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.

Farm Share Number 3 Coming Your Way...

Well, it has been a warm, dry week on the farm.  Personally, I am loving it...as are most of the vegetables.   I know many Whidbey Islanders think it is a bit too hot for their tastes.  The challenge on the farm is keeping up with irrigation when it is so warm and dry this time of year.  By August it is typically even drier, but by August we have already tilled in many of our Spring crops, and cut off water to some of our Summer and Fall crops...so really this is the most difficult time to keep everything irrigated, at least when the weather does what it's been doing.  The good news is, it looks like we are going to have some very early Summer crops (knock wood).  It has been truly amazing watching the tomatoes, summer squash, eggplant, and potatoes growing over the last week.  The corn, celery, peppers, and cucumbers are loving it too.  We are even going to throw our first pick of basil in the share this week!  I have never picked basil this early before that I can remember.   Here's the share:

Carrots-  The first carrots are in the share this week!  First of many times...the carrots are a regular in our Summer and Fall shares.  They are still on the smaller size, but still very sweet and delicious.  Perfect for a salad.
 
Lettuce-  Lettuce will be in the share again this week, and we will try to mix it up with some different varieties.  Last week you got either red romaine or red leaf lettuce...this week might feature green romaine or red crisp.

Broccoli-  Our first broccoli of 2015... We had some scientists out from Corvallis this week doing research on the broccoli you are about to eat.  They said they had an unusual problem in our broccoli that they'd never had before....they couldn't find any pest damage whatsoever!  With luck there will be more broccoli to come throughout June and July.  The later plantings are looking great and growing well.

Snow Peas-  The sugar snaps will hopefully keep going through June and most of July, but the snow peas make a brief appearance in early June.  They are great for eating fresh or stir-frying.  Here is a recipe for "Mediterranean Snow Peas" :  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-snow-peas/

Strawberries-  The strawberries are still slowly building towards their peak, but still haven't begun producing  too heavily.  This is because we grow day neutral varieties, which produce all Summer long, rather than the June bearers that are usually grown commercially.  I know that almost everyone is dying for more strawberries, but we still don't have tons of berries yet....so as a compromise we decided to give you a scant pint of berries (i.e. a half pint or so)...and hopefully we will be able to do the same next week! 

Scallions-  We will be picking our scallions for the first time for you.  They are a beautiful red variety that seems to be growing really well.  Here are some tips on how to use up your scallions...otherwise, just google "scallions" and it brings up some interesting recipes!  http://www.thekitchn.com/5-ways-to-use-up-a-bunch-of-scallions-199374

Basil-  A mix of three different kinds of basil...a classic Italian variety, purple basil, and lemon basil.  It all smells so good!  Just a few stems of our basil this week, but there should be much more in the Summer months. 

Turnips-  Hakurei turnips will be making another appearance in the share.  Delicious raw or lightly cooked.  Here's a recipe:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/glazed-hakurei-turnips-368274

Thanks as always for supporting the farm!

Hi Everyone!
Well, we have had a wet couple of days on the farm...almost all the vegetables are probably enjoying the damper weather, but it does make the strawberry picking a bit more difficult, unfortunately.  I am crossing my fingers and hoping the tomatoes are not negatively affected.  It was great to see some of you at the party on Sunday!  If you couldn't make it, we may try to have another event sometime in the summer.  We'll keep you posted.  We have a nice share planned for you this week!  It includes:

Lettuce-  Our first lettuce has arrived!  It is very nice right now.  Usually I actually have lettuce earlier than this, but I decided to plant the first round a bit later this year, and it is right on time for when we wanted it in the farm share.  Lettuce will be a regular in our Summer shares.  We grow a bunch of types of lettuce, including romaines, leaf lettuce, and butter lettuce in both red and green varieties.  We will try to keep the lettuce selection interesting and diverse through the next months!!

Peas-  The peas are on! Other than strawberries, peas are the crop we grow that no one can get enough of (and we can't seem to grow enough of), so we are happy to be able to give them out to you this week!  These are sugar snap peas, so you can eat the whole thing...no need to peel.  Snip off the ends if you prefer.  They are delicious raw.

Fresh Garlic-  If you are unfamiliar with fresh garlic, you're in for a treat.  It can be used like regular garlic (the flavor is not quite as strong or spicy) but you don't have to peel it!  The whole head is edible, and so is the green stalk all the way up to where the leaves begin.  The green stalk is especially mild flavored.  Fresh garlic is great in stir fry, salad or soup, and it can be chopped up fine to use in salad dressings, sauces, or appetizers, too.  Really, you can use it in any recipe that calls for garlic, just use a bit more than the recipe calls for.

Kohlrabi-  Kohlrabi is a delicious spring vegetable that tastes a lot like broccoli but is ready a few weeks earlier.  The purple root like bulb is the tastiest part...just peel or cut away the purple skin, and the inside is tender, juicy and delicious.  Slice it up and eat it raw as an appetizer or in a salad.  The greens are also delicious and can be used just like kale!  Here is a page for the wonderful Martha Stewart's favorite kohlrabi recipes:  http://www.marthastewart.com/1033766/kohlrabi-recipes/@center/276955/seasonal-produce-recipe-guide

Radish-  More radishes in the share this week.  This is the time of year when radishes are the star.  They are tender and tasty, and not too spicy. 

Beets-  The first beets in the share this week.  Carrots should be in next week's share!  Bobbie made smashed beets the other night when we had some friends over for dinner, and they were amazing.  Here is a recipe for what she did: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/crushed-beets-with-lemon-vinaigrette   Try it out!

Arugula-  A bunch of arugula...to use in a salad, or to blend up into a delicious Spring pesto...yum.  Here's a recipe:  http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Thank you for your support of the farm!  Hope you're enjoying the fresh food...we will do our best to keep it coming.  As always, if you have any feedback, comments or complaints, please email or tell us in person.  See you all soon!
Blake, Bobbie, Jack, Whitney, and Nico

This week's share