Letter from a Farmer,

The delivery truck saga continues.... Last week the rental truck we have been using started running hotter than it had been. Then on Friday morning there was a big puddle of oil and antifreeze under the truck. I called the rental company and they sent a mechanic out right away to check out the truck. He determined it had a blown head gasket and called a tow truck to take it away. This morning Kyle and I drove back to the rental company in Albany to pick up a new truck. They pulled up the truck for an inspection and we heard a hissing noise coming out of a leak in the airbag suspension system. Of course the truck needed a part to repair it that the rental company didn't have on hand. Fortunately they had another truck with a lift gate out back that they let us take instead. Meanwhile the dealer for our new truck has quit responding to my texts and calls about an update on when our truck will arrive at the farm. But we are now back at the farm with a rental truck and ready to go for this week's deliveries.

On Friday I had the opportunity to visit Rise & Root Farm in Chester, NY. Our farms are participating in the Transition to Organic Partnership Program, to assist farms in their application for organic certification. Our friends Jane, Karen, Michaela, and Lorrie started their farm in Upstate NY in 2014 after years of urban farming. Jane & Karen completed an apprenticeship at Roxbury Farm during the summer of 2012 as part of the farmer training program they attended at Grow NYC. We have kept in touch since then, but caught up in the farming here, I didn't have a chance to visit them. Thankful that finally changed!

Their farm is in Orange County in the Black Dirt region. The soil there is unlike any soil I have experienced before. I turned off the highway onto a country road that wove through the blackest, fluffiest fields I have ever seen. This soil has a fine, silty texture that covers you from head to toe in just a few minutes of working with it. It feels bouncy under your feet. Worth the trip just to experience that.

Even better it was lovely to visit with dear friends. The best part of my 25 years of farming has been the people I have gotten to meet. It is a mood lift to see how other people take their farming knowledge and create beautiful farms to provide food & connection to the land for their communities. We all grow tomatoes, kale, basil in similar ways but our farms all have personalities of their own. Rise & Root has made it through multiple seasons of catastrophic weather (severe whole farm flooding, tornados touching down on the farm). The effects of climate change are much more front and center on that kind of soil. They are working out ways to meet those challenges in order to continue to bring fresh veggies, herbs, and plants into NYC. You can find out more about Rise & Root by clicking HERE. For those of you who live in NYC you can purchase all the plants you need for your urban gardening from Rise & Root each spring. They also have public on-farm events to bring people out to the land. It's a beautiful place and I hope to visit again soon. ~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.

ROXBURY FARM CSA PORK AVAILABLE FOR ORDER

We also have Roxbury Farm CSA pork raised on our farm available to order by the quarter, half, or whole (or a 15 lb - 18 lb pork share). We purchase the piglets when they are 8 weeks old from a farm in Massachusetts. On our farm they live in a wooded pasture with two shelters bedded down with straw. We feed them certified organic grain from Green Mountain Feed in Vermont. They always have access to clean water, fresh feed, and shelter. Plus plenty of shaded pasture to run around and make wallows to cool off in. We have all of our meat processed & cryovac packaged by a USDA certified processor, Trinity Meat Company.

Click HERE to find out more about purchasing quarters, halves, or wholes. Or HERE to purchase a share.

Sweet Potato Harvest Party

Join us on Saturday, September 21 from 9 am to 1 pm for our Sweet Potato Harvest Party. Join us in the field for harvesting then a potluck and our own grass fed burgers on the grill for lunch at 1 pm. Pick your own bouquet of flowers to bring home with you, too.



Click HERE to RSVP and for more info!

Farm dogs helping with irrigation chores

COMING IN NEXT WEEK (may change depending on weather and crop conditions) onions, head lettuce, cherry tomatoes or plum, slicing tomatoes, carmen sweet peppers, garlic, arugula, hot peppers, parsley, and collards

Third Beef Shares: Week of September 9

Bunching the kale

This week's full share: kale, leeks, head lettuce or fennel, red onions, garlic, poblano peppers, yellow snap beans, sweet corn, napa cabbage, tomatoes, and carmen sweet peppers

This week's small share: leeks, garlic, yellow snap beans, sweet corn, napa cabbage, tomatoes, and carmen sweet peppers



FRUIT SHARE: peaches

COOKING TIPS AND RECIPES

A NOTE ABOUT PEPPERS: Our sweet peppers and bell peppers are very easy to freeze for the winter. Just slice them up and put them in freezer bags and stick them in the freezer until winter time. No need to cook or blanch first.

5 Ingredient, 8-Minute Glazed Green Beans

• 1 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup water or stock
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed but not peeled
• Kosher salt or flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• freshly grated Parmesan to taste, optional

Combine the green beans, butter, water, and garlic cloves in a large skillet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cover the pot, place over medium-high heat, and bring to a simmer, then immediately turn heat to low once water is simmering.

Cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until the beans are cooked through but not mushy. Uncover. Toss the beans in their sauce and taste. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste, then transfer the beans to a serving dish. Shave parmesan over the top if you wish. Crack more pepper over the top if you wish, too.

www.alexandracooks.com

Charred Leek and Herb Sauce

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
• 3 leeks, thinly sliced into rounds (white and pale green parts only)
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 2 tablespoons minced dill
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the butter in a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add the chopped leeks and cook, stirring often until browned and beginning to crisp up a bit, about 7-9 minutes, keep an eye on the leeks to make sure they don't totally burn. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often for about 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat and once cooled down a bit add to a medium sized bowl. Add the mayo, sour cream, red wine vinegar, herbs, oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.

www.dishingupthedirt.com

Vegan Kale Casaer Salad

For the salad:

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced

• red wine vinegar or other
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 lb. curly kale, stemmed and roughly chopped
• sea salt to taste
• Fresh pepper to taste

For the vegan dressing:

• 2 to 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon white wine or white balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup vegannaise
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Place the onion in a small bowl. Cover with vinegar or nearly cover with vinegar.

In a large sauté pan over medium heat, toast the pumpkin seeds until fragrant and just turning to color, 5 to 7 minutes. Check often and stir frequently. Transfer seeds to a plate to cool.

Wash the kale, if necessary, by submerging it with cold water in a large bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes to allow the dirt to settle. Dry using a salad spinner, then transfer to large salad bowl. Dry with additional towels or paper towels if necessary. Tear the kale into small pieces.

Make the dressing: In the bowl of a food processor, purée the garlic, mustard, Worcestershire, lemon juice, vinegar, mayonnaise, salt and pepper until smooth. With the motor running, pour the oil down the food pusher insert so it enters the processor through the teensy pinhole. Purée until smooth. Dressing should be emulsified and pourable. If it’s too thick, thin with water, lemon or vinegar to taste. Adjust seasoning as necessary. Transfer dressing to a storage vessel. Don’t clean the mixer. Purée the pumpkin seeds until fine.

Top the kale with the onions, leaving the excess vinegar behind. (Save for another use.) Top with puréed pumpkin seeds. Top with 1/3 cup of the salad dressing. Toss to coat, using your hands to massage the kale with the dressing — be aggressive. Taste salad. If you like the ratio of dressing-to-leaf, add a pinch of sea salt, toss, taste, and adjust again. If the leaves need more dressing, add more to taste. Season with pepper to taste. www.alexandracooks.com