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!
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