Terra Madre and the Salone del Gusto!

First things first! We have arrived! Every single part of our travel experience up to this point has been smooth and easy for the first time in years. Now, the next thing - I broke our laptop this morning! I had written a wonderful blogpost and set the computer aside to find that I had pushed the screen in such a way that broke it and has now made the monitor unreadable. MAN!!! Anyway, our hotel has a pretty nice community computer setup, so I will keep trying anyway. For now what this means really, is no pictures until we get back. Oh well!
We had a wonderful day yesterday at the Plenary session, which was the grand entry of the flags of all the countries represented - which is something like 153 countries, 6000 plus farmers, educators and academicians. It truly was an inspiring day filled with costumes and amazing speeches. My favorite was of course Vandana Shiva - always willing to say the hard things to the people that matter. Also of note was the wonderful youth representative, Sam Levin, all of 15 years old reassuring us that the youth "get it" and they are ready to heed the call to grow food for the forseeable future. Someone that young and motivated is truly inspiring! We spent some time grazing at the Salone and tasting around 50 cheeses and too many proscutti to recall! The number of stalls truly is staggering - I will try and get a count today. Well, off to our first sessions and cramped hands from all the notetaking - oh yeah, and then there is the grazing.....

Terra Madre bound!

Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Torino! We are excited and very much looking forward to our much needed break from the 2008 season. We did our books today, and collated our top 10 crops, located in the sidebar for your amusement. We finished the farm clean-up last week, and woke up to some hard frosts the past few days. We are grateful to have the opportunity to represent the Intervale and the United States at this conference of world food communities. I am bringing our laptop, indeed, and intend to blog along the way - so stay tuned and check in often! We are lacking our trusty electronics adapter, so hopefully we can borrow one when we arrive! Spencer, Thomas and I want to thank all of our customers and accounts who have supported us this season, and want to pay particular thanks to the folks that donated $$ to our cause! Stone Soup, City Market, Hen of the Wood, Great Harvest, Sweet Clover Market and Dish Catering. THANKS A MILLION!! We promise to absorb mightily and share willingly while in Italy and upon our return!

End of Season Clean-Up begins!

I know it's hard to see in the picture, but there was a HUGE gaggle of geese flying south for the winter that flew over Adam's Berry Farm on Monday. This embodied the timeliness of our activity this past week - frantically cleaning up the farm before leaving for Terra Madre next Tuesday! We have spent the last 2 days harvesting out the final rounds of crops, removing Lumite the Landscape Fabric from his valiant works in weed suppression on the farm, and mowing everything down. Tomorrow we disk it all in, except for one small, but hopeful patch smack in the middle of the field containing lettuces, spinach, arugula and radishes for our personal fall dining. We still have the hoophouse to tackle and cleaning up of all the greenhouse space we used this year for the microgreens project, but we are very nearly there. It feels good to be winding down and know that all we have to do when we get back from Italy is install our HayGrove hoophouse! A seemingly daunting task, but we have great support from the HayGrove folks - not to mention the Intervale Center, that worked tirelessly to ensure that we could in fact put it up this season. This was crucial to be able to install it before the ground freezes so that the skeleton is in and all we need to do in the first spring thaw (around early February) is to put on the plastic sheet to warm up the soil so that we can begin planting - we anticipate getting our first seeds in the ground in late February or early March! This will revolutionize how we farm and we are beside ourselves with excitement and looking into the future of Half Pint Farm. But, first things first, and on to the clean-up we go!

So, first unclip all those tomato plants, then pull up the tomato twine, which is buried in the soil with the plant.

Next, coil up the tension wire and string together. Then, remove the stakes.

Pull all the plants off of the Lumite and remove the drip tape. I like the colors of the dropped tomatoes in this picture.

Brush off a bit of the foliage, and then remove all of the landscape tacks. Make map of holes so that we know how many plants to plan for next year.

If you're a dog, munch on the detritus.

Pull the Lumite off of the field.

Drag onto the grassy alley nearby.

Fold up.

Roll to side and get ready to disk the field!

On to the swale field! There we had cardoons to harvest, so we chopped them down and dragged them to the side of the field to process.

Processing cardoons. This is only the 3rd picture this year of us together! I guess things have slowed down enough for us to set the timer on the camera!
Remove all plants from Lumite and remove landscape tacks. Smeems looks on pensively as he wonders what's happening to his farm. Not to worry, though, there's plenty of mice and voles that have been rousted from their Lumite hideouts to chase!
Remove plants from Lumite. Make map of holes so that we know how many plants to plan for next year. Pull into grassy alley nearby. Fold.A striking sight greeted us as we peeled up the Lumite - worm castings galore! The little guys definietly like the plastic mulch and have been working hard all season!

We really enjoyed the Lumite and though the clean up took us one day per 24'x300' piece, we figure that we only weeded once on those surfaces all year - so it was a fair trade! Thank you Lumite!

Hooray for cardoons!

It's finally that time of year! We are revelling in the deliciousness of cardoons (Cynara cardunculus)! We have a penchant for growing Italian crops (especially after Terra Madre), and the cardoon is no exception. In fact, we first ate it in Italy. The glorious cardoon - ancestor to the artichoke and autunmal food of northern Italian eaters. The Italians will eat this bitter vegetable raw in the bagna cauda, as well as bake it in milk and cheese or even fry it! We love the cardoon for its beauty, flavor and ability to hold for months in our farm cooler - giving us a fix throughout the lean local veggie season. YUM! We particularly enjoy cooking it to top a nice cheesy risotto with lots of garlic. This amazing vegetable is part of that bitter veggie department of food that is too strong for most American palates, though I think if you know how to cook it and learn to enjoy its unique artichokey flavors, you too will start to become addicted to the cardoon! A quick check to Wikipedia and you will learn that the cardoon is a source of vegetarian rennet used to make vegetarian cheeses, and its seeds are also being looked into as a potential source of biodiesel. Arcane, but mighty, give the cardoon a try while you can! Some recipes and prep info for your reading and eating pleasure!

Behold the cardoon leaf!

The green matter must be removed from the leaf - it is the midrib that is eaten.

Behold the cardoon midrib!

Now you must peel the outer side of the midrib - it is sort of like celery in that it has stringy fibers.

Fibers removed, chop into 2 inch pieces and boil in a salty water bath for 30 minutes until it is fork-tender. Drain and then commence with recipe!

Cardoon Gratin

Serves 4-6

• cardoon (about eight 2" pieces)
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup grated gruyere

1. Place cream, stock, and bay leaf in a large saucepan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Wash cardoons, then remove and discard tough outer stalks. Peel off stringy fibers. Cut cardoons into 1 ½"–2" pieces, placing them immediately into cream mixture as you go, to prevent them from discoloring.
2. Bring cream mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until cardoons are tender, about 1 hour. Using a slotted spoon, transfer cardoon pieces to individual gratin dishes (or a 1-quart baking dish).
3. Preheat oven to 350°. Reduce cream mixture to about ¾ cup over medium heat, about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and divide reduced sauce equally between gratin dishes, sprinkle gruyère on top, and bake until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Cardoon Risotto
Serves 4

• prepared cardoon (about six 3” pieces)
• 2-1/3 c. risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli)
• 1 quart hot chicken or veggie broth
• 2/3 c. dry white wine
• 2 T. butter
• 1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 2 T. olive oil

1. Prepare cardoons (blanch in salt water, see other recipe). Once prepared, drain and blot dry on paper towels. Chop into bite-sized pieces. Heat olive oil in pan on low-medium heat. Add chopped garlic and cardoon to pan. Cook slowly on back burner - do not cook on high enough heat to brown garlic!
2. Meanwhile, make risotto. Place hot broth in saucepan on a back burner and keep at a low simmer.
3. Melt half the butter in a large heavy saucepan and add the onion. Cook gently for 10 minutes until onion is translucent, but not browned. Add the rice and stir until well-coated with the buttery onions and heated through. Pour in the wine and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared.
4. Turn down to low and begin adding the broth, one ladle at a time, stirring gently until each ladle has almost been absorbed by the rice. Cook this way until rice is tender and creamy, about 20 minutes. Taste and season well with salt and pepper. Stir in remaining butter and parmesan. Cover and let rest for a couple of minutes. Before serving, loosen risotto with a little more broth, then ladle onto plates.
5. Top with garlicky cardoons and a little more grated parmesan. Enjoy!
   

Employee of the Year Awards

The following is a transcript from the first-ever Half Pint Farm Employee Award ceremony held Friday September 19th. Speech given by an Acting Management Representative.
I would first like to thank everyone for being here today for our first ever ceremony in recognition of the hard work and dedication of our staff. A couple of things make this a good time to hold this important event. First, the folks over in the bookkeeping department let me know that today we succeeded in meeting our annual revenue goals, putting us about 6 weeks ahead of schedule. I would first like to thank our dedicated customers and partners for helping us to reach this goal in so short a time. I also want to recognize that this would not have been possible without the careful attention and care from our great staff. This benchmark is especially nice to surpass for the second reason for this event today, the threat of the first frost last night. While we were not yet affected, the cold temperatures are a reminder that the end of the season is nearing and our efforts will soon turn to focusing on preparations for next year. Before we look to 2009, it is appropriate to recognize the hard work of 2008. A conversation with one of the staff today reminded me that we need to make sure to give positive feedback and reinforcement to our workers. So without further ado, let me introduce the Half Pint Farm Employee of the Year for 2008.
Many of you will know immediately of whom I am speaking. This worker, in addition to her normal duties of weeding, planting, washing, harvesting and general grounds maintenance, has continually gone above and beyond the call of duty. She has been diligent in updating the blog on an almost weekly basis, has handled email correspondence and consistently produced recipe cards for the weekly food club pick up. She has been in constant contact by phone with our chef partners and accounts, as well as performing the twice weekly deliveries, often including additional errands along the way. She has been the primary caretaker of our secret flocks of chickens both at home and at the farm. Additionally, I am reminded from off stage, she almost single-handedly maintained the microgreens seeding all year, as well as many weeks of onion cleaning. Add on to all this, the fact that the farm staff has often enjoyed the fresh baked scones she prepares before work three days a week. For all these reasons and so much more, I am proud to present the 2008 Employee of the year, Mara Welton! Thanks for all your hard work!The runner up for the employee of the year award was a very close second and I am sorry that this hard worker can't be here at the ceremony. In fact, this employee is still hard at work, keeping weeds at bay, helping crops such as tomatoes, peppers, artichokes, chard and squash to grow strong and with minimal disease. This worker helped out every harvest day in aiding a smooth transport of the crops will helping to keep the produce clean. I am, of course, talking about Lumite the Landscape Fabric. He had many names and we never quite called it the same thing, often leading to confusion, but without you, Weed Barrier, this year would have been a lot harder and weedier. Thanks so much!
Finally, an honorable mention. No one we talked to quite knew exactly what you do around here all day, but when pressed it was decided that you do help in maintaining the seeding plan and schedule and are a help with the harvest. To Spencer Welton, better luck next year and thanks for whatever it is you do.
To the others on the Half Pint payroll, Mr. Smeems is a frog-catcher and crop-stomper and his little brother, Bullet is a snake-barker and a chicken-hassler and both often antagonize Lumite the Weed Fabric. They both seem unclear on what the actual purpose of the farm is and how they can best serve goals of the company. Perhaps they will have a shot at an award next year.
Thank you for coming today, keep up the good work and help yourself to some pizza.

Cool nights, cool crops

While working today at the farm, we were noticing just how amazingly fall-like it felt. The wind smelled like decaying leaves, the dying leaves on the tomatoes rattled in the breeze, the air was cool while the sun was warm and we didn't feel rushed today - a sure sign that we're slowing down! As I cruised around the farm today, I was able to just appreciate the coolness of some of our crops - the artichoke flowers that opened up today, the myriad of dry beans that I love shelling, pocketing and fondling all day; periodically taking out a handful to admire before resuming my sensory fun-time. Remember that movie Amelie? There was one scene in that movie where she shared her favorite feeling being to plunge her hand into a barrel of dry beans, or rice or lentils or something like that. The beans in my pocket are my Amelie-moment. Mmmmm. I'll post some pics of them below - they are soooooooooo beautiful and photogenic!

I was inspired by the swirls on all the speckled roman tomatoes today - I took about 10 pictures of them, they are mesmerizing! These tomatoes are pretty good eating, too, actually. I think they'd make a great sauce, though there are never enough around to make into sauce - we eat them all fresh. These guys could inspire a few paintings this winter.

The other cool crop that should be cropping up this fall is the cardoon! We love this artichoke relative - you don't eat the flowers like artichokes, but you eat the mid-ribs of the leaves. I'll do an exclusive post on those guys complete with recipes!

Yesterday I harvested 200 pounds of purple viking potatoes. These beauties are gorgeous! Purple with pink swirls on the outside and snow white on the inside. A great all-purpose potato, it mashes beautifully, it fries and boils like a pro! Definitely a fantastic potato that has become a favorite. Okay, fun with beans!

Pocket full o' beauty

Jacob's cattle

Tiger's eye

Painted pony

Calypso, aka Yin Yang, aka Orca

Cherokee Trail of Tears

Mayflower

Hidatsa Shield Figure

As I learn more about these awesome beans, we will be sharing recipes and the beans themselves!

In praise of tomatoes!!

So, here we are at the beginning of September with the summertime weather we've been longing for all season! Dry, 70+ degree weather, sunshine, and happy crops. What more could a farmer ask for? One of those super-happy crops happens to be the tomatoes this year! We can hardly believe how wonderful they are doing after all that wet dreary weather we have had. In fact, we just took note today that we are still really harvesting from the lower limbs of our tomato plants - where they ripen first. That means, there's all those limbs up higher that still are burgeoning with fruit that we have yet to tap! Could be a super-long tomato season, folks - and you know what that means! Canning and cooking with tomatoes will be the norm for at least another month, maybe two! I actually did my first canning run last night with some red slicers that we had sitting around. We are now the proud owners of 15 quarts of tomatoes and am beginning to feel secure in our tomato bank for the winter. Last year, we canned about 50 quarts of tomatoes and made it through the winter without buying a single can! We actually didn't finish all the tomatoes yet, and still have several jars, but the lion's share were definitely consumed in the cold months - baked eggplant, lasagna, pasta sauces, pizzas, we use tomatoes in so many things; this is definitely one late-summer task we always do no matter how tired we are!

This year, we have so many tomatoes - around 60 varieties - that I feel compelled to showcase a few of the most popular types here for posterity. Paul Robeson, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Persimmon, Yellow Brandywine, Garden Peach, Pineapple and Costoluto Genovese for starters.

Paul Robeson, african-american communist activist in the 1950s, singer, actor, and more. The Russians loved him, and so named a black tomato after him. I don't know about all his political leanings, but this is one FABULOUS tomato. It has the full rich flavor black tomatoes are known for - probably our favorite one year to year.

Garden Peach tomato. It belongs to a class of peach tomatoes - all of which are fuzzy and fruity. We love this heavy bearer. A great snack tomato - I actually want to try baking with it...

Aunt Ruby's German Green tomato. OK. This is our favorite tomato right now. This beauty is an endangered variety that is on the Slow Food Ark of Taste - to be saved in perpetuity because of it's amazing flavor. This is one tomato that you harvest by touch and not sight. Some, but not all get a pink blushing like the one here. Harvest by softness. Delicious full-flavored tomato!

Brandywine, Platfoot strain. HUGE tomatoes - 2 pounders are not uncommon. Fantastic flavor similar to the persimmon tomato - all meat and few seeds. These make incredible sauce!

Then there's the classic Italian heirloom - Costoluto Genovese. Not only strikingly beautiful, but satisfying ripe tomato flavor! Great for salads, and the scalloped edges make for some beautiful slicing.

Seeing those yellow tomatoes got me hungry for one of my favorite all-time summer dinners, Yellow Tomato Shrimp fra Diavolo. I'm so excited about it, I'm going to share the recipe here! People rarely think of using yellow tomatoes for sauce, but you absolutely must try it! Their textures and flavors lend them particularly nicely to seafood. In this case, shrimp.

Yellow Tomato Shrimp fra Diavolo
Serves 4

2 T. olive oil
3/4 pound peeled, deveined shrimp
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 T. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 T. chopped basil leaves (pistou used here)
2-3 large yellow tomatoes, chopped (pineapple used here)
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound fun-shaped pasta

1. Prepare the water for boiling the pasta. If the pasta takes 8 minutes to cook, begin when you start the tomato sauce.


2. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, the garlic cloves and the crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the shrimp begins to turn bright orange - about 1 minute. Remove the shrimp from the pan.


3. To the hot and garlicky pan, add the chopped tomatoes and cook on high until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit and are a nice chunky sauce consistency - about 8 minutes. Sauce may be a little soupy, but this is fine. Add garlicky shrimp and chopped parsley and basil to tomatoes. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


4. Drain al dente pasta, divide amongst the bowls and top with the tomato sauce. A little shaving of parmesan cheese also goes nicely with this, as does a really oaky red wine. Enjoy!

Encroachment Maintenance

We have been really bad about taking photos of the field in recent weeks. I am sure this is because we have been demoralized about the weeds and the various dying veggies that are the result of some of the wettest July weather ever recorded. I regret now that we have not taken more photos so that I could have before and after shots to demonstrate the work we have been able to do this week. Today we nearly completed weeding the remaining salvagable beds and it is great to see orderly rows of plants again. I am ignoring for the moment the overgrown potato beds and the four beds of colorful carrots that are totally lost. Those shall be mowed down within the coming week. As we have been using the recent rainless days to weed, landscapers contracted by Vermont Gas have been on the fringes of our field maintaining the green invasion even more drastically by cutting down and chipping the wooded margins. This opens up so much more light and air movement for that end of the field. This year we could tell the blueberries were ripe next door at Adam's Berry Farm by noting the blue, seed-filled bird crap on our tomato trellis. Now we will be able to actually see the fruit-laden plants! So with a little dry weather our spirits have gotten a real boost. Again, most of the plants made it through the crazy weather and it was our will that was the weakest link. Today, we discussed with enthusiasm our plans for the fall planting and tossed around ideas for next year.

The weather is always hard to predict and is one of the greatest challenges facing the successful production of high quality vegetables. This realization frustrates the planning process as I think about next year. We can plan so many aspects of our farm, but in the end, so much relies on the weather. It is hard to plan for a wet year (a dry year can be compensated for by irrigation), but when I cannot get over the idea that we did plan for a wet year. Last year, we bought the Haygrove hoophouse for this exact reason. It is hard not to dwell on the idea that we have already anticipated this problem and spent considerable money to deal with it. Yet due to various bureaucratic holdups, we were prevented from using this tool this year. I am not entirely sure what the current status of the hoophouse hoopla is, but we remain committed to erecting it this late fall for next season. After the semi-favorable decision this spring, we joined the Intervale Center in appealing the decision, due to some overly restrictive language for them and some ambiguous conditions for us. Last I have heard, the state agencies have gotten our appeal thrown out of the environmental court and sent to the state supreme court where it could be delayed for a long time. This may be an attempt to win by financial attrition. As one of the Intervale staff said, it is like trying to describe a diffuse vapor, as it is always in flux. I may not fully understand all the maneuverings that seem to be going on around this minor issue. But we are planning on the Haygrove rain fence for next year. And maybe some chickens and geese to help us with weed control. Next year, as always is the best year ever. For now, we maintain the encroachment and use the pleasant downhill slide toward Fall to experiment and plan and especially harvest lots and lots of beautiful tomatoes.

Feeling the green encroachment, then the light!

OK. This is a blogpost sans farm pictures. A few reasons. Our field looks like crap! I mean, really!! One of the things that Half Pint Farm tends to pride itself on is the tidiness of our farm. This year, all things are conspiring against us to make that tidiness a reality. First it was the rain. Next it was the rain. Then it was the belt on our mower going out - can't mow and keep tidy. Then it was the rain. Then it was the potato beetles thrashing our eggplants... Anyone with a garden can tell you - the rain makes weeds happen, and so....soon the weeds take over. They are like mighty genetically engineered machines - their only job is to find every space not inhabited by other green and take it over with their green. As we drive down to the Intervale everyday down that severely unmaintained road, we try to see the length of the road through the tunnel of green, and can't. The way is shut with green. 5 years ago, our good friend Art Escobado came to visit us during the waning days of July and he fairly unwillingly worked with us for one day on our farm (we had worked together on a farm in Colorado in college, and he vowed never to farm again - HA! Serves you right for maintaining long lasting meaningful relationships with farmers! Can't escape it Art, sorry!). As we bumped down the road to the farm in silence, thinking about the long day of weeding ahead, Art looked around and exclaimed, "So, who maintains the encroachment?" Well, our answer at the time was Mother Nature. Mother Nature maintains the encroachment of oppressive green foliage with frost in fall. Like a hacker with a select all and delete command, she selects all the broad leafed plants and deletes them with a below 32 degree night. BUT. During the season, technically, it is our job to maintain the encroachment. Daily we look at the green that mocks us - the crabgrass marching ever vigilantly towards the carrots, the galansoga that crops up with her multitudes and takes huge hunks of earth with her when you try to remove her from the baby salad mix, the fine grasses that so far have no scientific name in our minds, but show up they do when we least expect them in the paths (who would think that the paths - the places we trod upon most frequently - would be the weediest?) Well, they are, and that's just where it starts. If we don't get the path weeds, then that spells certain doom for the row crops, unless we simply do the deed, cast our pride from our shoulders, bend our knees and scoot along on all fours eliminating each weed, placing it in a bucket to haul it to the fringes of our farm (there they won't get us!) instead of allowing them to re-root themselves in the inviting moist soil. This, at least, feels like we're accomplishing something. Then the rain comes. Then the mosquitoes. Today, we must have killed millions as we harvested the haricot vert and the artichokes. Yes, us organic farmers even stooped to using insect repellent - not the organic kind either, mind you - we had to bring out the big guns; you see, our sanity was at stake. If you want to see semi-sane farmers at market handling your food, you, too, must praise the insect repellent. We promise that we wash our hands before handling your produce. Yes, the hands are one thing that is fair game for the mosquitoes - sacred to us - no DEET shall touch the hands.
SO. We try and beat back the green, we try and maintain sanity as mosquitoes enter ears, noses, throats and bite through three layers of insect-repellent-soaked shirts. We do this and realize: MAN! The plants sure do LOVE the rain!!! It has to be said, everything is growing like you wouldn't believe - the foliage on every crop is not to be imagined! The only thing seeemingly suffering is the turnips, radishes, arugula and lettuce crops - they simply melt in all this humidity. The broccoli, too, is fairly deficient in nutrient uptake (sandy soils can't hold too many nutrients with all this leaching rain!). However, get a load of everything else! This is a BUMPER crop year for baby artichokes, haricot vert, and carrots, carrots, carrots! The onions (though harvested early) are big and wonderful! The peppers and cukes are abundant and the tomatoes are plentiful - with a little more sun, they will ripen and then we can all revel in the bounty of summer! This, my friends, is the light through the green filter - this is why we endure the encroachment everyday.
It is times like this that we need to realize that the weakest link here is our will to persevere in the presence of potential flooding, endless demoralizing days in the rain, the fog of whining and biting mosquitoes, and the persistent weeds and pests (might be a shorter eggplant season than anticipated - potato beetles be vanquished!!!). We must remember that we are the weakest link - the truth is that the plants LOVE the rain, and they will march on in the presence of free water and do their best for us. We must be there to meet the challenge and harvest all they offer us. The season is already too short up here in the north - we will do what we have to do to - make the most of it, manage the encroachment as best we can, and bring the best possible produce to market in spite of it all. Happy August!!! May the next blogpost be riddled with pictures of beautiful produce!