Around the Farm
Mondays and Tuesdays are our busiest days on the farm as we harvest,
wash, and pack for Good Eats and also for our wholesale orders. Most of
the crew work 10 plus hours these days.
The washhouse/harvest crew: From
left to right: Todd, Hector, Socorro & Elena (sisters), Annie, Tiffany, Juan Carlos, Tim, Molly, Adan up on the tractor (and father of
Hector), Jackson, and Alejandra (sister-in-law of Socorro and Elena!).
Missing from this photo: Pete
who was on a tractor seeding carrots, Andrew who was out behind the
greenhouses culitvating, Kevin who was working on a piece of potato
equipment, Steve who was also involved in the carrot seeding, Melissa,
Isaac and Iris who were taking a couple much needed days off, Deb who is
also off this week, and Amy - taking the photo!
In the Washhouse
Photos below: Molly with a crate of zuch and squash for Good Eats.
Jackson washing bunches of chard in the tank. Tim and Tiffany packing up
orders for wholesale customers. And Todd beautifying heads of cabbage.
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Storage and Use Tips
A few tips for the less familiar veggies...
 Savoy Cabbage - (Regular Veggie/Localvore Bag) - Round
with crinkled leaves, Savoys are the beauties of the cabbage world.
Their leaves are more delicate and more loosely packed than their green
cabbage cousins. Store as you would other cabbages, unwashed, loosely
wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Don't worry if the outer
leaves begin to discolor or tear on you, just remove them to expose the
perfectly good leaves remaining below.
Garlic Scapes - (Regular Veggie/Localvore Bag)
The curly soon-to-be-flowering-if-we-didn't-pick-them stalks that a
garlic plant sends up at this time of year are a short season delicacy.
With a mellow green but garlicky flavor, they can be eaten raw or cooked
and are delicious added to many dishes. Add to stir fry recipes, pasta
dishes, guacamole, salsas, vegetable dishes. They are also good in
salads and on bruschetta & pizza and so many more ways. You can
also make a mild pesto with scapes.
Fennel
- (All Veggie/Localvore Members) - Fennel is crunchy and slightly sweet
with the flavor of anise. It is delicious and slightly sweet served raw
but is just as often served cooked on its own or in other dishes.
Though most often associated with Italian cooking, it has an uncanny
ability to blend with other flavors adding a light and fresh note. It is
delightful in many dishes, and in soups and stews and sauces. Fennel is
composed of a white or pale green bulb from which closely superimposed
stalks are arranged. The stalks are topped with feathery green leaves
near which flowers grow and produce fennel seeds. The bulb, stalk,
leaves and seeds are all edible. To prepare, trim off the fronds and
stalks and reserve them for garnish or seasoning. Cut off the hard
bottom and slice vertically or into quarters. Or cut the bulb in half
lengthwise, cut out the core, and cut into strips. Add it raw to salads
or try some thinly sliced fennel on your sandwich. Top thinly sliced
fennel with plain yogurt and mint leaves. Or braise, roast or saute' it.
It is done when tender enough to pierce easily with a skewer.
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Changes to Your Delivery?
If you will be away some upcoming week, and need to make changes to your share delivery, let us know
at least 1 week before the change. You can have your share donated to
the Food Pantry, or you can skip your share delivery and you will retain
a credit on your account toward the purchase of your next share.
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Localvore Lore
Andrew and Blair are baking for us this week. You can look forward to Elmore Mountain
Flax Bread, a bread they bake specially for us with all local organic
ingredients: Ben Gleason's Snake River Sifted Wheat flour, Milanaise
winter blend flour, Milanaise rye flour, Michel Gaudreau's flax seed,
Elmore's sourdough, sea salt and spring water.
Also
going out this week is the very last of our frozen blueberries in
preparation (hopefully) for fresh next week! These are gorgeous Maine
organic wild blueberries and they are so tasty and sweet. Great for
baking, smoothies, or topping cereals or granola. They also make a
fabulous frozen snack in this hot weather.
Champlain Orchards
has the first plums of the season! Your site will get one or the other
of the two varieties available this week. The Early Goldens are sweet
with a zingy skin, golden yellow with a red blush. The Methleys are
sweeter yet and dark red/purple. I can to get a first taste of these,
such a treat. Enjoy!
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Recipes
Roasted Baby Potatoes and Broccoli with Soy Sauce, Butter and Parsley
3/4-1 lb new potatoes
1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
Sea salt (to taste) and fresh cracked black pepper
2-3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (divided)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil a large pot of water and boil the
potatoes for 4-5 minutes. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled,
slice in half and combine soy sauce, broccoli florets, butter, olive
oil, sea salt and black pepper along with half of the parsley. Mix
thoroughly and place in a baking dish tcoated with olive oil.
Place into the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven
and taste, season with sea salt, cracked pepper, butter or soy sauce if
needed.
Bandh Gobhi Ki Sabzi (Buttered Smothered Cabbage)
I
have been cooking Indian a lot lately and thought I'd share. Here's a
traditional cabbage dish that will be great using the Savoy cabbage.
1 savoy cabbage (1-3/4 to 2 lbs)
2 Tbl ghee, butter or oil
1-1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground asafoetida (optional)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 Tbl minced ginger root or 1/2 tsp dry
1 8 oz can tomato sauce or 1 cup chopped fresh ripe tomato (1 large)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper or 1-2 seeded and minced green chilies
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup hot water
1-2 Tbl coarsely chopped fresh coriander leaves or 1 Tbl dry (optional)
Cut the cabbage into quarters, and core out the stem from each
quarter. Shred the cabbage into 1/2-inch thick shreds. Heat the oil
over med-high heat in a large heavy-bottomed pan. When the oil is hot,
add cumin. When cumin turns dark brown (10-15 sec), add asafoetida (if
using it), and immediately add the shredded cabbage. Sprinkle turmeric
over the cabbage and saute, turning and tossing rapidly until
cabbage is wilted (about 5 min).
Add
ginger, tomato (sauce), and chilies or red pepper, and continuecooking
for an additional 5 min. Add salt and water. Reduce heat tomed-low and
cook the cabbage, covered, until it is tender and the water is absorbed
into the vegetables (about 20 min). Check and stir often whileit is
cooking to prevent burning. Fold in coriander leaves, check for salt,
and serve.
Cucumber, Fennel, and Chick Pea Salad
An Indian flavored simple & very healthy salad from the blog Shef's kitchen.
Salad Dressing:
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon ground roasted cumin
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional) or Indian chili powder such as Kashmiri
Salad:
½ cup cooked chick peas
2 small cucumbers, chopped in ¼ inch dice
½ large fennel bulb, chopped in ¼ inch dice
¼ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
½ teaspoon chaat masala powder (optional)
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (optional)
Combine all dressing ingredients in a small airtight jar with a lid and
shake well (canning or Mason jars work well) or thoroughly whisk all
dressing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Can make dressing
up to 2 days ahead.
In
a medium bowl, combine chick peas, cucumbers, and fennel. Sprinkle in
the roasted cumin powder and the chaat masala if using. Mix well with a
large spatula or spoon. Stir in the cilantro. Stir in 2 tablespoons
of the dressing. Taste for salt and dress further if desired. Serve
cold.
Dry Potatoes with Ginger and Garlic (Sookhe Aloo)
This
one from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking I have made many times.
Potatoes are encrusted with a spicy, crispy brown garlic ginger paste. A
great side dish for an Indian meal.
1 lb 6 oz. potatoes
Piece of gingerroot, 2”x1”, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (or use a handful of fennel fronds at the end)
Boil
potatoes in skins til just tender. Drain and cool. Cut into 3/4 - 1”
pieces. Put ginger, garlic, water, turmeric, salt and cayenne in
blender. Blend until a smooth paste.
Heat oil in skillet over medium flame. Put in fennel seeds and let
sizzle. Put in garlic-ginger paste and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add potatoes.
Stir-fry 5-7 minutes until potatoes are crusted.
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