Week 9

Week 9 Box-

Remember to wash all veggies.

Potatoes-“Yukon Gold” This a great variety. I (Marie) have never been a big potato fan. However, several years ago I started eating the freshly dug, unusual varieties of potatoes from small farms, and I stopped stabbing at my plate and dug right in!

…Here’s what Wood Prairie Farm http://www.woodprairie.com/ (the farm we bought the organic seed potatoes from) says about “Yukon Gold” potatoes… “Our Yukon Gold seed potatoes are a European-style yellow-fleshed potato renowned for outstanding flavor and dry texture. Perfect baked, boiled, mashed, or fried. Our best seller. Extra good keeper.”

Green onions- “Evergreen Hardy” This variety multiplies into several plants and are perennials in the garden.

Beets- See a new recipe below

Cucumbers- You’ve been getting 2 different types of cucumbers: Short, stout cucumbers and long, dark green cucumbers. You may leave the skin on both types of cucumbers, but I tend to peel and rinse the shorter type because their skins are a bit thick.

Squash/Zucchini-see recipe below

Parsley- Parsley and potatoes, anyone?

Basil

Sweet Peppers-all the peppers you have been getting have been sweet. Some look like regular bell peppers. As you have noticed some of the peppers come to a point, looking a little like a hot pepper. These are a variety called lipstick. It is a very sweet and delicious pepper that just happens to have a pointed tip.

Baby onions-Apparently onions are very challenging to grow. For a second year in a row our onions went from looking great to maturing and dying back in a matter of days. Unfortunately, they do this before getting much size on them. They should be just perfect for the recipe with the zucchinis though!

Upcoming veggies: Green beans (crows ate the first planting, so it is taking longer ‘til we harvest the second planting) and tomatoes (they are starting to ripen, I promise!)

Humidity!

The other night we could have cut the air with a knife, or perhaps stabbed it with our digging forks. We had waited until the sun was safely sinking behind trees to go dig potatoes. But the heat lingered in the sweat soaked air. Trees only 100 feet away were blurry around the edges from the water in the air. It was like digging potatoes while swimming, only not as refreshing. Fortunately, the recent rains had softened the soil so it was relatively easy to dig. Just last week, before the rains, I had dug a few test plants. I had to jump on the fork just to force it into the soil. Now I could easily stab it into the earth with only my arms.

A healthy soil is only about 50% solid material. The rest is airspace that fluctuates between air and water. When the soil is very dry the soil particles are locked together, they do not want to yield to a fork or shovel. Water filling some of those gaps makes the soil more malleable. It will move over so to speak for the tool as it digs in. We certainly appreciated the extra help!

The Lone Ranger

The night before butchering we catch all the chickens and put them in crates so they are ready in the morning. We usually don’t finish crating the birds up until it is dark. This helps to keep the birds calm as we catch them. As usual, after catching the birds this last time Marie and I scanned the pen and the fenced in area to make sure we caught all the birds. No birds in sight. But the next day, and every day since then there has been one large broiler chicken on the loose in the woods. He must have already gone wild when we caught the birds and been sleeping in the woods. So far he has survived by foraging and perhaps visiting the pigs for water. I guess Petunia has kept enough predators away that our little lone ranger didn’t become a fox’s dinner, at least not yet.

Recipes:

Fresh Gingered Beets

Adapted from The Passionate Vegetarian, 2002.

Basic Cooking Method

1. Wash beets well. Cut off and discard root tails and all except 1 inch of stems. Do not peel. Cook, covered in lightly salted boiling water for 40 to 50 minutes or until just tender. Drain. Let cool until easy to handle.

2. Slip skins off beets under running water. Carefully slice each beet into 1/4 inch thick slices, removing and discarding remaining stem ends.

Once the beets are sliced, you may splash them with a bit of olive oil and store for about 2 days before using or creating them into a dish. I like to store beets in Mason jars, so they don’t stain the Tupperware.

Recipe:

1. Heat 1 teaspoon each butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oils are sizzling hot, add the baked beets and toss them in the hot fat.

2. Then add 1 to 2 teaspoons peeled very finely dice ginger. Toss for about 30 seconds.

3. Then add 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring, until the water and brown sugar have bubbled into a glaze, about 30 seconds.

Teeny Zucchini with Onions

From Better Homes and Gardens Annual Recipes 2001

Note: squash can be substituted for zucchini

Health Note: We like to get include some other form of protein in our meals, when not eating meat with a meal. We tend to eat meat just 3 times a week.

1 lbs baby zucchini or 3 medium zucchini

1 tblsp. Olive oil

1 Small Onion, cut into thin wedges

¼ cup chopped walnuts

½ tsp dried oregano, crushed

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

Rinse and trim zucchini. If using medium zucchini, cut each in half lengthwise, then turn into ½-inch slices

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat. Add Zucchini and onion. Cook for 6-8 minutes until vegetables are just tender, stirring occasionally. Add walnuts, oregano, salt, and pepper to mixture in skillet. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Makes 4-6 servings.