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Lewis Waite Farms

Special Products Shares Announced!

We have added a whole bunch of new special products for the 2014 season! I’m talking kombucha, fermented foods, wine, and eggs–plus, we’re bringing back the ever popular dairy, fish, beer, and herb shares.

In addition, Lewis Waite Farms has created share plans for all kinds of different products, including bread, organ meats, cheese, meat, and more. You can always order a la carte from Lewis Waite, but if you’d like them to do the work for you, sign up for a share plan.

All of the details and a link to the sign up form can be found on our new Special Products page. You may never need to go to the grocery store again!

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Archives

In the Box: Autumn, Week #19

Red Salad Kale! Image via GEOF.
Red Salad Kale! Image via GEOF.

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Baby Salad Red Kale – 1  bunch
Napa Cabbage – 1 large head
Boston Lettuce – 2 heads (green or red)
Tomatoes – 2 lb bag of mixed variety
Arugula -OR- Spinach – 1 bag
Long Red Peppers – 4 pieces
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Fruit Share
1 bag mixed Apple varieties

Herb Share
TBD…

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick-up

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
LWF pick-up

Village Fishmonger
**FIRST DELIVERY** Fish share pick-up

VEGGIE STORAGE TIPS
In a bag in the fridge: Kale, Cabbage, Lettuce, Arugula, Spinach, Peppers
On the counter: Tomatoes

A few friendly reminders & updates: 

Golden Earthworm’s Harvest Festival ~ Sunday, October 20th ~ 11am-3pm
This year’s Harvest Festival includes hayride tours, walking tours, kids activities, a giant haystack game, music from the talented Barbara Garriel, and cooking demos!! Please take a moment to fill out this sign-up form. We’ll do our best to provide transportation to and from the farm. FREE for CSA members! Read more about the festival…

Fish Shares
Fresh seafood, delivered weekly with your CSA bounty via Brooklyn-based Village Fishmonger! ORDER DEADLINE is 10/14 for delivery on 10/17. Low-mercury options are available. Sign-up today! Questions, Contact Us!

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
Order your next Lewis Waite products for delivery on Thursday, October 24th. Note the NEW ORDER DEADLINES. Please be sensitive to the busy farmers and order on time. Late orders may not be filled. Place your order now!

NEWS FROM THE FARM
I’m so excited about this week’s share! Little Farmer and I were discussing this over dinner last night and we’ve decided that the Baby Salad Kale in this week’s share is probably our favorite crop grown on our farm. (We were both chowing down on the kale salad with lemon, garlic and bread crumbs… recipe below.) DO NOT COOK THIS KALE! It is meant to be eaten raw in a salad. You can dress it up with your favorite house dressing, but I really cannot stress enough how fabulous our kale salad recipe is!

I must also note that this is the first time EVER that we’ve grown napa cabbage for the CSA. It’s a really lovely variety of cabbage with crisp-tender leaves. I’ve shared two great recipes below.
–Maggie

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES 
+ VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Kale Salad with Lemon, Garlic, Bread Crumbs and Parmesan
Roasted Cabbage Wedge Salad
Napa Cabbage Salad

Enjoy!

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #15

GEOF-leeks planting
Leeks planting. Image via GEOF

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Nicola Potatoes – 1 quart
Butternut OR Acorn Squash OR Zucchini
Leeks – 1 bunch
Parsley – 1 bunch
Green Bell Peppers – 2 pieces
Long Red Peppers – 2 pieces
Tomatoes – Beefsteak, Plum or Cherry
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Fruit Share
1 bag Pears
1 bag Gala Apples
Ripen pears on the counter, then refrigerate.

Herb Share
Rosemary – 1 bunch
Sage – 1 bunch

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick up

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
If you ordered, pick up your LWF items

A few friendly reminders & updates:

STORAGE TIPS
In a bag in the fridge: Parsley, Leeks
In the fridge: Peppers
On the counter: Butternut Squash, Tomatoes
In a cool, dark place: Potatoes

Veggie Box Videos #1
We debuted a new video series featuring local chefs that give tips and demos on what to do with your CSA vegetables! Up first: Gianna Cerbone-Teoli, chef and owner of Manducatis Rustica in Long Island City! In just a few minutes she whips up three delicious dishes with a few veggies for your eating pleasure.

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
Order your next Lewis Waite products for delivery on Thursday, September 26th. Note the NEW ORDER DEADLINES. Please be sensitive to the busy farmers and order on time. Late orders may not be filled. Place your order now!

A CROP UPDATE FROM YOUR FARMERS
As we enter the second half of the CSA season, here’s a quick crop update… Be forewarned that this update details the loss of several summertime crops. Our fall crops are doing marvelously and you can see photos of the beautiful fields below…

Cherry Tomatoes – Typically we are able to give out a full portion of orange cherry tomatoes to each member for a few weeks. This year some unusual things have occurred in the cherry tomato patch. Back in June when we had all the rain the lower 1/4 of the field flooded for a short period of time. All the plants in this section died shortly afterwards. Over the next few weeks, the remaining plants began to develop a disease called bacterial speck. While the plants eventually rebounded and are in decent shape now, the yields have been minimal. We hope to include more cherry tomatoes in the shares soon, but we will have to see how long the warm weather holds out.

Eggplant – For 2 or 3 years our eggplants have been wiped out by Colorado potato beetles. This year we moved them to the farm in Jamesport where there is less potato beetle pressure in hopes of having a successful crop. After a couple of times handpicking and spraying the beetles we were successful at eliminating their colonies and now have a nice planting of eggplant. Since we’ve had such trouble in the past we were cautious about planting a full CSA-sized planting and this is why we have only have enough to give out to some groups each week or two. Everyone will eventually receive the same amount of eggplant. Now we are having some problems with verticillium wilt and perhaps another unidentified disease so occasionally an eggplant makes it into the box which is not up to snuff. Let contact the farm if you receive a bad eggplant and we will happily replace it.

Garlic – Our garlic did very well this year. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of it. There were shortages of Certified Organic garlic seed last fall and we only planted about 1/3 the amount we normally plant. We know you all love garlic and we’re doing everything we can to get our hands on as much seed as possible for next season.

More updates to come next week. In the meantime, check out the beautiful fall crops growing in our fields. Everything is looking great and we’re looking forward to a bountiful harvest over the next few months!

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES
 + VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Simple Herbed Potato Salad
Stuffed Green Peppers

Save the Date:
Golden Earthworm’s Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 20th
This year’s Harvest Festival promises to be a delicious and fun outing! If enough people are interested, we’ll organize a bus trip, as we did last year! Stay tuned for more info. Save the date! October 20th ~ 11am-3pm

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #11

GEOF-Yellow Baby Watermelon
Yellow Baby Watermelon! Image via GEOF

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Yellow Baby Watermelon – 1 piece
Green Beans – 1/2 lb. bag
Cucumbers – 8 pieces
Baby Leeks – 1 bunch
Green Bell Pepper – 2 pieces
Tomatoes – 2 pieces
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Fruit Share
Yellow Peaches – 1 bag
Donut Peaches – 1 bag
(Ripen peaches in a paper bag on the counter, then refrigerate)

Herb Share
Lemon Thyme
Rosemary

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick up

A few friendly reminders & updates:

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
Deadline to order your next delivery of Lewis Waite products is Mondy, August 26th for delivery on Thursday, August 29th. Note the NEW ORDER DEADLINES. Please be sensitive to the busy farmers and order on time. Late orders may not be filled! Place your order now!

A NOTE FROM GOLDEN EARTHWORM FARM
STORAGE TIPS
In a bag in the fridge: Green Beans, Leeks
In the fridge: Cucumbers, Watermelon, Green Bell Pepper
On the counter: Tomatoes

A quick note about the tomatoes… The cool, and now wet, weather, is affecting both the quantity (slowing the ripening process) and quality (many have developed cracks) of our harvest. If you do receive a tomato with cracks, it is most likely just cosmetic and can be easily cut out without losing much of the flesh. We’re hoping that along with the sun and warmer temperatures forecasted for later this week, our tomatoes will start ripening faster and we’ll have many more to distribute in the coming weeks!

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES
 + VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Fresh Tomato Sauce
Sesame and Ginger Cucumber Salad

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #10

cherry tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes! Image via GEOF

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Scallions – 1 bunch
Swiss Chard – 1 bunch
Cucumbers – 4 pieces
Batavian Lettuce – 2 heads
Eggplant – 1 piece OR Green Frying Peppers – 3-4 pieces
Garlic – 1 head
Tomatoes – 1 red OR Cherry Tomatoes – .5 lb bag
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Fruit Share
Yellow Peaches – 1 bag
Donut Peaches – 1 bag
Ripen peaches in a paper bag on the counter, then refrigerate.

Herb Share
Summer Savory
Oregano

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick up

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
If you ordered, pick up your LWF items

A few friendly reminders & updates:

UPDATE: The farmers had intended for each box to contain a bunch of Purslane, but there will only be a handful of bunches available for our most passionate purslane fans—Please ask for it! Here’s what the famers have to say: “The purslane has developed a leaf spot (probably a nutrient deficiency of some kind) and we’ve decided to replace it with eggplant or peppers (long green frying peppers). However, we did pick some (37 bunches) anyway for your most ardent purslane fans. It will be a separate white crate.”

NOTES FROM GOLDEN EARTHWORM
Storage Tips
-In a bag in the fridge: Scallions, Swiss Chard, Lettuce, Purslane
-In the fridge: Cucumbers
-On the counter: Tomatoes, Garlic

This week’s share reflects the ongoing transition from mid-summer crops to late-summer produce; Tomatoes have started to come in, albeit slowly, and we have Cucumbers galore! The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and relatively cool, particularly in comparison to July’s heat and humidity, but the trade off is that crops like tomatoes are taking a long time to ripen. As a result, the contents of this week’s share may fluctuate more than usual – please be sure to check back frequently for updates! And don’t forget, if you do not receive an item this week, we will work hard to try to provide it for you in the weeks to come.

A few more specific notes about this week’s share: We continue to have plenty of Batavian Lettuce, Scallions, and Swiss Chard, which have all done very well this season. The cucumbers have really taken off in the past week, and you may notice that they’ve increased in size due to the recent rain we’ve had. The water also helps to make them crisp and crunchy! Purslane is new this week, and is a personal favorite for many of us here at the farm. We will continue to distribute Garlic periodically; it’s such a beautiful sight to see it hanging/drying from the rafters in our front barn and we’re just a little sad to see it come down (though we’re always happy to provide it to our members!). Finally, please be aware that many of the tomatoes have cracks or crevices. Much of this is directly attributable to the wet and cool period we had during pollination. They are still very tasty despite the occasional deformities, and we hope to have many more tomatoes in the coming weeks.

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES
 + VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Purslane Salad
Cucumber Purslane Yogurt Salad

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #7

GEOF-parsley
Parsley. image via GEOF

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Radicchio – 1 head
Cucumber – 1 pieces
Zucchini – 3 pieces
Scallions – 1 small head
Parsley – 1 bunch
Walla Walla Onions – 1 bunch
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Fruit Share
Blackberries – 1/2 pint
Blueberries – 1 pint
(Please be sure to store your berries in the fridge!)

Herb share
Chives
Sage

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick up

A few friendly reminders & updates:

CSA BBQ on July 13th
Thank you for joining us for our annual cookout—what fun! Are you looking forward to the next CSA get-together? More CSA events coming soon! Contact us with pictures from the BBQ or suggestions/feedback for next time.

NOTES FROM GOLDEN EARTHWORM
I think it’s a good time to talk about veg storage—especially in this heat! As a general rule, veg should be kept cool or cold. It should not be left out on the counter or it will deteriorate very quickly. Remove the tops of the Carrots before storing them in the fridge in a plastic bag. Scallions should also be kept in a bag in the fridge. Cucumbers and Zucchini should be refrigerated as well, but they don’t need to be bagged. The Parsley is best stored in a bag in the fridge, or in a cup of water (standing up like a bouquet) in the fridge. You can revive limp greens of any kind by submerging the whole bunch in a large bowl of ice cold water for several minutes. The Walla Walla Onions are fresh (not cured) so they should be eaten soon and stored in the fridge. The onion greens should be removed. And finally, the berries in the fruit share are extremely perishable. They must be kept in the fridge and eaten with a day.

Our share this week is on the light side as we hit our annual July dip before the bulk of the summer harvest comes in. Perhaps this is perfectly convenient timing since who wants to cook in this heat? Farmer Matt wanted me to give you some more information about this dip in the quantity of produce in the shares…

We are just starting to harvest our cucumber crop, so the one piece this week is just a teaser of things to come. That said, about 30 percent of our cucumber and zucchini plantings were lost due to flooding in the heavy rains last month. As we mentioned in last week’s letter, our planting and cultivating schedules were set back from June 7th through 20th (typically a very busy planting time) because of the wet field conditions, so some of the crops that would usually be harvested this week are delayed. Good news is that we have a lot of beautiful crops coming your way shortly! These include more cucumbers, green beans, eggplant, bell peppers, several types of early potatoes, basil, garlic, red onions, red and cherry tomatoes and baby watermelons!

-Maggie

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES
 + VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Pickled Cucumber
Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto
Caramelized Onion, Feta and Sage Pizza

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #6

GEOF_zucchini
Zucchini Image via GEOF

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Radicchio – 1 head
Kohlrabi – 3 pieces
Zucchini – 3-4 pieces
Green Romaine Lettuce – 1 small head
Red Romaine Lettuce – 1 small head
Swiss Chard  – 1 bunch
Cipolini Onions – 1 bunch
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Milk Not Jails
Weekly dairy share pick up

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
If you ordered, pick up your LWF goodies today!

A few friendly reminders & updates:

CSA BBQ on July 13th
Ready, set, grill! Join us for the CSA’s Annual Cookout on Saturday, July 13th!
When: Saturday, July 13th, 4:30 – 7:30pm
Where: Sunnyside Gardens Park, 48-21 39th Ave
RSVP here via web form
Bring friends and family and your own protein/veggie to grill and a dish to share—we will provide non-alcoholic refreshments, chips and all the BBQ gear. Please, ONLY NON-GLASS containers.
Volunteers are needed to help run the BBQ! Sign up for a shift at VolunteerSpot.
Questions? Contact us!

NOTES FROM GOLDEN EARTHWORM
I was so happy to smell the Cipolini Onions in the barn yesterday! They’re a beautiful early variety, aka “Little Onion” in Italian, best eaten caramelized in a dish or simply roasted in the oven. (See recipe below.) Over the weekend, we grilled up the Kohlrabi and Zucchini with a delicious parsley sauce courtesy of Yotum Ottolenghi. (Recipe below.) I was surprised by just how good the kohlrabi was on the grill! And I just can’t get enough of the grilled (or seared) Radicchio—can you? I’ve hoarded about 6 heads of it in my fridge so I can enjoy it every night for dinner. A little overkill? Perhaps, but I only get to enjoy it a few weeks every year! The Romaine Lettuce is so crisp and sweet. I think a nice cool Caesar salad is on the dinner menu one night this week.

Another week of hot dry weather means a lot of irrigation here on the farm. It also means that our summer crops are growing like crazy, which is good news for you melon, tomato, and eggplant lovers… Did I mention zucchini lovers? I know there are many of you out there who are thrilled to see them make their first appearance in this week’s share. Zucchini plants don’t know when enough is enough, and they produce heavily for weeks on end. We have to pick the same field every day to keep up with them—they grow that fast!

-Maggie

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES 
+ VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS 

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Seared Radicchio with Mozzarella
Roasted Cipolini Onions
Mixed Grill with Zucchini and Kohlrabi

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #3

GEOF-beets
Image via Golden Earthworm

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Cilantro – 1 bunch
Escarole – 1 head
Purple Kohlrabi – 1 bunch
Romaine Lettuce – 1 head
Scallions – 1 bunch
Baby Arugula – 1 bag
Red Beets – 1 bunch
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick up

A few friendly reminders & updates:

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
Deadlines to order your next delivery of Lewis Waite products start Friday, June 21st for delivery on Thursday, June 27th. Note the NEW ORDER DEADLINES. Please be sensitive to the busy farmers and order on time. Late orders may not be filled! Place your order now!

We *heart* Volunteers!
To keep the CSA running—and the fresh produce flowing—we need everyone’s help! VolunteerSpot hosts our new volunteer calendar. Once there, navigate through the CSA season and sign yourself up directly for your shifts. Please keep in mind that each share is required to complete 2 shifts over the course of the season. Read more…

NOTES FROM GOLDEN EARTHWORM
I’m loving the share this week! Escarole is one of my absolute favorites and it only comes around a few times each season. Be careful—it looks a lot like Romaine Lettuce, but it has frilly outer leaves and a white center. It’s a bitter green, so you have to know how to prepare it well. If you’re going to try it in a salad, I would stick to the inner leaves with the white stem. This part is more tender and less bitter. Save the outer leaves to cook. (Or you could cook the whole head.)

The Red Beets are small and incredibly sweet. The tops are not only edible, they’re delicious too! You can cook them like spinach—they’ll wilt down quickly in a pan with some olive oil and salt and pepper. I usually plop the beetroot in a pot of boiling water with the skins on and cook til knife tender. (Roasting them in the oven intensifies their flavor, but I opt to keep the oven off during the summer.) Once cooked and cooled, the skins will slip off easily.

Purple Kohlrabi is probably new to many of you. We like to call it the “Sputnik” veg because of its unusual shape. Peel the skin carefully and then you can slice raw in a salad or braise gently. I like its cabbage flavor raw in salads this time of year.  Scallions are great sliced and sprinkled on any salad and the baby Arugula practically melts in your mouth. Be sure not to dress with an overpowering dressing. A light coating of good quality olive oil, a splash of vinegar and some salt and pepper with bring out its peppery flavor nicely.

Finally, Cilantro! My love affair with this herb is well-known, and I can’t keep myself from adding it to every salad and bean dish (as well as chicken soup!). However, the recipe below for Halloumi with cilantro, lime and caper vinaigrette is the first recipe I make when the cilantro comes in from the fields. Halloumi is a greek cheese that doesn’t melt when cooked! You can find it at Whole Foods and some Trader Joe’s and I’ve even seen it at the local grocery after I pestered them about carrying it. The recipe calls for a sprinkling of cilantro, but I usually serve the cheese over a salad of equal parts arugula and cilantro.

Bon appetit, mes amis! – Maggie

U-PICK ORGANIC STRAWBERRIES
And finally, don’t miss out on Golden Earthworm’s pick your own strawberries! It’s likely only going to last one more weekend—this coming Friday, June 21st (10am to 6pm), and Saturday, June 22nd (9am to 5pm). PYO strawberries are $4.00 a qt for CSA members.

CONNECT WITH YOUR FARM
Golden Earthworm welcomes you to explore their website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share.

+ FIND RECIPES + VEGETABLE INFO & STORAGE TIPS + READ MAGGIE’S FARM BLOG

If you have questions or concerns about your share, please do not hesitate to contact the farm. That is one of the benefits of knowing where your food comes from!

RECIPES FROM THE FARM
Escarole and White Bean Salad with Fennel and Gruyere
Escarole and Pine Nuts
Kohlrabi Salad
Halloumi Cheese with Cilantro, Lime and Caper Vinaigrette

Categories
Archives

In the Box: Summer, Week #2

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Spinach – 1 bunch
Red Romaine Lettuce – 1 head
Green Boston Lettuce – 1 head
Red Boston Lettuce – 1 head
Swiss Chard – 1 bunch
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Milk Not Jails
Dairy share pick up

Lewis Waite Farm CSA Extras
If you ordered, pick up your LWF goodies today

Categories
*In the box

In the Box: Summer, Week #1

GEOF-salad-turnips-lettuce-mix
Image via Golden Earthworm

Golden Earthworm Veggie Share*
Lettuce Mix – 1 bag (unwashed)
Salad Turnips – 1 bunch
Bok Choi – several pieces
Romaine Lettuce – 1 head
Arugula – 1 bunch
Red Kale – 1 bunch
*Contents of the share may fluctuate over the week.

Milk Not Jails
For those already signed up for a dairy share, Pick up your dairy share!

Everyone else, LAST CHANCE to sign up for a dairy share! Read more…