All shares are getting:
Carrots- A BIG bunch of carrots in the share this week, as we have so many carrots right now we're drowning in them. Carrots everywhere you look.
Snap peas- We have adjusted the pea pick a bit with our challenging mixed pea seed situation, and it has made the harvest go a tiny bit faster and the quality of the peas improve too. We're just skipping a lot of the non sugar snap peas in the row and going for the really pretty ones. The yield goes way down, but the speed and quality goes up!
Red bunch onions- We have two different fresh red bunching onions this year, and you'll get one or the other in your share...the "Torpedo Red Bottle" are a wine bottle shaped fresh Italian heirloom onion with a super mild flavor. The "Apaches" are a red bunching onion that has a straighter neck, is not quite as big as the torpedoes, and has a sweeter and stronger taste.
Arugula- I'm not sure we've put arugula in the shares yet this year, partly because we've had so much nice spinach and head lettuce. It's nice to get some arugula in the shares, though. It has a nice lemony, peppery flavor that is great in a summer salad. If it's a bit too spicy for you raw, if you saute it for just a few seconds, or even just toss it with other veggies that are hot (like sauteed zucchini and onion) it mellows out almost immediately and loses most of the zing.
http://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/arugula-salad-with-shaved-parmesan-lemon-olive-oil.html
Summer squash- We are entering peak summer squash season now, when it is a challenge to keep up with the loads of fruit. We pick our plants three times a week and try not to let any grow to gigantic sizes.
Cucumber- Not quite at peak cuke season yet, but on our way there. Last season we trellised our cucumber, which is a bit of a pain in the neck to accomplish in the Spring but does make the harvest quite a bit easier come Summer. This year I didn't really make up my mind whether it was worth it so I ended up just letting the vines run wild on the ground...it'll be a bit of a treasure hunt finding them all, as the plants are starting to get so big and crazy.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/cucumber-recipes
Cabbage- Small shares will get a cute little head of green or purple cabbage. Large shares will get a bigger head of Napa, or Chinese cabbage. Either one is nice for a cabbage salad, or can be roasted, sauteed, stir fried or steamed. Or even grilled! I've never done this, but want to try it now:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/157836/summer-grilled-cabbage/
Enjoy!
Large shares only:
Celery bunch- I take a silly amount of pride in the celery we grow, because it is a bit challenging to grow (needing lots of water and fertility) and I think homegrown celery is so much better than the grocery store stuff. I have never been more proud, as this year's celery is earlier and nicer than any I think we've ever had on the farm! Beautiful stuff...you can halve this recipe...
http://www.marthastewart.com/1133552/braised-celery
Garlic- This will be a larger head of our early California White garlic, a softneck variety that is widely grown commercially. I am so happy we have managed to harvest and hang all of our garlic for the year! We just finished the last varieties yesterday afternoon, and thus finished up one of the bigger and sometimes more stressful early Summer projects. Garlic is fairly labor intensive, as it needs to be lifted out of the ground, cleaned, brought into the barn, tied into bundles and hung to dry so that it will last into the Fall. Happy to have the 2017 harvest in the books, and to see that it is looking like a beautiful crop this year!
Basil- You know it's mid Summer when the basil is growing like a weed and hard to keep up with. The tomatoes are beginning to color up, so hopefully we'll have some in your share soon to go with the basil.
plus some extra squash and cukes!
I enlisted the help of our interns to provide a different perspective to the blog write up, so the following was written by Ms. Angela Brittain, half of our two person intern team:
When I came to Whidbey Island they told me that summer began on July 5th. Seemingly, accurate. This week has been the hottest of the season, and we at Ebb Tide are all getting deep into summer mode. For some, visions of said summer mode might involve sipping on something cool while allowing the mind and body to relax into the warmth of the weather. The reality for farmers is much different:
You’re out in the field and your snot has turned into crystalized bugs from all the dirt you’re breathing; the everlasting question of is that a shoulder rip or am I just growing a muscle? The sun is bright and you have to acutely maneuver your hands to get these tiny little ties around bunches of wily root vegetables. You anxiously pick through the salad to make sure it’s all gorgeous and weed-free. You watch the barn swallows go from soundless, flightless babies to squawking aviators. There are so many beets, like, so many beets that all are just begging to be prepared, appreciated, given a digestive process to aid. Yes, you want to take home all the misfit beets but you can only eat so many! You pull carrots out of the ground that have grown so thickly intertwined that only the most villainous of knives could part them. You learn quickly the value of stretching to ease awkward weeding positions, which are usually somewhere between an asana and one of those dances the kids are all doing. Every week you watch plants crop up and get tilled in, and before you know it the summer is gone.
I’ve been interning at Ebb Tide for just about a month now, and this is my first season working on a farm. When I left Los Angeles in May, I was maintaining the sort of routine that could easily launch a person into conniption. I wanted to come to Whidbey to get a different sense of what life is in other parts of the country, to have a summer where I could step out of my bubble and try something totally new to me. When the opportunity at Ebb Tide manifested, I felt good about it immediately, went through with it, and here I am.
I can hardly believe a place as idyllic as South Whidbey exists, and I find it amazing that even in our gigantic, foolhardy world we can still run a farm stand on the honor system and perpetuate a chain of positive reactions from the moment the food is seeded, planted, harvested, and given to our customers, who will go on to make something delicious from our veggies. I hope that whoever shops at Ebb Tide realizes what a special operation they’re supporting, for other parts of the country simply don't have the local mentality and sense of community that South Whidbiers are inherently prone to based on the geographic nature of the island. Keep supporting your community and know that your produce is coming from a team who loves you!
Peace + Blessings,
Angela
Appointed Salad Queen
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