Vegetable & Fruit Highlights The Harvest! FRUITS: Patterson apricots are on special! A variety that is great for pies, jams, dryi ng and freezing as well as plain eating. A day doesn't go by when a customer says "you can't get a apricot this good anywhere" but here! Yellow and white peaches, yellow and white nectarines, Valencia oranges, Lisbon lemons and more! We have them all and they are delicious!
FROM OUR GARDEN: Eggplants, cucumbers, squash, potatoes, basil (6 varieties), onions, garlic, salad greens, parsley and cherry tomatoes! THE STORY OF THE MURPHYS' ONION We recently harvested our onion crop - which is one of the best in more recent years. A true Murphys' heirloom from the Vogliotti family, Italian market gardeners that were our neighbors. It was one warm summer day, eighteen year's ago, that we went to visit Josephine our neighbor. She was the last member of her family at age 96 - her brother Ernie was 102 when he died. The family was famous for their "vege-tables", as she liked to say, selling them to the miners in the day and later to folks that would come out to the ranch. For several years we'd been growing "their" tomato, the Camalay, and we would often bring her down a couple to enjoy and as always she would hold one in her hands and smell deeply, exclaiming "this is one of ours, isn't it?" Those were precious moments and still today, after 22 years of growing and saving seed from that tomato, her words come immediately to mind. It was on one of these visits that Josephine directed us down to the cellar (where she hadn't been for many years) to a jar on the shelf filled with onion seeds. We took those seeds home and germinated them just as she instructed (the first week after the full moon in August!). Luckily a few sprouted and that year we grew our first Vogliotti onion. After many trials and near losses, it appears that this year we have a tremendous harvest of onion seed to share around. The onion is very special not only for the story that is behind it but also because it is the best tasting summer onions ever. Raw it is sweet and mild flavored, wonderfully so that it is perfect in a Greek salad or in a sandwich (with no oniony aftertaste!). |
RECIPES
Have a great recipe that you'd like to share - we'd love to publish it in the newsletter!
Zucchini (summer squash) Feta Pancakes
from Mollie Katzen, Moosewood Cookbook.
Delicious as a lunch or light dinner - half recipe for smaller servings.
Grated Zucchini (4 cups), salt and let stand for 10 minutes, rinse and squeeze dry before mixing with other ingredients.
4 eggs, separated
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
½ cup finely minced scallions
1 tsp. Dried mint (or fresh)
Salt and pepper
½ cup flour
Oil for frying
Sour cream or yogurt for topping.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. In a medium sized bowl combine zucchini, egg yolks, feta, scallions, seasonings and flour. Mix well.
Fold the egg whites into the zucchini mixture. Heat a little oil in a heavy skillet. When it is very hot, add spoonfuls of batter and fry on both sides until golden and crisp. Serve immediately, toped with sour cream or yogurt. |
Outer Aisle FOODS & GOODS "Essentials for the 21st Century".
Our mission is to facilitate a speedy transition to a sustainable
economy by offering the essential tools, ingredients and knowledge to
prepare us for the 21st century.