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!

Delicious Days of June: Field Update & Recipe

Things are really picking up speed on the farm! You can practically watch the crops grow with the sunshine and warm temperatures we've been enjoying.

Kirbygrown produce available in the market right now:

• Strawberries
• Edible Pod (Sugar Snap) Peas
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Asparagus
• Rhubarb
• Peppers (field grown in our high tunnel)
• MacIntosh, Empire and Crispin Apples (last years, from CA storage)

We also have locally grown gourmet mixed field greens (that's a delicious mouth full!),  and hothouse tomatoes.

We are expecting regular peas to be here by the weekend in about ten days if the temperatures stay above seventy, and we'll start Pick Your Own peas and strawberries in the next week or so. If you're interested in pick your own, give us a call at (585)637-2600 to check on picking conditions.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Last week, Betty, one of our market salespeople, brought this salad in for us to try. It features two of our favorite early summer ingredients, and was so refreshing that we had to share it with you!

For the Salad

• 1 lb fresh, washed Spinach
• 2 cups sliced Strawberries
• ¼ cup slivered Almonds

For the Dressing

• ½ cup Miracle Whip
• ½ cup Orange Juice concentrate
• 1 Tbsp Honey

Preparation:

Combine Miracle Whip, honey, and orange juice in a small bowl. Set aside.

Tear the spinach into bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl or on individual salad plates. Arrange strawberries on top of spinach. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle with Almonds. Enjoy!

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!

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.

CSA Pricing Options

Last week we met with a small group of people interested in our new CSA program.

It was a wonderful meeting. We had a great time sharing information and then hearing their feedback on several issues that we were still figuring out. A great big thank you to them! Our biggest question was price for a CSA share. With the help of our meeting participants, we came up with several solutions.

We will be accepting membership applications until May 22nd or up to 50 shares, whichever comes first.

>Half or Full Share

From the beginning we have offered a half share or a full share and they are just what they sound like. A Full Share will provide 4-6 people with most of the produce they need for the week. A Half Share will provide 1-3 people with most of the produce they need for the week.

>Make One or Two Payments

We appreciate the difference between paying a small amount each week (normal grocery shopping) and paying for a season of produce all at once. Lighten the load by breaking it up into two payments, one due on May 22^nd, and the second one due by July 22^nd. There is a $5 payment fee (to cover administrative expenses) if you choose two payments. If you choose to pay in full, that payment is due when you register, no later then May 22^nd.

> A Shorter Season

You can purchase a June-October 22 week share (instead of June-November 26 week share). Some people are most interested in the abundance of Summer when they purchase a CSA share. Save some money by purchasing the shorter season... of course your welcome to come in any time for apples, squash, pumpkins, etc, etc.

Click here to view a pdf illustrating examples of what's available to a CSA member throughout the season. Click here for pricing and FAQs.

2011 CSA Pricing

UPDATE: After hearing from our customers we took another look at our prices. We hope the new options available (as listed in this post) make a CSA share a more viable option for you! Prices are corrected below. ____________________________________________________________

Thank you for being patient as we calculated the pricing for our CSA shares. Whew, that's a lot of numbers to crunch!

A Full share will provide 4-6 people with most of the produce they will need for the week. The cost is $650 $625.

*

A Half Share will supply 1-3 people with most of the produce they will need for the week. The cost is $390 $320.

>>Our CSA Meeting is coming up next WEDNESDAY, APril 13th at 7pm. Please come by with your questions and ideas! We can't wait to hear from you.

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.

News! Kirby's CSA Program

We spent this afternoon hammering out the structure of our brand new CSA program. There is still more work to do, but we are all very excited to offer 50 CSA shares! for the 2011 season.

If you don't know much about CSA, (which stands for Community Supported Agriculture) check out the articles at localharvest.org. This is a wonderful site with so much information on what's available from small farms across the country. (We used it when we visited California last year and enjoyed some really fantastic produce.) We've also used it for sourcing locally grown beef and pork. Kirby's has our very own listing, and if you have an opportunity we would love for you to share your experiences at Kirby's by reviewing us on the site. We need to see some green stars on there!

Stay tuned to learn more about Kirby's CSA shares! We'll be posting more details soon. If you have any questions feel free to email or message us on facebook.

Holidays at Kirby's

Kirby's Farm Market is open right up to Christmas. Get ready for the holidays with wonderful gifts and ornaments, quality produce, wreaths, poinsettias and the perfect Christmas tree. And we can help with your last minute shopping on December 24th too! Homegrown and Locally Grown: For the rest of the season we'll have apples, potatoes, onions, cabbage, garlic, and winter squash. Ask us about our apples that have been in special storage to keep them as crisp and juicy as the day they were picked. You don't have to eat soft mealy apples just because it's December.

Decorating for the Holidays: poinsettias! Our greenhouse is full of beautiful holiday color.  We have hundreds of plants in a range of sizes. 4.5" pots are the perfect gift for teachers and friends while 10" pots create an impressive  splash of color for home and office.  Choose traditional red or white, marble (pink and white swirl), jinglebells (red speckled with white) or pink.

Find the perfect Christmas Tree! Take a stroll between the market and the greenhouse where an evergreen forest has sprung up over night. We have over 100 trees to choose from.

We also make our own wreaths in a variety of styles. Our specialty:  luxuriously full wreaths  handmade at Kirby's with mixed greens; artfully arranged holly, cedar, pine, fir and eucalyptus create a truly unique display. For those with an interest in holiday sparkle, we have wreaths decorated in combinations of  red, gold, silver, blue, green and white. Or just plain, sweet-smelling greens with a bow. Talk to us about having a wreath made for your home - we would be happy match the holiday theme of your choice.

Open til December 24th!

Like us on FACEBOOK to keep up to date on our end of the year specials and sales!

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!

Harvest Weekend Schedule of Events

In addition to scheduled events and demonstrations, we have Live Music, Local Artisans selling their wares, Food, Games, a Scavenger Hunt, Wagon Rides, and A Homegrown Dessert Contest!  Rain or shine! Click here for details. SATURDAY

11:00 : Festival Opens!

11-5 : Cordwood Masonry Demonstration with Peter Turkow of Rochester Green Living

11-2 : Dry Stone Masonry Demonstration with Scott George

11:30 : Pottery Demonstration with Deborah Wilson

1:30 : Soap making Demonstration with Nanny Naturals

2:00 : Drum Circle

2:30 : Pottery Demonstration with Deborah Wilson

3:00 : Test the Farmer

4:00 : Soap making Demonstration with Nanny Naturals

5:00 : Festivities end until tomorrow, rain or shine!

7pm : Market closes for the day.

SUNDAY

11:00 : Festival Opens!

11-2 : Dry Stone Masonry Demonstration with Scott George

11:30 : Pottery Demonstration with Deborah Wilson

1:30 : Soap making Demonstration with Nanny Naturals

2:00 : Drum Circle

2:30 : Pottery Demonstration with Deborah Wilson

3:00 : Test the Farmer

4:00 : Soap making Demonstration with Nanny Naturals

5:00 : Special Unveiling

5:15 : Please join us for cake and refreshments to celebrate our 40^th anniversary!

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.

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!

June Produce

Almost everything is early this year so we have to keep you informed! That warm weather early this Spring gave everything a little bit of a head start.

• Cherries: in the market since 6/20, we'll have sweet cherries for several weeks yet. Sour cherries will be here before July, we hope. A little later and with a shorter season then sweet, you definitely want to catch some before they're gone. We like to eat them fresh, make some into a cobbler and of course... cherry pie!

• Strawberries: I picked a few quarts this afternoon and there are plenty of big beautiful berries out there.  If you're not interested in picking your own, we have plenty in the market already picked.

• Lettuce: fresh Kirbygrown lettuce is so tender and crisp. (I have been tempted to eat an entire head for lunch on more then one occasion, dressed simply in a cider vinagrette). Red leaf, green leaf and buttercruch!

• Peas: Sweet and Edible Pod are here at the moment. Our second planting is just getting started.

• Coming soon: zucchini, summer squash, early peaches.

As always, call ahead if you're coming for a specific item! You never know when we might sell out of something and we don't want anyone to be disappointed. Feel free to place an order by phone or in person ahead of time and if it's in the field we'll have it ready to go at any time, on any day.