Week 22

 Hey everyone-
The rain seems to be keeping many of us inside and it is quiet on the farm. We've got a few little projects going on but most of the work is done for the year. When the plants stop growing there's not much outdoor work to do! Blake managed to get out to the Olympic peninsula for a camping retreat this weekend so I was on my own today for harvest.
Cauliflower - These cauliflower have come out looking and tasting gorgeous. We are so happy to have them! This is the last time you'll be getting them from us so enjoy. 
Sunflowers - The sunflowers are smaller now but I feel like the colors are even better now than when they were first coming on--there is more gold in the brown ones and more purple in the beige ones.
Kale - Lacinato kale this week. Hardy kale great for braising or warm soups.
Onions
Salad Mix - The greens are doing really well, we feel lucky to be able to provide fresh, tender salad greens at this time. They are enjoying the warm weather and have handled the wetness well. This week's mix is mainly arugula, spinach, and lettuce mix.
Dill -Dill is a great addition to many dips and sauces. It adds a crucial flavor to pickled veggies and can also be used to flavor soups.
Acorn squash - It is Winter squash season and the flavor is just getting better. Acorn squash are really simple, just thrown them in the oven and add butter and brown sugar or honey.
Beets - We've got colorful mixed bunches this week. Dill is an excellent compliment to beets and can be added as a garnish to roasted beets or mixed into a beet salad.

Week 21

Hi everyone,
I (Jack) am back after a week long vacation on the east coast. It is nice to be looking at everything here with new eyes. The farm doesn't look much different than when I left it. It seems to have rained and things have grown, but not much. We are getting into that time when things are growing slow, and soon they will pretty much stop altogether. The nights have been warm and the trees are turning beautiful colors, so we are happy.
Here's what you got this week:

Cauliflower - We weren't sure if we'd have cauliflower this week but it's on and it's gorgeous. Cauliflower is a personal favorite of mine. I love the flavor and the versatility of it. And any vegetable that tastes so good with a cream sauce has a special place in my heart (stomach?). Here's another recipe that I want to try:
yield
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 sliced medium onion
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • 4 unpeeled garlic cloves
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Cut 1 head cauliflower into florets; toss on a large rimmed baking sheet with 1 sliced medium onion, 4 thyme sprigs, 4 unpeeled garlic cloves, and 3 tablespoons olive oil; season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast, tossing occasionally, until almost tender, 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, toss to combine, and roast until cauliflower is tender, 10-12 minutes longer.

Gypsy Peppers - Blake and I had some with lunch today. Cut up raw it makes a great snack or addition to a meal. Our former co-worker used to make fajitas with these peppers for lunch every day he could.
Parsley - The parsley should compliment the cauliflower and potatoes well. Add them to mashed potatoes or a creamy cauliflower dish, or make potato pancakes or cauliflower fritters with parsley.
Carrots - You know what to do.

Frisee - This is a cold season green that is pretty, mild and has an exquisite texture. They can be eaten raw in a salad (which is what I would do) or they can be blanched or lightly steamed. A good pairing for this green is a sweet dressing like honey mustard or a sweet vinaigrette and sliced and dried fruit, like apples, pears, raisins or cranberries. If you're feeling ambitious here's one way to cook frisee
yield
Makes 4 servings
active time
25 min
total time
25 min
Frisée often pops up in salads, but like its cousin escarole, it’s also great for cooking.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1/2 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
  • 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
  • 3/4 teaspoon anchovy paste
  • 1 (1-pound) head frisée, torn
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure maple syrup

Preparation

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Cook bread crumbs until crisp and golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and stir in zest and a pinch of salt.
Wipe out skillet, then add anchovy paste and remaining 2 Tbsp oil and cook 15 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high and sauté half of frisée until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Add remaining frisée and sauté until wilted, about 2 minutes more. Off heat, stir in juice, syrup, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Serve topped with bread crumbs.

Potatoes - These are yellow potatoes from Willowood Farm. The variety is carola, and it is my favorite of all of the potatoes that they grow because it's deep yellow waxy texture makes them ideal for hash browns and roasting. My favorite way to eat them is to roast them for a long time in olive oil, up to about an hour at 400 degrees. They get really crispy and delicious.
Celery - This celery is also from Willowood farm. We love their celery! It has the strongest flavor of any celery that I've ever had. By far. A key ingredient in many soups, also a great vehicle for peanut butter.

Week 20 Veggies

Hello, friends.

Well, it has gotten a bit darker, chillier, and wetter since we last wrote the blog.  I do still love this time of year, even when the weather is a bit gloomy.  Jack is over on the East Coast visiting friends, so I am holding down the fort on my own.   I am trying to put lots of nice autumnal recipes in the blog for you all this week.  There are some nice veggies to work with, including:

Melon OR Gypsy peppers-  Take your pick...and don't forget!  Next to the shares I will put a basket of each and a sign explaining to take EITHER one melon OR two peppers.  Your choice.  Definitely the last melons of the year...hopefully more peppers to come!

Broccoli- back once again.  The broccoli is really super nice right now, and I think I like it even more this time of year when it's a bit chilly out than I do in June.  Here is a recipe:

Pasta with Broccoli
1 head broccoli cut into florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 fresh chile, seeded and chopped
10 ounces Penne or Orecchiette pasta
grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese to serve
salt

Cook the broccoli in salted boiling water for 8 minutes, then drain. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and chile, and cook for 3 minutes, then add the broccoli, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until tender. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water for 2-3 minutes until al dente, then drain, and toss with the broccoli. Serve with Parmesan or pecorino.

Hubba Hubba Squash-  This is basically a red kuri squash.  If you are not familiar, red kuri is a Japanese winter squash that is known for its dry, flavorful flesh.  The internet describes the flavor as similar to chestnuts, which I'd never thought of but I guess is true.  They may be my personal favorite as far a winter squash goes.  Here is a link to  recipe from Alice Waters: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/red-kuri-squash-soup
They are a bit more labor intensive than the delicata because you don't eat the skin, but worth it.  If you don't have time to use it right away, just put it someplace room temperature and dry and it will store for many weeks.  Unlike how it says it in the recipe, I find it easiest to halve the squash, scoop out the seeds, and roast them in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes.  Then once it cools down it is pretty easy to scoop the flesh out of the skin without even using a peeler.  Good luck!

Tonda onion-  A single red tonda onion in your share this week. 

Radish-  More of the French Breakfast radishes.  Some of you are big radish fans, other people have told us they're not crazy about them.  Hopefully at least a few of you who were initially skeptics have found some ways you enjoy using them.  I think we mentioned in the Spring that the big trend with Seattle restaurants is to serve crusty bread with sliced French Breakfast radish, a nice cultured butter, and a fancy coarse salt.  You can make it at home in minutes for a fraction of what you would pay at the Walrus and the Carpenter!  Also, here's an EASY recipe for a soup (traditional in Italy and Mexico)  made with the radish TOPS.  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/radish-top-soup/

Cilantro-  Another way to use your radishes would be in a nice Mexican style dinner...where cilantro is always a must have, too!

Arugula-  Well, the bad news is the deer have suddenly decided to annihilate our head lettuce patch.  I'm hoping we may have time to raise the height of the fence, and the lettuce just might have time to recover.  The good news is, we have lots of other nice salad greens to give you if all else fails!  Arugula this week.  Recipe:   http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Arugula-and-Roasted-Pear-Salad-365797   We still have pears in the farm stand if you would like to make this salad!  No calendula blossoms, though...if you can't find them I'm sure it would be fine without them.

Week 19 Brings Another Great Early Fall Share

Hi guys!!
We have a great share for you this week.  Sorry the blog is a bit later than usual getting out the door today.  Jack and I are currently watching the Seahawks game next door at the Taproom as I write this.  Go Hawks.  We are wrapping up projects and cleaning up the fields as things begin to slow down and the days get shorter.  But is this some nice Indian summer weather or what?  I heard on the radio it was over 80 degrees in Seattle today.  Most of the summer crops like tomatoes and corn are goners.  The melons and cucumbers are on their last legs.  But we have some nice peppers for you this week.  Most people don't realize that peppers are actually more of a Fall crop, at least here in the Pacific Northwest.  They will be killed by the first hard frost, but unlike the tomatoes they don't mind rain or damp too much so hopefully they will be going for a while!  Here's the list...
Gypsy peppers-  These are my favorite sweet peppers.  They are not spicy at all.  They turn from pale greenish yellow to coral pink to red.  They are good at all stages, but sweetest when they are more reddish.  You can leave them out on the kitchen counter and they'll continue to ripen.  Their taste is similar to a red sweet pepper, but has a bit of tartness that I really like.  I love to eat them raw, in a salad, with a dip, or just by themselves.  They are great cooked, too though.  In tacos, pizza, stir fry, casserole, etc.
Delicata squash-  If you're not familiar with delicata squash, you're in for a treat.  Not only are they maybe the most delicious winter squash, they are almost definitely the easiest to prepare.  The skin is edible AND DELICIOUS so don't peel them!!  Just cut them in half long wise,  scoop out the seeds, pour on a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper or any spices you like, and roast in the oven at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes.  Or,  Bobbie made them the other day a really great way.  She took out the seeds just like described above, then sliced them into half moon shaped pieces about 1/4" thick, and braised them in cast iron skillet covered in stock and apple cider for about 20 minutes.  It was good!
Spinach-  We have some very nice spinach right now.  We haven't given you all spinach in many moons, so we added it to this week's share.  Also, because deer are eating our lettuce right now!  This spinach should be young and tender enough to use in a salad.  Or you can try slightly wilting it for just a few moments with some steam and serving a warm salad, one of my favorite ways to eat spinach.  Should be easy to use up.
Beets-   I was discussing with a farm share member some methods of peeling beets and thought I'd share it here.  You can boil,.steam, or roast in the oven the beets BEFORE you peel them.  They are much easier to peel after they are fully cooked;  just be careful to allow them to cool enough that you don't get burned.  Then, you can use a peeler or a paring knife and the skin should almost fall off on its own.  I personally don't mind the skin too much,  and often just cut the beets up into small bite sized pieces, roast them at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes on a cookie sheet after putting some oil and salt on them, and then serve them just like that. 
Pear-  These pears were grown at organically at Xanadu Farm just down the road from us, where Jack lives.  You may have seen them in our farm stand for the last few weeks.  They are a mysterious variety that is very tasty.  Some of you may receive pears that are ripe and ready to eat, others might need to ripen up a bit at room temperature.  When they are underripe they are a dark brown with a greenish tint;  as they ripen the green disappears and they become a lighter brown color.  Enjoy!
Shelling Peas-  These "English" or shelling peas are a real treat. You have to remove the peas from the pods, as unlike the snap peas the pods are not good to eat.  My favorite way to eat these peas is in a delicious soup.  Here is what you do:  Shell all the peas and hang on to the shells.  Put the empty shells in a pot with 3 cups water and boil for 20 minutes or so to make a pea pod flavored stock.   Strain the stock, reserve the liquid and discard the pods.  Then boil the peas in the pea pod stock for about 5 minutes with a little bit of minced garlic.  Let it cool down a bit before blending it up in a food processor or blender.  Add salt, pepper, a bit of cayenne, but the flavor is really simple and delicate so you don't want to overdo it.  Serve luke warm.
Kale-  From our newer Fall and Winter kale beds, this is "Red Russian" kale.  Great to have some hearty greens for the cooler nights.  Here is a very simple recipe for sauteed kale similar to my go-to recipe at home:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Kale-108742
Garlic-  Another head of nice garlic from Willowood Farm.  We are starting to think about planting garlic later this month, so next season we should be giving out more garlic and it will be from our own farm!  I hope it will be as good as Georgie's, as she is a real pro at growing great garlic.
Basil-  Our basil is mysteriously just loving life all of a sudden in October!  It has been pretty good all year, but all of a sudden it is AMAZING when I usually think of basil season winding down.  We decided to give you guys a whole basil plant this week because we have so much nice basil. 
Hope you are all enjoying a beautiful early Fall.  Thank you as always for supporting the farm!