Boss Corner For June 24, 2012

Believe it or not but we will start picking our green beans on Monday! This is the earliest we ever, ever started picking our beans! While we plan on having beans up for sale tomorrow, it won't be until the middle of the week before we have a good supply. Also new this week is our fresh garlic. Fresh garlic's main difference with cured garlic is that it is crisp and juicier. We also now have a good supply of new red potatoes, zucchini, yellow summer squash, kohlrabi, sweet, tender red beets, and hulless popcorn on the ear and in pint jars. We also are picking lettuce, radishes and broccoli.

In addition to fresh produce we have potted flowers, both perennial and annuals including:

a large supply of potted Ostrich ferns

hardy pecan trees (were grown from a source of pecans from Wisconsin)

Morning Glories

Gaillardia (Blanket Flower)

Nasturtiums

Angel's Trumpet

Balsam Impatiens

Hollyhocks

Purple Coneflowers (Echinacea)

Nigella (Love in a Mist)

Celosia

Peony Poppies

Blue Ripple Sweet Peas

Livingstone Daisy

Ageratum

Kolkwitzia shrub

Disco Belle Hibiscus shrub

American Bittersweet vine

Vegetable and Herb plants including:

Tomatoes

Tomatillos

Cucumbers

Zucchini & Yellow Summer Squash

Muskmelon

Peas

Basil

Chives

Sage

Parsley

I still think that despite the CPC's (Climate Prediction Center) 6 to 14 day forecast (which predicts blistering heat for the area) all in all the summer will be just a bit above normal in temperature. Perhaps this is wishful thinking because blistering hot summers are a true nightmare for us. The CPC is also now forecasting a warm fall and a mild winter in the Great Lakes area and near normal in the South.

Important! Thursday, June 28th is the last date when you can enter our First Sweet Corn contest and win a $10 Magicland Farms Gift Certicficate. All you need do is pick the date when we will first be selling our sweet corn. To enter this contest you must go to my Tom Fox blog--blog.magiclandfarms.com.

 Nashle,

Tom

Note: Recipes below! 

Roasted Beets, Plain and Simple

Ingredients:

2 bags of Magicland Farm's red beets

3 tablespoons canola oil

salt 

Instructions:

Remove leaves and root from beet bulb. (Note: the beet greens are really delicious, too! They have a rich, deep flavor and can be used just like kale or collard greens.) With a vegetable peeler, peel away skin. You can cut the beet bulb into any shape you want: disks, wedges, etc. We like to cut them width-wise into 1/4" thick disks just because they cook faster. Lay beets out on a baking sheet lined with foil in a single layer. Drizzle with canola oil and season liberally with salt. Toss with your hands and cover beets with another layer of foil. Covering the beets with foil will allow the vegetables to steam and cook quickly. Place beets in a preheated, 375F oven and cook for 35 minutes or until beets are fork tender. Take foil off during last 10 minutes of cooking to evaporate liquid and develop some caramelization.

Tip: Avoid having the beets stain your cutting board by spraying the board with non-stick spray before cutting. The red juice will come right off when you go to rinse the board and the oil doesn't cause your knife to slip. 

Serves 4.

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If you're a fan of collard greens and swiss chard, there's no reason to toss kohlrabi leaves into the compost.

Why not try the following recipe called Spicy Kohlrabi Greens. Note this recipe was taken from: http://www.omnivoroustraveler.com/spicy_kohlrabi_greens.html

Ingredients:
Greens from 5 kohlrabi bulbs, stalks removed
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 teaspoons butter
dash of chili powder
¼ Spanish onion, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed


Wash leaves in cold water. Cut leaves perpendicular to the spines into about 1-inch ribbons. In a sauté pan, sauté onions in butter until soft. Add smashed garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add kohlrabi greens, stock, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, salt, and pepper, and a little more butter, if desired. Cover and wilt the greens on a simmer (stirring occasionally), about 20 minutes or until ribbons are soft. If you haven't made collard greens or chard this way before, you may be surprised by how much the greens shrink. If needed, add more stock or water to keep greens from sticking to the bottom.

Makes about 4 side-dish portions.