Week #9
- Lettuce!! – It just keeps coming! Enjoy butterhead, romaine, red oakleaf (Rutilai) and amazing green oakleaf (Kiribati). Try some NOBULL sesame salad dressing (Remember to order your scratch starters concentrates from nobullsf.com )
- Sugar snap peas! Enjoy them while you can, the indoor beds have peaked and we are moving on to outdoor bed.
- Beets – there are so many ways to enjoy them, roasted, boiled, in borsht!
- Chinese broccoli – it just keeps on going, simply sauté the whole stock, leaves, stem and flower with a little garlic and soy sauce, so delicious, so nutritious!
- Kale – a mainstay for every week as you strive to eat your greens every day.
- Parsley, dill or cilantro – you choose the herb for your week
- New potatoes are here!! – pink and purple, so sweet and so colorful. I love to slice them with my wave cutter (look it up!). I then lay them on an oiled baking sheet, add salt and pepper and sometimes paprika, and bake at 350 for 20 – 30 minutes.
- Kohlrabi is back!! – peel it and slice it and enjoy it raw, or see recipes from Sue
- Summer squash – Enjoy this summer delight sautéed with shitaki mushrooms and garlic.
- Green garlic – these are the first heads of garlic to be pulled, they can be used now or left to dry a bit. You will get plenty more so we encourage you to peel each clove and enjoy the slightly milder flavor of fresh garlic.
This has been a busy week! Not as much farming as one would like, between Luna’s award ceremony on Tuesday, graduation on Thursday and grad party last night we have been spending late nights with high school friends and family. We feel so so lucky and proud of our daughter as she launches into the next phase of life. We are so thrilled to have Jacob home from Alaska to join us in the festivities.
This week attention turns to Diego who graduates from PSU on Friday! He has to get through 3 finals first and then he will be a graduate in Biology. We are so proud of him as he finishes school and looks on to what life has to hold.
The farm looks beautiful as Juvencio has spent the week pruning, weed whacking and mowing. There are many unplanted beds in greenhouses calling my name! There are tomatoes to be pruned and onion beds to weed. Hopefully I will be able to sneak in some very early mornings and get these things done between having fun with my family. The winter squash, Brussel sprouts, okra and more need to get in the ground. We are never finished planting on the farm until late October, so I need to keep focus!
We will see if we manage to harvest our garlic this week with the help of Jacob. It is a big job involving lots of sweat and pulling. This rain may be helpful or may be hurtful as we race to get the garlic out before the rust kills all the green leaves on the garlic and my ornamental wheat. Wheat rust is a fungal infection affecting all grasses of which garlic and onions are susceptible. It gets us every year and is in the soil and blown by the wind. Alas the rain makes it grow better.
Every fall I offer a chance to learn how to can vegetables and fruit. This is super fun, super time consuming and a lot of work on the front end to pull it off. We get together on a Saturday and harvest the veg and fruit and then work together in groups of 2-4 to make 12 or so recipes. Everyone gets to work and take home some of what is created. So, here is the deal with the canning party – The only time we can manage to pull it off this year will be the very end of August or Labor Day weekend. Mary Kay, my right hand woman will not be able to help me this year so I need a group of very committed people to do this. If this is you, I need to hear from you and I need to know you won’t waver. I am looking at 8/23 or 8/30. I need to hear from you so email me if you are in. If you are not interested, no worries we can skip a year. If there is support I will forge ahead.
Off to harvest. Enjoy your veggies!
Kohlrabi, apple and beetroot salad
Serve this salad together with a hearty veg tart or a roasted chicken or fish. Serves 4-6
Method
Peel the kohlrabi, cut in half and slice thinly. Core the apples and slice to the same thickness. Peel the beetroot and grate coarsely on a cheese grater or shred on a mandolin.
Mix together all the vegetables in a large bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well, taste and season – you can afford to be generous with the salt. Pile up on a serving plate and garnish with extra chopped coriander (Cilantro to you and I)
Kohlrabi and gorgonzola gratin
The juiciness of kohlrabi gives this a much fresher taste than other gratins, yet it’s every bit as rich and comforting. A bitter rocket, watercress and red onion salad is an ideal match. Serves six.
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
300ml vegetable stock
300ml double cream
1½ tsp Dijon mustard
30g parmesan, grated
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
8 large sage leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium-large kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 2-3mm-thick rounds
60g gorgonzola, broken into 1cm pieces
30g panko breadcrumbs
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the oil in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat, add the onion and sweat for eight minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. Add the stock, cream, mustard, parmesan, garlic, sage and a good grind of black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for four minutes, so the liquid thickens slightly, then take off the heat and set aside.
Spread out the kohlrabi slices on a large board, sprinkle with three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, then layer them in a large 26cm x 28cm ovenproof dish or casserole pan, slightly overlapping the slices as you go – you should have enough to form about five layers. Pour over the cream and onion mix, making sure a good proportion of the onion and herbs are nicely spread on the top layer of kohlrabi, dot the gorgonzola on top and sprinkle breadcrumbs all over the surface.
Bake for an hour, until the cream has thickened and the top is golden-brown – check the kohlrabi is cooked by inserting a sharp knife: it should easily cut through the layers. Remove, leave to settle for five to 10 minutes, then serve.
Kale and Swiss chard tart
Yotam Ottolenghi’s kale and swiss chard tart: ‘Fantastically delectable and rich.’ Photograph: Johanna Parkin for the Guardian. Food styling: Maud Eden
Don’t be put off by any healthy, virtuous images that may come to mind when you see the name of this dish. This green tart is fantastically delectable and rich. Use spinach instead of chard, if you prefer or can’t find any chard. Serves six to eight.
250g shortcrust pastry
A little plain flour, for dusting
200g kale, roughly chopped
200g Swiss chard, stalks discarded and leaves roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp for brushing
30g unsalted butter
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
20g picked tarragon leaves
20g picked mint leaves
30g picked parsley leaves, roughly chopped
40g fresh white breadcrumbs (roughly what you get from a slice of crustless bread)
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
100ml double cream
2 eggs, lightly whisked
40g pine nuts, toasted
100g mature cheddar, roughly grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Greek yoghurt, to serve
Heat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick, then transfer to a 24cm round quiche or flan tin. Trim, leaving about 5mm of pastry hanging over the edge of the tin, in case it shrinks during cooking. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes. Line the pastry case with baking parchment, then fill with baking beans and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully lift out the paper and beans, and bake for 10 minutes more, until the pastry is golden-brown, then remove and leave to cool.
Put a large pan of water on to boil. Once the water is bubbling, add the kale and chard, cook for four minutes, then drain and set aside to cool. Transfer the greens to a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Put a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat with the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and fry for six minutes, stirring a few times, until soft and golden-brown. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes, then tip the lot into a food processor. Add the cooked greens and fresh herbs, pulse for 20 seconds, to make a rough green paste and then put in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, nutmeg, cream, eggs, pine nuts, cheddar, half a teaspoon salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well, then spoon into the tart shell, spreading it out evenly, then bake for 25-30 minutes, until just set.
Remove and brush with the remaining oil. Leave to cool slightly – for about 10 minutes – and serve.
- Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghiand Nopi in London.
greens to a clean tea towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
Put a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat with the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onion and fry for six minutes, stirring a few times, until soft and golden-brown. Add the garlic and cook for two minutes, then tip the lot into a food processor. Add the cooked greens and fresh herbs, pulse for 20 seconds, to make a rough green paste and then put in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumbs, nutmeg, cream, eggs, pine nuts, cheddar, half a teaspoon salt and a good grind of black pepper. Mix well, then spoon into the tart shell, spreading it out evenly, then bake for 25-30 minutes, until just set.
Remove and brush with the remaining oil. Leave to cool slightly – for about 10 minutes – and serve.
- Yotam Ottolenghi is chef/patron of Ottolenghiand Nopi in London.