Salad with tomatoes or BLTs? Baby chicks!

CSA Harvest Week 18: Salad with tomatoes or BLTs?

Salad with tomatoes or BLTs? Hard decision. Around here, we eat both! We can’t get too much of a tossed salad with lettuce, arugula, sweet peppers, tomatoes, grated radishes.

We are getting some young chicks soon to raise for laying hens.  We also saved some eggs from our egg collecting so we can incubate and hatch some chicks.  None of the hens are setting (sitting on a nest to hatch out eggs), so we are incubating them ourselves in a little incubator box.  We turn the eggs 3 times a day so the little embryos don’t attach to the shell wall.  Mama hens sometimes turn and adjust the eggs every 15 minutes in order to make sure all the eggs are covered under her feathers.  Our incubator has a thermostat that keeps the eggs near the 99.5 F mark.

Incubator with thermostat

The eggs that we are hatching are from our Araucana hens, or “Easter Eggers.”  The Araucana breed lays blue eggs, and that trait is a dominate trait that gets passed down to almost all offspring.  So if we take blue eggs from our nest boxes, then we already know that the female chicks that hatch from those eggs will lay blue eggs!

There is an "X" on one side and a "O" on the other side, so we know that we rotated the egg fully.

All shades of light blue and green.  The eggs are usually a robin blue or bright blue green in the spring

  

Check out the amazing incubating process!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtU4M3lhCTk

Farm Fresh Harvest

Baby lettuce- It is so tricky to get lettuce and tomatoes to grow at the same time! Here come the salads and BLTs! 

Arugula- Spicy!  The arugula grew a little taller than we usually let it get, so it is spicy!  Pair it with sweet dried cranberries, honey mustard dressing, and toasted walnuts.   For those of you who think it a little too spicy raw, try this.  Make an arugula pesto with walnuts. Check out this blog post! http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Radish- Spicy little radishes.  To help make them more mild…grate, slice, or chop and add salt and olive oil.  Let marinate for about 5-10 minutes before eating.

Edamame- This is the last week for edamame. The entire plant is ready at one time. We then cut and bunch the plants.  Pluck the pods from the stems. Steam or boil the pods for 4 minutes. Splash with soysauce. The sweet beans will just pop out. They are packed with flavor AND nutrients. The plants are enthusiastic producers of the beans.

Fresh edamame is a special, nutritious treat.  The beans are Delicious baby soybeans . You may have had the edamame appetizer at a Japenese restaurant. The frozen pods are always tasty, but you can’t beat the delicious fresh ones! At home you can recreate the edamame appetizer. The beans are boiled or steamed whole in the pod, drained, and sprinkled with soy sauce. 8-10 minutes of boiling or steaming makes lightly cooked beans. Edamame, like all legumes, is high in protein, B vitamins , and potassium.

Bell peppers- Crunchy!  They are turning red and sweet! They ripen with sunshine in late August and September!

Tomatoes- The tomatoes have full ripe flavors since we grow them under the hoophouse, which keeps the rain from watering the flavor down.

Cherry tomatoes- Little gems of sunshine!

Cucumbers This is late in the season for cukes.  The plants aren’t producing much, so we have to mow them.

Basil  Basil is not producing well. They are very small plants!

Recipes: Peppers…Stuffed, Roasted, Relish

Peppers Stuffed with Chile Grits 

This recipe does not require baking and making the grits is quicker than making rice!  Try this richly flavored recipe with roasted poblanos, green chiles or bell peppers or even an assortment of peppers. The piquant flavors of roasted peppers melt into the satisfying thick comfort of chile grits.  Serve with chips ,salsa, and sour cream or plain yogurt next to shredded lettuce or cabbage.

To Prepare bell peppers for stuffing:  Try this!  Don’t cut the top off of the pepper making a deep soupy cavity- try cutting the bell pepper in half vertically all the way through the stem.    Leave the curly stem for a nice garnish.  Trim the membrane and seeds.  Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and heat to high.  Add peppers to hot (medium high heat) skillet to sear.  Listen for the sizzling racket for about 3 minutes and turn and sear for another 3 minutes.  This cooks the peppers slightly and browns them a bit.   This way the peppers are ready for a hot stuffing to placed inside of them and served.  Save the fragrant oil and cook with it. 

Note: Have peppers or chiles prepared beforehand or prepare them while you are making the grits. Also note that the peppers are not baked after they are stuffed!  I cook the grits while the onion is cooking to save time.  Follow the directions on the package.  It’s okay to use “quick” grits, just make sure to get plain flavored, watch the amount of sodium in the package, and make them thick!

1 tablespoon oil

2 medium onions, diced

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander

2 cups corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned

1 clove garlic

1 cup thick cooked grits or polenta

3 tablespoons roasted, diced green chiles, jalepenos, poblanos, or more to taste.  You can also use about 1 tablespoon chipotle powder  or ¼ or ½ teaspoon cayenne powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 or 7 roasted poblanos  or green chiles or (3 medium bell peppers- prepared for stuffing)

Heat the oil over medium heat, add onion and sauté for 4 minutes.  Add ground coriander and corn and sauté for 3 more minutes. Add garlic, grits (or polenta), diced green chile, and stir to combine.  The filling will need to be thick enough to stick together somewhat.  If it’s not, cook and gently stir until thick.

Stuff the peppers or chiles and serve. 

Chile Cheese Grits: Add ½ cup shredded cheese to the chile grit mixture and stir to combine

Stuffed Peppers (From From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

A little oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 onions, chopped

3 cups raw brown rice         

6 cups water, chicken or vegetable stock, or tomato juice

½ teaspoon allspice

½ cup almonds, chopped

1 cup chopped tomatoes

¾ pound cheddar chease, grated

Salt and pepper

9 large paeppers, tops cut off, seeds removed

Heat oil in a large skillet; add and sauté garlic and onions.  Add rice and brown about 5 minutes.  Add desired liquid and allspice.  Cover and cook until rice is done, about 40 minutes.  Toast almonds in dry skillet or hot oven several minutes, tossing often.  Stir in tomatoes, cheese, almonds, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook peppers in boiling water 2 minutes.  Drain and stuff peppers with rice mixture.  Bake 350 degrees 30 minutes.  Makes 9 servings.

Roasting chiles or peppers is simple.  You char and blacken the chile or pepper with intense heat or direct flame.  That means you can roast a poblano, chile, sweet pepper, jalepeno or anything else with a gas grill, charcoal grill, gas stove range, electric or gas broiler.

 I love roasted chiles!  I was first introduced to a freshly roasted chile while staffing a farmer’s market in Colorado for the ranch I was working on.  My first bite was of a “Big Jim” chile stuffed with fresh soft sheep cheese, and it was love at first bite!  The smells of the propane chile roaster rotating and flame roasting the chiles filled the air, bringing the locals to declare that the heights of summer had arrived! 

Here’s a quick way to knock out a batch.  Place the peppers or chiles with stems under a very hot grill or put the peppers or chiles on a baking sheet under a preheated broiler until the skin blisters slightly and is black in spots, about 5 minutes on each of two sides.   Place in a large bowl with a towel over it until cool enough to handle; this steams the skin off.  Peel most of the skin off.  Don’t rinse the flavor away! Use a paper towel if needed!  The pepper can then be used for days in many dishes. Or freeze for later.

Preparing for Stuffing : Cut a slit lengthwise from under the stem to the end point.  Delicately scrape any seeds than can be easily removed.  Stuff with your favorite stuffing.

Preparing for dicing:  Cut a slit lengthwise from under the stem to the end point.  Remove the stem, seeds and membrane.  Slice and dice.

Poblano Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Fresh Relish:

Try the piquant flavor of the poblano in this salsa type relish. You can also use roasted sweet bell peppers for a flavorful, but mild relish.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)

3 or 4 poblanos, roasted, peeled, and diced

2 ears of corn, cooked and cut off the cob

1 bunch scallions or 3 tablespoons diced sweet onions

1 clove garlic, crushed or diced

2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or more to taste

Tomatoes, diced- about a half pound

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and optional pine nuts and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in poblanos, corn, scallions, cilantro, and lime juice and cook until the flavors blend- about 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add diced tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and let cool.  Can be cover and refrigerated for a couple of days.  Best served at room temp.

Greek Style Green Beans

This recipe is a new favorite here at the farm.  The dish does take a while to cook, but requires hardly any attention.

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/greek-style-green-beans

How about some green bean recipe ideas?  You can use the Chinese Red Noodle Beans in place of any green bean.  Martha Stewart provides inspiration again…

Healthy Green Bean Recipes

http://www.wholeliving.com/142680/healthy-green-bean-recipes/@center/144884/healthy-dinners#/57584

Three Bean Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

If you don’t have watercress or mache on hand (and you won’t, because mache doesn’t grow here when green beans grow), you can use arugula, lettuce, or any other salad green,

http://www.wholeliving.com/131065/three-bean-salad-honey-mustard-vinaigrette?czone=eat-well/healthy-dinner/healthy-side-dishes&czone=eat-well/healthy-dinner/healthy-side-dishes&center=144884&gallery=142680&slide=63187

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

Late Summer Bruschetta

 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2-3 large tomatoes

1 crunchy sweet pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Crusty bread (like baguette)

Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)

Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

CSA Harvest Week 17: Edamame Treats

CSA Harvest Week 17: Edamame Treats

Check out all of the new pepper recipes below.  Remember, you can freeze peppers. You can choose to blanch them or just stuff the chopped peppers into a freezer bag. Check out this helpful guide.  http://www.pickyourown.org/peppersfreezing.htm

Farm Fresh Harvest

Arugula- Spicy!  The arugula grew a little taller than we usually let it get, so it is spicy!  Pair it with sweet dried cranberries, honey mustard dressing, and toasted walnuts.   For those of you who think it a little too spicy raw, try this.  Make an arugula pesto with walnuts. Check out this blog post! http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/arugula_pesto/

Radish- Spicy little radishes.  To help make them more mild…grate, slice, or chop and add salt and olive oil.  Let marinate for about 5-10 minutes before eating.

Edamame- Pluck the pods from the stems. Steam or boil the pods for 4 minutes. Splash with soysauce. The sweet beans will just pop out. They are packed with flavor AND nutrients. The plants are enthusiastic producers of the beans.

Fresh edamame is a special, nutritious treat.  The beans are Delicious baby soybeans . You may have had the edamame appetizer at a Japenese restaurant. The frozen pods are always tasty, but you can’t beat the delicious fresh ones! At home you can recreate the edamame appetizer. The beans are boiled or steamed whole in the pod, drained, and sprinkled with soy sauce. 8-10 minutes of boiling or steaming makes lightly cooked beans. Edamame, like all legumes, is high in protein, B vitamins , and potassium.

Note: The kudzu bugs that have been covering the edamame plants are 95% gone thanks to Thomas and William’s dedication and lots of dunking in soapy water.  (soybeans and edamame beans are related to kudzu) Either squish with a paper towel or put into a container with a lid and dump them outside.

Beans, Chinese Red Noodle Beans (and a few long green pole beans)- These long meaty beans cook just like green beans.  They grow on a pole or trellis and the beans hang down like red noodles!  The Greek Style Green Beans are a great recipe for these tasty beans. Or you can sauté them in olive oil with some garlic and onion for about 10 minutes.  Then I add a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Bell peppers- Crunchy!  They are turning red and sweet! They ripen with sunshine in late August and September!

Tomatoes- The tomatoes have full ripe flavors since we grow them under the hoophouse, which keeps the rain from watering the flavor down.

Cherry tomatoes- Little gems of sunshine!

Summer squash and Zucchini- 

Cucumbers The little plants aren’t too happy.

Basil Ditto. We hope to have more next week.

Recipes: Peppers…Stuffed, Roasted, Relish

Peppers Stuffed with Chile Grits 

This recipe does not require baking and making the grits is quicker than making rice!  Try this richly flavored recipe with roasted poblanos, green chiles or bell peppers or even an assortment of peppers. The piquant flavors of roasted peppers melt into the satisfying thick comfort of chile grits.  Serve with chips ,salsa, and sour cream or plain yogurt next to shredded lettuce or cabbage.

To Prepare bell peppers for stuffing:  Try this!  Don’t cut the top off of the pepper making a deep soupy cavity- try cutting the bell pepper in half vertically all the way through the stem.    Leave the curly stem for a nice garnish.  Trim the membrane and seeds.  Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan and heat to high.  Add peppers to hot (medium high heat) skillet to sear.  Listen for the sizzling racket for about 3 minutes and turn and sear for another 3 minutes.  This cooks the peppers slightly and browns them a bit.   This way the peppers are ready for a hot stuffing to placed inside of them and served.  Save the fragrant oil and cook with it. 

Note: Have peppers or chiles prepared beforehand or prepare them while you are making the grits. Also note that the peppers are not baked after they are stuffed!  I cook the grits while the onion is cooking to save time.  Follow the directions on the package.  It’s okay to use “quick” grits, just make sure to get plain flavored, watch the amount of sodium in the package, and make them thick!

1 tablespoon oil

2 medium onions, diced

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander

2 cups corn kernels, fresh, frozen or canned

1 clove garlic

1 cup thick cooked grits or polenta

3 tablespoons roasted, diced green chiles, jalepenos, poblanos, or more to taste.  You can also use about 1 tablespoon chipotle powder  or ¼ or ½ teaspoon cayenne powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

6 or 7 roasted poblanos  or green chiles or (3 medium bell peppers- prepared for stuffing)

Heat the oil over medium heat, add onion and sauté for 4 minutes.  Add ground coriander and corn and sauté for 3 more minutes. Add garlic, grits (or polenta), diced green chile, and stir to combine.  The filling will need to be thick enough to stick together somewhat.  If it’s not, cook and gently stir until thick.

Stuff the peppers or chiles and serve. 

Chile Cheese Grits: Add ½ cup shredded cheese to the chile grit mixture and stir to combine

Stuffed Peppers (From From Asparagus to Zucchini: A Guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

A little oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 onions, chopped

3 cups raw brown rice         

6 cups water, chicken or vegetable stock, or tomato juice

½ teaspoon allspice

½ cup almonds, chopped

1 cup chopped tomatoes

¾ pound cheddar chease, grated

Salt and pepper

9 large paeppers, tops cut off, seeds removed

Heat oil in a large skillet; add and sauté garlic and onions.  Add rice and brown about 5 minutes.  Add desired liquid and allspice.  Cover and cook until rice is done, about 40 minutes.  Toast almonds in dry skillet or hot oven several minutes, tossing often.  Stir in tomatoes, cheese, almonds, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook peppers in boiling water 2 minutes.  Drain and stuff peppers with rice mixture.  Bake 350 degrees 30 minutes.  Makes 9 servings.

Roasting chiles or peppers is simple.  You char and blacken the chile or pepper with intense heat or direct flame.  That means you can roast a poblano, chile, sweet pepper, jalepeno or anything else with a gas grill, charcoal grill, gas stove range, electric or gas broiler.

 I love roasted chiles!  I was first introduced to a freshly roasted chile while staffing a farmer’s market in Colorado for the ranch I was working on.  My first bite was of a “Big Jim” chile stuffed with fresh soft sheep cheese, and it was love at first bite!  The smells of the propane chile roaster rotating and flame roasting the chiles filled the air, bringing the locals to declare that the heights of summer had arrived! 

Here’s a quick way to knock out a batch.  Place the peppers or chiles with stems under a very hot grill or put the peppers or chiles on a baking sheet under a preheated broiler until the skin blisters slightly and is black in spots, about 5 minutes on each of two sides.   Place in a large bowl with a towel over it until cool enough to handle; this steams the skin off.  Peel most of the skin off.  Don’t rinse the flavor away! Use a paper towel if needed!  The pepper can then be used for days in many dishes. Or freeze for later.

Preparing for Stuffing : Cut a slit lengthwise from under the stem to the end point.  Delicately scrape any seeds than can be easily removed.  Stuff with your favorite stuffing.

Preparing for dicing:  Cut a slit lengthwise from under the stem to the end point.  Remove the stem, seeds and membrane.  Slice and dice.

Poblano Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Fresh Relish:

Try the piquant flavor of the poblano in this salsa type relish. You can also use roasted sweet bell peppers for a flavorful, but mild relish.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons pine nuts (optional)

3 or 4 poblanos, roasted, peeled, and diced

2 ears of corn, cooked and cut off the cob

1 bunch scallions or 3 tablespoons diced sweet onions

1 clove garlic, crushed or diced

2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice or more to taste

Tomatoes, diced- about a half pound

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and optional pine nuts and cook for 2 minutes.  Stir in poblanos, corn, scallions, cilantro, and lime juice and cook until the flavors blend- about 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat, add diced tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste and let cool.  Can be cover and refrigerated for a couple of days.  Best served at room temp.

Greek Style Green Beans

This recipe is a new favorite here at the farm.  The dish does take a while to cook, but requires hardly any attention.

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/greek-style-green-beans

How about some green bean recipe ideas?  You can use the Chinese Red Noodle Beans in place of any green bean.  Martha Stewart provides inspiration again…

Healthy Green Bean Recipes

http://www.wholeliving.com/142680/healthy-green-bean-recipes/@center/144884/healthy-dinners#/57584

Three Bean Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

If you don’t have watercress or mache on hand (and you won’t, because mache doesn’t grow here when green beans grow), you can use arugula, lettuce, or any other salad green,

http://www.wholeliving.com/131065/three-bean-salad-honey-mustard-vinaigrette?czone=eat-well/healthy-dinner/healthy-side-dishes&czone=eat-well/healthy-dinner/healthy-side-dishes&center=144884&gallery=142680&slide=63187

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

Late Summer Bruschetta

 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2-3 large tomatoes

1 crunchy sweet pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Crusty bread (like baguette)

Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)

Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

CSA Harvest Week 16: 4th of July Lettuce

Here's some pictures that Hannah took of the garden!

Hey! Does anyone remember when it rained and rained and rained? Which time am I talking about?  The 4^th of July was very rainy and cool.  No one got to go swimming or watch fireworks due the days and days of storming.  However, here at the farm, we did plant some lettuce seeds and they germinated (sprouted and grew), which is usually an impossible gardening feat in the summer.  Lettuce does not sprout very well when the temperature is in the 80’s.  It will usually just stay dormant.   And if you do get it to germinate or sprout during the months that we receive 90 degree weather, the mature heads or baby lettuce usually tastes very bitter.  But it was never terribly hot this summer, so my little 4^th of July experiment worked though! 

We have tender, delicious lettuce for you! 

This is head lettuce that will be full size in a couple of weeks. 

Personal Pumpkin patch

Arugula for the CSA is coming soon!

Thanks to Hannah for the awesome farm pics!

Farm Fresh Harvest

Basil- Yay! We got enough to harvest!  The basil is having a hard time problem that makes the leaves turn black, but there is a bit of pretty leaves out there on the basil plants.

Hannnah harvesting basil.

Keegan and Hannah harvesting

Keegan inspecting plants for healthy basil stems to add to his bunch.

Finished basil bunches

Cinnamon basil flowers- a good pollinator insect attractant- bee food!

Lettuce- Gourmet Salanova mix.  This gourmet lettuce mix consists of the tender little leaves of miniature heads of lettuce.  William and I prefer the taste and texture of this new gourmet blend.  We think you will too!

Beans, Chinese Red Noodle Beans ( and a few long green pole beans)- These long meaty beans cook just like green beans.  They grow on a pole or trellis and the beans hang down like red noodles!  The Greek Style Green Beans are a great recipe for these tasty beans. Or you can sauté them in olive oil with some garlic and onion for about 10 minutes.  Then I add a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Bell peppers- Crunchy!  They are turning red and sweet! They ripen with sunshine in late August and September!

Tomatoes- The tomatoes have full ripe flavors since we grow them under the hoophouse, which keeps the rain from watering the flavor down.

Cherry tomatoes- Little gems of sunshine!

Summer squash and Zucchini-  The squash and zucchini harvest is a bit less right now.  We have some silly caterpillars that are munching the flower buds, which prevents the squash and zucchinis from forming.  The plants grows flowers, the flowers open, and then the vegetable forms from the flower. 

Cucumbers- The harvest is a bit smaller right now.  Our last plants of the year are producing, but a critter is munching the cucumbers on the vine.

Beautiful big slicing tomatoes

Delicious little cherry tomatoes

The tomatoes in this hoophouse will start producing soon!

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

CSA Harvest Week 15: Tomato Bounty!

CSA Harvest Week 15: Tomato Bounty!

We’re a couple of farmers who can never make up our minds.  First we spend most of the summer wishing for less rain.  Then we celebrate when it drizzles all weekend!  Why would we be happy for more water?  Well, those seeds we mentioned planting last week need even moisture to germinate.  If the rain doesn’t do it we have to spend several hours a day watering seeds multiple times a day.  So the nice even drizzle we got over the weekend was perfect.  Now beets, salad turnips, radishes, and arugula are all up!

On the other hand…The constant clouds have not been great for our summer crops.  All of the basil has developed leaf molds that ruin the quality of the leaves.  Instead of a nice deep green they have yellow splotches and when you look at the underside of the leaf you can see black molds developing so, no basil in this week’s box.  A few sunny days should help clear up the problem, we’ll see if that happens. 

Eggplant update: Sadly the weather has also not been conducive for eggplants either.  The plants simply sit there, no flowers, no fruit, just struggling for survival.   

Fortunately, the tomatoes under their tomato hoop house umbrellas have not had to endure wet leaves.  The clouds slow down fruit ripening, but the plants themselves are pretty healthy.  Despite the slow ripening the plants are producing a bounty of fruit so enjoy fresh, ripe, organic tomatoes in your box all week!

Whatever the weather holds we hope our diversity of vegetables and livestock will produce delicious food of one kind or another.  Kale, chard, lettuce, and other fall crops are happy and growing even as the summer crops are struggling.  The pigs, sheep and layer hens are pretty pleased with the cool weather and bounty of grass.  , But, we’ve had to delay the tiny broiler chicks’ exit from the sheltered brooder so they don’t get too wet in the rain.  At this young age, they only have a fine layer of downy feathers that aren’t very waterproof.

Thank you for your support and appreciation-we couldn’t do it without you!

All of the kale and Swiss chard was planted 9 days ago...the plants are now 7 inches tall!

Little transplants: kale and Swiss chard in their trays

Empty garden beds

Little baby kales planted

Farm Fresh Harvest

Beans, Chinese Red Noodle Beans ( and a few long green pole beans)- These long meaty beans cook just like green beans.  They grow on a pole or trellis and the beans hang down like red noodles!  The Greek Style Green Beans are a great recipe for these tasty beans. Or you can sauté them in olive oil with some garlic and onion for about 10 minutes.  Then I add a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Bell peppers- Crunchy!  Bell peppers start out a rich green color and then ripen to a red, yellow, or orange color.  We’ve got to hope that the plants cooperate and start to ripen soon.  They ripen with sunshine in late August and September!

Tomatoes- The tomatoes have full ripe flavors since we grow them under the hoophouse, which keeps the rain from watering the flavor down.

Cherry tomatoes- Little gems of sunshine!

Summer squash and Zucchini-  More tasty squash and zucchini.   We have some healthy looking plants that have producing well lately.  The green and yellow squashes are called Zephyr and they have a nutty flavor that is somewhere between squash and zucchini.  Zephyr is well known for its unusual appearance and its great taste.

Cucumbers- Cucumbers come in all shapes and sizes.  We grow little mini cucumbers, large crisp American slicers, and delicate slender European cucumbers.

Cherry tomatoes- little gems of sunshine

Bright and cheery zucchini and squash

Recipes

Sweet Basil, Tomato, and Summer Peach Salsa

1.      Mix equal parts chopped slicing tomatoes and chopped fresh peaches in non-reactive bowl. (no metal bowls, they can make it taste funny) 

2.      Finely chop approximately 4 big leaves of basil or 8 small leaves of basil for every peach that you use.

3.      Measure out approximately ½ teaspoon lime juice for every peach that you use. 

4.     Sprinkle basil and lime juice over tomatoes and peaches. Add salt to taste.  Let salsa rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Keeps about 2 days in the fridge.

Greek Style Green Beans

This recipe is a new favorite here at the farm.  The dish does take a while to cook, but requires hardly any attention.

http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/greek-style-green-beans

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.

Late Summer Bruschetta

 (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

2-3 large tomatoes

1 crunchy sweet pepper

1 medium sweet onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Small handful fresh basil, chopped (optional)

Crusty bread (like baguette)

Shredded mozzarella or grated parmesan (optional)

Chop the vegetables into a midsize dice.  Combine with garlic 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, and optional basil.  Slice baguette down the middle and lay the two sides cut side up.  Brush with additional 1-2 tablespoons oil and sprinkle on cheese, if using.  Broil bread for several minutes until bread or cheese browns a bit.  Top the sections (you may cut them smaller, if desired) with some of the vegetable mixture.  Makes 4 servings

Mediterranean Salsa

Fresh flavor! This is a great salsa, salad or pita stuffing.

1 medium cucumber, diced

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced, remove as much of the spicy ribs and seeds as needed

1 bell pepper, diced

1 bunch parsley, finely diced

2/3 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 cloves garlic, pressed

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup pitted kalamata olives

Juice from 1-2 fresh lemons

Combine all ingredients and toss well.  Let marinate at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.

How about some green bean recipe ideas?  You can use the Chinese Red Noodle Beans in place of any green bean.  Martha Stewart provides inspiration again…

Healthy Green Bean Recipes

http://www.wholeliving.com/142680/healthy-green-bean-recipes/@center/144884/healthy-dinners#/57584

Three Bean Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

If you don’t have watercress or mache on hand (and you won’t, because mache doesn’t grow here when green beans grow), you can use arugula, lettuce, or any other salad green,

http://www.wholeliving.com/131065/three-bean-salad-honey-mustard-vinaigrette?czone=eat-well/healthy-dinner/healthy-side-dishes&czone=eat-well/healthy-dinner/healthy-side-dishes&center=144884&gallery=142680&slide=63187

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad (from From Asparagus to Zucchini: A guide to Cooking Farm-Fresh Seasonal Produce)

This great pasta salad recipe can be made with a variety of summer vegetables.  It is easy to mix and match ingredients based on seasonal availability.

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 eggplant

4 tomatoes

4 portobello mushrooms

1 red bell pepper

Olive oil spray

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound penne, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

4 oz. mozzarella, sliced

3 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Approximately 1 cup vinaigrette made with balsamic vinegar

Heat/prepare an outdoor grill.  Slice zucchini, squash, and eggplant into long ½ inch thick “planks.”   Cut tomatoes in half.  Remove stems from mushrooms.  Cut pepper into quarters; discard core and seeds.  Spray veggies with light coating of oil.  Sprinkle with minced garlic; season with salt and pepper.  Grill until lightly charred and barely tender.  Chop and place in large bowl with pasta, cheese, nuts, and basil.  Toss with vinaigrette.  Season with salt and pepper.  6-8 servings.