· Lettuce
· Carrots
· Beets (Cylindra and Red Ace: I love the long tubular ones, easy to peel and slice)
· Chinese broccoli (the gift that keeps on giving!, we hope you are eating the leaves and stems and flower all together, we just sauté with garlic and olive oil)
· Kale or chard (expect to see them weekly, so good and so good for you)
· Mint or sage or dill (spice up your life! Parsley is on the way)
· Green garlic (like a leek with garlic flavor use in stir fry or sauté with other veggies)
· SUGAR SNAP PEAS!! They are here, they are on 6 foot vines and time consuming to harvest but one of the favorite items we grow.
Coyotes!! They really are the scourge of the wild kingdom. Juvencio moved our beautiful herd of sheep and lambs to greener pastures at the neighbors and when he went to check on them 6 little lambs didn’t show up. “They must be hiding” he thought. Yesterday he and Luna returned to check and 7 lambs were missing. To their great disappointment they found that 7th lamb freshly killed. Over half of the lambs are gone. This is so discouraging and sad. Juvencio is ready to throw in the towel. He moved them back to our pasture and now they have all three llamas guarding them (Norman was the only one that went with the herd to the other pasture).
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- Mama duck with 15 ducklings
We suspect our precious cat “Tuberflubin” (the poster cat, white with blue eyes) was also taken by the devils (coyotes). She did not show up for morning snack about one week ago and we have yet to see her this week. We deeply miss her as hope dwindles that she will rejoin our family.
On a happy note, one of our Muscovy ducks walked out from under our porch with 15 ducklings on Thursday morning. She is such a good mom warding off potential predators with fluffed up feathers and loud hissing. If you tread carefully on the farm you may see them, Mother duck with her troupe waddling behind her.
Having animals makes our farm unique and adds so much liveliness, but so much heartache and work. There is a rare day when Juvencio (who does 90% of the work with the animals) doesn’t threaten to get rid of them all.
We continue the battle against the insect world. The stripped cucumber beetles were joined by their spotted cousins (the Western spotted cucumber beetle) and they are eating our freshly planted pole beans. No rest for the weary as we try out a new organic method to combat beetles. Juvencio went down to Woodburn to get this special spray on “clay” called “Surround” that makes the leaves taste bad, cools the plant and allows it to get a head start on the beetles. We then spray other organic product to kill some of the voracious beetles. Who has time for all this warfare? We just want to farm!
Crazy weather this week. We had rain drops the size of almonds, dramatic rainbows and swirling wind all within an hour. The rain helps the plants so much, breathing new life into dusty leaves, it unfortunately also benefits the weeds. See the photo included in the slide show and I challenge you to find the plant we are trying to cultivate. One bed was so bad I could not distinguish the flower from the weed, and I know my flowers!
I was happy to see so many subscribers visit me at the Beaverton Farmers Market(Saturdays from 8:00 – 1:30) I always enjoy hugs from Aiden, Owen, Karen and Finley. Our new booth, double in size is great for business and makes being there so pleasant. For those who never visited our old space (I sell with Polly Gottesman from Pumpkin Ridge Gardens) was a narrow cave, hard to enter and even more difficult to exit. Now we have a double space. One can enter and peruse the plants and exit at our cashier. Diego and Rachel have been helping out with set up and tear down. They have been our cashiers and that has made all the difference. We also tried the West Union Farmers Market (Saturday from 10:00 – 4:00) this week. This is a brand new market on the corner of West Union and Cornelius Pass Road. The market is just starting but has great potential. We will try it out for some of the season and see how it goes. We are selling veggie starts and may try some flowers too. It is a very local market and great for Helvetia, stop by and see us. There is still time to get your home garden planted. Keep in mind that we arrange wedding flowers and flowers for all occations. Talk with me or send me an email if interested at lynjuve@msn.com.
This week we say goodbye to Rachel. She finishes her senior project this Tuesday. She has been fun to have on the farm and she has helped in so many ways. Just when the weeding gets fun she graduates! If you see her around say goodbye and thanks for all her hard work.
We have had great helpers with harvest. We thank you and encourage you to sign up if you have not already. Harvest from now until October 31 are more time consuming, peas give way to beans and then come the cherry tomatoes. . . lots of hands needed to harvest small crops.
Redbor Kale with Red Beans, Cilantro, and Feta Cheese
Local Flavors, Deborah Madison
11/2 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked for 4 hours or overnight sea salt
2 bay leaves ½ t thyme leaves
1 white onion, finely chopped 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large bunch of Kale (works with collards, chard or any kale) ¾ cup chopped cilantro
3 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 1. Drain the beans, cover them with plenty of water, and bring to a boil. Remove any scum that rises to the surface, and then add the herbs, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and all but ½ cup onion. Lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 1 ½ hours.
- 2. Slice the kale leaves from their stems with a knife. Chop coarsely into 1-2 inch pieces and rinse well. Bring a few quarts water to a boil; add salt and the kale. Simmer until tender 5-7 minutes, and then pour into a colander to drain.
- 3. Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the remaining ½ cup onion and ½ cup cilantro. Cook over medium heat until the onion has softened, about 10 minutes. Then add the kale and the beans with enough of the cooking liquid so that there’s plenty of sauce. Simmer together for at least 10 minutes, then serve garnished with crumbled feta and the remaining cilantro.
Indian Spiced Kale and Chickpeas
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 11/2 pounds kale, ribs removed, coarsely chopped 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground coriander ½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon garam masala ¼ teaspoon salt
1 can (15 oz.) chick peas, rinsed
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add kale and cook, tossing with two large spoons, until bright green, about 1 minute. Add broth, spices and salt. Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Stir in chickpeas; cover and cook until chickpeas are heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
Carrot Top Soup
Local Flavors, Deborah Madison
Don’t just throw them away! The tender tops that come with your carrots are delicious in soups. Here’s one that uses both the carrots and their tops.
1 bunch (6 small or medium) carrots, the tops and the roots
2 T unsalted butter
3 T white rice
2 large leeks, white parts only
2 thyme or lemon thyme sprigs
2 T chopped dill, parley, celery leaves or lovage
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups vegetable stock, or light chicken stock or water
- 1. Pull or pluck the lacy leaves of the carrot greens off their stems. You should have between 2-3 cups loosely packed. Wash then chop finely. Grate the carrots or if you want a more refined looking soup finely chop them.
- 2. Melt the butter in soup pot. Add the carrot tops and carrots, rice leeks thyme and dill. Cook for several minutes, turning everything a few times, then season with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and add the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until the rice is cooked. 16 to 18 minutes.
- 3. Taste for salt season with pepper and serve.
Honeyed Beet Quinoa Summer Salad, with variations
from Fresh from the Farm and Garden by The Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden
from Fresh from the Farm and Garden by The Friends of the UCSC Farm and Garden
Julia’s note: I make many variations of this salad, with whatever vegetables/alliums/dressing I have on hand. I love using quinoa, but brown rice and couscous also work nicely. Likely other grains too. For this much salad I usually use half the amount of cheese they recommend and half the amount of nuts. Any mixture of the below herbs work well: just parsley, just cilantro, just basil, or any combo… chives, tarragon for a different flavor….. The possibilities are endless and having a salad like this on hand makes healthy lunches/dinners much easier.
6 beets, roasted
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups orange juice
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fruity olive oil
3 cups cooked quinoa, or another grain such as brown rice or couscous or??
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, or shredded parmesan, or??, optional
1 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil OR cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 minced green onions or 3 shallots or other mild alliums
lettuce greens, ready for eating as salad
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 cups orange juice
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup fruity olive oil
3 cups cooked quinoa, or another grain such as brown rice or couscous or??
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, or shredded parmesan, or??, optional
1 cup toasted walnuts or almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped basil OR cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsley
6 minced green onions or 3 shallots or other mild alliums
lettuce greens, ready for eating as salad
Dice roasted beets and marinate in orange and lemon juice and honey at least one hour. (Julia’s note: I warm up my honey a bit before mixing it in the juices/oil… but don’t make it too hot or it will ‘cook’ the juice and fruity oil!) Combine with other ingredients except salad greens. Chill at least one hour.