- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Beets (mainly their greens as the delicious roots are small, we decided we need to make room for other crops and they must be given as is)
- Sugar snap peas (yippee! We hope to have them for a few more weeks)
- Chard, kale or collards
- Herbs (dill, parsley or sage)
- Green garlic (the problems with rust persist, so we are anxious to get it to you for fresh eating. We realize that the full flavor is better once cured)
- Broccoli (small but I guess we must take what we’ve got)
- Chinese broccoli
- Zucchini
Tesahe and Lalia helped out last Monday and we managed to get the corn planted. We have high hopes of providing a few ears of our own corn come September! See photos of them if them in action. We welcomed Pascal to our farm this week. He comes to us from Zurich Switzerland and will be on the farm several weeks earning his keep by pulling thistle (rough and prickly start!). He managed to help whip the cucumbers into shape by clearing the thistle so they could get light on their precious leaves. He also helped prune and string up the tomatoes which should be vital for those who help harvest later in the season. Dee also helped on the farm this week, weed, transplant and prune. All those extra hands really help make lighter work. Thanks to all who helped harvest on Wednesday and Sunday.
Fall and winter crops are seeded and coming up in the greenhouse. That includes fall broccoli, cabbage, collards and kale as well as a fall seeding of beans for the canning party. Speaking of the canning party it is officially scheduled for September 10th. Please mark your calendars for that day and plan on attending this memorable event. If you have great recipes that are tried and true please let me know. It is still too early to know what will be in surplus.
The flowers are really coming on. Think of us when you have an event and want to make it look special. I am happy to sell flowers by bouquet or bucket, just let us know. We anxiously await our new chicken’s ability to lay eggs. The eggs have been quite pokey this year but the new pullets are just about ready to lay. You may notice that the big white chickens are gone from near the barn. They had a happy short life and will now feed our family for the next 6-8 months.
The lambs and steer are looking good. Thinking of going to the butcher in the next few months, stay tuned for dates and times. Juvencio will contact those who have made a deposit. There is nothing like grass-fed meat and knowing that your food had a good life on the range.
The tomatoes and cucumbers are starting to flower which is always a good sign. That means that we can hope for cherry tomatoes and cucumbers by the end of July. Favas should be ready soon; the harvester will have to wear a full body suit to prevent thorns from the thistle. Sometimes it is hard to tell if we are growing thistle or other vegetables.
Beets and Their Greens with Marjoram and Pine Nuts
Local Flavors, Deborah Madison
2 small red onions, thinly sliced into rounds
White wine vinegar
6-12 small beets, golden and or Chioggia, including greens
Olive oil sea salt
Marjoram Pesto with Capers and Olives (see below)
- Toss the onions with vinegar nearly to cover and refrigerate until needed. They will turn bright pink.
- Discard the beet stems and any wilted leaves, wash the rest and steam until tender about 5 minutes. Set aside to drain, and then chop coarsely. Toss with a little olive oil and season with sea salt.
- Leaving an inch of the stem and the tails on the beets, steam until a knife pierces them easily, about 25 minutes. Slip off the skins. Trim the tops and tails, quarter them and sprinkle with a little vinegar.
- Make the pesto, setting aside half the toasted pine nuts as a garnish. Toss the beets with it, leaving ample streaks throughout. Place them over the greens. Remove the onions from the vinegar and strew them over the beets. Garnish with the reserved pine nuts and serve.
Marjoram Pesto with Olives and Capers
1 small slice country bread sea salt
2T aged red wine vinegar ¼ cup Marjoram leaves
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped 3 T drained capers
½ cup pine nuts 1 cup finely chopped parsley
2 T pitted Greek olives ½ extra virgin olive oil
- remove the crusts from the bread and soak it in the vinegar on a plate
- Pound the garlic with ½ teaspoon salt in a mortar until smooth, and then work in the marjoram, capers, pine nuts, parsley, and olives until you have a coarse purr. Add the bread and the olive oil and work until the pesto is well amalgamated. Season with pepper, taste for vinegar and add a little more if you think it needs it. The pesto will be very thick.
A great salad can be made with beets and broccoli. We steam the broccoli and beets together with the sliced beets on bottom. Generally, when the broccoli is done (i.e. just turned dark green and starting to get tender) the beets are also done. We then toss them in simple vinaigrette and can serve either warm or cold. This vinaigrette is the one we use:
VINAIGRETTE
1 clove garlic
1 tsp salt
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp wet mustard
5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
Press garlic into the bottom of your salad bowl. With a fork, mix well with salt until it forms a paste. Mix in vinegar and mustard until salt is dissolved. Whisk in olive oil to make an emulsion. Add black pepper to taste. These proportions are in no way set in stone. You should experiment to find the proportions you prefer. Also, other spices, herbs and vinegars can be used to vary the dressing.
ZUKE SOUP
2 lbs. zucchini
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 c. chopped onions or shallots
5 c. chicken broth
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. chili powder
¼ c. corn meal
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 c. sour cream
Peel and roughly chop zucchini, reserving ½ a zuke to slice into paper-thin slices. Melt butter, cook onions or shallots until wilted. Add chopped zucchini, broth, cumin and chili powder. Bring broth to a boil, whisk in corn meal. Cook until soft. Puree. Before serving, reheat and thin if necessary with water. Whisk in half of the sour cream, garnish with zuke slices. If you wish, this can be served cold, chilling instead if reheating. Serve remaining sour cream at table as a garnish.
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ZUCCHINI CARPACCIO
4 small zucchini (1 lb total)
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 cup pine nuts (1 oz) 1 (6-oz) piece Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano
Garnish: thinly sliced tips of 2 zucchini blossoms*; 4 fresh mint sprigs
Special equipment: a Japanese Benriner** or other adjustable-blade slicer
Cut zucchini diagonally into paper-thin slices with slicer. Arrange slices, overlapping slightly, in 1 layer on 4 plates.
Make stacks of mint leaves and cut crosswise into very thin slivers, then sprinkle over zucchini.
Whisk together oil and lemon juice in a small bowl, and then drizzle over zucchini. Sprinkle with sea salt, pepper to taste, and pine nuts. Let stand 10 minutes to soften zucchini and allow flavors to develop.
Just before serving, use a vegetable peeler to shave cheese to taste over zucchini, then sprinkle with zucchini blossoms and mint.
*Available at specialty produce markets and some supermarkets.
**Available at Asian markets, some cookware shops, and Uwajimaya (800-899-1928).
Gourmet
March 2003