Week 11: The Perfect Summer Salad

Looks like there is a bit of heat yet this season!

We were dripping with sweat as we harvested potatoes last Friday, right up until sunset! And our predicted high for this Thursday is 89. I knew there was still hope for the field tomatoes.

This weather, and this week's share, combine to make the perfect opportunity for a lovely summer salad. Below you will find a recipe for my favorite summer salad, Middle Eastern Fattoush.

The share this week will include the following: Head Lettuce, Cucumbers, Tomatoes plus Eggplant/Peppers/Ground Cherries/OR Tomatillos, Beets, Carrots, Summer Squash, Potatoes, and Sorrel or Parsley.

The sorrel/parsley choice is back, for this week at least. The occasionally cool temperatures have allowed them to make a resurgence, though they may need a rest next week after struggling through this Thursday.

The fattoush recipe relies on the classic Middle Eastern ingredient of flat leaf parsley, so if you would like to make it be sure to select parsley at pick-up.

Fattoush

We usually use summer lettuce, which tends to be somewhat tougher and more flavorful than spring lettuce, in sandwiches, but it's also great in salads with a lot of flavor, like fattoush. Sumac is traditionally added to fattoush dressing, to heighten the sour flavor. Though it is easy to find sumac growing wild in this area (and now is a great time to collect it!) I don't think it is available in stores around here, so I left it out of this recipe.

• Two loaves pita bread
• Juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• One head of lettuce, chopped or torn into bite sized pieces
• Approximately 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 bunch of parsley, chopped roughly

Toast the pita bread and break it into bite sized pieces.

Combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt in a small bowl.

Wisk in the olive oil until it is combined with the lemon juice.

Toss together the pita bread, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and parsley. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat.

Week 10: Late Summer Life on the Farm

The hoophouse and brassicas in the late afternoon sun.

Ah...the last few weeks of August on a vegetable farm. The much anticipated crops - cucumbers, squash, tomatoes - are rolling in and the fall crops are sizing up and ripening without much effort on the farmers' part.

Onions currently curing in the hoophouse. Our work is nearly done here.

Um, right? Because that is what I planned for when I signed up for this farming gig....

Almost. 

We do have a lot of wonderful vegetables to harvest right now, so the week 10 share will include many lovely late summer items: Summer Squash/Zucchini, Potatoes, Cucumbers, Carrots, Tomatoes plus Eggplant/Pepper/Tomatillo OR Ground Cherries, Head Lettuce, Basil, and Kohlrabi.

But we still have a few challenges to contend with.

The cucumbers and squash are definitely rolling in, but the cool nights are slowing down the field tomatoes a lot. We still have hoophouse tomatoes for the shares, and I remain optimistic that we will see a lot of ripe tomatoes from the field this year, but only time will tell. The eggplants are certainly happy! 

And the fall crops are looking great too. We have, among other things, onions curing (see photo above), rutabaga getting bigger and more delicious every day, and lots of lovely winter squash and gourds sizing up on the vines.

Our biggest challenge this year remains pests. The amazing caterpillar pressure we started the season with fueled rodent pressure the likes of which we have never seen. I think mice have gotten as many ripe tomatoes out of the field as we have. 

Then there are the insects. Teeny, tiny, aphids and flea beetles, again at population levels we have never seen before. As I mentioned last week they are going after the greens in the field and, we just discovered yesterday, in our fall starts too.

Redbor kale fall starts look good, only a couple aphids to be seen.

But the Beedy's Camden kale starts are under massive attack.

We're going with the tried and true methods of squishing and dish soap as our first lines of defense (you can see a few bubbles if you look closely in this photo, I'd just sprayed), probably with some diatomaceous earth as a follow up if need be. Kale lovers cross your fingers.

In the meantime of course, you have all the vegetables in your share to enjoy. You are getting kohlrabi again this week, and I know that many of you take them home without much of an idea of what to do with them, so, though last week's recipe was a kohlrabi dish, I am featuring kohlrabi again in this week's recipe.

Kohlrabi are really simple to prepare in many different ways. They taste like mild broccoli stem and are wonderful cooked (as in the stew below) or raw (as in last week's slaw recipe).

Summer's end Kohlrabi Stew

This recipe uses several of the items in your share, but it makes a lot of food. This is easily two large meals worth of stew for us, and we are big eaters. Be sure to serve it with crusty bread or biscuits for sopping up the liquid.

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 2 - 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno (or none or more to taste), chopped. If you have any chipotle around you could use one or two of those instead.
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 1 pound stew beef, cubed (I actually used venison)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 large kohlrabi, peeled and chopped into one inch cubes
• 1 pound tomatoes (about what is in the share), roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 or 3 medium summer squash or zucchini, chopped into one inch cubes

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, jalapeno, and onion. Stir until they are coated in oil.

Add the beef. Sprinkle in the salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Continue to stir frequently until the meat is brown on all sides, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir in the kohlrabi. Add water to nearly cover the meat and vegetables. The squash and tomatoes will add a lot of liquid when you add them later, so be stingy with the water now.

Increase the heat to bring the water to a boil, then decrease the heat to simmer. Simmer uncovered for approximately 30 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and squash and simmer, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes.

Colorful stew is the best kind of stew.

Week 9: Nights in the 40's

It is lettuce weather again.

Pablo lettuce, one of this week's lettuces. In my imagination it's
named after Picasso because it is a work of art. But I suppose
several people are named Pablo.

This has been my year for experimenting with lettuce, I ordered something like 18 different varieties of head lettuce this year, so we have had it in the shares in some form or another nearly every week. But lettuce that grows through days that hit 90 degrees will never be quite as delicious as lettuce that has matured during a cool stretch (even if that lettuce is a carefully selected heat tolerant variety).

So, while a few cool nights will somewhat slow the harvest on the summer squash, cucumbers, and field tomatoes (and may halt the field peppers altogether), they will bring us some delectable lettuce this week as well. They will also help the late season cole crops along. I know I'm not the only one looking forward to Brussels sprouts.

Pirat, this week's other lovely lettuce. I've no theories as to the meaning
of its name.

The rest of the share is bulging with standard mid-season garden goodness. In addition to the head lettuce members can expect: Beets, Carrots, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Tomatoes plus Eggplant/Peppers/Tomatillos OR Ground Cherries, Thai Basil, Scallions, and Kohlrabi or Broccoli.

We are continuing our quest to make sure that everyone gets to try the Thai basil, this week is the group one half share members' turn. I'm curious to know what everyone that takes tomatillos is doing with them. A few years back we had a glut of them in the fall and I came up with this recipe for tomatillo chili. It calls for two pounds, which is much more than is going in the shares right now, but it could be adjusted to make a smaller recipe or used as a springboard for a different chili recipe.

There is a break on Kale and Chard this week thanks to the flea beetles and aphids respectively. 

Impressive, no? Flea beetles like cool nights too.

We will wage what non-toxic battles we can and hopefully see them again in the not too distant future. In the meantime, if you are jonesing for some cooking greens keep in mind that kohlrabi leaves can be used just like kale.

Kohlrabi also makes wonderful coleslaw. As in the following recipe.

Kohlrabi Slaw

This is a pretty standard coleslaw recipe made, I think, exceptional through the use of kohlrabi rather than cabbage. I included a little celery seed, because I don't believe that coleslaw can exist without it, but it is entirely optional. It can also be doubled if you love celery seed as much as I do. The Thai basil is also optional, but adds a subtle twist to the flavor. Another fresh herb such as parsley or cilantro would work well in its place.

• One large kohlrabi, peeled and grated (it helps to quarter the kohlrabi before attempting this), plus four or five kohlrabi leaves, chopped into ribbons.
• Four carrots, sliced thinly
• 1/2 bunch of scallions, green and white portions, thinly sliced
• A small hand full of Thai basil leaves (about 12), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons vinegar (white wine or apple cider both work well)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar or honey
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. I used about a 1/4 teaspoon of each as the mayonnaise was already pretty salty.

Toss together the grated kohlrabi, chopped kohlrabi leaves, sliced carrots, sliced scallions, and chopped Thai basil in a large bowl.

In a separate small bowl stir together the mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar, sugar or honey, celery seed, salt, and pepper. If you are using sugar, be sure to stir until the granules have dissolved into the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss until they are evenly combined. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes before serving. This holds well in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours (which was as long as our leftovers lasted before we ate them all up!)

Week Eight: Summertime

I know it has been summer for a while already, I mean, every share has come with a pound of tomatoes for two weeks, but the summer squash and zucchini are coming on strong here so the season is now official at our place.

Sunburst pattypan, the most photogenic of our
summer squash.

As happened with the snow peas, they took us by surprise. They were trickling in. The harvest for last Wednesday's pick-up had a few nice zukes. The harvest for Saturday was a flood.

We'll be taking a lot to the Keweenaw Co-op this week, so as not to bury the members in summer squash, but members will definitely get some too and the squash should keep coming until frost. Start posting you favorite summer squash and zucchini recipes on the facebook page now!

This week's share will also include: Head Lettuce, Chard, Thai Basil, Beets, Fennel, Sorrel, Cucumber(s?), Tomatoes etc. from the hoophouse, and another selection of herbs or edible flowers.

Several people have asked about the Thai basil at pick-up. And because it is new to so many of you, we decided that everyone should have a chance to try it. That's just the way we CSA farmers roll. I LOVE to use Thai Basil in rice noodle dishes, especially with eggplant. Try sauteing some tomato, summer squash, and eggplant, if you have it, lightly in peanut oil and your favorite soy sauce (add a bit of five spice powder, ginger, garlic, fish sauce or other favorite Asian flavors as well). When the vegetables are just finished cooking, pull the pan off the heat and stir in a generous handful of coarsely chopped Thai Basil. Serve this over rice noodles that have soaked in hot water for ten minutes (or prepared according to the package) and dressed with peanut oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar or honey, and garlic. If you aren't a rice noodle fan, serve it over rice with the same sauce on the side for diners to season with.

Thai Basil, with its dusky purple hue.

Sorrel was heavily featured in the early weeks of the CSA. As summer progresses it gets a bit tough and unruly. Now that the nights are growing cooler (and we know they will continue to do so quickly) we want to clear out the sorrel plantings so that they will put on tender growth again in the fall. The tender spring and fall growth is good for cooking or salads. The summer growth is perfect for soup. So, we are including a generous quantity of sorrel in every share this week and passing along this traditional Polish sorrel soup recipe, which was shared with us by Eva, a member of ours who spent her childhood in Poland and says this recipe is particularly delicious.

U.P. Fennel is never quite as large and luxurious as
California grown, but it makes up for that with FLAVOR.

Finally, we have fennel from the field this week. When members had a choice of baby fennel from the hoophouse way back in the first share of the season I know many folks were unsure how to prepare it. If you need an idea, I suggest the following recipe. I've made it with local pork from the Kolpack's Family Farm and grocery store pork from who knows where. It is, of course, better with the Kolpack's meat, but it's delicious either way.

Glazed Pork Chops with Braised Fennel 

Use a jam that is fruity and acidic. Apricot, peach, and raspberry all work very well. Blueberry would not.  I've made this with homemade cherry tomato jam with particularly good results.

• 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
• 4 pork loin chops
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup jam
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 medium fennel bulb, bulb and stalks chopped into bite sized pieces, fronds reserved

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan that is large enough to hold all four pork chops in a single layer.

Lay the pork chops in the pan, sprinkle both sides of each chop with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Briefly brown both sides of each chop, about 30 seconds per side.

Stir together the jam and balsamic vinegar. Turn the heat down to low. Spoon the jam and vinegar mixture evenly over the chops. Allow the pork to cook for approximately five minutes on each side, spooning glaze over the chops whenever they are turned, and frequently as they cook.

When the chops have reached your desired degree of doneness, remove them from the pan and keep them warm on a serving dish.

Turn the heat back up to medium and add the chopped fennel bulb and stalks to the glaze and pan drippings that remain in the cooking pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes or until the fennel is just tender. Overcooking the fennel will cause it to lose much of its unique flavor.

Meanwhile, finely chop about half a cup of the reserved fennel fronds.

Arrange the cooked fennel bulb and stalks over the pork chops and sprinkle the minced fennel fronds over the entire dish.

I have got to hook up with a food photographer...

Week 7: Broccoli and other Flowers

I'm getting the Week 7 post out without an original recipe because we had a bit of fun this weekend. My Mom is in town, camping with a friend who she has been close with since the mid 50's! We've been picking blueberries at Gierke Blueberry Farm in Chassell and toasting marshmallows (and also beets and rutabaga - we ARE vegetable farmers) over the camp fire.

We also made it to the Ontonagon County Fair yesterday, which was a blast as always. This year they had a train of sorts made of barrels, pulled by a small tractor. Seda had the opportunity to ride it, more or less making her year.

This is the actual definition of adorable, right?

Don't worry though, we've had time to put together a great share for you this week as well. Among other things, the earlier broccoli variety is starting to come on, and the radicchio has headed up nicely. This week members can expect: Broccoli, Radicchio, Beet Greens, Head Lettuce, Basil, Onions, Kale, A Cucumber or Summer Squash (they're just starting to come in quantities big enough for the shares), Edible Flowers/Herbs, and Tomatoes/Peppers/Eggplant/Etc. from the hoophouse and field.

The beet greens are thinnings from our field beet planting, which will be sizing up in the next few weeks. You'll see a few baby beets attached to your greens. Separate them or cook them all together as you wish. The greens can be used as you used the braising mix from the earlier shares, their flavor is like extra intense chard. If you need some ideas for cooking them, check out this list of 5 recipes that include beet greens.

Radicchio is another bitter green, it always seems to be more popular than the chicory and escarole. I'm not sure if that is because radicchio is slightly more tender than escarole, or simply due to the fact that radicchio is one of the most beautiful greens in existence.

A green in name only: Lovely cream and wine colored radicchio heads.

Radicchio is used as a salad green. Toss it with the head lettuce, some basil leaves and edible flowers. Add some parmesan cheese shavings and dress with a balsamic vinaigrette.

It can also be cooked, as in this eggplant recipe I posted at radicchio time last year or substituted in for escarole in the bitter greens recipe I posted for week five this year.  

This year's edible flowers include: Calendula, Bachelor's Buttons, Dianthus, Queen Anne's Lace, and a few Onion flowers. This week members can choose the flowers or herbs such as thyme, oregano, lemon balm, or mint. Hopefully the flowers will go strong for a few weeks so everyone can get a taste of them. 

The lovely blue bachelor's button is my favorite to look at, but
the weedy, carrot flavored, Queen Anne's Lace is my
favorite to eat.

Week 6: Pesto!

Hot and dry, again. No big surprise there.

But it has got me thinking. The weather has been "strange" ever since we started farming here, with no two years really looking the same. One of the first years we were here we experienced a July that barely broke out of the 50's. When we compare that to this July all we can do is scratch our heads.

A steamy scene, some volunteer cosmos, from last years planting,
amid the Brussels sprouts.

Can we ever expect to see standard Upper Peninsula weather (whatever that is)? We try to plan for every extreme. Which means something fails every year. This year it's the fava beans. They would much prefer it was in the 50's (though they could handle mid seventies) and in this heat they have turned to crispy brown sticks rather than bean plants. That year of the cold July, however, we didn't get more than ten ripe tomatoes out of the field. I just ate the first ripe field tomato today. So I guess it balances out.

What is really on my mind though is climate change. I know I'm not the only one wondering if this is it. Maybe all bets are off. Maybe the weather is going to continue to behave in this unpredictable manner for the rest of my farming career. This makes me wonder (as I sit at my laptop and listen to the walk-in cooler whirring away in the basement) how much I have contributed to (or mitigated) this possible change. I am a CSA farmer. Eating locally is tops on the carbon footprint reducing to-do list and I like to think I make that possible for many people in my community. But does it really make a difference? I wish that I could know for sure.

Heavy ponderings for a share description ;)

Which is to say, this week members can expect the following mix of cool weather and heat loving vegetables: Chard, Cauliflower or Kohlrabi, Salad Turnips, Leaf Lettuce, Basil, Cilantro, Garlic, Bunching Onions, Snow Peas, and Tomatoes/Peppers/Eggplant OR Ground Cherries.

We are beginning the harvest of a different kind of Kohlrabi this week.

It is called gigante and it is pretty much gigantic. Like, the size of a baby's head. It is meant to be a 130 day crop, which would put them ready to harvest in the fall. But, as we've seen in the cauliflower, some plants are maturing well ahead of schedule. Rather than let them go to waste, we are going to take the ready specimens now. We're not really sure if the others will continue maturing throughout the season or grow the long haul.

They are a bit different than the purple kohlibri kohlrabi of the earlier shares. Expect tough skin with a bit of woodiness that needs to be peeled away. The inner flesh should not be woody, please let us know if it is. The gigante we have eaten have been fine grained and nutty, with more rutabaga leanings than the kohlibri have. In short, exactly as we'd hoped they would be. We tried a different big kohlrabi last year (called kossack) that was supposed to stay tender when large but found it to be a bit woody. We'd like your feedback on this one so we know if we should stick with it.

If you're not sure what to do with a giant kohlrabi you can try this very basic recipe or use it in any dish that calls for root vegetables. I used some in a chicken pot pie the other day with excellent results.

The basil is coming on strong now.

Basil, basil, basil!!!

The plan is to give everyone about sixteen stems of basil, enough for a generous batch of pesto (see the recipe below) or several batches of this recipe for basil syrup. If you make basil syrup, please use it to make lemonade. It's luscious.

The cilantro is just starting to come on. We are crossing our fingers that if we keep it cut back and watered it will hold until the field tomatoes come on. We'll do out best. But those of you who want guaranteed cilantro come salsa time may want to freeze some to be one the safe side. I've actually never done this, but the first method in the link looks promising for salsa cilantro.

 Pesto

This is a very traditional pesto recipe. Note that basil oxidizes (turns an unattractive brown color) rapidly. If you want a lovely green pesto add a few sprigs of fresh parsley, which doesn't oxidize. Some people like to add salt to pesto, but I find the cheese brings enough salt to the recipe. You should taste this for salt at the end and add it if you think it's necessary. This recipe yielded a scant two cups for me.

• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• Six cloves of garlic
• 2.5 ounces Parmesan cheese, cut into small chunks.
• Basil from the share, stripped from the large central stems (smaller stems are fine). For me this was about three cups of basil.
• 3/4 cup olive oil

Combine the pine nuts, garlic, and cheese in the small bowl of a food processor. Process until the nuts, garlic, and cheese are very finely chopped.

Add the basil, in batches in necessary, and process until a thick chunky puree is formed.

Drizzle in the olive oil, or add it a quarter cup at a time, processing until all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Taste for salt.

To store the pesto place it in a jar with a thin layer of olive oil on the surface to reduce oxidation. It can be refrigerated or frozen for longer term storage.

Or just eat it up right away, lovely shades of brown and all.

Week 5: Hot, Dry Weather and recipes for Bitter Greens

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful lake weather, because it is causing us to chase our tails a little as we try to keep the plants happy.

This is not the farm. This is a lovely view
of Fuller Lake from our canoe.

Things are still holding, but we could use a day or two of gentle rain every now and then. Please. As we barrel through July that becomes less and less likely.

But really I can't complain. Some drought stricken CSAs in Wisconsin have been forced to cancel distribution during this dry spell. I hope they have understanding members who are willing to help them survive through the challenging weather. That must be very difficult for everyone involved. It also puts my anxieties over last week's stressed cauliflower into perspective.

This week is another mix of vegetables that love the heat, and those that wish it was cooler. The shares will include: Kale or Chard; Snow Peas; Radishes; Baby Pac Choi; Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatillos, OR Ground Cherries; Arugula; Mustard; Sorrel or Parsley; Scallions; Della Catalogna Lettuce or Escarole; and Salad Turnips.

We are finishing up the harvest of Della Catalogna this week and starting on the escarole. Both are bitter, sturdy greens that can be used in a salad, if you're into that sort of thing (and I know many people are not - if you are, scroll down to the bottom of this post from last year for a salad recipe that features bitter greens, swap in escarole or lettuce for the radicchio), but also do well as cooked greens. Escarole soup with sausage and white beans is a traditional Italian dish. This soup recipe looks simple and delicious. The Della Catalogna lettuce, which is an Italian heirloom lettuce, would work fine in place of the escarole. For those that aren't up for soup on an 80 degree day, below you can find a quick one dish recipe with similar flavors that won't heat up your kitchen as much as the soup.

Della Catalogna Lettuce to the left and Escarole on the right.

Salad Turnips are new to the shares this week. They are definitely not bitter, nor are they much like the rutabaga type turnips members received in last week's share. Scott describes them as "radishes injected with cream" and I think that is pretty much spot on. As you might guess from the name, they are meant to be chopped up and added to a salad.

Because you are receiving both salad turnips and radishes plus a generous amount of arugula and mustard this week, I suggest a spicy salad featuring chopped radishes and turnips briefly marinated in lemon juice, honey, and oil, salted to taste, with a little grated ginger or fancy mustard for flavor, served with several handfuls of mustard and arugula and a finely sliced scallion or two.

Sausage with Italian Bitter Greens

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves (more or less to taste) garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 bunch scallions, green and white portions sliced thinly
• 2 potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
• 1 pound Italian sausage
• 1/2 bunch (approximately 6 stems) flat leaf parsley, stems and leaves chopped finely
• 1 Head escarole or Della Catalogna lettuce, cleaned thoroughly and roughly chopped into bite sized pieces.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the garlic, scallions, and potatoes. Stir until the potatoes are covered with oil and the onion greens are wilted. 

Add the sausages to the pan, making sure they are flat against the bottom of the pan rather than on top of  the potatoes. Brown on all sides.

Remove the sausages from the pan and slice them into bite sized pieces. Add the parsley to the pan, stir to combine with the potato and onions. Return the sausage to the pan.

Cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are tender and the sausage is fully cooked.

Stir in the chopped escarole or lettuce. Stir until the greens are heated through and lightly wilted. The center ribs should remain crisp.

Taste for salt. Generally when I cook with sausage I don't find that I need any additional salt.

Week 4: The Vegetables are Here

A lovely foggy morning in the field.

Last week one of our members asked "So, is it pretty much just greens again this week? No vegetables yet?" He is a lovely man, and we're sure the question was posed with the purest of intentions. But, I still feel the need to mention that kale, lettuce, and arugula *are* vegetables. Yummy and nutritious vegetables at that.

But I'm guessing most CSA members know that :)

I am curious to know though whether any of you might have an idea as to what this is about:

Our chard, which is generally a no fuss crop, is suffering from something
unpleasant this year.

We wanted to include chard in the shares this week, but it all looks like the plant pictured above. We've never seen anything like this. Have you? Our theories include virus and heat damage, though I don't really think the heat would do this. Research led me to a virus that only strikes beets and chard growing in arid regions of the country (our weather hasn't been that strange this season, right?) and aphids. The damage seems to fit the description of aphid damage, but I haven't seen a single aphid out there...hmm. Always something to learn in this line of work.

Happily, there are several items that look great for the share this week. Greens and vegetables. This week  members can expect to receive: Lettuce, Bunching Onions, Spicy Salad Mix (Arugula and Mustard), Parsley or Sorrel, Baby Pac Choi, Radishes, Snow Peas, Root Vegetable Combo (turnips, carrots, and beets or kohlrabi), Cauliflower, and A Hoophouse Treat. 

Though the weather has tempered for now, the cauliflower, which prefers cooler weather, began heading when it was still very hot out and the heads do show signs of stress. They are smaller than we would like and have a bit of a purplish tinge to them. I recommend using them cooked rather than raw (they would work very well in the curry recipe below if that strikes your fancy) because some of them have an extra strong cabbage flavor due to stress. Cooking will help to reduce that.

Things are starting to trickle out of the hoophouse in small quantities, so there is a wide selection of potential hoophouse treats. Members will be able to choose between tomatoes, eggplant, purple sweet peppers, jalapenos, tomatillos, and ground cherries.

A smattering of potential hoophouse treats.

The items in the photo that look like tiny tomatillos are the ground cherries, also called cape gooseberries. Other than a few plants in a tiny vegetable garden my parents let me grow many years ago, this is the first time Scott or I has grown ground cherries, so we are still learning the ropes with them. My guess is they are new to most of you too. Ground cherries are members of the tomato family that are used as fruits, rather than vegetables. They taste like a cross between tomatillos (which they are very closely related to) and pineapples (which, I hope you already realized, they are not even slightly related to). They can be made into pies, jams, and dried to use like raisins. However, the most anyone will get this week is one pint of them, so my guess is all the ground cherries going out will be munched upon plain, or possibly sprinkled on top of a salad.

I have to admit it is a little difficult to tell if they are ripe. The idea is that the ripe ones fall off the plant, so I pick up the fruits on the ground - most of those are golden and delicious. Many fruits fall off the plants at the slightest touch - most of those are golden and delicious too. Some of the fruits in both of those categories are still a bit green though. I find these green fruits are still pretty good, they just taste a lot like tomatillos and nothing at all like pineapple.

Root Vegetable Curry

The medley of root vegetables you are receiving this week may seem more fit for the fall. We planted them early in the hoophouse where they enjoyed the "cold" spring weather (there were a few stretches of proper weather) and then appreciated the heat - as long as we made sure they had plenty of water. Though they are traditional soup and stew ingredients, soups and stews are not really fitting this time of year. I think this mild curry is just the thing. Serve it over rice.

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1 medium onion, diced, or the bunching onions from your share 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 jalapeno (or more or less to taste) cut into thin rounds
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 to 1.5 pounds root vegetables (carrots, kohlrabi, turnips, and beets in whatever combination you choose), peeled as needed and diced into 3/4 inch cubes
• 1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk
• Water
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste

Melt the butter over medium/low heat in a medium saucepan.

Add the diced onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeno (if using), and curry powder. Stir well to coat with butter. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is soft and just beginning to turn translucent.

Add the root vegetables to the saucepan, stir well to coat with butter and seasonings.

Pour the coconut milk into the saucepan. Fill the coconut milk can about half full with water (which should be about 6 or 7 ounces of water). Stir the tablespoon of tomato paste into the water until it is evenly combined. Add the water and tomato paste to the saucepan and stir well.

Turn the heat up and bring the curry just to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender, approximately 20 minutes.

Week 3: The First Tastes of Summer

It looks like we may get a break from this dry heat towards the end of the week. Phew!

The vegetables are responding well to the weather for the most part, thanks to the miracle of rotating sprinklers.

Irrigating in the peas among cover crop stubble earlier this spring. The process
is pretty much the same this time of year, except the plants are much bigger.

One crop that is doing particularly well for us this week, despite conventional wisdom's assertion that it shouldn't stand up to the heat, is head lettuce.

Members (and market customers) will have their choice between two excellent varieties of lettuce, prizehead and della catalogna radichetta.

Prizehead, a loose headed, relatively mild, and richly colored lettuce.

Della catalogna radichetta, an Italian heirloom lettuce with
sturdy leaves and lots of flavor.

In addition to lovely lettuce, this week's share will contain: Kale, Braising Mix, Spicy Salad Mix (arugula and mustard), Radishes, Kohlrabi, Sorrel or Parsley, Baby Pac Choi, Jalapenos, Bunching Onions, and Basil.

There won't be a lot of basil in the shares this week, just a taste (the first taste of summer!). We'll be pinching the tops off of our basil plants this week, both sweet and Thai, to encourage the plants to fill out and produce better so that later season shares will see more basil. 

Lots of little top sprigs like this one add up to just enough basil for everyone
to have a little.

You'll probably notice a bit of grit on your basil (more than you find on most of our other produce). That's because we won't be cleaning the basil at all. If basil gets wet before it goes into the cooler it will quickly turn limp and black. For that reason we recommend that you don't wash it off until just before you plan to use it.

The jalapenos, unlike the basil, could be doled out in massive quantities, far exceeding the needs of all but our spiciest members.  

One of about 50 similarly laden jalapeno plants in the hoophouse.

Because we know that not everyone likes jalapenos, we will not be forcing a flood of them upon you. The plan is to harvest them on the light side and offer them as an option with everyone allowed to take none to three peppers. If anyone knows now that they will want more than that let us know and we will take that into account during harvest.

The bunching onions are simply baby storage onions, something we actually never thought to harvest until Eva at Northwinds Co-op requested them. I'm glad she clued us in, because they're a very versatile vegetable. The small bulbs can be used like any cooking onion and the green tops can be used like scallions. They're handy to have around, as you'll see if you try out the recipe below.

Sesame Noodles with Basil and Onion

This dish is light enough to enjoy in the most oppressive heat and features the lovely summer flavors found in this week's share. It works equally well with sweet and Thai basil. It makes about four servings.

• Approximately 8 ounces of dry rice noodles (I used half a 16 ounce package of extra wide noodles)
• 3 Tablespoons plus 1/2 Tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 Tablespoon sugar, or other sweetener of your choosing
• Jalapeno peppers, minced, to taste (optional)
• 1 large handful of greens of your choosing (braising mix, mustard/arugula, or kale would all work well) chopped into bite sized pieces
•  6 large eggs
• 1-2 spring onions, greens and bulbs chopped finely
• 1 handful (about three sprigs) basil, cut into ribbons

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, remove from heat, add rice noodles and soak until the noodles are tender. My noodles take about 10 minutes of soaking but this will vary by noodle size and brand.

Combine the 3 tablespoons of peanut oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and optional jalapeno in a small bowl. Stir very well so that the ingredients are thoroughly combined.  Poor this sauce over the rice noodles immediately after draining to prevent them from sticking. Toss the noodles to coat them with sauce and set them aside.

Heat the remaining half tablespoon peanut oil in a frying pan over medium/high heat. Scramble together the chopped greens and eggs. Cook them in the peanut oil, forming large dry curds of scrambled egg.

Combine the sauce covered noodles, eggs, onion, and basil.

Week 2: Kohlrabi, Radishes, and Lots More Greens

The first week of the season went as smoothly as could be expected, and our workshare members Audrey and Peg are largely to thank for that. If any members out there know Audrey or Peg, be sure to show them some gratitude. They're doing a big chunk of the work harvesting your CSA goodies.

The week 2 share will look similar to week 1. Members will receive a variety of greens along with a few more substantial early season items that compliment the greens in the kitchen.

For week 2 members can expect: Head Lettuce, either Tom thumb (a second planting that is holding better than the first) or Prizehead; French Breakfast Radishes; Kale; Kohlrabi; Mizuna; Braising Mix; Sorrel; and Spicy Salad Mix (arugula and mustard greens).


There are three items this week that members didn't see last week: Radishes, Kale, and Kohlrabi. The radishes and kale should be pretty straightforward for both new and returning members. Remember to remove the tops (and eat them!) from the radishes before storing the roots in the fridge so they will hold longer.

The winterbor kale looks gorgeous right now.

Winterbor kale flanked by late season kohlrabi to the left
and rutabaga to the right.

Members who made it to the last workday and helped spread mulch can be proud. The mulch is working its miracle. For those that didn't make it to the workday, we mulched the kale this year with a mix of old hay and fish scraps from Peterson's Fish Market that we put together last spring.

Yum.

We built a few layers of hay and fish, then left it to rot for about a year. The result was a nitrogen rich mulch that holds in moisture as it slowly releases nutrients to the heavy feeding kale. The kale loves it and so do we. We're hoping to find time to make an even bigger batch this year.

Kohlrabi might be new to some of the new members.

Lovely purple kolibri kohlrabi, flourishing in the hoophouse.

Kohlrabi is a mild member of the cabbage family that is grown for it's fleshy stem. I'm never really sure what to call kohlrabi as it isn't actually a bulb or a root and kohlrabi stem sounds odd. So I usually just refer to them as kohlrabis. They taste like sweet broccoli stems. I find that the kolibri variety going out this week even has a hint of a fruity flavor to it. The leaves can and should be eaten, like tender kale. The skin is a little tough and should be peeled before you use the kohlrabi.

I prefer to eat kohlrabi raw. Sliced and eaten plain it's great. It's even better with a simple dressing of lime juice and honey. Below you will find a recipe for a substantial kohlrabi salad featuring the leaves and the stem.

Kohlrabi and Chickpea Salad

This recipe makes about eight cups of salad, enough to serve as dinner at our house. If you enjoy the flavors, a nearly identical salad can be made using kale leaves in place of the kohlrabi.

• 2 16 ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed.
• 1 medium kohlrabi
• 1 bunch of radishes
• 1 bunch (approximately 20 stems) sorrel
• Juice of one lemon
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic (if you have any scapes still, this is a good use for them) minced
• 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seed
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Place the drained rinsed chickpeas in a large bowl. Chop the kohlrabi leaves into bite sized pieces. Peel the kohlrabi and dice into small pieces, about the same size as the chickpeas. Add the chopped kohlrabi and leaves to the bowl with the chickpeas.

Slice the radishes thinly and add them to the chickpeas and kohlrabi.

Remove the stems from the sorrel and chop or tear the leaves into bite sized pieces. Add the sorrel to the salad bowl. Toss to combine all of the vegetables and chickpeas.

Stir together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, cumin seed, and salt (you may want more or less salt, depending on how salty your chickpeas are). Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to thoroughly coat the salad with dressing. This salad can be prepared up to a day ahead of time. The kohlrabi leaves and sorrel will soften and the flavors will meld as it sits.

The First CSA Harvest of 2012

It's finally here.

This early heat has been something of a tease, bringing added pest pressures and making members (and farmers) feel like harvest season has been forever in coming.

And yet, things are actually right on schedule. We are, as usual, scrambling to get our most delicate crops transplanted out even as we start the first harvest. Between 80 degree days we had a night that dipped into the 30's (though thankfully no frost was seen at our place) just four days ago. Our last frost this spring was June 1st.

Scott and Seda planting summer squash in newly plowed garden soil.
Sometimes we're cute when we scramble. 

We take our frost free dates (June 15th to September 15th) very seriously, even when the days are steamy. With the tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber and squash plants each numbering in the hundreds, we don't have the option of throwing a blanket over things to pull them through the last couple frosts.

We do have the luxury of hoophouses though, which house the earliest of early tomatoes this year (a couple fruits are starting to blush red already) and are also the source of much of the produce in the first few shares.

Greens, herbs, and more (plus weeds) in the wonky hoophouse.
Much of this has been growing since mid-march.
The old hoophouse may be wonky, but it gets the job done.

The first share includes: Beets (with tremendous greens - make sure to eat them up), Braising Mix, Dill or Baby Fennel, Sorrel, Mizuna, Parsley, Garlic Scapes, and Tom Thumb Head Lettuce.

Hopefully these items are old favorites for our returning members. Some of our new members may find a few things unfamiliar.

Braising mix might be new to some of you. It's a versatile mix of greens intended for cooking (generally braising, as the name indicates). This week our mix includes baby kale, chard, beet greens, and various mustard greens such as senposi. At our house braising mix is often added to things, like soup, stir fry, or spaghetti sauce, just before the end of cooking time. I also like to chop and handful or two and add it to salad. Many people like to use it as the base for green smoothies. If you want to go for a very traditional southern style braised green, I suggest this recipe.

Dill and fennel may not be new to you, but I'm going to throw out a few suggestions anyway. Both are great with fish or eggs. The addition of chopped fresh dill turns egg salad exquisite. Fennel makes a lovely quiche with onion and sweet Italian sausage (which is flavored with fennel seed) but it will lose its flavor if cooked for a long time. Try chopping the whole thing (bulb, fronds, and all) and adding it to the quiche raw instead of cooking it with the onion. They both make excellent salad herbs as well, chopped finely and sprinkle on top.

Sorrel is a rhubarb relative, with a similar, but more subdued, flavor. It also has an affinity for eggs and fish and makes an excellent salad green. Cooked, it does not lose any flavor, but it does (if cooked with a little liquid) melt down a bit into something like a thick sauce. I like to use this "sauce" as an omelet filling, or cook a handful of sorrel and some onions in the pan when I saute chicken.

If you aren't sure which is the sorrel, taste
until you find a sour green. That's it.

Mizuna is a mild Asian mustard green. It can be used cooked or raw, though, because of it's slightly stringy stems, I tend to prefer it cooked. It is most commonly stir fried. Don't let the fact that it's an Asian green that is generally stir fried make you feel like you have to break out the wok (though you certainly can!). Stir frying can be done any time you have a hot pan. Last night, I threw some roughly chopped mizuna and olive oil in the pan just after I'd finished frying sausages. I stirred it around for a few minutes, just until it was lightly wilted, and viola - stir fried mizuna.

A peak under the row cover at the mizuna.

Garlic scapes are another item that those non-gardeners among you may be unfamiliar with. These are the flower stalks that grow on hard neck garlic plants. Growers pull them to encourage the plants to put their energies toward bulbing rather than flowering, and because they are delicious. Sometimes called green garlic, scapes are like a happy mix of scallions and garlic and can be used any place a sweet fresh garlic flavor is called for. If you are braising or stir frying some of the greens from your share, definitely throw in a finely chopped scape or two. You can also use them in place of the garlic cloves in the beet cream sauce recipe included below.

Serpentine garlic scapes are a little tricky to photograph.
Hopefully this is enough to identify them by.

The hoophouse beets are lovely this year. The greens are tremendous, and the roots, which we have been babying for several weeks now, have put on quite a bit of size. Our field beets, which are fighting dry weather this year, will have some big shoes to fill when they come ready for harvest later in the season. With the beauteous beets we have right now, I couldn't resist a recipe highlighting their virtues.

Beet Cream Sauce

This creamy sauce is meant to showcase the sweet, earthy flavors of beets. It's a little subtle and honestly not so popular among non-beet fans as it compliments beets rather than obscuring them at all. I happen to be a beet fanatic, and find this an ultimate comfort over egg noodles. I am sure it would work over pasta too.

• 4 - 5 ounces of beets (about 4 golf ball sized, 2 medium, or one very large beet) reserve the greens
• 1 pound wide egg noodles (I like the Amish style) or other noodle of your choosing
• 2 cups light cream or half and half
• Finely grated zest of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seed, crushed, or 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
•  Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

1. Wash, but do not peel, the beets and slice them into quarter inch slices. Arrange the beet slices into a single layer in a shallow baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until the beets are just beginning to turn tender, about 20 minutes. 
2. In the meantime, prepare your noodles according to the package directions.
3. In a small saucepan over low/medium heat combine the cream, lemon zest, coriander seed, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until small bubbles appear at the edges of the pan, where the cream meets the saucepan. Remove it from the heat before the cream begins to simmer.
4. Combine the cooked beets and cream mixture in a blender or a food processor and blend until the sauce is bright magenta with small flecks of beet root remaining. 
5. Return to the pan and reheat as needed, add salt to taste (in my experience about a quarter teaspoon fine sea salt does the trick).
6. Remove the stems from some, or all, of the reserved greens. Slice the greens into ribbons, about the same width as your noodles. Stir the greens into the sauce and heat until they are just barely wilted.
7. Combine the sauce with the drained noodles, stirring well to coat the noodles with sauce.

It's best to slurp the noodles as much as possible.

Bt to the rescue!

We've added a new pest control measure to our repertoire.

Here is why:

These guys like to eat tomatoes.

And scallions.

And all kinds of leaves, like this eggplant:

They like to eat the flowers too.

They also like pepper plants, chard, lettuce, and beet greens. We've only found a couple in the mustard greens. 

It's pretty unusual for a pest, particularly a caterpillar, to attack so many different plant families with such voracity. Especially scallions. Who ever heard of a caterpillar eating a green onion?

We first noticed them in the greenhouse, around the time we started setting plants out for the season. We didn't think much of them because 1. we've never had any kind of bad caterpillar issues before this year 2. we've seen these before but their population has never reached a problem level 3. we were kind of busy. 

I thought we'd see a little damage, then they would disperse when the weather warmed and they had access to other vegetation outside. But suddenly they are all over the place. They're in the field, in the hoophouse, and still on the few starts remaining in the greenhouse.

Apparently we have a caterpillar problem.

So far, we can easily bounce back from the damage. But if the population increases there will be some significant losses.

So we started a bit of research. It turns out our caterpillars are a Helicoverpa sp. As you might a imagine, they have about a zillion common names - one for every crop they attack. Some of the more popular are corn earworm, tomato fruit worm, and cotton bollworm.

They are very common agricultural pests, but they don't over winter this far north, which is why we have never seen them in large numbers before. Apparently the moths can fly quite a distance in the spring, spreading north. Our best guess is that this spring was warm enough that they arrived in time to squeeze in an extra early generation of northern caterpillars, resulting in the population boom we are currently witnessing.

We've decided to combat them with an equally common biological control method. Bacillus thuringiensis, usually called Bt. Basically, Bt is a naturally occurring bacterium that, when ingested by caterpillars (and only caterpillars) creates a lethal toxin. If you would like to learn a little more about it, please click here. Normally it lives in the soil. We've simply bought some in a concentrated liquid form. We're spraying the bacteria on our plants so the offending caterpillars are sure to ingest some. This control method is allowed under organic certification.

For some of you, Bt may sound familiar because of its association with genetically modified crops. I want to be clear that we are not using anything genetically modified, nor are we using a synthetic pesticide, nor something toxic to anything other than caterpillars. Also, if there is a caterpillar nearby that isn't eating our sprayed crops it will not be affected by the Bt because caterpillars have to actually eat the bacteria before they will produce the toxin.

As for the GM connection. You may have heard of Bt corn. Bt corn has been modified so that all parts of the plant produce the toxic proteins that Bt bacterium normally produce when ingested by a caterpillar. Farmers grow this corn to kill European corn borers, another caterpillar pest of corn.

As a result, Helicoverpa caterpillars in general have been exposed to a lot of Bt toxins, in the form of corn plants, and some have developed a resistance to Bt.

Let's hope the caterpillars currently munching our tomatoes have not.