this week's 
HARVEST  LIST

This list may change,
Rushton Farm Bag but here's our best guess of what you'll be getting in your share this week.

  

                                     

 

Beets

Kohlrabi

Lacinato Kale

Lettuce Mix

Napa Cabbage

Peas

Scallions
Tomatoes  

Turnips

Zucchini

 

 

  
 

Tomato Tasting









 
JULY 25th, 5 - 7 pm
Tickets online, advance ticketing only.
Tomato Tasting Table



WHAT'S A VEGETANNUAL?
Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a wonderful book about her family's attempt to eat entirely local for one year. In it she shares the "vegetannual", a ficticious super-vegetable created to show how food crops grow and become ripe through the season.

Check out Megan Erin Miller's Interactive Vegetannua
HERE!


2015 CSA MANUAL
Just about everything you need to know about the Rushton Farm CSA is located HERE!
CSA manual





Fred de Long- Director 
Noah Gress- Field Manager
Chelsea Allen- Field Manager
Eliza Gowen- Outreach Coordinator
Todd Alleger-  Agroecology Project Coordinator
Jared Ingersoll-  Rushton Farm Apprentice
Katie Pflaumer- Research Student- U. of Penn.
WHEREABOUTS
RQP sign

Rushton Farm is located within the 85-acre Rushton Woods Preserve on Delchester Road, just south of Goshen Road in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. 

Address: 
911 Delchester Road Newtown Square, PA 

KEEP US IN  

THE LOOP!

 

Email is our primary means of communicating all CSA matters, so please contact us if your address changes, or if you'd like a family member's address to be added to the CSA mailing list.   

ARCHIVES
See prior email communications from Willistown Conservation Trust, including recipes and past issues of the Wild Carrot. Go to the archive.   
Week of June 23, 2015 - Issue No. 5
IN THE BAG Tidbits from Fred


One of the great rewards of a farm season is the arrival of the first tomato. When that beautiful green orb flames to a brilliant red you know summer has officially arrived. A couple of weeks ago we saw the first blush that seemed to indicate summer was upon us. Little did we know the sweltering heat that summer would quickly bring. Those tomatoes that were showing the slightest blush a few weeks ago have been harvested and the rest of the tomatoes are quickly turning. It looks like it is going to be a hot summer and the tomatoes are looking happy.

 

A farm market tomato is very different than your run of the mill supermarket tomato. Commercial tomato varieties have been bred to pack easily, hold up for long transport and last for a week or more. They have been picked green or pink before their flavor has had a chance to develop. Their taste reflects this. Farm market tomatoes are often "heirloom" varieties that have long been cultivated for their flavor and texture. They are allowed to ripen on the vine before they are picked and are often sold to the consumer within days, if not hours, of harvest. Because of the time and care needed to grow these exceptional varieties they are typically only grown by small farms.  

 

At Rushton Farm we will have a wide variety of tomatoes to select from throughout the season. Our first tomatoes are Early Girl, Eva Purple Ball, and a plum called Blue Beech. Coming soon will be the ever colorful Striped German and the granddaddy of them all Brandywine. To finish out the season we will feature San Marzano and Opalka plum tomatoes. We will have smaller plantings of other tomatoes throughout the season to complement our larger plantings.  Each variety is unique in both taste and appearance and we urge you to try them all and let us know your favorites. Rushton Farm will be having a Summer Celebration featuring a tomato tasting at the farm on July 25th from 5 to 7 where many of the varieties grown on the farm will be sampled. Until then enjoy the summer harvest.

 

*a note on tomato storage

Tomatoes should never be refrigerated. At 55 F a chemical reaction occurs in the tomato causing the flavor to dissipate. Store tomatoes at room temperature and wrap or discard unused portions.

-Fred

THE DIRT Notes from the field

The growing season is continuing to improve and the Rushton Farm Staff would like to thank our members for their kind words and support. Every season has it's trials and tribulations and we expect there will be a few bumps in the road before the first frost but so far we are happy to say the crops are showing a lot of promise for the months ahead.

 

Sharing the Bounty

One of the side benefits to a successful spring is we have been able to significantly increase our donations to the West Chester Food Cupboard and the Chester County Food Bank. To date over 500 lbs of fresh produce has been donated. Last year Rushton Farm donated 3,000 lbs of produce through the entire season so we are well on our way to exceeding that number. Through gleaning the fields and donated shares we hope to be able to donate 10% of what we grow to area food banks.  

-Fred

RECIPES
What to do with all those veggies


Caprese Stacks Recipes   

   

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons pitted kalamata olives, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 medium tomatoes, each cut into 4 1/4-inch-thick slices (reserve any extra for another use)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 8-oz. ball fresh mozzarella, cut into 8 1/4-inch-thick slices
  • 16 fresh basil leaves

Preparation:    

 

1. In a small bowl, stir together olives and oil.

  

2. Place a slice of tomato on each of 4 small plates; sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Top each with a slice of mozzarella, then a basil leaf. Repeat layering one more time. Top each stack with a slice of tomato and garnish with basil leaves.

  

3. Drizzle olive dressing over each stack. Serve immediately.


                       -Adapted from Jessica Battilana Health

Grilled Zucchini with Garlic & Lemon Butter Baste

Ingredients: 

(Makes 8 servings)

  • 8 medium zucchini (about 2 1/2 pounds), trimmed, halved lengthwise
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
  • 1 tablespoon frozen unsweetened lemon juice concentrate or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preparation:   

 

1. Preheat barbecue (medium heat). Score cut side of zucchini halves diagonally about 1/4 inch deep at 1-inch intervals.

2. Melt butter with lemon juice concentrate, lemon-pepper seasoning, garlic powder, oregano, and curry powder in heavy small saucepan. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Brush seasoned butter on cut side of zucchini. Place zucchini on grill and cook until charred on all sides and just beginning to soften, about 12 minutes.

4. If desired, arrange zucchini on grill, cut side up, and sprinkle with cheese; close lid of barbecue and cook until cheese just softens, about 1 minute. Transfer zucchini to platter.

  

- Rick Browne Bon App�tit

 

About Us

  

Rushton Farm is part of Willistown Conservation Trust's Community Farm Program.  donate nowWillistown  Conservation Trust is a non-profit organization working to preserve and manage the open land, rural character, scenic, recreational, historic, agricultural and natural resources of the Willistown area and nearby communities, and to share these unique resources with people of all ages and backgrounds to inspire, educate and develop a lifelong commitment to the land and the natural world.
 
To learn more or to find out how you can get involved visit

  

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