I hope you enjoyed your first few harvests at the farm. As a reminder, the spring farming season usually starts off a bit slow as cooler weather and heavy rains slow the growth process a bit. Before long the fields (and your farm baskets) will be overflowing with delicious vegetables.

In the Fields and Ready for Harvest

Looking out into the fields, tomorrow and Tuesday's harvest will include the following:   

• Lettuces
• Spinach
• Radishes 
• Hakurei Turnips
• Garlic scapes
• Pea shoots
• Beet greens
• Dill & other herbs

Vegetable of the Week: Spinach      

For more recipes, check out the new compilation of recipes by Jane Weissman -- from submissions to the Quail Hill Farm eNewsletter from 2008 to 2012, including the following recipe:  

Recipe   

Spinach Roman Style with Raisins and Pinenuts    

adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters

contributed by Sybil Schacht

Toast the pine nuts in a dry sauté pan or in the oven (or toaster oven) until they are golden brown and aromatic. Watch carefully as they can burn quickly. Put a handful of raisins in a bowl, just cover with boiling water, let stand 10 minutes or so until plump, and drain. Add just enough pure olive oil to coat the bottom of a pan and heat before adding rinsed and dried spinach. When the spinach has collapsed and wilted, add the raisins and the toasted pine nuts.   

Toss and warm through, and season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of balsamic or sherry wine vinegar. Serve hot.

Farm Store   

As many of you have already seen, we have rearranged the main room of our farm shop to accommodate a dedicated space in the front for retail. Welcome to our new Farm Store!!  Stop into the Farm Store anytime from 8am-6pm during the week.  Also new this year, our Tally Sheets:  please mark down on the sheet the quantity of each of the items you are purchasing, add it all up and then leave the money in the box.  This allows for better tracking and record keeping.

We are selling:

• Quail Hill Farm and French Fridays at the Farm Cookbooks
• Our own line of pickled vegetables and value-added products (with many more  varieties to come!)
• Our own chicken and duck eggs
• Stew/soup chickens
• Ronnybrook Dairy Products: Milk, Chocolate Milk, Butter, Ice Cream and Yogurt
• and Carissa's Breads!! (on Tuesdays and  Saturdays)
• Carissa is using "QHF Wheat combined with bread flour, yeast, salt, and a natural starter that was developed in Amagansett in 1968 by a QHF member. For QHF I mill the wheat myself right before baking (at Foody's in Watermill)."

Soon, we also hope to offer Jack's Coffee (ground and whole bean) and raw milk goat and cow cheeses from Consider Bardwell Farm, the Vermont creamery where I once made cheese and milked the goat herd.   The owner of Consider Bardwell, Russel Glover, also has a house on Shelter Island and will be bringing his beautiful cheeses to the East End directly from Vermont, just for Quail Hill Farm!

What's Coming Soon    

In the coming weeks, look forward to these delicious vegetables that will be added to your harvest . . . Peas, fava beans, arugula, Asian greens, kale, Swiss chard, and beets! 

This Week's Harvesting Tip: Dill

Harvest dill by snipping the outermost / largest stalks from the herb. Do not pull the entire plant out of the ground.

Did you know? DILL is one of the oldest known herbs. Its aromatic leaves, seeds, and flat seed heads of tiny greenish-yellow flowers are used to season fish, pickles, cabbage, potatoes and baked goods. When steeped in wine, dill is said to have mild aphrodisiac qualities.

New Members 

For new members that have not yet been to the farm this season, there is one last orientation walk this weekend on Saturday the 15th.  Meet at the Farm stand by 9:00 am to get an introductory tour of the farm fields and learn how our CSA works. An experienced farm member will be there to show you the ropes!  

Children's Garden  

Please join us this Saturday, June 15, at 9:30 am for 45 minutes in the children's garden, located in the valley next to the peach trees. This weekend the children will be planting both seeds and seedlings. We will also work on maps to determine where we will plant vegetables and flowers in the coming weeks. Heavy rain cancels.

Please join us for the annual FARM BREAKFAST:
Saturday, June 22

(rain date: 6/29)  from 8:00 to 9:30 am in the apple orchard.  

Bring a blanket or chair to sit on as well as a batch of muffins or a loaf of quick bread to share. We will be serving herbed scrambled-eggs-from-the-farm, roasted potatoes, blueberry pancakes, and strawberry rhubarb compote. $10/adults, $5/kids.

Interested in volunteering on the day? Contact Jane Weissman at QuailHillNews@aol.com.     

At the Common Table Committee Meeting:  

Saturday, June 29 at 10 am 

There will be a meeting to organize this summer's At the Common Table dinner on Saturday June 29th at 10:00 am in the apple orchard for anyone who is interested in helping plan this wonderful evening. Save the date...this year's dinner will be on Saturday, Aug. 17th.

Annual Pot Luck: Sunday, July 28 in the Orchard 

Appetizers 4:00 till 5:30 pm

Dinner around 5:30 pm 

Please plan to join us for this year's Pot Luck Dinner which will be held on Sunday, July 28 starting at 4 pm. The farm will supply some of the main dishes.  Namely, chicken and Balsam Farm roasted corn.  Those who attend are asked to bring a dish that will feed 8-10 people. We welcome any dish using what is in season at the farm as well as pasta, whole grain and legume main course dishes as well. We will have a fire pit and smore's are always part of dessert!   Besides the smore's we offer a selection of desserts brought by attendees.   Bring seating and/or a blanket. There will be music and singing.

If you would like to help with some of the arrangements, please email Linda Lacchia at:  lles@optonline.net 

Tools of the Trade  

What to bring with you each week to the farm: 

• Gloves 
• Trowel
• Shears or Scissors
• Bags or Basket to Collect your veggies
• a Small container for flowers

Don't forget to apply sunscreen and wear a hat!

Please Volunteer for Our New Committees 

Other groups that we are forming this year include a Gleaning Committee to harvest surplus veggies from the field to be brought to local food pantries, as well as a Hospitality Committee to help members get their shares when they are ill or injured and unable to harvest for themselves. Please email me if you are interested in joining either of these wonderful groups!

Reminders  

Harvest Hours:  

8:00 am - 5:30 pm  

Tuesdays and Saturdays

Looking forward to a wonderful growing season!

Thank you,

Kate