News from Windy Willow Farm2008 Week 9
This week’s share includes:
2 half-pint raspberries: one black and one either red, black or purple – It’s been a busy day, picking raspberries! Currently, black raspberries are coming on strong, and they’re easy for me to pick; I don’t like them nearly as much as red or yellow raspberries. They also are a quick pick: they all ripen together, you can stand in one spot and fill your container. The reds are more spread out, and tend to hide behind foliage.
1 bunch baby carrots
2 zucchini
2 yellow squash
4 cucumbers, pickling or slicing – I had major cucumber germination problems this year and purchased a flat of cucumbers from a local greenhouse. Half was supposed to be a slicing variety, and half was supposed to be a pickling cuke. Turns out that the majority of the plants were picklers, and so most of what we have to offer today are these. (Reason #352 that we are building our own greenhouse!!) The pickles taste fine, and will fit in your jar as well. (That’s the main difference for pickling vs. slicing cukes: they stay short while the slicers are too long to fit in a jar.) Want to make your own pickles? Here’s an excellent link, with pictures: http://www.pickyourown.org/makingpickles.htm
1 bunch kale – This beautiful green will get better as the season progresses, turning sweeter with the frosty weather. It’s so good for you, so enjoy it in your favorite recipes.
1 bunch beets with greens
1 mini cabbage – Our favorite cabbage is a giant, flattened head of cabbage, called “Tendersweet” which yields a huge quantity of cabbage. In the past, members have expressed concern at finding ways to use so much cabbage. This year I tried these mini cabbages, called “Gonzales” and have been pleasantly surprised. They have a mild and crunchy taste, and you can use one in a dish. My favorite way of preparing a summer cabbage salad is to shred the cabbage and simply toss with Italian dressing.
1 bunch dill – use both the ferny leaves and the flower seeds in your recipes. Or hang upside down to dry.
1 head garlic – freshly harvested, this garlic is delicious to use immediately. If you want it to keep for months, leave it in a dry place until the stalk has dried.
Best guess for next week – Red potatoes, yellow beans, sweet onions.
Photo Captions: 1) The greenhouse, a work-in-progress 2) Beautiful zucchini flowers that were fried up into heaven!
My favorite customer comment of the week: From last week’s pickup, “ The vegetables are breathtaking!” See, I’m not making this up! CSA pickups are great for my ego!
We are one of the few local CSAs that include fruit in our regular vegetable share. We see it as a bonus part of the share, a sweet taste of summer. Last year several members expressed interest in a greater quantity of berries. If members want to “pool” their berries together, and take turns in getting larger quantities of berries, have at it! Or, you can come to our Friday Farm Stand to purchase additional berries, or pick your own. We hope to be in berries for most of the rest of the summer.
As you may have noticed, the greenhouse finally resembles a greenhouse! My goal for today’s work is to get far enough to mount at least one sheet of the polycarbonate sheeting on the outside. We only have a few more weeks to complete the entire structure; it was a surprise to learn that we only had 60 days from purchase to completion, to qualify for the warranty. Our drop-dead date is August 1st, or we’ll have zero warranty.
Also on display for your inspection is ¾ of our garlic crop. It is spread on the stones, drying. Garlic that is well cured will stored for months (ours last year lasted the entire year, I just threw out last year’s leftovers!). I break two cardinal rules in garlic growing: I hose it clean immediately after digging and I cure it in the sun. My garlic tastes great, and lasts for a long time if stored properly, so these infractions hasn’t caused us any issues, yet!
I had a special treat delivered to me last week: fried zucchini flowers! I provided the zucchini flowers, and was exchanged the finished product in return. They were amazingly good, melting in your mouth. I ate so many I almost made myself sick. A lovely treat, to be enjoyed once a year.
Thanks for your support, we love being your farmers!
Gwen, Mark, Sarah and Jason Hyde
© 2008 Gwen Hyde
Creamy Chilled Zucchini Soup Recipe (from http://www.care2.com/greenliving/creamy-chilled-zucchini-soup.html)
Adapted from Cold Soups, by Linda Ziedrich (Harvard Common Press, 1995).
This summer classic is a refreshing celebration of the season’s abundance, and one of the simplest and easiest recipes ever. It only calls for four ingredients (including salt!) and the star of the show is lightly steamed zucchini, while sour cream adds rich and voluptuous texture and calcium.
You can whip up a batch of this to serve for lunch or a light dinner in no time: just add a crisp tossed salad and a loaf of crusty bread. Creamy Chilled Zucchini Soup is a lovely way to use up those wonderful zucchini that are popping up in every Farmers’ Market.
INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 cups peeled, sliced, and steamed zucchini1 cup sour cream1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds1/2 teaspoon salt
1. Blend all the ingredients and serve chilled.
Serves 4.
Cabbage-Carrot Salad Recipe (from http://www.care2.com/greenliving/cabbage-carrot-salad-recipe.html)
By Santha Cooke, MS, LMT
INGREDIENTS
(use organic ingredients where possible)
1/2 small red cabbage, grated3 or 4 carrots, grated1/2 bunch finely minced fresh parsley leaves (remove the thick stems)1/2 bunch minced fresh dill weed (remove the thick stems)Juice of one orangeJuice of one lemon
1. A food processor makes it a snap to grate the carrots and chop the cabbage. Combine the vegetables and herbs. Squeeze the orange and lemon juice over them and toss.
2. Options: This salad begs for improvisation! Some possibilities: add a grated apple or some finely chopped kale. How about a drizzle of olive or flax seed oil? Try grating a beet. Or adding some raisins or toasted walnuts. Perhaps some minced garlic . . .
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