Sometimes it seems like all I write about is crazy weather. We had more of it last week. Another doozy of a storm hit the farm, no wind this time but 11-12 inches of rain fell between 4 pm on Tuesday and 4 pm on Wednesday. There was a narrow band of rain that sat over our part of Columbia County for those 24 hours. Torrential downpours fell for hours. I haven’t experienced that kind of rain in the last 27 years I have been on this land. (Or if I did, I have blocked it out.) The rain would briefly stop and we would hope that was the end of the storm and then a bit later the rain would start again.

We were out in the thick of rain storm Wednesday morning to harvest for the NYC CSA shares. The rain filling the walking paths between our beds spilled into our high rubber boots. The raincoats and pants weren’t doing much to keep us dry. By 8 am we had already received 8 inches of rain. The forecast the day before said we could get up to 3 inches. Harvesting carrots for the share was out of the question by then. In preparation for the rain we had attempted to harvest the carrots on Tuesday but the ground was so dry then we couldn't get our carrot harvester to dig into the ground.

By Wednesday evening all the fields were puddled with rain. But the creek was still in its banks. That changed over night and the creek flooded the farm roads in and out of the lower fields, the low hayfields, and our silage corn for our cattle. But the field with the fall brassicas was an island, just high enough to stay out of the flood waters. We were lucky that the 11 inches of rain didn’t fall north of us or all of our lower fields would have been under the Kinderhook Creek. Farming friends south of us and in the Catskills suffered creek flooding despite “only" getting 5 to 6 inches of rain.

There are still rain puddles in our lower brassica field. We are pretty sure one planting of broccoli and napa cabbage is a total loss. The other broccoli, cauliflower, fall kale and cabbage are looking ok today but we will see how they fare sitting in the rain soaked soil. When the soil is this drenched with rain the plant roots can rot. We had planting beds prepared for 3 more acres of fall brassica plantings. Now we will have to move these future plantings to other parts of the farm that are drier. We will start that as soon as it dries out enough because of course it rained again this morning. Keri re-seeded some quick growing brassicas in the greenhouse on Saturday and Sunday to replace the ones we will lose. We will direct seed extra greens into the dry fields once we can make beds. We are planting oats this week to make up for the cattle feed we will most likely lose.

The beets and carrots were looking beautiful and weed free but this morning are looking a little worse for the wear from the downpours of rain. The peppers are a bit beat up, the melons aren’t so happy, and the tomatoes are a little sad, too.. Hopefully they recover over this week as it looks to be sunny and dry. It’s still too early to really tell how much damage the storm caused. But it could have been so much worse. We learned after Hurricane Irene to plant just one of the lower fields in vegetables and to never put things like tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc down there. Other farms were completely wiped out, greenhouses and farm stores under water, or lost wagons of plants down the creek. We will recover and replant. Shares may look a little different than we planned but they will still be abundant. ~Jody

Harvesting peppers in the pouring rain on Wednesday morning.

Rain puddles in the brassica field.

COOKING TIPS AND RECIPES

Tomatillos: store in the fridge for a longer term storage or on your counter if you will use them quickly. Keep them in the husks until you are ready to cook them. De-husk and rinse when you are ready to use them.

Sweet corn: keep in the husk until you are ready to cook. Some of you will get a blue and white variety this week and some will get the yellow and white. Store in the fridge in the crisper drawer. You only need to steam the sweet corn for 1 or 2 minutes before you eat it.

Roasted Eggplant Sandwich

1 medium eggplant (1 ½ pounds total), stem trimmed, cut crosswise into 1-inch rounds (about 12 slices)

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce or tamari

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

5 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 carrot, peeled and julienned

2 radishes, julienned

1 cucumber, thinly sliced

1 loaf soft French bread

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 jalapeño, thinly sliced

½ cup packed fresh cilantro leaves or small sprigs

Sprinkle eggplant slices generously with salt; arrange on a wire rack set over a baking sheet. Let stand 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels. In a bowl, stir together soy sauce, lime juice, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 tablespoon sugar, and garlic.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange eggplant in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush both sides of eggplant with oil. Roast, flipping halfway, until golden brown and very tender, about 30 minutes. Brush both sides of eggplant with soy mixture; continue roasting until caramelized, 7 to 10 minutes more.

Meanwhile, toss together carrot, radishes, cucumber, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 4 tablespoons vinegar and 1 teaspoon sugar.

Slice bread into quarters and halve lengthwise. Spread mayonnaise on cut sides and top with roasted eggplant, pickled vegetables, jalapeño, and cilantro. Serve immediately. www.marthastewart.com

COMING IN NEXT WEEK: head lettuce, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, hot peppers, scallions, cucumbers, cantaloupe, and Carmen sweet peppers. (share items may vary slightly by site depending on what is available in the field.)

FRUIT: Peaches

Full Share: head lettuce, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes or slicing tomatoes, zucchini or summer squash, eggplant, bell peppers, cantaloupe, sweet corn, potatoes, poblano peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and swiss chard (Contents may vary slightly by site.)

Small Share: head lettuce, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, carrots, sweet corn, cucumbers, and cantaloupe. (Contents may vary slightly by site.)

The Kinderhook Creek flooding the lower farm road.

Enchilada Suizas Sauce.

5 tomatillos

1 jalapeno (or serrano)

½ white onion

2 garlic cloves

10-12 sprigs cilantro

1 poblano

1 cup chicken stock

¼ cup heavy cream

De-husk and rinse the tomatillos. De-stem them as well. Roast the tomatillos and poblano in the oven at 400F for around 25-30 minutes.

Cut off the stem and de-seed the roasted poblano. You can also remove any loose bits of skin. Add it to a blender along with the tomatillos, 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 10-12 sprigs of cilantro, and 1/2 of a jalapeno pepper. Pulse blend and taste for heat level, adding the other half of the jalapeno if you want more heat.

Heat a glug of oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the green sauce from the blender and simmer for a few minutes.  Add 1 cup chicken stock and 1/4 cup heavy cream to the mixture. Use in your favorite enchilada recipe as the sauce. www.mexicanplease.com