week 14

Tomatoes Cucumber Sweet Peppers Potatoes Summer Squash Garlic

Watermelon Greens Zinnias Okra if you like

herb bag: Basil Sorrel

Late August, the walnut leaves start to spin off in gusts of wind. We're grateful for the cool nights to offset the hot days. We're still longing for a longer rain. Until then, the drip tape keeps drip drip dripping. At least the evenings are enjoyably cool now. We even dared to heat up the house with a homemade pizza, topped with lots of plum tomatoes and sweet red peppers under layers of basil, garlic, and fresh mozzarella. What a treat.

The fall gardens are the main work at hand now, and it feels like spring all over again. Paul and Branden are planting and transplanting hundreds and thousands of seeds and seedlings into freshly worked ground. It's a hopeful time. The seedlings are lovely and it feels good to be moving into a new season.

Next week is the #15. We will be three quarters through the main season. Time flies. If you're on a quarterly payment plan, please be ready to renew next week or the week after. Thank you for your support.

We only irrigate the lower gardens. Down here, the creek is handy enough to pull water with gravity and a small pump. In the upper gardens there's no water near enough to be efficiently brought to the field, so we have to rely on soil fertility, mulch, and the blessings of Mother Nature to see us through. Thus, the watermelons are smaller this year. These are Crimson Sweets. The next variety to harvest are an heirloom that we're trialing this year, named Ali Baba. The next sweet corn is begging for a good rain, and the sweet peppers are obviously perfectly contented.

Here's more summer greens. Some of you will be receiving the same greens we sent a couple weeks ago, (best sauteed with sesame or olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic) and a few of you will be trying out New Zealand Spinach, otherwise known as Tetragonia, or Warrigal. This plant is not related to spinach, but has similar qualities. It is more tolerant of heat and less of cold than spinach. It also has a lot of oxalic acid, which makes it feel weird and prickly on the tongue when eaten raw. Some folks don't seem to mind it much, but we prefer it cooked. Legend has it that Captain Cook and his crew relied heavily on Tetragonia while making long trips in the south Pacific.

To cook Warrigal greens, pull the leaves from the stems, swish them in water to wash, then submerge them in a pot of salted boiling water. Let them boil for 2 minutes for pasta or salad dishes and no more than 4 minutes for side dishes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. You can store the cooked greens for a day or two in the fridge before using them. The leaves have considerably more body and less of a melting texture than spinach.

Here's a recipe:

Aussie Alfredo with Warrigal Greens (off the web)

12 ounces tagliatelle or fettucine 1 pint heavy cream

1/2 c chicken stock or canned broth 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste

2 c cooked shredded/diced chicken meat Salt and fresh ground pepper

2 c cooked warrigal greens (or spinach or chard leaves), coarsely chopped

1/2 c chopped toasted hazelnuts

Optional:

Halved red and yellow cherry tomatoes tossed in balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Grated parmesan cheese.

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain.

2. While the pasta cooks, heat the cream in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until reduced by half, stirring often.

3. Stir in the chicken stock, nutmeg, chicken, and greens. Heat until ingredients are warmed through. Mix in the pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more broth if the mixture seems too thick.

4. Pour the pasta into a serving bowl and sprinkle with the hazelnuts. If desired, serve with the tomato salad sprinkled on top of the pasta to balance the richness of the sauce.

Buttery Patty Pan with Basil (adapted from the Food Renegade website)

your summer squash, sliced into ¼ inch slices ¼ to ½ cup melted butter

bunch of fresh basil, leaves finely sliced sea salt

Arrange the slices of squash around the bottom of a small casserole dish. Drizzle melted butter over them, and scatter some chopped basil on top. Lightly salt. Add layers of squash, basil, butter, and salt until your squash is all gone. Cover and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes (until the squash is tender). (Coree contends that this could be done in a Dutch oven or deep skillet over low heat on the stove top, as well, perhaps with just a splash of water in the bottom to help keep it from sticking – we would also throw in a little diced or crushed garlic.)

We're hoping for another flush of eggplant and some more green beans soon. Send us recipes that you're enjoying this season (we will share them in the newsletter), or post them on the blog or facebook page.

Enjoy your food. Enjoy your life.

Thanks for being a part of our farm!

Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon, and Branden

“The grand essentials to happiness in this lfe are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” ~ Joseph Addison

week 13

August 18, 2011 week 13

Tomatoes Cucumbers Sweet Peppers Corn Cantaloupe Summer Squash Garlic

Beets White Potatoes Green Onion

Herb Bag: Basils Parsley Sorrel

It's been an exciting week out here. We've been participating in a farm group called CRAFT (referring to the craft of farming), and last Monday was our turn to host a farm tour. Our farm friends and their interns turned out in what seemed astounding numbers to us. They came from as far away as Louisville, and enjoyed a garden tour and then demonstration and discussion about a few of the more unique things we do. Paul showed the crowd our grafted tomatoes, solar battery charger, and how to save tomato seeds. A brave few went exploring in the cold creek, and we all enjoyed a lovely pot luck dinner, topped off with home-milked, hand cranked ice cream from our friends at Hill and Hollow Farm. Branden got some quality time with other interns (i.e. young folks); Coree got to chat it up with the farm wives; Paul enjoyed some serious farmer-guy time, and Lulah played with rough and rowdy farm kids until the day was done. It was a good exhausting day.

The cold snap has been great. Though it's still way too dry, the cooler temperatures protect the plants (and the gardeners) from completely frying in the field. The more temperature-sensitive plants have bloomed again and stand ready to set more fruit (tomatoes, eggplants). The watermelons had been taking the heat pretty hard, which is unusual for them. They seems to be making more fruits again now too. We hope to have Crimson Sweets in the van next week. The cool weather has slowed production on some of the mid summer crops like okra and squash, but we're confident that they will catch up soon.

The corn has seen some tough predation. We put an electric fence around the field from the time it tassled, but the raccoons and squirrels have broken through a few times. There is a conspicuous lack of nuts on the ground in the woods this year, and so the hungry animal population is exerting great pressure on a lot of crops. We're feeling fortunate to have been spared as much as we have. Corn ear worms are the organic certifiers of our corn crop. If they disturb you too greatly, we recommend taking a heavy knife and just chopping off the silk end of the corn before you shuck it. We also recommend that whatever happens, you cook this corn TONIGHT. Corn is best as fresh as possible, and we work hard to keep it fresh for you. Make the most of it and enjoy. Hopefully, there will be another flush of it in a few more weeks.

How about these peppers? This is a lot more than a peck of perfect peppers, and this is a good time to freeze some sweet peppers for the winter months. Chop them to whatever size and shape you enjoy cooking with, pop them into baggies and on into the freezer. They're a real treat for homemade pizzas, pastas, and stir frys when this season of plenty has passed. Keep in mind as well – a ripe red sweet pepper has THREE TIMES as much Vitamin C as an orange, and loads of beta carotene as well. As much as these plants love the sunshine, its no wonder!

Sweet Pepper and Lentil Soup

inspired by a recipe in Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

2 Tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, or 2 leeks, chopped

3-5 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon freshly purchased paprika or smoked paprika

1-3 sweet peppers, depending on their size, seeded and finely chopped

1 cup brown or black lentils, rinsed 5 cups broth or water

1 tsp salt P to taste 1-2 Tablespoons champagne or sherry or rice vinegar

Cook the onion in 1 Tablespoon oil over medium heat in a skillet until the onion/leeks begin to soften. Stir in paprika and allow it to cook for about a minute more.

Add the chopped sweet pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until everything begins to soften. Scrape all this into a slow cooker. Add the lentils and broth (or water) and stir to combine. Cover and cook on low until the lentils are completely soft, 7-9 hours.

Season the soup with S & P (more salt if you used water, less if you used purchased broth), and last Tablespoon olive oil. Stir in 1 Tablespoon of one of the vinegars, adding more if needed. Serve hot.

Fettuccini with Sweet Peppers & Pinenuts

1 lb package uncooked fettuccini pasta 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 3 large sweet peppers, cored, seeded and julienned

1/2 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup fresh parsley or basil leaves, chopped

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted, halved 1/4 cup capers, drained

1 tablespoon coarse salt or coarse sea salt black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions: drain and return to pan to keep warm. In a large, heavy skillet heat the olive oil. Add garlic and bell peppers (yellow, red & orange), and cook for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. Add pine nuts and cook approximately 4 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Gradually stir in basil or parsley. Add olives and capers and heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a serving bowl, toss the sauce mixture with prepared pasta.

Pickled Beets (tangy and sweet refrigerator pickles)

4 cups cooked sliced or diced beets 5 cups water 1 tsp. salt

marinade: ½ cup lemon juice 1 cup vinegar ¼ cup honey

½ Tbs. Dill ¼ tsp mustard powder

Soak and chill the cooked beets in water and salt for several hours, then drain off the water. Prepare the marinade, mix with beets, and store overnight in the refrigerator. Serve next day.

Sweet Steamed Beets

4 cups raw beets 2 Tbsp melted butter

2 Tbsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp coriander powder

Slice or cube beets. Steam until tender (+/- 20 minutes), drain. Melt butter. Put beets in a serving dish and drizzle with butter and lemon juice. Sprinkle with coriander. Toss to coat evenly, and serve.

We hope you enjoy the harvest.

Your gardeners,

Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon, and Branden

“Then only is our life a whole when work and contemplation

dwell in us side by side, and we are perfectly in both of them at once.” - Ruysbroeck

week 12

Lettuce Tomatoes Cucumber Sweet Peppers Garlic Eggplant Potatoes

Cantaloupe Onion Okra/Tomatillo/Squash

Basil Parsley Summer Greens

The rain's been so sweet, there's just not quite enough of it. So the drip tape is down and the tap is open. Our water comes from the little creek branch right next to our house. We don't mindusing it as needed. It's just a short diversion of the water from it's original course. It sure makes a big difference in how the garden grows!

The season's turn is fast approaching. This week we all remarked on the change in the quality of the air, just a smell or a feeling of Autumn, even when it's still so hot. The greens of the leaves aren't as dark as they were a month ago.

It's been a busy week and we're grateful to feel so much getting done around the homestead. A friend of Branden visited over the weekend and was good help hauling down a HUGE tomato and cantaloupe harvest. Friends with kids (always a boon for Lulah) visited early in the week, as did long-time shareholder John, who lended his hands generously to a number of the tasks of that day. Our jolly good friend Wilson reappeared on Wednesday and helped bring down the peppers, eggplants, and yet more tomatoes. We're really grateful for the extra help. It makes our days lighter, and brighter.

Corn lovers, your day is coming. The corn looks like it will be ready next week. Tomatoes are peaking and will ramp off some, and watermelons and corn will come on in bursts. The peppers are ramping up on color (and sweet flavor), and the summer squash are coming back into production as well. The gardens look good, if a little dry.

In your herb bag this week you'll find some new greens. We're trialing some summer greens this year and these were the first ones to look good. You can use them as you would turnip greens. They're very “green”, not too sweet, but not overly bitter or spicy either. Let us know what you think. Here's a nice simple recipe from Mariquita Farms in California:

Summer Greens Meal

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil 3 Garlic cloves, minced

1 cup shitake mushrooms, sliced 1 Tablespoon Red Raspberry or cider vinegar

1 large red onion, sliced 1 can black beans

2 Tablespoons soy sauce 1 large pototo, cubed

1 bunch of cleaned greens

Put all ingredients in a large pot, in the order listed. Bring mixture to boiling point, stir, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 or 20 minutes, or until potato is tender. Serve with a chilled fruit and yogurt accompaniment.

The plague of grasshoppers has come to our gardens. They have eaten a couple of plantings to the ground, and have done quite a lot of damage to this week's lettuce. We're sending it anyway. Those of you who love lettuce will make the most of it, like we do. Those of you who don't love lettuce won't be sad. All new plantings are being immediately covered with remay (polyspun row cover), giving the seeds and seedlings some protection in their early weeks.

The book Radical Homemakers has lately come to our home, and it's some juicy night time reading material. Here's some food for thought about our food system:

~ The average American ingests approximately fourteen (14) pounds of chemicals per year in the form of food additives (coloring, flavorings, preservatives, and emulsifiers), pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones and heavy metals That does not include our annual per capita consumption of 58.2 pounds of high fructose corn syrup.

~ Over the last 100 years of modern agriculture, 75% of plant genetic diversity has been lost and now 30% of livestock breeds are at risk of extinction.

~ 75% of the world's food comes from 12 plants and only five animal species.

~ Six companies control 98% of the world's seed sales, four companies slaughter 81% of American beef, and four companies control 70% of American milk sales.

~ Up to 40% of the food grown in the US is lost or thrown away (WOW, yeah?).

~ 28% of American families share a meal together daily, and food companies spend $10 billion per year on advertising directly targeting children.

This is the stuff that makes us glad to work hard in the hot sun for the sake of real food.

Indian-Style Okra and Tomatoes

¾ tsp cumin ¾ tsp coriander 1/8 tsp cayenne

1/8 tsp ground fennel 1/8 tsp turmeric 3 Tbsp vegetable oil

½ lb okra ¾ cup chopped onion 2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped ginger 1-2 diced tomatoes

Measure dry spices into a small bowl. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large heavy skillet over med-high heat. Add okra in a single layer and fry without stirring for 1 minute. Continue cooking for 3-4 minutes, tossing and turning okra until it is lightly browned. Remove okra from the pan.

Add the remaining oil to the same pan along with the onions. Cook onions until light golden, then add the garlic and ginger and cook stirring constantly, until the mixture caramelizes (8-10 minutes). Add the spices; stir for a few seconds and then add the tomatoes and ¼ cup water.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring for 3 minutes, or until the mixture thickens. Ad the fried okra and salt to taste. Return to a boil and cook, covered, over low heat, until the okra is cooked and the sauce thickens about 20 minutes. Stir in some cilantro and garnish with more, if desired.

A Big Tomato Sandwich

1 large loaf ciabatta bread Herb Vinaigrette 2 or more big ripe tomatoes

1 large red/yellow pepper, roasted, peeled, quartered 4 oz fresh mozzarella or goat cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1. Slice the top third off the bread and set it aside. Pull out the inside (make bread crumbs).

2. Paint the inside of the bread with some of the dressing, then make layers of sliced tomatoes, pepper, and cheese. Bathe each laye with dressing and season with salt and pepper.

3. Add the top, press down, and cut into quarters or sixths. This packs well if wrapped tightly.

Herb Vinaigrette: ¼ cup basil leaves, 1 Tbsp marjoram, 1 Tbsp parsley, 1 clove minced garlic,

1/3 cup olive oil, 4 tsp. Aged red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Finely chop and mix well all ingredients.

Have a great weekend! The Entwistles

mid season newsletters

August 4 - week 11

Lettuce Tomatoes Cucumber Peppers Garlic Eggplant Summer Squash

Potatoes Cantaloupe Okra or Green Beans

Basil Purple Ruffles Basil Cutting Celery

WOW is it hot! These are the kind of days that we contemplate joining the electrical grid and having an air conditioner. We can't spend enough time at the creek.

Last night's thunderstorms missed us, so we're ready to lay drip tape and do a little irrigation. With Fall crops to plant, more beans to germinate, and shallow rooted lettuce to keep growing, a trickle of moisture to the top of the soil makes the continuation of the garden possible. Plants that have been in the ground for awhile – like the okra, peppers, tomatoes, melons, basil, have all reached their long roots down to where there is still plenty of soil moisture. It's the new plants that need a lift.

Speaking of lettuce, this is the time of year that it suffers. The heads are small and may be more bitter than usual. We recommend using a sweeter salad dressing, or using some fruit – dried or fresh – mixed in your salad to off-set the bitter flavor (a very important, though neglected and wrongly maligned taste in the American flavor repertoir). Our good friend Wilson will eat very bitter lettuce by mixing a dressing of tahini and marmalade, thinned with some oil and maybe a splash of vinegar. Otherwise, you might try this:

Orange Sesame Vinaigrette

3 Tbsp canola oil 3 Tbsp toasted sesame oil 3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp fresh orange juice 2 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp honey salt and pepper to taste

Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings as necessary. Can be kept covered refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

We're still recovering slowly from our various spinal perterbations. Paul can do a fair amount of work, but is still not comfortable sitting for long periods of time. Coree, on the other hand, can sit just fine but walks with a limp and has difficulty lifting heavy things. We're grateful for progress, grateful for the many helpful hands and kind healing thoughts and prayers that have come our way in the past few weeks. We cannot pretend it hasn't been a trying time, but like most trials, it serves to clarify our perspective and sharpen our resolve to make the changes we need to make to stay healthy and strong and live this life we love.

You never know what might come your way on the information super-highway. Here's some unconventional knowledge about cucumbers, for your entertainment, at least:

~ Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

~Have an important meeting or job interview and realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

~ Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, voila, the squeak is gone!

The excessive heat is doing a number on our eggplants. They're beautiful this week, and there will be a few more next week, but they refuse to set fruit in the high heat. Once the heat breaks, the flowers will hold and bear again, but we may have a break in their production. Have some Baba Ghanoush ~ Enjoy them while you've got them!

3 lbs eggplant 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 garlic clove (or more!), minced salt and cayenne to taste ¼ c. chopped parsley

Wash and dry eggplants, and broil them on a rimmed baking sheet. Turn them one or twice, and broil until soft and tender – 15-20 minutes. Let the eggplants cool for ten minutes, then peel them, discarding stems and skins. Coarsely chop. Combine sesame oil, lemon juice, garlic and 2 tsp salt in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Place eggplant in a medium sized bowl, and beat with an electric mixer or immersion blender until smooth. Gradually beat in the oil-lemon mixture. Season with additional salt to taste. Transfer to a pretty bowl and serve at room temperature sprinkled with parsley and cayenne pepper. Store in the fridge up to 5 days.

Here's a cool recipe for hot weather that incorporates much of our harvest...

Panzanella Salad

12 oz. day old country style break with rusts, ut into 1 inch cubes (8 cups)

4 large tomatoes, cored, seeded, and chopped, juices reserved

1 large cucumber, cut into ½ inch dice 2 med. Peppers, cut to ¼ inch dice

1 small red onion, cut to ¼ inch dice ¾ – 1 cup sun-dried tomato vinaigrette

salt and pepper to taste 20 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons

Combine bread, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, and red onion in a large bowl.

Add ¾ cup of the sundried tomato vinaigrette and toss to coat all ingredients evenly. Taste and add more is the salad is dry. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with basil. Serve within an hour or two of making. Made too far in advance, the bread will soak up all the dressing and you will need to add more. Capers, olives, and anchovies are good additions.

Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette

1/3 c. sun dried tomatoes, reconstituted in hot water, chopped ¼ c. balsamic vinegar

½ tsp (at least!) minced garlic 1 c. olive oil

½ c. red wine vinegar salt and pepper

Process vinegars, garlic and tomatoes in food processor together, then add olive oil. Refrigerate, covered, up to two months – best used at room temperature.

(All the recipes for this newsletter came from The Earthbound Cook by Myra Goodman, with thanks.)

If you find an enourmous, beautiful, delicious pink tomato in your bag, that's one of our new favorites, with the (great) name – Mortgage Lifter. Healthy plants are producing well, not cracking, like so many large tomatoes are prone to do. We hope you're enjoying them too.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the good eating...

With best regards,

Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon and Branden

“A thatched roof once covered free man; under marble and gold dwells slavery.”

~ Roman philospher Seneca (3BC – 65 AD)

End of July - week 10

Lettuce Cucumber Bell Peppers Hot Peppers

Garlic Tomatoes Eggplant Green Beans MELONS!

Okra Basil Sorell Cuttimg Celary Green Onions

More powerful and fearful on the farm than flood, drought, heat, or cold... back injury.

After two weeks of Paul's slow recovery (we're glad to report that he is recovering steadily), Coree and Branden were some tired folks (Paul is tired too – but in a different direction – he's tired or being laid up!). Coree, flying around doing chores and getting ready to start dinner on Saturday evening, went to climb into the barn loft to fetch some onions and the ladder toppled, sending her down onto her right hip pretty hard. That's two farmers down – not good numbers.

Branden's youthful energy and the helpful goodwill of a great number of our family and friends has been on our side this week and we're sure grateful. We knew entering into this season that help would be necessary to make it work; we had no idea how true that would prove to be. It feels very strange for neither of us to be able to make it to Cookeville for delivery this week – we're glad that the food can be brought to town without us. Thank you all for your understanding as we weather this strange interval.

The mid-summer heat, and harvest, is upon us. The hills are a full deep green, and the nights are noisy with cicadas and tree frogs in full chirp. Cucumbers and okra need picking every other day, tomatoes twice a week. Melons will come on fast for awhile then trickle in after the rush. The green beans are sweet. You have a great sufficiency of menu items to work with this week. What a great time of year.

If you get a melon that doesn't smell perfectly ripe, leave it out a couple days. Otherwise, pop it in the fridge because it's probably perfectly ripe. Cucumbers and okra should be refrigerated as well. Eggplants and peppers prefer to not be refrigerated but may need to be if you can't get around to using them fairly soon.

This is our tenth week – marking the middle of our twenty week season. If you are paying quarterly, please make your check ready for next week. If you're not sure where you are in your payment schedule, just drop us an email and we'll let you know.

Tomatoes Tomatoes! It's a big bunch of tomatoes. They sure are beautiful. We hope you're enjoying them completely. FYI – tomatoes lose texture and taste when refrigerated. Of course, they'll also keep longer in the fridge, but the icebox should be a last resort. A warm sunny window will ripen them faster. Cool shade will keep them longer. Use them up. We don't buy tomatoes off season; we just eat so many and put up as many as we can, and by the time the last green tomatoes get frosted, we're tired of them! Put tomatoes in everything - some recommendations – make your own salsa or tomato sauce (you can freeze the tomato sauce to use this winter) – bruschetta – tomato sandwiches – tomato soups – tomato salads - tomato juice – tomato jam!

A few basic tomato recipes fill the remainder of the newsletter – we'll be back with okra and cucumber recipes next week!

Bruschetta – an Italian appetizer dating from the 15^th century (old food!) - simple, flexible, and delicious. For best results use a crusty kind of bread. I like to fry the bread in olive oil, but like as mentioned above – it's all flexible to your own tastes:

Mix salt, pepper, ½ cup olive oil, one large minced clove of garlic,

and several leaves of chopped fresh basil.

Dice two large tomatoes and an onion if you want (make this in any quantity you like – simple math).

Combine tomatoes with oil and herbs, allow flavors to mingle well.

Spoon this mixture onto crispy toasted Italian bread. Top with Mozzarella and/or Parmesan. Enjoy!

Salsa – this is probably also an ancient food. Same principles as Bruschetta, but with a different set of flavors, and delivery method (chips). Here's a basic framework:

1 pound tomatoes, diced (or more) 1 red onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno, finely diced and seeded 1 clove garlic, smashed (or more)

1 lime, juiced 3 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine and enjoy!

Salsa variations are endless. Sweet corn is a wonderful addition to salsa. Bell peppers or tomatilloes will be fine in here too.. Mostly, if you have some tomatoes, either an onion or some garlic, salt and pepper, and lime juice, you can have a basic and very delicious fresh salsa. So good.

And a nice fresh tomato sauce:

10 ripe tomatoes 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter 1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped 2 carrots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1/4 cup Burgundy wine

1 bay leaf 2 stalks celery

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Have ready a large bowl of iced water. Plunge whole tomatoes in boiling water until skin starts to peel, 1 minute. Remove with slotted spoon and place in ice bath. Let rest until cool enough to handle, then remove peel and squeeze out seeds. Chop 8 tomatoes and puree in blender or food processor. Chop remaining two tomatoes and set aside.

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, cook onion, bell pepper, carrot and garlic in oil and butter until onion starts to soften, 5 minutes. Pour in pureed tomatoes. Stir in chopped tomato, basil, Italian seasoning and wine. Place bay leaf and whole celery stalks in pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 2 hours. Stir in tomato paste and simmer an additional 2 hours. Discard bay leaf and celery and serve.

We hope you enjoy your basket this week. We look forward to seeing you next week. Please be careful when climbing ladders and lifting anything heavy.

With best regards,

Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon and Branden

Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

7-21-11-9

Red Springs Family Farm
July 21, 2011 week 9

Lettuce Onions Cucumber Bell Peppers Garlic Tomatoes Eggplant Fennel
Purple Ruffles Basil Basil Tulsi

We're thankful that we didn't get too much more rain this week and that the garden has dried up enough to get out there again. Our mornings start early so we're out there before the heat really gets going. The heat is oppressive though. It's a good time of year to spend some time in the creek each day.

Some of you may have heard that Paul has been out of commission for a while now due to a back injury. He's starting to get better but still not much of a help. Branden has picked up the bulk of the field work with a bunch of help from Coree and Lulah and other friends too. It's been a trial all around, but it looks like we will make it through.

It's been a hard year for the summer squashes with the stress from the wet spring and now they are getting devoured by the squash vine borers. This is a moth that lays an egg on the stem of the vine which, when it hatches, eats its way into the vine and devours it from the inside out. It's hard to catch them until it's too late. We always lose a few vines to them, but this year it seems that we may lose all of the first planting. We put out a latter planting and working to keep them un-infested.

The eggplant is the best stand that we have ever had. Every plant looks great and big too. They were so big in fact that they tumbled over in that last heavy storm. We reinforced them with bamboo stakes this week and they will be much the happier for it. They have a heavy set of fruit on them and there will be more coming in over the next few week. Summer crops are all starting to roll. We were hoping for water melon this week but they should be perfect next week, and there will likely be cantaloupe too. Tomatillos will be beginning soon, as well as okra. A long row of beautiful cucumbers will be fattening up now also – get ready!

There is an amazing sounding recipe from allrecipes.com involving steamed mussels, fennel, tomatoes, ouzo, and cream. I can imagine making it work with a few substitutes, but I can't imagine substituting the ouzo and I'm not sure how many people will have that in their cupboard. This is a simple one from the same site:

Carrot and fennel
1 teaspoon olive oil 3 carrots, shredded 1 fennel bulb (2 small), trimmed and diced
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds 1/3 cup heavy cream

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the carrots and fennel, and season with coriander and fennel seeds. Cook until lightly browned. Mix in the heavy cream, and reduce heat to low. Simmer about 5 minutes until the cream has been absorbed into the carrots and fennel. Serve hot.

I can also imagine omitting the carrots and using thinly sliced eggplant instead. I'd up the oil some as eggplant absorbs so much. I'd also consider omitting the cream and adding garlic.

You might notice that there is an abundance of tomatoes in your basket this week. The tomato stand looks great this year and it should continue awhile. We looooove tomato salads – with basil and garlic chopped in and a liberal dousing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and nutritional yeast. Feta or Parmesan or fresh Mozzarella really compliment this well. The salad dressing/tomato juice soup left at the bottom of the bowl is sublime. Here’s another way to use these tomatoes. The recipe called for plum tomatoes, but I feel certain that any fairly firm tomato could be treated in the same fashion with great results.

Roasted Tomatoes
12 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise, seeds removed 4 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Arrange the tomatoes on a sheet pan, cut sides up, in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle the garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper over the tomatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are concentrated and beginning to caramelize. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We’re in a basil crazil dazil today – you have three kinds of basil in your herb bag. The smallest fuzzy one is Tulsi – loved in Indian and Thai food. It also makes a lovely iced tea with lemon and honey. Or you can just dry it and use it in sachet or potpourri. The purple basil is highly aromatic and flavorful – excellent addition to pesto – edible garnish – object de art!

Please feel free to refuse what produce you cannot use. But also please do TRY to use this good food. Peel the tomatoes and pop them into freezer bags for the winter. Freeze or dry your basil. Peppers need only be washed and chopped to your size of choice and frozen as is. This is the time to put things by for winter.

Speaking of winter… we’re about to start planting for Fall. It feels strange to be trying to think about Fall when it’s 100 degrees out, but that’s the reality of gardening. We are planning for a beautiful season extension with a huge diversity of greens, roots, and goodies to share.

Please remember to do us the kindness of placing your blueberry orders ahead of time – it helps with the flow of veggie pick ups. Thanks a million.
It’s too hot to think anymore right now – time to pack it up and bring you all this harvest.

Enjoy!
With best regards,
Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon and Branden

Sowing the seed, my hand is one with the earth.
Wanting the seed to grow, my mind is one with the light.
Hoeing the crop, my hands are one with the rain.
Having cared for the plants, my mind is one with the air.
Hungry and trusting, my mind is one with the earth.
Eating the fruit, my body is one with the earth.
-Prayers and Saying of the Mad Farmer, IX
by Wendell Berry

week 8

July 14, 2011 week 8

Lettuce Onion Potatoes
Bell Pepper Patty Pan Garlic
Tomatoes Cucumber
Herb Bag: Sorrel Basil Cutting Celery

We're grateful to not be in a drought so far this year! No end to the interesting weather, though. We've seen soaring heat and torrential down pours. About 3 ½ “ of rain fell on Tuesday which brings our total for the last month to about a foot. This was just a little pop-up thunderstorm that dumped all that rain in about an hour! It washed out our road and took down our phone too. The county road crew did a prompt repair job, but the phone company seems to have a lot going on right now.

We did pretty good catching up with cultivating the garden but will be out there doing it all again after the hard rain. We harvested the potatoes and the rest of the onions too. That was a big day! The tomatoes are doing great now and the peppers are looking good too. The okra has shown it's first blossoms and the corn grew about 2 feet taller with the warmth and abundant moisture. We also had our very first watermelon of the season and the prospects look good for next week on the small ones with yellow flesh.

Summer Squash are on of our favorite early summer treats. They come in a variety of shapes and colors. This week we have the yellow and green patty pans that look like flying saucers, and a few round green zucchinis. The zucchinis got hit hard by the early wet weather and many plants succumbed to fungal disease, which summer squash are prone to. We have also planted a few other varieties that will be coming along in a few weeks. There will be Yellow Crook Neck and Benning's Green Tint – a white patty pan that we especially like the flavor of. They can all be used interchangeably as they have a similar taste and texture. They are great raw out of hand or chopped into a salad or can be lightly stir fried until they are just heated through. They can also be cooked until soft as in a ratatouille.

Try this with your summer squash.
Vegetable Pasta Salad
¼ c. red wine vinegar ¼ c. Olive oil ½ tsp salt 1/8 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic minced 1 tbs Dijon mustard ¼ cup Basil
wisked together and set aside

4 ounces uncooked Pasta cook, drain, and rinse in cold water. Toss in large bowl with 1/3 of dressing

2 c. chopped fresh vegetables: green peppers, summer squash, cucumbers, broccoli, mix and match
3 medium tomatoes cut in thin wedges ½ cup sliced olives
Layer ingredients on top of pasta in above order.
Sprinkle ¼ - ½ cup fresh basil and 2 tbs fresh parsley on top then add ½ cup Parmesan cheese and remainder of dressing. Toss lightly before serving.

And for the tomatoes: Chilled Tomato Soup
1 beefsteak sized tomato (peeled), 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt, 6 basil leaves, salt and pepper
Puree in a blender until smooth. Oh YUM.
There are many ways to feel about potatoes. For some people they are just another starch, a root (though that isn't botanically accurate), something bland that fits the bill to put with the more important parts of dinner. But this time of year, we beg to differ. This may be due in part to the many hours we spend in the hot field tending the potato plants, then grubbing around in the soil digging them, toting them around in baskets, sorting them out, and tucking them safely into storage, but nevertheless, we contend that fresh potatoes are a different story. You can't ever count on finding really fresh potatoes in a grocery store (sort of like garlic). These potatoes are more crisp – like a fresh apple – and considerably more delicate in flavor (in my opinion) than potatoes that have been in storage. These smaller sized potatoes don't store well, and are best eaten fresh, or NEW, hence the name – new potatoes. You can treat as you would any potato – boil, fry, bake, mash, butter, olive oil, salt and pepper. For a basic good recipe, try this:

Roasted New Potatoes
1 1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
AT LEAST (adjust herbs/spices as needed:) 2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a plastic bag; toss to coat. Pour into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 450 degrees F for 35 minutes, turning occasionally until potatoes are tender. Remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm until serving.

We're offering Kenny's Cheese again this year. For those of you who haven't heard of it , Kennys cheese is a great little family dairy in Barren County Kentucky. They use only there own fresh raw milk to make their cheese. We think that it is a great tasting high quality cheese. The prices have taken a slight increase – we've done what we can to keep them down, but dairy is a tough business. Here's how it works...

Tell us the cheeses and quantities of cheeses that you would like, as soon as possible and no later than next Thursday. It will take Kenny's a full week to process, cut and wrap our order, and we'll bring your order to market July 28. We'll do this once a month through the season, so order an appropriate amount to see you through. We know that these prices can seem high if you're buying conventional cheese. They are comparable to specialty and organic cheese prices, and having seen the Mattingly farm and how it operates, we are confident offering Kenny's products. He uses no growth hormones, and though he does not certify organic, his practices are sound and he is a fine steward of the land. Kenny's offers a very nice selection of cheese – we're keeping it basic for now. If you see something interesting on their website you can request it. Here's the selection and price list, all prices are for ½ lb blocks:

Cheddar, Mild $4
Cheddar, Aged $5
Monterey Jack $4
Colby $4
Barren County Blue $5
Swiss $5

We would like to know that we have a reasonable amount of interest in the cheese order before we commit to making the drive up to Kenny's. Please express your cheese intentions soon.

Cantaloupes and Eggplants will be ready soon. Enjoy your meals!

With best regards,
Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon and Branden

“To be sane in a mad time is bad for the brain, worse for the heart.
The world is a holy vision, had we clarity to see it – a clarity that men depend on men to make.
– The Mad Farmer Manifesto; The first Amendment (2) by W. Berry

weeks 5, 6, 7

It's so easy to get behind! It's so nice to get caught up.

July 7, 2011 week 7

Lettuce Carrots Beets
Bell Pepper Patty Pan Garlic
FIRST Tomato Wax Beans
herb bag: Sorrel Basil Cutting Celery

It’s our seventh week of the main season deliveries, and it happens to fall on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year. That feels lucky!

We hope you all had a fun Independence Day. We enjoyed time with family and friends, and Lulah enjoyed the fireworks just as much as Levon DIDN’T enjoy them. The raw blueberry pie was incredible. If you want to learn to make one, ask us for the recipe, or scan through the blog. I’m fairly sure it’s posted in there somewhere.

New item in your herb bag this week is Cutting Celery. This little green herb has all flavor of a celery stick in a small sprig of green. Not so handy for dipping peanut butter, but great in soup stocks, potato salads, and green salads. Our parsley took a hit in the last big rain, so it could be awhile before we have larger quantities of those greens to share. Cutting celery is abundant now.

Tomatoes are on the verge. The gardens on the hill have never looked better. Paul and Branden have worked hard to get the squash, corn, melons, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, potatoes and onions laid out and tucked into mulch. There are loads of fuzzy young cantaloupes, miniature watermelons, and thousands of green tomatoes. This week is a particularly precious time, because even though everything is green and lush and beautiful, it's still small enough to maneuver around the gardens. Soon, the tomato vines will close in and picking tomatoes will be like a trip into the primeval tomato jungle. Walking through the squashes and melons will be a tip toe dance around intertwining vines and blooms, and the sweet potatoes will be a solid carpet of beautiful ropy vines and leaves. Everything is growing strong and it won’t be long before we’ll be in full harvest up there. Corn will be late this year, but here come the peppers…

Peppers have a funny way of setting a great big fruit early in the season, right smack dab in the middle of the plant. That first pepper can grow quite large and actually lodge itself in the plant’s branches, making it difficult to harvest. These peppers you’re receiving today are those first big peppers. We picked them out to make room for the others to grow larger. There’ll be more soon.

This is the end of carrots for awhile. We're sad to see them go. It's been a lovely harvest. We'll have more later in the season. Beets are here, and we know they're not everyone's favorite vegetable, so we'd like to give you some information about why and how to love them. Unique pigment antioxidants present in beets have been found to offer protection against coronary artery disease and stroke, lower cholesterol levels in the body and have anti-aging effects. Beets are a great source of B vitamins, have more iron than spinach (step back Pop-eye!), and are also an excellent source of calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, copper, and natural sodium. A quick online search, also yielded this, um, interesting tidbit:

“Dandruff: Mix a little vinegar to a small cup of beets juice. Massage it into the scalp with your fingertips and leave on for about an hour, then rinse. Do this daily till dandruff clears up. Warning: you will smell awful during this hour! “

Nutritional information is motivational, but recipes are probably more useful:

Beet Roesti with Rosemary (from Mark Bittman)
Makes 4 servings Time: 20 minutes
An almost unbelievably sweet and wonderful side dish. The sugar in the beets caramelizes, and the flavors of the rosemary, beets, and butter meld beautifully.
· 1 to 1 1/2 pounds beets · 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
· 1 teaspoon salt · 1/4 cup flour
· 2 tablespoons butter
1. Trim the beets and peel them as you would potatoes; grate them in a food processor or by hand. Begin preheating a medium to large non-stick or well-seasoned skillet over medium heat.
2. Toss the grated beets in a bowl with the rosemary and salt, then add about half the flour; toss well, add the rest of the flour, then toss again.
3. Place the butter in the skillet and heat until it begins to turn nut-brown. Scrape the beet mixture into the skillet, shape it into a nice circle, and press it down with a spatula. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the bottom of the beet cake is nicely crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Slide the cake out onto a plate, top with another plate, invert the two plates, and slide the cake back into the pan. Continue to cook, adjusting the heat if necessary, until the second side is browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Roasted Beets, Italian style
Trim off the tops must 1/4 inch or so above the root. Rinse. Wrap all the beets together in a double-thickness of aluminum foil, crimping the edges together to seal tightly. Roast in a 400ºF oven until tender, 1-2 hours. Remove from the oven. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets (the skin will pull away) and slice into thin rounds or half rounds. Just before serving, dress with good-quality red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Serve warm or room temperature. Especially nice after lamb dishes.
Roasted Beets can also be used in fancier salads. Try combining them with orange sections and watercress or lamb's lettuce -- or with walnuts and goat cheese – or with sliced red onions and fresh herbs – in a sherry vinegar dressing.

Quick and Easy Beans
Cook beans in a 4-quart pot of boiling salted water until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, then immediately toss in a large bowl with either:

1 Tbsp. honey, ¾ tsp. Grated lemon zest, and ¼ tsp. salt
OR
3 Tbsp. Extra virgin olive oil, juice of one lemon, 2 minced cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper.

This week, we hope to pull onions and dig potatoes. Cucumbers will be fattening up, and the tomatoes will pink up. Summer crops are upon us.

Have a great week, and please remember to send us your blueberry orders.
Thank you for your good eating.

Paul, Coree, Lulah, Levon and Branden

“The old agriculture of the 19th and 20th century is dying, and consumers can hasten that death, and they should. They are, after all, the walking wounded, offended by the chemical amateur. The consumer cannot hide in an organic garden or sleep in a subway or ignorance. Consumers will get lean agriculture when they demand it, casting their demands in knowledgeable terms and nailing those terms to the market door.” ~ Charles Walters, A Voice Eco- Agriculture, 1975


June 30, 2011 week 6

Lettuce Lacinato Kale Carrots Beets
Red Onion Garlic Chard Wax Beans
herb bag: Sorrel Basil Green Onions

Is it my imagination or was June SO fast? We are happy to see the sun shine again these days. By our estimations, we've had at least 7 ½ inches of rain in the past ten days. Monday night's finale thunderstorm was a light show to put most firework displays to shame. There was no sleeping through it, and Branden was tempted to bail out of his tent house. The gardens are still too wet to cultivate and we can't mulch or plant until after we cultivate. The to-do list has gotten pretty darn long! We'll hit the ground running on Friday morning.

Food ripens and grows, no matter what the weather. The first picking of green, (actually, yellow) beans was a little thin. We're aiming for more next week. Summer squashes have not enjoyed the rain, but persist in blooming, as do the cucumbers. There are spiny baby cucumbers all over the vines. Lulah has eaten about three not-quite-ripe tomatoes in the garden now. Soon, so soon, those best loved garden fruits will be rolling in. This week's sunshine will bring big growth.

In the meantime – here's to beets and carrots. Make your holiday weekend colorful by using these bright veggies. We like to grate beets on a salad. (You might have noticed already, but we'll put almost anything on a salad. We hope you will try too.) They turn whatever they come into contact with a delightful bright pink (it's especially delightful if you have a young daughter :)). They are great baked in foil, just like a white potato, and if you're doing some grilling this weekend – check out these tips for Grilled Beets, a great addition to a grilled veggie platter:
Heat the grill to medium-hot – you should be able to hold your hand about an inch over the cooking grate for about 2 seconds.
Peel and slice beets.
Brush beets with olive or vegetable oil. Sprinkle lightly with salt.
Place beets on grill. If using a gas grill, cover. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, turn, and cook until beets are tender and grill-marked, another 8 to 10 minutes.
Serve beets hot, warm, or at room temperature. Drizzle with additional olive oil for serving, if you like. This is also a great time to use any nut oils - toasted walnut oil or hazelnut oil in particular - since they are delicious on grilled beets.

Reminder - any oil you use can be easily infused with garlic and/or basil or any other herb you choose, simply by crushing the herb or spice and mixing it with the oil. The longer it soaks in the oil the better, and if you're infusing for more than a few hours, please move the container to the fridge.

Another good thing to do with beets:
Beet Raita
3 cups raw beets, grated 1 bay leaf 1 Tbsp sunflower oil
½ tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp sea salt 1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
2 cups yogurt
Steam beets over 1 inch of water in a saucepan for 2 to 3 minutes. Heat oil in a small skillet; add mustard seeds and crumled bay leaf. When mustard seeds pop, take skillet off heat. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Chill if desired. Enjoy as a garnish with bread, soup rice or vegetables.

These pretty little kale tops are the end of the brassica family in the garden until Fall. Some will mourn their loss and others rejoice. Here at home we do a little of both. Leaving a good space between the Spring and Fall cabbage family plantings helps reduce the caterpillar population, and leaves us with better garden rotation options.

Here's a nice soup, from Laurel's Kitchen, to use your kale. You could probably use chard in this as well. I probably would not use them both together.

Potato Kale Soup
1 onion 1 tbsp oil/fat
1 clove garlic 2 large potatoes
1 large bunch kale 5 cups hot water or stock
1/2 tsp salt or to taste black pepper

Sautee onion in fat until slightly golden. Add potatoes and 2 cups water. Simmer, covered, until potaotes start to soften at the edges. Meantime wash kale(soak in a sink or bowl of water. Remove stems...chop fine and steam. (don't cook with the potatoes...the flavor will be too strong.)
When the potatoes are well done, puree half of them with remaining water and salt an pepper (consider using miso instead of salt here). Combine all and heat gently (do not boil). Correcting consistency by adding hot water or milk. Makes about 6 cups.

In coming weeks, we hope to grub some white potatoes, pick more beans, and ripe tomatoes, and bring some cucumbers to town.

We hope you have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend, and look forward to seeing you next week!

Your Gardeners
at Red Springs Family Farm

PS – There are still shares available – pass the word along to your friends. Also, basket up for grabs next week – if someone wants a sample.


June 23, 2011 week 5

Lettuce Chinese Cabbage Carrots Broccoli Red Onion Fresh Garlic
herb bag: Sorrel Basil Shiso
Green Coriander Anise Hyssop Echinacea flowers

Amazing how fast we can oscillate between praying for rain and begging for it to stop! Oh well. All seeds planted are sprouting well now. So are the millions of weeds we will be pulling and hoeing when the garden soil dries enough to walk upon again. We prefer to not even walk in the garden when the soil is this wet. Good garden soil teems with microscopic life, and when the soil is wet, that life is all the more fragile. Our heavy steps have a heavy price.

These lovely red onions came from Lulah's hands to your kitchen. We were up on the hill making the most of a few sunny hours on Tuesday. The garlic harvest needed to happen before the next rain, which seemed emenent. Lulah looked at the onion bed and noticed that the red onions' tops were laying down. We confirmed her suspicion that they were ready to come out of the ground, and she harvested all the bent onions, laid them in piles, and carried them to the tractor all by herself. Purple is one of her favorite colors, which made the job a real joy for her.

These red salad onions are not cured. They should be stored in a plastic bag in your refrigerator and eaten within a week or two. Here's a basic Greek Salad to use a red onion in:

1 large head Lettuce 1/2 half red onion, sliced
1 English Cucumber, sliced 1 cup Kalamata olives
1 cup Greek Feta, crumbled

Dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil
3 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano 1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper

1. Place lettuce in a large bowl.
2. Mix dressing ingredients in a bottle and give it a good shake.
3. Toss lettuce with about 1/2 the dressing.
4. Place remaining salad ingredients on top of lettuce, and drizzle with some more dressing.
(Recommendation from the farm kitchen – use thinly sliced tender broccoli stalks and small florets instead of cucumbers, which won't be ready for another couple weeks.)

It's such splendid work to grow garlic. In the midst of the garlic harvest, I remembered that Paul went up to plant the garlic 8 months ago, last October, when I was just getting the feeling of going into labor with Levon. Tuesday, Levon fell asleep in the stroller, giving his Momma a rare and wonderful opportunity to work unencumbered in the garden. The garlic is beautiful. Fresh garlic is something you can't ordinarily buy in a grocery store. The clove skins are not dry - the bulb is on the whole juicier than most garlic. Enjoy. You'll be getting a bulb each week, but this new fresh garlic is special.

Shiso, or Perilla, is a new one in your herb bag this week. Looking on wikipedia, I find this:
“ Perilla is traditionally used in Chinese medicine and has been shown to stimulate interferon activity and thus, the body's immune system. It is used to ease the symptoms of the common cold. It is fried in oil with garlic or ginger in the wok, and eaten as a dish with meals. “

We like to slice it thin on salads. Shiso grows as a weed in our garden, a very beautiful and tasty weed. You may have seen it used as a garnish in Japanese restaraunts. We can get a chuckle by asking the sushi chef what s/he pays for that garnish. What kind of farm income could we generate by selling our weeds?!

This will be the last of the broccoli until Fall. The cold snap did the broccoli good. We think you'll find this week's selection slightly superior to last week. We experimented with an open pollinated variety this spring, and we have been pleased. Broccoli, in general, has been highly hybridized to perform under particular conditions in a very specific time frame. The hybrid broccolis sometimes don't go all the way to flower! They turn yellow but dont' bloom, which seems strange, at least. The open pollinated variety behaves more like a natural broccoli, seems to keep more tender stalks, and we hope you find the flavor agreeable as well.

Chinese Cabbages are not our usual spring garden fare. They enjoy one great advantage over their western relatives (broccoli, head cabbages, kale, etc.) in that the cabbage lopers aren't attracted to them. Unfortunately, the flea beetles do enjoy them, and the recent soggy conditions have made life all the better for those bugs. The damage is primarily aesthetic. These cabbages are tender enough to cut fine in salads. If you want to stir fry them, they need only a short time in a hot pan.

Carrots are beginning to be damaged by the excessive rain. The root bottoms suffer in our low hollow – high water table. We'll hope that things dry out this week and give them a chance to recover. Here's our favorite carrot salad recipe:

12 medium carrots, grated 1 cup fresh pineapple, drained and chopped
½ cup raisins ½ cup roasted pecans
1 Tbsp parsley (optional) ¾ cup basic dressing (below)
Mix well and chill.

Basic Dressing:
1 tsp Dijon type mustard 2 Tbsp. Plus a bit wine vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 Tbsp flax oil

Dip a fork into the ja of mustard and transfer about 1 tsp to a small bowl. Add vinegar and mix around. Add olive oil in a thi stream, stirring all the while with the fork, until oil is well mixed or emulsified Add flax oil and use immediately.

COMING SOON – new potatoes, beets, green beans. We don't know when the first tomatoes will ripen but we sure look forward to that day!

FARM BUSINESS – if you are paying on the quarterly payment plan, this is your last week paid for. Please bring a check next week, if you didn't already this week. Thank you!

Thank you for your good eating. Happy Summer!

VIII When I rise up, let me rise up joyful, like a bird.
When I fall, let me fall without regret, like a leaf.
~ Wendell Berry, Prayers and Saying of the Mad Farmer