Back on Track, by Angela

Young Broccoli & Collards in the Field

In a whirl of conditioned farm execution, the broccoli and collards are finally in the ground! I can't tell you how good it feels to gaze out upon those rows of emerging fall delights in the field instead of panicking over their well-being during their extended stay in the greenhouse. Listen closely and you too may hear the various choruses of joy as you pass that field.

Brussels Sprouts & Josh

We bid adieu to farmer Josh whose last day with us was Friday. Seen above as the rock-star master of the weed whacker, Josh notably is the fastest garden-forker this farm has ever seen. Thank you, Josh, for all your hard work and enjoyable spirit. Blessings.

Heirloom Tomatoes in the Field for Gleaning

Same as last week, the heirloom tomato plants are dying out and are open for gleaning by members during pickup hours. Please take as many as you'd like before the plants are gone.

Heirloom Tomato Rainbow

Red Hill Farm, Week #15, by Angela

This is a Full Share and Bi-Weekly Tuesday Pickup week.

Josh will be in the share room this week to assist you. If you have a stash of plastic bags at home, we'd greatly appreciate your help refilling the plastic-bag bin in the share room--thanks.

2nd ANNUAL TOMATO GLEANING--THIS YEAR DURING PICK-UP HOURS  :)
The tomato rows in the field will be open for gleaning during pick-up times. These are the rows that are on your left as you enter the farm, so you will have to walk back up there after you've parked your car. Please do not park your car even temporarily on the driveway to pick or load your tomatoes--it's a violation of fire safety codes. Please also note that this gleaning does not include the tomatoes in the U-pick area. 

Much like our gleaning event last year, you may take as many as you'd like, to help us clean off the plants before pulling up the stakes. So bring your bags, buckets, boxes, and brawn to lug off as much as you'd like. Remember that green tomatoes will ripen on the counter. The rows will remain open for gleaning during pickup hours this week and possibly next week. (The neighboring eggplant and pepper rows will be marked off; please DO NOT go down those aisles as we are still harvesting from those plants for parts of the share).

Samuel Palmer, Ruth Returning from Gleaning, ca 1828,
Victoria & Albert Museum, London (source) According to Palmer scholars,
"the powerful figure of Ruth the Gleaner [symbolizes] the fecundity of
the land."

For your menu planning this week, you may anticipate:

• Salad greens
• Elba potatoes
• Garlic
• Sweet White Onions
• Eggplant
• Peppers
• Heirloom Tomatoes

Cheers from Angela!

Red Hill Farm, Week #13, by Angela

Hello, RED HILL FARM members! Welcome to Week #13. This is a Full Share and Bi-Weekly Tuesday Pickup Week.

Molly will be in the share room this week. Like last week, make time for lots of picking in the U-Pick--woohoo!

I apologize for the weedy farm; oh how it bugs me so. Our tractor has been out of commission for over two weeks due to a faulty starter that has been repaired, repaired, repaired, and--God willing--will ultimately be replaced by tomorrow morning. That said, I may be on the tractor during most of the pickup time on Tuesday to get the ground ready to finally transplant our broccoli. During the pickup hours, I will only be in the fields on the parking-lot side of our driveway, nowhere near the U-Pick; however, I ask for your safety that you please do not approach the tractor. I also ask for your patience if I am turning around in the driveway; please do not drive around the tractor in the grass (due to the numerous header hoses and the faucets that may be damaged). Thank you so much.  :-)

Refractory tractor (source)

The sun is shining and the weather has been superb--what better time to enjoy the fresh produce? This week you may anticipate (in addition to the abundant U-Pick items):

• greens mix
• heirloom tomatoes
• Red Maria potatoes
• red onions
• eggplant/peppers
• garlic
• melons--melons are coming in slowly, so if you took one last week, please do not take one this week. Thanks!

Red Hill Farm Week #11, by Angela

This is a Full Share and Bi-Weekly Tuesday pickup week.

Brendan is the farmer in the shareroom this week. Joanne will be available at the farm for children and adults alike on Tuesday from 1-5 pm, and this Friday from 1 to 3, then again for the Salsa Contest from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. Please see below! ALL MEMBERS ARE WELCOME TO THE SALSA CONTEST, WHETHER THIS FRIDAY IS YOUR PICKUP DAY OR NOT!!! Please do join us!

Poster by Joanne Rosenbaum

Also note, we'd love your help digging potatoes on Saturday, August 24th from 10 am to noon. More details to come; this is a family-friendly event.... The more hands, the merrier! And an excellent educational opportunity for your children, too.

For your menu-planning this week, you may anticipate:

• heirloom tomatoes
• lettuce
• garlic
• Torpedo onions
• peppers/eggplant
• summer squash
• German Butterball potatoes

German Butterball Potatoes (source)

Cheers!

The Glory of the Day, by Angela

"Oh what a day!  Glorious!
Gather 'round
There's nothing better
Than a friend
Oh what a day!  Glorious!
The smell of rain
Has hitched a ride
Upon the wind
I've got good friends
To the left of me
And good friends
To my right
Got the open sky above me
And the earth beneath my feet
Got a feeling in my heart
That's singin'
All in life is sweet
Oh what a day!"

~MaMuse, Glorious, http://www.mamuse.org

Ma Muse Album, The Integration of the Awkward
Art by Mara Friedman (source)

MaMuse is a duo of wonderful female musicians that I had the pleasure of enjoying in person during my time in Chico, California. The song listed above has been murmuring through my head incessantly during this week, with the return of the summer rains and time again mingling in the share room. Such a simple reminder of appreciation and gratitude to claim the days for the beauty within them, as we peak out in our heirloom tomato harvests and welcome the arrival of the blackberries.

It has been rather a fall-like week on the farm as our temperatures have dropped, and the yearly task of clearing off fence vines is in full swing. Hurry up and wait continues to be the mantra of this season, as we ebb and flow with the weather once again. It's never boring here, and as predictably as plants want to grow, we are experiencing new perspectives every week with what is possible in this quantity of rain and the vigor of the plants.

Crazy Bed Head Raspberries!

Take our raspberries, for instance (see photo above). I thought the trellising system would hold these power-packed canes, but it appears that they really do desire to continue their "crazy-bed-head-flying-all-over-the-place" look, with just a minimal amount contained within the wires. Oh well, I'll continue working on that delicious dilemma.

Wicked Good! by Melinda

Brown Butter Tomatoes (source)

I seem to be hung up on this decadent combo of tomatoes and butter. The source of this wonderful and easy recipe is "Food 52," the crowd-sourced recipe and food blog we follow on this blog (click here). Amanda, one of the principals in the endeavor, notes that the tomatoes must be sliced 1/3rd-inch thick, not 1/4 or 1/2!!!!  This serves 4 as an appetizer or two as a light meal. By the way, this will not work by substituting oil for butter--browned oil is completely unhealthy, carcinogenic!

Brown Butter Tomatoes

• 2 large or 3 small, ripe, beefsteak-type tomatoes (our heirlooms would be great!)
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter
• Flaky sea salt, like Maldon
• coarsely ground black pepper
• baguette or other country bread, for mopping up the butter (try some of Jerry Sheehan's bread!)

Core the tomatoes & slice them 1/3rd-inch thick. Divide slices among 4 plates [or 2], overlapping them just a little. Put butter in small, heavy-bottomed saucepan & set on medium-low heat. Let the butter melt completely; it will begin bubbling. Let the butter simmer away, cooking off its water, until it begins to smell nutty and brown. Swirl the pan every 30 seconds or so. When the butter turns the color of a hazelnut, remove it from the heat. Use a soup spoon to ladle it over the tomatoes. They'll sizzle! You want to dress the tomatoes with the butter generously! Season the tomatoes with salt & pepper, then rush the plates to the table so everyone can taste them while the butter is still hot! Mop up the butter and tomato juices with good bread. Toast to summer!  (recipe source)

Red Hill Farm Week #10, by Angela

This is a Full Share and Bi-Weekly Friday pickup week.

Sunny on Monday, but our rain is back in the forecast for the rest of this week.  Man, seriously getting a good dose of regular rain showers this year.

Our Salsa Contest is coming up on August 16th!  Check it out (see poster) and start your own test batches for the event with all the wonderful tomatoes on the horizon.

Poster by Joanne Rosenbaum!

Unfortunately, we will not be putting on the Farm-to-Table event this year. Instead, all of our end-of-season efforts are going into the Harvest Festival--FUN for ALL!  This family event will be Saturday, October 19th, from 4 to 7 pm--details to come later.

This week, in the barn, you may anticipate:

• heirloom tomatoes
• garlic
• sweet white onions
• blue potatoes
• eggplant *or* green peppers (limited quantities of each at each pickup for a choice)
• and some surprises!

Don't forget to do your U-Picking, the best way to maximize your farm membership.

Week #9 at Red Hill Farm, by Angela

This week is for full-share and bi-weekly Tuesday pickups.

Blue potatoes (source)

Well, last week was a sort of farmer strength and conditioning week as we harvested loads of onions for curing, then picked up sandbags from the field for two hours (not an exaggeration), hauled corn out the wazoo, and stacked cinder blocks in the barn for part of our curing station. Yeah, we're tough  :)  All in the name of good food.

Josh will be farmer in the shareroom this week. Joanne will be available on the farm from 1-5 pm on Tuesday and 1-3 pm on Friday this week.

In the thick of it now, I hope you are as excited as I am about the bounty of deliciousness coming out of the fields. This week for your menu planning you may anticipate:

• Blue potatoes (good for baking)
• Shallots (please remember the note from last week; these will not store long so use them up fast)
• Garlic
• Sweet white onions
• Heirloom tomatoes
• Summer squash
• And some other goodies....

Cheers!

Week #5 Ruminations, by Angela

Week 5 share

Fret as I may about the rain and overall wetness on the farm, things are looking pretty good.

Week 4 share

Sure the weeds are a bit unruly, as well as the tomato plants that need far more trellising than they have received, but the zucchini is coming in steady, and the corn is growing like bamboo.

Heirloom Tomatoes

I count my silver linings throughout the farm as the corn starts to tassle, the winter squash vines begin to creep, wee bitty eggplants emerge, and so forth. We're going to be fine.

Sugar Pearl sweet corn