Jammin'

This was the week for making strawberry jam.  I always love driving out to Parkman anyway, but coming home with a car load of organic strawberries made this trip better than most. Within a few hours of being picked that morning, these berries were in the jars.

Removing the hulls.

Mashing the berries.

   Cooking.

 Processing to seal the lids.

This week, in addition to organic strawberry jam, we will have arugula, swiss chard, kale, salad mix, lettuce, red and golden beets, cilantro and garlic scapes.  Hope to see you tomorrow!

Garlic Scapes

This is the second and final week that we will have scapes. Garlic scapes are the "flower stalks" of hardneck garlic plants, although they do not produce flowers. These stalks start to appear a month or so after the first leaves. They are usually cut off of the plant, since leaving them on only diverts the plants strength away from forming a plump bulb.

The curls you see are the scapes. One way to enjoy an early taste of summer is to make a pesto. Here is a simple recipe from Dorie Greenspan:

GARLIC SCAPE AND ALMOND PESTO
Makes about 1 cup
10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you'd like)
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt

Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle).  Whir to chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese.  If you like the texture, stop; if you'd like it a little thinner, add some more oil.  Season with salt.

If you're not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months, by which time tomatoes should be at their juciest.

You can also saute the scapes in a little olive oil. The following recipe is from Mother Earth News.

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
8 ounces young garlic scapes, trimmed
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped tomatoes
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 cup grilled haloumi cheese,
cut into very small dice (see note below) 

Heat the oil in a broad sauté pan and add sugar. Stir to caramelize the sugar for about 2 to 3 minutes and add the scapes. Cover and sauté over a medium-high heat for no more than 3 minutes, occasionally shaking the pan to prevent the scapes from scorching. After 3 minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and wine. Stir the pan, then cover and reduce the heat to low; continue cooking 5 to 6 minutes, or until the scapes are tender but not soft. Season, then add the parsley and haloumi, and serve at room temperature.

Serves 6 to 8 as hors d’oeuvres.

Note: Haloumi cheese is a goat and/or sheep cheese made in Cyprus and now widely available in the United States. It can be sliced and grilled, or fried in a skillet, and it doesn’t melt. Haloumi’s salty flavor is a great addition to this recipe, but other salty cheeses such as cheddar or aged chevre can be substituted.

This week at the market we will also have: Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, 3 kinds of lettuce, salad mix, arugula and cilantro.

                                                                           Kale

                                                                     Cilantro

This load of weeds came out of the beet row this morning. The beets are coming along nicely. We should have them at the market next week.

                                                                      Golden beet

Hope to see you Saturday!

Leaf Compost

This is the time of year when we think a lot about the soil. Actually, in late winter Terry sends off soil samples from each of the 3 plots for analysis. Depending on the results, we add recommended organic supplements. 

We haven't mulched the flower beds since Hannah and Ian's wedding in 2009 and we decided it was time to do it again, this time with leaf compost. Terry is also tilling it into the vegetable garden to enrich the soil.  Each day, depending on how many wheel barrows are filled, we see more and more of the blue tarp and less of the leaf compost.

                                                

Terry with his favorite birthday present ever.

Along with emerging beets, carrots, kale, chard, lettuces, cilantro and arugula, the weeds are gaining on us. Picking them out of small seedlings is tedious but necessary.

This week we will have great looking green and red lettuce, some arugula and grape jelly.

                                                                            Lettuce

This will be the last week we will be selling tomato plants. The heirloom varieties are Brandywine, Striped German, and Amish Paste. The cherry varieties are Sungold and Super Sweet 100. The warm nights are finally here to stay (we hope)......we planted our basil and flowers this past week.

See you at the market!

Week 3

This Saturday will be the third week of the market and though the weather has been a bit dreary for the first 2 weeks, we are hopeful it will be a beautiful Memorial Day weekend!

We are selling tomato plants that are now ready to go in the ground. The heirloom varieties are Amish paste, Brandywine, and Striped German. The cherry tomatoes are Sungold and Supersweet 100.

Along with grape jelly we will also be selling our first lettuces. The arugula and swiss chard are coming along nicely now that the weather has warmed up.

We hope we have seen the last of the cold nights and we will be planting our flowers this weekend! Happy Memorial Day and we hope to see you at the market on Saturday!

We're Back!

Well it's been one heck of a winter and I think we're finally through it. I don't think anyone can remember it being so cold and dreary but now we are able to think about the spring and eating fresh vegetables again!

The first market this year will be on May 10th and will continue every Saturday through the summer from 9am - noon.  For the first week or so we will have tomato plants (Brandywine, Striped German, and Amish Paste heirlooms) and cherry tomato plants (Sungold and Super Sweet 100). All of the plants are doing great and we put them outside on the warmer days.

We have three varieties of lettuce started (Oakleaf, a butterhead, and a red). These are the same varieties we had last year and they were beautiful and tasty. Hopefully some can go in the ground soon!  

The tuscan kale, swiss chard, red and golden beets are started and will also go in the ground soon. Some of the flowers we are growing this year are started from seeds but those won't go in the ground until late May. We expect to have flowers ready for sale in July.

The garlic survived the winter and we can't wait for garlic scapes to get our first taste of it.  Last year we couldn't seem to sell enough of those so we will be sure to bring as many as we can!

And perhaps the best thing about spring is new life, and we are so excited to have a baby boy in the family! Hannah and Ian are now a family of 4 and Carlo Parks Petroni was born on April 23rd weighing in at 9lbs 1oz. Everyone is very happy and healthy!

Simple and Delicious

Have you ever eaten bone marrow? If not, I highly suggest you do. It is very cheap and delicious and so easy to make. All you do is stand the bones upright in an oven-safe pan and bake for about 15 minutes at 475 degrees. You will know when they are done when the marrow is butter soft. When they are done, eat it with some good bread and it will spread like butter. I also made a little sauce with parsley, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper to go with it. This may not be for everyone but I suggest giving it a try. The bones freeze great and they will keep your dog busy for a while after you are done eating the marrow! Scrappy was very excited about this treat.

This was just the start to our meal and next I roasted up some beets from the garden and topped them with fresh basil and feta cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper.

After eating the marrow and beets I didn't even need the main course but of course I made room. I made fresh pasta with a roasted red pepper and tomato cream sauce with some more fresh basil.  If you have never made fresh pasta, I highly suggest you do. Store bought really doesn't even compare. Below is the recipe. There are lots of recipes out there and some suggest using semolina flour but I use this one and it has always worked great for me. Try different ones and see what you like!

Fresh Pasta

6 eggs

4 3/4 cups white four

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the eggs and olive oil. With a fork beat the eggs and then slowly begin to incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients. Once the dough is too thick to mix with a fork, knead with your hands. Be sure that all of the flour is well incorporated into the egg. If it seems too dry, add 1 tbsp of water at a time, or add more flour if it is too wet. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at least 1 hour before rolling out. I highly suggest using a pasta maker to roll the dough out because it is a very tedious process to do by hand and it is difficult to get it thin. The pasta will cook in 1-2 minutes in boiling water. 

The Threat of Frost

We still have a lot growing in the garden but it is becoming evident that the end of the season is coming around. The mornings and evenings are pretty chilly and although the first frost typically isn't until mid-October, it always threatens to come sooner. This planting of green beans is coming along and will not survive a good frost so hopefully it will hold out for the harvest. 

The carrots should last us through a good part of the winter and we will cover them in a bed of leaves to keep some of the cold shock out of the ground. Hopefully the parsley and kale will last through the beginning of winter as the frost doesn't harm them. 

Lettuce is still growing strong in the garden and is fresh and sweet and although the frost would wipe it out, we luckily have some planted in the cold frame so that we can have fresh salads even when winter is here. 

The swiss chard didn't do that well this year and we think that is because the plants were planted too close together and it was planted on the shady side of the garden. The far end of the garden near the row of trees makes it shady for a good part of the day and after a few years of having many different crops not do so well there, we might just abandon that part next year and plant grass. It also tends to stay pretty wet since the sun doesn't dry it out as well.

We don't have a lot of acorn squash as the plants take up so much room in the garden but here are a few that are looking ready to harvest. 

We're hoping that by the end of the market season our kraut cabbages and red cabbages will be ready to harvest. If they're not and we don't sell them then I guess I'll be making a lot of sauerkraut!

As crops are winding down, Terry is weeding the beds and tilling them and leveling them out getting them ready for their long winter nap. This process is still a lot of work and but luckily we can take our time with that as crops are one by one ending for the season. The last day of the market is October 12th so please come out and get some of the last fresh veggies of the season!