Garden Photos Sept 10th

Inside the greenhouse - cucumbers and ever bearing strawberries.

There is not enough to ship, but when you come out, they make a nice snack.

Cukes on the fence.

Here comes another one!

Tomatoes. Who left that box out there? Wow. There is me in the lower left corner.

Time for Salsa!

Can you see the "sticks" that were the carrot stems? The deer have decimated the fall carrots. Yuck!

Sauerkraut! Slaw! Cooked Cabbage!

Kohlrabi.

Cauliflower coming soon...

Broccoli next to the popcorn.

This is a new variety of popcorn. Heirloom Pennsylvania Dutch White.

Here is what it looks like. Needs to dry more.

Broccoli.

Arugula - just now coming up.

Monster sunflower.

Whole field of monster sunflowers.

Pumpkins. Ripe for the picking! Anyone want to move Halloween up one month? It was just too warm this summer.

Cinderella pumpkin.

Chicken Coop Photos

We are removing the old Chicken Coop and we have moved the chickens to a temporary coop in the Red Barn. The chickens are currently locked in the temporary coop for an indeterminate amount of time so they bond with the new home. The guinea hens have not accepted the coop and are currently sleeping in the box elder tree by the compost piles. We hope that once the chickens start going in and out of the red barn coop the guineas will get the picture and move in.

Looking into the loft door with the tin removed.

Chickens. All cooped up for now.

She is looking at YOU.

Birch Tree Dancing in the Wind

Cabbage and Kohlrabi Recipes

Thanks to Kristyn for these recipes. 

She says: "This is a really good cabbage soup that is a little different than the norm.  The kids even liked it."

Cabbage & White Bean Soup

2/3 c. Cannellini beans (about 4 oz.), soaked over-night (or "quick-soaked"), drained and rinsed
5 T. Olive oil 
sprig of thyme
6 oz. smoked ham, rind removed and cut in a 1/2-inch dice (1 cup diced)
2 medium onions (10 to 12 oz.), halved, cored and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1 medium Idaho Potato (about 12 oz.), peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced cross-wise 1/4-inch thick
12 to 14 oz. wedge of green cabbage, core removed and cut cross-wise in 1/4-inch ribbons (if the wedge is very fat, halve it lengthwise before slicing)
1 quart chicken stock (or low-salt canned broth)

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Kristyn: "My favorite go to coleslaw recipe." 

The Ultimate Coleslaw

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence, 2007

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar or pinch
• 1 small head green cabbage
• Shredded carrot (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients. Add the shredded slaw mix and toss until combined.

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Roasted Kohlrabi

Ingredients

• 4 kohlrabi bulbs, peeled
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1.     Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).

2.     Cut the kohlrabi into 1/4 inch thick slices, then cut each of the slices in half. Combine olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss kohlrabi slices in the olive oil mixture to coat. Spread kohlrabi in a single layer on a baking sheet.

3.     Bake in the preheated oven until browned, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally in order to brown evenly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven to allow the Parmesan cheese to brown, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

August 30th Harvest List

Potential Harvest for August 30th

Hold onto your hats. It looks like the Edamame are ready! Yippee!

We have a bumper crop of Green Beans. Premium quality. Get extra to freeze.

Mucho Tomato. Last week we picked 29 boxes. Maybe more this week.

Really good Sweet Corn.

Cut Flowers!

Eggplant in abundance and Green, Red and Hot Peppers.

Salad Mix. 

Herbs.

Cabbage, Napa Cabbage, Kohlrabi, and some Broccoli.

Carrots, Beets, Onions, Scallions, Garlic, Potatoes.

Cucumbers, Summer Squash and Zucchini.

Melon Sorbet Recipe

Okay. The first thing you need to do is develop a long term romantic relationship with someone. This is the step of this recipe that might take the longest. Months or years. If you want to hasten things along and get your sorbet sooner, you can send flowers occasionally and listen well to your potential partner. When you meet his or her family, make an effort. Go get a haircut. Wear clothing without visible stains. Don't cuss. If the option presents itself, ask your partner to go on long walks on the beach or around a lake. At some point in one of the many walks, artfully bring up to possibility of a ceremony and a party to celebrate your partnership. Make it seem like his or her idea. Once the idea is planted and bears fruit, suggest registering for gifts at a place that sells fancy Cuisinart-type ice cream makers. Drop hints to choice family members about how much you like homemade ice cream. When you receive your ice cream maker, feel satisfied with yourself for a job well done. Then go to the Land School market on a Thursday and get a cantaloupe and some mint. Go to the co-op and purchase some limes and frozen fruit (alternatively grow your own dwarf lime tree which you bring into the house every winter and pick wild fruit and freeze it yourself).

Now you are ready to make the sorbet. Remove the seeds from a ripe (smell it!) cantaloupe and cut the flesh off of the rind. Put the chunks into a food processor or bowl. Take some fresh mint and chop coarsely and add that. Then squeeze the juice from 2 or 3 limes into your food processor or bowl. Add some frozen fruit of your choice (blueberries, blackberries, cherries) - not so much that you overpower the melon, just for flavor and color. Then think about adding other flavor modifiers like chopped ginger, honey, cinnamon, fennel, rum, or tequila (remember, unlike in cooking, the alcohol is retained in sorbet so just use a small amount to make it taste fancy and mysterious). Food process (or use an immersion blender in the bowl) until liquefied. Add the liquid to your ice cream maker, press "on" and then check for consistency every five or ten minutes. Once it reaches the point you want, serve immediately, garnished with fresh mint and fresh berries. Eat it all, because this sorbet will turn to a solid brick of ice in your refrigerator.

Note: if you are already happily coupled in a celebrated relationship and do not have an ice cream maker, first, what were you thinking? And second, an alternative is to plant the seeds for such an event in the minds of family and friends. Then when they receive the ice cream maker, ask to borrow it. Keep it indefinitely. Problem solved.

Expected Harvest August 23rd plus useful ideas for using produce

 Greeting vegetable lovers!

Here is the harvest list Thursday August 23rd: 

Kohlrabi is new this week!

Also Napa Cabbage. Time to make Kim Chi.

We will be lucky to find sweet corn. If we do, it will be very young. Much more next week.

Watermelon. also some cantaloupe.

Mountains of tomatoes - take home a whole box to can or freeze or squeeze.

Lettuce Mix.

Flower Bouquets.  Laura has outdone herself this week!

Carrots and Beets.

Chard, Cabbage and Kale

There might be a few green beans. We are between plantings. Same for Broccoli. 

Basil, cilantro, dill, parsley.

Onions, garlic, scallions.

Zucchini, summer squash, and cucumbers. These are finishing up soon.

Peppers, Hot Peppers, Eggplant. Ready for the grill.

Maybe potatoes.

Idea #1: Put whole tomatoes on the grill and add sticks to the fire in order to fire-roast them on orange flames. Then slip the blackened skins off, core, and then chop for salsa. Do the same for hot peppers and bell peppers. Add onions, garlic, lime and fresh cilantro.

Idea #2: Cut eggplant into slabs about 1/2 inch thick. Put the eggplant steaks into a gallon sized plastic bag and then add olive oil and herbs and salt. Marinate for a while and then put the slabs on the grill. 

Idea # 3: Get several watermelons. Cut the melon off the rind and place the chunks in a colander. Position the colander over a bowl and then use clean hands to squeeze all the juice out. Serve watermelon juice chilled. 

Idea #4: Refrigerator pickles. Any recipe.

Idea #5: Small batch sauerkraut. Ratio of 3 tablespoons of non-iodized salt to 5 pounds of fine-chopped cabbage. Cover to exclude air (can use a weighted plate or plastic bag filled with briny water. 

Idea #6: Take a quart jar and fill it three-quarters with water. add some melted butter. Dunk your hot sweet corn and watch as a thin layer of butter adheres to the surface of the corn.

Idea #7: Make pesto with out adding the cheese. Pack into ice cube trays. When frozen, remove from the trays and store the cubes in a freezer bag. When you want fresh pesto, just take out the number of cubes you need and add freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago. 

Idea #8: Get as many colors of heirloom tomatoes as you can find. Slice into wedges and artfully display on a plate with basil leaves. Drizzle with good olive oil and balsamic vinegar and sprinkle with freshly ground salt.

Idea #9: Kale chips. I just had some at a friends house. I am still waiting for the recipe.

Idea #10: Go to a tree or bush in your yard or neighborhood. Discreetly cut a bunch of green twigs about a foot long each. Ash works well. Use a sharp knife to smooth out and sharpen your sticks. Use the sticks for rustic skewers for meat and veggie kabobs. Laugh at the people who buy their skewers in the store.