Newsletter week #3

Red Springs Family Farm
June 11, 2009, Week #3

This week’s selection:
Lettuces Snow Peas Sorrel Oregano
Catnip Swiss Chard Patty Pan sunburst
Garlic Scapes and Day Lilies!

Summer has arrived. These long humid hot days send us scurrying to the creek for relief from the sweaty hot fields. We’re busy getting tomatoes and melons mulched, beating back the weedlings, and contemplating where to put the okra.

Day lilies are so lovely. Their name suggests something of their nature, as well. Each lily only lasts a day. If you want to eat these blooms in a salad (they have a special taste all their own) – do so tonight. Put the stems in a vase and the other large blooms will emerge in a couple more days, making more salad adornments, or just eye candy.

These are the first summer squashes. There will be many more to follow. We may even have zucchinis next week. These are nice sliced or cubed and stir fried with the snow peas. Toss in a garlic scape, fresh ginger, some toasted sesame oil, and some rice vinegar or lemon juice and honey. Yum.

Catnip is more than just kitty entertainment. It is an excellent, mild nervine herb for tea. It is suitable as a mild mellower for children, or a headache remedy, and pleasant to taste with honey (On ice? With lemon, too perhaps?).

As for Swiss Chard – this just sounds too good to pass up:

Giant Crusty and Creamy White Beans with Greens
Adapted from Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
½ pound medium or large white beans, cooked 3 tablespoons olive oil or clarified butterFine grained sea salt 1 onion, coarsely chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped ½ lb chard, washed and roughly chopped Fresh ground black pepper Extra virgin olive oil for drizzlingFreshly grated parmesan for topping
Drain the beans, then heat the oil or butter over med-high heat in the widest skillet available. Add the beans to the hot pan in a single layer. If you don’t have a big enough skillet, just do the sauté stop in two batches or save the extra beans for another use. Stir to coat the beans with the oil/butter, then let them sit long enough to brown on one side, about 3 or 4 minutes, before turning to brown the other side, also about 3 or 4 minutes. The beans should be golden and a bit crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside. Salt to taste, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Stir in the greens and cook until just beginning to wilt. Remove from heat and season to taste with a generous does of salt and pepper. Drizzle with a bit of top-quality extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

I’m short on time today, so will keep this short. Next week ~ carrots!

Have a wonderful week. Your gardeners, The Entwistles

All of life is rhythm and pulse. ~Wolf D. Storl, Culture and Horticulture