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Good Afternoon Trevor,


This weekend marks a pivotal point in summer. As a kid, Labor Day was always the official "end" of summer. The days were gradually getting cooler and shorter, school was back in, and public pools were closed. 


With school in mind, it made us reminisce about those weeknight, easy dinners as a kid. You know, the ones after school but before soccer practice, or maybe on the couch when watching Home Improvement or some other iconic 90s sitcom. My mother's go-to meals were on a quick rotation - spaghetti and meatballs, chicken and some lipton noodle pack, meatloaf, and of course....sloppy joes! So this week, we have a fun school-night focused dinner kit - Sloppy Joes.


And if this weekend has picnics, the airshow, and grilling in your agenda, then check out our Labor Day Meat Sales.


In this newsletter:

  • Farm Talk - sweet corn, dent corn, and more
  • Sale Items - Celebrate Labor Day on the grill with Burgers and Dogs, Brats, and more
  • Sloppy Joe Kit
  • Pie of the week - Peach and Cherry with Lattice Top
  • The Fruit Updates - extra fruit online

From the Farm Bakery

Peach and Cherry Pie with Lattice Top


This turned out so good last week that I had to make it again. The trick is to macerate the cherries first with sugar, let the excess juice drain off, and toss the cherries with a bit of flour before folding into the peach pie filling. We were able to keep the red color from completely bleeding into the pie filling. I know, color doesn't change the flavor, but it matters to me!


The sweet and acidic base of peach pie with the gelatinous juices pair great with the tart and acidic nature of the sour cherries. Topped with a gorgeous lattice top.


Small Pie - $9.50

Large Pie - $22.75


Other Notable Baked Goods this Week

Zucchini Bread - $5.30

Order Baked Goods Here

Sloppy Joe Kit

Sloppy Joe Kit - $20


Includes:

2# grassfed ground beef

1 pint sloppy joe sauce


As we celebrate back to school, I remember those easy weeknight dinners my mom made. There was Sloppy Joes, but from a can.


Call me a food snob, but I can't do canned sloppy joe. I know the flavor I want, so I started at the beginning with ripe tomatoes and a food mill.


With the tomato paste ready, I added cider vinegar, Ohio sorghum and honey, and spices until I got the profile I wanted. No refined white sugar, no corn syrup, no gums, or preservatives here.


The result - a delicious, easy homemade dinner.



Cooking Instructions

1) Chop up 1 onion, about 2 or 3 cloves of garlic. Brown 2# of ground beef over medium high heat with the onion and garlic.

2) Remove ground beef with slotted spoon. Drain off any excess water or grease from pan.

3) Add meat back to pan with 1 pint sloppy joe sauce. Bring to a simmer.


Don't forget to toast your bun, and think about condiments. Pickles, smoked cheddar, coleslaw, sauerkraut, and even some crunchy chips would go great on a sloppy joe.


The Extra Fruit Update

We are at the turning point of the season. Summer staples like peaches and berries are about done. Watermelon and cantaloupe will also soon be done. Apples, pears, and cider are just starting and will be the features in September and October.

Watermelons


Yellow Doll Seeded Watermelon - this week's variety is bigger than the early varieties but just as good.

 

Red Seedless Watermelon and Jadestar Seedless Watermelon (large) - these are big - like 15 to 20# - and sweet. The grower here actually grows these as "grafted" melons.


This means he works with a nursery down south to start them early. Once the melon plant is started, a cutting is taken and "grafted" to a different rootstock. In this case, a pumpkin rootstock that is hardy and vigorous in our climate. The baby melon plant - for lack of better terms - is essentially taped to the seedstock until it grows together. The result is a larger, sweeter watermelon.

Stone Fruits



Nectarines - 2# bags (probably last week)

 

Peaches - 2# bags - $5 (maybe a week more)

 

Stanley Plums - 1.5# bags

 

Bartlett Pears


I've been waiting on these for a while. Pears are hard to come by anymore. The saying in the orchard world is, "Pears for Your Heirs." In today's world of fast turn around and instant gratification, the slow maturing pear tree isn't a popular investment on an orchard.


Enjoy these while you can!


Apples


Honeycrisp - The crowd pleasing, extra crunchy and sweet honeycrisp.


Ginger Gold - 

Early season green apple, sweet-tart apple great for fresh eating or baking. I always enjoy this apple sliced thinly and on a salad. Pairs well with roasted beets and goat feta!

 

Paula Red - 6 ct, approx 2.5# - $3.5

Early, sweet apple that cooks down great for sauce and pies, but also a decent eater. A dusty, dull skin gives it a distinctive look.

 

"Foxtrot" Gala - 6 ct, approx 2.5# - $4

Earlier maturing sub-variety of Gala. It's sweet, crunchy, and very good eater.


Sansa - A newer, "Eastern" apple variety out of New England, prized for it's good eating qualities early season. Crisp, aromatic, and with a bold sweet-tart flavor.


Rambo - A French heirloom that was one of the early apples grown in the United States. Rarely grown anymore due to the disease resistance and marketing behind newer varieties (ie honeycrisp), but an excellent all around eating, baking, and sauce apple.

Labor Day Sale Items

This week we are keeping it simple - discounts on items for your grill.  


Hot Dogs, Grassfed Beef and Pork (1#) - Reg $8.5 Sale $7.50


Smoked Kielbasa (1.25#) - Reg $10.80. Sale $9.80


Steak Burgers (1.25#) Reg $14.50. Sale $13.15


Cheddar Jalapeno Brat Burgers (1.25#) - Reg $9.25. Sale $7.50


Andouille Smoked Sausage (1.25#). Reg $10.80. Sale $9.80


Italian Links (1.25#) Reg $9.25. Sale $8.25


Green Onion Brats (1.25#) Reg $9.25  Sale $8.25


Smoked OCP Cheddar Jalapeno Beer Brats (1.25#) Reg $14.55  Sale $12.50


Caramelized Onion Apple Bacon Chicken Brats (1.25#) Reg $12.85  Sale $11.50


Chips and Salsa Sale - 1 bag corn tortilla chips, 1 pint mild salsa - $7.50

Bent and Dent Steak Burger Patties - 1.25# for only $10.30


From time to time we find a case or two of what we call "#2" grade product. It's usually patties because of the freezing process.


When our processor makes the patties, they put them thru a patty machine that rolls out the burgers. They stack them in stacks of 4 and you have to get a 75% or more freeze on them before vac sealing or they smush out. Then you need to get them back in the freezer fast.


In this case, there were two possible problems: 1) they weren't frozen enough when vac sealed and they crushed, or 2) they weren't put back in the freezer promptly and the package is a bit bloody looking.


There is nothing wrong with these, just not as they are supposed to be. 

Order Sale Items Here

Sweet Corn

And a note about late season worms

It's a harmless worm or douse it in chemicals


This year, we haven't had heavy worm pressure, and in the 600 dozen ears we peeled last week for frozen sweet corn, we only saw a worm or two. But it is possible...so I figured I should enlighten you on the harmless corn earworm.


Furthermore, this is the last planting. Everything came a bit early this year and I was hoping this one wouldn't be ready to harvest until closer to this weekend. We had to get it off a few days early, so some of the husks may look drier/less green than usual. This is OK. We took it off over the weekend and the rest off today to keep it from getting too mature.



Corn is prone, particularly late season, to corn earworm. It's a caterpillar that starts at the tip of the corn and works its way down into the ear.

 

Often times in grocery stores you will find corn on a styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic. It has no husk and the ear is "squared up" with no tip. The reason why? 1) It's convenient for the customer. 2) It hides how dried out and old the corn husk is. 3) They cut off the wormy tip.

 

As an organic grower, we have few options for controlling the earworm. The best option is a product called Dipel, which is contains beneficial bacteria derived from soil and flowers. The bacteria (bacillus thuringiensis, aka bt) is effective against the larvae and prevents the worms from growing and becoming a pest. However, pesticides are not a guarantee – applying at the perfect time is everything, and hoping the rain doesn’t wash it away.

 

As a result, you may have a corn earworm. We have tried checking for it, but we can not open every tip of every corn. In general, the damage is limited to the tip and is harmless. Please just cut off the tip of the corn and say good bye to the earworm. Think of it as a sign that your corn is clean and healthy without harmful chemicals!

(photo right: dent corn stored in a corn crib to be ground as "ear corn" for livestock, including dairy cows, hogs, and chickens

 

Sweet Corn, Dent Corn, and Flint Corn

Most corn you see grown around Ohio is not intended for direct human consumption. It is field corn, a form of "dent corn," that is harvested when the ear is dried down and falls over. It's kind of cool how nature protects the cob. When it is mature, the cob falls forward and rain runs off of the ear allowing it to be dried down. When the kernel dries down, often to about 15% to 20% moisture, the kernels display a "dent."

 

Dent corn can be processed for human consumption, including cornmeal, cereals, popcorn, etc.

 

However, most dent corn is grown either for processing into animal feed or ethanol production. The byproducts of corn are then used in industry for countless uses from making plastics to carpet dies, among literally countless uses.  

 

Flint corn is more commonly referred to as Indian corn and is used as decorations in the fall.

 

Sweet corn is a species of corn where the cob can be harvested "fresh" and the sugars are still present (not converted to starch). Sweet corn plants are generally much smaller and harvest is done by hand. A very small percentage of corn planted along the highways is sweet corn. 

Bag Contents

Small Omnivore

Hot Dogs, Beef/Pork

Carrots

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Sweet Red Italian Fryer Peppers

Kohlrabi

Watermelon


Small Vegetarian

Carrots

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Sweet Red Italian Fryer Peppers

Kohlrabi

Watermelon

Stanley Plums

Green Beans


Mini

Leeks

Carrots

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes




Large Omnivore

Hot Dogs, Beef/Pork

Carrots

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Sweet Red Italian Fryer Peppers

Kohlrabi

Watermelon

Pork Spareribs

Sweet Corn

Slicer Tomatoes

Peaches

Candy Onion


Large Vegetarian

Carrots

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Sweet Red Italian Fryer Peppers

Kohlrabi

Watermelon

Stanley Plums

Green Beans

Sweet Corn

Slicer Tomatoes

Peaches

Candy Onion

Feta Cheese (goat)

Eggs

Small Vegan

Carrots

Zucchini

Spaghetti Squash

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Sweet Red Italian Fryer Peppers

Kohlrabi

Watermelon

Stanley Plums

Green Beans




PLACE A SPECIAL ORDER
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