Week #10

• Lettuce – enjoy romaine and salanova
• Garlic
• New potatoes
• Zucchini
• Basil
• Parsley or Dill or Cilantro
• Kale or chard
• Broccoli or Cabbage
• Green onions (scallions)
• Sugar snap peas
• Fava beans.
• Beets or carrots
• Fennel or kohlrabi

 

What a change from last weekend to today! It is currently 45 degrees instead of 75 and the max today will be 75 degrees instead of 102! This weather is crazy making. The light rain was just enough to give the weeds a boost and keep the farmers running. Some of the beds are so deep in weeds it is hard to know what the plant is we are supposed to be harvesting. We are busy trying to turn over the spring greenhouses into summer melon and cucumber growing hot houses, but there is never enough time in the day or night (we often work until dark).

I have seeded much of the fall col crops (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) and need to transplant much more as we wait to turn over outside beds. Lettuce and chard and unsuccessful spring crops need to be pulled to make room for the cool weather crops. Juve tied up more tomatoes but that work is almost never done as they love the heat. The flowers have gone wild. I took 14 buckets to market yesterday and came home with 2 small bouquets! I will try and get to cut flowers for you all, but as they languish in the cooler without a home I find other work beacons to me instead. I am always happy to make you a bouquet when I am around, or leave you a special bouquet if you text me ahead of time.

This week Juve gets to go to  the “Copa America ”. As part of his birthday gift Mark, Rachel and Adam got him a ticket to the game in Seattle to watch Leonel Messi. He will get a much needed break from the farm on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. Fortunately I have the day off on Wednesday and the help of our two sons Jacob and Diego who are on break from college to help get the harvest in. We will scrabble later today and tomorrow to get the work done.

We continue to welcome new members to the farm. If you have friends or family interested please do let them know to contact us. See the recipes below, this is likely the last week for Favas, so much work but worth it. Blanch the shelled beans in boiling water to help remove the outer husk on each bean, well worth the trouble, but it is a good thing they only come once a year.

Roasted Cabbage (Our family’s new favorite way to eat cabbage 2014)

1 head cabbage

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan cheese

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the cabbage in half and now cut into wedges 3- 4 per half leaving a bit of the core on each wedge. Arrange the wedges on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper and now turn over and do the same. On the second side sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Put the cabbage in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes, it should be golden brown and crispy on the outer leaves. Remove from the oven and enjoy! We will never let another cabbage head go to waste.

 

Beet with Sesame Vinaigrette (family favorite)

1 pound beets (after cooking there should be about 2 cups)

6 tablespoons mild olive oil

2 teaspoons Oriental sesame oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, additional for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

 

Trim tops from beets, leaving about ½ inch from the beets, so that they don’t bleed too much.  Put the beets in a pot and cover with cold water.  Heat to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered until tender.  Pour off most of the hot water and add cold water to the pot.  Peel the beets while they are still warm.  Or you may rub the beets with a little oil and bake them in a covered pan at 350 until tender.  If the beets are large, cut them into ¼ inch slices.  If they are small, cut them into 4 – 8 wedges.  Place the beets in a large mixing bowl.

Whisk the remaining ingredients together, pour over the still warm beets, and toss to coat.  Sprinkle more sesame seeds if you like and serve.

 

A great salad can be made with beets and broccoli.  We steam the broccoli and beets together with the sliced beets on bottom.  Generally, when the broccoli is done (i.e. just turned dark green and starting to get tender) the beets are also done.  We then toss them in a simple vinaigrette and can serve either warm or cold.  This vinaigrette is the one we use:

 

VINAIGRETTE

 

 

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp wet mustard

5 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

black pepper

 

Press garlic into the bottom of  your salad bowl.  With a fork, mix well with salt until it forms a paste.  Mix in vinegar and mustard until salt is dissolved.  Whisk in olive oil to make an emulsion.  Add black pepper to taste.  These proportions are in no way set in stone.  You should experiment to find the proportions you prefer.  Also, other spices, herbs and vinegars can be used to vary the dressing.

Zucchini Pesto

Lyn–this is the one that was in the Oregonian–it’s quite good! Pretty tasty straight up, but seems like it would be great on crostini or pizza, or w/chicken or fish, for instance…

1/2 c olive oil
1 large shallot chopped (I used a sweet onion)
6 garlic cloves
3 Tbs toasted blanched almond slivers
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 ” dice
1 c basil leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste.

Fava Bean and Parsley Salad

Chick Pea and Parsley salad (use Fava beans instead of Chick Peas)

Salata-T-Hummous

 

½ cup dry chick peas, soaked overnight

½ cup finely chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped parsley

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup chick pea juice

½ teasp, salt or more

1 small clove of garlic, crushed (optional)

 

(use fava beans instead of chick peas, peel off the green husk. Put beans in boiling water for 2- 3 minutes then rinse in cold water. Peel the white outer covering of each bean) Cook chick peas in soaking liquid 1-11/4 hours, until tender. You should have 1 ½ cup cooked. Drain, reserving ¼ cup cooking juice for salad. Combine chick peas with onion and parsley, tossing well. Dress with lemon juice, olive oil, cooking juices, salt and optional garlic. Chill before serving.

FAVA BEAN Salad

Ingredients

4 cups shucked fresh fava beans
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 pound Manchego cheese, shaved thinly (or Asiago or Romano)
2 tablespoons finely chopped flatleaf parsley

Directions

Fill a bowl with ice and water. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the fava beans and cook until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and shock in ice water. Drain again and remove outer skins. Place the beans in a medium serving bowl. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil and whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture over the beans and mix well. Add the cheese, sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

GREEK STYLE FENNEL

3 bulbs 2 tbsp. 1 clove 2 lg. 1/4 tsp. 1/4 tsp. 2 tsp. 1/2 cup handful

fennel olive oil garlic, minced tomatoes, diced salt pepper fresh chopped herb (chervil, marjoram, or parsley, or other…) feta cheese reserved fennel tops

Cut off the stalks and feathery leaves of the fennel. Chop and reserve some of the leaves for garnish. Cut fennel bulbs vertically into 8 sections. In a skillet, heat olive oil, ad garlic and fennel, and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, add salt, pepper and the fresh herb and cook over low heat until most of the liquid is reduced. Serve sprinkled with the garnish of feta cheese and reserved fennel tops. adapted from More Recipes from a Kitchen Garden by Shepherd and Raboff