CSA week 6

It is August and the garden is beginning to shrink. The giant spent broccoli and cauliflower plants have been pulled and brought by the wheelbarrow load to the compost pile. There they will mix in with the manure and other scraps to form compost for next year’s gardens. We pull the plastic off the now empty beds and replant to fall greens like arugula, mizuna, and radishes. I freed the peas from their metal trellis, cutting the strings that held them up. They dropped off down the row, plopping to the ground, where I turned them into the soil with the disc harrow. Summer Squash plants are on next week’s list to remove. They produce an enormous amount of fruit in a short window, we have harvested hundreds of pounds from them each week for over a month now. Their leaves once dark green and reaching upright are now yellowing and drooping, looking tired and worn out. They will go back into the ground along with a cover crop of oats and buckwheat. The cover crop is meant to protect the soil from wind and water erosion as well as adding a bulk of green matter back to the soil when turned under. But just as that early produce is ending, the long season crops are coming into their own. The sungold tomato plants are over 8 feet tall, the sweet peppers are just beginning to turn color, and the eggplants are chest high, loaded with dangling purple fruit. Beans planted in successions are flowering and producing in turn, row by row. We were down in the potatoes of Lower Hosac on Friday, harvesting the first couple crates of this season’s tubers. There is still plenty of season left to go, but the shift in the garden indicates we have turned a corner, and are headed on a gentle glide into the fall.

In the Share:

• New Red Potatoes

• Broccoli

• Green Onions

• Green Beans

• Curly Kale

• Carrots

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Green Bean Salad

• 1. 1 bag green beans (about 2 lb or around 48oz)

  2. 2 celery stalks (diced)

  3. 1 pint cherry tomatoes (halved)

  4. 1/4 cup slivered almonds

  5. 1/2 green onion (diced)

  6. 1/8 teaspoon pepper

  7. 1/4 teaspoon salt

  8. 2 teaspoons mustard

  9. 1/4 cup olive oil

  10. 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

  11. 2 teaspoons lemon juice

• in a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil. remove the tips of the green beans if not pre-tipped.

• add the green beans to the pot and return to a boil. cook for 5-7 minutes, then immediately rinse with cold water and let sit in cold water with ice to blanch.

• while the green beans are cooking and cooling, finely dice half of a red onion. place in a bowl or jar and add the pepper, salt, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, and lemon juice. whish or shake until well combined. taste and add more salt, oil, or vinegar if desired.

• cut the celery stalks lengthwise to form four thin slices. dice finely, then place in a large bowl.

• halve the tomatoes, and place in the bowl.

• add the green beans to the bowl, and stir to mix. shake or whisk the dressing once more, then pour in and mix until well coated. top with the slivered almonds

CSA week 5

With little snow fall and light early spring rains, we were out on our field with the tractor in mid April. Laying compost and getting beds shaped into plastic earlier than years previous. Usually we are anxiously awaiting a phantom perfect weather window sometime in the first two weeks of May when the ground has dried enough that we can drive out there without sinking deep into the mud. The field was prepped so early that it sat for weeks empty, even briefly accumulating 6” of snow. Once it warmed enough we were out there planting. After that late season snow, it felt like it didn’t rain all through those early weeks of putting plants into he ground. We were out there with hundreds of feet of hoses watering in new and unrooted seedlings in the more sandy areas of the garden. The next time it rained was Memorial Day weekend when it poured for 2 days straight. I remember it clearly because it timed up with needing to plant the summer squash and cucumbers out. They had outgrown their trays and the nighttime temperatures were creeping up out of the high 30’s an into the lower 40’s. It was sloppy work, but strangely blissful. I couldn’t remember the last time I had worked in a down pour with enough rain to warrant wearing a rain jacket. The mud accumulated on my fingers and jacket sleeves, and formed clumps on the knees of my pants where I knelt to pop plants in. I covered the summer squash and cucumbers when I was done with row cover to protect them from bugs and to warm them up a bit at night. Then we got several rounds of 95 degrees and no rain through June. Just when we felt like it may never rain again, it started July 4th weekend and it hasn’t stopped for a month. We don’t mind, and the gardens don’t either. The plants are big and strong enough to suck up all the moisture they need and ignore what they don’t. The pond level looks high and healthy, blooming with white lily pad flowers that the bees and other bugs love. The garden aisles thankfully seem to be happily absorbing all the water sucking it in and down not leaving us a muddy mess. I think about the drought we were in, the drought the norther half of the state is still in, and the seemingly regular devastating wildfires out west and I am grateful for all the rain here.

In the share:

• Broccoli

• Cucumbers

• Sweet Corn ( from Davis Natural Produce )

• Eggplant

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Green Beans

• Fennel

• Kohlrabi

COLD CORN SALAD

-you can do this same recipee without cooking the corn. Its good as it.

6 ears corn, husked and cleaned

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved.

• 1 large onion, diced

• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

• ¼ cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white vinegar

• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook corn in boiling water for 7 to 10 minutes, or until desired tenderness. Drain, cool, and cut kernels off the cob with a sharp knife.

• Step 2

  In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, onion, basil, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Chill until serving.

CSA week 4

We are growing our winter squash cooperatively with two other farmer friends on the town forest land in Albany New Hampshire. The town has big fields adjacent to the Saco River where there are recreation trails, soccer fields, and farm land. When the town acquired the land, a certain percentage of it was to be in agricultural use. It is currently being used by Grand View Farm, and Davis Natural Produce. Jake Davis has lent us space and the use of equipment in his area of the fields to grow our squash and sweet potatoes. Both those crops take up a lot of garden real estate and benefit from the light sandy soils near the river. Last year I think we got lucky. With very little input and no problems we went back in September to harvest thousands of pounds of beautiful Butternut and Delicata squash that fed our winter CSA, friends, and us well into March. This year we are having a bit of a reality check, with heavy cucumber beetle pressure, and some plants with a weird looking unidentified disease that was most likely seed borne. In any case its been a fun project, and gets us out to experience different land, and knowledge is inevitably passed back and forth between all of us by working together. Kyle and I were up at the Albany location late Saturday afternoon hoeing the grassy edges between the beds and were treated to a rainy but pretty evening near the mountains. Flingers crossed for good haul of winter food later in the season.

In the share:

Broccoli

Green Cauliflower

Green Sweet Peppers

Crisp Lettuce

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Summer Squash/Zucchini

Red Scallions

Roasted Cauliflower over Pine nuts

Ingredients

• 1 pound cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 2 tablespoons pine nuts

• 1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives

• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 tablespoon green peppers

  Directions

  • Preheat the oven to 425°. In a shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish, toss the cauliflower with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is lightly browned in spots. Add the pine nuts, olives, parsley and peppers, toss and roast for about 10 minutes longer, until the pine nuts are lightly toasted. Serve warm or at room temperature.

CSA week 3

The gardens sucked up that rain, and the plants are reaching toward the sun. The summer squashes are leafing out into each other and their aisles. The melons, loaded with flowers, have extended their vining tendrils into the adjacent beds, threating to overtake the neighboring lettuce. The peas and cherry tomatoes are over six feet tall, flowers turning into fruit overnight. It has become a miniature jungle out there, especially from the perspective of a toddler or a cat. Joni walks behind us as we check the broccoli heads, enjoying pushing down on the big waxy brassica leaves and watching the water droplets slide off. The cats wander in and out of the plants, popping up suddenly near where we are weeding or working, only to dart back out of sight after some flicker of movement that could be a rodent or maybe fiction. Homer bends the early season no dogs in the garden rule, sensing my strictness has relaxed as the plants have become bigger and more sturdy. He follows us waiting for a dropped sugar snap pea or discarded carrot. I marvel at the explosion of energy that has taken place in such a short time by both the plants and ourselves. The plants breathe in at night and early morning and breathe out each day. This is most clear early in the season when they are small and delicate. The kales, cabbages, and broccolis are the most visually obvious as they often droop in the sun, the pores on the leafy surfaces exhale water to conserve energy, only to perk back up again when the sun starts to set. At night their roots inhale, taking a drink of water and nutrients from the soil below. Biodynamic farmers believe the earth functions in a similar way but on a seasonal time table. Breathing out during the spring and summer with the outpouring of growth and activity, and inhaling in the fall and winter as the organic matter dies back and returns to the ground. Working the farm, I often feel like we follow these same energy patterns. I wake in the mornings standing tall and moving quickly, expelling sweat and air slowly drooping throughout the day, falling into bed when the sun has set to rejuvenate. Seasonally, the same. We start strong, eager to work the gardens, planning, planting, weeding, and harvesting, but by fall we are tired, ready to rest and relax reflecting on the season over the winter.

In the share:

• Green Cabbage

• Broccoli -or- Cauliflower

• Summer Squash/Zucchini

• Sugar Snap Peas

• Romaine Lettuce

• Basil

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Fennel

  A note on the Romaine- My friend Joann over at Mountain Heartbeet grows the most amazing greens, always. I think of her as the lettuce queen. Her greens are always 10x the size of our, and she often gives us some out of pure generosity and because she has SO much. I think just this once, this batch of Romaine will give her a run for her money. Its big!

Summer Cabbage and Kohlrabi Slaw

INGREDIENTS  

• 1/2 pound kohlrabi about 1/2 a medium kohlrabi, peeled

• 1/2 pound cabbage about 1/2 a small head of cabbage, cored

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons spicy mustard

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

INSTRUCTIONS 

• Use a food processor to prep your kohlrabi and cabbage. Use a shredding disc for the kohlrabi and a slicing disc for the cabbage. (Alternatively, you can grate the kohlrabi on a manual grater and thinly slice the cabbage, but the texture will be somewhat different.)

• Place the kohlrabi and cabbage in a large bowl. Add the mayonnaise and both kinds of mustard. Mix well, using a fork to help separate the pieces of vegetable and spread out the mayonnaise and mustard.

• Serve and enjoy, or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

CSA week 2

I walk the fence line by the road, following it as it runs the length of the field. It takes a sharp left, entering the tree line, and I slow down looking for weak points. The double electric strands sit high, and just beyond them, a 7ft mesh fence runs from tree to tree. I step carefully over twigs studying the leaf litter looking for impressions of hoof prints on the earth. As I follow the fence down towards the pond, I imagine I am the deer. My feet picking over rocks, I stick my nose forward and wonder if I can somehow step gracefully between the two electric lines and then duck under the mesh without getting a shock on my rear. I think no. I continue down the line, bending down, looking longingly at the soy beans just beyond the fence begging me to taste them. When I reach the water. I stop. The fence continues into the water about 15 feet, but I don’t like the suction of the mud up my legs, I’m worried I might get stuck. I cant get in.

Except a deer was getting in. As the garden has expanded we have modified our fencing set up a bit, using the existing permanent fence that runs along the road and field, augmented in the summer with a single electric line, adding depth as a deterrent rather than height. Deer like horses and other prey animals with side eyes have poor depth perception. We use to fence tight to the gardens but last year decided to follow the permanent fencing around and continue straight into the pond, using the water as a natural barrier. We noticed a single set of hoof prints last year in the farthest area of the garden. The deer wasn’t doing any damage but the thought of it our there in our garden drove me crazy. We caught it on camera multiple times, and Kyle and I even sat out one evening getting eaten by mosquitos trying to see where and how it was getting in. I set up a tent, thinking Id sleep out there with Homer one night and sneak attack it, but the thought of a poor nights sleep kept me from following through with this idea.

Anyway, the season passed and we took the fence down for the winter. This year, same set up. Sure enough, a few weeks ago, tracks started to appear in that far garden corner again, and this time nibbling off the tops of our edamame bean rows. I walked the fence dozens of times, modifying it slightly, convinced there was no way to jump, go under, or through without being tangled in an electrical nightmare. A nagging thought became louder in my head. I texted my neighbor who hunts “Do deer swim?”. Reply “Yup”. We borrowed two game cameras and set them up at different points, one facing into the water where the fence ends. Sure enough the next morning when we went to review the footage, there was the deer, eyes glowing in the dark walking easily out into the water, and then 22 minutes later back out and around to leave.

That Sunday was an unplanned work day. We took down the fence into the water and went back to our old system of fencing out the entire field with a row of double strands and then one in front. It took all day. Cameras have been up for a couple of weeks now, just to see what we see, and no new hoof prints have appeared.

In the share:

• Baby Beets

• Summer Crisp Lettuce

• Sora Radishes

• Red Russian Kale

• Green Onions

• Sugar Snap Peas

• Zucchini/Summer Squash

• Sungolds

Summer Salad

Ingredients

• 4 cups julienned zucchini

• 4 cups julienned yellow squash

• 2 cups sliced radishes

• 1 cup canola oil

• 1/3 cup cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt

• 1 teaspoon dill weed

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, squash and radishes. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients. Pour over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. If desired, top with additional snipped fresh parsley.

CSA week 1

It’s growing season and we are going full sprint, but much of what we do, our hands and bodies are well practiced at now. One of the most enjoyable aspects of farming with other people is the rambling directions conversations take, often having nothing to do directly or at all with agriculture. These days, post interning, and post Joni, Kyle and I mostly farm alone and so sometimes I remember to download a good podcast or book on tape. I pop in a pair of headphones for a couple of hours while my hands go into autopilot weeding carrots or pruning and trellising tomatoes. I listened to a conversation with Iain McGilchrist who is most well known for his book called the The Divided Brain, the Master and the Emissary. Although I haven’t been able to pickup the book, the conversation was a snapshot into his ideas on left brain vs right brain and the fascinating struggle to find balance.. I’ve been wandering the farm now intentionally conscious of the continual shift between the two sides. The left is good at categorizing information, particularly the things we already know. It’s detail oriented, although tending towards over focusing. I think of it as my zoom lens; the crab grass is sprouting between the rows, the potato beetles have hatched, the one tomato plant looks droopy. The right side of the brain has a bigger perspective, is more inclusive, and confronts the unknown. My zoom out; the plants are outpacing the weeds, the potato field looks pretty flowering, the tomatoes are now half as tall as the greenhouse ceiling. The constant flip flop is interesting especially paired with some reflection. The zoom lens is useful in moderation, but zoom out should be the auto setting as it allows for forward momentum and some inner peace around the volatile nature of the farm.

In the share:

• Green onions

• Garlic Scapes -from Patch Farm

• Bok Choi

• Romaine Lettuce

• Kohlrabi

• Swiss chard

• Baby Summer Squash-still small enough to eat raw!

• Baby Zucchini

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO

Ingredients

• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese or Romano

• 3 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice

• 1/4 lb. scapes 110g

• 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

1. Puree scapes and olive oil in a food processor until smooth.

2. Stir in Parmesan and lime or lemon juice and add seasoning to taste.

SEASAME STIR FIED BOK CHOI

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb baby bok choy

• 2 tbsp sesame oil

• 2 garlic cloves

• sesame seeds *optional

Instructions

• Wash and cut bok choy in halves. Shake off excess water.

• Heat wok over high heat. Add oil and once wok is slightly smoky add garlic. Stir fry garlic for 30 secs and then add bok choy. Stir bok choy constantly and cook to desired doneness, 2-3 mins for crispy and 4-5 mins for softer.

• Remove to serving dish and garnish with sesame seeds.

June Farm News

The farm sometimes feels like a Roman chariot.  In perpetual motion, pulled round and round the track by a team of horses eager to break away from the restraint of their reins.   We are the charioteers, trying to learn the feel of those reins, how much to pull, how much to give, finding balance.  We are currently on a corner of the track now, digging in, getting all those seedlings put in the ground, racing against them as they outgrow their potted cells and the coming summer’s heat.  After the plants are in, we can give a little and catch up on mowing and all the other general tidying that has been pushed to the side temporarily.  Then the weeds come, and we will race against those into harvest time. 

The farm has expanded this year.  We are growing on all available space here at Hosac Farm, using areas that we have, until now, kept in cover crop in an attempt to slowly improve soil conditions.  The gardens stretch from the greenhouse to the far tree line bordered by road and the pond, skirting immovable boulders and a stone wall.  We are also being generously gifted the use of extra garden space this year just down the hill from us on Rt 5.  The property owner, Sharon, says the garden was formerly known as Berry Ledge Farm, but was thinking we should refer to it now as “Lower Hosac”, which made both Kyle and myself smile.  This space has been in and out of cultivation for about 30 years at least.  Sharon has welcomed us into her space and we have been down there working the ground, preparing some beds for her own gardening, putting in all of our potatoes, and getting recently fallow areas into cover crop in preparation for future cultivation.  The ground down at her place feels like a farming dream, our tractor pulled discs sunk into soft soil and pulled along almost noiselessly, in contrast to up on our hill, where there is the ever-frequent jarring bang of metal hitting rock as we disc. 

We have a person named Ebyn working with us this year.  Ebyn has been coming on Mondays for the past month, and has made a huge difference in our ability to keep up with this new growth, helping me seed carrots, flip the greenhouse into summer production, plant out brassicas, and most recently get all of our potatoes into the ground at lower Hosac.  This in combination with grandparent babysitting, some good friends and community members volunteering their time for us regularly has kept our motivation up and our momentum forward into planting season. 

We will be attending the Bridgton Farmers’ Market, and the Kennebunk Farmers’ Market starting in Mid-June.

The CSA starts the last week in June, with the additional option of a flower share this year.

HAPPY SUMMER

February News

We are in the blissful but brief few weeks of our true farm break.  It is the time after all our storage food has gone out, and before any seedlings get started for the upcoming season.  The shell of the farm still chugs along, but our focus paid to it is at its most minimal.  I visit the barn animals twice a day, mornings, and evenings, to give out food, water, and some attention.  The horse (Stetson) is always the first to greet me.  He stands waiting with his head poked out from his run-in stall, neighing loudly when he hears the front door of the house open and close.

 I read a book last year about some animals having a “morphic field” with their owners, an unspoken connection that alerts the animal to the returning home of their humans.  The book had endless anecdotes as well as very formal trials to prove the author’s theory.  Kyle and I ran a few very un-scientific experiments after reading this book to determine if Homer our dog has a “morphic field”. The answer is definitively no.  Disappointing as that was, I started to notice Stetson seemed to be always waiting in the same spot when we arrived home, although this also coincided with dinner time.   Perhaps further investigations will reveal if Stetson and I have a “morphic” connection, or he just has an exceptionally good stomach clock.

 I like the morning routine of the animal chores, the sun just peaking up over the pond, the wind usually still, the snow making everything quiet.  Sometimes the top of the sheep’s backs will be frosted in the mornings, having spent a few pre-dawn hours outside of their shelter.  Stetson leans his head over the stall awaiting his bucket of grain and will have delicate icicles encasing his nose whiskers, evidence of a recent drink from the water tub.  In the mornings hay gets spread out into the bigger pasture, and next the barn cats get released from their nightly confinement in the back room.  Recently in the subzero weather, the barn cats became temporary house cats.  They adapted amazingly quickly to their status change, immediately claiming space on our bed, and shamelessly stretching out in front of the fire.  But after the nights indoors the cats were eager to head out again for the day, even with temperatures still in the single digits. 

After the animals are taken care of, the day slips away easily with some lounging, toddler entertaining, maybe an item or two checked off our limited winter “to-do” list, and then often a cross country ski outing.  Homer and I have been cruising through the woods enjoying the snow that has held up well for skiing in this cold weather.  I imagine that dogs think us humans are pitifully slow on our two legs, and I like that on skis I am better able to fulfil Homer’s wolf-like instinct to travel.   We see all sorts of tracks in the woods, deer, coyote, rabbit.  The footprints of the different animals are interestingly regular, showing they are about as repetitive in their travels as Homer and me with my skis.

    With the disappearing sun, it is back out to the barn to the reverse set of chores. Large animals in with hay, cats locked safely away in the barn or house.  I am trying to enjoy the down time and not think too much about the busy season that is hovering right around the corner.  Of course, each summer is a whirlwind of an adventure in its own way, but for now I am enjoying the tail end of winter fun.    

Summer C.S.A. : sign ups are open.  Thank you to those who have already signed up!   We are offering pickups on Tuesday evenings at the Earle Farm in Center Conway and at our farm in Cornish. 

Sign up online: www.hosacfarm.com/csa

January Farm News

Year of the Sheep:

When we left the Earle Family Farm, we brought to our new home in Cornish “Otto” a two-year-old ram, I had become quite taken with.  Otto was born on the Earle Farm our first winter working there, and he was immediately a very friendly lamb, an unusual trait for a sheep.  I was determined to keep him that way, and spent a lot of time in the sheep pen indulging his desire for chin scratches.  I eventually put a halter on him, and would lead him around, sometimes just for fun and sometimes using him to help guide the other sheep from pasture to pasture for rotational grazing.  Unfortunately, the eventual fate of all little ram lambs is the butcher.  As the fall slaughter date approached in the fall, I felt heart pangs, and was desperately trying to find a way to keep Otto alive.   The morning before the lambs were headed for slaughter, Tom Earle came out of the back pasture and told us the big breeding ram was dead.  We had no idea what happened, and it was completely unexpected.  Tom just found him belly up in the field, but it meant Otto could stay on at the farm another year, as his breeding replacement.  So, Otto stayed.  People warned me Otto should not be trusted after being allowed to breed, that he would become unpredictable and mean.  We always kept a shepherd’s crook next to the sheep stall, and taught never to turn ones back on a ram, or you might lose your knees.

  Kyle and I took a couple of months off from the farm as a winter break before returning in February for our second year there.  It was on my mind while we were away Otto might have changed into a big mean ram, but I found him unchanged, although now substantially larger as a full-grown ram.  Of course, during that next year my attachment to him grew.  We acquired our dog Homer that year as a puppy, and he spent a lot of time licking Otto’s face, and Otto even would stand still for Homer to jump up and over his back to fetch a frisbee.  A good party trick at the very least I figured.  But summer skated by, and the inevitability of Otto’s death neared.  He could not stay on for a second winter of breeding because he would be genetically too closely related to those ewes.  Tom suggested we look for someone to buy him, since he was now a proven breeding ram with an exceptional personality.

We posted an ad for Otto.  We got a response, and the day the potential buyer was supposed to show up Otto went lame.  No one wants to buy a lame sheep.  The vet diagnosed it as likely foot rot an unappealing diagnosis for any buyer and it seemed Otto’s destiny was again the butcher.  He limped around for about a month, until out of the blue Kye and I found and made an offer on our farm here in Cornish.  I don’t remember the exact timing but seemingly overnight Otto stopped limping.  When our move was finalized, Tom told us he would give me Otto as a parting gift.  It would be perfect we thought, our farm was coming with 6 ewes that the previous owner used for sheepdog training.  Before bringing Otto home, Kyle spent a lot of time building a fence to divide him from the ewes as we didn’t want our sheep numbers to multiply. We would decide on castrating him or not at a later time. I did have a passing thought that the fence Kyle had built looked a little low, but didn’t want to be critical of his first project on our new farm.    We put a tarp down in the back of Kyle’s jeep, and stuffed Otto in for the ride down to Cornish.    

The next thing we learned about ewes that haven’t been around a ram for a long time, is they all go into heat simultaneously within 24 hours of being in proximity of a new ram.  The ewes were shameless.  Within a day of Ottos arrival, all six of them were standing with their butts rubbing back and forth against the dividing gate to entice him.  I came home from being out and called Kyle in a panic, Otto was out with the girls.  Kyle had last checked on the sheep no more than an hour before I found him loose, and they were still separate.  I rushed out to the field and grabbed him by the neck and dragged him into the barn where I locked him behind a solid door. We later found hoof prints on the dividing gate, he had climbed up and over it.   Kyle called Fryeburg Vet and we put the tarp back down, put Otto again in the Jeep and took him to be castrated.  The vet told us after waking up from surgery he hung out in the aisle with the resident cats enjoying kneading his wool.  The vet also told us to keep the sheep separate for at least three months to let the procedure take full effect.  Of course, I felt bad for Otto and imagined him being lonely only a few weeks in to his recovery.  I thought to myself “what’s the worst that could happen”, and I let him out and stood there to monitor things.  He immediately walked up to a ewe and tried to mount her.  I dragged him back in by the neck and waited the full time period like we were told.  

Time went by and Otto and the girls got to live together, one big happy family.  On April 1st I walked out to the barn to do morning chores and heard the unmistakable sound of lambs in the barn.  We had dismissed the long-ago hour free for all, and had completely forgotten there was a small possibility of offspring consequences.  Two lambs!  Kyle thought I was playing an April fool’s joke on him, until my face told him I was serious.  As panic was setting in about the potential increase in flock size we were looking at.  Before my mind could run totally out of control Kyle wisely suggested we should go hiking for the day and worry about flock size later. 

We are going into our seventh year here in Cornish, and although our animal menagerie has shifted from 9 sheep and a dog, to 1 horse, two sheep, a dog, two barn cats, and a human child, Otto is still here and friend to all creatures of the farm, and has never been lame again.

It was a crazy year with more demand for produce than we have ever experienced in our short farming careers.  We are considering a couple potential changes for 2021 to meet the increased demand, including possibly attending a second market, hiring part time help, the flower share, and a few more small things in the works. 

SUMMER HOSAC FARM CSA sign-ups are open  www.hosacfarm.com/csa

-we are offering 20 spots for a flower Bouquet share this year with help from a friend with experience in growing and arranging flowers.  You can add this into a CSA share or just do flowers….

Thank you all! 

November Farm News

This summer we had a family of four geese living on the pond.  Homer kept himself busy for the first half of the year scaring them off the dock regularly, at our urging.  The geese were annoyingly persistent, and the chase often ended multiple times a day with Homer in the water swimming after them until we told him “that’s far enough!” I think what finally sent the message was when we had another canine visitor for a few days.  Two big dogs chasing them into the water was more than they wanted to risk just to keep their dock real-estate.

At some point this fall, I noticed the family of four had become a family of ten, then twenty. Then one day I looked out, and there had to be well over one hundred geese on the water.  They made a ton of noise throughout the day and night.  I imagined to myself, they were holding “town meetings” and one of them inevitably said something radical that sent the whole group into an uproar, only to quiet down again for a brief time. This seemed to go on for several weeks, and then the geese started taking off in small flocks every morning. The days would be quiet, and then right around 5 or 5:30pm the small groups of geese would return, calling out as they approached. Sometimes they came swooping so low over our field, we could hear the low pitch of their wing feathers as the air passed through them.  Joni quickly learned to recognize the sound of the approaching geese, pointing at the sky in the direction of their honking.  We started intentionally walking the field in the evenings to watch the geese touch down, making their daily big splash on the water to the delighted squeals of our 1 year old.    My CSA volunteer told me one day when I lightly complained about the ruckus on the pond while we were out working, that the geese pick a location and get ready for their migration south with mini daily practice flights.  When the young ones are ready, they leave for the winter.  Once she pointed this out, it became so very clear to me that this was exactly what they were doing and I felt slightly more tolerant of their temporary presence.  I don’t know why they picked our pond this year.  We sleep on our screened porch all summer and fall, and there were nights I was up cursing the geese wishing they would head on their way, or else hold their meetings exclusively in daylight.  Then one morning I walked out, and the pond was quiet, and I found myself oddly disappointed they had left.  I think their honking, wings flapping, and evening splashing had distracted me from noticing that the other sounds of summer were slowly disappearing with the geese.  The pond suddenly quiet, last sounds of summer gone.

Many of you may be doing our winter CSA but for those of you not, or in addition to, we will have bulk carrots available for sale starting now throughout the winter.  Certified Organic.  2$/#.  Email us at any point to buy and arrange a pickup time/date. 

C.S.A. Week 14

It was a weekend of bulk harvesting. Kyle and I were at the Albany town forest on Friday gathering our winter squash. The previous cold nights had killed and flattened the plants, but the fruit was still underneath a tangled matte of waist high weeds. We spent the afternoon clipping the fruits from the vines and then collecting them into easy to grab piles. Our truck was certainly close to its weight capacity by the time we left, with my two farmer friends filling their vehicles and a trailer to the brim as well. I returned Saturday morning in the Subaru and filled the back, probably exceeding load recommendations again. From there on Saturday, Joni, Homer, a friend, and I continued on to Evans Notch where we met up with another to hike Blueberry Mountain. It was a beautiful clear fall day, and on the way down, our friend suggested we diverge from the trail to follow the river down to the road. We were treated to a series of beautiful carved out pools of ice cold water, some still deeper than head-height despite the drought. We were able to hop rocks down the river, myself going a bit slower with Joni in the backpack. As the river flattened out we suddenly popped out in the back of this stunning property sitting in the middle of a field filled with the most beautiful apple orchard. Although the bush whacking was proposed causally, my friend knew where he was leading us, this being a property he regularly caretakes for. I pulled Joni out and we all sat under the trees soaking up the sun and eating the apples, Homer too. We all filled our backpacks, and eventually made our way back to the car. We must have made for a ridiculous sight in the parking lot, the Subaru filled to the brim with squash and apples, one baby, a dog, and three adults. But I bring to the share courtesy of our Evans Notch adventure, mountain apples.

In the Share

• Carmen Sweet peppers

• Sweet Dumpling Winter Squash

• Mini Butternut Squash

• Carrots

• Mountain Apples and Valley Pears

• Eggplant

• Head Lettuce

• Purple Radishes

  -We will have cabbage out as extra, take some -or-none

C.S.A. Week 13

We walked outside this morning to see the first patchy frost having touched down on our field. We tend to stay a few degrees warmer here, probably because we are up on a hill and next to a large pond that holds the warmth of the day. In the winter when I use to drive home at night from restaurant work, I would watch the temperature indicator in the car go up sometimes 3-4 degrees as I turned off the main road and climbed Kimball Hill. There is a rock close to shore where we have our dock in the pond, and I watch it every summer as the level drops, its my water height indicator. The rock is more exposed than it has ever been in my short time watching it here, probably about 8 inches are showing, when at the start of spring it is completely submerged. The tops of the beech trees along the pond are starting to turn yellow. It seems early and I wonder if it’s the drought. When I start to worry, I am briefly comforted having learned, trees learn from dry years and are able to adjust their future water use strategies to better adapt to future years. One can only hope that we as humans can do the same.

In the Share:

• Delicata Winter Squash

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Arcadia Broccoli

• Carmen Sweet Peppers

• Boro Beets

• Nantes Carrots

• Cippolini Onions

C.S.A. week 12

My brother was here visiting over the weekend. He is a man of extremes, all or nothings. For the past year or so, he has been pretty much living on a diet of eggs, vegetables, potatoes and chicken. I had a good laugh when the pandemic hit, because those were some of the first items to fly off the grocery store shelves. He had been eating those items for months, and then they became hard to find, frustrating him to say the least. His limited diet has also sparked an interest in seeing the vegetables he eats growing in our field. I showed him the fall broccoli this weekend, and he was appropriately horrified that a plant that takes 3 months to grow, eating up 3 square feet of garden real-estate, only produces 1 large(or in this case small) head that will go for $4.00. Kyle and I don’t spend the bulk of our time focusing on a plants individual dollar value, instead we look at them in a general sense of profit, demand, and keeping a diverse garden. There have been a few things we have given up on at least for now; corn, celery, and we are growing winter squash at another location. On the other hand, one of the pleasures of farming is growing what you love to eat, and what you love giving to people, to eat. Or just growing what we like to look at, because we spend an awful lot of time out in the field to not enjoy the view.

This week the Earle Farm pickup will get small heads of broccoli, and next week Hosac Farm. We didn’t quite plant enough of this round to get enough heads to mature around the same date.

In the share:

• Astro Arugula

• Lacinato Kale

• Sierra Blanca White Onions

• Red Norland Potatoes

• Annina Eggplant

• Genovese Basil

• Probably a Tomato

  -Earle Farm pickup will get a small head of broccoli this week, Hosac pickup next week.

C.S.A. Week 11

One of my favorite things about the farm is its feeling of perpetual motion. The garden coasts along following the inevitable progress of the seasons. Nothing is ever in a static state. Plants are either going in the ground to grow, or coming out because they are done. Spring brings rain and seedlings, summer warms enough to plant and things grow at an unbelievable rate. Before we have time to take it all in, the nights cool and it’s time to disc in, or pull what is done, in a delicate balance of getting the full life out of a plant while still leaving time to give winter crops a chance to grow, or for cover crops to establish. I like all of the stages, the stark visual changes that take place over the course of one growing year. In the moment I think each one is my favorite; but then the next phase slides into focus and I reconsider. From the orderliness of a newly planted garden in May, too fresh to be overrun with weeds, to the big impressive dark green leaves of a fully grown row of broccoli or cauliflower. From the soft green carpet like appearance of cover oats against the backdrop of changing leaves, to the peace of freshly fallen snow blanketing our field and the wonder of the greenhouse holding happily growing spinach in the dead of December. I love them all.

In the Share:

• Buttercup winter squash

• Fusion Romaine Lettuce

• Green Jersey Cabbage

• Goldie Husk Cherries

• Heirloom Tomatoes

• Hosac Farm Pears

• Nantes Carrots

Note: The Pears came of our trees here, they are supposed to be picked before they are ripe, and then left in a dark place in a brown bag. We have had them in a dark place for a week, some may need more time once in your hands.

GROUND CHERRY SALSA

Ingredients

• 1 cup Ground Cherries outer husk removed

• 1/2 cup Red onion

• 1/3 cup roasted tomatoes *see note

• 1 medium lime, juiced

• 1/4 cup finely chopped jalapeño seeds removed

• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

• 1/4 teaspoon Sea Salt

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in your food processor and pulse to combine.

• Chill prior to serving for flavors to combine. Will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Notes

*To roast tomatoes, remove core, cut in half and de-seed. Place cut side down on a baking sheet with sides and broil for roughly 5-10 minutes or until the skins blacken slightly.  Allow to cool, then remove skins. Use the tomato meat for the 1/3 cup roasted tomatoes in this recipe. Store extra roasted tomatoes in the freezer to use later.

.

C.S.A. Week 10

Every morning when Joni gets sick of being in the house, usually by 6:15 or so, we head out to do our morning rounds. The first stop is the animal barn where the horse usually, and enthusiastically, greets us as soon as he hears the screen door to the house slam. I have been sitting Joni down in the barn aisle on the rubber mats while I let the kittens out, put the fly mask on the horse, and send him along with the sheep out to pasture for the day. The kittens always burst out of the back room of the barn filled with energy after a night of confinement. By the time I return from letting the larger animals out, they are always in some combination of being on Joni’s lap and/or licking her fingers and toes. They appear to recognize some kind of kindred kitten-like spirit in her, and seem unbothered by her swatting at them or grabbing their tails. In turn she allows them to climb over her, sampling various body parts with their rough tongues. Homer hovers, ready to walk the field and check for geese in the gardens.

in the share:

• Heirloom tomatoes

• Boro Beets

• Cippolini Onions

• Red Russian Kale

• Carmen Sweet Peppers

• Azur Star Purple Kohlrabi

C.S.A. Week 9

We’ve been given bits and pieces of history about our place since moving here, some in writing, some by word of mouth. The site of what was the first settlement of Cornish, our house has weathered the changes of time here. It stands in what use to be known as the Brier neighborhood, home to Ashland Cole who came west from Biddeford in 1775 to become one of the most prominent men in Cornish at the time. It was written he was the only Justice of the Piece in town and thus presided over conflicts as Judge, counselor, or attorney, as needed. One of my C.S.A. volunteers added details to my knowledge of Ashland Cole, explaining he would hear cases in the front room of our house, now used as our dinning room. Cole would excuse himself after hearing the case, to consult the advice of his wife, who would always be listening in the back room around the other side of the large center chimney. Cole would then go with her decision. He must have been a wise man indeed.

A few weeks back, we were given, from another C.S.A. member, excerpts from a book titled, “Almuchicoitt” which takes the reader on a stroll up the Pequawket Trail. Several pages detail life around our own “Hosac Pond,“ which has since been re-named “Haley Pond.” The pages brought a smile to my face immediately as the author details what must have been the well known “medicinal properties” of Hosac Pond, the aborigines and early settlers came to use. The author writes about “the curative agents embodying the healing virtue of Hosac”. Kyle and I have joked half serious since coming here that the water in the pond must be magical. We stubbornly refuse to have our soil tested thinking it may break the spell of our good growing that we unabashedly attribute to the irrigation running out of “Hosac”. Anyway… We did have a friend here who flew his drone around the farm. He begrudgingly agreed to slow down out of racing mode to take some slow footage of our place. I’ve posted the video below. Be sure to keep your eyes on that special pond.

• Classic or Annina Eggplant

• Carmen and Corinto Sweet Peppers

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Heirloom big tomatoes

• Scarlet Nantes Carrots

• Envy Soy Beans

• Some sort of head lettuce

C.S.A. Week 8

It’s now Corn and tomato season in Maine. We grew corn and tomatoes when we interned at the Earle Family Farm. These plants were two of my least favorite to grow. The corn always felt like a battle with the crows. We would plant the seed in careful rows, and set up tall posts around the garden with bird scare balloons tied to them. Inevitably, the crows would come before the seed could get a chance to germinate, and clever birds that they are, would walk down each row picking every seed out. After multiple plantings finally yielded some success I wondered how any corn survived on other farms. Commercial growers use chemically treated seed to prevent soil born pathogens, which in turns makes the seed unappetizing to the crows. Tomatoes lived in the greenhouse and felt like their own outrageous production. Here we are in Cornish six years later with our greenhouse full of tomatoes. I have developed a meditative type of enjoyment in pruning and trellising the tomatoes, watching them go from 6 inch seedlings to enormous vines, their growing tips brushing against the top of the tunnel. We don’t grow corn anymore, although we did try. We had one successful year, and then every season following, it seemed the porcupines and racoons came. They would smell the ears just before they ripened and rip them, shamelessly off the stalks, leaving a decimated mess for us to sort through. We leave the corn growing to the experts now, Tom and our friends at Hancock Family Farm. I decided any plant requiring trellising was overbred and a waste of time.

In the share:

• Sweet Corn -From Earle Family Farm

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Heirloom Tomatoes

• Jersey Green Cabbage

• Marketmore Cukes

• Rover Red Radishes

Bonus: summer squash/zucchini if you want….

Recipes from Joyce again, Thank you!

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho

An easy-to-prepare gazpacho filled with flavor and packed with vitamins

originally from Self Magazine

serves 8

cal: 120 per serving

Ingredients

6 large heirloom tomatoes, all varieties and colors, or a mix of cherry tomatoes and heirlooms to total 5-6 cups, diced into 1/4 in cubes.

1 med red onion

1 med cucumber cut into 1/4 in cubes, seeded if necessary

1 red bell pepper cut into 1/4 in cubes

1 yellow bell pepper cut into 1/4 in cubes

1/4 cup fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, dill, parsley etc all work well), roughly chopped

2 T red wine vinegar

1 lemon juiced

1/2 T Tabasco, or to taste

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

8 tsp aged balsamic vinegar (used as garnish)

2 cloves finely minced fresh garlic (optional)

Preparation

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, with seeds and juices, onion, minced garlic if using, cucumber and peppers. Add fresh herbs, red wine vinegar, lemon juice and Tabasco. Add a few pinches of salt and pepper. Using your hands, or a potato masher, squish veggies into a juicy soup, leaving a few big pieces. Add oil in small increments, tasting as you go. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Dilled Cucumber and Tomato Salad

personal recipe

serves 8

cal: not many

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges each

2 medium cucumbers, thinly sliced

1/2 cup finely chopped red onions or shallots

    * hint: if onions are ever too strong let them soak in cold water for 10 minutes after slicing

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 T sugar

1 T fresh dill

1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Preparation

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. In a smaller bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour over vegetables and refrigerate for several hours. Toss again before serving.

Spanish Tomato Bread

personal recipe

showcases the flavor of vine-ripened tomatoes!

Ingredients

1/2 Baguette sliced on the diagonal about 1/4 in thick, 12-16 slices

2 fresh garlic cloves, peeled and sliced lengthwise in half

assorted tomatoes fresh from the garden, sliced

Extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground peppers

Preparation

Toast the baguette slices so they are lightly brown on both sides. When cool enough handle rub one side of each piece with the cut side of a garlic clove, discard garlic when done. Top with tomato slices, slightly squish the tomatoes with fork tines so the juices start to soak into the bread. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  If you have leftover bread, make avocado toast the same way.

C.S.A. Week 7

We have two big trees, an oak and an ash that stand together to form an arch at the start of the walk way by our barn that takes you from our yard out to the field. I find I am always looking up at the trees. These two are both big old trees. The ash is a bit tired looking, with several limbs having been taken off in its past, It wears the scars of a saw, while the jagged edge remains that hints of a storm. Usually its tallest branches get covered in tent caterpillars by late summer, causing it to look even more haggard than it deserves. The opposing oak, in contrast, seems to be increasing in girth and breadth to an enormous degree every year. Joni’s kiddie pool is often set up in the shade of the oak, and I have been looking up at its impressive branches even more, sending silent wishes for it to stay standing in good health. Trees will tell you a lot about the land. As many forests are frequently tampered with by human hands, it requires looking closely at the health of those that remain.

In the Share:

• Valencia Heirloom Tomatoes

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Goldie Husk Cherries

• Prelude Fennel

• Carmen and Corinto Green Sweet Pepper

• Provider Green Beens

• Azur Star Purple Kohlrabi

Grilled Fennel

• Rinse your bulb under cold running water;

• Cut off the stalks and the feathery fronds from the bulb;

• Trim off a very thin slice from the base of the bulb and remove any of the outer tough layers if they appear to be blemished. You can use a peeler to remove any spots;

• Place the bulb upright and simply slice it lengthwise.  When grilling, it is important to leave the inner core in place as this will prevent the fennel bulb from falling apart.

Once you have washed and trimmed your fennel, slice it into 1/2 inch slices lengthwise.

rush lightly with olive oil and place directly onto the grill. Both an indoor or outdoor grill works great with this recipe.

Grill for about 3-5 minutes of each side or until lightly charred. The fennel cooking time will vary as it depends on the size of your fennel bulb. The end result should be a soft and tender bulb.

Remove from the grill and squirt with the lemon juice of 1/2 a lemon.

Season with sea salt and a grinding of pepper to taste. A sprinkle of Italian parsley and you are done.

C.S.A. week 6

I was reminded of a piece I heard on the radio a couple of years ago, as it is currently resurfacing in the news. Several Maine Dairy Farms are prohibited from selling milk after their product tested very high in levels of PFAS. PFAS are chemicals now banned for use in the United States, but were used in things like stain resistant clothing, spot cleaners, shampoos, and more. These chemicals are referred to as forever chemicals and they build up in the environment and the human body. These chemicals ended up in the milk. Starting in the 80’s, dairy farmers were encouraged by the state of Maine to spread Sludge from mills and state sewer processing plants. It seemed like a win-win, effective fertilizer and a good way to mitigate some of the waste costs associated with sludge removal. Come to find out, the sludge contained high levels of PFAS which don’t break down, and thus were absorbed by the cows grazing and eating hay from the contaminated fields. The PFAS then made their way into the cows milk and onto store shelves.

. The sludge may seem like an obvious wrong turn now, but the truth is, as human beings we are always a bit behind the curve. It takes years to figure out that something which has a positive may also have a delayed negative.

This brings me to the last point, although you are not receiving any root crops this week, you don’t need to peel our vegetables, ever. Except Kohlrabi of course. Eat the skin, it’s often the most nutritious part of the plant.

In the share:

• Sweet Corn -From Hancock Family Farm in Casco, ME

• Tomatoes

• Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

• Eggplant

• Green Leaf Lettuce

• Cucumbers

• Zucchini/Squash

Simple use of corn

-Shave off the kernels into a bowl, add cherry tomatoes halved, basil sliced small, and some olive oil and balsamic. Mix, serve. No cooking required! Feta is a bonus.

Moroccan Style Eggplant

Thanks again to Joyce for sending this recipe my way originally from feastingathome.com

ingredients

• 2 lbs eggplant- Japanese, Chinese or fairytale

• 10 garlic cloves

• 2 fat shallots, quartered

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons ras el hanout(you can look up how to make this)

• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds (or sub fennel seeds)

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

• 4 medium tomatoes (or 1 lb cherry tomatoes)

• large lemon zest pieces, from one lemon (use a veggie peeler or sharp knife)

preheat oven to 375F

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise (no thicker than 3/4 inch) and place in an ovenproof baking dish along with the whole garlic cloves and shallots.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, salt, pepper, ras el hanout, and caraway seeds.

Pour over the eggplant and toss well to coat. Cover with foil and bake 20 mins on the middle rack.

After the first 20 minutes, lower heat to 350F and uncover. Add the tomatoes, zest and give a toss.

Continue baking 50-75 minutes, uncovered, checking every 20 minutes, giving a gentle stir, until the eggplant is meltingly tender and creamy. Depending on the eggplant size, the time may vary. Please be patient here and check more often if eggplants are very small.

Once the eggplant is very tender, and edges are crisp,  pull out of the oven, cover lightly with foil until ready to serve. Garnish with the olives, fresh herbs and optional chili flakes.

Serve warm or at room temp.

C.S.A. Week 5

I was able to sneak off the farm today while Kyle spent the day with Joni, here hanging out. Went up the Baldfaces with two friends and had a beautiful day in the mountains followed by a dunk in the Cold River and then ice cream. I love the drive up rt. 113 through Evans Notch. I always marvel at the sweeping fields full of potatoes and corn that belong to Green Thumb.. Today the potatoes were all in flower, making for a beautiful early morning scene. I imagine how different that kind of farming life must be. Long straight rows, deep, rock free river valley soil, planting the same crop year after year, big yields, mechanized equipment, and big buyers. Its an impressive site, although distant from the type of farming we are doing here in Cornish. If you travel further north up the notch(beyond the Baldface trailhead), you will come upon Brickett Place. It’s one of the original homesteads of the area, erected around 1830, and it is now an historic site maintained and recently renovated by the Forest Service. Here you can glimpse the shadows of farming past. Old apple trees left unpruned for years lie behind the house shaded in by big hardwoods and tall grass. Stone walls follow the trails up for miles hinting at pastures for grazing animals.. The struggles of the original settlers are not hard to imagine, with horse and wagon for travel, rock removal and land clearing to push back the edge of the wilderness.

In the Share:

• Green Sweet Peppers

• Basil

• Red Fire leaf lettuce

• Beets

• Green Beans

• green onions

• Broccoli

• cucumbers

• zucchini/squash

Recipe again thanks to our CSA member. Original version from thekitchn.com

this recipe is so easy and uses what ever vegetables you have at hand. Mix up the colors and cut them to a size that will cook crisp/tender in about 2 minutes.

Instructions

1. Make a garlic-lemon butter. Mince and mash 2 cloves garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt together to make a paste. Transfer to a small bowl, add 4 tablespoons of softened butter and zest from one lemon, and mash together until combined; set aside.

2. Sauté the shallot/onion in butter. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add one medium shallot, chopped and sauté until softened and beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Cook the pasta. Add 12 ounces dried, short pasta such as penne rigata and 4 cups of hot water, and  2 teaspoons of salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat back to medium-high, uncover, and cook until the pasta is al dente, about 8 minutes. Stir the pasta occasionally, loosening noodles that stick to the bottom or sides of the pot.

4. Stir in the vegetables and cook until tender. Add 3-4 cups of diced veggies; zucchini, carrots, bell pepper, broccoli, sugar snap peas, and peas all work well. Stir and cook uncovered until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the cooking liquid has reduced into a starchy sauce, about 2 minutes.

5. Finish with the tomatoes, cheese, and garlic-lemon butter. Stir in the 1/2 cup cheery tomatoes, halved, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated and garlic-lemon butter. Once the cheese and butter is melted, the cooking liquid should be significantly reduced, leaving only a silky, buttery sauce. Serve in bowls garnished with red pepper flakes, basil or dill, and more Parmesan cheese if desired.