Massaro Community Farm Keep farming, feed people, build community September 26, 2022 Notes From the Farm Delicata squash are unique and glorious.  Slice them in to rings, place the rings on a pan, drizzle with oil and roast until slightly crisp, and enjoy.  It can be that simple and delicious. You might also add them to salad, use them in a soup, or a curry or any of a number of other recipes to choose from.  However you choose to savor these, don’t let them sit too long, because while they can last a while in the right storage conditions, much like the spaghetti squash we had last week, delicata do not have the shelf life of some of the heartier winter squash varieties.  With the potatoes and winter squash in our distributions we know it is autumn for sure – and we are embracing the cooler days and the rainfall – but the summer still has an impact, as the heat and drought thwarted or delayed some of our plantings of fall greens and roots.  Lettuce is still limited and arugula and salad mix are nearly ready to harvest, though there is a chance we may have some this week.  Tomatoes will continue on for a bit longer for sure, perhaps the eggplant and peppers will as well. The yellow squash and cucumbers, however, are finished, and we’ll plan to clear out the last of their fruit this week, before transitioning their beds in to cover crop, protecting them from winter conditions, keeping the soil ecosystem active, and replenishing their nutrients for next year. Our 6-week fall CSA is now available for purchase.  Produce will include a mix of greens and roots from our fields and tunnels, and perhaps items from other farms as well, depending on conditions. Sign up at our GrownBy page and pay online or bring in payment. The fall CSA begins in November, immediately following the end of our summer CSA, and continues in to December after a Thanksgiving break. Pickup will be available on Wednesdays at District in New Haven, and Fridays at the farm. There will be no Tuesday pickup at the farm. We downsize a bit for the fall and winter so our capacity is limited. Please sign up now. -Farmer Steve and our Farmers: Alyssa, Alanna, Ariel, Cass, Hali, Kayla, Leah, Maia, MC Fall CSA Sign Up This Week’s Anticipated Harvest: Delicata Squash, Chard or Kale, Tomatoes, Beets, Potatoes, Onion, Garlic, Eggplant   U-Pick: Green beans, cherry tomatoes, herbs Fruit Option:   Pawpaw or Watermelon CSA parking area/pickup images See images below for an overhead view of the pickup areas at Massaro and at District. Recipes and Cooking Ideas Delicata Squash, Pomegranate and Arugula Salad From www.cookieandkate.com Ingredients 2 medium delicata squash (about 2 pounds total) 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Pinch of fine salt 5 ounces (about 5 heaping cups) arugula or mixed baby greens Arils from 1 pomegranate (about 1 cup) or a generous handful of dried cherries or cranberries ⅓ cup raw pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or chopped pecans 3 to 4 ounces (about ¾ cup) crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese Maple-balsamic vinaigrette 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 teaspoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard ¼ teaspoon fine salt Freshly ground black pepper, to taste INSTRUCTIONS Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Wash the squash and scrape off any tough bits of skin with a knife. Slice the squash into ½-inch wide rounds. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds from each round. Drizzle the squash with a generous tablespoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Use your fingers to lightly coat all surfaces of the squash with olive oil. Bake for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the squash is tender and golden, flipping halfway. In a medium skillet over medium-low heat, toast the pepitas or pecans, stirring frequently, until they are fragrant and lightly golden on the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. To prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard and salt. Season generously with black pepper, to taste. Once the squash has cooled for a few minutes, combine the arugula, pomegranate, pepitas, crumbled feta and squash in a large serving bowl. When you’re ready to serve, drizzle in the dressing and gently toss to combine. Serve promptly. CSA Pickup Instructions and Reminders Reminder emails from GrownBy: GrownBy sends reminder emails ahead of your CSA pickup day each week for our 20-week subscribers, and uses a default of picking up alternating weeks, beginning with either week 1 or 2 for our 10-week subscribers. We know that many people switch pickup days as needed, and have a different pickup plan than the alternating weeks. As a result, you may receive some reminder emails that don’t match with your pickup plan or changes. Know that we are working with GrownBy to make adjustments to the auto reminder emails. Thank you for patience and understanding on this. On-Farm Pickups – Tuesdays and Friday, 2:30-6:30pm Safety is our top priority for everyone on the farm, and Covid remains a risk in our community. With that in mind we’ll plan to move forward with two options for our on-farm CSA pickup, and will adjust as needed during the season: Outdoor, drive thru pickup: Pull in to the barn yard area between the red barn and white house for a drive thru pickup of your CSA, which will be bagged for you in advance. Barn pickup, fill your own bag, masks optional: Park in the parking area on the north side of the barn, walk down the steps and and enter the barn through the east barn door entry. Our harvest will be set out in bins with instructions for you to select and bag your own produce. Staff and/or volunteers will be there to help you as needed. Please bring your own bag or box. Please help protect our staff and community, do not enter the barn if you are sick, have tested positive for covid in the last 10 days, or have had a known high risk exposure. ALWAYS DRIVE SLOWLY at the farm – there is often programming here for kids, and the farm family with young children live here. When U-Pick crops are available, we recommend doing U-Pick first, then picking up your CSA when you are done. See map in the section above. Delivery to District – Wednesdays, 3:30-7:30pm Located at 470 James St. at State St. Go to Door 004 for District Athletic Club (see map below). CSA boxes will be stacked through the door and down the hall in the gym kitchen area. Pick up time is 3:30-7:30pm on Wednesdays. Take only one box of produce unless otherwise indicated, all boxes will be the same. Return your box each week and pick up a new one. NEW: Summer Flower & Dahlia CSA, 12 weeks – bring a home a beautiful bunch of flowers each week along with your produce. In July and August we’ll harvest a great mix of flowers grown here at Massaro, then in September and October you’ll receive dahlias from our friends at Two Meadow Farm (North Haven) and Off Center Farm (Woodbridge). Bunches will vary week to week as we bring in flowers of different colors, shapes and sizes. Limited availability; farm pickup only (Tuesday or Friday), $180 ($15/week). Start date Tuesday, July 19; end date Friday, October 7. To reserve your flower CSA, email [email protected]. Egg CSA Subscriptions – sold out; will make more available if possible Pickup along with your vegetables on your regular pickup day and location. Massaro egg cartons can be returned to us as long as they are in good, clean condition. We are not accepting non-Massaro egg cartons at this time. Fruit Option Comes from High Hill Orchard in Meriden. Typically begins in early July once blueberries are ready to harvest. Pickup along with your vegetables on your regular pickup day and location. Farm Store – for on-farm pick up only; not available for New Haven delivery Our eggs, honey and tomato products will be available each week as long as we have them. Purchase at pickup along with your produce. Note – we reduced our flock of laying hens, and egg availability may be limited. Products from our partner farms and local vendors may be available as well. Communications: We send out a weekly CSA newsletter during the harvest season, and additional messages throughout the year.  Please read them. There is often helpful information in them, or important updates that might answer questions you have.  We try to keep our website updated with those newsletters, and we also share news, stories and photos on facebook, twitter and instagram. If you have a question, request, feedback, or need to be in touch for any reason, emailing us at [email protected] is the best means of communication. This email is checked regularly, and we do our best to respond quickly. We’d love to talk with you when you are here on the farm and we can usually be found around the barn during CSA pickup hours, so grab our ears, pick our brains, chat us up or tell us what’s on your mind! Bags: Please do bring a reusable bag or box to take your produce home in. We will have compostable bags available for you if needed. What if I miss a week?: If you are not able to make it to the farm to pick up your produce on a given week, you are welcome to have someone else pick up it up for you. Simply have them come to the farm or District on your behalf. Any produce that is not picked up will be donated, so know that it is put to good use! If you do miss a week, please understand that you are not entitled to additional produce on another week. Produce Donations: Part of our mission and commitment to the community is to donate produce to local hunger relief organizations, which is more important than ever right now. To make this happen, we harvest additional produce for donation on CSA distribution days. Any produce not picked up by our CSA members is added to that donation. Thus, if you can’t make it one week to get your vegetables, know that your produce will go to people in need and is never wasted. Want more of our produce?: As our harvest allows, we will offer additional produce for sale at the farm. If you don’t see something you want available in the store, please do let us know when you are here and we’ll see if we can offer it. We will be at the Q House market in Hamden on Wednesday afternoons beginning in late June, and some weekend markets again beginning in August. Payment plans, and final payments: If you signed up through GrownBy for weekly or monthly payment plans, your card will be charged automatically. Please make sure your card is up to date. If you paid by check and you still have a balance for the CSA, please send in your final payments, or email your payment plan to: [email protected]. Build a Farm Pavilion For years, we’ve been dreaming of a sturdy structure that can host the increasing number of farm visitors. Now, thanks to partnerships with Haynes Group and Emmett O’Brien Technical School, the farm will erect a 20′ x 32′ post-and-beam pavilion in September. If you visit the farm this summer, you’ll likely see the foundation and lumber staged for this project. This new structure, located in the farm’s Learning Garden adjacent to our new parking area, will provide year-round gathering space for 75-100 guests and expand our sustainability footprint with two composting toilets. Etch your place in farm history by purchasing a brick that will form the foundation of the pavilion! Revenue raised through the sale of bricks will provide matching funds already received for this project from The Crippled Children’s Fund and Paul and Judy DeCoster. 4″ x 8″ Brick – $100 8″ x 8″ Brick – $250 Buy a Brick (203) 736-8618 41 Ford Road, Woodbridge, CT www.MassaroFarm.org Follow Us