- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Mustard greens or endive
- Green garlic
- Cilantro or dill or parsley
- Radishes or turnips
- Chinese broccoli (just a taste, not quite enough for everyone yet)
Can we just start over? This week has been so incredibly wet and frustrating. We’ve attempted to get crops in the ground in the field during rain breaks but honestly it is a mud bath. We have more onions and celery and celeriac to get in the ground as well as the tomatoes but with the weather they will have to wait. Friday night it rained over an inch. Our basement flooded, I awoke to gale force winds and both of us had to head to the farmers market. I am hopeful that the wind will die down, the rain will hold off and we will sell big on this Mother’s Day weekend. My mother‘s words echo in my ears “farming is one of the toughest jobs out there“ this has not been an easy season. With record rainfall in the month of April and May shaping up to be one of the wettest on record it is hard to know how to keep moving forward.
It feels like we have most every inch inside of the greenhouses planted up and yet we will struggle for the next few weeks to have enough variety of vegetables. The leaf miner, a pest that burrows between the lush leaves of spinach and chard is appearing on our beautiful plump spinach leaves. The snails and slugs are happily munching their way through outside crops. It feels like a no-win situation. On a happy note, the peas are green and seem to be finally getting ahead of the sparrows who are eating their leaves. The greenhouse tomatoes are also starting to grow and will need trellising soon.
We peeled back the Remay, a fabric carpet placed on top of seeded carrots to find a bed baron except for weeds. So much for the year of the carrot. We will keep trying but trust me it’s getting very irritating. The sprouting broccoli is finished and the Chinese broccoli is just coming on. The slow start and lack of overlap means that some people get Chinese broccoli and some people get none until next week or the week after when it should be in its glory. We will finish up the last of the salad turnips and move onto radishes. I hope you enjoy the Dill and cilantro. This will likely be the last week for a little while until the next batch is ready. At this time of year crops that we plant in the hoop houses last us about two weeks and then they go to seed and we have to rely on the subsequent seeding. We have some similar crops outside but with this rain and lack of heat they are stunted.
If you are considering starting your own garden at home we have beautiful vegetables starts everything from amazing tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and the kale, please visit the website for Pumpkin Ridge Gardens to place your order https://pumpkinridgegardens.square.site/.
The advantage of buying from us is that you will know that all of the varieties are hand curated and farmer tested. We grow varieties that are good for our climate. My friend Sue asked me earlier this week if I was growing watercress and rice given the amount of rain and I was happy to report that I have both. I am trying Rice for its bloom for dried bouquets but we’ll see we may end up as rice farmers.
Happy Mother’s Day to all. A special thank you to all those mothers out there, it is the hardest job with the greatest reward. This mother is off to harvest.
Enjoy these recipes and remember that the greens of the turnips and radishes make delicious soup as we take advantage of every plant we are able to produce at this time of year.
Recipes for Spinach:
We have been simply sauteing garlic and tossing in the spinach briefly with a cap full of soy sauce. And then eating it with those delicious mushrooms.
Here is the master class on Shakshuka by Yotam Ottolenghi:
thought you’d like this article from MasterClass Yotam Ottolenghi’s Green Herb Shakshuka Recipe Shakshuka pairs well with warm flatbread and labneh as the centerpiece of a brunch spread. Learn how to make Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s green herb shakshuka, a variation on the traditional, tomato-based dish.
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/green-shakshuka-recipe-by-yotam-ottolenghi
Recipes for those mustard greens or Endive:
ChickPea Stew with Orzo and Mustard Greens
4- 6 servings, 25 minutes
2Tbs EVOO
2 medium carrots peeled and chopped
1 small fennel bulb or 2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch red pepper flakes
2 tsp minced fresh rosemary (optional)
2 cups stock or water
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
¾ c roughly chopped tomatoes
½ c orzo
1 quart loosely packed mustard greens and/or spinach—about 5 oz
Salt and pepper
¼ c finely grated parmesan
In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add carrots, fennel or celery, and onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes until tender. Add garlic, red pepper and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes more. Pour in stock, if using, or water, and 2 cups more of water and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add chickpeas, tomatoes and orzo. Reduce to a simmer and cover, simmering until orzo is tender (about 10 minutes) Uncover and stir in greens; let them simmer until soft.
Season with salt and pepper and serve topped with grated parmesan.
Umami Garlic Noodles with Mustard Greens
4-6 servings, 45 minutes
4 large garlic cloves, grated or minced
Kosher salt as needed
10 oz dried Chinese wheat noodles, Japanese ramen, or soba
1Tb oyster sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp cornstarch
2Tbs brewer’s yeast or ½ tsp chicken buillion base
½ tsp sugar
5 Tbs salted butter
10 oz shiitake or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large bunch mustard greens, stems and leaves, cut into 1 ½ “ pieces
Salt & pepper
1 Tbs minced shallot
In a small bowl, cover garlic with 1 Tb water and set aside
Bring large pot of heavily salted water to boil and cook noodle until just very al dente—reserve ¾ c noodle water and then drain noodles, rinse with cool water and set aside
In a small bowl, whisk together oyster and fish sauce, cornstarch, sugar a reserved cooking water. Set aside.
In a 12” skillet, melt 3 Tbs butter over medium high heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until well browned. Stir in mustard greens and continue to cook, stirring frequently until bright green and tender, another 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, transfer to a bowl, season w/salt and pepper.
Return skillet to stove and add remaining 2 Tbs butter, shallot and garlic-water mixture. As butter melts and sizzles, turn heat back on, to medium low. Cook, stirring frequently until garlic is fragrant and some pieces are golden, 3-5 minutes.
Stir in cooking liquid mixture and raise heat to medium, bring sauce to a bubble. Using tongs,
Toss in noodles just until coated with the sauce, then turn off heat. Stir in mushrooms and cilantro, let it sit for a minute and then serve.
Wilted Mustard Greens and Prosciutto
Serves 4-6 from Chez Panisse Vegetables
2 bunches mustard greens (or chard/kale/escarole)
¼ c EVOO
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Red pepper flakes
1-2 Tbs red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
12 thin slices of prosciutto
Remove stems from the greens, wash and drain them. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan and add the garlic. Let it sizzle for an instant, then add greens. Cook, covered, for about 5 minutes until the greens are tender. Let them cool, season with red pepper, S&P, red wine vinegar and add more olive oil if necessary Cool and then chop the mixture coarsely. Lay the prosciutto slices out on a flat surface and cut them in half vertically. Place a small ball of greens on each strip and roll them up in the prosciutto to serve.