Week 12
When the stand starts to wind down in the fall we often get questions about where we buy produce in the winter. I know we live in our own little bubble and so I try to craft my response in such away that doesn't make us look like a couple of crazy freaks. First I say that we don't typically buy much produce (that is the part that most people find a little extreme) and then I follow it by saying that we buy lots of avocados and oranges in the winter hoping that that makes us seem a little more normal. I use to find this concept a little crazy myself. About four years ago I bought one tomato for some sandwiches that I was making for us and another couple. Kelly still talks about it like I committed some sort of crime! I do get restless in the middle of winter but when I scan the produce isle looking for something that inspires me I usually go home with avocados and some citrus. We have plenty to eat in the winter out of the garden in terms of nutrition but it can get get a bit boring and that is why we try to put some food up. At the beginning of last week I decided we would try to get one thing put up for the winter every day of the week. It can be difficult to stay motivated in the evening but for the most part the challenge was fun and we did a good job. We froze green and colored peppers. We froze corn. We finished canning all the crushed tomatoes we need for year (about 24 quarts) and made six blenders worth of tomatillo salsa . We dried a bunch of sungold tomatoes, made ketchup(10 pounds of tomatoes turned into 4 cups of ketchup!) and pickled some Italian peppers that we grew for the first time this year. I would still like to get a few bread and butter pickles canned and we still have to roast and freeze colored bells and poblanos, dry some chile peppers and make hot sauce. Over the years we have realized what we will eat and while frozen snow peas or canned green beans might add variety to our diet they don't get eaten. The best way I know to get through winter without missing tomatoes or cucumbers is to eat so many of them that you don't want to look at another one for months! I am doing my best to make that happen but I have to admit I am unsure I can eat enough tomatoes to get sick of them!
Carrots
Lettuce
Romano Beans - very pretty and very tasty
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomatoes
Sweet Onion
Swiss Chard
Zucchini - Large Only
Corn - Large Only…maybe
A farm share customer shared this recipe with me. It is delicious. Zucchini noodles have become popular with rise of the paleo diet. I didn't think I liked raw zucchini but this salad is great, full of flavor. I skipped the red pepper and added cherry tomatoes. It says to use a mandolin for the squash but a making ribbons with a vegetable peeler works fine.
Zucchini and Corn Salad
Monday, August 25, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Week 11
We pulled all the onions we were able to last week before the rains came. The ones that got left in the field will be out by tomorrow. It will feel great to have them all out. We were having some fungal issues (downy mildew) and the rain wasn't helpful in that regard but everything else in the garden loved it as did Kelly who had a break from worrying about water. Once the onions are out we will start to think about potatoes and winter squash. Normally we pull squash out of the field right around the time we finish cleaning and bagging onions but the squash looks to be a bit ahead of schedule this year. Also ahead of schedule this year are melons. We had every intention of trying to get home at a reasonable hour on Friday. We left melon harvest for the last chore of the day. I pulled up to the field with a knife for sampling and three crates. We started cutting and eating melons and I quickly realized that we needed way more than the three crates I had grabbed. We piled the truck high with Korean melons, piel de sapo melons, three kinds of watermelon and galia melons. In the garden, there are few things more joyful than standing in the field tasting melon after melon. It feels like summer and this year it actually happened during summer! Typically we harvest watermelons September.
We love our field tasting of melon, covered in juice with sticky fingers and cheeks and we hope you enjoy your melon even if you choose to eat it in a more civilized fashion!
Happy summer, it is fading fast.
Carrots
Lettuce
Bell Pepper - green or purple
Melon - most likely watermelon
Cucumber
Potatoes - purple skin and flesh or red skin and pink flesh
Slicing Tomato
Corn
Eggplant - Small Only, some this week and some next week
Kale - Large Only
Broccoli - Large Only
We pulled all the onions we were able to last week before the rains came. The ones that got left in the field will be out by tomorrow. It will feel great to have them all out. We were having some fungal issues (downy mildew) and the rain wasn't helpful in that regard but everything else in the garden loved it as did Kelly who had a break from worrying about water. Once the onions are out we will start to think about potatoes and winter squash. Normally we pull squash out of the field right around the time we finish cleaning and bagging onions but the squash looks to be a bit ahead of schedule this year. Also ahead of schedule this year are melons. We had every intention of trying to get home at a reasonable hour on Friday. We left melon harvest for the last chore of the day. I pulled up to the field with a knife for sampling and three crates. We started cutting and eating melons and I quickly realized that we needed way more than the three crates I had grabbed. We piled the truck high with Korean melons, piel de sapo melons, three kinds of watermelon and galia melons. In the garden, there are few things more joyful than standing in the field tasting melon after melon. It feels like summer and this year it actually happened during summer! Typically we harvest watermelons September.
We love our field tasting of melon, covered in juice with sticky fingers and cheeks and we hope you enjoy your melon even if you choose to eat it in a more civilized fashion!
Happy summer, it is fading fast.
Carrots
Lettuce
Bell Pepper - green or purple
Melon - most likely watermelon
Cucumber
Potatoes - purple skin and flesh or red skin and pink flesh
Slicing Tomato
Corn
Eggplant - Small Only, some this week and some next week
Kale - Large Only
Broccoli - Large Only
Monday, August 11, 2014
Week 10
Looks like we have some scrambling to do this morning. The first priority is to harvest before the heat hits. The second is to start pulling onions like mad. A good portion of the onions have tops that have fallen over, a sign of maturity. Last year we pulled the onions out in stages. Once they started falling over we would pull the mature ones out of the field every couple days. After we pull them out of the ground we crate them up and take them to the metal barn at our house to finish drying/curing. We lay them out on pallets and put fans on them. Once they are dry we cut the tops and bag them into 40 pound mesh bags. We grow at least three varieties of sweet onions, storage onions and red onions along with two varieties of shallots and one cipollini. They get sorted by variety when we are setting them out to cure. Last year it was difficult to know just how much space we needed for each variety and it got a little disorganized. That brings us to this year. We decided to leave them in the ground until there was a chance of rain. A few days ago that chance was on Wednesday and then yesterday it was pushed forward to Tuesday and then this morning it is tonight. The forecast looks like it should be for somewhere else - a high of 99 today with a chance of thunderstorms tonight.
Those of you who know Kelly and I well may be surprised to find out we got married yesterday! Those of you who don't know us may be surprised to find out we weren't already married! It was a very low key event. Kelly and a couple friends whipped up a pergola in the back yard last week (why I was running around like a headless chicken among a sea of boxes and produce when you came to pick up your share last Monday). We had a a grand total of four guests, enough food to feed about 20 and tons flowers from the garden. It was great. Today, it is back to work. See you this afternoon.
Lettuce
Summer Squash Medley
Tomatillo
Cilantro
Basil
Garlic
Sun Jewel Melon - Some shares this week, some next week.
Eggplant - Large Only
Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Looks like we have some scrambling to do this morning. The first priority is to harvest before the heat hits. The second is to start pulling onions like mad. A good portion of the onions have tops that have fallen over, a sign of maturity. Last year we pulled the onions out in stages. Once they started falling over we would pull the mature ones out of the field every couple days. After we pull them out of the ground we crate them up and take them to the metal barn at our house to finish drying/curing. We lay them out on pallets and put fans on them. Once they are dry we cut the tops and bag them into 40 pound mesh bags. We grow at least three varieties of sweet onions, storage onions and red onions along with two varieties of shallots and one cipollini. They get sorted by variety when we are setting them out to cure. Last year it was difficult to know just how much space we needed for each variety and it got a little disorganized. That brings us to this year. We decided to leave them in the ground until there was a chance of rain. A few days ago that chance was on Wednesday and then yesterday it was pushed forward to Tuesday and then this morning it is tonight. The forecast looks like it should be for somewhere else - a high of 99 today with a chance of thunderstorms tonight.
Those of you who know Kelly and I well may be surprised to find out we got married yesterday! Those of you who don't know us may be surprised to find out we weren't already married! It was a very low key event. Kelly and a couple friends whipped up a pergola in the back yard last week (why I was running around like a headless chicken among a sea of boxes and produce when you came to pick up your share last Monday). We had a a grand total of four guests, enough food to feed about 20 and tons flowers from the garden. It was great. Today, it is back to work. See you this afternoon.
Lettuce
Summer Squash Medley
Tomatillo
Cilantro
Basil
Garlic
Sun Jewel Melon - Some shares this week, some next week.
Eggplant - Large Only
Cherry Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Monday, August 4, 2014
Week 9
Saturday evening, just after the stand closed, our neighbor rode by on his bike. I thought to myself that I hadn't seen him in a while. A moment later I turned around to see him talking with Kelly. He had spied a large package of sausages and a big bowl of potato salad in his fridge before he left his house and as he was riding by it occurred to him to ask us if we wanted to come over for a bite. Getting to know the neighbors has been one of the best parts of the farm and it is something that may not have happened if we didn't sell directly off the farm. There are three houses on Shincke Road that look out over the pond across the street. It took us a while to get to know the three couples. I am sure they thought we were out of our minds when they saw us trying to grow vegetables. Admittedly we did a lot of ridiculous things when we started but in our defense we were just making do with what we had - limited knowledge and limited resources. I think that after seeing us out there day after day and seeing the mess we started out with slowly improve they realized that we were in it for the long haul. Over time we got to know them and they have all become dear friends. Dinner turned out to be the perfect summer meal. We ate outside. The sausages were great, the potato salad had a little curry powder and peas from their garden in it which reminded me I really need to get out of my potato salad rut (mayo, celery seed, scallion, egg and S&P - boring, right?). I blanched some green and yellow beans, chopped some tomato and doused it with a basil vinaigrette. Sometimes I forget how good green beans are cooked and in a salad. We left around dusk, went back over to the farm to turn off water and as I walked towards the spigot I was reminded of just how lucky we are to do what we do and live where we live. It was a nice feeling because there were a couple times last week in the heat of the day when I was doing a task that was taking me about twice as long as I thought it should that I had the complete opposite feeling. Good company, nice weather and a tasty meal was a happy way to end the week.
Lettuce
Beets
Sweet Onions - big and juicy
Broccoli
Green Beans/Wax Beans
Cucumber
Parsley
Cherry Tomato - Small Only
Slicing Tomato - Large Only
Green Pepper - Large Only
Several herbs taste great with green beans - basil, tarragon and parsley are all good choices. Below is a very simple and easy recipe. If you don't have pine nuts the recipe will still be good.
Green Beans with Parsley, Lemon and Garlic
One of your fellow farm share members mentioned her partner makes a delicious Russian salad with green beans and a walnut dressing. I couldn't wait for her to bring the recipe so I found one on line. I didn't get a chance to make it but it looks interesting. While searching for the recipe I discovered that it is from Georgia which is a region with fantastic food.
Green Bean and Walnut Salad
Saturday evening, just after the stand closed, our neighbor rode by on his bike. I thought to myself that I hadn't seen him in a while. A moment later I turned around to see him talking with Kelly. He had spied a large package of sausages and a big bowl of potato salad in his fridge before he left his house and as he was riding by it occurred to him to ask us if we wanted to come over for a bite. Getting to know the neighbors has been one of the best parts of the farm and it is something that may not have happened if we didn't sell directly off the farm. There are three houses on Shincke Road that look out over the pond across the street. It took us a while to get to know the three couples. I am sure they thought we were out of our minds when they saw us trying to grow vegetables. Admittedly we did a lot of ridiculous things when we started but in our defense we were just making do with what we had - limited knowledge and limited resources. I think that after seeing us out there day after day and seeing the mess we started out with slowly improve they realized that we were in it for the long haul. Over time we got to know them and they have all become dear friends. Dinner turned out to be the perfect summer meal. We ate outside. The sausages were great, the potato salad had a little curry powder and peas from their garden in it which reminded me I really need to get out of my potato salad rut (mayo, celery seed, scallion, egg and S&P - boring, right?). I blanched some green and yellow beans, chopped some tomato and doused it with a basil vinaigrette. Sometimes I forget how good green beans are cooked and in a salad. We left around dusk, went back over to the farm to turn off water and as I walked towards the spigot I was reminded of just how lucky we are to do what we do and live where we live. It was a nice feeling because there were a couple times last week in the heat of the day when I was doing a task that was taking me about twice as long as I thought it should that I had the complete opposite feeling. Good company, nice weather and a tasty meal was a happy way to end the week.
Lettuce
Beets
Sweet Onions - big and juicy
Broccoli
Green Beans/Wax Beans
Cucumber
Parsley
Cherry Tomato - Small Only
Slicing Tomato - Large Only
Green Pepper - Large Only
Several herbs taste great with green beans - basil, tarragon and parsley are all good choices. Below is a very simple and easy recipe. If you don't have pine nuts the recipe will still be good.
Green Beans with Parsley, Lemon and Garlic
One of your fellow farm share members mentioned her partner makes a delicious Russian salad with green beans and a walnut dressing. I couldn't wait for her to bring the recipe so I found one on line. I didn't get a chance to make it but it looks interesting. While searching for the recipe I discovered that it is from Georgia which is a region with fantastic food.
Green Bean and Walnut Salad
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