Week 6: Good Stuff

It has been a good week.

Scott and Seda found a snake during Friday harvest.

We made some serious headway on our fall planting.
We just came inside from planting several different types of fall radishes,
gold ball turnips (my favorite!), and more. We also have about 2000
fall starts - from spinach to cauliflower - in the greenhouse.

We finally set a closing date for this place (THIS THURSDAY!!!) which
we are going to turn into a produce processing facility called
Wintergreen Foods. I promise much more on that subject soon.

And the summer crops are starting to come on strong enough
 to make their way into the shares.

This week members can expect: Cucumbers, Head Lettuce, Kale or Chard, Beet Greens (from the thinning of our summer beet planting - there might be some baby beets attached, feel free to cook them all together - click here for some recipe ideas), Spring Onions, Cauliflower or Zucchini, Peas or other Beans, and an Herb/Flower Choice.

This year's transition out of greens season is still a little tricky. The peas are starting to slow down as the favas and green beans are picking up. That's the normal progression of things, but this year it's much more drawn out than we usually see, which is why this week's share has peas or other beans. Most members will probably end up getting snow peas on Wednesday, but we really can't say what the end of the week might bring...

If you end up getting favas and find them a little perplexing, please have a look at this post from 2011, which was a bumper fava year for us.

When I have a particularly good week, it's also usually a particularly busy week, so this week's recipe is for a simple frittata. 

Whatever You Want Frittata

Frittatas are fast, flexible, and ridiculously easy. You can put any number of veggies in them, so they are a great way to use your share. The frittata in the photo has about three and a half cups of  chopped "weeds" that I pulled out of the field (mostly lamb's quarters, with a bit of purslane and amaranth thrown in as well) and a small zucchini. I also seasoned it with curry powder, but you could use a few cloves of garlic if that's more your thing. Just cook the garlic for a couple minutes in the olive oil before you add the vegetables to the pan.

• Approximately 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 3 - 4 cups chopped vegetables. Items in this week's share that would work well include cauliflower/zucchini, the peas or beans, and any of the greens.
• Salt and Other Seasonings (Maybe just black pepper or garlic, cumin, curry, jalapeno...) to taste
• 8 Eggs

Preheat your oven's broiler.

Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch oven proof skillet over medium heat. Add whatever vegetables and seasonings you are using and saute them until they are cooked to your liking. This may mean adding items at different times. For my weeds and zucchini frittata I wanted the zucchini to cook a little longer than the greens so I added them about a minute before the greens.

Crack the eggs and whip them lightly. You want the yolks and whites just combined.

When the vegetables are cooked to your liking, stir them into the eggs. Add a bit more olive oil to the pan if it looks like it needs it, then pour the egg and vegetable mixture back into the pan. Allow the eggs to cook, not stirring them, until they are almost entirely set. Lift the sides up as the eggs cook to let some of the raw egg flow into the bottom of the pan and cook.

When the frittata is mostly set, with a thin layer of uncooked egg on the surface (this should be after about 8 to 10 minutes of cooking), place it under the broiler until it is completely set and the surface is slightly golden, 2 - 3 minutes.

Run a knife or fork between the pan and frittata, to help it release, then invert the frittata onto a plate and cut it into wedges for serving.

My in-oven-photo skills are somewhat lacking, but I just couldn't
resist this opportunity to share a shot of my dirty oven with the world.