News from Windy Willow Farm
2008 Week 7
This week’s share includes:
1 bag spinach – We’ve enjoyed a great run of spinach, and my last producing row is about to go to seed, so this is all we’ll probably see until fall.
1 head Tropicana lettuce – We’re at the end of our spring planted lettuce as well, these heads will become very bitter in another week or so. Midsummer greens at WWF usually are cabbage, Swiss chard, beet greens and Chinese cabbage, since these are easier to grow in the heat.
1 head buttercrunch lettuce
1 head Romaine lettuce
1 bunch basil – A customer favorite, each bunch is almost an entire plant. Basil turns black at temperatures below 50 degrees, so if you store in your refrigerator, be sure to wrap in a paper towel and plastic bag. Enjoy!
20 garlic scapes
1 Qt snow peas.
1 Qt sweet shelling peas
2 heads broccoli
1 head bok choy – we have been enjoying these awesome, crunch bok choy! They have been excellent in stir fries, and have included snow peas, garlic scapes, and broccoli
1 bunch beets – these baby beets are so sweet! They’d do well to be roasted (with garlic scapes, olive oil, salt and pepper) or with my teriyaki beets recipe below. Don’t forget, their greens are awesome prepared like spinach or fresh in your salad.
Best guess for next week – Cilantro, kale, Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard
Photo captions: 1) Our red potatoes are in full bloom, with beautiful purple and yellow blossoms. Mark and I have negotiated my first digging: I’ll search for new potatoes next week. Can’t wait!
2) Talk about pea-stravaganza! We picked and shelled for hours to have enough peas for the winter. My kids eat peas like they’re going out of style, and I want to be sure we have enough. We blanched them for 30 seconds, then the usual cold water bath, drying, bagging and freezing.
My favorite customer comment of the week: “The sweet shelling peas were a taste of heaven” Keep your comments coming, I love to hear them!
This morning found me outside early, when the sky was just lightening. I enjoyed a few moments of quiet contemplation, listening to the frogs in our pond: peepers with their high voices, and bullfrogs adding their baritone counterpoint. The morning wind was still, and the birds also seemed to be listening to the frogs’ concert. It’s nice to be in the country.
Today was a busy day on the farm, with several worker shares picking and weeding. It’s great to see so much activity, working to ensure a fabulous harvest for you. Besides picking and weeding, we’ve also been rototilling, and transplanting broccoli, cabbage and lettuce seedlings, all designated for fall harvest.
This week I uncovered more rows, with plants that were pushing on our fabric row cover. The cucumbers, loaded with blossoms, spilled out as soon as I took the covers off, while the peppers and eggplant protested their fabric confinement. The newly uncovered plants are delicate: they have been coddled under the row cover for most of their lives, and can’t tolerate much wind. I was glad that the recent storms missed us. A day or two later finds the plants strong and vibrant, reaching towards the sun. We welcomed the bees, with their pollinating activities, to the garden to help fertilize our lovely blossoms.
You may have noticed an electric fence around our main garden. This is deer protection, as they were “helping themselves” to a dozen heads of lettuce every night! It’s our first real deer damage, since we’ve always had animals pastured around the garden, with fencing. I’m glad the fencing is working to keep them where they belong: out of my garden.
Thanks for your support, we love being your farmers!
Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason Hyde
© 2008 Gwen Hyde
Teriyaki Beets
This is an old favorite recipe of mine, and always a great standby method of cooking delicious beets when you’ve run out of other ideas. It’s even a kid pleaser!
12 small unpeeled beets 1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
4 Tbs butter 1 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs honey
Boil or steam beets until almost tender. Rinse in cold water and cut into halves. Combine butter, honey, ginger and soy sauce in small saucepan and heat until butter and honey are melted. Brush some sauce over beets and place on heated broiler pan. Broil 5-10 minutes until tender, basting frequently. Transfer to serving dish and pour remaining sauce over. Makes 4-6 servings.
Baby Bok Choy with Cashews
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
Salt
1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews
Method
1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)
2 Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.
3 Gently mix in cashews.
Serves 4.
Favorite Spinach Salad (from http://whatscookingamerica.net/Salad/FavoriteSpinachSalad.htm)
2 bunches fresh spinach leaves, washed, dried, and chilled
4 to 6 bacon slices, crisply fried and crumbled
1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
4 to 6 green onions, chopped
Sliced almonds
1 cup sliced fresh mushroomsItalian salad dressing (store bought is fine)
Remove stems and veins from spinach and tear into bite-sized pieces; place into a large salad bowl.
Add bacon, water chestnuts, eggs, green onions, almonds, and mushrooms.
Use 1/4 cup Italian salad dressing for 6 cups of spinach greens; toss gently and serve.
Makes 4 servings.
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