Notes from Stick and Stone Farm

Fall has definitely arrived! Even as the Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Summer Squash are having their last hurrah and the cool nights shut them down, the Greens are carpeting entire fields. The baby bok choys and broccoli raab, mustards, and bunch-worthy arugula, tatsoi rosettes, komatsuna, bekana, first gai lans are fully formed and rolling into the wash tank here. Kales of many types, and Collard Greens with leaves as big as dinner plates are occupying large areas. They are bursting with flavor and nutrients, it's amazing to just hang out in these fields right now. 

We'll be getting to the heading brassicas next month- plenty of broccoli, cauliflowers, and cabbages are out there getting ready for us. And those root brassicas will be starting as well- hakurei turnips at the start of the parade, with red turnips, purple tops, Gilfeather turnip and rutabaga following along in time. And the storage radishes- muu, both purple and white, watermelon radishes, green meat, and daikon...

But September is for greens. So we'll be going for it with garlic and cider and salt at every opportunity, or as salads if/when it warms up again.

Here we go! Forging ahead into the season of harvesting truly incredible amounts of food both to feed us all now, and for many months to come. Want to reserve your share of the mass fall harvests and those sacred and scarce winter greens? Join the Winter CSA now!

this week’s veggies - fall is here!

• salad greens* - remembrance

• sweet peppers - remembrance

• onions - remembrance

• tomatoes - remembrance & stick and stone

• acorn squash - stick and stone

• cooking greens - stick and stone

  rotating baby bok choy, komatsuna, broccoli raab, more!

• mixed beets - stick and stone

ROTATING —————————————

• broccoli - remembrance

• hakurei turnips - remembrance

• basil - stick and stone

• lettuce - stick and stone

• shishito peppers - mostly mild, occasionally hot - stick and stone

• ahi dulce peppers - mild and fruity - stick and stone

this week’s fruit bowl

• yellow nectarines - bittner singer

• grapes - doyle vineyards

• New York #14 apples - hurd orchard - has striping, duller/darker color

• Macintosh apples - hurd orchard - brighter red color, no stripes

preorder and pickup

please return your boxes from any bulk orders - we will reuse them!

DAMSON PRUNE PLUMS - pickup this week 9/20-23 from Bittner Singer, Appleton

SWEET PEPPERS - for pickup this week 9/20-9/23 - Organic, from Remembrance

updates from the farm & friends…

MONTHLY SHARES THIS WEEK - PORK, HERBS, FERMENTS!

two more rounds of these shares - this week and the third week in October

HIGH GROUND HERB POP-UP THURSDAY AT PRESS BAY

Thursday at CSA pickup! High Ground Gardens will be offering herbs familiar and unique for sale during CSA pickup (and saying hello to their herb share members!). Say hi and stock up on flavorful delights to accompany your share.

WORK PARTY SATURDAY AT THE YOUTH FARM

This Sat 10:00 am - 1:00 pm, perfectly paired with your CSA pickup! Come lend a helping hand and chat with Joe about soil health! Thank you so much in advance for helping! Please register with this form or email Joseph

FARM TO FOOD TRUCK NEXT WEEK WITH LEV KITCHEN

Lev Kitchen will be serving up their delicious creations at Stick and Stone Farm Wednesday 9/27 from 4-7. Plus cider from Eve’s Cidery and Redbyrd served by Open Spaces! And a pay-what-you-can Salad Bar by HFFA. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Healthy Food For All, our partner in making CSA shares affordable & accessible to all in our community. Open to the public!

PAYMENT PLANNERS, PAYMENTS WERE DUE 9/15

All payments are $120 ($59 for HFFA members). Pay online here, pay via cash or check (to Full Plate Farms, PO Box 6898, Ithaca, NY 14851 or brought to your free choice pickup) or pay via EBT at GreenStar and send us a copy of your receipt. Find more payment plan info here. This should be your final payment for the Summer CSA, unless you are behind on pmts or have made alternate plans.

on our plates…

Please share what you’ve been cooking, we’re always glad to know, and eager to pass along. Just email Molly. Find this week’s ingredients in bold.

Charred Greens & Onion Dip

By Sara May. DIETARY INFO: gluten-free, vegetarian, contains dairy

1 small bunch kale or other greens such as chard (about 5 ounces)

• 1 large onion (about 9 ounces), peeled & cut into 1” slices

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 2 cups Greek yogurt (or Remembrance yogurt)

• The juice & zest of 1 lemon

• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika

• Pinch cayenne powder

• Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare a grill for medium-high heat. Carefully wipe down grates with a lightly oiled paper towel. Working in batches, carefully grill kale leaves until just slightly charred, about 2-3 minutes per side. Grill onion slices until charred on the outside and soft in the middle, about 5 minutes per side.

2. When kale is cool enough to handle, strip leaves from their stems and discard stems. Place leaves, garlic and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until kale leaves are finely minced. Roughly chop grilled onions and add to food processor with kale paste. Pulse until onions are finely chopped. 

3. In a large bowl, combine kale-onion mixture, Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice & zest and spices. Season with salt and pepper. Stir together and taste, adjusting salt levels if necessary. Allow to rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days to let the flavors meld.

4. To serve, drizzle remaining olive oil over dip and top with freshly cracked pepper. 

More in-season inspiration…

• Tomatoes, beets, onions: Heirloom Tomato, Beet and Red Onion Salad

• Beets, onions: Beetroot Thoran (South Indian Beet Stir-Fry)

• The best, easiest way to enjoy shishitos? Blistered! With some aioli for dippin’ - Shishitos are mostly mild with an occasional hot one in the mix

• Acorn squash: Roasted Acorn Squash & Harvest Salad

• Acorn squash: Spiced Sweet Potato, Carrot & Acorn Squash Latkes

• Acorn squash, tomato, onion, garlic: Golden Acorn Squash Chili

• Hakurei Turnips are mild & delicious raw on salads or eaten like an apple!

• Hakurei Turnips: Miso glazed Hakureis

U-Pick Gardens

open 7 days/week during daylight hours. unlimited use, weed as you go. for Full Plate vegetable share members only. see more u-pick info and maps!

Please use the u-pick with those that come to the field after you in mind (i.e. don’t take aaaall the ripe fruit you see) thank you!

As the cool weather sticks around, upick bounty is likely to dwindle over the coming weeks, enjoy it while you can!

AT STICK AND STONE FARM

ROADSIDE GARDEN: basil and sunflowers still lovely, pick now!

CREEKSIDE GARDEN: Still so many beautiful Cutting flowers! And find some ground cherries, tomatillos and hot peppers too, these things don’t love cool weather so the season may not last super long. See detailed maps here

BEHIND THE BARN: More flowers! Strawflower, scabiosa and more, right beside beds of okra and fun greens like perilla, amaranth, and molokhia. Cherry tomato and paste tomato plants are on their way out and ripening has slowed on these cool days and nights- last chance to load up on these guys.

PERENNIAL BEDS: chives, garlic chives, bee balm, oregano, more!

AT THE YOUTH FARM PROJECT

MAIN GARDEN: Still loads of cutting flowers, basil, and perilla. And of course, cherry tomatoes, ground cherries, okra and hot peppers too. Paste tomato plants are on their way out and ripening has slowed on these cool days and nights- last chance to load up on these guys.

PERENNIAL BEDS: sage, chives, thyme, bee balm and more carry on steadily