Weekly Weeder

Olin-Fox Farms Volume No. 7 Issue No. 25 August 17, 2006

www.olinfoxfarms.com Summer Season Week 6

STANDARD REMINDER

Please be sure to wash your weekly share thoroughly before serving. To preserve freshness, it is NOT ‘table ready’ (i.e., pre-washed). We deliver your Olin-Fox Farms’ produce right from the fields to ensure highest quality.


This Week's News From the Farms

Getting back on track. With last week's off week, we and the other farms were able to reassess the latest effects of global warming on our crops and our environment. Some of these effects were tomatoes
splitting in the fields, some peppers have sun scalding, any of the crops that were picked during the heat/drought period were more flavorful, and the weeds have gone crazy. The ground is still super
hard, so this will delay some tilling. At this point, unless we get more rain, it may become necessary to soak down some areas for the beds to be worked up for planting.
 
During the off-week, we and the other growers were able to take the needed time for improving daily operations as well as planning ahead for the upcoming seasons.

New, shorter Fall Season: Speaking of seasons, we have planned for a short Fall Season running from November into mid December. This 5-week program will enable us to finish out calendar year 2006. We will reserve spots in Alexandria for current members for 2 weeks before opening up for new membership. Deadline is August 31st.


Enclosed in your share along with this Weekly Weeder is a sign-up form for the Fall 2006 Program. This program starts on November 8th and ends on December 16th. There will be 5 weeks of produce starting
November 8th, with Thanksgiving week being an off week.


Our 2007 All-Season program will coincide with the calendar year, starting in January and running through December.
 
Ethan's European Trip, continued...

            The days are long and invigorating in northern Europe around mid-summer.  Personal experience has taught me it’s wise to pack a sleeping mask.  At this time of the year, daybreak occurs around 2:30 in the morning at Knöde on the large island of Tjörn, a nature reserve in the Boslan region north of Gothenburg up Sweden’s west coast.    I was a house guest there of the Järborg family whose cluster of summer cottages nestles against the sheltering face of a towering glacier-scoured  bluff in a grassy clearing just at the edge the airy alpine forest (comprised mainly of  junipers, birch, spruce, oak and pine). The forest floor is all carpeted in wild flowers and blooming heather, with abundant raspberries, blueberries, and tiny sweet strawberries for anyone who cares to browse upon on rambles to and from the jetty to take the skiff out to the small rock “skary” island that's the family's favorite spot for a bracing swim in the clear, aquamarine-colored water.  Only during my hikes in similar woodlands in parts of Germany have I ever come across such an impressive four-foot tall ant hill.  I felt as welcome as King Kong running a muck in New York City when I tried to take a close-up picture of this mammoth colony, finding myself suddenly under attack from all sides by swarming, biting hordes, sandal-clad in shorts as I was.  The ‘plush hush’ of silence in this Arcadian glade is punctuated only by natural sounds ---the breeze rustling the leaves of birch and rowan trees, the upbeat melodies of songbirds, the cries of sea birds and the raspy chorus of bleating sheep finally settling down for the night, after mellow hours of sunset (the protracted twilight time known as “smerring” in Swedish, that magical period before nightfall which the Highlanders of Scotland call ‘in the gloaming’).   Only well after 11 p.m., darkness closes in at last.  Each evening, as another perfect day slowly folds away, after

Weekly Weeder, August 17, 2006 Page 2


dining al fresco, thanks to the gloriously fine weather, we lingered together in quiet conversation witnessing the subtle permutations of the sky’s display, over coffee and dessert with perhaps a bracing thimble of savory caraway-flavored akvavit against the deepening evening chill, gazing out across the mirroring surface of the pink granite islet-dotted sea, as the last of sail boats disappear from the panoramic tableau. Toasting day’s end with a hearty “Skoal”, we bid one another good night and head off to sleep.


Crop Report
 
Finally, with the heat wave broken and a soaking all-day rain last Thursday, the crops, wildlife and humans all responded well. We are slowly making our transition from late summer crops to some early fall crops. As the tomatoes and peppers gradually phase their way out, the sweet potatoes, potatoes, radishes and salad greens will be making their way into your kitchen and onto your plates.


In Your Produce Basket This Week
 
Tomatoes, Sweet Pepper, Eggplant, Red Grape/Sungold Tomato Mix, Basil, Garlic, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Brown Turkey Figs, Selection of Bartlett and Bosch Pears

For Those With Fruit Shares: Peaches
 
Recipes

Fresh Figs: Gift of the Gods

Don't mess with something when it's already perfect, I say, especially the tender, tree-ripened, succulently-sweet pendulous orbs gently tucked into your produce basket this week. When it comes to figs, I tend to be a purist. You do not need to “gild the lily”, as it were.  Artfully arranged on a favorite serving plate, enjoy their visual appeal as a center piece a while, then slowly savor their delicate fragrance before you begin nibbling their sugary sweetness, at room temperature or slightly chilled, devoured whole, letting the sticky juice drip down, like Tom Jones lustily consuming a cluster of grapes; or, for those more inclined to exercise a modicum of genteel restraint, sliced with heavy cream.
 
Fresh Figs with Cream

Peel the figs carefully, being sure not to crush them in the process.  The skin of a truly ripe fig will peel off easily. Slice and sugar slightly (if you must, only after tasting one first). A ripe fig ought to be very sweet by itself. Serve with heavy cream, one of life's simple pleasures.

Of course, they are also quite tasty sliced and interleaved with salty prosciutto or Virginia ham, as an elegant “starter” course. If you are fortunate enough to have a gracious plenty, try:

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Figs

For 4 ? 8 servings, slice 8 ripe figs in half length-wise. Use about 1/2 lb. goat cheese, thinned with cream, sour cream, yogurt or milk, just until it is thin enough to spread. Taste and add salt if necessary. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the cheese onto each fig half, pressing only enough so that it adheres. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper and serve, or refrigerate up to an hour, before garnishing and serving.

Newsletter and Recipes by Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer

Bon Appetit!