Letter from a Farmer,

Today we have our annual organic certification inspection. Each winter we fill out many pages of paperwork to renew our certification and send in our yearly records of greenhouse seedings, field plantings, harvest records, fertilizers and amendments applied, hay & straw that we harvested, cover crops we planted, where we purchased all of our seeds, all of our cattle records, and our planned crop rotation for the following year. Then we wait for the certifying agency to get back to us to see if they need any further records and a date for the annual in-person inspection.

This year we had to fill out further paperwork for a plan on how we are preventing fraud. Since the USDA took on ownership of the term organic, certification has been based around making sure large corporations are following the rules. To be honest each year we waffle back and forth on whether or not we want to certify. It is quite expensive, time consuming, and doesn't really capture the why of why we farm organically. The fraud prevention plan added on top of the normal certification paperwork really has us questioning the future of certification for our farm.

In the organic grain industry there has been some large scale fraud. The price of organic grain is going to be much higher than conventional grain. When huge amounts of grain are being imported from all over the world it gets easy to commit fraud to gain those extra dollars. And it's a big deal, don't get me wrong. When you purchase organic grain of any kind you want to make sure you are getting what you pay for and not GMO corn from across the globe.

But in our world of smaller vegetable farms it is quite different than the global grain trade. Our relationships with our customers and the local farms we buy from are based on trust, on our word that we are following organic practices. You can come to our farm at anytime to see our farming practices. We visit our farming friends and they visit us. We wouldn't and don't want to lie to any of you or to our fellow farmers on principle (not to mention it wouldn't make very good business sense). So it is frustrating to now have to meet these extra regulations that don't make sense for us because people in the global grain chain are committing fraud. We, along with many other organic farmers, have been writing letters to our certifying agency, NOFA-NY, to ask for common sense regulations for farms like ours, that the one size fits all rule hasn't ever worked and definitely doesn't work now. We did pass our organic inspection, as we always do, so for now we are USDA certified organic. Our pledge to you is that we will always use organic practices, whether or not we continue to pay $3500 to be able to use the USDA label. ~Jody

ORDER ROXBURY FARM CSA CERTIFIED ORGANIC BEEF

You can order certified organic beef raised on our pastures on our website. Place your order and it will be delivered to your CSA site with your veggies. Look for a cooler and a bag inside with your name on it. You won't be charged anything when you order as everything is priced by weight. We will send you an invoice once we weigh and pack your order. You can then pay by credit card or send us a check.

Click HERE to order today.

Sweet corn season!

Eggplant guy preparing for the farmers market

COMING IN NEXT WEEK (may change depending on weather and crop conditions) sweet corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, scallions, carmen sweet peppers, hot peppers, carrots, cilantro, cantaloupe, and eggplant

Second Chicken Shares: Week of August 19



Second Beef Shares: NEXT WEEK Week of August 12

Sweet Potato Harvest Party: Saturday, September 21

Cows and their calves on pasture

This week's full share: cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, napa cabbage, head lettuce, carmen sweet peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, carrots, sweet corn, bell peppers, and scallions.

This week's small share: cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, head lettuce, carmen sweet peppers, scallions, sweet corn, and bell peppers

FRUIT SHARE: plums

COOKING TIPS AND RECIPES

Layered Tortilla Casserole

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 2-3 carrots, diced
• 2 ears corn, shucked, kernels stripped
• 1.5 cups cooked black beans, see notes below

enchilada sauce

• 9 to 12 tortillas, see notes below

• 6 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
• 8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated

In a large sauté pan over high heat, add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When it shimmers, immediately add the diced onions and bell peppers. Season with a pinch of salt. Turn heat down to medium. Sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often to ensure the vegetables are not burning. When the vegetables are soft, add the carrots, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more, just until the zucchini loses its rawness. Finally, add the corn, season with a pinch of salt, and cook for a minute more. Turn off the heat.

Add the black beans to the skillet and stir to combine. Taste. Season with salt to taste. 

Heat the oven to 425ºF. Coat the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of the enchilada sauce (roughly 3/4 cup). Arrange a single layer of tortillas over sauce, trimming edges to fit.

Scatter a handful each of cilantro and scallions over the tortillas. Spoon a layer of the vegetable-bean mixture over top. Sprinkle a layerof cheese over top. Spoon a layer of sauce over top and use the back of a spoon to spread it out. Repeat the layering: tortillas, herbs, veg+beans, cheese, sauce, until you have three (or four if you wish) layers of tortillas. 

Spoon a thin layer of sauce over the final layer of tortillas. Scatter a final layer of herbs over top. Add a final layer of cheese. 

Bake enchiladas in the middle or top rack of oven until the cheese topping bubbles and browns in spots, 15-25 minutes. Garnish with more fresh cilantro and scallions if you wish. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

www.alexandracooks.com

Creamy (no-cream) Corn Pasta

• Kosher salt to taste
• 12 ounces dry pasta
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
• 1 bunch scallions (about 8), trimmed and thinly sliced (whites and light green parts only)
• 2 large ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (2 cups kernels)
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, more to taste
• ⅓ cup torn basil, parsley, or mint, more for garnish
• pinch red pepper flakes
• fresh lemon juice, as needed

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted (1 tablespoon at least) water to a boil. Cook pasta until 1 minute shy of al dente, according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup (or more) of pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in large sauté pan over medium heat; add scallions and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, 3 minutes. Add 1/4 cup reserved pasta cooking liquid—dip a measuring cup into the pot if the pasta is still boiling—and all but 1/4 cup corn; simmer until corn is heated through and almost tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, transfer to a blender (or food processor), and purée mixture until smooth, adding a little extra water if needed to get a thick but pourable texture.
3. Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add remaining butter and let melt. Add reserved 1/4 cup corn and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. (It’s OK if the butter browns a little bit.) Add the corn purée and cook for 30 seconds to heat and combine the flavors.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Add pasta and 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water, tossing to coat. Cook for 1 minute, then add a little more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too thick. Stir in the Parmesan, the herbs, the red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice (I typically use the juice from a whole lemon) to taste. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Transfer pasta to bowls and crack black pepper over top.

www.alexandracooks.com