Bring on the pumpkins and the face-painting and the delicious food and the magic that is the tradition of fall festivals in New England. Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the sweet magic that are warm days and brilliant blue skies, orange carrots and pumpkins and maple leaves and the chilly evenings that smell sharp and sweaters and blankets and flannel sheets are comfy again. Hot chocolate and cups of tea become more constant parts of my everyday and I start to think that longer nights for sleeping are a great idea. But before that, there are the 6 precious weekends of Harvest festival time between now and Halloween. And I love them. I love wandering through hay mazes, looking for perfect pumpkins, eating pumpkin donuts and drinking hot cider with lots of cinnamon. Harvest, which is actually an all spring, summer and fall event for me, is still a wonderment in the fall, despite the fact that we live in a world of global access to all seasons. There is a perfect joy in bringing something out of the field that you have spent months and months nurturing to fruition. Those roots, cabbages, squashes, potatoes and more that will nourish the body through the winter are still precious to us, even in a global market, and we should celebrate this time before we hunker down for the winter. So go out and enjoy every perfect Saturday of autumn until it turns too cold and drink a cup of cider and eat a slice of pie in toast to your farmers. And come to our Harvest Fest on Sunday! The weather is going to be perfectly cool, the skies will be blue and the leaves will be turning towards peak orange and red and yellow. It will be insanely gorgeous here at your little gem of a farm. Spread the word!
Also coming up in a couple of Saturdays is our CSA/Volunteer Appreciation Potluck. Its BYOB, the grill will be hot, the campfire roaring and delicious food will abound. Bring a dish to share with the crowd and a favorite plate/utensils to eat off of. We will have some music and lawn games!The fun starts at 530 and goes until 830. (think about bug spray and flashlights!)
What's in Your Share:
Fennel
Kale
Power Greens mix/Arugula
Tokyo Bekana/Pac Choi
Winter Squash
Carrots
Radishes
Onions
PYO:
Yellow/Dragon/Green Beans are ready for picking- keep it to a pint, our planting didn't germinate very well, but the beans are sweet!
Chilies
Flowers
Herbs: Sage/Parsley
Recipe of the Week: Fennel Syrup
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| Katydid |
If you are wondering what to do with that mound of anise-scented leaves on your fennel after you've eaten the bulb and maybe used a sprinkling of fresh greens, try this fun recipe for turning those greens into a delightful licorice flavored syrup that you can add to cocktails, sparkling water, or drizzle over a poached pear topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Fennel is good for the digestion and pairs well with anything acidic or citrusy so keep that in mind!
Ingredients:
- 1 medium bulb fresh fennel, chopped, or use all the fronds coarsely chopped.
- dash of salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
Instructions
Rough chop the fennel into small chunks.
Add sugar and water to a medium saucepan.
Heat to a boil, making sure all sugar is dissolved.
Remove from heat.
Add in fennel, allow to steep for a minimum of 15 minutes.
Strain out fennel pieces.
Store in a covered container in a refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
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| too much water in the fields..... |
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