[local eating] Farm share, supplemental, and more

[magid]

I went out to my farm today; they offer shareholders things that can be picked, and the quantities are reasonably large for Boston-area folks, since they assume we won't get out there much. Before I got to the fields, though, I saw the new array of solar panels they've set up (5 x 22 panels), though I heard they're not live yet. And I peeked in the (plastic-sheeting) greenhouses, where there were tomato plants taller than basketball players! (At first I thought they were suspended, but soon figured out they were just fricken' enormous.)

The loot that was part of my CSA:
4 pints of tomatillos
6 pints of husk cherries (which were easier to pick than I'd expected, despite being a rather small variety, since they're ripe once they fall off the plant)
6 pints of cherry tomatoes (I picked a variety of red, yellow, and orange ones, some globe, some pear, some as small as currants)
30 hot peppers (I focused on long thin peppers and cherry ones, since I have poblanos and jalapenos already)
1 pint of raspberries
11 quarts of yellow (wax) beans (officially, I could have picked 15 quarts, and 4 quarts of shelling beans, but I ran out of steam (and the bending over was getting to me), plus I'd hoped for green or purple beans, and those were pretty much done)
10 stems of flowers (brought to my mom :-)

I also bought 2 pounds of local honey ($11.25), so I can make apple-honey liqueur for next Rosh Hashana.

My next stop was Brookfield Orchards (where we always went when I was little) to pick some apples. I was a bit disappointed that all they had were MacIntosh, Cortland, and Empire (I always hope for Honeycrisp and/or Ginger Gold). I settled for Macs only, getting a half bushel bag ($17; their sign suggested it would be 20 pounds of fruit, but I think the bag I carried out was heavier, though I haven't weighed it).

And my last food-acquiring stop was at Cournoyers, the farm stand in Paxton we went to when I was growing up; it was nostalgic driving through town, seeing what's changed and what hasn't. I bought 10 pounds of potatoes, 25 pounds of yellow onions, and a buttercup squash (total: ~$19). (Followed by a visit to my parents, finally delivering the kippah my mom had asked for, among other things.)

Current plans include husk cherry preserves, possibly a small batch of husk cherry liqueur, roasted wax beans (and probably some pickled), perhaps some salsa verde (any other suggestions for tomatillos?), freezing some of the hot peppers if I can't think how to use all of them up, apple liqueur (permutations might include cinnamon and/or vanilla, as well as the honey), apple pickles, and apple cake for Sukkot. Other ideas are welcome.

Comments

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Brookfield Orchards has not planted or grafted any Honeycrisps. I don't think they've gotten ginger golds either. Had I known you were going I would have asked for apple dumplings.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I wasn't sure whether day-old dumplings would have been nearly so nice as fresh ones (knowing I didn't have the energy for another stop by the time I got home on the late side). Next time I'll know.

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Well, they do tend to last about a week inside their plastic wrapping in their foil pan - assuming they aren't eaten first (yum!) I actually look for a frozen tray when I go there if it isn't winter. That allows them to travel the distance back to the house.

[bercilakslady.livejournal.com]

Yum. I picked up a local raw milk cheese yesterday, and had it with heirloom tomatoes and peppers for dinner with a yummy garlic basil bread.

[magid.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a fabulous dinner!

[goldsquare.livejournal.com]

I knew what you meant when you said "husk cherries", but I'd only heard of them as "ground cherries".

I STRONGLY recommend this recipe of my wife's (http://dovesandfigs.wordpress.com/2009/09/08/mystery-tart/) as a dairy treat. It was a wonderful savory/sweet combo that surprised everyone.

Perhaps you'll share your own inventions in return?

[magid.livejournal.com]

I've seen them called both, and online they also seem to be known as "cape gooseberries" for some reason.

That recipe sounds fantastic. All I've done is started a batch of booze and am slowly heating the others with some sugar in order to can them in their own syrup. I suspect that if I didn't have so much other produce to get through (with the regular farm share plus a bulk order showing up tomorrow afternoon just before the holiday), I'd make something more fabulous like this for now.

Other than that, this morning I've roasted two trays of wax beans, baked the buttercup squash (I think it will end up in a mushroom-barley soup), and started two huge batches of apple liqueur, one with vanilla and cinnamon. And baked the peels with cinnamon and sugar, as an experiment. Planned for later today: tomatillo salsa (I wish they weren't so sticky!), and perhaps some kind of pickles.

[magid.livejournal.com]

You know, I bet some closer orchards also make dumplings.... (And that you could likely replicate them at home.)

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

There are some closer orchards but I have yet to find one with a multi-dumpling pan, or with such a reasonable price for dumplings, or, frankly, as little added sugar. As for making them at home, I believe the dough is a bit tricky to make. I am content to have them be an occasional treat I buy. If I ever move out of range of the place entirely I think I'll have to figure out how to make them, but that time is not yet here.

[cellio]

That sounds like a great haul. I hope you were doing it with a car. :-)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Definitely with a car! There were about 180 miles driven; no way I could do that in one day on my bike, even without carrying much of anything!

And tomorrow's pickup will be with a car, given the bushels of extra stuff I've ordered (mostly for a friend, but still....).

[(Anonymous)]

Great haul!

Salsa verde sounds good to me. I'm so sorry you can't add cilantro to it. Are you including avocado?

If there are any extra tomatillos, they might be good in an omelette, in which you could also consider including onion, tomato, hot peppers, and/or cheese.

Freezing some of the hot peppers, perhaps even sliced or chopped, is a good idea, because then you can just grab a little when cooking!

Do you know how to make the pickled peppers? I use those (storebought)sometimes for nachos or quesadillas. Or the eggs, too.

How do you make the apple cake?

So nice about the flowers.

Chag sameach!

[magid.livejournal.com]

I don't have avocado, and, strangely, am not a huge fan, so I don't go out of my way to acquire them. Oh, and once I do a canning batch, unless I have Far Too Many of something (*cough* half a bushel of apples *cough*), they're used up.

I checked Chef Google for pickled pepper recipes, and should do that with more of the hot peppers, though I'm still thinking that stuffing the poblanos would be interesting (I have leftover white-wheat and barley flour challah, and that plus walnuts, mozzarella, some fresh herbs, and perhaps tomato seems like a nice stuffing).

I couldn't find where I'd put the apple cake recipe, so I didn't make it :-(. All I remember is that it was a one-bowl vegan recipe that resulted in an apple cake with walnuts, and wasn't in a Bundt pan.

I hope the flowers made it to yom tov; the ones from the previous Shabbat were already sad by Monday...

I hope you had a lovely start to your holiday, and moadim l'simcha!