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Dear Common Thread CSA Members,
We love summer - the flowers, the warmth, tomato sandwiches, eating raw green beans as we pass them in the fields, getting rained on without worrying about getting cold, fresh salsa and pesto, walking outside barefoot to pick mint for tea, crickets loud outside and lightning bugs. We're anticipating fall on the farm but also appreciating this magical time of year.
Wendy, Sophia, Tiffany, Dan and Bianca had a lovely trip the other night to Kate Gilday and Don Babineau's amazing homestead at the base of the Adirondacks. Kate and Don are members of Common Thread and the owners of Woodland Essence, an herbal business. They offered to give us a tour of their place and we had a wonderful time wandering around their gardens and learning about many different plants. We highly recommend their online catalog and thank them for their wonderful hospitality. Every week the apprentices either go on a field trip to a farm or garden or do an on-farm workshop. In addition to growing vegetables, they are dedicating themselves to learning as much as they can about farming and gardening. They have visited Old Path Farm, Grey Rock Farm, Freedom Ranch, Kingbird Farm, Mud Creek Farm and Hartwood Farm so far and spent evenings learning about cover cropping, soil management, beekeeping, tractors 101, tillage, and more.
Our summer shares just go for a few more weeks and we are currently seeking fall CSA shareholders to join the farm for September and October. Please help us spread the word! Fall vegetables include potatoes, winter squash, carrots, beets, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, lettuce, kale, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflow er, cabbage, onions, celery, leeks and more
We are seeking one or two people for part time harvest and field work on the farm for the fall and possibly late summer. If you know of someone who would enjoy working on the farm, please let them know about us.
Thanks to Simon Eisenbach for the beautiful picture of our daughter Astrid, above. Simon is a professional photographer who is bartering with us for photos this year and we're excited to be able to add his great photos to our newsletters and website.
It may seem like we're inundated with cucumbers and zucchini but they don't last long into the fall, so there are just a few weeks left! One thing I have to make a few times before it's too late is one of our favorite desserts:
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
¾ cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated orange peel (optional)
2-3 cups grated squash (depending on how moist you want it)
½ milk, buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream
optional- ½ cup nuts
½ cup chocolate chips for top
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs. Stir in vanilla, orange peel, zucchini and milk. Combine dry ingredients. Stir dry into wet until just mixed. Stir in nuts if using. Pour into greased 9" x 12" pan. Sprinkle chocolatechips on top. Bake 1 hour.
Yours in the field,
Wendy and Asher
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