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.

The Alexandria Central Avenue location has sold out for the Fall, and the Alexandria Chowan Avenue location is filling up fast. Due to the overwhelming interest in the Central Avenue location, we are looking for an additional distribution point in that area. If you are interested or know someone who is, please contact us ASAP.

Closer to home, we are pleased to announce that, starting with the Fall Program, there is a new distribution point in Middlesex County at Hartfield, VA, between Routes 3 and 33, convenient to both Deltaville and Gloucester.

Please notify us ASAP if you plan to participate in the Fall Program. Letting us know soon would be a great help, not only for our planning and planting crops but also this will allow us to get a head start on memberships, so we can spend more time in the field. Thank you for your belief in Community Supported Agriculture.

Last week's OFF week was very productive, despite the heat and humidity. While finishing up the last of the summer crops, we are preparing and planting for the Fall and Winter programs. We weeded, then mulched the herb circle, to keep the weeds at bay. John and Stevie set up an ingenious circle of windsocks to scare the turkeys away and discourage them from rolling around the mulch. It’s a colorful display and seems to be doing the trick, so far.

Last spring, we harvested and dried wild Arugula seed that we planted this week for a fall crop, along with tatsoi, bok choi, and purple Osaka mustard. We also got two beds ready for D'Avignon French Breakfast Radishes. In the coming weeks, more beds will be prepped for crops such as lettuces and fall greens.

Iris, Frank and Jimmy from Holly Hill Organic Farm visited Olin-Fox Farms on Sunday. Iris inspected our farm to be Certified Naturally Grown. This is a national program that requires annual inspections to meet current certification requirements. The National Natural Certification Program meets or exceeds USDA Organic Certification. Naturally, we passed the inspection with flying colors!

At the other farms, good progress is also being made for the Fall and Winter programs, with more fall seedlings and plantings being started, such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, more lettuces, greens, and radishes.

We are delighted to welcome our newest member of Olin-Fox Farms staff, Susan Carter Hughes. She has been of enormous help already with office work and packing shares, as well as bringing an upbeat, positive attitude and humor with her.

We would also pleased to welcome our two newest members of wild life to the farm. Two kits (young foxes) have been dancing around our fox statue in the herb circle, and overall having a fun time frolicking in the fields, not to mention catching a few rodents here and there for meals.

Mark your calendars, the First Annual Olin-Fox Farms Garlic Roast will be held on Saturday, October 13th, 1 to 5 pm. More details will follow.

As mentioned in the farm news, all the farms are in the process of wrapping up their summer crops over the next two weeks. With the recent bounty of rain, we hope to have some more tomatoes for you before the end of the Summer Program. Potato harvests are looking very good for some of the farms, so we will be adding Red Pontiac and White Kennebec potatoes in its final weeks, along with some other late summer goodies from the garden.

Note: Due to inclement weather, figs may be delayed to next week for some locations.

Please Note: With elements beyond our control such as the start or the end of a harvest, or extreme weather conditions that may limit the quantity of produce coming in, we systematically address each delivery and pick up group each week and do our very best to see that everyone receives some of everything.

Recipe

Fresh figs are best eaten as close to the tree of origin and as ripe as possible, when they’re just on the point of bursting. Look for the telltale honey-like drop of moisture on the surface. Thin-skinned and easily bruised, they need careful handling. Ripe figs, however, are highly perishable and will not keep for longer than three days in the fridge. Thin-skinned and easily bruised, they need careful handling and should be wrapped for travel in tissue, like a Romanov princess. Bring out their delicate scent and flavor by leaving them in the sun for an hour or so before serving.

A perfect fresh fig is best eaten simply as a dessert or as a starter with prosciutto. Eating them this way is an old tradition. In Assisi in 1874, John Ruskin wrote “Catherine brought me up as a great treat yesterday at dinner, ham… and a plate of raw figs, telling me I was to eat them together!”

Honey Nut Baked Fresh Figs

12 ripe fresh figs 8tbsp clear honey
7oz tub of natural yogurt 1oz flaked almonds, lightly toasted

Method

1. Trim the end of the stalks off each fig and then cut a cross into the top of each one and open it up.
2. Place 3 of the figs into the center of 4 x 30cm/12in squares of extra-thick foil and bring the edges of the foil up around the sides of the fruit.
3. Spoon the honey equally over the fruit and then scrunch the edges of the foil together to make well-sealed parcels. Place them to the side of medium-low barbecue and cook for 15 minutes until tender.
4. Transfer the parcels to plates and open up the foil. Add a good spoonful of plain yogurt to each one, sprinkle with the nuts and eat while they're still warm.

Grecian Fig Chicken Salad

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup orange juice • 1 tablespoon plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice • 1 garlic clove, crushed with a garlic press
• 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard • Pepper, to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon olive oil

• 1 1/2 cups (1 pound) cooked, diced chicken breast meat
• 1 1/2 cups (15.5 ounces) canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed & drained
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch-thick
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup (about 10) fresh figs, diced

• 3 cups (4 ounces) mixed salad greens • 6 tablespoons (1 ounce) chopped fresh mint

Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together the orange juice, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, mustard and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil until well blended. Add the chicken, chickpeas, cucumber, onion and figs; stir and toss to coat well. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve. To serve, divide the salad greens among 6 individual plates. Top each with an equal amount of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with the mint.

Written by Ethan Brent, Official Newsletter Focalizer.

Bon Appetit!