The crew has shrunk drastically over the last few weeks. Karen had her last day on the 7th. She'll probably be managing a farm or an assistant manager next season. Evita is en route to her home in Ecuador where she'll be busy working on her family's tomato farm. Israel, Alia, and Kim are all working part time for the farm. Nate and I are beginning to do forestry work and fix tractors, trucks, and all the other equipment we use/abuse during the growing season. There are several projects that we'll be looking for volunteers to help with over the winter. The most pressing is to build another greenhouse. Another big project is to plant an acre of blueberry bushes. If you have any interest in helping out, please send me an e-mail. I create a volunteer list and contact you when we have dates in mind. 

 

Please come by and visit the farm. We're still harvesting tons of veggies (spinach, lettuce, greens, carrots, beets, leeks, turnips, kale). We have hot soup and are open Wed - Sun from 9am - 5pm through the end of December. 

 

If you haven't completed the survey, please send it in soon. It only takes a few minutes to complete and we take your comments very seriously. Every year we make changes to the farm based upon suggestions from our members. If you have an idea on how to make this farm better, let us know.

We will be holding a special Thanksgiving Share for those not already members of our winter co-op.  The price is $40 and will include Cape Cod Cranberries, Celery, Apples, Yams or Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Winter Squash, Pie Pumpkins, Spinach or some kind of greens plus about three other items.  Pick up will be your choice of Nov 16th, 17th, 18th, 20th or 21st from 9am - 5pm.  Please email us at organicfarmer@comcast.net or stop by the farmstand to sign up.  The deadline for signing up is this Thursday, Nov 15th.

 

 

Cooking a Natural Turkey: We recommend that you purchase a simple instant read cooking thermometer.  This will give you the most accurate read for the best cooking temperature for the bird. Do not leave the thermometer in the turkey.

Preheat oven to 375oF.  Season cavity and outside of the bird with salt and pepper or poultry rub, fill with a peeled, quartered onion, cut up celery then place the bird in a large roasting pan with one cup of water or more depending on size of turkey. Then truss the turkey by tying the legs together and place in pan and continue. Brush outside of the bird with melted butter or cooking oil and place in oven. Reduce temperature to 325oF after 45 minutes and continue cooking, basting 2-3 times throughout the cooking process. Cover bird with a tin foil tent for the last hour. Ten to fifteen minutes per pound is the recommended roasting time (If stuffed, add 30 minutes). The temperature check can be done in the deepest part of the breast 170oF, the thigh 180oF). Remove from oven and place on warm platter then allow 15 minutes to finish cooking with tin foil cover still on, then serve.

Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity. Soak the turkey in the above solution, mixing as much as you need to fully submerge it. Place the container in the refrigerator for approximately 4 hours. If you prefer to brine overnight, reduce the salt to 1/2 cup salt per gallon of water. If using Kosher salt, you will need to double the quantity used since it is less dense than table salt. Brining may produce saltier pan gravy than you prefer, so when making gravy from brined drippings, be sure to use low-sodium broth.  If brining your turkey, we do not recommend stuffing it, since the stuffing will absorb too much salt.