Greetings!
Greetings from your farm. Thankfully the 105 degree heat index days have passed and we're enjoying a perfect summer day. This morning we finished bunching the garlic which is headed for the greenhouse to cure. That takes about 5 weeks, after it cures we'll separate the largest bulbs to save for seed which will be planted in October. The garlic that we grow is an heirloom variety called Armenian. It's near impossible to find certified organic seed for sale so we're working on saving our own. Each clove of the bulb will become a garlic plant and after 4 years of saving seed we should have enough for share boxes and to plant a half-acre for 2012. This weekend we harvested the first Sungold cherry tomatoes. We'll be getting in to the rows this afternoon and MAYBE able to get a half pint portion for the boxes this week. If we can't they will be ready next week for sure. The rest of the heirloom tomatoes look great; we're just waiting for them to ripen. The peppers are coming along as well and we expect to be harvesting the first round of those in about 2 weeks. 
Heirloom Japanese Black Trifle tomatoes almost ready! 
Tomato field #1, looking great! 
Tomato field #2, also looking great! New items this week include our Greyhound cabbage. When we survey our members at the end of the season we consistently hear that people just don't get too excited about cabbage. Personally, we think it gets a bad rap but then we are people who grow vegetables for a living. This season we decided to branch out from the regularly available varieties and try a less common heirloom. We chose a European cabbage called Greyhound which is a pointed head type also known as a "salad cabbage". Most American cabbage is grown for storage, European salad cabbages are grown for fresh eating, your Greyhound is great raw or cooked. Other new appearances include baby red onions and SWEET CORN. We have a late season crop planted at the farm that will hopefully keep us in sweet corn until fall. The very first pickings are trickling in across our area and our friend Brian has helped us procure one of the early batches. It's not a lot, just 2 ears per box but there is more on the way. For those of you with more than 2 person households we suggest Rock, Paper, Scissors as the method to divvy it up and keep the peace. Thanks to all of you for the great feedback and encouraging messages. Especially in the dangerously high heat it was great to know that so many of you were thinking about our welfare. Remember that this week is a cheese share week. If you signed up for one please take it from the cooler. If you didn't...guess what?...you shouldn't take one. We had a few missing last delivery. |
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Heirloom Cabbage
 Cabbage is very low in calories, only 15 calories per one-cup serving. Composed of nearly 90% water cabbage still holds a significant quantity of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium and magnesium. Considered a beneficial digestive aid and intestinal cleanser, cabbage is possibly one of the most globally cultivated of all plants in the brassica family.
Cabbage comes in its own carrying case. You'll want to remove the outer few leaves, which may look a little damaged. These wrapper leaves help protect the cabbage during storage and transportation; just simply peel back and you will find the center leaves beautifully intact.
You'll want to core the cabbage. We recommend slicing the cabbage into quarters through the base. Slice the core out of each cabbage quarter, this is easily done with an angled "v" cut. Storage:
Refrigerate cabbage in the crisper drawer. A plastic bag will help retain moisture, however, not necessary. Do not remove outer leaves before storage. Spicy Asian Noodles
1 1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 TBS fresh ginger, peeled and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed chile flakes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup peanut or almond butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 tablespoons sesame oil, divided
1 package rice noodles
1 bunch scallions or early spring onions
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and julienned
minced cilantro to garnish the salad
Sriracha sauce for serving
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
In a food processor or blender, pulse together the ginger, garlic, and sugar. Add the chile flakes, almond or peanut butter, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil, and 1/3 cup water and process again until smooth. Transfer to a smaller bowl and refrigerate sauce for at least an hour.
Cook noodles according to package directions. Toss cabbage into the boiling water with the noodles for the last minute of cooking. Drain and rinse with cold water to chill the noodles, then toss with the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil.
Mix noodles and blanched cabbage with the chilled sauce (which you can thin with a little boiling water if it's thickened up after refrigeration), the scallions, and the julienned cucumber. Garnish with cilantro and toasted sesame seeds before serving, and douse with some Sriracha, if desired.
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Cucumbers
One of our favorite ways to use cucumbers, refreshing, versatile Tzatziki. Serve with grilled meat or use as a side dip for grilled vegetables such as summer squash. It can be used as a base for a salad dressing, just add a scoop to your favorite basic vinaigrette and mix. Dress sliced cucumbers and chopped tomatoes and top with a handful of fresh herbs such as basil. Also makes a great spread for sandwiches. You'll need to start the day before you serve this as the yogurt needs to drain.
Tzatziki
1 pint good quality plain Greek yogurt 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded (peel, cut lengthwise, scoop out seeds with a small spoon) and sliced 1 TBS plus ½ Kosher or sea salt 1 TBS Champagne or white wine vinegar 2 TBS fresh lemon juice 1 ½ tsp mashed garlic 1 ½ tsp minced fresh dill 1 TBS olive oil pepper to taste Place yogurt in cheesecloth, set in a colander, and let drain in refrigerator overnight. Place sliced cucumber in a colander and cover with 1 TBS salt. Let sit 1 hour. Place drained yogurt, cucumber (wring them out with your hand), ½ tsp salt, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, and dill in a blender or small food processor. Blend, adding oil in a steady stream until emulsified. Season with pepper. |
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Basil
Basil Butter Take one cup of picked basil leaves and drizzle 1 TBS of olive oil over the top-then chop the basil as finely as you can. Put 1 stick of salted butter in a bowl, when soft use a wooden spoon and beat in the chopped basil-add a touch of ground pepper and lemon juice if you like-reserve Great for this week's sweet corn. Also, you can keep in your freezer and will add great flavor to just about anything you put it on-for example, put 1 TBS on top of a bowl of tomato soup, put on mashed potatoes, on any steamed or grilled vegetables, toss with pasta, put on top of grilled fish, spread on good bread instead of plain butter-and so on and so forth.....
Your farm crew hard at work on basil harvest
Yellow Squash with Basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add half of squash and sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer browned squash to a bowl, then heat remaining tablespoon oil and sauté remaining squash in same manner. Return squash in bowl to skillet. Add garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add water, salt, and pepper and simmer briskly, covered, until squash is tender and most of liquid is evaporated, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in basil. |
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Chard
We've been experimenting with new ways to prepare greens and using them as wrappers has worked well. We came up with this a few weeks ago but the possibilities are endless. Vegetarian? Just omit the sausage and use olive oil or butter to cook the carrots and onions.
Harvest Moon Stuffed Swiss Chard Rolls
1 pound ground sausage (we used sweet but hot would work as well)
¼ cup finely shredded carrot
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
4 to 6 small potatoes (any low starch variety will do, just don't use a regular baking potato)
1/2 cup brown or green lentils
1 ½ cups water or stock
a few snips of herbs from your herb pack, whatever strikes your fancy
5-6 chard leaves, bottom stem trimmed flush with bottom of the leaf
Start by browning the sausage in a sauté pan, drain on paper towels, set aside. Reserve 1 TBS of the sausage drippings and cook carrot and onion over medium low heat until soft. Place in bowl with sausage.
Peel and simmer potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Depending on size about 12 minutes. Gently mash with a fork or potato masher (we leave them a bit chunky vs mashed potato consistency) Add potatoes to the sausage mixture.
Bring 1 ½ cups water or stock to a simmer and cook lentils until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and add to sausage mixture gently blending in the shredded carrots and onions.
Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and cook the chard leaves for 1 minute then transfer them to a bowl of cold water In the meantime, preheat oven to 350. Remove chard from water and blot dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Working with the broad part of the leaf nearest to you place about 1 heaping tablespoon of sausage filling toward the bottom center of the chard. Gently roll the leaf upwards, tucking in the sides along the way like you would a burrito. Place rolls seam side down in a baking pan. Brush rolls with olive oil and put a bit of water or stock in the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes. Rolls can be served hot, room temperature, or cold.
We made a dipping sauce with jarred red peppers, a ripe tomato, a few teaspoons of freshly grated ginger, a dash of Sirachia or Tabasco, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, blended and chilled. Exact recipe to come as we work out the proportions; if you're feeling adventurous you can have a go with these vague instructions.
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Baby Red Onions
 The pungency of an onion reflects the amount of sulfur in the soil in which it was grown in. Onions are very low in calories and fats; although very rich in soluble dietary fiber.
Onions are also good in B-complex vitamins.
Many of our recipes this week include onions. |
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Fennel
We harvested the last of the early fennel crop on Friday. The field was getting really weedy and about to go to seed so we harvested enough for boxes and plowed the rest under. The bulbs are really big and have some bruising on the outer layer from growing so large. Just remove the outer layer; the rest of the bulb will be fine to eat. We hope to get another crop in for fall harvest.
Braised Fennel with Lemon and Parmesan
1 fennel bulbs with fronds attached
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Grated Parmesan cheese
Extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Trim and rinse the fennel, halving the bulb through the core, then slicing lengthwise into ½-inch thick pieces. Reserve and roughly chop 1 tablespoon of the fronds.
Place a large skillet over medium-high heat, adding just enough olive oil to coat the pan. When hot, lay half of the fennel flat in the pan and cook about 3-4 minutes, or until browned on the bottom. Don't stir the fennel. Flip the fennel pieces and cook another minute or two on the second side. Transfer to a bowl and cook the remaining fennel, adding more olive oil to the skillet if needed. Season with salt & pepper.
Once fennel is browned add broth, lemon juice, and zest. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer, covered, until the fennel is tender, about 10 minutes.
Remove the fennel from the liquid using a slotted spoon, then raise the heat and reduce the sauce until syrupy, 3-5 minutes. Pour the sauce over the fennel, top with the reserved fronds, and garnish with shaved Parmesan to taste.
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Summer Squash
Summer Squash Sauce
(great for pasta, as a garnish for grilled fish or chicken) 1 lb summer squash, coarsely grated 2 Tbs olive oil 4 cloves garlic-minced ½ c onion-minced 4 anchovy filet (optional but recommended) ½ c vegetable stock or chicken stock ½ tsp fresh thyme leaf 1 TBS chopped parsely ½ tsp chili flakes salt and pepper to taste a few drops of lemon juice or wine vinegar sauté garlic, onions and anchovy in olive oil untilsoft.Then add summer squash and toss to coat with oil, then add the stock and cook for a few minutes-until tender. Add the herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper and serve. Wine Pairings Courtesy of LUSH Wine & Spirits Three Albarino. This lovely Albarino out of Monterey County has a floral scent and citrus notes that compliment fish and veggies perfectly. The minerality and crisp acid make this a very food-friendly wine. $18.25 Proprieta Sperino Rosa del Rosa. This rose is made from Nebbiolo grapes out of Piedmont. Its rich fruit flavors pair well with veggie pasta and its bright finish will remind you that summer's not over yet. $20
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Sweet Corn
There is an old saying that you should put the water on to boil before you harvest the corn. That's because the sugar in the kernels of traditional corn varieties start turning into starch as soon as the ears are picked.
Grilling Corn: Soak ears of corn in their husks in cold water for 2 to 3 hours before putting them on the grill or on hot coals. Do not worry about removing the silks; they will come off later with the husks. Lay the ears in the husks, directly on a hot grill rack.
Cook, turning the ears with a pair of tongs so that they roast evenly on all sides, about 25 minutes, depending on the heat. Or roast the corn in their water-soaked husks for 8 to 15 minutes in a 450°F oven.
Serve with:
Salt, black pepper, and butter
To intensify the taste of grilled corn and to caramelize the sugar in sweet corn, remove the husks and silks and lay the ears on a grill rack over very hot coals. Grill, turning the ears to brown them evenly, for 5 to 7 minutes.
Oven: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove husks and silks from corn cobs. Place each cob on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. If desired, add a little butter. Wrap cobs securely in the foil. Roast in oven for about 15 minutes.
Stovetop: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Remove husks and silks from corn cobs. Add corn to boiling water and boil til just tender, about 6 minutes.
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