Life on the Farm (Week 37)

The “Clausen Dill” pickles mentioned last week are fantastic! Simpler than regular pickling— the fermenting process sounded all scary and difficult but turned out to be a snap. And the added bonus, I got to smell the wonderful garlic-y/dill-y scent in my pantry for the week.

The tomatoes are doing wonderfully in the high tunnel this year. Now is the peak time; the warm days are ripening all of the clusters. Today is a day for “lowering and leaning” to keep the stems from overshooting their 8ft trellises. It’s becoming quite the jungle in there!

Razz and the Toms

Next week might be somewhat lean on the market as the Chief Inventory Manager (Razz) will be out of town doing continuing education for the ol’ day-job. We’ll do our best to make the opening as comprehensive and accurate as possible.

The Market is now open for a wide selection of warm weather produce.

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 savory twist on the classic midwestern fruit dessert— using a"vegetable" fruit, the Tomato. A wonderful side-dish, or boost it up with some Tofurky-brand Italian sausages and serve it as a main event. Mmmmm good.

Tomato Crumble

1 T olive oil
5 medium tomatoes, 1/2" dice
1 shallot, fine chop
1 garlic clove, crush and fine chop
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp corn starch
½-1# cherry or firm paste tomatoes

Crumble—
1c course bread crumbs
1/4c grated parmesan-flavor vegan topping (Galaxy Foods)
1 T nutritional yeast
2 T fresh chives, chopped
1/4c margarine, melted

Preparation:
Grease ramikins (4x 8-10oz) or baking dish (9×9)
In large skillet, add olive oil, chopped tomatoes, shallots, garlic, sea salt and corn starch. Stir and simmer 10-15min until tomatoes are broken down and puree has thickened. Remove from heat and add whole cherry/paste tomatoes.

Mix dry ingredients for crumble, then add melted margarine and stir to coat.

Add tomato mix to baking dish(es), and top with crumble.

Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool 10min pre-serving.
_ Adapted from King Arthur Flour catalog_

This is absolutely bursting with flavor! Perfect for a cool late-summer meal on the porch.

Triple Garlic Pasta With Oven Dried Tomatoes and Olives

1 quart cherry or plum tomatoes, split in half
10 cloves garlic (4 thinly sliced, 2 minced, 2 smashed), divided
6 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 slices hearty white bread, roughly torn
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1 pound penne, ziti, rigatoni, or other thick tubular pasta
1 cup sliced pitted kalamata or other olives
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion whites and pale greens

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place tomatoes, cut-side up, on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Scatter sliced garlic cloves and thyme sprigs evenly over tomatoes. Season with salt. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil and place in oven. Cook, rotating occasionally, until tomatoes are shriveled and half dried, and garlic is golden brown, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Discard thyme sprigs.

Meanwhile, combine bread and 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Season with salt and process until broken into fine crumbs, about 10 seconds. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add bread crumbs and cook, tossing and stirring frequently, until pale golden brown and starting to crisp, about 4 minutes. Add minced garlic and continue tossing until golden brown and completely crisp, a few minutes longer. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Stir in chopped parsley and set aside.

Wipe out skillet, add remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and 2 smashed garlic cloves, and place over medium-low heat. Cook, flipping garlic occasionally, until garlic is tender and pale golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer garlic to a cutting board, allow to cool, and finely mince. Return garlic to skillet.

Add tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and dried oregano to skillet with garlic oil and cook, stirring with a whisk, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add white wine, whisk to combine, and simmer until reduced and saucy, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

When tomatoes are cooked, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid.

Add cooked pasta to skillet with tomato paste/white wine mixture. Add dried tomatoes/garlic. Add olives, scallions, and pasta cooking liquid. Cook over high heat, tossing and stirring constantly, until sauce evenly coats all of the pasta. Add half of bread crumbs and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with remaining bread crumbs, and serve immediately.

From— http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/02/pasta-oven-dried-tomato-olive-bread-crumb-recipe.html

Make them last awhile by drying them (with some flavor boosters) and keeping them well into the winter!

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

Cherry, grape or small Roma tomatoes
Whole cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil
Herbs such as thyme or rosemary

Preheat oven to 225°F. Halve each cherry or grape tomato crosswise, or Roma tomato lengthwise and arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet along with the cloves of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil, just enough to make the tomatoes glisten. Sprinkle herbs on, if you are using them, and salt and pepper, though go easily on these because the finished product will be so flavorful you’ll need very little to help it along.

Bake the tomatoes in the oven for about 3 hours (or up to 8 hrs). You want the tomatoes to be shriveled and dry, but with a little juice left inside–this could take more or less time depending on the size of your tomatoes.

Either use them right away or let them cool, cover them with some extra olive oil and keep them in the fridge for the best summer condiment, ever. And peel the cloves of garlic when you’re done–they’ll be wonderful and sweet–and store them in the container with the tomatoes for smearing on a sandwich.

From— http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/08/slow-roasted-tomatoes/

If anyone has some good recipes for this week’s ingredients, pop on over to the website and enter them there for everyone’s benefit!.

Did You Know…

“…that deer do not have upper incisors. The lower incisor teeth are pressed against a hard upper pad, to pinch and tear off plant parts. The 8 lower “incisors” are actually 6 incisors with an outside pair of lower canines. Through evolution, these lower canines have moved forward in the jaw to look and function as incisors. The lower jaw also has 3 premolars and 3 molars on each side that mate with their counterparts above to grind and regrind food. Fawns are born with all 8 lower incisor-like teeth, all 3 premolars, and 1 molar on each side of the jaw. All incisor-like teeth and premolars are replaced with adult teeth before the age of 2 years, which provides a method of ageing deer according to their tooth eruption and replacement patterns. After 2 years, all adult teeth are present and ageing is accomplished by looking at the wear on the teeth.”

So how is it that this little mouth with no upper teeth can bite into a fully grown watermelon and then proceed to eat the entire thing? Watermelon disappearing every night regardless of Roger’s antics on the ATV every two hours. Despair at FarmWLIG this month.

Subscription Box Highlights

Anticipated this week for the CSA/Subscription Boxes:

Tomatoes
Summer squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Sweet peppers
Potatoes
Kohlrabi
Carrots (just a few)
Onions
Celery
Oregano
Thyme

Start your meal planning now!

We hope to feed you soon!

Roger and Lara

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