nearly resident chef, Mitchell Davis… Although we’ve come to believe that green beans should be fresh and snappy, these long- cooked, tomato-braised beans that are common around the Mediterranean are totally delicious nonetheless. Long cooking changes the flavor and texture of green beans, in a good way. This dish can be scaled up or down and served hot or at room temperature.

Serves 4 as a side dish
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ small onion, finely chopped

Salt

1 small clove garlic, minced

Pinch red pepper flakes

4 or 5 plum tomatoes or 1 quart cherry tomatoes, cored and chopped

Water

1 tablespoons tomato paste

1 quart green beans, tipped and cut on the diagonal into 1 ½-inch pieces

Chopped parsley

Set a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté for 3 or 4 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté another minute or two until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes until they begin to soften and give off their juice. Add the water and tomato paste and

stir to dissolve the paste. Add the green beans. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 30 minutes or so, until the beans are tender but still hold their shape. Remove the lid, raise the heat, and let the juices reduce a little until the whole thing coheres. Stir in the parsley. Adjust the seasoning with salt and serve hot or room temperature.

Jenny’s note: I LOVE a pickled jalapeno! Add sparingly (or not) to soups, tacos, scrambled eggs, etc… I may have over picked these bad boys, so i have a pretty large canning project coming up this weekend, my winter tacos will be so pleased.  

First, slice your peppers into rounds. There’s no law against using whole jalapeños, but smaller pieces will soak up the brine faster. Bring 1 cup distilled white vinegar, 2 Tbsp. kosher salt, 2 tsp. sugar, up to 2 Tbsp. spices (e.g., peppercorns, ­coriander seeds, and/or ­mustard seeds), chopped fresh herbs (like cilantro), and 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. You’ll want enough liquid to cover the peppers, so feel free to scale this ratio up or down as needed.

Transfer sliced peppers to clean glass jars and pour over the brine, leaving ½ inch of headspace between the liquid line and the rim. Screw on the lids and let the jars cool before transferring to the fridge. Your pickled jalapeños will be best after 48 hours and last up to two months refrigerated. OR, take the extra step to can for winter months and enjoy all year long.  

The herbs are the star of this tabbouleh recipe—and require a bit of care. Make sure to use a very sharp knife so that you can slice through the parsley and mint just once. You don’t want to run your knife over them again and again or use a food processor; doing so will bruise the tender leaves and lead to a soggy salad. In classic recipes, like this one, there should only be enough bulgur and tomatoes to balance all those herbs, so keep the proportions in check. And, if you don’t eat gluten, you can swap bulgur for quinoa.

¼ cup fine-grind bulgur

3 medium ripe tomatoes (about 1 lb. total)

⅓ cup fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

2 bunches of parsley, thick stems trimmed

1½ cups mint leaves

4 scallions, very thinly sliced crosswise

¾ tsp. ground allspice

5 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

Step 1
Place bulgur in a small bowl and cover with boiling water by 1". Let sit until bulgur is soft and tender, 20–30 minutes.
Step 2
Finely chop tomatoes and transfer to a large bowl (juices and all). Add lemon juice and bulgur to bowl; season with salt, then toss to combine.
Step 3
Rinse parsley under cold water and shake to get rid of excess water. Working in batches and starting at stem end, finely slice stems and leaves with your sharpest knife, making one even pass. This is so the parsley doesn’t get bruised or wilt and stays light in the salad (you should have about 4 cups).
Step 4
Gather mint leaves in a tight bunch and repeat same slicing motion as you did with the parsley.
Step 5
Add parsley, mint, scallions, and allspice to bowl with bulgur mixture; toss to coat in lemon juice. Drizzle with oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss once more and serve immediately.

CSA WEEK 9

p i c k l i s t

roma tomatoes - Thai Basil - corn - shishito peppers - 

edamame (young soy beans!) - melon - cabbage - new potatoes - garlic

The weather is certainly shifting. It can still shift back to hot summer days, but for now the cooler nights slow down the summer vining crops. Our cucumbers and squash have slowed production considerably and pretty soon we will start bringing in our fall crops. I am crossing my fingers this moment is just a Fall teaser and not the beginning of flannel on flannel. Ick, ick, ick, not ready.. We only just bit into our first watermelon over here!

On the topic of Fall, soon we will put info out there regarding our Fall CSA.  Stay tuned for that, and dream up winter squash recipes while chowing on sweet corn and tomatoes.  

This week at edgewater we continue to harvest everything all the time while simultaneously getting pumped for fair season. Though we never have our shit together to actually enter a veg for blue ribbon status, there are many times in the field when I come across (what I deem as) the largest eggplant on the planet, or the perfect tomato.  These are all tiny glory moments that are sprinkled throughout my everyday, often declaring blue ribbons all around! This weekend we make time to leave the fields and head to our home-town-Cornish-fairgrounds.  I am very pumped to wander, play some games, eat a corn dog and take in some prize winning animals, vegetables, quilts, and queens- love it all, see ya there!

Also at edgewater this week, we dipped into the bean field and got yall some edamame! These beans are such a treat and true labor of love.  We grow them because we love to eat them.  No other reason.  No big profits coming in from these baddies and we should never run the numbers on whether they make sense or not, because as a business- they take entirely too much time.  BUT it is glorious to grow, pick, boil, salt and eat your own.  We cut the plants low and bunch them, as the pods are a real pain in butt to pick.  Luckily for you, the CSAer, we left the pods on, so you too can experience the ummmm, errr “delight” of real time picking. Enjoy!

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:   corn - shishito peppers! - roma tomato - onion - potatoes (if you have the patience) 

Shishito peppers EXCELLENT on grill OR fry pan. Shmear your shishitos with olive oil - toss them on grill/or in pan. Cook until blistered, remove from heat, sprinkle with salt, and devour immediately.  So good.  

Edamame: When eaten at this young stage soy beans are called Edamame (perhaps you are familiar? )

To eat:  1) Pick bean pods off plant

2) Boil in water for 7ish minutes, followed by icebath

3) Drain water, salt pods, devour immediately

Fried garlic chips 

from my one of my fave cook books: 

BURMA SUPERSTAR: ADDICTIVE RECIPES FROM THE CROSSROADS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

by Desmond Tan and Kate Leahy

Makes about ⅓ cup fried garlic and about ½ cup garlic oil (perfect as a salad topper)

Ingredients:

½ cup thinly sliced fresh garlic

½ cup canola oil (though i used olive oil and it turned out great)

Line a heat proof bowl with a strainer.  Line a plate with paper towels.  In a wok or small saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat for a minute or two (the oil shouldnt be scorching hot).  Add the garlic and gently stir into the oil.  When bubbles start to form rapidly around the garlic, decrease the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is an even golden color and nearly completely crisp, about 3 minutes.  If the garlic starts to darken too quickly, remove it from the heat and let it continue to fry in the oil.  If the garlic needs more time to fry, return the wok to low heat and continue to fry.  

Pour the contents of the wok into the strainer lined bowl.  Lift the strainer up and shake off of the excess oil.  Scatter the garlic onto the lined plate.  The garlic should crisp up as it cools.  The chips can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 month.  Store the oil in the fridge for up to 6 months.  

Yes, you can (and should) make salad in a mortar. When hardy vegetables, like cabbage, are lightly crushed in a tall Thai-style clay mortar with a long wooden pestle, they are tenderized just enough to yield a pleasing soft crunch. Bruised Thai basil, cilantro, and mint permeate this dish, with a dressing of fish sauce and lime, pounded chiles, garlic, and ginger. Serve it alongside grilled or roasted fish or chicken and steamed jasmine rice.

By Andrea Slonecker/  Updated on July 26, 2023 Tested by Food & Wine Test Kitchen

• 3 thin slices (about the size of a quarter) peeled fresh ginger

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 fresh Thai chile or 1/2 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded, and sliced

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

• 6 cups packed shredded cabbage (from 1 medium head)

• 1 cup loosely packed soft fresh herbs (such as Thai basil, cilantro, and mint)

• 2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped dry-roasted peanuts

• Fried garlic, for serving

Directions

• Using a kruk, pound ginger, garlic, chile, and sugar to a fine paste, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cabbage and herbs; pound until cabbage is slightly softened and crushed and flavor of herbs is released, about 30 seconds. Add fish sauce and lime juice, and toss with pestle and a spoon until evenly combined. Let mixture stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Serve salad topped with peanuts and fried garlic chips!.

Originally appeared: May 2020

Thai Stir-Fried Cabbage

recipes is from Mitchell Davis, our beloved up the road nearly resident chef…

I’m writing this week from Bangkok so I’ve got fish sauce on my mind. This quick Thai stir fry is an easy, fragrant way to cook just-harvested summer cabbage. Don’t cook it too long; you want to keep the leaves a little crisp and refreshing.

1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

½ small head green cabbage, cored, leaves separated and cut into uneven 2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon Thai of Vietnamese fish sauce (nam plah)

Freshly ground white pepper

Salt to taste

Have a small dish of water at the ready. Heat a large cast-iron pan or carbon-steel wok over high heat until smoking hot. Remove from the heat and immediately add the oil and garlic, stirring to lightly brown the garlic without burning. Return the pan to the heat and add the cabbage, stirring and tossing to distribute the garlic, making sure it doesn’t burn, and to wilt the cabbage ever so slightly. Add droplets of water to the pan to steam-cook the cabbage, waiting each time for it to evaporate before adding more, until the cabbage is crisp but tender, about 2 minutes, depending on how hot your pan is. Add the fish sauce by spooning it around the edge of the pan, not directly onto the cabbage, so that it fries and evaporates as it blends in. The aroma will be strong but then dissipate into deep umami flavor. Keep tossing. Season with white pepper and salt to taste.

CSA WEEK 8

P i c k l i s t

 roma tomatoes - oregano - corn - onion - purple pepper -

lemon balm - lettuce - melon - cucumbers

Blueberry season came to an end this week and we are bumming.  The fruit is there but the quality is not.  While this typically occurs mid August, at the end of our blueberry picking season, this year the end- with its soft smushy berries- came entirely too soon.  Thank Goodness for that sweet sweet melon, of which we currently are rich in, to distract us from the hit we will take due to the sudden lack of blues.   

Yesterday, for the first time in my history of working at Edgewater, we celebrated Jamaican Independence Day away from the blueberry fields.  Typically we party amongst the blues, in the field, mid pick, but last night the crew came over after a full day of cutting pig weeds out of the eggplant and pepper planting.  As the majority of our crew is from Jamaica, it is only appropriate- and I say mandatory- to order a heap of food from Sunshine Cookshop in Claremont, and kick back.  We brought in a full spread of curry goat, jerk chicken, rice and beans, and red stripes.  It’s always a treat to literally sit down with the crew - a real mid season rarity- and put some Jamaican food in our bellies.  

Now that we are out of blueberry season, the next couple of weeks will be spent bringing in the harvest while simultaneously cleaning up the fields.  So many weeds have taken over- there is an actual jungle to bushwack every time the piclistk calls for fennel- and at this point we are crossing our fingers the crab grass in the potatoes decides to slow its roll… 

On the bright side of farm life, the temps have cooled, actually meeting the kitchen needs of the tomato harvest.  August is the month to focus efforts on putting up food for winter.  However doing so in August is often dreadful on account of sweltering heat mixed with stove top/oven use efforts.  While I do not love a cool summer day, I do appreciate the gift it brings when the tomatoes demand roasting/saucing/etc… So without any further ramblings, grab your ball jars, winter is coming, and farmy foodie pro-tips await…

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill:   corn - onion - roma tomato - pepper 

The following 2 recipes are from Mitchell Davis our beloved up the road nearly resident chef…

Both recipes can be frozen or canned for winter eating.  To can, see https://www.ballmasonjars.com/recipes?fdid=tomatoes&custompid=tomato-juice

And if freezing, make sure to add space in your bag/container/jar for inevitable expansion.

There are two ways to look at today’s CSA pick list: 1. Fresh tomato sauce 2. Roasted tomatoes. Both are excellent ways to save and savor these summer flavors. In fact, why not make a little of each?

Fresh Tomato Sauce

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 red, white, or yellow onion, chopped

1 small clove garlic, peeled and split in half, or 1 garlic scape, chopped

Salt

1/2 small hot pepper, seeded and minced, or a pinch of hot pepper flakes

10 to 15 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

¼ cup white wine, vegetable stock, or water

1 bay leaf

Freshly ground black pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high flame. Add the onion, the whole garlic clove or scape, and a pinch of salt, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Remove the garlic clove, if using, and discard. Add the hot pepper and sauté another minute or so. Add the chopped tomatoes, wine, stock, or water, and bay leaf. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer about 5 minutes until the tomatoes begin to give off their liquid. Continue simmering for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the tomatoes have fully melted into sauce. Remove the bay leaf.

At this point you have three options:

1. You can keep the sauce chunky and rustic as it is.

2. You can pass the cooked sauce through a vegetable mill to remove the tomato skins and create a nice texture, not too fine. Or,

3. You can use a regular or immersion blender to purée the sauce until smooth. (Passing it through a strainer once puréed is optional, and might be considered more French than Italian.)

All produce great results. If milling or blending, return the sauce to the pan, adding a little water or better, pasta cooking water, to adjust the consistency, if necessary, and bring it back to a gentle simmer. Add the chopped herbs and some black pepper. Simmer a couple of minutes more and then mix with pasta or use however you like.

Roasted Tomatoes

Any number of plum tomatoes, cut lengthwise in half

3 or 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sprigs of fresh oregano, basil, rosemary, or a combination,

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Arrange the tomato halves cut side up on the prepared pan. Scatter the sliced garlic around the tomatoes. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Toss the tomatoes to coat with the oil and seasonings and then return them cut side up. Scatter the herbs around the tray. Set in the

oven and roast for about 1 hour or longer, until the tomatoes have shriveled a little, concentrated, and browned around the edges. Serve as is or with ricotta and toasted or grilled sourdough bread to soak up the juices and the oil.

—Cookbook author and food writer Mitchell Davis recently moved from New York City to the Upper Valley, just down the road from Edgewater Farm. For more recipes, subscribe for free to his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense at www.kitchensense.substack.com

Lemon balm: I LOVE THIS HERB.  And as we enter high summer, it is the perfect aid to calm us down amidst the harvest hustle.  Read more about this herb, as you sip your lemon balm sun tea, or add to your salad mix…

Edit, copy, and pasted from mountain rose herbs

For centuries, lemon balm has been used for its beneficial properties and has been highly esteemed for its emotional and spiritual effects. Melissa (other name for lemon balm) has traditionally been used as a gentle nervine and in baths to support healthy skin. It is often used to promote a sense of calm and can be brewed into a citrusy lemon balm tea, incorporated into other herbal tea blends, and included in body care recipes.

Used since ancient times to calm the heart and the body, lemon balm with its delicate lemony flavor uplifts the spirit and any culinary dish it is added to. It has been used to sweeten jam, jellies, as an addition to salad, and as a flavoring for various fish and poultry dishes and liqueurs. Further, lemon balm is used for making perfumes, in cosmetics, and in furniture polish manufacturing. It is often found as a tea in combination with other relaxing herbs such as valerian, as an essential oil, and also in ointments for topical applications.

The use of lemon balm goes back thousands of years to the time of the ancient Romans and Greeks. One of its first recorded uses was as a wine infused liniment. Dioscorides (a Greek physician, pharmacologist, and botanist practicing in the 1st century in Rome, who authored the herbal De Materia Medica), mentions its use in this way, and it was also employed in this same manner in Ayurvedic medicine. St. Hildegard of Bingen, an herbalist and nun born in 1098 C.E. in present day Germany said, “Lemon balm contains within it the virtues of a dozen other plants.” According to Nicholas Culpepper (a botanist, avid astrologer, physician, herbalist, and author of the Complete Herbal, written in 1653), said dried lemon balm may be made into a fine 'electuary' with honey. He wrote that it was ruled by the planet Jupiter and associated with the zodiac sign of Cancer, therefore having an association with the water element and thus an effect on emotions.

Lemon balm was traditionally used to uplift the spirits. As Culpepper mentioned, some of its properties were spiritual in nature. This herb was used in spells to heal broken hearts and also to attract romantic love. 

MELON: Don’t rush these bad boys.  Just like your tomatoes, they can ripen off vine to reach peak flavor.  We pick them when they are sized up, but you eat them when their scent is sweet and calling to you.  You’ll know

CSA WEEK 7

P i c k l i s t

tomatoes - parsley - corn - green beans - carrots - kale - jalapeno - melon - garlic

Holy smokes it is basically August.  This week in farming flew right by.  At this point, I can not decipher one day from the next- thankfully I got CSA to remind me of Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  High season is here people!  I’ve been greeting each morning with the sweetest melon breakfast, and I bet you will get in on that this week.  The weather remains totally unpredictable, alot to scratch our heads over- just last night St. Johnsbury got hit with another flood. NorthEast Kingdom farmers are not psyched.  Such a mess.  And the heat, oh the heat!  On the plus side, this heat that every New Englander grumps over has provided the sweetest and earliest damn melon crop we’ve seen yet.  And for that, I am grateful and jazzed.  

Meanwhile, Our personal lives are a dirty mess and hopefully not a reflection of the farm.  Our kitchen floor has a real centimeter’s worth of field brought in from our boots, topped with smushed blueberries caked right on in.  Our kiddos probably don’t even know what shampoo is, it’s been so long… but we are well fed and eating the rainbow everyday, so there is that…

The garlic in your CSA this week was harvested on Friday.  It was an all hands on deck moment and it felt pretty great to work with the field crew.  I typically spend my days picking veg solo, so this was a real treat and flashback to my first 10 years at edgewater.  A Lot of jokes while harvesting garlic, extracting the allium from the weeds.  The crop is looking really nice, currently it sits drying on benches and extends the length of three greenhouses. I bet we will be eating from this harvest well into February, but right now, it is peak freshness. Enjoy!

 FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Green beans: hot tip hot tip! Wash before you eat- we tried to get the dirt off, but I’d give it a second rinse…

Ripe for the grill:   corn - green beans - garlic! - tomato

Skillet Corn and Vegetable Pudding

recipe from Mitchell, our beloved up the road nearly resident chef

Although the main ingredient in this delicious, one-pot, savory skillet pudding is corn, it’s a delicious way to use up any variety of the summer’s bounty. I’ve added kale, fennel, green beans, zucchini, kohlrabi, spinach, and other vegetables I’ve had around. What’s more, the next morning I like to fry the leftovers in olive oiluntil nicely browned and top with poached eggs for a hearty breakfast. —Mitchell Davis

(Makes one 10-inch pudding, enough for 6 to 8 people. But the recipe can be easily cut in half and baked in an 8-inch skillet, for 4)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, white or red, diced (about 1 ¼ cups)

1 small red or green pepper, sweet or spicy, diced (about 3/4 cup)

1 to 2 cups seasonal vegetables, such as kale, zucchini, yellow squash, Swiss chard leaves and/or stems, kolrhabi, green tomatoes, additional peppers, green beans, carrots, jalapenos

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

Handful of chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, thyme, parsley, marjoram, or sage

1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Kernels from 3 large fresh ears corn (about 3 cups)

1/2 cup fine cornmeal

3 large eggs

1 1/4 cups milk or buttermilk

1/2 cup heavy cream, yogurt, or additional milk

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1 cup finely shredded cheese, hard, sharp cheese, such as cheddar, Gruyère, Comté, Gouda, or similar

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the butter in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, pepper, and other vegetables, and salt, and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and they are beginning to brown,

about 10 minutes. Add the sugar, sage, salt, paprika, and cayenne, and cook another 3 or 4 minutes to bring out the flavor of the spices. Add the corn kernels. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until no water remains in the skillet, another 8 minutes or so, longer if using zucchini or mushrooms, which have a lot of water in them. Stir in the cornmeal and remove from heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, cream or more milk, and nutmeg,

then pour this into the corn mixture. Using a rubber spatula, stir well to combine.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese, and bake until set, about 20 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil only until the melted cheese is lightly browned, a minute or two more. Serve warm.

Kale Salad with Lemon, Currants, Walnuts, and Parmesan (also from Mitchell, cheers!)

There are a million variations of kale salad out there, and this one is just a suggestion. It’s based on a salad made famous by Barbuto chef Jonathan Waxman. Use curly or laccinato kale, any type of nut, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or any hard grating cheese, and you’ll have a delicious result. The salad is best served after it sits for 5 to 10 minutes, giving the salt and acid time to wilt the leaves. You’ll think you have too much, but once it wilts, you’ll be surprised how it shrinks.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

1/4 cup dried currants, raisins, cranberries, or other dried fruit

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

About 1/3 cup or more walnut halves, pecans, almonds, or other nuts

2 bunches of kale

About 1/3 cup or more extra-virgin olive oil

2 lemons

2 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, or other hard cheese, finely grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the currants or other dried fruit in a small bowl. Add the vinegar and just enough hot water to cover. Let soak while you prepare the rest of the salad. Place the nuts in a small tray or baking pan and toast in a 300°F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes, tossing occasionally, until you can smell a nice toasted nut aroma. Set a timer or you are likely to burn them. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cutting board to cool. Once cool, using a sharp knife, finely chop. Set aside.

To clean the kale, I like to separate the leaves from the stems by laying the leaves out on a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cutting along both sides of the stem. You can also invert the leaf, grasp the leafy part with one hand while you pull the stem off with the other. Whichever way you prefer, soak the de-stemmed leaves in a copious amount of cold water. Lift them from the water into the basket of a salad spinner or colander, discard the water, and repeat with fresh water until no sand remains. Spin the leaves to dry or pat with a clean towel. On a clean cutting board, lay out a pile of kale leaves, bunch together into a tight bundle and thinly slice them with a sharp knife. Place this shredded kale in a large mixing bowl and repeat with the remaining kale.

To finish the salad, drain the soaked fruit, reserving the soaking liquid, and add to the kale Add the chopped nuts, the olive oil, the zest of two lemons and juice of one lemon, the grated parmesan and a generous amount of salt and black pepper. Using tongs, toss well so that the ingredients are all evenly distributed. Taste and adjust the seasoning, using more lemon juice or the reserved soaking liquid from the dried fruit to up the tartness. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the leaves to wilt somewhat before serving.

—Cookbook author and food writer Mitchell Davis recently moved from New York City to the Upper Valley, just down the road from Edgewater Farm. For more recipes, subscribe for free to his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense at www.kitchensense.substack.com

CSA WEEK 6

      P i c k l i s t

tomatoes - broccoli - basil - parsley -

cabbage - blueberries - eggplant - corn - green beans

This week in farming proved way chiller than last- woop woop! We did not have to take shelter due to thunderstorms, we did not have to pull riverside equipment in fear of flood, and we did not have to grin and bear at 2 pm on those 95 degree days.  We got to enjoy the season, we got to enjoy farming.  It is all harvest all the time right now and it feels so good to swiftly fill a bushel with carrots, or a flat with raspberries.  Pints upon pints have been filled daily with the sweetest blueberries, and I can't help but eye the shishito pepper crop nightly as it is planted right outside my bedroom window.  I like to lazily dream gaze at this field, waiting for it to produce an abundance of my fave veg (the shishitos) to pick and fry.   

Bottomline here, we are in the middle of what seems to be a good all around summer bounty, with loads of cukes, pickles, squash, zucchini, and green beans coming in from the fields. Now adding cherries, grapes, and mixed colors little tomatoes to pint up along with their elders: gobs of red slicing tomatoes and heirlooms just waiting to be sliced. The corn is ready! The melons are sweet as can be- lets just hang out in July forever shall we?

What is proving to be a challenge right now? We are struggling to get our Fall crops seeded, and our fields weeded.  Even with this abundance of light levels, there are just not enough hours in a day.  Forgive me, if I’ve said that last part about light and not enough hours, 100000 times.  But it’s so true!

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Basil: hot tip on storing basil, treat it as a cut flower and keep it in a vase on your counter (outside the fridge) in about 2 inches of water.  

Ripe for the grill:   broccoli - cabbage - eggplant - corn - green beans - tomato

Where are Mitchel's recipes?!? Due to the nature of this CSA (diverse and ever changing), we had to make some last minute crops switching on account of a sudden abundance of green beans and blueberries.  Therefore, Mitchel’s recipes for what would have been a cucurbit heavy CSA will be bookmarked for the next cucumber-squash-zucchini week. 

Grilled Summer Veg with Creamy Sesame Dressing BY MOLLY BAZ

https://mollybaz.com/grilled-summer-veg-with-creamy-sesame-dressing/#memberful_done

SERVES: 4 Silken tofu is the magical miracle ingredient in this creamy mayo-less sesame dressing. If it sounds weird to blend tofu into a dressing….it’s not. It Lends body and a subtle soy flavor that gets bolstered with sesame seeds, sesame oil, and garlic.As for the grilled vegetables, really ,the world is your oyster here. I’ve suggested some green things that cook quickly and go well together but I’ve also used this dressing on grilled or roasted mushrooms, and drizzled over baked sweet potatoes, so don't feel like you have to stick to the script.The recipe will yield twice as much dressing as you need and that’s intentional – no sense in busting out the blender for one meal. 

ACTIVE TIME: 45 MINS TOTAL TIME: 55 MINS

PRODUCE:

4 garlic cloves

2 lbs green summer vegetables (zucchini, asparagus, snap peas, scallions or green beans)

1lemon 

PANTRY 

4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

¼ cup toasted sesame seeds

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil

 ⅓ cup unseasoned rice vinegar 

1tablespoon soy sauce 

Kosher salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper 

PROTEIN 8 oz soft tofu 

1. MAKETHE CREAMYTOFU SESAME DRESSING: 

In a small food processor or blender, combine 8 ounces soft tofu, 4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, 2 garlic cloves, ½ cup canola oil, ⅓ cup rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Blend or blitz until very creamy. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper - it should be noticeably peppery. Finely grate the zest of half a lemon into the dressing and blitz once more. Set dressing aside.

2. GRILL: Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. If using zucchini, cut into ½” rounds or planks. Snip the ends of any green beans or peel the strings of snap peas, if using. Combine all the prepped veg (2 pounds total) in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of canola or olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Finely grate 2 more garlic cloves over the veg and toss to coat. Arrange the veg on the grill and cook until charred in spots and softened but not mushy–you be the judge. Everyone likes their vegetables cooked to a different doneness. Get some good color and then start tasting.

3. SERVE: Spread some sesame sauce on a serving platter.Top with the grilled veg. Finely grate some more lemon zest over everything and squeeze the juice of the lemon over just before serving. Finish with more sesame seeds.

Serves 4

This is it guys. The crispy eggplant you have all waiting for… The trick is to slice it thick-ish and salt it generously. Let it sit out releasing puddles of water. Pat dry aggressively, cover in corn starch aggressively and then fry in hot oil until it comes out golden and dark brown in some places (you want to make sure the eggplant meat inside is cooked, custardy and sweet). I have topped the eggplant in with garlicky tahini, amba (mango pickle sauce), fresh parsley and sea salt but you can really do whatever you want here. Someone suggested drizzling it with honey or silan (date syrup) and once I tried that...you’ll see.

1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants

kosher salt

1 cup cornstarch

4 cups canola oil or any oil with no flavor and a high smoke point like grapeseed, sunflower, veggie

sea salt to finish

serve with garlicky tahini (recipe below), amba, fresh parsley, fresh lemon, parsley, honey

• Slice the eggplant in 1/2 inch thick pieces. You have the option of keeping the skin on or removing the skin. I keep it on, because I don’t like to waste it but if you remove the skin, it will get even crispier. Place the eggplant slices on a sheet tray and generously salt the eggplant. Let it sit out at room temp for at least 1 hour. Puddles of liquid will come out of the eggplant.

• Before frying, take a kitchen towel and pat down the eggplant well, drying them off as much as possible. Slice in half on a diagonal (I think they are too big to fit in a sandwich or a pita this way so I like to slice them in half) Place the cornstarch in a bowl and toss each piece in the cornstarch well. Shake off excess and place on a dry sheet tray. Heat up the oil in a deep pot. If you don’t have a thermometer (which I don’t) heat on high and sprinkle a little cornstarch in the oil. If it sizzles it should be ready. Turn the heat to medium high it should be around 350 degrees f and add in the first piece. I like to fry one at a time so that the oil temp stays up (if you overcrowd the oil the temp will come down and the eggplant wont fry they will soak)

• Flip the eggplant over once the bottom is golden and brown in some places around 1-2 minutes. When the other side is golden another 1-2 minutes remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to let dry. Immediately season well with sea salt.

• Serve this eggplant on its own, on sandwiches, in pitas…you can do a lot with it. 

garlicky tahini

• 1/2 cup tahini paste

• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated

• large pinch kosher salt- or to taste

• 3 tablespoons cup ice water

Place everything in a bowl and mix. The tahini will get thick and pasty but keep mixing. Add more water to loosen, if needed.

CSA WEEK 5

      P i c k l i s t

tomatoes - broccoli - summer squash - pickling cucumbers - zucchini - Thai basil - 

napa cabbage - blueberries - raspberries - garlic scapes

Oooof the flood, what a total kick in the ass part 2. 

This region is so thick with agriculture because of the awesome alluvial soils and the easy access to water that runs the rivers, the streams, and the brooks.  But how do we consider farming those perfect riverside fields when flooding becomes an annual event?  While Edgewater remained unscathed From last week’s storm, our dear buds lost 90% of their crop.These are the same dear buds that you read about last week that were trying to raise money to rebuild their employee, Ranaldo’s, home back in Jamaica. Same storm system, same path, wildly different landscapes, extreme latitude distance.  But Beryl gave 0 shits and took out both spots in mere days. We are all so connected-  You can’t make this stuff up.

So what does a bandaid look like to get through the rest of the season when you are drowning in crop failure? Sure- a go fund me is great.  Friends volunteering their time to pick up from the damage is also huge.  We offered our fields for their crew to harvest crops and sell. But what about the bigger picture?  What does this farming future look like for our friends at Joe's Brook Farm? And what does it look like right here on River Road?

 The storm systems and the erratic weather are only getting worse- .  iIt’s unclear how to plan, how to farm, and maybe we just take some decent guesses from here on out? That feels unsettling. This is our livelihood and a bad year can really hurt us as it is certainly hurting Mary, Eric, and their employees.  

Here is a bit more about the Skovstead’s and what they are experiencing- copy and pasted from their go-fund-me site. These donations will absolutely help out their crew get through the season.  I will link to it on the blog:

This week Mary and Eric Skovsted have had devastating loss to their farm from flooding. Joe's Brook Farm is a family-owned farm and has two field locations in Barnet, VT, one on Joe's Brook Road at their home and one along Rt. 5. Both were hit hard by the flooding and 10+ acres of crops are a total loss. All of the affected crops will need to be pulled out and the soil will need be beto be tested before they can replant. Mary and Eric have 10 employees. Three of these employees are from Jamaica and just had severe damage to their own homes from the same hurricane and are relying on their salaries to send money home for repairs. It is important to the Skovsteds that they can continue to pay their employees while they wait for other funding to cover losses. Money raised from this fundraiser will be used to pay employee salaries as well as to respond to damage to their farm.

If you're lucky enough to know Mary and Eric, you know them to be generous, kind, selfless, hard-working, and wonderful friends. Just about everyone reading this will have a connection to Mary and Eric. Eric has loaned you a tool when you needed one and he probably helped you with whatever project you were working on. Mary has passed along some extra tomatoes or given some extra flower starts. You've skated on the ice rink that they build each winter on their farm for anyone to use. You've chatted about recipes when you've picked up your CSA or learned something new about kale while at the farmer's market. You've rushed to the farmer's market to get their strawberries. Maybe you've won a CSA share at an auction where they have donated to support local organizations. They never hesitate to help someone else. They could use some help from all of us right now. Please consider supporting Joe's Brook Farm.

if you want to help other farms that are also in need of relief, please consider donating to NOFA-VT. They are a stellar organization that really passes around funds.  

Next week, I’d like to stop suggesting places for you to put your money.  Let’s see how it goes.  Fingers crossed for blue skies and just the right amount of rain.

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill: broccoli - summer squash - zukes - garlic scapes

PICKLERS: Yall, you have an abundance of pickling cukes this week.  I highly recommend pulling out your fave pickle recipe and getting right  into it.  I am so bummed that our dill planting is not lining up perfectly for this bounty, but so it goes.  I love a fermented half sour, throw garlic scapes in with the brine! Woo doggies!  Because of this double sided one sheet of paper  dilemma that I’m married to,  I will  include the half sour recipe on the blog, but for now, read up on bread and butter pickles: 

Bread and Butter Pickles (recipe from Mitchell, our beloved up the road nearly resident chef) 

What to do with all of those cucumbers? Here’s a recipe for delicious pickles—the kind you pile on burgers and sandwiches or chop up for potato salad. Although bread and butter pickles are traditionally made with small, crisp, thin-skinned Kirby cucumbers, they are also good made with larger slicing pickles or even with zucchini and yellow squash. Using maple syrup makes the pickles taste less sweet than they do when made with sugar.

A generous 2 pounds cucumbers, sliced a little less than ¼-inch thick

1 large white or yellow onion, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

1 ¾ cups cider vinegar

1 ¾ cups granulated sugar or pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

In a large bowl, layer the sliced cucumber and onion with about ¼ cup of kosher salt. Cover with cold water and refrigerate for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse well with cold water. Drain again.

In a large nonreactive saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar or syrup, celery seed, mustard seed, and turmeric. Set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for five minutes. Turn up the heat to high, add the drained cucumbers and onion, and bring it back to a simmer. Remove from the heat.

Using a slotted spoon, pack the pickles into two sterilized pint jars. Pour the hot liquid over the cucumbers, leaving ½-inch headspace. Wipe the rims, seal, and refrigerate for up to two months. (For long-term, room-temperature storage, process the jars for 7 minutes in a boiling water bath. Refrigerate after opening.)

Variation: Summer Squash Bread and Butter Pickles

Though less crisp, these summer squash pickles are no less delicious. Substitute 2 pounds of

assorted zucchini and yellow squash for the cucumbers. Proceed with the recipe as directed,

omitting the step of adding the zucchini to the boiling vinegar mixture. Instead, pack the sliced

zucchini and onions raw into jars and pour the boiling solution over the top.

Thai-Flavored Stir-Fried Cucumbers (recipe also from Mitchell, cheers!)

Although we usually think of eating cucumbers raw in salads and such, most old food cultures (French, Italian, Chinese) also enjoy them cooked. The French sauté cucumbers with butter and tarragon. Italians might use olive oil, garlic and thyme. You can vary the seasonings to suit your tastes and/or your menu, but I particularly like this combination of Thai flavors, which adds a

nice complexity to the vegetable.

6 cucumbers, about 2 pounds

1 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil

2 garlic scapes, very thinly sliced

1 small chili pepper, seeded or minced, or a pinch of red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

Pinch sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Generous handful of Thai basil leaves

Slice the cucumbers in half, lengthwise. Using a sturdy teaspoon, scrape out and discard the seeds. Peel the seeded cucumber halves. (Peeling them after seeding helps prevent the cucumbers from breaking.) Cut the cucumbers into unevenly sided, bite-sized pieces, all about the same size, roughly an inch or so. Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add the oil and when hot, add the garlic and chili. Sauté for a minute, being careful the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the cucumber and toss to cook. After

about a minute or two, when the edges of the cucumber begin to soften, drizzle the fish sauce around the perimeter of the pan, letting it sizzle as it falls to the bottom. A pungent aroma will fill the kitchen and then dissipate. Toss the cucumbers. Add a pinch of sugar and the juice of 1 lime, toss, and continue cooking until the cucumbers soften a little more. You want them to remain somewhat crisp, so don’t over do it. Add the Thai basil and continue tossing until the basil wilts. Serve.

—Cookbook author and food writer Mitchell Davis recently moved from New York City to the Upper Valley, just down the road from Edgewater Farm. For more recipes, subscribe for free to his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense at www.kitchensense.substack.com

CSA WEEK 4

P I C K L I S T

tomatoes - cauliflower - cilantro - summer squash - cucumbers -

zucchini - basil - kale - GERANIUM!

This week the fields really leaned into extreme hot girl summer.  I would even go so far as to say that amidst the heat of the sun and occasional passing rain, there was a lot of self blanching going on (see cauliflower turn a hint of yellow, I call it sunkissed).  The next succession of fruits and veg are showing up in all their glory and they are here to PLAY.  For example, the trickling of cucurbits that occurred during the strawberry season has really turned into a full blown tidal wave of summer squash, cucumbers and zucchini.  Bushels upon bushels upon bushels are filling up nearly daily and now that we are no longer staring at the ground picking berries we can really get a good view of all there is to pick, and all there is to eat, and oh boy, it’s aplenty.  We’ve entered a state of abundance and overwhelm, and quite honestly it feels really good to be back here at this point in the season.  CSAers, yall are the lucky ones, the abundance gets handed out right to ya.

Looking ahead, there is blue to be found in the fields, and we are so pumped to enter the next round of fruit.  Fingers crossed for blueberries next week :)

As far as Hurricane Beryl goes, somehow all of our crew remained fairly unscathed, but other farmers that leave Jamaica and come North during our growing season were not as lucky.  For example, the home of Ranaldo (Melvin Blackwood) of Joe’s Brook Farm was badly damaged when wind ripped off half the roof and the whole house experienced severe water damage.  There is a lot to do here to make the house liveable again.  And goodness knows, it will take some serious dollars that are not too easy to come by.  Ranaldo says he can fix it when he returns to Jamaica.  His wife and daughters have begun the clean up.  Our buds at Joe’s Brook Farm, Mary and Eric  that work alongside him, will match the first $1000 raised in donations to help rebuild.  If any of you are looking to help with the clean up from Hurricane Beryl, this would be a great place to start.  To mail donations, make checks out to Melvin Blackwood and send them to:

Joe’s Brook Farm

1525 Joe’s Brook Road

St. Johnsbury, VT 05819

These intense weather systems really affect everyone everywhere.

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Ripe for the grill: cauliflower - summer squash - zukes - garlic scapes

Geraniums for all!: This plant is an icon. She stands alone like a queen but also mixes well with others. Repot,  Full sun. Instant classic.   

Creamy Cucumber and Herb Salad

(recipe from Mitchell, our beloved up the road nearly resident chef) 

Just about every culture has a version of this salad. The dill makes this one reminiscent of eastern Europe, but change the herb and it could easily seem Italian or Japanese.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

3 or 4 medium cucumbers

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, preferably full fat

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

1/4 teaspoon onion powder (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

3 or 4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, tarragon, chervil, basil, cilantro, mint, shiso, or a combination

2 or 3 scallions or spring onions, red or white, sliced (including green parts)

If using local, unwaxed cucumbers, or English or Persian cucumbers, slice them very thinly, preferably with a mandoline, food processor, or sharp knife.

Place the sliced cucumbers in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with the salt, toss to distribute, and let sit for 20 to 30 minutes on the counter to wilt. Drain off any liquid that pools on the bottom of the bowl.

In a small bowl, blend the sour cream, vinegar, sugar and onion powder, if using, and a generous grind of black pepper. Add to the cucumbers along with the fresh dill and scallions. Mix well, taste, and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Summer Squash Salad with Mint

(recipe from Mitchell, our beloved up the road nearly resident chef) 

I first fell in love with this salad when my friend, chef Tony Liu, served it at Morandi in NYC. I needed the recipe. Tony is now chef/owner of The Queensboro in Jackson Heights, NY. Worth a visit.

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup dried currants, raisins, or other dried fruit

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup raw pine nuts

2 medium green zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise on a mandoline or with a carrot peeler, or finely julienned

2 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced lengthwise on a mandoline or with a carrot peeler, or finely julienned

1 green Serrano chili, seeds removed, thinly sliced

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice from 1 lemon

1/2 bunch mint, chopped

1/4 cup pitted black olives, preferably oil cured, chopped

1/4 cup sliced ricotta salata or crumbled feta

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the currants or other dried fruit and cayenne with 1/2 cup of water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil turn off the heat and let steep for 20 to 30 minutes. Drain. Meanwhile toast the pine nutson a baking sheet a 300°F. oven until lightly golden and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Combine the yellow squash, zucchini, and Serrano chile with the olive oil and lemon juice. Add the mint, olives, ricotta salata, toasted pine nuts and drained currants. Gently toss together, season to taste with salt and pepper.

—Cookbook author and food writer Mitchell Davis recently moved from New York City to the

Upper Valley, just down the road from Edgewater Farm. For more recipes, subscribe for free to

his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense at www.kitchensense.substack.com

CSA WEEK 3

P i c k l i s t

tomatoes - cauliflower - cilantro - beets - Thai basil - summer squash - celery - garlic scapes - lettuce - cucumbers 

Yup, it’s true, I am totally attempting to win yall over this week with two shiny red tomatoes so you won’t notice the sad hole in your CSA this week… the lack of strawbs.  So what the heck happened to our strawberry crop?  Why did our season feel too damn short. This is what we are thinking:  For one, tons of factors go into growing a perennial fruit crop.  It is not just May and June that need to be considered, but rather the whole year.  Remember that warm winter? How about those days of 70 degrees during sugar season?  

So across the Upper Valley when farmers noticed many different crops/trees/flowers carrying blooms, emerging from the earth and showing up to the party at the same time, we all kind of scratched our heads, and thought, “OK Summer how is this going to carry out.”  

Another oddity that felt blissful in the moment, was the warm nights of May.  It was very rare that temps dipped below 50 degrees, which is kind of unheard of for this region.  We are so accustomed to middle-of-May-2am-frost-scares at this point, that not experiencing them made for a much more well rested Spring.  However, the plants got no rest and while we slept.  They grew and grew and grew, revealing a real jack and the beanstalk effect.  

That well rested feeling of no frost Spring was extremely fleeting as we entered the Summer solstice.  Underneath that big strawberry moon we watched all berries of every variety ripen at the same time.  

And then came the heat.  Plants are most susceptible to stress when there is a high fruit load, and nothing brings on stress more than 4 days of 90 plus temps… 

and then came the hard rain AND heavy humidity.  

Lights out strawberry crop, better luck next year I suppose.   

ONTO THE NEXT FRUIT, hello tomatoes you thing of beauty, you are too perfect on your own, and even more astounding between two slices of bread.

Also, this week the beets are beautiful, the cilantro is fluffy, and the Thai basil could not be cuter and aromatic..

Cheers to the  holiday week, and before you know it, we will all be up to our ears in blueberries.

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Take it outside and grill!

Trust me, all your friends will be so impressed when you show up to the 4th of july bbq with your 2 summer squash, 1 head of cauliflower, and smattering of garlic scapes. Just add EVOO, S&P

Anita’s Cauliflower by up-the-road-chef-on-call, Mitchell Davis:

I’ve adapted this recipe from my friend Anita Jaisinghani’s amazing cookbook Masala. Chef of Pondicheri in Houston, Anita’s food reflects the principles of Ayurveda and her commitment to sustainability. Most importantly, it is lick-the-plate delicious.

Serves 4 to 6

1 medium cauliflower (with leaves)

5 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter), vegetable oil, or olive oil

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 or 2 garlic scapes or garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon mild red chili powder, such as Kashmiri chili

2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups) or 1 cup canned crushed

tomato

1-inch piece ginger (not peeled), finely grated

1 teaspoon garam masala

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Remove any green leaves from the cauliflower and chop finely. Divide the head into 2-inch florets. Chop any stems finely and add to the leaves. Discard the tough, fibrous core.  In a wide, shallow sauté pan, heat the ghee or oil over high heat. Add the mustard seeds and as soon as they start to pop, add the onion and chopped cauliflower leaves and stems. Lower the heat to medium-high, and cook until the onion is soft and begins to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, turmeric, cauliflower florets, and salt. Increase the heat to high and cook for another 7 to 8 minutes, until the cauliflower softens and begins to color. Add the chili powder, tomatoes, and ginger and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is tender, another 5 to 8 minutes or so. Sprinkle with the garam masala,

cover, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for a few minutes to rest. Mix the cauliflower one last time, being careful not to break it up. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Spicy Sichuan Smacked Cucumber Salad (one more from Mitchell! enjoy!)

This is a common Chinese salad of cucumbers that I first fell in love with at a mini chain of casual noodle shops in New York City called Xian Famous Foods. Although they are rightfully famous for their handmade Biang Biang noodles, stretched to order by slapping them on the

counter, it was their spicy cucumber salad I couldn’t get enough of. Smashing the cucumbers is a Chinese technique that helps draw out moisture when you salt them and creates a pleasant mouthfeel. The secret to the unique Sichuan zing is Sichuan peppercorn, not a true peppercorn at all, but the dried bud of the prickly ash that gives a numbing quality in your mouth. If you can’t find the spice itself, you can sometimes find Sichuan peppercorn oil, or a chili crisp with plenty of Sichuan pepper in it, such as the ubiquitous Lao Gan Ma, Fly By Jing brands. Otherwise, use a freshly cracked black pepper instead.

2 medium sized cucumbers (unwaxed), cucumbers

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, grated on a Microplane or minced to a paste

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoon black Chinese vinegar, such as Chiangking, or Balsamic vinegar (if using, omit the sugar)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon toasted, ground Sichuan peppercorn or 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn oil, or

additional ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons Sichuan chili oil or chili crisp, with sludge, or a favorite hot sauce

Place the cucumber(s) on a clean cutting board. Slice off the tips of both ends. Lay the wide part of a chef’s knife flat on the cucumber and press it down firmly or smash it with your fist to break the cucumber, as you would to peel a clove of garlic. Move the knife along the length of

the cucumber so it is smashed along its entire length. You should be able to pull the cucumber apart lengthwise in half, or else slice it. And then cut what you’ve got into bite-sized, misshapen pieces, about 1-inch or so wide. Place all the cucumber chunks and bits in a medium bowl,

season with the salt, toss, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to draw out some moisture. Drain off any liquid that accumulates in the bottom of the bowl. 

To the bowl of cucumbers add the garlic, sugar, vinegar, black pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, soy

sauce and chilli oil or crips and toss to combine.
—Cookbook author and food writer Mitchell Davis recently moved from New York City to the

Upper Valley, just down the road from Edgewater Farm. For more recipes, subscribe for free to

his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense at www.kitchensense.substack.com

CSA WEEK 2

   P i c k l i s t

strawberries - garlic scapes - basil  - lettuce - broccolini - hakurai turnips - cucumbers - plants!

I did not intend to go right into week 2 with a weather charged sob story, but here we are. The heat followed by the rain did not demolish crops, but it certainly did not help. Watching the storm roll through and hit the fields was tough on the heart.  First and foremost, let’s talk about strawberries and rain. The two quarts you are receiving today are a part of an effort to clean off the current fruit and make way for the next flush. It is likely that your 2 quarts of berries may not be the sparkly shiny gems we all lust for, but they will absolutely serve a delicious purpose if eaten today or tomorrow, or, use them to make a jammy sauce to complement every biscuit in sight, ahem strawberry shortcakes (see pro tips). Because of the past week’s precipitation, this round of berries will not hold. But the later varieties should (weather dependent, lol).

Another unfortunate arrival this week are all the pests.  I am not entirely certain why they all decided to show up at the sametime, but I've been squashing countless horn worms in the tomato greenhouses and the wire worms are really starting to show their face and make trails in our radishes and our (legendary 2024) hakurai turnip patch. And don’t even get me started on the deer. Daily cute love notes I like to send to Ray have been replaced by deer eating lettuce photos, deer eating strawberries photos, and deer eating cucumber photos.  Not an easy time to farm, but a hell of a great time to be a pest. Some would say, it's buck wild.

MEANWHILE, in the Pick Your Own Strawberry patch, the berries are still showing up, and people are still so pumped to pick.  It’s awesome to hear from Anne and Jen about all the CSAers that have made their way down River Road this week to get in on the action. I do hope to see yall out there as it is certainly the season for stained red fingers/ a belly full of berries/ late night strawberry jamming/ etc.

PYO HOURS: 8am-noon WEATHER & CROP PERMITTING!

FIXED PRICES: CASH AND CHECK ONLY

1 quart: $7/ medium picking box: $25/ large picking tray: $44

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

Yall, get ready, and let me introduce you to new neighbor Mitchell! 

Somehow by the grace of something, Edgewater has been blessed by a neighbor that not only knows how to cook, but also has stacks and stacks of tested recipes.  We connected a few months ago when he popped into the greenhouses.  At that time, much of what you are currently eating from the farm existed in seed packs, waiting to be sewed.  Since then these seeds have sprouted into food and Mitchell is here to tell us how to eat it best.  Thank heavens for resident chef Mitchell Davis, as a result we all get to try new things and prep this bounty in new ways! I AM JAZZED.  If you too are jazzed, I highly recommend subscribing for free to his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense,

Pickled Garlic Scapes recipe by mitchell!

Similar in flavor to kosher dill pickles because of their strong garlic flavor, these lacto-fermented garlic scape pickles require little effort beyond patience. They will last in the refrigerator for over a year. (I just shared some two-year old ones with Jenny and they were still delicious.) Eat

them as is or slice them to add to salads (egg, tuna, chicken, potato), or relish, or anywhere you might think to add pickles or capers.

I’m not giving amounts for this recipe because this is more of a technique (one you can use with just about any vegetable). Adjust the amounts accordingly, adding more brine in the same proportion as you need to submerge your scapes. Use kosher salt or pickling salt, not table salt,

the iodine in which will cause the pickles to discolor
Kosher salt

Hot water

Garlic Scapes

Other aromatics, such as bay leaf, dill seeds or flowering dill, yellow mustard seeds (optional)As for most lacto-fermented foods, your goal is to create a brine that is a 2.5 to 3% saline solution. That means for every 1000 milliliters of water, 25 to 30 grams of salt, or about 2 teaspoons of kosher salt per cup. Place 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons kosher salt in a mixing

bowl and add 1 quart (4 cups) hot water. Stir to dissolve the salt. Let sit to come back to room temperature, stirring occasionally to make sure no salt crystals remain at the bottom of the bowl.

Meanwhile, prepare the garlic scapes. Rinse the scapes and cut into 2-inch lengths just up until the bud, which you should discard. Tightly pack the cut scapes into clean canning jars, using the shoulder of the jar to wedge the scapes in. I like to use pint jars. If using aromatics, add a bay

leaf, ½ teaspoon of dill or mustard seeds, and/or some flowering dill to each jar. Once the brine is cool, fill each jar until the scapes are completely submerged. Cover the jars loosely and let sit at room temperature, out of the sun, for 5 to 7 days to ferment until your desired level of tartness. The timing will depend on the temperature of your room. Open the jars once a day to

release any gas that builds up. As the fermentation takes place, the liquid will turn cloudy, and the scapes will darken and sink. Taste them to check if they are done. When satisfied with their flavor, seal the jars and refrigerate until needed. You can strain the brine and repack the scapes

if you like a cleaner look, but it isn’t necessary.

—Cookbook author and food writer Mitchell Davis recently moved from New York City to the

Upper Valley, just down the road from Edgewater Farm. For more recipes, subscribe for free to

his weekly newsletter Kitchen Sense at www.kitchensense.substack.com

Here it is, everyone's summertime favorite: fresh, sweet strawberries atop a flaky, buttery biscuit — topped with whipped cream, of course!

PREP 25 min/ BAKE 10 to 12 mins/ TOTAL 1 hr 35 mins YIELD 9 biscuits

Berries

• 2 quarts (1336g) strawberries, trimmed of their leaves

• 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons lemon juice, fresh preferred

Biscuits

• 3 1/2 cups (420g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

• 1 teaspoon table salt

• 1 tablespoon (11g) baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 cup (36g) buttermilk powder

• 3 tablespoons (35g) granulated sugar

• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter or 1/2 cup (92g) vegetable shortening, cold

• 2 teaspoons King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract

• 1 large egg

• 1 cup (227g) milk*

• 2 teaspoons milk, optional; for topping

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, optional; for topping

*Or substitute 1 cup buttermilk (227g) for the buttermilk powder and milk

Topping

• 1 cup (227g) whipping cream

Instructions

• To prepare the fruit: Mash 2 cups of the strawberries. Slice the remaining strawberries, and mix all of the berries with the sugar and lemon juice. Let rest 1 hour.

• Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

• To make the biscuits: Whisk together the dry ingredients, and work in the cold butter or shortening until the mixture is crumbly.

• Whisk the vanilla and egg with the milk, then add all at once to the dry ingredients and stir until the liquid is absorbed.

• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead four or five times, just until it holds together. Pat the dough out until it's about 1/2" to 3/4" thick, and cut it into 2 1/2" to 3" circles.

• Place the biscuits on the prepared baking sheet, brush the tops with milk for a shiny surface, and sprinkle with sugar.

• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving.

• To assemble the shortcakes: Whip the cream until soft peaks form.

• Just before serving, split open the biscuits, spoon half the berries and whipped cream on the bottom half, top with remaining biscuit halves, and spoon on the remaining berries and cream.

Tips from our Bakers

• For highest-rising biscuits, use a sharp biscuit cutter, rather than a drinking glass. A sharp cutter cuts the edges cleanly, rather than mashing them together; a sharp cut allows the biscuits to rise higher.

CSA WEEK 1

  P i c k l i s t

strawberries - garlic scapes - arugula - bok choy - hakurai turnips -

basil - cilantro plant - plants for your garden!

Holy solstice light let it shine! Wow, what an entrance to Summer we have going on here.  Heat wave, upon strawberry season, upon the most perfect hakurai turnips we’ve ever grown at Edgewater.  Let’s all just knock off, celebrate JUNETEENTH with our CSA bounty, find some water and munch by the river side.  You in? Love this plan, meet ya there.

But don’t wait, start without me, something tells me we here on the farm have a big day of irrigation going on. Three days in a row of over 90 can really make the fields jump, bring on a ton of blossoms, ripen the fruit, and kill any strugglers out there. It’s a real “everything everywhere all at once” vibe.  

But all that aside, welcome! Welcome! Welcome! For all the returning CSA fam,  I’ve absolutely missed picking veg for ya.

And for all the new buds- Hi! Hi!! I am so happy to have you along for the best season of eating there is.  

And in case there is any confusion, these newsletters, recipes, emails, ESP’s, communications, vibrations are brought to you by me, Jenny.  The seeding and growing and picking and washing and setting up for the CSA is a total collaborative effort between all of us at Edgewater, field crew and farmstand crew especially.  

Please holler with any questions, curiosities, comments etc. It’s good to keep the momentum going throughout the season with some light vegetable banter, ya know?

ANYHOW, enter Summer Solstice and welcome this light, a big three cheers for Juneteenth, and goodness gracious enjoy and eat all these berries today, right now, in their absolute  prime. 

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

ARUGULA: its bagged unwashed, to remove grit, please wash :)

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO (it’s a scape season must)

YIELD About 1 cup recipe from the NYTimes

JENNY’S NOTE: No real measurements here, everything is to taste.

The star of this pesto is the garlic plant’s under-appreciated second offering: the fleeting garlic scape. The ingredients are straightforward except for the substitution of sunflower seeds for pine nuts. The seeds are a fraction of the cost and do the job just as well. A food processor is a must for this recipe. For pesto, ingredient order matters. Start with the scapes and process for about 30 seconds. Add the seeds until they are broken down and mixed well with the scapes. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula for wandering bits. Next, pour in the olive oil. If you have Parmesan cheese in chunks, add it now, but if it is grated, wait until the scapes and seeds smooth out. If you’re serving right away, add the basil and lemon juice. If not, hold back on the basil for now — otherwise the pesto will lose its vibrant color. Add generously to cooked spaghetti or spread on crusty bread.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup garlic scapes, sliced crosswise (about 10 to 12 scapes)

• ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese

• ½ cup basil leaves

• Juice of one lemon
  PREPARATION

• Place the garlic scapes in a food processor and pulse for 30 seconds.

• Add the sunflower seeds and pulse for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

• Add the olive oil and process on high for 15 seconds.

• Add the Parmesan cheese and pulse until the ingredients are combined.

• Add the basil and lemon juice, and process until reaching the desired consistency.

• Add salt to taste and serve immediately.

As for all the other crops included in this pick-list, welcome to salad season!

The following are some standby combos and quasi recipes I hold onto to brighten up all these greens for eating:

• Rice noodle bowls!  Grain bowls!  Perfect vehicle for every green thing. Just add coconut aminos or tamari and sesame oil.  For protein you will have to look elsewhere- but as for the basil, bok choy, hakurai turnips- just chop and fold in.

• GARLIC SCAPE PESTO SALAD DRESSING: 

  Remember all that garlic scape pesto you intend to make this week)? Take a couple of tablespoons of that and add the following: olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup, and lemon juice. Everything to taste- whisk to combine.  

This Bok Choy Kimchi is a quick kimchi recipe ready in 15 mins.! With Vegetarian or Vegan options, plus detailed instructions on using baby or regular bok choy.

• 1 lb baby bok choy

• 1 garlic scape

• 2 bulb spring onions

For the sauce:

• 0.4 oz garlic cloves 2 large, grated

• 0.1 oz Ginger a tiny small knob, grated

• 1.5 tbsp coconut aminos

• 1 tsp coarse sea salt

• 0.5 tbsp fish sauce

• 1.5 tbsp gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

For the garnish: Toasted rice sesame seeds, Toasted sesame oil to taste

Prep:

1. Halve the baby bok choy, rinse, and pat them dry. Thinly slice the garlic scape and chop the spring onions. If using larger sized bok choy, separate them into leaves and make crosswise cut into small pieces.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the sauce ingredients from garlic to vinegar.

Mix:

1. For baby bok choy (halved): In a big mixing bowl, add the bok choy, onion, and the sauce. Gently toss to combine. Take care not to bruise the leaves.

2. For larger bok choy (diced-up): Add the bok choy stalks, onion, and half the amount of sauce to the mixing bowl. Toss to combine for 2 minutes. Then add the leaves and the remaining sauce to combine for 1 minute.

Serve:

1. Transfer them onto a large serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds, sesame oil, and scallions. You can serve them right away or chill them in the fridge for up to 2 weeks but best consume within 2-3 days for the crunchiest bok choy kimchi!

Notes

• When you first combine the bok choy with the sauce, they will seem dry. Gently toss to distribute the seasoning evenly. The bok choy will continue releasing water as they marinate, creating a saucier consistency.

• Select bok choy with firm stalks so they will last longer, more juicy, and crunchy.

• Add an apple: If you don’t want to use maple syrup, apples will add sweetness to the dish. Add it to a blender or food processor with sauce ingredients and blend until creamy.

• Korean plum vinegar: You can use it in place of maple syrup and apple cider vinegar.

• Vegan fish sauce or Yondu seasoning (a South-Korean brand of all-purpose, savory umami seasoning) will keep this recipe vegan/vegetarian.

• To store: Store in the fridge in jars with a tight lid for up to 2 weeks. The kimchi will continue to ferment slowly in the fridge and the texture will turn softer.

• To make ahead: Pack the sauce and the bok choy separately. Combine them before serving.

FALL CSA WEEK 4

p i c k l i s t

KALE - MINT - LEMONGRASS - BROCCOLI - LEEKS - WATERMELON RADISH - 

GREEN PEPPERS - POBLANO PEPPERS - WINTER SQUASH - MIZUNA - HOTTIE HOT PEPS 

BREAD OF THE WEEK:  ANADAMA BREAD

THIS WEEK AT EDGEWATER…

Oh the bone chilling wind outside is making it completely difficult to motivate any sort of farming today, but so it goes.  Also, it is better to continue moving through the honey-do list now with no ice on the ground then wait til tundra sets in.  Every Fall, when darkness sets and the temps drop, I think of Pooh's take on winter projects.  He once said, “The chores taken place in winter take 5 times as long as they would in Summer” and I would like to add here, that this same chore once done in shorts and sunshine and lickety split is too often completed half ass, grumbling, and chilled to the bone. As we get closer to the winter solstice the farm grumblings become louder.  So pick that kale, cut back those gardens and tidy up quick before your fingers fall off. OR at least that’s where I’m at in early November.

Also, last night we bought airplane tickets for the crew- Roy, Jasper, Strong, Garnet, and Daniel- to return home next week, back to Jamaica.  Another sure sign that the winds have shifted, and it's time to wrap it all up.

But until then, much to do, more crops to pick (I believe the goal for today is to harvest all the brussels sprouts), and cookies to eat, bread to break.  Cheers to the BREAD CSA kitchen crew for continuing the baked good warming of bellies thus all our hearts.

In other news, we had the greatest broccoli harvest we’ve had all season this past Monday.  Broccoli has become a real challenge for us.  Alternaria disease, brought on and made worse by crops swimming in fields, made it nearly impossible for the plant to produce a solid green head.  Black spots were found on nearly every plant we tried to grow.  However the broccoli trajectory changed for the duration of the season when in October and some of September, the sun began to shine.  Here we are now, with an awesome harvest and no farmstand open to sell it through- thus a major CSA win for you, enjoy!

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

A NEW PUMPKIN LAKSA FOR A COLD NIGHT BY NIGEL SLATER

For 4

Winter squash, unskinned

cilantro and mint leaves, to finish

For the paste:

3-4 chiles

2 garlic cloves

thumb sized lump ginger

Stalks lemongrass

cilantro stems and leaves

2 tablespoons sesame oil

For the soup:

2.5 cups Chicken or veg stock

1¾ cup coconut milk

2 tablespoon fish sauce

1-2 tamari

juice of a lime

3.5 oz dried noodles, cooked as it says on packet, then drained

Cut and seed the squash into large chunks.  Cook in a steamer or in a metal colander balanced over a pan of boiling water until tender.  Remove from the heat.

For the spice paste, remove the stems from the chiles, peel the garlic, and peel and roughly chop the ginger and lemongrass.  Put them all into a food processor with the cilantro and the sesame oil and blitz until you have a rough paste.  

Get a large, deep pan hot and add the spice paste.  Fry for a minute, then stir in the stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for seven to ten minutes, then stir in the nam pla, tamari, lime juice, squash, and the cooked and drained noodles.  Simmer briefly, add the cilantro and mint leaves over the top and serve in deep bowls.  

It’s time we started treating vegetables like big old slabs of meat, don’t you think?

This is not their recipe but my riff on it, inspired by what I ate there; I used a small amount of the dry rub I put on ribs with a little less sugar, and then roasted various stalks of broccoli the way I always do before finishing it with a little cheddar (as they at the restaurant and which can totally be skipped because, honestly, I love cheese but it doesn’t add that much here). The vinegar dipping sauce is like a vinaigrette, minus the oil, and it cuts nicely against the broccoli and rub flavors, the way a squeeze of lemon juice usually does against green vegetables. This is a spectacularly simple and habit-forming way of making broccoli, so you’ll be glad this makes more rub than you’ll need.

Serves 2, heartily

Olive oil
About 1 pound broccoli, although the weight isn’t that important, either in 1 big head or 2 or so “trees”
Grated aged cheddar (optional)

Dry rub
2 teaspoons packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika, ideally smoked but regular will also work
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Chipotle powder or ground red pepper (cayenne) to taste
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, and more to taste

Cider vinegar dip
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon smooth dijon mustard
Pinch of salt, smoked flaky sea salt is wonderful here if you have it
Pinch of pepper flakes
Shake of smoked hot paprika or chipotle powder

Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large roasting pan with a glug or two of olive oil. Combine rub ingredients in a small dish. Taste a pinch; it should be flavorful, but more salty than sweet, with a kick. Make adjustments to taste.

Prep broccoli by peeling any knobby bits and outer skin off stalks. Cut smaller heads lengthwise through stem into two “steaks;” cut larger ones a second time into four wedge-shaped “steaks,” if desired. Place cut side down in roasting pan; drizzle tops very lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with rub. Roast for 20 minutes, until deeply brown underneath. While roasting, combine cider vinegar dip ingredients. Flip, coat cut side with more rub and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until charred at edges. Remove from oven and immediately grate a small amount of cheese over broccoli.

Serve with cider vinegar dip and, if you’d like to be more like the restaurant, with a little pile of smoked sea salt on the side. Eat with forks and steak knives.

Watermelon radish

Yall! Don’t be discouraged by the white turnipy looking thing that we swear is a radish! Grab a knife, slice open, and behold the most beautiful hot pink gem of root crop!  Taste great fresh on salads, roasted with olive oil, pickled in vinegar, all the things. 

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES    COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES    SERVES: 4

• 3 1/2 Tablespoons black sesame seeds

• 1/8 teaspoon flakey sea salt

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 1 Tablespoon mellow white miso

• 1 clove of minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce

• 3 Tablespoons water + more to thin if necessary

• 2 medium-sized watermelon radishes, very thinly sliced

• 4 slices of good quality bread, lightly toasted

• 2 scallions, minced, white and light green parts only

1. Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the black sesame seeds and lightly toast, shaking the pan often until lightly toasted and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let slightly cool. Using a mortar and pestle (or the back of a spoon) lightly crush the sesame seeds and sea salt together.

2. With an immersion blender or small food processor combine the tahini, miso, garlic, lemon, vinegar, soy sauce and water. Blend until smooth and creamy-you want a thick consistency but smooth enough to spread on toast. Add more water, 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach the right consistency. Taste test and adjust seasonings if need be.

3. Spread the tahini-miso sauce over 4 slices of toasted bread and top with a few slices of radishes and sprinkle each piece of toast with minced scallions and a few pinches of the sesame seed/salt mixture (Gomashio) and enjoy.

CSA WEEK 3

P i c k l i s t

GREEN PEPPERS - JALAPENO PEPPERS - CELERY - LETTUCE - FENNEL - CARROTS - 

ONIONS - PLUM TOMATOES - SAGE - WINTER SQUASH - SWEET POTATOES

BREAD OF THE WEEK:  APPLE CIDER BREAD

THIS WEEK AT EDGEWATER…

Welcome frost!  I am shocked at my exclamation and openness to this event, but jeez we are tired and plants are tired.  Both fields and humans are ready to button up, cover up, and take a long winter nap.  However, pre naptime, there is much to do. Since Friday of last week, we have been busy sweeping the fields of any non frost hardy fruit.  This list includes peppers of every variety, tomatoes, lemongrass, etc… the kol crops and carrots can handle a cold snap and often sweeten up with every below 32 degree night, so thankfully there is no hurry on that harvest.  But the rest is on go-time as our crew is seasonal and our honey-do list is long.  So as soon as frost arrived Tuesday morning, we began to break down the fields: Cut plants, pull drip tape, remove rebar, remove posts, etc… This is absolutely the less glamorous side of farming, but there is a feeling of completion and renewal in this field breakdown and tidying up.  

Another area of completion we hit yesterday was the Halloween carving of the very last of the pumpkin crop.  It feels good to say, what we did not sell, we carved and stuck a candle in.  

As far as other crops go, we have a cooler stacked high with bins full of already harvested beets and carrots, and watermelon radishes.  Soon leeks and cabbage and the rest of the carrots will be picked and join the cooler party.  Outside the cooler are bins of onions, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, and we remain beyond fortunate to have greenhouse space to grow greens.  All that said, we will not go hungry this winter, and there is always plenty of food for all.  

Ok, I need to step away from this computer, put on 10,000 layers of wool, top it off with some fancy neoprene gloves and go finish the CSA pick.  I see flurries outside.  

FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS: 

WINTER SQUASH WITH CRISPY SAGE AND HONEY VIA EDEN GRINSHPAN

Winter squash cut into ½ inch thick slices (i keep seeds in!)

15 fresh sage leaves

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1. Pre heat oven to 425

2. On a baking sheet, toss the squash and sage with the olive oil, honey, salt and pepper.  Roast until the squash is tender and golden, 20 to 25 minutes, flipping once about halfway through.  Serve

Mirepoix Is the Foundation of Stews, Sauces, and More—Here's How to Make It:

The savory combination of celery, onion, and carrots (and sometimes other vegetables) is the silent MVP of so many recipes.

By Victoria Spencer  Updated on October 3, 2023

A big bowl of warm, hearty stew is typically full of flavors that go beyond the focal point (think: Beef Stew, Vegetarian Gumbo). If you've ever wondered what makes up the backbone of these liquid-based meals, then it's time to learn about mirepoix, one of the first things chefs learn in culinary school, and the foundation of flavor in so many dishes.

What Is Mirepoix?

A mirepoix is a combination of finely chopped aromatic vegetables that gives a subtle background flavor to dishes such as soups, stews, sauces, and braises. It's a French term that was reportedly devised in the 18th century by the cook to the Duc de Lévis-Mirepoix, a French field Marshal.

The classic mirepoix is made up of onion, carrot, and celery, but this version is only one of many possible variations. Mushrooms, parsnips, leeks, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic are all considered aromatic vegetables and can be used in endless combinations in a mirepoix. Other cuisines have flavor bases allied to the mirepoix:

Soffrito

The Italian soffritto is similar to a mirepoix. Like a mirepoix, it calls for onions, celery, and carrots, and sometimes pancetta and garlic.

The Holy Trinity

The "holy trinity" is used as the base of most soups and stews—including gumbo—in Cajun and Creole cooking in Louisiana. It includes onions, celery, and—instead of carrot—a bell pepper. Green peppers were substituted because they're easier to grow in southern Louisiana—plus they're delicious. It also differs from a mirepoix because the holy trinity uses equal amounts of each vegetable.

Sofrito

A sofrito is a Spanish flavor base. It is similar to the mirepoix in that it uses finely chopped vegetables but the vegetables used are different: onion, tomatoes, bell peppers, and garlic. This sofrito is the base of many recipes including paella, sancocho, and rice-and-bean dishes. A Puerto Rican version of sofrito is known as recaito, and often includes ajíes dulces (small sweet chile peppers). It is used in dishes such as the island's take on arroz con pollo.

How to Make a Mirepoix

For a classic mirepoix, use 2 parts onion to 1 part carrot and 1 part celery.

• Rinse, trim, and peel the vegetables.

• Chop them into uniform pieces. The shorter the cooking time of your recipe, the smaller the pieces should be, so that they effectively infuse the foods with flavor.

Using a Mirepoix

You can add the mirepoix uncooked to stocks and broths for a light dose of flavor.

To add richness to heartier stews and braises, "sweat" the vegetables first, cooking them with a little oil or butter over low heat until they start to release their juices into the pan.

Recipes that start with a mirepoix are many, from rich French chicken stews and French-style pork stews to those that start with a sofrito, like Spanish-style shellfish dishes. Almost every vegetable soup starts with a mirepoix. Once you know about this flavor base, you'll see how ubiquitous it is.

PICKLE YOUR JALAPENOS!!

Store-bought jars of pickled jalapeños are perfectly delicious. But if you feel like doing more work than unscrewing a cap—or if you bought a glut of peppers at the farmers market—you can make quick-pickled jalapeños (or anything) at home too. First, slice your peppers into rounds. There’s no law against using whole jalapeños, but smaller pieces will soak up the brine faster. Bring 1 cup distilled white vinegar, 2 Tbsp. kosher salt, 2 tsp. sugar, up to 2 Tbsp. spices (e.g., peppercorns, ­coriander seeds, and/or ­mustard seeds), chopped fresh herbs (like cilantro), and 2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. You’ll want enough liquid to cover the peppers, so feel free to scale this ratio up or down as needed.

Transfer sliced peppers to clean glass jars and pour over the brine, leaving ½ inch of headspace between the liquid line and the rim. Screw on the lids and let the jars cool before transferring to the fridge. Your pickled jalapeños will be best after 48 hours and last up to two months refrigerated.