Life on the Farm (Week 41)

We spent most of yesterday morning lolly-gagging, inside out of the rain, making up a couple of batches of wild grape jelly. Talk about phytochemicals! Whew, they pack some powerful purple-ness. So we are set for the winter with jelly; check that off the list.

And then we moved outside to the inside. Inside the high tunnel that is, again to stay out of the persistent rain. The tomatoes received a heavy pruning to keep the moisture levels and associated fungal leaf/fruit diseases down. It is amazing how productive the tomatoes have been this year (tired of them yet?), and only now are we seeing any sign of slowing. (Hey, settle down! Those back-flips at your age could be dangerous…)

The third position of the tunnel is well underway with salad mix, spinach, carrots, leeks, broccoli and herbs. The trials are on! Planning to move the tunnel sometime in November if we can get the tracks in place and anchors drilled. Rog was bopping about between raindrops ciphering on that task yesterday.

Little lettuce fellas & fillies poking up thru the cooling soils.

The Market is open for the tail-end of summertime orders— and a few fall things too.

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

A fall root addition to the Winter Mexican Fried Rice recipe I’ve posted before. Wanted to use up the white rice from the night before (I cannot tell a lie, we had The Tea House takeout!) Celery root is a fabulous addition.

Fall Mexican Fried Rice

1 onion, diced
1 celeriac root, peeled and diced
4 paste tomatoes, diced
2 sweet peppers, diced
1 Anaheim pepper, diced
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cups day-old cooked white/brown rice
1 bunch rough-chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
Optional: 1-2c protein of your choice (cubed tofu, “ripped” wheat meat)
½ lime squeeze
½ cup Daiya cheddar-style cheeze shreds

Sauté onion, celeriac, peppers, and tomato in skillet with 1Tbsp olive oil.
Add broth and cover to steam veggies until celeriac is soft, approximately 5 min.
Add rice and stir to heat evenly.
Add cilantro and cumin (+/- protein); stir and fold to mix well and heat thru.
Squeeze lime over rice, sprinkle Daiya cheese shreds over tope and cover for 5min.
Stir to incorporate cheeze and lime, but not too much to make things mushy. Serve hot.

Another season combo. Breakfast burritos were all the rage when we lived in Southern California; but you can eat this anytime of day!

Summer-Fall Breakfast Burrito

1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 sweet peppers, diced
2 Anaheim or Paprika peppers, diced
1-2 Jalapeno peppers, minced (optional, for heat)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped (remove thickest stem portion)
6 paste tomatoes, diced
4-6 medium potatoes, scrubbed, cubed, boiled/baked/microwaved until al dente
1 tsp ground cumin
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
½ lime, juiced
Salt and pepper, to taste
Large flour tortillas, wrapped in damp tea towel and microwaved x5-10sec to steam/soften
Sour Supreme (Tofutti brand)
Daiya cheeze, cheddar style shreds

Sauté onions and peppers in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and kale, stir and fold to coat with oil, and cook until greens are wilted and tender (don’t overdo; bright green is good!)

Fold in tomatoes, potatoes, cumin, cilantro, lime juice and salt/pepper gently until well mixed but not beat up. Cover and reduce to very low heat. Cook until heated thru, but before bottom of pan chars.

Spread flour tortilla with spoonful of Sour Supreme down the middle, sprinkle with Daiya cheeze, add greens-potato mixture, fold up bottom of tortilla and then both sides. Serve immediately.

Adapted from: Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas

And to zoom to the other side of the planet, a wonderfully easy, light soup to chase away the colds and flu.

Hot & Sour Soup with Asian Greens

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart vegetable stock/broth
1 cup mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 cups Daikon radish, diced
½ red bell pepper, thinly sliced in short strips
3 paste tomatoes, finely diced
¼ cup rice vinegar, more to taste
1 Tbsp sugar or maple syrup
1 cayenne pepper, minced (vary amount to your spice level preference)
1 boc choi head, stems sliced and leaves chopped
Handful of radish greens, chopped with stems
2 small sweet onions or scallions, sliced
2 Tbsp cornstarch
Soy sauce to taste

Sauté garlic in oil in large soup pot on very low heat until golden.

Add stock/broth + 1 cup water, mushrooms, radish, bell pepper, tomatoes. Bring to low boil and add vinegar and sugar. Lower heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are just tender (approx 5min).

Add cayenne pepper to taste.

Add boc choi, greens and onion and simmer until greens are wilted.

Dissolve cornstarch in ¼ cup cold water. Slowly drizzle into simmering soup while stirring.

Adjust hot-sour balance with cayenne and vinegar. Season with black pepper and soy sauce to taste.

Serve hot.

Adapted from: Wild About Greens by Nava Atlas

Did You Know…

The brassica family likes the fall! Their approach to the colder weather is to increase production of simple sugars and other substances inside their little vegetable cells that act as anti-freeze. One or two frosts make them that much better for our palate; and as always, they remain excellent for our health. Examples include: kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts.

Root vegetables just re-arrange their house. They convert their starches to simple sugars when the cold hits. Similar result; the roots tolerate a frozen ground. The trick is to cover them with mulch sufficient to allow harvest thru the freezing months! Examples include parsnips, celery root, carrots and beets.

We anticipate having kale, cabbage, cauliflower, rutabaga, turnips, kohlrabi, parsnips, celery root, carrots and beets into the fall a little longer. No “first frost” yet, here at FarmWLIG.

Produce Subscription Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA produce subscription boxes:

Celery
Celeriac
Winter radish
Kohlrabi
Potatoes
Carrots
Pie pumpkin
Rutabaga
Kale
Sweet pepper (variety)
Tomatoes
Melons
Dill
Thyme
Parsley

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara

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