THIS WEEK YOUR BASKET MAY CONTAIN: garlic, broccoli, carrots, sweet peppers, CHINESE CABBAGE or savoy cabbage, red king daikon radish, beets, and GREEN TOMATOES.

While we try to avoid politics in our notes, recent local developments pose an existential threat to our farm and others nearby. Governor Kotek has determined that 373 acres of farmland in Hillsboro should be re-zoned as industrial land. This process was granted to her temporarily and subverts the UGB review procedures that have been thoughtfully developed over several decades. You can read more details on the online version of this note.  You can read more details on the Friends of Smart Growth website. The Oregonian wrote an article about it a few weeks ago here.

Friends of Smart Growth has suggested the following ways to take action:

1. Sign-on letter: Sign on to the attached sign on letter.
2. Submit testimony in opposition to the Governor. You can submit as an organization and/or an individual by Wednesday, 10/30, toOregon.CHIPS@oregon.gov. Cc your state legislators, city council, and any others. Testimony guidance can be found here.
3. Farmland is hard enough to acquire — let’s not make it harder!

Even though it is just about as late as possible this year, THANKSGIVING WILL SOON BE HERE! As we always do, we will be delivering a TWO-WEEK BASKET to you on November 26^th. We will SKIP DELIVERY December 3^rd, and be back on December 10^th.  Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.

One of our recent culinary discoveries is that kimchi can be made equally well with regular cabbage or with Chinese cabbage!  This is particularly good news this year as we have had very bad luck with our Chinese cabbage crop t.  The combination of a newly prevalent pest (winter cut worm), and an insidious viral disease that browns the inner leaves of the head has decimated our crop.  These are particularly frustrating in that the plants grow to full size before damage is noticeable. Despite planting nearly 700 heads, we will be able to harvest fewer than 200 (less than we need to give everyone one each).  Fortunately, we have a good number of savoy cabbages for those who didn’t get the more conical Chinese cabbage. The daikon radishes are also perfect for kimchi.

EASY KIMCHI

1 Napa cabbage, cut into 2-inch strips

1/4-1/2 cup kosher salt

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons ginger, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons water

1 diced mild hot pepper

3 medium carrots cut into 1-inch matchsticks

Place cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Mix thoroughly using gloves, if preferred. Place a heavy pot or pan on top with weights and allow cabbage to sit for 1-2 hours until wilted and cabbage water has been released.  Discard cabbage water after 1-2 hours. Rinse the cabbage 2-3 times in the sink until salt is removed and allow it to drain in a colander for another 15-20 minutes.

Combine cabbage with garlic, ginger, sugar, and water and mix. Add the hot pepper and mix well.  Once combined, place mixture in a jar pressing down and packing tightly so that the mixture is submerged in its own liquid. Place top on jar and allow it to sit at room temperature for 2-5 days. Place jar on a plate since the mixture may bubble over while fermenting. Each day of fermentation, remove the lid to release gases and press down on the mixture to keep it submerged. You can taste a sample each day to decide if the level of fermentation is to your liking.  After 2-5 days of fermentation, store kimchi in the refrigerator.

It looks like we won’t be seeing any more truly ripe tomatoes this year, but the plants have a lot of green fruit.  The recipe below is a great way of using green tomatoes (one subscriber even mentioned this recipe to me at the Pumpkin Pick-Up).  You can also try the fried green tomato recipe that can be found on our web site.

CREAM OF GREEN TOMATO SOUP

Base:

3 onions

10 green tomatoes

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

4 Tbs butter

For each 2 cups of base, add:

1 ½ cups half-and-half

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Cut onions and cook slowly in butter in a large heavy pot.  When they are soft, add cut, cored but not peeled tomatoes.  Cook slowly for 30 minutes, cover pot and cook an additional 30 minutes.  Add broth and pass the soup through a strainer or food mill to remove the seeds and skin.  This is the base of the soup, which can be frozen for later use.  When ready to use, stir in half-and-half, sugar and salt.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Serve hot or chilled topped with a Tbs of sour cream.  From Classic American Food Without Fuss by McCullough and Witt.