Week 13: Promises of Rain, continued.

Mrs. Beals: A Tribute 

Mrs. Elaine Beals passed on two weeks ago on a Sunday morning, surrounded in the comfort and love of her family and friends. In her, as the benefactor of this farm and land I've come to love,  I saw a generosity of heart and spirit,and what I  know of her and her story leaves me breathless in its abundance. If I achieve half so much in my lifetime, it will be a life greatly lived and very full.
She was a philanthropist and that she loved Southborough and she loved this gorgeous jewel of a farm and that she wanted it to be a part of Southborough forever. She helped to protect it and watched over it along with other pieces of land all over town. I know that she was always gracious and that she loved the smiles and laughter of children as they swung through the old apple trees and brought her sticky bags of raspberries and awkward bouquets of flowers. She loved watching the farm come to life in the last year and a half. I was glad that she was watching and that she approved.
Her visits to the farm in the year that I came here were typically brief, but I could tell she was pleased by the farm's growth and equally fascinated by holding the bright eyed baby rabbits and the squirming newborn kid goats that the children inevitably tried to put in her lap. She loved to watch them scream and laugh as they jumped into her so-cold pool. My children were especially partial to her, never hesitating to run to her with a still warm chicken egg from the nest they'd discovered, or the first of the cherry tomatoes or golden raspberries that she loved. Her presence touches everywhere on Chestnut Hill Farm because it wouldn't be here without her. I would not be here, in this special place, growing food for this community, if she had not decided with Phillip to preserve this piece of land forever from development so many years ago before I was ever born. I know she goes on with Grace and much loved. Thank you, Mrs. B.

Farm news:

Well, we haven't had any rain, again. Even this reputed HURRICANE is going to leave us drier than expected. BUT, the air is cooler, the days grow shorter and kids are back to school. As a homeschooling mom to my older two kids, we are getting back to a more consistent schedule of lessons, planning and deciding: what can be done without me; what needs a little help; or the 'absolutely need to be there for all of it, one on one, or the house will blow up in my absence from sheer frustration or actual chemical misapplication'. I'm obviously exaggerating that last (all chemistry experiments are one on one), but the next few weeks are little bit of balancing act. Luckily we have the flexibility of a gradual start to our schooling and we slowly build up to more rigorous inside book-work as the fall winds into winter.
We still have 7 weeks of CSA left, and we have more goodies in store. We have been harvesting winter squashes and curing them in the greenhouse, the garlic is mostly dry and we will shortly see a return of our delicious greens. Lettuce is still languishing from lack of water, but other plantings are coming along (I wouldn't be surprised if later lettuce and salad plantings in closer fields out pace the plantings that are further out where we couldn't get them water.
In any case, we are still working hard out there- doing lots of weeding, irrigation, field prep and more, in between four days a week of harvesting.

Alaskan Sock-eye Salmon: Josh Pierson (CSA and Community member) is a commercial fisherman in Alaska in the summertime and he would like to offer portions his annual harvest to his community. Sustainable, co-op fishery, high standards. You can't ask for better unless you high-tailed it up to Alaska and caught it yourself.  He will be at distributions throughout the next month or so- the price goes up after 9/15, so get your bulk orders in now. Check out fullscalesalmon.com for more information on pricing and bulk deals. I search out and buy wild caught sock-eye salmon every year in the fall because it is the most beautiful and nutritious- this is the best price I have ever heard of for this amazing fish and it is even better for knowing the folks who caught it.

What's in Your Share (maybe):

Cabbage
Chard
Collards? Use just like Kale!!!
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Pac Choi
Eggplant/Peppers (combo again, the drought has just nailed them so they are mostly stunted at this point)
Edamame
Winter squashes
Hoping for lettuce, beets, broccoli.

Pick Your Own:

Beans are rocking! Green, purple, yellow, dragon!
Chilies- Hungarian Hot wax, Jalapenos, watch out for the Cayennes and leave the tiny Thais to ripen (if you can- they are best dried on the plant!!)
Parsley and other herbs are doing great.
Cherry tomatoes- so many many kinds! They are ALL colors- red is the least of them all- look for deep orange, apricot-melon, deepest pink, purple......
We also have Juliet tomatoes- a large grape tomato which is perfect for oven drying! Just slice in half, toss with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder, maybe even a little oregano and spread on a cookie sheet. Cook in a low temp oven- around 200 degrees for a couple of hours, until the tomatoes are looking dehydrated but not dry. They can be eaten as is or you can put them in a freezer bag and freeze for January delight.

Events:

FARM TO TABLE!!!!!!!!SIGN UP ASAP!!!!!!!!! This is going to be a great dinner. MetroWest Catering plus our veggies, plus a full Harvest Moon, plus live music provided by Railroad House Band: how could it be anything but totally awesome. Friday, September 16th starting at 6pm. Don't miss supporting Chestnut Hill Farm's very first farm to table dinner. Kids are welcome! Sign up here....

L'il Goats Club: Wednesday September 7th 10-11am Come and hang with the goats and learn all about them! This is an educational/instructional opportunity so come learn about our favorite farm animals. $5/member child, $10 for nonmembers, adults are free. 

After Dinner Hike: 125 Challenge. Join us in the cool of the evening as we hike in sunset light. We'll record our miles as we work to collectively walk 125 miles of across the state, celebrating the 125th university of the Trustees.730-830p Wednesday September 7th members are free, nonmembers $5

Hawk Watch: Saturday, September 10th from 12-2p. Join our naturalists for a day of “hawk watching” atop the hills of Chestnut Hill Farm. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for this annual migration of Broad-wings Hawks from New England down to Central America. These hawks travel in large groups and use the rising warm air of hills and fields to gain elevation on their southward migration. While we never know what day will be a good day for hawks, our staff will give visitors of all ages a demo on hawk identification, and a chance to learn more about these incredible animals. Members, $5; Nonmembers $10

Recipes:

This week I'm going to point you towards a new food blog I've been investigating lately. Check out Budget Bytes, the writer Beth, has a diverse repertoire of recipes and she also prices out ingredients down to the cost of the salt. She has a recipe for Cabbage pancakes (Okonomiyaki) with a spicy Sriracha mayonnaise dressing that looks amazing.

Savory Cabbage Pancakes (Okonomiyaki)

Total Cost: $3.69
Cost Per Serving: $0.62
Serves: 6 (6inch
pancakes)

Ingredients
PANCAKES
2 extra large eggs $0.53
½ cup water $0.00
1.5 Tbsp soy sauce 0.14
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil $0.33
¾ to 1 cup allpurpose
flour $0.07
45
cups shredded green cabbage $1.78
1 carrot $0.11
3 green onions $0.17
2 Tbsp oil for frying $0.04
TOPPINGS
¼ cup mayonnaise $0.28
2 Tbsp sriracha $0.10
½ Tbsp sesame seeds $0.04
2 green onions $0.11
Instructions
1. Remove any wilted leaves from the outside of the cabbage. Cut the cabbage into quarters and
remove the core. Thinly slice or shred half of the cabbage, or until you have 4-5
cups shredded
cabbage. Peel the carrot and shred it using a largeholed
cheese grater. Slice the green onions.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, soy sauce, and sesame oil until smooth. Begin
whisking in the flour, ¼ cup at a time, until it forms a thick, smooth batter (about ¾ to1 cup total
flour).
3. Add the cabbage, carrots, and green onion to the batter and stir until the vegetables are mixed and
everything is evenly coated in batter.
4. Heat ½ Tbsp oil in a nonstick
or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add ¾ cup of the
vegetable and batter mixture. Press it down into the hot skillet to form a circle, about 6 inches in
diameter and ½ inch thick. Place a cover on the skillet to hold in the steam, which will help the
cabbage soften as it cooks. Cook the pancake until golden brown on the bottom (35
minutes), then
flip and cook until golden brown on the second side. Pile the cooked pancakes on a plate and cover
with foil to keep warm until ready to eat. Add more oil to the skillet as needed as you cook the
pancakes.
5. To prepare the sriracha mayo, mix together ¼ cup mayonnaise and 2 Tbsp sriracha in a small bowl.
Drizzle the sriracha mayo over the pancakes just before serving, followed with a sprinkle of sesame
seeds and sliced green onion.