Life on the Farm (Week 29)

Mosquitoes are the new deer! All in favor of the publically-subsidized manufacture of nano-corks that fit snuggly over the spear-like mouthparts of mosquitoes, raise your hands.

The heat this past week decimated just about all of the Brussels sprouts transplants and 150 broccoli transplants. Guess we just didn’t couldn’t cool them enough. We’ll see how many survive, but emergency seed order is in and trying to get them growing for a late fall harvest. They like the frost anyway!

The heat was good for making hay mulch for the peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. This is an oat/pea cover we put in in early spring; lush growth, great weed suppression, improved soil tilth with root mass and stubble tilled under, and mulch to boot!

Makin’ hay while the sun shines!

The Market is growing with more variety of offering. How about a refreshing Asian Coleslaw/Salad for dinner this week? (see below).

Ordering will be open from Sunday morning until Monday 8pm. Get your orders in now so harvesting can begin specific to your requests.

Deliveries will be made Wednesday per usual to your chosen Dropsite Location .

Recipes for your consideration

Caramelized Cabbage and Onion Pasta with Bread Crumbs
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp margarine (Earth Balance is the best)
3 slices wheat bread, torn into pieces
2 Tbsp fresh sage
1/4 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste
1 lb whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente
1/4 cup reserved pasta water
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 medium head cabbage, roughly chopped (about 5 cups)
1-2 large or 5-6 small onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup grated Parmasan-style cheeze (Galaxy brand)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Directions:
In a food processor, combine half the garlic, sage, and bread; pulse until you have fine bread crumbs.

Melt margarine in a skillet and add the bread crumbs. Stir and toast for about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.

In a large skillet, turn on the heat to medium-high and add the olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and the remaining garlic. When the oil is hot, add the sliced onion and cabbage, along with a pinch of salt.

Stir the cabbage and onions until they begin to reduce and caramelize, about 15 minutes.

Add a 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water to deglaze the pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan with the water.

Toss your cabbage/onion mixture in with the pasta and bread crumbs. Serve with grated Parmesan cheeze. Top with toasted walnuts.

Yield: 8 servings (1 1/2 cups each)
Adapted from The New York Times by A Little Bit Crunchy and re-adapted by Razz

Napa Cabbage Salad

Toast in 1 Tbsp sesame oil:
2 pkgs oriental ramen noodles (crunch up into bite-sized pieces)
3 oz unsalted sunflower seeds
4 oz sliced or slivered almonds.

Chop 3-4 green or mini-onions.
Slice thinly 1 head Napa cabbage.

Prepare dressing in blender:
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/2 c. toasted sesame oil
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp dry mustard (or 1 Tbsp Dijon-type prepared mustard)
2 pkgs ramen seasoning

Let noodles and nuts cool as you prepared the cabbage. Toss all together in large bowl. Top with dressing just prior to serving.

Did You Know…

From Wikipedia: Growing degree days (GDD), also called growing degree units (GDUs), are a heuristic tool in phenology. GDD are a measure of heat accumulation used by horticulturists, gardeners, and farmers to predict plant and pest development rates such as the date that a flower will bloom or a crop reach maturity.

Degree days can also be used to predict when plant pests are just about to become a really big headache, so preventative measures can be started.

If you haven’t played with phenology, it is fun to explore and learn from your surroundings. We pay attention to: “Time to go ’shrooming when the lilacs are blooming.” Have a look at the Aldo Leopold Foundation website right here in Wisconsin for some great resources to play at home. (And speaking of Aldo Leopold, if you haven’t read his work, well, maybe that is next week’s book recommendation.)

Produce Subscription Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA produce subscription boxes:

Cucumber
Snap peas
Sweet pepper
Onion, mini
New potatoes
Salad mix
Summer squash (maybe a little one; they are coming along slowly)
Cabbage
Napa cabbage
Chard
Cilantro
Garlic
Chives
and Garlic chives (strange breeding going on at FarmWLIG!)

Beans on the horizon (Thanks, JQ!)

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara

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