- Lettuce or cabbage
- Basil or parsley
- Sweet peppers
- Hot peppers
- Tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes (watch out that rain caused most of those buggers to split)
- Kale, collards or Swiss chard
- Leeks
- Winter squash
- Summer squash
- Green beans (they are back and the weather is clear enough to harvest them)
- Daikon radish or beets
- Broccoli or cucumbers (weird either or, but hey, these are weird times)
- Potatoes
- apples?? (we will see how many hands show up to help harvest)
Finally the smoke has cleared. Weather conditions deteriorated on September 7th and persisted until yesterday giving us a nine day stretch where we could not work on the farm. Not only did we lose the plastic on two of the five hoop houses that we have, but we were unable to clear greenhouse beds, weed or plant fall crops. We simply did the bare minimum which was harvesting your vegetables. Through hazardous conditions we donned KN 95 masks and harvested tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini and more. We spent the extra time bagging your vegetables in poor air quality in our barn. Finally the acrid smoke has cleared, but toxic rain has bathed our vegetables. Never before have I been a large advocate of washing our vegetables as we use nothing toxic on them but now from the sky has come rain contaminated by forest fires and burning buildings. We suggest that you double wash your vegetables before popping them in your mouth.
We now are over two weeks behind in our efforts to grow fall and winter crops and will be faced with deconstructing two hoop houses. We have to weed the entire farm, get cover crop planted and we have to transplant vegetables for winter and early spring. Last week my clinic was closed for business due to the hazardous air quality but those days away from that work were not spent doing farm work or completing farm tasks. The air quality shut us down in ways that COVID 19 did not. We will forge ahead and we appreciate your understanding. This unnatural disaster will affect the remainder of the season and well into the winter. We cannot make up lost time; we have to live with what that loss generates. We will have less of things that we had hoped for but our farm is still standing, we were not ravaged by fire, we still have our health and we will go forward.
To culminate an absolutely horrible week we were met with the death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She was not only an icon for the equal rights of women and all people under the constitution of this United States but she was one of only four liberal judges on the court. Now the president and the leader of the Senate have the audacity to think that they will place a third judge on that court. And I say, “Hell NO!!” I knew when POTUS 45 was elected that he would be the deciding factor in changing the supreme court for the next generation. Many people, many young people sat out the election in 2016 due to the erroneous belief that there was no difference between Clinton and Trump. They were wrong then they are wrong now and the reelection of this man will be the demise of democracy. I cannot urge you strongly enough to take action in these next 45 days, whatever it is to win back the White House, the Senate and hold the house. We will need 100 days in 2021 to work rapidly to undo and dismantle the horrid erosion that this demon has caused in our nation. Make sure that you are registered to vote! That is easy to do by checking here: https://sos.oregon.gov/voting/pages/myvote.aspx?lang=en. We must defend the rights of women and all people to freedom of choice and work towards equity, reparations and a true democracy.
Onward and to the kitchen!
Super Easy Enchilada sauce
Enchiladas, or on eggs, or on quesadillas, or…..
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
4 large red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
2 tomatoes, cut into thick wedges
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
3 tbs canola oil.
Preheat oven to 450. Toss the veggies with the oil and place in a baking dish. Sprinkle w/salt/pepper. Roast until soft and starting to brown, or about 30-45 minutes—stir them around a few times while baking.
Allow to cool then puree in blender or food processes. Voila!
Curried Winter Squash Soup
Farmer John’s Cookbook, John Peterson
Serves 6-8
3 T unsalted butter
1 cup chopped scallions (about 6)
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
1 jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds butternut squash, about ½ a large squash, peeled, seeded, cubed
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 14 ounce can whole tomatoes or 2 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
12 whole curry leaves (optional)
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground mace (I skipped this)
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt
freshly ground pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the scallions; sauté until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley, jalapeno, and garlic,; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
- Add the squash and toss to coat it with the scallion mixture. Add the stock, tomatoes, curry leaves, all spice, mace and nutmeg. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered until the squash is very tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- Transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor; puree.
- Transfer the soup back to the pot. Stir in the curry powder and add salt, pepper to taste. Return the soup to a simmer to heat through. Garnish with the parsley just before serving.