- Broccoli
- Tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes
- Sweet peppers
- Hot peppers
- Cucumbers
- Zucchini
- Basil
- Cabbage (red cabbage or Napa cabbage your choice)
- Eggplant
- Onions
- Garlic
- Leeks
The delicious flavors of late summer are still lingering as we enter the fall and the last month of farm fresh vegetables for the 2011 season. The year has just flown by and we are still battling old foes (weeds, birds and aphids!!). We planted new lettuce in the hoop house just to have the birds swoop in and nibble their tender leaves. It is still too hot to put the sides down on the hoop house and yet hard to keep those buggers off the new crops.
The Helvetia Cultural fest was a great success. Check out the stats and see photos at www.savehelvetia.org . Our farm members raised more than $700 to support the efforts to keep Helvetia rural and preserve farm land. Our family served pie and tried our hand at the pie walk as well as provided a spread of our farm vegetables.
It is time to order your very own “La Finquita” t-shirt. Diane is heading the project and can be reached at dianejacobs@igc.org for order forms and more details. Order this week to receive your t-shirt by the harvest festival on October 16th. Shirts are 100% cotton with the logo created by Diane with the owl flying by the moon.
The Harvest Festival approaches, October 16th from 2-6 p.m. We have a packed schedule of great music and performances including: “The Helvetia Alphorns”, baile folklorico “Mexico en la Piel” and Marimba. We will fire up the pizza oven as usual. We expect everyone to bring a pizza topping and a dish to pass. There will be cider pressing as well. The showroom will be open for purchasing handcrafted wreaths and birdfeeders. Please bring some cash to contribute to performers.
We will offer the Thanksgiving share again this year. The cost is $30 and the bounty will be amazing. You need to sign up and prepay. Pick-up will be on November 20(Sunday) or 21 (Monday).
TOMATO, BASIL AND COUSCOUS SALAD
2 1/4 cups canned chicken broth
1 10-ounce box couscous
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup (generous) diced seeded plum tomatoes
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Bring broth to boil in medium saucepan. Add couscous. Remove from heat. Cover; let stand 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Fluff with fork. Cool.
Mix all ingredients except cherry tomatoes into couscous. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill.) Garnish with cherry tomatoes.
Allium Gallete
This recipe may sound a bit complicated but after making it once I think you’ll find it quick, easy and versatile. Alliums – all those wonderful members of the onion family including spring onions, green garlic, leeks, whistles, ramps and shallots – are at the heart of this dish. I saute whatever alliums are in season, add a few other veggies and herbs, the egg and a bit of cheese to bind it together, and surround the whole thing with a giant free form pie crust. YUM!
3 cups alliums including some greens, chopped
8-10 Nicoise or Kalamata olives
butter/olive oil
2/3 cup parmesan
2-3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced lemon zest
1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
1-2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cream or crème fraiche
1/4 cup chopped parsley (or other herbs)
salt and pepper
1/2 to 1 cup soft goat cheese (about 4 oz)
Almost any greens and/or mushrooms are a great addition to this dish. Saute them separately, allow to cool for 10 min, then add in with the olives at the end.
Thinly slice and wash the alliums then saute them in butter or olive oil for 5-10 min. Add thyme and 1/2 cup of water. Stew over medium heat stirring frequently until alliums are tender- about 5-10 min more. Add the wine and continue cooking until it’s reduced, then add the cream and cook until it just coats the leeks and a little liquid remains. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add olives, parmesan, and lemon zest. Let cool 10 minutes, then stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the beaten egg and most of the parsley & herbs.
Preheat the oven to 400. Roll out the dough (see below) for one large or six individual galettes. Spread the leek mixture on top, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Crumble the cheese over the top then fold the dough over the filling. Brush with reserved egg and bake until the crust is browned, 25-30 minutes. Remove, scatter the remaining parsley over the top, and serve.
Galette Dough
Based on a recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
2 cups all purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1/3-1/2 cup ice as water as needed
Mix the flour, salt and sugar together in a bowl. Cut in the butter by hand or using a mixer with a paddle attachment leaving some pea sized chunks. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and toss it with the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press it into a disk and refrigerate for 15 min if the butter feels too soft.
I always roll the dough out onto lightly floured parchment paper because it makes then it doesn’t stick! To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a 14-inch irregular circle about 1/8th inch thick. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides. Unfold it. It will be larger than the pan.
I usually make savory galettes, but this dough is also wonderful wrapped around sweet summer fruit for dessert.