Farm Share...Week 13
Super nice share this week.... a little bit of lots of different stuff! Summer produce is really here. Harvested the first ripe melons, but not enough to put in the farm share yet...maybe next week, if not the week after. Hot weather is back! I just went and jumped in Goss Lake after a warm day on the farm. I am very happy to say we have finally gotten through all the moldy strawberry beds since the rain. It took a long time to go through all the beds twice and remove any bad fruit from the field, but we have finally finished the nasty job so now picking the strawberries is so much easier! Some of you may know that I drive the school bus for South Whidbey School District, so this is my last week of summer vacation! I am just a substitute, so it's hardly a full time gig, but it does make things more complicated planning around my school bus shifts. Here's what's in the share:
Cherry tomatoes- another pint of our delicious sungold and sweet baby girl cherry tomatoes. Easy to use up in salads, pastas or snacking.
Basil- goes great with the cherry tomatoes! Take a small, thin piece of toasted bread or a good cracker, put on a slice of mozzarella, a basil leaf, a cherry tomato sliced in half, and a bit of balsamic vinaiger and you have a delicious snack.
Tonda onion- one GIGANTIC red tonda onion. We were going to do two, but some folks at the farmer's market have been saying they just wanted one onion and we thought you guys may feel the same. Tonda means "top" in Italian (like the toy that you spin) as these are shaped like a top. According to our friend Georgie, there was some crazy festival of insanity in Italy specifically to celebrate this onion variety!
Summer squash- the squash plans got hit pretty hard by the rain and are suffering from some powdery mildew on their leaves. I meant to do a later planting of squash for September, but somehow misplaced all the seeds....sooooo...this could be one of the last time zucchini is in your share. Then again, maybe not. The plants that survived actually appear to be recovering a bit, and the squash they are producing is still great.
Fennel- fennel bulbs are in the share for the second time. i'm guessing a few folks may have some parsley and cabbage left in the fridge from last week's share, so you can put it to good use in this fennel slaw, along with some of the tonda onion from this week's:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fennel-Slaw-232320
if you DON'T have cabbage and parsley, or the licorice flavor is too strong for you raw, try this:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Braised-Fennel-230997
or just cut them in half, brush with olive oil and throw them on the grill!
Carrots- more carrots! i was worried a few weeks ago about whether we'd have enough carrots for the Fall, but our new carrot beds are fantastic so i'm not worried anymore. we should be able to keep em coming over the next few months.
Lettuce- nice head of our crisp green leaf lettuce. hope everyone is keeping up with the lettuce...let me know if you think there's been too much in your share.
Baby kale- we are thinning out our Winter kale plants, and that gives us these nice smaller sized bunches of young kale leaves. Here's a great looking recipe for beef and kale tacos! you can use your carrots in this recipe too.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Kale-Tacos-51207630
Runner beans- I told you there were a lot of things in this share! the runner beans are very nice right now and I wanted to make sure to get them in a share before it's too late. you can basically use them interchangeably with green beans in any recipe, you might just want to cut them up into smaller pieces first. they are very popular in England and the British Isles, and many folks from across the pond have been excited to see them growing at Ebb Tide. they grow 7 feet tall on the big trellis you can see from the farm stand, and have beautiful red flowers. here's a recipe from, where else?, the bbc:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4718/runner-bean-and-prosciutto-pasta
Enjoy the veggies and thanks as always for supporting the farm! Sorry about the remarkably inconsistent capitalization in this blog post.
Week 12
Hi all!
What a week! The strawberry and squash fields have suffered from the rain but everything else is thriving. Hopefully we get another good dry spell here and our tomatoes and corn start really rocking. Whenever it rains I start feeling like it is fall, but when I look at the calender I remember that we still have weeks before real autumn weather.
Cabbage - We've got green cabbage this week.
Corn - The corn has been excellent and it is just getting started. We love to be able to give it to y'all and we plan on keeping it coming for a while.
Lettuce - Our next lettuce planting is on and the heads are gorgeous and delicate. This has been our most uniform planting of lettuce this year. It makes us so happy to looks out on a uniform bed of multi-colored multi-shaped heads.
Garlic - We're not growing garlic this year (though we will for next year) so we're getting some from a local farm to give to y'all. Nothing can replace garlic.
Radish - It has been a while but french breakfast radishes are back on the menu. There is some secret addictive quality to this root. If you don't understand what I mean just keep eating them for a while and then try to resist them.
Parsley - We have a forest of parsley. I had the fortune to peek into a cookbook a few weeks ago called "Jerusalem" and it had lots of good recipes for cuisine from that city and region and lots of it employed parsley. Think parsley and tabbouleh.
Cucumber - I always say that when the cucumbers come on I will cease drinking any water that is not flavored with a slice of cucumber. That never actually happens, but I do end up eating lots of cucumber salads and snacking on cukes in the field like you would eat an apple. Apparently in India they sell cucumbers as snacks on the street. Just add salt! Refreshing.
Beets - The beets love summer rain more than anything. After they rain the red beets have exploded. A customer at the farmer's market recommended a cucumber/beet salad with spiced rice vinegar as the sauce. I haven't had the chance to purchase this vinegar yet but I plan to try this salad soon--I think the beet/cucumber pairing sounds perfect.
What a week! The strawberry and squash fields have suffered from the rain but everything else is thriving. Hopefully we get another good dry spell here and our tomatoes and corn start really rocking. Whenever it rains I start feeling like it is fall, but when I look at the calender I remember that we still have weeks before real autumn weather.
Cabbage - We've got green cabbage this week.
Corn - The corn has been excellent and it is just getting started. We love to be able to give it to y'all and we plan on keeping it coming for a while.
Lettuce - Our next lettuce planting is on and the heads are gorgeous and delicate. This has been our most uniform planting of lettuce this year. It makes us so happy to looks out on a uniform bed of multi-colored multi-shaped heads.
Garlic - We're not growing garlic this year (though we will for next year) so we're getting some from a local farm to give to y'all. Nothing can replace garlic.
Radish - It has been a while but french breakfast radishes are back on the menu. There is some secret addictive quality to this root. If you don't understand what I mean just keep eating them for a while and then try to resist them.
Parsley - We have a forest of parsley. I had the fortune to peek into a cookbook a few weeks ago called "Jerusalem" and it had lots of good recipes for cuisine from that city and region and lots of it employed parsley. Think parsley and tabbouleh.
Cucumber - I always say that when the cucumbers come on I will cease drinking any water that is not flavored with a slice of cucumber. That never actually happens, but I do end up eating lots of cucumber salads and snacking on cukes in the field like you would eat an apple. Apparently in India they sell cucumbers as snacks on the street. Just add salt! Refreshing.
Beets - The beets love summer rain more than anything. After they rain the red beets have exploded. A customer at the farmer's market recommended a cucumber/beet salad with spiced rice vinegar as the sauce. I haven't had the chance to purchase this vinegar yet but I plan to try this salad soon--I think the beet/cucumber pairing sounds perfect.
Farm Share Week 11
Hard to believe, we are almost halfway through the farm share season! We have lots of good stuff in the share this week. We are currently being overwhelmed by massive quantities of strawberries on our plants, so although we weren't planning on including strawberries in this week's share, we figured we could add them in and no one would mind! If you are interested in buying a flat of strawberries (12 pints) they are available for pickup in the farmstand for only $30 (basically our wholesale price) and you can email us in advance so we can set one aside for you.
Everything else continues as usual on the farm...keeping up with the irrigation in this dry, hot summer... We recently planted a quarter acre of sunflowers in the field nearest the farm stand, so take a peak when you come by. They are growing fast and are about an inch or two tall already...with any luck they will be in bloom by mid October, as they are autumnal colors of brown and magenta. I don't know where exactly we are going to sell thousands of sunflower stems, so if you have any ideas let me know, but at the very least the field will be incredibly beautiful! We are also almost done planting all of our Fall crops to keep us going until November. Everything is going great...although for the last week or so I have been very, very tired....it's that time of year.
Here's the share:
Carrots- Back after a two week break! We had a gap in our carrot planting because our last beds got so weedy. These are our first carrots out of our new beds, and they are looking good.
Potatoes- More Willowood potatoes in the share. These potatoes are much more flavorful than the ones at the grocery store. Great for potato salad, mashed potatoes, hash browns, home fries, or one of my favorite potato dishes...latkes! Latkes are a Jewish style potato pancake, usually served with sour cream and applesauce. They are pretty quick and easy to make. Here's a recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-Latkes-104406
Cherry Tomatoes- Finally, we have enough cherry tomatoes to give them out in the share! We wanted to give out tomatoes last week but didn't think we'd have quite enough to go around. They are worth the wait. Sungold and Sweet Baby Girl are the varieties, they are both sweet and very flavorful. Easy to use in a salad or great just for snacking.
Summer squash/zucchini- Hope you're not tired of zucchini yet because the plants are still producing tons of squash! We had a friend in town recently who made us a batch of zucchini carpaccio...it was delicious. She uses a mandolin at home to slice the squash super thin, but we don't have one and she was still able to do it with a sharp knife. Great recipe for a hot day, we served it with some cold pasta and it would be great garnished with some of the cherry tomatoes! Recipe below:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Carpaccio-107802
Arugula- Nice bunch of arugula, great for a salad or two, or you can toss it in a pasta or omelette.
Torpedo onions- More of these delicious fresh torpedo red bottle onions: "Rossa lunga de tropea" I think is the Italian name on the seed packet. Mild sweet flavor makes them easy to use.
Green beans- Well, we have tons of fabulous green and yellow beans right now, but I'm thinking we won't have them for too much longer....so we will try to give you plenty of beans for the next few weeks in case they're gone by September.
Strawberries- As mentioned above, these are a bonus item in this week's share!
Everything else continues as usual on the farm...keeping up with the irrigation in this dry, hot summer... We recently planted a quarter acre of sunflowers in the field nearest the farm stand, so take a peak when you come by. They are growing fast and are about an inch or two tall already...with any luck they will be in bloom by mid October, as they are autumnal colors of brown and magenta. I don't know where exactly we are going to sell thousands of sunflower stems, so if you have any ideas let me know, but at the very least the field will be incredibly beautiful! We are also almost done planting all of our Fall crops to keep us going until November. Everything is going great...although for the last week or so I have been very, very tired....it's that time of year.
Here's the share:
Carrots- Back after a two week break! We had a gap in our carrot planting because our last beds got so weedy. These are our first carrots out of our new beds, and they are looking good.
Potatoes- More Willowood potatoes in the share. These potatoes are much more flavorful than the ones at the grocery store. Great for potato salad, mashed potatoes, hash browns, home fries, or one of my favorite potato dishes...latkes! Latkes are a Jewish style potato pancake, usually served with sour cream and applesauce. They are pretty quick and easy to make. Here's a recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-Latkes-104406
Cherry Tomatoes- Finally, we have enough cherry tomatoes to give them out in the share! We wanted to give out tomatoes last week but didn't think we'd have quite enough to go around. They are worth the wait. Sungold and Sweet Baby Girl are the varieties, they are both sweet and very flavorful. Easy to use in a salad or great just for snacking.
Summer squash/zucchini- Hope you're not tired of zucchini yet because the plants are still producing tons of squash! We had a friend in town recently who made us a batch of zucchini carpaccio...it was delicious. She uses a mandolin at home to slice the squash super thin, but we don't have one and she was still able to do it with a sharp knife. Great recipe for a hot day, we served it with some cold pasta and it would be great garnished with some of the cherry tomatoes! Recipe below:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Carpaccio-107802
Arugula- Nice bunch of arugula, great for a salad or two, or you can toss it in a pasta or omelette.
Torpedo onions- More of these delicious fresh torpedo red bottle onions: "Rossa lunga de tropea" I think is the Italian name on the seed packet. Mild sweet flavor makes them easy to use.
Green beans- Well, we have tons of fabulous green and yellow beans right now, but I'm thinking we won't have them for too much longer....so we will try to give you plenty of beans for the next few weeks in case they're gone by September.
Strawberries- As mentioned above, these are a bonus item in this week's share!
this week's share
This week's share:
Swiss chard- adding some greens to your life. Here is a recipe from my wife Bobbi:
10-12C trimmed chard leaves
Swiss chard- adding some greens to your life. Here is a recipe from my wife Bobbi:
Chard, Ricotta and Saffron Cakes
Adapted From Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy
Makes 12 3inch cakes
10-12C trimmed chard leaves
2 pinches saffron threads ( or for the poor-mans version sub Calendula)
1C AP flour
1tsp salt
1.5tsp baking powder
1C ricotta
1/3C or more Parmesan or similar cheese
3/4C milk
2 eggs
3T olive oil or other oil, plus extra for frying
Thick yogurt or sour cream to finish
Basil or other garnish to finish
Directions:
Wilt the chard in a sauce pan, covered on high heat, using a splash of water to cook. Cook for only a few minutes, careful not to over cook, then allow it to drain and cool.
Cover saffron threads (or Calendula) with 2T boiling water and set aside
Combine flour salt and baking powder in a bowl. In a second, larger bowl mix ricotta, parm, milk and eggs until blended. Add the oil and the saffron, then whisk in the flour mixture.
Squeeze out as much water as possible from the chard, then chop it finely and stir it into the batter.
Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Drop the batter by the spoon full into the hot pan, making small or large cakes as you wish. The batter is quite thick and will need more time to cook than a regular pancake.
Cook until golden on the bottom and then turn the cakes once, resisting the urge to flatten them! Cook about 3 mins or so on each side.
Serve each cake with a tiny spoonful of sour cream, a sprinkle of fresh chopped basil
Tell us if you give it a try!
Lettuce- for more summer salads after no greens in last week's share.
Basil- for the recipe above or anything else you choose to use it on...like bruschetta yummm..
Sweet corn!!- not sure if I've ever picked corn this early in the summer before. These ears are filled out well and super tasty. Can't beat fresh corn on the cob. Try it raw! My favorite. Or throw it on the grill. In mexico they eat it with mayonnaise and chilli!
Cucumbers- are at their peak right now and really nice. Three larger cukes in the share this week so make a cucumber salad. Very refreshing in this hot weather.
Peas- last peas of the year...they are still delicious, but in this hot weather the plants are running out of steam fast. Enjoy them!
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