That’s right! We’re taking over! Marty’s Birdland Food Truck will be at the Brighton Farmers Market on Sunday August 12th for an amazing meal made with what we grow. We’re so excited for this event and we really want to make sure everyone is there!
Don’t miss this event because it is only happening once! The menu is set and everyone is ready to go, now we just have to wait until Sunday August 12th so we can EAT.
We will still be at the market that day with our tables ready with your weekly local groceries but make sure to come to the market this day hungry.
In other news, we have a new video that was just released. Check it out!
It’s been rather dry until the last few days. We got a very nice soaking rain and didn’t see any washouts or damage to the crops. We did get about a week behind in our transplanting and now that the soil is nice and moist again it’s full steam ahead. We have heavy clay soil and it has many pros and cons. But in a dry year we really shine! In the fall or even early winter we perform our heavy tillage in preparation for the spring. Then when the weather turns in the spring we only disturb the top three to four inches of the soil leaving all that moisture underneath to be saved for dry spells like this. The major con of our heavy soils is a wet year we really struggle.
Tomatoes!
Today we got caught up with the cherry/grape tomatoes in the high tunnel. We grow them inside to prevent them from cracking and keep the diseases away. The guys got them all weeded and trellised up. I was able to Rototill the drive paths and in between the pumpkins to control the weeds. Soon we are transplanting the last of the cauliflower, fennel, turnips, rutabaga, and broccoli. We are on the home stretch but will still be transplanting for about another month.
Announcements
A couple big announcements this week!
We are teaming up with Chef Gabe Sanders of Hearth & Cellar for another Feast on the Farm. Sunday, October 7th we will transform the packing shed into a five star restaurant with white linens on the table and a five course meal you’ll be thinking about until next year’s dinner. Tickets are not on sale yet but don’t miss out because people are still talking about last years dinner and want to be first in line for this year!
We are also teaming up with Marty’s Birdland food truck to provide Fisher Hill Farm chicken dinners at the Brighton Farmers Market on Sunday August 12th. We are calling it the Fisher Hill Farm Takeover featuring the best food around.
Sandi celebrated her birthday last week with a day off from market on Sunday to spend her usual market hours completely alone. As much as she loves her kiddos and truly enjoys seeing the customers each week, those few hours of solitude kayaking on the West River were immensely rejuvenating!
New crops this week include broccoli, fennel, and fresh shallots. Hope you enjoyed the corn last week because we sure did and it just keeps getting better from here!
Have you seen this on our table recently? If you’ve been to any of the local farmers markets we bet you have. You may have asked yourself just what it is. Or maybe you thought that it was a zucchini but not sure what kind or what it could taste like.
COSTATA ROMANESCO
It’s called Costata Romanesco. And it didn’t take long for the secret to get out. When our chef friend, Gabe, encouraged us to grow this Italian heirloom zucchini this year we were a little nervous when this large, ribbed squash began to take up its own crate on the table. Would the two-tone color and large size scare people off?
Turns out, just two weeks into harvest season and we can’t keep this squash on the table! Members love the very small seeds, the flesh that doesn’t get spongy or have a core even in large sizes and the almost nutty flavor of the skin. Slice one of these ribbed squash for a fun star shape to saute or throw a larger diameter slice right on the grill.
Happy Zucchini Season!
There are so many ideas out there on how to use zucchini on the grill, in a sautee, or even a salad. But we found this recipe and thought it was a bit different and wanted to share!
Food processor recipe makes 2 servings plus 1½ cups leftover pesto!
For the kale pesto:
3 cups chopped kale leaves
¾ cup packed fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts (toasted or raw)
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about ⅔ cup)
For the zucchini noodles:
4 medium zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
⅓ cup kale pesto (above), plus more for serving
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about ½ cup), plus more for serving
Grated Parmesan, for serving
This week summer will be in full force. Sweet corn is finally ready and let me tell you it is amazing. We had an exceptionally cold April and an unusually warm May and that cold April kept us out of the field for an early corn planting.
Fisher Hill Farm – Local Sweet Corn
But when you look back at May we never had a frost. How unusual is that? Many years we struggle to keep early plantings alive and this year we could have planted frost sensitive crops even earlier.
But I digress, back to sweet corn. This week’s variety is called ‘Sweetness’ and its nothing short of that. Usually, to grow early corn we have to sacrifice a few things to get the corn on the table so soon, such as ear size, flavor or height of the plant. Sweetness is a very good eating corn but it is a smaller ear. But don’t worry as the season goes on the corn will get larger but it will always be better than you can find in a store!
Fisher Hill Farm -Sweetness
Deer Report
The fences seems to be holding them back. We have one last field to fence in this week and after that the deer are out of luck. Hopefully they will find some other place to call home. Next week I hope to share some pictures of the fence itself and the solar powered fence chargers that keep the fence hot.
Fall Planning
Last week we planted more beets, chard, a mega planting of kale (for winter harvest), broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, and melons. We have since had a nice little rain shower to set the plants in but definitely could use some more. Hard to believe that it’s time to think about late fall and winter kale. But we need to have the plants well established and full of greens by fall. After mid October plants don’t grow much and we need to have all that foliage banked up and ready to harvest.
Currently Available
Garlic Scapes
Zucchini and Summer Squash
Head Lettuce
Cucumbers (slicing and pickling)
Sweet corn
Chard
Kale
Radishes
Spring onions
Scallions
Green garlic
Beans (flat, fava, green, yellow)
Sweet yellow onions
Bunched beets (red and gold)
Shoots and microgreens
Potatoes, New (red and white)
Carrots
Shallots (storage)
FRESH chicken
Free Range Eggs (chicken & duck)
Red Jacket juices
Before you stop reading because of what the headline is you should read this.
Chicken hearts can be delicious and they are nutritious. High in protein, iron, and Vitamin B-12, they can provide you with an awesome snack or on top of a salad for a complete dinner.
Now most people will never even try them but before you write them off forever you might want to give this recipe a whirl. Hearts have a strong flavor like liver, but not as strong and a good marinade and a hot grill can take care of that. If you do enjoy liverwurst, fried liver, or pate and you haven’t tried chicken hearts yet, what are you waiting for!
Chicken Heart Skewers – Fisher Hill Farm
Chicken Heart Yakitori
Yakitori is Japanese for Chicken Skewer. It’s usually a simple dish that is grilled over charcoal and served basted with a soy based sauce. For the recipe that we got from a friend of ours who is a retired chef (she didn’t want to be mentioned but you know who you are!) she used a combination of things for the marinade.
1 package of Fisher Hill Chicken Hearts (we don’t always have them at market but send us a message if you want them!)
1 green pepper cut into chunks
Bamboo skewers
Teriyaki sauce
Chives
What you’ll do:
Combine everything in a bowl except for the skewers the teriyaki sauce and the chives. Cover and let stand in the fridge for 2 to 4 hours.
Take the hearts and place them on the skewers with the peppers. Grill until they are done all the way through. Charcoal or wood gives a really nice flavor but there’s nothing wrong with propane either.
After grilling through, place on a plate and drizzle with teriyaki. Finish with some fresh chopped chives.
It goes well with Sauvignon Blanc or an ice cold ale.
