Life on the Farm (Week 43)

This is our second week of Fall Market Boxes. Continue the fresh, healthy, local eats into the fall with lots of antioxidant-filled brassicas. We are offering weekly boxes for purchase—-the difference is you have to go shopping every week to secure your delivery. Just pop onto The Market and go to the CSA Subscription & Market Boxes section and select your box; then check out. We will handle the rest and you just need to remember to come-and-get-it on Wednesday. Anticipated produce items are listed below.

The Market is now open for some fall offerings and the high tunnel hangers-on— and the NEW Market Boxes.

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

Fried Green Tomatoes

3/4 cup self rising flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cup soymilk
3-4 green tomatoes sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
Vegetable oil for frying

Dipping sauces:
#1—
1/2 cup veganaise or nayonaise
2 tbsp ketchup
Pinch of cayenne, or more to taste

#2—
½ cup veganaise or nayonaise
¼ cup prepared horseradish (or grated fresh for more Pow!)
¼ tsp sea salt

(If you don’t have self-rising flour, combine 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 tsp baking powder + 1/4 tsp salt.)

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, and soymilk. Use a fork to mix the ingredients into a pancake-like batter. Use more soymilk to thin the batter, if needed.

Heat 2 inches of oil in a skillet until hot enough to fry. Dip tomato slices in batter, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl. Put the dipped slices immediately into the frying pan. The oil should sizzle strongly but not pop when the tomatoes hit the oil— if the oil pops or splatters, it’s too hot. Let it cool down a bit before proceeding.

Fry the tomato slices in batches of 4 or 5 at a time (don’t crowd the pan) for 2-3 minutes per side, turning carefully with tongs when the coating turns golden brown.

Transfer to a colander or wire cooling rack to drain. To keep the tomatoes from getting soggy before they’re served, Fannie suggest standing them up like wheels in the serving dish instead of stacking them.

To make the sauce, whisk together the veganaise/nayonaise, ketchup, and cayenne in a bowl. Taste and season more, if needed. Serve sauce over the fresh fried green tomatoes.

Fried green tomatoes are best eaten fresh out of the frying pan, they will become soggy fast if you don’t enjoy them within a few minutes of frying.

Adapted from: thehistorykitchen.com

Andersen’s Split Pea Soup

2 cups green split peas
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf, crumbled into very small pieces
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
Salt and pepper to taste

Sort the peas in a mesh strainer, removing any stones or impurities. Rinse them clean.

Combine the peas, celery, carrot, onion, thyme, bay leaf and cayenne in a soup pot and cover with 2 quarts (8 cups) of water.

Bring the pot to a boil. Keep at a high simmer for 20 minutes.

Reduce heat to a low simmer. Let the mixture cook for another 25-30 minutes till the peas are completely tender. Towards the end of cooking, add the seasoned salt, then add salt and pepper to taste. Approx 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of pepper.

Strain the peas through a food mill or a fine mesh sieve. A food mill will create the smoothest, creamiest texture. Strain the pea mixture till all of the liquid is pushed through, and only pulp remains. A creamy soup will result.

Bring the soup to a quick boil once more on the stovetop, then remove from heat immediately. If the soup seems too thick, add some hot water to thin it out to the desired consistency.

Serve hot

Keep leftover soup in a sealed container. When the soup is chilled, it will solidify. Adding a little water and stirring as you reheat will help the soup to heat up more smoothly.

From: thehistorykitchen.com

Did You Know…

When food was being rationed in England during WWII, bananas were one of many things to go. “Mock bananas,” made from boiled turnips, sugar and banana flavoring, were a popular substitute.

Who knew? Don’t know if that is going to do it for me, but might give it the ole’ college try with our turnip bounty! (I’ll report back…)

Fall Market Box Highlights

Anticipated this week for the Fall Market Boxes: (Buy yours online now!)

Rutabaga
Kohlrabi
Cabbage
Winter radish
Boc choi
Cauliflower
Celery
Potatoes
Beets
Sweet pepper (variety)
Tomatoes
Leeks
Parsley

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara

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