7.25.2014

Cooler Temps

This week's cooler temperatures were a relief for us weeders, but the flowers decided to slow down. Fortunately, the green beans seemed to love the weather and are beginning to produce well.



The tomatoes are huge with lots of flowers.  We are harvesting the Sun Golds which are a small orange cherry tomato with lots of flavor.




How do we  know when it is time to harvest the garlic? We look for the foliage to start turning brown.



The basil would love warmer temperatures - maybe next week?



This week we will have kale, Swiss chard, basil, green beans, beets, fresh garlic, carrots, grape jelly, black currant jam, and strawberry jam.

See you at the market!

7.16.2014

New This Week - Fresh Garlic, Carrots & Black Currant Jam

This Saturday will be our eleventh week. We are into our Friday night rhythm of picking, washing, bunching and flower arranging.  New this week is fresh garlic. It will not store well because it has not been dried so don't keep it around too long. We will harvest all of it soon and hang it from the rafters in the garage. Once it is dried it will store for several months.


I picked black currants last week and the jam is now available. 
I have missed having it and will be sure to set aside more jars in my personal stash this winter. 



We enjoy seeing all of you at the market, especially those of you who 
travel across town from Lakewood to support Endeavor Farm!


New this week: carrots, fresh garlic, and black currant jam.
We will also have: fresh flower arrangements, red and green lettuce, kale, chard, 
salad mix, arugula, basil, red beets, golden beets, strawberry jam and grape jelly.



7.09.2014

Summer bouquets soon!

Terry spread some of the leaf compost between the rows to help keep down the weeds (we hope). He also made the spaces between the rows wider this year to easily maneuver the rototiller down them to cut down on hand-weeding.


Flowers are beginning to bloom!  We will have bouquets for sale a week from this Saturday.

Globe Amaranth

Zinnias

Carrots are poking up above the soil and the green beans are flowering.




The rain has been lovely this week, although now it is too soft to plant any more seeds.   There is always something to complain about!

This week at the market we will have:
Golden beets
Red beets
Lettuce
Chard
Kale
Salad mix
Arugula
Strawberry jam

See you soon!

7.02.2014

Eat more kale

Why should you include kale in your diet? Kale is a source of vitamins A, C and K as well as copper, potassium, iron, manganese and phosphorus. One cup contains only 40 calories but packs almost 3 grams of protein.  One cup of cooked kale has over 1000% more vitamin C than a cup of cooked spinach. I won't bore you with more nutritional information here, but if you are diabetic or are concerned about heart disease, you might want to research more benefits of this veggie on your own.



For reasons unknown to us, our kale is looking better than ever this year....... oh the wonders and surprises when you garden. If you haven't already tried making kale chips, you should start with that recipe. If you are ready to move on, I will tell you about a kale salad and fried rice with pork and kale.

Kale Chips
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Wash and dry kale. Cut out center stem, then chop kale into 2" squares.  In a bowl, toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.  Spread on a baking sheet being careful not to overlap any of the pieces. 

Bake for about 7 min, then turn kale.  Bake for about 4-5 more min watching carefully that the kale does not burn. Cool briefly and enjoy!
      
     Kale Salad (from Larissa Bailey, Geauga Farm Market Manager)
     6 cups chopped kale (remove center stem)
     1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
     1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
     
Dressing:
     4 T olive oil
     Juice of 1 lemon
     Salt and pepper
     Pinch of sugar
     
Note:  I think this is even the better the next day.



     
Fried Rice with Pork and Kale  (Courtesy of Molly Wizenberg from her new book, Delancey)
1 bunch kale                                            
3 T peanut or grapeseed oil  
      4 cups cold cooked rice            
4 oz. smoked pulled pork (or any other leftover cooked meat
Fine sea salt to taste     
1 T fish sauce (or more to taste)                            
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice           

Wash and dry the kale leaves. Trim away the woody stems and then chop or tear the leaves into bite-size pieces. Heat a wok or large 12" heavy skillet over high heat. When the pan is hot enough for a drop of water to instantly evaporate, add 1 T of the oil. Add the kale and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the kale is wilted and beginning to char at the edges, 1-3 minutes. Add a good pinch of salt. Scrape the kale into a bowl, add 1 tsp. of the lemon juice and toss to mix.

      With the wok still over high heat, add the rice, and then immediately add the remaining 2 T. oil. Stir to coat the rice with oil. Then spread the rice all around the wok so that as much of it touches the hot surface as possible, and let it cook, untouched, for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until the rice on the bottom is browned and can be scraped away from the walls of the wok without resistance. Stir well, and then spread it out and let it sit again, untouched, for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. Continue to cook until the rice is evenly hot and browned to your liking. Then add the pork and 1 T. fish sauce, stirring well.  Cook until the meat is heated through and then stir in the kale. Add the remaining 1 tsp. lemon juice and toss well. Transfer rice to a serving dish, taking care to scrape up any tasty browned bits that stick to the pan!  Add some chopped, fresh herbs at the end such as cilantro, basil or a little dill.  Yield:  2 hearty servings.

     I hope you are inspired to try one of these recipes!



In addition to kale this week, we will also have:
    Red and golden beets
    Swiss chard
    Red and green lettuce
   Mixed salad greens
    Basil 
    Cilantro
    Strawberry jam
    Grape jelly