Sweet, Cold, and Delicious

IQF Cherry Pickup! Call Now to Place Your Orders

637-2600

Pick up Dates Are:  Friday, August 5th 9am to Noon

Saturday August 6th, 9am to Noon

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IQF Blueberries - 30 lbs

IQF Sour Cherries - 20 lbs or 40 lbs

***NEW!  IQF Sweet Cherries - 40lbs ***

Please note that we don't have enough freezer space to store frozen  fruit past noon. Come as close to 9am as you can to make sure your cherries thaw as little as possible!

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Do you have a favorite sour cherry recipe? Post it as a comment on this post for a chance to win 4lbs of IQF Cherries! A winner will be randomly selected on August 5th.

Have you ever seen a cherry shaker?

They look pretty strange. There are two very similar halves that go on either side of the tree, each driven independently by a 'tractor', tucked beneath a large, moveable, piece of yellow canvas stretched on a metal framework. A big pair of retractable pincers is nestled in the middle of one half. The pincers grab the tree and shake it! Ripe cherries tumble onto the canvas and cascade down the angled fabric, while a conveyor belt on the other half of the machine catches the cherries, sending them into a giant bin full of water and ice.  I can totally imagine the thought process that went into designing this contraption!

The Kirby brothers (Francis, George, Bob, and John) invested in a cherry shaker together around 1980. Every year each farm would send a representative or two to help out as the cherry shaker made it's way from orchard to orchard. You need a truck driver, someone to man both halves of the shaker, people to drive the tractor or two moving bins around and loading them on the truck, as well as several people to fill bins with ice and water.

My empathy for trees and the serious demeanor of everyone involved, combined with the activity, noise, and vibrations in a place normally so quiet and tranquil, all added up to make quite the impression on my seven year old mind. Every year we would go out to the orchard to watch. If you're interested, there are some videos on youtube showing how the different parts of a cherry shaker work! I'll try to get some photos up of our cherry harvest this year.

The Kirby clan has sent many tons of cherries to the processor over the years. Only a small fraction goes to market as fresh fruit because they just don't keep that long. (They're fresh picked in the market RIGHT NOW, grab 'em while you can!) The cherries are washed, pitted, and frozen at the processors. From there they go to various companies to be made into pie fillings, juices, etcetera.

For decades large tins of frozen cherries, some of them sugared, were available to retailers and the public. Anyone remember those? My Dad made a trip to Middleport twice a year, bringing back a truckload of frozen cherries to fill the orders. People line up in the front room, pick up their cherries, pay at the register, and whisk them away to their freezers to enjoy a year of pies, cobblers, and other cherry dishes. It goes like clockwork!

There aren't too many things that have changed over the years...

Instead of a tin full of frozen cherries that often stuck together in blocks, the fruit is now quick frozen so they pour out like marbles, and packed in large blue plastic bags. After a fire closed the plant in Middleport, we now get our truckload of IQF cherries from Holley Cold Pack, along with IQF Blueberries.

The biggest change is that you can get IQF fruit from Kirby's whenever we're open, May-December. We have a freezer in the market  full of 4-8 pound bags of fruit - sweet cherries, sour cherries, and blueberries. We still have the big IQF event each year (coming up soon!) because as always, you save money by ordering large amounts.

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(585) 637-2600

In Season Now

Dark Sweet Cherries showed up last Saturday.

Freeze them, dry them, blend them with lemonade, toss some onto a salad - if they make it home that is!  When the Sweet Cherries show up, Sour Cherries can't be far behind.

July is fast approaching!

We've had strawberries for several weeks but they won't be here much longer. Now is the time to purchase by the flat for jam, juice, and freezing. Freezing is my favorite way to preserve strawberries for the winter. Last year I somehow ran out of time and only got around to making jam. Let me tell you, I missed them alll winter. And I learned my lesson - there are eight quarts in my freezer right now!

Our lettuce is grown right behind the market,

so we can take a short walk out back and pick more whenever we need to. We keep at least two heads of each type available (Green Leaf, Red Leaf, Ithaca, and Buttercrunch), and you know it's fresh! I didn't know what good lettuce was until we started growing it ourselves. It is so sweet and tender and beautiful!

Regular Peas are still going strong!

We'll have them for a few more weeks, so take a few pounds home to enjoy a little pea-shelling meditation on the front porch.

Ode to a Busy Saturday Morning

Five bushels of edible pod peas, still warm from the sun.

Twelve flats of strawberries, surrounded by a cloud of sweet perfume.

Crisp lettuce, like huge, ruffled, green roses, lined up patiently in a crate.

A pile of curling garlic scapes, like the discarded jewelry of faeries, ready to add garlicky flavor to anything cooking in the kitchen.

A wagon loaded with forty pounds of strawberries, picked by three generations!

The last of the asparagus: short, tender and sweet, like a final good bye from Spring.

They all disappear one by one, in the hands of a steady stream of fruit and vegetable lovers. Our customers!

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Baked Goods from Greg'ry's, Bergen, NY

Aside from the beautiful produce coming in on this beautiful day, I am excited to share the news with you that we are once again carrying baked goods from Greg'ry's Bakery in Bergen. For years we sold rows of their delicious fruit-filled pies, stacks of cookies and plenty of loaves of bread. Once again our display is full of their high quality treats. (I have spent the entire morning resisting the urge to try one of everything! Now I just have to make the choice between giant cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, scone or a little strawberry rhubarb pies...what to pick...).  Stop by on any Friday, Saturday or Sunday and savor a treat from Greg'ry's!

Rhubarb, a Last Taste of Spring

Definitely one of the lesser known vegetables, rhubarb is tart, tart, tart. Just about any rhubarb recipe you encounter will also have a good amount of sugar in the ingredients list. Next time you pick some up, try a bite of it raw and you'll know why. Although rhubarb is most often found in pies and crisps, sometimes in breads, and occasionally as a sauce (my favorite), I've also heard of plenty of people eating it raw dipped in sugar. For those that favor this method, there's usually a story about hiding in grandmother's garden among the tall rhubarb leaves, with the sugar bowl.

History and Nutrition:

Wikipedia tells us that rhubarb has been enjoyed for thousands of years in China and Russia. As an import, it's value topped expensive spices like cinnamon in medieval Europe, but it didn't appear in the states until the early eighteen hundreds. Rhubarb's biggest nutritional contribution is Vitamin K (45% of your daily allowance) and Vitamin C (16%). It also tallies up a notable amount of Calcium (10%), Potassium(10%), andManganese (12%), among other nutrients. The leaves are, in fact, poisonous. That's why you will never see them for sale, we always chop them off first.

Recipe: Rhubarb Sauce

New to the flavors of rhubarb? I definitely recommend trying this recipe for Rhubarb Sauce. It's incredibly simple, you get to put it on vanilla ice cream, and it would be impossible to feature the flavor of this unique vegetable to a higher degree.

• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 2 lbs Kirbygrown Rhubarb, trimmed, washed, and cut into small chunks.

Preparation: In a saucepan simmer sugar and water until sugar is dissolved. Add rhubarb and simmer for 15 minutes,  stirring occasionally. Adjust sugar to taste.

Set aside to cool for about twenty minutes, then serve warm over vanilla (or strawberry!) ice cream, or simply in a cup by itself. It's also a great breakfast chilled, with vanilla yogurt.

sauce

Variations: Stir in 1tsp vanilla extract before serving to balance out the rhubarb with some mellow sweetness. For another delicious variation, add 1 cup of fresh, chopped Kirbygrown strawberries or whole raspberries right after you take the sauce off the stove.

If you've tried all of the the usual rhubarb options and you're looking for something new, check out some of the ideas at epicurious. The sweet/sour/savory chutney paired with a pork tenderloin is definitely on my to-do list! Have any favorite uses for rhubarb, or stories of grandma's garden? Let us know, we'd love to hear about it!

Asparagus Season!

History and Nutrition

The brief season of our first vegetable is full of enthusiastic fans, and for good reason! Asparagus has been enjoyed as far back as 3000 B.C, as documented in an Egyptian frieze. Beloved by kings, early physicians, and ancient epicureans alike, asparagus has a lot to offer the modern vegetable eater! 4-5 grams protein and 3 grams of fiber per cup, an excellent source of folic acid and a very good source of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6, not to mention it's high rating on a scale of deliciousness. Grilled, satueed, steamed, boiled, roasted, or broiled asparagus is delicious with just about anything. Beef, chicken, eggs, salads, pasta... The flavor of asparagus pairs especially well with garlic, rosemary, tarragon, thyme and lemon.

Try this simple recipe!

• Cut 1 pound of fresh, rinsed, Kirbygrown asparagus into even pieces.
• Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on medium.
• Add one clove of fresh, minced garlic and saute briefly, then toss in your asparagus.
• Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the asparagus is crisp tender. (My asparagus of medium thickness was done in 8 minutes.)
• Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt or to taste, and serve! I recommend a garnish of chive flowers or purple violas.

Variation: Toss with the juice of 1/2 a lemon.

Storage and Peparation Tips:

1. It's best to use asparagus within a few days of purchasing to get full flavor and nutritional benefits.
2. To store asaparagus, wrap the ends in wet paper towel and then put the entire bunch in a plastic bag. You want to contain a little moisture so the stalks don't get dried out.
3. Asparagus loves growing in the sandy soil of our Ridge Road farm, so make sure you rinse it well to avoid crunching on grains of sand.
4. Break off the white woody end before cooking to remove the fibrous part of the plant that grows under the soil.

More recipes to come!

Field Update 5/9/11

Peaches - Our early peach varieties are in full bloom right now! When you drive by the farm you'll see rows of cloudy pink - those are the peaches and they smell fantastic. Peaches won't be ready until July, but Spring is still a crucial time of year for our peach crop.  A hard frost wiping out thousands of peaches is a very real danger through the month of May, which would mean the end to delicious Kirbygrown peaches for 2011. How can you tell if it gets too cold? The morning after a cold break Mr. Kirby will go out to the orchard and open up a blossom. If the center is black, the fruit has been killed. This is also true of strawberry blossoms. As of this moment our peach crop is looking great - let's hope Mother Nature is kind this season!

Asparagus - On a hot day you can practically watch the asparagus grow. This cold wet Spring we've had so far has slowed it down. Our first picking came in last week but it will be a few days before we pick again. If you're planning to come by for asparagus before the weekend, call ahead to be sure we have it in. We also take orders by phone, which is always a good idea for large quantities (asparagus freezes and pickles well). Check our facebook page for updates!

Rhubarb - we'll be picking some nice big stalks this weekend. Rhubarb pie anyone? Or sauce! Yum.

Spinach & Beets - if we continue to get warm sunshine for a while (cross your fingers!) we'll have spinach and beets in two weeks.

Is CSA Right For You?

CSA Informational Meeting

Wednesday, April 13 at 7:00 pm

Location: Our greenhouse at the Market (map).

We hope you can make it to our first meeting! Topics for discussion include our farming practices and what you can expect from a CSA share with Kirby's. Then we will open the floor to questions! Your feedback will help us make decisions throughout the season, starting with our first meeting.

A few details about our CSA Shares

• There are 50 Shares available
• All produce we grow will be included as permitted by Mother Nature, including fruit!
• Choose a Half Share or a Full Share.
• A share can be paid for in one or two payments.
• Your first payment is required to reserve your share.
• Shares will include additional market benefits.
• Members must commit to picking up their share on Tuesday 1pm - 7pm or Saturday 1pm - 7pm.

We are still in the process of calculating a price. We will publish that information by Friday April 8th.

Click here to visit our page on localharvest.org for more information, including a list of the fruits and vegetables we grow and a description of our farm.  And, if you are new to the idea of Community Supported Agriculture, check out this article at Local Harvest.

Roasted

Wondering what to do with all of these boring winter vegetables?

It was years ago that I first saw a recipe for Roasted Vegetables, and I will always be thankful that I did. Roasting is such a delicious way to add variety to your menu. The results provide the same rich flavor of many less-healthy cooking methods. Plus, just about any vegetable out there is even better when roasted, so you are free to experiment.

The most popular and common combination for my family would be carrots, beets, garlic, onions, and potatoes. Cauliflower, winter squash, turnips, fennel and sweet potatoes are also excellent additions. Even if you only have one of these options, just toss it in a little olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and roast away! There really aren't too many rules. If you would like to have big chunks or wedges instead of cubes, just keep the size uniform and you'll be all set.

You will be amazed at the pile of veggies you end up with after everything is peeled and chopped. Remember that a lot of moisture will be lost in the cooking process so the end result takes up less space. In my experience, it is not unusual for two people to polish off one cookie sheet (about one recipe) of roasted veggies.  Serving them alongside roast chicken with some homemade applesauce makes for a warming, delicious, and nutritious Autumn/winter dinner! And, of course you can get every vegetable you need to make this recipe at Kirby's Farm Market.

Kirby's Favorite Roasted Veggies

1 beet, peeled and cubed

1 onion, cut into small wedges

1 head of garlic, minced

2 potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 medium carrots

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spread in one even layer on a cookie sheet. Try to leave a little space between most of the pieces. The more air flow you have the more caramelization you'll get and that's the yummy part! It is a good idea to use more then one cookie sheet if your veggies create a pile instead of a layer.

Place the cookie sheets in the center of your oven. If you need to place one on a lower rack, be sure to switch them  half way through cooking. Stir your veggies after about 30 minutes. Continue cooking for about 30 minutes more. Keep an eye on them and stir again if necessary. Veggies should be tender and golden brown, the onions nice an caramelized. Remove from oven and serve immediately. (Roasted veggies are wonderful the next day, so you will probably want to make extra.)

Thanksgiving is coming up! Maybe it's time to try something new? Let us know how your experiments turn out!

Upcoming Harvest Weekend

I hope you have a chance to stop in the market sometime soon! Fall is filling every room with beautiful color - you can't help but feel inspired by the season. Inside we have gourds and pumpkins decorating every display, accented with bittersweet and festive Autumn gifts and decor.  Take a stroll through the side door, out into the mum area and explore our new pumpkin display. We had a lot of fun piling over two hundred pumpkins onto crates and straw bales. There are so many unique colors and textures! Bumpy red, grey, tan, stripy green, and warty orange. And my favorite - white with orange and red stripes. You can also purchase beautiful mums, gourds, indian corn, straw bales and cornstalk bundles at the market - everything you need for your own seasonal displays.

Along with the usual activities of Autumn  (it's harvest time! apples everywhere!) we've been busy behind the scenes, planning a big celebration to commemorate 40 years of business here at Kirby's. We just added a new page about the festival to the website. Check it out! Harvest Weekend will be happening on October 23rd and 24th 11am-5pm. There are so many activities to try (almost all of them free!). And we hope you can join us on Sunday night for a special unveiling and anniversary cake. We're looking forward to sharing our 40th Anniversary Party with all of our customers that have made the last 40 years possible!

Pick Your Own Apples at Kirby's

 

Our Pick Your Own Apple Orchard is loaded with fruit right now! As of September 15th there are still some Honeycrisp and Gala out there, with plenty of McIntosh, and Macouns soon to come. Red Delicious, Ida Red, Crispin and Empire are a few other varieties that will be available by early October.

Picking apples is a favorite fall tradition formany of our customers. Heading out to the orchard rain or shine, often with a flock of children in tow, is a great way to experience the farm. We hope you have a chance to try it out for yourself! Apple picking is available whenever the market is open.

The Last Fruits (and Vegetables) of Summer

September is such a beautiful month! Gorgeous skies, brilliant greens and golds, and so much beautiful produce. It is a month that contains the slow blending of summer into Autumn and we see the signs everywhere we look. Fresh sweet corn is piled next to dewy cauliflower and cabbage. The last pecks of Cresthaven peaches fill a table beside rows and rows of apples. Bushels of tomatoes disappear one by one, transformed into jars of brilliantly red sauces and salsas, while pumpkins and gourds appear up on every table.

Today is definitely part of that transition, on the cusp of a new season. Growing up on a farm, I've lived with the urgency of the seasons all my life: savor every bite, and then put it up before it's gone! Because, before too long those cardboard greenhouse tomatoes are all we'll have.

Therefore, I consider it my personal obligation to make sure our customers understand - that this is your final warning. Snow! Sleet! Ice! I would be the last person to disparage winter (I love it!), but there is one thing that winter doesn't have: fresh produce.

Don't miss your last chance on all of these delicious fruits and vegetables: sweet corn, eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers and of course, peaches (there are only about fifteen pecks left!).

But hey, if you've missed out on a crop or two (I only have about two bags of frozen strawberries to look forward to this winter) don't worry yourself too much. They all come right back around again.

Grilled Sweet Corn with Three Butters

Chili Butter:• 1/4 cup butter, softened • 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce • 1 teaspoon sweet chili powder • 1 teaspoon dried oregano • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin • 1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Lime Cilantro Butter• 1/4 cup butter, softened • 3 teaspoons fresh lime juice • 1/4 teaspoon lime zest • 1/4 teaspoon sugar • 3 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Lemon Herb Butter• 1/4 cup butter, softened • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest • 1 tablespoons each fresh, chopped basil, oregano and thyme • 1/8 teaspoon salt

For the Grilled Corn: Heat an outdoor grill or a stovetop grill to high. Peel back husks of corn, but do not remove. Remove all silk from corn and smooth husks back into place. Put each ear under running water to moisten the husk and place directly on grill. Grill, turning occasionally, until kernels soften and husks blacken, 10 to 12 minutes. Pull back husks and serve corn with 1 teaspoon flavored butter.

For each flavored butter: Using a spoon, mix butter with respective ingredients. Roll each into a log shape and wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper. Refrigerate until firm, 2 to 3 hours, then soften to room temperature before serving.

Swiss Chard - Obscure but Tasty!

Swiss Chard is a vegetable I had never heard of until it showed up on the table here at the market a couple years ago.  I'm glad it did, because you can never have too many nutritious powerhouses in your arsenal of healthy greens. We should have it available for the rest of the year, in a beautiful rainbow of colors. _____________________________________________________________________________________

Swiss Chard!

a superstar vegetable

Nutritional Information:

Swiss chard is an excellent source of Iron, Potassium, Vitamins A, Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Manganese, Vitamin E and dietary fiber. It is a very good source of Copper, Calcium, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6 and Protein. (Source: The World's Healthiest Foods, www.whfoods.org Information verified on : www.nutritiondata.com)

How to Cook (about 1lb of Swiss Chard):

Remove stems from leaves. Cut into one inch pieces. Begin sauteing the stems over medium heat with one teaspoon Olive Oil and one clove of minced garlic. Add When the stems become crisp-tender, add the greens with a little water. Cover, and continue cooking until the greens and stems are tender, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, serve & enjoy!

There are many ways to enjoy the benefits of swiss chard . Some of our customer's enjoy swiss chard steamed and dressed with vinegar or lemon, sauteed with tomatoes and bacon, or added to soups, casseroles, and pasta.

The Great Pickle Debate

Arguments may not be as fierce as cat vs dog, superman vs spiderman, or chocolate vs vanilla, but I know more then a few people that get pretty passionate about their pickles.

Sweet or dill?

In my opinion, it's best if sweet pickles are kept very far away to save plenty of room for dill. Ever since I was a little kid, I've been notorious for my love of dill pickles. And there are always plenty around since the Kirby family puts up dozens of jars every year (in fact I'm eating one right now, from this very jar).

However you like your pickles, this is the year to try making them yourself! As with everything else, the season started early and we already have bushels of pickles ready to be partnered with garlic, vinegar and salt. The Ball "Fresh Preserving" website has a great variety of recipes. Instructions are clear and straight forward enough to take all the intimidation out of the process.

Call ahead to place your order for 3-4" pickles or 5-6" pickles. We pick on Wednesday and Friday, so they're available to pick up those days after 3pm or the following day. (585)637-2600

If you're as anxious as I am to bite into a refreshing pickle, here's a recipe that only takes a day or so.

Garlic Fridge Pickles

• 8-10 Kirby pickles, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup of Cider Vinegar
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed

• Put everything but the pickles into a clean, shiny, quart  canning jar. Swirl it all around until the salt melts and everything is nicely combined. Add the pickles. Pack 'em in there (but gently) til the jar is full with an inch to half inch of head space. If the liquid does not cover all of the sliced pickles, top it off with enough cider vinegar to do so. Cover tightly and store in the fridge. Now you have to wait at least four hours to enjoy your pickles, but 12 hours would be better.

Tossing in some other ingredients like a handful of chopped fresh dill leaves, red pepper flakes or a 1/2 tsp of mustard seed would be fun too. This is a pretty loose recipe, so you might find that you have an extra pickle, but when is that a problem? Let us know if you try it out!

Not into pickles? Cucumber salads are a great hot summer day dish (the 90 degree weather this weekend definitely does not motivate us to turn on the stove). Here are a few dozen recipes from tastespotting to inspire you!

Refrigerator Pickles

With all the pickle cucumbers about now I thought I would share a great (and EASY) recipe that my family and friends love. They are crunchy, have terrific flavor, and best of all, NO canning processing is required, so it is quick too! Perfect for our summer meals! Enjoy, Melanie Cullingworth

• 6 Cups thinly sliced pickling cucumbers (about 2 lbs)
• 2 Cups thinly sliced onion
• 1  1/2 Cups white vinegar
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp celery seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground tumeric
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 4 garlic cloves thinly sliced

Place half the sliced cucumbers in a glass baking pan (8-9 square works well) and top with half the onions. Repeat procedure with remaining cucumbers and onions.

Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan and stir well. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour over cucumber mixture, let cool, then cover and chill in refrigerator for at least four days to develop the full flavor. May be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month.