Green Tomatoes

Even though red tomato season is over, green tomato season is here! We have picked all of our green tomatoes and have an abundance of them (way more than I can pickle!) We will be selling 5 pound bags for $2.00 each at the house and you can either email me, endeavortofarm@gmail.com or call Terry at 440-596-0083 and we can arrange a time for pick up. You may ask, what can I do with all of those green tomatoes? They are great breaded and fried, as well as pickled. There are lots of recipes on the internet, and below is one from Joy of Cooking which has proven to be delicious.  Even though the tomatoes don't look fantastic, you just need to cut off the brown spots and they are good to go.

Pickled Green Tomatoes  
Makes 6 pint jars

Place:
4 quarts thinly sliced green tomatoes (about 5 lbs)
In a bowl with:
3 lbs onions, thinly sliced
Sprinkle with:
1/2 cup pickling or canning salt

Stir together well, cover, and refrigerate for 12 hours. Rinse the vegetables in cold water and drain.  Bring to a boil in a large pot:
6 cups cider vinegar
Seed, remove membranes, and add:
2 1/2 lbs green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 lb red bell peppers, diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs brown sugar
1 tbsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp salt

Add the tomatoes and onions. Tie in a moist square of cheesecloth and add to the pan:
1 tbsp whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp celery seeds

Simmer until tomatoes are translucent, about 1 hour, stirring frequently. Discard the spice bag.  Using a slotted spoon, pack the vegetables into hot pint jars.  Add the hot liquid leaving 1/2" headspace. Process for 10 minutes. If you don't want to hot water process them, after they cool, put the jars in your fridge and let sit 3 weeks before eating!

Last Market

It's hard to believe that tomorrow will be our last market for the season. It's been an overall very successful year and we are grateful for our customers who come back each week! We hope you can make it out to see us tomorrow and even if you can't, we will still have some produce available if you'd like to call and arrange a pick-up.  We should have most things through the first frost but give us a call to see what we have!  Thank you everyone!

We will have beets, carrots, swiss chard, cilantro, kale, cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes, garlic and cut flowers for sale tomorrow.

Applesauce

In the Cleveland area, it has been a rough year for apples.  We had an early frost which got the buds on the apple trees which really affected the fruit production.  This Saturday we went to Eddy's and they said they lost about 50% of their orchard this year.  We were still able to pick some apples, though there were not very many and of the apples there, I only considered 2 varieties edible.

I picked about 13 pounds of Melrose and Empire and made 11 pints of sauce this morning.  Applesauce is pretty easy to make, and you hardly have to add anything because the apples are so flavorful themselves.  You can freeze applesauce or hot water process it to store it, or just make enough that you can eat and keep it in your fridge.  Because I hot water processed it, I needed to add 4 tbsp of lemon juice for acidity which helps to preserve the sauce.  I also added 1 cup of sugar, and about 1 tbsp of cinnamon and 1/2 tbsp ground cloves for a little extra flavor.



If you have a strainer, applesauce will be infinitely easier and you will get more sauce from the apples, but you can do it without this handy contraption.  Wash the apples, quarter them, add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and boil the apples until they are soft - about 20 minutes depending on the size, quantity, and variety. Cooking the apples with the skins on gives the sauce a beautiful pinkish color!

In batches, put the apples through a food mill or strainer until you have a puree.  Return the puree to a pot and add sugar, lemon juice, and other spices and bring to a boil, stirring frequently so it doesn't stick.  At this point, you can hot water process it, let it cool and freeze it or put it in the fridge, or eat it right away!  If you hot water process the sauce, you will need to do it for 20 minutes.

Happy Fall! 

Pork. Belly.

My eyes were opened to pork belly when I was working on a farm in Italy. I have never tasted anything more satisfying in my life and now any time I see pork belly on a menu at a restaurant, I have to order it.  Pork belly is the cut of meat that you get bacon from and has the most delicious layer of fat on top of tender meat.  The balance of the melt in your mouth fat that is also crispy on top combined with the flavorful meat is unlike anything else.  I've wanted to make my own pork belly for a while now, and finally did it this week.  We got a beautiful cut of meat from Sand Farm and found a recipe by Dan Barber that takes 3 days to complete. 

You start by making make a cure mix of spices that you rub into the meat and then let it sit in the fridge for 3 days.  Then, you rinse of the mix and roast it for 7 hours at 200 degrees.  The lengthy roasting is the key to the success of this dish because it allows the meat to slowly cook and become pull-apart tender.

After 7 hours, sear the pork belly on both sides that gives the meat that crispiness that makes every satisfying bite even more delicious. I highly suggest making this dish if you have the patience!

 Freshly ground spices in a mortar and pestle made by Seth.

The belly.

The belly with the cure mix ready for the fridge. 

Finished product with a side of roasted delicata squash with rosemary and rice. 

Fall is Here!

What happened to August and September? The end of summer seems like a blur and all of a sudden I am bundled up in a scarf in my house writing this post. I am not complaining...fall is my favorite season but it always seems to end too soon and before we know it there will be snow on the ground.  I love seeing the changes of the seasons and I think autumn has the most beautiful colors and most comfortable temperatures.  The days are getting shorter and it is most apparent to me on Saturday mornings as we get ready for the market.  We used to be in the garden at 6:30 am picking the last of the produce and loading up the van, but now we have to wait until about 7:00 am to get just enough light to see what we are doing.

The garden is showing signs of fall as lots of the plants are starting to brown and not look as lush as they did a few weeks ago.  The sunflowers have been done for a few weeks and the zinnias have just about had it.  We still have flowers at the market, and the arrangements are full of stems that can be saved for drying. 

With the cooler temperatures we once again have lettuce and cilantro and our tomatoes will continue to ripen until the first frost. After that, it will be time to make pickled green tomatoes!

All around the rest of the yard is evidence of summer coming to an end: the red leaves of the burning bush, the antiquing hydrangeas, and browning of the ferns settling in for winter.

As a reminder, we still have garlic for sale and we can ship it to you! We only have Music and Italian Purple Striped varieties left, and please email me at endeavortofarm@gmail.com to place your order!

Now Shipping Garlic!

Following a successful harvest of our 4 varieties of garlic, Endeavor Farm is offering Music, Italian Purple Striped, German Porcelain (*sold out for 2012) and Leningrad garlic for sale by mail order or for pick-up.  As the tomato season is coming to a close and we are transitioning into winter, it's time to think about making soups, roasts, and stews. Garlic makes a great addition to so many meals and all of these varieties are fantastic raw and become so sweet and mild once they are roasted. Our garlic will last through the winter, and you should store it in a cool, dark place. 

Music 

Big cloves that are easy to peel, taste is medium-hot, true garlic flavor that lasts a long time.

Italian Purple Striped 

Full flavor and lack of sting, great for roasting.

German Porcelain (*SOLD OUT FOR 2012)

Rich, mildly hot flavor, easy to peel, large cloves, and a very dense garlic.

Leningrad

Smooth beginning flavor ending with a hot and pungent, lasting bite.

The price is $6.00 per 1/2 pound minimum which will include 5-7 medium to large sized heads and will be sent promptly by UPS upon receipt of payment by check. Please email your order to endeavortofarm@gmail.com and we will respond with the total amount due including the appropriate shipping cost by regular UPS delivery to your home or business.

Please make out check to Terry Ries and send to: 15874 Hemlock Road, Chagrin  Falls, OH  44022.

Thank you for your continued interest in our efforts and activities at Endeavor Farm. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Gazpacho

I love recipes that where you can find all the ingredients you need in the garden, and this recipe for Gazpacho from Janet H., a loyal market customer, was a winner! 

Gazpacho
4 plum tomatoes, quartered and cut into 1" pieces
1 red onion, 1" dice
1 English cucumber, scrape out seeds with a spoon, 1 " dice
2 red peppers, 1" dice

Put in Cuisinart separately (or you will end up with mush) and pulse a few times.

In large bowl add the following ingredients to the chopped vegetables:
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
32 oz.  tomato juice or V-8
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 T. kosher salt
1/2 T. freshly ground pepper
1 T. herbs de Provence

Combine all. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. Squeeze lime juice over before serving.

Market

This Saturday, August 25th, we will have:

- Green Beans
- Swiss Chard
- Cabbage
- Eggplant
- Parsley
- Arugula
- Basil
- Beets
- Carrots
- Kale
- Cut Flowers
- Sunflowers 

Hope to see you there!

Farm Updates

I have nothing terribly new or exciting to report at Endeavor Farm except that we are loving every drop of rain we get and enjoying these cooler temperatures.  The tomatoes are ripening and as we transition into the fall, we are able to plant cooler weather crops like lettuces and cilantro.  The heat of the summer makes the lettuce bitter and the cilantro doesn't grow so we are starting seeds again for those crops. 

Terry put out the some of the cut sunflowers for the birds to enjoy the seeds.

Our cucumber experiment has been going great! The radishes are flowering and doing their job and we now have some small cucumbers on the vine. 

 

 

Our biggest pest was the rabbits this year and we have had to put up chicken wire all along the bottom of the deer fence.  They are great at finding holes and got to our Savoy Cabbage.  We think we have solved the problem but this is evidence of what they ate.

The tomato jungle!

 

 

Slugs have been going to town on the Swiss Chard and we put out slug bait but they still do a number on the leaves.  Luckily we have enough planted that we can still pick for market, but it seems like they are just not full!

 

This flower called 'Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate' is a new flower we are growing this year.  

I have never seen such a massive plant with the smallest flower!

They are beautiful but take up a lot of space.

 

We sold some kraut cabbage and eggplant this week.  The flea beetles have made the eggplant leaves look like lace but we are still able to harvest some beautiful heirloom eggplants.

Now is the Time!

While we have so many fresh vegetables available it's time to process food and can it so that we can have a taste of summer during the cold months. I've been making pickles, jam, and tomato sauce and am so excited that tomato season is finally here. There really is nothing better than fresh tomatoes and I am excited to make sauce, salsa, ketchup and pickled green tomatoes this year.

Processing food may sound a little daunting but once you do it a few times, you get the hang of it and it is really so much fun.  Below are some pictures of Anne's process of making ketchup! If you've never had homemade ketchup, you should really make some. It definitely isn't the same as Heinz but it is so much better. The color is beautiful, and the sweetness and subtle vinegar taste is such a delicious balance.  Making sauce or ketchup definitely takes time because you have to evaporate so much of the liquid from the tomatoes but trust me, it is worth it!  See below for the recipe.

Ketchup
4 1/2 lbs of tomatoes makes 2, 16 oz jars

7 tbsp cider vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp celery salt
1 tsp english mustard powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup brown sugar

Cut tomatoes in 1/2 and put cut side up on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil. Add peeled, sliced cloves of garlic, shallots and fresh basil on top of the tomatoes.  Salt and pepper.  Roast tomatoes at 350 for about 1 hour, or until the juices have started to release from the tomatoes.  Put tomatoes through a food mill to separate the skins and seeds from the juice.

At this point you should have about 4 1/2 cups of liquid.  Add all ingredients except the sugar to the tomato liquid and bring to a simmer.  Once it simmers, add the sugar.  I would cook it down for about an hour and a half or until you are at a consistency that you would like for your ketchup (should be similar to a spaghetti sauce consistency). 

You can either put the ketchup in canning jars and hot water process them or if you don't want to do that, you can keep it in the fridge.  Use it relatively soon if you do not plan on canning it. Enjoy!

Market

This Saturday, August 8th, we will have:

-Green Beans
-Swiss Chard
-Beets
-Kale
-Cabbage
-Basil
-Parsley
-Arugula

A farmer's market dinner: steak from Sand Farm, corn from Jack's Mountain, cucumbers from Pheasant Valley, tomatoes from Hershberger's, and basil and garlic from Endeavor Farm. We love to support our fellow vendors!

Market

This Saturday, August 4th, we will have:

-Green Beans
-Swiss Chard
-Basil
-Parsley
-Beets
-Kale
-Sunflowers
-Cut Flowers
-Cabbage

Flowers

Our flowers are coming into their own and are absolutely beautiful this year. Anne makes arrangements every Friday night and the colors are so bright and are always a great addition to our tables at the market. We are growing a few different flowers than last year after learning what grows best in rows and what makes a good cutting flower. This year we are growing:

-Bells of Ireland
-Globe Amaranth
-Ageratum
-Zinnia
-Straw Flower
-Black Knight
-Sedum
-Sunflowers (Pro-cut gold, Buttercream, Moulin Rouge)
-Statice
-Asters

Our arrangements will last in your house at least a week and we suggest removing the rubber band, giving the stems a fresh cut and placing them in fresh water. If you change the water daily or every other day, that will prolong the life of your flowers as well.

 

Bells of Ireland

Moulin Rouge Sunflower 

Buttercream Sunflower

Globe Amaranth

Market

This week on Saturday, July 21st, we will have:

- Green beans
- Parsley
- Basil
- Swiss chard
- Beets
- Sunflowers
- Cut flowers
- Kale

Garlic Harvest

Last week we harvested our garlic! You will know when it is time to harvest when 1/3 of the plant has turned brown.  You can eat the garlic fresh right now, but in order for it to last it needs to be dried on the stalk.  The best way to do that is to hang it to allow for air to get evenly all around the plant.  We hang it in our garage and in a few weeks we will be ready to sell the cured garlic!

We saved some of our best looking heads from last year and used it as seed garlic to plant this year's crop and will do the same next year!

Our flowers are coming along beautifully and new this year are our sunflowers! I love these varieties because they are not typical of what you usually see. This variety is delicate and pale yellow. We sell them as a bunch at the market and they make great gifts for a friend or for yourself!

Market

This Saturday, July 14th, we will have:

- Green Beans!
- Beets
- Swiss Chard
- Cilantro
- Carrots
- Parsley
- Basil
- Kale
- Cut Flowers