Hard to believe, we are almost halfway through the farm share season! We have lots of good stuff in the share this week. We are currently being overwhelmed by massive quantities of strawberries on our plants, so although we weren't planning on including strawberries in this week's share, we figured we could add them in and no one would mind! If you are interested in buying a flat of strawberries (12 pints) they are available for pickup in the farmstand for only $30 (basically our wholesale price) and you can email us in advance so we can set one aside for you.
Everything else continues as usual on the farm...keeping up with the irrigation in this dry, hot summer... We recently planted a quarter acre of sunflowers in the field nearest the farm stand, so take a peak when you come by. They are growing fast and are about an inch or two tall already...with any luck they will be in bloom by mid October, as they are autumnal colors of brown and magenta. I don't know where exactly we are going to sell thousands of sunflower stems, so if you have any ideas let me know, but at the very least the field will be incredibly beautiful! We are also almost done planting all of our Fall crops to keep us going until November. Everything is going great...although for the last week or so I have been very, very tired....it's that time of year.
Here's the share:
Carrots- Back after a two week break! We had a gap in our carrot planting because our last beds got so weedy. These are our first carrots out of our new beds, and they are looking good.
Potatoes- More Willowood potatoes in the share. These potatoes are much more flavorful than the ones at the grocery store. Great for potato salad, mashed potatoes, hash browns, home fries, or one of my favorite potato dishes...latkes! Latkes are a Jewish style potato pancake, usually served with sour cream and applesauce. They are pretty quick and easy to make. Here's a recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-Latkes-104406
Cherry Tomatoes- Finally, we have enough cherry tomatoes to give them out in the share! We wanted to give out tomatoes last week but didn't think we'd have quite enough to go around. They are worth the wait. Sungold and Sweet Baby Girl are the varieties, they are both sweet and very flavorful. Easy to use in a salad or great just for snacking.
Summer squash/zucchini- Hope you're not tired of zucchini yet because the plants are still producing tons of squash! We had a friend in town recently who made us a batch of zucchini carpaccio...it was delicious. She uses a mandolin at home to slice the squash super thin, but we don't have one and she was still able to do it with a sharp knife. Great recipe for a hot day, we served it with some cold pasta and it would be great garnished with some of the cherry tomatoes! Recipe below:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Carpaccio-107802
Arugula- Nice bunch of arugula, great for a salad or two, or you can toss it in a pasta or omelette.
Torpedo onions- More of these delicious fresh torpedo red bottle onions: "Rossa lunga de tropea" I think is the Italian name on the seed packet. Mild sweet flavor makes them easy to use.
Green beans- Well, we have tons of fabulous green and yellow beans right now, but I'm thinking we won't have them for too much longer....so we will try to give you plenty of beans for the next few weeks in case they're gone by September.
Strawberries- As mentioned above, these are a bonus item in this week's share!
this week's share
This week's share:
Swiss chard- adding some greens to your life. Here is a recipe from my wife Bobbi:
10-12C trimmed chard leaves
Swiss chard- adding some greens to your life. Here is a recipe from my wife Bobbi:
Chard, Ricotta and Saffron Cakes
Adapted From Deborah Madison's Vegetable Literacy
Makes 12 3inch cakes
10-12C trimmed chard leaves
2 pinches saffron threads ( or for the poor-mans version sub Calendula)
1C AP flour
1tsp salt
1.5tsp baking powder
1C ricotta
1/3C or more Parmesan or similar cheese
3/4C milk
2 eggs
3T olive oil or other oil, plus extra for frying
Thick yogurt or sour cream to finish
Basil or other garnish to finish
Directions:
Wilt the chard in a sauce pan, covered on high heat, using a splash of water to cook. Cook for only a few minutes, careful not to over cook, then allow it to drain and cool.
Cover saffron threads (or Calendula) with 2T boiling water and set aside
Combine flour salt and baking powder in a bowl. In a second, larger bowl mix ricotta, parm, milk and eggs until blended. Add the oil and the saffron, then whisk in the flour mixture.
Squeeze out as much water as possible from the chard, then chop it finely and stir it into the batter.
Heat a few teaspoons of oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Drop the batter by the spoon full into the hot pan, making small or large cakes as you wish. The batter is quite thick and will need more time to cook than a regular pancake.
Cook until golden on the bottom and then turn the cakes once, resisting the urge to flatten them! Cook about 3 mins or so on each side.
Serve each cake with a tiny spoonful of sour cream, a sprinkle of fresh chopped basil
Tell us if you give it a try!
Lettuce- for more summer salads after no greens in last week's share.
Basil- for the recipe above or anything else you choose to use it on...like bruschetta yummm..
Sweet corn!!- not sure if I've ever picked corn this early in the summer before. These ears are filled out well and super tasty. Can't beat fresh corn on the cob. Try it raw! My favorite. Or throw it on the grill. In mexico they eat it with mayonnaise and chilli!
Cucumbers- are at their peak right now and really nice. Three larger cukes in the share this week so make a cucumber salad. Very refreshing in this hot weather.
Peas- last peas of the year...they are still delicious, but in this hot weather the plants are running out of steam fast. Enjoy them!
Farm share for week 9
Hi all! I hope you are working your way through the shares from last week--when we were packing them we realized that they were big shares!
The rain was so refreshing and revitalizing! Usually rain makes us hunker down but, after many weeks of dry weather, the rain was a galvanizing force. Inspired by the life-giving rain, we are going forward with some experiments with new crops for the fall. We're going to plant a quarter-acre of decorative sunflowers, as well as dill, chicory, pea vines, rosemary and a few other things that will be ready in the fall.
The share this week will be a little less bulky but with some exciting, fun stuff:
Strawberries: They are back! After many weeks without any berries our plants are ripening fruit again and still setting lots of flowers, so we will have fruit in the weeks to come. The berries are bigger this time around.
Beets: We grow three types of beets: red, golden, and chioggia. They can all be used in the same manner. We grow the red because they are classic and incredibly potent and flavorful. The golden and chioggia are grown for their special aesthetic beauty. We will be picking all three varieties this week.
Candy Onions: These sweet onions are sizing up incredibly well for us.Use them like you would walla walla onions. Excellent raw or sauteed.
Cilantro: A staple of Indian and Mexican cuisine, cilantro also makes a great addition to sandwiches and salads. Cilantro has a very strong flavor that allures some and repulses others. My regrets if you find yourself in the second camp. I am in the first camp, but it took years of smaller doses of it for me to develop the affinity that I have for cilantro.
Summer squash: Sometimes I eat squash and I think "I could live without this." Other times, I am enraptured by it. Summer squash has a relatively short season here in the Puget Sound so it is important to seize this moment when the plants are young and producing exquisite fruits to prepare your favorite dishes and experiment with new ones. I made squash sauteed with torpedo onions on Monday and it was the best thing I ate all week. Try to eat them within a couple of days of getting the share if you can.
Squash blossoms: In addition to harvesting the squash we harvest the blossoms from the plants. The blossoms are the male flowers which won't turn in to squash. One delicious way to prepare these is to stuff them with ricotta and fry them. Here's a recipe for that, with a tomato sauce for dipping:
For tomato sauce:
Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil in a 2-quarts heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
Prepare squash blossoms:
Stir together ricotta, yolk, mint, 1/3 cup parmesan, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Carefully open each blossom and fill with about 2 rounded teaspoon ricotta filling, gently twisting end of blossom to enclose filling. (You may have filling left over.)
Whisk together flour, remaining 1/3 cup parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and seltzer in a small bowl.
Heat 1/2 inch oil to 375°F in a 10-inch heavy skillet. Meanwhile, dip half of blossoms in batter to thinly coat. Fry coated blossoms, turning once, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Coat and fry remaining blossoms. (Return oil to 375°F between batches.) Season with salt. Serve with tomato sauce.
The rain was so refreshing and revitalizing! Usually rain makes us hunker down but, after many weeks of dry weather, the rain was a galvanizing force. Inspired by the life-giving rain, we are going forward with some experiments with new crops for the fall. We're going to plant a quarter-acre of decorative sunflowers, as well as dill, chicory, pea vines, rosemary and a few other things that will be ready in the fall.
The share this week will be a little less bulky but with some exciting, fun stuff:
Strawberries: They are back! After many weeks without any berries our plants are ripening fruit again and still setting lots of flowers, so we will have fruit in the weeks to come. The berries are bigger this time around.
Beets: We grow three types of beets: red, golden, and chioggia. They can all be used in the same manner. We grow the red because they are classic and incredibly potent and flavorful. The golden and chioggia are grown for their special aesthetic beauty. We will be picking all three varieties this week.
Candy Onions: These sweet onions are sizing up incredibly well for us.Use them like you would walla walla onions. Excellent raw or sauteed.
Cilantro: A staple of Indian and Mexican cuisine, cilantro also makes a great addition to sandwiches and salads. Cilantro has a very strong flavor that allures some and repulses others. My regrets if you find yourself in the second camp. I am in the first camp, but it took years of smaller doses of it for me to develop the affinity that I have for cilantro.
Summer squash: Sometimes I eat squash and I think "I could live without this." Other times, I am enraptured by it. Summer squash has a relatively short season here in the Puget Sound so it is important to seize this moment when the plants are young and producing exquisite fruits to prepare your favorite dishes and experiment with new ones. I made squash sauteed with torpedo onions on Monday and it was the best thing I ate all week. Try to eat them within a couple of days of getting the share if you can.
Squash blossoms: In addition to harvesting the squash we harvest the blossoms from the plants. The blossoms are the male flowers which won't turn in to squash. One delicious way to prepare these is to stuff them with ricotta and fry them. Here's a recipe for that, with a tomato sauce for dipping:
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 pound plum tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup whole-milk ricotta (preferably fresh)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint
- 2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
- 12 to 16 large zucchini squash blossoms
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup chilled seltzer or club soda
- About 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
- Equipment: a deep-fat thermometer
Preparation
Make tomato sauce:Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil in a 2-quarts heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 25 to 30 minutes.
Prepare squash blossoms:
Stir together ricotta, yolk, mint, 1/3 cup parmesan, and 1/8 teaspoon each of salt and pepper.
Carefully open each blossom and fill with about 2 rounded teaspoon ricotta filling, gently twisting end of blossom to enclose filling. (You may have filling left over.)
Whisk together flour, remaining 1/3 cup parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and seltzer in a small bowl.
Heat 1/2 inch oil to 375°F in a 10-inch heavy skillet. Meanwhile, dip half of blossoms in batter to thinly coat. Fry coated blossoms, turning once, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer with tongs to paper towels to drain. Coat and fry remaining blossoms. (Return oil to 375°F between batches.) Season with salt. Serve with tomato sauce.
Cooks' note:
Tomato sauce and ricotta filling can be made 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat sauce before serving.
farm share week 8 is in full effect!
I was very happy to see how nice it looked as we packed the bags up this afternoon. Jack is out of town visiting his family down in Oregon, and I was happy that we were able to get the veggies packed up and into the truck to go up to coupeville in time for our share members and wholesale accounts, and everything else up into the farm stand with time to spare. Without further ado, here is what's in share 8:
Cucumbers- first of the year, and they are good! Yes, the yellow thing in your share IS a cucumber, and yes it is supposed to look like that. Each share has one picolino cuke, my favorite green slicer, and one blond cuke. They are all good to eat without peeling...thin skin, not many seeds, and great raw. i always just cut off the very ends as they are sometimes a little bitter. We grow lots of cucumbers so look forward to more in the coming weeks!
Broccoli- with August around the corner, you probably won't see broccoli in the share too many times before fall. Enjoy it while you can...pretty heads today!
Peas- ditto on the peas...we are into our final planting of sugar snaps, so only a few more weeks before they're gone. I can't believe how they are selling at the farmers market...we can't seem to bring enough! Last week I sewed some shelling (English) peas that will hopefully be ready in October...my first experiment in a fall pea crop.
Lettuce- nice heads of green romaine..the variety is "coastal star"- perfect for a Caesar salad. Glad to see all our lettuce performing well in the heat of Summer!
Carrots- a new planting of carrots, not quite as gigantic!
Parsley- mondo bunch of parsley will hopefully inspire you to get creative and try using it in different ways. I use some parsley almost every time I cook, bit especially in eggs, with potatoes, and on pasta sauces, soups and salads.
Torpedo "red bottle" onions- these onions are mild and sweet, perfect for grilling or putting on a sandwich or salad raw. Great caramelized too! An Italian heirloom.
Fennel bulbs- anyone who is a fan of anise and licorice flavors will love fennel raw. Try it sliced thin on a salad (farm share member kim recommends it with papaya and avocado ...I can't remember the specifics though, so Kim email me the recipe to share!) Or dipped in a hummus.
If the flavor is too strong for you raw, it is very mild when cooked. There are millions of great Italian recipes online, but here is a simple pasta sauce that I like:
http://www.ciaoitalia.com/seasons/16/1604/roasted-fennel-and-cherry-tomato-sauce
Farm Share Week 7! by Blake
Things are humming along on the farm. Crops seem to be surviving and thriving in this heat wave we're having, but it is keeping us running to get all the irrigation done! I love hot weather, unlike many Whidbey Island residents, but that said, when we do get hot weather it often makes me grateful for our cool climate. I enjoy the wonderful months of warm weather, and I definitely am unhappy when it is 55 degrees in July...but I'm also glad that it's not hot and dry six months out of the year. It would just be tiring. That said, here is our first downright summery farm share:
Green beans- These are I think the best batch of green beans I've ever grown! So tender and delicious. They are great for a raw bean salad, but I've heard raw green beans upset some peoples' stomachs, so if you are going to cook them only cook them briefly! I will be enjoying them raw myself, both while I am picking them and for dinner tonight.
Here is a recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Goddess-Green-Beans-231809
(I would cook them for half the time they say, and if you're feeling lazy you could just use Annie's Green goddess dressing from the store...it's pretty great)
Basil- Delicious basil! The plants are loving this weather; they are just beginning to leaf out, so the amount of basil is a bit light, but perfect for garnishing a pizza or pasta or putting in a sandwich. We'll try to give out more and bigger shares of basil in August.
Summer squash- Nice mix of summer squash today. More than last week, as promised. The plants are really starting to crank out the squash...we've harvested over one hundred pounds since Saturday morning! A mix of green, yellow, and green tiger (striped) zucchini, eight ball and cue ball squash (the round ones), crookneck and lebanese (the light green ones).
Carrots- No introduction needed, after a week's break the carrots are back in the share this week.
Lettuce- In the share this week is Bergam's Green, a green head lettuce that is one of my favorite varieties. It has such pretty frilly leaves with a beautiful lime green color, and it holds up super well both in the field and in the fridge. Big enough for several salads too.
Onions- These are the same walla walla sweets we were giving out before, but they've begun to dry down and so now are topless! Use for any recipe that calls for yellow or white onion, but they add a bit of sweetness.
Kale- We hadn't done kale since early June and figured we'd better squeeze it in this week before all the summer produce comes on and there won't be room for it. This is lacinato, tuscan, or dinosaur kale...three names for the same kale. This variety seems particularly good for making kale chips or massaged kale salad, both very fashionable ways to prepare kale! Here are some links for how to do it if you're unfamiliar:
kale chips: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/
massaged kale salad: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/massaged_kale_salad.html
Have fun cooking and eating your food this week! Happy summer....
Things are humming along on the farm. Crops seem to be surviving and thriving in this heat wave we're having, but it is keeping us running to get all the irrigation done! I love hot weather, unlike many Whidbey Island residents, but that said, when we do get hot weather it often makes me grateful for our cool climate. I enjoy the wonderful months of warm weather, and I definitely am unhappy when it is 55 degrees in July...but I'm also glad that it's not hot and dry six months out of the year. It would just be tiring. That said, here is our first downright summery farm share:
Green beans- These are I think the best batch of green beans I've ever grown! So tender and delicious. They are great for a raw bean salad, but I've heard raw green beans upset some peoples' stomachs, so if you are going to cook them only cook them briefly! I will be enjoying them raw myself, both while I am picking them and for dinner tonight.
Here is a recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Green-Goddess-Green-Beans-231809
(I would cook them for half the time they say, and if you're feeling lazy you could just use Annie's Green goddess dressing from the store...it's pretty great)
Basil- Delicious basil! The plants are loving this weather; they are just beginning to leaf out, so the amount of basil is a bit light, but perfect for garnishing a pizza or pasta or putting in a sandwich. We'll try to give out more and bigger shares of basil in August.
Summer squash- Nice mix of summer squash today. More than last week, as promised. The plants are really starting to crank out the squash...we've harvested over one hundred pounds since Saturday morning! A mix of green, yellow, and green tiger (striped) zucchini, eight ball and cue ball squash (the round ones), crookneck and lebanese (the light green ones).
Carrots- No introduction needed, after a week's break the carrots are back in the share this week.
Lettuce- In the share this week is Bergam's Green, a green head lettuce that is one of my favorite varieties. It has such pretty frilly leaves with a beautiful lime green color, and it holds up super well both in the field and in the fridge. Big enough for several salads too.
Onions- These are the same walla walla sweets we were giving out before, but they've begun to dry down and so now are topless! Use for any recipe that calls for yellow or white onion, but they add a bit of sweetness.
Kale- We hadn't done kale since early June and figured we'd better squeeze it in this week before all the summer produce comes on and there won't be room for it. This is lacinato, tuscan, or dinosaur kale...three names for the same kale. This variety seems particularly good for making kale chips or massaged kale salad, both very fashionable ways to prepare kale! Here are some links for how to do it if you're unfamiliar:
kale chips: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/
massaged kale salad: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/massaged_kale_salad.html
Have fun cooking and eating your food this week! Happy summer....
Week 6
Hi everyone,
It really feels like summer now. The grass is dying and the squash , tomatoes and cucumbers are flowering. Just in time, we've got our irrigation line in the ground and our new ice machine up and running. We're getting into the next season of produce, with a teaser this week of zucchini. Here's what's in the share:
Snap Peas - We're swimming in snap peas right now and they are delish!
Beets - Red beets this week, larger than before but still young enough to have a thin skin. Use the leaves like you would chard or any other cooking green.
Mini Head Lettuce - This is the same mini romaine we gave you a few weeks back. It is mild in flavor and very easy to use.
Arugula - We have some tender bunched arugula this week, great for salads, pesto, or on pizza.
Garlic - This garlic was grown by a friend of ours. The variety is inchillium red. You can use it as you would any other garlic, but for you hardcore garlic fans this stuff is a special treat when roasted whole.
French Breakfast Radishes -These are one of the most popular items at our stand at the farmer's market week in and week out. They are at the perfect stage this week, not too spicy. Lots of folks at the market use them to make radish sandwiches.
Cauliflower - We weren't planning on putting cauliflower in the share this week but when we showed up on Monday we had so much ready that we decided to include it. Blake recommendation: cover the whole head in butter, salt and pepper, and blue cheese, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake it at 300 degrees for an hour. Or try cauliflower in a curry. There are so many things to do with cauliflower.
Zucchini - A teaser this week--just one zucchini. We're growing a handful of varieties of summer squash this year which all taste pretty similar. We've got the regular green zucchini, a yellow zucchini, a green striped zucchini called green tiger, a few round squash and a yellow crook neck.
It really feels like summer now. The grass is dying and the squash , tomatoes and cucumbers are flowering. Just in time, we've got our irrigation line in the ground and our new ice machine up and running. We're getting into the next season of produce, with a teaser this week of zucchini. Here's what's in the share:
Snap Peas - We're swimming in snap peas right now and they are delish!
Beets - Red beets this week, larger than before but still young enough to have a thin skin. Use the leaves like you would chard or any other cooking green.
Mini Head Lettuce - This is the same mini romaine we gave you a few weeks back. It is mild in flavor and very easy to use.
Arugula - We have some tender bunched arugula this week, great for salads, pesto, or on pizza.
Garlic - This garlic was grown by a friend of ours. The variety is inchillium red. You can use it as you would any other garlic, but for you hardcore garlic fans this stuff is a special treat when roasted whole.
French Breakfast Radishes -These are one of the most popular items at our stand at the farmer's market week in and week out. They are at the perfect stage this week, not too spicy. Lots of folks at the market use them to make radish sandwiches.
Cauliflower - We weren't planning on putting cauliflower in the share this week but when we showed up on Monday we had so much ready that we decided to include it. Blake recommendation: cover the whole head in butter, salt and pepper, and blue cheese, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake it at 300 degrees for an hour. Or try cauliflower in a curry. There are so many things to do with cauliflower.
Zucchini - A teaser this week--just one zucchini. We're growing a handful of varieties of summer squash this year which all taste pretty similar. We've got the regular green zucchini, a yellow zucchini, a green striped zucchini called green tiger, a few round squash and a yellow crook neck.
Farm share week 5...with flowers!
Also:
New potatoes- grocery stores have taken to selling something they call new potatoes, but these are he real deal. True new spuds cannot be mechanically harvested or stored for too long as they haven't developed thick skins. But they cook in half the time, and have a delicate flavor and great texture. These ones are a mix of varieties hand dug by our friends at Willowood farm, who grow literally tons of amazing tubers. Enjoy them in any potato recipe...I love them as breakfast potatoes!
Carrots- more of our amazing carrots...they just keep getting bigger and better. We made carrot soup this week and it was delicious. Or, Try putting them in a pan in the oven covered with stock and bake for 40 minutes at 375 to make glazed roasted carrots.
Lettuce- back on the list for more summer lettuce salads. The lettuce is sweet and crisp right now.
Broccoli- our second planting of broccoli is ready now, so we are harvesting lots of broccoli. It had to be picked at the perfect time when the heads have sized up but have not started to sprout yet. This cool moist weather is perfect for broccoli harvest as it ripens more slowly and evenly.
Sugar snap peas- the peas are at their absolute peak in productivity and in quality- so sweet! The peas have been a dream come true this spring, and while they do take a while to pick, it goes fast when the plants are loaded with peas as they are right now.
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