- · Lettuce
- · Kale or chard
- · Broccoli
- · Tomatoes (say hello to the heirlooms!!)
- · Cherry tomatoes
- · Basil
- · Shiso or Papalo (Japanese or Oaxacan delicacies, unusual herbs to add to tacos or salads)
- · Sweet peppers (Italian long, long yellow and heart shaped “Lipstick”)
- · Hot peppers
- · Anaheim peppers (for stuffing and roasting)
- · Zucchini
- · Cucumbers
- · Onions
- · Garlic
- · Eggplant
- · Apples
This warm spell has been amazing for the tomatoes. The heirlooms have come on in all their glory, large often over 2# fruits that are generally unblemished which is unusual as they split with the rain. Because of the dry weather their thin skins are stretched tight and give them increased shelf life. Don’t let these sit until the end of the week, eat them first. The over 200 cherry tomato plants are pulling out all the stops, hundreds of dangling fruits make picking so much easier. We made a great salad with them and sliced fresh basil and the small fresh mozzarella balls, a little salt and pepper and balsamic vinegar with olive oil, delicious!
The squash and cucumbers are on their last legs with the late summer powdery mildew attaching their leaves they are not long for this world. The cucumbers have bitter ends (not our fault or theirs, just what happens at the end of the season), peel them and cut off their ends and celebrate them. The winter squash and pumpkins are coloring up and will need to be harvested before long. The field is so tangled it is hard to tell how the harvest will be. The cucumber beetles are alive and well and our only hope is a cold snap this winter to kill them off.
Lettuce and spinach as well as cabbages are growing and waiting for a little rain to cool them off and make them sweet. The broccoli is making irregular heads, some huge but many small and shrimpy. The cauliflower is looking good, huge plants without heads will hopefully hold until cooler weather.
We are ordering t-shirts again! Please shoot us an email with your interest in preordering so you can have your vary own “finquita” shirt. Womens, mens and childrens sizes available with the preorder. There will be a limited number of shirts available for purchase at the Harvest Festival, order today!
Mary Kay has helped me make the shopping list for the canning party. I will need all the help I can get as we attempt the monster canning party without her expert help. She always pledges to get the canning finished by 5:00 p.m. so that means we have to stay on task. Please be sure to bring your jars ready to process, this means they need to go through your dish washer and be put back in the box open side down. We will need to take shifts at being in charge of the jars staying hot and water baths keeping hot.
The recipes include plum chutney, tomato chutney, pickled peppers and shallot marmalade (one of our favorites) Also we’ll try some smoked peppers and apple sage chutney. More details when you arrive. Please come by 0900 if you can, some are coming as a later shift and that is ok as long as that is not the majority. This is a huge undertaking but an important part of our community. It provides the opportunity to work in a group to learn a lost skill and put up vegetables and fruit for the winter. It may serve to give you the “canning bug” making you want to do more on your own. Hopefully it dispels some of the myths and gives you confidence to can on your own or in small groups.
The opening of the wellness center at Virginia Garcia in Cornelius is just around the corner. I am trying to juggle the farm and my “other job” as both have huge events on the same week in October. Please tell your friends about the harvest party on October 14 (2- 6 pm). We have a lot planned for that special day so if you want to get involved early in the day as we try to harvest first and party later we can always use that hand. On October 19th VG Wellness center has a ribbon cutting event with Mariachis, dignitaries, tours and classes followed by a health fair, starting at 0800 until 3:00 p.m. The following morning October 20th and 9:00 we have the Walk for Wellness fund raiser to which I invite you all to join my team and walk with me. The walk is a family friendly 2 mile trail through Cornelius beginning and ending at the Wellness Center. I will give a personal tour and answer questions for my team members. Please go to : http://walkforwellness.virginiagarcia.org/.
Important Dates:
1) September 22: Canning Party 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.: please see attachment for a list of what to bring
2) September 23: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.: Helvetia Cultural Fest. Pick up a post card and come join the fun. Helvetia Tavern, Grand Rhonde Dancers, Music, Alp Horns, Pie Walk and more
3) October 14: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. La Finquita del Buho Harvest Festival, get ready to have some fun and show off your farm to family and friends! Pizza making, cider pressing, Pupusas, Baile Folklorico with “Mexico en la Piel”, Marimba and more
4) October 20: 9:00 a.m. – Wellness Center Opening please join my team! http://walkforwellness.virginiagarcia.org/wellness/participantpage.asp?fundid=1720&uid=3086&fkroledescid=3 you can search for Lyn Jacobs or La Finquita del Buho team. I will be giving a personal tour following the 2 mile family friendly walk.
Our “easy” stuffed peppers
Poblanos or Anaheim peppers charred and peeled
Corn (fresh shaved off the cob or canned)
Onions (chopped)
Zucchini (cut into small chunks)
Garlic (diced)
Eggs separated
2 teaspoons flour
salt and pepper
canola oil or better yet Grape seed oil
Shredded Jack, cheddar, Gruyer or a combination
Roast the peppers over open flame or in the oven. Place in a paper bag for 10 minutes to let them steam and loosen their skins then peel. To make stuffing put olive oil in pan, add onion and garlic, cook for a few minutes then add the zucchini and corn. Add slat and pepper to taste. Carefully make a slit in the pepper and remove the seeds (we leave the veins as it keeps the pepper in tact), stuff with filling and some cheese. To make the pepper coating, beat the egg whites until make nice peaks then add the flour. It depends on how many peppers you make the number of eggs you’ll need, for 4 peppers you need approx. 2 eggs. Then add the egg yolks. Heat some canola oil in a frying pan, when hot dip the stuffed pepper in the coating keeping the stuffed side facing up, put the pepper in the pan and repeat until the pan is full. Cook 2-4 minutes per side but don’t burn, turn gently and most of the stuffing will remain inside if you cook the closed side first. Enjoy! It is worth the effort.
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.