week 4

Fresh Garlic Sugar Snap Peas New Potatoes

Lettuce Broccoli Carrots

Parsley Sorrel Basil Celery

It's officially summer! And it feels like it, too. Dips in the creek have become mandatory for human health down in this hollow. We hope you're staying cool however you best know how.

The transition to summer crops is happening a we speak. All the Spring crops are on their way out, and summer crops are on the verge. This will be the last of the sugar snap peas, and the nice salad turnips got a little too shoddy to send. Basil is busting out into full beauty, and the summer lettuces are shaping up well.

Next week, it looks like we'll have fresh beans and yellow crookneck squash, but in the meantime, we dug a few new potatoes for you to enjoy. Even though these are not the red-skinned ones, a fresh potato is really a special item to enjoy. Here's a nice no-nonsense vegan potato salad for you...

FRESH HERB POTATO SALAD

1 1/2 pounds of small new potatoes 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemons)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves of garlic

1/3 cup shredded carrot ¼ cup of chopped chives (or green onions)

¼ cup chopped dill (or sorrel and celery) salt and pepper

Cut your potatoes in half or until they are in pieces that you can actually put in your mouth. Nobody should need a knife to eat potato salad. Boil some water in a medium pot, add a pinch of salt, and the potatoes. Boil them until you can easily stab a fork through one, like 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. If you cook them too long they start falling apart and your salad will be a mess (a delicious mess, but still a mess).
While the potatoes cook, cut up the garlic into a bunch of tiny pieces. Mix together the mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, oil, and garlic in a small glass. Drain the potatoes and put them in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss it all together. Add the carrots, herbs, and a little salt and pepper and mix them in. Let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so that the potatoes can soak in all the flavor. If it looks dry after that then add a little more vinegar and olive oil and stir. Make this the day before you go somewhere and keep it in the fridge.
Serves 4 as a side. (adapted from the website thugkitchen.com, which has good recipes, but intentionally uses a LOT of swear words just for fun, so I can't give it a hearty recommendation without that disclaimer.)

Our friends at Bugtussle Farm keep all their gardens up on the hill, and their carrots are a nice bit ahead of ours. They were kind enough to share their bounty, and we are grateful. Enjoy.

We're about to have WAAAY too much food out here. If you know anyone who might enjoy our services, please spread the word. Thanks and take good care....

Paul, Coree, Lulah and Levon

week 11

In one bag: Tomatoes 

           

In another bag:  Sweet Red & Yellow Peppers  

Sweet Corn                 Garlic              New Potatoes

and finally: Lettuce     Summer Squash         Okra    

Sorrel       Basil           Parsley

Then: Watermelon and Hot Peppers

What a great big harvest this week.  Wow!

So, the corn is starting.  We have a hot electric fence around it to protect it from night time marauding raccoons and squirrels.  This is ‘young’ corn by our standards, so we’re just sending a little bit.  It sure is nice and sweet.  Next week, barring unforeseen corn tragedy, we’ll send more and it will be more ‘mature’.  In our experience, corn is best enjoyed as fresh as possible.  If you are not going to eat your corn right away, we think your best bet is to cook it anyway, which holds the corn sugars in their freshest state (they start to turn to starch REALLY FAST, and lose that amazing fresh corn taste). 

Do not be amazed when you crack open your watermelon.  It’s supposed to be yellow.  We love these sweet things!  There are two varieties in the garden this year – Early Yellow Moonbeam, and Petite Yellow.  They are both delicious, ice box size, melons.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.  There are more standard-colored melons ripening, and a world of cantaloupes as well.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the sweet pepper situation, you’re not alone.  We are too.  The best advice I have is to freeze some.  It’s so easy (no blanching – just freeze them raw).  I highly recommend roasting them, too.  The sweetness is intensified, and they freeze well that way too. 

Don’t know about your, but we’re ready for a break from the rain.  The Fall seedlings are begging to be transplanting, and we need the soil just a hair drier to feel good about getting things done.  Hopefully, we’ll be busy at that task this week.

New plantings of summer squash and cucumbers look promising.  Beans are struggling with the moisture, but okra is going full blast.   The season is turning around – the green of the trees is a little less intense, and now and some trees even look a little orange here and there.  Could be Fall approaching. 

week 10

August 6, 2013 week 10

In one bag: Tomatoes             

In another bag:  Sweet Red & Yellow Peppers   Onions       Garlic              Summer Squash        Tomatillos

and finally: Lettuce     New Zealand Spinach    

Sorrel       Basil           Parsley

Maybe: Jalapeño or Serrano Peppers                        Okra

I sure do love a cloudy Tuesday morning with no rain!

The cool weather is just great and the greens are responding to it wonderfully.  Some of our summer regulars are on vacation for a little while.  The green beans gave out early, probably in response to the stress of that 9 inches of rain awhile back.  Eggplant are taking a break, gathering their strength to bloom and fruit again.  But Okra is starting to produce.  Right now I only have enough to give to a few of you at a time, so I’ll alternate weeks.  The green okra is Star of David – it holds tenderness for a long time, is less slimy, but has a slightly prickly exterior, until cooked.  The red is a new variety for us – gorgeous, tho a little more slimy. 

Next week we’ll have sweet corn, and probably some melons.  Carrots and beets are coming soon, too.

Tomatillos are new this week.  They are an excellent addition to a homemade salsa.  We’ve also enjoyed them sautéed with summer squash and sweet peppers.   They are authentic to Central American cuisine.  Have fun with them.

If we don’t get to see you when we drop your basket off, please advise whether you like hot peppers or not.  We have them in GREAT abundance, and the hotter ones will be coming along a little later in the season.

As for all this beautiful basil – if you haven’t already, I recommend you make some pesto.  Pesto is a flavorful paste of basil, garlic, nuts, cheese, and olive oil.  Traditionally, in Italy, they put it on pasta, but it’s great on potatoes, on toast, on grilled or roasted veggies.  It’s good.  It freezes well, too.  Here’s a nice basic recipe for Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed              1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil                     1/3 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or Brazil nuts

3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced      Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a food processor, chop the cheese, nuts, and garlic, not too fine, but nicely chopped.  Take them out of the processor, and put in the basil.  Process the basil to a very fine chop, then combine the cheese mixture with the basil and olive oil in another bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then toss on pasta and enjoy.  Alternately, pack it into a freezer bag and freeze it for later. 

We hope you enjoy your basket – and have a great week!

great Indian greens recipe here

This is adapted from one of my favorite Indian cookbooks - Curries Without Worries, by Sudha Koul. 

Because we grow so much of our food, I often get into recipes without the EXACT right ingredients, and I have to wing it to make it work.

This one works.

Sag Goshth -
the ingredients read: (parenthesis are all my comments)
10 oz package of fresh spinach (I never measure my spinach, and it's rarely my green of choice - chard, NZ spinach, and kale all work)
6 cups of water (or less)
1 large onion, coarsely chopped (or more if they're small - I've even used green onions in a pinch and it was wonderful)
4 cloves garlic
1 Tblsp chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup oil (I've used much less than this and had it work fine)
8 whole cloves
2 lbs lean lamb, such as lean sliced shoulder, cut into approximately 2" x 3" x 2" pieces (I don't grow lamb, but we do eat a lot of venison, which i've used in its place - however, i sliced mine quite thin to cut down the cooking time.  results were excellent - i suspect that you could use chicken, or probably even do this without meat at all if you wanted!)
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped (in the winter, i use canned tomatoes - more than two)
1 tsp ground cayenne (use more or less as you like)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick, coarsely crushed (ground cinnamon is ok too - 1 tsp or more)
1/2 cup sour cream (homemade yoghurt is excellent here as well)
1/2 tsp cardamon seeds, crushed
salt to taste

Wash and drain spinach.  Place in a large pot with water.  Boil for three minutes.  Cool. 
Reserve greens and one cup liquid.  Puree in a blender or food processor and set aside.  (This really does need to be the first step to keep you from running into timing issues later.)

Puree onion, garlic, and ginger with 2 Tbsp water.   
In a 4 qt saucepan, heat oil on high.  Add cloves and onion puree.  Stir fry briskly for 2 minutes, until puree starts turning brown.  Add the meat and continue to fry 2 more minutes.  lower heat to medium high and continue frying until the meat starts to brown.  This takes a couple minutes.

Add tomatoes, cayenne, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, sour cream, cardamon and salt.  Stir fry well for a few seconds and bring to a boil.

Add the spinach puree.  Stir.  Reduce heat to lowest point.  Cover.  Cook until the meat is tender.  This should take about 45 minutes (unless you slice it thinner, then it takes almost no time and your dinner is earlier - yippee!).

Even our kids love this dish.  It's worth the effort.  I hope you think so too.

week 8

July 23, 2013 week 8

In one bag: Tomatoes Green and Red Peppers

Eggplant Garlic

In the other bag: Lettuce Green Beans Cucumber Summer Squash Chard Green Onions

Parsley Basil Celery

The tomatoes are really starting to roll around here! So many colors, shapes and flavors to enjoy. We grow some real oddballs – we hope you like them as much as we do. The purplish orangey ones are among our favorites, and they often maintain the green color on their shoulders (around the stem). Cut into them and they’re perfectly ripe underneath. Eat up!

When we fixed a mess of beans last week we found the final picking of the Yellow Wax to be a little tough. If that was your experience, we apologize. These green beans are certainly tender.

This week you have white eggplant. They’re called Casper and they’re wonderful. They need to be peeled, and they have excellent texture and flavor – very firm and meaty.

The other white item in your bags this time is another UFO-looking fruit – a patty pan squash. This particular variety is called Benning’s Green Tint and we think the flavor is better than just about any other summer squash. Patty Pans can be used just like you would use any other summer squash – we’ve used them interchangeably with yellow crookneck and zucchini (even in bread and muffins) with wonderful results.

It’s great to be sending some colorful peppers again. A green bell pepper is really just an unripe bell pepper – all peppers mature into some sort of exciting color. Once they mature they don’t keep or ship as well, which may be why they’re so expensive in the grocery. The flavor is beyond the pale and well worth the wait. There are many more to come!

Oh, and basil – the purple basil was getting a little leggy, so I picked just the top sprig off to send. This Purple Ruffles variety is fun to look at, great to smell, and even better to throw into a batch of pesto.

I’m out of time and space to post it right now, but I’ll put up an excellent Indian style greens recipe for that chard – check the blog.

Next week: The beans may slow down a bit – eggplant, too. But the tomatoes will likely increase. We hope to have new potatoes. Our corn is awful late, but it will come along eventually. This is a great season – with a little patience.

Thank you all for eating up our garden – feel free to contact us with questions if needed.

Be well. Paul, Coree, Lulah, and Levon

weeks 6 & 7

OK - finally...

July 16, 2013 week 7

Tomatoes Peppers Yellow Wax Beans Lettuce

Garlic Cucumbers Eggplant Summer Squash

Fennel Green Onions Parsley Basil Sorrel

We're still shaking down the results of the nine inches of rain. The cutting herbs have recuperated fairly well. Some of the next patch of green beans took a hit, but we seem to be over-planting sufficiently to off set the loss. Your beans will be green next week!

The sun and heat is ripening the tomatoes. We'll be bringing increasingly more over the next few weeks. I try to vary the type, size, color, and ripeness in each bag so that you have some to eat now, some to last a little while, and a nice sampling of different varieties. We enjoy growing some really unusual looking but delicious tasting fruits. Please don't refrigerate your tomatoes. They are tropical fruits and lose flavor and texture in the cold. Hope you enjoy.

Eggplant came in thick this week. I only put what I thought you could eat in the bag. There will be more. Experiment with these beautiful fruits. They have the potential to be just as tasty as they are beautiful. Eggplant are also tropical by nature. You can leave them in a shady place on your kitchen counter and they should be fine. Sun will degrade almost anything. Recommended recipes to look up: ratatouille and baba ghanoush. I'm pretty sure there are a few renditions on our blog if you go poking through the archives.

We found our favorite treatment of fennel bulbs last week. Here it is. Maybe some of you still have a head of cabbage kicking around?

Simple Fennel and Cabbage Skillet. Thinly slice an onion (or leek if you've got one), a small head of cabbage, and a couple of fennel bulbs. Wash the fennel and cabbage, but don't dry it. Warm 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Throw in the onion, cabbage and fennel. Stir and cover. Check it in a few minutes to make sure it's steaming, not burning. Let it cook 10-15 minutes total. In the meantime, mince a couple tablespoons of parsley and melt 2-3 more Tbsp butter. Mix parsley and butter with a few Tbsp lemon juice (fresh is best). Drain any excess water from cabbage mixture and add the butter. Toss, taste for seasoning and enjoy.

And, a versatile recipe for putting SO much food to good use: Roasted Summer Vegetables

8 to 10 cups fresh vegetables. Cut into bite sized pieces for even cooking time. Toss with one of the seasoning options below. Then spread seasoned veggies in a thin layer on a baking sheet and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Serve over cooked pasta or rice with parmesan grated on top. For a salad, cool the veggies and add some ripe tomatoes, feta cheese, and vinaigrette dressing.

Seasoning options: 1) Several Tbsp chopped fresh herbs, 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper, 1-4 cloves fresh garlic. 2)1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp chili powder, salt, pepper, and dried thyme. 3) ¾ cup italian dressing. 4) 4 cloves minced garlic, 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 Tbsp fresh herbs, 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbsp dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Have fun with vegetables!

July 9, 2013 week 6

Tomatoes Peppers Yellow Wax Beans

Lettuce Garlic Cucumbers

Sugar Snap Peas Cabbage Summer Squash

Fennel Green Onions

We're getting into some serious veggies now, folks. Eat up.

Featured veggies this week: FENNEL. Those feathery wands of leaves poking from your bag? That’s fennel. At the bottom is a bulb. It has a strong anise smell and flavor. This is an old world vegetable. Let us know what you think. This is the only time of year we grow it, so if you don’t love it, just rest assured that it won’t last long. Some culinary suggestions for your fennel:

Cut the fine leaves into salads. Use the stems like celery. Chop stems and leaves fine and use them in cream cheese dips and flavored mayo. Store the bulb separately. Trim off the top and root ends and cut it in half or quarters lengthwise. Parboil it for a few minutes (7 to 10), drain it well, and thread it onto kebabs with the summer squash on the grill. Or you can roast it in the oven with potatoes and cabbage. It works as a gratin, too, and pairs well with potatoes.

This is the season of – how many cucumbers can you eat? They just keep coming. Our two year old Levon can polish off one a day. I hope you can keep up.

If the beans are too much for you – blanch them for four minutes in boiling water. Dip them immediately into cold water. Then drain them. Pack into a freezer bag and freeze for enjoyment when there are no fresh Yellow Wax Beans to be had. You can also blanch and cool them and use them in a salad – just like that.

One of my favorite fun things to do with a green pepper is slice it in thick rings, butter a frying pan, lay the rings out and crack eggs into them. It's egg-in-a-nest sans toast. Very fun food.

Wrap your cabbage up tight in a grocery bag. It will keep for a long time in the crisper drawer. You can also make a small batch of sauerkraut. Just shred the cabbage and salt it. Crunch it with your hands until it releases moisture and looks wilted. Pack it in a wide mouth jar. If it doesn't create enough liquid to cover the cabbage, add some salted water. Keep it on a room temp. counter for three days then store it in the fridge and enjoy your kraut. When the summer kraut happens, I start singing “Reuben Reuben, I been thinking....”. For more on kraut, look at our blog or look up wildfermentation.com.

We finally ripped the broccoli out to make room for the late season tomatoes. The chickens are picking over those dark green leaves. I would have sent you more chard, but there's simply no more room in the bags. It will be back.

In the upper garden, the Sugar Snap Peas are just about finished. This should be the final picking. We look forward to clearing them out and digging the potatoes. Melons didn’t enjoy the rain that much, but everything else in the upper garden is holding up and looking good. Next week, there will be eggplants. Take care and enjoy your food!

week 5

July 2, 2013 week 5

This season is the kind we gardeners dream about. The rain keeps us working hard at weed control, but otherwise, everything looks wonderful. The is the first time in the nine years we've gardened here that we've had peas and beans at the same time! I've also never seen the broccoli continue to produce so well. Really and truly I believe this is its last week. We need to clean out these spring crops and get ready for Fall. Believe it or not, Paul just started the Brussel Sprouts.

As we come into the mid-season veggies, please don't be shy. If you're throwing a dinner party, or would just like more of something, just ask. If it's available, we'll be glad to share or sell you more at a reasonable price. I can't promise we'll have it, but please don't hesitate to ask.

Happy Independence Day! With this harvest, we celebrate a vision of greater independence from the corporate food system. However you celebrate – we hope you have a very safe and fun holiday time.

In one bag: Yellow Wax Beans – oh yum!, Sugar Snap Peas – not as aesthetically perfect as they were a couple weeks ago, but still perfectly delicious, Suhyo Long Cucumber – I've been waiting for these, some of our favorite crispy, nearly seedless, so tasty cucumbers, Fresh Garlic – there's nothing like it and this is the time of year it happens, eat it up! Summer Squash, Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage – for your 4^th of July cole slaw.

In the other bag: Two heads of summer lettuce – this is the variety of lettuce we've found that holds up best in the long hot days of summer. A final handful of broccoli. Parsley, sorrel, basil.

I have reason to believe that there may be enough tomatoes to share next week.

We'll likely be sending more chard, garlic, green onions, and green peppers.

Spread the word, share your food, and Enjoy!