Better Late Than Never: Red Daikon, Spaghetti Squash & MORE! →

October 23, 2018 Katie Green

WILD HARE WEEKLY FALL #4/11

Sometimes you’ve got to give yourself permission to be a day late on getting the newsletter out, and this is one of those times. I’ve been lucky enough to share the farm with so many wonderful folks over the past week—not only our CSA members and the kiddos coming for their Fall Field trips (who are indeed many), but I was honored to spend a whole lot of time with my family honoring my grandma (aka, Pizza Nonna) who celebrated her 80th birthday last week. 88 guests stopped by her house to enjoy the roughly 30 homemade pizzas that we rolled out that day, including my grandmother’s Aunt Edie, who came by the farm on her own birthday last Thursday. One of the preschoolers who was here on a field trip that day excitedly hopped up to Aunt Edie and said, “Hi. Today is my birthday! I’m five today,” to which my aunt replied, “Hi sweetie. Today is my birthday. I’m 93!” The birthday girls spent several days together cooking up a storm, loving our winter squash and roasting the last few sweet peppers we’ve picked. Feeding the people you love is such a powerful thing, and looking around my grandmother’s house, watching us all cook together over the past few days, I had no question as to how it was that I ended up farming in this life.

The temps are cooling off, and the rain is supposed to return. I can already feel the sniffles creeping in, so I’m fighting them with sliced up apples and radishes (I’m winning too!). Did you know that radishes are great sources of Vitamin C? Well, they are. And that bit of heat at the back of the nose doesn’t hurt either. I’m going to be making this salad tonight I think. To go with some Red Daikon Radishes, we’ll also have Spaghetti Squash & Honeycrisp Apples for the CSA this week. Now that spiralizers are taking off in the world of kitchen gadgetry, just about any squash can be turned into a noodle. However, Spaghetti Squash just requires a fork and a bit of your time. You can certainly prepare it with Marinara sauce like its namesake, but Mark and I love it seasoned with warm spices and served in place of rice alongside Mexican and Indian meals, as one of our market customers suggested a couple of years back.

FIRST FROST, CELERY ROOT, DELICATA & D'ANJOU →

October 15, 2018 Katie Green

WILD HARE WEEKLY FALL #3/11

I can’t think of a more exceptional October than the one we’ve enjoyed thus far. But while we’ve got more sunshine than we know what to do with by day, for the past few mornings, we’ve seen the first light frosts out in the fields. Some of our most tender greens are showing it on their tips, so although we wouldn’t typically harvest something like Bok Choy back-to-back for the CSA, we’re going to make sure that we get to take bites of it out in the field before the frost does. Here’s what we’re working with this week:

CHICKS, CHOY, ACORNS, APPLES & PEARS APLENTY →

October 8, 2018 Katie Green

On Friday, we welcomed another 325 baby chicks to Wild Hare Organic Farm. Baby chicken day comes with its own set of customs. Mark leaves arrives at the post office before they’re even open. With a cup of coffee and a big fat book that he reads by flashlight, he waits in order to get the tiny birds into the warm truck and back to the farm as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence for the day-old birds’ well-being, especially on chilly mornings, and Mark is the consummate mother hen. There’s smug—and then there’s “Mark Green driving down I-5 with 325 baby chicks peeping away in the passenger seat” smug. And for four years of flocks now, Jade has been the first person to greet the birds here at the farm, dipping their little beaks to ensure they get a drink of water before scrambling into the brooder to warm up and rest after a long night’s journey. Morgan, Luis and even Hazel got in on the ritual this year too, and so far, the birds have been healthy and happy overall. Well loved. Hazel could clock hours in the brooder if we’d allow it—she swears that they love having their fuzzy tummies tickled, but only time will tell.

When we’re not fussing over baby chickens, we’re hosting a ton of field trips and getting increasingly excited about this year’s Fall crops. We’ve got a whole lot of harvesting yet to do in the field, but that is ultimately a very good thing. There’s a nice window, just before things get too frosty, when we’re able to coax some truly stunning greens out of the field. You’re going to love the Bok Choy that we’ve got coming to the CSA this week, not to mention the first of the Winter Squash (Acorn) and the last of the Stone Fruits (Flavor Rich Pluots). And to top it all off, David brought a truckload of one of my most anticipated apples—the Spartans have invaded the farmstand, along with the Melrose and Mutsu. Biting into a Spartan Apple is like biting into a crisp cup of cider, so I definitely recommend them for fresh eating. Sauce them if you must, but they’re snappy—the perfect snack to enjoy while your wedges of Acorn Squash are roasting away in the oven.

Best,
Katie