FINAL SHARE of the 2015 Season

Well folks, the day has finally arrived....the final week of our 2015 Farm Share is upon us.  We have had a great time supplying you and yours with produce this year, and hopefully you have enjoyed cooking and eating it. 

Here's what is in the final share:

Apples!  It has been a while since we had fruit in the farm share.  We don't have any more apples on our own tree, so these will hopefully come from our friend's farm in Greenbank.  I think they will be Jonaprince apples, which are basically a Jonagold with a nice red color and large size.  They are great for fresh eating....enjoy!

Carrots-  Our final installment of delicious carrots.  These will store in your fridge for quite a while in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer, so if you're still working on your carrots from last week, these ones could still be great in a dish at Thanksgiving dinner!

Beets-  We still have lots of nice beets out in the field, and if the weather doesn't get too cold we'll be able to continue wholesaling them well into December with any luck.  I looked for a while to try to find something new and different in the recipe department for how to make roasted beets....here's what I found....
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-beets-with-cumin-and-mint-238419
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/maple-horseradish-glazed-beets-238068

Buttercup kabocha squash-  I have heard rave reviews from quite a few folks who tried these squash for the first time this year.  They should keep for a month or more at room temperature if you want to make the farm share last into December.  Here is an interesting recipe...check it out!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-kabocha-squash-with-cumin-salt-243591

Onions-  I had forgotten that we had set aside these Copra storage onions for the final share, until I found them at the end of last week.  Thank goodness!  I was worried that we wouldn't be able to give you our own onions for the last share...these onions are a great all purpose cooking type for any old recipe that calls for an onion.

Brussels sprouts-  I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Brussels sprouts, because there is another batch coming your way.  Just like the carrots, the Brussels sprouts will keep for several weeks in the fridge in a plastic bag....and could also make a great side dish for Thanksgiving dinner.

Frisee endive-  This is a green that is very closely related to lettuce, but has a stronger, slightly bitter flavor and a bit more chew, so it is usually lightly cooked before eating.  It is more cold hardy than lettuce for the winter months, and is very nice served warm.  A few nights ago I steamed a head of frisee, upside down for a few minutes until it was tender, and then we chopped off the bottom and ate it with mashed potatoes and some pork that Bobbi raised this year.  It was delicious!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sauteed-lemon-maple-frisee-350571

Kale-  I have the hardest time gauging how much kale to give you guys, because with kale's recent popularity I think some people would love kale almost every week, while other people still don't know quite what to do with it.  Speaking of which, please let me know!  I would love your feedback about the farm share.  Too much food each week?  Not enough?  Specific crops you got too much of, or would have liked more of?  Email me anytime at ebbtideproduce@gmail.com!!  We will be looking forward to next year and hope to see you then.

Week #24 Blog

It is really getting dark early now after daylight saving's time, but it was a beautiful sunset and dusk tonight before it got dark.  We are now done planting and mulching our garlic, and we planted a little field of tulips in front of the farm stand that hopefully should be making beautiful blooms next April. I am brainstorming about some winter projects, like reorganizing the farm stand and improving the irrigation system.  Aside from a few rough patches, and a handful of pest issues this Fall, we have really had a great growing season this year.  It was so warm, it's actually kind of hard to plan for next year now, not knowing if it will be another year like this, or a more normal Spring and Summer.
Hope you're enjoying the last of the Fall shares!  We've got two more nice ones planned for you before we go into our Winter hibernation.

Delicata squash-  More of our tasty delicata squash.  They are so easy to use- I'm cooking some for dinner tonight and I'll tell you what I did.  I cut the ends off, and then split the squash in half long wise and scooped out the seed cavity, and then sliced the two halves into half inch crescent shaped pieces.  I put them in a large, hot cast iron pan and stirred them with some salt, olive oil, chili powder, garlic, and maple syrup.  Then I added a bit of water and put a lid on it to let it steam for five or ten minutes.  After that I removed the lid and put the whole pan in the oven at 350 degrees to finish cooking for 20 minutes or so.  I wasn't following a recipe, and we haven't eaten it yet, so I hope it's going to be good!
 
Carrot-  No surprise here, as promised the carrots keep coming. I have been eating a bunch of carrots lately, as I'm guessing you have too.  We had them just plain steamed in a steamer basket and with a tiny bit of salt with dinner last night, and it was really tasty on a Fall night.  Nico likes them the same way, but hold the salt.

Cauliflower-  The beautiful Fall cauliflower is back in your share this week.  I didn't want to give you cauliflower three weeks in a row, so we skipped last week and I was worried we wouldn't get rid of it all.  I think we wholesaled over 175 lbs though!  So with any luck we won't have any going to waste.

Celeriac-  This is an unusual vegetable you may not be familiar with;  also called celery root, it is very very similar to celery,  but it has been cultivated to grow a great big root rather than having taller, more tender greens.  The tops are still great for soup or stock, as you would use celery, but are too tough for fresh eating.  The roots are surprisingly easy to use;  use a knife or a peeler to cut off the outer skin, and the inside is crisp, juicy and tender, with a flavor like celery but a texture similar to kohlrabi or even apple.  If it is sliced very thin or grated, it is tasty raw on a salad.  Or it can be roasted or steamed like potatoes.  Here are some celeriac tips from who else but Martha:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274202/celery-root-recipes#184425

Watermelon radish-  These are a cool winter radish not too different from the black radishes in your shares a few weeks back.  The Flower Cafe was serving a salad with these radishes a few months ago that everyone was crazy about, and people were asking us for watermelon radishes, but ours weren't ready yet!  I'm not sure exactly what the salad was, but here's one that looks good:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/radish-salad-vinaigrette.html
This calls for using the radishes raw and thinly sliced, but they can also be roasted or steamed or souped like other Fall/Winter veggies.

Fennel-  These nice, smaller fennel bulbs were planted in late Summer as a bit of an experiment, and they have grown pretty well..  while the bulb is somewhat small, the green fronds are nice and can be used as an herb!  A Fall salad with celeriac, fennel and apple may be in the making...or here's a recipe for fennel and celeriac soup, that you may have to halve....nice looking blog!
http://www.feastingathome.com/creamy-celeriac-fennel-soup/

Lettuce-  I lied last week when I said you were getting the last of the lettuce in your share...I was surprised how much lettuce we still had in the ground, and this warm weather has meant it's continued to grow and size up.  One more week of lettuce...maybe to use with the watermelon radish recipe posted above!

Garlic-  Nothing too noteworthy here, the same batch of nice (I believe "Music" is the variety??) garlic from our friends at Deep Harvest.  We planted over TWICE as much garlic as last year, so hopefully this time next year we'll be giving out our own garlic!

Thank you, as always, and have a great week.  We'll see you on Thursday.


Week 23 Farm Share

This is week 23, out of 25 weeks!  That means only 2 more weeks of farm shares after this Thursday.  We are on the home stretch here, folks.  That said, we still have some nice veggies to give out before the year is over.  Hope you are all still enjoying cooking up your veggies.
Everything in your share this week should look a bit familiar....after some unusual veggies mixed in over the last few weeks, this week's share is not so esoteric.  But we will have some more strange winter vegetables coming your way in the last few shares, so get ready!  That said, I was actually trying to decide whether to put some dry dent corn in the share this week, which would be truly unusual....I ended up deciding that most folks probably wouldn't care for it too much.  We grew a lot of dry corn for Vincent to make polenta at the Orchard Kitchen.  It is similar to Indian corn and makes a pretty Fall decoration, or you can remove it from the cobs and grind it (maybe in a coffee grinder or food processor) into cornmeal.  If you are interested, let me know and I'll try to get a few ears to you!  Here's the share this week:

Kale-  Although you can harvest kale 12 months out of the year here in the Pacific Northwest, this time of year is when I really get the hankering to eat it.  Warm greens are so satisfying on a chilly night.  Or this recipe with ramen noodles and kale!  You can use the leek in place of scallion:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/ramen-noodles-with-kale-56389409

Carrots-  We have so many carrots still in the field it's crazy!  We will be giving you carrots for the next 3 weeks for sure.  If you get overwhelmed with too many carrots (and don't want to make a pot of carrot soup), just put them in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer and they should last for many weeks....you could potentially have our carrots til Christmas!

Beets-  Rather than a fancy beet recipe, I thought I'd just tell you my easy basic way of cooking beets....it is very similar to making oven cooked potatoes, but with beets.  Just chop off the tops and the bottoms, then cut up the beet into half inch cubes.  Put the beets on an oiled cookie sheet, sprinkle salt and pepper over the top, and roast them in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes.  Always tasty!

Acorn Squash-  As promised, the winter squash is back this week....and there will be a different kind in your share for each of the next three weeks.  If you want to store your squash for later, don't put it in the fridge...just leave it out in a warm, dry spot in the kitchen and it should last for many weeks.   Wow, I might have to make this recipe, it looks really good and would use up your kale, too:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/acorn-squash-with-kale-and-sausage-51203850

Brussels sprouts-  There are a lot of Brussels sprout haters out there, I think mostly because the ones at the grocery store are usually so gross.  Truly, home grown ones are a totally different beast than the sprouts you may have had in the past.  Give them a chance and I bet you will love them!
I KNEW Martha would have some banging recipes for this occasion:
http://www.marthastewart.com/275510/brussels-sprout-recipes#642659

Peppers-  Our last peppers of the years, not bad at the end of October.  This warm October weather has definitely helped the peppers keep producing...and they are still going strong, but with the days getting shorter and cooler they are just ripening so slowly now that I can't imagine we will have any more after this pick.

Leeks-  More leeks in your share this week, I hope you are enjoying them and getting the hang of cooking with them.  As suggested above, use them in place of scallions (or onions), or check out Martha's recipes and tips on how to use them:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274312/leek-recipes

Lettuce-  It is time to enjoy your last lettuce salad of the year...at least with Ebb Tide lettuce....they should still have it at the grocery store!  This will be from our final lettuce planting of 2015, and while the heads didn't get super big, they are very pretty and should be very tasty. 

Share for October 22nd...

 We are getting into late October here this week, and it is beginning to look like it.  I was taking baby Nico for a walk this morning and we went through a tornado of leaves coming down in front of Bayview School.  Still surprisingly warm, though..it was up in the mid 60s this afternoon, despite the blustery wind.  Seems like before too long we're bound to get into some cooler nights.  Here's what's in this week's share...

Potatoes-  More of our German Butterball potatoes.  We have been really sorting through these hard to try to give you potatoes with the minimum of pest damage...unfortunately a lot of our potatoes got ruined.  Jack and Whitney are trying to hatch a plan to make vodka from all the cull potatoes we are pulling out.  Enjoy the creme de la creme!  If you find a small amount of damage, hopefully it can easily be sliced off and composted. 

Arugula-  After many weeks of lettuce, time to mix it up with some arugula.  I'm hoping we can get some spinach in the share one more time this Fall, too, but we cut it a little too hard, so we're now waiting to see if it will grow back.  The arugula has grown back really well though, and should be great for a spicy salad, pasta, or arugula pesto....here's a recipe from Martha, and you could definitely use the chicory bunch (see below), as it's very similar in taste to the radicchio called for in this recipe:
http://www.marthastewart.com/319360/arugula-salad-with-figs-pine-nuts-and-ra
and here's more recipes from the same site:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274753/arugula-recipes#235667

Chicory bunch-  This crop is basically a cultivated form of dandelion greens, with a pleasant, slightly bitter flavor similar to escarole, endive, or radicchio (see recipe above).  It can be chopped and eaten raw, if you don't mind a little bit of chew and the slightly bitter taste...or lightly sauteeing or steaming it makes it both milder flavored and more tender.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sauteed-dandelion-greens-242014

Cauliflower-   We should be picking some very nice cauliflower heads for you this week.  Exciting, to have cauliflower again for the first time in months!  Our Fall brassica patch has done very well, with beautiful heads of broccoli, cabbage, and now cauliflower.....hopefully if the weather stays relatively mild, we should have more cauliflower over the next few weeks!
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/06/10-best-cauliflower-recipes

Collard greens-  More delicious collard greens...hearty, healthy and satisfying on cooler evenings!  Collards are more tolerant of hot weather than other cabbage family crops, which is why they're popular in Africa, India, the South, and other warm places...but they're also tougher in cold weather, so I will hopefully still be eating collards in February.  Last time I posted a recipe for Southern style collards, so this time I'll just point out that there are lots of other great ways to use collards....pretty much any way you're accustomed to cooking kale, try subbing in collards and the results are usually great.

Carrots-  A big bunch of carrots in your share this week!  The carrots continue to be awesome.  Hope you're finding good ways to enjoy them.  Baby Nico loves to gnaw on raw carrots as a teething toy, so we are probably using more carrots for that right now than any other way.

Rutabega-  Here is a nice web link with some great rutabega info and recipes:
http://www.thekitchn.com/why-you-should-give-rutabaga-a-chance-183530
Give rutabega a chance!  In spite of their somewhat homely looks, they are actually very delicious, and if you are of European descent they probably helped keep your ancestors alive through the winter.

Garlic-  More garlic from our friends at Deep Harvest Farm....we are just about to begin planting our garlic for next year....maybe as soon as tomorrow.   We are planting 5 or 6 beds, which is twice as much as last year, and I am expecting it will take a couple of days to get it all in the ground.  I have "popped" or broken apart all the heads of seed garlic, and they are in bags at my house, ready to go in the ground.  Jack plowed up the garlic field, so now we just need to find the time to stick it in the ground.  Hopefully you will all be enjoying the fruits of our labors next year!

Have a great week!

Week 21...

Howdy, partners...
We had a great family vacation this week out to the Olympic Peninsula.  We rented a 1981 VW bus in Port Angeles and drove out to Neah Bay; we hiked out to Cape Flattery, where we saw whales, and to Shi Shi Beach on the Pacific coast.  We also managed to see elk, deer, seals, raccoons, and a bunch of cool birds, fish, insects, mushrooms, and plants.  Nico did pretty well and had a great time after having a rough first night.
It was great to get away...I had not been off of Whidbey island for longer than 24 hours in 6 months!!  Happy to be back now and beginning the final phase of our farm share adventure.  Here's what's in this week's share:

Cabbage-  We have not had much cabbage in the share so far this year, but we have some beautiful Fall cabbages now to make up for it.  They are a pretty good size....not intimidatingly huge, but not too small, either....good for at least a few side dishes or one big meal.    This recipe features lots of butter and promises to win over cabbage haters:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/buttered-cabbage-241777

Beets-  More delicious beets!  Beet sales are funny at the farm stand and farmer's market...even though we've had them ever since late Spring, sales really slowed down throughout the Summer, and are now picking up again in the Fall.  Beets do seem especially satisfying and comforting in cooler weather, and I guess that may be the reason.  Here's another recipe from epicurious:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/beet-risotto-56389492
I just saw that the Orchard Kitchen is offering classes this weekend on ravioli and risotto, too!  Sign up before it's too late!

Celery-   Have to harvest all the celery before the first frost...there is nothing worse than losing celery to cold weather.  The plant still looks normal and great, but the stalks all get mushy and gross on the inside.  We are ahead of the game, and I am anticipating after this week we will have no celery left....and it hasn't even gotten into the 30s yet, I don't think.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-soup-51246210
I am going to give everyone a small bunch of dill, just in case you want to make this soup! 

Dill-  For the soup, as previously mentioned.  Or for anything else you'd like.

Ruby Streaks mizuna-  Mizuna is an Asian green unknown to most Westerners, except maybe as a component of salad mixes.  But it can be very tasty on its own, and the color of this purple-red variety is so pretty I couldn't resist adding it to the share.  Here's is an appropriate blog entry:
http://www.thekitchn.com/what-can-i-do-with-mizuna-good-117970

Onion-  Really great to have onion this time of year, for making soups, sauces, stews, roasts, and all that good comforting stuff.  These are our copra storage onions, which I wish we'd planted more off, as we already sold out of all the onions we grew except the ones we reserved to give to you!

Peppers-  These will probably be the last peppers in the share this year, so enjoy.  Here is a recipe for oven roasted peppers, a great way to enjoy them on the cooler nights.
http://markbittman.com/how-to-cook-everything-the-basics-roasted-pep/
If you haven't seen the book, "How to Cook Everything", it is a great cookbook with simple, easy to use recipes for all kinds of stuff (as the name implies).

Winter squash-   This week we are giving you a buttercup kabocha squash...it is the fourth and final type of winter squash we grew this year.  It is a pretty good keeper, so if you are backed up on winter squash right now, leave it out on your counter and it should be fine for many weeks.  There will be potatoes in the share next week, and no winter squash, so we will give you a few weeks to catch up!  Here's the last recipe for this week:
http://www.food.com/recipe/buttercup-squash-casserole-337982

Blog for Week 20...

The 20th week of our 2015 Farm Share, and we're happy to be still going strong.  Excited to be bringing you more veggies over the next month, too.    I am writing the blog post this week as I watch the Seahawks on Monday night football....go Hawks!

Here's what's in your share:
Delicata squash- Delicata squash is the long, tube shaped squash that is pale yellow with orange and green flecks.  You will be seeing a few in your share very soon.  They are very delicious and probably the easiest winter squash to use.  If you slice them in half long wise and scoop out the seed cavity, you can bake the halves at 400 degrees for about a half hour, or steam them for fifteen minutes or so.  Or you can chop them into C-shaped rounds and fry them!  There are so many great ways to use delicata.  Here is a blog post more eloquent than I could write:
http://summertomato.com/better-than-butternut-roasted-delicata-squash-recipe/

Carrots- This week I think you'll be getting the first of our winter carrots, which are pretty similar in flavor to the summer carrots but much more cold tolerant and hardy.  A fun fact:  Although our carrots are already pretty sweet, they should get sweeter as the Fall goes on....cold weather will trigger the plants to send more sugar in their roots in order to store energy.  Over the coming weeks you can see if you notice a difference.  There will be beets and no carrots in next week's share, so maybe we'll give you a larger bunch this week.

Lettuce-  Well, I just noticed this morning that the deer have once again found a way into our field and nibbled some lettuce...it's not too big a deal, as we have lots of lettuce that won't survive even a light frost, which could be upon us before too long here.  But hopefully they don't keep coming back for more....on the list for next year:  better deer fencing.

Broccoli-  Hope you enjoyed the broccoli from last week, as there's some more headed your way.  The fall broccoli is looking great and came on right in the time frame we hoped it would.  Also, several crops on the farm are having pest issues, and amazingly the broccoli, which is usually pretty susceptible to pest problems, seems to be in great shape (knock wood).
Here's Martha's broccoli page.  Aaaah, Martha... she has a fascinating looking article on the web right now..."how to iron properly"
http://www.marthastewart.com/1011281/broccoli-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#964975

Braising Mix-  Braising mix, is, as the name implies, a mix of greens for braising.  I didn't actually know what, exactly, braising meant, so I just looked it up;  it means to fry or sauté in some oil at a higher heat, and then turn the heat down and cover to finish cooking.  Ironically, although I wouldn't have been able to tell you this was braising was, this is often exactly how I cook braising greens.  Go figure.  They make a great side dish, all they need is some olive oil for sautéing, salt, pepper, and maybe some vinegar or lemon juice.  Serve them with a starch and a protein for a good old fashioned meal!

Green tomatoes-  This time of year is green tomato season, as we begin to pick underripe fruit that won't have time to ripen before the weather gets too cool.  Doing this also gives the rest of the fruit a better chance of ripening...so just maybe we'll be able to give you a few ripe tomatoes too, either this week or next.  If you haven't ever made fried green tomatoes, they are truly delicious!!  Here is an article from Southern Living, of course the authority on green tomato recipes.
http://www.southernliving.com/food/6-ways-with-green-tomatoes/classic-fried-green-tomatoes-recipe

Eggplant (or Pepper)-  Last but certainly not least....we resisted the urge to harvest ANY peppers or eggplants last week so that we'd have enough for your shares this week.  I would like to give every one an eggplant or two, but if we're a bit short then people on the North End may get peppers instead...in which case we'll reverse it next week,  and give North Enders eggplant and South Enders peppers.  Enjoy!
http://www.marthastewart.com/274258/eggplant-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide

First October Share this week...

Hello farm share friends,
What a beautiful day it is outside as I'm writing this.  Sunny weather in late September/early October is the best.  We are doing our best to wrap up the field work, bring in the crops, and clean up the fields before everything gets cold and soggy.  I am very happy to be giving you tomatoes in an October farm share..last year our tomatoes went down very suddenly after some wet weather in the late Summer, and when we got those wet spells in August and early September I was worried.  The good times can't last forever though, so enjoy those tomatoes while you can.  Here's what else is in your share this week:
Potatoes-  We finished digging up all the potatoes this week, but unfortunately we also learned that a lot of them have some kind of pest damage.  We will do our best to give you the nicest ones we can, but we'll also give you some extra spuds, as you may have to trim off an end here and there.  These are German Butterball potatoes, which is a great all purpose potato for frying, baking, mashing, boiling...you name it.
Acorn squash-  This is the type of winter squash we ate most when I was a kid.  It is easy to slice in half, scoop out the seed cavity, and bake.  We would put butter, maple syrup, and sometimes some nutmeg or cardamom on it.  The skin of these squash are thicker, so you won't want to eat that part, and the flesh is a bit stringy and flavorful.
Carrots-  Not too many of our Summer carrots remaining before we will get into out storage carrots, which are a different variety meant to store in the ground into the winter.  The cooler weather makes the carrots get sweeter!
Spinach-  A great big bunch of green spinach, for salads or cooking.  Have I already linked to Martha's spinach recipes?  I don't think I have...
http://www.marthastewart.com/274254/spinach-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#925566
Broccoli-  Finally, broccoli is back!  We didn't plant broccoli for August and September, as it sometimes doesn't do as well in the dry late Summer weather.  But we have a really nice planting coming on now, so should get some tasty broccoli into your shares!  Yummm.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-broccoli-with-asiago-241614
Black Spanish Radish-  This is a winter radish that is very different from the radishes you are probably familiar with.  Here is a blog post that is a bit silly, and not initially very enthusiastic about black Spanish radishes in general, but ends up giving some great ideas on how to cook yours:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cathy-erway/black-radish-recipes_b_2617652.html
Garlic-  More delicious garlic coming your way.... to use with your other produce, or try some roasted garlic.
http://www.food.com/recipe/how-to-roast-garlic-303247

Have fun!

Farm Share for September 24th....

We have some drier weather in the forecast for this week, which should hopefully allow us to get some storage crops out of the field, like potatoes and winter squash.  We have finished plowing up a new section for next year....it is about a third of an acre at the bottom of what is now the goat pasture...we're planning on planting our winter squash down there next Spring, which will give us more space in our existing fields for other crops we want to grow more of, like garlic, onions, and broccoli.  The Fall crops are looking great out in the field, other than some pest damage to the carrots in a few places....but many of the Summer crops, like the tomatoes, appear to still be going strong in spite of the cool, damp weather.  Other things, like corn, cucumbers, and summer squash, are winding down, and we're starting to clean up some of the fields and get them ready for the Winter off.
Here's what's in this week's share:

Cucumbers-  As mentioned, the cucumbers are slowing down, although they are continuing to produce more than I would have expected in these cooler, shorter days.  Hoping we will have enough to put one or two cukes in the farm shares for a last hurrah.  Enjoy one final cucumber salad!

Lettuce-  The Fall lettuce is really looking nice, and we should be able to get it into the shares quite a few times before the end of lettuce season...of course, lettuce is pretty sensitive to frost, so if  we suddenly get a very cold night a little earlier than usual, the lettuce could be turned to mush in the blink of an eye.  Usually it will be alright until late October, and we are putting woven row cover over it, both to protect it from deer (who we have almost completely fenced out, but not quite...) and cold temperatures.

Hakurei turnips-  If you're new to the farm share, you may not have tried these yet.  They are a Japanese salad turnip that is really delicious and super easy to use...I like them best raw, sliced up on a salad or just eaten whole out of my hand!  They are good cooked, too, and here's a recipe that uses the greens as well:
http://www.food.com/recipe/sauteed-hakurei-turnips-and-braised-greens-459220

Beets-  Lots of nice beets out in the field right now!  I was agonizing all Summer about whether or not we had enough beets planted, and of course now we have plenty.  Here's a kind of elaborate recipe that will use your beets, cucumber, and parsley if you feel up to it:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tuna-souvlaki-gyro-with-beet-tahini-and-parsley-salad-238189
or this one, if you're in the mood to do some pickling:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/pickled-beet-and-cucumber-salads-5409

Parsley-  Goes great with beets, carrots, cucumbers, peppers....easy to use, just chop it up and add it to a salad dressing, or sprinkle on top of the salad.

Tomato-  We are getting so many tomatoes still, it's easy to put a lot in your share!  Hope you're enjoying them and not feeling overwhelmed.  Maybe a few less this week than last week.  If you have extra, it is pretty easy to chop up tomatoes, cook them down for a bit on the stovetop, and then freeze them for the winter, and you'll be glad you did in a few months!

Sweet peppers, chilies-  Easy to tell these apart; the sweet peppers are the bigger ones that were in your share last week, the chilies are much smaller, and either green or red.  There should be two large sweet peppers, and two small hot peppers in each bag.  In my experience, Pacific Northwesterners have mostly been terrified of hot chilies to the point of not wanting to even touch them...I've been surprised by the positive response and excitement about hot peppers this year!  Maybe things are changing....

Kale-  With cooler darker evenings, it is great to have some warm braising greens with dinner.  Can't do a blog post without Martha!  Again, click on the arrow to scroll through recipes:
http://www.marthastewart.com/286367/kale-recipes/@center/1009854/winter-produce
Hi farm share members,
Well, last week was a crazy week.  It was the first week back at school, and I had to suddenly jump back into my job as a substitute school bus driver (more than I was expecting).  A terrible car crash up in Coupeville meant that Bobbi was unable to do the deliveries to the North end, as the whole highway was completely closed down.  And we had a bit of confusion on some of our wholesale orders for restaurants and stores.  But we survived, managed to get the produce up to North Whidbey on Friday, and all the kids got to school and back.....so I guess it was a success!  Hoping that this week goes a bit more smoothly though...
After the very nice return to Summer temperatures over the weekend, it looks we are back into some cool and damp weather in the coming week or two, and Fall is definitely in the air.  Over the coming weeks, the Summer crops like tomatoes and peppers will hopefully continue, but they are already slowing down.  Meanwhile, the winter squash, storage potatoes and onions, fall carrots, and broccoli are all waiting in the wings to take their spot.  The transition begins this week, with the first winter squash in the share, and napa cabbages, the first crop to come out of our Fall cabbage patch. 
Here we go!
Red kuri squash-  This is a delicious "kabocha" type of Japanese squash.  It has a sweet, strong flavor and an unusually dry, crumbly flesh.  Maybe my favorite type of winter squash...but it is not a great keeper, so it is at its best from now until Thanksgiving, and then starts to go downhill.  The skin is edible, or if you prefer to scoop out the flesh and compost the skin, that works too.  They can be cooked a lot like an acorn squash; cut them in half (be careful and use a good knife!), scoop out the seed cavity, put some butter, salt, and spices, brown sugar or maple syrup if you prefer, and then bake them on a cookie sheet for about 40 minutes at 375 degrees.  It's nice now that it's cooler out to have a warm oven in the kitchen and some hot food!  Here's a recipe for red kuri soup:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/red-kuri-squash-soup

Tomatoes-  The cherry tomatoes have slowed down quite a bit, and we are getting some split ones from the rains...but the other tomatoes are still yielding a surprising amount and going strong!!  There may be both slicer tomatoes and heirlooms in your share this week...the slicers are similar in size to a roma, but rounder and bright red.  They are great all purpose tomatoes for cooking, pasta, sandwiches, and as a salad addition.  The heirlooms come in all different sizes and colors; purple, green, pink, and red.  They are from old fashioned plants that produce less fruit, but the fruit they do produce is super flavorful and sweet.  The heirlooms can be used just like other tomatoes, but are especially good enjoyed alone, in slices or in a simple tomato salad that lets their flavor shine.

Lettuce-  With tomatoes and lettuce in the share this week, it may be BLT time!  The lettuce is looking really great right now and should be perfect for some crunchy salads or sandwiches.

Napa cabbage-  Napa cabbage was in the farm share way back in the Spring, and one share member told us she loved it and wanted more, so we planted some for the Fall.  It has come along very fast since being planted in early August, and is ready to enjoy!  It is an Asian vegetable traditionally used in stir fries, in kimchee, and for a variety of other things.  Martha's got some tasty looking recipes here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/1060104/napa-cabbage

Carrots-  No big surprise here.  Either carrots or beets should be a regular in the Fall shares, hopefully until the end of the Season.  We planted lots and lots of carrots this year, and it has been great having plenty of carrots.

Onion-  I believe this is the first time you're getting some of our Copra storage onions.  We just harvested them all out of the field last week, and they are now mostly cured and ready to store for several months if necessary.  Copras are a great all purpose yellow onion that grows really well west of the Cascades and usually stores pretty well.  The can be used in most any recipe calling for onion, and they don't have too much bite, so they are good raw too.

Swiss chard-  We have some beautiful chard right now that has been enjoying the weather lately.  I love Swiss chard with eggs, like in a scramble, an omelette, a frittata, or a quiche.  There are some other delicious ideas on, once again, the Martha Stewart page:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274967/swiss-chard-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#_
I hope everyone knows that to view the recipes on these pages you sometimes have to click on the little black arrow/chevron next to the image of chard!

Dill-  The dill is taller now, and beginning to flower a bit, which is no problem and actually seems to make the flavor a bit stronger.  If you still have any of your sweet pepper left from last week, use it in this really simple recipe with carrot and dill:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sauteed-carrots-with-red-bell-pepper-and-dill-2024

Blog for September 10th Farm Share....



Hey Everyone,

As the field work begins to slow down this time of year, I have more time to think.  Jack and I have been doing a lot of planning and scheming for next year already, which in some ways may mean we're getting ahead of ourselves a bit, but in other ways it's actually necessary:  we are working up a bit of new ground that we've decided we'd like to use for our winter squash next year, and it's great timing right now to begin killing the grass for it to be ready to plant next Spring.  We're also figuring out how much more garlic we'll need next year, because we'll have to plant it in just a little more than a month, so we need to be getting all our "seed" garlic organized and decide where it's going to go.


Here is what is in your share this week:

Spinach-  Some of the crops are loving the cooler, wetter weather we've been having. The spinach is definitely in that camp.  It has been growing like weeds over the last few weeks, and we should be able to put a nice big bunch in your share.  The spinach is great at its current size...small and tender enough to make a nice spinach salad, but large and flavorful enough for braising/cooking if that's what you want to use it for.

Spuds-  More potatoes in this week's share... the potatoes are one of the crops that the wet weather is less than ideal for.  It doesn't actually hurt the spuds themselves.  But right now is when we would be doing our big potato dig, where we dig all the potatoes from the field and put them in storage for the Fall.  This project is a lot easier, and the potatoes store better, if it is dry.  So we will probably be doing a smaller harvest, and waiting until we get a drier window for the big dig.

Celery-  The celery is really continuing to grow well.  Here is the Martha Stewart page of celery recipes, with some tasty looking appetizers, soup, and salads:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274670/celery-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#342090

Cherry tomatoes-  Keeping my fingers crossed that the tomatoes can keep going, and happy that the forecast looks a bit warmer and drier later this week!!  More Martha-  I just discovered this website this year and it is so great. 
http://www.marthastewart.com/336506/cherry-tomato-salad
Completely unrelated to Martha Stewart, I just remembered a great German movie from a few years ago about cooking named "Mostly Martha".  Bad title but a really sweet movie. 

Carrots-  They just keep coming!  There is no end in sight to our carrots...we should keep having them all through the Fall.  Our crop planning for the carrots has really been great this year, we've had plenty of carrots all season but never too many that we got way behind.  This recipe looks good!!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/caramelized-cumin-roasted-carrots-357271

Cucumber- The cukes keep coming, although I expect they can't keep coming for tooo much longer.  I did a much better job this year with the cucumber plantings than with the Summer squash, which all kind of came on simultaneously.  The cukes are still very nice right now, and I have actually been eating them more lately than I had been for the past month or so!  Have to enjoy them while we still have them.

Corn-  The big wind storm did blow down some of our corn stalks, but there are still a lot more that are doing great, and probably enjoying a good drink.  The corn got so tall this season we kind of ran out off options as far as irrigating it, when putting the sprinkler on top of a T post no longer worked.  I'm hoping it should be in the share at least once or twice more after this week.

Garlic-  We did not grow nearly enough garlic this year, and as we have to reserve some to replant in a month or so, we have already decided to keep all that we have left for "seed" garlic.  Fortunately, our very good friends at Deep Harvest farm right down the road from us are in the midst of a garlic glut.  What's more, their garlic actually did better than ours this year, and the heads very large!  So you will get a head of their garlic in your share this week, and hopefully a few more times before the end of the season.

Thanks for supporting our farm,
ETP

September!!!!

September is here, and it sure looks like it around the farm.  What a wild weekend....Whitney and I were lucky not to have blown away at the farmer's market Saturday.  I hope everyone has gotten their power restored by now....our road is definitely looking like a hurricane blew through with tree branches all over the place. 
Aside from the fact that nearly all of our remay (the white floating row cover that protects the crops from insect damage) blew off, and some damage to some of the corn field, most of the crops seem to have survived the storm unscathed.  I am really pleased looking at the fields to see how much food we still have out there, and all the stuff we'll have to put in your shares in the coming months. 

Here's what's in this week's share:

Lettuce-  At long last, I think our lettuce is back in business.  The heads might be a bit small still when we pick on Thursday, but I think it'll still be nice for a few salads.

Summer squash-  These could very well be the last zucchini in your share!  The plants are quickly succumbing to powdery mildew, which doesn't affect the quality of the fruit immediately, but gradually weakens the leaves and slows the plants down so they become less and less productive.  These plants have produced like champs all summer long, and the winter squash is already waiting in the wings...so maybe it is time to say goodbye...

Tomatoes-  I was pretty worried that the wind may have damaged the trellising or the plants in the tomato field, but they look pretty good.  The wind may have even helped, because after it rained quite a bit the wind really dried things out pretty quickly, and the tomato plants don't like to stay damp and soggy for too long.  I have been really enjoying eating a few slices of tomatoes for breakfast every morning with some scrambled eggs!  With cilantro and chili in the share this week, it may be time to make some salsa.

Leeks-  Leeks are such a great crop here in the Pacific Northwest.  They love our mild temperatures, they are tough and resilient, always delicious, and unlike onions, never bothered by wet weather.  Bobbi and I made sushi last night and raw chopped leek was very good in it, along with grated onion, radish, chopped cucumber, cilantro, and peppers, and some other veggies.  Here is a recipe for an easy to make savory leek pie...I may have to make this tonight...
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/81537/french-leek-pie/

Eggplant-  Hope you have enjoyed the eggplant so far!  One of my favorite vegetables.  If the weather calms down, we may have another chance to do some grilling before the end of the Summer.  If not, try making some baba ganoush indoors. 
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggplant_dip_baba_ghanouj/

Cilantro-  It is salsa week.   See below.
 http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/tomato-corn-and-avocado-salsa-51108410

Chili peppers-  We didn't grow a lot of chilis this year, but they are doing well and are not too spicy.  I'm sure some of you folks are not fans of chilis, and other people may want to choose which variety they'd like to try...so maybe we will put out a basket in the farm stand with a description of the varieties, and you can grab whichever ones you want.  Our jalapenos are very very mild, and the cherry bombs, my favorite, have some serious kick, but it doesn't last long.  We also have green cayenne peppers, which I believe are probably the spiciest.  Salsa time!

Corn-  We are on to our mid season variety, "Luscious".  It has a slightly larger ear size and a great taste.  Use it in the salsa recipe above, or with a mix of veggies from your share in the recipe below:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/summer-vegetable-ragout-with-exotic-curry-sauce-360673

Collard greens-  Jack and Whitney and I are all very excited to have collard greens now.  The plants are just getting started after being planted in early August, so we will probably just have a smallish bunch in your share this week.  Try some Southern style greens!  Collards are very similar to kale in how you can use them, but they tend to maintain a bit of chew where kale gets soft after being cooked.  They go great with barbeque!  Or try this pecan and collard pesto recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/collard-and-pecan-pesto-51193030
8/27....share #14
It's the last share of August!  This is still very much a late Summer share, but looking at the fields it won't be long before we begin to transition into more and more Fall produce.  With any luck, many of the Summer crops will still continue well into October...but we'll also begin to harvest more things like storage onions, winter squash,  potatoes, and cool weather greens to complement the tomatoes, peppers, and corn.  It's been a challenge this year with the warmer weather, as a lot of our plantings have come on earlier than usual and not lasted quite as long.  I have been stressing about this a bit all Summer, and I do wish I'd planted another planting of beans, beets, basil, and a few other things for the coming months, but on the whole it has worked out pretty well. 
This is also the time of year when I begin thinking a lot about how to plan for next year...it is nice while things are still relatively fresh in my mind, to assess what we had too much of, what we could have had more of, and change the crop plan for next year accordingly.  So if you have any feedback about the amounts of things in the shares, now is a great time to tell me!  For example, if you feel like you would have liked a lot more broccoli, or you got way more onions than you needed....let me know!  Of course, every household is different, so we're trying to strike a good middle ground...but it's always great to hear from you.  Here's the share:

Arugula-  While we should have tons of nice lettuce for September, most of it is still right around the corner and not quite ready.  In the meantime, the arugula is doing great, and a lot of the late Summer crops go great in an arugula salad.  We'll try to give you a nice big bunch.

Radishes-  We are swimming in radishes right now.  I planted way too many, and we have tons.  They are really nice though, and easy to use.  I have been amazed how many radish bunches we've been selling at the market this Summer!   Radishes seem to have really caught on in the last few years.  I don't know where to find "bresaola" on Whidbey, but you can use prosciutto in this recipe and it looks fancy and DELICIOUS!  Uses your arugula too..
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/bresaola-carpaccio-with-gribiche-vinaigrette-235463

Sungold tomatoes-  I made the recipe I posted a few weeks back with roasted sungold tomatoes with honey and olive oil.  It was easy to do and really tasty.  I served it with couscous.  Check back to maybe week 10 for the link?  I recommend it!

Peppers-  The sweet peppers are finally starting to get some color.  I am hoping to give everyone one of both varieties we grew this year, Atris, which is a bell pepper that turns green to red, and Gypsy, which is a really great specialty type that changes from pale yellow to coral colored.  They are both very sweet and not spicy.  We roasted some on the grill last night and put them on pizza!

Fennel-  Also great to roast on the grill is fennel...just slice it in half, put a bit of olive oil and salt on it, and grill until it starts to blacken a little bit on the edges.  Or if you like a nice licorice taste, just slice it thin and eat it raw in a salad, on a sandwich, or with a dip.  From our friend Martha:
http://www.marthastewart.com/286398/fennel-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide

Beets-  Beets are back in the share after some time without them.  Beets and fennel make a great combo... here's a link to a whole list of recipes that include both:
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=beet+fennel

Beans-  As I said above, I wish I'd sewn another planting of beans....as it is, this might be the last ones in your share!  Hopefully we can get one more pick out of them in a few weeks....we'll see.  These are a green French fillet bean that are really nice and small.  They are not quite as tender as they were in the early Summer, so I'd recommend cooking them rather than eating them raw.

Cucumber-  The cucumbers just keep producing this year!  We have had some incredible yields, and I feel like the quality has been top notch.  They won't keep going forever, though, and as we will be into winter squash season in just a few short weeks, enjoy the cukes while you can!

Tonda onion-  I also wish we had planted more onions this year!  We do still have a lot of nice Fall storage onions that we haven't begun to pick, but our fresh onion varieties are disappearing fast.  Enjoy these nice sweet and mild red onions.  We've been putting them in all kinds of stuff...on pizza, in salad, in sandwiches.

See you all soon!!
ETP}


Hello, farm share members!
We are quickly approaching my favorite time of year.  Beginning in late August, and lasting until around mid November, is an excellent time to be on the farm.  Irrigation duties have become much much easier, as we have fewer crops in the ground, we've cut off water to many things like potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and winter squash that we are hoping to let dry out a bit, and the shorter days mean it doesn't dry out quite as fast.  Weeds and crops are growing much slower, so weed pressure is greatly reduced.  There are fun projects to do, like big harvests of storage crops such as potatoes and winter squash, that don't have quite the time crunch and intensity of other harvests.  There is tons of great food to eat, and none of the financial stress of the Spring.  Plus, I just love the weather!  The shorter days feel like a relief after the craziness of Summer, and the cool mornings and evenings are really nice.  I am looking forward to it...and hoping we'll have a nice Fall. 
We are going to try to do a little push to sign up a few more members for the last ten weeks of the farm share (September 10th until November 12th), so if you know of anyone who may be interested, please put them in touch with us!  As the tourist season winds down we are anticipating a little less traffic at the stand, the market, and the restaurants, so we'd love to have a few more sign ups...it seems like a good time of year, too, when people are done with Summer vacations and settling back into a routine.  We'll have info up at the farm stand.
If you have a pile of blue bags lying around, remember to bring them back!  We still have plenty, it seems like for the most part everyone's been doing a great job this year of returning them, just thought I'd send out a reminder. 
As a final note, I am super happy to say that Jack and Whitney are both thinking they'll be back working with me next year!  We thought Jack would be leaving to pursue a Masters degree (in teaching) but he has decided to stick around and try to find a way to get some credits online.  I am going to try to hand off more responsibility to them in the future to reduce my own work load, and one way I hope that can happen is by having Whitney help me with writing the blog and emails sometimes.  So you may be seeing some blog posts by her in the coming weeks.
Thanks for supporting our farm!  Great share this week:
Carrots-  Back in the share this week, carrots pair great with dill, their close cousin.  See the (video)  recipe below for a soup using your spinach, carrots and dill:
http://www.marthastewart.com/1088344/carrot-and-spinach-soup-recipe
Dill-  Our first two planting of dill were quickly and utterly overwhelmed with quack grass, and we ended up giving up and tilling them in....in hindsight though, it seems like it worked out okay, as this is really the best time of year to have dill.  Something about the flavor is great in late Summer, and it goes great with carrots, cucumbers, corn, squash....and of course also with seafood!  The salmon are running, here's a recipe for salmon and dill:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/salmon-and-dill-chowder-109309
Spinach-  Great time of year for a nice spinach salad.  We have a lot of spinach planted and should have it in the shares several more times throughout the Fall.
Eggplant-  OK, I changed up the plan again last week after writing the blog, so I'm sorry if anyone was disappointed by the lack of eggplant.  The melons came on so suddenly and they looked so good...I thought it was a great chance to get melons in the share.  I hope everyone enjoyed them, in case you were wondering, that was a "Galia" type melon, an Israeli honeydew.  Eggplant in the share this week, I promise!  Refer to last week's blog below for recipes.
Corn-  Sweet corn is back in the share after a week off.  This is our first harvest of "Luscious" which is my favorite mid season corn.  Put some corn on the grill!
Tomatoes-  It is peak tomato season and the fruit is really great.  I am crossing my fingers and praying that the rain last week won't have done too much harm...tomato plants and rain are a bad combo this time of year, as moisture spreads late blight, which can reduce a tomato field to a rotten mess in no time.  I may try using a beneficial organic spray this week that is supposed to help the plants combat the disease.  Anything to keep the tomatoes coming!!
Cauliflower-  Usually I don't plan to have cauliflower this time of year, but I am surprised with how great it seems to be growing.  Should have some really nice cauliflower for your share this week.  This recipe looks really good, but so did a bunch of other cauliflower recipes I saw on epicurious.com
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/parmesan-roasted-cauliflower-51143020
Italian plums-  Another surprise addition to the share, we have a big hedge of Italian plum trees at our house and they are loaded with fruit.   I haven't had a plum that was truly dead ripe yet, but they are ripening very quickly and I'm hoping they'll be delicious by the time we pick them for the shares.  Not sure how many we will have until we pick them, but we should be able to get at least four or five small plums in all the bags.
Have a great week, and thanks as always!

Week.....12?

Hello everyone,
Another week of beautiful weather.  Other than some very obnoxious deer who have been getting into our strawberry field, everything has been going great on the farm.  We have had several very busy weeks with the farm stand, the farmer's market, and wholesale orders keeping us hopping, but it feels like this week will be a bit slower, which is good as I'm ready for a bit of a break from the constant picking. 
The Orchard Kitchen has been open for business for several weeks now, and it sounds like everything is running smoothly.  If you haven't seen their new commercial kitchen, it turned out beautifully.  They are featuring lots of late Summer produce from the farm, so call Tyla for reservations if you are interested!  I can't remember if I've already put up a link to their website, but the info is all at: http://www.orchardkitchen.com/buytickets/
We have another nice share for you this week. 
Potatoes-  I have been stingy with the potatoes this year.  I apologize.  Early on I began to suspect that we hadn't planted enough spuds, so I've been trying to hang on to them and let them size up as much as possible.  We haven't really been sending them to the market, and we've only put them in the stand when we were digging them for Vincent and had extra.  But now, the spuds should be pretty much fully sized, so we can afford to be generous!  These ones are still fresh potatoes (not fully cured for storage) but aren't as delicate or perishable as they were in July, and can be used just like the spuds you'd get at the store.  I had some delicious home fries for breakfast this morning:
 http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/20462/home-fried-potatoes/?mxt=t06rda
This recipe will use some onion and parsley from this week's share....I put summer squash in mine, so if you have any kicking around in the crisper drawer from last week....
Lettuce-  We didn't get lettuce into the share last week, as it was still on the small side and the share looked okay without it.  This week, lettuce for sure.  And we should have lots of lettuce for September, too, which is good news.  I always screw up the lettuce plantings one way or another in mid Summer.  I am going to try to make a note to self so that next year I do the plantings differently.
Candy onions-  I can't remember if we've given out the Candy onions yet....they are similar to walla wallas, a large yellow sweet onion.  They keep a bit better and sometimes have a bit more kick.  They are an excellent onion, and would be excellent with home fried potatoes.  OR as onion rings!
 http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/crispy-fried-onion-rings
I use beer instead of water.
Apples!-  I definitely didn't plan on this, but we have an apple tree in our yard (across the street from the farm) producing tons of delicious apples.  I am no apple expert, and I don't know what variety this is.  It is an old tree that hasn't been pruned well in a while, so it was not easy to pick, and the fruit is not super uniform in size...but every apple I've eaten has been delicious.  We have been picking up the windfalls to make baby food for Nico, apple sauce, or pig food.  These ones were all picked from the branches.  Enjoy!
 Cherry tomatoes-  More Sungold tomatoes.  They are so tasty right now.  Some of the plants are really getting out of control, over 7 feet tall and outgrowing their trellis.  This recipe sounds good if you have a sweet tooth!  I may have to make it tonight with the leftover sungolds from the market this weekend.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/honey-roasted-cherry-tomatoes-51174600
Eggplants-  We only gave you one small eggplant a few weeks ago, so this time around I hope to give all of you at least 2 or 3, enough to make a real meal with.  Here is a repost of the link from a few weeks ago for eggplant recipes:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274258/eggplant-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#1004630
Parsley-  Parsley is a delicious and versatile herb that goes well with so many vegetables.  Unfortunately, most people only think of it as a little sprig of garnish on the side of the plate, but it can be a really essential ingredient once you start using it.  We grow an Italian flatleaf parsley that has a nice mild flavor and is easy to chop and use in a variety of dishes.  Here is a link to a Saveur article that puts it more eloquently....they recommend using parsley with seafood.  Yum.
 http://www.saveur.com/article/-/Parsley-Recipes
Kale-  The kale plants are still alive and kicking that we planted all the way back in April.  The great thing about growing kale is its ability to keep going without having to be replanted frequently, like broccoli does for example.  We have Fall kale and collard greens planted now that should be large enough to pick from in just a few weeks.
Cucumbers-  The cukes are holding up really well and still going strong this year.  Sometimes I've felt like the quality of the cukes really took a dive after the plants had been producing for a month or so, but so far this year they are still growing some beautiful cucumbers.  Try throwing some cuke slices in a pitcher of water for something different.  That just reminded me of a delicious cucumber cocktail I used to get when we lived in Portland...I couldn't find a good equivalent online, but "cucumber cocktail" does bring up an interesting mix of stuff on Google.
Have a great week!



Week 11 Farm Share...

It is officially August.  It feels like it, too, with all the Summer crops up and running at full speed.  There are so many great things to eat right now it is hard to narrow it down and decide what to put in the share.  Here's what I'm leaning towards.

Tomato-  We are growing a lot of tomatoes this year.  I think somewhere between 200 and 300 plants!  Tomatoes take a lot of work all through the Spring and Summer, but they are definitely worth it when they start producing heavily, as they are doing now.  We planted a mix of several heirloom varieties and standard red slicer that also has a delicious heirloom like flavor.  The heirlooms come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, so some are ripe when they are yellow or purple or orange.  If the tomatoes still seem a bit firm and under ripe when you unpack your share, just let them sit at room temperature for a day or so and they should ripen quickly.  Don't put tomatoes in the fridge!

Cilantro-  The theme of the share this week is salsa!  It is finally salsa season.  Our earlier plantings of cilantro germinated poorly and were quickly and completely overwhelmed by quack grass, a weed that we have been having to wage war against for the first time this year.  But now that we have tomatoes, corn, and peppers, it seems like the cilantro is right on time and it was meant to be.
Here is a recipe for vegetable quesadillas  with a fresh salsa...you can modify this recipe and throw in any veggies taking up space in the fridge!  I would use the carrots, pole beans, corn and pepper from this week's share, and the tomato, garlic, and cilantro can go into the salsa.

Peppers-  The peppers are just starting to ripen and change colors....we mostly have two types, one that changes from green to red that is similar to a bell pepper, and one that changes from pale yellow to coral pink, my personal favorite named "Gypsy".  They are delicious before they are fully changed, though.  Most green peppers are just red or orange peppers that are picked a bit earlier, so they are slightly less sweet and more tangy.  Enjoy these ones now, and we will hopefully have ripe sweet peppers soon!  By picking some early, it makes is easier for the plants to ripen the remaining fruits.

Corn-  More corn in the share this week!  The warm weather has been so great for the corn this Summer, and it seems like we are going to have the best yields we've ever had.  Knock on wood.  Aside from just the sweet corn, we have a ton of dent corn planted, a different type of corn that we will dry down for use as polenta or cornmeal.  Vincent asked us to grow this for use in the Orchard Kitchen in the winter months, when there isn't as much fresh food in the field.  The plants are much taller than sweet corn stalks.....right now I think they may be 8 or 9 feet tall!

Pole beans-  We grew a pole bean mix from Fedco Seeds that seems really nice.  There is a beautiful variety of purple, speckled, yellow, green, and other colored beans.  Pole beans have a really great flavor, as the plants are so much bigger than bush beans they are able to photosynthesize a lot more.  Use these beans the same way you would use any green beans...they are just a bit more flavorful.

Squash-  The summer squash plants continue to produce, although they are starting to slow noticably from their peak a few weeks ago.  That is fine with me!  The fruit all needs to be picked, three times a week, so it is a lot easier when there isn't quite so much of it!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/zucchini-fritters-with-herbs-and-cheese-106460

Carrots-  The carrots have been so great this year.  I hope you're not getting tired of them, I kind of assume that people can always use a few carrots, as they are so easy to use in so many different ways.  I haven't been eating enough carrots myself, I think I'll take some home this afternoon.

Turnips-  It has been a while since we put salad turnips in the share, and we have a lot right now.  These turnips are still tasty and great raw.  They could actually go great with raw carrots, beans and pepper slices.  Don't forget, you can saute and eat the tops!  With no other braising greens in the share this week, the time is now!  Here is a simple looking recipe:
http://addapinch.com/cooking/spicy-skillet-turnip-greens-recipe/

Garlic-  It's been a while, so I thought you might be ready for another head of garlic. 

Lettuce-  Our Summer lettuce struggles continue.  First it was the deer, then a timing of planting mistake on my part, and now we are have issues with wire worms, an annoying pest that has killed some of our new planting.  I have to say, though, lettuce has been the only crop we've really struggled with this year, and it isn't so heart breaking to not have lettuce.  Our next planting is coming in and may be ready by Thursday, so if possible we'll put a head of lettuce in your share. 

Week 10 is here...

It is week 10 of the farm share, and we are now in the heart of Summer.  Rumor has it the heat is returning later this week.  Irrigation duties are finally easing up a bit, as we begin to cut off water to crops like winter squash, potatoes, fall onions, and tomatoes, and till in old beds of Spring crops that we are done with.  We planted buckwheat in the top field nearest the farm stand, a Summer cover crop that you'll be able to watch rocket upwards over the coming weeks and help preserve our topsoil and fertility during dry windy weather.  And we have been making a big push to get the last Fall crops in, so over the last few weeks we have been transplanting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, and collard greens, and direct sewing seeds of rutabaga, turnip, winter radish, kale, chard, and spinach.  There are about two more weeks of planting and sewing, and then we'll be done and able to relax a bit when harvest is over!  Late August until November is probably my favorite time on the farm, as we have tons of food but less hectic insanity.
It is the time of year when it is hard to decide what to put in the share, as there is so much food in the fields!  I was almost Considering trying to do a share entirely made up of Crops that begin with the letter C, as the list of possible share additions included chard, carrots, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, cauliflower, cherry tomato, and celery.  Not a bad share!  Except I don't think the cilantro is quite ready, or if there's enough corn or cauliflower for all the shares, and I wanted to put strawberries back in the share and put in some baby leeks.  So now it is just a farm share with many C vegetables.  

Chard-  It's been a while since we've had Swiss chard in the share, so it's time.  I love to eat Swiss chard in the Summer.  Its mild sweet flavor seems to go best with the other Summer crops like zucchini and tomatoes and corn.  Here is Martha's page, which is kind of Fall themed but has some nice recipes for chard.  Use the little arrow on the right to scroll through them.
http://www.marthastewart.com/274967/swiss-chard-recipes/@center/1009845/fall-produce#967833

Carrots-  Carrots are back in your share.   We are in to a newer bed, so they are back to the medium small size, but the same delicious orange variety.  We may do them topped rather than bunched this week, as that's how we've been selling them lately, but if so it will be basically the same amount of carrots.  Enjoy!

Strawberries-  Strawberries are back in the share!  They are coming on strong and the quality is super nice right now.  The biggest and I think sweetest berries we've gotten all year.  I think the plants enjoyed a bit of cooler weather, and the relatively small amount of rain we got hasn't seemed to do them much harm.  They should be easy to get rid of.

Cucumbers-  With squash in the share last week, it is time for cukes again now.  They are continuing to yield heavily and look very good.  Try making a chilled cucumber soup!
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/creamy_cucumber_soup.html
And I will be sure to put extra squash up in the farm stand on Thursday, so feel free to grab some for free if you'll use them!  We are feeding quite a bit of summer squash to our two pigs right now, Brad Pigg and Angelina Jowly.

Baby leeks-  The leeks have really grown great, and I thought it would be nice to put a different type of allium (garlic, onions, leeks and shallots) in the share this week.   This will just be a smaller bunch of a couple baby sized leeks, but they should be delicious and are great on a salad.  Leeks have a flavor a little bit like onions, but much milder with almost no bite.  Use the stalk from the roots all the way up to where the leaves begin.  Here are some recipes:
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/searchresults?search=summer+leek

Cherry tomatoes-  More of our delicious little sungold tomatoes.  They are coming on strong now, and the plants are taller than I am!  I hope that EVERYBODY got their cherry tomatoes from two weeks ago now....this time around I promise to put them in the bag!!

Broccoli/cauliflower-  Well, I couldn't decide which we'd have more of, or if we'd have enough of either, but between the two it should work out great, and everyone will get a nice head of EITHER broccoli OR cauliflower.  If you have a strong preference, peak into the bag to find the one you want.

Corn OR eggplant-  Same goes for the sweet corn and the eggplant....not sure we have enough of either one for all the shares, so you'll get one or the other.   I think I'll try to do the same thing again next week, so if you get corn this week you can get eggplant next week. 
Corn-  This is a great early corn variety that I discovered years ago.  It is a bicolor (white and yellow kernels) that is consistently ready a week or two before and of my other corn!  The ears are not huge, but the flavor is great.  My favorite way to eat corn is raw out in the field.  But you also can't beat fresh sweet corn on the grill.  It's so good!
Eggplant-  Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables, and I think that homegrown eggplant is much better than the stuff at the store.  The eggplant is VERY early this year....Usually it's just getting started in late August and doesn't hit its peak until late September/early October.  I am hopeful that it will keep going all through the Summer and into the Fall even though it's starting so much sooner!
Oh my gosh some of these recipes look delicious...I may have to try one or two this week.
http://www.marthastewart.com/274258/eggplant-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide#1004630

Ebb Tide Produce Blog for week 9

Everything continues to go well on the farm.  The Summer crops are getting going, and we are slightly overwhelmed with large amounts of squash, cucumbers, and green beans at the moment.  The tomatoes are getting going and hopefully about to be ripening in droves, and the corn looks like it's right around the corner....hopefully we should have sweet corn in next week's share!  
In the share this week:
Tomato-  The larger tomato plants are just starting to produce, so I am going to hang on to them in the hopes of giving everyone one or two tomatoes this week.  If I run a bit short, a few of you may get some more cherry tomatoes!  
Beets-   Beets are back in the share after quite a few weeks off.  The beets are growing and sizing up super quickly right now.   We are still growing the same mix of red, gold and chioggia types.
Beets and bacon!?!   http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/salads/r/roastedbeet.htm
Torpedo red bottle onions-   This is a really great fresh red onion that has an unusual torpedo-like shape to it.  They are an Italian heirloom with a mild, sweet taste that is great raw or lightly cooked.
Arugula-  It has been a very long time since we put arugula in the share, so we thought it was overdue this week.  Nothing beats the spicy flavor in a summer salad. 
Radish-  Radishes are back in the share this week, too.  These very young French Breakfast radishes should be mild and sweet with just a little bit of kick.  It seems like this week's share is all pointing towards making a large salad....
Fennel-  I have been waiting for these fennel bulbs to size up enough to be in the share.  Fennel has a sweet, anise flavor.  It can be cooked (like onion) to make the flavor milder, or sliced thin and enjoyed raw.  Here is a recipe to use the fennel and arugula in your share...you could even add the radish, onion, or even the (precooked) beets to this salad:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shaved-fennel-and-arugula-salad-353816
Here is another recipe for how I always remember eating fennel as a kid.  You can also use the beans, radishes, pretty much anything produce that is nice to eat raw...with some tasty cheese, meat, and dip to make this "Pinzimonio" plate:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/fresh-vegetable-platter-with-olive-oil-dip-103419
Green and yellow beans-  More fresh beans in your share, this time with the addition of a pretty yellow wax bean.  We are working hard to keep up with all the beans the plants are producing right now!  Here is a recipe that includes the torpedo onion, and either cherry tomatoes (or substitute other tomato sliced up).  I don't think there will be a pound and a half of beans in the share, so you may have to half this large recipe.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/green-bean-yellow-bean-and-cherry-tomato-salad-103487
Summer squash-  It keeps producing!  Hope you are ready for some more.  If any of you would like a LARGER amount of summer squash, let me know.  We probably have plenty, and I could put some up in the farm stand if you'd like to make a big batch of food.  Hang on to your arugula if you want to make this recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/shaved-summer-squash-salad-365655


Can't believe it's already Week 8!

I'm sure a lot of you have been enjoying the cooler weather.  We sure have on the farm for the last few days, and I'm happy to see that it looks like it is supposed to be a cooler week ahead.  Not only is it physically much more exhausting picking food in 80 degree heat, it is really mentally tiring just trying to keep everything fresh, cool and looking good after we pick it.  The summer crops have really benefited from the additional warmth, but 70 degrees with a few clouds shouldn't do them any harm at all and will make the farmers happy.  Here's what's in the share:

Potatoes-  As mentioned in the email, we decided for a bunch of reasons not to put these in last week's share, so here they are.  Enjoy!  Man, Martha Stewart's website is awesome:
http://www.marthastewart.com/274469/new-potato-recipes/@center/1009726/spring-produce
Cherry tomatoes-  YES!  Our first sungold tomatoes!  We picked them last week and I was surprised how many we got, so I'm hoping we should be able to give all of you a half pint.  They are delicious.  If some are bit paler yellow than others, just leave those ones on the counter for a day until they're fully ripe.
Snap peas-  Well, I'm almost sure these will be the last snap peas in the share this year.  Usually we have them all through July, but the warm weather has made them come on earlier and set more heavily all at once.  By the end of July the quality is always starting to decline a bit anyway, and right now they're still very good, so enjoy while you still can!
Cucumbers-  Hope you enjoyed the cuke in your share last week, and have room for a few more.  More Martha:
http://www.marthastewart.com/1060111/cucumbers
http://www.marthastewart.com/1058924/cucumber-salad
Garlic-  The garlic is all cleaned, tied up and hanging to dry in the barn now, so it will be very easy to cut down a head for each of your shares.  It is mostly dried down now and can be used more or less like regular garlic...should have more flavor and spice than the grocery store varieties though.
Celery-  Our very first time picking celery on the farm!  This is the first year we've grown it, and we will be harvesting the first batch for you.  I think we will pick it more like an herb this time, cutting the outer stalks and bunching them, so the plant survives.  Then in August or September we will be able to harvest the whole plant, and you will get the heart as well as the outer stalks.  I think celery is one of the crops that makes the biggest difference whether it's homegrown or grocery store....store bought celery just doesn't taste like anything.  It does have a great crunch though, and home grown celery can be tough if it doesn't get enough water....we have tried to keep ours well watered, so I am hopeful that it should be tasty AND crunchy.  Fingers crossed.
Basil-  The basil is growing crazy fast, and we are trying to keep up with it.  Should be a bigger amount in the share this week than last time....same varieties though, Italian, purple, and lemon.
Lettuce-  We have some very nice lettuce now.  There may be different varieties in different shares, so peak in the bag to get the type you want.  Use the snap peas instead of frozen peas, and any kind of lettuce, to make this recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/lettuce-and-pea-soup-108090
Blog for Week 7

Hi everyone,

We have a very nice share for you this week.  At the risk of being extremely repetitive,  everything is so early this summer!  It's crazy.  I was out planting more carrots, beets, radishes, and salad greens this morning, more than I planned to because I can't believe how quickly we are going through plantings.  We have lots of food on the horizon, but I must admit, I am worried about still having food come September.  But then I tell myself that, no matter what, their always seems to be tons of food in September, with tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and melons all at their peak.  The corn and beans are all just coming on so quick that it makes me think I should have done more plantings for late Summer though.  The mental anguish of growing veggies.  I guess it's always something. 
In other news, the Orchard Kitchen is scheduled to have their opening ceremonies this weekend.  That is the name of the commercial kitchen, restaurant and event center that Vincent and Tyla Nattress (the owners of the land that Ebb Tide Produce sits on) are opening.  They have been working at a feverish pace trying to get everything ready, and the property has been a huge construction site for over a month now.  We are all very excited to see them launch into the next phase of their project.
Here's the share:
Lettuce- Lettuce is back, and we've finally found a way to keep the deer from destroying it...by covering it with the floating row cover that we use to protect many other crops from (usually insect) pests.  Thank goodness.  The deer were driving me crazy.
Carrots-  More carrots in the share this week. 
Zucchini and cucumber-  Hope you enjoyed the first squash this week!  This week we will probably give you one squash and one of our first cucumbers.  Eventually I think we usually switch to either two squash or two cucumbers( every other week), but as the cucumbers are just getting started I think we'll only have enough to give everybody one, and in the meantime we have lots of zucchini! 
These "Adam" cucumbers are really, really delicious.  The skin is thin and tender, so they don't need to be peeled.  My favorite way to eat them is right out of my hand in the field, but here's a recipe for a cucumber salad:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Korean-Cucumber-Salad/
Cauliflower-  Well, I very much hope we can give everyone a head of cauliflower.  The cauliflower is one of the few crops that is not enjoying this warm weather...the heads are a bit less uniform than usual and not coming on at a super consistent pace.  We'll do our best!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spiced-carrot-cauliflower-soup-51262700
Green beans!!-  I am excited to have green beans already.  They are so delicious fresh off the plants.  These younger, fresher beans are so much tastier than the ones from the grocery store.  Great to eat raw, too, unlike the tougher ones at the store. 
New potatoes-  Pretty similar to the ones you got a few weeks ago, but as you will see, they are getting bigger!  Still thin skinned and tender, so treat them with care and store them in the crisper drawer of the fridge like your other root veggies.
Walla walla sweet onions-  Well, I went back and forth about whether you all would prefer onions or kale in your share this week.  We have plenty of both.  The share this week doesn't have much green stuff in it, but onions are always nice...if you really want kale let me know and I'll put extra in the farm stand on Thursday.  You can grab a bunch on the house. 
Hello hello.

Another warm week.  It was nice to get a little bit of overcast skies and a sprinkle yesterday afternoon!  What a summer.  New things coming on all the time on the farm.  I just ate my first ripe cherry tomato this morning!  Usually the first one is a bit of a one off, so it may be a few weeks until we get enough ripe fruit to put in the shares...but they will be earlier than usual, that's for sure.  I'm usually happy to see the first ripe tomato before the end of July, so we are a full month earlier than usual.  The eggplants look like they will probably be on two months earlier than usual. 
With the fourth of July we are getting ready for a busy week at the farmer's market and the farm stand.  It's going to be a crowded island this weekend.  Here's the share:

Zucchini (or Summer squash)-   These plants just started producing last week, and now they are already cranking out the fruit.  The plants are huge, with some leaves over 2 feet across.  We grow green and striped zucchini (cocozelle), plus patty pans (the yellow saucer shaped ones), crookneck, and straightneck squash.  This recipe will use up your basil and some of your garlic  (I always use more garlic than the recipe calls for, too):
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/zucchini-with-olive-oil-garlic-and-basil.html
Basil-  The basil is really growing fast.  Hopefully we'll be able to give you all a nice big bunch in the share this week. 
Carrots-  Back in the share after a week's absence.  We are into a new planting now of the same delicious variety...I discovered these "Hilmar" carrots a few years ago and now it's the only orange Summer carrot I grow.  They are so delicious...and they are "open pollinated" which means not a hybrid variety.  It is rare for an "OP" variety to be able to outcompete hybrid vigor, but Hilmar is the rare exception.
Lettuce mix-  It's been a while since we put our baby greens in the share, and with the deer continuing to occasionally munch on our head lettuce, the timing is right.  In the mix this week is lots of nice baby lettuce, plus young arugula, mizuna, mustards, kales, spinach, and more.
Broccoli-  Probably just a small head of broccoli in the share this week....I think it must be the heat, but our latest planting has come on a bit early with the plants still smaller, so the heads are not quite as large, but still very nice and tasty.
Cabbage-  A small head of baby green or purple cabbage.  How about a nice coleslaw for a fourth of July picnic?  You can use your scallions and carrots in this recipe....http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/creamy-cole-slaw-recipe.html
Garlic-  We just finished bringing in the last of our garlic, and later today I'll till in the weeds now that the beds are empty.  The garlic now is hanging to dry before we'll cut it down from the stalks, after which time it'll look more like the familiar garlic heads at the grocery store.  Right now it's halfway between cured and fresh, so I've been finding I need to peel it....however, it peels very easily and the flavor is still a bit fresh like the Spring garlic.  Really good.
Scallion-  I am hoping we have enough of the purple scallions left to put in your share one more time.  A few people may receive the fresh walla walla onions if we run a bit short.


Week 5 Produce

Wow, can't believe it is week 5 already, and almost July.  As promised, this is a Summery share.  I was definitely realizing that it was a slightly esoteric share, with Napa cabbage, fava beans, and pea shoots all being a bit off the beaten path for a lot of folks.  I hope you enjoyed everything anyways, and if you still have a few things in the fridge, this week's share is all stuff that should be relatively familiar and easy to use.  I am going to go light on the recipes this week, partly because most of the items are pretty familiar to most people, and also because I'm in a bit of a hurry to get back to work on the farm.  The weeds grow fast this time of year as well as the crops.  Just a reminder, though, if you are looking for ideas on how to cook something, check out www.epicurious.com  ...it's a great website where you can type in one or several ingredients and search through a database with tons of great recipes.  Have a great week and see you all soon!
In the share:

Strawberries-  The Albion strawberries, our second (and Jack's preferred) variety are finally really starting to produce.  You will probably notice the difference...the Albions are really big and conical, and have a slightly lighter color than the Seascapes.  Their flavor is super, super sweet with a little bit of tartness.  Enjoy!
Potatoes- I can't believe how early these potatoes are!  These are new potatoes, so the skin is very thin, and the flesh is very juicy and delicate because they haven't dried down.  They don't store well like cured potatoes do, so keep them in your refrigerator and don't bruise them.  The upside is, their flavor and texture is really, really great....almost like a different vegetable.  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/new-potatoes-with-black-peppercorn-butter-103916
Walla Walla Sweet Onions-  Our first fresh sweet onions of the year are finally ready.  You can use the whole onion...the tops are like green onions (use them in the potato recipe above).  The onions themselves are very sweet and mild, great raw on a sandwich or salad.
Broccoli-  We have lots of really nice broccoli right now.  Enjoy raw, steamed, sauteed, baked in a casserole, in cream of broccoli soup...there are so many good ways to eat broccoli...
Sugar snap peas-  It has been several weeks since we had peas in the share, so it's time to bring them back.  They are very productive right now and easy to pick...some of the plants are over 7 feet tall and producing peas above my eye level!  The next rotation of peas is beginning to flower and hasn't seemed to mind the warm weather so far....
Lettuce-  Hopefully this week we'll be able to give everyone a head of a beautiful French red crisp (reine de glace) lettuce called Cardinale.  It is really beautiful and delicious right now, I'm hoping it holds up until Thursday so we can put it in the share.
Swiss Chard-  Our chard got off to a slow start this Spring, but we finally have enough to put it in the share.  I love Swiss chard this time of year, and it goes great with beets as they are cousins.
Recipe here, or see below under beets:  
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/swiss-chard-with-raisins-and-almonds-241474
Beets-  The beets are really growing fast lately... we are trying to keep up.  Here's a recipe to use your beets and your Swiss chard!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-beets-with-sesame-and-marjoram-51255560
Week 4 is upon us....
And it is the last Spring share, with Summer officially beginning this weekend....even though it has felt like Summer for weeks now.  Appropriate, though that we will have lots of Spring veggies in the share this week...and some of them may not be back for a little while as the Summer stuff is coming on fast.  Our fresh onions, zucchini, cauliflower, and potatoes are all right around the corner and should be appearing in the share over the next few weeks.  Other crops like cucumbers, celery, green beans, and cherry tomatoes look like they will be earlier than usual and should be arriving throughout July.  Here's what's in this week's share:

Fava beans-  Called broad beans in England, favas are a wonderful Spring vegetable that loves the climate here in the Pacific Northwest.  They might take a little work to enjoy, but they're well worth it.  There are several ways to prepare them, listed here from the easiest to most laborious:
1.  When the favas are young and tender (as they are right now) you can actually eat the whole pod.  Just cut off the ends, toss them in salt and olive oil, and cook them on the grill for a few minutes on each side until they are tender and a little bit crispy on the outside.  It's like a giant green bean.
2.   A more typical way to do it is to shell the beans and discard the pods.  It is actually pretty easy to do as the pods are soft and easy to open, and the beans inside are a pretty good size.  You can steam or sauté the beans for a few minutes and they are ready to eat.....unless....
3.  If you are a true gourmet, you can do the "double peel".  After shelling the beans and steaming them for a minute or two, the outer skin around the bean slides off very easily.  This outer shell has a slightly bitter, vegetable-y taste (that I actually enjoy, but some people don't).  If you do the double peel, you end up with a pretty small amount of a truly sweet and delicious lime green inner bean. 
Good luck and have fun!
Here is some how-to from Martha, who apparently isn't familiar with method #1:
http://www.marthastewart.com/975835/fava-bean-recipes/@center/1009726/spring-produce

Carrots-  The carrots are really great right now.  I hope you enjoyed the bunch last week and are ready for some more...

Napa cabbage-  This beautiful vegetable is very popular in Asian cooking but not known very well here in the U.S.  It has a nice crisp texture and mild flavor, not too unlike Bok choi.  It is used to make Kimchi in Korea, a delicious sauerkraut-like dish.  Here is a recipe that seems pretty simple and only requires a few days of waiting before you can enjoy:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/29505-basic-napa-cabbage-kimchi-kimchee
You can use the radish in your share in place of daikon radish.  If you're looking for something simpler and/or quicker, here is a recipe for a stir fry:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/stir-fried-pork-with-napa-cabbage-232797

Radishes-  These may be the nicest radishes we've grown yet.  They are nice and big but still tasty.  As mentioned above, you can use them with the Napa cabbage in a pickle, or in a stir fry.  Or just throw them in a salad.

Pea vines-  I have been wanting to put these in the share for several weeks, and I finally have a chance to do it!  These tender tendrils can be eaten raw in a salad or appetizer, or lightly steamed or stir fried.  I'd think about tossing them into the napa cabbage stir fry above.  Here's a different stiry fry recipe, sorry about the obnoxious advertisement:
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/stir-fried-pea-shoots

Kale-  We have a lot of kale right now.... it is growing like gang busters.  Jack made some delicious kale last night by basically cooking it like Southern style collard greens with barbeque.  Here's a recipe (just substitute kale for collards, and use fresh garlic):
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/southern-style-collard-greens

Lettuce-  Probably a mix of lettuce types going into the shares this week...we are getting some deer in our field and they have managed to destroy some beautiful heads of lettuce!  It is a real bummer.  Our fields are mostly fenced, but not well enough to keep deer out.  Usually we don't have a problem, but it seems like every year around this time an adventurous creature discovers the lettuce patch.  We may be working on some haphazard fencing later today to try to keep them out.  In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful lettuce that the deer haven't managed to destroy.

Fresh garlic-  People have caught on to the garlic in the farm stand...I've been surprised how well it's selling.  This week you'll get a large white softneck variety instead of the red hardneck from several weeks ago.  Softnecks are said to have a sweeter, milder and less spicy flavor.