Welcome to week 15 of the Farm Share!
It's time to get on and customize your share. In abundance this week are cherry tomatoes and spring onions and bok choy! Have you returned your bags? And quart/pint containers?
On The Farm
The goldenrod and the asters line the fenclines, the air is chilly in the morning, it's dark before 9pm, the zucchini leaves dry in the field, the cabbage moths flutter above the brassicas, the crickets are a nightly chorus. With the arrival of September, the journey towards fall feels very, very real.
Around September, sometimes the buzz for local produce begins to wane a little (well, other than the love for butternut squash!). Kids are in school, life is getting busier, the the allure of tomatoes is diminishing.
But for us, September brings a boost of energy. All major plantings are out in the field. The daily harvests are less, and the work to maintain greenhouse crops is mostly over. Beds can begin to be prepped for spring, clean up that has been on the sidelines can get done, and the dreaming begins for next year. The cooler air has a promise of a change of pace.
And, of course, we still have a ton of veggies! We don't grow squash or potatoes, but fall for us means a return of bok choy, kohlrabi, cabbage, radishes, spinach, turnips. We are even trying fall peas, and we also have a ton of beds dedicated to carrots and beets.
This week we will begin to take out most of our tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse, to make way for the greenhouse crops that will supply the Fall Farm Share from November to December.
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What’s Fresh This Week
BOK CHOY is back! Try a soup, a salad, or a stir fry. We also have a lot of cherry tomatoes right now, and a ton of spring onions! Are pole beans are producing, but soon we will have to remove them to make way for our fall greenhouse crops. Chard is looking very fabulous at the moment, and tomatillos are STILL going crazy - I have added some bulk ones to Harvie for anyone wanted to can some salsa verde. We have a new green head lettuce available this week, it is a summer crisp lettuce, kind of like a bibb. Tomatoes are now being given out in 1 lb quantities instead of 1 quart quantities, as they are beginning to slow down. Oh, and peppers are starting to have a second flush of ripe fruit! We have some REALLY GOOD sweet corn from New Moon Harvest in Ailsa Craig available to add to shares this week! That's a lot of exclamation marks... I guess I'm feeling pretty happy about our farm today!
Recipes
Alex's Mom, Lidia, often brings and cooks with buckwheat when she visits here. This isn't something I am very familiar with, but I really love the flavour of what she cooks.
We had a couple bags of buckwheat floating around the house, so this week I made a resolution to cook with it. We have recently restocked the farm store with chicken, so I used a package of chicken thighs with legs attached. Two (huge) thighs and two (huge) drumsticks.
I came across this recipe https://www.alyonascooking.com/one-pan-buckwheat-with-chicken/ which involves browning the chicken, then sauteeing onion with grated carrot (I added garlic and two chopped tomatoes as well because that is what I have seen Lidia do). You soak the buckwheat in boiling water, then layer on the chicken and sauted vegetables, then bake in the oven for 1 hour.
The results were SO. GOOD. The recipe says it is important to season it well with salt, which I did, and I agree with that advice.
Here are some fun facts about buckwheat:
- It's naturally gluten-free (it is actually a seed, not a grain)
- Rich in antioxidants
- May be beneficial for blood sugar management
- Rich in heart-healthy nutrients, including magnesium and fibre
- A good source of fibre, beneficial to gut health
Here's another chicken recipe you can try out, it also has amazing flavours and is very simple to make, and uses tomatoes!
Wishing everyone a happy September!
Your farmer,
Kim
