Dear MMN Participant, 

In this issue we have the third and final installment of our series on foraging. We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about the edible plants growing in our community. 
 

As fall approaches, we’re thinking about apples, pumpkins and all kinds of squashes. See below for lots of information on apple picking in our area! 

FOCUS ON FORAGING 
From Meatless Monday Needham's Rebecca Waber

September offers lots to forage and some new flavors to explore!

Earlier this month I found a vine heavy with dark purple grapes, and I smelled it before I even saw it- a smell that I associate with "artificial" grape flavor since grocery store grapes hardly even have an odor. With a bit of effort to remove the seeds and skins I made a fantastic grape sauce I'm eating with yogurt or oatmeal. The wild grape season is winding down here, but you should still be able to find some if you look soon.

Finding it: You can identify grape vines with the distinctive shape of the leaves and vines — see picture. Note that at least half of vines are male and will never bear fruit. To make sure you have found grapes and not the one toxic lookalike, Canadian Moonseed (which I've never seen, but just to be safe), check the seeds. Grapes have several oval or egg shaped seeds while moonseed apparently has a single seed like a crescent moon. 

Autumn olives: Not an olive! These are actually fun, prolific little berries from an invasive species. Walking around earlier this month, I found dozens of ripe bushes. They taste sweet and tart, and get sweeter in cooler weather. I like the taste, and it isn't really like anything you've had before. Since it's a new ingredient, I'm trying to figure out what I like best to do with it. I'm playing around with drying some and trying to make a jam out of others.  
Finding it: The bushes have a silver sheen to the underside of the leaves. The berries start green, turn yellow, and then are ripe when deep red. They also have a pretty silver speckle on them. Inside they have a single seed. 

Black walnuts: Lots of people have these trees in their yard or neighborhood and think of them as  a nuisance, but did you know you can eat them? These green balls are the fruit- not the part we eat. But inside, there's a pit that can be dried and then cracked open to reveal a walnut. The flavor is stronger and a little more bitter than the English walnuts we get in stores. Opening the shells is really difficult, but I think it's worth it to collect a few and add to something like a zucchini bread for an earthy flavor. 
Finding it: Just keep your eyes open around Needham. The actual nuts can be high up in the tree, so pick them if you're able, or get them from the ground as soon as you can after they fall.

Have fun! Let us know what recipes you invent; we’d love to see them posted on our Facebook page!

APPLE PICKING

The Boston Globe recently ran a feature on apple orchards in New England. People have been growing apples here for almost 400 years, and our trees produce about 200 varieties. Orchards grow different varieties to appeal to different tastes, but also to extend the season with early and late ripening fruit. 

Many local farms offer pick-your-own options in the fall. This year, area growers predict a bumper crop of large, tasty apples! Happily, the Globe printed a companion article with an interactive map of Massachusetts pick-your-own orchards. 

Different size bags allow different numbers of people to enter the orchard. The most common bag sizes are one peck, which holds about 10 pounds of apples, and one-half bushel, which holds about 20 pounds. (A bushel is four pecks. Are you wondering why the bag sizes aren’t one peck and two peck? We are, too.) 

Some farms have other attractions in addition to the pick-your-own - fresh cider donuts, farm stands, hayrides, mazes, etc. Your “entry ticket” bag usually gives you access to all of the amenities on the farm.

Below is some basic info on area farms, with distances approximated from the center of town. Check the websites if you’d like more specifics, such as which varieties are available to pick on a particular day. 
 

Belkin Family Lookout Farm, Natick - 5 miles

• Half peck bag (about 5 pounds of apples), $20, required for each person age 4 and up
• Cider donuts
• Farm stand
• Additional food options
• Note: Train transportation and the Barnyard Play area are not available in 2021

Dowse Orchards, Sherborn - 9 miles

• Half peck bag, $18; one peck bag, $30; half bushel bag, $45 (no group size limits)
• Farm stand
   

Sunshine Farm, Sherborn - 10 miles

• One peck bag, $30, two people; half bushel bag, $45, four people
• Farm stand & greenhouse
• Ice cream
   

Tangerini’s Spring Street Farm, Millis - 12 miles

• One peck bag, $32, two people; half bushel bag, $45, four people
• Ice cream
• Farm stand 
• Other food options
   

Fairmount Fruit Farm, Franklin - 15 miles

• Quarter peck bag, $8, one person; one peck bag, $27, two adults and two children; half bushel bag, $37, three adults and two children

Honey Pot Hill Orchards, Stow - 20 miles

• One peck bag, $22, three people; half bushel bag, $33, five people
• Hayrides and hedge maze on the weekends
• Cider donuts
• Farm store
• Farm animals
   

Shelburne Farm, Stow - 21 miles

• One peck bag, $29, three people; half bushel bag, $41, five people
• Cider donuts
• Hayrides (additional $3/person)
• Playground 
• Orchard story walk
• Farm animals
• Food trucks and other food options
   

Carver Hill Orchard, Stow - 22 miles

• One peck bag, $29, three people; half bushel bag, $41, five people
• Farm store
• Cider donuts on the weekend
• Concession stand
   

If you don’t have the time or inclination to pick your own apples, Volante Farms offers a wide selection every fall, typically more than 25 varieties! Their apples come from farms in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. 

LOCAL NEWS AND EVENTS

Needham Harvest Fair

The Needham fall Harvest Fair is returning to the Town Common on Sunday October 3, 2021 from noon-4pm in conjunction with the Needham Farmers Market. Meatless Monday Needham will be there (look for us at the League of Women Voters table), along with Needham-based retailers, restaurants and other non-profits. Visit the fair to check out new and returning businesses and learn about what’s happening in our community! 

Sierra Club - Plant-based Cooking Demonstration

The Massachusetts Sierra Club Plant-based Planet Team is hosting a plant-based cooking demonstration on Sunday, September 26, 6pm. Click here to sign up.

• 1 cup pearled barley
• 2 cups cooked corn (best is fresh or Trader Joe’s frozen corn in a bag)
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced (removing seeds optional)
• 2 shallots, minced (shallots come in a variety of sizes, use the equivalent to about half a small onion)
• 1/4 cup safflower oil
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (can use white or cider)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (use as much as you like)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Boil 3 cups water. Add barley. Reduce heat and simmer, cover and cook until tender, about forty-five minutes. Drain and cool.
2. In large salad bowl, combine barley, cooked corn, cucumber and shallots.
3. Prepare dressing by mixing in a jar and shaking: oil, vinegar, garlic, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Pour over salad and toss. 

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to see dishes prepared by your Needham neighbors and to share yours!