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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Big Red Farm Stand, Wed. July 2, 1pm to 5pm

Heirloom tomatoes,
coming along nicely
Hello friends,

Things continue to clip along at the Big Red Farm.  Farmers, interns, and volunteers are working hard transplanting, seeding, weeding, and harvesting.  The past couple weeks, the teachers attending the Klingenstein Summer Institute have been eating our greens in the dining hall -- thanks to our friends at Sustainable Fare! -- and on Sunday a group of Klingenstein folks came out to the farm for a tour.  We had a great time meeting them, and hearing how some of their schools are incorporating farms and gardens into the curriculum.  We wish them all good luck!

This week the farm stand will be set up in front of Pop Hall again; we hope this will be our permanent location, so until further notice, you can assume that's where we'll be.  This will be the last week for peas, I'm sorry to say, but it's the first week for delicious Napa cabbage and crisp multicolored string beans!  We will also have fresh dill and cilantro.


JULY 5: ANOTHER FARM PARTY!

Our Saturday potluck/party in June was such a success that we've decided to do it again in July!  This Saturday, July 5th, in fact.  As before, the farm stand will be open at the farm starting at 3pm, and there will be a potluck dinner starting at 5:30.  If you're in town for the holiday weekend, please come!  Bring a dish to share, and dishes/cups/cutlery for you and your family.  More information will be forthcoming later in the week. 


ON THE FARM
A preview of this fall, we hope!

Last year, among other things, we didn't grow any winter squash or pumpkins, and we spent the entire fall regretting that.  So, this year we've gone into winter squash in a big way.  In the past week we've seeded no fewer than TWELVE varieties of winter squash, ranging from the standard butternuts and acorns to long-neck pumpkins and Kabochas -- favorites at the farmers' market, less common on supermarket shelves.  

Soon-to-be pumpkin patch, with a happy
Maggie in the foreground
The next item on the agenda is the pumpkins, which will go in in the next couple of days.  We've got another four or five varieties of those (depending on how you look at it; the line between pumpkin and winter squash is a little vague), both jack-o-lantern and pie types.  We have many hundreds of pounds of tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and peppers to harvest and eat between now and then, but we're excited for this fall to be all about the squash!


RECIPES

As soon as the Napa cabbage is ready to harvest, I start to look for slaw recipes.  I'll eat, and often enjoy  traditional coleslaw (especially alongside some pulled pork!), but once you've made slaw with Napa cabbage, it's hard to go back.  Where regular cabbage can be tough and chewy, Napa is fluffy and crunchy.  It is the perfect salad base for hot weather, and infinitely adaptable as a slaw; take it to just about any continent and it will be happy there.  Here are two possibilities.

Napa cabbage is also often called Chinese cabbage, and makes a great dumpling.  This is not a dumpling (though if anyone out there wants to make dumplings out of this cabbage, by the way, I support that wholeheartedly and PLEASE invite us over!), but it is an Asian-inspired angle on cabbage slaw.  {Asian Cabbage Slaw}

Our other slaw this week is loosely Central American, and delicious served alongside some black beans and tortillas.  We recommend pairing this meal with a bottle of Pacifico and lots of lime wedges!  {Napa-Lime Slaw}


AT THE FARM STAND

This week, we hope to have the following available from 1pm to 5pm in front of Pop Hall:
  • Multicolored String Beans - $3.50 quart
  • Napa Cabbage - $2.50 each
  • Eggs - $5.00 dozen
  • Flowers - $5.00 bouquet
  • Garlic Scapes - 3/$1.00
  • Kale - $2.50 bunch
  • Kohlrabi - $1.00 each
  • Lettuce - $2.50 head
  • Spring Onions - $2.50 bunch
  • Radishes - $2.00 bunch
  • Rainbow Chard - $2.50 bunch
  • Shell peas (last week for these) - $3.00 quart
  • Snap peas (last week for these) - $2.50 pint


HOW TO FIND US:

The farm stand is located right in front of Pop Hall, at the top of the stairs that lead down into the Bowl. Enter campus by the main gate on Route 206 (opposite the Lawrenceville Post Office and Craven Lane) and bear right into the circle. Bear right again at the fork in the road and continue straight until you see the farmstand signs.

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