Category Archives: Weekly Notes

Week #9 7/26 & 29

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This week your basket contains: cabbage(full shares only) or cooking greens (beet thinnings and Swiss chard)(half shares only), zucchini, cucumber, lettuce, spring onions, carrots, tomatoes and/or cherry tomatoes, garlic, and broccoli.

We had a wonderful time on Sunday at our subscriber day.  We particularly like getting to put a face to the names we often only see on your baskets!  It is also a delight to be able to catch up with our longer-term subscribers.  There were many BLACKBERRIES picked on Sunday, but over the coming weeks there will be many many more free for the picking (they won’t really hit their peak until sometime in August).  You are more than welcome to come out pretty much any time to pick.  Just email in advance so that we can point you in the direction of the best picking.

The cooking greens in half share baskets are a combination of Swiss chard and beet thinnings.  Both types of greens are close relatives of spinach and can be cooked just like spinach.  The beet greens are particularly tender (we pull them young to make room for the remaining beets to have space to size up).  While you could simply sauté them in olive oil and dress with a bit of balsamic vinegar, this recipe is also a great way to use the greens.

PASTA SHELLS WITH GREENS

1 -1/2 Lbs mixed greens

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c. olive oil

small pasta shells for 4 people

salt and pepper to taste

6 chopped canned tomatoes

hard cheese

Heat a large pan of water for the pasta.  Chop greens finely, discarding any tough stem ends.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté the greens with the garlic stirring often.  The greens will reduce in volume.  When the greens are soft but still a vibrant green, season with salt and pepper and add the tomatoes.  Continue cooking to reduce the juice from the tomatoes.  When the pasta has cooked, drain and divide into serving bowls.  Top with the mixed greens and tomatoes, then sprinkle on some hard cheese such as asiago, pecorino or parmesan.   Serve immediately

For full shares, this recipe calls for Napa type cabbage, but would also work well with the cabbages you have in your basket.

SAUTÉED CHINESE CABBAGE WITH BLUE CHEESE, WALNUTS AND APPLES

4 cups thinly sliced Chinese cabbage

1 med. onion, diced

1 clove garlic

1 tart green apple

8 oz. ripe blue cheese

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 Tbs.  walnut or olive oil.

Salt

If you choose to use walnut oil, be aware that it will scorch more readily than other oils.   In a large skillet sauté the onion in the oil until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. Add the chopped Chinese cabbage and salt.  Sauté  4-5 minutes or until the cabbage wilts.  Add the walnuts, cook 1-2 minutes more.  Remove to serving dish, top with chopped apple and crumbled blue cheese and serve warm.

HOT PEPPERS will be ready soon.  We only put these in your basket if you have asked for them.  If you were on the hot pepper list last year, we still have a record of that and will be sending them along to you as we can throughout the summer and fall.  IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE LIST just email and we will add you.

BLUEBERRY orders have been far outpacing our production.  Many of you have ordered full flats, but it is unlikely that we will have enough to fill those orders.  If you would settle for fewer, please email us again and let us know.  We’ll do our best to get you as much as we can. EGGS continue to be utterly underwhelming.  We are working on the situation and hope to back in business soon.  We apologize for the lack of production.

FLOWERS ARE GOING CRAZY!  While we love the way the gardens look with beds of gorgeous flowers in bloom, we would like to share the beauty with you.  Polly will put together an amazing bouquet for you for only $7.  If you order 3 bouquets in a week they are only $18.  Why not fill your house with the beauty of summer!

CLOTH PRODUCE BAGS have arrived and we think they are great.  If you ordered and haven’t seen any in your baskets yet, drop us an email.  TO ORDER BAGS, just email us and let us know how many you would like.  They are $2.50/bag (our cost) asnd we recommend 4-6 bags (2-3 bags for each of your two baskets). Just email to order.

Week #6 (7/5 & 8)

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This week your basket contains: snap peas, potatoes, parsley ,kale, zucchini, cucumber, ELEPHANT GARLIC, spring onions, and broccoli.

It is no secret that this spring and early summer weather is not “normal”.  Some crops have hated it (such as the peas) but others have been very happy.  One of them is the broccoli.  In most years, our spring broccoli is smaller and less hardy than the fall crop.  This year, we are very happy with how it has been coming on.  You all have a good amount of broccoli this week and this is one of our favorite ways to use it.

BOW TIES WITH BROCCOLI PESTO

1 lb. broccoli flowerets

2 or 3 cloves garlic

½ c. grated Parmesan

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 ½ tsp. sesame oil

½ tsp salt

12 oz dried bow tie pasta (farfalle)

1-2 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar

1 small tomato, chopped

In a large pan, bring 8 cups water to a boil over medium high heat. Stir in broccoli and cook until just tender to bite (about 7 minutes). Immediately drain broccoli, immerse in ice water to cool, then drain again. In a food processor or blender, combine a third of the broccoli with garlic, cheese, olive oil, sesame oil, salt and 3 Tbsp. of water. Blend until smooth. Scrape down side of container, add half of remaining broccoli, blend until smooth, then repeat with the remaining broccoli. In a large pan, bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil, stir in pasta and cook until just tender to bite, 8-10 minutes. Drain pasta well. Transfer to a large serving bowl and stir in vinegar. Add pesto and mix gently but thoroughly. Garnish with tomato and serve immediately. Serves 4. From Low-fat Vegetarian Cookbook from Sunset Books 1995.

Another crop that did very well for us this year is elephant garlic.  We are always proud of our elephant garlic in no small part because every head we grow came from the 10 heads we found growing on the farm when we moved here in 1989.  We’ve saved heads and planted the cloves over the year and now grow over 1500 heads of elephant garlic a year!

BAKED ELEPHANT GARLIC

Elephant garlic is not a true garlic, it is a leek.  It has a milder garlic flavor which means you can use it the same way as regular garlic in even larger quantities.  The mildness also makes it very well suited to mashing in potatoes, roasting on kabobs or slicing into scalloped potatoes.  Our favorite way to use it is roasted: take a knife and cut through the wrappers at the neck of the garlic.  Peel the wrapper so that the head stays intact at the root end.  Pour 2 Tbsp. olive oil or a pat of butter on top of the head, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until the skins on the cloves are browning.  Add a little water to the bottom of the pan and keep baking for 15 minutes.  The garlic should be soft.  It can be squeezed out of the clove onto crusty French bread.  Top with goat cheese and accompany with red wine.  Enjoy!

We’ve hit a bit of a gap in lettuce production this week.  Fortunately we have good kale and a great recipe for kale salad.  When mixing the salad by hand, don’t skimp on the time you spend massaging the kale.  The more time you put into it the more tender the kale will be, and the more the flavors will infuse it as well.

KALE SALAD

1/8 cup flax or olive oil

1/8 cup lemon juice

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 bunch kale

1 small onion thinly sliced

shredded carrot

¼ cup  sunflower seeds

sesame seeds

sprouts (optional)

sliced mushrooms (optional)

Mix oil, lemon juice, and soy sauce.  Add the thinly slice onion and set aside to marinate while preparing salad greens.  Wash and coarsely chop the greens and place in a large bowl for easy mixing.  Add carrots, seeds, and any optional ingredients to the greens and mix gently by hand.  Pour dressing and onion mixture over greens and continue mixing by hand to insure even coating and aiding absorption of the dressing.  Let sit for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Week #4 (6/21 & 24)

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This week your basket contains: snap peas (half shares), TURNIPS (full shares), new potatoes, lettuce, CABBAGE, kohlrabi, zucchini or cucumber, fresh garlic, mint, parsley, and broccoli (full shares), Asian broccoli (half shares).

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR NEXT SUNDAY, JUNE 26TH.  This is the day for this year’s first SUBSCRIBER DAY here on the farm.  We always have a great time meeting new subscribers, giving tours of the farm, baking pizzas for the pot luck lunch, and watching as all of you get to know each other.  Bring along a dish and/or beverage to share and join us from 11:00 to 3:00.

Inspired by a recipe by Kathy Gunst, this sauce transforms grilled meat, fish or vegetables. It can also be used as a marinade or spooned into soups and salads.

CHIMICHURRI

¾ cup parsley, large stems removed

1/3 c. mint leaves

2 Tbsp. capers, drained

1 small green garlic, white and pale green part chopped

4 Tbsp. olive oil

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

½ Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Can be covered and stored in the fridge for a few days until needed. Makes about ¾ cup.

We love the early summer cabbages.  They tend to be tender and sweet and make great salad or coleslaw.  They work very well in recipes like this one.

ORIENTAL CHICKEN SALAD

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

½ cup thinly sliced onion

3 Tbs cider vinegar

2 Tbs sesame seeds

1 head cabbage

1/3 cup cilantro

2/3 cup fresh mint

2 Tbs roasted unsalted peanuts

3 Tbs sweet and sour fish sauce

In a 5-qt saucepan, bring 3 cups of water to a boil.  Add chicken and when water returns to a boil, cover the pan and remove from heat.  Let stand until chicken is white in the thickest part (cut to check).  This should take 12-15 minutes.  Combine onion and vinegar and let stand 15 minutes.  In a heavy frying pan, stir sesame seeds until golden brown.  Remove from pan.  Shred chicken by hand. Shred enough cabbage to make 6 cups.  Drain the onions and combine in a large bowl with chicken, cabbage, onion, cilantro and mint.  Add peanuts, sesame seeds and fish sauce and mix well.  Makes 4-6servings.

The Japanese turnips in full share baskets today are milder and sweeter than the larger traditional turnip you may be more familiar with.  These are great in stir fry, thinly sliced for potatoes au gratin, or as a snack such as this one.

PEPPERY TURNIP TREAT

2 tsp butter or margarine

2 tbsp honey

1 lb turnips, peeled, finely diced (1/4″)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp minced fresh parsley (optional)

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter or margarine and honey over moderately low heat.  Add the turnips and pepper. Cover the pan and cook the turnips until they are tender, stirring them once, about 12 minutes.  The turnips should brown lightly.  Sprinkle the turnips with parsley.  Serves 4.  From Jane Brody’s Good Food Book

WE HAVE ORDERED CLOTH BAGS:  If you want to have us use cloth bags (100% cotton) instead of plastic for your greens etc. we will pass these along to you at $2.50 per bag (our cost).  We recommend 4 to 6 bags per family (2 or 3 for each of your baskets).  We will write your name on them to keep them from getting lost in the shuffle.  If you have your own bags (or want us to re-use the plastic bags) PLEASE CLEARLY WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE BAGS in case they get separated from your basket or are returned to us in a spare basket.  We will let you all know when the bags arrive, and can add the cost to your monthly statement.

While strawberry season has passed, BLUEBERRIES will be ready soon.  We will have pints available for $3 or flats of 12 pints for $30.  Email us to order.