News from Terra Firma Farm

And first, a message from our sponsor: Please take care this week to only take a box with your name on the label. You will note that the type of box your produce is packed in may have changed! This is due to the end of melon season, which means we can revert to using our regular sized, smaller volume boxes for each size subscription. We apologize if you have already read this alert in an email from us, we need to make sure everyone gets the message. Thanks!

The last ten days have been a race against the weather here at Terra Firma. I know that I may make it sound like it's always that way. But with pistachios dangling on the trees, grapes still hanging on the vine, butternut squash sitting on the ground, and sweet potatoes still buried deep under it we had a lot to get done before the "big storm" arrived. Most years, October rain is not even a concern with these crops, usually harvested completely by mid-September. All of them are vulnerable to damp, cool weather that causes mold and mildew. And none can be harvested while it's raining.

I am always hugely thankful when the weather forecasters give us a long-term forecast for serious rain like they did last week. It doesn't matter to me that they overestimated the storm's impact. I would rather be given as much notice as possible if there is even a 10% chance of bad weather. No farmer wants to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of unexpected, unpredicted rain -- especially not this time of year. And while a slight drizzle followed by a sunny day isn't going to hurt anything, a strong storm is another story.

Storm coming

As it was, we didn't quite make it over the finish line. Thankfully, pistachio harvest finished last week. . But when it started raining yesterday afternoon, we had just finished picking the last of the Crimson Seedless grapes. But we were still digging sweet potatoes and still picking up butternut squash. So it was nice to wake up this morning to sunshine and blue skies this morning. By the time the next storm comes --whenever that is -- we'll be 100% ready for it. And everything growing on the farm, like the broccoli and cabbage in the photo above, will enjoy it.

Thanks,

Pablito

In your boxes
Cool and rainy weather arrived this week just in time for the first harvest of our Dino Kale. Hot weather makes keeping any greens fresh during harvest difficult, and kale in particular tastes better when it's cool.

Most years, we would have Spinach in your boxes by now. Unfortunately, the hot weather in September knocked out our first two plantings of that green. We anticipate it will be another month before we have any spinach available; we apologize for the absence of this Fall staple and will do our best to fill the spot with other items.

Seedless Grapes in your boxes today may be either black Autumn Royals or red Crimson Seedless. Either way, they will most likely have a light coating of the yellowish sulfur dust that we use to control powdery mildew on them when you get them. It rinses off easily with water. The grapes in your boxes may have slightly shriveled stems because they've been in storage for a week or more. This does not affect the flavor or texture of the fruit.

To celebrate the completion of Pistachio harvest, we are sending Medium and Large box subscribers a bag of nuts this week. These are last year's crop, of course -- it will be at least a couple of months before we get the new crop back from the processor who hulls, dries, sorts, roasts and salts them for us. We keep the nuts fresh by refrigerating them, and we recommend you do the same -- on the offhand chance you don't eat them all the day you get them.

Recipe -- End of Summer Soup
A warm and soothing soup for a chilly night, with overtones of summer's glory .
Dice 2 medium or 3 small onions.
Heat 3 T. olive oil in a heavy bottom pot and add the onions. Saute until they are soft and beginning to brown.
Core sweet peppers, remove the seeds, and dice to make 2 C. Add to the pot and raise the heat to medium high.
Saute the vegetables for 10-15 minutes. They should begin to "melt".
Mince 1 clove of garlic and add the the vegetables and cook another 5 minutes.
Dice 2 tomatoes and toss in the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes; they should quickly liquify. Pour in 8 C. water and stir well.
Dice 2 lbs. potatoes, add to the soup, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
When the potatoes are tender, puree the soup with a hand blender or in batches in a food processor. Return the soup to the pot and cook for another ten minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Options: Clean 1 bunch of dino kale, remove the stems, and chop roughly. OR, trim 1/2 lb. of green beans and cut them in half. Heat 1 T. canola oil in a wok or skillet until it smokes, then add the kale or green beans and fry until it/they begin(s) to brown. Turn off the heat, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with 1 T. red wine vinegar or lemon juice.
Serve the soup topped with a spoonful or two of the kale or green beans.