Well hello. The fourth farm share, and we have some good stuff coming online, and all shares this week will be getting:
Sugar snap peas! At long last. Our peas are really late this year, and still not really in full production, but we should have enough to get them in all shares tomorrow, and a lot more are on the way soon. Our peas are one of our signature crops and everyone loves them, especially kids! I am relieved that they are finally producing.
Carrots- A bigger bunch of beautiful orange "Hilmar" carrots in your share. Most modern carrot varieties are hybrids, which means a controlled cross of two different varieties to produce a more uniform, vigorous variety (often with better disease resistance or other desirable qualities), but these Hilmar carrots are "open pollinated", meaning both parents were Hilmar. I find they have almost as good uniformity and vigor as a hybrid, though, and to me the flavor is better.
Zucchini/Summer squash- Our squash are really starting to produce, and we're now picking them three times a week to keep up! A similar mix to what we've grown in years past, with lots of green and golden zucchini with a few patty pan, crookneck, and cocozelle thrown in.
I am reposting Bobbi's peeler recipe here that was in last week's blog as well:
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-the-no-chop-too-lazy-to-really-cook-summer-saute-244665?li_source=LI&li_medium=RelatedRecipes
Basil!! Our basil is suddenly growing like a weed in this warm weather, so we will give everyone a big bouquet of fresh stalks. So awesome to have basil in the farm share before it's even July! It's a mystery to me why many of the heat loving crops are thriving so much in spite of our cool Spring.
Walla walla onions- These are the same sweet onions that were in your share a few weeks ago, but as you'll see they are quickly plumping up, so they should be bigger and juicier. Great on a salad or sandwich because they are pretty mild eaten raw, but they can be used just as you would any onion. They make the best onion rings, too!
Spinach- The spinach is just great this year, with big gorgeous plants that have been surprisingly slow to bolt. Hard to keep up with all of it, so it's back in the shares this week.
http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients/best-spinach-recipes-gallery
Garlic- We are now starting to clean and hang our garlic to dry...I thought we'd give each share a stalk of our "Xi'an" garlic, an Asiatic hardneck. This is my favorite garlic variety, because it is super early and has beautiful purple skin. It is only partially dried, so it can be eaten right away as a semi-fresh garlic, or put it in a dry spot in your kitchen for a week or two if you want to cure it a bit more. The flavor will grow stronger and spicier as it dries down a bit more, but it is delicious fresh too.
In large shares:
Green cabbage- These cute little green "Gonzales" cabbages are great for a summer slaw or stir fry.
Fennel- Fennel is a wonderful vegetable in the carrot family with a tasty anise flavor. It is great eaten raw when it is thinly sliced, and the licorice flavor is stronger. If you chop it and cook it down, much like an onion the flavor will get sweeter and milder the longer it cooks. Great for lots of Italian and French recipes, as well as roasted or in a salad or slaw. Check out Martha's list of awesome recipes: http://www.marthastewart.com/search/results?keys=fennel
Lettuce- With spinach the only salad green in all shares, I figured the large shares could use a head of lettuce as well.
On the farm...
I am happy to say, it feels like we are getting out of our hectic Spring craziness and into the mid Summer flow on the farm already. Irrigation season is in full swing, but we got enough stuff done in advance that it hasn't been too chaotic of a rollout, and we have even had some time to accomplish a few tasks that were on the to-do list all Spring that we never seemed to be getting to.
The strawberries, after setting an enormous first flush, are now between fruit sets so aren't producing a whole lot, but they should be gearing up to set another batch of fruit before long.
I hope you're enjoying your shares! Let me know if you have any questions or feedback.
Farm Share Number Three
In all farm shares this week, we have.....
Lettuce- I think you'll be getting the first head of Bergam's green in the farm shares....our always popular green leaf lettuce. This is just an amazing lettuce, with great flavor, beautiful crinkly green leaves, big heads, and it holds up great in the fridge. I think this is the perfect lettuce!
Swiss Chard- Our second planting of kale and chard is coming on quickly, so we are ready to pick the last of our early Spring planting and move into the new beds. This variety of chard ("Bright Lights" is the name of the Australian variety) produces a beautiful rainbow of different stem colors...red, yellow, pink, white, purple and everything in between. Chard is my favorite braising green for early Summer, as its mild sweet taste is great with a lot of the other crops that are on this time of year...
Carrots- Our Spring carrots are quickly growing to be beautiful full sized roots. Our little babies are all grown up! Well, not quite, many are still a little on the small side, but they now have their delicious main season flavor and crunch. https://www.happyheartedkitchen.com/salads/moroccan-carrot-quinoa-salad
Broccoli- Finally! As I've written, it's been a rough Spring for the broccoli. We are now in the midst of seeding the new starts for Fall broccoli that we will harvest in September and October, and I'm hoping that goes a bit smoother. The good news is, our first big planting is finally on and the heads are beautiful. Hopefully it was worth the wait!
Radishes- Radishes are back in the share this week, but a different variety. These "Rudy" radishes are the more familiar round, pink radish. They are a bit juicier and have a little bit more kick than the French breakfast radishes.. as a farmer, an advantage of these ones is that they hold up a little longer in the field during the long days of early Summer, too. At Prima (where I work sometimes in the evenings when I'm not on the farm) we have been serving radishes like this sliced in half with some nice sea salt and fancy butter. Easy to make at home!
Garlic scapes- Garlic scapes are the flowering stalk of hardneck garlic varieties. Our first scapes were in the large shares a few weeks ago, but now we are in the thick of scape season with several more varieties producing these delicious stalks. The whole scape is edible and delicious...they are easy to chop up and saute with greens (your chard, broccoli, or both) or stir fry with a mix of veggies. Not quite as strong as grocery store garlic, but much more zip than the fresh garlic that was in your first share. Try them out! They are really delicious.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/06/the-crisper-whisperer-what-to-do-with-garlic-scapes-recipe.html
Scallions- I can't believe how fast these scallions grew from their time of planting. Our whole allium field (onions, garlic, leeks and shallots and scallions) is a big success story right now, everything is looking really good. There was a very sweet but annoying Killdeer mother who decided to make a nest in our scallion patch. Killdeers are a black and white wild bird about the size of a robin who for some reason like to make their nests on the ground in farmed land, and then freak out if you come anywhere near the nest. Fortunately, her babies were born and the family has moved on, so we can harvest your scallions without disturbing them.
And in the large shares...
Summer squash- The first zucchini is on! The Orchard Kitchen got the first flush last week, but with Vince and Tyla on vacation this week I will have enough to put some in all the large shares!
Use this recipe for any veggie that you can slice up with a peeler!
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-the-no-chop-too-lazy-to-really-cook-summer-saute-244665?li_source=LI&li_medium=RelatedRecipes
New potatoes- This is exciting....our first potatoes of 2017. They are still very small and very new, so treat the delicate skins carefully! They cook in much less time than larger, cured spuds. We will see how it goes harvesting these and hopefully get more in all shares before too long!
https://www.thespruce.com/what-are-new-potatoes-2216908
More broccoli! Larger heads of broc in the large shares!
Well, I think we have weathered the storm and survived the craziest part of the season. Mid June just gets totally insane, when there are still large plantings that need to go in the ground, plus the weeds are growing out of control along with the grass, irrigation, and then harvest starts! Especially this time of year, with the incredible first flush of strawberries we have had. I don't keep detailed records, but I feel like we were getting many more berries than this month in recent years. This will be the first share without any berries, but don't worry, they'll be back! Our day neutral plants continue to produce well into August.
While this has not been a wonderfully warm Spring as we've had the last two years, it has been nice that we haven't been launched into irrigation quite so suddenly, and the crops all seem to be doing well, if a little behind where they were are this time last year. With some of the big Spring projects now behind us, we will be transitioning into more harvest projects...we may even begin harvesting and drying our earliest garlic varieties later this week!
The farm stand HAS jumped very suddenly out of its winter dormancy and now seems to be hopping all the time. The Orchard Kitchen will be closed for the next two weekends so the Nattresses can celebrate Vincent's upcoming 50th birthday and get some down time now that their girls are out of school. I will be glad to have some extra time to get caught up around the farm, but happy that they'll be back before July for the Summer bounty!
Hope you're enjoying your shares! See you soon!
ETP
Lettuce- I think you'll be getting the first head of Bergam's green in the farm shares....our always popular green leaf lettuce. This is just an amazing lettuce, with great flavor, beautiful crinkly green leaves, big heads, and it holds up great in the fridge. I think this is the perfect lettuce!
Swiss Chard- Our second planting of kale and chard is coming on quickly, so we are ready to pick the last of our early Spring planting and move into the new beds. This variety of chard ("Bright Lights" is the name of the Australian variety) produces a beautiful rainbow of different stem colors...red, yellow, pink, white, purple and everything in between. Chard is my favorite braising green for early Summer, as its mild sweet taste is great with a lot of the other crops that are on this time of year...
Carrots- Our Spring carrots are quickly growing to be beautiful full sized roots. Our little babies are all grown up! Well, not quite, many are still a little on the small side, but they now have their delicious main season flavor and crunch. https://www.happyheartedkitchen.com/salads/moroccan-carrot-quinoa-salad
Broccoli- Finally! As I've written, it's been a rough Spring for the broccoli. We are now in the midst of seeding the new starts for Fall broccoli that we will harvest in September and October, and I'm hoping that goes a bit smoother. The good news is, our first big planting is finally on and the heads are beautiful. Hopefully it was worth the wait!
Radishes- Radishes are back in the share this week, but a different variety. These "Rudy" radishes are the more familiar round, pink radish. They are a bit juicier and have a little bit more kick than the French breakfast radishes.. as a farmer, an advantage of these ones is that they hold up a little longer in the field during the long days of early Summer, too. At Prima (where I work sometimes in the evenings when I'm not on the farm) we have been serving radishes like this sliced in half with some nice sea salt and fancy butter. Easy to make at home!
Garlic scapes- Garlic scapes are the flowering stalk of hardneck garlic varieties. Our first scapes were in the large shares a few weeks ago, but now we are in the thick of scape season with several more varieties producing these delicious stalks. The whole scape is edible and delicious...they are easy to chop up and saute with greens (your chard, broccoli, or both) or stir fry with a mix of veggies. Not quite as strong as grocery store garlic, but much more zip than the fresh garlic that was in your first share. Try them out! They are really delicious.
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/06/the-crisper-whisperer-what-to-do-with-garlic-scapes-recipe.html
Scallions- I can't believe how fast these scallions grew from their time of planting. Our whole allium field (onions, garlic, leeks and shallots and scallions) is a big success story right now, everything is looking really good. There was a very sweet but annoying Killdeer mother who decided to make a nest in our scallion patch. Killdeers are a black and white wild bird about the size of a robin who for some reason like to make their nests on the ground in farmed land, and then freak out if you come anywhere near the nest. Fortunately, her babies were born and the family has moved on, so we can harvest your scallions without disturbing them.
And in the large shares...
Summer squash- The first zucchini is on! The Orchard Kitchen got the first flush last week, but with Vince and Tyla on vacation this week I will have enough to put some in all the large shares!
Use this recipe for any veggie that you can slice up with a peeler!
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-the-no-chop-too-lazy-to-really-cook-summer-saute-244665?li_source=LI&li_medium=RelatedRecipes
New potatoes- This is exciting....our first potatoes of 2017. They are still very small and very new, so treat the delicate skins carefully! They cook in much less time than larger, cured spuds. We will see how it goes harvesting these and hopefully get more in all shares before too long!
https://www.thespruce.com/what-are-new-potatoes-2216908
More broccoli! Larger heads of broc in the large shares!
Well, I think we have weathered the storm and survived the craziest part of the season. Mid June just gets totally insane, when there are still large plantings that need to go in the ground, plus the weeds are growing out of control along with the grass, irrigation, and then harvest starts! Especially this time of year, with the incredible first flush of strawberries we have had. I don't keep detailed records, but I feel like we were getting many more berries than this month in recent years. This will be the first share without any berries, but don't worry, they'll be back! Our day neutral plants continue to produce well into August.
While this has not been a wonderfully warm Spring as we've had the last two years, it has been nice that we haven't been launched into irrigation quite so suddenly, and the crops all seem to be doing well, if a little behind where they were are this time last year. With some of the big Spring projects now behind us, we will be transitioning into more harvest projects...we may even begin harvesting and drying our earliest garlic varieties later this week!
The farm stand HAS jumped very suddenly out of its winter dormancy and now seems to be hopping all the time. The Orchard Kitchen will be closed for the next two weekends so the Nattresses can celebrate Vincent's upcoming 50th birthday and get some down time now that their girls are out of school. I will be glad to have some extra time to get caught up around the farm, but happy that they'll be back before July for the Summer bounty!
Hope you're enjoying your shares! See you soon!
ETP
Second Farm Share
In all shares:
Buttercrunch bibb lettuce- These heads of bibb lettuce are a little smaller in size, but have a great sweet flavor and soft, tender leaves with a nice dense head. A great all green lettuce for salads and more. Bibb lettuce is great to eat, but of all the lettuces, holds the worst in the field, so when it's ready we need to harvest it in a hurry.
Beet bunches- Getting into the first of our beets, and while the roots aren't quite full sized yet, these smaller roots have really nice flavor and are easy to use...they don't need to be peeled, try just quartering them up before roasting, steaming or sauteing them. The tops are edible too and similar to Swiss chard for use in the onion recipe below!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-baby-beets-231298
Walla walla sweet onion bunches- A great late Spring crop, fresh sweet onions are juicy and mild. The whole plant is edible once the roots are sliced off, and the tops can be used like scallions as a garnish, put on sandwiches or stir fried.
This recipe sounds delicious, but our onions are still baby sized, so you may need to halve it:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/grilled-onions.html
Strawberries- More of our delicious strawberries in your shares this week! I can't believe how many pints we sold through the weekend...the rain didn't seem to do too much damage last week, fortunately, so we should have more nice fruit this Wednesday with any luck...
Small Shares Only:
Baby pac choi- After putting the last of a previous planting in the large shares last week, we're already into a new bed with some nice baby pac choi, so I figured it was the small shares' turn to get some. Look for the recipe in last week's blog! The pac choi grows and matures so fast, I feel like we just put these plants in the ground a few weeks ago...
Hakurei turnips- Another crop that was in the large shares last week, the small shares will get a bunch of hakurei turnips this week. These turnips are best eaten raw, or ever so lightly cooked. They are sweet and juicy, with a crunch a little like a radish but much less spice. Give them a try!
Large Shares Only:
Broccoli- While our broccoli was set back a bit by cold weather and pest problems, it is finally getting in gear and I'm hoping we'll have our first decent harvest of heads this week. I plan to have broccoli through June and July, mostly take August and early September off when it's really hot and dry, and then Fall broccoli goes from mid September through October, so hopefully there should be much more broccoli to come.
Arugula- A peppery bunch of arugula in the large shares, great for a spicy salad, or the spice quickly vanishes if it's lightly sauteed or blended up into a pesto or dressing.
http://www.foodiecrush.com/how-to-make-arugula-pesto/
Baby carrots- The first carrots are starting, and they are fun and cute at this smaller size. Already sweet and flavorful, but not quite as crunchy as the larger carrots...but this is Vincent's preferred carrot size for the Orchard Kitchen.
Kohlrabi- The vegetable from outer space, kohlrabi bulbs are actually in the brassica family, along with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, radish, turnips, pac choi, mustards, and so many other crops we grow on small farms here in the Pacific northwest. None of those others have the sweet crunch of kohlrabi, though! Kohlrabi is almost like a cross between broccoli stems and a juicy apple. Sliced thin and served raw with a dip or dressing, it is refreshing and delicious. Or try putting it in a salad, slaw, or lightly stir fried.
Well, it is surprising and interesting to see how our unusually cold Spring has changed things up a bit. The two crops that seem to be the most set back/delayed from their usual harvest window are not the two I would expect....the peas and broccoli. Normally I think we'd be close to hitting our peak with those crops, and instead we'll just start harvesting them this week. It's odd, because those are cool season crops that I wouldn't have thought would be as affected as the squash, cucumbers, basil, tomatoes....but those crops all seem to be doing great, and the squash and cukes are even ahead of schedule. Go figure. Meanwhile, other things seem to be right on time.
The farm is certainly not a controlled scientific experiment, though, and there are all kinds of variables I can't really take into account...for example, with the broccoli, my favorite Spring variety was backordered with the seed company this Spring, so I tried a new one which seems a bit slower to head up. When my favorite came in ("Castle Dome") I switched to use it instead, but the germination and vigor seem off even now, and I'm just beginning to suspect there could be an issue with the lot of seed, which does happen surprisingly frequently.
It is always interesting to see how everything plays out, though, and one way or another we always seem to have plenty of food. Starting the share a week later than last year is interesting, too...while it's been nice because a lot of the crops have started a little bit late, and it certainly made the Spring planning less stressful, we have now just started the farm share and the early Summer crops are ready or right around the corner! There are many nice Spring crops (like the fresh garlic, pac choi, and kohlrabi) that I like to fit into the early shares before we get into our mid Summer mountains of produce, and it feels like there won't be many chances to do it. Anyways, hope you're enjoying your first of many farm shares now, and looking forward to the second.
Buttercrunch bibb lettuce- These heads of bibb lettuce are a little smaller in size, but have a great sweet flavor and soft, tender leaves with a nice dense head. A great all green lettuce for salads and more. Bibb lettuce is great to eat, but of all the lettuces, holds the worst in the field, so when it's ready we need to harvest it in a hurry.
Beet bunches- Getting into the first of our beets, and while the roots aren't quite full sized yet, these smaller roots have really nice flavor and are easy to use...they don't need to be peeled, try just quartering them up before roasting, steaming or sauteing them. The tops are edible too and similar to Swiss chard for use in the onion recipe below!
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/roasted-baby-beets-231298
Walla walla sweet onion bunches- A great late Spring crop, fresh sweet onions are juicy and mild. The whole plant is edible once the roots are sliced off, and the tops can be used like scallions as a garnish, put on sandwiches or stir fried.
This recipe sounds delicious, but our onions are still baby sized, so you may need to halve it:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/grilled-onions.html
Strawberries- More of our delicious strawberries in your shares this week! I can't believe how many pints we sold through the weekend...the rain didn't seem to do too much damage last week, fortunately, so we should have more nice fruit this Wednesday with any luck...
Small Shares Only:
Baby pac choi- After putting the last of a previous planting in the large shares last week, we're already into a new bed with some nice baby pac choi, so I figured it was the small shares' turn to get some. Look for the recipe in last week's blog! The pac choi grows and matures so fast, I feel like we just put these plants in the ground a few weeks ago...
Hakurei turnips- Another crop that was in the large shares last week, the small shares will get a bunch of hakurei turnips this week. These turnips are best eaten raw, or ever so lightly cooked. They are sweet and juicy, with a crunch a little like a radish but much less spice. Give them a try!
Large Shares Only:
Broccoli- While our broccoli was set back a bit by cold weather and pest problems, it is finally getting in gear and I'm hoping we'll have our first decent harvest of heads this week. I plan to have broccoli through June and July, mostly take August and early September off when it's really hot and dry, and then Fall broccoli goes from mid September through October, so hopefully there should be much more broccoli to come.
Arugula- A peppery bunch of arugula in the large shares, great for a spicy salad, or the spice quickly vanishes if it's lightly sauteed or blended up into a pesto or dressing.
http://www.foodiecrush.com/how-to-make-arugula-pesto/
Baby carrots- The first carrots are starting, and they are fun and cute at this smaller size. Already sweet and flavorful, but not quite as crunchy as the larger carrots...but this is Vincent's preferred carrot size for the Orchard Kitchen.
Kohlrabi- The vegetable from outer space, kohlrabi bulbs are actually in the brassica family, along with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, arugula, radish, turnips, pac choi, mustards, and so many other crops we grow on small farms here in the Pacific northwest. None of those others have the sweet crunch of kohlrabi, though! Kohlrabi is almost like a cross between broccoli stems and a juicy apple. Sliced thin and served raw with a dip or dressing, it is refreshing and delicious. Or try putting it in a salad, slaw, or lightly stir fried.
Well, it is surprising and interesting to see how our unusually cold Spring has changed things up a bit. The two crops that seem to be the most set back/delayed from their usual harvest window are not the two I would expect....the peas and broccoli. Normally I think we'd be close to hitting our peak with those crops, and instead we'll just start harvesting them this week. It's odd, because those are cool season crops that I wouldn't have thought would be as affected as the squash, cucumbers, basil, tomatoes....but those crops all seem to be doing great, and the squash and cukes are even ahead of schedule. Go figure. Meanwhile, other things seem to be right on time.
The farm is certainly not a controlled scientific experiment, though, and there are all kinds of variables I can't really take into account...for example, with the broccoli, my favorite Spring variety was backordered with the seed company this Spring, so I tried a new one which seems a bit slower to head up. When my favorite came in ("Castle Dome") I switched to use it instead, but the germination and vigor seem off even now, and I'm just beginning to suspect there could be an issue with the lot of seed, which does happen surprisingly frequently.
It is always interesting to see how everything plays out, though, and one way or another we always seem to have plenty of food. Starting the share a week later than last year is interesting, too...while it's been nice because a lot of the crops have started a little bit late, and it certainly made the Spring planning less stressful, we have now just started the farm share and the early Summer crops are ready or right around the corner! There are many nice Spring crops (like the fresh garlic, pac choi, and kohlrabi) that I like to fit into the early shares before we get into our mid Summer mountains of produce, and it feels like there won't be many chances to do it. Anyways, hope you're enjoying your first of many farm shares now, and looking forward to the second.
First Farm Share
In this weeks share, for all shares:
Strawberries! We picked our strawberries for the first time last week, and I was surprised how many we got...it's always tricky to judge, but it looks like we should have even more this week and I'm hopeful we'll have enough to get a pint in each share. Small shares might get a "scant" pint (a little less full). I brought home some extras last week and made some strawberry blintzes for breakfast.
Lettuce- In spite of the coolest Spring we've had since I've been farming on South Whidbey, we've had a wonderful first planting of lettuce....the first planting has often been pretty unimpressive in years past. We have some beautiful heads of red romaine and green leaf lettuce that we'll be picking this week. Lettuce salads are great this time of year!
Spinach- Great spinach so far this year too, and we are now going into a beautiful new bed of it after tilling in our first seeding. Spinach is easy to use up- especially at the size of these plants, which are small enough to be great raw in a salad, but big enough to cook too, like in an omelette. Or this more daring recipe with your radishes:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spinach-radish-slaw-with-crispy-chiles-and-pepitas-350816
Radish- Radishes are a farmer's dream...you plant some seeds and water them, (we cover our radish beds with floating row cover, too, the white sheets you may have seen in the field, to protect them from pests) and then three weeks later, voila, radishes. These are a French Breakfast type radish that has a nice mild flavor with a tiny bit of spice.
Fresh garlic- These garlic plants we leav in the ground will soon be creating a bulb at their base which will turn into the familiar heads of garlic by early Summer. In the meantime, though, they are delicious fresh and actually even easier to use. If you trim off the base with the roots and chop off the leafy green tops, the entire stalk is edible and tasty, with a mild garlic flavor. One whole stalk has only the potency of a few cloves of cured garlic, so you can be heavy handed with it. Fresh garlic is great in stir fry, salad dressings or minced on salads...anything you would use scallions in you can substitute fresh garlic and add a little more flavor.
Red Russian Kale- While our first planting of Lacinato kale (dinosaur kale) completely bit the dust and has since been tilled in, our Russian kale is growing like a weed and doing great. Broccoli season will be starting soon, so have to sneak a bunch of kale into the share first, because I feel like putting both in the same share is a little redundant... kale is great because, unlike broccoli which only creates one big edible bud (and then maybe a few smaller sideshoots) we can keep picking off the same kale plants successively for many weeks throughout the season.
And for large shares only:
Baby pac choi- Large shares are getting some stir fry components this week, beginning with a bunch of our "Shuko" baby pac choi. These lovely tender heads are super easy to chop up and toss in a wok or pan, and they are cooked and tender in just a few minutes. I like the smaller pac choi heads that aren't the daunting big size that some larger varieties reach.
https://www.thespruce.com/stir-fry-baby-bok-choy-recipe-695307
Garlic scapes- Garlic scapes, while mostly unknown here in the U.S., are a true delicacy. There are two major classes of garlic, softneck and hardneck, and only hardneck varieties produce a scape, or flowering stalk. Almost all the garlic grown commercially here in the States is softneck, so it never even makes a scape. But we grow a few hardneck varieties in the Spring, and so get to pick the scapes in the Spring. Unlike the fresh garlic, scapes pack a bit of a bunch, with more spice and garlicy flavor. Eating them raw is not for the faint of heart. But they are easy to chop up and saute or stir fry, and like other garlic the flavor mellows pretty quickly with cooking. They are also my favorite thing in the world for pickling! You could try quick pickling a jar in the fridge.
http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/pickled-garlic-scapes-make-ahead-monday/
Hakurei turnips- Farm share members from years past may remember these delicious Japanese salad turnips. They are similar to a radish, but less spicy and a sweeter, juicier crunch. I love them raw, in a salad, sandwich, or alone with or without a dip. But they are also great in a stir fry, to continue the theme...just don't throw them in until the last minute and they'll maintain a most of their crunch and flavor.
Well, it's a new season on the farm and quite a bit is different. My two trusty farm hands from the last several seasons, Jack and Whitney, have both moved on to greener pastures; Jack to become a math teacher, and Whitney to go do a bit more exploring I think. We have a new crew in their place, who hopefully you'll get a chance to meet this season; Jess, who's been farming for several years up in Coupeville at Prairie Bottom farm, is working with me three days a week this year. Brian, who is helping out one day a week with harvest and field work, has a bunch of farm experience, is a busy musician, and runs his own small farm, Do Re Mi, here on South Whidbey. And Max and Angela are up for a few months this Summer from Los Angelos to be farm apprentices.
As for our family, not too much is new, I am happy to be back on the farm and glad the weather has finally improved since the cold and wet early Spring. Bobbie is doing gardening around South Whidbey as well as helping out with the occasional farm project, and our daughter Nico turned two in March and is growing up quick.
After several years of doing the blog in basically the same format each week, I am hoping to change it up a tiny bit this year. I will put the crops and the recipes up top, rather than at the bottom, which will hopefully make it easier to read and find info. And I'm thinking about ways to write about crops and farm projects a little differently, with a slightly more personal take on things.
Finally, if you haven't already, I definitely encourage you to check out the Orchard Kitchen restaurant at some point this season! Vincent and Tyla, apart from being our wonderful farm landlords, turn our humble produce into amazing creations every weekend in their beautiful kitchen. I just heard that they'll be gone for a few weeks in late June, and I'm sure they'll be super busy when they come back, so try to get a spot sometime if you can.
Thanks for supporting our family farm! Hope we see a bunch of you Wednesday night for our party at the first farm share pickup!
Blake
Strawberries! We picked our strawberries for the first time last week, and I was surprised how many we got...it's always tricky to judge, but it looks like we should have even more this week and I'm hopeful we'll have enough to get a pint in each share. Small shares might get a "scant" pint (a little less full). I brought home some extras last week and made some strawberry blintzes for breakfast.
Lettuce- In spite of the coolest Spring we've had since I've been farming on South Whidbey, we've had a wonderful first planting of lettuce....the first planting has often been pretty unimpressive in years past. We have some beautiful heads of red romaine and green leaf lettuce that we'll be picking this week. Lettuce salads are great this time of year!
Spinach- Great spinach so far this year too, and we are now going into a beautiful new bed of it after tilling in our first seeding. Spinach is easy to use up- especially at the size of these plants, which are small enough to be great raw in a salad, but big enough to cook too, like in an omelette. Or this more daring recipe with your radishes:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spinach-radish-slaw-with-crispy-chiles-and-pepitas-350816
Radish- Radishes are a farmer's dream...you plant some seeds and water them, (we cover our radish beds with floating row cover, too, the white sheets you may have seen in the field, to protect them from pests) and then three weeks later, voila, radishes. These are a French Breakfast type radish that has a nice mild flavor with a tiny bit of spice.
Fresh garlic- These garlic plants we leav in the ground will soon be creating a bulb at their base which will turn into the familiar heads of garlic by early Summer. In the meantime, though, they are delicious fresh and actually even easier to use. If you trim off the base with the roots and chop off the leafy green tops, the entire stalk is edible and tasty, with a mild garlic flavor. One whole stalk has only the potency of a few cloves of cured garlic, so you can be heavy handed with it. Fresh garlic is great in stir fry, salad dressings or minced on salads...anything you would use scallions in you can substitute fresh garlic and add a little more flavor.
Red Russian Kale- While our first planting of Lacinato kale (dinosaur kale) completely bit the dust and has since been tilled in, our Russian kale is growing like a weed and doing great. Broccoli season will be starting soon, so have to sneak a bunch of kale into the share first, because I feel like putting both in the same share is a little redundant... kale is great because, unlike broccoli which only creates one big edible bud (and then maybe a few smaller sideshoots) we can keep picking off the same kale plants successively for many weeks throughout the season.
And for large shares only:
Baby pac choi- Large shares are getting some stir fry components this week, beginning with a bunch of our "Shuko" baby pac choi. These lovely tender heads are super easy to chop up and toss in a wok or pan, and they are cooked and tender in just a few minutes. I like the smaller pac choi heads that aren't the daunting big size that some larger varieties reach.
https://www.thespruce.com/stir-fry-baby-bok-choy-recipe-695307
Garlic scapes- Garlic scapes, while mostly unknown here in the U.S., are a true delicacy. There are two major classes of garlic, softneck and hardneck, and only hardneck varieties produce a scape, or flowering stalk. Almost all the garlic grown commercially here in the States is softneck, so it never even makes a scape. But we grow a few hardneck varieties in the Spring, and so get to pick the scapes in the Spring. Unlike the fresh garlic, scapes pack a bit of a bunch, with more spice and garlicy flavor. Eating them raw is not for the faint of heart. But they are easy to chop up and saute or stir fry, and like other garlic the flavor mellows pretty quickly with cooking. They are also my favorite thing in the world for pickling! You could try quick pickling a jar in the fridge.
http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/pickled-garlic-scapes-make-ahead-monday/
Hakurei turnips- Farm share members from years past may remember these delicious Japanese salad turnips. They are similar to a radish, but less spicy and a sweeter, juicier crunch. I love them raw, in a salad, sandwich, or alone with or without a dip. But they are also great in a stir fry, to continue the theme...just don't throw them in until the last minute and they'll maintain a most of their crunch and flavor.
Well, it's a new season on the farm and quite a bit is different. My two trusty farm hands from the last several seasons, Jack and Whitney, have both moved on to greener pastures; Jack to become a math teacher, and Whitney to go do a bit more exploring I think. We have a new crew in their place, who hopefully you'll get a chance to meet this season; Jess, who's been farming for several years up in Coupeville at Prairie Bottom farm, is working with me three days a week this year. Brian, who is helping out one day a week with harvest and field work, has a bunch of farm experience, is a busy musician, and runs his own small farm, Do Re Mi, here on South Whidbey. And Max and Angela are up for a few months this Summer from Los Angelos to be farm apprentices.
As for our family, not too much is new, I am happy to be back on the farm and glad the weather has finally improved since the cold and wet early Spring. Bobbie is doing gardening around South Whidbey as well as helping out with the occasional farm project, and our daughter Nico turned two in March and is growing up quick.
After several years of doing the blog in basically the same format each week, I am hoping to change it up a tiny bit this year. I will put the crops and the recipes up top, rather than at the bottom, which will hopefully make it easier to read and find info. And I'm thinking about ways to write about crops and farm projects a little differently, with a slightly more personal take on things.
Finally, if you haven't already, I definitely encourage you to check out the Orchard Kitchen restaurant at some point this season! Vincent and Tyla, apart from being our wonderful farm landlords, turn our humble produce into amazing creations every weekend in their beautiful kitchen. I just heard that they'll be gone for a few weeks in late June, and I'm sure they'll be super busy when they come back, so try to get a spot sometime if you can.
Thanks for supporting our family farm! Hope we see a bunch of you Wednesday night for our party at the first farm share pickup!
Blake
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