2011 CSA Week 13

I can't remember: Is thirteen an unlucky number, or is it lucky? The thirteenth week of this year's CSA has so far identified itself as neither one nor the other. No one has fallen in the well. We didn't find treasure while harvesting the beans. Nothing has been spooky. We have continued to work in fields that have been unable to fully dry between inputs of rain, and although at their wettest they are a slog to traverse, from amidst their patches of standing water and banks of weeds spread in green occlusion across soil too wet too cultivate we have continued to harvest a diversity of crops appropriate for the month of August. Our tasks have continued their seasonal progression: In the greenhouse we sowed the last seeds of the season nearly six months after sowing the first, and the rate at which we transplant seedlings to our fields has slowed to a near-trickle. We have enjoyed the mild temperatures, the clear air today has been a glimpse of autumn, and after a day of work I have sat down at the library with not a clue what to write in this space. A week so ordinary is indicative of the fact that our routines at this time of year have settled; the rhythm of our days is pleasant and knowable, and we practice active enjoyment of the unremarkable.

The share this week:

Lettuce

Summer Squash
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Purple Filet Beans
Sweet Corn
Scallions
Parsley

Notes about the food:

* We did not grow the corn that is offered in this week's share. This was true last year as well, and I'll basically reiterate what I wrote at that time: Because it uses a lot of space for a relatively scant yield, corn is a tricky crop for small-scale farmers. Each corn plant, planted at 1-foot intervals the length of a bed, will grow to be nearly eight feet tall and will produce only one ear of corn. The plant feeds heavily from the soil to attain its height, and it offers little in return. A single ear of corn does not sell for much money, which means that a full bed of corn will use far more of the farm's resources (soil fertility, human labor, etc.) than it is worth. For these reasons and for the space constraints to which we would subject ourselves if we grew enough corn for the CSA, we decided not to grow our own corn. That said, in the CSA model the value of a crop is more than its direct monetary worth: Each distinct crop that we grow adds diversity to the CSA as a whole, and enhances the experience of the subscribers. And because corn is something that we feel safe assuming people like to eat during the summer, we decided to buy corn from a local retailer and offer it in three weeks worth of CSA shares, beginning this week and continuing for the two weeks that follow. This year we are purchasing sweet corn in bulk from Russo's in Watertown. (http://www.russos.com) What you need to know about this corn is that unlike everything we grow ourselves (that is, everything else in the CSA shares) it has not been grown using organic methods. The difficulties I mentioned with corn are slightly abated by the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. They skip some of the steps of soil building and weed management that require so much time on an organic farm, and therefore allow the farmer a slightly improved (again--only slightly) profit on the crop. Because of the quantity we are buying, it is easier for us to source corn grown using non-organic methods.

So: The corn is not organically grown, but we are happy to be supporting a local business, and we're proud to be able to offer corn this year from Russo's. If you are uncomfortable with the contradictory growing methods the corn represents, don't feel obliged to take it. Like I said, the corn is a bonus that we wanted to offer to any of our members who want it, and the monetary value of your share will not be affected if you decline. We're interested in any feedback you have about this issue. Please feel free to leave a comment on this blog or send an email to doverfarmcsa@gmail.com.

* The presence of eggplant in this week's share represents a small triumph. From the beginning of their lives in our fields the the plants were beset upon by a variety of insect pests, and for a while their growth was so stunted and their leaves so ragged that we considered the possibility of having no eggplant to harvest this season. We intensified our focus on the health of these plants: We added fertility to the soil so that they might produce new growth and overcome their damage; we repeatedly cleared the planting beds of weeds that we suspected were creating habitat for harmful insects and using more than their share of resources; and we spent more time than we would have liked removing potato beetles by hand. As a result of these efforts, or as a result of an innate vegetable resiliency, the plants survived and have grown to an admirable size. And the eggplant itself is copious and lovely. We're relieved.

Two recipes to get you started, the first from allrecipes, the second from Gourmet:

Baba Ghanoush

1 eggplant

1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast it for 30-40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft. Remove from oven and place in a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water and peel skin.

Place eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seed and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant to medium-sized mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for three hours before serving.

Eggplant Bruschette

1 baguette

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 garlic cloves, whole clove left unpeeled
1 small eggplant
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Put oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 375.

Cut off and discard one end of baguette, then cut 12 (1/4-inch-thick) crosswise slices from baguette. Lightly brush one side of each slice with oil (about 1 tablespoon total) and arrange, oiled sides up, on a baking sheet. Toast until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. While toasts are still warm, rub oiled sides with cut side of garlic clove half, then transfer to a rack to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350.

Halve eggplant lengthwise shallow 1/2-inch long incisions all over cut sides with tip of a paring knife. Arrange eggplant, cut sides up (without crowding), in a shallow baking dish and add unpeeled garlic clove. Sprinkle thyme, rosemary, oregano, sea salt, and pepper over eggplant, then drizzle eggplant and garlic with 2 tablespoons oil.

Bake until garlic is very tender, 30-35 minutes, then transfer garlic to a cutting board and continue to bake eggplant until very tender, 20-25 minutes more. When garlic is cool, squeeze flesh from peel on cutting board.

Transfer eggplant to cutting board and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes. Scrape out flesh with a spoon onto cutting board, discarding peel. Finely chop eggplant and garlic together and transfer to a bowl. Add parsley and remaining tablespoon oil, then stir until combined well. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Top toasts with eggplant mixture and sprinkle with cheese.

* I like the latter of those recipes because it includes a lot of herbs. Perhaps you saw the New York Times Magazine two Sundays ago in which the food column was devoted to herbs, with special attention paid to parsley. I read the article, and I felt less alone in the world. It included this recipe:

Lemony Parsley-and-Egg Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion chopped
4 cups parsley
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock
salt and black pepper
4 eggs
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream, optional
Sour cream for garnish, optional

Put the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When it melts, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the parsley and cook, stirring occasionally, until it wilts, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in half the stock.

Puree the soup in the pan with an immersion blender, or cool slightly, pour into an upright blender, and puree carefully. Return to the pan with the remaining stock. Heat through over medium-low heat, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Beat together the eggs and lemon juice, then slowly add about 1 cup of the hot soup, whisking all the while. Gradually stir the egg mixture back into the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then stir in the cream if you're using it, or serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream, if you like.

2011 CSA Week 7

The heat and dry conditions felt sudden last week, but we have since had a decent rainfall and time to come to terms with the fact that it is, after all, July. Before last week I had since March 1st ridden my bike to the farm every workday but one. Riding not without a significant tendency toward distraction and wobble, laden with soil from the farm and wearing a backpack over-filled with vegetables, singing top-40 radio hits in my head and sort of out loud, thinking of myself as a solitary, begrimed counterpoint to the spandex-clad pelotons that populate Dover roads, it could be obstinacy--a simple pleasure congealed to compulsion--that kept me uncovered on the occasionally cold and wet days of our extended spring, but whatever the reason you'll know that the single day I chose to drive was particularly inclement. I think of it now because it was the day in early April on which we planted the beets that were in the share this week and last. We worked that morning in a cold, unremitting rain, transplanting the beets one at a time into soil saturated by water enough that we could call it mud and watch it harden in the following days to a slick crust hardly conducive to the production of healthy plants. We dried ourselves at intervals by the woodstove and completed our work with a semi-useful stubbornness, and the beets eventually overcame their disadvantageous origin and found their way in the compacted ground. Their harvest during this first week of summer weather reminds me of their beginning, and of the fact that however jarring the sudden arrival of this season may feel it is inextricable from the season past, stitched to it by the work we began in April and continue today. We've followed a thread through sucking a mud and a cold day that would keep anyone off their bike, and here we are: a warm month and an abundant harvest.

The share this week:

Lettuce

Red Russian Kale

Rainbow Chard

Collard Greens

Red Beets

Napa or Green Cabbage

Summer Squash or Zucchini

Fennel

Green Beans

Sugar Snap Peas

Cinnamon Basil

Parsley

Spring Onions

Raspberries

Notes about the food:

* Parsley, which for the purpose of this week's photo shoot I have inexplicably situated on top of a toy wooden bus, is another one of my favorite things we grow. Although it is often relegated to the role of garnish, I insist there is no shame in enjoying it--stems and all--as a stand-alone snack or prominent component of any meal. But, because I suspect you are unlikely to share with me the lonely joy of eating a full bunch of parsley like it's a candy bar, I am including two recipes that are not shy about the fact that parsley is an intensely nutritious, intensely flavorful dark leafy green that deserves better than use as a neglected scrap alongside your hamburger. The first is from The Food Network, the second from a 2003 issue of Gourmet:

Parsley Salad

4 ounces Italian parsley

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest

6 tablespoons walnut oil

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

1 teaspoon honey

salt and freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Wash and dry the parsley. Remove leaves from stems and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, zest, walnut oil, sesame oil, honey, and salt and pepper, to taste. Add the parsley and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving so that the flavors to meld.

Beet and Parsley Salad

2 medium beets without greens

1 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon sugar, or to taste

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Trim and peel raw beets, then cut into very thin slices. (If you have one, a mandoline is the best kitchen tool for this.)

Toss beets with parsley, salt, sugar, and pepper in a serving bowl until sugar is dissolved. Add oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle vinegar on salad and toss again. Serve immediately.

* The first thing to know about fennel is that its taste is reminiscent of black licorice. When used as a garnish, the fronds will imbue any dish with this flavor, and a small amount of them will go a long way. The licorice taste is more subtle in the bulb, and will be affected by cooking. The bulb is versatile: it adds crunch when chopped into salad, it is easily sauteed or baked, and it is delicious when lightly glazed with olive oil and grilled. I hope you'll experiment freely. For more involved recipes that incorporate fennel, as well as beets, chard, and kale, consider the following soups:

Beet and Fennel Soup with Kefir

From Bon Appetit, January 2011

Note: Kefir is a drink that looks and tastes like yogurt, usually made from cow's milk or goats milk. It's in the dairy section. Can't find it? Substitute plain yogurt. I think this soup is also good served cold.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped fennel bulb

1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds

2 large beets, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups low-salt chicken broth

1 cup unflavored kefir

Additional unflavored kefir

Fennel fronds (for garnish)

Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion, chopped fennel, and fennel seeds. Saute until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add cubed beets and stir to coat. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until beets are tender, 18-20 minutes. Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to same saucepan. Whisk in 1 cup unflavored kefir and season soup with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Rewarm soup, but don't boil.

Ladle soup into bowls. Drizzle with additional unflavored kefir; garnish with fennel fronds.

Barley Soup with Greens, Fennel, Lemon, and Dill

From Bon Appetit, February 2010

4 cups water

8 cups vegetable broth

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus additional for sprinkling

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus additional for drizzling

3 cups chopped onion

8 cups coarsely chopped kale leaves (one 7-ounce bunch)

6 cups coarsely chopped chard leaves (one 7-ounce bunch)

5 cups spinach leaves (about 5 ounces)

3/4 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup chopped fresh dill

1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel fronds

3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 7-ounce package feta cheese, crumbled

Bring 4 cups water, 2 cups broth, barley and 1 teaspoon sea salt to boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with sea salt, and saute until golden brown, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Add sauteed onions and remaining 6 cups broth to pot with barley.

Add kale and chard to soup. Simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes. Add spinach, green onions, dill, fennel fronds, and mint; simmer 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Season soup with sea salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice, thinning with more broth, if desired.

Divide soup among bowls. Sprinkle each with feta cheese, drizzle with oil, and serve.

* We are introducing the summer squash and zucchini slowly. The plants have begun to produce enough for the CSA, but barely. Beginning this week we'll harvest everything and divide it among the shares, and as the summer continues the plants will produce more and they will be joined by a second succession of everything squash-related, so don't feel antagonized if you receive as few as 1 squash per share this week--more are on the way. I'll provide further notes about the varieties we are growing as their abundance increases.

Miscellaneous Notes:

* Have you been to the movies recently? I saw The Tree of Life last weekend, and I've hardly stopped thinking about it since. If you think that ours might be a world in which gain and loss are constant and simultaneous, and that any accounting of such things must consider equally the cosmically-scaled and the infinitesimal, you might enjoy this movie. Anyway, it's something we can talk about while you collect your vegetables, if you want.

CSA Week 17

It's the equinox, the second time this year neither light nor dark has been stifled in favor of the other. We lose a few minutes of daylight each day, and to arrive at the farm when the sun rises is to arrive each day a few minutes later. The extra sleep is mandated by the season, and we appreciate it. When the sun does rise its light is soft and the air is cold, but it is a cold unique to the season, a cold that contains within itself the assurance of future warmth. These are the cold mornings of warm days, conditions that exist in measure as equal as the light and the dark and invigorate because they do not threaten permanence. For those of us who felt diminished during the hottest parts of summer, exposed by the brightness and enervated by the humidity, the gentle daily fluctuation is soothing. It's certainly worth another opening paragraph about the weather.

Here is what's in the share this week:

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Carrots

Collard Greens

Swiss Chard

Lettuce

Parsley

Sweet Peppers

Hot Peppers

Garlic

Scallions

Husk Cherries

*During college I would often retreat to the home of my friends Mary and George. There, I could spend an autumn day doing schoolwork in the warmth of a household not at all reminiscent of the nearby campus, and I could end the day with a home-cooked meal. On at least one of these occasions I arrived to the sight and smell of tomatoes simmering on each of the stove top's four burners. George, who is an excellent cook, was making tomato sauce and tomato soup in quantities appropriate to freeze for the winter, and I spent the day in the midst of their preparation, in a haze of tomato-based aroma. With this in mind I called George and asked for tips and recipes concerning all things tomato. You're advised to heed his suggestions:

George Ferger's Tomato Soup

The quantities given here are for a 3-quart (medium-sized) saucepan. When I make this soup, I generally do so with the idea of freezing it in pint and/or quart containers for the winter, so I triple the measurements, filling the three pans in stages as I work through the cooking process. On a personal note, I like to save time so I am not fussy about tomato skins. I never skin a tomato I plan to cook. I do however at least slice each tomato open to be sure nothing objectionable is inside (you never know--one summer every 30th or so plum tomato had a moldy growth buried in its core). Most of the time I blend the cooked mixture once it has cooled sufficiently. If you want a coarser texture in a soup, dice everything a bit finer so any bits of skin will be unobtrusive. That will take longer, of course; a second strategy to add texture is to blanch diced vegetables (zucchini or yellow summer squash, bell peppers, etc.) in boiling water for a minute and then drain and add them to the blended tomato mixture. The times mentioned are for fresh organic vegetables. In my experience, they require less cooking time than most store-bought produce. Note: the bulghur acts to thicken the soup mixture. Tomatoes vary in their juiciness so you may need more or less. If the mixture is too thin, just add a bit more bulghur--it cooks in minutes. If the mixture is too thick, just add a bit of water. This can even be done at the blending stage if necessary.

2+ quarts coarsely chopped tomatoes

1 large onion, chopped

2 chopped carrots

3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt + black pepper to taste

2 heaping Tbsp medium-coarse bulghur

other diced vegetables of one's choosing

1/2 cup each chopped fresh herbs (basil, dill, parsley) or 1 tsp each dried

1-3 fresh hot peppers, chopped, or crushed chili flakes to taste, or cayenne or tabasco, or a jar of salsa (if desired)

Saute the onions and carrots over medium heat in the olive oil for a few minutes, then turn down the heat and stir in the garlic. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir frequently. Add all the other ingredients and cook for about another 20 minutes. (Total cooking time should be less than an hour.)

George's Tomato Sauce

This recipe is similar to the one in The Victory Garden Cookbook (Fall Freezer Tomato Sauce). Like the soup recipe above, feel free to either make the sauce smooth or coarse in texture. The same methods as above apply.

2 1/2+ quarts chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large chopped onion

3 cloves minced garlic

1 chopped carrot

1 1/3 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cans organic tomato paste (6 oz. can)

1 tsp each of these dried herbs: thyme, oregano, basil. And powdered bay leaf is fabulous if you can get it. If you use fresh herbs instead of dried, throw them in by the handful.

1 tsp salt + black pepper to taste

1-3 hot fresh peppers, chopped, if desired, or a jar of salsa (I like the medium hot), or cayenne or tabasco to taste. Some people may want to cut back on the herbs mentioned if you want the sauce spicy.

Saute the onions and carrots in the oil for a few minutes, then stir in the garlic. Turn heat to low and stir in the tomatoes. Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add herbs / salt / pepper / spices and stir. Drop the tomato paste in the center of the simmering mixture and blend it with a fork, then stir everything well. After it has all simmered slowly for a total of 45 minutes or so, turn off and let cool before blending and placing in freezer containers. If you like, add diced vegetables for variety and texture, stirring them into blended mixture after it has cooled a bit. Bell peppers and summer squash don't need to be cooked before freezing. Cut green beans (for example) will need blanching from 1-3 minutes, depending on their size.

*I have an inordinate affection for parsley. I eat it like a main course, but maybe you don't, and maybe you're wondering to do with it. Try this dip from Epicurious, it's easy:

Chick-Pea, Garlic, and Parsley Dip

a 19-oz. can of chick peas, rinsed and drained (about 2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, chopped and mashed to paste with 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves, washed and spun dry

1/4 cup water

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In food processor blend all ingredients except oil until smooth. With motor running add oil in slow stream. Season dip with salt.

*Pumpkins are available for sale at the farm stand. They are divided into three categories of size, and they're priced to sell. What you see is what's available--when they're gone they're gone, so consider us for all your pumpkin-related needs, and don't wait to celebrate the coming of autumn and "harvest season".

*You probably remember Krapp's Last Tape. It is good equinox literature, although in the play it's vernal:

Hm...Memorable...what? (He peers closer.) Equinox. Memorable equinox. (He raises his head, stares blankly front. Puzzled.) Memorable equinox? (Pause. He shrugs his shoulders, peers again at ledger, reads.)

CSA Week 7

I was once told by a friend with whom I was in regular written correspondence that I wrote beautiful letters, but that they were only about the weather. The second half of that claim was likely true: I have been working in the outdoors for many years, and when a person spends the majority of their time under the sky it is easy to become fixated on all things atmospheric. As farmers, we are especially attuned to fluctuations of temperature and precipitation not only because they affect the success of our work, but because, like our crops, we live in the weather as it occurs, and we work in all of it. There is nothing as immediate as the heat of a hot day, and it is a wiser person than myself who can exist in that stifling immediacy and be mindful of the fact that as oppressive as it is on a given day, it is fleeting compared to the span of season. That person would probably write of something other than the weather, but I'm a simple thing: I write what's on mind, and what's on my mind is what I feel on my skin, and what I feel on my skin is what's in the air. All of which is a way of acknowledging the fact that I always seem to start these blog entires with a paragraph about the weather. Sorry. This week's entry: It is still hot but not as hot as last week, and we appreciated the heavy rains on Saturday. It is possible, if we choose to be fully optimistic, that the extreme heat tempered by regular infusions of water will be very good for many of our crops.

Here's what is in the share this week:

Lettuce

Kale, green curly

Swiss Chard

Turnips, hakurei

Carrots, bolero

Onions, ailsa craig

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Basil, genovese

Parsley

Raspberries, pick your own

Notes about the food:

*Our soil had become very dry prior to Saturday's rain, and when the rain fell, it fell fast and heavy. In such dry conditions it takes time for the water to infiltrate the surface of the soil; before the soil is saturated the pummeling rain splashes against the dry ground, and soil is thrown by the splashing water. As a result, some of our crops are spackled with dirt following such a rain. We wash everything we harvest before arranging it at the distribution stand, so this isn't something you'll notice except on the occasional item that we don't wash. Among the items harvested this week, we wash neither the summer squash nor the basil. These two plants don't store well after becoming wet, so once they are cut we keep them dry even though they are slightly gritty. We recommend that you store them as they are, and wash them just prior to use. Maybe you'll use the basil to make pesto:

4 cups fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup pine nuts

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

1 tsp coarse kosher salt

Combine first four ingredients in blender. Blend until paste forms, stopping often to push down basil. Add cheese and salt; blend until smooth.

I copied the recipe above from epicurious; you can use it as a guideline, but I think pesto is something that invites improvisation. Last night I made some without cheese, and I substituted sunflower seeds for pine nuts.

*I suspect the carrots need no introduction, but I should mention that their presence in this week's share is a small triumph for the farmers. We struggled early in the season to get carrots to germinate, and for a while, as we learned our way around the soil on this piece of land, we were afraid that we'd never grow any. Now it looks like we might have ample carrots for some time.

*Please don't relegate the parsley to garnish status; it deserves more consideration than the space it usually allotted as some kind of plate-filler next to a sandwich or hamburger. Treat it like what it is: a dark green, leafy vegetable, flavorful and extremely nutritious. Try it with the carrots in this Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad, also from epicurious:

1 pound carrots, coarsely grated

1/4 cup olive oil

3 to 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sweet paprika

pinch of salt

1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days to let the flavors meld and permeate the carrots. Serve chilled or at room temperature.