Week 8
Sometimes putting up food for the winter becomes as all consuming as farming. We got started early this year in hopes that spreading it out makes it a little easier. We boiled down our first round of crushed tomatoes over the weekend. We will put it in jars and process it tonight. Ruth Matson sums it up well in her August entry in the Cooking by the Garden Calendar.
It sounds wickedly ungrateful to Nature and I hate to confess it, but bountiful August is far from my favorite months in the garden. The kitchen I don't mind so much; it's airy and the house is cool. But the garden! Relentless sun, whirring, biting insects, back and disposition stranded from endless stooping and squatting for interminable picking! I keep wishing so many things wouldn't reach fruition at the same time. April, May, June, July, they're hard work too, but there's always the rich promise of harvest to egg us on. And here it is, the harvest, its thrill beclouded by the urgency of what to do with it all.
She sums it up well although we are fortunate not to have the biting insect problem!
The cauliflower planting is small with several different varieties. As a result there is not gong to be a large single harvest. Everyone will get cauliflower but some of you will get it this week and some of you will get it next week.
Lettuce
Carrots
Potatoes
Cucumbers
Cauliflower - Everyone over the next two weeks
Slicing Tomatoes - Small Only
Green Cabbage - Small Only
Basil - Large Only
Green Beans - Large Only
Cherry Tomatoes - Large Only
The following recipe is adapted from the cookbook Jerusalem by Sami Tamini and Yotam Ottolenghi and is simple and delicious. I am going to skip the measurements and just give you a general idea.
Fried Tomatoes with Garlic
Chop some parsley and garlic up. Slice your tomato/tomatoes up into thick slices. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add your tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Cook for about a minute then flip over. Sprinkle with garlic and parsley (I used a lot, the recipe also calls for chopped chile pepper but I didn't have any) and cook for a minute. Flip one more time, cook for just a few seconds and then transfer to a plate and poor juices over the top. You want the tomatoes to be warm and soft but not mushy. They suggest serving it with bread. The pan juices are great.
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
I love roasted cherry tomatoes. If I have the time, I cut them in half and place them cut side up on a cookie sheet and roast at a lower temperature for a long time so they dehydrate a little. Roasting them whole at a higher temperature is easier. I love to throw these in pasta or toss with grilled veggies. There are many ways to go about roasting cherry tomatoes. Here is one way from the Barefoot Contessa
Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Monday, July 28, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Week 7
We delivered the last of the snap peas to the Co-op Sunday morning. It was a good run. In fact it has been a fantastic season so far. Our stand sales are up significantly as is our whole sale. It feels great. Well, until I look at the tomatoes in our greenhouse on South Bay Road. We have tomatoes in two spots and until a few weeks ago I was so excited about the ones on South Bay. They have thick stalks and are loaded with fruit. The ones on Shincke Road looked far less robust but it can all change in an instant. We just noticed some of the tomatoes at South Bay appear to have some sort of disease. We will send one off to WSU for testing tomorrow. Really, tomato disease two years in a row? Have you ever been sick and looked at the Internet and self diagnosed yourself with some sort of rare, incurable disease? You can get the same kind of paranoia looking up plant diseases on the Internet. If my Internet diagnosis is correct we are going to loose a lot of the plants. Suddenly, I am thankful for our okay looking tomatoes at Shincke and thankful we didn't have all our tomatoes planted in one spot. We tried grafting a few tomatoes this spring. It is similar to grafting apples. You use a root stock that is vigorous and has good disease resistance and then you use a tomato that makes delicious tomatoes for the the top. The seed for the rootstock was pricey so I didn't do very many and then we had a few die due to inexperience. We ended up planting out only about eight plants at South Bay. It will be interesting to see how they fare.
The other two crops we had trouble with last year were garlic and potatoes. All of our garlic is out and hanging and we are really happy with it. You have potatoes in your boxes today and so far so good other than the fact that the deer are eating the heck out of the plants. Potatoes usually don't take a turn for the worse until they get a bit more mature so we are keeping our fingers crossed. These are considered new potatoes and have a thin skin. You don't need to peel them and they taste great no matter how you cook them. Feel free to keep it simple, they are delicious steamed and cook quickly. They won't store so cook them up soon.
Carrots - Purple Haze
Potatoes
Zucchini/Summer Squash
Tropea Onions - Italian sweet onion that has a torpedo shape
Cherry Tomatoes
Broccoli
Lettuce - Small Only
Red Cabbage - Large Only
Salad Mix - Large Only
Slicing Tomato - Large Only
We delivered the last of the snap peas to the Co-op Sunday morning. It was a good run. In fact it has been a fantastic season so far. Our stand sales are up significantly as is our whole sale. It feels great. Well, until I look at the tomatoes in our greenhouse on South Bay Road. We have tomatoes in two spots and until a few weeks ago I was so excited about the ones on South Bay. They have thick stalks and are loaded with fruit. The ones on Shincke Road looked far less robust but it can all change in an instant. We just noticed some of the tomatoes at South Bay appear to have some sort of disease. We will send one off to WSU for testing tomorrow. Really, tomato disease two years in a row? Have you ever been sick and looked at the Internet and self diagnosed yourself with some sort of rare, incurable disease? You can get the same kind of paranoia looking up plant diseases on the Internet. If my Internet diagnosis is correct we are going to loose a lot of the plants. Suddenly, I am thankful for our okay looking tomatoes at Shincke and thankful we didn't have all our tomatoes planted in one spot. We tried grafting a few tomatoes this spring. It is similar to grafting apples. You use a root stock that is vigorous and has good disease resistance and then you use a tomato that makes delicious tomatoes for the the top. The seed for the rootstock was pricey so I didn't do very many and then we had a few die due to inexperience. We ended up planting out only about eight plants at South Bay. It will be interesting to see how they fare.
The other two crops we had trouble with last year were garlic and potatoes. All of our garlic is out and hanging and we are really happy with it. You have potatoes in your boxes today and so far so good other than the fact that the deer are eating the heck out of the plants. Potatoes usually don't take a turn for the worse until they get a bit more mature so we are keeping our fingers crossed. These are considered new potatoes and have a thin skin. You don't need to peel them and they taste great no matter how you cook them. Feel free to keep it simple, they are delicious steamed and cook quickly. They won't store so cook them up soon.
Carrots - Purple Haze
Potatoes
Zucchini/Summer Squash
Tropea Onions - Italian sweet onion that has a torpedo shape
Cherry Tomatoes
Broccoli
Lettuce - Small Only
Red Cabbage - Large Only
Salad Mix - Large Only
Slicing Tomato - Large Only
Monday, July 14, 2014
Week 6
We did our weekly farm walk about to make a list for the week last night and I am floored at how much stuff has grown, particularly the weeds. My favorite sighting was a melon already as big as my fist. We are going to go out on a limb and say you are all getting cherry tomatoes tomorrow in celebration of and because of the fantastic weather (if you like hot and sunny) that we have been having. I had my first tomato sandwich of the season today and it was great. I also decided to try a customer's recommendation. He eats cucumber, peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. I bet some of you feel a little nauseous just reading that. Anyway, I love mayonnaise and cucumbers and peanut butter isn't bad so why not give it a try. Well, it wasn't horrible but I wouldn't recommend you using your cucumber to make one! Instead perhaps you should use those beets from last week(I know some of you haven't eaten them yet) and make a cucumber, beet and goat cheese sandwich. A couple slices on some tuna fish or egg salad sounds good to me but if I was you I would leave the peanut butter in the cupboard.
I meant to take another picture of the winter squash. It has also grown an amazing amount in the last week. We have one variety, new to us this year, called Hubba Hubba. It has a hubbard squash shape but is suppose to be smaller. I saw one plant today that had already set 10 fruits. Hopefully it is delicious because it seems to be prolific. Plus, I am getting a kick out of saying hubba hubba in a deep voice every time I walk by the row of squash.
We wish you a week of good eating.
Carrots
Cucumbers
Scallions
Swiss Chard
Green Beans
Cherry Tomatoes
Raspberries - Large Only
Lettuce - Large Only
We did our weekly farm walk about to make a list for the week last night and I am floored at how much stuff has grown, particularly the weeds. My favorite sighting was a melon already as big as my fist. We are going to go out on a limb and say you are all getting cherry tomatoes tomorrow in celebration of and because of the fantastic weather (if you like hot and sunny) that we have been having. I had my first tomato sandwich of the season today and it was great. I also decided to try a customer's recommendation. He eats cucumber, peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. I bet some of you feel a little nauseous just reading that. Anyway, I love mayonnaise and cucumbers and peanut butter isn't bad so why not give it a try. Well, it wasn't horrible but I wouldn't recommend you using your cucumber to make one! Instead perhaps you should use those beets from last week(I know some of you haven't eaten them yet) and make a cucumber, beet and goat cheese sandwich. A couple slices on some tuna fish or egg salad sounds good to me but if I was you I would leave the peanut butter in the cupboard.
I meant to take another picture of the winter squash. It has also grown an amazing amount in the last week. We have one variety, new to us this year, called Hubba Hubba. It has a hubbard squash shape but is suppose to be smaller. I saw one plant today that had already set 10 fruits. Hopefully it is delicious because it seems to be prolific. Plus, I am getting a kick out of saying hubba hubba in a deep voice every time I walk by the row of squash.
We wish you a week of good eating.
Carrots
Cucumbers
Scallions
Swiss Chard
Green Beans
Cherry Tomatoes
Raspberries - Large Only
Lettuce - Large Only
Monday, July 7, 2014
Week 5
In my kitchen as a child there was a small antique wood framed slate chalkboard on the wall. I always loved it and when I spotted a small chalkboard at a yard sale when I first moved to town I picked it up and hung it in our kitchen. When I bought it someone had written the word fall and drawn a tree with swirling leaves. I liked it and have kept up the seasonal theme, sort of. At the moment there is still a winter quote on it from Albert Camus.
I wrote it on there during the dreariest days of winter to be taken literally but of course Camus meant it more metaphorically. Spring has come and gone and I need a summer quote. This is most likely the last week of peas in bountiful quantities and it looks like we will be picking beans by the end of the week. Cherry tomatoes are just starting to pick. Tomorrow marks our last seeding of fall cabbages and broccoli for transplant. Sometimes I feel like farming is like riding a train screaming through the countryside with things passing in a blur.
In my kitchen as a child there was a small antique wood framed slate chalkboard on the wall. I always loved it and when I spotted a small chalkboard at a yard sale when I first moved to town I picked it up and hung it in our kitchen. When I bought it someone had written the word fall and drawn a tree with swirling leaves. I liked it and have kept up the seasonal theme, sort of. At the moment there is still a winter quote on it from Albert Camus.
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer
I wrote it on there during the dreariest days of winter to be taken literally but of course Camus meant it more metaphorically. Spring has come and gone and I need a summer quote. This is most likely the last week of peas in bountiful quantities and it looks like we will be picking beans by the end of the week. Cherry tomatoes are just starting to pick. Tomorrow marks our last seeding of fall cabbages and broccoli for transplant. Sometimes I feel like farming is like riding a train screaming through the countryside with things passing in a blur.
Last week we uncovered the winter squash which we managed to plant at all three of the gardens we lease. I took this picture of the squash at Shincke road yesterday.
If any of you would like to take a walk around the gardens on Shincke, you are welcome to do so any Monday you pick-up your box. Kelly or I would be happy to join you(if you come after 5:00) if you want company and commentary.
Beets
Head Lettuce
Cilantro - There is a recipe below for a lentil salad we love this time of year that calls for cilantro. I also have been making a dressing that is similar to Caesar but I leave out the mustard, trade the lemon juice for lime juice and add a bunch of cilantro. As with Caesar dressing the egg yolk makes it rich and creamy.
Snap Peas
Onions- Most likely some small Walla Wallas that we are going to bunch
Raspberries
Garlic
Summer Squash - Large Only
Cauliflower - Large Only
Last night we made this salad with wheat bulgar because it it what we had on hand. I always add extra cilantro because we love it. It is really versatile and the lime zest is a nice change of pace from the lemon flavor that one usually finds in lentil salads. It is good warm or cold.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Week 4
Last winter I decided I would spend some time looking through my collection of old cookbooks and pull out a few retro recipes for the farm share. I always enjoy looking at them. In addition to the recipes it is always a bit of a history lesson. Ones from the two world wars are particularly interesting as is the commentary about homemaking and the rise of industrial agriculture and prepared foods after the wars. One of my favorites is Cooking by the Garden Calendar, published in 1955 and written by Ruth A. Matson. I bought it at a junk store in Maine the summer I met Kelly. The June chapter is called Eat 'Em Young. I know July is just around the corner but I really enjoy how the June chapter starts so I thought I would share it with you.
"Luckily, there's a spigot at the corner of the garage nearest the salad garden, so I can indulge myself in the supreme delight of pulling a radish or a carrot or a scallion and munching it while the cool of the moist earth still suffuses it. There is a moment when the pleasures of eating and of growing merge into one splendid ecstasy.
I feel it in myself as I've seen it on the faces of like-minded lovers of the good earth, watching the gleam of satisfaction as some ardent gardener gazes on the straight, well-weeded rows of young growth. He bends unhurriedly to pull a Cherry Belle, turns it to contemplate its glorious scarlet from every angle, brushes off the clinging earth-absently wiping his hand on the side of his jeans-and at last bites into the crisp root. At this moment his face is rapt. It has the glow of contentment with the future which will bring countless other moments."
It is a little over the top but it rings true. The sheen of a young red radish is almost iridescent when you pull it out of the ground and while I quickly grow tired of them the first few are amazing in their beauty and a welcome change from all the spring green. Carrots are even better. Sometimes, we even do a little dance. We celebrate the arrival of each vegetable.
I am including a cabbage recipe at the end from a different cookbook and will occasionally share a recipe from my collection. The main problem is that most of them look horrible! Cook peas for 20 minutes. Yikes. Having people over for dinner, while then, just dress up your mushy peas with a white sauce. There are a lot of recipes for vegetables in white sauce. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly exciting.
What is exciting this week? Zucchini, I can't get enough of it lately. We had some Zucchini fritters last week with fried eggs on a night I was too tired to cook a big meal and they were delicious. I will put a link to the recipe below.
Carrots
Mixed Zucchini/Summer Squash
Snow Peas
Raspberries
Lettuce
Broccoli
Cucumber
Cabbage
Kale-Large Only
Snap Peas-Large Only
Red Hot Slaw - We had this last night with dinner. I use to make a wilted slaw with a hot dressing but it never was wilted enough by just pouring the dressing on it. Tossing the cabbage in the skillet for 30 seconds until it softened a bit worked great. I didn't add much salt and didn't actually measure anything. We liked the lemon juice but I think cider vinegar would be good too.
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
4 cups finely shredded cabbage
Cook 1 slice bacon until it curls. Set aside. Dice remaining bacon and cook until crisp. Saute onion in bacon fat. Add lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Combine with cabbage. Heat thoroughly. Put cabbage mixture in serving dish. Garnish with bacon curl in center and lemon wedges around the outside.
The TIME Reader's Book of Recipes, 1949
Two hundred and thirty favorite recipes of the women who read TIME magazine
Zucchini Fritters
I added carrots and scallions and they turned out great. I loved that they were more vegetable than fritter and that you just cook them in a frying pan like a pancake instead of deep frying them.
Last winter I decided I would spend some time looking through my collection of old cookbooks and pull out a few retro recipes for the farm share. I always enjoy looking at them. In addition to the recipes it is always a bit of a history lesson. Ones from the two world wars are particularly interesting as is the commentary about homemaking and the rise of industrial agriculture and prepared foods after the wars. One of my favorites is Cooking by the Garden Calendar, published in 1955 and written by Ruth A. Matson. I bought it at a junk store in Maine the summer I met Kelly. The June chapter is called Eat 'Em Young. I know July is just around the corner but I really enjoy how the June chapter starts so I thought I would share it with you.
"Luckily, there's a spigot at the corner of the garage nearest the salad garden, so I can indulge myself in the supreme delight of pulling a radish or a carrot or a scallion and munching it while the cool of the moist earth still suffuses it. There is a moment when the pleasures of eating and of growing merge into one splendid ecstasy.
I feel it in myself as I've seen it on the faces of like-minded lovers of the good earth, watching the gleam of satisfaction as some ardent gardener gazes on the straight, well-weeded rows of young growth. He bends unhurriedly to pull a Cherry Belle, turns it to contemplate its glorious scarlet from every angle, brushes off the clinging earth-absently wiping his hand on the side of his jeans-and at last bites into the crisp root. At this moment his face is rapt. It has the glow of contentment with the future which will bring countless other moments."
It is a little over the top but it rings true. The sheen of a young red radish is almost iridescent when you pull it out of the ground and while I quickly grow tired of them the first few are amazing in their beauty and a welcome change from all the spring green. Carrots are even better. Sometimes, we even do a little dance. We celebrate the arrival of each vegetable.
I am including a cabbage recipe at the end from a different cookbook and will occasionally share a recipe from my collection. The main problem is that most of them look horrible! Cook peas for 20 minutes. Yikes. Having people over for dinner, while then, just dress up your mushy peas with a white sauce. There are a lot of recipes for vegetables in white sauce. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly exciting.
What is exciting this week? Zucchini, I can't get enough of it lately. We had some Zucchini fritters last week with fried eggs on a night I was too tired to cook a big meal and they were delicious. I will put a link to the recipe below.
Carrots
Mixed Zucchini/Summer Squash
Snow Peas
Raspberries
Lettuce
Broccoli
Cucumber
Cabbage
Kale-Large Only
Snap Peas-Large Only
Red Hot Slaw - We had this last night with dinner. I use to make a wilted slaw with a hot dressing but it never was wilted enough by just pouring the dressing on it. Tossing the cabbage in the skillet for 30 seconds until it softened a bit worked great. I didn't add much salt and didn't actually measure anything. We liked the lemon juice but I think cider vinegar would be good too.
4 slices bacon
2 tablespoons minced onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper
4 cups finely shredded cabbage
Cook 1 slice bacon until it curls. Set aside. Dice remaining bacon and cook until crisp. Saute onion in bacon fat. Add lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Combine with cabbage. Heat thoroughly. Put cabbage mixture in serving dish. Garnish with bacon curl in center and lemon wedges around the outside.
The TIME Reader's Book of Recipes, 1949
Two hundred and thirty favorite recipes of the women who read TIME magazine
Zucchini Fritters
I added carrots and scallions and they turned out great. I loved that they were more vegetable than fritter and that you just cook them in a frying pan like a pancake instead of deep frying them.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Week 3
Kelly and I have a fair amount of friendly debates about what should go in the boxes each week. There are several factors that determine if a vegetable is included in the box. We ask ourselves several questions. Do we have enough for everyone this week? Will we have more of a surplus next week? When was it in the boxes last? How is the item usually received? Did a lot of people trade that item the last time we gave it? Certain crops, like peas, are only here for a short period of time so you get them every week. Which brings us to scallions. I don't know that they are exciting enough to go in the boxes two weeks in a row but Kelly makes a good point when he says that this is the only time of year we have them and they are easy to use. Fine, Kelly wins that one! Scallions for everyone and lots of other good stuff too.
Summer arrived on Saturday both on the calendar and in the arrival of a warming weather pattern. The first day of summer marks our last seeding of cucumbers and summer squash. This week we will transplant out our first round of fall brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale and so on). We have a large seeding of our second round of fall brassicas to finish seeding tomorrow and Kelly amended the front field by the stand for fall carrots last week. Things are humming along and we are trying to keep up. When I look around the fields it seems like we are being moderately successful at staying on schedule. Phew.
Carrots
Head Lettuce
Peas - most likely snaps but there will be some shell and snow peas on the trade table.
Garlic
Scallions
Cucumber
Summer Turnips
Bunched Arugula - Large Only
I love the food blog that the following recipe comes from - the food always looks so beautiful. I love using snap peas in spring rolls and lettuce wraps. These ones looked like a nice change of pace from how I usually make them and mint is always great with peas.
Snap Pea and Avocado Lettuce Wrap
We don't usually cook the summer turnips. However, one of the produce buyers at the Oly food coop mentioned she likes to put them in miso soup and garnish it with some of the sliced greens. Yummy. I googled miso and Japanese turnips after making the soup and thought the recipe below looked good. You don't have three pounds of turnips so you will have to adjust the recipe a bit.
Sauteed Japanese Turnips with Miso
Kelly and I have a fair amount of friendly debates about what should go in the boxes each week. There are several factors that determine if a vegetable is included in the box. We ask ourselves several questions. Do we have enough for everyone this week? Will we have more of a surplus next week? When was it in the boxes last? How is the item usually received? Did a lot of people trade that item the last time we gave it? Certain crops, like peas, are only here for a short period of time so you get them every week. Which brings us to scallions. I don't know that they are exciting enough to go in the boxes two weeks in a row but Kelly makes a good point when he says that this is the only time of year we have them and they are easy to use. Fine, Kelly wins that one! Scallions for everyone and lots of other good stuff too.
Summer arrived on Saturday both on the calendar and in the arrival of a warming weather pattern. The first day of summer marks our last seeding of cucumbers and summer squash. This week we will transplant out our first round of fall brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale and so on). We have a large seeding of our second round of fall brassicas to finish seeding tomorrow and Kelly amended the front field by the stand for fall carrots last week. Things are humming along and we are trying to keep up. When I look around the fields it seems like we are being moderately successful at staying on schedule. Phew.
Carrots
Head Lettuce
Peas - most likely snaps but there will be some shell and snow peas on the trade table.
Garlic
Scallions
Cucumber
Summer Turnips
Bunched Arugula - Large Only
I love the food blog that the following recipe comes from - the food always looks so beautiful. I love using snap peas in spring rolls and lettuce wraps. These ones looked like a nice change of pace from how I usually make them and mint is always great with peas.
Snap Pea and Avocado Lettuce Wrap
We don't usually cook the summer turnips. However, one of the produce buyers at the Oly food coop mentioned she likes to put them in miso soup and garnish it with some of the sliced greens. Yummy. I googled miso and Japanese turnips after making the soup and thought the recipe below looked good. You don't have three pounds of turnips so you will have to adjust the recipe a bit.
Sauteed Japanese Turnips with Miso
Monday, June 16, 2014
Week 2
Did everyone eat all their veggies? I know at least a few of you did because I saw you at the stand on Saturday. We hope you enjoyed the produce you received last week.
Two years ago we started growing early cucumbers in a unheated greenhouse and we were hooked on the process immediately.
Did everyone eat all their veggies? I know at least a few of you did because I saw you at the stand on Saturday. We hope you enjoyed the produce you received last week.
Two years ago we started growing early cucumbers in a unheated greenhouse and we were hooked on the process immediately.
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It is a little time consuming to trellis and prune them but we have found a very early variety that we really like as well as a longer, thin skinned Asian cucumber that does well trellised. We use orange bailing twine, some nifty clips we found online and black ground cloth to control weeds. This year, we ate our first cucumber in the middle of May. For those of you who aren't familiar with growing cucumbers in the Pacific Northwest, we are happy when we are harvesting field cucumbers before July. Perhaps we are motivated because we don't buy things like cucumbers in the store, or because it gives us a longer season to sell cucumbers but mostly we just find it fun. We didn't include cucumbers in your box this week because there is so much good stuff more typical of this time of year coming out of the fields. You can look forward to them next week.
Carrots
Snap Peas
Rainbow Chard
Head Lettuce
Bok Choy - I included a recipe below for bok choy but you can include it in many things - fried rice, chicken soup or you can chop it up and use it in salads.
Dill - We were at Wobbly Cart Farm for a pot luck last night and our friend Teva made a yummy dish using orzo, roasted carrots and dill. I don't often eat cooked carrots but I really enjoyed it. I think it would be great with beets added (if you don't mind hot pink orzo) or you could just roast carrots and beets together and toss with a bit of dill right before serving - no orzo needed.
Beets
Scallions
Broccoli
See you soon.
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