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Quail Hill Farm eNews
Celebrating its 27th season, Quail Hill Farm is a stewardship project of the Peconic Land Trust. Among the original CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in the nation, Quail Hill Farm brings together growers and community members on fertile soil in a relationship of mutual support.
Published monthly. Contributions--recipes, news and events, poems, photographs and drawings--are welcomed. Send them to QHF@PeconicLandTrust.org.
Summer!
August 18, 2016
Join us this Sunday -- August 21 -- for the annual
Pot Luck Supper
in the apple orchard beginning at 5:00 pm
Bring a dish to share and meet up with friends at the farm!
WEATHER REPORT with Scott Chaskey
by Monika Norwid -- filling in for Jane Weissman
photos in the Weather Report by photographer Michael Halsband
Before we get started on the weather, you might have noticed a profound emotional void at the farm this past weekend. This year's garrulous, feisty, and workaholic crew was all but missing. With the exception of director Scott Chaskey, manager Layton Guenther, and a couple of foolhardy apprentices, everyone else took the weekend off to work on (the rest of) their tans in the south of France.
Just kidding, of course. The crew was missing, but for far less irresponsible reasons. In fact, they were working on their NOFA knowledge. Each year, Quail Hill Farm sends its crew to the Northeast Organic Farming Association Summer conference. "We pay for them to go to this, as part of their education," Scott states proudly. "I don't even know of any other farm that does this, actually." St. Tropez has nothing on a good organics conference. Am I right, crew?
 Now for the farm. Let's just get the puns right out of the way: What's at stake (/steak) at this time of year are the thousands of pounds of tomatoes straining at their vines on Birch Hill. You can't have missed them: impossibly large and dense in quantity, they bulge with the promise of flavor -- practically begging us to pick 'em and gorge! If only they weren't so . . . well . . . green.
 I write these words sitting outside under an overhang, a rare rain, the first in a week at least, making my laptop feel appropriately vulnerable for the subject at hand. You see, we're not yet in the clear with the tomato this year. Although, as Scott puts it, "It's actually good summer growing weather -- all the Solanums, which are the tomato, the eggplant and the peppers, which is what we associate summertime with -- they love it," there's still a week or two left before he can call it. The suspense is probably killing many, if not all, of our members. Will there be a tasting this year? Or will the "B-word" that shall not be spelled out (but ends, perversely, with -light) rear its dark, evil, festering head and make a slasher movie of what should be a 10-episode cooking binge?
"The problem is, if it's too wet and a bit cooler, if you have that kind of moisture, then you get fungal problems," Scott indulges a moment of worry, but bites his tongue with some proof positive: "We haven't had that yet, so all in all: it's good!"
 To endure the wait, we'll shift our focus to some surer things. Zucchini and summer squash continue to grow and prosper into tripping hazards (watch out, especially, for the ones picked and put aside in unexpected places by members wishing to employ both hands for the rest of their harvesting). "They grow like that in a day and a half," says Scott. If you feel a twinge of guilt, along with your back pain, at hauling ten pounds of produce off the farm, in the form of a couple of zukes, consider it a favor you're doing the crew. "If we don't continue to harvest when they're reasonably sized, they'll slow down the new fruit that they're putting out. But," Scott adds with a hint of exasperation, "we still can't keep up with it." Then, half joking, he suggests a solution: "One person stationed permanently at the zucchini." I'm considering; beats going to the gym.
Then there's the pepper clan, with all the relatives -- sweet, hot, bells, and bull's horn types -- arriving simultaneously, rubbing their waxy elbows across several rows of the solanum field. Keep in mind that green peppers are not always "green peppers" -- sometimes they are pre-yellow or pre-orange peppers. "All peppers change color," Scott reminds us. "Sometimes people will ask me, 'Why don't you grow yellow and red peppers?'" -- I confess. This question did cross my mind -- "Well, we do! It's just you have to make sure you're not picking them when they're green!" In other words -- a therapist's, perhaps -- give the little guys a chance to self-actualize their chromatic potential.
 The potato is still with us, too, this time in fingerling form. An elegant twist (and shrink) on the humble spud, neither its anatomical analogy nor its diminutive stature should inhibit you from digging with gusto -- and with your own digits, if you feel the urge. The results are worth it. So delectable is this haute cultivar, that even the most flamboyant chefs defer to its natural state: simple baking and barely garnishing seems to be the standard operating procedure for bringing out the best in these fancy little guys. "One is called Papa cacho," says Scott. "It's from Peru, where most potatoes come from." The other, the one you're probably digging right now, is the Laratte.
 Although there's nothing particularly fancy about the allium, in general, at Quail Hill Farm we think (and grow) otherwise. Besides writing extensively and lovingly about garlic, Scott has also filled up the farm's greenhouse and farm buildings, as well as the occasional neighbor's barn, with the hairy, sandy heads of both garlic and young onions. And for good reason-- one that I surely don't need to reiterate here, to the Quail Hill Farm choir. But just in case: let me remind members that, unlike the ordinary onions we're always crying over or breath-minting away, the young ones currently coming into their own in our Town Lane field are edible as apples: sweet, juicy, crunchy, they really just need a little salt to pleasantly surprise even the most prudish of palates. Close talker? Fear not. Their presence washes down with a cold glass of water.
As for the garlic. Well, let's just say I plan to line my pockets with it whenever I'm hankering for a meal at one of these swanky food joints on the east end. If, like me, you can't arrive by helicopter (it's at the mechanic's), and a briefcase of money won't bribe a proud staff member into a table, then believe me -- one look at a handful of our unmistakable Quail Hill Farm garlic bulbs, and you'll have the Chef's table, and his/her admiring attention, for the night. (I'll let you know how this hack actually worked out in the next newsletter. It's a hypothesis for now.)
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The Barns at Quail Hill Farm
 After years of vision and talk and planning we are actually about to build 2 barns -- we are in the permitting process as I write.
One barn, to be located near to Mary's bees, adjacent to the orchard, will serve our CSA: a place for storage, tools, equipment repair, meeting and conversation, and curing garlic of course.
The second barn will be tucked away in the northwest corner of our Town Lane field and will serve the needs of those farmers who lease from us presently, and those who are part of the Trust's Farms for the Future Initiative now and in the future.
Wow, what a change -- our modest farmshop, hugged by a strong beech tree, has held us well for 27 seasons! Gratitude to those who have shared in the process and to those who have provided the significant capital necessary to make this happen: we thank you all!
Cheers!
Scott Chaskey
IN THE FIELDS/AT THE STAND
 This list is prepared a few days before harvest. It could change, so please don't set your heart on any one item. But then again, there will be welcome surprises.
Crops for Harvest: Potatoes, garlic, onions, eggplant, hot peppers, sweet peppers, okra, swiss chard, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, husk cherries, string beans, kale, cabbage, beets, carrots, zucchini & squash, cucumbers, wheatberries, flowers.
Tips: in the past, we've made a few videos on harvesting, including peas, herbs, tomatoes and potatoes. Check them out on our YouTube page.
MEET YOUR FARMERS . . . Alysia Bixler
Each issue, we'll introduce you to a farmer who are tending the fields of Quail Hill Farm this season -- in their own words. Our third in the series is Alysia Bixler.
 I arrived in East Hampton just around dawn on a cold spring day last March. My friend and I journeyed across the country from California. We camped in southwest deserts and drank tea in our tent as rain flooded the Ozark forests. Our final destination was Quail Hill Farm and though it seemed only a dream at the time, it has now become my home.
It was hard at first to settle into a place so different than California. The trees were so bare and days so chilly I thought summer would never come. Alas, it
did come and I am enjoying the most beautiful summer in recent memory. Its
 amazing how lush and green everything stays out here in the summer. Though the humidity is taxing while working outside in the sun, I can't get over how tropical the east end feels to me. I particularly love the spontaneous rain and lightning storms that happen throughout the day. There is nothing quite like being covered in mud and digging potatoes while the sky pours down upon you. Storms like these seem particularly magical because summer rain is unheard of in California, drought or no drought.
Farm life at Quail Hill is full of weeding, harvesting, transplanting and other hard work. However, it fills me with a profound sense of accomplishment and purpose. Working at Quail Hill has also given me the opportunity to learn about farm scale flower production. There are several knowledgeable flower farmers working here that continue to share their wisdom and guidance.
Quail Hill Farm is a special place. Hoeing among the zinnias and basil as breeze sweeps through the trees uplifts my spirit and fills me with peace. I love biking and exploring the beaches around the farm. We are surrounded by water and I take full advantage of washing off the dirt and sweat by jumping in. 
Now that it's August and so warm I take nightly adventures to the water to swim amongst the bioluminescent bacteria in the bay. I am also happy to discover fireflies, another thing absent from California, and I love watching them dance through the trees in the fading light at the farm.
As the summer ends, so does my time at Quail Hill. Pretty soon I will be leaving the crew to begin my next adventure. I am beginning graduate school with a major in Forestry at the University of British Colombia. My program gives me the opportunity to study in both Europe and Canada. 
In September I will be studying in Bangor, Wales and the following year I will be in Vancouver. Though I am excited to move to Wales, it's hard not to be a little sad. I wish I could stay until it gets cold and watch the seasons change. To taste the kabocha squash and help the crew preserve the fall harvest.
I am so grateful to be a part of the Quail Hill Farm family and I hope to visit again. I know this summer will stay with me forever.
RECIPES
from farm member Julie Resnick of feedfeed . . .
Moroccan Eggplant With Olives, Figs, Cilantro And Tahini
Ingredients
- 2 Japanese eggplants or 1 Italian eggplant, halved
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- ½ teaspoon ras el hanout
- ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- 3 dried figs, roughly chopped
- ½ cup cilantro leaves and stems, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted in butter
Tahini Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons tahini
- Juice of ½ lemon
- ¼ teaspoon ras el hanout
- Water, as needed
- Salt and black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 425F. Score each eggplant half with crosshatch marks and place on a roasting pan, cut-side up. Season with salt and pepper. In a bowl, combine olive oil, garlic and ras el hanout. Spoon the oil mixture over the eggplant and rub into its flesh and skin. Roast eggplant until tender, about 25 minutes.
In the same bowl used for the olive oil mixture, combine cilantro, figs, olives and pine nuts. Toss to combine (and to grab any bits of olive oil and spices left in the bowl!) In another bowl, combine the tahini sauce ingredients and stir vigorously. Stir in water, a few splashes at a time, to thin out the tahini mixture until it's drizzable. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove eggplants from oven once soft. Garnish with the cilantro mixture and drizzle with the tahini sauce. Finish with drizzle of good olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt.
~~~~~
 Lemon, feta & string bean sauté
Serves 2
Ingredients
- two large handfuls fresh green string beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup firm cow milk feta
- salt, pepper & aleppo chili flakes to taste
Directions
In a large sauté pan, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium-low heat. Add beans (I left the little stem on, but you could remove them if you prefer). Cook for a few minutes, uncovered, stirring often. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and quickly cover with a lid to steam for a minute or two. Toss and return lid to cover and continue to steam over low heat until they reach your desired texture - slightly crisp, yet for tender. Remove cover, and crumble feta over the beans and season to taste. Serve warm straight from the pan so that the feta has a chance to warm a bit. Optionally, serve with a few wedges of lemon or a sprinkling of lemon zest!
~~~~~
 "Everything" potatoes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds fingerling potatoes
- 1 red onion
- 1 full head of garlic
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons raw sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoon caraways seeds
- 2 teaspoons medium or coarse sea salt
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine seeds and salt. Cut potatoes in half, lengthwise. Peel the full head of garlic, and cut large cloves into halves or quarters. Cut onion into large chunks, maybe into twelfths. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper and pile all the root vegetables together. Coat evenly with olive oil, tossing with your hands. Then add at least half of the seed & salt mixture, and toss to coat. Make the potatoes as seedy as you like, adding more if you want. Or reserve some seeds for plating. Crack fresh pepper over the potatoes and pop the baking sheet into the oven for 10 minutes to start. Stir just once, and return to oven to continue cooking until desired crispiness (at least another 10+ minutes). Serve warm with a sprinkling of fresh seeds.
*Note: this seed mixture is also amazing over roasted chicken breasts coated with just a drizzle of oil. Thinly sliced, "everything" chicken is a great topper to salads!
~~~~
Crispy Garlic Butter Fingerling Potatoes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
Compound Butter:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Fingerling Potatoes:
- 4 tablespoons of the garlic herb compound butter, divided
- 1 pound fingerling potatoes (all similar in size), sliced lengthwise in half
- 3 tablespoons water
- Coarse salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (or basil)
Directions
For the butter, add butter, garlic and salt to a food processor. Process until smooth. Use a spatula to add the butter to a bowl, then stir in the parsley. To make tablespoon sized portions, using a mini ice cream or cookie dough scoop and portion the butter onto a parchment lined tray. Freeze until solid, about 15 minutes and then transfer to airtight container. You can freeze for up to 3 months and use as needed.
To make potatoes: Melt 3 tablespoons of the garlic butter over low heat in a large dutch oven. Add potatoes and water. Season with about ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper, stirring to coat. Place the lid on top and steam for about 30-40 minutes, then check with a fork. Have a peek inside every 10 or so minutes, and stir, checking to make sure potatoes aren't browning too fast. Time needed to cook until tender will vary depending on size.
When potatoes are just tender, and when inserting a paring knife into the center of a potato it comes out easily, they're ready. Take them off the heat. Add the remaining tablespoon of garlic butter to a large cast-iron skillet and bring to medium high heat. Sear potatoes in batches, until golden brown and crispy. Season with extra salt and pepper, then top with fresh parsley.
~~~~
Sunny Side-up Eggs + Homemade Charred Tomatillo Salsa Verde
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon ghee or butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1/4 cilantro, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 lime
Tomatillo salsa (makes 2 cups):
- ½ small white onion, halved lengthwise, keeping root intact
- ½ head of garlic, unpeeled, halved crosswise
- 1 jalapeño, seeded
- 1 pound husked tomatillos
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ bunch cilantro leaves and tender stems
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice, plus more
- Kosher salt; freshly ground pepper
Directions
Heat pan over medium heat. Melt butter and crack eggs in pan. Cook until whites are set and yolks are runny. Top eggs with salsa, yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, avocado, salt and pepper.
To make salsa:
Heat grill to medium high. Toss onion, garlic, jalapeño, tomatillos, and oil in a large bowl. Grill vegetables, turning often, until tender and charred, 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool slightly.
Squeeze garlic cloves out of skins. Pulse garlic in a food processor with onion, stemmed jalapeño, tomatillos, cilantro, and lime juice until a chunky sauce forms. Season with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and more lime juice, if desired.
~~~~
 Swiss Chard Falafel Wrap With Tahini Drizzle
Ingredients
Baked vegan falafel
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 cup parsley + 1 cup cilantro
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 2 T almond flour
- 1 t turmeric
- 1 t curry powder
- 1 t paprika
- 1/2 t coriander
Directions
Pulse everything in food processor and then till into balls and make patties.
Bake 400 degrees on parchment paper for 20 minutes. Spread cilantro jalapeño hummus on Swiss chard + sprouts + cucumber + tomato and put falafels on top and drizzle tahini all over.
ENJOY!
At the Common Table Saturday, September 17 Quail Hill Farm
Tickets on Sale NOW!
Join us for a beautiful late afternoon at the farm
2:30 cocktails 4:00 pm supper For more information, and to purchase tickets call 631.283.3195.
$250/cocktail & supper
UPCOMING TALKS, WORKSHOPS WITH THE PECONIC LAND TRUST
- Friday, August 19: Music at Bridge Gardens with Joe Hampton and the Kingpins.
- Friday, August 26: Tasting and Tour at Bridge Gardens featuring wines from Wolffer Estate Vineyards. $20/person. $10/Bridge Gardens members
- Sunday, September 11: 10th Annual North Fork Foodie Tour. $25/person.
- Friday, September 16: Indian Summer Evening Paddle along Northwest Harbor led by naturalist Mike Bottini. $10/person. Kayak & paddle board rentals are available for an additional fee.
For more information, and to register:
Call 631.283.3195;
NEWS FROM THE VALLEY . . .
. . . send along your announcements and we'll include in upcoming eNews!
One more added performance of Top Drawer!  TOP DRAWER: Dysfunction and Redemption from Park Avenue to Havana, is writer and performer Adelaide Mestre's autobiographical story of her journey to Cuba to seek out her deceased father's piano, left behind when her family fled in 1960. A poignant musical memoir that recounts a life of privilege and secrets, from the Upper East Side of Manhattan to the old city streets of Havana. The show takes place in both the past and present, as the audience follows her on her quest to reclaim her family's heritage. In flashbacks, she chronicles her life growing up with her mother, a thrice married, opera-singing socialite with impossible top-drawer standards, and her father, a gay, Cuban, manic-depressive concert pianist. With sentiment and humor she spins a tale of dysfunction and redemption and, ultimately, shares her discovery that art can be a kind of alchemy that transmutes loss and abandonment into freedom. TOP DRAWER will make you laugh, cry and maybe even... sing. Written and performed by Adelaide Mestre with Jason Yarcho at the piano. Directed by Coco Cohn. When: Sunday, August 21st at 7:00 p.m. Where: John Drew Theater at Guild Hall at 158 Main Street, East Hampton. FOR SALE AT THE FARM STAND & SHOP (Prices posted where sold) QHF Hats QHF Eggs (chicken & duck) Carissa's Breads, made from QHF wheat Garlic Scape Pesto produced by AFI's South Fork Kitchens from QHF scapes Mary Woltz's
Bees' Needs Honey from QHF hives
Ronnybrook Farm Dairy's ice cream,
milk, yogurt drink, coffee milk, butter
FARM ETIQUETTE
Please help make harvesting an enjoyable experience for everyone.
OBSERVE FARM HOURS: Fields open at 8 AM and close at 5:30 PM.
OBSERVE SHARE LIMITS: Check the Farm Stand and Birch Hill boards as well as the signs at end of harvest rows. Ask a harvesting neighbor if in doubt. If no share limit is posted, harvest only what you can reasonably use until the next harvest day.
HARVEST ONLY
in rows headed by signs or poles with ribbons
NO DOGS in the fields.
NO CELL PHONES.
THANK YOU!
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Producing over 500 varieties of organically grown vegetables, flowers, fruit and herbs,
QUAIL HILL FARM is located on 220 acres of land donated by Deborah Ann Light to
the Peconic Land Trust. Quail Hill Farm is located on Deep Lane in Amagansett, NY,
Summer harvest days are Saturday and Tuesday from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.
Winter harvest days are every other Friday and Saturday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Also, keep up on farm news,
 
Quail Hill Farm is a stewardship project of the Peconic Land Trust.
For information concerning Quail Hill Farm, please contact Robin Harris at 631-283-3195
The Peconic Land Trust conserves Long Island's working farms, natural lands,
and heritage for our communities, now and in the future.
Financial Disclosure Statement: A copy of the last financial report filed with the New York State Attorney General may be obtained in writing to: New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271 or Peconic Land Trust, PO Box 1776, Southampton, NY 11969. |
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