Week #16, July 29, 2018
- Lettuce – enjoy her while you can there will be a gap as this heat is making it impossible to germinate and transplant
- Onions – ohhhh, sweet onions here they come
- Potatoes – purple and pink and yellow oh my!
- Tomatoes
- Basil
- Cherry tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers
- Red cabbage (Finally!!)
- Green beans
- Garlic
- Apples (make pies or sauce as they are tart)
- chives
Once again record heat is making farming even more difficult than usual. The heat not only affects the current crop but limits germination of future crops and the flowering plants (most of them) drop their blossoms when it super hot. There is nothing we can do about this but it sure adds to the frustration of farming as our globe heats up. Lettuce will be severely hit as we can’t get it to germinate and we are loosing it when we transplant. Maybe the relatively cooler weather at the end of the week will help.
We had a group of students from Madison High School out on Friday and we transplanted a bunch of lettuce, Chinese cabbage, more zucchini and cucumbers. Some seemed to fair well and the lettuce looks terrible. We will see by the end of the week what managed to hang in their. We have tons of overwintering cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower waiting to go into the ground but the space is filled with onions. Our goal is to keep those seedlings alive until the onions come out, challenges all around. students helped seed fall carrots and beets, again big fingers an toes crossed that they will take in the heat. It seems crazy that to have plants for fall they have to be seeded in June and transplanted in July but that is how it has to be done. Soon, like end of the week I will seed Spinach, lettuce, radicchio for planting in the hoop houses. All of that seeding has to be done before the end of August and then kept alive for planting into hoop houses after the melons and cucumbers come out.
The tomatoes are loving the heat and the peppers and eggplant are coming along. I may have enough to add to the harvest this week, but as I am writing I am not sure there are enough of any of them. It will be a surprise when you get here!
Yesterday marked 100 days until the midterm elections. Thursday marked the deadline the Trump administration had to reunify children with their parents. They failed to meet the deadline as many families are still separated. A white supremacist group in Oregon managed to get measure 105 on the ballot. This is a measure that would overturn our sanctuary state law and encourage racial profiling. Our farm opposes racial profiling, we stand strong against this measure. We will have more information and opportunities to get involved as the election season heats up. Make to pledge your opposition to this measure at: https://orunited.org/ .
Don’t forget important farm dates:
Canning Party: August 25th from 9- 5
Harvest Festival: October 14th 2-6
Sign up to help harvest!! Sundays 7 – 12 and Wednesdays 7 – 12 – we need your hands to help make this farm work.
It is peach picking time! Our neighbors the Grossens have peaches:
GREEN BEANS WITH TOMATOES AND BASIL
From Asparagus to Zucchini, Madison Area CSA Coalition
1 1/2 pounds green beans, cooked
1 garlic clove, diced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tomatoes or 1/2 basket of cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsely, or 1 tsp. dried
Cut beans into 1‑inch lengths; set aside. Saute garlic and onion in oil
in skillet until soft. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper, and cook 2
minutes. Stir in basil and green beans. Cover, reduce heat to low and
simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in parlsey, and serve
immediately. Makes 4‑6 servings.
FINISHING TOUCHES FOR BEANS
The Victory Garden Cookbook by Marian Morash
After steaming or blanching, try one of these:
‑ With Butter & Lemon Juice: toss beans with butter in a hot frying
pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and season with salt & pepper.
‑ With Onions: lightly brown chopped onions in butter, add beans, and
toss until thoroughly coated in butter and onions.
‑ With Oil and Garlic: Heat 2 tablespoons oil per pound of beans, add 1
clove finely shopped or pureed garlic, cook 30 seconds, add beans; toss
until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
‑ With Mushrooms: Saute 1/4 pound sliced mushrooms per pound of beans
in butter until lightly browned. Add green beans and heat through.
Master Recipe for Boiled Green Beans
from The Best Recipe by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
We find that green beans respond better to boiling than to steaming. A pound of beans in a standard steamer will not cook evenly. Boiling is simpler – just add the beans and cook until tender – and permits the addition of salt during cooking. Unlike other vegetables, green beans do not become soggy when boiled, because their thick skins keep them crisp and firm. Leave beans whole when boiling; cut beans will become waterlogged. Boiled beans can be flavored with some butter or oil, dressed with a vinaigrette, or sauteed briefly in a flavorful fat.
1 pound green beans, ends snapped off
1 teaspoon salt
Bring 2 ½ quarts of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add beans and salt and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and season.
Variations:
Simple Green Beans
Dress the beans with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil or a pat of butter as well as a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.
Green Beans with Bacon and Onion
4 strips bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 medium onion, minced
1 pound green beans, ends snapped off
salt and ground black pepper
Fry bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 Tbs. bacon drippings. Add onion and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile bring 2 ½ quarts of water to boil in large saucepan. Add beans and salt and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and add to skillet with onions. Toss to heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add bacon and season with salt (sparingly) and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
CUCUMBER AND TOMATO SALAD WITH BUTTERMILK DRESSING
2 cups mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh chives
6 medium cucumbers, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
8 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 heads iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 2-inch chunks
Whisk together mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste until smooth, then whisk in chives.
Put cucumbers, tomatoes, and lettuce into bowls and serve with dressing. Cooks’ note:
Buttermilk dressing (without chives) can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Whisk in chives before serving.
SOBA NOODLE SALAD WITH CUCUMBER AND MANGO
3/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 red jalapeño or serrano chile, seeded, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel
12 ounces green soba or chuka soba (Japanese-style) noodles
1 large English hothouse cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 large ripe mango, peeled, halved, pitted, thinly sliced crosswise
1 cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup chopped fresh mint
1 cup chopped toasted salted peanuts
Lime wedges
Warm vinegar, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Stir in garlic and jalapeño. Cool. Mix in lime juice, sesame oil, and lime peel.